Chapter Six - The Carter After The Evening Before
The alarm woke him with a jolt as usual. It took him a few seconds to work out what was making the noise and a few more to bring him fist down to stop it. Why do they make alarms with such an annoying sound? More importantly, why did he buy an alarm with such an annoying sound? These are the same questions that go through his mind whenever he is woken up by that damn alarm. Every time he vows to buy a new alarm clock but every time he forgets to do so. It must be because of that part of the brain that likes pain. Some people get whipped. Other people walk on hot coals. He uses an annoying alarm clock.
He was quickly into his morning routine. Everyone has one. It is part of the waking up process. When it is complete you can officially recognise that your day his started. It is a sort of buffer zone. Most people can't handle waking up and starting their day at the same time. So they create a morning routine. After Carter had completed his he was ready to go to work.
He pulled up his Jeep in the usual parking space and started the familiar walk to the ER. If it was needed he could have probably done this blindfolded. Not that he could think of a situation in which he would need to do it blindfolded. Maybe if he were taken hostage but surely they would make him go all the way unaided.
He entered the lounge and saw a white coat poking out from a locker. "Hi, Deb."
"Oh. Hi John."
"Just starting?"
"Yep. Nine till Six. How about you?"
"Nine till Ten."
"Thirteen hour shift? Some would call that unlucky."
"Some might. But hopefully not a qualified doctor."
"Don't you believe in superstition?"
"Superstitions are just initial explanations that have stayed on too long."
"That was a little high-brow."
"I'm a little high-brow."
Jing-Mei was about to reponse when Weaver opens the door, in her own violent manner, and shouted, "Dr Carter, Dr Chen we aren't paying you two to stand around and talk!"
With that Weaver shut the door and Jing-Mei said in a low voice, "I doubt they pay her to shout at us either."
"I wouldn't be surprised if they did." Came the reply.
*****
Carter went out of the lounge and over to the admin desk. Weaver was there to meet him, holding a chart in her outstretched hand.
"Ahh. Excellent. Suture a testicle."
"Something wrong Dr Carter?"
"Nope."
Carter heads off to find the patient that he has just be given.
"Hello" He looks at the chart. ", Mr Eadie. It says here you have a cut that needs suturing on your testicle."
"Yeah that's correct."
"Would you like to tell me how you did it?"
"Let's just say that it involved my cat, late-night television and a hell of a lot of alcohol. And leave it at that."
"I think I can do that."
Carter exams the area and begins to suture it.
"So is this a pretty unusual injury?"
"Not as unusual as you might think."
"Really?"
"Yeah. It is amazing what people do when they are bored."
It was then that Carter was interrupted by Abby.
"Hey Carter can I talk to you?"
"Just a minute." He finished up and then said to the guy, "Okay done. You need a Tetanus jab then you can go."
He left the room and said, "Okay what do you want to talk about?"
"I've been thinking. It's about last night."
"You didn't like it?"
"No. I did like it."
"And that's a bad thing."
"Kind of."
"Okay I think I missed something. You had a good time last night and that's a problem for you?"
"Yes."
"Okay."
"You think I'm crazy, don't you?"
"Yes but I thought that before."
Abby was going to response but someone shouted, "Carter! I need some help over here!"
Carter ran off in the direction of the shout. It was Chen and she was with a trauma victim. "Hey Frank what's open?"
"Trauma One."
They spent the next 45 minutes trying, in vain, to resuscitate the patient.
"You think we should call it" Chen said to Carter.
"How long has she been down?"
An anonymous nurse replied, "45 minutes."
Carter nodded to Chen who said, "Time of death 10:04."
They took off their gloves and throw them on the floor. Carter looked at Chen who was looking down at the patient. "There was nothing we could do."
"Yeah I know."
They shared a silence then they both left the room.
*****
Carter spent the rest of his shift treating the usual array of ailments that frequent the ER. When his shift finally ended Carter couldn't wait to leave. He went into the lounge and found Susan getting ready to start her shift. "You just starting?"
She nodded, "You off?"
He nodded. There was silence between the two until Susan said, "You look tired."
"I am tired."
"Didn't get much sleep last night." It was more of a statement than a question.
"No. There was a, thing."
"A thing?"
"Yeah."
"Is this the dinner date you went on with Abby?"
Carter was shocked, "How did you know that?"
"I have my sources."
There was a silence as Carter tried to work out how Susan could know.
"How did it go?"
"It went, well."
"How did it end?"
"You mean you don't know already?"
"I could guess if you like."
"Please don't. "
"Then tell me."
"Fine. Nothing happened."
"Nothing?"
"Nothing."
Susan seemed kind of disappointed.
"Now if you don't have any more questions for me I going to go home and sleep."
And with that Carter left the ER. On his way home he couldn't help but ask himself questions. How did they know what happened last night? Why did they think we weren't avoiding each other? Why was Susan so interested? But the questions that mostly occupied his mind were the same ones that he had been thinking about all day. What did Abby mean by saying last evening was a bad thing? Was this her way of saying back off? Did she was want to be 'friends'? And most importantly, what should he do?
