(Hi everybody. Here it is, *sob*, the last part of my story. I've tried to make it extra long as I didn't want to stop writing it, but all things must come to an end eventually...I'm sorry, *holds back tears*, you're just going to have to get on and read this because I'm a little too emotional...*Cries like a baby* I hope you enjoy it!!)
Part 20
Hand in hand Carter and Abby headed straight for the nurse's station: there was no point trying to duck into the Lounge because they'd already been seen, and besides, they'd only get cornered in there instead. Ultimately they didn't even have the luxury of walking in silence towards the front desk because almost as soon as they walked through the double doors Chuni had come running towards them and blocked their path:
"You guys have left us hanging all weekend! Just tell us quickly before we go mad: Is it true?"
Abby turned to look at Carter and they shared a look. They turned back with identical grins on their faces and nodded.
"It's true!" they chorused. Chuni let out a high-pitched squeal of delight and threw her arms around them.
"Oooh, I'm so happy for you guys! Let me see the ring again!" she said to Abby, who dutifully held her hand out.
"It's so beautiful...But where are the diamonds? You're worth like, what, a gazillion dollars Carter and you can't spring for a little rock?!"
They both laughed at her, knowing that she was just teasing them, and followed behind her as she ran to the nurse's station to break the good news.
"Hey everybody, it's true!" Chuni announced to the assembled crowd of doctors and nurses. "We got ourselves some newlyweds!"
The expected round of "Congratulations" and "We're so happy for you"'s followed from the anonymous doctors and nurses who were always there but who didn't seem to have names. All the men were slapping Carter on the back and Abby was busy showing all the women her ring. Haleh gazed at the ring in semi-wonder and looked up at Abby.
"I never even knew you guys were going out! How did you manage to sneak through my radar?" she asked Abby before giving her a hug. "I'm so happy for you. And you?" she turned to Carter who was in the process of having his back slapped hard in congratulation by Malik. "You I can still remember as a little med-student, so eager to please, running around after anything blonde and in a skirt, and now look at you! Married! I can't believe how quickly the time has gone."
"And you played along with our whole little surprise party thing on Friday!" Lydia walked over and gave Carter a playful slap on the arm. "You must have been laughing at us all weekend! I just don't know how we didn't spot it. We're normally so good at this sort of thing...maybe it's because we've been busy lately," she mused. "It can't possibly be that we're losing our touch!"
They continued joking around for a little while when Abby began to look around the group and realised that somebody was missing. Where was Susan? Abby had been dying to tell her for ages about her and Carter and now that it was all out in the open she was nowhere to be seen. At that moment she heard a voice call out from down the hall and she turned to see Susan walking towards them.
"You know, a little wedding invitation would have been nice!" She flung a chart into the rack and simultaneously squealed with Abby as they ran together to share a hug.
"I can't believe you got married and didn't say anything! I've been going mad all weekend trying to get hold of you but you weren't answering your phone and I couldn't get Carter at his place."
"Well that's probably because John has been living with me for the past few months."
"Months? How long have you two been seeing each other? No wait, don't tell me yet! I've got explosive diarrhoea in 4 and I'm going to need a happy story to restore my good mood afterwards." She kissed Abby on the cheek and pointed at her as she picked up her chart and backed away. "Coffee later?" Abby nodded and went back to Carter's side. Within seconds everybody was laughing and joking about the need for a great blowout party seeing as Carter and Abby hadn't had a proper reception, but this was soon ended by the arrival of Dr Weaver.
"Alright," she said for everybody to hear, "I'm sure that we're all very happy for Dr Carter and Abby but there are still patients to see. There'll be plenty of time for gossiping and catching up later." She winked at Carter and Abby as she walked away, telling them that they had a few more minutes than everybody else to get themselves together.
Everybody moved away from the desk with a groan and set about seeing patients. Carter followed Abby into the lounge as she put her stuff away in her locker, and they were in the process of sharing one last kiss before her shift started and his re-started when Dr Pratt came barging into the room looking for Carter.
"Listen, Dr Carter?" he said, walking over to the couple who had moved apart after the interruption.
"What is it Pratt?" Carter said wearily. He didn't like this young man and every time he spoke Carter could feel his will to live drain away. It didn't help his mood much that he's been enjoying his kiss with Abby and didn't know when they were going to get another chance to meet for the rest of the shift.
"Congratulations and all that," Pratt said dismissively, "but now that you're married does that mean that you'll be letting some of us younger guys run the big traumas? Coz I'm ready for it, I know I am. You just never seem to want to give me a chance. It's coz I'm black, isn't it!"
"No, Pratt, it's because you're an intern. You don't have the experience, the knowledge or, frankly, the skill to run a big trauma. Now why don't you run along and find Dr Lewis. I'm sure she could use some help with her diarrhoea."
"That was a little harsh, don't you think?" Abby whispered to Carter after Pratt left.
"I can't help it. The little turd annoys me! The sooner someone brings him down a couple of pegs the better.... Besides, this is supposed to be a happy day for us and I don't want him dragging me down. He's already stopped me from doing one of my favourite activities."
"Oh yeah," Abby smiled at him, "and what's that?"
"This." He leaned down and captured her lips with his. The kiss was so deep he thought he was going to drown and he felt the strength begin to leave his legs.
"Wow," he said, ending the kiss and releasing her from his arms, "I think that's going to last me for a couple of hours!"
