Aiden Carter was a scientist, a medical researcher to be exact. His job was to find new medications and find new ways to cure the deadly diseases of this country. He wanted this job from the very beginning because he always wanted to feel like a hero. This job did just that, especially when they were on the road to finding a new medicine that could help out thousands of people. He stayed rather late at work, and usually skipped dinner. This left him feeling extremely tired and hungry, but he had a job to do. He looked around the nearly empty lab; all of the other scientists went home hours ago. He really didn't need to stay and work after five o'clock. He just had nothing else to do at home until nightfall.

Aiden leaned back in his chair, and stretched for a moment, listening to the soft pops from his joints. He let a yawn escape his lips, and checked his cell phone for the time. It was about time to head out. He was hesitant to move from his seat, though. He really had no idea how he kept up with all of this work, having two jobs really took its toll on him. There were dark circles around his blue eyes and he always woke up with a headache. His performance at work had to be suffering too, though nobody seemed to say anything about that if they had taken notice. He'd never get home until one or two o'clock in the morning, and then he'd only get five or six hours of sleep before he had to get up and do it all over again. It was worth it though, he saved lives in two ways: by stopping diseases, and by fighting crime. Though, it wasn't like he had to go out and fight crime every night, just when he was called upon by the person that gave him his powers. Though, it was frequent enough to mess with his sleep schedule and his personal life.

Finally, he moved from the chair, he pulled off the lab coat that he had to wear and hung back on the wall with the others. He readjusted his glasses and then headed out the door. Maybe, he'd be able to get some sleep tonight and not have to go out and fight crime. That would be a pleasant change. Though, he'd feel terrible if someone got hurt because he wasn't out there to save them. The scientist walked to the elevator and pressed the button, he couldn't really risk going down the stairs, he was too tired for that. He was too tired for a lot of things, but he really couldn't risk falling down the stairs because his motor skills stopped working. He ran a hand through his already messy, shaggy, brown hair and took a deep breath. He could do with a day off, but that wasn't going to happen any time soon, he didn't like taking time off from either job.

The elevator beeped, and the doors slid open. Aiden looked up and stepped inside, pushing the button for the ground floor.

The short-lived cheer of a successful surgery common with working in the trauma ward had died down as Dr. Jude Maxwell, chief of the trauma surgeons, led his team out of OR3 in victory. The patient was being wheeled to sleep off the rest of the anesthesia and later fight off infection with the help of medicine and deal with recovery pain all thanks to the efforts of Dr. Jude's excellent response team. Days like this did not always happen, so even though the cheer had fell, all members departing the room did indeed revel in the small victory. As they washed up and sanitized after throwing their gowns in the hazardous waste can they all gave cheerful congratulations - standard procedure for a 'win' when it finally did come along.

As Dr. Maxwell pressed the door release, he got one final farewell before he headed towards the common room for his fellow chiefs of surgeries. His own office was located on the same hall, a few doors down, but he rarely spent much time inside since he often was called down to an OR. As chief, he is supposed to be reviewing residents' files, train them, and eventually recommend them out - or keep them if able and showing enough promise. Those files still were sitting on his desk, he remembered as he swiped his clearance card, gaining access to the common room. Usually at least one chief was around, but the common room seemed empty. He took the time to review the hospital updates coming from the top down as notices flashed on the LCD tv on the wall. A while ago, the hospital pushed to go paperless and installed interactive LCD screens for their bulletin boards. Dr. Maxwell had been one of the few representatives who pushed the motion to the board.

He stretched, looking over the room one last time before allowing the exhaustion cause a yawn to escape. He'd been on his 48 hour shift with little rest between since there was a back-to-back surgery directly in the middle of his shift, leaving only a few hours to rest before the surgery he'd just finished up. Knowing he'd have the day off tomorrow, he figured grabbing the residents' files and taking them home would probably help lessen his workload later on - especially since the display bulletin notified that all chiefs had to make their selections by the end of the month.

The coffee near the exit was practically lulling him in with its warm, strong aroma though, so he grabbed one of the recyclable paper cups and filled it before heading towards his office for the stack of files. This was a typical night for him - when he wasn't researching for an article to be published, which always made life much more busy. Overall, he liked the bustling trauma ward - much better than the irregular pace of neurosurgery, and less grotesque than any gastro surgery. He was thinking over the pros and cons of each surgical specialty as he made his way to the elevator and stepped inside when it opened. Typically this time of night, no one would be inside an elevator on this wing - or the chances of running into someone were significantly slimmer - but there stood a slightly younger man. He looked as exhausted as Jude felt, Jude thought with a glance before reaching to press the ground floor button but retracting his hand upon seeing it already lit. He instead took a sip of his coffee which had been in the hand traveling towards the button a moment ago, the other full of overstuffed files on the residents, before he turned to look over at the other male, "Late night for you as well, I take it."

