The Way Things Happened
Rating: PG
Category: Carter/Dave/Jing-Mei
Disclaimer: I don't own these characters. I make no money off of this. Don't sue me. Yada yada yada.
Timeline: Right after "Never Say Never"
Author's Note: A note to some people who left some comments -- this story is not a Carby. This will mainly focus on Carter, Jing-Mei, and Dave so it will be a toss up between a Jinter or a Jinucci. Thanks a lot for all the feedback! It's great to hear from you guys. I'm sorry this chapter took a while, but I was tied up with other things. This chapter is mainly banter, just some things to move the story along. There's also no Dave in this chapter, sorry Dave fans!
Hope you'll enjoy!
Chapter 2: Rumor Mill
"I'll see you tonight then?" Carter asked into the phone, "Okay, see you later, Deb."
Abby cocked her eyebrows as she entered the lounge just in time to hear the name. "That Dr. Chen?"
Carter nodded carelessly as he stared at the phone, a strange look of disbelief on his face.
"You okay, Carter?"
"Yeah," he started slowly, "Deb just turned me down for lunch. She said she already made plans with someone."
She snickered. "And that's a shock because?"
"Because... because..."
"Because you've always prided yourself on being her only friend?"
Carter turned towards Abby and buried his hands in his pockets. "Well, yeah."
"Gee, I'll be sure to tell Dr. Chen what you think of her social skills."
"You thought the same thing about her."
"Only because I know your smugness all too well," she chided him. They both chuckled and a comfortable silence passed as both busied themselves with putting their jackets inside their lockers.
"So Carter," Abby breathed uncertainly. "What are you doing tonight? I thought we could catch a movie or something."
Carter gave her a sidelong glance. Funny how he'd spent the last year pining for her and now that she asked him out, he had to turn her down. "Sorry, Abby. I already made plans with Deb."
"Oh."
"If you had asked me earlier -"
She banged her locker shut, interrupting him. Why was he trying to make things better by explaining? Didn't he know that the more explaining he did, the deeper the hole he dug? "No you don't have to explain. It's fine. Whatever." With a muttered "See you later", Abby zoomed out of the lounge and collided with someone.
"What was that all about?" Susan asked as she brushed the spot where Abby had bumped into her.
"What's what about?"
"That nurse - April or something."
"Abby," he corrected.
"Right. So what was it about?"
He shrugged and walked over to pour himself a cup of coffee. His love life - or lack of - was not something he felt like discussing. "Nothing really. She wanted to hang out tonight, but I already had plans with Deb."
"Dr. Chen?" Susan smirked. "Ah, now I see - jealousy."
"Jealousy?" Carter's eyebrows shot up, "What are you talking about?"
"You don't know?"
He shook his head and combed his fingers through his hair. "What am I supposed to know?"
Her eyes twinkled with mystery. "Nothing. You'll find out sooner or later."
Carter glanced at her, determined to protest, but then decided against it. The way things go in the ER, he'd find out by lunchtime. He made a mental note to talk to Randi and asked, "So how's your first day back so far?"
"Back in Weaver hell," Susan grimaced as she sipped her coffee. "How do you think it's going?"
"Aw, come on. She's not that bad."
"You're one to talk."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Well Weaver is part of the reason your Deb's not working here anymore," she smiled wily.
"My Deb?" Carter asked. "What is it with you and this newfound fascination with Deb this morning?"
The two finished their coffees and exited the lounge into the unusually quiet ER. "You call her Deb," she pointed out.
"Your point?"
"My point is the rumors may be true."
"Rumors?" he stopped in his tracks, "Have you been gossiping with the nurses? What do these rumors have to do with Deb and me?"
"I only know what Chuni offered to tell. Apparently, you two have been -" she paused to think of a meaningful term "- well put simply, you two have been rolling around in the hay.
His eyes widened. "You're not serious?"
"I am," she said matter-of-factly. "The most bogus ones say that you're the father of Dr. Chen's baby. Well at least I assume they're bogus."
"I'm not even black!" he exclaimed, throwing up his hands in frustration.
She eyed him. "Hmm?"
