Challenged, but still Unbroken
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: These characters belong to NBC, Michael Crichton, and etc.- except the ones I made up!
Author's note: Chapter title's can be deceiving. Be prepared for the unexpected. PLEASE REVIEW!!! I thrive off of them!
****
"John, get up! You have to be at work in an hour."
"Huh? What?" He rolled over and looked at his wife.
"You overslept. It's nearly seven."
John jumped out of the bed and headed toward the master bathroom.
"Oh, man. Crap. I really don't want Weaver on my case again."
Randi laughed at her husband and exited the bed herself. She wrapped a light robe around her and headed across the hallway to get two month old Belle out of her crib.
"Morning, Pumpkin. How's my girl this morning? Oh, boy-somebody needs a diaper change."
The happy infant smiled up at her mother as she placed her on the changing table and cleaned her up.
"Mommy?"
Randi turned at the sound of her oldest daughter's voice and found the curly headed child standing in the nursery's doorway
"Hey, Sweetie. Did you get a good night's sleep?"
"Uh-huh!"
"What?"
"Yes ma'am."
"That's better. What do you say we go down and cook Daddy breakfast before he goes to work?"
"Yay!" Georgia yelled.
The three ladies quickly moved down to the massive kitchen of Carter Mansion. They began to prepare John's breakfast, which consisted of frozen waffles and bacon. Randi cooked, while Georgia set the table, and Belle sat in her bouncy seat giggling.
When John entered the kitchen, Georgia ran to him. He picked her up off the ground and kissed her on the forehead.
"Morning, Angel. What's all this?"
"Put me down, and I'll show you."
"Okay then." He brought the child back down to earth, and she quickly grabbed his hand, leading him over to the freshly set table.
"We made you breakfast. Well, Mommy cooked, but I set the table."
"And you did a wonderful job."
"Here you go, baby." Randi sat a plate down in front of him, and gave him a quick kiss on the lips.
"Thank you, my dear. This looks really good. Who picked out the menu."
On cue, Belle let out a little squeal. John looked at the baby.
"Did you pick this out? Did you?" he tickled the child's stomach gently.
She simply smiled that smile that was so much like her mothers, causing John to melt.
After he finished his breakfast, he gathered his stuff for work and headed toward the garage. The three women in his life met him at the door, as was their normal routine. He squatted down to Georgia level, and kissed her on the cheek.
"Love you, Daddy."
"I love you, too, Angel."
He stood up and kissed the newest Carter gently on the forehead, so not to wake her sleeping in her mother's arms. Then he moved on to Randi. Every morning like this made him realize how lucky he was. He still loved this woman the same way he did the first time he kissed her out on the dock by the lake. The same way he felt about her when he proposed, and on their wedding day. The same way he felt when both of their beautiful daughters were born.
"I'll be home by eight thirty tonight. I'll help you put the girls to bed, and then we'll have the rest of the night to ourselves, all right Baby?" he whispered into his wife's ear. He kissed her again, after which she softly replied, "Sounds good. I love you."
"Love you, too. Bye, Girls." John headed out into the brisk early October air, all the while anticipating his return.
****
"She's already sleeping through the night? Wow! You don't make such a bad Daddy after all, Carter."
"Haha. Thanks, Susan. Oh yeah, Randi wanted me to invite you and Dr. Romano to dinner at the house one night."
Susan quickly flashed him a look that clearly said "Thanks, but no thanks."
"What, did you two call it quits?"
"I don't know why I thought it would work. I mean he's a good guy, but really only cares about the guy in the mirror. He never treated me badly, in fact he showered me with gifts, but I hate to say it-it got really annoying."
With her last comment, John began to choke on his coffee in response.
"What's so funny, Carter?"
"Nothing."
As he said this, Abby and Luka entered the lounge in silence. Abby turned toward her locker, and Luka to his. Both opened the doors, threw their stuff inside, and simultaneously slammed the doors. Luka turned and walked out one door, while Abby exited through the opposite one.
John and Susan looked at one another with a questioning glance about what they had just witnessed.
"I guess you are the only one around here that is really happy, Carter."
John tossed the Styrofoam cup into the garbage, and headed out the door.
"I am, Susan. I really, truly am."
Dr. Lewis watched the door shut behind him, and smiled to herself. He had grown up so much since the first time she had seen him, as a med student so many years ago. Now he was an attending, had a happy marriage and two beautiful little girls. As much as she hated to admit it, she was jealous of her colleague.