Aiden laid back against the wall of the elevator, allowing his eyes to close. If he stayed like this, he'd fall asleep. He was almost convinced that he should do that, then he'd be able to get some sleep. Though, it'd probably be weird to see one of the employees sleeping in the elevator and he'd probably get fired over something like that. He just need a few moments to allow his eyes to rest. He knew that was just an excuse and that he'd need way more than a few moments if he was going to allow his eyes to rest. He'd open his eyes when the elevator finally made it to the ground floor and he had to walk out to his car. The cold air outside would probably wake him up at least a little bit. He could use that to get himself wherever he'd need to go after this. He could feel himself relaxing a little too much as he thought about opening his eyes again and making sure that he wouldn't fall asleep. But, his eyes just didn't want to open, and he just wanted a few more seconds.

Suddenly the elevator stopped moving, Aiden's eyes snapped open. He glanced up at the numbers over the doors. He hadn't gone that far, one floor down to be exact. He almost fell asleep in just a few seconds. He was sure that not even a minute had passed between going one floor down. He really did need to buy himself some caffeine pills and hope those helped him stay awake when he had to do this kind of stuff. He ran a hand through his hair as the doctor walked into the elevator. At least, he assumed the man was a doctor, he looked like one. He could have easily been a nurse or really anyone else that worked in the hospital. He didn't really put much thought into it. He watched as the doors took their time closing and started on its way to the ground floor again.

He was almost startled when the other man talked to him, He wasn't really expecting to have to deal with some small talk on the elevator. He still managed to put on a tired looking smile, "Oh, yeah, I had to work over time in the labs." That was only a good reason for why he was still at the hospital so late, it didn't really answer for how tired he was. That didn't really matter much though, he didn't have to explain to anyone why he didn't sleep on a regular schedule. He ran a hand through his hair and let out a yawn. He kept his eyes on the numbers that lit up as the elevator hit the next level. He was trying hard to keep his eyes open while they continued down, and the best way to do that was to concentrate on something.

After taking the appearance of the obviously exhausted male with the initial glance, Jude leaned lightly his lithe frame against the elevator wall as he had taken a sip of the coffee, and sighed lightly as he commented off-hand, "You know, being a hospital employee, we know the effects of over-working and yet we still continue on." He'd smirked to himself at the thought as he glanced down at the files, looking to the recyclable coffee cup and seeing the irony of efforts missed going paperless. Really, it'd been easier for him if the secretaries who complied all this information just put it on a disc. A lot less to lug around. However his thoughts wondered only momentarily, he glanced back to the other elevator occupant to see that he was determinedly, tiredly so, focused on the numbers passing across the floor indicator.

He could hear the howls of wind blowing through the elevator shaft at their silence, something which only occurred if the weather were particularly brisk. Unfortunately for Jude, he'd come into work when the weather was predicted to stay in the mid-70s. Without accounting for dramatic weather patterns, he'd not prepared for his shift to end in the middle of cold snap. That being noted, he was already mentally readying himself for the frosty walk to his car since a cement parking garage is fantastic at holding in cool temperatures. As the floor neared the ground section, he'd checked back over at the drained laboratory worker to see if he was also in this predicament. Casually, he offered, "Perhaps you should get some coffee at reception before going home. It'll help keep you warm while walking to your car," Then he lightly added with a smirk as he looked back at the floor level, "as well as wake you up so I won't be called back in after my extensive shift to fix you after you wreck your car after falling asleep while driving. I honestly don't think I would depend on even my surgical skills after no sleep for two days."

Aiden only glanced over when the man spoke up about over-working. Well, he wasn't wrong about that. Though, most of the time, they weren't the ones that got to decide how they spent their time. Their superiors were the ones that scheduled their work. In his case, he worked the optional over-time as something to do and then it was his own choice to go be a hero outside of work. That wasn't really something he was about to bring up, he was just planning to keep to himself. He didn't want to talk right now, with being tired and not knowing what to say most of the time. He wasn't really comfortable talking to people he didn't know, usually in fear that new people would just hate him immediately. He was too tired to worry about that kind of stuff, so he just decided not to respond to that comment.

Even though, Aiden hadn't responded to the first comment, the doctor decided to continue with speaking. The doctor suggested he get a cup of coffee. Aiden shrugged, "I don't like coffee. If the fresh air doesn't wake me up enough, I'll just take the bus or walk home. And warm drinks don't actually warm you up, it actually causes your body to think that you're too hot causing your body to try and cool itself down. The same thing with cold drinks, they don't cool you they cause your blood vessels to tighten and will warm your body up." He woke up a bit when he actually started talking about the drinks causing different effects than what most people think. He even perked up a bit, and looked over at the other man with a smile, but then he realized how that probably sounded really pretentious. He didn't really mean to sound that way, he just knew that interesting fact and he liked sharing those sort of things. He sighed, the smile quickly faded and his eyes shfted back over to the numbers. "And you probably didn't need to know that, or cared about that information. Sorry, it just slipped out, I'm tired."