"I should think so, but you know where to find me if it wears off." She flicked his tie flirtatiously and reached up to give him a quick peck on the lips. She then walked out of the lounge and was collared by Dr Weaver to assist on a trauma; Carter walked over to the board, picked up a chart, and headed off towards Exam 2.
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"How are you feeling today Mr Jameson?" Carter asked as he entered the room. He pulled up a seat next to the patient and started to take his blood pressure.
"Not too good. I think I ate some bad shrimp last night and ever since then--"
He didn't have time to finish explaining. Before Carter knew what was happening the man was throwing up on him, ruining his shirt and trousers completely.
"I'm so sorry. God, I'm so embarrassed. I'm so, so sorry!"
"Don't worry about it, Mr Jameson," Carter said, standing well back in case of a repeat performance. "I'm used to it by now. It's not a proper shift unless somebody throws up on me! Here use this if you feel sick again." He handed Mr Jameson an Emerson's Basin then turned to write some orders on his chart, which he then placed, on the end of the bed. "Okay, Mr Jameson, I've ordered some tests and a nurse should be in soon to take some blood, but I don't think we have anything to worry about. Probably just a simple case of food poisoning."
"Thanks Doc." The patient tried to smile but suddenly started to heave and thrust his head into the basin. Carter gave him his best sympathetic doctor-smile and patted him on the back before turning to leave the room. As he did so Mr Jameson added: "Oh, and congratulations!"
"Excuse me?" Carter turned, puzzled as to how a patient would know to congratulate him. Mr Jameson gave a little movement of his hand to indicate he should turn round. Carter did so, looking a little like a dog chasing its' tail, and found he had a piece of paper pinned to his back. He pulled it off and read it, "Just Married."
"Malik!" he said under his breath, remembering the nurse slapping him on the back earlier and silently vowing to get his revenge. He pulled himself together and smiled his thanks before turning to leave the room.
On his way to the lounge he picked up a set of scrubs. Inside the lounge he opened his locker and pulled out the spare t-shirt he always kept. He had already changed his trousers and shirt when he heard the door open and somebody call out to him.
"Well, well, well. If it isn't 'the delectable Dr Carter'!" she said in her characteristically dry voice. "But where is your beautiful and mysterious new bride?"
He paused slightly in the process of pulling the scrub top over his t-shirt, but he didn't bother turning as he recognised the voice. "Deb. You read the paper this morning." He didn't phrase it as a question but more as a statement of fact, and finished pulling the top over his head.
"Of course I did. The society pages are required reading in my house. Imagine my surprise this morning when my mother called me this morning to tell me that my friend John Carter was on the front page, and that he was married no less!"
Carter turned and smiled sheepishly at Deb Chen and looked down at his feet. "I'm sorry Deb. I only got your message yesterday and I meant to return your call but, well, I sort of got distracted!" He looked back up at her to see that she was smiling.
"I'll bet you did!" she said sarcastically. "So anyway there I am, coming into work on Saturday evening, and I'm cornered by a group of nurses. 'Had I heard the gossip about Carter and Abby making out in the ambulance bay and wearing matching rings?' Well of course I hadn't, so the first thing I do when I've got a free minute is phone you at home, but you're not there. Nobody could say for certain what was going on and we were all speculating like crazy. Were you engaged? Were you married? Still no word from you...and then the article this morning."
"Listen Deb..."
"No, it's alright, I understand," she held up her hand to stop him and assumed an offended tone. "It's nice to know that your best friend gets married and thinks so much of you that you have to read about it in a newspaper article. I know where I stand from now on!"
"Oh God, I feel terrible Deb, I really do."
"Relax John, I'm just teasing you," she laughed. "I'm glad you finally decided to do something with Abby. It was about time! I know you'll both be very happy together."
"Thanks Deb. You're too good to me." He kissed her on the cheek and pulled her into a hug.
"Don't I know it!" she said, returning the hug. They pulled apart and walked out of the lounge together.
"So are you on tonight?" Carter asked as he held open the door and waited for her to step through.
"Only a half shift, thank goodness. I'll be home soaking in a nice warm bath while you're still here lancing boils..."
"Don't make me hate you Deb!"
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(A few hours later)
Abby had just returned from a brief meeting with Carter in one of the empty exam rooms and was walking towards the nurse's station with a huge smile on her face when she was accosted by Haleh.
"Good, you're back," she said, pretending not to notice Abby's slightly dishevelled appearance. "Can you take this one for me? Little girl fell over in a playground and hurt her arm. She's in chairs with her mother"
Abby took the chart from Haleh and walked over to chairs, calling out the name on the chart in front of her.
"Beccy Wallis?" She looked up to see a young blonde lady holding a little girl aged about 6 or 7 and walked over to them. "Hi, my name is Abby Lockhart. It says here that you fell over Beccy," she said, looking down at the chart. "Do you mind showing me where it hurts?"
Beccy looked a little uncertain at first but she looked up at her mother, who nodded at her and told her to show the nurse her arm.
"Ooh, that looks painful, but you're being a brave girl. If you and your mummy would like to come with me I'll put you in a little room and the doctor will come to see you. He's probably going to want an X-Ray to make sure that nothing is broken...do you know what an X-Ray is?" Abby asked as she lifted Beccy up onto an exam table.
"It's when they get this big camera and take pictures of your bones," the little girl whimpered.
"That's right! And you know what else? If you ask really nicely then maybe the doctor will let you keep your picture for you to show to all your friends."
"Really?" Beccy stopped sobbing and her face brightened at the prospect.
