Title: Medical Wonders: Breakfast, Gossip, and Paging Dr. Corday

Author: Jen Zoromski

All other information in first chapter.

Author's Note: Sorry that it has taken so long to post. I've been gone for the entire week. Thanks so much for the reviews. Keep them coming!

Enjoy!

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February 9, 2003

7:09 a.m.

Bright sun rays wake Elizabeth up. She reaches for Robert, but he isn't there, nuzzled behind her. Elizabeth thinks to herself that it was a dream. But then again a dream where she wakes up naked?

"Lizzie are you decent?" Robert yells down the stairs.

Elizabeth looks down at her naked body and laughs.

"No. What are you doing?"

"Your daughter is getting restless and I thought that maybe you should put some clothes on."

Robert appears at the top of the stairs with Ella supported in his right hand and a huge grin is on his face. She hadn't seem him this happy in a long time -- wait make that never.

Robert descends the stairs with the blond haired toddler as Elizabeth puts her sweats back on. She gingerly takes Ella out of Robert's grasp.

"What are we going to do?" Elizabeth inquires as she heads into the kitchen and places Ella in her high chair.

Robert mulls it over, but then grins, "Well we could do it in my office and yours--"

"Robert," she cuts him off sharply, "You know what I mean. What are we going to do about what we tell people about this relationship?"

"Why don't we let them figure it out. Besides the way the gossip files around down in the ER I'd be surprised if they didn't already think that we were sleeping together."

Robert grins at her again, "And you know it always makes the office sex a lot more risqué," he whispers - his voice becoming breathy.

They both laugh and Elizabeth starts to prepare Ella's breakfast. It is extremely quiet as both Robert and Elizabeth share an awkward minute or so.

"What happens with Ella when you head off to work?"

"Her sitter comes here around eight and really doesn't have much of a life because of my strange work hours. Lately, though, I've actually held pretty normal work hours."

"Are you complaining? Do I need to schedule you for more hours in the OR?" Robert says sarcastically.

"You know sometimes Robert you can be a pompous ass," Elizabeth playfully says.

"Now Lizzie, you shouldn't swear around your daughter. Who knows what she might pick up."

"Momma!" Ella cries out happily as they turn and look at her.

"What is it Ella?" Elizabeth inquires.

Ella points her little pudgy finger directly at Robert.

"That's Robert, Ella, can you say 'Robert'?"

"Rahba," she responds gleefully.

"Close enough," Robert responds grinning at the toddler.

County General

February 9th

2:00 p.m.

Two o'clock rolls around as Elizabeth heads into the ER for a surgical consult. Susan approaches her.

"Hey, Elizabeth."

"Susan," Elizabeth says trying to sound more like herself and not as bubbly as she feels at the moment.

"Sorry to call you down here, but your consult died on the table," Susan tells her as they approach the front desk.

Elizabeth nods her head as they reach the front desk and Chuny, Randi, and Haleah, gossiping like always.

"Did you see the huge red mark on h is neck?" Chuny asks.

"Who'd ever do that to Romano?" Randi replies.

"Hey Doctor Corday," Haleah acknowledges her.

"Shouldn't you three be at work instead of gossiping about Dr. Romano?"

"Nah, besides it makes life fun trying to speculate how exactly Romano ends up with a nice big red mark on his neck," Randi tells her.

"You know they do have a point, Elizabeth," Susan pipes up.

"Aren't you ever a tiny bit curious?" Chuny asks.

"Curious about what?" a booming voice comes from behind them.

All five of the women turn around and find themselves being glared at by a set of piercing brown eyes.

"Last time I checked this was an ER and not the gossip hour," Romano says barking at them.

"Of course, Dr. Romano," Randi replies as her, Haleah, and Chuny grab a chart and head off down the hall.

"Dr. Lewis, don't you have patients to attend to?"

Susan isn't surprised by his reaction and smiles politely, "Actually I do, if you'd excuse me."

"Good I'm glad to know that all of the money we're pumping down here is going to waste," Romano yells after Dr. Lewis's disappearing figure.

Elizabeth stares at him for another brief second as a smirk appears across her face.

"What may I ask, Dr. Corday, do you find so amusing?" Robert seriously says.

"Nothing, Dr. Romano, absolutely nothing, except for maybe that nice sized hickie that you have there on your neck," Elizabeth says biting her lip to keep herself from laughing.

"Is the gossip going to your head too, Dr. Corday?" Romano asks in his sarcastic tone. He turns away from her, but looks back.

"I don't ever want to hear gossip down here in this ER again," Romano yells to no one in particular. He looks to Elizabeth winking before he storms off towards the elevator.

She watches him disappear behind the elevator door.

"Dr. Corday we've got a GSW coming in," Abby yells to her.

A gurney with a man bloodied and unconscious rolls through the ER door seconds later. Elizabeth becomes rapidly involved in the trauma and her thoughts for the first time that day stray from Robert and go completely to the patient that is in front of her.

Half an hour later Elizabeth sits in the surgeon's lounge her head in her hands. They had lost the patient before he could make it up to the OR.

Her pager goes off and she looks down at a familiar number. Romano.

Romano's office

3:30 p.m.

Elizabeth knocks lightly on the door.

"It's open."

She walks through the door.

"Robert, what's going on?" she asks confused, her head starting to pound with the beginnings of a migraine.

Robert doesn't respond, he only gets up and walks over to her, passing her. He shuts the door. A brief moment of tension passes between them and then Robert places his lips over hers.

"Robert, I'm tired, I haven't had a good day, I have a headache. I just--" Robert silences Elizabeth's protest with another kiss. The kiss deepens immediately and Robert locks the door behind them without breaking the kiss.

"They say the best medicine for a headache is--"

"--I know."

"Lizzie, don't tell me that you are already bored with me," Robert responds feigning a hurt expression.

"Robert, I would never be bored with you."

She smirks and leans in to kiss him. To hell with the headache. Elizabeth unbuttons his shirt.

"I'm on ER duty right now, what if they page me?" she asks.

"Tell them you were taking a nap," Robert responds grinning.

Minutes later with hardly any clothes on Elizabeth's pager starts to ring.

"Damn!" she responds angrily starting to place her clothing back on.

"They have a knack down there don't they?"

"What's that?"

"Damn ER knows when to ruin a good time."

"I've got to go, Robert," Elizabeth replies as she hurries towards the door still buttoning her shirt. He pulls on most of his clothing and follows her towards the door. Robert catches her lips in his.

"Lizzie?"

Elizabeth turns back to him, questioning with her hand on the doorknob.

"You do realize we haven't used protection?"

Elizabeth nods her head.

"Robert I'm nearly forty years old. I know this sounds like the reasoning of a teenager, but two times isn't going to land me knocked up. It took nearly three months of unprotected sex before I was pregnant with Ella."

"I'm just stating a precaution that we've over looked."

"Robert, don't worry about it--"

"--It wouldn't be that bad."

"What?"

"To have a kid."

"But we won't. Not now at least."

Elizabeth's pager rings again. Robert still stares intently at her, questioning what could possibly happen.

She kisses him lightly on the lips, smiles at him reassuringly, and opens the door.

"Don't worry."

TBC

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More to come! Please R&R! Thanks

~Jen