Surprised at the response from the other occupant, Jude looked in the direction of the speaker as he listened. Just as the slightly younger man's face fell again, possibly a collapse due to the evident and self-realized fatigue, Jude chuckled softly just before he took another sip of his coffee. Glancing at the level dial, he loosely crossed his free arm and felt the warmness of the coffee container against his hip as the soft smile remained. "You're quite right - there's no need to apologize. How silly of a practicing doctor to use commonly incorrect information in jest." He indeed was aware of the actual effect cold and hot liquids had on bodies, but didn't bother mentioning the fact since he was enjoy being disingenuous for once since being the head of the trauma ward always caused him to have the exact opposite disposition. It was relaxing talking to someone who questioned his intelligence, he reflected momentarily, as the elevator signaled their arrival to the ground floor. The doors opened simultaneously with the automatic front entryway, and even the great distance away wasn't a barrier between the chilly gust that flooded inside, fluttering the edges of the loose papers carried by Jude. He walked towards the opening just as it opened and smirked back to his temporary companion as he tossed his recyclable cup in the bin next to the elevator entry as continued on, "I hope that taste of fresh air was stimulating enough for you. Have a good evening."

Aiden looked back over at the doctor when he spoke up again. It almost made him smile again to hear someone not agree with the fact that he had just spat out unneeded and unwanted information. He was used to people that rolled their eyes and gave a simple response, or just agreed to the fact that they did not actually care about that kind of stuff. He never expected someone that didn't know him, to be fine with something like that. He just expected them to have the same sort of reactions that just made him think he had just insulted another person's intelligence. He would have said something about that, but the doors opened up to the elevator and he was greeted with a chilled air hitting his face. it did wake him up a bit, but he wasn't sure if that would be enough. He would wait to decide whether or not he was capable of driving to home when after he had walked to his car.

Aiden walked out behind the other man and turned to him when he said his goodbye. "Oh, uh...wait..." Aiden said without thinking first. He was still kind of dazed from that first comment. He didn't want to just have the guy leave and think that he was someone that enjoyed being smarter than other people. But now that he had the man's attention, he had no idea what to say. He had to come up with something quickly. He realized that the doctor wasn't dressed up for the cold air and quickly came up with at least something to say. "Isn't a bit too cold to just be walking around like that? Why don't you take my sweatshirt? It might not be a perfect fit, but since it's a zip up, it'll at least keep your arms warm until you get to the car...and I've got a jacket right in my car, that's not too far away..." Aiden rambled on a bit as he took off his sweatshirt and handed it over to the other man.

Jude had already gone into his own world of thought after turning away from the elevator, but was halted by the hesitant call from behind. He turned slightly to face the man he'd been in the elevator with, and then more fully as he was approached. At first, he blinked in surprise at the words slightly babbled at him at him, but then a grin came across his features easily just as he was handed the sweater. It was warm against his already chilling arm as he said, "That's very considerate of you. Are you this kind to every ignorant stranger you meet?" It was said in a joking fashion, of course, but he acknowledge the gesture mentally. Most of his subordinates seemed to fear talking to him about anything not relating to work when they first met, and since his life had been centered in the hospital lately, he'd grown used to the isolation his status brought upon him. Of course he'd worn down the long-term staff, but the new ones always were the same. The non-surgical staff were even worse. He supposed the limited interaction between the different departments would make communication seem normal, but had never really thought about it before. However, he wasn't sure if it was entirely normal to offer your sweater to someone you just met, especially when it was drastically cooler than an agreeable temperature to go without such protection. Not that he thought any worse of the man, in fact, the opposite seemed to happen - he had a rather good impression of this quirky person before him so far.

Aiden smiled and let out a small laugh, "It's an odd habit. You can just return it whenever your next shift is. I work everyday in the labs. Just ask anyone walking around there for me. They'll know where I am." He realized that this man didn't even know his name and would have no possible way of returning the sweatshirt without that small detail. "I'm Aiden Carter by the way," he added quickly. He wasn't quite sure what he was even doing anymore. He hadn't really offered his sweatshirt out before, it was just because he had panicked the moment he had uttered the first words. He couldn't help the fact that the first thing his brain came up with was to offer the one thing keeping him warm. He was lucky that he had decided to wear a long sleeved shirt that day, though it was only a white button up that didn't prevent him from feeling the chilly air. Though, it was too late to take back what he had just did, and he didn't plan on doing something so mean. He'd just have to take a walk in the cold until he got to his car. Admittedly, it would help him stay awake a bit and probably help him stay awake for the drive home. He would just have to act like this was what he intended to do.

