#dblakemd

[askjanethescientist]

Headcanon 3: Puente Antiguo and Donald Blake, MD

Jane met him at a clinic in New Mexico. She had the standard university-issued health insurance, but she was coming down with something. She was totally stressed--after all, the assistant she'd just hired was the only applicant and a poli-sci major (when would she ever need one of those?!) and without an assistant presently, she was working 12-hour days.

The charming doctor at the clinic was one Don Blake. 

He called her a day later to follow up on her symptoms - and he asked her on a date. Even though she still had a cold, Jane accepted. 

Everything was perfect, but it was moving really fast. She felt a little weird telling Erik about it, and he was busy in New York and in Norway. She had noted the aurorae more than seven times at that point, and called Erik to come out to New Mexico to see this. He knew she'd been overworking herself and was concerned, and her theory didn't entirely make sense--and so he agreed to come.

Jane was excited to have her research team together. 

Six months later, she was awaiting Erik's arrival. The car was to bring him from the airport tomorrow. But as usual, she dropped everything for Don. He was at a conference nearby after work had called him away.

And he hadn't even stopped by to see her.

Was it her messy work trailer? Her obsessive work tendencies that he used to admire? Was there someone else?

But he called and she followed--against Darcy's advice. Jane wasn't going to listen to an assistant. What did Darcy know?

And so she drove out to the city to spend the night with Don, and on the way to the hotel room, he proposed. She'd had this whole big speech about how they needed to spend time together and how he was so concerned about profit--but he talked about making a good life for her.

She kind of liked her life the way it was, though. She didn't really want to be a mom at that point; she was a scientist. But Don was a good catch, and the best she could do, she figured, and so she let him talk her into thinking for her.

Why did she feel so nervous? She was sure to put all of Don's clothes in drawers, and any of his personal effects away before Erik arrived, but she was terribly nervous to tell him about the engagement. She was sure the two wouldn't get along.

Darcy said it's a bad sign when the man you consider your father wouldn't like the guy you want to marry.

She felt concerned, and so she called Don and asked him to stop by just for dinner on his way back, so that he could meet Erik. Jane stressed how important it was--and Don said he was too busy.

Jane broke off the engagement and returned the ring.

Eventually Erik arrived and found out about it (Darcy spilled the beans) but by the time he got there and she'd had twice as many predictable aurorae readings - there was science to be done.

Jane was super afraid of scaring away Darcy with her whole emotional breakdown potential, and so the only one that really heard the truth out of her--really heard her cry--was Isabel, proprietress of Isabel's Diner in Puente Antiguo. 

And then she hit this guy with a car. Twice. And life would never be the same for Jane Foster.

[askjanethescientist]

Fathers & Daughters

[Ruby & Don; Erik & Jane; Tibbles & Thor; Thrud & Thor; Ingrid & Thor]

I know a girl She puts the color inside of my world But she's just like a maze Where all of the walls are continually changed And I've done all I can To stand on her steps with my heart in my hands Now I'm starting to see Maybe it's got nothing to do with me Fathers, be good to your daughters Daughters will love like you do Girls become lovers who turn into mothers So mothers, be good to your daughters too

On behalf of every man Looking out for every girl You are the guide and the weight of her world So fathers, be good to your daughters Daughters will love like you do Girls become lovers who turn into mothers So mothers, be good to your daughters too

John Mayer | Daughters

[askjanethescientist]

Talking About Ruby (Don and Jane)

The conversation had to happen. She got to the diner early, because she wanted to be there first. She wanted to be the one he approached. Jane looked good, too. She wore a little black dress and more makeup as usual, and a little red scarf, which she hoped served as a reminder that Ruby might kind of be Don's, but Jane was most certainly not.

She'd been pretending to peruse the menu for a good twenty minutes now. She looked nervously at the phone, and realized this might look bad, and so she sent Thor a quick text. 

I'm meeting Don at a diner, just to discuss Ruby. He needs to know what's going on, okay? You are welcome to call me at any time. Love you.

By the time she put the phone down, she noticed the diner door open. She played with her hair nervously while she forced herself to look back down at the menu.

[askjanethescientist]

Have you ever given a hickey?

Nope!

I don't stay still long enough for that.

I might have gotten one before though...

[askjanethescientist]

He Protected Me

Everyone always asks me what I saw in Don or why I dated an older guy. He's such a huge jerk, I get it. But you have to think about how it began.

