Boston Boys [Part Four]
Summary: John goes back to the hospital to see Aurelie. Pairing: Chris Evans x OFC, John Krasinski x OFC Word Count: 1800 Chapter Warnings: Criminal activity. Square Filled: The entire series (bits and pieces of it) will fill my Crossover square for @marvelfluffbingo. A/N: This story contains a character who lost her hearing as she got older. I do work closely and regularly with the D/deaf community (I’m a sign language interpreter), but my own hearing problems do not involve significant hearing loss. It is not my intention to offend anyone, only to bring in a character with a quality I don’t see often in other fics. If you have questions about her, feel free to ask :)
Boston Boys Masterlist
Coming out of the shower, John carefully applied a new bandage to the cut on his side. The doctor’s work had been pristine; the stitches were neat, his pain was minimal, and there was no sign of infection. He smiled to himself, for her clean work and also for the memory of how concentrated she had been while she was fixing him up. He had remembered various moments of their brief interaction here and there over the last few days. Each memory made him want more to go back and talk to her, but how feasible was a relationship with her? She was a doctor, he was fronting as a bar owner who really was at the head of a crime family after the untimely death of his father. But, with every flash of her face through his mind, he was less and less concerned with the rationality of seeing her again.
For tonight, he pushed the dilemma from his thoughts and readied for his meeting at the bar. He dressed and made himself otherwise presentable, then drove over to Collins Pub. He greeted the bartender and the wait staff, then continued on to the back office.
“You’re early,” he commented to the man seated on the opposite side of the desk. John hung up his coat, took a seat in his chair, and opened the ledger in front of him. “Or am I late?”
Robert shook his head. “I was in the neighborhood, had a couple beers, decided to show myself into the office. Let’s start with old business, shall we? Then, we’ll move on to new business.”
John wasn’t a fan of doing things in that order, but he went for the safe and pulled out a stack of bills. He slid it across the desk; Robert stowed the stack in the inside pocket of his jacket, then moved them on to new business.
“In a few days, I’ll have another exchange for you. This is going to be a big one, Johnny.”
“We can handle it.”
Robert tilted his head. “I don’t know if you can. Not on a normal night. It’s a big trade. I want you to hold an event here at the bar, I don’t care what it is. Come up with something. But, it’s gotta be big.”
Licking his lips, John considered his options. Holding an event at the bar was nothing. St. Patty’s was the following weekend, there were plenty of cash-option things they could put up for that. The bigger the exchange, however, the bigger his concern of being busted.
“Are you listening to me?”
John’s eyes met Robert’s. Of course John was listening. Robert Downey, Jr., ran this neighborhood, even if it was behind a mask. Hell, they all lived behind a mask around here. That didn’t mean he liked any of this. John had never considered another option, but he had hoped -- more so when he was younger -- for another life. Then, his father had died, and his whole life became the family business.
“Yeah, I’m listenin’. We’ll set something up for St. Patty’s, run your money through.”
Robert nodded. “I knew I could count on you. Just the same way I could count on your father. Ronnie never let me down, and I know you never will, either.”
John’s lips pressed into a tight line. His father had been a strong, intimidating man, until a heart attack took his life a little over two years ago. John had immediately stepped up, and the transition was nearly seamless.
“Anything else?”
Robert raised his brow at the question; it wasn’t often that anyone rushed him out. Licking his lips and leaning forward, he pressed John further into obligation.
“I know you want something different, Johnny. I know you had dreams of a different life. You don’t have to tell me any of it -- I see it. I saw it in you when you were a kid. The dream never went away, even if the hope of the realization of it faded out. You took on a huge responsibility when your dad died. I’ll admit, I had my doubts, but you’ve held out like a champ. Keep it up, big things are gonna keep coming your way.”
John nodded. He didn’t feel all that encouraged, but he supposed he could be grateful for the effort. The men shook hands and wrapped up the meeting. John stood until Robert was out of eyesight, then tapped his fingers on the desk. That one short meeting was weighing heavily on him. He needed something happy, something that could give him hope back.
He knew exactly where he needed to go.
“Dr. Juneau is with a patient, she’ll be out in a moment.”
John thanked the nurse and found a spot on the wall to lean against in the waiting room. A few chairs were open, but he wasn’t sick or hurt. He was certainly trying to maintain a low profile.
