DISCLAIMER: These characters are not mine. I am making no money from them in no way. They belong to NBC, Warner Brothers, Constant C., Micheal Crichten ect.
A Time for Redirection
Part 3
~~~~~~~~~~5:00 AM, The next morning (Saturday)
As the moon cast a light glow over the two occupants of the queen size bed in the wee hours of the morning, Lucy awoke. She knew this day would be gladly unlike the others. Kind of similar to the night before. Remembering what had happened, she was filled with gratification.
As Ms. Knight moved her alarm clock to check the time, she felt a stir on the opposite side of the bed while a hand brushed against her bare back. The other occupant of her resting place let out a masculine snore and mumble and Lucy beamed at a flashback of the previous evening. She had slept with John Carter, her best friend, and teacher.
~~~~~~~~~~6:45 PM, The previous evening (Sunday)
Chicago had recently been experiencing a extended winter with a heavy April chill. Walking across the street from Cook County General Hospital to Doc Magoos Restaurant was like trotting through a meat locker. The unexpected weather had caused the better half of the population to dress inappropriately. Lucy Knight was one of these unfortunate souls.
"Hey Luce! Wait up!" John Carter screamed racing up to his friend. "What's the rush?"
"I'm freezing! I just wanna be anywhere warm right now. If the place is circulating heat, it'll do!" Shaking, Ms. Lucy Knight pulls her spring jacket around herself tighter, picking up the pace. "I thought the winter months were over."
"They are. The only reason I wore a winter jacket this morning is because my usual spring jacket is stained. In a hurry, I grabbed the closest thing I could find." John, seeing how cold Lucy is, removes his piece of clothing, used to enclose heat. "Here. If I see you shiver anymore, I'll have to admit you for hypothermia."
The lady accepts Cater's gratitude, tightening her grasp around this garment along with her own, but not before getting an uncomfortable glare in her eyes for only a second. The scent of his cologne had simpered through his jacket and had rested on her shoulders. Lucy loved that smell and could practically go ecstatic. 'Calm down Lucy. Keep cool.' she told her self before responding uneasily, "Thanks."
Jogging up the steps to Magoos, the two enter the heat of the building. Turning to their right, they place themselves in a booth away from the window and closer to the bathrooms. Lucy sinks so far into her chair, she looks like a melting snowman.
"What do you say to starting off with a cup of hot chocolate? Warm up so that when you touch your food it doesn't freeze." Dr. Carter offers.
"Are you mocking me because I'm completely serious. I thought I was going to turn into a popsicle."
"We only walked across the street, not across town." Lucy Knight playfully glares at John as a waitress approaches and gives them to all to firmiliar line unenthusiastically.
"May I take your order?"
Since this was such a popular hang out, John orders them both their usual, "We'll have two hot chocolates," the women dressed in an apron jots down notes, "and two cheese burgers with one serving of large fries please." She picks up their untouched menus and takes them with her to the back.
When the hostess is out of sight, John starts a conversation with a new topic, "Are you prepped for you're exam tomorrow night? I have few more books if you want them."
"That's okay. I think I have enough. You lent me some, Weaver lent me some and even Mallucci let me few of his. I think I'm stocked up."
"That is good. Always good to be prepared. Then suddenly, they had nothing to talk about. Whenever silence fell over them, they both got nervous. The two acknowledged each others fright but never mentioned it, afraid of what the other might say. If they only knew they were thinking of the same thing.
John had a made a promise to himself. He would tell her tonight no matter what happened or what anybody said. He had been denying it for to long and now that he had finally came to a conclusion, John had to say something, for if he didn't now he will continue to put it off until it was to late.
Lucy had made a similar promise. John needed to know along with her conscious. Now or never she thought to her self.
For five minutes they just sat there with out speaking a word, avoiding eye contact and twiddling their thumbs.
"Lucy? I need to tell..." John started to say the line he had practised over and over again in his mind when he was interrupted by the waitress, delivering their drinks.
"Two hot chocolates." She sets the mugs down along side the tables edge and walks away, attending to the rest of the customers.
Dr. Carter, nervous again, chickened out and decided not to start this discussion now. Not here. Not when a colleague of theirs could walk in at any moment in the middle of a very touchy subject. This ain't a video game were the more quarters that are popped into it, the more tries you get. This is a decrepit subject which you may only get one chance.
"Were you saying something John?"
"What? Oh, no. Nothing important. Later, okay." awaken from his daydreaming, he makes up an excuse quickly, yet his friend seems satisfied with the answer.
"Fine. We'll talk later." Whatever John had to say sounded serious and obviously not something he wanted to talk about in public. 'If there were gonna be two solemn items on the agenda for the night, they might as well be put together.' she thought. 'When John mentioned the subject again, she would tell him about how she felt.
