Title: Different, but the Same
Archive: Ask-I'll let you know
Disclaimer: I do not own these characters: they belong to NBC and Warner Brothers and Michael Crichton
Spoiler Warning: The Letter, On the Beach, Lockdown and Chaos Theory are all spoiled in this chapter!
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.
In this chapter, Randi has a surprise for John. Hmmm-I wonder what it could be?
****
Three weeks had passed since County had reopened. Things were back to normal, busy and backed up.
"Jing Mei, there's a broken arm in two and a dislocated shoulders in curtain one, who has been here since seven a.m. Could you please take them?"
"Sure. Why not, Kerry, but can I please stop in the ladies room on the way? I have not had a break in six hours."
"You've got five minutes."
"Whatever," Jing Mei mumbled under her breath. The ER was overflowing with patients, and she felt as if she was having to do most of the work, since Kerry was ill.
She pushed the restroom door open with her shoulder, and walked in, stopping to look in the mirror on the way to a stall. As she was picking at her hair, she heard a gagging sound coming from the first stall. The Chinese doctor bent over to see if she could identify who was sick.
"Randi?" she said as soon as she saw the shoes. No one else in the ER could pull off shoes like that.
"Yeah?" the desk clerk said weakly.
"Are you all right?"
"I think so. It's probably just the flu." Randi exited the stall, headed toward the sink, and began to wash her face.
"Well, I am the doctor, so why don't you let me decide that? When did it start?"
"Uh, this morning. I didn't have any another symptoms, but the nausea."
A smile spread across Dr. Chen's face. "Really? Randi, are you still on birth control?"
Randi turned and looked at her best friend. "I stopped taking it about a month ago. You don't think-"
"I sure do. Why don't I go get a test, and we'll find out? Is John here? He might want to know."
"He's not on for another two hours. I don't want to tell him until I know for sure, and until I am ready."
"Okay. Let's go."
****
"Congratulations, Mommy. You're pregnant."
"Oh, my gosh," was all Randi could say.
Deb hugged her friend, who was too in shock to hug back.
"So how are you going to tell him?"
Randi thought about it for a minute.
"I've got an idea, but I will need your help."
"Ooh, this will be fun. I'm in!"
****
"Hey, gorgeous." John walked up behind his wife, and put his arms around her waist.
"Hey." Randi turned her head to kiss him.
"You seem to be in a good mood." John had apparently noticed the smile that she could not wipe off her face.
"Why wouldn't I be?"
"I didn't mean it like that. I just meant that you seem extra happy today."
"No reason. Hey, I was thinking about something on the way into work this morning. What do you think about doing a little redecorating at the house? Would it bother you?"
"Not at all. Gamma usually had all the rooms redecorated once every few years, so I'm not really attached to anything. Do whatever you want."
"Thank you. But you have to be surprised. I want to do this on my own, so please-no peeking. You promise?"
He kissed her again, and turned to the lounge. "I promise."
****
The next week was spent keeping John out of the rooms that were being worked on, having Jing Mei help her pick out fabrics and paint colors, and getting the workers on schedule.
Exactly one week after Randi's discovery, John was sitting in the oversized recliner in the sunroom, reading a medical journal.
"Guess what?" Randi said from the doorway.
"What?" he said, looking away form the journal, towards his wife.
"We've got one room ready. You want to see?" Her heart was pounding in her chest, thinking about what he was about to discover.
"Sure. Which one?"
"The one next to our bedroom."
She took his hand, and led him up the stairs, to the room.
"Close your eyes."
"Randi, I-"
"Just close them, John"
"Okay, okay. They're closed."
Randi opened the door, and led him in.
"Okay, open them."
John opened his eyes, and looked around the room with a blank stare. The walls of the room were covered in wide stripes of candlelight and butter yellow, and the ceiling was a pale, pale olive color. The windows were draped in candlelight chiffon. The same chiffon was cascading from the ceiling and acting as a canopy for the deep mahogany bassinet that sat in one corner of the room. A matching changing table and chest of drawers were placed against the opposite wall, while the matching rocking chair was placed beside the bassinet. A large green rug, same color as the ceiling, covered most of the existing hardwood floor.
