Okay, here's chapter 11. I'm still requesting that everyone lets me know
what they think... I hate disappointing people. I'm one of those annoying
people-pleasers, so please... Review. I would be extremely grateful!
Thanks to those that have reviewed thus far! Particularly Sheilaroo, Saved- by-grace, mulderbabe77 (I love the X-Files), and MeoW03! And, to everyone else... Hearing your positive words makes me happy!
Romano is his sarcastic self in this chapter (yay!) But I'll get into why later. I intend to revisit Romano's ordeal (in chapters 4 and 5) but I'm trying to wait for a better time.
And here we go with Chapter 11:
~Natalie~ ************************************************************
"Why else did you call Elizabeth?" He asked cautiously.
"Well, actually Robert, I had something to ask you."
"Shoot." He said giving her the go-ahead. He said it with confidence, but inside, he was torn with negative thoughts.
She began to say it, but changed her mind. She couldn't do this over the phone. There were certain things in life that just needed to be done over the phone and this, she decided, was most certainly one of them.
"Well, actually, I don't think that the phone is the best place to do this."
"Uh-oh" he joked, but he really wasn't joking at all.
"She let out a small laugh "Do you think that you could come over?" She asked while looking at the clock; it was 11:00.
"I don't know Elizabeth..." He started
"Please Robert."
That did it. He sighed, "All right, I'll be over in twenty minutes."
"All right, thank you."
"You're welcome" he said and hung up the phone.
She sighed and wondered what she was going to say. She had twenty minutes to figure it out, and she didn't have even the slightest clue.
Robert Romano finished off his glass of bourbon and thanked...someone...that he wasn't drunk. That wasn't the way he wanted to face Lizzie, three sheets to the proverbial wind... who knew what he'd say if he were that far gone. He really didn't even want to go over there... well, he did... but at the same time, he really didn't. He was worried. Why did she need to talk to him in person? He knew it must be something serious, there wasn't much people couldn't do over the phone. 'Yeah Robert, you know about THAT' he mused before continuing with his thoughts. A million scenarios came to his mind. But try as he might, he couldn't figure out what the correct one was. He simply didn't know, and Robert Romano hated not knowing, as he hadn't much experience in that field.
He pulled on his coat and called a cab. He could be a stubborn man, but never a stupid one, and though he wasn't drunk, he didn't want to take a chance.
The cab arrived and Romano got in and gave the driver Elizabeth's address. All the way there Robert pondered the situation. He tried to think of every single thing. What he would say to her when he arrived, what sarcastic remark he could make to camouflage his discomfort. But the question still remained: What did she want? He didn't have much time to figure it out because the cab was almost there.
Elizabeth checked herself in the mirror; since she had spoken to Robert she had changed into jeans and a pale blue shirt. She sighed and walked into the living room. She kept going over different ways to say what she was thinking, but none of them were better than the one previous. How do you ask someone a question like that without sound odd? She guessed that it was impossible, but she willed to try, she had to know how Romano felt about her. And the only way to do that wasn't through hearsay or word of mouth... she had to ask him.
She was in the middle of a thought when she heard a knock at the door. She got up from the chair and made her way to the door, she took a deep breath before answering it. Finally, she felt at least somewhat prepared, and the door swung open to reveal Romano looking quite nervous.
"Robert." She greeted.
"Lizzie." He echoed her tone.
"Please, come in" Elizabeth offered while opening the door further to allow him access.
He came in and there was a few minutes of uncomfortable silence as Robert looked around sort of surveying the place a bit.
"Here, let me get your coat" Elizabeth said trying to be a good 'hostess'.
"No, I can get it, thanks Lizzie." He said as he took his coat off and laid it on the couch.
"Would you like some coffee, or tea maybe?" She asked.
"Uh, sure, whatever you're having is fine."
"All right, I'll be right back, make yourself comfortable." She said indicating the couch as she retreated to the kitchen.
'Breathe Elizabeth,' she thought as she walked into the kitchen and made the tea. She was glad for the momentary break. She needed as much time as possible to gather her thoughts, but it was all too soon before the tea was ready. She poured it into two cups and walked back into the living room, giving herself a sort of mental pep talk.
She offered a cup of tea to Robert and he accepted it graciously. "Thanks, Lizzie." He said as he took the cup.
