“Yeah, um, Carmine, this is for you, um, are you seeing anyone these days?” came a squeaky sounding female voice. There was a bunch of giggling in the background.
Carmine smiled. “Nah, I play the field, sweetheart. I’m always up for new experiences, why don’t you come out and see the play, maybe we’ll meet up.” There were squeals in the background. “Kidding, kidding, but seriously, come see the play. It will be an amazing production!”
The girls squealed again and hung up the phone. Charles snickered, pressing another button. “Next caller.”
“Question for the doctor. What do you do in your free time, it sounds like you do an awful lot of work and school?” came a younger sounding male voice.
Kieran paused a minute. “I...I like to read...mostly medical journals,” he explained, sitting back to indicate he was done to the host.
“Ah, okay, next caller?” Charles said, arching a brow at Carmine. “Next? No one...” he muttered. “Try this again, next caller, you’re on!”
The questions went on for a while, mostly for Carmine, for which Kieran was thankful. Then there was another one for him. “Caller, last one for the day, what’s your question?” Charles requested cheerfully.
“Um, so, this is for the doctor, um, you said you’re twenty-five, right? And I was wondering if you had a wife or anything yet?” came a female voice Kieran couldn’t guess the age of.
Kieran swallowed. “Um, no, I do not really date at all,” he stammered and leaned back.
“Do you like men or women?” she came back with before Charles could click her off the channel.
“I...I...never thought about it.” He spoke in a rush and Charles cut the call.
“Alright, that’s all the time we have for today! Thank you for listening, and tune in next time because you never know who will appear on this show!” Charles said, going on to give a mini weather report and local news headlines.
Kieran concentrated on his stress ball, holding it between his leg and the arm of the chair and squeezing it hard, trying to keep a neutral face. While Charles was talking, Carmine pulled off his headphones and turned to Kieran who had already taken his off.
“Heya, Kieran was it?” Carmine whispered.
“Uh-huh,” Kieran muttered, glancing up at him then back down to the table.
“What’s up? Dontcha like me?” he responded, frowning a bit.
Kieran looked up, confused a bit by the question. “I cannot like you nor dislike you as I do not know you.”
“Huh, that was a new one. Well, what do think of me so far anyway?” he returned, leaning toward him, a strange glint in his eye.
“You are forward, brash, and quite full of yourself. That would be my assessment at this point,” Kieran stated, feeling his nails dig into the foam ball.
Carmine leaned back. “Well, you don’t beat around the bush.”
Kieran frowned. “Bush?” he said looking confused for a moment. “Oh,” he remarked, remembering it was a metaphor. “Metaphorical bush.”
Carmine’s brows crinkled but he looked up as Charles put down his headphones. “Alright, guys, light’s off, you can go out now. Thanks for coming to do this. Helps a lot,” he told them.
Kieran leaped to his feet, ready to dash out when he felt something encircle his bicep. He startled, turning to stare at the offending appendage, following it up to the smirking actor. Kieran froze in place, unsure what to do about the hand on his arm. It was all he could concentrate on; the stress ball was starting to burst at the seams from the pressure. Carmine made a face and let go of his arm, shoving his hands into his tight jean pockets quickly and looked away for a second before turning back.
“Hey, you wanna go for a coffee, doc?” he asked with a placid smile on his face. “I mean, I know you said you didn’t date and all, but just coffee, right?”
For a moment, Kieran stared at him. He asked him out. He had never been asked out by someone. He never thought it would be something he had happen. Especially after he shut him down several times and insulted him. He swallowed and started to tell him he thought it would be nice to go out for coffee after all. Just then, Thomas came up to the door and grabbed Kieran’s other arm and tugged him out of the room, almost making him trip. He had not noticed the door even opening. Kieran grabbed onto Thomas to steady himself, feeling his balance try to give way.
“Come on, you have rounds tonight, remember?” he ordered, sending a frown in Carmine’s direction.
