Chapters 1234 5 6 7 8 9
Mirror Image
Chapter 1
Tim Leilly had a secret crush on his veterinarian. And who could blame him? Dr. Robert Freemont was a total hunk - tall, handsome, with a really nice smile and the most beautiful green eyes that Tim had ever seen. Also, he was great with animals and took good care of Tim’s two cats, Abbott and Costello. He strongly suspected that at least half-a-dozen of the good veterinarian’s clients were gay, and that some of them went out of their way just to bring their pets to him even though his clinic was miles from where they lived. At least HE didn’t do that - he wasn’t that pathetic. In fact, he lived within walking distance of the Freemont Animal Clinic, and would sometimes lug Abbott and Costello’s animal carrier over there on foot rather than wasting his gas.
Of course, Tim knew that his crush was a HUGE waste of time! He’d seen pictures of the hunky vet’s family, his gorgeous wife and two beautiful children. But it was still nice to dream(or rather, fantasize) about living with Dr. Robert Freemont in a pretty house with tons of animals running around, and having hot, screaming, sex with him all day every day in every corner of that pretty house. It was harmless, and it made his day whenever he took his cats to the clinic for a check-up, or for shots, or when they had a kitty cold. Tim pampered and spoiled his feline babies, so he saw the inside of the Freemont Clinic fairly often. Would he have gone so much if the vet didn’t look like Dr. Freemont? Well, probably not. But since he DID, what was a few more visits than were strictly necessary?
One day in the spring, Tim carried the animal carrier into the front door of the clinic, seeing Dr. Freemont standing at the front desk studying some charts. “Hi, Dr. Freemont,” he said, taking the carrier over to him and heaving it up on the counter with a grimace for its weight. “We’re back again!”
The vet eyed the carrier, then him. “Hello,” he said, and something in his tone of voice made Tim give him a puzzled look.
“Err…I brought them in so that you could worm them,” Tim said tentatively. “You told me to do that last time I was in.”
A look of comprehension passed over the vet’s handsome face. “Oh. Why don’t you bring them into the back? I’ll take care of it back there,” he turned toward the back of the clinic, not offering to take the carrier like he normally would have. Puzzled, Tim scooped it up and carried his precious burden into the back where the exam room was.
Much to his further confusion, he found Dr. Freemont muttering to himself and searching the shelves of the cupboards in the exam room. “Where the hell does…ah, here we are!” he cried, snatching up a bottle triumphantly.
He whirled on the confused Tim, still standing in the doorway. “Put the carrier on the table.” he said, pointing.
“Okay,” Tim said, taking it over and setting it down.
The vet strode over to the table and set the bottle down. He picked up a syringe instead, a slight frown on his face. Tim blinked, wondering if he were seeing things. Because Dr. Freemont was drawing the liquid out of the cap of the bottle and into the syringe with his left hand! But Dr. Freemont was right handed. That was one of the things that Tim had noticed about him over his many visits to the clinic. Still, he knew that lots of right-handed people used their left hands for many things other than writing; that it didn’t matter what hand you used EXCEPT for which one you wrote with. It was just…he’d never seen Dr. Freemont use his left hand to fill a syringe before this. Not once.
“Open the carrier and pull one of them out, Mr…” the vet paused, and Tim had the odd idea that the man didn’t know what his name was. But that couldn’t be true!
“Okay,” he hurried to do what he’d been told, wondering what the hell was going on.
He unlatched the carrier and drew Abbott out of it. The complacent creature draped himself over his owner’s arms, purring lazily and blinking up at the vet. Abbott had a friendly round face, and a black, ginger, and white coat that was long and silky. Tim liked to brush him, and Abbott loved being brushed. He’d lay on his owner’s lap for hours while Tim ran the brush over him, just purring away like a motor.