The alarm woke him with a jolt as usual. It took him a few seconds to work out what was making the noise and a few more to bring him fist down to stop it. Why do they make alarms with such an annoying sound? More importantly, why did he buy an alarm with such an annoying sound? These are the same questions that go through his mind whenever he is woken up by that damn alarm. Every time he vows to buy a new alarm clock but every time he forgets to do so. It must be because of that part of the brain that likes pain. Some people get whipped. Other people walk on hot coals. He uses an annoying alarm clock.
He was quickly into his morning routine. Everyone has one. It is part of the waking up process. When it is complete you can officially recognise that your day his started. It is a sort of buffer zone. Most people can't handle waking up and starting their day at the same time. So they create a morning routine. After Carter had completed his he was ready to go to work.
He pulled up his Jeep in the usual parking space and started the familiar walk to the ER. If it was needed he could have probably done this blindfolded. Not that he could think of a situation in which he would need to do it blindfolded. Maybe if he were taken hostage but surely they would make him go all the way unaided.
He entered the lounge and saw a white coat poking out from a locker. "Hi, Deb."
"Oh. Hi John."
"Just starting?"
"Yep. Nine till Six. How about you?"
"Nine till Ten."
"Thirteen hour shift? Some would call that unlucky."
"Some might. But hopefully not a qualified doctor."
"Don't you believe in superstition?"
"Superstitions are just initial explanations that have stayed on too long."
"That was a little high-brow."
"I'm a little high-brow."
Jing-Mei was about to reponse when Weaver opens the door, in her own violent manner, and shouted, "Dr Carter, Dr Chen we aren't paying you two to stand around and talk!"
With that Weaver shut the door and Jing-Mei said in a low voice, "I doubt they pay her to shout at us either."
"I wouldn't be surprised if they did." Came the reply.
*****
Carter went out of the lounge and over to the admin desk. Weaver was there to meet him, holding a chart in her outstretched hand.
"Ahh. Excellent. Suture a testicle."
"Something wrong Dr Carter?"
"Nope."
Carter heads off to find the patient that he has just be given.
"Hello" He looks at the chart. ", Mr Eadie. It says here you have a cut that needs suturing on your testicle."
"Yeah that's correct."
"Would you like to tell me how you did it?"
"Let's just say that it involved my cat, late-night television and a hell of a lot of alcohol. And leave it at that."
"I think I can do that."
Carter exams the area and begins to suture it.
"So is this a pretty unusual injury?"
"Not as unusual as you might think."
"Really?"
"Yeah. It is amazing what people do when they are bored."
It was then that Carter was interrupted by Abby.
"Hey Carter can I talk to you?"
"Just a minute." He finished up and then said to the guy, "Okay done. You need a Tetanus jab then you can go."
He left the room and said, "Okay what do you want to talk about?"
"I've been thinking. It's about last night."
"You didn't like it?"
"No. I did like it."
"And that's a bad thing."
"Kind of."
"Okay I think I missed something. You had a good time last night and that's a problem for you?"
"Yes."
"Okay."
"You think I'm crazy, don't you?"
"Yes but I thought that before."
Abby was going to response but someone shouted, "Carter! I need some help over here!"
Carter ran off in the direction of the shout. It was Chen and she was with a trauma victim. "Hey Frank what's open?"
"Trauma One."
They spent the next 45 minutes trying, in vain, to resuscitate the patient.
"You think we should call it" Chen said to Carter.
"How long has she been down?"
An anonymous nurse replied, "45 minutes."
Carter nodded to Chen who said, "Time of death 10:04."
They took off their gloves and throw them on the floor. Carter looked at Chen who was looking down at the patient. "There was nothing we could do."
"Yeah I know."
They shared a silence then they both left the room.
*****
Carter spent the rest of his shift treating the usual array of ailments that frequent the ER. When his shift finally ended Carter couldn't wait to leave. He went into the lounge and found Susan getting ready to start her shift. "You just starting?"
She nodded, "You off?"
He nodded. There was silence between the two until Susan said, "You look tired."
"I am tired."
"Didn't get much sleep last night." It was more of a statement than a question.
"No. There was a, thing."
"A thing?"
"Yeah."
"Is this the dinner date you went on with Abby?"
Carter was shocked, "How did you know that?"
"I have my sources."
There was a silence as Carter tried to work out how Susan could know.
"How did it go?"
"It went, well."
"How did it end?"
"You mean you don't know already?"
"I could guess if you like."
"Please don't. "
"Then tell me."
"Fine. Nothing happened."
"Nothing?"
"Nothing."
Susan seemed kind of disappointed.
"Now if you don't have any more questions for me I going to go home and sleep."
And with that Carter left the ER. On his way home he couldn't help but ask himself questions. How did they know what happened last night? Why did they think we weren't avoiding each other? Why was Susan so interested? But the questions that mostly occupied his mind were the same ones that he had been thinking about all day. What did Abby mean by saying last evening was a bad thing? Was this her way of saying back off? Did she was want to be 'friends'? And most importantly, what should he do?