The Way Things Happened
Rating: G (for now, anyway - this may change depending on the path this story goes)
Category: Carter/Dave/Jing-Mei/some Abby
Disclaimer: NBC owns these characters, I don't. I make no money off of this. Don't sue me. Yada yada yada. Why do I even bother with these? It's not like NBC & co. will actually come and read this and sue me. Out of sickly habit, I still do.
Timeline: Begins after "Never Say Never", right after Jing-Mei and Carter leaves the rooftop and Dave leaves the hospital with his stuff. For the purpose of this story, the rooftop scene and the scene in the lounge with Dave and Weaver ends at around the same time.
Author's Note: Okay, let's see. I've written other fanfics before, but this is my first ER fanfic. I'm hoping that I got the personalities of some of these characters down. This is also the first time I'm posting my fanfic here, so I hope I uploaded this chapter correctly. I will be referring to Jing-Mei as Deb when in reference to Carter and of course, when Carter speaks to her. And Carter will be referred to as John when in refernce to Jing-Mei and when she speaks to him. Hope you'll enjoy this, or at least not puke and hit the X to cancel this. >;p
Chapter 1: The Way Things Happened
With confident resolve, Jing-Mei made her way out of County General as nurses uttered sympathetic farewells. She waved back at them, wondering if she would ever see their faces again. Quit the hospital again, she thought sarcastically, Daddy would be so pleased.
A sigh came out of her lips. She climbed into her car and took one long glance at County General. Once again, Jing-Mei wondered if she would ever see this place again. Or rather could she ever set foot in this hospital again without being bombarded by waves of nostalgia. Shrugging, she started her engine.
As she backed out of the parking space, she caught a glimpse of John and Abby exiting the hospital, each with smiles on their faces. [Where is the hospital's parking lot? I don't think it was ever important enough to be mentioned. But for the sake of this story, I'm gonna use my poetic license and pretend that from the parking lot, you can see people entering and exiting the hospital. =)] Her heart fluttered for but a fleeting moment, and her car jerked, hitting something and causing clattering sounds in the silent night.
Shaking the sight of John and Abby out of her mind, she cursed under her breath and got out of her car to check the damage she had done. Jing-Mei's car, by some token of miracle, was unscratched. But the thing she had hit was now a twisting pile of metal. She knelt down and stared for a second, wondering what to do, when footsteps came behind her.
"Thanks a lot," Dave said dryly.
Jing-Mei looked at him sheepishly. "Your bike?"
He set the box of his belongings on the floor and knelt down to check the bike more closely. "Was. Doesn't even look like a bike anymore."
She winced. "Sorry."
"Women drivers," he said amusingly to himself, an almost smile on his lips.
"Excuse me?" Jing-Mei raised her eyebrows.
"Women drivers, I understand," he said matter-of-factly. "I forgive you."
"If that's the grounds you're forgiving me on, then I'd rather you stay mad at me."
Dave shook his head. "Can't stay mad at you. You're too pretty."
Now it was her turn to shake her head. "Gotta hand it to you. Just when I was feeling apologetic and sincere towards you, you start acting like good 'ol Dave again."
"Hey you hit my bike here. I think I deserve to jester with you a little bit," he smiled, "But seriously, I really do forgive you. I was gonna buy a new bike anyway."
"Thank you." Jing-Mei stood up and looked at the box by Dave's feet. "I'll give you a ride home."
He raised his eyebrows.
"It's the least I can do."
He shrugged. "Okay."
With Dave's bike and box inside the trunk, Jing-Mei drove out of the parking lot. Her eyes darted around for a split of a second, searching for… well she wasn't sure actually. Banishing that thought from her head, she asked "So where to?"
"I'm not going home yet. I have to go pick up... I have to go to my Momma's place first."
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
"Congratulations, Carter." Abby raised her hand in the air, offering her coffee mug as a toast.
"Thank you." They clinked their mugs together. As Carter took a sip of the coffee, he glanced outside the window of Magoo's and saw Deb's car whishing itself down the road. Funny thing is, someone - who Carter guessed to be a man - was sitting in the passenger seat.
Abby looked at him, whose smile seemed to falter a fraction of an inch. "Carter?"
His head snapped back to Abby and he smiled. "Thanks."
She could tell it was a rather forced smile. God knows, she'd been giving them all her life. "What's the matter? Ten minutes ago, you were smiling and all excited about being Chief Resident and now you're staring off into space with a wistful look."
"Am not."
"You are."
"Am not."
"You are, Carter." Abby gave him a knowing glance and sipped her coffee.
He chuckled in defeat. "It wasn't wistful. It was... it was reflective.
