When I Saw You
Part Three
By Aeris Jade Orion
aerisjade@worldnet.att.net

Rating: R
Pariring: KW/JT, KW/EC

Disclaimer: Old Mc Warner had a studio e-i-e-i-o, on this lot he had show e-i-e-i-o, and this show belong's to him.......



Kerry flexed her sore leg, trying to work out the knots. The stress she'd been feeling over the last year more she could take. From Jasmine, from Elizabeth, from herself. She only knew that if she didn't sort this out soon that she wouldn't even be able to walk.

Grinning wryly through the pain she hoped that today would be one of those days that the surgeons stayed out of her ER.



The dark flurry stormed into the ER with blazing eyes. Kerry had been gone by the time she'd gotten to the house, and the note that had been taped to the front door certainly hadn't helped matters. The sloppily-written letter had left her flushed with rage. How dare that...that CRIPPLE treat her like this, after all she'd done for the red-haired bitch?!

Kerry's bush of short red hair popped into view outside the lounge door, moving off down the hall. Jasmine sped up easily falling into step with her lover. "Kerry, we're both adults so why don't we act like it?"

"Oh that's great, especially coming from you." Kerry slammed into trauma one and paused as she found it empty. The stress of the past week showing on her pain-racked face.

"I made a mistake, and that's all it was." Jasmine watched carefully as Kerry leaned into the table. A clear sign that she wasn't able to put up much of a fight. Jasmine walked over to her, giving her only a few inches of space. "Last night was the first and only time I've ever done anything like that."

Kerry placed a hand to her hip and let her mask drop for a split second. The pain was worse than it had been for a long time. So much pain that it was making it hard for her to even concentrate on what Jasmine was saying.

Jasmine smiled slightly. Kerry was starting to wear down. The pain from her leg and hip was worse when she was under a lot of stress or if she'd pushed her body too far, too long. She hoped that it did happen. After all there wasn't a better way to get into Kerry's good graces than by being there for her. That way Kerry would think that she actually cared about her, and Kerry of course wouldn't know the difference. "All I want is one more chance. I promise it won't happen again," Jasmine said softly.

"No." Kerry took a shuddering breath. Struggling to control the sharp throbbing in her leg. "I'm involved with someone else now..." She trailed off. She didn't know what she and Elizabeth were. Friends, lovers, a one night stand?

Jasmine clenched her fist and forced a cheerful smile. "All right. So I cheated on you and you've cheated back, we're even. Now we can just start again with a clean slate."

Kerry winced visibly with a sharp gasp. She shook off Jasmine's hand and started to limp heavily from the trauma room.

She felt concerned eyes on her as her left leg seemed to become dead weight. Mark's angry glare faded for the first time since she'd arrived. "Kerry, you okay?"

She nodded and gripped the front desk with an iron hand. "Fine. Can you cover the rest of my shift?"

Mark eyed her with suspicion but the tight voice that Kerry had forced out made him worry. Putting his anger at her on hold, he nodded. "No problem... Are you sure you're all right? I can check you out if..."

Kerry cut him off sharply. "I said I'm fine." She clenched her jaw loudly and struggled into the lounge to get her things. She needed to get home before her leg totally gave out on her.



Elizabeth slumped into the OR lounge chair, barely able to keep awake. She'd gotten almost no sleep the night before, and on top of that she'd been forced to perform three operations, one after the other, in order to cover for Peter, who'd mysteriously disappeared. The fact that a certain pediatrician had also taken the day off hadn't escaped her attention either.

She closed her eyes against the latest gossip among the OR nurses and wondered if she would at least get a lunch break. She wanted to talk to Kerry as soon as possibly.

"...no, I'm telling you, something is seriously wrong with Weaver..."

Elizabeth opened her eyes intently. "Why do you say that?"

Shirley leaned toward her, clearly loving the attention. "Well, according to Lydia, Weaver was barely able to walk this morning and left ten minutes into her shift."

"Do you know what was wrong with her?"

Shirley rolled her eyes. Everyone knew how stubborn Weaver was. "No. She refused to let anyone check her out. All she would say was something about needing a day off."

Elizabeth felt a second wave of adrenaline and stood up. Last night, Kerry had winced whenever she'd touched her left hip or leg. At the time, she'd let Kerry brush it off as simply being sore from the day in the ER, but now she felt a renewed worry.

