Chapter 4

When Carter arrived at County, there was someone waiting for him in the lounge.

"Hi," said Kyle, jumping down from his chair. "Who're you?"

"I'm Doctor Carter. And who are you?"

Kyle thought for a moment, mulling over the name in his mind. Finally, he said, "Full name, please."

Eyebrows raised, Carter said, "John Truman Carter the third. Do I get to know your name now?"

"Kyle."

"Oh, so you're not going to tell me your full name?"

Kyle gazed at him seriously. "You're a stranger," he informed Carter.

"Fair enough," Carter said. "So, what are you doing here?"

"I'm waiting for my mom. She works here." He paused, then added, "She's the chief of mergency medicine."

Carter had to admit he was surprised by the boy's declaration. So he was Kerry's son? Carter knew he must be related to someone to be hanging around in the lounge, and hadn't Kerry had a baby right before he left? Well obviously, she had.

But before Carter could ask any more questions, Kyle had a few questions of his own. "So John, tell me," and his hand became a microphone again, "how long have you been working here? Kneel down please," he said, when he realized that his microphone wasn't even coming close to Carter's face.

With an amused smile on his face, Carter knelt like he was about to be knighted. "Well, I worked here for ten years, then I lived in Africa for three years, and I just came back here last week."

Kyle's eyes widened in amazement. Dropping his microphone, he said, "Wow! You lived in Africa? Did you see any tigers?"

"Nope, I wasn't in the jungle. I lived in a little village."

"What did you do?"

"I worked as a doctor."

"They have doctors in Africa?"

"Of course, where do you think all the sick people go?"

Kyle shrugged. "I don't know. I thought they lived in caves."

Carter shook his head. "Actually, Africa is a lot like here. They have cities, and amusement parks, and-"

"Do they have cars?"

"Of course they have cars!"

"What did you do there?"

A smile came to Carter's face, and he realized that this little boy was the first one to really ask him anything about Africa. He was about the same age that Carter's son would have been...

Carter didn't have a son, but this boy, looking up at him with shining, eager eyes, filled him with that same special sense of importance, the way only a child could. Well, this wasn't his son, but maybe he could impart a few of the mysteries of the universe anyway.

"Well, there was a war going on while I was there, and I..."

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"Okay, I just need to find a bed for the little boy with the earache and I can-"

"I can take it, Susan. You go home and be with your son. You've been here all day," Gallant said.

Susan cast him a grateful smile. "Thanks, Michael. I owe you one," she said, before heading to the lounge to clock out.

"What are you doing here?"

She turned to face Abby, who was looking very worried.

"What?"

"I thought you got off at three?"

Susan slowly shook her head. "No, I just got off now. Why, what's wrong?"

"I brought Kyle here at three," Abby said. "I thought you had taken him home."

Susan checked her watch. It was 4:07. "No, I just got off! Where is he?"

Abby tried to push back her fear. "I left him in the lounge. I told him you'd be there in a minute."

Susan and Abby both headed for the lounge at the same time. They burst through the door simultaneously.

"-didn't want to risk polluting the water supply, so-"

Abby stopped short. There, sitting on the couch, was Kyle. And Carter was sitting next to him.

But Carter, there was something different about him. He didn't have the same strange, world-weary expression that he had worn since he got back to Chicago. Instead, his face was animated, a storyteller entertaining a crowd of one. He stopped, however, when he saw Susan and Abby. "Oh. Hi, guys."

"This is my friend John. Guess what? He lived in AFRICA! He's not a stranger!" Kyle alerted them, lest they think he broke the rule he had been taught again and again. "He works here."

Carter didn't quite understand the looks on Susan and Abby's faces. What, did they not want him associating with Kerry's son? They couldn't possibly think he was a bad influence, could they? After all, he had worked with kids in the Congo for years. He was good with kids; he liked kids.

Abby stared at Susan, not quite sure what to make of the situation. Had Carter gotten her letters after all? Or was this just a coincidence?

"C'mon Kyle, we need to go," Susan said, shooting Abby a look that Carter didn't miss. What was going on?

"But John was telling me about when he was a doctor in Africa!" Kyle protested.

"You can talk to Car- John later," Susan said. Susan pulled Kyle out of the lounge before he could say another word.

"What was all that about?" Carter asked as soon as they were gone. But Abby didn't seem particularly interested in answering his question. Instead, she sat down next to him on the couch, twisting her hands in her lap nervously.

"Um, Carter? I've been meaning to ask...did you...get my letters?"

He stared back at her blankly. "What letters?"

"The letters I sent you while you were in the Congo." She looked up at him.

"No. Letters? You sent me letters?"

"Ten," Abby clarified.

Ten letters! Carter's heart quickened in his chest. Abby had written to him ten times?

"No, I never got anything."

Abby took a deep breath. "We need to talk."