The flight went smoothly, there was never even a hint of turbulence during the nearly four and a half hours, whiyone would appreciate while being in a pressurized tube at over thirty thousa altitude.
Over the skies of Boston, just minutes before nding, I could see almost everything was covered in snow.
After nding, ihe airport, trying to retain as much body heat as possible ihick jacket mom had unpacked from one of the PJ boxes, befoing to retrieve my luggage from the veyor belts, I found a payphone which I used to call home.
"Hello?" oher end of the line, Gabe's voice sounded disied.
"Shorty, it's PJ," feeling increasingly cold ihe airport terminal, I said to my brother on the phone.
"PJ?" Gabe asked incredulously, "I thought you were on a pne," still surprised, Gabe said, " you make calls from the pne? cool," the kid affirmed, not giviime to respond.
"No, Gabe—" I was saying, but the kid interrupted me again, "wait, are you in the sky right now? you touch the clouds?" suddenly ied, I could even imagihe kid pletely fog on the phone pressed against his face.
"Yeah sure," I replied amused, "they're extremely cold," I tinued.
"Incredible," Gabe slowly affirmed, "hey!" he excimed a moment ter, making me have to move the phone away from my ear.
"PJ?" whom I reized as Teddy spoke a moment ter.
"No, this is Ryan McCarthy," I jokingly exaggerated my voi response.
"Not funny," Teddy said seriously, "you have t gifts from Boston," she tinued, while I could hear movement and Gabe talking annoyed in the background.
"Sure, what do you prefer, a mag or a key?" jokingly, I asked, tug my free hand into one of the jacket pockets.
"I prefer something nice, clothes and shoes," my sister responded curtly.
"Don't they sell clothes and shoes at home?" I asked intrigued.
"You're in Boston, a capital city, we live in Medford," Teddy responded with irony as if it were pletely obvious, there were more than enough high-quality clothing stores in the Medford mall, what could possibly be wrong with those stores?
"Okay, Teddy Bear," deg not to dwell oopic more than necessary, I agreed, "some clothes and shoes, I don't promise much, mom filled my suitcase and I don't know if I add more stuff," I tinued.
"Thanks PJ," excitedly Teddy said, "I want gifts too," Teddy apparently hahe phone back to Gabe who immediately excimed.
"Okay, then more clothes and shoes," I immediately affirmed, hearing a sigh from Gabe oher end of the line.
"No, not clothes or shoes, I want something cool," apparently not really knowing for himself what he wanted, Gabe said.
"Something cool," I repeated slowly as if taking note, "got it, don't you also want something amazing?" I asked sarcastically, suddenly hearing the payphone making warning sounds indig the end of the call, "Gabe, I have to go, let mom and dad know I've arrived in Boston, I'll call again when I have more ge," I quickly said, managing to hear a firmation from the kid before the call ended.
With the call ended, along with other people I reized from the pne, I waited a few minutes for my suitcase to appear on the veyor belt before walking to the termi.
Walking among a bunch of people who also arrived from other flights, dragging my suitcase with me, I reached where families and friends of people eagerly awaited their loved ohe pce was too close to one of the airport's exit doors causing the cold to increase expoially.
Among a small group of people holding signs, an older man, whom I reized from photographs, had a sign with my name written on it.
"Doctor Thomas," approag the man trying to maintain a friendly smile despite the extreme cold I felt at the moment, I said.
"You really are a teenager," the doctor said, ughing cheerfully with excitement as he quickly moved his sign aside a handshake, "I still had doubts if it was all aravagant joke frory," shaking my hand with surprising vigor for a man of his age, the doctor tinued.
"Yeah, that could be the idea of a joke from Doctor House," uanding the older doctor, I said pletely agreeing with him, "but I assure you the st time I checked I'm pletely real," I tinued, "by the way, gratutions are in order, doctor," I added.
"Oh, thank you very much," patting my shoulder, the man said.
Apparently, I was doing a poor job of pretending the cold I was feeling.
"You're freezing, there are some shops here, you'd better buy gloves and thermal clothes, we're at twenty degrees," putting his hand on my shoulder, the duided me towards the shops ihe airport.
"How was your flight?" the older man asked, starting a trivial versation as we visited the shops.
After buying some extra warm clothes along with a pair of gloves, I also entered a ve store where they had suits on dispy, choosing without much thought a suitable bck suit for my new size, I was ready to leave the airport.
