This fanfic follows Daylight parts 1 - 10, can as usual be viewed at viewed at http://www.geocities.com/cimerene/
Disclaimer: This fanfic is PG! All characters belong to the creators of E.R; I have cheerfully borrowed them for a while, and will put them back when I'm done playing with them.
This fic was co-written by both Cimerene and Debbie. (Big round of applause for Debbie because she had to edit and put up with my insanity too!) :)
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Part 11
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"Don't burn yourself now." John said, interspersing his words with his kisses on the side of Kerry's neck. She tried to ignore him as she turned the omelet over in the pan.
"Stop sidetracking me or you're omelet will burn."
She did however smiled at him, wishing he would continue debating whether or not she should just turn the burner off, and eat a cold breakfast later.
"Can you get some plates?" she said to sidetrack him. Her grumbling stomach let her know in no uncertain terms that it was HUNGRY!
"What do you have planned for us today?" She asked him suddenly, her eyes intent on the meal she was cooking. She remembered their talk from the previous night and admitted how curious she was to what he had planned.
"Not a thing," he answered her pretending to look quite serious then laughed openly at the expression on her face.
"John!" She exclaimed as she grabbed the plates from him to dish up their meal. "Seriously I thought you said we had plans for today?" She turned the knob to the off position on the stove, then grabbed silverware from the drawer. She briefly contemplated juggling everything from the toast to the plates, to get them to the table. When John deftly took them from her and placed them on the table.
"Actually," he paused to take a bite out of the omelet, impressed as he always was by her cooking. No one cooked like she did; she made his bachelor fare look like burnt offerings!
"How do you feel about horse back riding?"
"Horse back riding? I haven't done that in years..." She said out loud. Inwardly she thought how expensive it was just to look at a horse much less ride one. "Sounds like fun though, I don't know of any stables around here do you? Aren't they kind of expensive" she asked him, unconsciously moving her glasses closer to her nose.
"It won't cost us a dime." He grinned at her, then proceeded to finish his portion. "Is there more?" He got up walked towards the stove at her nod. He proceeded to take the rest of the omelet and toast, eating the last two pieces of bacon on his way back to the table.
"Why?" she asked still trying to eat her food while it was hot. She really didn't want to go into money issues at the breakfast table, but if he expected there to be extra in her budget he had another surprise or two.
"Kerry has anyone ever told you, you worry to much!"
She wrinkled her nose at him.
"I get paid to worry." She told him half serious half teasingly. She watched him as he used his fork to spear the last bite of her omelet.
"Horseback riding huh? That's doable, we're going to be very tired when we get home tonight. You do remember your on call?" she paused till he nodded toward her. "Don't you think it might be a bit difficult getting up at 3:00 a.m. for a trauma?" She asked him. Then before he could get a word in edgewise she questioned him further, "and you never answered my question!"
"Hey, what's a trauma or two at 3 a.m. I can handle that; it's not like I haven't gone without sleep before. I have a question for you though." He paused for a moment collecting his thoughts.
"How long have you been having nightmares?" he asked her remembering the one she had the night before. He sipped his coffee and watched her intently.
"Only occasionally." She picked up both of their plates and took them to the sink. "Are you through eating? Did you want more?" She busied herself at the sink; positive she didn't want to talk about her nightmares.
"What are they about?" John asked her. He knew he was pushing but he really wanted to know. He wondered if making her talk about the subject would push her farther away or in the end help her.
"The accident." She motioned towards his cup. "Are you through with that?"
He walked over to where she was, at the kitchen sink, placed his by now empty coffee cup on the side still watching her intently. Evidently she had no intentions of talking about them. He wasn't sure if she was trying to protect him or hiding from herself.
"Have you ever seen anyone about them." He watched as her face hardened shutting off all expression.
"You worry too much." She told him, she had no intention of discussing this.
"Well?" John knew that they had to talk about it. She looked up to see that he had no intention of stopping the conversation.
"No, but then it's never really been a problem." Still giving him little or no information, Kerry wished he would drop the subject.
"It's curious." John told her as he took the dish she had just washed, dried it and put it away. "You were all for me getting help a few months back, but if I raise the very same issue but in regard to you, you sidestep the question.
Kerry kept her eyes on the dishes she was washing, scrubbing them a little harder than was warranted. "It's hardly the same thing John." He watched as she rinsed a dish and handed it to over to him.
"It is to me." He told her quietly as he dried and put the plate away.
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Several hours later at John's Grandparent's estate
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"What is her name?" Kerry asked him. She watched as John efficiently handled the horse, calming and stroking her before fitting her with her saddle and gear.
"The official version or what her name really is." He calmly cinched the saddle straps in. He patted her affectionately as he moved to the other side and continued his work. Kerry continued to stroke the mare's soft forehead.
"Her real name." She told him quietly; not wanting to alarm the horse that John had decided was gentle enough for her to ride. In truth, Kerry was just as curious about the mare's official name, but worried she might forget and call her the wrong name when she really needed her to pay attention.
