The Right Match
Part Seven - From Bad to Worse to Good Again
By Lisa Brown
ERDrLewis@aol.com
I'm only borrowing the wonderful ER characters, I'll
return them I promise. No money was made off this fanfic! :) Thanks to Kathy, Zelia, and
Christina for editing. Feedback always welcome at ERDrLewis@aol.com
"Oh my god, Carter, what are we going to do?" Lucy asked, walking into the lounge.
"I don't know, I don't know. Do you think he heard our conversation too, or just saw us kissing?"
"He just saw us kissing, I hope. Oh my god, what if he heard us? This day couldn't get any worse!"
"Calm down Luc. Everything will work out. Come here, sit down," Carter said, patting the seat next to him.
Lucy looked at him for a second. "One minute, I need a drink. Be right back."
Lucy walked out the door. She was trying to remember where she put her purse. She had been out of sorts all day. *Think, Lucy, think!* she thought to herself. She had it at the admit desk because Yosh wanted to see something on her medical dictionary. *It must still be there,* she thought. She walked up to the admit desk and heard some of the nurses talking. She stopped to listen for a minute.
"And then they just ran in like two little school kids that had been scolded!" Haleh announced. The nurses standing around her, Carol, Lydia, Chuni and Lily, as well as Jerry, laughed.
"So, what were they doing?" Lydia asked.
"We don't know. Come on guys, we don't know the whole story and I'm sure they would appreciate us not talking about them!" Carol said.
"Oh, come on Carol! You saw Dr. Greene's face! He was pretty mad. They must have done something wrong," Jerry said.
"FYI, Jerry, Mark and his ex-wife got into a fight over when Rachel's going to come and see him and he's been cranky ever since," Carol said.
"Oh, come on Carol, isn't it fun to try and figure out what they were doing?" Jerry said.
"Not when you're the one being speculated about. I've been there a few times to many, and it's not fun."
"Thank you, Carol," Lucy said, walking past them and grabbing her purse. "Excuse me," she said as she walked to the soda machine, ignoring their gaping faces. She got her soda and walked back to the lounge, where she found Carter pacing back and forth.
"Hey."
"Hey. They're already talking about us."
"Who cares? Come here and sit down with me. You okay? You don't look too good."
"I'm fine. I just have a stomach ache. I'll be fine."
Lucy came and sat down next to Carter on the couch. She took a sip of her soda. Carter placed an arm around her shoulders. The two were extremely quiet. Carter suddenly heard a sniff, sniff.
"Lucy? Are you crying?"
She turned to face him, her face stained with tears. "I was just thinking about how much trouble we're going to be in. Our careers could be gone. All that schooling, all those tests, everything, for nothing. And you have more going for you than I do, and I just hate thinking that I ruined it for you-"
"Shh, shh. You didn't ruin anything for anyone. We were in this together, right?"
Lucy smiled through her tears. "Yeah. Don't get me wrong, John, I love you. I love you with all my heart and I've never loved anyone like this, but, oh god, what if he heard?"
"Wait, what did you say?" Carter whispered.
Lucy looked puzzled. "Oh god, what if he heard?"
"Before that."
Lucy smiled. "I love you, John."
Carter returned the smile. "I love you too, Luc. We'll talk about everything later, okay? I'd hate someone walking in on us. Everything will be okay, don't worry."
All of the sudden, Dr. Greene walked in. "Sorry it took me so long. So, you guys want to explain?"
Lucy smiled to herself. He seemed like he was in a better mood now. "Um, well, what do you want to know?" Lucy asked. She still wasn't sure if he had heard their conversation.
"How about if that kiss was just a friendly one or something more? It looked like something more."
"Um, yeah it was," Carter said.
"All right then. Was this a one time thing or not?"
"Dr. Carter and I have been dating for almost three months. At the time we started, I was in my psych rotation and was not aware that I would be coming back to the ER," Lucy said. She sure didn't feel well.
"Oh. Well, I might have to let the board know about this."
"Oh, I'm going to be sick," Lucy said.
"It won't be too bad, Lucy, since you've been dating since your psych rotation-"
"No, literally, I'm going to be sick. Excuse me," Lucy said, running out of the lounge.
"Is she going to be okay?" Dr. Green asked with concern.
"Yeah, I think so. She just had a stomach ache earlier. So, you're really going to tell the board?"
"I'm complied to. I really don't have a choice, Carter."
"You didn't when Doug slept with Harper."
