Breaking Barriers
~~~~~~~~~~~~~Next morning~~~~~~~~~~~
John Carter woke up and checked the alarm. 10:30 it read. 10:30?! wait it was his day off for the week. Thursday. He suddenly remembered what had carried on the night of Wednesday through the early , early morning of Thursday. He smiled. Looking next to him he saw a blond haired face eyes closed a sheet over her chest. Lucy. his student. His friend. Wait not student anymore. So it had been ok to do that. The light that came through the windows had woken Lucy. She moved a little groaning, as it hit her eyes. without thinking the sheet dropped as she sat up. She realized it when she remembered who was next to her and quickly recovered herself. "Luce it's nothing I haven't seen before" He said in a raspy voice that relaxed her from the comment.
"I know" she moved closer to him. "How'd you sleep?"
"Good. you?" he said hand on her face. She was smiling.
"Yea me too" What was last night to him? "We really do have to have 'the talk' you know?"
"I know. So lets talk" he sat up giving his attention. "I loved last night Lucy, even before we got here I loved being with you"
"Me too, being with you was perfect" she was relieved.
"So where does that leave us?"
"I was hoping you could answer that John" there, she'd used his name. He liked that. It made him feel like he was with Lucy, not Dr. Knight.
"I'd want to keep going" He answered honestly.
"Me too" she was definitely falling for him. Big time.
"OK, so we are officially together?" he was falling for her. No questions.
"Yea, together" she smiled and kissed him. Realizing the time but also that the man she now realized she loved was next to her she decided to call in sick. "I don't wanna go to work today"
"I know but you have to right?"
"Do I? I'm not sure. Either way I'll call in sick or something ok?"
"Hey it's your decision I'd like to spend the day with you though" he didn't want her to go but he didn't want to be blamed if she got caught lying her way out of work.
"Ok, excuse me I have a phone call to make" she got up and put on a robe. Then she went to the living area and dialed the ER.
"Randi, hi it's Lucy"
"Hi"
"Um, I'm not feeling so great so could you let Weaver know I wont be in?"
"Yea sure, feel better, and Oh Lucy one more thing?"
"Yea?" she figured she'd get a message or a new shift to add to the hundreds she was scheduled for in the next weeks. Instead she got....:
"Tell Carter I say hi!" she giggled and hung up. How could she know? Oh well no sense in figuring out her. It could take hours at the very least. Lucy went into her room again looking a little confused.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
"Nothing, it's just that when I called the ER Randi told me and I quote 'tell Carter I say hi' and I didn't say one word to her" he got the same look on his face. "But no use trying to figure out how she gets her info" She resolved. With that she sat on her bed where she'd slept. Carter sat up with her.
"So what exactly are we doing today?"
"I don't know, feel like sleeping in?" she smiled with a hint of what she had in mind.
"Something like that".........Don't make me write what happened next. :o)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ER~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Hey where's Lucy?" Kerry Weaver yelled at the desk clerk.
"She called in sick, Dr. Weaver" She sounded like she knew something.
"Fine, I'll call her later to wish her well" She said thinking that Randi wouldn't cover for Lucy if she wasn't home.
"Ok" Randi started to file her nails. Kerry assumed after her reaction Lucy was really sick.
~~~~~~~~~~~Lucy's apartment~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The two laid in bed next to each other Lucy's head on his chest. "So, John when do you have your next shift?" She asked breaking the silence as both were exhausted from there encore.
"Uh, tomorrow morning I think or late tonight"
"Kerry is going to be pretty pissed at me"
"Why? you called in sick"
"Come on Randi wont keep her mouth shut"
"Very true" He laughed. "Still though, I don't think Weaver is THAT mean to do something like that"
"Maybe you're right. Well then, I guess its nothing to be worried over right?"
"Right" He assured her.
"Didn't you have to call someone yesterday?" Lucy remembered.
"What?"
"Yesterday, at work you had to call someone, you said you would when you got home but, you didn't exactly make it home" She smiled at the reason.
"Oh Damn it!" he too remembered.
"What who was it?" She looked concerned.
"My parents for another one of their dinners"
"Go ahead call them" She pointed to the cordless phone on her dresser.
Carter went through what seemed like an endless conversation of excuses on his part to get out of this dinner. Once he had said one too many things and revealed that Lucy was in his bedroom since last night, she demanded he bring her with him. He couldn't argue his way out of that. Lucy didn't want to leave him in peril so out of kindness she decided to go along with it. 'so much for enjoying life' she thought, remembering what he had said about his family. One wrong move and they crushed you like a bug. Lucy was just small enough for their feet........
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ER~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Mark, we're over booked here!" Kerry yelped as she walked to the board with what seemed like a hundred charts in one arm. The other focusing on her walk.
"This isn't a hotel Kerry, we can take patients its the fact that the residents aren't sending them to recovery or other floors to sleep" He said matter of fact toned. All without looking off of the charts he was working on.
"Well call in Carter and Lucy, we'll see what they can do about it" Kerry didn't want to hear that 'they were sick' unless one of them had to be brought in here on a gurney. Feeling pleased with her explanation which she'd give them if they refused. She wound up giving them that reason as both were unwilling to go in for work.
"Carter, I don't want an excuse I want to see you walking through these doors in 20 minutes ok?" Kerry demanded through the phone.
"Uh, that might be a little difficult"
"Why? where are you anyway why am I calling you on your cell phone?"
"I'm out ok? I'll be in in 20 ok Kerry but you owe me one day!" he hung up and so did she.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Lucy's apartment~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"We have to go in huh?"
"Yea, but its fine we'll both be there"
"Yea but we wont get to see each other without goggles and plastic gowns on, John"
"Well, we'll make the best of it, she's gotta give us time to eat right?"
"Yea, well let me change ok?"
"OK, I'll head down there now"
"OK, I'll see you then" she disappeared into her closet. Carter left her apartment rushing to get to the hospital.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ER~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"God Carter, we need you now in trauma 2!" Mark yelled while running to the room. Carter had just walked in and Lucy would be there soon...... Hell again but he had had a great night. Life was good.
