Authors Note: This is a group fan fiction written by the folks at the The Rocket Sanctuary ; a home for those who love the deliciously snarky Robert "Rocket" Romano, on ER (played by the very talented Paul McCrane). Each chapter is written by a different group member.
Disclaimer: "ER" and all its characters belong to Warner Bros. This story was written for the enjoyment of "ER" fans and no infringement of their copyright is intended. This story is Rated R, for language and sex.
"Occupational Hazards"
Chapter One By: Gretchen
Driving down Lakeshore Drive to work, Robert saw County General on the Horizon. There it is, he thought. How can a building look so.........despondent? Heaving a sigh, Robert turned into the parking ramp of the hospital preparing to start another exhausting yet fulfilling day.
Walking into the building, Robert went over his schedule: thyroidectomy from 9-Noon, and a hernial occlusion at 3! Seems pretty light, he muttered to himself. Most likely be patching up gsws from the ER in my copious free time.
Robert entered his office to gather the paperwork for the day and head off to the comfort of surgery, one of the few places he never felt totally alone. Not even with a comatose patient. He never felt alone when he was working and busy. He shoved this feeling to the back of his mind and started to scrub for surgery. Finishing up, he heard the door open behind him as Elizabeth walked in, preparing to scrub as well. "Lizzie!" Robert exclaimed, "Finally bringing yourself up from the trenches to see how the normal hospital staff works?"
"Good morning to you too, Robert," she said, "Just an ovarian abscess in a 13 year old we found this morning in the ER, nothing special."
"So you're not here to see me?" Robert pouted, "I am so disappointed I may just cry into my mask."
"Sorry," Elizabeth said lightly, and was off to her own operating room.
The scrub room was empty without her. Oh, come on, Rob, he scolded himself, It was empty with just you in here, even before she came in. But he couldn't escape the slight hollowness he felt when she left the scrub room. It was a lot like the emptiness that seeped into his heart when he arrived home each night. Like there was a light missing somewhere; somewhere he didn't even know a lamp was supposed to be.
Irritated with himself for feeling that way, Robert slammed out of the scrub room and went to his first operation of the day.