Daylight
Part Ten
By Cimerene
cimerene@gci.net

We tune into our favorite E.R. couple just hours after Kerry's extremely irritating elevator incident.

Disclaimer: This fanfic is PG! All characters belong to the creators of E.R, I have cheerfully borrowed them for a while, and will put them back when I'm done playing with them. Rated PG (but like just barely)

Mucho thanx goes out to Debbie for her quick and excellent editing job!

Previously on Cimerene's er: 

Kerry looked up into his tender, concerned face. "I think I just want to go home, and maybe order something in," she told him, then hastily added at his look of sudden hurt. "With you." 

John smiled at her; for a moment she had worried him. "Your home or mine?" he jokingly asked her. He wanted to kiss her so badly, but standing in the middle of the hallway at work was definitely not the right place.

She snickered at him slightly, "Yours, of course. If we went to mine, I'd probably find a million things to do, and at yours I'll be a pampered guest." She chuckled mischievously at him. 

John laughed at her reply. "OK, we'll go to mine, but just remember, oh pampered guest, I still have a garden you need to weed."

"In all fairness John, I have absolutely no intention of weeding your garden tonight." Kerry told him seriously. "All I want to do is get out of here!" the frustration of her day was evident in her voice.

"We have to make a stop first," John told her as they walked towards his jeep. Kerry looked at him; her face showed how utterly tired she was. Sometimes she thought since the moment they had gotten together it had been a nonstop no sleep marathon. What with spending their evenings together and their days at work, she wondered why she hadn't crashed before now. 

"Where?" She sleepily asked him, fighting a yawn.   

John just smiled at her, then twirled the keys of his jeep on one finger. "Video store. Don't worry I'll drive." He said as he pushed her towards his jeep. For once she didn't argue with him, she just tiredly climbed into his jeep and leaned back

"Good a movie," she thought, "that way I really won't have to do anything in his garden tonight."

Le Blockbusters


Kerry glanced over at the movie John was holding. "Don't even think about that one." She said quietly. He glanced over at her and realized she was deadly serious. "Are you sure?" he replied mischievously. "It looks like fun." 

"John if you really want to watch that movie, you can just drop me off at my place instead." She answered him, "Then you can watch it all by yourself!" 

She felt secure in the knowledge that he would eventually put the movie back. She waited him out, knowing he would pretend to be indecisive then give in. She was right. 

"I think Alien Resurrection might be fun." He told her, after he had replaced the movie on the shelf then moved to a different section.

Kerry glared at him. "Don't even go there, I get enough blood and gore at work, I don't need to see it on my time off." She moved down the aisle looking for a decent movie that they would both like, she paused in the Romance section.

"What about this one?" she asked him. He read the title over her shoulder, only slightly sidetracked by her perfume. "No, too much of a chick flick." She sighed, it was going to be a long night, so far they hadn't agreed on a single movie and they'd been there for over 20 minutes. 

"I suppose we are only allowed to watch action adventure movies?" she asked him in a long suffering tone of voice. 

"Well, we could as long as you don't pick a historical drama." John told her quite seriously, realizing a bit too late that mentioning a historical drama to Kerry might be a bad idea. After all she might pick "Titanic," then he'd have to sit through it. 

Kerry glanced over at him, then deliberately picked a movie off the shelf. She scanned the contents briefly, and then waved it at him. "Will this do?"

"Well, if I don't have a choice." He replied, then sighed. That particular movie sounded as exciting as mud.

Kerry glared at him again.

"I think it looks like fun." He lied outright to her. Then sighed inwardly, he just knew it was going to be a very long night.

"Why did you pick that movie?" Kerry asked him. She unconsciously moved closer to him, a feat made nearly impossible as they were already lying as close to each other as they could possibly be. She moved slightly trying to get comfortable; "This is a very lumpy couch," she thought to herself. Which was almost a good thing, she reflected it was keeping her awake.  The movie had ended minutes ago its screen credits were rolling, yet for some for some reason neither of them wanted to move.    

"I didn't pick it you did!" John said trying to stifle a laugh, he knew his reply would certainly set her off.  "Message in a Bottle is hardly my kind of movie."

Kerry just stared up at him, refusing to take his bait. "I just think that next time we need to pick a movie where no one dies." The movie had disturbed her more than she thought it would. Probably because of the day she'd had, and also she thought that it could be due to her growing feelings for John. She wondered if she still would have rented it if someone had told her the end ahead of time. She was still musing over the movie choice when John interrupted her thoughts.  