"And you're reflecting on?"
"It's just -" how was he supposed to put into words how he felt when he wasn't sure himself "- I'm…"
"You're a great doctor, Carter. You'd do a much better job than Chen."
At the mention of Deb, Carter sighed and leaned back in his seat. "It's not that."
She nodded. "Ah, now I understand. It's Dr. Chen."
"I guess so. I just - well I fell a little guilty taking her position."
"Carter, she quit. She wasn't fired. She told you it was okay. And besides, she did make a mistake," Abby reasoned, emphasizing her last reason.
He understood all that. But even so, he couldn't help feeling a bit… a bit sad over the loss of Deb from the hospital. "I wish she didn't have to quit," Carter said, knowing full well it couldn't have happened any other way. Deb had way too much pride to stay on after being suspended. "I'll miss her."
Abby was attacked by a sudden pang of jealousy. She had never really seen this side of Carter before, the side that was Jing-Mei's friend. "Well that's the way things happened," she said rather rashly.
"Yeah it is."
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Jing-Mei shifted in the driver's seat and looked at the apartment building Dave had disappeared into. From the windows, she could see families gathering at tables for dinner, hands held together in grace. That feeling of family togetherness more than made up for the rundown building's shabby appearance. Family togetherness, it felt like such a strange topic for Jing-Mei. She had never felt that before.
A knock jolted Jing-Mei out of her thoughts and she turned to see Dave. Her eyes landed on the sleeping child, no bigger than 5 years, in his arms and they widened. So it was true. He did have a kid.
Dave settled the child in the backseat and fastened the seatbelt. He climbed into the passenger side, ready to be bombarded with questions.
Jing-Mei opened her mouth to speak. "Where -"
He interrupted her. "No, I wasn't lying to Weaver about having a kid. Yes, she's my daughter." He folded his arms as if to say that would be his final word on the matter.
"I wasn't going to ask that, Dave. I just wanted to know where you live."
"Oh." He spit out his address and they drove onward in silence.
She was the first to break it. "You know, I quit."
"Quit what?"
"County General."
Dave thought for a second and smiled. "Aw, Jing-Mei, I know you love me and all, but you don't have to quit to protest my termination."
They both chuckled and the lighter atmosphere from before returned. "Weaver wouldn't accept any of the blame."
He made a feigned gasp. "None at all? Why does that not surprise me? So what are you going to do now?"
She sighed. "Like you said, being a doctor is all I know. I can't do anything else. I just don't know who would want to hire me."
"I'm sorry, Jing-Mei. It's all my fault." Dave looked down at his hands. He hated apologizing, but he knew he had to.
"You already apologized. And besides, I'm just as at fault as you are. If I had… well if I hadn't just -" She stopped in an obvious loss of words.
Dave chuckled. "You can say it. If you had doubted my words, none of this would've happened."
She looked out on the road, unsure of how to answer.
"It's funny, you know. For almost two years, you've hated me while I tried to get you to take me seriously. And finally you do, but it ends up getting both our asses unemployed."
He was right, Jing-Mei realized. She had always treated him like a leech she couldn't get rid of fast enough. No matter how annoying he ever was, he didn't really deserve that treatment. Her eyes glanced at the rearview mirror, landing on the girl sleeping in the backseat. "I'm sorry, Dave. I should've been more of a friend."
"Forget it," he shrugged it off. "And you're wrong, you know. A lot of hospitals will hire you, Jing-Mei. I know it. You're a damn good doctor. Me, on the other hand…"
"You're a damn good doctor too, Dave. Maybe a bit lacking in the objective department, but still a damn good doctor."
"Thanks."
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
"Where would you be if I hadn't driven you home?" Jing-Mei asked jokingly, pointing to the twisted bike and paper box in her arms.
Dave shifted his daughter sleeping in his arms and opened the door to his apartment. "Taken a cab. Or I would've woken little Debbie up and we would've walked together. It's not that far."
"Debbie?" she cocked her eyebrow.
He let himself in and headed straight towards the sofa, laying Debbie down and smoothing the hair away from her closed eyes. "Welcome to the love shack. Close the door behind you, will ya?"
She did, and walked in feeling rather uncomfortable. She had always hated going into other people's homes, especially people she wasn't really friends with. Then again, being a loner, she really only had John as a friend. And seeing that she'd never been to John's home… God she was pathetic!
"Meet Debra Malucci," he introduced, pulling Jing-Mei from her thoughts, "That's why I was amused to hear Carter start calling you Deb."
Jing-Mei smiled at the mention of that. That John would never be able to call her what she wanted to be called. Thing was, she had always let it go. "So why is Debbie sleeping on the couch?"
