Chapter 8 - Momentary Relief
"Hey look who's back," Carter said, grinning at Jordan as he walked into the doctor's lounge. She smiled back and waved slightly, putting her pen down. "I see you're drawing again - can I see?" he said, and Jordan paused slightly. Glancing down at the paper, her eyes scanned the picture carefully. With a slow shake of her head, she turned the paper upside down so that he couldn't see it. "Alright," Carter murmured, nodding his head. Walking over to the coffee pot, he rubbed the back of his neck tiredly. "So I hear you had a bone marrow transplant," he emphasized the last words amusingly, and Jordan raised her eyebrows. "Ever think of radiotherapy?" he asked her, and Jordan shook her head sharply. "It might help," he offered, but she shook her head again. "You're not afraid are you?" he teased slightly, and she narrowed her eyes at him. "Nah," he responded for her, "if you could survive Romano you couldn't be afraid of anything."
Jordan shook her head with a chuckle, leaning back in her wheelchair. Carter feigned a gasp and put his hand to his mouth. "Ah - the silent one makes a noise," he said, and Jordan crinkled her nose. Picking up her pen, she scribbled the words "wise ass" on a piece of paper and showed it to him. "Hey, and she can spell too," he joked. Jordan shook her head but smiled; he may not be Romano, but this man still made her laugh.
"The transplant went well?" Carter asked as he sat down, and she nodded in response. "You'll have to forgive me if I seem a bit talkative, it's sort of hard for me to uphold a conversation with a person who doesn't respond," he said with an apologetic spread of the hand, and she nodded again with a knowing smile. "You seem like a nice girl though," he said, and Jordan eyed him carefully. "I'm surprised you're such good friends with Romano, it sort of ruins that image," Carter winked at her again, and she shrugged. "Oh come on, say something," he finally pleaded, leaning forward. "Listen, I won't tell anybody you said anything, I won't - are you okay?" he asked her suddenly, seeing that Jordan's neck had lolled back suddenly. She snapped it forward again and blinked her eyes, and he noticed the exhaustion and weakness in them. "Are you feeling alright?" he asked, standing up and walking over to her.
Jordan nodded, blinking rapidly. "Have you been eating?" he asked her, and she rolled her eyes up towards him. The angry stare that he got silenced him for a moment, and he sighed. Sitting down on the floor in front of her, he folded his hands in his lap. "So tell me," he said as Jordan stared at him in surprise, "why a girl such as yourself would risk her life by not eating?" he asked her. She continued her stare for a moment, then blinked and looked away with a shrug of her shoulders.
Writing down "Not hungry" for him to read, she turned her gaze challengingly at him. He read the words and returned the gaze with a tilt of his head. "And oddly enough you seem to loose your appetite whenever Dr. Romano disappears. Or, that's what it seems like anyway," he said, and Jordan looked away again. Setting her jaw, she folded her arms over her chest and shook her head angrily. "When have you seen him last?" he asked her, and she picked up the pen again. Carter saw her pause and her hand quiver slightly, before she scribbled down "two weeks".
"So you haven't seen him since the transplant?" he asked, and she shook her head. "How come?" he asked, and she shrugged again. Carter sat watching her carefully for a moment, before climbing to his feet. "Well, it seems like the transplant has helped a bit - I haven't seen your charts or anything, just a hunch," he said quickly when Jordan's accusing and curious stare fell upon him. "But if you don't start eating again then there's not much anybody, even Romano, will be able to do for you," he said. Jordan looked away again and he sighed. Leaning forward, he positioned his face a few inches from hers. She turned her gaze back to him, and for a second he saw a glimmer of trust in her eyes before it faded back into the sadness. "If you're not careful you're gonna end up in a coma," he said quietly. Staying in that position for a moment longer, he tilted his head slightly as he stood up. "And how would that help anyone?" he asked, backing towards the door. Jordan held his gaze as he raised his eyebrows in question, backing through the door and disappearing into the hallway.
Releasing the breath she had been holding, she looked down and picked up the paper shakily. A tear fell onto it and she quickly brushed it away, hearing footsteps approaching the door again.
"Jordan?" Frankie's voice sounded as the nurse peeked her head into lounge. "Carter said that you were ready to go back to your room?" she asked, and Jordan paused. Her gaze fell over Frankie's shoulder, meeting Carters. The young doctor nodded his head slowly before lowering it, turning and walking down the hallway. Jordan nodded her head towards Frankie, allowing her eyes to fall back upon the nurse's face. Folding her hands, she allowed Frankie to push her into the hallway and back up to her hospital room.