****
Randi had just put both of the girls down for their naps, and was looking forward to a relaxing afternoon of doing absolutely nothing. She went into the sunroom, baby monitor in hand, and plopped down on the large tan suede chaise lounger. The remote control and the latest issue of Cosmo completed the picture-almost. As soon as she sat down, she remembered that Roberta had made one of her famous cheesecakes the night before. This was plenty of motivation to get Randi back on her feet, moving towards the kitchen.
When she entered the large kitchen, she sat the baby monitor down, and headed for the refrigerator. She delicately cut a triangle of the cheesecake, and attempted to unsuccessfully to move the slice to her plate in one piece. After it was all on her plate, she grabbed a can of club soda and made the return trip to the sunroom.
She sat down, plate in hand, and turned on the television. After flipping through every channel known to man, she settled on watching a home decorating show. She finished off the contents of her plate, and lay back to read her magazine. She did not get far, because she soon drifted off into a deep sleep.
****
"Rebecca Delancy?"
Dr. Carter walked into Curtain area two, and met his next patient, a six- year-old girl accompanied by her father.
"Hi, I'm Dr. Carter," John said as he held out his hand to Mr. Delancy. The two men shook hands, and then John turned his attention to the child sitting on the edge of the table.
"So what seems to be the problem, young lady?"
"My arm hurts," the blonde headed girl replied shyly.
"I was teaching her to ride a bicycle, and she didn't quite get the hang of it," her father spoke up.
John smiled at the child, and began the quick examination.
"Well, the good news is," John said a few minutes later, "that it is not broken. But it is sprained, so were are going to give you a soft cast that you can take on and off, and it will make things all better. Sound good, Rebecca?"
The quiet child smiled at him and nodded silently.
"You're good with kids."
John looked at the girl's father. "I have two daughters of my own. The oldest is nearly three years old and the other is only a month old."
"No wonder you're so good with them. Thank you Dr. Carter."
"Anytime. I'll have a nurse come in and bring her the cast, and get the discharge papers ready. Bye, Rebecca."
"Becca, what do you say to Dr. Carter?"
"Thank you Dr. Carter." The small voice was barely audible.
"Your welcome. Be careful next time you try riding your bicycle all right." He turned and exited the room.
****
The sound of the alarm was nearly unbearable. The shrill noise spread throughout the house. Randi's nap was cut short at the ruckus from the second story of the mansion. As she woke, the smoke was sneaking down to the ground floor. Her mind quickly turned to her daughters sleeping upstairs. She sprinted to the grand staircase, where she ran into Alger.
"Where are the children, Mrs. Carter?"
"Upstairs taking their naps."
The frantic mother and anxious butler headed up the stairs, but were met by a wall of smoke that was intolerably thick. Randi was instantly choking and coughing, but her only thoughts were with her children. She reached the top of the stairs, and simultaneously heard Georgia's voice calling from the hallway.
"Mommy!"
"Georgia, honey, I'm here. Keep talking to me so that I can find you." Randi found it increasingly difficult to breathe, and knew that both of her daughters were suffering just like she was.
Suddenly, Randi ran directly into the two year old, grabbed onto her.
"Alger!"
"I'm right behind you."
"Take Georgia outside. Now!
"But-"
"I just have to go get Belle. I'll be right behind you. Now go!" She handed him the child, and watched them disappear into the dense cloud that had overtaken her household. When she began to search for the youngest Carter's door, Randi found herself severely disoriented, due to lack of oxygen. The smoke had turned black, and she could no longer bear to open her eyes. She fought the dizziness, and headed in what she thought to be the direction of the nursery. She tripped over a table in the hallway, and fell to the floor. She could feel consciousness slipping away from her.
"John, help me. Georgia. Belle."
She mumbled these few words, and everything went black.
****
"Damn pager. Battery went dead again."
"Look, John, I know things are tight around your house, but you really should think about splurging for a new pager."
"You mock me, Deb?"
"Who, me? Never!"
"Carter, Chen, we got multiple house fire victims coming in. At least three. Five minute ETA."
"Be right there, Luka."
"Okay."
They headed out of the drug lock up and toward the Admit desk.
"So when are you going back down to the coast?" the Chinese doctor asked.