The casual way the slightly younger man before him spoke before introducing himself briskly in second-thought made Jude a little dubious as to Aiden's generosity to strangers, but he smiled as he secured the offered sweater by curling his arm inward while saying, "Pleasure to meet you, Aiden. I'm --" A call from the sign out desk interrupted his attention. He looked over at the heavy-set seemingly disgruntled woman who'd called, "Dr. Maxwell, will you please come sign out so I can go home? You too, lab kid. I've been waiting ten extra minutes on that little tart with her fluffy hair, high voice, and way too much energy for this late at night Daphne to show up and she's run off to change about twenty minutes ago --" Jude turned back to look at Aiden, shifting the files slightly and giving a counterfeit sigh. His eyes shined with amusement for he loved the sassiness of part of the payroll team - especially Monasia, but he continued to Aiden, "Jude Maxwell. Perhaps we should go sign out." He turned slightly and added, "I would hate for poor Monasia to miss her debut at Pacchino's." The woman narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms, knowing full well that he was talking about a bar with live entertainment - mostly of the singing variety, but there were rumors of the VIP area upstairs.

"R-right," Aiden nodded before he quickly walked over and signed out for the evening. He wasn't really used to running into anyone besides the night staff at this point, since he left so late into the evening. Most of the night shift staff didn't really talk to him, or really wanted to talk to him. He was absolutely alright with that since he usually just wanted to leave and do whatever he needed to do. Plus, not having long lasting relationships meant that he wouldn't be found out with what he did with his free time. He also wouldn't have to worry about the habit he had when it came to lying all the time with everyone he knew. He already felt guilty about it when he spoke to his parents, he knew that it was quite possible that his parents would never know that he was lying, since he lived rather far away and they were busy with their grandchildren from his older sister and older brother. Gladly, he wouldn't have to worry about getting his family involved and they had no idea if he was telling the truth or not. He just had to keep everyone at a distance and he'd be completely fine. "Well, I'll see you when you return the sweatshirt then," Aiden waved to Jude before he moved to the way out.

A smile crossed Jude's lips as he followed at his more casual pace behind Aiden towards the sign out desk. Jude was all for quick-pace when it came to work, but if he was not in the trauma ward, he kept to an almost saunter. Idly, he wondered how long Aiden had worked in the laboratory since he'd never seen him before. However, the probability of doing just that was not a strong one due to Jude's irregular hours and the number of elevators, not to mention whatever schedule the technician had kept. However, Monasia was a familiar face to be sure - especially that almost irate purse to her lips, only thrown off by the amusement she hid in her eyes. A regular expression just for him, he had joked with her once. As he signed himself out, setting the files aside to get a once over by the clerk, he glanced up briefly to smile at her scrutinizing face. "There you are, madam." As he placed the pen back in his pocket, he looked back to Aiden as he spoke, fully ignoring Monasia's muttering. The way of goodbye was definitely a way of making sure Jude did not invite himself along even though they were both headed in the same direction for the next few minutes. He'd taken that opportunity to slip the sweater on, since it may have been a reminder that it was given to him to wear not to carry around. "Naturally, you would." Jude said lightly, almost in a teasing fashion, as he picked up the files. He began to follow behind at his slower stride, subtly keeping his eye on the seemingly kind man to make sure he'd make it to his vehicle.

The moment he walked outside, Aiden shivered. The wind being the biggest cause of the action, still it caused goosebumps to raise and his teeth to chatter. It also did help with waking him up as he made his way over to his old car. He would have walked faster, but he was too busy allowing the cold to make sure that he'd be awake for the drive home. He finally made it to his car and opened the back door to grab the coat that he had just in case he needed it for the drive home. He quickly slipped it on and sat down in the front seat of his car. He wasn't exactly sure what he'd do just yet, he was still pretty tired and driving home might not be the best option. He still wanted to wait just a little bit before he made the decision to start the walk home though. He really wasn't in the mood to walk, he lived in a dangerous place. Walking around during the night wasn't always the best option on his own. His house wasn't too far, he should be fine making it there in his car. Finally, he put the keys into the ignition and started his car.

He took a glance behind him before he took his foot off of the break, to make sure the coast was clear. What he saw instead made him jump, "Shit, you've got to stop doing that."

The man in his backseat gave a wicked grin showing off a row of sharp teeth. He looked like a normal human being except for the fiery red eyes and black feathered wings that shot out of his back, filling the entire back window with a curtain of black feathers. "You're not going home just yet. You're needed in the city, Aiden."

Aiden let out a small groan, but knew that it has become something that needed to do. There was no way of getting out of it, and he didn't want a way of getting out of it, "Alright, what's going on now?"

---

Aiden stared down at the paperwork he was doing in the lab, everyone else around him shuffling in and out, testing blood, reading x-rays, and consulting doctors on the patients. He could barely keep his eyes open, and it was only just starting to hit noon. He needed to grab something with caffeine in it again, but he knew that drinking that wouldn't help him out too much. He'd just crash later and have to do the same thing. He really needed to talk to someone about scheduling and seeing if he could take a different shift to work better.

