Hiya! `kay, as you see, I decided to do it again. Uh-uh, she's gonna do it again, she's gonna hurt the poor boy. But don't worry, no Harvs in this one.
Thanks to Pinky, as always, for her being the greatest StrangePenguin among all the strange animals in the world and for giving great cuddle (wuddle)! Love your work, kid, keep it going (By the way: New chapter, new chapter, new chapter ... !) And, before I start: yeah, I know the "Steve's girl-friend ends up dead"-storyline isn't exactly an unhit road (ahem ...), but I tried out everything else, old pal and stuff, and it just didn't work, so I settled for the girl then. Hope, you'll enjoy my little tale, anyway. And the next chapters will be longer, I promise.
Disclaimers: I don't own anyone 'cept for the ones I do own, but they're boring and therefore have to die, anyway. Don't sue me, please, neither for killing off my characters, nor for borrowing the cute ones.
`nough said. Enjoy! (Oh, ahm, do I have to mention feedback would be very much appreciated? Grin.)
"Hey Jess," Dr. Amanda Bentley greeted her young colleague, when she entered the Doctor's Lounge and made her way to the coffee machine.
"Don't hey me," came a soft, pathetic noise from somewhere on the table, on which the young doctor had placed his head.
Turning to take a proper look at him, Amanda frowned in curious amusement and crossed over to sit down next to him. "What's with you?" she asked.
"Saturday night," he mumbled to the tabletop.
"That's with all of us, but I don't see how saturday night managed to nail your forehead to the table."
"Don't you know a frustrated man when you see one?!" Jesse shot back grumpily and lifted at least an eyelid to make her the target of a particularly unnerved look, only to follow with his whole head a split second later. Jesse being Jesse, he regretted his words instantly. "That coffee?" he asked, glancing at her steaming cup.
"No," Amanda replied sweetly, "arsenic. Want some?"
"Funny." Sweeping a tired hand over his face, he sighed. "Oh sorry, Amanda, it's just ... I'm cranky, `kay?"
"Gee, I wouldn't have thought," she said dryly. "What could have possibly caused that? Oh wait, saturday night? Hm, is it a month already again?" she asked, frowning. "So, is this one of those saturday nights you sit here whining about the unfairness of dating-life, till "ER" starts, and then you fall asleep on the couch just when they roll in a five-year-old who's eaten too much "M. Tom's" so that he can spent the rest of the night puking on an innocent doctor?"
"Don't you have patients to see?" Jesse asked after a short pause.
"My patients can wait," Amanda grinned. "`sides, I would never let you down on a saturday night, would I?"
Breaking down on the table again, Jesse made a noise that resembled a frustrated sob. "Women are so mean."
"So I've heard," Amanda said soothingly and ruffled his hair in mock comfort. "Hey, why don't you go out there and save a life, huh? I'm sure you'll feel better right away."
"Amanda, please ..."
"Hey guys," Jesse's annoyed reply was interrupted by Steve Sloan's entering-cry, which had more of a happy cry on this saturday evening actually. From the bare look of his bright grin, one couldn't have interpreted it in any other way than it being the one of a man in love.
Jesse groaned. "Great, `nother one. What do you want, David Addison? Don't you have Cybill Shephard waiting for you?"
"Huh?" Steve made, raising his brows confusedly.
"Quiet day," Amanda winked. "He spent his whole shift in front of the TV."
"Right, when I wasn't being puked on by five-year-olds."
"Ah ... `kay," Steve smiled uncertainly and looked over his shoulder as if for help. "Listen, Jess, I need you to do me favour."
"Only if you stop grinning around like that. Am I the only one not about to party or what?" Jesse asked frustratedly, looking at one after the other.
Exchanging a quick glance, Steve and Amanda nodded in union. "Yeahp."
"What's with you, anyway?" the lieutenant then demanded, still not able to get rid of his ever happy auter appearance. "It's spring-time. Life's great. Did they cancel "ER" or what?"
"Did I understand that you wanted something of me?" Jesse replied sweetly.
"Oh, yeah, I need you to close up "Bob's" today, Jess, please. I have a date with Carlie, and I completely forgot about it. I haven't even ordered a table or anything, so, please , Jess?"
Amazed, the two doctors watched at the metamorphosis from a police lieutenant to a begging little boy with big puppy eyes.