The vet walked over and gave Abbott the shot, not talking to the cat like he normally did. He always called Abbott by name and rubbed his head, and the cat adored his veterinarian in return. But this time he said nothing and didn’t touch Abbot except to give him the shot, and the cat didn’t purr or butt his furry head against Dr. Freemont’s hand to demand his usual petting.
Bewildered, Tim replaced Abbott in the carrier and pulled out Costello instead. Cos was a much different animal than his housemate - he was a bundle of energy, lean and sometimes mean when he was in the mood. His sleek black coat was short, which was good since if Tim had tried to brush him he’d have had fits. He struggled in his owner’s grip, knowing something was going on and not liking it.
“Hey, Cos, it’s okay. Here’s Dr. Freemont,” Tim said soothingly. Costello liked the vet; Dr. Freemont had worked hard to form a rapport with him, and he was one of the few people that the suspicious animal trusted.
Costello’s green-and-gold eyes narrowed, and he laid his ears flat back against his head. He hissed at Dr. Freemont, his claws shooting out as he glared at the vet.
Shocked, Tim didn’t know what to do. Costello had never reacted to the vet this way before! “I’m sorry,” he said, trying to hold the struggling cat back as he hissed and fought to get loose so he could hurl himself at the vet. “He doesn’t usually act this way! Cos, stop it!” he cried, as the cat arched his back and tried to hurl himself to the ground. His unwavering glare was still being directed at the vet, who didn’t look particularly scared or upset.
The vet suddenly darted out his free hand(the right one, Tim noticed dimly; he was holding the syringe in his left hand), and grabbed Costello by the scruff of the neck. He got the cat in a firm hold, then gave him the shot while he hissed futilely and continued to glare like he’d like to kill Dr. Freemont. Then he released the cat, looking at Tim. “There, that’s all there is to it,” he said. “You can put him back into the carrier now.”
“Thank you, Dr. Freemont,” Tim said, pushing the disgruntled and furious Costello back into the carrier with Abbot, “I really don’t understand. All the times we’ve been here, and he’s never acted that way before. I just don’t know what’s wrong with him.”
“It’s fine,” Dr. Freemont said with a shrug. “Since my receptionist is off at lunch, come back up front and I’ll have you fill out the paperwork for this visit.”
“Okay, thanks,” Tim said, picking up the carrier and taking it back out front.
Dr. Freemont had to do some more rummaging up front to find the forms, but Tim didn’t think anything of that since the receptionist Judy usually did all of that. He started to fill out the forms, but his hand paused when he became aware that Dr. Freemont was staring thoughtfully at him. “Umm,” he said, glancing up, “Is there anything wrong, Dr. Freemont?”
The vet then said something that shocked him so much that he just stood there with his mouth hanging open. “You’re kind of cute,” he remarked. “Would you like to go out to dinner with me?”
His greatest fantasy come to life! But what…? Why was a married straight man hitting on him? Tim was befuddled. “Would I…? Why would you ask me that?” he said in bewilderment.
The vet’s brow lifted. “Well, because I want to go out to dinner with you?” he said impatiently.
“But…but…” Tim sputtered helplessly.
“Look, do you want to go out with me or not?” the vet said in clipped, impatient tones.
Tim had had enough. He didn’t know what was going on, or what had made Dr. Freemont lose his mind, but… “I can’t do that, Dr. Freemont,” he snapped angrily, his fingers tightening on the handle of the pet carrier. “It wouldn’t be right.”
“It wouldn’t?” now the vet looked genuinely baffled, and Tim felt like he’d fallen into the Twilight Zone. “Aren’t you gay? Did I read that wrong?” he continued, looking at Tim questioningly.
“Of course you didn’t! But just because I’m gay doesn’t mean that I’ll go out with a married man! I’m not that desperate or stupid!” Tim spluttered angrily.
A frown formed on the vet’s face, but before he could say anything the bell jingled on the door as someone came through it. “Hey, Adrian, how did this morning go?” a familiar voice asked.