"Do you have everything you need?" sitting on one of the be the airport, Doctor Thomas asked, smiling cheerfully.
"I do, doctor, thank you," I replied, showing the couple of shopping bags I was carring.
"Had I known you needed a suit, I would have taken you to my tailor, although it possibly wouldn't have been ready for tomorrow's party," the doctor Thomas said, looking strangely at the store where I had bought my suit moments ago.
"Is there any problem with the suit I chose?" I asked, not having much idea about formality or fashion, I might have chosen something inappropriate.
"Oh no, not at all, it's just that Michael has a great eye for everything, he would have tailored a suit for you," standing up from the bench, the doctor said with a calm smile, "if you have everything you need, it's better that we get going, Dottie was incredibly excited to meet you, my teenage friend," patting my shoulder, the older man said as he walked to one of the airport exits.
"This way," walking to a bck car that remained running, the doctor said, guidihis is Frank, Frank PJ Dun, the amazing teenager I told you about," Doctor Thomas introduced a man who came out from the passenger side surprisingly dressed formally with white gloves and a bck cap, who walked towards us.
"Frank Miller, it's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Dun, allow me," giving a small and almost imperceptible bow, Frank introduced himself, taking the suitcase from my hand and walking to the back of the car to put it irunk.
"Frank has been my driver for just over fifteen years," Doctor Thomas expined, smiling amused, possibly seeing my surprised look.
"This Christmas will be sixteen years, doctor," returning to the side of the car, Frank said, l his head slightly before opening the back door.
"That's right, my old friend, that's right," nodding, Doctor Thomas said ughing befesturing for me to go ahead.
After getting in aling oher side of the back seat, Doctor Thomas entered behind me, getting fortable before Frank closed the door for him.
"Home, doctor?" upoering the car and fastening his seatbelt, Frank asked.
"Home, my friend," the doctor said calmly.
The journey, apart from the instrumental cssical music pying on the car speakers, was surprisingly silent. Frank had a great ability to drive smoothly, always keeping his back straight with both hands on the wheel making strangely formal movements for everything he did.
Several mier, we arrived at a neighborhood that, from the looks of the houses and parked cars outside, scale.
"We're about to arrive, I know you're possibly tired of sitting all day, but I'm sorry, you'll have to stay like this for a few more minutes, my young friend, we're just going to pick up Dottie and then we'll go out to dinner," the doctor apologized kindly as we passed several luxurious houses.
"Don't worry about it, doctor," I quickly replied, usually at this time, I would still be in the skills b or helping House during his ic hours, when there wasn't a case.
"I won't be long, and Alfred will take care of ygage," with a friendly smile, Doctor Thomas said before his door ened by another older man who seemed like a butler, allowing the doctor to exit the car.
"Alfred," when the car door was closed again, I said unsciously amused. Among the many ics that Gabe had read and told me about, there was this butler who worked for one of the superheroes.
"Ed, Doctor Thomas's you son, also found the the name Alfred with the ic character funny, in fact, I think he found it much more amusing to bother the man with that fact," amused, Frank in the driver's seat said, apparently hearing my amusement.
"Does Doctor Thomas have children?" I asked ied.
"Oh yes, three much older than you," calmly the driver said.
"So, I assume 'Dottie' is Mrs. Thomas?" abs the previous information, I asked again, I knew Dorothy Thomas, the mother of the bone marronts.
"You assume correctly," Frank replied, nodding slightly.
Before I could tih any other questions or versation, the door opposite to me ened again followed by an older woman ed up and carrying a big smile, "look at you, you really are as young as your letters say," getting into the car, the woman said as she made her way into a spaside the car followed by her husband.
When the car door was closed again, the car began to move out of the driveway.
"Mrs. Thomas, pleased to meet you," a little unfortable with the older woman's proximity ihe car, I greeted.
"Oh PJ dear, drop the 'Mrs.,' I know I'm an old dy, please call me Dottie," the woman said kindly, smiling, "I know all about you, at least what little your letters and Gregory's say," she tinued, making a plicated expression when she spoke about Doctor House.
"Well, besides ye, where you live and your extensive knowledge of medie, we really don't know much about you," amused, Doctor Thomas said oher side of his wife.
"But that's what dinner is for, we have to fix that. I hope you like Italian food, darling," decisively said Dottie, patting my hand kindly.