"Did you want something to drink?" John asked her suddenly.

"Would I have to move to get it?" Kerry asked him seriously, she truly did not want to move. She hadn't felt this way since she was a teenager. There was something so delightfully sensual about lying next to the man who made your heart all a flutter she idly thought. 

John kissed her suddenly. His lips tantalized hers, as his soft hands lingered on her cheek. He really didn't want to leave her even to go to the kitchen. Reluctantly, they parted. 

"What do you want to drink?" He asked her as he moved off of the couch. 

"What are my choices?" she asked him seriously as she stifled a yawn.

"Water, water, or more water." He told her quite seriously. His eyes were alight with mischievousness. He marveled at how relaxed she looked, it a was complete contrast to how she looked when she was at work.

"OK," Kerry pretended to be serious for a few minutes. "I'll take lemonade then." John sighed.. "Oh, you like your water with a spritz of lemon?"   

"Nope, I want the real thing." She smiled at him suddenly. "But failing that I'll just take water." She watched him walked towards the kitchen a small smile hovered on her face. 

"Water it is then." He walked towards the kitchen, upon entering it he realized he hadn't been home much in the last few days and the dishes had piled up more than he wanted. He was irritated to find he needed to clean a few glasses before he did anything else.

By the time he finished finding, much less cleaning, two small water glasses and filling them with water, John realized that there was complete silence from the living room. The TV was still showing a blank static screen. He absently turned it off with his elbow as he walked into the room, both hands full with water glasses. It was then he looked over to Kerry and noticed she was sound asleep. Her head was resting against the pillow she had appropriated from his side of the couch. She looked completely adorable he thought to himself.

He thought about waking her up to drive her home, and then realized how silly that sounded. It wasn't like this was the first time she had spent the night. He had just hoped that the next time she would be awake. He was grateful that Kerry was so light, he thought as he carried her toward his room. Otherwise, she would have remained the couch.   

He laid her gently down on his bed. Removed her shoes and covered her with a blanket. As he did, he watched her snuggle deeper into the blanket. He gently removed her glasses and placed them on the night stand then just as carefully, leaned her crutch against the night stand. He hoped this time she wouldn't knock it off onto the floor.  

He yawned as he strode into the living room. He picked up the TV guide, and stretched out on the couch. It looked like it was going to be a long quiet night. 

John had been asleep for several hours when he heard a muffled cry from the bedroom. He walked in quietly not wanting to disturb her. As he entered the room he clearly heard her mutter. 

"Give me the keys."

Kerry had somehow managed to knock off her covers while she slept. John quietly sat next to her on the bed, wondering what kind of dream she would have that would disturb her so much.

"Kerry wake up." He told her softly, not wanting to startle her and make her dream worse. 

Kerry murmured again, this time her voice seemed to hold more panic in it. 

"Give me the damn keys Erik, just give them to me!"

"Kerry, wake up." John's voice was more insistent this time. He could tell that the hours she'd spent in the elevator earlier today had shaken her up more than she was admitting. "Come on honey, wake up."

"Don't, we're going to hit it! Erik, dammit listen to me!"

This time her voice held anger and intense fear, her arms flailing about restlessly in her sleep. 

"KERRY." John practically shouted at her, shaking her lightly, afraid to make her dreams worse. 

Kerry sat up and looked at him with eyes that refused to focus. "John?" she asked in a sleepy, disorientated voice. Her terror had faded and her relief was evident as she recognized his comforting presence. It never occurred to her to wonder why she was in his bed, or why he was there.

"I'm so tired." She leaned against him, as soon as she felt his arms around her she fell heavily asleep. This time it was evident that it was a more peaceful sleep.

John was worried about her, and wasn't quite sure what to do. He attempted to lay her back down, but even in her sleep she refused to let him go. Bending to the inevitable he lay down next to her, hoping he wouldn't catch hell for it in the morning. He clearly heard her sigh in her sleep, instinctively moving closer to him. 

He lay back staring at the ceiling wishing she were awake. He held her tightly to his chest enjoying how good it felt just to hold her, eventually after quite a while, he to fell asleep.

