[Homeplot 2.1] Jack's Lunch
May. 29th, 2007 05:54 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
more_flexibleJack followed Cameron to the table in the corner, his tray heaped with a steak, french fries, two bags of corn chips, chocolate milk, chocolate cake, and chocolate cookies. She looked at his diet, then at his frame, and shook her head.
“I wish I could eat like that,” she laughed.
“Me too,” Jack replied, digging in. “I mean, in LA you get stared at for enjoying red meat and fried things,” he chuckled.
“And in your line of work, looks are everything,” she said, picking at her salad. She tried to be subtle about looking him over, but Jack noticed.
“In my line of work?”
“Plastic surgery,” she shrugged. “How did you get into that?” she asked hesitantly.
Jack was good at the cons he ran because he stuck with just enough of what he knew well to make everything else sound reasonable. “I didn't start out making people pretty. That's just where the money is. I was in the army. Captain, then. I worked at Walter Reed doing reconstruction of soldiers.” Sure. That sounded right.
Cameron looked suitably impressed, her eyes soft and wide and it was clear just how touched she was. “That's amazing. I hadn't thought...”
Jack looked at her looking at him and decided to cut that off right there. No reason, even if this wasn't real, to tempt fate and have her make good on House's warning. “But there's no money in soldiers, so when my service was up, I went west, opened a private practice, and live very comfortably making ugly people beautiful,” he explained, then leaned forward. “You could come on out. I'd cut you a deal and you could be pretty, too,” he said, waggling his brows.
The wide eyes stayed, but she went from touched to horrified in record time. “I...I'm...”
“Right, of course. I'm sorry, you're probably just fine with the way you look,” he smiled.
Cameron didn't quite know what to say. House was the only one who was that big of a jerk, and he didn't mean it. Not really. It just figured that if he did have a friend, he'd be cut from the same cloth.
“So...how do you know House?” she asked after a minute, resolved to be nice, even in the face of adversity.
“Grew up together,” Jack replied, stuffing fries into his mouth and washing them down with milk. Honest to God cow's milk, pasteurized, homogenized, full of bovine hormones and cocoa. “He and my brother were good friends on the base. Our dad's got stationed together a few times, so I've known him for...well, a long time. We only reconnected at a conference last year. I hadn't seen or heard from him in a while, but we got to talking, had a few drinks...you know how it is. He's a hell of a guy,” he laughed.
Cameron could only blink at him. House? A hell of a guy? “Dr. Harkness...”
“Call me Jack.”
“Jack...I'm not sure we know the same man. You are talking about House, right? He's a brilliant doctor but...” she trailed off. She might be naïve, but she saw his flaws. They just didn't scare her.
“I'm talking about Greg. I'm sure you don't know him the way I know him; that's okay. You never will. Some things we keep between us guys,” he smiled.
Flustered or not, Cameron was growing less and less interested in this man. He was undeniably handsome, but the way he acted...he was just like House without the genius to back it up. He was superficial. Boorish. He was...
“So tell me about yourself, Allison,” he purred, interrupting her thought process. “I've heard a little about you, but you seem like so much more than he said.”
And suddenly...he was attractive again. That voice and those eyes, he was really something else.
“Well, I...” she began, but Jack wasn't paying attention to her at all. Cuddy had walked in and he tracked her as she made her way across the room. He could tell Cameron was still talking, caught how she'd ducked her chin and was telling her story to her salad, but his attention was focused on the woman he knew in an entirely different capacity.
“...And then I interviewed for the position with House, and I've been here ever since,” she finished, looking up.
Jack was still staring at the dean, but whipped back around and nodded. “That's fascinating. And now that you're here, do you think you're learning anything other than how to take abuse?” he chuckled, starting in on his steak. It was shit, but it was beef, and that alone made it the best thing he'd had since this morning's omelette.
“I've learned so much under House...”
That statement got cut off abruptly as Jack started to laugh, but choked. The idea of her learning anythingunder House lead him down a path he really didn't need to be going.
“Are you all right? Dr. Harkness?”
