Too Much To Ask
Note: These characters, the characters of ER, are not property of me, but NBC, Constant C, blahblah morphinecakes. I love them, though! Oh.. try and find the Monkees references, Lindy.. :P
John Carter looked at his haggard face in the mirror on his locker door. It had been two weeks since he had gotten back from rehab, and although he was better than before as far as attitude, his withdrawal from the drugs was clearly showing.. at least to those who knew about it.
"Hey John." Kerry limped in behind him slowly, trying not to scare him. He could still be a little jumpy, so they had all taken precautions. She smiled.
"Hey Dr. Weaver," he answered, turning around to greet her. He grinned back, but she could see he was still feeling under par. "Chuny was just in here. She said you were looking for me?"
"Yes. I just wanted to invite you to a conference being held next week on the East Side. It's about emergency management and getting high up on the ladder-- work strategies and that sort of thing. Mark and I are going, as well as one or two of the nurses. We think since Carol left we should really get a new charge nurse, and what a better place to start? Attendings are really the only doctors allowed, but we pulled some strings to get you in as a senior resident. What do you think?"
He smiled, but looked at her warily. "Oh, I don't know. It sounds kind of uptight for me."
"Well, yes," she grinned, "but it's at The Plaza Hotel. There's going to be a fancy dinner affair and everything, and I thought you might enjoy it. Way to get back into the swing of things. It's going to be from eight in the morning to eight at night on Thursday, when the dinner ends."
"Umm.. sure, okay, put me down." He shrugged his shoulders slightly and hung his bag up in his locker.
"Great." She turned around to leave, but spoke as she did: "There's a bounce-back migraine in one you might want to take.."
"Dr. Weaver?" She turned on her heel and looked back at Carter.
"Thanks for letting me know." He smiled again and closed his locker door.
Carter cocked his head slightly and looked around the corner of Jones Avenue. He had been to the Plaza once before, with his parents and grandparents for some benefit, but it was when he was only sixteen or seventeen. Ah. He smiled. A large crystalline building shone in the light, and the gold letters lit up the sky. He straightened his tie as a valet walked up to his car, and John slowed down.
"Sir, are you here for the Emergency Room Management conference?" Carter nodded. "Okay, sir, I will park your car and it will be charged to your hospital. May I have your name and hospital, please?" The clerk took out a small computer, a Palm Pilot, that listed all the names and hospitals attending today.
"John Carter. I'm coming from Cook County."
The man looked rushedly down the electronic list of names. Carter, John. A senior resident at Cook County Hospital. "Thank you, Dr. Carter. Here's your name tag.." He handed him a small laminated tag attached to a clip, which Carter hurriedly clipped on his suit jacket. John handed him his keys, got out of the car, and casually walked inside. He was supposed to meet everyone at their table in the conference hall.
"John!" Kerry waved from the large, round table and motioned to a chair beside her. "You know everyone here.. except Dr. Frawley. He's moving down to the ER from cardiology next year." Carter waved and smiled, as did Dr. Frawley.
"Very nice to meet you, Dr. Frawley." John extended a hand.
"Oh, call me Jim. John Carter. I've heard a lot about you." He grinned and turned to Kerry.
"I was just telling Jim about your misadventures as a medical student in the ER, and surgery." She put her hand over Jim's and nodded toward him.
"Ah," he replied, hanging his bag over his chair as a doctor announced the beginning of the conference. Everything went very well, except that Kerry hung over Dr. Frawley the entire time. He could tell there was something going on between the two. He just wished he had someone, something. He was so lonely ever since Roxanne, and Lucy. Everyone went home to get dressed and, in the women's case, get their hair and nails done to come back for the big banquet at 8. Carter changed into a tuxedo-- although he hadn't worn it in ages-- and headed back to the hotel at 7:30, where there was only one other person, of the women at least.. a doctor from St. Luke's. He decided to go over and talk to her, even if it was small chat, and even if it was stupid. With a large sigh, he picked leisurely walked over..