"Thanksgiving. Randi really wanted to get away from the city for a few days. My father may meet us down there on Thursday, but who knows."
"Randi cooking?"
"That's what Mrs. Willi is for. Don't get me wrong, Randi's not a bad cook. It's just that the last time she tried to cook a turkey she forgot to take the insides out, and it was-well, it was just gross! So she hasn't tr-"
John was cut off by the commotion coming into the ER from the ambulance bay. Through that noise, he heard it. A softly spoken word that would reverberate in his mind for years.
"Daddy."
He turned quickly, and his face went pale. It was like everything was moving in slow motion. His little girl, sitting on a gurney, breathing into an oxygen mask, calling out to him. He could not move. He was frozen in place. He watched as Deb ran to the gurney to help the paramedics. It was not until Georgia caught his eye that he returned to the reality of the situation.
He sprinted after the child, and caught up with them as they entered the Pedes exam room.
"Daddy!" Georgia had tears streaming down her face. He wrapped his arms around his daughter. The doctor in him immediately realized that she was going to be all right. It was only minor smoke inhalation.
"I'm here, Angel. What happened?"
"There was smoke. Mommy made me go outside with Alger."
"Was Mommy still in there when you got out?"
"Uh huh. She was looking for Belle. Where is she, Daddy?"
"I don't know, Angel, but I'll go find out. Aunt Deb will stay here with you and make sure that you are okay."
John's eyes met Deb's and she instantly recognized his expression. It had been a while since she had seen it. It was the same expression he had worn immediately after being stabbed so many years ago. It was full of pain and fear, this time for the woman he loves and the daughters that they brought into the world. It was not fear for himself like that Valentines Day.
John quickly kissed his daughter's head, and headed into the hall to talk to the paramedics. But he did not get the chance to find out much information. The doors flew open to reveal Randi being frantically pushed into the hospital. Susan was already with her, but John joined her as they pushed his wife into trauma one. The bullet the paramedics were giving was a blur to him. Nothing made sense. All he could do is look down at his wife, covered in soot, breathing laboriously.
Her eyes opened, long enough to see her husband. She grabbed his hand. She weakly whispered in his ear as he kissed her gently.
"John."
**** To be continued- Please REVIEW!!!!
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: These characters belong to NBC, Michael Crichton, and etc.- except the ones I made up!
Author's note: Chapter title's can be deceiving. Be prepared for the unexpected. PLEASE REVIEW!!! I thrive off of them!
****
"John, get up! You have to be at work in an hour."
"Huh? What?" He rolled over and looked at his wife.
"You overslept. It's nearly seven."
John jumped out of the bed and headed toward the master bathroom.
"Oh, man. Crap. I really don't want Weaver on my case again."
Randi laughed at her husband and exited the bed herself. She wrapped a light robe around her and headed across the hallway to get two month old Belle out of her crib.
"Morning, Pumpkin. How's my girl this morning? Oh, boy-somebody needs a diaper change."
The happy infant smiled up at her mother as she placed her on the changing table and cleaned her up.
"Mommy?"
Randi turned at the sound of her oldest daughter's voice and found the curly headed child standing in the nursery's doorway
"Hey, Sweetie. Did you get a good night's sleep?"
"Uh-huh!"
"What?"
"Yes ma'am."
"That's better. What do you say we go down and cook Daddy breakfast before he goes to work?"
"Yay!" Georgia yelled.
The three ladies quickly moved down to the massive kitchen of Carter Mansion. They began to prepare John's breakfast, which consisted of frozen waffles and bacon. Randi cooked, while Georgia set the table, and Belle sat in her bouncy seat giggling.
When John entered the kitchen, Georgia ran to him. He picked her up off the ground and kissed her on the forehead.
"Morning, Angel. What's all this?"
"Put me down, and I'll show you."
"Okay then." He brought the child back down to earth, and she quickly grabbed his hand, leading him over to the freshly set table.
"We made you breakfast. Well, Mommy cooked, but I set the table."
"And you did a wonderful job."
"Here you go, baby." Randi sat a plate down in front of him, and gave him a quick kiss on the lips.
"Thank you, my dear. This looks really good. Who picked out the menu."
On cue, Belle let out a little squeal. John looked at the baby.
"Did you pick this out? Did you?" he tickled the child's stomach gently.
She simply smiled that smile that was so much like her mothers, causing John to melt.