"We just moved in here not too long ago. Her room's being renovated."
"Ah," she nodded in understanding. Jing-Mei watched the gentleness that Dave used when he laid a blanket over his daughter and kissed her on the forehead. That interaction between father and child - it was so peaceful that Jing-Mei felt her awkwardness diminish somewhat.
Dave could feel her eyes staring at him. He chuckled inwardly. All along, he had been the one to give her flirty looks that were returned with nothing but jeering rejections. Now she was the one looking at him. Oh hell, Malucci, calm your ass down. She's looking at little Debbie. Get over yourself, his inner mind scolded him. He chuckled again, this time out loud.
"Hmmm?" Jing-Mei questioned, breaking her eyes away from Debbie and settling on Dave.
"Uh, nothing," he shook his head. "Want something to drink?"
"Nah. I should get going. It's late." She retrieved her purse from where she had laid it and looked at him. "Dave, I don't have the money today, but if you give me a call tomorrow, we could meet for lunch or something and I can pay you back for the bike."
"Ooh, Jing-Mei Chen is finally asking me out on a date. My fantasy's fulfilled and I can now die happily."
She started warningly, "Dave -"
"Kidding," he waved his hands in surrender, "You don't have to pay me back for the bike, Jing-Mei. I was going to buy another one anyway."
She opened her purse and took out a pen and pad of paper. Scribbling her number, she said, "You have no job and with -" she paused, throwing a meaningful glance at Debbie "- I really think I should pay you back. And besides, you might've been able to trade in your old bike for some money."
He stared at her hand, held high offering her number on the paper, but he made no move to accept it. "But you have no job, either."
"I have my Daddy," she said quietly and sheepishly. "Just take it, Dave."
"Fine," he uttered reluctantly and accepted the paper.
Smiling victoriously, she headed towards the door and let herself out. "Good night, Dave."
"Night, Jing-Mei. See you tomorrow."
As she waited for the elevator to come, she thought back on the day, not believing the strange way things happened. She was out of a job - she groaned at that - and she and Dave had shared a pleasant conversation.
It seems like she now had one more friend.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Please, guys, review! I can take criticism, as long as it's constructive. I mean, don't curse out at me (that's actually happened to me - I didn't put certain people together and this fan just lashed out at me!). Thanks!
Rating: G (for now, anyway - this may change depending on the path this story goes)
Category: Carter/Dave/Jing-Mei/some Abby
Disclaimer: NBC owns these characters, I don't. I make no money off of this. Don't sue me. Yada yada yada. Why do I even bother with these? It's not like NBC & co. will actually come and read this and sue me. Out of sickly habit, I still do.
Timeline: Begins after "Never Say Never", right after Jing-Mei and Carter leaves the rooftop and Dave leaves the hospital with his stuff. For the purpose of this story, the rooftop scene and the scene in the lounge with Dave and Weaver ends at around the same time.
Author's Note: Okay, let's see. I've written other fanfics before, but this is my first ER fanfic. I'm hoping that I got the personalities of some of these characters down. This is also the first time I'm posting my fanfic here, so I hope I uploaded this chapter correctly. I will be referring to Jing-Mei as Deb when in reference to Carter and of course, when Carter speaks to her. And Carter will be referred to as John when in refernce to Jing-Mei and when she speaks to him. Hope you'll enjoy this, or at least not puke and hit the X to cancel this. >;p
Chapter 1: The Way Things Happened
With confident resolve, Jing-Mei made her way out of County General as nurses uttered sympathetic farewells. She waved back at them, wondering if she would ever see their faces again. Quit the hospital again, she thought sarcastically, Daddy would be so pleased.
A sigh came out of her lips. She climbed into her car and took one long glance at County General. Once again, Jing-Mei wondered if she would ever see this place again. Or rather could she ever set foot in this hospital again without being bombarded by waves of nostalgia. Shrugging, she started her engine.
As she backed out of the parking space, she caught a glimpse of John and Abby exiting the hospital, each with smiles on their faces. [Where is the hospital's parking lot? I don't think it was ever important enough to be mentioned. But for the sake of this story, I'm gonna use my poetic license and pretend that from the parking lot, you can see people entering and exiting the hospital. =)] Her heart fluttered for but a fleeting moment, and her car jerked, hitting something and causing clattering sounds in the silent night.
Shaking the sight of John and Abby out of her mind, she cursed under her breath and got out of her car to check the damage she had done. Jing-Mei's car, by some token of miracle, was unscratched. But the thing she had hit was now a twisting pile of metal. She knelt down and stared for a second, wondering what to do, when footsteps came behind her.
