Title: Different, but the Same
Rating: PG -13
Spoilers: "Thy will be Done" and maybe others later
Archive: Ask-I'll let you know
Disclaimer: I do not own these characters they belong to NBC and Warner Brothers and Michael Crichton
This is an alternate ending to "Thy Will Be Done." What if John asked someone else first? This is a story of what could have happened had one thing changed and the effects that it could have had on the lives of those on the ER.
****
"I have to honestly say I have never done this in a tuxedo before."
"Yeah, well, why don't you try it in four inch heels!"
John laughed heartily at this. "I don't think I should try that. Has to be some kind of public safety violation in that."
They were both laughing by then, and began to walk towards hole number seven at Rudy's All Night miniature golf course. They both knew that they were bad at the game, but it was ridiculous just how bad they were!
"Have you ever played miniature golf before, John?"
"Sure I have. One of my uncles had a course put in one corner of his estate."
"You're kidding right?" John shook his head in answer to Randi's question. "Wait, you're not kidding. Oh for the love of Pete! So just out of curiosity, how much is your family worth?"
It was at that moment John chose to hit the golf ball. Her question broke his concentration, and the ball flew into the water.
"What do you mean? Like over all? I don't know, and I don't really care. Money is highly overrated."
"Easy for you to say."
"Do you think we could go the rest of the night without discussing money? I heard enough of that at the benefit."
"Sure," she giggled.
As she said this, John began to stare into her eyes. He did so for what seemed like hours to Randi. She had to break the silence.
"You're ball fell into the water. Go move it so that I can take my turn."
"Yes ma'am," he said, not breaking the eye contact until he turned his back to her.
The game was soon completed, Randi beating John by one stroke. Randi sat down on a bench, while John went to get them some hot chocolate.
"Here you go. Nice and hot. Be careful." He handed her the Styrofoam cup, and sat down beside her.
"Hey, what's wrong?" he asked when he saw the weary expression on her face.
"I am exhausted. And I believe I know two people who have a 7:00 am shift tomorrow."
"Yeah, I know. Come on, let's go."
The two finished their hot chocolate and stood up to leave, but Randi's spiked heel managed to catch in the underside of the bench. She hit the ground as quickly as she had stood up. She knew that she was hurt, but was not sure to the extent of her injuries. She could not speak because the wind had been knocked out of her when she fell. John was beside her on the ground in seconds.
"Oh man, Randi! Are you ok? Does anything hurt?" She nodded. "Where?"
"My ankle," she managed to whisper.
"Okay. Try and sit up for me." She did as she was told, but not without his assistance. He checked her leg quickly but gently. His warm touch made her tremble on the inside. He finished his examination, and decided that it was probably just a bad sprain.
"Well, It does not look like anything is broken, but we should probably take you to County and check you out to be sure."
"No. John, please. I just want to go home and lay in my own bed. Please, John. Just take me back to my apartment." She looked at him with a hint of begging in her eyes.
"Okay. Fine. But you have to promise me that you'll let me check it out better when we get there."
She nodded, and to her surprise, he lifted her into his arms, and began to carry her back to the limo. Once in the car, John insisted that she lay down and elevate her leg. With her head in his lap, she quickly fell asleep. She felt truly safe for the first time in a while.
John could not relinquish his concern for her.
*What is this?* he thought to himself. *She's Randi. A friend. A co-worker. I should not be having these feelings about her.* But as he thought this, he looked down at her sleeping form, and realized how beautiful she was. *Why didn't I notice this before?*
When they got to her apartment, it was nearly 2 am. After telling the limo driver that he would find his own way home, John tenderly carried her into her building and up the stairs to her apartment. He realized that he would have to wake her to get in.
*But she's sleeping so soundly* he argued with himself. Then he remembered the little sitting area in front of the window down the hallway and around the corner from her door. He decidedly walked in that direction. When he got there, he gently sat on the little love seat, and positioned her with her head on his chest, and making sure that her ankle was elevated.
*I could get used to this* He smiled, and looked down at the raven-haired beauty in his embrace.