John continued to stare for nearly five minutes in complete silence.
"Now would be a good time to say something, sweetie," a nervous Randi spoke up.
Instead, John picked embraced her in a hug and twirled her around the room. When he finally brought her feet back down to earth, he looked her straight in the eyes.
"This does mean what I think it means, doesn't it? We're pregnant?"
"Mm-hmm. I really wanted you to find out in a special way. Does this qualify?"
Instead of answering, he simply kissed her, the same way he kissed her on the dock. It had the same passion and sincerity of that first kiss.
"So how are we going to tell everyone?" He asked after their lips parted.
"Well, Jing Mei already knows, but no one else does."
"How does Deb know?"
"Well, um, she figured it out before I did. I thought it was the flu."
John rolled his eyes at his wife. She, in turn, slapped him playfully on the chest.
"What? I've never been pregnant before, and I'm not a doctor. Besides, I didn't see you figuring it out, Mr. Chief Resident. So, uh, do you want to call your parents?"
"Dad is going to be in town next week. We'll tell him then. Maybe he can get the message to my mother. I don't really care to tell her. I suppose she will eventually find out, but I'm not going to waste my time telling her."
"I figured as much. So what about work? Do we tell them, or just let them find out on their own."
"I think they'll figure it out when I walk up to Admit and start talking to you stomach."
"Oh, God, John. You are not going to do that. Please!"
"Okay, We'll talk about that later. Now I think that we have some celebrating to do. Go put on your best dress. I'll call Simone's and get us a table. Sound good?"
"Actually sweetie, um, Italian does not sound really appetizing. In fact, I'm not that hungry. You think we could stay here tonight? Have some private celebration time?"
"I think that can be arranged." With those words, John lifted Randi off the ground and began to carry her next door. "Come on wife, and baby. Let's go celebrate!"
"Thank you."
"For what?"
"Making me a mommy."
"I love you, Randi"
"And I love you." With that, he shut the door to their bedroom, as if he was shutting the door on the past chapters of his life, and moving into the next.
****
"Hey, Dr. Weaver? I need to speak with you." Randi was sitting at the Admit desk, when Kerry walked into the ER. John appeared behind his wife, and interjected.
"She means *we* need to talk to you."
"All right you two? What do you need? I really am not sure that I can spare you both again. You have taken most of you vacation time already. I don't thin-"
Randi quickly interrupted her, so as to save herself from a lecture.
"Actually, it's more like my permanent leave of absence. In about, oh, seven and a half months. Maternity leave."
Every head around Admit turned their way. Deb had a knowing smile on her face, while Susan, Elizabeth and Abby looked extremely happy for their friends. The nurses instantly began to spread the newest bit of ER info around the hospital, and Pratt, Luka, and Malik each slapped Carter on the back in manly congratulations.
****
"Are you as happy as I am?"
John and Randi were walking around the lake, at sunset, a month after their secret had been revealed to the entire ER. John's simple question caused Randi to stop. He turned and faced her.
"I have never been happier, John Carter. You have given me a life that I could only have dreamed of two and a half years ago. I don't mean the houses or the cars, or anything like that. You have given me a part of you. You have made me feel safe, and loved, and-and you have given me the chance to be a mother. And I promise you that I will be a better mother to these children, than our mothers were to us."
"I know you will." He kissed her forehead, and they resumed their walk. "So have you thought about names?"
"Have you?"
"Uh huh."
"Okay, so have I. If it's a boy, then I want him to take your name. Is that what you want?"
"Yes. Well that was simple, but what if we have a girl?"
"Well, I was thinking of, um, of Millicent-after your Gamma."
"I know why I love you so much. It's because we think just alike. But I was actually thinking of Millicent as a middle name." They continued their hand in hand walk.
"What for the first name then?"
"Georgia. Georgia Millicent Carter."
"It's perfect. Now kiss me."
He put his arms around her slowly rounding waist, and pulled her into a passionate kiss. They both realized how gratifying their lives were. They had one another, they had their baby. Life could not get any better than this.