"Thanks a lot," Dave said dryly.
Jing-Mei looked at him sheepishly. "Your bike?"
He set the box of his belongings on the floor and knelt down to check the bike more closely. "Was. Doesn't even look like a bike anymore."
She winced. "Sorry."
"Women drivers," he said amusingly to himself, an almost smile on his lips.
"Excuse me?" Jing-Mei raised her eyebrows.
"Women drivers, I understand," he said matter-of-factly. "I forgive you."
"If that's the grounds you're forgiving me on, then I'd rather you stay mad at me."
Dave shook his head. "Can't stay mad at you. You're too pretty."
Now it was her turn to shake her head. "Gotta hand it to you. Just when I was feeling apologetic and sincere towards you, you start acting like good 'ol Dave again."
"Hey you hit my bike here. I think I deserve to jester with you a little bit," he smiled, "But seriously, I really do forgive you. I was gonna buy a new bike anyway."
"Thank you." Jing-Mei stood up and looked at the box by Dave's feet. "I'll give you a ride home."
He raised his eyebrows.
"It's the least I can do."
He shrugged. "Okay."
With Dave's bike and box inside the trunk, Jing-Mei drove out of the parking lot. Her eyes darted around for a split of a second, searching for… well she wasn't sure actually. Banishing that thought from her head, she asked "So where to?"
"I'm not going home yet. I have to go pick up... I have to go to my Momma's place first."
"Congratulations, Carter." Abby raised her hand in the air, offering her coffee mug as a toast.
"Thank you." They clinked their mugs together. As Carter took a sip of the coffee, he glanced outside the window of Magoo's and saw Deb's car whishing itself down the road. Funny thing is, someone - who Carter guessed to be a man - was sitting in the passenger seat.
Abby looked at him, whose smile seemed to falter a fraction of an inch. "Carter?"
His head snapped back to Abby and he smiled. "Thanks."
She could tell it was a rather forced smile. God knows, she'd been giving them all her life. "What's the matter? Ten minutes ago, you were smiling and all excited about being Chief Resident and now you're staring off into space with a wistful look."
"Am not."
"You are."
"Am not."
"You are, Carter." Abby gave him a knowing glance and sipped her coffee.
He chuckled in defeat. "It wasn't wistful. It was... it was reflective.
"And you're reflecting on?"
"It's just -" how was he supposed to put into words how he felt when he wasn't sure himself "- I'm…"
"You're a great doctor, Carter. You'd do a much better job than Chen."
At the mention of Deb, Carter sighed and leaned back in his seat. "It's not that."
She nodded. "Ah, now I understand. It's Dr. Chen."
"I guess so. I just - well I fell a little guilty taking her position."
"Carter, she quit. She wasn't fired. She told you it was okay. And besides, she did make a mistake," Abby reasoned, emphasizing her last reason.
He understood all that. But even so, he couldn't help feeling a bit… a bit sad over the loss of Deb from the hospital. "I wish she didn't have to quit," Carter said, knowing full well it couldn't have happened any other way. Deb had way too much pride to stay on after being suspended. "I'll miss her."
Abby was attacked by a sudden pang of jealousy. She had never really seen this side of Carter before, the side that was Jing-Mei's friend. "Well that's the way things happened," she said rather rashly.
"Yeah it is."
Jing-Mei shifted in the driver's seat and looked at the apartment building Dave had disappeared into. From the windows, she could see families gathering at tables for dinner, hands held together in grace. That feeling of family togetherness more than made up for the rundown building's shabby appearance. Family togetherness, it felt like such a strange topic for Jing-Mei. She had never felt that before.
A knock jolted Jing-Mei out of her thoughts and she turned to see Dave. Her eyes landed on the sleeping child, no bigger than 5 years, in his arms and they widened. So it was true. He did have a kid.
Dave settled the child in the backseat and fastened the seatbelt. He climbed into the passenger side, ready to be bombarded with questions.
Jing-Mei opened her mouth to speak. "Where -"
He interrupted her. "No, I wasn't lying to Weaver about having a kid. Yes, she's my daughter." He folded his arms as if to say that would be his final word on the matter.
"I wasn't going to ask that, Dave. I just wanted to know where you live."
"Oh." He spit out his address and they drove onward in silence.
She was the first to break it. "You know, I quit."
"Quit what?"
"County General."
Dave thought for a second and smiled. "Aw, Jing-Mei, I know you love me and all, but you don't have to quit to protest my termination."
They both chuckled and the lighter atmosphere from before returned. "Weaver wouldn't accept any of the blame."