He brought the cup to his lips and took a sip. The look on his face told Elizabeth right away that he wasn't a fan of the tea she had made. His face scrunched up as he struggled to swallow it.
She looked amused, and he noticed so he said: "The British and their damn tea."
"Oh Robert, it can't be that bad."
"Obviously Lizzie, you have never had good tea. Regular tea." He asserted.
She rolled her eyes and took a sip of the tea. He looked away in mock disgust "I don't know how you can handle it." He said. Then added: "Oh, that's right, you're from Britain, you have a stomach lined with steel."
She laughed before her face turned serious: "So, how are you Robert?" She asked. She was concerned.
"I" he said "am wonderful." They had been over this already, and he saw no reason to tell her the truth, that he was miserable... that he was always miserable... and would probably always be miserable.
"That's good." She said.
And they lapsed into momentary silence.
"And how are you, Lizzie?" He asked.
"Me?" She said, as she started to continue, he cut her off.
"Oh no, not you Lizzie. The other Lizzie standing right behind you." He joked.
"Very funny" she remarked.
"Well, it's hard to resist a rhetorical question as bright as that one."
"Yes, I suppose."
"But seriously... how are you?"
"I'm..." She hesitated. "Fine. I'm fine."
"Please don't sound so confident in that assertion."
She smiled "No, I'm fine."
"Really?" He sound concerned "Because I was questioning your mental health."
"Why is that?"
"Because I'm here" he quipped. But Elizabeth somehow knew that he was serious. She said nothing though, aside from a small laugh, and there was another rather uncomfortable silence, this one longer than the first.
"Seriously Lizzie," He said, finally looking at her. "Why am I here? What did you want to ask me?"
She took a deep breath: "Well, today I heard something..." She paused.
"And..." he waited, met only by her silence, he continued: "is that not an everyday occurrence? Are there some days that you don't hear anything?" He asked sarcastically.
She chuckled nervously "I heard that... well... that... you have certain.... Feelings for me."
He closed his eyes 'shit' he thought "well, Elizabeth, I have certain feelings for everyone."
"That's not what I meant Robert."
"What did you mean?" He knew what she meant, but he wasn't going to make this easier for her.
She knew that he understood her meaning "I heard that you're... that you're... in love with me."... 'So much for tact' she thought.
It was true of course, but Romano believed that if she had felt the same she wouldn't have confronted him.
"Lizzie, I never knew you were one to believe hospital gossip! Who was the wise person that bestowed upon you this little pearl?"
"That doesn't matter Robert..."
"Sure it does, Lizzie. Just tell me" ... 'so I can make their work days a living hell' Romano thought.
"It was Carte and Lewis..." She began to defend them, but considered it, and deemed it to be futile.
"Well, consider the source" he mumbled as he clamped his forefinger and thumb down on the bridge of his nose.
"Robert, I just... want to know if it's true."
He looked at her, serious for only the second time that evening "What do your instincts tell you Lizzie?"
She hesitated for a moment. She didn't know what they told her. "They tell me that... it isn't true." She stated.
He paused for a moment, considering whether or not he should tell her how wrong she was, then: "Well, trust them then Lizzie. They've served you well in medicine. She saw a look in his eyes, one that appeared to be sadness, yet... something more, however she couldn't quite place it. He then stood to leave.
"This is completely different"
"Is it?" He asked as he shrugged on his coat.
"I don't think so" he said "Use your instincts" he repeated as he headed for the door.
"So then... you're not going to tell me yes or no Robert?" She questioned as he opened the door.
He stopped momentarily, and then turned around to look at her, that same look in his eyes.
"As yourself this Elizabeth: Does it matter?" he said as he stepped into the chilly Chicago air and closed the door.
Elizabeth stood in shock. He hadn't answered her. She then walked into her living room and sat down.
She considered Robert's words 'Does it really matter?' and she asked herself.
'No' she decided, 'It doesn't matter.' She concluded as she went upstairs.
That night, though, as she lay in bed trying to will sleep to come and seduce her, she couldn't get Robert and his question out of her mind...
'Does it matter?'
Maybe it did....
***********************************************************
Hmmm... does it??
We'll find out next time!
Please review... It makes me happy to know (for better or worse) what y'all think!
Thanks!
