Chapter 50: Bad news buttercup

I got the brother and sister back to County and both up into surgery by the time that Carter got back to County via one of the ambulances. I was in an exam room now taking care of one of the less major injuries that had come in from the pile up.

"Hey Anna." Carter said, "I've been looking for you."

"Just keep it dry and come back in seven to ten days to have the stitches taken out, you'll be fine." I said to the patient as I took off the gloves and turned my attention back to Carter, "I'm right here." I said with a smile, "where did you think I would have gone."

"Sleeping somewhere." He said with a smile, "you get that looked at?" He asked me as he pointed to my side again.

"Oh sure Carter," I said sarcastically, "right between patient number 40 and 41."

"Come on let's go take a look at it now and get it cleaned up." He said to me as he put his hand on my arm so that I wouldn't protest. "Can't have you bleeding all over the patients now can we."

"Sure you can." I said with a smirk, "they haven't seemed to care so far."

"What did you do again?" He asked as we headed into one of the now empty exam rooms.

"Lost a hold in the car and either scraped against something or landed on something I'm not sure, it's not that bad." I replied.

"Let me be the judge of that." He said.

He motioned for me to lift up my shirt where there was a red patch, "you worry to much you know that Carter?" I said as I did what I was told, it appeared to have bled somewhat through the gauze that I had slapped on there rather hastily so that I could keep working, "it's nothing more than a scratch."

"Holy shit Anna."

"Okay now that's not the response that I was aiming for Carter." I said.

"That's not a little scratch."

"Yeah sure it is." I replied back, not that I had taken the time to look at it or nothing but now that things had slowed down I could, "ouch!" I yelped as he finished ripping the gauze off, "what the hell you do that for?"

"So that I could get a better look at it, lay down doctor." He said as he tone changed with me.

"Why how bad is it?" I said trying to get a look at it myself.

"You don't want to know." That was the response that I got from Carter. "Is your tetanus up to date."

"Uh yeah." I said back to him.

"Good cause other wise you'd be getting one tonight."

I let out a loud yelp when Carter starting poking at my side. "Knock if off that hurts." I snapped at him.

"Hold still." He said to me as he moved away to grab a few supplies. "I think you have a chunk of glass in there."

"Chunk?" I said back to him, "what do you mean chunk?"

"You have glass embedded in your side, how the hell can you not know that it's there, come on that has to hurt." He said to me.

"Not when the adrenaline is flowing nothing hurts." I said back to him. "Ouch would you stop that."

"Yeah hurts now huh there super doc." He said to me.

"Well yeah now that you are messing with it, you know you could be a little more gentle there Doctor Carter."

"I am trying don't be such a wuss." He said to me. "You got it in there pretty good. You know I am going to have to stitch this up when I get the glass out."

"It's not that bad is it?" I found myself asking now, "really I mean it didn't hurt until you starting playing around with it."

"Anna honey," he said looking me straight in the eye now as he held up a piece of glass. "This was in your side."

"Oh my." I said when I caught a glimpse of the, well it really was a chunk of glass. "You know I would have thought that I would be in a little more pain about now from that." My eyes were fixated on the piece of glass he was holding now. "Oh well just fix me up there Doctor so that I can tend to the rest of the patients that we have left."

"Oh no," Carter said, "I'm going to fix you up and then you are going to go home and get some sleep you need it."

"Okay what," I said looking at him again, "first off where do you think you get off telling me that I need to go home and get some sleep?"

"Since I became your doctor and since I have always been your friend." He said giving me a half evil eye. "Anna honey, you need to just go home take it easy for the rest of the night, you only have a few more hours left and I can keep up with it."

"Carter the ER is packed with people who need to still be seen who weren't part of the accident." I said looking at him, "just stitch me up and let me get back to work I'm going to be fine. Like you said it's only a few more hours."

"I wish you'd go home Anna."

"Doctor." I said raising my eyebrows at him now, "if I wanted your opinion on what I should do I would have asked you for it, but I can tell you that right now I am… ouch didn't you numb it first."

"That's for not doing what you should do." He said to me.

"Well violence towards me is not going to get me to do what you want me to…. Ouch."

"Going to reconsider?"

"Not really…. Ouch." I yelped again.

"Might want to think about it."

"You are being…. OUCH." I yelled now, "stop it Carter."

"It has to be done, Dr. Del Amico."

"Well stop hurting… ouch… not funny… oh for the love of god." I said looking at him, "I want another doctor."

"Well you can't have another doctor." He said, "you are stuck with me like it or not."

"Like it or not Carter?" I said looking at him, "when did we go back to… ouch you rat bastard."

Carter didn't say anything more to me as he continued to finish fixing up my side and I wanted to reach over and strangle him by the time he was done. When I felt the gauze cover where I had been hurt I jumped off the gurney not wanting to be at his merciless hands anymore.

"Thanks Carter." I said rather sarcastically as I pulled on my lab coat and headed to leave the room, "see you later I have work to do."

"Go home." He barked at me but I was out the door and headed back to work before anyone could say anything else to me about it.