He made a feigned gasp. "None at all? Why does that not surprise me? So what are you going to do now?"
She sighed. "Like you said, being a doctor is all I know. I can't do anything else. I just don't know who would want to hire me."
"I'm sorry, Jing-Mei. It's all my fault." Dave looked down at his hands. He hated apologizing, but he knew he had to.
"You already apologized. And besides, I'm just as at fault as you are. If I had… well if I hadn't just -" She stopped in an obvious loss of words.
Dave chuckled. "You can say it. If you had doubted my words, none of this would've happened."
She looked out on the road, unsure of how to answer.
"It's funny, you know. For almost two years, you've hated me while I tried to get you to take me seriously. And finally you do, but it ends up getting both our asses unemployed."
He was right, Jing-Mei realized. She had always treated him like a leech she couldn't get rid of fast enough. No matter how annoying he ever was, he didn't really deserve that treatment. Her eyes glanced at the rearview mirror, landing on the girl sleeping in the backseat. "I'm sorry, Dave. I should've been more of a friend."
"Forget it," he shrugged it off. "And you're wrong, you know. A lot of hospitals will hire you, Jing-Mei. I know it. You're a damn good doctor. Me, on the other hand…"
"You're a damn good doctor too, Dave. Maybe a bit lacking in the objective department, but still a damn good doctor."
"Thanks."
"Where would you be if I hadn't driven you home?" Jing-Mei asked jokingly, pointing to the twisted bike and paper box in her arms.
Dave shifted his daughter sleeping in his arms and opened the door to his apartment. "Taken a cab. Or I would've woken little Debbie up and we would've walked together. It's not that far."
"Debbie?" she cocked her eyebrow.
He let himself in and headed straight towards the sofa, laying Debbie down and smoothing the hair away from her closed eyes. "Welcome to the love shack. Close the door behind you, will ya?"
She did, and walked in feeling rather uncomfortable. She had always hated going into other people's homes, especially people she wasn't really friends with. Then again, being a loner, she really only had John as a friend. And seeing that she'd never been to John's home… God she was pathetic!
"Meet Debra Malucci," he introduced, pulling Jing-Mei from her thoughts, "That's why I was amused to hear Carter start calling you Deb."
Jing-Mei smiled at the mention of that. That John would never be able to call her what she wanted to be called. Thing was, she had always let it go. "So why is Debbie sleeping on the couch?"
"We just moved in here not too long ago. Her room's being renovated."
"Ah," she nodded in understanding. Jing-Mei watched the gentleness that Dave used when he laid a blanket over his daughter and kissed her on the forehead. That interaction between father and child - it was so peaceful that Jing-Mei felt her awkwardness diminish somewhat.
Dave could feel her eyes staring at him. He chuckled inwardly. All along, he had been the one to give her flirty looks that were returned with nothing but jeering rejections. Now she was the one looking at him. Oh hell, Malucci, calm your ass down. She's looking at little Debbie. Get over yourself, his inner mind scolded him. He chuckled again, this time out loud.
"Hmmm?" Jing-Mei questioned, breaking her eyes away from Debbie and settling on Dave.
"Uh, nothing," he shook his head. "Want something to drink?"
"Nah. I should get going. It's late." She retrieved her purse from where she had laid it and looked at him. "Dave, I don't have the money today, but if you give me a call tomorrow, we could meet for lunch or something and I can pay you back for the bike."
"Ooh, Jing-Mei Chen is finally asking me out on a date. My fantasy's fulfilled and I can now die happily."
She started warningly, "Dave -"
"Kidding," he waved his hands in surrender, "You don't have to pay me back for the bike, Jing-Mei. I was going to buy another one anyway."
She opened her purse and took out a pen and pad of paper. Scribbling her number, she said, "You have no job and with -" she paused, throwing a meaningful glance at Debbie "- I really think I should pay you back. And besides, you might've been able to trade in your old bike for some money."
He stared at her hand, held high offering her number on the paper, but he made no move to accept it. "But you have no job, either."
"I have my Daddy," she said quietly and sheepishly. "Just take it, Dave."
"Fine," he uttered reluctantly and accepted the paper.
Smiling victoriously, she headed towards the door and let herself out. "Good night, Dave."
"Night, Jing-Mei. See you tomorrow."
As she waited for the elevator to come, she thought back on the day, not believing the strange way things happened. She was out of a job - she groaned at that - and she and Dave had shared a pleasant conversation.
It seems like she now had one more friend.
Please, guys, review! I can take criticism, as long as it's constructive. I mean, don't curse out at me (that's actually happened to me - I didn't put certain people together and this fan just lashed out at me!). Thanks!