Warning:
This story does not contain any sex.
None of the characters are based on real people nor are they meant to
resemble any living or dead people.
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Life Anew
Keep it
Professional
Chapter 11,
Part 2
Andrew needs
to consider what Cody and he discussed before leaving work today. He needs to think things through, and he sees
an opportunity to pull over and just give it time to soak into his mind. Pulling into the park's parking lot, he pauses
for a second before getting out of the car.
He heads for the swings. Cody's
words hit him as he sat down on the swings and began to think over the words.
`Guess I
blew it today. This was the first time
that Cody raised his voice to me, but I asked for it. He brought up transferring me to Doctor
Hartman's office, and I don't want to be away from him and the ladies. I can't stand the thought of it. I want him by my side and Chase in my life.'
He's
swinging and thinking at the same time.
His eyes are getting a little wet.
It hit him when he thought about being without Cody and Chase. Not a day goes by where he doesn't see Cody
and doesn't hear from Chase. There is no
way that he wants to be sent away. He
needs to figure out what he wants. Ethan
will love it if Andrew ends up being single again. Andrew finds himself thinking about his
relationship with his guy.
`He doesn't
hate me. He wants me to be me, and I
love him for that. It seems like he
could care less about professionalism.
Cody is more interested in me and my ability to work with patients,
especially younger ones. I know he loves
me, but I don't know if it's enough.'
Andrew is
having issues with being professional while dating the boss. It feels wrong to do the job and not act the
way a nurse should. Mistakes aren't
allowed. How does he get his boss to
understand how he's feeling? He wants to
speak with Cody a bit more.
***
Andrew wants
to see Cody, so he drives out to see his neighborhood, but at the last minute,
he decides not to. He made the decision
before reaching home. If a little boy had
seen his car and then noticed that he didn't stop, the boy would have been
crushed, but he can't face the boy's father now. He feels like right now, space is needed for
his boyfriend to cool down. Cody would
love for him to call or stop by, but he thinks Andrew needs to cool off as
well. It's the reason that Cody hasn't
called. Andrew would love to know what
his guy is thinking. Cody is worth
fighting for, but how does he fight himself?
How does he deal with work, and what was discussed? He'll have to see what Cody says
tomorrow. In the meantime, Cody is about
to get an earful from his mother.
***
Cody's mom
usually doesn't spread gossip, but this time it involves her son's
boyfriend. She is already concerned
about him and his relationship with her son.
This news just adds fuel to the fire.
She decides to call her son and share the information with him.
"Hi, Mom,
how are you?"
He would be
more worried if they hadn't just seen each other.
"Honest, we
need to talk about your boyfriend. You
know, I hate gossiping, but one of my friends worked with your boyfriend while
he worked up at the hospital. It seems
that he created quite the problem up there."
Cody should
tell his mom to mind her business, but now he is curious.
"So what was the problem?
I'm sure it couldn't be anything that bad."
Andrew
couldn't have messed up too terribly because he was worried about being
unprofessional.
"Well,
according to what she said, there was a teen in the hospital, and your
boyfriend was one of his nurses. The teen's
brother had a boyfriend who was flirting with your man. Your man flirted back with the guy
openly. The teen's brother didn't
complain about it, but he was spotted by another visitor and a doctor. On
multiple occasions, he was spotted taking breaks to visit with the teen's
brother's boyfriend. At one point, he
was busted for texting this guy at the hospital when he should have taken a
patient's vitals. The straw that broke
the camel's back was a report that the two men disappeared into a restroom
together."
Cody is a
little stunned. He knows about Ethan. Could the "boyfriend" that his mother is
talking about be Ethan? Why would
someone so concerned about being professional act like
this at work? It doesn't add up.
"Are you
sure it's my boyfriend that you're talking about?"
Cody asked,
wanting to be sure that his mom was talking about Andrew.
"Yes, I'm
sure. She sent me pictures of him with
Andrew."