"Never mind," he shook his hands to dismiss the topic. "The point is there is nothing between Deb and me. We're just friends, that's all."
"Sure, Carter," she uttered incredulously. "You still call her Deb."
"Yes we established that point already," he shot back with a hint of annoyance.
"But she's Jing-Mei now."
Carter groaned. Back to the name game again. Why was everyone always so hung up on his inability to call Deb what she wanted to be called? It's not like he never tried to but it's just that the way he saw it, she would always be Deb Chen. He turned towards an exam room and sighed, "Well old habits are hard to break."
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Jing-Mei rubbed her chilly hands together and thrust them into the pockets of her thin sweater. "I don't understand why we're walking. It's not like we don't have cars."
"We always walk home after having dinner. Why should tonight be any different?"
"Because it's cold," she gritted her teeth. "Whatever happened to the nice autumn weather?"
"Went into hibernation," Carter grinned boyishly. "C'mon, have some stamina, Deb. I feel plenty warm."
She eyed the thick jacket that he had on. "I wonder why," she muttered sarcastically.
He caught the gleam in her eyes and chuckled. "Come here," he whispered, his breath coming out in thin vapor, as he wrapped his arm around her and brushed her shoulder feverishly. "That better?"
Jing-Mei was caught off guard. The two were good friends, best friends even, but of all the times they had had such close physical contact, she had been in need of support and comfort from a friend. Now it was different, as if something had somehow changed, and yet it was all the same. This was the same John, and this was the same road they had walked dozens of times before.
"Yeah. Thanks," she whispered.
Carter noticed her hesitation, and to be honest, it was also stirring up inside him. It seemed as if he was crossing some unsaid boundary and so he stopped his rubbing.
But his arm remained around her shoulders.
"So uh," he asked cautiously, "who'd you have lunch with today? Does it have to do with the mystery man I saw in your car last night?"
"Mystery man?"
"The one you who was in your car last night," he repeated, "I saw your car from the windows of Magoo's."
"When you were with Abby?"
He was taken aback by her frankness. "Yeah," he admitted.
"So how are you and Abby?"
Carter looked at Jing-Mei from the corner of his eyes. "What about me and Abby?"
"I'm not blind, John. You have some sort of feelings for her."
He glanced briefly at her in amazement. All along, he had never mentioned a word about whatever twisted relationship he had with Abby, but Deb, being observational as usual, had picked up on it.
"There is no Abby and me," he fixed his eyes on Deb, as if confessing some dark secret. It was his first time voicing that out loud and he was surprised with how effortless it had rolled off his tongue.
Jing-Mei returned his steady gaze. "You don't sound too disappointed."
"I don't know," he shrugged. "There never really was an Abby and me, so there's nothing to be disappointed about. Even with Abby and Dr. Kovac broken up, I just... it's just not leading anywhere right now."
"You think you guys will work out in the long run?"
Carter rubbed his neck with his free hand. "I dunno," he answered slowly. "Maybe. She asked me to a movie tonight, but I already made plans with you."
"Oh, John, I'm -"
He shook his head. "Don't apologize, Deb. I wanted to hang out with you tonight. If Abby and I are meant to happen, it's gonna happen eventually."
Jing-Mei nodded in understanding.
"I thought we were talking about your mysterious man," he raised his eyebrows. "Trying to steer away from the topic?"
"Well did it work?" a small grin tugging on her lips.
"Obviously not. So who is this man?"
"Why are you being so nosy?"
"And why are you being so secretive?"
"I asked first."
"If I remember correctly, I was the one who asked you who the mystery man is in the first place."
Jing-Mei sighed. "Dave."
"Dave?" he chuckled, his eyes gleaming like a child, "Dave Malucci?"
"Yeah. Good 'ol Dr. Dave."
He snickered.
"See," Jing-Mei grumbled, shooting Carter a look, "that's why I was being secretive. What is wrong with having lunch with Dave?"
"Nothing," he rubbed his neck subconsciously, "It's just... did he finally charm you into going out with him?"
Her eyes fell on Carter for a moment and she looked away, pausing dramatically. "There's something about killing a man that just brings people together."
