OK, this story is extremely strange so beware! It's probably rated G since it's pretty much harmless. Neither Kerry Weaver nor Kim Legaspi belong to me but rather to some big TV companies. However, Asutsura and Ichidou are my original characters. If I ever get around to actually righting a sequel to this fanfic, it would most probably be a cross-over, it's not a cross-over as it is right now, though. I'm not an experienced writer, either, so that's one more thing you should beware of while reading this story. By the way, this fanfic does contain some spoilers for the episodes 20 and 21 of the Season Seven (I don't remember the episode titles). Other than that, enjoy. Oh yeah, almost forgot, my E-mail address is IolantaStar@hotmail.com.
The Meaning of Happiness.
"I was born from the sun dust. I lived all alone on the far away planet revolving around the star Vega of the Lyra constellation until that little planet, the only place in the universe which I could truly call my home, was destroyed by the negative forces seeking to destroy our entire world. The force of the explosion of Vega's love sent me here, to Earth, and this is how I got hurt."
Kerry Weaver listened to the orange-haired girl's story without a word. When the "alien" finished, Kerry yelled, "Somebody page Dr. Legaspi right now!" When no answer came, the Chief of Emergency Services turned around to find the admit desk empty. Randy was probably having one of her self-assigned breaks again. Kerry sighed. It seemed like no matter how much she tried, every day there was a total chaos at the ER of the Cook County General Hospital. What scared her the most was that everyone was actually quite used to it by now, even her. Yes, indeed, just as one of her patients noticed not so long ago, every day is full of new surprises. There was no time to dwell on this subject right now, though, as Kerry still needed to go upstairs, catch Kim somewhere and maybe even talk to the pretty psychiatrist under the excuse of the concern for the mentally ill patient.
Kerry started for the elevator thinking, "Oh, God, why do I have to deal with it right now? This day was crazy enough without girls thinking they are aliens. Damn it, and I almost forgot about Mr. I-thought-those-buttons-look-like-candy in Curtain Three. I'll have to check on him when I get back. Geez, I certainly hope Kim had a better day than I did, otherwise she would be ready to kill herself."
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Kerry couldn't help herself but to feel disappointed since she didn't even get to talk to Kim, who was apparently very busy doing a psych consult on some maniac. "And here I was thinking that this day can't possibly get any worse,"she muttered under breath.
Kerry made her way to the Exam One, where she left her "alien" patient only a few minutes ago. To her surprise when she came in, the orange-haired girl was almost dressed and ready to go while on the other side of the room Asutsura Vel was sitting on one of the hard hospital chairs her dark-brown eyes never leaving the beautiful patient.
Asutsura came to the ER only a few days ago becoming a Chief of the Medicine at the Cook County General, a position which Kerry didn't even know existed before this girl filled it. Girl? Yes, a girl, for Asutsura hardly looked old enough to be a senior in high school right along command an entire hospital. Kerry had no idea how the hell this teenager came to be her boss or why she didn't make a single mistake or a harsh comment while working the entire week with the various patients. No one ever saw Asutsura leave or come into the building; she just was there every time somebody needed help.
Kerry just stared at the Chief of the Medicine unable to say a word or simply not knowing what to say. After a moment or two of an uncomfortable silence, Asutsura finally noticed her and asked her in an ever-calm voice, "Oh, Kerry, what brings you here?"
At this point in time Dr. Weaver regained her ability to speak. "Better question would be what are you doing with MY patient? I know you're new here, but in this hospital we do not steal each other's patients."
"I'm incredibly sorry to have given you this kind of impression, Kerry," Asutsura answered never even trying to raise her voice. "I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me. Besides, it's not what it looks like, Kerry. I'm not stealing your patient because if you checked the chart, you would notice that Ichidou isn't a patient in this hospital anymore."
Kerry couldn't believe her own ears. "What do you mean, not a patient? She has bruises all over her body caused by some sort of explosion or a crash, and she certainly needs a psych consult. Didn't she tell you her alien story? Besides, if she leaves, who can say whether or not she'll be able to find her way home?"
"Of course, she won't. I think it's you who haven't listened carefully enough to Ichidou's story, Kerry. And anyway, she will live with me for a while."
