Disclaimer: I do not own any of the ER characters.
Reunited, story about Carter and Lucy.Written By Louise Mills.
Please visit my web site at www.angelfire.com/tv2/erfiction
Author Notes: This story takes place a year after Lucy graduates. The stabbing did happen, but Lucy survived and John did become addicted to painkillers. Lucy was matched to the hospital in Seattle where Doug Ross moved to, and instead of Abby catching John taking some painkillers it was Lucy. So in May John went to rehab and Lucy a month later moved to Seattle. Lucy was matched in psych but after finishing a year she knew she couldn't stay to become a psychiatrists. So decided to change her residency to trauma, but she feels out of place in Seattle as she couldn't make any good friends except of course for Doug and Carol. So Lucy phones Dr Weaver at Chicago to try and get a place in the ER, and Dr Weaver accepts. Lucy has told Dr Weaver to keep it a secret until she comes back she wants to surprise them in the ER.
Lucy hugged Carol and Doug at the gate at the airport she was about to catch the place to Chicago the start her residency at County General ER department. "Now remember Lucy my mother said you can stay with her as long as it takes to find an apartment. She can get on your nerves sometimes, but she's a great person, and I'm sure you can handle her." "Thanks Carol for all your help." "Oh Lucy remember to phone us and tell us what their responses was when you walked though the doors, especially Carter's." Doug added as she passed the flight attendant her boarding pass, "Don't worry I will." She hugged them again and waved bye to Kate and Tess, who were sitting in a buggy. Lucy found her seat and sat down, she was feeling extremely apprehenious about seeing all the staff at county General again. She knew they would be surprised but that's the way she wanted it.
After the flight she collected her bags and was greeted the warm smiles of Carol's mother, who was kind enough to let her stay with her while she looked for an apartment. "Oh my dear, you must be tried after that flight I take you back to the house and you can unpack and relax for a while." "Thank you Mrs Hathaway for all your kindness I can see where Carol gets it from." "Oh its okay anything for a friend of Carol's. So what do you attain to do over the next few days?" "Well I really want to see people at the hospital, so later today I may go down and surprise them, I rather get it done now rather then later." Lucy said before Mrs Hathaway could talk her out of going to the hospital.
After relaxing for a few hours and had unpacked it was 7pm and Lucy made her way to the hospital. She hoping John wouldn't be working right now she wanted to surprise him on the day she started working in the ER. Dr Weaver had told her because of the lack of residents she will be assigned to a attaining, who would be John. John had got the attaining position when he was rejected from becoming chief resident and he was glad Kerry accepted him for becoming an attaining. Lucy couldn't wait until the day she started working again at the hospital as she would be working with John again. He had been her teacher while she was a medical student and had become good friends, but of course she always wanted to be more then just friends. But she feared that their friendship and the dream of becoming more than friends were damaged forever. Lucy had caught John taking pain medication after a trauma and told Dr Weaver and Greene what she saw; it turned out John had become addicted to the pain medication he was on for his back after the stabbing. He had shouted that her, he was mean and spiteful, he seemed angry that she suggested he had become a drug addict and she took what he said to heart. They had been though a lot and could understand why he would take extra pain medication as she thought about doing the same thing after they were attacked. But she didn't because she thought John wouldn't do this and in the end he did, and was wondering how much John had hind from all of them to resort to becoming a drug addict, she should of realised as he wasn't the kind of person who talked about his emotions. He was put into rehab in May at Atlanta and they separated not on good terms. She was hoping that going into rehab made him realise she did the right thing about telling, and that he still valued their friendship if not she knew it was going to be a long year.
Lucy walked though the doors of the ER and noticed it had changed a lot since she was last here, she remembered the desk was against a wall, but now there was no wall and it made the ER reception area look bigger and more modern. She saw Haleh and Chuni chatting away at the desk and Randy was reading a magazine as usual, and doctors Chen and Greene were working on some charts. Lucy smiled she had missed them all and she realised this is where she belong; these were the people who saved her life and knew everything about her. She couldn't fit in at Seattle they always wanted to know only about the stabbing, but she couldn't, it was hard to explain to someone who wasn't there. So after a few weeks they named her the ice maiden, the person who wouldn't let anyone in. Of course Carol and Doug had tried to convinced them otherwise and told them to try to understand what she was going though but it didn't work their first impressions were made.
