Here With Her
The day wore on. Luckily it was a slower day, the kind where the injuries
were kids falling off their bikes or someone pricking their finger with a
kitchen knife.
Smallpox was gone for good. To be accurate, smallpox was never there.
Another form of pox had taken in the hospital. Just a few hours after Abby
and Carter's quarantine, it had been cleared. Although Abby and Carter
hadn't known, the patients were checked for the disease that the children
had carried, each of them resulting negatively. Their individual injuries
were attended to, and patients that had carried on a riot previously were
allowed home. It all happened in less than a day and a half. The smallpox
scare was finally over, and in just two days everything was back to normal.
Or, at least, as close as it would ever get.
Carter traveled to the admit desk to see Abby chewing on a pen to pass the
time as she looked upon a chart in her hands. Carter guessed that she was
unaware of his presence. If the rest of the staff had known about the two
of them, he would sneak up from behind her and play the cute boyfriend
games. He would wrap his arms around her, all the while kissing her neck.
She would laugh playfully along with him, until she would meet his lips
herself.
But Abby had decided against revealing their relationship for the time
being. Carter took her request into consideration and agreed. Since it was
their first day back, they hadn't been able to go to Doc Magoo's yet for
the usual, coffee and pie. Carter hadn't seen a break yet that day, and
waited for noon, just five minutes away, so he could meet her. But first he
would ask her.
"Abby," he called over the counter. The room, while still buzzing with
conversation, was exceptionally quiet. She turned around in response and
smiled at him. She walked over to him, removing the pen from her lips and
sticking it to the clipboard in her arms, which then went to the counter.
She folded her arms and spoke to him.
"Hey, Carter," she said. She was a good actor, good enough to pull this
off. "What's up?"
"You want to head over to Doc Magoo's?" he asked. "Get something to eat?
Because I've just been working so hard today, with all these people coming
in. Like a damn zoo."
Abby chuckled at his sarcasm and walked around the desk. "Meet me in the
lounge in ten minutes. I'm off then." She followed Luka, who had just
called her name. Luka greeted Carter, who waved solemnly and watched as
Abby walked quickly away, struggling to keep up with him.
Carter was instantly jealous, but knew nothing was going on. He smiled to
himself at how his life had changed in just two days. He walked to the
board, unaware of the smile still shining on his face. Weaver stopped him.
"While the long face, Carter?"
Carter half-laughed, and erased a pair of his initials, speaking to Kerry.
"Just in a good mood I guess." He smiled at her as he walked away.
"Can I get some help over here?"
Carter, normally, would be annoyed by the sound of a patient who needed a
Band-Aid crying for service as if he was falling short of breath. He
stopped and took a look at the man's hand. It was a small cut, and fairly
deep. The man tapped his hands on the gurney.
"What happened, Sir?" Carter asked, inspecting the wound.
"I was cleaning my daughter's room. It's in the basement, you know. Her
window was stuck, the kind that sits real close to the ceiling. So I hit it
with my hand to relax it a little. I thought I was getting somewhere the
first time, but the second time it broke and I cut this here hand on a
chunk of glass." The man sighed. "From now on she can clean her own room."
He chuckled with a throaty laugh and watched as Carter pulled a needle and
thread from a nearby drawer. "Whoa, hey. What are you doing?"
"It's nothing Sir," Carter assured him. "I'm going to get another doctor
over here to give you something for the cut, sew it up, and send you on
your way. They'll tell you when to come back. You'll be fine."
"I don't do needles," the man mentioned.
"Not many people do, Sir-"
"Gary."
"Gary. Not many people do, Gary, but we're going to give you something to
numb the pain and you don't have to watch. You can even squeeze your wife's
hand if you want." He smiled and waved to Malik, signaling for him to tend
to the patient. When he arrived, Carter introduced him. "This is Malik, a
great guy, He's gonna fix this wound here, okay?"
Gary thanked him with his eyes, as Carter turned to fill Malik in on the
man's situation. Malik positioned himself on a stool and readied a variety
of equipment.
"Gary," Carter said, disposing of his gloves, "why don't you fill Malik in?
Tell him the story?"
"Okay," Gary agreed. He began as Carter walked away to the lounge. He
looked forward to meeting Abby there, looked forward to finally getting to
be the boyfriend again. They hadn't shared anything the night before. He
saw her to her apartment, giving her a sweet goodnight kiss. He wasn't
disappointed with the way the night ended, and neither was she. They both
needed time to contemplate the situation, which apparently didn't change
anything, and they both needed the sleep. That, on the other hand, was a
very good thing.
"Carter."
He whipped around, awakening from his thoughts to see Susan racing towards
him. "Hey, Susan."
"Hey," she said. "You wanna get something to eat? I'm starved, and I'm off
now."
Carter smiled apologetically and spoke. "Sorry, Susan. Abby and I were
going to go get something at Doc's-"
"I know," Susan laughed.
Carter half-smiled curiously, his face twisting into confusion. "What?"
Susan laughed again. "I just wanted to ask you about the two of you."
Carter blinked and looked at her. "You're kidding right?"
Susan shook her head. "Come on, spill. I know there's something. Your eyes
always catch her. I mean, its not like anything has changed with that part-
"
Carter laughed. "Nothing's going on."
"Carter," she said wisely. "I'm not stupid. I saw you two kiss in
quarantine!"
Carter opened his mouth, but stopped himself. Surprised, he stuttered
without words, if that was even possible. "No you didn't." He laughed, as
Susan followed
"I'm not going to say anything," she said with a smile. "I promise."
Carter shook his head with an amused grin. He teased the back of his hair
with a steady hand and then crossed his arms in front of him.
"Have you guys, you know," she questioned with a curious smile. "Have you?"
Carter looked a little shocked at her sudden questions. Then he shook his
head. "No," he said. "I don't want to until everything is settled again.
The whole pox rage has still taken its toll on both her and me sleep-wise.
I want to wait until everything is okay between us." He didn't feel odd
about confiding in Susan; it was good to have someone to tell this stuff
to. They were the only things that he couldn't tell Abby, because they were
all simply about her. All the great things about her.
Susan laughed, then waved her hand toward the lounge door. "Go on, you're
going to be late for your nurse." Carter smiled.
"You're happy. I told you so."
Carter stopped. "What?" He hadn't thought about it. Not really anyway. He
knew he was happy, but he didn't realize it. "Yeah, I guess so."
Susan smiled. She turned around with a wave to Carter and headed towards
the desk, already striking up a conversation with Frank.
[Part 3]