"Sure. Just let me go and find a doctor for you. It shouldn't be too long," she added, looking at the mother.
Abby then left the room and started to walk towards the admit desk to find a doctor to take care of her patient. As she walked towards the admit desk she could see some sort of commotion going on. From what she could see Frank, who had obviously got back from vacation, was caught up in a heated discussion with some sort of delivery guy who was waving a clipboard in Frank's face and kept jabbing at it with his finger. Things looked like they were about to get messy so Abby decided to walk over and try to diffuse the situation. She handed her chart to one of the other nurses and carried on walking to the desk.
"Frank, what's the problem here?"
"This little pipsqueak wants to make a delivery to somebody who doesn't exist! I've told him nobody by that name works here and he should just take them away..."
"...and I've told old jelly-belly here that I can't do that. I have to get a signature."
"That's what I hate about this place, all the little freaks! I've only been back 5 minutes and I'm dealing with a loony! They should pay me more..."
"Alright, what do you got?" Abby said, shushing Frank with her hand and turning to the delivery guy.
"I've got to deliver these flowers to an Abigail Carter in the ER..."
"That's me," Abby said interrupting him, blushing furiously when she realised the eyes of everybody in the vicinity were on her. "I'm Abby Carter. I haven't had time to fill in the change of name forms so Frank wouldn't know. Where do you want me to sign?"
"Right here." The delivery guy handed her a form and darted a triumphant look at Frank whilst Abby bent down to sign it. She handed back the clipboard to him and he brought out an enormous arrangement of dried flowers from behind his back. "Okay then, these are for you. Enjoy them!"
He turned and left the ER, leaving Abby marvelling at the beauty of the arrangement
"You should phone the flower shop and get that smart-ass fired!" Frank was saying but Abby couldn't hear him. She had just noticed a card hiding in the basket and was pulling it out to read it, oblivious to all the curious comments being fired at her by the nurses.
"To my wife. Just to say that I miss you and can't wait for this day to be over. All my love. John."
"So do you like them?" Carter came up behind her and put his arms around her. He bent down to kiss the back of her neck then rested his chin on her shoulder.
"They're beautiful, John. Thank-you." She turned her head slightly so that she could kiss him then she turned back to look at the arrangement.
"Just wanted to show everybody how much I love my wife, and to let her know that I'd rather be at home with her than here being thrown up on."
"I'm sure she feels the same way!" said Abby leaning back against him.
"Mmm, I like being able to do this," Carter said after a pause, "being able to hold you in front of everybody. It makes you wonder why we didn't tell them about is sooner, then we could have been doing this all the time."
"I know what you mean. I like you being able to hold me."
"Do you think the novelty will ever wear off?"
"It better not mister, otherwise I'm going to find myself a more attentive husband!" She turned around in his arms and threw her arms around his neck, kissing him for all she was worth. A round of applause brought them back to reality and they reluctantly separated. Carter picked up a chart and blew her a kiss as he walked off down the corridor. She stared after him, practically leaning over the counter as she strained to get a longer look at him. Eventually he turned into the exam room and Abby lost sight of him. She slumped down in a seat behind her and rested her chin in her hands, her head swimming with images of John smiling and kissing her. She sighed happily and smiled as she saw him emerge from the room and cross over to the supply closet to collect some piece of kit.
"I'll give you a penny for them." Susan said, startling Abby out of her reverie.
"For what?" Abby asked as she turned to look at Susan, although her eyes quickly wandered back to the supply room.
"Your thoughts...not that it would be worth the money. I can pretty much guess what you were thinking of!" Her eyes followed the direction of Abby's gaze. Abby blushed a bright shade of red.
"It's not that...I mean I wasn't...what makes you think I was doing anything? I'm worried about a patient. Trying to find her parents for her..." she flustered and shuffled some papers around in front of her trying to look busy. Susan wasn't fooled though.
"It's OK Abby! I wasn't saying you were doing anything wrong. Nobody would blame you for being a little distracted at the moment!"
"I know!" Abby groaned, covering her face with her hands to calm the blushing before looking up at Susan. "I guess I'm just embarrassed that you caught me mooning over my boyfriend like a 13 year old!"
"Husband," Susan reminded her.
Abby laughed at her mistake. "Right, husband...I'm going to have to get used to that! It's all so weird!"
"You're telling me. It seems like only a week ago I was sitting with you in Doc Magoo's talking about my lack of a love life, and you were saying how you felt exactly the same and that you needed a boyfriend desperately...oh wait, that was last week!" she teased.
"I'm so sorry Susan." Abby laughed at her friend's teasing. "I wanted to tell you, I really did, but we were trying to keep this a secret and I couldn't risk it getting out. You know what this place is like."
"Yeah. You think it's a hospital but in reality it's just a rumour mill with medical instruments!" They both laughed at this assessment of the ER. "So, are we going to get some coffee later? Maybe you can fill me in on some of the stuff I've been missing these last few months?"
Abby smiled. "I'd like that. Oh, and Susan?" she called out at the retreating figure of her friend who had started to walk away. Susan turned back and waited for her to explain. "Thank you...for being so great about this. I guess I didn't tell you 'cause I thought you'd be mad, or maybe you still liked John and you'd stop talking to me, and I didn't want to lose your friendship."
"Come here!" Susan pulled Abby into a hug and gave her a tight squeeze. "You are silly sometimes. I'm just so happy for the both of you! I thought I was going to go crazy watching you two dance around each other all the time..."