Chuni was the first to notice that Lucy was standing a few yards away from the desk. "Oh my god." Chuni screamed who by this time was running around the side of the desk to greet Lucy. Chuni's scream had caused all the nurses and doctors on the desk to glance over and saw that Chuni was running towards Lucy. Chuni flung her arms around Lucy, then more hugs from the approaching doctors and nurses. "What the hell are you doing here?" Chuni question Lucy, "Well from tomorrow morning I will be starting my internship here in the ER." Dr Greene smiled and shook his head. "I knew Weaver was up to something, wasn't psych you cup of tea Lucy?" "No, I was always scared of the patients, I suppose that's because when mine and John's patient attacked us. I didn't think it affected me that much until I started my residency." Chuni, Haleh and Randy stared at each other, they were wondering since when did Lucy start to call Carter by his first name. "So you're the new intern that's starting, that's assigned to Carter!" "Yeah, um do you know if John's mad at me?" she asked the gathering of people around her. "No, he realises what you did was for the best!" Dr Chen told Lucy. "Good I wouldn't what to think he thought I was trying to damage his career." "Don't worry, John's a lot better now and realises his mistake." Dr Chen added. "Is John working right now?" "No his in tomorrow at 12pm." Dr Greene stated. "Good I don't want him to know I'm here ject so please don't tell him, I really want to surprise him." Lucy saw the look on the nurse's faces, which told her they were disappointed, "But I suppose you can describe me, but not give away its me if he asks." "Yeah that sounds great we can play a little game with him, saying his new intern is the type of person he usually goes for!" Randy added with excitement in her voice, Randy had always liked playing games and tricks with the doctors. "Meaning by his usually type you mean blonde with blue eyes." "Yeah oh this is going to great!!" The people around the desk had decided they keep it a secret she was back and were altogether in with Randy's plan. After another hour talking Lucy was getting tried and said her goodbyes. Now she couldn't wait until tomorrow came to see John's face when he realises the person they will be trying to match make him with was her it was something she wouldn't miss.
Lucy woke up at 9am and decided to get into hospital late; John always hated it when someone was late especially when they would be working with him. But she decided it was necessary so that Randy's plan could
Take an affect. She left the house at 11am and went to get breakfast at Doc Magoo's, which had the best view of the ER's entrance of the hospital, and when John arrived she would wait another 20-30 minutes before walking over to start her shift.
Lucy sat down in the booth within the Doc Magoo's as far away from the door just in case John walked in to get some coffee on his way to work; she also had a newspaper just in case he did, which she could hind behind. She ordered a large coffee and cheese bagel, and waited until the time she would go into the hospital after John arrived.
John arrived at the hospital 30 minutes after Lucy sat down in Doc Magoo's. John decided he would get his morning cup of coffee in the lounge he didn't have time to buy some at Doc Magoo's, He wanted to prepare himself for his new intern starting today. After becoming an attaining he thought he was done with teaching and having the responsibility for that person. But Kerry had informed him he would still get an intern and insisted it would help her a lot, she didn't want to assign this girl to the corrupted hands of Dave Malucci. After a lot of debating with Kerry he had agreed and Kerry had informed him she was quite capable and won't need that much supervision. He walked though the doors of the ER and walked to the desk. "Morning Randy, any messages for me?" Randy smiled at John, "No Carter not ject!" "Morning Deb, Haleh Elizabeth." "Morning John." The said in unison, and John looked at them carefully he tell something was going on. There was something in their voices that made him think they knew something he didn't. And he thought what was even more weird was because they answered him by using his first name. And out of them all who ever called him John was deb. After looking at them a longer John walked off towards the lounge. Randy, Deb, Haleh, Chuni and Elizabeth all gather around and Randy said, "Let operation match make commends."
John finished his coffee and looked down at his watch it was 11.57am ad his intern hadn't ject arrived. He decided to walk to the reception desk and ask if anyone knew where she was. As he approached the same people were there who greeted him a little earlier. They were all doing work, or as John thought trying to look like they doing some work, and John had that same feeling he had earlier, they knew something he didn't. " Has anyone seen my new intern?" He asked them, "Yes and no." Chuni answered. "And what's that suppose to mean?" He question her, "meaning I have meet her, but haven't ject seen her today." "You meet her when did you?" "Yesterday." "So what's her name?" Chuni for a minute look down at the chart in front of her trying to hind the smile that formed on her face, and hoped he didn't see her smiling or all this operation was blown. She final looked up to answer him, "Do you know I never asked." "Okay, it you don't know her name, could you tell me what's she's like?" Elizabeth answered his question even thou she wasn't here yesterday; she still wanted to play this little game. "Oh she's really nice, has a great personality, she can take jokes and throw them straight back. Actually I think you would really like her?" "You do, do you she sounds like a hand full." "I don't think that's what Elizabeth was trying to get at John." Deb commented to him, John was confused, 'what else could Elizabeth be getting at' he thought. Haleh answered what he was thinking, like she was reading his mind. "I Think Elizabeth was trying to say, your new intern is your type." "Oh really and what's my type?" He asked them all as he folded his arms in front of him as a defensive look. "Blonde, big blue eyes, innocent looking even thou she didn't seem that innocent. Has a great sense of humour, oh and she won't let you walk all over her. Actually I think it be the other way round, she be walking over you." John looked at what Haleh just said about his new intern and they were right she did seem like his type. But there was one thing that bothers him. "Okay what ever you say, but it sounds like you know her quite well, for only seeing her yesterday. And you don't even know her name?" He said very defensive. "Well she came across like that, we could be wrong when we get to know her more John." Elizabeth added.
