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

Rating: NC-17
Pairing: KW/EC
Beta Reader: Scotty Welles. Once again a huge thank you. Your patience and talent seems almost unstoppable.

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.......



Elizabeth sat in the surgical lounge, the heels of her hands pressed into her eye sockets, as though trying to stop the tears she knew were coming.

Some part of her, deep down, knew that Kerry's anger at her was caused by some sort of misunderstanding, but she was too overwhelmed to make sense of it just now. Overwhelmed by the memory of Kerry's reaction earlier. There had been a few messy breakups in Elizabeth's past, but none that seemed to rip her heart out the way a few icy words from Kerry Weaver had done.

A dull impulse reminded her of the crumpled note Kerry had shoved at her. The one that had driven such a wedge between them. The words 'Dr. Elizabeth Corday, surgery' were printed neatly on the top corner, like several hundred other identical sheets she routinely used, and the scratchy signature was close enough to hers to pass muster. But she hadn't written it.

As she calmed herself, Elizabeth began to wonder when was the last time she'd seen her prescription pad. She'd been in surgery much of the day, so she'd left it in her locker with her street clothes.

Getting up, she opened her locker and searched quickly, but didn't find the pad. It wasn't in her coat pocket, or her purse, or...

"Hey, Dr. C, you lose something?"

Elizabeth turned. "Dr. Malucci," she replied. "What brings you up here?"

The resident waved in the general direction of the OR's. "Sent a trauma case up earlier, and wanted to check up on him."

"Well, that's rather dedicated of you," she replied absently. It was, in fact, uncharacteristically dedicated of him, but she was too polite to say so right now.

"Yeah, actually, I wanted to tell you something."

"What is it?"

"I, uh..." He trailed off, nervously. "I was looking to talk to Dr. Tain about, uh, about a patient..."

He was hitting on her, she translated mentally.

"...and I thought I saw her poking around in your locker..."

Elizabeth's eyes widened as she took in his meaning. They narrowed again almost immediately as her temper sparked. All the frustration of the past few days surfaced. She'd had it. Brushing rudely past Malucci, she stormed out the door of the lounge.

Dave followed closely behind her. Oh boy, he thought, cat fight!



Robert watched Kovac storm away from the admittance desk. He'd been less than pleased by Kerry needing a replacement to begin with. That was the thing he couldn't understand. For all the complaining everyone respected Kerry and her abilities as a doctor.

He wasn't too confident that the ER could survive his demoting Kerry back to just an attending. At least morale-wise. They saw Kerry as an untouchable authority. Someone who wouldn't break the rules without just cause.

The dark red blur shot past him, heading at Dr. Tain with no sign of slowing down. Her fist shot out, punching Jasmine across the jaw. The Asian flew back into the trauma room doors, landing on the floor with enough force to send her sliding into the far wall.

"Go, Corday!" Malucci whooped happily.

Robert strode forward with regret. One of his many fantasies had been to see Lizzie mud wrestling, and while this wasn't the same, it still involved her fighting another woman. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

Elizabeth spun on Robert. "She forged the note."

Robert glared over at Jasmine as she struggled to her feet. He didn't need to know what she meant. It wasn't her writing or her signature. It was Jasmine who had written it. He entered the trauma room, silently beckoning for Elizabeth to accompany him. It was time they all had a little talk.



A few minutes later, Robert began to regret that he hadn't just fired someone at random and solved the problem that way. Listening to Corday and Malucci spin this story about Tain forging the note, and Tain threatening to press assault charges against Corday, was giving him a royal headache. "She's got a point, Lizzie," he admitted. "If you're going to deck someone, it's never wise to do it in front of witnesses."

Malucci shrugged and said, "What witnesses? I didn't see anything?" He shot a glance out the trauma room's window at the staff all going about their business. "Doesn't look like anyone else did, either." He knew, of course, that gossip about the Surgeons' Brawl would be flying thick and fast in no time, but he was also reasonably certain that Dr. Romano wouldn't pursue the charges unless he had no choice.

Robert pinched the bridge of his nose, tiredly. "You know," he said, "as much as I love all this Betty-and-Veronica stuff, I'd like to think we've all got better things to do. I've got a whole hospital to run, you know. Now, do you two think you can stop your squabbling over Dr. Weaver, or do I have to fire her just to get some peace and quiet?"

"Robert, you can't do that," Elizabeth protested. "Kerry's not the one at fault here."

"Seems to me she's pretty much the cause of it all," he replied easily.

"Come on, Dr. Romano," Malucci spoke up, "you know she's the best person for..."

"Did I ask your opinion, Jughead?"

Stung by his boss's casual disdain, Malucci retreated to his corner and held his tongue.