Abby had only been half listening. She was too busy suffocating from the hug that Susan was still giving her. She managed to free her arms enough to pat Susan on the back to get her to let go.
"Susan," she gasped, "Susan! I can't breathe!"
"Oh, I'm sorry, it's just I'm so excited!" Susan said, releasing Abby and taking a step back. "You have to tell me everything: how you got together, how long ago, what was the wedding like, what is *he* like, if you know what I mean!"
Abby blushed. "I can't tell you all that here! Anybody could be listening." To emphasise her point she looked around her only to find that they were the only people at the admit desk apart from Frank, who looked like he couldn't care less.
"Alright then," Susan laughed at Abby's failure to prove her point, "let's go and get that cup of coffee now. You can tell me all about Carter and I'll tell you all about my little lab technician!"
"You didn't!!" Abby gasped, looking at her friend. Susan merely raised an eyebrow and held out her hand. If Abby wanted to know more she was going to have to go to Doc Magoo's! She hopped down off her seat and linked arms with Susan, and arm in arm they walked across the road to the restaurant, talking all the way.
"So, the new lab guy, huh?" Abby said as they walked into the ambulance bay.
"Well, it all started with those backed up labs on Friday........."
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(Later that night)
Abby flopped down on the couch in the lounge and closed her eyes. She wasn't off for a while yet, she had been vomited on twice, she hadn't had a break for hours, and to top it off she had worn a new pair of shoes that were making her feet ache like anything! She kicked off the shoes and stretched out on the couch, leaning her head against the arm-rest and closing her eyes. She heard the door to the lounge but she was too tired to open her eyes. If they wanted her to get up for a trauma then they could carry her to the ambulance bay, 'cause there was no way she was going to get up of her own volition now.
Whoever it was obviously thought she was asleep. She could hear them opening their locker, taking off the coat and replacing their stethoscope, then pulling something else out and shutting the locker door. She waited to hear the footsteps leave the lounge, but instead they approached the couch where she was sleeping. She could sense them looking down at her but she was determined not to open her eyes. After a few moments of silence she heard a voice asking her a question.
"You want me to give you a foot rub?"
Abby's eyes shot open as she watched John sit down in the opposite corner of the couch and pull her feet into his lap. As soon as she realised who it was she smiled and relaxed against his touch.
"I would have your children if you could make this shift end!" she groaned in satisfaction as Carter's fingers found the pressure points in her feet and began kneading them.
"I thought we'd already agreed on that!" Carter leaned forward to plant a quick kiss on her lips before resuming his massage.
"Yeah, well, lets just say I no longer plan on castrating you the second the first contraction hits!"
"Ouch!" he chuckled.
"Don't worry about it, John. If I did that I'd miss out on all the fun of trying for another one." He saw that her eyes were still closed but she had a wicked little smile on her face as she said this, making her look all the more adorable. He stopped rubbing her feet and pulled her into his lap. He wrapped his arms around her waist and she laid her head against his shoulder, totally relaxed for the first time that day.
"Abby," he whispered softly.
"Mmm?" Her voice was muffled against his shoulder and he could feel her starting to fall asleep against him. He stifled a yawn himself and carried on with his question.
"What time are you off?"
"Not for another hour," she groaned. "How about you?"
"I was off ten minutes ago." He stroked her hair back off of her face and looked down at her. "You want me to stay and wait for you?" he asked, but she didn't answer. She gave a little smile and shifted slightly in his lap, and Carter knew that she had fallen asleep. He smiled and bent his head to place a soft kiss on her lips, then he settled her more comfortably on his lap. He was so content at that point that everything else disappeared, the hospital, their work colleagues, their families. All that mattered was that he was here, holding Abby in his arms, and that they were about to embark on a new life together, start their own family. He gave her one last look before closing his own eyes and joining her in the land of sleep.
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(Outside the Lounge)
"Hey Susan, have you seen Carter?"
"Um, last I saw he was headed for the lounge," the younger doctor called out from behind a stack of patient files at the admit desk.
"Okay, thanks!"
Kerry Weaver had been looking for her chief resident for the past hour and was pleased to have finally found him before they both signed off for the night. She had some good news to share and she thought that Carter and Abby would like to hear it as soon as possible. She pushed open the door of the lounge and was just about to open her mouth to speak when she took in the scene in front of her...
There was Carter sitting on the couch, head thrown back and eyes closed, snoring softly. And laying against his shoulder, her waist enveloped by his arms, also fast asleep, was Abby. The two of them looked so comfortable together that Kerry couldn't find it in her heart to wake them just yet, no matter how pleased they would be when they found out why. She quietly picked her coat and bag from her locker and backed silently out of the room, closing the door quietly behind her. Taking one last look through the window in the door she saw Abby snuggle into Carter's neck, causing him to stir slightly in his sleep and pull her closer to him.
Kerry smiled and walked away, returning in a few moments to pin something to the door. There was plenty of time tomorrow to tell Carter that he had an attending position if he wanted it. For now she'd let him and Abby sleep...they looked like they needed it. She went over to the admit desk to sign out and walked out through the ambulance bay doors, casting a brief eye as she went at the sign she had posted on the door:
DO NOT DISTURB: NEWLYWEDS
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THE END
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(And there it is. I'd like to thank everybody who has reviewed this fic over the months and who have emailed me with your words of support and encouragement. It means a lot to me. I don't have room to thank you all personally but you know who you are, and I hope you know I appreciate your help! Nothing more to say other than I have enjoyed writing this no end and, not that I'm hinting or anything, you wouldn't have to twist my arm to write a sequel! LOL. Em)
Part 20
Hand in hand Carter and Abby headed straight for the nurse's station: there was no point trying to duck into the Lounge because they'd already been seen, and besides, they'd only get cornered in there instead. Ultimately they didn't even have the luxury of walking in silence towards the front desk because almost as soon as they walked through the double doors Chuni had come running towards them and blocked their path:
"You guys have left us hanging all weekend! Just tell us quickly before we go mad: Is it true?"