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Carter was leaning tiredly against the desk when Robert finally walked by. "Dr. Romano," he said, and the surgeon glanced up in surprise.
"John, what a pleasant surprise," he said dryly, continuing on his way towards his office. "I wouldn't expect to see you up here so late - shouldn't you be home sleeping?"
"It's only nine o'clock," Carter pointed out, and Robert nodded without looking up.
"I know, I thought your bedtime was at eight o'clock," he responded, and Carter rolled his eyes. "Don't make that face, it might stick like that," Robert said, still without having looked up.
"Yes sir," Carter sighed.
"So what brings you up here?" Robert asked, finally looking up as he put a few charts down on his desk.
"Actually, I was concerned about a patient of yours - "
"Jordan?"
"Yes sir."
"She's not my patient."
"I thought - "
"Her parents and I got into a disagreement and she was placed in Dr. Ross' care. What wrong with her?" he said calmly, but to his surprise Carter could hear a note of true concern hidden in his voice.
"Well, she's not eating," he responded, and Robert sighed.
"Again," he said shortly, and Carter nodded.
"I think she misses you - " Carter started slowly.
"Well now that's hard to believe isn't it?" Robert said dryly, and Carter fought the urge to smirk.
"Are you going to visit her -"
"Why are you up here?" Robert cut him off, and Carter blinked in surprise.
"Um, I'm concerned about Jordan - "
"No I mean, why are you up here standing in my office and not on the other end of a telephone?"
"Excuse me?"
"A telephone - it's a wonderful advancement in technology, I think you should invest in one," Robert said with raised eyebrows.
"I have a telephone," Carter said through clenched teeth.
"Then call next time you feel like discussing a little girls eating habits with me instead of following me into my office," Robert snapped, and Carter set his jaw.
"I really think you should visit her," he said.
"The next time I want your opinion, John, I'll give it to you," Robert said, stepping closer to the younger man. Carter glared evenly at him for a moment, before turning to leave. "I was clearly told that I was spending too much time with her," Robert continued, and Carter paused. Robert cleared his throat and folded his hands behind his back as Carter turned around. "I was also informed that if I did not 'stop playing nurse to an anorexic fourteen year old girl and start paying more attention to my own patients then I will have some serious repercussions to face'," Robert quoted sarcastically, and Carter raised his eyebrows. "Oh yes, there is somebody in a higher position than myself that I must answer to," Robert said dryly. "So you see, Dr. Carter, I am really not - well no, I really am the cold hearted son-of-a-bitch that you think I am," he said with a tilt of his head, "but I'll have you know that I have been there for Jordan - more so than her parents, more so than any of the other doctors, more so than yourself. So don't come in here thinking to lecture me about patient care or tell me what I should do, because fuck it I've tried to go see her," he said angrily. Carter searched for words as Robert took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down.
"Do you want me to explain to her the situation?" Carter offered quietly, and Robert shot him a cold glare.
"I wasn't aware there was a situation. Goodnight Dr. Carter," he said suddenly and pointedly, walking towards the door. Carter backed into the hallway, and Robert put a hand on the door.
"Should I tell her - "
"Take a hint John," Robert said loudly, slamming the door shut before he could respond. Carter jumped back to keep from behind hit, and he blinked. Turning, he saw Elizabeth watching him carefully.
"Ah - um, disagreement over patient care," he explained, running his hand through his hair. She nodded with raised eyebrows and walked over.
"Jordan McCullen?" she asked, and Carter nodded after a pause. "Don't even start with him about her," she advised, continuing walking down the halls. "It's like putting a match to a firecracker, and you don't want to be there when it explodes unless you want to end up down there," she said, pointing a finger towards the floor. Carter glanced down before realizing she was referring to the ER. Looking up just in time to see Elizabeth disappear around the corner, he sighed.
"Dr. Carter?" Robert voice sounded, and Carter turned around to see him peeking his head out of the door.
"Yes sir?" he asked, stepping forward.
"Go home."
"Right."
"Oh and John?" Robert said as Carter turned towards the elevators. Carter turned around and put his hands up just in time to prevent himself from being hit in the face by a flying plastic bag.
"What the - " he said, catching the bag in shock.