John looked at them all suspiciously. "You won't be trying to set me up with my new intern would you?" He asks them all, and after asking the question, they all looked down and pretend to do some work. "okay guys stop it okay, I don't need someone else to help me with my love life. I'm doing fine by myself. Anyway she's late and that's a bed point in my books, I desire someone who's late, meaning we are not off to a good start. Meaning there will be no chance of us getting together, no matter now much you butter her up to be. Okay now no more talking about setting me up and please inform me when she gets here. I'm going to do some paperwork in exam 6 and I don't want anyone to interrupt me okay for at least half an hour." "But what if she comes in?" Haleh asked. "I don't care give her some patients and get their histories. I don't want to be interrupted is that clear?" "Yes Dr Carter." She replied, and John walked into the lounge and got his bag with some old charts and stormed off to exam 6.
Elizabeth watched as he enters the exam room then turned to the others. "I think we pulled it off, for a minute he was considering what we said." " He was more then considering you could see it in his eyes. And maybe deep down he knew we were talking about Lucy, why else would he chose exam 6 to do his paperwork in?" Chuni added. "May be because it's the only free exam room." "Oh Elizabeth don't ruin my dreams of course I know that the real reason. But think about this, when Lucy comes in, in a minute we send her off to exam 6. Then maybe they will re-act what happen last time they were alone in exam 6!" They all smiled at Chuni, remembering the time Chuni caught John and Lucy kissing in exam 6. "What are you all smiling about?" Lucy quested them as she approached. "Oh nothing John's in exam 6 and is pretty angry that your late, maybe you should apologise to him?" Elizabeth told Lucy. "Does he know I'm his new intern?" she question, they all nodded no. "So how did the plan go?" "As expected Lucy, Great!" "Good!" They all noted the sound of excitement in Lucy's voice, then they realised Lucy liked John a lot more then she was letting on to.
Lucy walked though the door of exam 6 and saw John with piles of paperwork on a bed and sitting his back towards her. Lucy walked up to John and starts reading some of the charts he was working on. John put down his pen and sighed, "I thought I said I didn't want to be interrupted." He said without looking around to who was in the room. "Oh I'm sorry John I didn't now, I'll come back later." Recognising the voice John shouted. "No wait!" Lucy stopped and turned around, John was still sitting with his back to her, but then he slowly span around on his chair and he was faced with the person he had dreamed about over the last year. He had missed her and most of the dreams were mostly about this moment, the moment she cam back to Chicago to visit, but sometimes he dreamed about being her lover. Something he wanted so much before the attack but how he reacted to her catching him taking drugs, he didn't think it could be a possibility, could she forgive him. "Lucy!" he said shocked to see her, "Hello John, how are you?" She said smiling at him. "Fine," He said getting up going towards her. "It's good to see you Luce." She smiled again, "You too!" He finally reached where she was, and he hugged her, one of his famous welcome back hugs. "Oh I'm glad you're not mad at me John!" Sitting back down on his char, he said, "Why would I be mad?" "Because you were the last time I saw you." "Well, think of it this way, it wasn't really me I was under the influence." "I suppose so, but some of the things you said I thought you meant." "Lucy look at me, and believe me then say this. I meant none of it. I was angry because I was caught that's it, nothing more okay. She nodded her head and smiled understanding what he was saying. "Want to go and get some coffee?" Lucy asked, "Love to, then we can talk about what your doing here. There's nothing going on I'm sure I can sure some time." "And if you can't, I'm sure they would make you have some." He laughed, "Yeah your probably right!" Lucy walked out of the exam room first closely followed by John. They walk to the desk, and John spoke. "I'm going towards Doc Magoo's to talk, page me if you need me!" "Should I page your intern as well?" Chuni asked so she could tell if Lucy had told John yet. "Sure if she's in by then." John walked towards the doors and Chuni glared at Lucy. "Doesn't he know yet?" Lucy smiled and shook her head, "Come on Lucy I need caffeine." John shouted to her and joined him. Chuni smiled at them both, as they walked to Doc Magoo's, "Loks like they have navere been apart, doesn't it Chuni commented and asks the others round the desk, and they all just nodded their heads.