Kerry was speechless. This was uncalled for! Yes, nobody knew anything about the new mysterious Chief of the Medicine, and she did hear some rumors that the young doctor-genius was a lesbian, but those rumors were carefully blended with the others about her being a secret daughter of the President Bush, a lover of the President of Russia, and even a member of IRA who found some incriminating documents on someone in the hospital's administration (probably Robert Romano) thus ensuring for herself the position of the Chief. However, now she was going home with this mentally unstable "alien" girl, and a patient, at that!
"We also don't date our patients in this hospital," Kerry finally managed to mutter.
Asutsura's face showed her utter amazement as she answered in that serene and carefully measured voice of hers. "Have you ever thought that it might not be about sex? Have you even wondered just for a briefest of moments that Ichidou's story might be true? If you want to know, Ichidou is one of my sold..., no friends."
"That might be," in fact the more Asutsura spoke, the easier it was to believe that the orange-haired girl, who just finished dressing, was her friend; nothing more, nothing less, but Kerry couldn't simply allow this strange feeling in her heart, which told her to trust the Chief with her life, to overcome the power of her mind. "That might be, but she couldn't be an alien. Maybe I should call Kim down to see you along with your friend here."
"You shouldn't let your personal feelings interfere with your work, you know, Kerry. You may call Kim, but whether she comes or not is her own choice, now isn't it? There's a funny thing about amnesia. Here, in the hospital, we are trying to cure patients from it, yet some of us, Kerry, wish for nothing more than amnesia for their loved ones, for them to forget all the pain we caused them. We are leaving, Kerry. See you tomorrow, and don't forget about Mr. Allen in the Curtain Three. Bye."
With those words Asutsura left the Exam One. Ichidou, as apparently that was the name of the orange-haired alien patient followed her out the door quietly while Kerry was left alone to contemplate over her boss's mysterious words.
Outside, the hectic life of the ER swept Asutsura and Ichidou away, and nobody heard the words the patient spoke to her doctor as they stopped it the middle of the hall. The Chief of the Medicine nodded as her soldier asked her quietly, "She is suffering in the name of Love just as I do, isn't she"
Asutsura's answer was gentle, "Yes, she is, though her suffering can't even compare to yours."
"Away from my destroyed home, on this distant yet warm planet, I'm begging your permission to help this misguided person in her quest for the one feeling that I will never know, Your Majesty," Ichidou said, with tears in her eyes, almost dropping on one knee if it wasn't for Asutsura catching her just in time.
The brown-haired queen made an uncertain expression though deep down she knew exactly what will happen. "Do as you wish," she said heading for the hospital entrance. "I'll be waiting for you outside, Ichidou-chan."
The orange-haired girl nodded and turned around opening the door to Exam One about half way. Dr. Weaver didn't notice her too absorbed in her own thoughts. Ichidou raised the heart-shaped moonstone of her ring to her lips, kissed in and whispered ever so slightly, "Lyra Blazing Love!" Then in a cloud of bright red silk of her own dress she was gone, gone along with Asutsura to her queen's house and leaving the doctor inside of the Exam One forever changed.
Kerry felt a quiet movement behind her back and turned around only to see a blinding red light in a form of a fiery bird envelop her in it's exquisite warmth. The feeling she felt then was hard to describe, but Dr. Weaver was certain she had felt this emotion inside of her before, just never so clearly, never so close, so possible to reach. It was the feeling she fought against in the course of her entire life letting it show very seldom. It was a feeling which contained all three; courage, tranquility, and most importantly love. That feeling is what the mortals call happiness, the one emotion Ichidou would be forever deprived of because of her taboo of love, but also the one emotion that was all so possible for Kerry to reach if she only tried. For than brief moment every single rational thought in Dr. Weaver's brain was erased replaced with the overwhelming and truly incredible light of an epiphany.
The red bird of fire and love making a circle above Kerry's head whispered with Asutsura's voice before disappearing into the thin air, "Happiness is within every mortal's reach. It is the gift from God. You must find it in your heart, Kerry. Remember, courage, tranquility and Love."
"Yes, Love," Kerry repeated softly. Then she awoke from her trance-like state and said aloud, "I won't give up my happiness any more. I love you, Kim, and you'll know about it. But how? I'll write a letter to you. Yes, that's it, I'll write you a letter about my feelings."
With these words Kerry headed for the door, and the Exam One was left empty. The room was left empty, yet it was the only thing left with the memory of the blazing bird of love, for most mortals just as Kerry tend to take their blessings and their true happiness for granted. In some cases it might be too late to save them. Let's just hope this is not the case with Dr. Kerry Weaver, Chief of Emergency Services.