Abby turned to look at Carter and they shared a look. They turned back with identical grins on their faces and nodded.
"It's true!" they chorused. Chuni let out a high-pitched squeal of delight and threw her arms around them.
"Oooh, I'm so happy for you guys! Let me see the ring again!" she said to Abby, who dutifully held her hand out.
"It's so beautiful...But where are the diamonds? You're worth like, what, a gazillion dollars Carter and you can't spring for a little rock?!"
They both laughed at her, knowing that she was just teasing them, and followed behind her as she ran to the nurse's station to break the good news.
"Hey everybody, it's true!" Chuni announced to the assembled crowd of doctors and nurses. "We got ourselves some newlyweds!"
The expected round of "Congratulations" and "We're so happy for you"'s followed from the anonymous doctors and nurses who were always there but who didn't seem to have names. All the men were slapping Carter on the back and Abby was busy showing all the women her ring. Haleh gazed at the ring in semi-wonder and looked up at Abby.
"I never even knew you guys were going out! How did you manage to sneak through my radar?" she asked Abby before giving her a hug. "I'm so happy for you. And you?" she turned to Carter who was in the process of having his back slapped hard in congratulation by Malik. "You I can still remember as a little med-student, so eager to please, running around after anything blonde and in a skirt, and now look at you! Married! I can't believe how quickly the time has gone."
"And you played along with our whole little surprise party thing on Friday!" Lydia walked over and gave Carter a playful slap on the arm. "You must have been laughing at us all weekend! I just don't know how we didn't spot it. We're normally so good at this sort of thing...maybe it's because we've been busy lately," she mused. "It can't possibly be that we're losing our touch!"
They continued joking around for a little while when Abby began to look around the group and realised that somebody was missing. Where was Susan? Abby had been dying to tell her for ages about her and Carter and now that it was all out in the open she was nowhere to be seen. At that moment she heard a voice call out from down the hall and she turned to see Susan walking towards them.
"You know, a little wedding invitation would have been nice!" She flung a chart into the rack and simultaneously squealed with Abby as they ran together to share a hug.
"I can't believe you got married and didn't say anything! I've been going mad all weekend trying to get hold of you but you weren't answering your phone and I couldn't get Carter at his place."
"Well that's probably because John has been living with me for the past few months."
"Months? How long have you two been seeing each other? No wait, don't tell me yet! I've got explosive diarrhoea in 4 and I'm going to need a happy story to restore my good mood afterwards." She kissed Abby on the cheek and pointed at her as she picked up her chart and backed away. "Coffee later?" Abby nodded and went back to Carter's side. Within seconds everybody was laughing and joking about the need for a great blowout party seeing as Carter and Abby hadn't had a proper reception, but this was soon ended by the arrival of Dr Weaver.
"Alright," she said for everybody to hear, "I'm sure that we're all very happy for Dr Carter and Abby but there are still patients to see. There'll be plenty of time for gossiping and catching up later." She winked at Carter and Abby as she walked away, telling them that they had a few more minutes than everybody else to get themselves together.
Everybody moved away from the desk with a groan and set about seeing patients. Carter followed Abby into the lounge as she put her stuff away in her locker, and they were in the process of sharing one last kiss before her shift started and his re-started when Dr Pratt came barging into the room looking for Carter.
"Listen, Dr Carter?" he said, walking over to the couple who had moved apart after the interruption.
"What is it Pratt?" Carter said wearily. He didn't like this young man and every time he spoke Carter could feel his will to live drain away. It didn't help his mood much that he's been enjoying his kiss with Abby and didn't know when they were going to get another chance to meet for the rest of the shift.
"Congratulations and all that," Pratt said dismissively, "but now that you're married does that mean that you'll be letting some of us younger guys run the big traumas? Coz I'm ready for it, I know I am. You just never seem to want to give me a chance. It's coz I'm black, isn't it!"
"No, Pratt, it's because you're an intern. You don't have the experience, the knowledge or, frankly, the skill to run a big trauma. Now why don't you run along and find Dr Lewis. I'm sure she could use some help with her diarrhoea."
"That was a little harsh, don't you think?" Abby whispered to Carter after Pratt left.
"I can't help it. The little turd annoys me! The sooner someone brings him down a couple of pegs the better.... Besides, this is supposed to be a happy day for us and I don't want him dragging me down. He's already stopped me from doing one of my favourite activities."
"Oh yeah," Abby smiled at him, "and what's that?"
"This." He leaned down and captured her lips with his. The kiss was so deep he thought he was going to drown and he felt the strength begin to leave his legs.
"Wow," he said, ending the kiss and releasing her from his arms, "I think that's going to last me for a couple of hours!"
"I should think so, but you know where to find me if it wears off." She flicked his tie flirtatiously and reached up to give him a quick peck on the lips. She then walked out of the lounge and was collared by Dr Weaver to assist on a trauma; Carter walked over to the board, picked up a chart, and headed off towards Exam 2.