They both sat down and John ordered what he wanted, "White coffee, and with two sugars please Lucy what you want?" He said turning away from the waitress to Lucy who was lighting up a cigarette. He stared at her in dismay; he couldn't believe she was smoking. "Black coffee, no sugar please, thanks!! What are you staring at?" She asked John, and all he could do was move his eyes from hers to the cigarette. "Oh John please don't lecture me I get enough of that from Carol, Doug and my mother." "I'm not going to lecture you, I was actually hinting for you to ask if I wanted one!" Lucy started to cough as she inhaled; she was shocked of what she heard. "You smoke!" He laughed at her, "Your shocked to learn I smoke, but I can't be shocked when I find out you smoke." She laughed as well, "Yeah something like that, so John would you like a cigarette?" "Yes I love one thank you Lucy." And they both started laughing, she passed him a cigarette and he lit up and inhaled deeply. "Yu really do smoke don't you?" She asked him, "Yeah didn't you believe me?" "Well, a little so how long have you smoked? Because the way you do, looks like you smoked for years!" "Only for a year." "OH," Lucy said realising what he was telling her, that he started while in rehab. "Lucy don't yes I started in rehab, but I think I would of started anyway. Well anyway smoking is the only drug they let you do excessive in rehab. So why did you start smoking?" She sighed and stabbed out her cigarette. "I didn't fit in at Seattle." John looked shocked at what she said. "Well I can't believe that!" "Believe it they always wanted to know about the stabbing, but I couldn't tell them, anyway I didn't want to. I just wanted a fresh start and with them asking about my past all the time it was just hard to do. So after a while they stopped asking, but not only that they stopped asking me to do anything with them. So at night alone in a large apartment nothing to do, so I started smoking, but then I realised I couldn't escape my past." "Why not? Because I thought you had s good break from your past?" "Because of where I worked? I'm sure you can understand." John was a little confused, but then remembered she was matched in psych. "So you don't like psych?" "No and do you know why?" He nodded no, "Because I was scared of the patients, I can't stay there any longer." "What you mean, stay there any longer, in psych or Seattle?" He questions her, "Both." She answered why taking a sip of her coffee. "So what are you saying, Luce?" he said confused. "I'm moving back to Chicago." "Really?" He said excited "So what are you doing then, if you no longer like psych?" She looked at him and said, "Can't you guess?" He smiled, "Oh my god," He said why placing his hands behind his head. "Trauma, oh and you're my new intern aren't you?" He asked her with a big grin on his face, and she grinned back to him. "Oh Yeah!" "I knew there was a reason they knew my new intern so well." He said with some laughter in his voice, and noticed she looked down to her coffee with some guilt in her expression. "Lucy?" He said getting closer and false her to look up ad stared into her eyes, "Lucy, you knew didn't you?" "Knew what?" she said trying to look sweet and innocent. "Them playing a little game with me?" "What game?" "Lucy?" He started getting impatient. "Okay maybe I knew, but it wasn't my idea." "Oh I know it's was Randy's idea, but you played a long that's why you were late!" "Okay I played along but I couldn't resist!" "And why was that?" She considers his question wondering if she should tell him she loved him or not. But she decided against it, she was afraid of what he might say. "Because it sounded like fun!" "I'm sure it did." He knew she lied to him, as she couldn't look at him in the eye. He would normal press her to tell him, but he was also afraid of what she might say, so didn't press it any longer.
John's beeper suddenly went off, "looks like were needed back." Lucy sighed. "Yeah, but we can talk while we work." "I suppose your right." They walked out together towards the hospital. John walked up to the desk in the ER. "Did someone age me?" "Yeah a trauma came in and Kerry wanted me to page you, but unfortunately the patient was DOA." "Looks like we got pretty busy why didn't you page me earlier?" "Because we all thought you and Lucy needed some time to talk and Kerry agreed." "Oh she did, so are you all trying to fixed me up with Lucy?" Chuni smiled. "So you finally found out that Lucy was your new intern." "Yes and believe me I was surprised, and I couldn't be any happier." "Really I'm surprised you just said that." Haleh asked wishing he would just tell Lucy how he felt about her. "Why would you be, Lucy's a great friend!" Haleh could tell that was a final answer and that he didn't want to talk about this any longer.
"Well Lucy looks like there's a lot of patients. Why don't you just jump right in, and once you have finished with your patient's come and find me and I sign them off. And if you need any help…" "I know came and find you!" He smiled, "Sorry I'm treating you like you have never set foot in the ER before." "John don't worry I know you have to tell everyone the same stuff weather or not their set foot in the ER before." "Yeah okay meet up round about 8pm for a lunch break?" "Yeah sounds great." Lucy and John both picked up a chart and walked off in different directions.
Part two coming soon…