Disclaimer: I do not own the original ER characters, however I have made up
a few of my own
Secrets Unshared: 4
~*~*~*~*~*~
"I need to get back to work," he mumbled standing up.
"Carter, talk to me," she pleaded grabbing his arm.
"Anna, there are few things I'm good at in life. One is my job. I'm not giving that up. So, get on the El, take a little ride to my house, make yourself comfortable, and I'll talk to you when I'm off," he said walking towards the bay doors.
"I'll be waiting," she said softly as she heading toward the El.
"Bye," he said before he disappeared inside.
"Get everything worked out?" Kerry asked the second he stepped back in.
"Yes."
"Good. Do you have a minute to talk?" Kerry asked.
"Fine. It's better to get all the accusations out now, instead of waiting for it. Do you want a blood test? Do you want me to pee in a cup again?" he asked.
"No, I want to talk about your cousin."
"That's the one thing I don't want to talk about. For once, can my life not be the highlight of everyone's lives?" he asked. Kerry didn't respond so he took that as her answer and walked off, grabbing his charts as he went.
~*~*~*~*~*~
The house was quiet when he entered it. For a split second he forgot Anna was somewhere in the house, and he started for the stairs, until he heard her voice.
"Took you long enough," she said, still disguised by darkness. He stared at the stairs until her form started to take shape.
"Why are you sitting in the dark?" he asked.
"It's kind of comforting."
"On the stairs?"
"I don't really know my way around. I didn't want to walk in on anything I shouldn't."
"Like what? The maid making out with the butler? I doubt that," he said with a smile as he set down his bag and sat down a couple steps below her.
"Or your mother yelling at someone on the phone?"
"That's not going to happen anytime soon."
"Really? Because I distinctly remember walking in on her an hour ago and she wasn't too happy."
"My mother's here?" he asked shocked.
"Yeah. She was here when I arrived. Wasn't too happy to see me. She almost didn't let me come in but apparently your butler remembered me from ages ago."
"Sorry. There is no excuse for her," he said. "How about we disappear where she can't find us?"
"Sounds perfect to me."
"Okay. Let's go," he said picking up his bag and leading her by the small of the back up the stairs.
~*~*~*~*~*~
He could feel himself drifting off to sleep when her sleepy voice pierced her ears.
"Are you as tired as I am?" she asked.
"Oh yeah. Do you want to crash?" he asked.
"I'm too comfortable."
For hours they had been laying on two fluffy couches, not really talking but enjoying the feeling that someone was there just in case. For Anna, it was just knowing that somehow this was helping him through his rough time. For John, it was the fact that whenever he started talking about his life, she was right there waiting.
"Chase was released from the hospital about a week ago." He started. When Anna remained silent he continued. "He moved into the house because the help was already hired. Things were okay. He was progressing. Showing great signs of recovery. Until he went out one night and never came home. A couple days later a detective came to the house and then the following morning showed up at the hospital. Chase had met up with some of his old friends, stole a car after buying some drugs, and disappeared. They've had some developments, captured many of these drug addicts who were hiding out in this old house, killed some. And now they refuse to tell me anything. We've had so many overdoses come in since Chase went missing. It's only a matter of time before he's brought in again, except this time he's not going to survive. And the only thing I can think of is that I wish we had reversed roles because I'm not better than he is. I may not sink back into taking the drugs, but the strong addiction is still there. Smoking doesn't help. If anything it makes me want to shoot up even more. And I can't even start drinking because I know Romano would do anything to get me out of that ER. It's sort of in the program. What other vices can a person have?" he lapped into silence, hoping she would say something, but she remained silent along with him.
Moments later as both their breathing started to deepen, the door to the library opened and light filled the room, causing them both to flinch.
"John? When did you get here?" Eleanor Carter said, seeing her son with the woman she met earlier.
"I just got off work. What are you doing here?" he asked standing up and walking over to his mother, kissing her cheek.
"I was flying through and thought I would see how you were doing."
"I'm fine."
"Your father said you went to Africa?"
"Yeah. On a mission. Why didn't you call to tell me?"
"I called and you weren't home. This isn't just your house."
"You're right. Make yourself at home."
"Who's your friend?"
"Anna and I use to work together. She was in the area and decided to come visit."
"Well, I'll leave you to whatever you were doing. I'm going to bed," she said before closing the door and sending them into darkness again.
He stood motionless in the same spot until he felt her hands on his back. He could feel her breath on his neck and she closed the distance between them, but he still didn't move.
"You are not like your cousin, and I'm glad that you're not in that position. You're strong and although I love Chase and can't stand to see him go through this again, it would be harder to lose you." He reached out and grabbed her hand and felt all of her energy seep into his body. Maybe he was doing something right for once.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Author's Note: Sorry it's taken me so long to get the next part up. I've had a hard time with this story so any opinions and suggestions are greatly appreciated and always welcome. Please continue to R&R and read my other stories as you're at it.