****
Three hours later, Randi stirred, waking John from his sleep. When she opened her eyes, she was not sure where she was, but was well aware of the man holding her. His face was so close to hers, their noses were nearly touching. She inhaled deeply.
"Where are we?"
"In your hallway. I did not want to wake you. You were so peaceful. So I just sat with you." With his arms still around her, he smiled, and looked down at her ankle. "How do you feel?"
She glanced down and wiggled her foot.
"It is a little stiff and sore, but I think that I can walk. Should I try?"
"Yeah. You need to move it around a much as possible." He helped her stand up, and supported her weight as she took the first few steps. "When we get to work, I'll check you out for real, and get you some crutches."
"Work-what time is it?"
John glanced at his watch.
"It's about 5:30. Why don't you go get ready, and I'll call a cab to get us to my place. I'll change pretty quickly, and then I will drive us to the hospital. Can, uh, can you manage alright, you know, getting ready?"
Randi took the key from her purse, and unlocked the door. John helped her inside.
"I think I'll be alright. But thanks for the offer. Maybe some other time, though." She winked at him and smiled and turned to limp into her bedroom. John chuckled to himself as she walked off. He ran his fingers through his hair and went to call for a cab.
****
Forty-five minutes later, the pair was entering the grounds of Carter Mansion. Randi was in awe of the whole atmosphere of the estate. Snow had begun to fall. It was like a winter wonderland. She knew that she had never seen any place quite so beautiful.
John was watching her face as they drove up the brick driveway. She was almost child like.
"Randi."
"Huh?"
"Nothing. Never mind."
The cab pulled to a stop in front of the massive doorway. John paid the driver, and got out to help Randi. They entered into the front foyer, and Randi was awed again.
"You like?"
"This is unbelievable."
"Eh-It's home. I'm going to go change. I'll be back in a few minutes. Make yourself comfortable-but sit down. I don't want you to hurt yourself worse young lady."
"Yes, Dr. Carter," she said sarcastically.
He laughed as he walked up the grand staircase.
She sat on the huge couch and looked at her surroundings. It was so different from what she had grown up in. Yet it was home to him. It was his way of life, nothing out of the ordinary. Her ordinary was the complete opposite. She contemplated what her life would have been like if she had grown up like this. *I wouldn't be working at County, that's for sure* she thought to herself.
"It's good to see you again, my dear." Gamma entered from what Randi assumed to be the kitchen.
"Mrs. Carter, It's nice to see you again, too. Uh, John went upstairs to, um, get ready for work."
"I know. I ran into him on the way down here. He told my about your little mishap. How do you feel now, Randi?" The elder lady smiled a gentile smile at Randi.
"Much better, thanks."
"It has gotten cold out hasn't it?"
"It started snowing. I guess a cold front went through last night."
"Ah, yes. The last snow of the season. You know it is this last snow that brings life in late spring. It is kind of like love, don't you think. When you find that special someone, you know that it is the last time you will fall, and you can anticipate what will grow from that love in the future."
Randi wondered what she was getting at. She felt a lump in her throat.
"At least that is what I felt like when I met John's grandfather. I knew we would be together forever."
"I only hope I can find that kind of love someday, Mrs. Carter."
"You will dear."
"Ready to go, Randi?" John's voice was heard before he appeared around the corner.
"Definitely. We don't want to be late. Weaver will be on the warpath. Tomahawk and all."
John laughed as he opened the door for her, and then grabbed her arm in an effort to assist her walking. John had had the groundskeeper bring his jeep around to the front of the house. Before she could step off the brick patio, he picked her up, and carried her to the passenger side of the jeep.
"What are you doing?" she shrieked.
"I call it taking care of my patient."
"Do you do this for all of your patients, doctor?"
"Only the really cute ones," he teased. He shut the door and ran around to the driver's side and hopped in. "Ready?"
"Let's go. We really are going to be late."
They headed toward County. Halfway there, Randi began to laugh.
"What's so funny?"
"You know that the nurses will have a heyday with this. They all know that we went to the benefit together last night. You know what they will think when we show up together."