Kerry woke up slowly, several hours later, luxuriating at the large soft bed she was lying on. She breathed in the masculine cologne that filled the air. She rolled over and opened her eyes to see that John was already awake and staring at her.

Startled all she could do was stare. "How?" she asked quietly, not sure she wanted to know the answer. She watched John's smile, his breathtakingly, wonderful smile flashed at her briefly. 

"You fell asleep." He stated softly. He loved watching her sleep. He knew he should have left when he awoke earlier, but he had the urge to stay and make sure she was OK.   

"Oh" was her only reply. She knew she should be self-conscious, after all, it had been quite a while since she had awoken in a man's bed. Instead all she could think was that this felt so right. 

"Bad dreams?" he asked her quietly alluding to the ones she'd been having earlier in the evening.

"A little" she told him, not wanting to worry him. 

"A little is an understatement," she thought to herself. Every terrifying moment of that night had recurred in vivid detail. She deliberately hid her eyes from him, staring instead at his chest. She knew he could drag the truth out of her with just a look, and at this moment she wasn't prepared to talk about her dreams. 

He said nothing, just pulled her closer to him. He wished she would talk to him more. At this moment, he felt that forcing her would probably just upset her, doing more harm than good. He lay there enjoying the silence between them, enjoying the feel of his arms around her small lithe body.

Listening to John's breathing was somehow an unbelievably serene experience for Kerry. She lay there enjoying the peacefulness of the moment. They had been quiet for several moments each thinking their own thoughts, each just content to hold one another. Kerry lay there drinking in the sensations of John's fingers stroking her arm when she heard him speak.  

"You're quiet." John stated softly, his lips mere centimeters from her ear. He moved away slightly to look her in the face, and as he did, he noticed a large purplish discoloration beginning to show just below one of her sleeves. 

"Just enjoying the moment." She softly told him.  

He chuckled slightly then asked her, "Did you get this today?" He traced the large bruise that had formed earlier with a gentle forefinger. Kerry glanced over at the arm in question, noticing it for the first time.

"That's a beaut." She laughed softly sidestepping the question.    

"You never told me, just exactly what did you and Erik talk about?" John asked her, alluding to the hours she had spent trapped in an elevator with her ex. Part of him wanted to know, and part of him was afraid to find out. He watched as Kerry stretched slightly, then cuddled up closer to him. His arms instinctively held her tighter than before. The mere thought of what could have happened to her still terrified him.

Kerry relished his embrace, she thought how warm and comforting he was. She traced circles on his arms, tracing idle patterns onto his warm flesh. 

"Umm talking isn't something I would say we mostly…" she trailed off sheepishly. "We mostly argued."

"About?" John asked her still curious as to what they could have argued about.  

Kerry decided that talking about her ex was really the last thing on her mind. She deliberately kissed him quite seriously. 

"Do you really want to talk about my ex husband right now?" she asked him teasingly before kissing his chin. She smiled at his sudden intake of breath. Taking full advantage of her ability to completely sidetrack him she kissed him again, this time quite deliberately.

Early the next morning


Kerry felt a slight feather like touch on her ear. Irritated she slapped it away. It came back. She slapped it again, this time more irritated than before. Damn bugs she thought. The touch came again, she reluctantly opened her eyes and rolled over, in attempt to kill the bug that was irritating her. 

John smiled down at her. "Wake up sleepyhead." 

Kerry blushed, she felt so contented, so full of life at the moment, and she also felt slightly embarrassed. She found herself saying the first thing that came to mind. "You're awake early."

"Yeah, for once I woke up before you did." He told her teasingly. "I was starting to think that the only way I was going to wake you up was by turning the stereo up really loud." 

Kerry grimaced at him. "John I don't listen to the stereo all that loud," she trailed off when she realized he was just grinning at her, obviously not believing a word she said.

"Let's get up, I have some plans for us today." 

"It's my day off, and any plans you have had better include my not doing a thing in your garden." She told him briskly. She swung her legs over the side of the bed and was reaching for her crutch, when she felt herself being dragged back down. 

"Plan number one doesn't include us getting up yet." He told her teasingly, interspersing his words with soft kisses down her neck. 

Hmm Kerry thought as she turned back to him, maybe John has the right idea, who says getting an early start to the day was always practical. There was something to be said about staying in bed a little longer on her day off.  

Quack, Quack!
http://www.geocities.com/cimerene/
ICQ: 38982539