Secrets Unshared: 4
~*~*~*~*~*~
"I need to get back to work," he mumbled standing up.
"Carter, talk to me," she pleaded grabbing his arm.
"Anna, there are few things I'm good at in life. One is my job. I'm not giving that up. So, get on the El, take a little ride to my house, make yourself comfortable, and I'll talk to you when I'm off," he said walking towards the bay doors.
"I'll be waiting," she said softly as she heading toward the El.
"Bye," he said before he disappeared inside.
"Get everything worked out?" Kerry asked the second he stepped back in.
"Yes."
"Good. Do you have a minute to talk?" Kerry asked.
"Fine. It's better to get all the accusations out now, instead of waiting for it. Do you want a blood test? Do you want me to pee in a cup again?" he asked.
"No, I want to talk about your cousin."
"That's the one thing I don't want to talk about. For once, can my life not be the highlight of everyone's lives?" he asked. Kerry didn't respond so he took that as her answer and walked off, grabbing his charts as he went.
~*~*~*~*~*~
The house was quiet when he entered it. For a split second he forgot Anna was somewhere in the house, and he started for the stairs, until he heard her voice.
"Took you long enough," she said, still disguised by darkness. He stared at the stairs until her form started to take shape.
"Why are you sitting in the dark?" he asked.
"It's kind of comforting."
"On the stairs?"
"I don't really know my way around. I didn't want to walk in on anything I shouldn't."
"Like what? The maid making out with the butler? I doubt that," he said with a smile as he set down his bag and sat down a couple steps below her.
"Or your mother yelling at someone on the phone?"
"That's not going to happen anytime soon."
"Really? Because I distinctly remember walking in on her an hour ago and she wasn't too happy."
"My mother's here?" he asked shocked.
"Yeah. She was here when I arrived. Wasn't too happy to see me. She almost didn't let me come in but apparently your butler remembered me from ages ago."
"Sorry. There is no excuse for her," he said. "How about we disappear where she can't find us?"
"Sounds perfect to me."
"Okay. Let's go," he said picking up his bag and leading her by the small of the back up the stairs.
~*~*~*~*~*~
He could feel himself drifting off to sleep when her sleepy voice pierced her ears.
"Are you as tired as I am?" she asked.
"Oh yeah. Do you want to crash?" he asked.
"I'm too comfortable."
For hours they had been laying on two fluffy couches, not really talking but enjoying the feeling that someone was there just in case. For Anna, it was just knowing that somehow this was helping him through his rough time. For John, it was the fact that whenever he started talking about his life, she was right there waiting.
"Chase was released from the hospital about a week ago." He started. When Anna remained silent he continued. "He moved into the house because the help was already hired. Things were okay. He was progressing. Showing great signs of recovery. Until he went out one night and never came home. A couple days later a detective came to the house and then the following morning showed up at the hospital. Chase had met up with some of his old friends, stole a car after buying some drugs, and disappeared. They've had some developments, captured many of these drug addicts who were hiding out in this old house, killed some. And now they refuse to tell me anything. We've had so many overdoses come in since Chase went missing. It's only a matter of time before he's brought in again, except this time he's not going to survive. And the only thing I can think of is that I wish we had reversed roles because I'm not better than he is. I may not sink back into taking the drugs, but the strong addiction is still there. Smoking doesn't help. If anything it makes me want to shoot up even more. And I can't even start drinking because I know Romano would do anything to get me out of that ER. It's sort of in the program. What other vices can a person have?" he lapped into silence, hoping she would say something, but she remained silent along with him.
Moments later as both their breathing started to deepen, the door to the library opened and light filled the room, causing them both to flinch.
"John? When did you get here?" Eleanor Carter said, seeing her son with the woman she met earlier.
"I just got off work. What are you doing here?" he asked standing up and walking over to his mother, kissing her cheek.
"I was flying through and thought I would see how you were doing."
"I'm fine."
"Your father said you went to Africa?"
"Yeah. On a mission. Why didn't you call to tell me?"
"I called and you weren't home. This isn't just your house."
"You're right. Make yourself at home."
"Who's your friend?"
"Anna and I use to work together. She was in the area and decided to come visit."
"Well, I'll leave you to whatever you were doing. I'm going to bed," she said before closing the door and sending them into darkness again.
He stood motionless in the same spot until he felt her hands on his back. He could feel her breath on his neck and she closed the distance between them, but he still didn't move.
"You are not like your cousin, and I'm glad that you're not in that position. You're strong and although I love Chase and can't stand to see him go through this again, it would be harder to lose you." He reached out and grabbed her hand and felt all of her energy seep into his body. Maybe he was doing something right for once.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Author's Note: Sorry it's taken me so long to get the next part up. I've had a hard time with this story so any opinions and suggestions are greatly appreciated and always welcome. Please continue to R&R and read my other stories as you're at it.