I didn't think I was going to graduate. There I was, defending my thesis passionately. It was well-researched but I was nervous. I had zero classroom instruction experience back then. I was one of three women in my graduating class majoring in astrophysics; it was tough.

By the time it was my turn, the panelists were bored. But once I started defending my thesis, I mean, it was like magic. The medical doctor on the panel thought my work had merit. After the panel was through, he approached me. 

We were not at all jaded back then. We were both so committed immediately to science and medicine and each other. He was a promising young doctor who rejected the advances of countless women--I was the geeky, politically active scientist with some really good ideas about alternative energy.

Things were great. We'd go boating, stargaze, and even when we worked, we did so alongside each other in the library. I had never been loved like that before, and never had I loved someone in a way that I just wanted to be near them.

It was my next theory that he didn't really support, however. Don was interested enough in what I did to keep up with my work so he read the astrophysics journals and knew some of my colleagues--but when they lost faith in me, so did he.

Don, the person who had been there and cared for me and loved me through the death of a good friend--who protected me no matter what everyone else said--lost faith in me. He's super smart, and into bioengineering, so he attended a lot of conferences. He ended up in New York, me in New Mexico, but he'd come out to see me. 

Ultimately he thought I was looking for something I'd never find. There's no easier way to completely break a stargazer's heart than to say such a thing. He really lost faith in me.

In 2009, Don attended a medical conference in Albuquerque. I didn't even know about it until a friend mentioned that he was the keynote speaker. He was so close to Puente Antiguo, but he didn't want to see me. He didn't want to call. And so it was on me to end it.

He left me slowly and said he was too busy. He was even too busy to come by and get his stuff out of my trailer. How long was his sweater in the back of my research van? It's probably still there.

I spent two lonely, answerless years under the stars, and in that time only Darcy and Erik really stood by me. During that time I learned to have faith in myself. That's why it was personally a big deal when it all came true--because I knew I was right, and I had patience and persistence. 

Don was just like everyone else, though.

He gave up on me and he left.

[This goes with this photoset, and I wrote this, but the story was collaborative with dblakemd -- thanks, Don mun!]

[askjanethescientist]

Take Your Stuff Back, I Don't Want It! (Jane and Don)

Jane was used to temporary living situations.

She wasn't sure she could really deal with living in the same building as Thor just yet. That would depend on how things went. She hadn't moved into the room at Stark Tower at all, but she hadn't exactly stayed out of it, either. On the bed rested a box of her stuff, and another box full of Don's items.

The room was bereft of anything personal except for a few picture frames on the desk, which also housed a laptop. One of the photos featured a younger Jane with Erik; another of them featured her at an amusement park with Darcy, and the last one, in a much newer frame, showed her smiling at the camera; Thor, however, was not looking at the camera, but at Jane. Darcy had taken the photo and it was among Jane's favorites, especially since you could see the faint outline of the moon in the background, even though it was daylight.

What she wore at the moment was an impulsive shopping decision. She wouldn't let Don see her in something as personal and beloved as the universe dress, but she was in one of the only other dresses she owned in preparation for her dinner date: a little black dress.

Hair half up again, she smoothed the dress down around her form. It was simple and a bit sophisticated, and more revealing than she'd normally wear, but she was putting the effort in. She wanted to look like more than an accessory and more than a friend to Thor as she wasn't really sure of the nature of this 'important dinner.'

It was probably a bad time to tell him, but she did. 

[Text] Running just 15 minutes late. Don's coming by to get his stuff.

Just as she finished applying her makeup--did it even look okay?--there was a knock on the door.

"JARVIS, who is at the door?" she asked quietly.

"Dr. Donald Blake."

"Thanks." With a curt nod, she put her shoulders back, mustering all the confidence she could, and then she opened the door. She still wasn't wearing shoes, and she didn't do heels, so at least there was nothing to trip over.

[notthatsortofsciencemajor]

Darcy Lewis - Have you seen her? Have you seen Jane?

Yes, I've seen Jane. Don't worry. She's perfectly safe. She just needs to get away from everything for a while...I'm sorry. I just can't handle talking about this right now.

She's safe. And she'll come back when she's ready to deal with all of us again. We've just got to respect her privacy for now.

[heimdall-of-surtur]

Hello, Sir. I am Dr. Don Blake. I see I must speak to you if I wish to speak to Jane, or at least that is what the message she left indicates . Would it be possible for me to talk to her? I am very concerned and we were close once.

The lady is currently resting.  Perhaps come morning she will be available to communicate remotely.  At this time, by her personal request, I must decline a face to face visit.