Luck of the Draw
A Carter/Lucy story revolving around "Be Still My Heart," rated G. Big spoilers for season six. This story is in response to the Sliding Doors challenge Carly issued. BTW, totally OT, but that movie is great and you should try to check it out if you can. Anywho, legal mumbo jumbo: I don't own anything, I'm not making money off of this, so everyone at Warner Bros. and their whole menagerie of people over there can just leave me alone. Since the story might get a bit confusing at times, ~*~ signifies a change of one plot to another. Another note, the story doesn’t follow the plot ER gave us exactly, I thought it would be more fun this way. ;)
Intro:
Carter walked down the hallway to the exam room Lucy’s patient was in. He hadn’t given Lucy much help today. He was giving more attention to Abby’s patient, for various reasons. Abby hadn’t been in the ER as long as Lucy, the patient had *specifically* asked for him. He felt bad for neglecting Lucy all day, but she could carry her own.
When Carter got to the room, something seemed off to him. He couldn’t quite place it. He pushed his fears to the back of his head and began to open the door...
Plot 1:
...when he remembered he meant to call Gamma today, on Valentine’s. That must be what’s off, Carter thought to himself. He walked down to the pay phone, since he wouldn’t be able to hear if he used one at the admit desk. He called Gamma and quickly wished her a Happy Valentine’s Day. He then hung up the phone, using the excuse that he had a patient waiting, which he did.
He walked back down the hall to Paul’s room. He saw a dark-haired man running down the hallway. "Hey, slow down!" Carter yelled out. The man quickly turned a corner, still at top speed. Carter briefly thought about going after him, but the man was wearing normal clothes and running pretty fast. It was slow, anyway. Not too many people were around.
Carter shook his head as if to forget about the incident. He walked into the room, and still had the premonition that something was wrong. The lights were off and he switched them on. He then saw that his premonitions were taking form.
He saw a trail of blood on the floor leading behind the bed. He quickly ran around and saw the familiar blonde-haired woman he knew so well on the floor. In a puddle of blood. "Luce!" he screamed out. She stirred and he said, "Luce, it’ll be okay, I’m going to get help. It’ll be okay."
Carter ran out to the hallway again and yelled, "I need some help down here, quick!" at the top of his lungs. The music was still full blast and he doubted anyone would hear him. Much to his surprise, Luka, Lydia, Carol, and Abby came running. He then took charge. "Lucy’s been stabbed. Get a back board, fast, before she looses too much more blood!"
Abby and Lydia ran off, while Luka and Carol ran to his side. "She’s in here," Carter blurted out as Abby and Lydia ran to the room. They quickly got her situated on the board and took her to Trauma One. "Someone go call surgery, she’s going to need it!" Luka called out.
"Go get Benton, he’s already down here!" Carter screamed. Carter noticed that the music had been turned off and a few other people had gathered outside the trauma room. "Call security! The guy must be around here somewhere!" Carter yelled to Randi. "Paul! Paul Sobrieki! That’s who was in there with her..." Carter added as he intubated. "C’mon, Luce, you can’t die. Not today."
Plot 2:
...noticing a valentine on the floor. As he bent to pick it up, he felt a sharp pain in his back. He tried to scream out, but found he had no voice. Two, no three more sharp pains. He put his hand to his back, only to find it covered in blood. He grabbed for the only thing in sight, a tray of instruments...he couldn’t make out what was on it. It collapsed under him and he fell to the floor.
He shut his eyes for a moment as a result of hitting the cold floor. When he opened his eyes, he saw her. His former med. student, someone he was supposed to be supervising, someone too young for this to happen to. It wasn’t fair. Was she alive? He finally saw her move, but her eyes were closed. Just to let her know she wasn’t alone, he spit out the only word he could, "Lucy," hoping someone would find them soon since he had no strength to get up.
Later that day...
Carter sat across the street at Doc Magoo’s with Jing-Mei, Dave, Luka, Haleh, Chuni, and Abby. No one wanted to go home. Carter wasn’t going home until Lucy was out of surgery and was assured to be okay. Kerry kicked him out of the ER, though, saying he should try and get some rest. Yah, right. So, they all sat around sharing Lucy stories. Most of them there hadn’t known Lucy very long, but they all had a story to share. Even Abby, who had only been there a week, told them about how she and Lucy had thrown the old man’s money from the roof on her first day. Haleh shared the story about Carter’s trick dealing with Vanessa; Chuni decided to inform everyone who didn’t remember or wasn’t there about finding Carter and Lucy intertwined in Exam Six. After various other stories, Carter told everyone about how he and Lucy searched forever for Corrina’s father that one night. He summed it up by saying, "I’ve never seen anyone fight so hard for a patient, ever." They all shared the same thought, that such a wonderful person couldn’t be lost.
Finally, Lydia came in and they all almost died from anticipation. "She’s alive. Awake, too. Romano says it looks very likely that she’ll be perfectly fine over time."
A round of sighs surrounded the table. "Kerry wants to see you, Carter," Lydia said.