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"How are you feeling today Mr Jameson?" Carter asked as he entered the room. He pulled up a seat next to the patient and started to take his blood pressure.
"Not too good. I think I ate some bad shrimp last night and ever since then--"
He didn't have time to finish explaining. Before Carter knew what was happening the man was throwing up on him, ruining his shirt and trousers completely.
"I'm so sorry. God, I'm so embarrassed. I'm so, so sorry!"
"Don't worry about it, Mr Jameson," Carter said, standing well back in case of a repeat performance. "I'm used to it by now. It's not a proper shift unless somebody throws up on me! Here use this if you feel sick again." He handed Mr Jameson an Emerson's Basin then turned to write some orders on his chart, which he then placed, on the end of the bed. "Okay, Mr Jameson, I've ordered some tests and a nurse should be in soon to take some blood, but I don't think we have anything to worry about. Probably just a simple case of food poisoning."
"Thanks Doc." The patient tried to smile but suddenly started to heave and thrust his head into the basin. Carter gave him his best sympathetic doctor-smile and patted him on the back before turning to leave the room. As he did so Mr Jameson added: "Oh, and congratulations!"
"Excuse me?" Carter turned, puzzled as to how a patient would know to congratulate him. Mr Jameson gave a little movement of his hand to indicate he should turn round. Carter did so, looking a little like a dog chasing its' tail, and found he had a piece of paper pinned to his back. He pulled it off and read it, "Just Married."
"Malik!" he said under his breath, remembering the nurse slapping him on the back earlier and silently vowing to get his revenge. He pulled himself together and smiled his thanks before turning to leave the room.
On his way to the lounge he picked up a set of scrubs. Inside the lounge he opened his locker and pulled out the spare t-shirt he always kept. He had already changed his trousers and shirt when he heard the door open and somebody call out to him.
"Well, well, well. If it isn't 'the delectable Dr Carter'!" she said in her characteristically dry voice. "But where is your beautiful and mysterious new bride?"
He paused slightly in the process of pulling the scrub top over his t-shirt, but he didn't bother turning as he recognised the voice. "Deb. You read the paper this morning." He didn't phrase it as a question but more as a statement of fact, and finished pulling the top over his head.
"Of course I did. The society pages are required reading in my house. Imagine my surprise this morning when my mother called me this morning to tell me that my friend John Carter was on the front page, and that he was married no less!"
Carter turned and smiled sheepishly at Deb Chen and looked down at his feet. "I'm sorry Deb. I only got your message yesterday and I meant to return your call but, well, I sort of got distracted!" He looked back up at her to see that she was smiling.
"I'll bet you did!" she said sarcastically. "So anyway there I am, coming into work on Saturday evening, and I'm cornered by a group of nurses. 'Had I heard the gossip about Carter and Abby making out in the ambulance bay and wearing matching rings?' Well of course I hadn't, so the first thing I do when I've got a free minute is phone you at home, but you're not there. Nobody could say for certain what was going on and we were all speculating like crazy. Were you engaged? Were you married? Still no word from you...and then the article this morning."
"Listen Deb..."
"No, it's alright, I understand," she held up her hand to stop him and assumed an offended tone. "It's nice to know that your best friend gets married and thinks so much of you that you have to read about it in a newspaper article. I know where I stand from now on!"
"Oh God, I feel terrible Deb, I really do."
"Relax John, I'm just teasing you," she laughed. "I'm glad you finally decided to do something with Abby. It was about time! I know you'll both be very happy together."
"Thanks Deb. You're too good to me." He kissed her on the cheek and pulled her into a hug.
"Don't I know it!" she said, returning the hug. They pulled apart and walked out of the lounge together.
"So are you on tonight?" Carter asked as he held open the door and waited for her to step through.
"Only a half shift, thank goodness. I'll be home soaking in a nice warm bath while you're still here lancing boils..."
"Don't make me hate you Deb!"
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(A few hours later)
Abby had just returned from a brief meeting with Carter in one of the empty exam rooms and was walking towards the nurse's station with a huge smile on her face when she was accosted by Haleh.
"Good, you're back," she said, pretending not to notice Abby's slightly dishevelled appearance. "Can you take this one for me? Little girl fell over in a playground and hurt her arm. She's in chairs with her mother"
Abby took the chart from Haleh and walked over to chairs, calling out the name on the chart in front of her.
"Beccy Wallis?" She looked up to see a young blonde lady holding a little girl aged about 6 or 7 and walked over to them. "Hi, my name is Abby Lockhart. It says here that you fell over Beccy," she said, looking down at the chart. "Do you mind showing me where it hurts?"
Beccy looked a little uncertain at first but she looked up at her mother, who nodded at her and told her to show the nurse her arm.
"Ooh, that looks painful, but you're being a brave girl. If you and your mummy would like to come with me I'll put you in a little room and the doctor will come to see you. He's probably going to want an X-Ray to make sure that nothing is broken...do you know what an X-Ray is?" Abby asked as she lifted Beccy up onto an exam table.
"It's when they get this big camera and take pictures of your bones," the little girl whimpered.
"That's right! And you know what else? If you ask really nicely then maybe the doctor will let you keep your picture for you to show to all your friends."
"Really?" Beccy stopped sobbing and her face brightened at the prospect.
"Sure. Just let me go and find a doctor for you. It shouldn't be too long," she added, looking at the mother.