*Note to saved-by-grace: lol, I thought maybe they annoyed you, but thank you for letting me know! : ) I'm a people-pleaser! : )
~Natalie~
Thanks to those that have reviewed thus far! Particularly Sheilaroo, Saved- by-grace, mulderbabe77 (I love the X-Files), and MeoW03! And, to everyone else... Hearing your positive words makes me happy!
Romano is his sarcastic self in this chapter (yay!) But I'll get into why later. I intend to revisit Romano's ordeal (in chapters 4 and 5) but I'm trying to wait for a better time.
And here we go with Chapter 11:
~Natalie~ ************************************************************
"Why else did you call Elizabeth?" He asked cautiously.
"Well, actually Robert, I had something to ask you."
"Shoot." He said giving her the go-ahead. He said it with confidence, but inside, he was torn with negative thoughts.
She began to say it, but changed her mind. She couldn't do this over the phone. There were certain things in life that just needed to be done over the phone and this, she decided, was most certainly one of them.
"Well, actually, I don't think that the phone is the best place to do this."
"Uh-oh" he joked, but he really wasn't joking at all.
"She let out a small laugh "Do you think that you could come over?" She asked while looking at the clock; it was 11:00.
"I don't know Elizabeth..." He started
"Please Robert."
That did it. He sighed, "All right, I'll be over in twenty minutes."
"All right, thank you."
"You're welcome" he said and hung up the phone.
She sighed and wondered what she was going to say. She had twenty minutes to figure it out, and she didn't have even the slightest clue.
Robert Romano finished off his glass of bourbon and thanked...someone...that he wasn't drunk. That wasn't the way he wanted to face Lizzie, three sheets to the proverbial wind... who knew what he'd say if he were that far gone. He really didn't even want to go over there... well, he did... but at the same time, he really didn't. He was worried. Why did she need to talk to him in person? He knew it must be something serious, there wasn't much people couldn't do over the phone. 'Yeah Robert, you know about THAT' he mused before continuing with his thoughts. A million scenarios came to his mind. But try as he might, he couldn't figure out what the correct one was. He simply didn't know, and Robert Romano hated not knowing, as he hadn't much experience in that field.
He pulled on his coat and called a cab. He could be a stubborn man, but never a stupid one, and though he wasn't drunk, he didn't want to take a chance.
The cab arrived and Romano got in and gave the driver Elizabeth's address. All the way there Robert pondered the situation. He tried to think of every single thing. What he would say to her when he arrived, what sarcastic remark he could make to camouflage his discomfort. But the question still remained: What did she want? He didn't have much time to figure it out because the cab was almost there.
Elizabeth checked herself in the mirror; since she had spoken to Robert she had changed into jeans and a pale blue shirt. She sighed and walked into the living room. She kept going over different ways to say what she was thinking, but none of them were better than the one previous. How do you ask someone a question like that without sound odd? She guessed that it was impossible, but she willed to try, she had to know how Romano felt about her. And the only way to do that wasn't through hearsay or word of mouth... she had to ask him.
She was in the middle of a thought when she heard a knock at the door. She got up from the chair and made her way to the door, she took a deep breath before answering it. Finally, she felt at least somewhat prepared, and the door swung open to reveal Romano looking quite nervous.
"Robert." She greeted.
"Lizzie." He echoed her tone.
"Please, come in" Elizabeth offered while opening the door further to allow him access.
He came in and there was a few minutes of uncomfortable silence as Robert looked around sort of surveying the place a bit.
"Here, let me get your coat" Elizabeth said trying to be a good 'hostess'.
"No, I can get it, thanks Lizzie." He said as he took his coat off and laid it on the couch.
"Would you like some coffee, or tea maybe?" She asked.
"Uh, sure, whatever you're having is fine."
"All right, I'll be right back, make yourself comfortable." She said indicating the couch as she retreated to the kitchen.
'Breathe Elizabeth,' she thought as she walked into the kitchen and made the tea. She was glad for the momentary break. She needed as much time as possible to gather her thoughts, but it was all too soon before the tea was ready. She poured it into two cups and walked back into the living room, giving herself a sort of mental pep talk.
She offered a cup of tea to Robert and he accepted it graciously. "Thanks, Lizzie." He said as he took the cup.
He brought the cup to his lips and took a sip. The look on his face told Elizabeth right away that he wasn't a fan of the tea she had made. His face scrunched up as he struggled to swallow it.
