Idle Talks and Handovers
By Didi
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters so don't sue me
cause I'm using them. This is for
entertainment purposes and I'm not making any money off of this story.
Author's Note: Laura, don't say that I didn't warn you that
I was no good with sequels.
Summary: Sequel to "Champagne
and Idle Talks." A party, too much champagne,
and a very intoxicated Deb. What
happens next is everything.
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Jing Mei Chen knew two things as she came awake. The world was a horrible place in the
daylight and her head was about to split in two. Groaning in pain, she rolled over and found that she was as alone
as she thought she was.
"Ahhhhh………………."
"What? WHAT?"
John rolled over and fell off the bed so fast that he didn't have time
to brace himself with his hands. Smacking
himself silly on the off white nightstand, he hollowed in pain as he sat up
slowly. "Ohhh……"
"John?" Her eyes cleared as she leaned over the side
of the bed to look down at her fellow doctor.
"Morning to you too." Carter rubbed his head. "Do you always wake up screaming like a
banshee?"
"What are you doing
here?" Jing Mei asked cautiously. Looking down at herself, she noticed with
relief that she still wore the same dress she did the night before. Well, at least I didn't do anything
that'll have me regretting it this morning.
"Relax," he said observing
her suddenly warily expression.
"Nothing happened." And for
goodness sakes, there's not need to look so relieved.
She eyed him
suspiciously. "Then what are you doing
here? In my bed, no less." and you better have a damn good
explanation for it!
"I…" he looked mildly
surprised. "You don't remember?"
"If I did, I won't be
asking." She said just a little too
loud for her abused head. "Oh…" She rolled over slowly and lay on her back. "What truck hit me?" Note to self: no more drinking.
"You okay?" Caster asked as he slowly got up and looked
at her. The green around her cheeks was
not a good sign. "You're going to lose
your stomach, aren't you?"
"Maybe." She said breathing slowly. "What happened?"
"A little idle talk and way too
much champagne." John said all too
cheerful. "Want some coffee?"
"Yeah." She said.
"I don't particularly remember the talking party but I could have swore
that you were pouring me a lot of that champagne you're talking about. Were you trying to get me drunk?" Not that it won't have worked.
"Not drunk, Deb." He said cheekily. "Tipsy."
"Tip…" Something registered
in her mind for all of two seconds but was gone before she had time to analyze
it clearly. "Get the coffee will
you? And something for this splitting
headache I have."
"Sure." He got up and helped her up slowly from the
bed. "Go shower. I'll have coffee and a big bottle of aspirin
ready for you when you come out."
She snorted with
amusement. "What makes you think you
can find your way around *my* kitchen?"
"Deb, you're as predictable
as the wind. I'll figure it out." He said with a cocky grin.
"Really?" It sounded suspiciously like a challenge to
her. "As predictable as the wind,
huh?" She tilted her head to one side
and glanced at him with her half closed eyes.
"How predictable was I last night?"
That caught him off
guard. "What?"
"I asked…"
"I heard what you said. I thought you said that you don't remember."
"I don't." She shrugged as she grabbed a big white robe
from the hook just inside her closet.
"But I'm guess that something interesting happened last night or you
won't have ended up in my bed this morning.
And since we didn't end up doing the nasty, I'm going to guess that I
wasn't too drunk to realize what was going on.
Or I was too drunk and fell asleep."
John opened his mouth to say
something but snapped it shut as she pulled the little black dress over her
head. "What are you doing?"
"Taking a shower like you
suggested." She said as she tossed the
dress aside with a flick of her hand.
"So how predictable was I last night?"
She pulled the robe on before wiggling her bra and panties off from
beneath, giving plenty of room for Carter's imagination to run a muck in his
head.
He cleared his suddenly
condensed throat with difficulty.
"About as predictable as you are now."
She smiled at him over her
shoulder as she sashayed into the bathroom.
"That's nice." Then promptly
shut the door.
Carter stood there for a full
minute until the sound of the shower came on before rubbing his face with his
hand. There is just no
understanding intelligent women.
