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The Way It Should Be
Chapter Two
By: Carrie Verkman
carebear1025@juno.com

ER's characters don't belong to me. I'm only using them for entertainment purposes only. Yadda, yadda, yadda, you know what I'm talking about. I don't always put this disclaimer on my stories because all you readers would get sick of hearing the same old thing. So if you want to see it, it will always be on The Way It Should Be. 

Once again I want to thank Cathy and Anna for all their help. I wouldn't know a thing about Anna Del Amico if it weren't for them. I hope I'm getting everything right. 

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The next day Kerry offered John a ride to work since they had the same shift. John was definitely not ready to ask Anna to the ball. 

"Nervous?" asked Kerry. 

"Yeah." John didn't want the ride to work to be over just yet. He also felt nauseous. 

"You'll feel better once you ask her." 

"That is if I don't puke all over her first." 

Kerry pulled in to the hospital. "We're here." she said. "John are you coming?" 

John was still buckled up in the car. "Yes I am." He tried to move but he was petrified. "No I am not." 

Kerry literally dragged him out of the car. "Come on!" 

"Kerry I think I'm going to be sick." John whined. 

"Oh no you're not!" Kerry pulled him in to the ER. 

When they entered there was no sign of Anna. Kerry and John walked into the lounge. Kerry went in first. But John did not follow.   

"Oh for Christ's sake Carter get in the damn lounge! She's not in here!" Kerry only called him Carter at work. 

John walked in. He took off his coat and stuffed it in his locker. Then he put on his white coat. He looked in the small mirror hanging in his locker. John smoothed out his hair and checked to see if there was any food in his teeth. The last thing he needed was Anna laughing at him because of poor dental hygiene. "Do I look okay Kerry?"

"You're a stud. The ER is busy now so talk to her when it's slow. Don't neglect patients because of your libido. Good luck!"

Kerry left the lounge. 

John took a deep breath. Just be yourself, act like an adult, he thought. Another wave of nausea hit him. 

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The ER was busy. There was a never-ending flow of patients. John liked that. He had no time to think of Anna when he was in a trauma or doing a procedure on a patient. He kept himself busy, but then again he knew he would disappoint Kerry if he never asked her out.          

"Carter I need some help." Anna called. Hearing her melodious voice made John melt. 

John walked over to the room Anna was in. "What do you need me for?" 

"This." Anna was desperately trying to restrain an eight-year-old boy. Anna was a pediatric intern. She loved kids and babies. John liked that about Anna too. 

"I got him Anna. You can go ahead and clean up the stuff he knocked over." John said, trying to put the boy back on his bed. 

"Leave me alone! I'm Superman!" the boy yelled. 

"I'm sure you are. Anna get me a fourteen gage needle with some Haldol."  

Anna did as she was told. "You're going to sedate him?" 

"It's the only way we can get him back into bed."  John said. Anna held the needle in her hands. "Tommy this may hurt if you don't sit still." Anna drove the needle into Tommy's arm. When the pain hit him, Tommy bit down on John's hand. John cried out in pain. 

"Oh John are you all right?" Anna asked worriedly. 

Tommy laughed out loud. Anna scolded him for what he did. Then Tommy began to settle down until he was sleepy. Anna put him in restraints, then tended to John. 

"It didn't break the skin." John said. 

"Let me look anyway." Anna held John's hand  Her skin was smooth and warm and John liked the way it felt on his skin. I wonder if all the skin on her body is like that, John wondered. 

"You just need an ice pack. Come with me." John followed as Anna got him some ice. John suddenly heard Kerry's voice in his head. "Ask her out now!  Now is the perfect time!" 

John swallowed. He was afraid to speak with the fear of vomiting. John cleared his throat, "Um Anna?"

"Yes?"

"I was… um, well, you know… wondering if I-I mean you want-" John could barely speak. 

"John? Get on with it." Anna said. 

"Do you want…um…to go…"

"Go where?"

John moaned, "I… excuse me. Oh dear God!" John ran away from Anna and headed towards the men's room. He had barely enough time to lock himself into a stall before he vomited. His body heaved as he saw Kerry's scrambled eggs and bacon again. John you are such an idiot, he thought, you can't even ask out a girl without vomiting. She probably thinks you're crazy or something. With that thought, John retched again. 