"What? That we slept together? Well, you know if you want to get technical- "
"Shut up, Carter!" She rolled her eyes at him. "No. I think that we should just act like we always do. That will really bug them. You be your normal, flirtatious doctor self, and I'll-"
"And you'll be your normal smarty pants self. Just out of curiosity, where has that person been these last 16 hours?"
"I don't know. I guess you bring out the nice Randi."
"Is there a naughty Randi?" John asked, with a smirk on his face.
"That is something you'll never know, John Carter."
"A guy can dream can't he?"
"Yes. And sometimes dreams come true." She stared at him as he was trying to concentrate on driving.
****
"Where is Carter? He was supposed to be here five minutes ago." Kerry was in the process of her typical morning ritual of yelling about some poor resident who was five minutes late. Carter was her target on that particular day.
Chuny looked at Abby.
"Maybe she should ask where Randi is at the same time."
Abby nodded in agreement.
"Hey, look, there they are." Malik said with a grin on his face.
"Carter, where have you been? When you are supposed to start work at seven, be here in time to start work at seven. How many times do I have to tell you that?"
"Sorry Dr. Weaver."
He took off his hat, rubbed his hands through his hair, and headed to the lounge, leaving Randi to answer to the red headed Chief of emergency medicine.
"Randi, what's your excuse? And why are you limping?"
"I fell. Bad sprain apparently. I had it checked out."
"I'll bet she did," Heleh whispered to Lydia.
Randi popped a piece of Chewing gum into her mouth, and began her normal daily activities. With the exception of a certain doctor, stopping at the admit desk more often.
****
"You want to grab lunch?"
"Sure John. I'll be ready in about ten minutes."
As John walked back towards the lounge, he heard Chuny talking to Lily and Yosh.
"Plain as day she called him 'John.' If you ask me, that after school program was not the only thing that benefited from last night."
He smiled to himself at how wrong they were. Nothing had happened. They were just friends. Or had something changed?
****
As my pen name implies, I'm from the South, and have no idea bout the weather patterns in Chicago, so just work with me!
I hope you are enjoying this story as much as I am. Please Review! I love to hear feedback about my stories!
Rating: PG -13
Spoilers: "Thy will be Done" and maybe others later
Archive: Ask-I'll let you know
Disclaimer: I do not own these characters they belong to NBC and Warner Brothers and Michael Crichton
This is an alternate ending to "Thy Will Be Done." What if John asked someone else first? This is a story of what could have happened had one thing changed and the effects that it could have had on the lives of those on the ER.
****
"I have to honestly say I have never done this in a tuxedo before."
"Yeah, well, why don't you try it in four inch heels!"
John laughed heartily at this. "I don't think I should try that. Has to be some kind of public safety violation in that."
They were both laughing by then, and began to walk towards hole number seven at Rudy's All Night miniature golf course. They both knew that they were bad at the game, but it was ridiculous just how bad they were!
"Have you ever played miniature golf before, John?"
"Sure I have. One of my uncles had a course put in one corner of his estate."
"You're kidding right?" John shook his head in answer to Randi's question. "Wait, you're not kidding. Oh for the love of Pete! So just out of curiosity, how much is your family worth?"
It was at that moment John chose to hit the golf ball. Her question broke his concentration, and the ball flew into the water.
"What do you mean? Like over all? I don't know, and I don't really care. Money is highly overrated."
"Easy for you to say."
"Do you think we could go the rest of the night without discussing money? I heard enough of that at the benefit."
"Sure," she giggled.
As she said this, John began to stare into her eyes. He did so for what seemed like hours to Randi. She had to break the silence.
"You're ball fell into the water. Go move it so that I can take my turn."
"Yes ma'am," he said, not breaking the eye contact until he turned his back to her.
The game was soon completed, Randi beating John by one stroke. Randi sat down on a bench, while John went to get them some hot chocolate.
"Here you go. Nice and hot. Be careful." He handed her the Styrofoam cup, and sat down beside her.
"Hey, what's wrong?" he asked when he saw the weary expression on her face.
"I am exhausted. And I believe I know two people who have a 7:00 am shift tomorrow."
"Yeah, I know. Come on, let's go."