"Deb, don't say -"
"Kidding," Jing-Mei rushed as soon as she saw the look on John's face. "Anyway, Dave and I are just friends. Men and women can just be friends, you know. You have heard of a platonic relationship?"
"Oh yeah, I've heard about that," he chuckled, "Kinda like you and me?"
For a second, Jing-Mei felt her stomach lurch before shaking it away mentally. "Right. Like you and me."
"So speaking of you and me, I heard something today."
"What?"
"We're rolling around in the hay."
She eyed him suspiciously. "What are you talking about?"
"There are rumors going around that we're together. And that I'm Michael's father."
She threw her hands up in frustration, almost knocking over Carter. "You're not even black!"
"Well hardly anyone in the ER knows that the father was black," he reasoned, rubbing his elbow where Jing-Mei had smacked him.
She shook her head in astonishment. More often than not, she only learned from the ER gossip mill, but today she was the subject of it all. And her and John? That was so ridiculous, so... Without warning, an image of John kissing her while unbuttoning her shirt popped into her head. Stunned, she could feel her cheeks heating up as she labored to erase that image from her head.
"Wouldn't believe it if I hadn't seen it myself. Our resident Dr. Deb Chen blushes?"
On instinct, she pressed her palms on her cheeks. "First of all, it's Dr. Jing-Mei Chen. And second of all, I'm not blushing. It's just the wine from dinner - you know, the Asian flush."
"Well, Dr. Jing-Mei Chen," he mocked, "as I recall from our medical school days, you never used to have the Asian flush."
"Things change," she commented off-handedly.
Carter took her remark to heart. "Yeah, things do change."
The two rounded a corner to an apartment complex and Jing-Mei began searching for her keys. "Thanks for walking me home, John."
He nodded and stuck his hands in his pockets. "I have this knot in my stomach. It's the one I usually get after a first date with someone, when I'm arguing with myself over whether or not I should kiss her."
She chuckled and shook her head. "Good night, John," she threw over her shoulders.
Carter watched her disappear into the building. It wasn't until a light turned on in her window and he could see her silhouette did he turn around and head home.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Feedback please!!!
Rating: PG
Category: Carter/Dave/Jing-Mei
Disclaimer: I don't own these characters. I make no money off of this. Don't sue me. Yada yada yada.
Timeline: Right after "Never Say Never"
Author's Note: A note to some people who left some comments -- this story is not a Carby. This will mainly focus on Carter, Jing-Mei, and Dave so it will be a toss up between a Jinter or a Jinucci. Thanks a lot for all the feedback! It's great to hear from you guys. I'm sorry this chapter took a while, but I was tied up with other things. This chapter is mainly banter, just some things to move the story along. There's also no Dave in this chapter, sorry Dave fans!
Hope you'll enjoy!
Chapter 2: Rumor Mill
"I'll see you tonight then?" Carter asked into the phone, "Okay, see you later, Deb."
Abby cocked her eyebrows as she entered the lounge just in time to hear the name. "That Dr. Chen?"
Carter nodded carelessly as he stared at the phone, a strange look of disbelief on his face.
"You okay, Carter?"
"Yeah," he started slowly, "Deb just turned me down for lunch. She said she already made plans with someone."
She snickered. "And that's a shock because?"
"Because... because..."
"Because you've always prided yourself on being her only friend?"
Carter turned towards Abby and buried his hands in his pockets. "Well, yeah."
"Gee, I'll be sure to tell Dr. Chen what you think of her social skills."
"You thought the same thing about her."
"Only because I know your smugness all too well," she chided him. They both chuckled and a comfortable silence passed as both busied themselves with putting their jackets inside their lockers.
"So Carter," Abby breathed uncertainly. "What are you doing tonight? I thought we could catch a movie or something."
Carter gave her a sidelong glance. Funny how he'd spent the last year pining for her and now that she asked him out, he had to turn her down. "Sorry, Abby. I already made plans with Deb."
"Oh."
"If you had asked me earlier -"
She banged her locker shut, interrupting him. Why was he trying to make things better by explaining? Didn't he know that the more explaining he did, the deeper the hole he dug? "No you don't have to explain. It's fine. Whatever." With a muttered "See you later", Abby zoomed out of the lounge and collided with someone.