Kieran, though, felt annoyed as he was ushered out the door, turning to glance back at the actor. Thomas did not even let him answer. What if he wanted to go for coffee with him? Thomas assumed he wouldn’t want to go with him. It was not like he had ever shown interest in going out with someone before, but it would have been nice to make his own decision.
The way people were making his decisions for him was beginning to get on his nerves. First, the way Mary did this all the time, and now Thomas was doing it. They were both assuming what he could and couldn’t handle. He much rather would have gone back in and accepted Carmine’s offer.
Charles followed Carmine out as the two doctors left the studio. Carmine watched them go, hesitating a bit at the doorway, debating trying to follow.
“Man, the fuck dude, that boy is smokin’,” he said. “You sure that shit’s legal, cuz man, he don’t look no older than fuckin’ sixteen...”
Charles snickered. “Nope, twenty-five. And he is the most stressed out person I’ve ever done an interview with.”
“Oh yeah?” Carmine looked at him with a cocked eyebrow.
“Man, think about it. The boy has gone through like thirty years of school in like ten. Can you imagine how much of a childhood he didn’t have? And he never got to be a teenager from what his file read. Pretty much straight into college and then to medical school, never stopping to do any normal things. Top of that he’s got his thing, the autism stuff. I didn’t go into the problems with his gross motor coordination...” Charles informed him, glancing over his notes.
“Gross motor? The fuck dude, speak English.”
Charles sighed. “He didn’t like walk until he was two, and still goes to therapy, it seems. But he was so nervous about bringing up his autism shit, I didn’t even go there. I heard he was brutally honest, but man, he pegged you right on...” Charles shrugged, breaking into giggles again.
Carmine rolled his eyes. “Yeah, well, he knew me for like fuckin’ half an hour, most of which I wasn’t talkin’ to him.” He paused. “I thought he was going to go to coffee with me for a sec, but the other guy dragged him off before he could say anything.” Carmine stopped to think about it. If the kid was twenty-five, why was the other guy manhandling him like he was twelve? “You heading to Strawberry’s tonight?”
“Oh, you still cruising for a partner? I thought you and the little gal with the dark hair were gonna go for it.”
Carmine shook his head. “Nah, she’s collared already. ‘Sides, I think I’m done with chicks for a while. But no matter, I’d rather have something more fresh...” He looked back to where the doctor had gone.
“Seriously? The boy is oblivious! I doubt he’s ever jacked himself off, let alone let someone like you...well, do what you want to do!” Charles exclaimed with a grin and a shake of his head. “He’s probably never heard the term analingus, let alone knows what it means.”
Carmine grinned. “Ah well, you know me, always got my eye on the hard to get ones. You get your girl to agree to go down there? She finally gonna play our games?”
“Finally! Took forever to get her into it, but no 24/7 for her, she ain’t really that kind of girl. At least, not yet. But damn won’t she look good in the outfit I got for her.” He paused and looked thoughtful for a moment. “Well, she won’t wear it yet, but I bet she will. I hope. She said she’d try it, but only if I kept it light. So, she’s coming, but she ain’t into the public displays like the others. Clair is too sweet, though. Well, I mean, she says she’s not going to be into public stuff
for now. I can sense she’s intrigued though, so we’ll see. I get the feeling she might be naughty underneath the sweet exterior.”
Carmine cocked an eyebrow. “Only you would go out and find a woman who isn’t into the lifestyle and try to turn her into your own Domme. I still can’t believe you. Man, I offered—”
Charles shook his head again. “Nah, man, I want a woman. And you sure as hell don’t look like one.”
“Hey, what’s her brother think? I mean, if she gets into it, I mean.” He kind of wondered how Clair’s large, very imposing looking brother might react to the bondage kink.
“Ask him, he’s coming with her tonight. He was reluctant until I told him I was the submissive one,” Charles snorted.
Carmine smiled. “You think the hot blond I saw last few weekends will be there tonight?” he asked him.