"Drop this off at her room, will ya?" Robert said. Before Carter could answer, the door was slammed shut again.
"No problem," Carter said into the silence, glancing at the small blue package inside the bag. With a sigh he turned and headed for the elevators, swinging the bag in his hand.
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Jordan woke up slowly, opening her eyes in time to see Carter walking out of her room. She blinked in surprise, pushing herself up weakly in the bed. To her surprise a small blue package shifted in her lap, and she picked it up. Opening it up, she found a wide variety of surgical caps inside. Furrowing her brow in confusion, she sifted through them and picked out a small note.
"I always found these to be more amusing than wigs" Romano had scribbled, and Jordan laughed to herself. Shaking her head, she reached into the package and pulled out a pink surgical cap with blue dots. As she pulled her hand back out she felt a sharp scrape of plastic, and she felt around again. Pulling out the package, and sighed when she saw the graham crackers. "Don't make me come down there" read the note attached, and she chuckled slightly. Putting the surgical cap on her head, she put the crackers down with a sad frown. As she tied the cap on she noticed that there was a word on the back of the note. With a tilt in her head, she picked the crackers back up again. Reading it, she bit her lip. After a pause she opened up the package and pulled out a cracker, leaving the note single-word side up.
"Please."
**Another Note From Sterlin**
Thanks to everyone who replied about the proof readers, I was surprised to get that amount of replies. I'll be contacting all of you soon (I'm writing this note really fast now before I post this chapter which I wrote two days ago, I've been having a hectic weekend so I'm not sure if anything else is going up until Sunday or Monday night).
Quick notes -
Not-so-dumb-blond: There he is!!!!! Heh..Carter won't be in every chapter, but he will be in a few key chapters. Unfortunatly, with the ensemble cast that ER is, if I put more than two or three ER characters in each chapter I might go insane trying to characterize each of them ~_^
Badgermilk - From what I'm aware, radiotherapy is another form of cancer treatment entirely; of course I could be wrong =P I have (technically) Jordan taking chemotherapy through IV and pills (a combination treatment) but I couldn't really work the IV in now since I forgot to mention it, and then new readers (and myself) would get confused as to whether the IV was for medication or for her not eating.
And of course, thanks to everyone who replied, I love you all!
"Hey look who's back," Carter said, grinning at Jordan as he walked into the doctor's lounge. She smiled back and waved slightly, putting her pen down. "I see you're drawing again - can I see?" he said, and Jordan paused slightly. Glancing down at the paper, her eyes scanned the picture carefully. With a slow shake of her head, she turned the paper upside down so that he couldn't see it. "Alright," Carter murmured, nodding his head. Walking over to the coffee pot, he rubbed the back of his neck tiredly. "So I hear you had a bone marrow transplant," he emphasized the last words amusingly, and Jordan raised her eyebrows. "Ever think of radiotherapy?" he asked her, and Jordan shook her head sharply. "It might help," he offered, but she shook her head again. "You're not afraid are you?" he teased slightly, and she narrowed her eyes at him. "Nah," he responded for her, "if you could survive Romano you couldn't be afraid of anything."
Jordan shook her head with a chuckle, leaning back in her wheelchair. Carter feigned a gasp and put his hand to his mouth. "Ah - the silent one makes a noise," he said, and Jordan crinkled her nose. Picking up her pen, she scribbled the words "wise ass" on a piece of paper and showed it to him. "Hey, and she can spell too," he joked. Jordan shook her head but smiled; he may not be Romano, but this man still made her laugh.
"The transplant went well?" Carter asked as he sat down, and she nodded in response. "You'll have to forgive me if I seem a bit talkative, it's sort of hard for me to uphold a conversation with a person who doesn't respond," he said with an apologetic spread of the hand, and she nodded again with a knowing smile. "You seem like a nice girl though," he said, and Jordan eyed him carefully. "I'm surprised you're such good friends with Romano, it sort of ruins that image," Carter winked at her again, and she shrugged. "Oh come on, say something," he finally pleaded, leaning forward. "Listen, I won't tell anybody you said anything, I won't - are you okay?" he asked her suddenly, seeing that Jordan's neck had lolled back suddenly. She snapped it forward again and blinked her eyes, and he noticed the exhaustion and weakness in them. "Are you feeling alright?" he asked, standing up and walking over to her.