"Oh god, quit that!" Jesse finally groaned and closed his eyes, wincing. "Okay, okay, I'll close up. Everything it takes to make you stop bambiing me!"
"Oh thanks, Jesse, you're saving my life here!"
"Hm-hm," the younger man nodded and glanced at Amanda, whose look was still fixed on Steve's normalizing features. "I don't feel better, yet."
"Have a little patience," she replied without looking at him and added: "Steve, you've been going out with Carlie for what now, two month? And you already forget your dates? That's a little early, don't you think?"
"Yeah," another female voice announced from the door. "What will it be like when we're married, huh? "Wedding day - ow! Was that today, honeybunch?" But then your dad will probably remind you of that, right?"
Under the laughing-out-loud-kind of looks of his friends, Lieutenant Sloan whirled around to meet his gril-friend's questioning gaze and her hands-on-hips-posture.
"C-Carlie ... ahm ..." he stuttered, then thought better of it and approached her to place a soft kiss on her cheek. "Hi honey. What're you doing here?"
"Checking on you," she replied and chuckled as he went pale. "Kidding, Steve. I thought you might be here, and since it was on my way, I took the chance. Hey Amanda, Jesse," she greeted the doctors, who nodded and smiled.
They'd met Carlie weeks ago and had practically known her from day one, for this time Steve Sloan didn't have a thing for a woman, but was in love with one. Hopelessly, definitely and absolutely un-Steve-like in love. It made him even look different, gave him an air of own private happiness, which, according to Jesse, could have made James Stewart feel jealous. "Carlie and Steve," the young doctor had stated when he'd met Carlie Vitense for the first time at "BBQ Bob's", "sounds like a pop song, doesn't it?"
Steve had told his friends - and his father - that he'd met her while shopping. Of course everybody knew there had to be something more about it, for Steve liked shopping as much as he was good at it, but the lieutenant wouldn't tell them the whole story, which consisted of him having asked the beautiful young lady working at the shop he'd been, what color she would prefer on him, black or blue. And not even Carlie, especially not Carlie, would he tell, that he'd chosen this particular shop just because he'd spotted her from outside on the street. Women didn't need to know everything right away, did they?
Though now, of course, it seemed a good moment to point this very romantic fact out to her, for he'd found himself the target of a, though amused, yet very firm female look.
Not wanting to give up that quickly, he managed a shaky smile and asked: "Your way? Where're you going? We're supposed to meet in ..."
"Outch," Jesse grinned. Amanda chuckled.
"Not smart, lieutenant," Carlie stated and hit his forehead with her palm slightly. "Wouldn't that have been the topic to get away from? Hm? Anyway, I'm late already, though I'd really like to see where this would be going," she grinned. "Thing is, Steve, I've to cancel our date tonight, I'm sorry."
At his all too clear disappointed look, she smiled warmly. "Awww. But I'm gonna make up for it, like, tomorrow? It's just, that, I got a call from my dad, that he wants to see me today, and I think it's important. You know how my dad is like. Well, `kay," she added after a thought, "you don't know, cause you two haven't met , yet, but believe me, he's like how you've to be like for making me jump on your command."
She smiled sadly and traced her finger down his cheek. "Too bad. But then you can tell Mark he doesn't have to spent the night at the hospital." Grinning as her boy-friend took on a slight shade of red, she said in the most innocent tone she could manage: "I'm the only one at work whose boy-friend lives with his dad. Kinda cute, isn't it?"
Loyalty failed the doctors at this remark, and though they tried really hard, they couldn't manage to keep down the laughters, which wanted to desperately break free.
"Real cute," Jesse gasped in between two laughing fits and patted Steve's shoulder assuringly. "See, kid, we always told you to not hurry when it comes to moving out. There's no need to hurry."
"That's so funny, Jess," Steve said dryly, "really, but I think I just leave now, I have a bar to close up. And you should help Amanda over there," he added, pointing at the pathologist, who'd broken down on a chair, laughing, "I don't know if it is possible to die of laughing, but I'd say she's doing a good attempt at finding out."
"S-sorry Steve," Amanda gasped and swept a finger through her wet eyes. "I ... *giggle* ... I wasn't laughing about you, really."
"Nooo, pookie," Carlie soothed and kissed his cheek, "no one's laughing about you."