"But Kerry..." Carter said. Then, he noticed the urgency in Lydia’s eyes. Kerry didn’t want to see him; it was something else. Probably concerning Lucy, he thought. "Ah, yes, can’t disappoint the boss. Talk to you all later," Carter said, getting up from the table.
"Thank god she’s alright," Luka said. "It would be a tragedy to loose her."
"That’s for sure," Haleh added.
They all sat in silence for a moment, contemplating the days events. Dave broke that silence by asking, "So, Chuni, did anything go on between them after the Exam Six ordeal?"
Chuni frowned. "Nope. Not that I know of. Why, you want to make the move on Lucy?"
"No, just wondering. They always seemed close."
"She did not said they were not friends," Luka added. "They probably are."
Carter opened his eyes and looked around him. He was alive. On the other hand, maybe he wasn’t? Was it a dream? No, he was in a bed at County, with Peter Benton standing at the end of his bed. "Good, the anesthesia is wearing off. Don’t try to sit up," Peter warned as he saw Carter start to raise his head and wince in pain.
"Lucy?" Carter whispered.
"In a coma," Peter replied. "Romano says it’s about a fifty-fifty chance she’ll come out of it. She had a pulmonary embolism...you were lucky, Carter."
Carter didn’t answer. Peter could see the pain on his face, but he wasn’t sure if it was from his injuries or the news about Lucy. "Do you want me to get you some morphine?"
Carter just nodded.
"Don’t blame yourself, Carter. It wasn’t anyone’s fault." Seeing that he wasn’t getting a response, he told Carter, "I’ll go get some meds for you," and left.
Carter stood outside of the room, looking in. Lucy had asked for him. Why him? Carter was glad he hadn’t gone home. He walked in and saw Lucy smile. At least her spirits were up.
"Hey," Carter said. "You look like you’re doing good, considering."
"Thank you," Lucy whispered.
"For what? Leaving you with a psycho killer so he could butcher you?"
Lucy slowly rolled her eyes. "No one knew, Carter. Don’t blame yourself, I couldn’t live with myself if you did," she whispered back, pausing for a moment to catch her breath. "Romano told me if you hadn’t found me, it could have been hours before anyone did. So, thank you. For saving my life." Lucy smiled before adding, "I knew you’d be good for something one of these days."
"Well, you’re welcome then," Carter said. "I’m just glad that you’re okay."
"Me too, Carter. I’m glad too."
Two months later...
"Lucy!" Carter exclaimed when he saw the student in the lounge, digging through her locker. "I thought you wouldn’t be back for a while more."
"I’m not. I decided to take some time off...do some thinking. Nothing definite, just a break."
"So, what are you doing here?" Carter asked.
"I was thinking about taking a longer break than anticipated. Six months to a year, something like that. I just need to figure out what’s going on with me, you know? So, I came to get my stuff, tell Kerry, and...say goodbye. I’m not positive I’m coming back, so..."
"Oh," Carter said. "We’ll miss you around here, but I understand. We’ll still be here when you decide what you want to do."
"Thanks, Carter. I know we’ve had our differences, but you were always one of the ones that tried to make me feel at home here," Lucy said, putting some magazines from her locker in a half-filled box.
"I would have never thought I would be hearing those words come out of *your* mouth," Carter said.
"Well, aside from all the fighting, you’ve been a really great friend, not just a great teacher, fellow doctor, superior, et cetera," Lucy added. "You’re one of the ones I’ll miss."
"Where are you going to stay? With your mom?"
"Yeah. I won’t be that far away. I’ll visit of course. I’m not going to drop of the face of the earth." Lucy looked at her watch. "I had better get going. My mom’s supposed to be picking me up here in five minutes," she said, picking up her box of goodies. "So, I guess this is goodbye, Carter."
"Goodbye sounds to final," Carter complained. "How about ‘Until we meet again?’"
"What is this, some movie or something?" Lucy said. She set down her box and gave Carter a quick hug. Before leaving the lounge, she turned back and said, "Until we meet again, Carter.’"
"Carter, you look like shit," Kerry commented. "Are you going home?" she asked as she hung up her jacket in her locker.
He yawned. "I’m off, but I’m going to go check upstairs before I leave."
Kerry sighed. Carter had been back at work for a month now, and before and after every shift he went upstairs to check on Lucy. She sure hoped Lucy would pull out of this coma soon, for both of their sakes. Carter would never forgive himself if she didn’t. "Don’t stay too long. You look like you need some sleep."
Carter yawned again and said, "I’ll be fine, Kerry, don’t worry." With that, he got up and started his journey upstairs.
When Carter reached ICU, he walked straight to Lucy’s room. He was glad he had been there fifty million times before, because he was so tired, he was afraid he’d get lost. "Hey, Amy. How is she doing?" he asked.
"Same as this morning, Dr. Carter," the charge nurse answered. "Why don’t you go home and get some sleep? I doubt her condition will change overnight." Amy could see he looked exhausted. Poor guy, she thought to herself.
"In a bit. I suppose I look more tired than I really am."