Anna was puzzled. "Kerry have you seen Carter?" 

"Not recently. Why?" 

"Well it was the strangest thing. I was going to get some ice for Carter's hand and he wanted to ask me something." 

Kerry knew what he wanted to ask. "What did he ask you?" 

"I don't know. He couldn't seem to find the right words. Then he said "Oh dear God" and ran off towards the men's room. It was so weird!" 

"I'll talk to him. You just get back to work." Kerry said. She went to the men's room to find Carter. 

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Inside the men's room John was splashing cold water on his pale face. He couldn't believe how stupid he was. John took a few deep breaths and then was ready to face the world again. As he walked out he bumped into Kerry. 

"What the hell did you do?" she demanded.

"What?" he asked. 

"Don't give me that!" Kerry snapped. "You tried to ask out Anna but you couldn't do it! Right?" 

John rolled his eyes. "Kerry I screwed up so bad. I didn't know what to say. It's just that…"

"Just that what?"

"I'm afraid of what she'll say." 

"You'll never know unless you ask her. Am I right?"

"Yes, you're right." 

"Good. Now I need your help." Kerry said. 

"On what?" John asked. 

"I have a 20 year old leukemia patient that needs a bone marrow transplant. He has no family members with the right type because his is so rare. So I offered to ask people in the hospital, assuming that they're healthy enough, what type they were." 

"What type are you looking for?" 

"People with B Negative blood."

"Sorry, I'm O Negative. I can ask other doctors for you." John said. 

"Great, thanks. I'll ask the nurses." 

After searching Kerry found no one with the right type. She checked in with John. "What did you find?"

"No one has B Negative blood." He reported. 

"John did you ask everyone?" asked Kerry. 

"No." 

"How much do you want to bet that Anna Del Amico has B Negative blood?"

"Kerry please." John begged. "I don't think I can face her yet."  

"I'll ask and if she does, you get to do the extraction. Deal?" Kerry asked.  

"Fine." 

Sure enough Anna had the correct type. Kerry sent her into the suture room where John was waiting to do the extraction. Anna was nervous because of John's behavior earlier. Would he be able to do the extraction? 

"Come in Anna. Sit down." So far John was behaving himself. "Roll up your sleeve." 

Anna sat down. "Are you okay John?"

"Yeah, why do you ask?"

"I wanted to make sure your hand was okay, that's all." Anna lied.

"It's fine." John said. He began to rub alcohol on Anna's arm to make it sterile. Anna shivered when the cold liquid touched her skin. Or was it because John was touching her? Anna ignored the thought as she watched John extract the marrow with a long needle. 

"Anna I want to apologize for my behavior earlier. I wanted to ask you something and I got nervous." John confessed. 

"You can ask me anything John, it's okay."

John pulled out the needle. "Almost done. You look a little pale. Are you okay?"  

"I'm okay. What were you going to ask me?"

John took a deep breath. This time no nausea came. "If you're not doing anything, would you like to go to the ER ball with me?" 

Anna's eyes lit up. It was sweet of John to ask her. "John that's really sweet of you, but…"

"But what?"

"I-I'm feeling kinda tired after doing this extraction. I don't think I'll have enough energy to go. I'm pretty worn out." 

John was disappointed. He had a feeling she would decline his invitation. "Oh well, that's okay. I don't want you to go if you're not feeling well." 

"I'm sorry John. This doesn't mean that I don't like you or anything. Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine. Get some rest, take it easy." John left the suture room.  

Anna felt bad for rejecting him. If only you knew the real story, she thought, I just don't know if I have the heart to tell you John. 

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John found Kerry in the lounge. She was drinking coffee and when John came in she had a smile on her face. "Well, how did it go?"

"Wipe that smile off your face Kerry. She says that she's too worn out from the bone marrow extraction and she doesn't want to go." 

"Oh John, I'm so sorry. You poor thing, are you okay?" 

John sniffed. He felt like crying. "Yeah, I'll be alright. I'll stay home tonight and catch up on some paper work. Then maybe relax and listen to some music." 

"John I have a great idea." Kerry said. "We could go together."  

"No that's okay." 

"Come on. We'll go just as friends. Anna won't be there. It will be better than moping around my house."

John could live with that. "Okay I'll come. Thanks Kerry I owe you one."

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End of Chapter Two