"Oh, of course I do," I said, but besides pizza and homemade pasta, I had ried Italian food.
"Perfect, then tell me about yourself, PJ. Besides being one of the brightest young minds in medie I've had the pleasure of meeting, what other is do you have?" pletely fog her attention ohe woman asked.
"You see, Frank, that's why I didn't ask any questions on the way home," the doctor Thomas said, ughing joyfully and lightly tapping Frank's seat, who again, in a formal manner, sighed slightly.
During the ride to the restaurant, Mrs. Thomas, Dottie, guided a versation about my life, leaving out medie, fog mainly on school and my other extracurricur activities.
In my past life, and even in this one, I hadn't met any of my grandparents, but I would like to think that if I had met them, and when I do, they'll be like this.
"That sounds so dangerous, martial arts," scoffing at the idea, Dottie said, shaking her head.
"Don't listen to her, PJ. A man has to know how to defend himself. In my time in the army, I was a boxing champion," putting his hands up in a guard position, Doctor Thomas said, smiling ingly.
"Look what you did, PJ," lightly hitting her husband's shoulder, Dottie said, amused, "you've just awakehis old man's delusions."
"I was a boxing champion," offended, Doctor Thomas, looking at his wife, said.
"Yes, yes, and I was Miss Texas," sarcastically, Dottie said, shaking her head with a smile on her face.
"I 't imagine a world where that's a lie," taking his wife's hand, Doctor Thomas said affeately, abruptly cutting off Dottie's mog expression.
"Oh, Don, you're embarrassing me in front of Frank and PJ," waving her free hand in front of her face, Dottie said, smiling widely.
Seeing the streets of Boston through my window, feeling somewhat unfortable trying to give spad privacy to the elderly couple sharing the back seat with me, I noticed how the car progressively slowed down until it parked o a curb.
"We've arrived," taking them out of the bubble in which the elderly couple was, Frank said calmly.
"Ah, Rosso's, they have the best Risotto this side of the p, PJ, you'll see," Doctor Thomas said before stepping out through the door that Frank had previously opened.
The restaurant looked much more luxurious than anything I had ever stepped into before. At the entrance of the pce, a wall filled with witles greeted you along with aremely well-dressed woman smiling kindly.
Seeing the other people ihe restaurant and how Doctor Thomas and Dottie were dressed, I felt somewhat out of pce with my thick jacket and pin shirt underh it.
"For the Thomas family, table for three," approag the woman, Doctor Thomas said kindly.
"This way, doa'am," nodding slightly and taking three of what seemed to be menus from their small foyer, the woman said, guiding us into the restaurant.
If only the foyer seemed luxurious, the restaurant itself seemed like what could be the White House or something of simir importahe floor was so shiny that I worried about dirtying it with my shoes, even though I khey weren't nearly dirty enough to leave prints.
With incredible paintings on the ceiling apanied by deliers and decorations along the walls, the woman led us to a table where other staff members were waiting. "Allow me," one of them approached me, raising his hand, it took me a few seds and seeing Doctor Thomas hand over his jacket to uand what the man was asking for.
After handing over my thick jacket and being helped to sit down, I tio look around the pce, surprised.
"Reading your work, I'm sure you'll get used to all of this at some point," kindly, Dottie said, smiling slightly.
"It's just that everything looks so..." a bit embarrassed to show my surprise, I was saying, discreetly gesturing towards the pce.
"Luxurious," Dottie finished.
"Yes, luxurious," I said, still looking around evees and cloth napkins oable exuded a kind of luxury difficult to describe.
"Don, my friend," an Italian man dressed as a chef came to the table, opening his hands and speaking loudly with a hint of at in his voice.
"Alessandro," standing up, Doctor Thomas said, matg the excitement of the other man as they gave each other a fraternal hug, and the Italian man kissed both sides of Doctor Thomas's face.
"The beautiful Dottie too," approag Mrs. Thomas, Alessandro said, taking the woman's hand before bending down slightly to kiss the back of it, "it's always a pleasure."
"Always the ftterer," pyfully hitting the man's hand, Dottie said, ughing.
"And who might this handsome young man here be?" fog his attention ohe man asked.
"This is PJ Dun, a colleague," pointing at me with his open palm, Doctor Thomas said, smiling broadly.
"A doctor so young?" surprised, Alessandro excimed, calling, if possible, even more attention to our table.