"I hope so. I’ll be over here if you need me," Amy said, walking away.
Carter looked at Lucy, lying in the bed, helpless. Come on, Lucy. He sighed, knowing Amy was right. Nothing would happen today. Carter backed up and almost began to walk away, when he saw Lucy’s arm move. Was that just wishful thinking, or did she really move her arm, Carter though. "Luce?" he said, hoping for some confirmation that he wasn’t crazy. When nothing else happened, Carter scowled. I really do need to get some sleep, he thought. My mind is playing tricks on me.
Then, all of the sudden, he saw Lucy’s eyes flutter. They finally opened and Carter saw a look of panic cross over her face.
"It’s okay, Lucy! You’re okay. You’re intubated, don’t try to talk."
Lucy’s face resumed to a more relaxed, confused state. "Amy!" Carter called out.
"What?" Amy asked, coming over to Lucy’s bed.
"She’s up."
"Well, hello, Lucy. You had a nice nap, didn’t you?" Amy said, as she began to check her vitals. "You’re doing just fine. Dr. Carter will stay with you while I go get Dr. Corday. We’ll see if we can get you extubated, okay, hon?" she said, pulling Carter away for a moment. "Why don’t you try to find out if she remembers anything?" Amy whispered.
Carter nodded and walked back to Lucy. "Luce, do you feel okay?"
Lucy slowly nodded her head. It was difficult due to the tube in her mouth.
"Do you remember what happened?"
There was a pause. Carter added, "With Paul?" before Lucy gave another nod. Poor Lucy. At least she was awake.
Dr. Corday and Amy walked in. Dr. Corday saw Carter and frowned. He had been spending quite a lot of time in Lucy’s room and she knew he wasn’t getting enough sleep. He still somewhat blamed himself for the accident, Elizabeth knew. "Good afternoon, Lucy. I’m glad to see you’re feeling better! Just give me a minute and I’ll do a few tests and extubate you." It was Elizabeth’s turn to pull Carter aside. She pulled him out of the room. "Carter, you look like hell. Go home and get some sleep. You can’t come back here until visiting hours tomorrow."
"What? But..."
"No buts, Carter. You need to get some sleep and this is the only way you’ll go home. You know it is. Visiting hours are from twelve from two and if I catch you in here before then, you’ll have to mess with me. It won’t be pretty. Now go get a good night’s sleep." With that, Elizabeth left Carter and walked back inside.
"Okay, Lucy, you know the process. After I count to three, blow really hard. One, two three," Elizabeth said, pulling the tubing from Lucy’s throat. She coughed and Amy gave her a sip of water. "Don’t try to talk, that’s been down your throat for two months. Give your throat time to adjust."
"Carter?" Lucy silently mouthed.
"I sent him home. He hasn’t been getting enough sleep. He’ll be back soon, though, don’t worry. He’s spent quite a lot of time up here, actually," Elizabeth said. She saw Lucy’s mouth turn up in a small smile. "Do you hurt anywhere? Do you want me to get you any medication?" Lucy’s wounds had healed, but she would still be sore from lying there all this time. Lucy shook her head no. "Okay then. I’ll check on you in a little bit, okay?" Lucy nodded and shut her eyes.
Carter walked down the hall. It was only eleven thirty, but he was on at twelve. He didn’t care if he would have to deal with Dr. Corday, he wasn’t waiting until after his shift. He caught Dr. Corday on the way there.
"Dr. Carter, you’re early," she commented.
"I’m on at twelve, so I came early," he responded.
"I see. Well, go ahead then," Elizabeth said, smiling. "I think she might be sleeping though."
Carter nodded and walked into her room. Sure enough, she was. Carter pulled up the chair and sat down next to her bed. After about five minutes, she woke up again. "You’re okay?" she whispered.
Carter, who had been staring into space, jumped. "Yeah, I’m fine, Luce. How are you feeling?"
"So-so. Are you back at work already?"
"Yeah, a month now."
"I sure did waste a lot of time sleeping," Lucy commented quietly.
"No problem in that."
After a moment, Lucy said, "I sure was lucky, wasn’t I?"
Carter nodded. "For a while, I thought you weren’t going to make it. You beat the odds though, Luce."
"Eh. When do you think I’ll be able to come back to work?" Lucy asked.
Carter was taken aback by this question. He had to force himself to go to work every day until recently. "Oh, I don’t know. A month or two, depending. You’re going to have to do some physical therapy. Maybe less than a month, I came back after a month. Why the hurry to get back?"
"I feel lazy," Lucy said. The two laughed quietly. "No, I just look at it this way. People worked so hard to save my life. I wasn’t really supposed to make it. I was given another chance at life. Therefore, I should continue to help others by saving their lives. Does that make sense?" Lucy whispered.
Carter nodded. "I didn’t think I’d be able to come back to work way back when...before I had the PE, after the accident, obviously. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll need counseling galore, but I still want to come back to work," she said very softly.
"You’re brave, Luce," Carter said. She was brave. She would get through it.
The End