Steve winced and closed his eyes just in time to hear an all but cried out "Pookie!!!" from his friends, who both ended up in laughing fits again.
"I gotta go now," Carlie said and layed her arms around his neck, grinning at him. "Hope you'll think twice now, before you forget our next date." With that, she kissed him, turned, winked and left, chuckling.
Steve sighed frustratedly and looked back at his two panting friends, who both had some serious breathing-troubles to cope with. "Glad you two had fun," he stated dryly.
"Whatever you say - pookie."
Laughter followed Steve all the way to the lift.
Unfortunately the amusement didn't last long and not many hours later, Dr. Jesse Travis found himself sprawled on the sofa in the Doctor's Lounge, waiting for "ER" to come up with a real patient some time soon. His grumpiness had returned with a vengeance once he'd become really bored, and having to examine two teenagers, who'd sprained their ankles at a party, hadn't exactly improved his mood. Wondering when his last great party had taken place, he glanced over at the coffee machine and decided it was too much of a way to make it in time before the commercial break.
Yeah, he thought, he should call Rick some time, maybe they could spent an evening out like in the old days. After all, marriage wasn't exactly like inprisonment, now was it? And when did he and Steve last spent a night at "Bob's"? Well, what was that about marriage ... ?
"Well, well ..." Amanda's voice caught his attention as he'd just begun to doze off at the hectic camera flics and the shouts of the actors.
"Hey Amanda, wanna join?" he asked.
"Uh, no. I don't like "ER", it's too unrealistic if you ask me. I mean, who would work in a hospital if he'd looked like George Clooney? Absolutely ridiculous. Great looking guys - they're all actors."
"Uh-huh."
Pause.
"Where is Clooney, anyway?"
Jesse sighed. "Left."
"What d'you mean, left?"
Sigh. "Left the show. Amanda, don't you have, like, corpses to see? Organs to weigh? Anything?"
"Hm? No," she answered, not really paying attention. Her gaze was focused on the screen, while she slowly sank down on the sofa, pushing Jesse's feet aside in the process. "Who's that?" she asked, frowning. "I never saw him there. Who are all these people? Jess? Where are you going?"
"I'm ..." he replied, turning from where he'd already made it to in order to flee the room, "uh, I've to see a patient."
"Really? Who?"
"Dunno yet. I'll find one, don't worry."
And as if on cue, medics suddenly burst in, rolling two stretchers. Jesse rushed to their sides.
"What you got?"
"Father and daughter, both shot in the head. The woman's dead already, we couldn't stabilize her, but this one's here still breathing. Lost a lot of blood, though. Brain, too, I think."
"Okay, we go in exam..." Jesse started, but froze when he cast a look on the woman lying on the stretcher, covered in blood. "Oh shit," he whispered.
"Doctor?" one of the men asked urgently.
Snapping back into doctor-mode, Jesse shook his head slightly. "Yeah, we go in exam one. Take her down to path immediately, `kay? Amanda!"
Steve Sloan was a happy man, as we already have pointed out. Such a happy man was he, that he didn't even mind washing the dishes. He even whistled during his task. He never whistled. But things were about to change. He couldn't remember ever having been so utterly happy in his life before. Carlie Vitense brightened every waking moment of his day, and the night he would stop dreaming about her was yet to come.
In short: Steve Sloan was in love. And how could he not have been? Actually he wondered why not everybody was in love with Carlie Vitense, for she was the warmest, sweetest, wittiest, funniest, most loveable person who'd ever walked on this planet, and those were facts and had nothing to do with him feeling like a teenager.
Grinning, he placed another cup in the cupboard. Well, okay, maybe he did feel like a teenager and even behaved like one. So what? To quote Carlie, he still lived with his dad, and if that didn't gave him the right to do so, what did?
Continuing his whistling and washing, he almost failed to hear the sound of the door being opened and closed again.
"We're closed," he announced and stepped away from the sink to look who the intruder was, but smiled surprisedly, when he found it was Jesse.
"Hey Steve," the young doctor said softly and rose his hand in a half-hearted attempt to wink. "Washing the dishes, huh?"
"Yeah," Steve answered and frowned. Something wasn't right about his friend, he looked pale and unsure, his gaze never so much as darted off the ground, and he had to put his hands in his pocketts in order to keep them from fumbling around nervously.