“Loki?” Charles asked. “He’ll be there, he’s there every night, but I’m not sure if you’ll get to Dom him again. Remember, he’s a switch, he might be in a Domme mode. He’s interesting. Most the time he’s a dude, but then when he Dommes he turns into a chick, like voice, walk, everything. First time I’ve met a switch who switched roles and switched genders...” he frowned. “If I went for cock at all, I’d take her on...”
“Man, I don’t care, if she’s Domme tonight, I’ll watch. Goddamn he’s got a nice ass, and I ain’t got to go down on it yet,” he smirked. “Though, I’d rather go down on a cute doctor right now, fuck.”
Charles shook his head. “Yeah, you’ll never touch the doctor, so keep dreaming.”
Carmine snickered. “I love a fuckin’ challenge. I bet you dinner I can get him to go out on a date with me. He was gonna go before that old ass took him away...”
“Dinner?” Charles thought out loud. “Make your ma’s cooking, and you got a deal. Work out the details after you lose. There is no way you’ll even see him again, let alone get a date.”
“Like hell, bastard,” Carmine chided as they headed out together.
“THOMAS,” KIERAN WHINED. “The experience was horrible! Please tell me I do not have to do another interview!”
Thomas rolled his eyes a bit but kept them on the road as he drove. “You did great! And the only other interviews I have scheduled is a private interview on camera and one with a magazine. After that, I don’t have any others on the slate for now. Now, what was so horrible about this one?”
“He deviated from the script!”
“Kieran, we’ve talked about this. You’ve got to get over wanting to control everything around you. Sometimes you just can’t,” he sighed.
“Sometimes I am so tired of it,” Kieran explained, his head thumping against the cool window of the car. Thomas looked over at him, frowning. “I feel like I am wound up all the time, you know. It feels like I am going to just explode. I swear, I need another surgery to get my mind straight.”
Thomas nodded, wondering what would help him. He couldn’t have him losing it right now. They were in a delicate position. If he went off on one of his episodes, he would lose all the opportunities he had laid out over the next four months. Kieran was his shining star, after all.
Kieran was his proof of how successful a child with autism could become, provided the right therapy. ABA worked wonders for Kieran, so of course it would work for all the other kids out there. These days, with all the pushback against ABA, Thomas was finding it harder and harder to keep parents engaged with his services. As a founding member of the Channings School for Autism, and a current board member, he’d seen their enrollment drop drastically with these adults claiming they’d been harmed by ABA. Obviously, they were lying. Still, he’d already had to dismiss two interns because of all these people who claimed ABA was abusive. How ridiculous. He turned a child from useless to one of the best neurosurgeons in the world using it. Now, he just had to ensure Kieran didn’t prove him wrong. Thomas had to decrease his anxiety level.
“What about a vacation, huh, Kieran? Get out of town or something?”
“No, I have to be at the hospital until the Edison girl is discharged. Her radiation therapy is going well, and she should be released after I clear her in the next week. You know I do not like going out of town at all.” Kieran shook his head emphatically as he spoke. One of the frustrating habits Thomas had yet to break Kieran of was refusal to leave his home area. They’d have to work on that next. He was hoping to take Kieran to a conference in the next year or two.
“What about in town? Like the Shakespeare production this weekend at the new Highland theater?” Thomas asked. He knew he needed to get Kieran to relax.
“Too many people,” Kieran stated and closed his eyes. It was getting close to late afternoon, and Thomas knew Kieran’s thoughts were on the hospital now.
The rest of the ride to the hospital was silent. When he pulled into the parking lot, Kieran was out of the car as soon as the car was parked. He ignored Thomas entirely as they walked into the hospital. Together, they rode up to the seventh and into the locker room. Thomas sighed and waited just outside the locker room inside the breakroom, wanting to continue their conversation. He glanced up when heard someone coming and saw Jae walking toward him. As usual, Jae smiled brightly in his cartoon character covered scrubs. Just as he reached Thomas, Kieran came out of the locker room in his scrubs and coat. He tripped on something and nearly ran into his father.
“Oh, son, how did the radio interview go?” Jae piped up, smiling at him from beside Thomas.