Jordan nodded, blinking rapidly. "Have you been eating?" he asked her, and she rolled her eyes up towards him. The angry stare that he got silenced him for a moment, and he sighed. Sitting down on the floor in front of her, he folded his hands in his lap. "So tell me," he said as Jordan stared at him in surprise, "why a girl such as yourself would risk her life by not eating?" he asked her. She continued her stare for a moment, then blinked and looked away with a shrug of her shoulders.
Writing down "Not hungry" for him to read, she turned her gaze challengingly at him. He read the words and returned the gaze with a tilt of his head. "And oddly enough you seem to loose your appetite whenever Dr. Romano disappears. Or, that's what it seems like anyway," he said, and Jordan looked away again. Setting her jaw, she folded her arms over her chest and shook her head angrily. "When have you seen him last?" he asked her, and she picked up the pen again. Carter saw her pause and her hand quiver slightly, before she scribbled down "two weeks".
"So you haven't seen him since the transplant?" he asked, and she shook her head. "How come?" he asked, and she shrugged again. Carter sat watching her carefully for a moment, before climbing to his feet. "Well, it seems like the transplant has helped a bit - I haven't seen your charts or anything, just a hunch," he said quickly when Jordan's accusing and curious stare fell upon him. "But if you don't start eating again then there's not much anybody, even Romano, will be able to do for you," he said. Jordan looked away again and he sighed. Leaning forward, he positioned his face a few inches from hers. She turned her gaze back to him, and for a second he saw a glimmer of trust in her eyes before it faded back into the sadness. "If you're not careful you're gonna end up in a coma," he said quietly. Staying in that position for a moment longer, he tilted his head slightly as he stood up. "And how would that help anyone?" he asked, backing towards the door. Jordan held his gaze as he raised his eyebrows in question, backing through the door and disappearing into the hallway.
Releasing the breath she had been holding, she looked down and picked up the paper shakily. A tear fell onto it and she quickly brushed it away, hearing footsteps approaching the door again.
"Jordan?" Frankie's voice sounded as the nurse peeked her head into lounge. "Carter said that you were ready to go back to your room?" she asked, and Jordan paused. Her gaze fell over Frankie's shoulder, meeting Carters. The young doctor nodded his head slowly before lowering it, turning and walking down the hallway. Jordan nodded her head towards Frankie, allowing her eyes to fall back upon the nurse's face. Folding her hands, she allowed Frankie to push her into the hallway and back up to her hospital room.
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Carter was leaning tiredly against the desk when Robert finally walked by. "Dr. Romano," he said, and the surgeon glanced up in surprise.
"John, what a pleasant surprise," he said dryly, continuing on his way towards his office. "I wouldn't expect to see you up here so late - shouldn't you be home sleeping?"
"It's only nine o'clock," Carter pointed out, and Robert nodded without looking up.
"I know, I thought your bedtime was at eight o'clock," he responded, and Carter rolled his eyes. "Don't make that face, it might stick like that," Robert said, still without having looked up.
"Yes sir," Carter sighed.
"So what brings you up here?" Robert asked, finally looking up as he put a few charts down on his desk.
"Actually, I was concerned about a patient of yours - "
"Jordan?"
"Yes sir."
"She's not my patient."
"I thought - "
"Her parents and I got into a disagreement and she was placed in Dr. Ross' care. What wrong with her?" he said calmly, but to his surprise Carter could hear a note of true concern hidden in his voice.
"Well, she's not eating," he responded, and Robert sighed.
"Again," he said shortly, and Carter nodded.
"I think she misses you - " Carter started slowly.
"Well now that's hard to believe isn't it?" Robert said dryly, and Carter fought the urge to smirk.
"Are you going to visit her -"
"Why are you up here?" Robert cut him off, and Carter blinked in surprise.
"Um, I'm concerned about Jordan - "
"No I mean, why are you up here standing in my office and not on the other end of a telephone?"
"Excuse me?"
"A telephone - it's a wonderful advancement in technology, I think you should invest in one," Robert said with raised eyebrows.
"I have a telephone," Carter said through clenched teeth.
"Then call next time you feel like discussing a little girls eating habits with me instead of following me into my office," Robert snapped, and Carter set his jaw.
"I really think you should visit her," he said.