"Jesse? What's wrong?" the lieutenant asked and came nearer. He stopped, though, when Jesse stepped away from him, obviously in order to keep his distance.
"Jess, wha..."
"Carlie and Thomas Vitense were brought in tonight," he interrupted his friend and forced himself to look into his eyes, which widened in shock, understanding and the one thing that could be best described as knowledge.
Steve remained silent, as the younger man went on: "They both received gun-shots to the head, ahm ... We tried to stabilize Mr. Vitense, but couldn't bring him back, and ... and Carlie had been already dead, Steve. I'm ... sorry. I'm so sorry."
There was a very long silence. Steve stood where he was and stared at his friend, at what he'd just said, as if it, the information itself, was standing in front of him.
Eventually, he turned and sat down at one of the tables, but continued to silently look at Jesse, who took in a deep breath and approached his friend.
The distance he had so desperately needed as a doctor bringing the worst of messages, felt wrong now, and he crossed the room quietly to sit across his friend at the table.
"Steve?" he asked, but received no answer.
Knowing his friend too well, he didn't try any further, but just sat there with him, till the lieutenant finally stood, rubbing a shaking hand over his forehead.
"I'm ..." Steve started, but didn't know how to end the sentence. Casting a helpless glance on the young doctor, all of a sudden he smiled slightly. He didn't know why. He had just wanted to smile. But it faded as quickly as it had appeared. "I better ..." he tried again and draw in a steadying breath, before finally saying: "I better go home, I ... ahm ..."
"Yeah," Jesse nodded softly and stood also, "you do that. I close up here."
"Yes." For another few seconds, Steve remained where he was, then turned. "My dad ...?" he asked, before he opened the door and looked back at Jesse, who shook his head.
"He doesn't know, yet. Do you want me to call him?"
"Yeah. Thanks."
" `kay. - Steve," Jesse called him back, but found that he didn't know why. Equally helpless, he simply looked at his friend and closed his mouth.
Steve nodded and left.
More to come. By the way, I just wanted to mention that I'm still German, and I know my English's kinda ... ahm ... "German-trying-to-write-English"-like, but I hope it is readable and you liked the story nevertheless. See you - hopefully - all next chapie!
Thanks to Pinky, as always, for her being the greatest StrangePenguin among all the strange animals in the world and for giving great cuddle (wuddle)! Love your work, kid, keep it going (By the way: New chapter, new chapter, new chapter ... !) And, before I start: yeah, I know the "Steve's girl-friend ends up dead"-storyline isn't exactly an unhit road (ahem ...), but I tried out everything else, old pal and stuff, and it just didn't work, so I settled for the girl then. Hope, you'll enjoy my little tale, anyway. And the next chapters will be longer, I promise.
Disclaimers: I don't own anyone 'cept for the ones I do own, but they're boring and therefore have to die, anyway. Don't sue me, please, neither for killing off my characters, nor for borrowing the cute ones.
`nough said. Enjoy! (Oh, ahm, do I have to mention feedback would be very much appreciated? Grin.)
"Hey Jess," Dr. Amanda Bentley greeted her young colleague, when she entered the Doctor's Lounge and made her way to the coffee machine.
"Don't hey me," came a soft, pathetic noise from somewhere on the table, on which the young doctor had placed his head.
Turning to take a proper look at him, Amanda frowned in curious amusement and crossed over to sit down next to him. "What's with you?" she asked.
"Saturday night," he mumbled to the tabletop.
"That's with all of us, but I don't see how saturday night managed to nail your forehead to the table."
"Don't you know a frustrated man when you see one?!" Jesse shot back grumpily and lifted at least an eyelid to make her the target of a particularly unnerved look, only to follow with his whole head a split second later. Jesse being Jesse, he regretted his words instantly. "That coffee?" he asked, glancing at her steaming cup.
"No," Amanda replied sweetly, "arsenic. Want some?"
"Funny." Sweeping a tired hand over his face, he sighed. "Oh sorry, Amanda, it's just ... I'm cranky, `kay?"
"Gee, I wouldn't have thought," she said dryly. "What could have possibly caused that? Oh wait, saturday night? Hm, is it a month already again?" she asked, frowning. "So, is this one of those saturday nights you sit here whining about the unfairness of dating-life, till "ER" starts, and then you fall asleep on the couch just when they roll in a five-year-old who's eaten too much "M. Tom's" so that he can spent the rest of the night puking on an innocent doctor?"
