Awkward Family Reunions [Aldrich, Gilbert and Ludwig]

Aldrich had to get use to the fact that despite he had ten years of medical training, this was a new hospital, a new job and as such, he had to pick up all the tasks nobody wanted to do. Like, check up on CNP out patients... nobody wants to know that there's nothing that can be done.

So, he went to check up on a patient for whom he would be amputating a leg soon, (it was never a pleasant experience to tell someone that they were going to have to loose their leg.) However, when he had finished and had attempted to console the girl (a ballet dancer who had clung on to the hope that she would be able to dance again) he hadn't managed that very well, something caught his eye...

A patient. He was hard to miss with his his stark white hair and red eyes, not to mention the loud voice, but something was familiar about him. He wasn't quite sure what it was, but it inticed him to move closer to the young man, intrigued.

Ludwig attempted to nurse the migraine he knew was on its way as he pushed open the door to Gilbert’s room. He loved his job, he really did, but sometimes his patients were…less than friendly. He’d just been yelled at for about the tenth time by a particularly stubborn (and very rude) patient who simply did not want to admit that he needed a transplant if he wanted to live. Ludwig would never understand people like him. Then again, was Gilbert not doing something similar in refusing to admit that he was sick?

But Ludwig supposed he had better not think that way. He was here to visit Gilbert, after all, and it might be best not to start an argument with him. He shut the door again as quietly as he could and turned to greet his brother…only to find that there was a strange man (well, Ludwig assumed it was a man; the long hair made it a bit ambiguous) approaching Gilbert!

Naturally, this did not sit well with the overprotective Ludwig. He quickly noted the fact that this man seemed to be a doctor, judging by his attire. Had a new doctor been assigned to Gilbert? If that was the case, he hadn’t heard, and Ludwig was sure he knew all there was to know about Gilbert’s situation. Yes, Ludwig was genuinely worried. But rather than make a scene there, he stood quietly by and waited for one of the men to notice him.

Gilbert grumbled loudly about how boring the hospital was. Seriously, all he could do was sit around and watch television or read or whatever sedentary things they could think of. He wasn't one to sit around all day, no matter how addicting his new video game got. Hopefully Ludwig would visit soon so that some of his boredom could have an outlet. He hoped his brother wasn't overworking himself, sometimes the man would come in to visit and look dead on his feet. It really made him worry.

His thoughts were interrupted when a man approached him. The man looked a lot like Ludwig, but the long hair made it impossible for him to be the younger man. Once Gilbert got past the other's hair, the first thing he noticed was that his nametag read "Beilschmidt". He knew that sometimes his brother looked aged when he walked in the room, but never this literally. Was this possible? Could the hospital have aged him beyond his years? Was Ludwig really.....by the door? Oh well, that made everything a whole lot easier to understand, but only slightly. He frowned and gave the man a calculating stare. "Hallo, can I help you?"

Maybe Dr. Fernandez had traded him with this man, it wouldn't have been the first time a doctor did that. However, that didn't seem too likely, considering the friendship the two had developed.

Aldrich blinked and shook his head, "Nein, nein, herr..." He didn't know the person's name, just left it at that. "I vas..." He paused, not sure of an adequate reason to why he had been interested in the white haired man, "You just reminded me of someone, it doesn't matter." Feeling embarassed, he turned around, and come face to face with something strange.

For a moment, he contemplated the idea that he had slipped in to an alternate universe, and the person in front of him was actually an alternate verson of himself, a fair bit younger and with shorter hair. He wondered if that was what he would look like if he hadn't become rebellious against his family and grown his hair long as a teenager. However, though they were very similar, (almost freakishly so) there were subtle differences.

"Ah... sorry, I'm Dr Aldrick Beilschmidt... I am a new surgeon here." He explained to the two, feeling slightly embarassed. The blond one had a frown on his face, protectively, as if he saw Aldrich as a threat, which he probably could be, in theory. He wasn't the young man's doctor after all.