“Fine,” he replied. “I'm fine. Just swallowed wrong,” he said, holding up his hand.
“Really?”
“Yeah. Fine. Just the idea of you under House. He's told me things, you know. And I can tell you like him. You like him, right?”
“This isn't junior high,” she scowled.
“You like him. He's a dynamo in the sack, you know. I'd really suggest you get him into bed at least once. I've heard he does things with his cane that are illegal in most of the states.. Unless you have already?” he asked, looking up, more than comfortable talking about sex like this, in public, with a complete stranger. “You haven't, you know,” he kept on, making a crude gesture with his hands.
“No!” Cameron replied, shocked beyond belief.
“I won't bother to ask about Chase or Foreman. I've heard how they are,” he continued, smiling lewdly. God, he was laying it on thick. She couldn't possibly believe he was actually like this.
But she did; she bought it completely. Looking past him, she noticed Cuddy and nearly jumped at the opportunity to get away. “Oh, um, if you'll excuse me? I need to ask Dr. Cuddy something quickly,” she said, scurrying off like a frightened bunny.
Jack watched as she went directly to Cuddy, who looked over at him with a murderous glare, and sent Cameron away.
Jack enjoyed his food in peace for all of five seconds before the staccato click of heels on tile came to a stop behind him. “Dr. Harkness?” she asked, being entirely professional.
“Dr. Cuddy,” he replied, wiping his mouth and rising, turning to face her.
“Dr Cameron apologizes, but she had an emergency she had to attend to,” she said.
“Of course. It happens,” he smiled, looking into her eyes. She looked different. Hard. Closed. Not a glimmer of recognition. “Thank you for letting me know.”
“Certainly,” she said tersely, turning and walking away without so much as a goodbye. Jack watched her go, admiring her legs and her ass. If nothing else, Princeton-Plainsboro had great scenery.
Jack sat back down and enjoyed the rest of his lunch, watching the people come and go. People who were healthy, people who were ill. Doctors and staff and visitors...hundreds of faces in the course of an hour, none of which he knew. None who knew him. That was when he realized just how much he'd changed.
He couldn't wait to get back to the people he knew...beginning with Greg.
“I wish I could eat like that,” she laughed.
“Me too,” Jack replied, digging in. “I mean, in LA you get stared at for enjoying red meat and fried things,” he chuckled.
“And in your line of work, looks are everything,” she said, picking at her salad. She tried to be subtle about looking him over, but Jack noticed.
“In my line of work?”
“Plastic surgery,” she shrugged. “How did you get into that?” she asked hesitantly.
Jack was good at the cons he ran because he stuck with just enough of what he knew well to make everything else sound reasonable. “I didn't start out making people pretty. That's just where the money is. I was in the army. Captain, then. I worked at Walter Reed doing reconstruction of soldiers.” Sure. That sounded right.
Cameron looked suitably impressed, her eyes soft and wide and it was clear just how touched she was. “That's amazing. I hadn't thought...”
Jack looked at her looking at him and decided to cut that off right there. No reason, even if this wasn't real, to tempt fate and have her make good on House's warning. “But there's no money in soldiers, so when my service was up, I went west, opened a private practice, and live very comfortably making ugly people beautiful,” he explained, then leaned forward. “You could come on out. I'd cut you a deal and you could be pretty, too,” he said, waggling his brows.
The wide eyes stayed, but she went from touched to horrified in record time. “I...I'm...”
“Right, of course. I'm sorry, you're probably just fine with the way you look,” he smiled.
Cameron didn't quite know what to say. House was the only one who was that big of a jerk, and he didn't mean it. Not really. It just figured that if he did have a friend, he'd be cut from the same cloth.
“So...how do you know House?” she asked after a minute, resolved to be nice, even in the face of adversity.
“Grew up together,” Jack replied, stuffing fries into his mouth and washing them down with milk. Honest to God cow's milk, pasteurized, homogenized, full of bovine hormones and cocoa. “He and my brother were good friends on the base. Our dad's got stationed together a few times, so I've known him for...well, a long time. We only reconnected at a conference last year. I hadn't seen or heard from him in a while, but we got to talking, had a few drinks...you know how it is. He's a hell of a guy,” he laughed.