"Don't you have patients to see?" Jesse asked after a short pause.
"My patients can wait," Amanda grinned. "`sides, I would never let you down on a saturday night, would I?"
Breaking down on the table again, Jesse made a noise that resembled a frustrated sob. "Women are so mean."
"So I've heard," Amanda said soothingly and ruffled his hair in mock comfort. "Hey, why don't you go out there and save a life, huh? I'm sure you'll feel better right away."
"Amanda, please ..."
"Hey guys," Jesse's annoyed reply was interrupted by Steve Sloan's entering-cry, which had more of a happy cry on this saturday evening actually. From the bare look of his bright grin, one couldn't have interpreted it in any other way than it being the one of a man in love.
Jesse groaned. "Great, `nother one. What do you want, David Addison? Don't you have Cybill Shephard waiting for you?"
"Huh?" Steve made, raising his brows confusedly.
"Quiet day," Amanda winked. "He spent his whole shift in front of the TV."
"Right, when I wasn't being puked on by five-year-olds."
"Ah ... `kay," Steve smiled uncertainly and looked over his shoulder as if for help. "Listen, Jess, I need you to do me favour."
"Only if you stop grinning around like that. Am I the only one not about to party or what?" Jesse asked frustratedly, looking at one after the other.
Exchanging a quick glance, Steve and Amanda nodded in union. "Yeahp."
"What's with you, anyway?" the lieutenant then demanded, still not able to get rid of his ever happy auter appearance. "It's spring-time. Life's great. Did they cancel "ER" or what?"
"Did I understand that you wanted something of me?" Jesse replied sweetly.
"Oh, yeah, I need you to close up "Bob's" today, Jess, please. I have a date with Carlie, and I completely forgot about it. I haven't even ordered a table or anything, so, please , Jess?"
Amazed, the two doctors watched at the metamorphosis from a police lieutenant to a begging little boy with big puppy eyes.
"Oh god, quit that!" Jesse finally groaned and closed his eyes, wincing. "Okay, okay, I'll close up. Everything it takes to make you stop bambiing me!"
"Oh thanks, Jesse, you're saving my life here!"
"Hm-hm," the younger man nodded and glanced at Amanda, whose look was still fixed on Steve's normalizing features. "I don't feel better, yet."
"Have a little patience," she replied without looking at him and added: "Steve, you've been going out with Carlie for what now, two month? And you already forget your dates? That's a little early, don't you think?"
"Yeah," another female voice announced from the door. "What will it be like when we're married, huh? "Wedding day - ow! Was that today, honeybunch?" But then your dad will probably remind you of that, right?"
Under the laughing-out-loud-kind of looks of his friends, Lieutenant Sloan whirled around to meet his gril-friend's questioning gaze and her hands-on-hips-posture.
"C-Carlie ... ahm ..." he stuttered, then thought better of it and approached her to place a soft kiss on her cheek. "Hi honey. What're you doing here?"
"Checking on you," she replied and chuckled as he went pale. "Kidding, Steve. I thought you might be here, and since it was on my way, I took the chance. Hey Amanda, Jesse," she greeted the doctors, who nodded and smiled.
They'd met Carlie weeks ago and had practically known her from day one, for this time Steve Sloan didn't have a thing for a woman, but was in love with one. Hopelessly, definitely and absolutely un-Steve-like in love. It made him even look different, gave him an air of own private happiness, which, according to Jesse, could have made James Stewart feel jealous. "Carlie and Steve," the young doctor had stated when he'd met Carlie Vitense for the first time at "BBQ Bob's", "sounds like a pop song, doesn't it?"
Steve had told his friends - and his father - that he'd met her while shopping. Of course everybody knew there had to be something more about it, for Steve liked shopping as much as he was good at it, but the lieutenant wouldn't tell them the whole story, which consisted of him having asked the beautiful young lady working at the shop he'd been, what color she would prefer on him, black or blue. And not even Carlie, especially not Carlie, would he tell, that he'd chosen this particular shop just because he'd spotted her from outside on the street. Women didn't need to know everything right away, did they?