"Did you hear about that bank that was broken into?" One of the lab technicians asked one of their coworkers.

Aiden perked up, wondering what they were talking about. "You mean the one on the news? How there was that guy there that totally stopped everything before the police even arrived? Yeah, I've heard about it, why?"

Aiden smirked, it had been him after all who had done that. The two behind him continued to talk about it excitedly, and fascinated over the evidence left behind along with the security footage that the news played over and over again as they gave their own theories. Nobody would be able to make out who he was, he just looked like a solid black being with eyes, it'd be hard for anyone to figure out exactly who he was. That was the point after all.

As soon as the large glass double doors parted at their approach, the wind whipped harshly - fluttering the loose edges of the papers carried by Dr. Maxwell. Instictively, his body tensed at the bitter cold as his arm curled the files inward for protection. He tucked his free hand in his pocket, feeling the keys there but also thankful for the warmth. His car had not been parked so far beyond Aiden's, so he conciously decided to walk down a different aisle as to not make the slightly younger male feel followed.

Wind howled all through the parking deck, finding gaps to weave between and blast poor pedestrians with its chilly gusts. Upon approaching his car, unlocking it with the key fob from inside his pocket before removing his hand and using the sleeve of the borrowed jacket as a barrier between his flesh and the ice cold metal of the door handle, he swiftly slid behind the driver seat and enjoyed the warmth of his already started car. He loved auto-ignition in times like these, he thought as he relaxed against the thermal seat and soaked in the heat to melt away the chill that had already entered his bones.

When he lifted himself from the headrest, he noticed that the lab technician's car hadn't moved. Perhaps Aiden had been waiting on it to warm as some people do, or he was enjoying the heat as Jude was currently doing. Whichever, he was too far away to distinctively see anything aside from the front fender. A rather large SUV had been on the side, blocking the rest of the view. Briefly, Jude wondered if Aiden's car wasn't starting because of the cold. Sometimes batteries die in cold weather if left to sit too long. Just as the thought crossed his mind though, he saw the headlights come on before the car sped off.

"The cold must've woken him up with driving like that," Jude smirked to himself as he shifted to drive himself. Home was on the other side of town for him in a nice, rather spacious loft-style apartment. Arriving home with no complications, luckily considering the way traffic could react to sudden cold weather, he relaxed against his sofa with a hot cup of tea after a hot shower. The rest of the nice was a not-so-exciting review of files while listening to light music and warming himself with the electronic fire heater mounted against the wall near his tired frame. He eventually dozed off where he lie, file to his chest and tea on the glass coffee table.

---

The timer on the television clicked on promptly at 8:00 am, broadcasting the local news loudly enough to cause Jude to stir from his deep sleep. He peered up at the flatscreen, morning sunlight glinting off of the corner from the single wall-long casement bay windows. Fatigue must've made him forget to close the blinds last night, he thought just as he felt a sudden weight on his chest. He looked down to see his orange tabby staring up at him from its already planted position on his chest. "You want food, eh?" He asked Davender as he scratched the feline's chin. "That's all you want me for - you can't fool me. Where were you last night, anyway? Curled under my down comforter, I bet."

The cat simply closed his eyes as he began to purr under his owner's affections. Jude glanced back at the television as a reporter stood in front of the First National Bank in full winter attire - clothes making her look like a massive marshmallow bound at the waist. He took in a breath and lifted himself from the couch, Davender pouncing off instinctivly and running towards his food bowl.

Jude did his usual morning routine - ate breakfast, brushed his teeth, exercised in his mini-home gym, showered, played with Davender, and cleaned up around the apartment a little. Really, there was nothing to clean as he was hardly home to mess things up. By lunch time, he was collecting the files on the fellows that he'd left discarded on the coffee table all morning and giving them a second go as he ate a sandwich wrap. Davender came to rest in his lap for a while, which Jude credited to his body heat and not the love the cat had for him. His apartment was all tile, wood, leather, and stone. There was not many places where the cat could curl up to soak in heat. Regardless, Jude smiled down at his pet momentarily before returning to work.

After finishing weeding out fellows, Jude organized the files and went to pack his dufflebag. Usually he had a bag he kept at the hospital, but he'd been called in for his last shift and didn't have time. This time though, he packed well. His plan was to take the bag and leave it in his office since he had to return to files today anyway. Plus, he always liked being present when they announced the 'winner' of the evaluation. Due to the size of the hospital, and his department, he got to pick two attendings as a lot of trauma ward surgeons move to less stressful specialties.

---

Upon arriving at the hospital with his bag on his shoulder and files in his free arm, coffee dangling from the other hand, he signs in with Monasia - who gives him a don't-you-dare-ask-me-about-my-night look at his beaming smile. He bids her farewell and goes to drop off his bag in his office. Once he's inside the elevator and his floor has been pressed, he glances down at the sweater hanging over his bag. He'd washed it this morning, knowing that most people wash clothes before returning them. "Hmm ... after I put my things down, I suppose I'll go return you before I submit my review."