She looked amused, and he noticed so he said: "The British and their damn tea."
"Oh Robert, it can't be that bad."
"Obviously Lizzie, you have never had good tea. Regular tea." He asserted.
She rolled her eyes and took a sip of the tea. He looked away in mock disgust "I don't know how you can handle it." He said. Then added: "Oh, that's right, you're from Britain, you have a stomach lined with steel."
She laughed before her face turned serious: "So, how are you Robert?" She asked. She was concerned.
"I" he said "am wonderful." They had been over this already, and he saw no reason to tell her the truth, that he was miserable... that he was always miserable... and would probably always be miserable.
"That's good." She said.
And they lapsed into momentary silence.
"And how are you, Lizzie?" He asked.
"Me?" She said, as she started to continue, he cut her off.
"Oh no, not you Lizzie. The other Lizzie standing right behind you." He joked.
"Very funny" she remarked.
"Well, it's hard to resist a rhetorical question as bright as that one."
"Yes, I suppose."
"But seriously... how are you?"
"I'm..." She hesitated. "Fine. I'm fine."
"Please don't sound so confident in that assertion."
She smiled "No, I'm fine."
"Really?" He sound concerned "Because I was questioning your mental health."
"Why is that?"
"Because I'm here" he quipped. But Elizabeth somehow knew that he was serious. She said nothing though, aside from a small laugh, and there was another rather uncomfortable silence, this one longer than the first.
"Seriously Lizzie," He said, finally looking at her. "Why am I here? What did you want to ask me?"
She took a deep breath: "Well, today I heard something..." She paused.
"And..." he waited, met only by her silence, he continued: "is that not an everyday occurrence? Are there some days that you don't hear anything?" He asked sarcastically.
She chuckled nervously "I heard that... well... that... you have certain.... Feelings for me."
He closed his eyes 'shit' he thought "well, Elizabeth, I have certain feelings for everyone."
"That's not what I meant Robert."
"What did you mean?" He knew what she meant, but he wasn't going to make this easier for her.
She knew that he understood her meaning "I heard that you're... that you're... in love with me."... 'So much for tact' she thought.
It was true of course, but Romano believed that if she had felt the same she wouldn't have confronted him.
"Lizzie, I never knew you were one to believe hospital gossip! Who was the wise person that bestowed upon you this little pearl?"
"That doesn't matter Robert..."
"Sure it does, Lizzie. Just tell me" ... 'so I can make their work days a living hell' Romano thought.
"It was Carte and Lewis..." She began to defend them, but considered it, and deemed it to be futile.
"Well, consider the source" he mumbled as he clamped his forefinger and thumb down on the bridge of his nose.
"Robert, I just... want to know if it's true."
He looked at her, serious for only the second time that evening "What do your instincts tell you Lizzie?"
She hesitated for a moment. She didn't know what they told her. "They tell me that... it isn't true." She stated.
He paused for a moment, considering whether or not he should tell her how wrong she was, then: "Well, trust them then Lizzie. They've served you well in medicine. She saw a look in his eyes, one that appeared to be sadness, yet... something more, however she couldn't quite place it. He then stood to leave.
"This is completely different"
"Is it?" He asked as he shrugged on his coat.
"I don't think so" he said "Use your instincts" he repeated as he headed for the door.
"So then... you're not going to tell me yes or no Robert?" She questioned as he opened the door.
He stopped momentarily, and then turned around to look at her, that same look in his eyes.
"As yourself this Elizabeth: Does it matter?" he said as he stepped into the chilly Chicago air and closed the door.
Elizabeth stood in shock. He hadn't answered her. She then walked into her living room and sat down.
She considered Robert's words 'Does it really matter?' and she asked herself.
'No' she decided, 'It doesn't matter.' She concluded as she went upstairs.
That night, though, as she lay in bed trying to will sleep to come and seduce her, she couldn't get Robert and his question out of her mind...
'Does it matter?'
Maybe it did....
***********************************************************
Hmmm... does it??
We'll find out next time!
Please review... It makes me happy to know (for better or worse) what y'all think!
Thanks!
*Note to saved-by-grace: lol, I thought maybe they annoyed you, but thank you for letting me know! : ) I'm a people-pleaser! : )
~Natalie~