"How do you know about that?"
"Harper was my girlfriend at the time."
"Damn, I knew I would regret doing that. Well, that was different."
"How so? Lucy and I are in a mutual, caring relationship, not some one night fling. We were aware of the rules at all times, but were willing to risk that to be together."
Mark sighed and paused for a moment. "I suppose, since you two really care about each other so much, that I won't tell. We'll switch her over to Doyle for a teacher, because I certainly don't want you as her teacher since you two are going out. Any questions?"
"Nope. Thanks a lot, Dr. Greene. I owe you one."
"No problem, Carter. I'll let you know when you can return the favor. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to discharge a patient. You might want to check on Lucy."
"Will do."
*Where is Kerry, where is Kerry,* Carter thought to himself while he searched for her. Lucy was in the ladies' room and he was trying to get Kerry to go in and make sure she was okay. He certainly wasn't going to go and check. He turned the corner and almost bumped into Carol.
"Sorry 'bout that," Carol said.
"No, no problem! Hey Carol," Carter said, "do you know where Kerry is?"
"She went up to the OR to check on a patient. Why?"
"I needed someone to check on something for me."
"What? I can help you if you need me to."
Carter thought for a moment. This was the best bet he would probably get. "Okay. Lucy wasn't feeling well and ran to the bathroom. Could you just check in there and make sure she's all right?"
Carol could see the concern in his eyes. "Sure. Let me just put this chart at the desk and I'll go see what's up."
His face showed her that he was eternally grateful. "I'm going to take a quick break in the lounge, then. We're kinda slow now. Thanks again, Carol."
"No problem." Carol walked up to the admit desk and put the chart in its rightful spot. Then she headed for the ladies' room.
"Lucy? You in here?"
No answer. Carol heard some sniffling coming from the last stall. She walked over and opened the door a little. Carol saw Lucy sitting on the floor of the stall. She was leaning over her knees.
"Lucy?"
The sound of her name brought her head up. Carol noticed her face was tearstained and her eyes were red. Carol knew something was wrong. "Hey, Lucy. Everything all right?"
Lucy shook her head. "I'm having the worst day of my life," she whispered.
"What's wrong, Lucy?"
"I threw up. And I hate throwing up."
"You decided to become a doctor?"
"I can handle it when others do."
"That's all? That's what you're all worked up over?"
"No."
"Do you need me to get someone to look at you? See what's wrong?"
"No!" Lucy exclaimed. Carol could see in her eyes that she did not want that happening. "I mean, no, I'm okay. It was probably just something I ate. I'm fine."
There was a pause. Carol could see that Lucy probably wasn't going to tell her what was really wrong.
"Carter was looking for you. He seemed worried about you. He wanted me to report back to him."
Lucy nodded. "You can tell him I'll be out in a minute. Tell him I'm okay."
Carol stood up and started to walk towards the door. "Okay, I will Lucy. And," she said, "if you ever want to talk or anything, as friends, I'll be willing to listen."
Lucy smiled. "I'll think about it. And Carol?" she said. Carol tuned around to face her again. "Thanks. For defending me and Carter out there. You guys didn't know what was going on, and it was really nice of you to stand up and say so."
Carol smiled. "No problem, Lucy. I've been the brunt of hospital gossip a few times too many. I was just doing what I thought was right," she said. "I'm going to go get Carter for you, okay?"
"Thanks." Lucy stood up and walked over to the sinks. *Come on, Lucy. You have to pull yourself together before you go out there. You're only on for another hour,* she told herself. She quickly splashed some cool water on her face. Ick. She needed to get something to eat or drink to get that horrible taste out of her mouth. But first she had to find Carter. She walked out of the bathroom and almost ran smack into Dr. Greene.
"Sorry," Lucy said, apologetically.
"That's fine," Dr. Greene said. "Did Carter tell you? He persuaded me not to tell the board. You're going to be working under Doyle starting next shift, is that fine?"
"Oh, yes. Thanks Dr. Greene."
"Yeah, Carter just owes me one. You don't look so great. Are you feeling okay?"
"Yeah, fine, I just think I ate something that didn't agree with my stomach."
"Oh. It's kind of slow, if you want to go get something in the cafeteria. Carter's with a patient, I don't think he would mind."
"Thanks, Dr. Greene. That's where I'll be then."
"Just the coffee, thanks," Lucy said as she handed the cafeteria cashier a dollar bill. "Keep the change."