Archive: Ask-I'll let you know
Disclaimer: I do not own these characters: they belong to NBC and Warner Brothers and Michael Crichton
Spoiler Warning: The Letter, On the Beach, Lockdown and Chaos Theory are all spoiled in this chapter!
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.
In this chapter, Randi has a surprise for John. Hmmm-I wonder what it could be?
****
Three weeks had passed since County had reopened. Things were back to normal, busy and backed up.
"Jing Mei, there's a broken arm in two and a dislocated shoulders in curtain one, who has been here since seven a.m. Could you please take them?"
"Sure. Why not, Kerry, but can I please stop in the ladies room on the way? I have not had a break in six hours."
"You've got five minutes."
"Whatever," Jing Mei mumbled under her breath. The ER was overflowing with patients, and she felt as if she was having to do most of the work, since Kerry was ill.
She pushed the restroom door open with her shoulder, and walked in, stopping to look in the mirror on the way to a stall. As she was picking at her hair, she heard a gagging sound coming from the first stall. The Chinese doctor bent over to see if she could identify who was sick.
"Randi?" she said as soon as she saw the shoes. No one else in the ER could pull off shoes like that.
"Yeah?" the desk clerk said weakly.
"Are you all right?"
"I think so. It's probably just the flu." Randi exited the stall, headed toward the sink, and began to wash her face.
"Well, I am the doctor, so why don't you let me decide that? When did it start?"
"Uh, this morning. I didn't have any another symptoms, but the nausea."
A smile spread across Dr. Chen's face. "Really? Randi, are you still on birth control?"
Randi turned and looked at her best friend. "I stopped taking it about a month ago. You don't think-"
"I sure do. Why don't I go get a test, and we'll find out? Is John here? He might want to know."
"He's not on for another two hours. I don't want to tell him until I know for sure, and until I am ready."
"Okay. Let's go."
****
"Congratulations, Mommy. You're pregnant."
"Oh, my gosh," was all Randi could say.
Deb hugged her friend, who was too in shock to hug back.
"So how are you going to tell him?"
Randi thought about it for a minute.
"I've got an idea, but I will need your help."
"Ooh, this will be fun. I'm in!"
****
"Hey, gorgeous." John walked up behind his wife, and put his arms around her waist.
"Hey." Randi turned her head to kiss him.
"You seem to be in a good mood." John had apparently noticed the smile that she could not wipe off her face.
"Why wouldn't I be?"
"I didn't mean it like that. I just meant that you seem extra happy today."
"No reason. Hey, I was thinking about something on the way into work this morning. What do you think about doing a little redecorating at the house? Would it bother you?"
"Not at all. Gamma usually had all the rooms redecorated once every few years, so I'm not really attached to anything. Do whatever you want."
"Thank you. But you have to be surprised. I want to do this on my own, so please-no peeking. You promise?"
He kissed her again, and turned to the lounge. "I promise."
****
The next week was spent keeping John out of the rooms that were being worked on, having Jing Mei help her pick out fabrics and paint colors, and getting the workers on schedule.
Exactly one week after Randi's discovery, John was sitting in the oversized recliner in the sunroom, reading a medical journal.
"Guess what?" Randi said from the doorway.
"What?" he said, looking away form the journal, towards his wife.
"We've got one room ready. You want to see?" Her heart was pounding in her chest, thinking about what he was about to discover.
"Sure. Which one?"
"The one next to our bedroom."
She took his hand, and led him up the stairs, to the room.
"Close your eyes."
"Randi, I-"
"Just close them, John"
"Okay, okay. They're closed."
Randi opened the door, and led him in.
"Okay, open them."
John opened his eyes, and looked around the room with a blank stare. The walls of the room were covered in wide stripes of candlelight and butter yellow, and the ceiling was a pale, pale olive color. The windows were draped in candlelight chiffon. The same chiffon was cascading from the ceiling and acting as a canopy for the deep mahogany bassinet that sat in one corner of the room. A matching changing table and chest of drawers were placed against the opposite wall, while the matching rocking chair was placed beside the bassinet. A large green rug, same color as the ceiling, covered most of the existing hardwood floor.