Abby then left the room and started to walk towards the admit desk to find a doctor to take care of her patient. As she walked towards the admit desk she could see some sort of commotion going on. From what she could see Frank, who had obviously got back from vacation, was caught up in a heated discussion with some sort of delivery guy who was waving a clipboard in Frank's face and kept jabbing at it with his finger. Things looked like they were about to get messy so Abby decided to walk over and try to diffuse the situation. She handed her chart to one of the other nurses and carried on walking to the desk.
"Frank, what's the problem here?"
"This little pipsqueak wants to make a delivery to somebody who doesn't exist! I've told him nobody by that name works here and he should just take them away..."
"...and I've told old jelly-belly here that I can't do that. I have to get a signature."
"That's what I hate about this place, all the little freaks! I've only been back 5 minutes and I'm dealing with a loony! They should pay me more..."
"Alright, what do you got?" Abby said, shushing Frank with her hand and turning to the delivery guy.
"I've got to deliver these flowers to an Abigail Carter in the ER..."
"That's me," Abby said interrupting him, blushing furiously when she realised the eyes of everybody in the vicinity were on her. "I'm Abby Carter. I haven't had time to fill in the change of name forms so Frank wouldn't know. Where do you want me to sign?"
"Right here." The delivery guy handed her a form and darted a triumphant look at Frank whilst Abby bent down to sign it. She handed back the clipboard to him and he brought out an enormous arrangement of dried flowers from behind his back. "Okay then, these are for you. Enjoy them!"
He turned and left the ER, leaving Abby marvelling at the beauty of the arrangement
"You should phone the flower shop and get that smart-ass fired!" Frank was saying but Abby couldn't hear him. She had just noticed a card hiding in the basket and was pulling it out to read it, oblivious to all the curious comments being fired at her by the nurses.
"To my wife. Just to say that I miss you and can't wait for this day to be over. All my love. John."
"So do you like them?" Carter came up behind her and put his arms around her. He bent down to kiss the back of her neck then rested his chin on her shoulder.
"They're beautiful, John. Thank-you." She turned her head slightly so that she could kiss him then she turned back to look at the arrangement.
"Just wanted to show everybody how much I love my wife, and to let her know that I'd rather be at home with her than here being thrown up on."
"I'm sure she feels the same way!" said Abby leaning back against him.
"Mmm, I like being able to do this," Carter said after a pause, "being able to hold you in front of everybody. It makes you wonder why we didn't tell them about is sooner, then we could have been doing this all the time."
"I know what you mean. I like you being able to hold me."
"Do you think the novelty will ever wear off?"
"It better not mister, otherwise I'm going to find myself a more attentive husband!" She turned around in his arms and threw her arms around his neck, kissing him for all she was worth. A round of applause brought them back to reality and they reluctantly separated. Carter picked up a chart and blew her a kiss as he walked off down the corridor. She stared after him, practically leaning over the counter as she strained to get a longer look at him. Eventually he turned into the exam room and Abby lost sight of him. She slumped down in a seat behind her and rested her chin in her hands, her head swimming with images of John smiling and kissing her. She sighed happily and smiled as she saw him emerge from the room and cross over to the supply closet to collect some piece of kit.
"I'll give you a penny for them." Susan said, startling Abby out of her reverie.
"For what?" Abby asked as she turned to look at Susan, although her eyes quickly wandered back to the supply room.
"Your thoughts...not that it would be worth the money. I can pretty much guess what you were thinking of!" Her eyes followed the direction of Abby's gaze. Abby blushed a bright shade of red.
"It's not that...I mean I wasn't...what makes you think I was doing anything? I'm worried about a patient. Trying to find her parents for her..." she flustered and shuffled some papers around in front of her trying to look busy. Susan wasn't fooled though.
"It's OK Abby! I wasn't saying you were doing anything wrong. Nobody would blame you for being a little distracted at the moment!"
"I know!" Abby groaned, covering her face with her hands to calm the blushing before looking up at Susan. "I guess I'm just embarrassed that you caught me mooning over my boyfriend like a 13 year old!"
"Husband," Susan reminded her.
Abby laughed at her mistake. "Right, husband...I'm going to have to get used to that! It's all so weird!"
"You're telling me. It seems like only a week ago I was sitting with you in Doc Magoo's talking about my lack of a love life, and you were saying how you felt exactly the same and that you needed a boyfriend desperately...oh wait, that was last week!" she teased.
"I'm so sorry Susan." Abby laughed at her friend's teasing. "I wanted to tell you, I really did, but we were trying to keep this a secret and I couldn't risk it getting out. You know what this place is like."
"Yeah. You think it's a hospital but in reality it's just a rumour mill with medical instruments!" They both laughed at this assessment of the ER. "So, are we going to get some coffee later? Maybe you can fill me in on some of the stuff I've been missing these last few months?"
Abby smiled. "I'd like that. Oh, and Susan?" she called out at the retreating figure of her friend who had started to walk away. Susan turned back and waited for her to explain. "Thank you...for being so great about this. I guess I didn't tell you 'cause I thought you'd be mad, or maybe you still liked John and you'd stop talking to me, and I didn't want to lose your friendship."
"Come here!" Susan pulled Abby into a hug and gave her a tight squeeze. "You are silly sometimes. I'm just so happy for the both of you! I thought I was going to go crazy watching you two dance around each other all the time..."
Abby had only been half listening. She was too busy suffocating from the hug that Susan was still giving her. She managed to free her arms enough to pat Susan on the back to get her to let go.