“Ask him,” Kieran snarled as he ambled away, again tripping over nothing.
Thomas waited until Kieran was out of view. Jae was standing there staring in the direction his son had gone. Thomas put a hand on the elder Sung’s shoulder and spoke softly to him. “I’m sure you can guess how it went.”
“I’m worried about him,” Jae muttered under his breath, turning slightly to face Thomas.
“Yeah, he’s burning out fast. His tics are back, he’s self-stimulating every chance he has, and his anxiety is shooting through the roof. He almost destroyed the stress ball I let him take into the interview. He practically snapped at the host when he went off script. He’s also spending too much time in surgery, and way too much time with Artemis.” Thomas looked at Jae with a near glare. “We have to get this under control. The stims are going to have to stop. Period.”
Jae paused. “Thomas, look, I know you are a professional, and you’ve worked with kids like Kieran for almost forty years now, but it seems like putting him into situations where his anxiety is triggered would be a bad idea.”
“Oh, Dr. Jae, now you know he’s not like your little patients. It is all a matter of exposure and letting him push his boundaries right now. If we don’t do that, who knows what the future could hold?” He squeezed his shoulder. “I mean, if we don’t push his boundaries and let him experience some anxiety inducing things now, what happens if in a surgery something goes very wrong? If he snaps?” he asked, a concerned look crossing his face.
Jae glanced up at him for a few seconds. “I...I don’t know, Thomas. You keep saying it, but you won’t let him have any medications to help. Why can’t...”
“No, we have to do this without meds. It just has to be, Jae. You know that. With his unique brain, do you really think it would be a good idea to expose him to unnecessary chemical alteration?” Thomas shrugged. “I don’t know what would happen.”
For a second he thought Jae was going to continue but he just nodded and looked thoughtful. Thomas really needed him to drop the medication talk. He had to keep things as they were. Kieran was a success story, and he needed to stay exactly this way. He was successful with only ABA therapy and no medications. It had to stay that way, at least until this annoying tide of anti-ABA people disappeared. His career, everything he’d built, and all his research and publications depended on it. The future of Channing’s school also depended on Kieran being a good poster child for their successes.
“Maybe a girlfriend?” Jae offered softly, breaking him out of
his reverie.
He sighed, knowing Jae worried about his son. He also thought finding him a partner was a terrible idea, but he might have to reconsider if it could help the situation. “Mary’s been trying to get his attention forever, Jae. Are we even sure he likes girls? Or anyone? He could be asexual, you know.” Asexual would be the best case in Thomas’s mind.
Honestly, dating was the last thing Thomas wanted Kieran to do. Having another trusted person in his life would be difficult to compete with for Kieran’s loyalty. Thomas already had to compete with the prissy little boy Kieran had made friends with as a child. An intimate partner would only cause problems. It would take Kieran’s focus off his career, and that could become an issue if it lasted too long. If he became romantically involved with someone, he would either have to put a stop to it like he had earlier today, or he would have to control his partner as well. No, if he dated anyone, it would have to be Mary or someone else he could arrange for Kieran so he’d stay in the right environment.
Jae was quiet for a minute. “I don’t know, he’s awkward around all genders. But he needs something to cling to at the end of the day. I don’t like seeing him like this.”
“We’ll have to see how things go,” Thomas said, not wanting to continue the conversation.
IN ANOTHER PART OF the seventh floor, Kieran was checking in with Janet. He knocked on the door once before he entered her room where she was sitting up talking to Clair and Varick. He rarely recalled family, but since they were around so much, he remembered them. Kieran smiled as best he could while he walked through the room to grab the chart from the end of the bed.
“Are the headaches going away?” he asked while he looked over the white bandages still on her head. With the sutures mostly healed over, the bandages at this point were there to keep her from touching the scabbing wounds.
She smiled. “Yeah, and they said I could go home next week! Thank you for that. I’m just amazed there’s no sign of the tumor; there were three doctors who swore it was inoperable!”
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