She had no idea what the story was behind Kerry's handicap, but from the scars she'd found on Kerry's body, she had knew it had to have been bad. Elizabeth had refrained from asking any question, though, simply because she could sense how much it bothered Kerry, but now she regretted not even trying. For all she knew Kerry had a serious debilitating problem. Plus, Kerry wasn't the type to take sick days or leave her shift before it was over.

The more that she thought about it, the more worried she became. By the time the elevator came into view, she was at a jog.

"Lizzie..." came one of the most annoying voices she'd ever had the misfortune to become familiar with, "You mind telling me where you're going in such a hurry?"

Elizabeth slowed to a stop as Robert stepped into her path, reclining against the wall. "I heard Kerry had to go home this morning and I..."

"...was worried. Well, that's very considerate of you. However, you have a job to do here, so that's just going to have to wait." Robert raised an eyebrow daring her to contradict him.

"Oh, that's great. Peter gets to take off when ever he wants and I have to cover for him, but I can't even take half an hour to go check on a sick colleague!" Elizabeth had been putting up with Robert all morning and was sick of being on the receiving end of his egotistic behavior.

"If you have a problem I suggest you take it up with him." Robert was starting to bristle, which was fine with Elizabeth. This had been building between them for the last few months.

"Oh really? So the you're being the Chief of Staff has no bearing on this?" Elizabeth could see that she had hit a sore spot with him. He was a man who wanted to be in control of everything and everyone.

"Watch it, Dr. Corday. You are just a few seconds away from being suspended."

Elizabeth tightened her lips. There were moments when she was able to stand him, but this was not one of those moments. "Very well. What about that new surgeon? Dr. Tain, is it? Can't she cover the rest of my shift?"

"After this little display, I don't care if she will or not. You are not to leave this hospital for any reason until your shift is over. Is that understood, Dr. Corday?" Robert was on the verge of making her work a double shift and Elizabeth knew it.

"I understand quite a bit." Her mind was screaming at her to just walk away, but she couldn't let this go.

"You know, Liz, sometimes you're close to an idiot."

"Then I guess I'd better move." Elizabeth took several steps away from Robert. Taking great pleasure in his now red face. She crossed her arms patiently as she saw the coming explosion.



Kerry gasped desperately as she woke from the nightmare. She could feel her pajama top clinging to her sweat soaked body. It had been the same nightmare that had haunted her dreams the years following the loss of her leg's full function and Nicole's death.

She slowly pulled herself out her bed and started into her personal bathroom. Each step sent a burning pain up her leg and hip, running up her back. She paused inside the large bathroom and leaned against the gray marble sink to open the medicine cabinet. She'd already taken several aspirins but they hadn't even touched her pain.

The lines of bottles glared at her, every kind of aspirin and Tylenol she could find. Telling her just how useless they were against her pain. Shaking hands picked up the large bottle of extra strength Tylenol. Maybe that would dull the pain.

Lifting the bottle to open it, she noticed the grim expiration date on the side. Growling with disgust, she threw the nearly empty bottle at the bathroom wastebasket. The bottle clipped the edge and overturned it. She sighed and wondered if she was even able to pick it up. She was trapped between the compulsion to clean up the mess and leaving it until her leg could take the strain bending over would cause.

A brown bottle caught her attention. Feeling a need to know what it was, she moved closer the small space between the sink and toilet.

She felt her stomach turn cold at the sight of the prescription bottle. She'd thrown it away almost six months ago; how could she have missed it for so long? Gripping the sink, she bent over and picked it up, holding the bottle in her hand. It was still good. It had another month left on it.

It seemed to burn in her hand. Calling out to her. She'd thrown out the painkillers she'd kept in stock after they'd discovered Carter was addicted. Seeing him like that had hit to close for her. Maybe it had been the realization that someone as incorruptible as Carter could end up like that.

She hadn't taken any of them in a good ten years, but when she'd cleaned them out she'd missed the one bottle. After straining her leg during a trauma, she'd been forced to update her prescription of hydromorphone. She'd managed to survive the strain without taking it, but only because of the acupuncture.

She grimaced. Jared would just love for her to come in today. He had a certain flare for the dramatic where she was concerned. Except there were days when the ancient technique didn't help, and today was one of those days.

'But the hydromorphone would...'

