Establishing Boundaries

Jesse shook his head. His mood had taken a dive with all that teasing from his family after his innocent gesture toward Pearl. The fact that it reminded him of a conversation he'd had with Pearl before she left made it worse.

He'd been sent up to the guest room of his mother's house because after lunch with Vivienne she'd gone to rest. After knocking on the door, he'd let himself in. She had still been sleeping but this time he'd woken her up.

She had opened her eyes slowly and looked around her. Her brown eyes had widened slightly when they saw him but Pearl smiled and sat up.

"Hey, Jesse."

"Hey, Pearl. How're you doing?"

"I'm good thanks." Pause. "Just taking a quick break."

"Yeah, Mom said as much."

He started to ask her if she'd been feeling off or if she'd been working harder than usual. Her smile faded and she'd held up her hand. "Jesse, stop! Just stop for a minute! I don't need your help. I just wanted some peace. Let it be!"

A terse silence followed her outburst and Jesse ended it by saying, "Alright. I get it. I'll go back downstairs then. I'll let Mom know you're okay."

Without waiting to hear from her, he'd left the room.

Pearl had come down a few minutes after that.

Not noticing the worried glance Jesse ignored from Pearl, Vivienne had smiled and said, "Jesse, I guess you were right. She does look normal. Just fine."

Pearl's smile reassured her and Jesse said something light which had changed the subject entirely. A little later Vivienne's attention was required in the kitchen. Needing anything other than her to focus on, Jesse stood up and walked to the bay window.

He'd known the minute she'd followed him because he could smell her.

"Jesse," she began a bit hesitantly. "I'm very sorry for what I said upstairs. It was uncalled for and … you didn't deserve it."

"It's fine, Pearl," he replied lightly, "I've had worse. I'm used to patients feeling smothered and lashing out." He glanced over his shoulder in time to see her grimace. "We still have to get the job done."

"But you're not my doctor, Jesse," she cried out. Pause. "You're… much more than that."

For a moment Jesse stopped breathing. Turning around, he'd looked directly at her. She was looking at her hands. Contrition clear in her voice, "I- I mean, you're like family and you've become my friend. You're- I don't mean to sound ungrateful."

Jesse's breathing returned to normal as he realised her meaning. The disappointment was almost refreshing and his heart beat once again. But it stopped once more when she looked up and there were tears in her pretty almond eyes.

"I'm just honestly tired of being the sick one!" She threw her hands up, "This time I wasn't even sick but you're still treating me like I am."

"I'm sorry," he said stiffly. "It was my mistake. My mom was worried so I just wanted to be sure."

Pearl sniffed. Her eyes were clearer now. "I get that. Let's agree that you won't offer medical assistance unless I ask for it- or I'm unable to."

Jesse's lips pursed momentarily but he nodded.

There was a pause.

"And the rest of the time, I'm just Pearl." She tried for a smile, but she was still upset at how the conversation was going. "Your mother's goddaughter."

"Fine."

Jesse wasn't giving her much to work with.

"I am not your patient and I don't want you to be my doctor," she reiterated firmly.

"I get it, Pearl."

Now, Jesse thought with frustration, she was more than that, but obviously she wasn't looking to develop anything so he'd play along. He just didn't like being reminded of his position when it came to Pearl.

After all the teasing he'd gotten about kissing Pearl, Sam had then asked him about his job hunt.

"Have you decided to stay in California, Jesse?" was the actual question.

Jesse had answered honestly and said he was far from decided. What he hadn't done was expand on any of his decisions for the short list or the reasons for his unmentioned choices. Thankfully none of them had asked.

As the days went by, Jesse kept himself busy. It was his best solution for keeping his mind off Pearl. After a week or so he was able to push his worry down deep enough to ignore it. Every now and then, he heard from her through his family members who passed on greetings and sometimes she would message him directly.

He managed to convince himself that she wasn't just doing it because she felt bad about what she'd said the last time they'd spoken in person. Of course, whenever one of his relatives told him anything from Pearl, they ripped him a fresh one about the kisses. He laughed it off but he really wished they would stop. None of that made him miss her any less.

One thing Jesse increasingly looked forward to was his twice weekly calls or video chats with Pablo.

The boy had grown on him. He wanted to hear all about what the child was doing at home and at preschool, wanted to help solve his problems and be included in the child's life.

Every now and then Pablo would ask about Pearl and Jesse always answered truthfully. Usually not knowing what she was up to or if she was really okay. After his enquiry Pablo frequently said, "She was pretty."

The wistful tone made Jesse's chest tighten every time but he'd just agree and move the conversation along.

Pablo was most excited when Jesse travelled because he got to see pictures of the different places. The little boy gave his honest opinion of each place and that contribution, Jesse quickly realised, seemed to matter to him, so he listened and never dismissed the innocent questions or comments.

Jesse was invited by a group of hospitals to tour their facilities in Georgia over a particular weekend and so he promised to call Pablo from the hotel. He also sent through some pictures of the clinic they wanted him to work at.

So far, Pablo liked Jesse's mother's house and the Como Rosario Institution in Brazil most. His consideration of the place in Georgia was that it was too old for Jesse.

On his return from Georgia, Jesse had been so exhausted he'd put his phone on silent and slept until two in the afternoon.

When he finally got out of bed and showered, he felt a lot better than he had the previous night. Checking his phone, he chuckled to himself. He had several missed calls and unread messages.

He replied the one from his mother concerning a dinner at her place and then left the house to have a late lunch with Jill, who'd spontaneously messaged at the end of her shift.