The two finished their hot chocolate and stood up to leave, but Randi's spiked heel managed to catch in the underside of the bench. She hit the ground as quickly as she had stood up. She knew that she was hurt, but was not sure to the extent of her injuries. She could not speak because the wind had been knocked out of her when she fell. John was beside her on the ground in seconds.
"Oh man, Randi! Are you ok? Does anything hurt?" She nodded. "Where?"
"My ankle," she managed to whisper.
"Okay. Try and sit up for me." She did as she was told, but not without his assistance. He checked her leg quickly but gently. His warm touch made her tremble on the inside. He finished his examination, and decided that it was probably just a bad sprain.
"Well, It does not look like anything is broken, but we should probably take you to County and check you out to be sure."
"No. John, please. I just want to go home and lay in my own bed. Please, John. Just take me back to my apartment." She looked at him with a hint of begging in her eyes.
"Okay. Fine. But you have to promise me that you'll let me check it out better when we get there."
She nodded, and to her surprise, he lifted her into his arms, and began to carry her back to the limo. Once in the car, John insisted that she lay down and elevate her leg. With her head in his lap, she quickly fell asleep. She felt truly safe for the first time in a while.
John could not relinquish his concern for her.
*What is this?* he thought to himself. *She's Randi. A friend. A co-worker. I should not be having these feelings about her.* But as he thought this, he looked down at her sleeping form, and realized how beautiful she was. *Why didn't I notice this before?*
When they got to her apartment, it was nearly 2 am. After telling the limo driver that he would find his own way home, John tenderly carried her into her building and up the stairs to her apartment. He realized that he would have to wake her to get in.
*But she's sleeping so soundly* he argued with himself. Then he remembered the little sitting area in front of the window down the hallway and around the corner from her door. He decidedly walked in that direction. When he got there, he gently sat on the little love seat, and positioned her with her head on his chest, and making sure that her ankle was elevated.
*I could get used to this* He smiled, and looked down at the raven-haired beauty in his embrace.
****
Three hours later, Randi stirred, waking John from his sleep. When she opened her eyes, she was not sure where she was, but was well aware of the man holding her. His face was so close to hers, their noses were nearly touching. She inhaled deeply.
"Where are we?"
"In your hallway. I did not want to wake you. You were so peaceful. So I just sat with you." With his arms still around her, he smiled, and looked down at her ankle. "How do you feel?"
She glanced down and wiggled her foot.
"It is a little stiff and sore, but I think that I can walk. Should I try?"
"Yeah. You need to move it around a much as possible." He helped her stand up, and supported her weight as she took the first few steps. "When we get to work, I'll check you out for real, and get you some crutches."
"Work-what time is it?"
John glanced at his watch.
"It's about 5:30. Why don't you go get ready, and I'll call a cab to get us to my place. I'll change pretty quickly, and then I will drive us to the hospital. Can, uh, can you manage alright, you know, getting ready?"
Randi took the key from her purse, and unlocked the door. John helped her inside.
"I think I'll be alright. But thanks for the offer. Maybe some other time, though." She winked at him and smiled and turned to limp into her bedroom. John chuckled to himself as she walked off. He ran his fingers through his hair and went to call for a cab.
****
Forty-five minutes later, the pair was entering the grounds of Carter Mansion. Randi was in awe of the whole atmosphere of the estate. Snow had begun to fall. It was like a winter wonderland. She knew that she had never seen any place quite so beautiful.
John was watching her face as they drove up the brick driveway. She was almost child like.
"Randi."
"Huh?"
"Nothing. Never mind."
The cab pulled to a stop in front of the massive doorway. John paid the driver, and got out to help Randi. They entered into the front foyer, and Randi was awed again.
"You like?"
"This is unbelievable."
"Eh-It's home. I'm going to go change. I'll be back in a few minutes. Make yourself comfortable-but sit down. I don't want you to hurt yourself worse young lady."
"Yes, Dr. Carter," she said sarcastically.
He laughed as he walked up the grand staircase.