Tim whirled around, his eyes going huge and trying to pop out of his head. Standing in the doorway, wearing a suit and no white lab coat, was…Dr. Freemont! He made a small sound and whirled around again, to find himself staring at…Dr. Freemont? A Dr. Freemont who was standing behind the counter wearing a white lab coat over a blue-grey shirt and a pair of tan chinos. What was going on? Was he losing his mind?!
He made a small sound, and the voice behind him said: “Oh, hey, Tim. How’s it going? I see you met my brother Adrian. He just arrived yesterday to take over my practice for a few weeks. My wife and I are taking our kids to the Bahamas on vacation. As you can see, we’re twins,” he added, sounded rather amused. “I sort of hoped that none of my clients would even notice that I’d gone. Did you know he wasn’t me?”
Somehow he found his voice. “No,” he said, meeting the rather sardonic gaze of the man behind the counter, “I can’t say that I did. But Cos knew,” he added faintly.
“I’ll bet he did. Animals are very good at reading people. Anyway, I just came to pick up some papers that I’m going to work on during the vacation. And don’t worry, Tim. My brother is just as good a veterinarian as I am,” he said with a smile as he moved past them and into the back.
His twin smiled sardonically. “Such high praise,” he drawled. He eyed Tim. “Well? Now that you know I’m not cheating on my wife, do I get that dinner date?”
He hesitated. This really was his dream come true, an unattached, eligible, and apparently gay Dr. Freemont who looked just like the other one! But this carbon copy wasn’t apparently much like his twin at all. Tim sighed gustily, wondering why reality always had to be such a let down. “I think I’ll pass,” he remarked as he scooped up the pet carrier and started for the door.
He glanced back briefly as he shoved the door open with his elbow, and saw Dr. Adrian Freemont standing there with a scowl on his handsome face. He looked like a man passing a particularly painful form of gas. Tim fought back a giggle as he carried his pets away down the sidewalk. Something told him that a man like that wasn’t used to people telling him no. Well, new experiences were good for the soul…
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Mirror Image
Chapter 1
Tim Leilly had a secret crush on his veterinarian. And who could blame him? Dr. Robert Freemont was a total hunk - tall, handsome, with a really nice smile and the most beautiful green eyes that Tim had ever seen. Also, he was great with animals and took good care of Tim’s two cats, Abbott and Costello. He strongly suspected that at least half-a-dozen of the good veterinarian’s clients were gay, and that some of them went out of their way just to bring their pets to him even though his clinic was miles from where they lived. At least HE didn’t do that - he wasn’t that pathetic. In fact, he lived within walking distance of the Freemont Animal Clinic, and would sometimes lug Abbott and Costello’s animal carrier over there on foot rather than wasting his gas.
Of course, Tim knew that his crush was a HUGE waste of time! He’d seen pictures of the hunky vet’s family, his gorgeous wife and two beautiful children. But it was still nice to dream(or rather, fantasize) about living with Dr. Robert Freemont in a pretty house with tons of animals running around, and having hot, screaming, sex with him all day every day in every corner of that pretty house. It was harmless, and it made his day whenever he took his cats to the clinic for a check-up, or for shots, or when they had a kitty cold. Tim pampered and spoiled his feline babies, so he saw the inside of the Freemont Clinic fairly often. Would he have gone so much if the vet didn’t look like Dr. Freemont? Well, probably not. But since he DID, what was a few more visits than were strictly necessary?
One day in the spring, Tim carried the animal carrier into the front door of the clinic, seeing Dr. Freemont standing at the front desk studying some charts. “Hi, Dr. Freemont,” he said, taking the carrier over to him and heaving it up on the counter with a grimace for its weight. “We’re back again!”
The vet eyed the carrier, then him. “Hello,” he said, and something in his tone of voice made Tim give him a puzzled look.
“Err…I brought them in so that you could worm them,” Tim said tentatively. “You told me to do that last time I was in.”