"I don't have any titles yet," standing up, I said, shaking the Italian man's hand.
"Well, I know nothing of that, I just have a modest restaurant in Boston," kindly, the man said, gesturing around, "but what I do know is that a friend of Don and Dottie is a friend of mine," shaking my hand and pullio a hug, the man said, imitating his as with Doctor Thomas.
Pulling away after the somewhat unfortable moment for me, Alessandro with two pats on my shoulder walked to where a waiter had arrived, "I'll leave you, you know if you need anything just call," formally folding his hands, the man said.
"Thank you, Alessandro," nodding slightly, Doctor Thomas with a smile responded, causing the restaurant owo bid farewell, greeting other people on his way to what I could see for a sed was the kit of the pce.
"Alessandro has always been a great friend of the family," Dottie expined as Doctor Thomas spoke with the waiter who stayed behind.
"Would you be ied in any wine from our celr?" formally, the waiter asked Doctor Thomas, who for a moment looked at me before chug, "I fot for a moment that you're not yet old enough to drink," he said.
"Water is perfee," I quickly said.
"And for us, your fi gss of Barolo," nodding to the waiter, Doctor Thomas said.
"Perfect, are you ready to order or do you need me to e ba a minute?" putting his hands behind his back, the waiter asked.
Doctor Thomas and Dottie took their menus, something I quickly imitated a moment ter, almost choking when I saw the priext to things I had never heard of. I had never paid more thay dolrs for a meal, on the mehings that went over a hundred dolrs.
"We're treating you, PJ, order whatever you want," kindly, Dottie said, notig my rea.
For some reason, embarrassed, I hid
my gaze within the menu. In my wallet, I had a credit card with a limit of thousands of dolrs and I had an iment at with hundreds of thousands of dolrs, which made it easy to buy some ic books without looking at the price or pay fas without worries every week, but seeing such exorbitant prices on food was something I was still not aced to.
"I'll have the Risotto," I said, leaving the menu oable without intending to look at the price for such a dish, remembering how Doctor Thomas had ree when we arrived.
"Excellent choice," jotting it down in a small notepad, the waiter said professionally.
After Doctor Thomas and Dottie gave their orders, the waiter bid farewell to the table, following the same path that his boss had previously taken towards the kit.
"So, where were we?" Dottie asked kindly, folding her hands oable.
What followed was the tinuation of the 'interrogation' by the older woman.
"So, your mom is a the hospital where Gregory has his department, that's how they met," the woman said.
"I may have overheard about a case from Doctor House and actally had a discussion with him on the subject, sihen he allowed me to e closer to his department and his team," I expined.
"Gregory says you have a special talent for diagnosing," smiled Doctor Thomas, adding, "and I see it. Since you arrived in Boston, you've looked at least for a couple of seds at every person you crossed paths with, studying them. It's like seeing Gregory in his youth again."
The fact that the doctor noticed my new acquired habit made me feel exposed for some reason.
"I've learned a lot from him," I said, ign the strange feeling, also st the information that Doctor Thomas had just given away to eventually use it against House if necessary. Having a 'special talent for diagnosing,' that was almost a pliment ing from the sarcasti.
"Yes, Gregory is possibly the best option anyone could have for learning medical diagnosis," Doctor Thomas nodded. "He's a unique genius in the field."
"As long as you don't learn his other... peculiarities," Dottie added seriously, pausing for a moment to find the perfect word.
"He's a special man, brilliant in his field, which is what I focus on learning from him," I said, uanding the implications of the woman's words, silently assuring her.
"Yes, he's a great mentor," Doctor Thomas repeated. "Speaking of mentors, have you thought about what you'll do after you graduate?" the man asked, receiving an immediate hit from his wife.
"Dinner hasn't even arrived yet, and you're already recruiting PJ for your talent hunt," Dottie excimed, exasperated.
"Oh, it's nothing bad, dear. It's just something Don does with people who catch his attention," apparently failing to hide the doubt on my face, Dottie immediately expined, "he seeks out brilliant minds," she tinued, exaggerating her words.
"You make it sound so bad. I take under my wing those whom I reize as valuable for the future. One of them was Gregory many years ago. I've always said, surround yourself with brilliant minds, and it's possible that some of it will rub off," Doctor Thomas expined calmly. "So, I was w what you were thinking of doing. Obviously, yoal is to study medie, and I am part of the admissions ittee at Harvard, and of course, I make a reendation for your admission," the dgested, tilting his head slightly suggestively.