"What was that all about?" Susan asked as she brushed the spot where Abby had bumped into her.
"What's what about?"
"That nurse - April or something."
"Abby," he corrected.
"Right. So what was it about?"
He shrugged and walked over to pour himself a cup of coffee. His love life - or lack of - was not something he felt like discussing. "Nothing really. She wanted to hang out tonight, but I already had plans with Deb."
"Dr. Chen?" Susan smirked. "Ah, now I see - jealousy."
"Jealousy?" Carter's eyebrows shot up, "What are you talking about?"
"You don't know?"
He shook his head and combed his fingers through his hair. "What am I supposed to know?"
Her eyes twinkled with mystery. "Nothing. You'll find out sooner or later."
Carter glanced at her, determined to protest, but then decided against it. The way things go in the ER, he'd find out by lunchtime. He made a mental note to talk to Randi and asked, "So how's your first day back so far?"
"Back in Weaver hell," Susan grimaced as she sipped her coffee. "How do you think it's going?"
"Aw, come on. She's not that bad."
"You're one to talk."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Well Weaver is part of the reason your Deb's not working here anymore," she smiled wily.
"My Deb?" Carter asked. "What is it with you and this newfound fascination with Deb this morning?"
The two finished their coffees and exited the lounge into the unusually quiet ER. "You call her Deb," she pointed out.
"Your point?"
"My point is the rumors may be true."
"Rumors?" he stopped in his tracks, "Have you been gossiping with the nurses? What do these rumors have to do with Deb and me?"
"I only know what Chuni offered to tell. Apparently, you two have been -" she paused to think of a meaningful term "- well put simply, you two have been rolling around in the hay.
His eyes widened. "You're not serious?"
"I am," she said matter-of-factly. "The most bogus ones say that you're the father of Dr. Chen's baby. Well at least I assume they're bogus."
"I'm not even black!" he exclaimed, throwing up his hands in frustration.
She eyed him. "Hmm?"
"Never mind," he shook his hands to dismiss the topic. "The point is there is nothing between Deb and me. We're just friends, that's all."
"Sure, Carter," she uttered incredulously. "You still call her Deb."
"Yes we established that point already," he shot back with a hint of annoyance.
"But she's Jing-Mei now."
Carter groaned. Back to the name game again. Why was everyone always so hung up on his inability to call Deb what she wanted to be called? It's not like he never tried to but it's just that the way he saw it, she would always be Deb Chen. He turned towards an exam room and sighed, "Well old habits are hard to break."
Jing-Mei rubbed her chilly hands together and thrust them into the pockets of her thin sweater. "I don't understand why we're walking. It's not like we don't have cars."
"We always walk home after having dinner. Why should tonight be any different?"
"Because it's cold," she gritted her teeth. "Whatever happened to the nice autumn weather?"
"Went into hibernation," Carter grinned boyishly. "C'mon, have some stamina, Deb. I feel plenty warm."
She eyed the thick jacket that he had on. "I wonder why," she muttered sarcastically.
He caught the gleam in her eyes and chuckled. "Come here," he whispered, his breath coming out in thin vapor, as he wrapped his arm around her and brushed her shoulder feverishly. "That better?"
Jing-Mei was caught off guard. The two were good friends, best friends even, but of all the times they had had such close physical contact, she had been in need of support and comfort from a friend. Now it was different, as if something had somehow changed, and yet it was all the same. This was the same John, and this was the same road they had walked dozens of times before.
"Yeah. Thanks," she whispered.
Carter noticed her hesitation, and to be honest, it was also stirring up inside him. It seemed as if he was crossing some unsaid boundary and so he stopped his rubbing.
But his arm remained around her shoulders.
"So uh," he asked cautiously, "who'd you have lunch with today? Does it have to do with the mystery man I saw in your car last night?"
"Mystery man?"
"The one you who was in your car last night," he repeated, "I saw your car from the windows of Magoo's."
"When you were with Abby?"
He was taken aback by her frankness. "Yeah," he admitted.
"So how are you and Abby?"