A look of comprehension passed over the vet’s handsome face. “Oh. Why don’t you bring them into the back? I’ll take care of it back there,” he turned toward the back of the clinic, not offering to take the carrier like he normally would have. Puzzled, Tim scooped it up and carried his precious burden into the back where the exam room was.
Much to his further confusion, he found Dr. Freemont muttering to himself and searching the shelves of the cupboards in the exam room. “Where the hell does…ah, here we are!” he cried, snatching up a bottle triumphantly.
He whirled on the confused Tim, still standing in the doorway. “Put the carrier on the table.” he said, pointing.
“Okay,” Tim said, taking it over and setting it down.
The vet strode over to the table and set the bottle down. He picked up a syringe instead, a slight frown on his face. Tim blinked, wondering if he were seeing things. Because Dr. Freemont was drawing the liquid out of the cap of the bottle and into the syringe with his left hand! But Dr. Freemont was right handed. That was one of the things that Tim had noticed about him over his many visits to the clinic. Still, he knew that lots of right-handed people used their left hands for many things other than writing; that it didn’t matter what hand you used EXCEPT for which one you wrote with. It was just…he’d never seen Dr. Freemont use his left hand to fill a syringe before this. Not once.
“Open the carrier and pull one of them out, Mr…” the vet paused, and Tim had the odd idea that the man didn’t know what his name was. But that couldn’t be true!
“Okay,” he hurried to do what he’d been told, wondering what the hell was going on.
He unlatched the carrier and drew Abbott out of it. The complacent creature draped himself over his owner’s arms, purring lazily and blinking up at the vet. Abbott had a friendly round face, and a black, ginger, and white coat that was long and silky. Tim liked to brush him, and Abbott loved being brushed. He’d lay on his owner’s lap for hours while Tim ran the brush over him, just purring away like a motor.
The vet walked over and gave Abbott the shot, not talking to the cat like he normally did. He always called Abbott by name and rubbed his head, and the cat adored his veterinarian in return. But this time he said nothing and didn’t touch Abbot except to give him the shot, and the cat didn’t purr or butt his furry head against Dr. Freemont’s hand to demand his usual petting.
Bewildered, Tim replaced Abbott in the carrier and pulled out Costello instead. Cos was a much different animal than his housemate - he was a bundle of energy, lean and sometimes mean when he was in the mood. His sleek black coat was short, which was good since if Tim had tried to brush him he’d have had fits. He struggled in his owner’s grip, knowing something was going on and not liking it.
“Hey, Cos, it’s okay. Here’s Dr. Freemont,” Tim said soothingly. Costello liked the vet; Dr. Freemont had worked hard to form a rapport with him, and he was one of the few people that the suspicious animal trusted.
Costello’s green-and-gold eyes narrowed, and he laid his ears flat back against his head. He hissed at Dr. Freemont, his claws shooting out as he glared at the vet.
Shocked, Tim didn’t know what to do. Costello had never reacted to the vet this way before! “I’m sorry,” he said, trying to hold the struggling cat back as he hissed and fought to get loose so he could hurl himself at the vet. “He doesn’t usually act this way! Cos, stop it!” he cried, as the cat arched his back and tried to hurl himself to the ground. His unwavering glare was still being directed at the vet, who didn’t look particularly scared or upset.
The vet suddenly darted out his free hand(the right one, Tim noticed dimly; he was holding the syringe in his left hand), and grabbed Costello by the scruff of the neck. He got the cat in a firm hold, then gave him the shot while he hissed futilely and continued to glare like he’d like to kill Dr. Freemont. Then he released the cat, looking at Tim. “There, that’s all there is to it,” he said. “You can put him back into the carrier now.”
“Thank you, Dr. Freemont,” Tim said, pushing the disgruntled and furious Costello back into the carrier with Abbot, “I really don’t understand. All the times we’ve been here, and he’s never acted that way before. I just don’t know what’s wrong with him.”
