Emergency Medical Dad

XII: all day, present

heyo sorry about the inactivity, I graduated high school yesterday so I've been swamped as hell with stuff to do. hopefully this long af chapter makes up for the inactivity. I'll be drafting a posting schedule for the summer sooner or later but i'm back. 

JORGEN

"Morning Jorgen," my uncle picked up his phone, luckily, only on the second ring. "What's up?"

"I have something to go over with you, you might've heard something from Dad but I, most likely, need to stay in Chicago this summer," I lean the phone on my shoulder and hold it up to my ear, standing up and pressing the last of the air out of my prosthetic socket before sealing it on.

"Why's that? I thought you were avoiding Peter."

"I am," I pick up a pair of pants off the end of the bed, sitting back down to wiggle them on over my legs. "But I need to stay to work out a situation with a girl I knew in high school. It's looking like an all-summer issue, if not longer."

"Can I have details on the situation? I have no doubt that Jack would be alright with covering the tourney and summer stuff but I want to know why."

"I, ah," I clear my throat, still pressing the phone to my ear with my shoulder as I loop my belt through the pants, fastening it around my hips. "I have a son."

Bernie goes dead silent on the other end of the line, "you have a what?"

"Son. He's seven. His name's Connor. Jessie is in a rough spot financially and with her family and I'm one of the last shots she has so I'm staying home until we can figure out something to do about it."

"Slow down, slow down, you have a what?"

I hit speaker and set the phone on the bathroom counter, hair still wet from my shower moments earlier. "A son, as in, a kid."

"What? When? How? Why didn't we know about this?"

"I didn't know about this until yesterday," I run the brush back through my hair and then decide between a couple things I could do with it, landing on the same thing I do every day, toweling it all the way off and then pulling it back as tight as I can, knotting it at the back of my head.

"How did you not know until-"

"Bernie, it happened when I was a senior in high school, honestly I'd be more concerned if she'd decided to tell me than not tell me."

He pauses, "fair. So you're staying in Chicago until further notice?"

"I assume as much."

"Are you going to pick up work there?"

I sigh, running my fingers through the side of the short beard I grew during playoffs and have only trimmed up since. It suits me, sort of. "I was going to drop by the station today to see if they need volunteer EMTs this summer just to fill time, otherwise I'm going to be bored."

"Alright, yeah," he lets out a breath, "do you need me to send you anything from your house?"

"I'll make a list, thanks."

"And do you want me to tell people that's why you're staying home or do you want another reason?"

I wince, leaning against the counter, "another reason, just say I'm staying the summer for the wedding. We're treading weird water with my position in their life."

"I'll say."

"Mhmm," I scratch the back of my head, "well, I'm gonna go, if that's alright?"