InsaneJournal

in five words: Professional, Taciturn, Cynical, Intelligent, Loyal
in detail:
Ben is a fairly taciturn type. He's the one at parties who's generally standing at the back of the room nursing a drink. He's not miserable though, just taking in the atmosphere and events. He's more than capable of being charming if he wants to be and is a competent if not prize-winning dancer. He has few real friends since he prefers it that way, but he's extremely loyal to those he has.

As a child, Ben was part of a very close (although strict), very religious family and he retained their work and social ethos until he was at university in Edinburgh and learned that there was a whole other world out there. He no longer has his childhood faith and has also abandoned most of his family-taught morals, but he has retained the work ethic that was instilled in him. No matter how late the night before was, he never misses work and he's apparently never anything other than alert when he's there.

He often uses his natural reticence to join the life and soul of the party in order to gain attention from women. It works far better than he ever planned for it to, and he's developed a bit of a man-slut lifestyle over the years. He doesn't brag about it to his friends, but he doesn't deliberately protect his conquests either. He doesn't "do" romance, but he doesn't mistreat any of his partners. He simply lets them know from the start that he's not interested in any form of commitment whatsoever. If they don't like it, fine; they know where the door is. If they do like it, also fine; they know where the bedroom door is. If they think they'll be the one to change him... oh dear. They're going to end up sadly disappointed.

Ben has a temper but it's rare for it to be fully demonstrated. He'll brood on things, and he can be grumpy and quiet, but that's nothing. On the rare occasion that his temper does go, it's all the way, red mist and all. He makes an effort not to show it on the few occasions when he can feel it building. He's generally successful.

He's tidy by nature. In fact, too much mess irritates him. His apartment is kept clean and it is rare that anything will be left out around his living area that doesn't belong there. He's not exactly intolerant of mess in other people, but it makes it hard for him to relax in a disordered environment. He just doesn't understand how anyone could choose to live that way.

history:
Ben was born to Benjamin Sr. and his wife Miriam in Edinburgh, Scotland. He is the oldest child of three. He was brought up under strict Presbyterian principles and he was physically punished for any breaking of the rules. However he was a well-behaved boy and he rarely suffered too badly. After him came his brother, Seth, followed by his sister, Rachael. Ben was, and still would be if he was back home, fiercely protective of his sister.

He went to local schools where he did well in science-related subjects and English literature. He thoroughly enjoyed creating his own science projects, all of which were well-received in class, and he was an avid member of the science club all through school from the moment he was old enough to join his first one. A couple of kids tried to pick on him, but he was completely oblivious to their taunts and they gave up eventually through sheer boredom.

He hurt his right leg as a teenager when, while carrying out some work experience on a farm outside Edinburgh, he got on the wrong side of an adolescent bull which gored his calf fairly badly. It still bothers him today but he agreed with his father later that the accident was his own fault and the bull still lives on the farm. Ben learned to be more careful around livestock after that and he still gives most animals a fair amount of respect to this day. It was also this experience that finally made him choose to treat human patients from there on in. Oddly, however, it seemed to be this event which triggered what turned out to be his regenerative gifts. He noticed it first when he gashed his arm - also during his two weeks' work experience. It had bled profusely for approximately ten seconds - then the wound had almost visibly started closing up. Within three days there was no sign at all that Ben had ever had any trauma whatsoever. His leg is the only thing that his metabolism - for want of a better term - cannot heal. It was around this time that he also realised his eyesight was improving - in fact it improved so much that he could hardly stand it. He found he could see "too much" if that's possible. Consequently, he faked an eye test to convince an optician that he needed glasses. His glasses take his vision to 20/20 which is fine for most occasions. He takes them off if he needs his hawk-eye vision for any reason - for instance, sniper duty. But that's very rare.

None of the above - aside from the unavoidable fuss after the incident with the bull - was ever divulged to his family by Ben. He simply felt they wouldn't approve and what they didn't know wouldn't hurt them.

He knew from an early age that he wanted to be either a doctor or a vet. It was what he was interested in after all, plus he felt that it was his God-given duty to minister to people in some way and he knew that the church wasn't for him. So, medicine it was since God had given him the brains to take to this career. He trained in Edinburgh but moved out of home and into digs/rented accommodation after a fair bit of "discussion" with his mother and father over the topic. It was an eye-opener. Apparently, doctors were in demand - even trainee ones. And in ways that Ben had genuinely never dreamed of. It was while at university that he discovered a taste for alcohol, tobacco and - most of all - girls. He imbibed in all three, pretty liberally, and he had a great time in university as a result. None of it got in the way of his studies, however, and he graduated with a first class honours degree.

He stayed in Edinburgh after he qualified as a doctor and took a job working for one of the local doctors with a tacit view to him eventually taking over the practice. His mentor and boss had been impressed with the young Dr. Ferguson and his dedication to duty. He also studied for his surgeon's exams at this time, again passing with flying colours. His name had been mentioned as one to watch out for in medical circles in the years to come. He still visited home fairly regularly and his family still thought of him as the beloved elder son. They never saw him smoking, never saw the tattoos he'd taken to having inked on himself. He never drank anything stronger than tea or coffee while he was there and, as for women, well it was about time he started paying court to that lovely Sara Trevaskis, wasn't it? After all, the families had been friends for years. Lovely girl, and as pure as Ben himself was. At least, his parents thought so.

Ben worked well and hard at the practice - but his fondness for a few too many of his female patients almost proved his undoing. He was discreet, but not all of his conquests were, and rumors began to circulate. Thankfully, they never reached the ears of Ben's boss, and Ben himself never discussed it. By 2005, however, things were starting to get a little hot; Ben had received a couple of warnings from husbands making their positions VERY clear to him, and one of his single patients began hinting at the paternity of her unborn child.

Ben was FAR from ready to commit to marriage and fatherhood, so he left the practice on the pretext of being needed in New Orleans. His boss and his family considered him something of a hero for heeding the call and he went with their full blessing and a fairly healthy-looking bank balance. He never went there, however. Instead he ended up being "headhunted" while on the continent. Apparently, there was a private concern that was in need of a good doctor and they'd been watching him for some time. The upshot of it all was he ended up being offered a job and accepting it before he'd even found out the full details. Apparently, had he proven unsuitable, they'd have simply arranged for his mind to be wiped and replaced with a memory of a fairly pleasant but uneventful sojourn in Amsterdam.

● Speaks English with an Edinburgh accent, and is a fluent German speaker.
● His first name is unusual for a non-Catholic. However, his mother preferred it to Benjamin, so Benedict he became.
● He could quite easily torture somebody for information without any qualms whatsoever.
● In spite of his distance from his family, he would kill anyone who hurt his sister.

player: Alison
AIM: Snakebittenraven
Y!M/MSN: black_narcissus2003 (rarely used)
email: black.narcissus[at]gmail[dot]com

played-by: Kiefer Sutherland
coding: fenostol@rp_tutorials