"We call her Apple. Mostly cause she likes to eat so many of them." He laughed quietly at the horse, which perked up her ears at her nickname.
"Apple." Kerry told the horse quietly. "Pleased to meet you."
She chuckled quietly as the horse shook her head and snorted slightly.
"You ready?" John asked her.
"Are you?" She replied before taking his helping hand and mounting her horse.
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Kerry smiled and put down the Snapple she was finished drinking. She knew she was going to hurt tomorrow, after all it had been years since she had been on a horse. But today, today she was sitting on a blanket eating sandwiches and drinking lemonade. She stretched back to look up at the sky, in her peripheral vision she knew John had moved to sit next to her.
"And this is all on your grandparents land?" she asked him. John leaned closer to her; her perfume as always was intoxicating. "Umm mmm," he murmured moving her hair slightly to kiss her neck.
"I thought we were here to explore the wonders of nature?" She told him half serious.
"Hmm wonder of nature," He took the hat off the top of her head, and gently moved a fluffy lock of hair out of the way. "I am definitely ready to explore the wonders of nature." He told her; the naughty look he gave her let her know without a shadow of a doubt, where his thoughts were.
She smiled up at him then waited expectantly; knowing that is was just a matter of time before….
He kissed her.
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Hours later
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John was vaguely aware of a noise interrupting his sleep. He looked over at the clock, 2:00 a.m., it wasn't the alarm clock. He reached over and grabbed his pager off of the night stand. It was steadily beeping. He attempted to rub the sleep from his eyes, as he climbed out of the nice, warm bed, and made his way to the bathroom. He splashed water on his face in an attempt to wake up, as much as he loved his job, he hated being on call.
He made his way quickly downstairs, wrote a quick note to Kerry, just in case he wasn't home by the time she woke up, and carefully opened the front door, so as not to wake Kerry.
The five minute drive to county was eerie at this hour, the streets were empty of traffic, and as he pulled into the ambulance bay, he was immediately summoned from his vehicle.
"Come on, come on!" Chuny called to him, "we got a gang war going on in here!"
John walked into chaos. The ER was a certainly hopping tonight. As he made his way toward the board, two gang members were arguing loudly by the desk about their friend, and who was responsible for this, while a security guard was doing his best to calm them. One of the gang members swung back to punch at the security guard and inadvertently swung directly into John's head.
"Hey, back off!" He yelled, as the security guard restrained the young man's arm.
"Great," John thought, "I got out of bed for this."
"Carter, we need you in trauma 3!" He heard someone yell. He quickly suited up, and dove into action.
"Oh geez, this kid can't be more than 12 or 13." He thought as he rattled off labs, and called for a chest x-ray. The kid was bleeding profusely, and John saw at least three bullet wounds, one to the chest and two to his head. As John carefully inspected the child's head, he noticed gray matter stuck in his hair. After 20 minutes of effort, he called it. It always bothered him to see this, and this time was no different. A kid had died at the hands of another kid. Why did this happen? He had no time to digest this, he was called immediately to another room, and another kid.
"What have we got?" He called out.
"10-year-old female, apparently caught in the crossfire."
The patient was wailing and would not be consoled. John tried his best to calm her, as he continued his examination of her injuries. She had an abdominal wound, and needed to go to surgery immediately.
"Call the OR, she needs to go up now!" He called.
The girl was pushed from the room, still wailing loudly.
"Carter, we need you in here!"
He removed his gown and gloves, and hurried to the next trauma room. Another kid, would this never end? This kid was no more then two or three, another victim of crossfire. This child had been sleeping and the bullet had traveled through the railing of her crib and lodged in her chest. She wasn't wailing, she wasn't making a sound and wouldn't for some time. She had already been intubated, and her eyes were wide and staring directly at him. John smiled down at her, and told her who he was, and that everything would be okay. The child looked terrified. John took her hand and rubbed her head, before he started his xamination. She had a bullet lodged in her chest, and would need a chest tube.
He called for the chest tube tray, and began injecting the area to numb the skin before he started, explaining what he was doing the whole time. After the child was stabilized, he helped transport her to surgery, and waited with her, the parents were no where to be found. John would never understand this, and it certainly wasn't this little one's fault, so he stayed by her until she was pushed from the pre-op holding area, into the OR.
He rubbed his eyes, and ran his fingers through his hair. He made his way back toward the elevators, and glanced at his watch. "Oh man" he thought. He had meant to call Kerry so she wouldn't wake up and wonder where he was. He had left a note, but he usually called as well. This night did not work out that way for him. He had been busy steadily for hours on end, and he was now very tired. He needed to find a quiet spot to close his eyes for a few minutes. His eyes were burning, and he started wishing he had gone to sleep earlier last night.
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Cimerene@gci.net or dmraz123@aol.com
