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?"