He isn't
concerned that Andrew would cheat on him.
Should he be worried about it? He
has to address it, though, if for no other reason than to deal with it as a
potential problem at work and in their relationship.
"I'm stumped,
Mom, because he's never given me any issues at work. In fact, he's worried about being
unprofessional."
His mom needed
to bring it to his attention, and he knows that Ethan caused issues with
Andrew.
"Mom, I'm
going to let you go."
He tells her
as he ends the call without giving her a chance to say goodbye. He wants to address it.
***
Cody wastes
no time in calling Andrew. Andrew almost
didn't pick up out of fear of what Cody might say about their conversation
earlier. He gives in and answers anyway.
"Hi Cody,
how are you?"
Cody is
unsure how to answer that and still be honest and kind. If this had been a new hire, he would never hired him, but this is Andrew, the man that stole Cody's
heart.
"Well, that
depends on how you answer these questions."
Andrew
doesn't like the sound of this at all.
Cody doesn't sound happy. To his
knowledge, he hasn't done anything to warrant this mess.
"I just got
off the phone with someone concerned about your past at the hospital. Apparently, you were flirting with someone
while you were supposed to be working.
You were texting someone while you were supposed to be working. What concerns me the most is that someone
said you were in the restroom with this guy instead of while you were supposed
to be working."
If Cody
could see Andrew's face right now, he would end up holding him in his arms to
comfort him. Andrew doesn't know who
accused him of being in the restroom. If he is being honest, it never happened,
though. Will Cody even listen to him
about this issue? If he gives his end of
the story, will it do him any good?
"Look, Cody,
I admit that I flirted with Ethan. I
admit that I even texted him as I walking back from lunch. I swear to you, though, I never went into a
restroom with Ethan. I...I can't prove it,
but Ethan didn't do me any favors. I'm
pretty sure that he got me fired."
Will Cody believe
him if Andrew says he didn't do it? But Cody would like proof that nothing
happened in the restroom. Who does he
talk to about it? Only one other person
will know the truth, and that person is Ethan, but will he be honest with him.
"Look, I
don't care about the texts or the flirting.
The whole disappearing into the restroom is huge, dude. I want to call Ethan. I want to ask him about the restroom
incident."
Andrew
doesn't understand why he won't take his word for it.
"You really
don't believe me on this one?"
Honestly,
Andrew is a little angry at his boyfriend.
"Look, it's
as much of a work issue as a trust issue.
But I'm handling this as a work issue.
I understand about you not telling me about it. Do you have a number for Ethan?"
Andrew is going
to give the number to Cody. Keeping the
number from Cody would make it look like he is lying to his boyfriend. He wants to show his boyfriend that he is
willing to work with him even though he disagrees with him on the subject. He immediately texts the number to Cody.
"I will let
you go, Andrew, to get some rest. I'm
going to have a meeting with Doctor Hartman and the ladies to discuss what you
and I discussed earlier today. I'll call
you after the meeting."
Andrew feels
like he just got shoot by Cody. He
thought they agreed not to do the transfer.
Andrew needs to have faith in Cody.
It's something he is really struggling with.
"Bye,
Cody! Have a good night!"
Andrew says,
trying to avoid saying what he really wants to say.
`Maybe, it's
best to just keep my mouth shut.'
"Bye, Andrew;
I'll call you tomorrow."
Andrew ends
the call and gets ready for bed, and Cody does the same.
***
Not one
minute goes by before Andrew gets a text from Cody.
"I'm giving
you a day off tomorrow. That way, you aren't stressing about the meeting and
can kick back and relax."
Andrew was
planning on going to work, but if his boss is going to give him a day off,
he'll take it. Course, he's going to
stress about the meeting regardless of what Cody thinks he should do. Although, he may do some shopping or at least
window shopping to relax.
"You're the
boss. Going to go shopping tomorrow."
Andrew
replies to Cody's text. Then he turns
off the phone and goes to bed.