"Although with the background that you're building, I'm sure that every medical school in the try will be fighting over you to choose them. Just with your current achievements I think it's well enough, and you won't need anything that this old man is you," Dottie said, hitting her husband's shoulder again affeately.
"It's okay, Harvard is one of my top choices, and wheime es, I would be pletely grateful for aer of reendation," I said immediately. I could remember how in my past life, I had to work so hard to get a schorship and admission to Harvard. Now, I hadn't even fihe first year of high school, and my entry was basically a sure thing, and if all went well with the iments, no one in my family would ever need a schorship again.
"You have to e to Harvard," Doctor Thomas said, immediately giving dozens of reasons why it was my best option until Dottie scolded him again, f him to stop.
Dinner arrived moments ter, and Doctor Thomas was right to say that the Risotto was delicious. It was some kind of rice with a delicious sauce of some kind and mushrooms.
"Have you thought about your specialty?" during dinner, Doctor Thomas asked. "Gregory, if I remember correctly, finished his residen pathology, but you don't have the makings of a b doctor," Doctor Thomas tinued, shaking his head.
"I'm sorry?" offended, Dottie, who herself was a hematologist, asked.
"It's something I see. The kid has the qualifications to be an excellent doctor and work with patients. He even has surgeon's hands," shamelessly, the doctor said, pointing at my hands as I held my utensils, making me aware of the way I hold them.
"'Lab doctors' have a job as important as any other," still offended, Dottie said, shaking her head.
"I never said otherwise, my love. It's just that PJ doesn't seem to me like the type to sit in a b studying a microscope all day long," ily, Doctor Thomas said. The reality was that I had spent almost a hundred hours sitting in skills bs, although certainly not looking through a microscope.
"All right, PJ choose whatever he wants to do, don't decide for him," hitting her husband's shoulder affeately again, Dottie said.
"Of course, he . I was just giving the picture that-" the doctor was saying when a shout at the table o us interrupted him, "oh my God, he's choking," a woman sitting across from a rather robust man excimed.
The man had his hands on his neck while moving his mouth rapidly without any words ing out.
Before I realized it, I was standing up, quickly moving behind the man. "I need you to stand up; I'm going to help you," I said quickly, not waiting for a rea from the man; I forcefully guided him to stand up before positioning myself to apply the Heimlich maneuver correctly, which was not easy at all due to the size of the man.
The man was, to put it kindly, robust, easily more than twice my body weight, which also didn't make it easy to keep the desperate man still enough to help him quickly.
Fortunately, I had a way to trol him at least a little. If I had arted training with Case, the a would be moally more difficult, possibly impossible, but w with Tim, who was also several times heavier than me, had somewhat aced me to this kind of thing.
After pressing a few times forcefully uhe man's diaphragm, a poorly chewed piece of food was expelled, causing the man to immediately start breathing deeply aically. "Thank you," as I separated from the man, he emphatically said between gasps, taking my hand and shaking it quickly.
"It's nothing," lightly patting the man's shoulder, I said, calming my somewhat agitated nerves, notig thanks to this, how the people in the restaurant were appuding.
Unfortable again for receiving the attention of everyone present in the restaurant, I silently thahem by raising my hand, managing to at least ease the attention on me a little before walking bay table with the Thomases.
"Definitely not pathology," still sitting in his pce with a great haughty smile, Doctor Thomas said to Dottie, who despite havitention focused oh a big smile and surprise, pyfully hit her husband's shoulder once again.
---
Author Thoughts:
As always, I'm not Ameri, not a doctor, and not a fighter.
So I read an iing reendation about how to take on the role of the Ming from the future in the faportas happening in the Uates (even in the world, I don't know), but I really don't have a deep knowledge of these kinds of things. For example, I obviously know about the 9/11 attacks, the bombing at the Boston Marathon, and the 2007-2008 housing crisis.
The truth is, I don't pn for the MC to have an active role in stopping these events altogether (there's something, but it's for the future), but it made me realize that I don't have much idea about things that happen in porary Uates history.
If you have any ideas for events that might be necessary/iing for the development of the story, I would greatly appreciate it if you left them in the ents.
With that said,
I think that's all. As always, if you find any errors, please let me know, and I'll correct them immediately.
Thank you for reading! :D
PS: PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW.