After he finished his breakfast, he gathered his stuff for work and headed toward the garage. The three women in his life met him at the door, as was their normal routine. He squatted down to Georgia level, and kissed her on the cheek.
"Love you, Daddy."
"I love you, too, Angel."
He stood up and kissed the newest Carter gently on the forehead, so not to wake her sleeping in her mother's arms. Then he moved on to Randi. Every morning like this made him realize how lucky he was. He still loved this woman the same way he did the first time he kissed her out on the dock by the lake. The same way he felt about her when he proposed, and on their wedding day. The same way he felt when both of their beautiful daughters were born.
"I'll be home by eight thirty tonight. I'll help you put the girls to bed, and then we'll have the rest of the night to ourselves, all right Baby?" he whispered into his wife's ear. He kissed her again, after which she softly replied, "Sounds good. I love you."
"Love you, too. Bye, Girls." John headed out into the brisk early October air, all the while anticipating his return.
****
"She's already sleeping through the night? Wow! You don't make such a bad Daddy after all, Carter."
"Haha. Thanks, Susan. Oh yeah, Randi wanted me to invite you and Dr. Romano to dinner at the house one night."
Susan quickly flashed him a look that clearly said "Thanks, but no thanks."
"What, did you two call it quits?"
"I don't know why I thought it would work. I mean he's a good guy, but really only cares about the guy in the mirror. He never treated me badly, in fact he showered me with gifts, but I hate to say it-it got really annoying."
With her last comment, John began to choke on his coffee in response.
"What's so funny, Carter?"
"Nothing."
As he said this, Abby and Luka entered the lounge in silence. Abby turned toward her locker, and Luka to his. Both opened the doors, threw their stuff inside, and simultaneously slammed the doors. Luka turned and walked out one door, while Abby exited through the opposite one.
John and Susan looked at one another with a questioning glance about what they had just witnessed.
"I guess you are the only one around here that is really happy, Carter."
John tossed the Styrofoam cup into the garbage, and headed out the door.
"I am, Susan. I really, truly am."
Dr. Lewis watched the door shut behind him, and smiled to herself. He had grown up so much since the first time she had seen him, as a med student so many years ago. Now he was an attending, had a happy marriage and two beautiful little girls. As much as she hated to admit it, she was jealous of her colleague.
****
Randi had just put both of the girls down for their naps, and was looking forward to a relaxing afternoon of doing absolutely nothing. She went into the sunroom, baby monitor in hand, and plopped down on the large tan suede chaise lounger. The remote control and the latest issue of Cosmo completed the picture-almost. As soon as she sat down, she remembered that Roberta had made one of her famous cheesecakes the night before. This was plenty of motivation to get Randi back on her feet, moving towards the kitchen.
When she entered the large kitchen, she sat the baby monitor down, and headed for the refrigerator. She delicately cut a triangle of the cheesecake, and attempted to unsuccessfully to move the slice to her plate in one piece. After it was all on her plate, she grabbed a can of club soda and made the return trip to the sunroom.
She sat down, plate in hand, and turned on the television. After flipping through every channel known to man, she settled on watching a home decorating show. She finished off the contents of her plate, and lay back to read her magazine. She did not get far, because she soon drifted off into a deep sleep.
****
"Rebecca Delancy?"
Dr. Carter walked into Curtain area two, and met his next patient, a six- year-old girl accompanied by her father.
"Hi, I'm Dr. Carter," John said as he held out his hand to Mr. Delancy. The two men shook hands, and then John turned his attention to the child sitting on the edge of the table.
"So what seems to be the problem, young lady?"
"My arm hurts," the blonde headed girl replied shyly.
"I was teaching her to ride a bicycle, and she didn't quite get the hang of it," her father spoke up.
John smiled at the child, and began the quick examination.
"Well, the good news is," John said a few minutes later, "that it is not broken. But it is sprained, so were are going to give you a soft cast that you can take on and off, and it will make things all better. Sound good, Rebecca?"
The quiet child smiled at him and nodded silently.
"You're good with kids."
John looked at the girl's father. "I have two daughters of my own. The oldest is nearly three years old and the other is only a month old."
"No wonder you're so good with them. Thank you Dr. Carter."
"Anytime. I'll have a nurse come in and bring her the cast, and get the discharge papers ready. Bye, Rebecca."
"Becca, what do you say to Dr. Carter?"