"Susan," she gasped, "Susan! I can't breathe!"
"Oh, I'm sorry, it's just I'm so excited!" Susan said, releasing Abby and taking a step back. "You have to tell me everything: how you got together, how long ago, what was the wedding like, what is *he* like, if you know what I mean!"
Abby blushed. "I can't tell you all that here! Anybody could be listening." To emphasise her point she looked around her only to find that they were the only people at the admit desk apart from Frank, who looked like he couldn't care less.
"Alright then," Susan laughed at Abby's failure to prove her point, "let's go and get that cup of coffee now. You can tell me all about Carter and I'll tell you all about my little lab technician!"
"You didn't!!" Abby gasped, looking at her friend. Susan merely raised an eyebrow and held out her hand. If Abby wanted to know more she was going to have to go to Doc Magoo's! She hopped down off her seat and linked arms with Susan, and arm in arm they walked across the road to the restaurant, talking all the way.
"So, the new lab guy, huh?" Abby said as they walked into the ambulance bay.
"Well, it all started with those backed up labs on Friday........."
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(Later that night)
Abby flopped down on the couch in the lounge and closed her eyes. She wasn't off for a while yet, she had been vomited on twice, she hadn't had a break for hours, and to top it off she had worn a new pair of shoes that were making her feet ache like anything! She kicked off the shoes and stretched out on the couch, leaning her head against the arm-rest and closing her eyes. She heard the door to the lounge but she was too tired to open her eyes. If they wanted her to get up for a trauma then they could carry her to the ambulance bay, 'cause there was no way she was going to get up of her own volition now.
Whoever it was obviously thought she was asleep. She could hear them opening their locker, taking off the coat and replacing their stethoscope, then pulling something else out and shutting the locker door. She waited to hear the footsteps leave the lounge, but instead they approached the couch where she was sleeping. She could sense them looking down at her but she was determined not to open her eyes. After a few moments of silence she heard a voice asking her a question.
"You want me to give you a foot rub?"
Abby's eyes shot open as she watched John sit down in the opposite corner of the couch and pull her feet into his lap. As soon as she realised who it was she smiled and relaxed against his touch.
"I would have your children if you could make this shift end!" she groaned in satisfaction as Carter's fingers found the pressure points in her feet and began kneading them.
"I thought we'd already agreed on that!" Carter leaned forward to plant a quick kiss on her lips before resuming his massage.
"Yeah, well, lets just say I no longer plan on castrating you the second the first contraction hits!"
"Ouch!" he chuckled.
"Don't worry about it, John. If I did that I'd miss out on all the fun of trying for another one." He saw that her eyes were still closed but she had a wicked little smile on her face as she said this, making her look all the more adorable. He stopped rubbing her feet and pulled her into his lap. He wrapped his arms around her waist and she laid her head against his shoulder, totally relaxed for the first time that day.
"Abby," he whispered softly.
"Mmm?" Her voice was muffled against his shoulder and he could feel her starting to fall asleep against him. He stifled a yawn himself and carried on with his question.
"What time are you off?"
"Not for another hour," she groaned. "How about you?"
"I was off ten minutes ago." He stroked her hair back off of her face and looked down at her. "You want me to stay and wait for you?" he asked, but she didn't answer. She gave a little smile and shifted slightly in his lap, and Carter knew that she had fallen asleep. He smiled and bent his head to place a soft kiss on her lips, then he settled her more comfortably on his lap. He was so content at that point that everything else disappeared, the hospital, their work colleagues, their families. All that mattered was that he was here, holding Abby in his arms, and that they were about to embark on a new life together, start their own family. He gave her one last look before closing his own eyes and joining her in the land of sleep.
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(Outside the Lounge)
"Hey Susan, have you seen Carter?"
"Um, last I saw he was headed for the lounge," the younger doctor called out from behind a stack of patient files at the admit desk.
"Okay, thanks!"
Kerry Weaver had been looking for her chief resident for the past hour and was pleased to have finally found him before they both signed off for the night. She had some good news to share and she thought that Carter and Abby would like to hear it as soon as possible. She pushed open the door of the lounge and was just about to open her mouth to speak when she took in the scene in front of her...
There was Carter sitting on the couch, head thrown back and eyes closed, snoring softly. And laying against his shoulder, her waist enveloped by his arms, also fast asleep, was Abby. The two of them looked so comfortable together that Kerry couldn't find it in her heart to wake them just yet, no matter how pleased they would be when they found out why. She quietly picked her coat and bag from her locker and backed silently out of the room, closing the door quietly behind her. Taking one last look through the window in the door she saw Abby snuggle into Carter's neck, causing him to stir slightly in his sleep and pull her closer to him.
Kerry smiled and walked away, returning in a few moments to pin something to the door. There was plenty of time tomorrow to tell Carter that he had an attending position if he wanted it. For now she'd let him and Abby sleep...they looked like they needed it. She went over to the admit desk to sign out and walked out through the ambulance bay doors, casting a brief eye as she went at the sign she had posted on the door:
DO NOT DISTURB: NEWLYWEDS
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THE END
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(And there it is. I'd like to thank everybody who has reviewed this fic over the months and who have emailed me with your words of support and encouragement. It means a lot to me. I don't have room to thank you all personally but you know who you are, and I hope you know I appreciate your help! Nothing more to say other than I have enjoyed writing this no end and, not that I'm hinting or anything, you wouldn't have to twist my arm to write a sequel! LOL. Em)