***
Cody and
Doctor Hartman have rescheduled all their appointments for today's meeting. They were not sure how long the meeting will
take. Cody needs to spend a few minutes
on the phone talking with Ethan. More
than likely, he'll call Ethan since he's the one person who would be able to
answer Cody's questions. All Cody has to
do is watch his mouth and restrain his anger; not an easy task considering who
he will talk to. He has to call
Ethan. Cody decides to go to work and
make the call from his office. Once he
reaches the clinic, he goes into his office and sits down to call Ethan. He enters the phone number and then waits for
Ethan to answer.
"Hello,
Ethan here; who is this?"
Hearing his
voice is enough to make Cody want to puke.
The call has got to happen, though.
"Hi, my name
is Doctor Cody Gaines, and I'm calling regarding Andrew Brock. I understand you knew him?"
Ethan is not
happy to have someone poking their nose in his past, but it is okay because
it's not directly about him.
"Okay, how
can I help you?"
The attitude
that is coming from this guy is horrid.
"Well, I
heard that Andrew Brock flirted with you when you were with a boyfriend, and
long story short, you started dating.
Okay, so I heard that you and Andrew walked into the restroom together,
and I need to confirm this. After all,
if he did this, he might do this at my clinic, and I can't allow that. I need to confirm this."
The phone
went quiet. Cody is hoping to hear Ethan
say something that will make him happy.
"Look, I don't know what crack someone is smoking, but that never
happened."
At this
point, Cody is curious: if it never happened, how did the rumor start?"
"So do you think it's possible that someone started the rumor
about Andrew to get back at him for something?"
This time,
Cody's question got a response from Ethan pretty quickly.
"Yeah, I
could see someone doing that."
Ethan said
with a chuckle, which told Cody all he needed to know.
"I think
that's all I need to know for now. Thank
you for your time."
Cody wanted
to add an insult to the end of the last comment. It just wouldn't be very professional, so he
didn't. He's pissed. Cody cannot believe this guy. Ethan is still striking out at Andrew. It's evident from the tone and the words that
came from his mouth that Ethan started the rumor of Andrew going into the
restroom with him. Cody has to
straighten this out.
***
Cody has to
call his mom about what he learned from his call with Ethan. He will try to convince her to speak with her
friend at the hospital so they can stop that evil rumor and maybe offer an
apology. He won't count on the
apology. He grabs his phone and calls
her.
"Hi Cody, I
didn't expect to hear from you so soon.
What is going on?"
Cody can't
have lies being told about his boyfriend.
"Mom, I need
you to listen to me carefully. You told
me about Andrew entering the restroom with another guy. I spoke with Andrew after talking with you,
and he denied it. I also spoke with the
guy; Ethan and his exact words were:
"I don't
know what crack someone is smoking, but that never happened."
So I asked
if he thought someone might have started a rumor about Andrew entering the
restroom with a guy. He told me he could
see someone doing that, and Mom, you should have heard him say it. I promise you that Ethan started the
rumor. Now I need you to call that
friend from the hospital and tell them about it."
She agrees
to speak with her friend. Maybe, it will
help with his guy's image. He just wants
his baby to be okay.
***
It's time
for the meeting with Doctor Hartman, Susan, Jenn, and Lisa. Cody joins everyone in the breakroom.
"Hi
everyone, I called this meeting to discuss what to do with Andrew. As you know, Andrew and I are in a
relationship, but this is a meeting to discuss what needs to be done about the
current situation with his struggles.
He's been awesome; I cannot complain about his job performance, but his
performance has taken a nose dive in the last week or so. He's overcompensating
when it comes to being professional.
While overdoing professionalism it's affecting our relationship. He's trying to avoid showing that he's in a
relationship with me from the eyes of the patients. As I mentioned that it's
affecting our relationship; it's also started affecting his work
performance. I want to fix this before
it does warrant firing him and losing him.