"Thank you Dr. Carter." The small voice was barely audible.
"Your welcome. Be careful next time you try riding your bicycle all right." He turned and exited the room.
****
The sound of the alarm was nearly unbearable. The shrill noise spread throughout the house. Randi's nap was cut short at the ruckus from the second story of the mansion. As she woke, the smoke was sneaking down to the ground floor. Her mind quickly turned to her daughters sleeping upstairs. She sprinted to the grand staircase, where she ran into Alger.
"Where are the children, Mrs. Carter?"
"Upstairs taking their naps."
The frantic mother and anxious butler headed up the stairs, but were met by a wall of smoke that was intolerably thick. Randi was instantly choking and coughing, but her only thoughts were with her children. She reached the top of the stairs, and simultaneously heard Georgia's voice calling from the hallway.
"Mommy!"
"Georgia, honey, I'm here. Keep talking to me so that I can find you." Randi found it increasingly difficult to breathe, and knew that both of her daughters were suffering just like she was.
Suddenly, Randi ran directly into the two year old, grabbed onto her.
"Alger!"
"I'm right behind you."
"Take Georgia outside. Now!
"But-"
"I just have to go get Belle. I'll be right behind you. Now go!" She handed him the child, and watched them disappear into the dense cloud that had overtaken her household. When she began to search for the youngest Carter's door, Randi found herself severely disoriented, due to lack of oxygen. The smoke had turned black, and she could no longer bear to open her eyes. She fought the dizziness, and headed in what she thought to be the direction of the nursery. She tripped over a table in the hallway, and fell to the floor. She could feel consciousness slipping away from her.
"John, help me. Georgia. Belle."
She mumbled these few words, and everything went black.
****
"Damn pager. Battery went dead again."
"Look, John, I know things are tight around your house, but you really should think about splurging for a new pager."
"You mock me, Deb?"
"Who, me? Never!"
"Carter, Chen, we got multiple house fire victims coming in. At least three. Five minute ETA."
"Be right there, Luka."
"Okay."
They headed out of the drug lock up and toward the Admit desk.
"So when are you going back down to the coast?" the Chinese doctor asked.
"Thanksgiving. Randi really wanted to get away from the city for a few days. My father may meet us down there on Thursday, but who knows."
"Randi cooking?"
"That's what Mrs. Willi is for. Don't get me wrong, Randi's not a bad cook. It's just that the last time she tried to cook a turkey she forgot to take the insides out, and it was-well, it was just gross! So she hasn't tr-"
John was cut off by the commotion coming into the ER from the ambulance bay. Through that noise, he heard it. A softly spoken word that would reverberate in his mind for years.
"Daddy."
He turned quickly, and his face went pale. It was like everything was moving in slow motion. His little girl, sitting on a gurney, breathing into an oxygen mask, calling out to him. He could not move. He was frozen in place. He watched as Deb ran to the gurney to help the paramedics. It was not until Georgia caught his eye that he returned to the reality of the situation.
He sprinted after the child, and caught up with them as they entered the Pedes exam room.
"Daddy!" Georgia had tears streaming down her face. He wrapped his arms around his daughter. The doctor in him immediately realized that she was going to be all right. It was only minor smoke inhalation.
"I'm here, Angel. What happened?"
"There was smoke. Mommy made me go outside with Alger."
"Was Mommy still in there when you got out?"
"Uh huh. She was looking for Belle. Where is she, Daddy?"
"I don't know, Angel, but I'll go find out. Aunt Deb will stay here with you and make sure that you are okay."
John's eyes met Deb's and she instantly recognized his expression. It had been a while since she had seen it. It was the same expression he had worn immediately after being stabbed so many years ago. It was full of pain and fear, this time for the woman he loves and the daughters that they brought into the world. It was not fear for himself like that Valentines Day.
John quickly kissed his daughter's head, and headed into the hall to talk to the paramedics. But he did not get the chance to find out much information. The doors flew open to reveal Randi being frantically pushed into the hospital. Susan was already with her, but John joined her as they pushed his wife into trauma one. The bullet the paramedics were giving was a blur to him. Nothing made sense. All he could do is look down at his wife, covered in soot, breathing laboriously.
Her eyes opened, long enough to see her husband. She grabbed his hand. She weakly whispered in his ear as he kissed her gently.
"John."
**** To be continued- Please REVIEW!!!!