Though now, of course, it seemed a good moment to point this very romantic fact out to her, for he'd found himself the target of a, though amused, yet very firm female look.
Not wanting to give up that quickly, he managed a shaky smile and asked: "Your way? Where're you going? We're supposed to meet in ..."
"Outch," Jesse grinned. Amanda chuckled.
"Not smart, lieutenant," Carlie stated and hit his forehead with her palm slightly. "Wouldn't that have been the topic to get away from? Hm? Anyway, I'm late already, though I'd really like to see where this would be going," she grinned. "Thing is, Steve, I've to cancel our date tonight, I'm sorry."
At his all too clear disappointed look, she smiled warmly. "Awww. But I'm gonna make up for it, like, tomorrow? It's just, that, I got a call from my dad, that he wants to see me today, and I think it's important. You know how my dad is like. Well, `kay," she added after a thought, "you don't know, cause you two haven't met , yet, but believe me, he's like how you've to be like for making me jump on your command."
She smiled sadly and traced her finger down his cheek. "Too bad. But then you can tell Mark he doesn't have to spent the night at the hospital." Grinning as her boy-friend took on a slight shade of red, she said in the most innocent tone she could manage: "I'm the only one at work whose boy-friend lives with his dad. Kinda cute, isn't it?"
Loyalty failed the doctors at this remark, and though they tried really hard, they couldn't manage to keep down the laughters, which wanted to desperately break free.
"Real cute," Jesse gasped in between two laughing fits and patted Steve's shoulder assuringly. "See, kid, we always told you to not hurry when it comes to moving out. There's no need to hurry."
"That's so funny, Jess," Steve said dryly, "really, but I think I just leave now, I have a bar to close up. And you should help Amanda over there," he added, pointing at the pathologist, who'd broken down on a chair, laughing, "I don't know if it is possible to die of laughing, but I'd say she's doing a good attempt at finding out."
"S-sorry Steve," Amanda gasped and swept a finger through her wet eyes. "I ... *giggle* ... I wasn't laughing about you, really."
"Nooo, pookie," Carlie soothed and kissed his cheek, "no one's laughing about you."
Steve winced and closed his eyes just in time to hear an all but cried out "Pookie!!!" from his friends, who both ended up in laughing fits again.
"I gotta go now," Carlie said and layed her arms around his neck, grinning at him. "Hope you'll think twice now, before you forget our next date." With that, she kissed him, turned, winked and left, chuckling.
Steve sighed frustratedly and looked back at his two panting friends, who both had some serious breathing-troubles to cope with. "Glad you two had fun," he stated dryly.
"Whatever you say - pookie."
Laughter followed Steve all the way to the lift.
Unfortunately the amusement didn't last long and not many hours later, Dr. Jesse Travis found himself sprawled on the sofa in the Doctor's Lounge, waiting for "ER" to come up with a real patient some time soon. His grumpiness had returned with a vengeance once he'd become really bored, and having to examine two teenagers, who'd sprained their ankles at a party, hadn't exactly improved his mood. Wondering when his last great party had taken place, he glanced over at the coffee machine and decided it was too much of a way to make it in time before the commercial break.
Yeah, he thought, he should call Rick some time, maybe they could spent an evening out like in the old days. After all, marriage wasn't exactly like inprisonment, now was it? And when did he and Steve last spent a night at "Bob's"? Well, what was that about marriage ... ?
"Well, well ..." Amanda's voice caught his attention as he'd just begun to doze off at the hectic camera flics and the shouts of the actors.
"Hey Amanda, wanna join?" he asked.
"Uh, no. I don't like "ER", it's too unrealistic if you ask me. I mean, who would work in a hospital if he'd looked like George Clooney? Absolutely ridiculous. Great looking guys - they're all actors."
"Uh-huh."
Pause.
"Where is Clooney, anyway?"
Jesse sighed. "Left."
"What d'you mean, left?"
Sigh. "Left the show. Amanda, don't you have, like, corpses to see? Organs to weigh? Anything?"
"Hm? No," she answered, not really paying attention. Her gaze was focused on the screen, while she slowly sank down on the sofa, pushing Jesse's feet aside in the process. "Who's that?" she asked, frowning. "I never saw him there. Who are all these people? Jess? Where are you going?"
"I'm ..." he replied, turning from where he'd already made it to in order to flee the room, "uh, I've to see a patient."