Aiden glanced over at the people behind him talking, they took it as a sign of needing to shut up and leave. That wasn't really what he was intending to do, but he couldn't exactly just say that he was eavesdropping because he was enjoying the praise. He just sighed and looked back at his work. He should have taken some time off to sleep, but he didn't want to skip work because he wasn't able to sleep as much as he used to. He had to make both of the jobs work, it made him less suspicious if the police ever decided to after him for vigilantism. He also enjoyed this job way too much to give it up, even if most of his other coworkers weren't really happy with him because he didn't like talking to anyone or gaining other friends. He had two other people that still even reached out to him and treated him like a friend rather than just another person that they worked with. Everyone else just ignored his existence unless the needed something from him or needed to talk to him for work. He was absolutely alright with that.

"Alright, Aiden, time to move. Let's get something to eat and some caffeine for you," A female voice ordered from behind the young scientist. Aiden turned to see a young african american girl, with freckles dotting all over her face and long, extremely curly, burgundy hair. She grinned at Aiden, who just stared back at her confused on her decision. "I'm not joking, we need to get something in that stomach of yours and get you to wake up. You're working too slow today." She put her hands on her hips as she waited for a response from her coworker.

"What are you talking about? Didn't you just have lunch, Annie?" Aiden asked.

"I did, but you skipped it, so I'm going to have second lunch and you're going to have lunch. Come on," She grabbed the young boy and pulled him up from his chair. "We'll get some hospital food or something."

"I-I'm not really hungry," Aiden muttered as he tugged back.

"You're not hungry? That's a lie, you need energy, Aid. Now get up, I'll pay," Annie sighed.

Aiden shook his head, "Seriously, I really don't need to eat."

Annie rolled her eyes and looked over at the others in lab, "We're going out for lunch break, anybody going to stop us?" There was complete silence from everyone else, including the higher ups. "I thought so. We'll be down in the cafeteria if anyone else needs anything." Annie then grabbed Aiden's wrist and pulled him to the elevators. Aiden didn't really argue, Annie sort of did her own thing no matter who told her no. The only time she followed what anyone told her what to do was when it was a higher up telling her how to do her job.

"Hey, Annie, I've been meaning to ask you something...Do you know who Dr. Jude Maxwell is?" He suddenly asked as the two of them got into the elevator alone and Annie pressed the button to the cafeteria.

"He's one of the head surgeons, I believe. Or something close to that, I've heard people talk about him before that's about it," Annie shrugged, "Why?"

"Oh...nothing, I just saw his name somewhere," Aiden muttered. He didn't want to go through the whole Annie teasing him about having a crush. She loved teasing him about it, and that was just something he didn't want to deal with. Ever since she found out that he was still single and that he was gay, she's made it her mission to find someone for him. He couldn't tell her that he couldn't date, that would have been rather difficult to explain and there wasn't a good enough lie to keep under control that would explain it for him. Though, she did look over at him, like she already knew that what he said was a lie, and she knew that something was going on.

Moments before Jude had arrived on his floor, he stood in the silent elevator with loosely crossed arms, contemplating if Monasia would let his team know he had come into the hospital today. If she was feeling spiteful, he wouldn't doubt it - but he'd done her a kindness this morning, bypassing their usual exchange of teasing remarks and scowls, knowing full well that would let him off the hook possibly. They had a secret sort of code between them and were actually friends in a way - despite how the outside appearance was last night in front of Aiden, or anyone who didn't see them together regularly.

However, Jude could never help himself from assisting on procedures if it was desperately required, so he didn't mind if they knew he was at the hospital on his downtime. He didn't hide his presence from his team, and they rarely asked him to step in. It was the non-stop checking-in, advice-seeking, and permission-asking that kept him off-task and usually getting next to nothing done. The open door policy he had with his team was always withstanding. His door was never shut when he was in, off the clock or assigned hours.

He turned the handle to his office, having used his clearance card to get inside the surgical wing as by second nature, and dropped the bag of belongings into one of the leather armchairs across from his desk. Behind his desk there was only a bookshelf, but one so large that it took up the entire wall. As required by the hospital director, his certification and diplomas hung to the bare wooden wall and awards on to top of the bookshelf collecting dust, the daylight shining off each from the wall-length glass panes lining the opposite side. His desk faced the door, and the antique wardrobe next to it. All of the chiefs had their own personal touches to their offices aside from the clothes, files, and books housed in the furniture provided. Jude only had one. To the other space next to the door, there was a four tier plant stand filled with herbs at the top and going down to larger ferns. Flowers of various types were mixed in the center shelves.