Carter looked at Jing-Mei from the corner of his eyes. "What about me and Abby?"
"I'm not blind, John. You have some sort of feelings for her."
He glanced briefly at her in amazement. All along, he had never mentioned a word about whatever twisted relationship he had with Abby, but Deb, being observational as usual, had picked up on it.
"There is no Abby and me," he fixed his eyes on Deb, as if confessing some dark secret. It was his first time voicing that out loud and he was surprised with how effortless it had rolled off his tongue.
Jing-Mei returned his steady gaze. "You don't sound too disappointed."
"I don't know," he shrugged. "There never really was an Abby and me, so there's nothing to be disappointed about. Even with Abby and Dr. Kovac broken up, I just... it's just not leading anywhere right now."
"You think you guys will work out in the long run?"
Carter rubbed his neck with his free hand. "I dunno," he answered slowly. "Maybe. She asked me to a movie tonight, but I already made plans with you."
"Oh, John, I'm -"
He shook his head. "Don't apologize, Deb. I wanted to hang out with you tonight. If Abby and I are meant to happen, it's gonna happen eventually."
Jing-Mei nodded in understanding.
"I thought we were talking about your mysterious man," he raised his eyebrows. "Trying to steer away from the topic?"
"Well did it work?" a small grin tugging on her lips.
"Obviously not. So who is this man?"
"Why are you being so nosy?"
"And why are you being so secretive?"
"I asked first."
"If I remember correctly, I was the one who asked you who the mystery man is in the first place."
Jing-Mei sighed. "Dave."
"Dave?" he chuckled, his eyes gleaming like a child, "Dave Malucci?"
"Yeah. Good 'ol Dr. Dave."
He snickered.
"See," Jing-Mei grumbled, shooting Carter a look, "that's why I was being secretive. What is wrong with having lunch with Dave?"
"Nothing," he rubbed his neck subconsciously, "It's just... did he finally charm you into going out with him?"
Her eyes fell on Carter for a moment and she looked away, pausing dramatically. "There's something about killing a man that just brings people together."
"Deb, don't say -"
"Kidding," Jing-Mei rushed as soon as she saw the look on John's face. "Anyway, Dave and I are just friends. Men and women can just be friends, you know. You have heard of a platonic relationship?"
"Oh yeah, I've heard about that," he chuckled, "Kinda like you and me?"
For a second, Jing-Mei felt her stomach lurch before shaking it away mentally. "Right. Like you and me."
"So speaking of you and me, I heard something today."
"What?"
"We're rolling around in the hay."
She eyed him suspiciously. "What are you talking about?"
"There are rumors going around that we're together. And that I'm Michael's father."
She threw her hands up in frustration, almost knocking over Carter. "You're not even black!"
"Well hardly anyone in the ER knows that the father was black," he reasoned, rubbing his elbow where Jing-Mei had smacked him.
She shook her head in astonishment. More often than not, she only learned from the ER gossip mill, but today she was the subject of it all. And her and John? That was so ridiculous, so... Without warning, an image of John kissing her while unbuttoning her shirt popped into her head. Stunned, she could feel her cheeks heating up as she labored to erase that image from her head.
"Wouldn't believe it if I hadn't seen it myself. Our resident Dr. Deb Chen blushes?"
On instinct, she pressed her palms on her cheeks. "First of all, it's Dr. Jing-Mei Chen. And second of all, I'm not blushing. It's just the wine from dinner - you know, the Asian flush."
"Well, Dr. Jing-Mei Chen," he mocked, "as I recall from our medical school days, you never used to have the Asian flush."
"Things change," she commented off-handedly.
Carter took her remark to heart. "Yeah, things do change."
The two rounded a corner to an apartment complex and Jing-Mei began searching for her keys. "Thanks for walking me home, John."
He nodded and stuck his hands in his pockets. "I have this knot in my stomach. It's the one I usually get after a first date with someone, when I'm arguing with myself over whether or not I should kiss her."
She chuckled and shook her head. "Good night, John," she threw over her shoulders.
Carter watched her disappear into the building. It wasn't until a light turned on in her window and he could see her silhouette did he turn around and head home.
Feedback please!!!