"Regardless of how Kerry Weaver got to be the center of this little romantic triangle," Romano went on, "the fact remains that she concealed a drug habit from this administration. Now, you'll all be informed of my decision regarding her when and if it becomes any of your business."

Jasmine glowered at Elizabeth and said nothing.

"Robert, I assure you," Elizabeth persisted, "Kerry is not abusing drugs. If you want to punish someone for all this, punish me, but please don't take it out on Kerry!"

"Did you hear what I just said?" Robert broke in. "We are not in here to talk about Kerry Weaver! She has no part in this discussion!"

The door opened suddenly, and Kerry Weaver walked in.

"Why do I even bother?" Robert asked himself, rubbing his forehead.

Kerry ignored Malucci and the two women, walking straight to Romano and holding out a file of documents. She presented it to him without a word.

"I know I'm gonna regret asking this," he said, taking the file, "but what's this?"

"My confidential records from med school," Kerry informed him, in her all-business voice. "Specifically, letters from my physicians, counselors, and faculty advisors relating to the addiction I battled. Note the cover letter from Dr. Lawrence, stating that he sees no reason why my difficulty should be documented in my public records. The others agreed, and that's why you didn't know about it."

Robert skimmed the top form, thumbing briefly through the others.

"It was never a secret," Kerry added. "Just none of your business."

He scowled, even as he made up his mind. It was pretty clear that he could keep Kerry on without concern, but it wouldn't do to just come out and say so. No, better to let her sweat a bit, just to show her who's boss. People seemed to forget that too quickly in this hospital.

Kerry turned away from Robert, her business with him finished for the moment. Her eyes fell on Jasmine Tain, who seemed to recoil ever so slightly from her gaze.

She turned her full attention to the Asian woman. "I'd say this to you in private," she began, "but there doesn't seem to be any point, since everyone here seems to find everything out anyway."

"Kerry, I..."

"I can forgive you for a lot of things," Kerry overrode her, "because you did carry me through the hardest part of my life. You helped me when I needed to be helped, and in a way, I still love you for that."

Jasmine listened quietly, her eyes moistening.

"But understand this," Kerry added, stepping closer. "Whatever we had is over. You and I are through. And if you ever do anything else to hurt me, or anyone I love..." She glanced in Elizabeth's direction. "...and you'll get much worse than this."

For emphasis, she touched the bruise on Tain's jaw. The surgeon flinched under the soreness.

"And the line will form behind me," Kerry finished. "Do you understand that?"

Jasmine nodded, cowed.

Kerry nodded and walked out without looking at anyone. There was silence for a minute.

"Redheads, huh?" Malucci muttered to Romano with a smile.

Robert looked up at him. "Malucci, what are you still doing here? Go lance a boil or something, will you?" Malucci retreated, and Robert looked at Elizabeth. "Lizzie, would you excuse us, as well?"

She was turning toward the door, wondering if she should try to talk to Kerry or just let her go, when Jasmine said, "You really love her, don't you?"

She looked back at her rival.

"I know she's great in bed, believe me," the dark-haired woman said with scorn, "but how much whiny, bitter, self-righteousness can you put up with just for a good fuck?"

Elizabeth looked at her with eyes like a knife blade and said, "If that's all you see in her, then you don't know her at all, and never did." And then she left.



Kerry sat on her living room sofa and flipped through the stations rapidly. She was tired of being hurt, tired of letting that hurt control her. She stopped changing channels as the image of a lion appeared. Another documentary on Africa.

At least now she could consider moving back to Africa. Help Mlungisi in the clinic. A place where she was appreciated and respected as not only a doctor but as a person. Something she didn't have at County General.

The door opened, and Kerry knew it would be Elizabeth. No one else had a key to her place. She didn't look forward to the coming conversation.

"You never gave me a chance to respond." Elizabeth threw her purse onto the sofa and sat next to her, searching for a response.

"I know. I'm sorry."

"This is becoming a bad habit with you," Elizabeth snapped. "We make love, and everything seems well, then you find some excuse to push me away. I think you actually look for them wherever you find them."

Kerry nodded. "I deserved that."

"Tain wrote the note, you know."

"I know. Jasmine..."

"Robert found my prescription pad in her locker," Elizabeth plowed on, ignoring Kerry. "She admitted to writing it."

Kerry sighed heavily. Her temper had been known to cloud her judgment, one of the many reasons why she ended up alone. Elizabeth seemed willing to work past this, or she wouldn't have come to Kerry's home. But that didn't change Robert's decision. "I'll still be demoted."

"No you won't. If you agree to spontaneous drug tests than he'll let you keep your position."

Kerry hated the idea, but recognized the necessity behind it. Then again she could always quit and move on. It wasn't on her record, so it wouldn't be there to cause her problems.