He spent a moment checking over the plants before strolling back to the bag, files lightly dropped on the corner of his desk in exchange. He picked up the sweater off top of the bag gently and decided to keep to his original plan since all was well in his office. Just as Jude reached his door, he was halted by a colleague. All slim five-foot eleven of the most beautiful of the surgical chiefs stood leaning against the frame with her arms folded, smirking. She tossed her wavy red hair slightly as she shifted to stand, "Dr. Maxwell, I heard you had a great victory yesterday."

"I'm already a legend in the neuro wing, I take it," He returns her smirk. "Especially since the chief Dr. Carlisle came all the way to my office to greet me."

"I was passing," She says nonchalantly as she gazes to the plants. "Don't be too flattered."

"And I thought you were here to invite me to a victory lunch," He passes false disappointment before smiling. Her easy confidence sways as she laughs, a hand to her lips, before she drops it. Before she can linger, he smoothly adds in, "I've selected my fellows. How is the process going for you?"

"Oh, dear, I can't be one-uped by trauma," She sighs, signaling to him that she'll have to get on that in her furrowed brow. "Are you announcing today?"

"My plan was to do so after lunch," He smiled, enjoying her little squirm at the news. Although the chiefs were all professional towards one another, and friendly at times, they loved secretly loved competition. "The deadline is for tonight, Doctor. I'm disappointed at your delay."

"Oh? I see the files on your desk behind you," She regained her composure and wagged a finger at him. "You only just finished this morning, I bet."

He raised his hands in a silent non-committed gesture, the sweater resting in the nook of his elbow. She spotted the out of place article of clothing and reached out to tug it lightly. "What's this? You've got a jacket on."

"I've got to return it to a lab technician," He looked down at her hand on the cotton sleeve and she removed it. "I was called in during warmer weather, and when the shift ended, I realized my bag with extra clothing was at home. Lucky for me, I wasn't the only one leaving late."

"And the lab tech had an extra sweater?" She eyed him dubiously. He smirked and she laughed again in the same manner as before. "Of course not - look at you. I'd give you my only sweater, too."

His look told her not to get any ideas, but she still smiled on behind her hand with raised eyebrows. "I'll let you get to returning that then. She'd better be cute."

Before Jude could comment, Dr. Carlisle turned on her heel and left with a smirk lingering on her lips. He looked back down at the sweater, absently touching where his colleague's fingers hand been just a moment ago. Truthfully, relationships beyond the surface did not happen with him since college. Those kinds of thoughts never really crossed his mind, especially since work kept him so occupied. He supposed it was the same for all the single doctors, especially since their status was displayed openly on their hands while not in surgery. It was the first thing the upper doctors commented on, and the nurses constantly gossiped about - marriage and dating. He always brushed that off as a distraction from all the negative sides of working at a hospital. And, being single himself, he enjoyed the light-hearted game of teasing and flirting. However, they all knew that was as far as he'd go. Which, of course, led to more gossip. Being a chief though, he got to pretend he didn't know about it because his status let them all know they couldn't treat him any differently no matter what assumptions they had.

Clearing his mind of the negative thoughts, he dropped his hand and closed his office door behind himself. The elevator ride to the laboratory was not terribly long. Upon arrival, he greeted a few people he'd recognized and chatted lightly. When he inquired about Aiden, he got a quizzical look until an eavesdropper chimed in that he heard another tech named Annie had taken him out to lunch. Thanking the noisy individual, Jude left after bidding his acquaintances farewell. The cafeteria was convenient since he was actually feeling a little hungry. He had only been half joking about the victory meal with Dr. Carlisle, after all.

Upon arriving to the mess hall, he looked around through the half-filled atrium setting in search of the sweater's owner as it hung loosely in the crook of his elbow. Various ferns and small potted trees decorated the dining area, concealing some seating from view. Aiden seemed like the type that would sit in just one of those places, so Jude repositioned himself for a better view of those locations. He saw the kid, looking tired and sitting alone at a table in the shade. Sun beamed against the glass ceiling, intensified by the ice coating the panes, but creating more of a glow instead of direct light thanks to it. Little rays peeked through the small patches that began to melt though, so the light danced around the room in some places. Of course the fidgety lab tech shied away from light areas, Jude thought as he approached - winding through the scattered tables and pushed out chairs. He came up from the side, where the kid would not have seen him approaching without turning, unintentionally. He said in his cheerful tones, "There you are, hiding in the shadows." As he said this, he'd placed his hand along the back of Aiden's chair to slide into view at his side. The spacing was narrow, even for Jude's slender frame, but he smiled down at him. "Your coworkers said you were eating lunch. I see you like your food as much as you do coffee." He was referring to the fact that there was nothing on the table, his smile showing he was joking as he immediately followed it up with a question. "Eating with a friend, then?"