She saw Kerry sitting at a table by herself. She walked over to her. "Hi," Kerry said.
"Hi. Mind if I sit down?"
"Not at all," Kerry said, moving her dinner out of Lucy's way. "Did you talk to Carter yet?"
"Yeah. We were in the middle of discussing it when Dr. Greene came up to the roof to get that trauma patient that was flown here."
"Oh, dear. Did he hear what you were taking about?" Kerry asked before taking another bite of her salad.
"No, thank goodness. But it happens we were kissing when he came up. We had a nice long talk with him."
"Is he going to tell the board?"
"No, I don't think so. I got sick in the middle of him talking and had to run to the bathroom. Carter persuaded him not to somehow. Go figure," Lucy said taking a sip of coffee.
"You fine now?"
"Yeah, yeah, I'll be fine. Carter was worried sick."
"Well, speaking of Carter, there he is now," Kerry said. Carter was walking over to their table.
"Hey there. Do you mind if I steal Lucy from you for a moment?" Carter asked.
"No, not at all. In fact, I need to get back to the ER, if you want to steal my seat," Kerry said as she stood up.
"Thanks," Carter said, sitting down. "You okay?"
"Yes, yes, I'm fine. You're the fourth person to ask me that," Lucy said, taking another sip of coffee. "Hey, do you think we could go somewhere else and talk? You know, there's just people here . . ."
"No problem. Come on," Carter said.
"Where are we going?"
"Not quite sure. Just come on."
They walked around to various places, but their coworkers were everywhere. They didn't want to risk going up to the roof again. They finally found themselves back in the ER.
"Hold on. Stay right here," Carter said.
He walked over to the admit desk. Lucy could see him saying something to Kerry. She was nodding her head about something. Then Carter proceeded to walk back to Lucy.
"Come on."
"What's going on?"
"I told Kerry that you still didn't feel well, so I was taking you home. We're only on for another half an hour. So, let's go."
The two had been driving in silence for a while. Finally, Carter broke the silence by asking, "Um, Luc? Where should I be going?"
"We have to talk about this sometime, John."
"Do you want to go back to my place then?"
"Sure."
The two walked into the apartment. "I'll be right back, I'm going to use the bathroom really quick."
"Can I use yours? I just want to brush my teeth really quick."
"No problem. I'll use the one up here."
When Carter came out, he saw Lucy sitting on the couch. She was reading the back of a small box. "Hey. What are you reading?"
Lucy held up the box better so Carter could see. Pregnancy test. "You know, we're not one hundred percent sure, so there's a little ray of hope . . ."
"Where'd you get it?"
"I stole it from the supply cabinet."
Carter couldn't help but smile at that. "I'm going to see if we have any food for dinner, okay? Let me know if you need anything," he said.
Carter was rummaging around in the kitchen when he heard Lucy say, "I'll be right back." Then she disappeared down the stairs. Carter closed the refrigerator door and followed her. When he got to his room, he saw the bathroom door was closed. A few moments later, the door opened and Lucy emerged.
"We're supposed to wait three minutes. Did you find anything for dinner?"
"Not really. You look tired," Carter commented.
"Yeah, I am. I think I'm just going to take a shower and go to bed. I'm not that hungry."
"You wanna stay here?"
"John, I think I've slept at my house maybe once over the last month. I basically live here."
"Lucy?"
"Hmm?"
Carter paused for a moment. "Why . . . why don't you move in? You're right, you basically live here. Kerry wouldn't mind."
Lucy smiled. "Sure. I like the sound of that."
They were interrupted by a ding coming from the bathroom. "Oh. John, I don't want to go look. Will you?"
Carter got up and went to the bathroom. Lucy could see him pick up the test and then look at the box. When he turned around, she didn't even need Carter to tell her the answer.
"You know, these things aren't always right," Carter said, coming to sit next to Lucy.
"No, it's right. I knew it all along, I was just hoping I guess. John, what are we going to do?" Lucy asked, burying her face in Carter's chest.
"I don't know. It's been a long day. Why don't you go take a nice, warm bath and we'll talk about it in the morning?"
Lucy leaned back so she could see Carter's face. "Okay. Want to join me?" she said, smiling.
"I'd be glad to."
Later that night, Lucy lay in bed next to Carter. She was just thinking over the events of the day. Considering, just about everything had worked out okay. There was the bit about her being pregnant, but they would talk about that in the morning. With those thoughts in mind, Lucy drifted off to sleep.