He was starting to get anxious when the double doors that led back to the emergency room opened and the brunette doctor came through, hands in her pockets. She started to make way for the triage desk but spotted John first, and must have put two and two together. She crossed her arms over her chest as she approached him.
“How’s that injury?”
John smirked. “It’s healing up real nice, thanks. I wanted to thank you, for your discretion, and tell you that I’ve held up my end of the bargain on that end.”
She kept her defensive stature. “I appreciate that, but I’m not sure I believe that you came to interrupt my busy night out of sheer gratitude.”
He liked her spunk. “You're not wrong. The truth is — I’m not open with other people very often, and certainly not on subjects that involve …”
“Feelings?”
“Something like that. But I don’t know what to say except that I’ve been thinking about you a lot since you fixed me up, and I was wondering if I could take you for a cup of coffee sometime.”
The doctor’s hands fell to her side before she pushed them back into the pockets of her scrub pants. She considered him for half a minute, then gave him the name of the place.
“It’s a bit of a drive, out to Attleboro, but they’re open twenty-four-seven. My shift ends at three, I’ll meet you there around four. If you’re game.”
He’d drive anywhere to see her again, talk to her more. “I’ll be there, Doctor. Thank you.”
Finally, the hint of a smile broke through. “My name is Aurelie.”
Her mouth pulled into a full smile then, and she even seemed to be blushing a little as she jogged back to the double doors. Their eyes met for one last glance before she disappeared back into the chaos.
At four-forty-five, John finished off his third cup of coffee and waved the waitress down for the check. She gave him an empathetic smile and a nod, tending to the few customers at the desk before going to the register. She put a ticket on the table; John put a twenty down, far more than his total. He pushed out of the booth and let out a deep breath, heading for the door. He could see the silhouette of a woman coming towards the door, so he swung it open and held it open for her.
“I’m so sorry I’m late, I inevitably had a patient that took longer for me to admit than I would have thought, then I sat in my car for about ten minutes, deciding if I was really safe enough to come here and meet you or not,” Aurelie rambled, standing not quite inside the diner, but not far enough out for him to close the door, either.
John smiled and motioned for her to go in front of him. Aurelie smiled too, and pushed her jacket off her arms as she went to an open booth.
“I’m not gonna lie, I’ve already had three cups of coffee and I might be awake for a while. So you’re gonna have to hang out with me till I’m tired.”
Aurelie laughed as she slid into the booth and promised she would hang around as long as she could stay awake herself. The waitress brought her a cup of coffee and John a glass of water.
They talked about everything, except what the Krasinski family really did to make money and the fact that Aurelie was connected to the Evans family, and they were both entirely smitten.
“So, you’re a doctor who grew up in Attleboro, moved to Boston when your mom remarried, you love baseball, but you don’t already have a boyfriend? How is that possible?” John asked as they meandered out of the diner. The sun was up by now, and traffic was picking up. The commute back into the city was going to be less than pleasant but the visit had been worth it.
Aurelie shrugged. “The whole deaf thing throws people off pretty often, and I stay busy at work. Not to mention, I’ve got some seriously overprotective brothers. How is a handsome bar owner who also loves baseball and lives up to family responsibility like it’s second nature also single?”
John stopped them between their cars, facing her. The sun was in his eyes, and he squinted against the glare.
“I’ve been wanting to settle down for a while, but no one’s really caught my eye. Not enough to put in the effort. Till now.”
Aurelie smiled and blushed. “Are you tired yet, John?”
“I don’t think so. You?”
“I did just work a fifteen-hour ER shift.” She took a deep breath, and he could see she was hesitating. “Would you be upset if I went home?”
John held his hand out to her; Aurelie slid her hand into his. He licked his lips and stepped closer to her. “Would you be upset if I kissed you before you went home?”
Aurelie bit her bottom lip. “I’m not sure we’re there yet, but if you’re up for a second date, maybe …”
He squeezed her hand and leaned forward, placing a soft kiss on the top of her head. “I definitely am.”
“Good. I’ll give you my number, and we can go from there.”
“Good,” John agreed.
With Aurelie’s number safely programmed into his phone, they parted ways. She waved before pulling out of the parking lot, and he was not far behind her. The entire way home, John had the nagging feeling he was going to have to tell her sometime soon the truth about his work, or she was going to find out for herself. In the meantime, though, maybe he would see where this thing could go.
Tags: @themtbmbgirl @keithseabrook27 @ulovemelightsout @rosie2801 @professorkrasinski
