Title:Buried Memories
Series: #11 in Holidays Series
Disclaimer: Don't own most of the characters.
A/N: Lame Title, and after such a cool one (only my opinion of course). Sorry.
A/N#2: And yes, this is where this series of stories started going off the tracks. Maybe I needed a big ole Comics style Crisis of Infinite Earths or something... but, anyway, it is what it is, read on.
"You do know it's a holiday Don? Memorial Day."
"That's why you're here Doctor Court and not Doctor Kayson." Everyone looked up as Kim and Kerry entered. "Good, we're all here. We're going to try to find ourselves a Chief of Staff..." He shot Kerry a look, "Again... We also need someone from the doctors to be on the search committee, we already have Haleh from the nurses." No one spoke. Finally Don sighed, "Kerry?"
Ken shot her a look, but Kerry was already shaking her head. "No Don, not this time."
Silence fell over the room again and it was finally Kim who spoke, "I'll do it."
Donald blinked in surprise, "Okay..." His gaze met Kerry's and didn't let go. "That means that you absolutely cannot apply."
Kerry smiled, "Girl scout's honor. I'm happy where I am."
"Now, onto the Ortho budget."
"Kerry, what are you doing here?"
Kerry held her hands up, "Just passing through I promise. They're trying to find a chief of staff..."
"Again?"
"Again..." She looked up at Frank. "Do you have the inventory sheets I was looking for Friday?"
Frank shuffled this and then that and then found them. "Here you go."
Kerry nodded, "Thank you. And I'm off..."
Susan watched Kerry walk off, "Something's different."
Frank didn't look up, "No crutch."
Susan shook her head, "No, that's not it. What does the grape vine say. Is she getting Chief of Staff again?"
"Well..." Frank looked around, "I heard from Pete in the Cardiac Clinic that she's not even going to apply. Some Doctor Court can't seem to stop crowing about it."
"Won't apply... maybe that's the difference."
"Randi right? What are you doing here?"
Randi looked up and over, readjusting her bag on her shoulder. "Lori right? Doctor Legs' sister."
"You're a student here?"
"Senior, only sixteen years too late. How 'bout you?"
"I went here as an undergrad. I met someone for lunch."
Randi took a breath and cut right to the chase. "Look, don't tell Kerry, please. Or your sister?"
Lori frowned, "Okay, but can I ask why?"
"I just..." Randi shook her head, "Okay, no you can't ask why..."
Lori laughed, "Whatever. So, what classes do you have?"
Randi frowned, "You care?"
Lori shrugged, "Just wondered. I'll let you go."
Lori started to walk away and Randi rolled her eyes and caught up with the younger woman, "How about some coffee, I'll give you the Cliff Notes on my horrible horrible life."
"Coffee is always good."
Kim jerked to a stop as an arm came down in front of her, and proceeded to pin her to the wall. She looked up into Ken's eyes, "What can I do for you?"
"You will hire me."
Kim blinked at him, "I know this is Chicago, but I'm not choosing the Chief all by myself."
"I know something, something that I don't even think Kerry knows. You hire me, I stay silent about it, someone else gets hired, well... I can blow your world apart."
Ken was a bit discombobulated when Kim laughed. "I have no secrets."
Ken took a step back with a not so nice smile on his face, "It's not your secret, it's little Kerry's... think about it."
Kim watched him go with a frown. "And just when our lives were finally getting down to some sort of order."
"Doctor Lewis, I was just looking for you."
Susan looked up from her paperwork. She was at the desk behind the admit desk catching up on charts. Which she did find ironic, since she hadn't even been back at County for too long. She frowned at the young woman who was standing over her.
She was a fourth year med student, Susan remembered that much. She was black, her eyes a hazel color. She had the look of most Med students.
Susan had seen it before, a curious combination of excitement and horror. But there was something else about the student, something that tickled a thought in the back of Susan's brain.
The ER attending could never seem to remember her name. Another young woman popped up behind the fourth year, pulling Susan out of her thoughts.
Susan squinted at the other student, "And you are?"
The woman had bright red hair that was tucked into a pony tail and blue eyes that Susan could practically see from where she was sitting. "I'm not a student Doctor Lewis, you have a call from a... Chuck? Line three."
"New Clerk, right... sorry, I'll take it in here," The clerk nodded and left the room, "So..."
The med student pursed her lips, "Di... it's short for Perdita,
Perdita Carlisle."
Susan stood, "What can I do for you Di?"
"You bashed him over the head?"
Randi shrugged, "He pushed Jeanie and cut Doctor Weaver's ear."
Lori took a sip of her coffee, "Why do you call her that?"
Randi was silent for a moment before she shook her head and drank from her own coffee mug. "I don't know. On more than one occasion she's
told me to call her Kerry. But..." Randi shrugged, "You a psychiatrist like your sister?"
"Architect."
A laugh bubbled rom Randi, "Right, well, thanks for the coffee, but I have a shift to get to."
Randi stood as did Lori, "Of course. I still think you should tell Kerry or Kim, but they won't hear it from me."
"Thank you."
"I'll kill him."
Kim put her hands on Kerry's shoulders. "No, because I don't do well with women in orange."
"I'm not laughing Kimberly."
Kim took a breath, "Ker, what in the hell could he have on you?"
Kerry frowned, "We were married for twenty-three months. When we got divorced it waws a relief, but... there's nothing that happened with him that would..."
"Blow our lives apart?"
Kerry frowned, "Kim, I have no se..." Kerry's face went white and she swallowed. "He couldn't know... he..."
Kim caught hold of Kerry before she collapsed to the floor and got them both to the couch. "What is it Ker? You can tell me anything.
Please..."
Kerry closed her eyes, "I can't. No one knows, or... I thought. I can't."
Kim wrapped her arms around Kerry and they simply sat there silent. "Kerry."
"I can't, not yet... I can't."
"I wasn't going to push you. Whatever it is, it's okay. You know choosing a new Chief of Staff isn't a fast proposition. As long as you're not breakin' my achin' heart..." Kerry gave Kim a gentle push and Kim smiled, "It will come out when it's ready to."
Kerry opened her eyes and looked up into Kim's amazingly blue ones, "Thank you Kim."
Kim kissed the end of Kerry's nose, "I know, I'm a saint."
Kerry pushed Kim in the chest agai, but tempered it by stretching up and capturing Kim's lips in a long kiss.
Fin ~ February 26th, 2008