He felt a little guilty, because he hadn't meant to interrupt what he assumed was a family moment (he could see something of a ressembalnce between the two). He wasn't very good with family moments, having not really had a family since he was eighteen, he often intterupted those of his patients. Something was strange, the way they looked... it reminded him of... he wasn't sure, someone, but he didn't know who at all... well, except himself.

As the strange man turned away from Gilbert, Ludwig couldn’t help sighing in relief. He didn’t believe that this man, whoever he was, was there to harm Gilbert, but that didn’t make him any more comfortable with the situation. Hopefully, the guy would just go away and he could visit his brother without further incident…

But all Ludwig’s hopes of having a normal visit with Gilbert vanished the moment the strange man turned around and Ludwig caught a glimpse of his features, so similar to his own. He stopped short, eyes widening in shock. Who was this? Why did he look so similar to Ludwig? What was going on?

If he had been any other person, Ludwig might have had a panic attack right then and there, but he managed to keep his wits about him and glance at the strange man’s name tag…only to confuse himself further. “Beilschmidt,” he read. But that couldn’t be possible; there were no other doctors in his family! At least, none that he knew of. But, then again, there were a few family members unaccounted for in the family tree he’d been shown, so there was always the possibility…

“It is nice to meet you, Dr. Beilschmidt,” he said in reply to the surgeon’s greeting. “My name is Ludwig Beilschmidt, and this is my brother, Gilbert.” He gestured to his brother as he introduced him, wondering if Dr. Beilschmidt would recognize either of them. He itched to ask if he knew either of them, but Ludwig was not that tactless. He would wait and see.

He wasn't here for anything? How strange. Usually the staff here had some sort of purpose when they barged into his room. Gilbert reminded him of someone? That really did matter, was there someone going around with a face similar to his? "If I remind you of someone, they'd have to be a pretty awesome dude," he responded as the man turned away.

Aldrich Beilschmidt, huh? The name sounded familiar to Gilbert, but he just couldn't place where he had heard it before. He would have though about it harder, but was distracted by hearing Ludwig say his name, giving a nod in response. He was going to ask questions about who the man was, as he did bear quite the resemblance to his younger brother, but decided to wait. After all, maybe Dr. Beilschmidt would recognize their names and the whole issue would resolve itself. No, as much as Gilbert's voice was music to his own ears and probably to everyone who ever had the privilege of hearing him speak, he decided to hold his tongue, just this once.

Well, Aldrich thought, the name Gilbert was familiar, yes, but he doubted that the young man in the bed was his father, in all honesty. But the were both Beilshmidt... That couldn't be a coincidence, surely? As far as he knew, though Gilbert was a common German name, Beilschmidt was less so. Not that he had known many Germans since he was a teenager, many years ago, but it didn't seem like they would have suddenly appeared in the short time he had been away... 

“Beishmidt, you say?” He asked, raising an eyebrow, “It is strange that we share the same last name... And you two still do look familiar.” He rubbed his temple, trying to think if he had met a Gilbert before, barring the obvious. “My father is Gilbert Beilschmidt, but it's a tenuous connection.” He shook his head, starting to feel a headache start to form at the front of his skull.

“Mmm... Sorry.” He apologised, “I didn't mean to intrude.”   

Ludwig raised an eyebrow as he watched Doctor Beilschmidt rub his temples as he contemplated this newest development. It all seemed oddly…familiar. Ludwig did that too, didn’t he? Being a rational person, Ludwig knew that didn’t mean a thing; many people probably did the same thing, but he supposed that it would look odd. No wonder Gilbert had seemed taken aback by the whole thing. His brother wasn’t even proclaiming his “awesomeness,” so he must have been shaken.

He had expected Doctor Beilschmidt to say he didn’t know anyone of that name and for everything to return to normal, but the last thing he expected to hear was an allusion to another Gilbert Beilschmidt: Ludwig’s own grandfather. It’s just a coincidence, he attempted to reassure himself, but he didn’t believe it.

“Gilbert Beilschmidt, you say?” he finally replied. “That’s my grandfather’s name, the one my brother was named for.” He paused uncertainly for a moment before continuing in a hushed tone, “You… You don’t think…” He wasn’t sure what to say next, so he trailed off, saying nothing.