John continued to stare for nearly five minutes in complete silence.
"Now would be a good time to say something, sweetie," a nervous Randi spoke up.
Instead, John picked embraced her in a hug and twirled her around the room. When he finally brought her feet back down to earth, he looked her straight in the eyes.
"This does mean what I think it means, doesn't it? We're pregnant?"
"Mm-hmm. I really wanted you to find out in a special way. Does this qualify?"
Instead of answering, he simply kissed her, the same way he kissed her on the dock. It had the same passion and sincerity of that first kiss.
"So how are we going to tell everyone?" He asked after their lips parted.
"Well, Jing Mei already knows, but no one else does."
"How does Deb know?"
"Well, um, she figured it out before I did. I thought it was the flu."
John rolled his eyes at his wife. She, in turn, slapped him playfully on the chest.
"What? I've never been pregnant before, and I'm not a doctor. Besides, I didn't see you figuring it out, Mr. Chief Resident. So, uh, do you want to call your parents?"
"Dad is going to be in town next week. We'll tell him then. Maybe he can get the message to my mother. I don't really care to tell her. I suppose she will eventually find out, but I'm not going to waste my time telling her."
"I figured as much. So what about work? Do we tell them, or just let them find out on their own."
"I think they'll figure it out when I walk up to Admit and start talking to you stomach."
"Oh, God, John. You are not going to do that. Please!"
"Okay, We'll talk about that later. Now I think that we have some celebrating to do. Go put on your best dress. I'll call Simone's and get us a table. Sound good?"
"Actually sweetie, um, Italian does not sound really appetizing. In fact, I'm not that hungry. You think we could stay here tonight? Have some private celebration time?"
"I think that can be arranged." With those words, John lifted Randi off the ground and began to carry her next door. "Come on wife, and baby. Let's go celebrate!"
"Thank you."
"For what?"
"Making me a mommy."
"I love you, Randi"
"And I love you." With that, he shut the door to their bedroom, as if he was shutting the door on the past chapters of his life, and moving into the next.
****
"Hey, Dr. Weaver? I need to speak with you." Randi was sitting at the Admit desk, when Kerry walked into the ER. John appeared behind his wife, and interjected.
"She means *we* need to talk to you."
"All right you two? What do you need? I really am not sure that I can spare you both again. You have taken most of you vacation time already. I don't thin-"
Randi quickly interrupted her, so as to save herself from a lecture.
"Actually, it's more like my permanent leave of absence. In about, oh, seven and a half months. Maternity leave."
Every head around Admit turned their way. Deb had a knowing smile on her face, while Susan, Elizabeth and Abby looked extremely happy for their friends. The nurses instantly began to spread the newest bit of ER info around the hospital, and Pratt, Luka, and Malik each slapped Carter on the back in manly congratulations.
****
"Are you as happy as I am?"
John and Randi were walking around the lake, at sunset, a month after their secret had been revealed to the entire ER. John's simple question caused Randi to stop. He turned and faced her.
"I have never been happier, John Carter. You have given me a life that I could only have dreamed of two and a half years ago. I don't mean the houses or the cars, or anything like that. You have given me a part of you. You have made me feel safe, and loved, and-and you have given me the chance to be a mother. And I promise you that I will be a better mother to these children, than our mothers were to us."
"I know you will." He kissed her forehead, and they resumed their walk. "So have you thought about names?"
"Have you?"
"Uh huh."
"Okay, so have I. If it's a boy, then I want him to take your name. Is that what you want?"
"Yes. Well that was simple, but what if we have a girl?"
"Well, I was thinking of, um, of Millicent-after your Gamma."
"I know why I love you so much. It's because we think just alike. But I was actually thinking of Millicent as a middle name." They continued their hand in hand walk.
"What for the first name then?"
"Georgia. Georgia Millicent Carter."
"It's perfect. Now kiss me."
He put his arms around her slowly rounding waist, and pulled her into a passionate kiss. They both realized how gratifying their lives were. They had one another, they had their baby. Life could not get any better than this.