I did mention potentially transferring him over to your office, Doctor
Hartman, but he didn't want to be transferred.
How can I handle this situation?"
Cody goes
quiet and waits for everyone's input.
Doctor Hartman's first thought is, "How the hell?". He knows about the relationship and disagrees
with it; however, he thinks that this needs to be addressed.
"Doctor
Gaines, what exactly is the problem? You
hinted at him overcompensating his professionalism, but is there more to it?"
Doctor
Hartman wants an answer before he gives his thoughts on the matter.
"I'm not
sure if he's allowing work to interfere in our relationship if there are issues
with his last job. He's borderline obsessing over being professional. It's to the point that he hardly acknowledges
me unless it directly involves work.
It's to the point that even the patients have noticed that something is
going on that I can't allow. I don't
want the relationship to be an issue, but I don't want this to be an issue."
Doctor
Hartman looks at his partner. You can
clearly see that he isn't happy.
"Cody, this
nurse of yours is your boyfriend, and it's a problem that I would not want. My advice would be to find him a job in a new
clinic, but I know you won't take advice so tell him to lay aside the
professionalism and just do his job."
Cody's
business partner puts it out there.
Hopefully, Cody listens. Jennifer wants to high-five Doctor Hartman, and
Susan and Lisa agree with him too.
"It isn't
just the patients who have noticed the difference in him. I want our cutie back."
Lisa says as
she looks at Cody. Cody wishes he would have thought to record this so Andrew
could hear what everyone had to say.
"To me, it
seems like Andrew seems to be unsure of him.
Maybe I am wrong, but one thing is sure, he's not himself. Not sure, what to do, but something has to give."
Susan says
as Jennifer nods her head in agreement.
"Susan, can
you explain why you believe Andrew is not himself?"
Doctor
Hartman asks, and she looks right at him as she gathers her thoughts.
"He is
quieter, not as open. The only time he
gets a light in his eyes is when a kid; a patient needs him to be himself. It used to be that he would smile and wink at
Cody when no one was looking or confide in one of us about his hopes and dreams
regarding the relationship, but what has all stopped. It's like something or
someone is drawing him away from us?"
Cody hates
to admit that Susan is right. The problem is Andrew would deny it. He hopes Andrew isn't cheating. It is like she said; it's like happiness is
being sucked away from his soul. Maybe, he needs to address it with him.
"Hearing
this makes me wonder if it's depression.
Doctor Gaines keep an eye on him. A vacation wouldn't be a bad
idea. Sometimes, a change of location is
a good thing."
Doctor
Hartman tells Cody. Cody loves the idea
but will Andrew love it?
"I have
loved what everyone has said. I wonder
if Doctor Hartman is right. I mean, he was treated pretty badly by his ex. Then fired from his last job over something
he didn't do. Andrew is a good guy who made a bad choice. Doctor Gaines, Doctor Hartman, I don't want
to see Andrew transferred, but we need to get him back on track."
Jennifer
says to the group. Lisa and Susan agree
with Jennifer. They don't want to see their male counterpart sent to the other
office. They work well together.
"Jennifer, I
don't want to take Andrew away from you, Lisa, or Susan. I think Cody has a tough decision, and I
wouldn't want to be in his shoes."
Doctor
Hartman tells Jennifer. Cody knows his
decision already. Hopefully, Andrew will
be okay with Cody's choice regarding his employment.
"Just so
everyone knows, my final decision is to keep Andrew here with me. I will follow Doctor Hartman's advice and try
to get him to do his job and still be himself."
The ladies
are happy with Doctor Gaines's announcement.
No one wants to see the male nurse transferred. After the meeting, Cody needs to do one more
thing.
***
Andrew is at
home and has no idea that Cody is about to pull into his driveway. When Cody pulls in, he takes a second to take
a breath. There is something he wants to
tell Andrew, but it will have to wait.