Within half hour, their meal was finished and Carter, along with Lucy awaited for the waitresses return. Lucy was getting desperate for information. She wanted to know what John was going to tell her so bad that she ready to leave without paying the bill. While she seriously took this into consideration, the medium sized, brunette women came over and handed them the receipt.
"Uh, Do you want me to drive you home?" John persuades uneasily as he sets the cash down on the receipt tray.
"Sure. We need to talk anyway. Why not at my place." States Ms. Knight.
Leaving the money on the table for their waitress, Lucy Knight and John Carter exit the restaurant, and they start their trot toward the streets lining CCGH. After locating John's car, they both pile in and drive off. For a few seconds they sat still, quietly. Having the silence hover over them gave John a haunting feeling. Like she knew what he was thinking. Uncomfortable with this intuition, gets a conversation ignited. "So. One more week until to you find out where you matched." He comments. "Still stuck between psych and the ER?"
"I don't know. I'll be happy which ever one I get. Dr. Draad seems to have high hopes for psych."
"If you wanted psych that bad then you would of spent more time doing psychiatric rotations, not emergency medicine."
"I want both. They both sound equally appealing."
"Well, if my opinion counts, I'm pulling on the Emergency Room's side of the rope. You got the qualities of a commendable Emergency Physician. You have also excelled in psychiatry. You work good with the patients and send appreciation to their mental and physical status... No matter what field you go into Lucy, you are going to make an eminent doctor."
Lucy, not really knowing what to say, just gives him a quiet, simple, thank you in return.
Pulling up to her apartment building, the two unbuckle their seat belts and open their doors in unisom. "Don't forget your jacket." John Carter kids Lucy. She just glares at him. Climbing up the stairs to Lucy's apartment, their is no speech. Thinking about what they are going to say to the other is occupying their minds enough.
As they approach the door on the centre, side wall of the hall way, they heard a door open and a head pop out. The elderly women wore a hair net, a dirty apron and oddly disturbing grin. "I'd get inside and stay inside girl. It's late. Lots of strange men out in this city. Don't trust 'em." The old lady, about seventy, glares at Carter and closes her door.
"That would be Mrs. Patterson." Explains Lucy, turning around so she is walking backwards, facing John. "She is a little deranged, but her son owns the building so all the tenants kind of have the treat her with respect."
"Does she have a condition or something."
"No. That's the sad part. She is naturally like that."
Unlocking her door, Ms. Knight tosses her jacket down small brown dining room table, allowing John room to enter.
"Take off your coat and set it with mine. I'll get something to drink." Following her instructions, John removes his outer layer of clothing and chases after Lucy into her kitchen. "Beer?" the young medical student asks, opening her refrigerator.
"Sure." John jumps up onto the counter and starts to analyse a recent issue of 'Cosmo', flipping through the pages, reading headings. While his friend pours their drinks into cups. "You actually read this? 'Twenty days to a new body'. 'How to break up with a guy'. Oh, here's a good one, 'How to know he's falling for you'."
"It's not like I collect them. There was just an interesting article in that one."
"Really. Which one? How to know he's falling for you?" Realising what he just asked, and feeling uncomfortable, accepts the alcoholic beverage she was handing out to him and starts walking towards the television area with out another word.
Noting his implications, Lucy pursues John's trail.
"I had something to say Luce, but you obviously have something on your mind. We're alone now, not in public. You can go first " Avoiding eye contact, they take their seats, Dr. Carter on the couch and Ms. Knight in the arm chair.
Nervous about what she is about to say, decides that if she doesn't do it now, she may miss out on a perfectly good time and setting. 'Now or never Lucy.' she tells herself, 'Before you change your mind and chicken out'. "John... We have known each other for a year and a half..."
"Lucy, I know that."
"Let me speak. Over this time period, we have fought, complained, shared some tearful moments and over all become close friends. To be honest, when I first met you, I thought, got the looks, but not the charm." Lucy Knight's company blushes and looks away. "This was because I only knew Dr. Carter. Now I've met John and I'm no longer just another medical student, here to do scut work. I'm happy I got to know that personnel side of you... But now, I want to know about the other personnel side." For a few minutes, they just sit there in silence, staring at each other, taking in the spoken words.
Finally, it was said. No more holding back, it was all out in the open. "Listen Luce... I don't know exactly what to say. I've been planning on being the one asking, not responding."
Lucy clears her throat, "What?"
"All night, we've both been trying to tell each other the same thing." Standing up as does she, Carter approaches his lady friend. "You graduate in two months. Can't be to hard to keep a secret for a couple weeks." Grinning mischievously, John passes a few locks of hair behind her ears.
"Are you seducing me Dr. Carter?" a giggling Lucy plays along.
"Oops. Got got caught there didn't I." leaning down to a shorter Lucy, John steals a slow kiss.