But she knew she wouldn't just be running away from County. She'd be running from Elizabeth. "I should have realized right away that it wasn't you."

"Yes, you should have," Elizabeth replied, stiffly. She didn't look at Kerry. "You should have trusted me. Given me the benefit of the doubt, or at least gotten my side of the story before you set out to hurt me back."

Kerry nodded.

"Well, say something, damn it. Don't just agree with me."

Kerry put her arms around the surgeon's neck and leaned against her. "I was wrong," she said into the other woman's shoulder. "I don't have any excuse. Can you forgive me?"

Elizabeth felt her anger melting, and the tears she'd stopped earlier were coming now. "I can't keep proving my love for you over and over again, Kerry," she said, her voice tight. "Sooner or later, you have to believe me."

"I do believe you," Kerry assured her.

"I know you're afraid to let yourself love again, after losing Nicole. I can't promise you I won't die someday, too, but I will never deliberately hurt you the way Jasmine did, even if you leave me."

"I was never in love with Jasmine," Kerry said, "not like...not like Nicole." She had almost said, 'not like you'. "But Elizabeth, it's not just me I'm afraid for. It's you, too."

Elizabeth pulled away enough to look her in the eyes. "What do you mean?"

"You've never been involved with a woman before," Kerry told her. "I've lived through people's reactions, you haven't." She thought about Nicole's family hating her for loving their daughter. "It's one thing for me, I have no family, no friends..."

"Kerry, you have plenty of friends! If you'd only let yourself see them..."

"...but you do. Are you prepared to have your family condemn you for being with me?"

Elizabeth had thought about that. She had tried to imagine her parents' reactions as she told them she was in love with a member of the same gender. Her father had always accepted her choices in the past, but would he be able to accept this? And her mother...well, that was a whole new can of worms. But she decided a woman like Kerry was worth the risk.

She took Kerry's face in her hands. "You're not scaring me off, Kerry Weaver," she said. "You are a good woman, a desirable lover, and a fascinating mystery. One that I look forward to exploring for a long, long time, if you'll only allow me."

Kerry looked into her eyes for a long time, searching. Then she pulled Elizabeth closer and kissed her, long and deep. Elizabeth lifted her into her lap and explored the kiss further.

Her hands slipped under the dark green sweater fingers grazing already hard nipples. The surgeon chuckled into Kerry's mouth, " No bra?"

Kerry straddled Elizabeth's lap sucking on her neck between words. Nimble fingers working the buttons to the blouse in front of her. " I was going to trap you in the lounge earlier..."

" My we are adventurous aren't weeeeaaaahhh?"

Elizabeth arched up as Kerry gently bit her left nipple through the thin silk blouse. Nerves suddenly inflamed she yanked the emerald sweater over Kerry's head and pushed Kerry back onto the sofa pinning her down.

Her mouth ravaging the exposed skin in a hormone driven haze. The deep ache that seemed to constantly be present recently became more pronounced. All she wanted was to taste her, to feel the pale skin against her own.

Reality and fantasy merged around her until all she knew was two naked bodies pressed into each other. Her cat like movements drawing her down Kerry's body with each caress and lick. Desperate moans off frustration became gasps of animalistic passion.

Elizabeth closed her eyes against the boiling heat that surrounded her tongue, and covered Kerry's scarred thighs. Silence finally filled the room broken only by their shallow breathing.

Elizabeth curled up next to her lover barely able to keep her eyes open, the emotional and physical toll she'd taken in the last 24 hours too much even for her.

"What about Jasmine?" Kerry asked after a while.

Elizabeth cracked an eye open not happy about being kept awake over the woman who'd started the whole thing. "Oh, fuck Jasmine."

"I already have. I meant, what's going to happen with her at work?"

Elizabeth grinned darkly. "Robert's decided to keep her around..."



Malucci grinned smugly as Tain shot him a deadly glare. Her perfectly-kept black hair drooped pitifully around her now-smeared make-up.

"Hey, back to work." Malucci wiped the sweat from his face with his sweat-damp shirt. "I don't suppose you'd like to get together later...?"

Jasmine glared at him from across the small filing room. If she hadn't been surrounded by hundreds of files and charts, she'd have punched him out. The lines of empty boxes and filing cabinets seemed to go on forever in the un-air-conditioned room. "Just shut up."

Malucci shrugged, unfazed. It would take her days maybe even weeks to finish re-filing everything. By the time she finished, she'd be too numb mentally to turn him down.



Aeris Jade Orion
AIM: Aeris Jade
ICQ: 51496263
AT&T/Pow-Wow: Jade
Pow-Wow Community: Orion

Web Site: www.geocities.com/aeris3996

" 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