"The next time I want your opinion, John, I'll give it to you," Robert said, stepping closer to the younger man. Carter glared evenly at him for a moment, before turning to leave. "I was clearly told that I was spending too much time with her," Robert continued, and Carter paused. Robert cleared his throat and folded his hands behind his back as Carter turned around. "I was also informed that if I did not 'stop playing nurse to an anorexic fourteen year old girl and start paying more attention to my own patients then I will have some serious repercussions to face'," Robert quoted sarcastically, and Carter raised his eyebrows. "Oh yes, there is somebody in a higher position than myself that I must answer to," Robert said dryly. "So you see, Dr. Carter, I am really not - well no, I really am the cold hearted son-of-a-bitch that you think I am," he said with a tilt of his head, "but I'll have you know that I have been there for Jordan - more so than her parents, more so than any of the other doctors, more so than yourself. So don't come in here thinking to lecture me about patient care or tell me what I should do, because fuck it I've tried to go see her," he said angrily. Carter searched for words as Robert took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down.
"Do you want me to explain to her the situation?" Carter offered quietly, and Robert shot him a cold glare.
"I wasn't aware there was a situation. Goodnight Dr. Carter," he said suddenly and pointedly, walking towards the door. Carter backed into the hallway, and Robert put a hand on the door.
"Should I tell her - "
"Take a hint John," Robert said loudly, slamming the door shut before he could respond. Carter jumped back to keep from behind hit, and he blinked. Turning, he saw Elizabeth watching him carefully.
"Ah - um, disagreement over patient care," he explained, running his hand through his hair. She nodded with raised eyebrows and walked over.
"Jordan McCullen?" she asked, and Carter nodded after a pause. "Don't even start with him about her," she advised, continuing walking down the halls. "It's like putting a match to a firecracker, and you don't want to be there when it explodes unless you want to end up down there," she said, pointing a finger towards the floor. Carter glanced down before realizing she was referring to the ER. Looking up just in time to see Elizabeth disappear around the corner, he sighed.
"Dr. Carter?" Robert voice sounded, and Carter turned around to see him peeking his head out of the door.
"Yes sir?" he asked, stepping forward.
"Go home."
"Right."
"Oh and John?" Robert said as Carter turned towards the elevators. Carter turned around and put his hands up just in time to prevent himself from being hit in the face by a flying plastic bag.
"What the - " he said, catching the bag in shock.
"Drop this off at her room, will ya?" Robert said. Before Carter could answer, the door was slammed shut again.
"No problem," Carter said into the silence, glancing at the small blue package inside the bag. With a sigh he turned and headed for the elevators, swinging the bag in his hand.
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Jordan woke up slowly, opening her eyes in time to see Carter walking out of her room. She blinked in surprise, pushing herself up weakly in the bed. To her surprise a small blue package shifted in her lap, and she picked it up. Opening it up, she found a wide variety of surgical caps inside. Furrowing her brow in confusion, she sifted through them and picked out a small note.
"I always found these to be more amusing than wigs" Romano had scribbled, and Jordan laughed to herself. Shaking her head, she reached into the package and pulled out a pink surgical cap with blue dots. As she pulled her hand back out she felt a sharp scrape of plastic, and she felt around again. Pulling out the package, and sighed when she saw the graham crackers. "Don't make me come down there" read the note attached, and she chuckled slightly. Putting the surgical cap on her head, she put the crackers down with a sad frown. As she tied the cap on she noticed that there was a word on the back of the note. With a tilt in her head, she picked the crackers back up again. Reading it, she bit her lip. After a pause she opened up the package and pulled out a cracker, leaving the note single-word side up.
"Please."
**Another Note From Sterlin**
Thanks to everyone who replied about the proof readers, I was surprised to get that amount of replies. I'll be contacting all of you soon (I'm writing this note really fast now before I post this chapter which I wrote two days ago, I've been having a hectic weekend so I'm not sure if anything else is going up until Sunday or Monday night).
Quick notes -
Not-so-dumb-blond: There he is!!!!! Heh..Carter won't be in every chapter, but he will be in a few key chapters. Unfortunatly, with the ensemble cast that ER is, if I put more than two or three ER characters in each chapter I might go insane trying to characterize each of them ~_^
Badgermilk - From what I'm aware, radiotherapy is another form of cancer treatment entirely; of course I could be wrong =P I have (technically) Jordan taking chemotherapy through IV and pills (a combination treatment) but I couldn't really work the IV in now since I forgot to mention it, and then new readers (and myself) would get confused as to whether the IV was for medication or for her not eating.
And of course, thanks to everyone who replied, I love you all!