Joyfully caught up in the moment, agrees to his actions, rapping her arms around his neck.
Picking her up by the waist, John Carter carries her into her bedroom, closing the door with his foot.
~~~~~~~~~~ 6:30 AM, Saturday
For the third time that morning, Lucy awoke. Unlike before, instead of waking up to the emitted light of the moon, she was accompanied by a stir at her side. "You up?" she asked.
Two manly arms grasped the width of her body. "Yeah, I'm up."
"What time is your shift?"
"Eight. You gonna spend all day studying?"
"Yup. Maybe watch a few movies or go to the gym alongside."
"Tell me what building it's in and I'll pick you up when it's over."
"I would say yes, but Bernard already offered."
"Oh, so now I have competition."
"No, no competition. We're just friends. He tried to come on to me once and I told him if he did it again I would kick his sorry ass, we were just friends."
"Sweet on the outside, sour on the inside." states John.
"What? I was just having a bad day." Ms. Knight climbs out of bed and puts on her house coat, pulling her hair back into a ponytail with an elastic.
"I should probrely get going. I have to drive home which is on the other side of town, have a shower and then drive all the way back in an hour and a half."
Lucy picks up John's trousers off of the floor and throws them at him, "Hurry then." After getting dressed, John picks up his jacket in a bundle under his left palm.
"Do you want me to drop by tonight. We could go out to dinner?"
"Seven o'clock?"
"I'll be here at seven." giving her a long kiss good bye John stands among her a numerous seconds. "I'll call around noon."
"I'll wait by the phone." Dr. Carter trots out of the door, to his jeep and from there, this Gamma's.
~~~~~~~~~~ 20 minutes later
Stepping into the luminous mansion John immediately smelt breakfast and was urged to join his family in their early morning meal. If he was going to eat this morning, it was gonna have to be out of a vending machine. Stopping himself at the entrance of the kitchen, he turned around and took the longer way to his room, up the grand stair well and down the main hall. Entering his room, his immediately undresses and steps into the shower. John Carter had a long night, and knew that it was going to be an even longer morning.
After soaking under the steaming mist for ten minutes, Dr. Carter shuffles out of the deluge and uncovers a clean pair of dress pants and a black t-shirt. Acknowledging the gloomy glare of the dim light glistening from the over head lamps, walks to the window and tears ajar the blinds at the centre, allowing the daylight to overcome the shadows which engloved the corners of the room. Like they say ,a bright setting places the mood.
~~~~~~~~~~
Closing the door behind her, boyfriend/ boss, Lucy leans against the door and breathes in deeply and smiles a grin of relief. 'That went well' Ms. Knight thought to herself, laughing at her own joke in her head.
Needing someone to talk to, besides John, who would of been her first choice, calls Abby. Picking up the receiver, Lucy punches in the seven digits and waits for the dial tone to disappear. After ringing four times a tired, female voice answers. "Hello."
"Hey Abby. What are you doing?" Lucy Knight asks cheerfully.
"I was sleeping. Why are you calling me so early in the morning? On my day off." Ms. Lockhart asks annoyed.
"Well, I don't have a shift today either but I had to get up early anyway..." Enhancing her voice for her next sentences, Lucy talks with great enthusiasm. "John and an early shift so I felt obligated to escorting him out."
Catching her attention, Abby sudden;y sounds wide awake. "Lucy Knight! You didn't do something I wouldn't do did you?"
"If you are implying that sleeping with your teacher is something you wouldn't do, then yeah."
"Want to meet for breakfast? You have to tell me everything !"
"Sure. Say that little cafe, a block away from the hospital. An hour."
The two accomplices say their goodbyes and hangup to prepare for their day ahead.
~~~~~~~~~~
Pacing through the ambulance bay, Dr. Carter only had three minutes left to get in, put away his personnel belongings and start seeing patients. For the past while, Kerry Weaver had been very diligent to her position and would not let anyone get away with being a second late. Everything had to be on the ball to meet her expectations. As he approached the administrations desk he was accompanied with Randi Fronczak, the desk clerk.
"Dr. Carter. I'd hurry up and start seeing patients. Weaver is hungry and on the prowl for some sad unexpecting resident."
"Are you calling me sad?"
Ms. Fronczak blows a bubble with her gum, "According to Weaver or me?"
Carter decided to ignore her pronouncement and continue with their work related conversation. "Cover for me? I'm gonna go and get my stethoscope." Randi just nods her head and begins to pile up charts for Carter to access. Thirty seconds later, he returns ready to see patients.
All through out the day, no one seemed to notice he was happier, or even more fun to be around then usual, despite the stormy attitude of Dr. Kerry Weaver. No one even lifted an eyebrow when he called up a girl during his lunch break. Maybe hiding their relationship would be easier then John thought.
~~~~~~~~~~