Kerry felt the horrible temptation rise up. All it would take was one of the 8 mg. capsules, two if she wanted to be numb the rest of the day and tonight. She groaned through clenched teeth, the pain bringing tears to her eyes.

She watched the bottle open through distant eyes and dumped four pills into her hand, but made no move to swallow them. Something was holding her back. She closed her eyes and took a gasping breath.



'Kerry, if you love me, you'll give me those pills.'

Kerry growled softly at her blonde lover. Damn her. Damn her for bringing their love into this. Damn her for knowing her so well. Damn her for caring. 'I need them for the pain.'

'The hell you do.' Nicole wasn't going to sit back and watch her lover destroy herself.

'Nikki...' Kerry needed the dose of morphine. She needed the relief if she was going to be able to handle her finals.

'Give them to me.' Nicole held her hand out, leaving no room for argument.

Kerry backed away from her lover wearily. There was no way in hell she was about to give up her only source of relief. Not for love, not for Nicole, not for anyone.



She could still smell the cheap perfume that her lover used to wear. It seemed to fill the air around her. Kerry glanced back down at the pills and made a final decision. She pulled one of the small paper cups from the holder on the wall and started to fill it.



Elizabeth pressed the doorbell for the third time. Kerry was home, there was no doubt of that. Her car was in the driveway, the lights were on, and there was music playing inside. Raising her fist, she banged on the door and watched as it swung open.

She could tell right away that something was seriously off. Kerry wasn't the type to carelessly leave her door unlocked.

Pushing back the rising panic she started up the stairs on instinct. She walked down the short hall and into the bedroom. The bed had been slept in. The covers rumpled and laying half off the bed. Clothes were scattered among knocked-off pillows around the bed.

Her eyes came to a stop on the half-opened bathroom door, and the sound of water running. Not sure why her instincts were going off, she moved across the room and pushed the door the rest of the way open. She could clearly see the pills in Kerry's left hand as it rose up to her lover's mouth.

Acting quickly, she latched onto the offending hand, she couldn't tell right off what dosage they were, but she wasn't about to take any chances.

Kerry glared over at her through hot tears. "Let go of my hand."

Elizabeth ignored the glare and picked up the bottle of pills from the cabinet. The dosage glared back at her angrily. Kerry groaned again, her leg finally giving out, only Elizabeth's quick reactions kept her from landing on the floor.

Kerry gripped the sink desperately, fighting to get her leg to support her. Iron arms helped her to her bed and the relief of the pressure being taken off her leg. She sank back, finally taking in that Elizabeth had managed to get the pills from her.

The surgeon disappeared into the bathroom and reappeared with the small cup of water. Kerry took it and the one pill Elizabeth offered, swallowing it before she could change her mind. She crushed the cup in her fist. "One isn't enough."

"As a doctor, you should know that you're only supposed to take one." Elizabeth didn't like the idea of letting Kerry take even the 8 mg, much less four of them.

Kerry didn't want to admit to someone like Elizabeth that she'd been an addict during medical school. Her record was clean mainly because of Nicole. If it got out now that she'd had trouble with painkillers the surgeon was liable to take her to the ER and have her stomach pumped. Then she'd lose her job.

"You want to tell me what's wrong?"

Kerry refused to meet the studious stare of her lover. "Not really."

"I see." Elizabeth sat on the bed facing Kerry and took her hand. "You know that you can talk to me. Whatever's going on, I won't judge you."

Kerry cursed silently. Why did Elizabeth have to sound so much like Nicole? She had never been able to stand up to her dead lover. Soft lips met hers sparingly. Caressing first her top lip, then her bottom lip, and finally both in tender praise.

The black veil of drowsiness engulfed her, the lips leaving hers. She moaned softly, needing the comfort only they could give her. "Nicole..." Hands tenderly laid her back onto the bed. "...don't leave me." Unable to fight the week's exhaustion anymore, she curled up into the warm arms that encircled her.

"I'm right here..." Elizabeth whispered into the tuft of red hair.

"I love you, Nikkie..."

Elizabeth settled back with her breaking heart. Whoever Nicole was obviously held Kerry's heart. The only question was what was the story behind them?

Aeris Jade Orion
AIM: Aeris Jade
ICQ: 51496263
AT&T/Pow-Wow: Jade
Pow-Wow Community: Orion
" This act hasn't been seen in 20 years, and if i'm any judge of talent it will never be seen again."
- Theres no business, like show business