“It’s fine,” Dr. Freemont said with a shrug. “Since my receptionist is off at lunch, come back up front and I’ll have you fill out the paperwork for this visit.”
“Okay, thanks,” Tim said, picking up the carrier and taking it back out front.
Dr. Freemont had to do some more rummaging up front to find the forms, but Tim didn’t think anything of that since the receptionist Judy usually did all of that. He started to fill out the forms, but his hand paused when he became aware that Dr. Freemont was staring thoughtfully at him. “Umm,” he said, glancing up, “Is there anything wrong, Dr. Freemont?”
The vet then said something that shocked him so much that he just stood there with his mouth hanging open. “You’re kind of cute,” he remarked. “Would you like to go out to dinner with me?”
His greatest fantasy come to life! But what…? Why was a married straight man hitting on him? Tim was befuddled. “Would I…? Why would you ask me that?” he said in bewilderment.
The vet’s brow lifted. “Well, because I want to go out to dinner with you?” he said impatiently.
“But…but…” Tim sputtered helplessly.
“Look, do you want to go out with me or not?” the vet said in clipped, impatient tones.
Tim had had enough. He didn’t know what was going on, or what had made Dr. Freemont lose his mind, but… “I can’t do that, Dr. Freemont,” he snapped angrily, his fingers tightening on the handle of the pet carrier. “It wouldn’t be right.”
“It wouldn’t?” now the vet looked genuinely baffled, and Tim felt like he’d fallen into the Twilight Zone. “Aren’t you gay? Did I read that wrong?” he continued, looking at Tim questioningly.
“Of course you didn’t! But just because I’m gay doesn’t mean that I’ll go out with a married man! I’m not that desperate or stupid!” Tim spluttered angrily.
A frown formed on the vet’s face, but before he could say anything the bell jingled on the door as someone came through it. “Hey, Adrian, how did this morning go?” a familiar voice asked.
Tim whirled around, his eyes going huge and trying to pop out of his head. Standing in the doorway, wearing a suit and no white lab coat, was…Dr. Freemont! He made a small sound and whirled around again, to find himself staring at…Dr. Freemont? A Dr. Freemont who was standing behind the counter wearing a white lab coat over a blue-grey shirt and a pair of tan chinos. What was going on? Was he losing his mind?!
He made a small sound, and the voice behind him said: “Oh, hey, Tim. How’s it going? I see you met my brother Adrian. He just arrived yesterday to take over my practice for a few weeks. My wife and I are taking our kids to the Bahamas on vacation. As you can see, we’re twins,” he added, sounded rather amused. “I sort of hoped that none of my clients would even notice that I’d gone. Did you know he wasn’t me?”
Somehow he found his voice. “No,” he said, meeting the rather sardonic gaze of the man behind the counter, “I can’t say that I did. But Cos knew,” he added faintly.
“I’ll bet he did. Animals are very good at reading people. Anyway, I just came to pick up some papers that I’m going to work on during the vacation. And don’t worry, Tim. My brother is just as good a veterinarian as I am,” he said with a smile as he moved past them and into the back.
His twin smiled sardonically. “Such high praise,” he drawled. He eyed Tim. “Well? Now that you know I’m not cheating on my wife, do I get that dinner date?”
He hesitated. This really was his dream come true, an unattached, eligible, and apparently gay Dr. Freemont who looked just like the other one! But this carbon copy wasn’t apparently much like his twin at all. Tim sighed gustily, wondering why reality always had to be such a let down. “I think I’ll pass,” he remarked as he scooped up the pet carrier and started for the door.
He glanced back briefly as he shoved the door open with his elbow, and saw Dr. Adrian Freemont standing there with a scowl on his handsome face. He looked like a man passing a particularly painful form of gas. Tim fought back a giggle as he carried his pets away down the sidewalk. Something told him that a man like that wasn’t used to people telling him no. Well, new experiences were good for the soul…
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