He stops the car and gets out of the vehicle. As he walks up to the front door, Cody
gathers his thoughts. He knocks at the
door as words begin to form. When Andrew
answers the door, Cody smiles as he waits to be welcomed into the house.
"Wow, I
didn't expect to see you so soon. Come
inside; it's hot out there."
Andrew says
as he smiles back at the handsome man standing before him. He wants to kiss the doctor. Cody enters the house as Andrew closes the
door behind them.
"So what brings you here when you should be with the
patients? Not trying to be rude."
Andrew says
as he sits down in the living room. Cody
knows that Andrew isn't being rude.
"Andrew, I
have had a busy morning. I've spoken
with your ex, had that meeting with Hartman and the ladies, and now I've
cleared my day to see you."
Andrew
doesn't know if he wants to hear what was discussed at the meeting, but on the
other hand, he's curious.
"I guess you
can start with Ethan; what did he say?"
Cody smiles
as he looks at his boyfriend. Hopefully,
he'll smile at the revelation given by Ethan.
"Well, I
asked him about you and him going into the restroom together. First, he said that it never happened. I also asked if he thought someone might have
started that rumor. His answer left me
with the impression that he started the rumor."
Andrew's
face says it all. He's mad but relieved
at the same time. Andrew cannot believe
that the man spoke the truth.
"Ethan said
it didn't happen, but he didn't say that he made up the rumor, just said that
someone might have started it. To me,
that's as good as him saying that he did it."
The guys
chuckled at Cody's choice of words. Now,
how will Andrew react to the news about the meeting? Cody is going, to be honest with him.
"Let me tell
you what went down at the meeting. The consensus
of this little brainstorming event is that you are too focused on being
professional. Doctor Hartman clearly
stated that he isn't accepting your transfer, so you're stuck with me. I also will not accept your transfer or your
resignation. I want you to just be
yourself."
Andrew looks
at Cody with a tear in his eyes.
`He wants
me even though I messed up at the hospital.'
Cody isn't
about to throw this guy away. He wants
to wrap his arms around him.
"Hey, what
are those tears about?"
Cody says as
he wipes a tear away. A smile breaks out
on Andrew's face.
"I thought
you were going to send me to Doctor Hartman's office. I know you said that you were not going to
transfer me. I-I just want to be there;
to be here."
Cody
immediately hugs his boyfriend. Right
there, he promises to never let go of the man; he's embracing. Maybe, Andrew needs to hear it.
"Babe, look
at me for a second."
Andrew's
attention is on Cody.
"I am never
going away, and I will never let go unless that is what you want."
Andrew wants
to kiss Cody, but he wants to just feel Cody's arms around him. Cody and Andrew break their hug. They know that they love each other. As Andrew sits there, he realizes that Ethan
did him an incredible favor when he told Cody that he didn't go into the
restroom with him. He needs to text that
guy.
***
Andrew grabs
his cell phone while Cody is sitting on the couch. Andrew goes to text the guy who made his life
hell. Their relationship was good, but
it was doomed from the start.
"Ethan, I
never meant to text you again, but I have to thank you for telling Doctor
Gaines that we didn't go into that restroom together. Thank you!"
He knows that he owed Ethan "Thank you!" but didn't
want to message him. Still, it's better
than calling him. He doesn't want to
hear his voice. Ethan never responds to
the text, which doesn't surprise Andrew or Cody. The guy is an idiot.
***
Andrew isn't
sure what to do, what is best for them, and the patients. He just isn't sure how to be professional and
not be professional simultaneously. He
asks his sweetheart how to go about being professional without overdoing it.
"You know
what, I don't have a good answer for you; however, being you and giving the
patients your true self will go a long way; be caring and be empathic. Once the patients are gone, I want you to be
your true self. I want you to smile at
me, I want you to wink at me, and I want to have lunch together. Do you hear
me?"
He isn't
sure if Andrew gets it, but he hopes he'll improve on the issues. He'll be on a journey, that is for sure;
however, Cody will be there every step of the way.
***
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