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The shower had been
wonderfully hot and refreshing considering the state she had woken up in. Now a cup of coffee was all she needed to
make her feel a little more alive and stable.
Pulling the bathroom door
open, she felt only a little self-conscious in only her bathrobe. But figuring that this was her apartment and
he had no possible interest in her at all, she walked into the living room with
only the robe and a stark white towel wrapped around her freshly scrubbed wet hair.
Carter swallowed the hot
coffee just a little too fast and felt it burn its way down his throat. A drunk Deb, he can handle. A rumpled and grouchy Deb, he can
handle. A fresh as a daisy Deb wearing
virginal white was quite another story.
"Well," she took the mug of
freshly brewed coffee from his numb fingers gratefully. "I guess you do know your way around a
kitchen." She smiled and took a seat on
one of the tall white stools at the breakfast counter. "Thank you for the coffee."
"Not a problem." He said passed the lump in his throat. "Feeling better?"
"Much." She sighed and leaned back to relax for the
first time all morning.
A comfortable silence fell
between them as they sipped garment coffee and took in a morning without the
insane schedule of the hospital. The
shrilling ringing of the phone broke the peace and had Jing Mei holding her
head and groaning in agony.
"Get that, will you?" She murmured as she took her coffee into the
living room.
Carter grinned as he reached
for the phone by the counter. "Dr.
Chen's insane asylum."
"JOHN!"
He laughed at the dirty look
she threw him. There was no reply on
the other end. "Hello? Dr. Chen residents? Hello?"
He shrugged his shoulders and hung up the phone.
"Who was it?" She called from her near fetal position on
the sofa.
"Don't know. They didn't say a word. Probably a wrong number." He sat down next to her and watched her for
a minute. "What are you doing?"
"Trying to keep the room from
spinning. And stop talking. You're making it worse."
"I thought you like idle
talks that involve no brain power."
"Not this morning I don't."
He grinned with
amusement. "Come here."
"No." She replied like an irritated child.
"Come here." He pulled her slowly from her curled up
position and pushed the long wet hair away.
His ran his big competent hands over her shoulders and rubbed them
slowly over her arms. Kneading the
muscles around her neck slowly, he worked out the knots around her shoulders
and felt her relax slowly under the ministration of his hands. "Feel good?"
"Oh yeah." She sighed and allowed herself to feel the
wonderful sensations rushing up and down her spine. "Right there."
Carter worked the knot loose
and kneaded it with his thumb. "You're
so tense all the time."
"It's the job. Plus I have the mother of all
headaches." Jing Mei said with her eyes
closed. "That's wonderful. Where did you learn to do that?"
"A little class I took during
my down time." He explained.
"Well, it's a great skill to
have." She murmured as she felt her
body melt under his hands.
He grinned behind her and
shook his head. "Why did you scream
this morning?"
"Thought you were someone
else."
"Who?"
"No one really. But the last time I woke up with a man in my
bed, I found myself in a rather interesting condition." She turned to look at him with a silly grin.
"Oh!" he smiled in reaction. "Haven't you learned yet?"
"I'm on the pill now. So yes, I did learn my lesson." She said with giggle.
"What?"
"Oh man."
"What?" He turned her around to look at her laughing
eyes. She had sweet eyes. "What's so funny?"
"If that was my mother on the
other line, I'm in trouble again."
He thought about it. "You're right."
The pretty doctor laughed
suddenly then clutched her head in pain.
"Oh, laughing is a bad idea right now."
"Go back to bed. You need to sleep this off." John suggested.
"I may have to." The hangover was a lot more powerful than
she had suspected. "You have work
today?"
"Power Shift."
"Ouch." She murmured. "Well, I'm on the Grave Yard shift tonight. See you then." With that, she got up and walked to the bedroom. "You sure nothing happened?"
"Nothing, Deb. You were drunk. I wouldn't…. you know."
She nodded her head. "Okay, we'll talk again when my head isn't
all muddy."
"Sure, Deb. Night."
He waved her off and sat back to enjoy his coffee. And he was sure they would talk, but much
later. For now, he's just going to
enjoy the quiet morning.
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Okay, this was kind of
weak. But hey, I tried.