Aiden was tempted to lay his head down on the table while his friend was buying food, but he wasn't excited to end up with someone walking over concerned about him sleeping at the lunch tables. He just settled for leaning forward and staring at the blank wall, while Annie was in line getting him lunch. They already had the argument about who was going to pay, but she insisted and he was too tired to argue with her too much. He had removed his white lab coat, and placed it on the back of his chair, just to keep it from getting stained by the food or something. He was a little worried about the coat dragging on the floor a bit due to it being a long coat. Though, that's usually how all the technicians handled their uniforms and for the most part they stayed clean. It was easier than having to deal with food stains on a white coat that day, or having to quick exchange it for a new one.

The lab tech perked up when he heard a familiar voice, one he really was not expecting at that exact moment. He turned to where he heard the voice come from and gave a light smile. "Yeah, but she insisted on buying me lunch this time," Aiden answered the doctor's question.

As he had said those words, the young woman walked over to the table and sat down a tray of food in front of Aiden. "Alright, Aid, time to eat. We're not going back to work until you finish all of this and drink the energy drink," Annie then noticed the other man standing next to Aiden. She barely recognized the man, she might have seen his picture somewhere, but she did recognize the sweatshirt in his arm. "Hey, that's..." She looked back over at Aiden with a grin on her face, "You little sneak. What have you not been telling me about?"

"Nothing," Aiden muttered, "I just loaned him my sweatshirt last night. He didn't have a jacket or anything."

"Oh, really? So you just let him borrow your only sweater so you'd be cold," Annie put her hands on her hips. "Hey, I'm just happy you picked someone cute and successful."

"Annie..." Aiden groaned keeping his head down, as his face grew even more red.

"Anyway, if you want to join us while Aiden takes his lunch break, you are more than welcome," Annie invited, with a smile on her face.

Out of habit, Jude analyzed the features of who he was talking with when Aiden glanced up at him by scanning his face quickly. He was as he had been last night, obviously exhausted. The dark circles under his eyes were a clear indicator of that, not to mention the slouch to his shoulders as he hovered over the table from the chair he'd all but seemingly collapsed into. At least he mustered a smile, Jude thought as Aiden replied to his question. At first, Jude thought that the "she" Aiden mentioned may have been a romantic interest, as most people would, but he'd said the pronoun fondly, but off-handedly. The 'she' must've been the approaching female who placed the tray down, her attention fully on her friend. Jude smiled to her as she noticed his presence, but he had no time to introduce himself as she began to interrogate in only the way that a close friend could do. Her words made Jude quirk his eyebrow, amused. When she directed her attention informally to Jude, he said, "I appreciate the offer." As he spoke, he loosely hung the sweater over the back of the free chair in front of him. "I'll be right back." With that, he turned to go make his own lunch selection.

Once the doctor was gone, Annie sat down across from Aiden and grinned at him. "So, why did you give him your sweatshirt last night? That's not really something I've ever seen you do. Or even make friends with anyone on your own," Annie finally asked as Aiden started to eat what was in front of him. He thought about it quite a bit himself, he wasn't really sure why he had offered to give away his sweatshirt, that wasn't really like him. He wasn't the sort of person that would do that on a regular basis. He found it odd that he even had done that, possibly because it was the first time that someone hadn't been put off by the way he acted. Possibly, it was because he admittedly did think the guy was pretty good looking and thought that there might be a small chance that he could get to know this guy a bit better. He wasn't sure about what he had thought at that moment other than, 'that guy needs a jacket'.

"I don't know, he was nice and I guess I was too tired to think things through correctly," Aiden shrugged. "Plus, he didn't mind that I sort of corrected him on something he said."

"You corrected him on something he said?" Annie questioned, "Aiden, you really need to stop doing that sort of thing."

"I know, I know, but I was tired and I really like talking about science," Aiden groaned.

"Yeah, just as much as you like talking about those superhero comics you read, or those video games you play on your time off," Annie rolled her eyes, "The bigger question here, is if you like him or not and if he likes you or not. Because, you getting a boyfriend would make my job a whole lot easier, someone else could take over worrying about your health and mental state."

After winding through the haphazardly scattered tables and their accompanying chairs, Jude took his place in line and pondered his choices. The selection always circulated around healthy options, this being a hospital, of course. The patrons before him shuffled along, he following at the same pace with his typical stance of loosely crossed arms before him. While waiting, he worked on his presentation to the board mentally. He'd almost become so engrossed that he'd been slightly surprised by the cashier's cheerful acknowledgement. The expression quickly faded into a smile as he ordered and paid, going with a grilled chicken wrap and chips. It was up after a few amiable exchanges between he and the younger woman. Once he'd gotten the tray and turned back to the atrium, he was reminded that he'd actually be eating with people today. Typically, he either ate alone in his office or not at work. Intimidation played a huge role in that, he wasn't pretending to not be aware of the fact. Now, however, he had two individuals almost unaware of his station who he could actually enjoy the company of while eating. As he came back to the table, he considered the not-so-subtle words of the exuberant Annie to her more reserved confidant. He smirked momentarily, but went fresh-faced back towards the table.