She sat on the huge couch and looked at her surroundings. It was so different from what she had grown up in. Yet it was home to him. It was his way of life, nothing out of the ordinary. Her ordinary was the complete opposite. She contemplated what her life would have been like if she had grown up like this. *I wouldn't be working at County, that's for sure* she thought to herself.
"It's good to see you again, my dear." Gamma entered from what Randi assumed to be the kitchen.
"Mrs. Carter, It's nice to see you again, too. Uh, John went upstairs to, um, get ready for work."
"I know. I ran into him on the way down here. He told my about your little mishap. How do you feel now, Randi?" The elder lady smiled a gentile smile at Randi.
"Much better, thanks."
"It has gotten cold out hasn't it?"
"It started snowing. I guess a cold front went through last night."
"Ah, yes. The last snow of the season. You know it is this last snow that brings life in late spring. It is kind of like love, don't you think. When you find that special someone, you know that it is the last time you will fall, and you can anticipate what will grow from that love in the future."
Randi wondered what she was getting at. She felt a lump in her throat.
"At least that is what I felt like when I met John's grandfather. I knew we would be together forever."
"I only hope I can find that kind of love someday, Mrs. Carter."
"You will dear."
"Ready to go, Randi?" John's voice was heard before he appeared around the corner.
"Definitely. We don't want to be late. Weaver will be on the warpath. Tomahawk and all."
John laughed as he opened the door for her, and then grabbed her arm in an effort to assist her walking. John had had the groundskeeper bring his jeep around to the front of the house. Before she could step off the brick patio, he picked her up, and carried her to the passenger side of the jeep.
"What are you doing?" she shrieked.
"I call it taking care of my patient."
"Do you do this for all of your patients, doctor?"
"Only the really cute ones," he teased. He shut the door and ran around to the driver's side and hopped in. "Ready?"
"Let's go. We really are going to be late."
They headed toward County. Halfway there, Randi began to laugh.
"What's so funny?"
"You know that the nurses will have a heyday with this. They all know that we went to the benefit together last night. You know what they will think when we show up together."
"What? That we slept together? Well, you know if you want to get technical- "
"Shut up, Carter!" She rolled her eyes at him. "No. I think that we should just act like we always do. That will really bug them. You be your normal, flirtatious doctor self, and I'll-"
"And you'll be your normal smarty pants self. Just out of curiosity, where has that person been these last 16 hours?"
"I don't know. I guess you bring out the nice Randi."
"Is there a naughty Randi?" John asked, with a smirk on his face.
"That is something you'll never know, John Carter."
"A guy can dream can't he?"
"Yes. And sometimes dreams come true." She stared at him as he was trying to concentrate on driving.
****
"Where is Carter? He was supposed to be here five minutes ago." Kerry was in the process of her typical morning ritual of yelling about some poor resident who was five minutes late. Carter was her target on that particular day.
Chuny looked at Abby.
"Maybe she should ask where Randi is at the same time."
Abby nodded in agreement.
"Hey, look, there they are." Malik said with a grin on his face.
"Carter, where have you been? When you are supposed to start work at seven, be here in time to start work at seven. How many times do I have to tell you that?"
"Sorry Dr. Weaver."
He took off his hat, rubbed his hands through his hair, and headed to the lounge, leaving Randi to answer to the red headed Chief of emergency medicine.
"Randi, what's your excuse? And why are you limping?"
"I fell. Bad sprain apparently. I had it checked out."
"I'll bet she did," Heleh whispered to Lydia.
Randi popped a piece of Chewing gum into her mouth, and began her normal daily activities. With the exception of a certain doctor, stopping at the admit desk more often.
****
"You want to grab lunch?"
"Sure John. I'll be ready in about ten minutes."
As John walked back towards the lounge, he heard Chuny talking to Lily and Yosh.
"Plain as day she called him 'John.' If you ask me, that after school program was not the only thing that benefited from last night."
He smiled to himself at how wrong they were. Nothing had happened. They were just friends. Or had something changed?
****
As my pen name implies, I'm from the South, and have no idea bout the weather patterns in Chicago, so just work with me!
I hope you are enjoying this story as much as I am. Please Review! I love to hear feedback about my stories!