"Really? Who?"
"Dunno yet. I'll find one, don't worry."
And as if on cue, medics suddenly burst in, rolling two stretchers. Jesse rushed to their sides.
"What you got?"
"Father and daughter, both shot in the head. The woman's dead already, we couldn't stabilize her, but this one's here still breathing. Lost a lot of blood, though. Brain, too, I think."
"Okay, we go in exam..." Jesse started, but froze when he cast a look on the woman lying on the stretcher, covered in blood. "Oh shit," he whispered.
"Doctor?" one of the men asked urgently.
Snapping back into doctor-mode, Jesse shook his head slightly. "Yeah, we go in exam one. Take her down to path immediately, `kay? Amanda!"
Steve Sloan was a happy man, as we already have pointed out. Such a happy man was he, that he didn't even mind washing the dishes. He even whistled during his task. He never whistled. But things were about to change. He couldn't remember ever having been so utterly happy in his life before. Carlie Vitense brightened every waking moment of his day, and the night he would stop dreaming about her was yet to come.
In short: Steve Sloan was in love. And how could he not have been? Actually he wondered why not everybody was in love with Carlie Vitense, for she was the warmest, sweetest, wittiest, funniest, most loveable person who'd ever walked on this planet, and those were facts and had nothing to do with him feeling like a teenager.
Grinning, he placed another cup in the cupboard. Well, okay, maybe he did feel like a teenager and even behaved like one. So what? To quote Carlie, he still lived with his dad, and if that didn't gave him the right to do so, what did?
Continuing his whistling and washing, he almost failed to hear the sound of the door being opened and closed again.
"We're closed," he announced and stepped away from the sink to look who the intruder was, but smiled surprisedly, when he found it was Jesse.
"Hey Steve," the young doctor said softly and rose his hand in a half-hearted attempt to wink. "Washing the dishes, huh?"
"Yeah," Steve answered and frowned. Something wasn't right about his friend, he looked pale and unsure, his gaze never so much as darted off the ground, and he had to put his hands in his pocketts in order to keep them from fumbling around nervously.
"Jesse? What's wrong?" the lieutenant asked and came nearer. He stopped, though, when Jesse stepped away from him, obviously in order to keep his distance.
"Jess, wha..."
"Carlie and Thomas Vitense were brought in tonight," he interrupted his friend and forced himself to look into his eyes, which widened in shock, understanding and the one thing that could be best described as knowledge.
Steve remained silent, as the younger man went on: "They both received gun-shots to the head, ahm ... We tried to stabilize Mr. Vitense, but couldn't bring him back, and ... and Carlie had been already dead, Steve. I'm ... sorry. I'm so sorry."
There was a very long silence. Steve stood where he was and stared at his friend, at what he'd just said, as if it, the information itself, was standing in front of him.
Eventually, he turned and sat down at one of the tables, but continued to silently look at Jesse, who took in a deep breath and approached his friend.
The distance he had so desperately needed as a doctor bringing the worst of messages, felt wrong now, and he crossed the room quietly to sit across his friend at the table.
"Steve?" he asked, but received no answer.
Knowing his friend too well, he didn't try any further, but just sat there with him, till the lieutenant finally stood, rubbing a shaking hand over his forehead.
"I'm ..." Steve started, but didn't know how to end the sentence. Casting a helpless glance on the young doctor, all of a sudden he smiled slightly. He didn't know why. He had just wanted to smile. But it faded as quickly as it had appeared. "I better ..." he tried again and draw in a steadying breath, before finally saying: "I better go home, I ... ahm ..."
"Yeah," Jesse nodded softly and stood also, "you do that. I close up here."
"Yes." For another few seconds, Steve remained where he was, then turned. "My dad ...?" he asked, before he opened the door and looked back at Jesse, who shook his head.
"He doesn't know, yet. Do you want me to call him?"
"Yeah. Thanks."
" `kay. - Steve," Jesse called him back, but found that he didn't know why. Equally helpless, he simply looked at his friend and closed his mouth.
Steve nodded and left.
More to come. By the way, I just wanted to mention that I'm still German, and I know my English's kinda ... ahm ... "German-trying-to-write-English"-like, but I hope it is readable and you liked the story nevertheless. See you - hopefully - all next chapie!