Cameron could only blink at him. House? A hell of a guy? “Dr. Harkness...”
“Call me Jack.”
“Jack...I'm not sure we know the same man. You are talking about House, right? He's a brilliant doctor but...” she trailed off. She might be naïve, but she saw his flaws. They just didn't scare her.
“I'm talking about Greg. I'm sure you don't know him the way I know him; that's okay. You never will. Some things we keep between us guys,” he smiled.
Flustered or not, Cameron was growing less and less interested in this man. He was undeniably handsome, but the way he acted...he was just like House without the genius to back it up. He was superficial. Boorish. He was...
“So tell me about yourself, Allison,” he purred, interrupting her thought process. “I've heard a little about you, but you seem like so much more than he said.”
And suddenly...he was attractive again. That voice and those eyes, he was really something else.
“Well, I...” she began, but Jack wasn't paying attention to her at all. Cuddy had walked in and he tracked her as she made her way across the room. He could tell Cameron was still talking, caught how she'd ducked her chin and was telling her story to her salad, but his attention was focused on the woman he knew in an entirely different capacity.
“...And then I interviewed for the position with House, and I've been here ever since,” she finished, looking up.
Jack was still staring at the dean, but whipped back around and nodded. “That's fascinating. And now that you're here, do you think you're learning anything other than how to take abuse?” he chuckled, starting in on his steak. It was shit, but it was beef, and that alone made it the best thing he'd had since this morning's omelette.
“I've learned so much under House...”
That statement got cut off abruptly as Jack started to laugh, but choked. The idea of her learning anythingunder House lead him down a path he really didn't need to be going.
“Are you all right? Dr. Harkness?”
“Fine,” he replied. “I'm fine. Just swallowed wrong,” he said, holding up his hand.
“Really?”
“Yeah. Fine. Just the idea of you under House. He's told me things, you know. And I can tell you like him. You like him, right?”
“This isn't junior high,” she scowled.
“You like him. He's a dynamo in the sack, you know. I'd really suggest you get him into bed at least once. I've heard he does things with his cane that are illegal in most of the states.. Unless you have already?” he asked, looking up, more than comfortable talking about sex like this, in public, with a complete stranger. “You haven't, you know,” he kept on, making a crude gesture with his hands.
“No!” Cameron replied, shocked beyond belief.
“I won't bother to ask about Chase or Foreman. I've heard how they are,” he continued, smiling lewdly. God, he was laying it on thick. She couldn't possibly believe he was actually like this.
But she did; she bought it completely. Looking past him, she noticed Cuddy and nearly jumped at the opportunity to get away. “Oh, um, if you'll excuse me? I need to ask Dr. Cuddy something quickly,” she said, scurrying off like a frightened bunny.
Jack watched as she went directly to Cuddy, who looked over at him with a murderous glare, and sent Cameron away.
Jack enjoyed his food in peace for all of five seconds before the staccato click of heels on tile came to a stop behind him. “Dr. Harkness?” she asked, being entirely professional.
“Dr. Cuddy,” he replied, wiping his mouth and rising, turning to face her.
“Dr Cameron apologizes, but she had an emergency she had to attend to,” she said.
“Of course. It happens,” he smiled, looking into her eyes. She looked different. Hard. Closed. Not a glimmer of recognition. “Thank you for letting me know.”
“Certainly,” she said tersely, turning and walking away without so much as a goodbye. Jack watched her go, admiring her legs and her ass. If nothing else, Princeton-Plainsboro had great scenery.
Jack sat back down and enjoyed the rest of his lunch, watching the people come and go. People who were healthy, people who were ill. Doctors and staff and visitors...hundreds of faces in the course of an hour, none of which he knew. None who knew him. That was when he realized just how much he'd changed.
He couldn't wait to get back to the people he knew...beginning with Greg.
