Author's Notes: I'm sorry for the lack of Author's notes. And for the short updates. I'm bombarded with work and it's just crazy.. But I still update cause I love reviews. So keep on reviewing and I"ll keep on updating. Thanks tons to everyone!! Another short author's note, and the chapter is medium in length, but we're moving the plot along.
He was greeted by the bitter cold of Chicago. It was the middle of February, yet snow laid in piles on the ground, and he headed home. Wherever home was. He had spoken to his father and they were planning to get together. But first he needed to unpack, find some suitable clothes, and call County. He knew Kerry wouldn't be too happy. But what else was he supposed to do? The ride from O'Hare took shorter than he had thought, and in what seemed like minutes, he was home. He thanked his driver, and got out, bringing his two bags along with him. He pulled out his keys from his travel bag, and opened the door. The heavy, thick air hit him hard, and he started to choke. No one had been there in a while. No one had any reason to. He was the only one, alone in the world. He closed the door, looking around at the furniture, everything covered in plastic, preserving it for the next generation. He dropped his bags on the floor, and headed toward the kitchen, the only usable phone in the house as far as he knew. Everything was covered in dust, the marble floors even refusing to echo his footsteps like they always did. He reached the kitchen, and it seemed a bit more alive than the rest of the house. Maybe that's because someone came in every so often. But it didn't matter. He pulled up a chair, and sat down, pulling the phone off the charger. He saw the message blink. 98 new messages. Probably all from the foundation. He dialed County's number, and he dialed the extension for the ER, by mistake, being used to only dialing that number. He didn't hang up, maybe he would have the luck of catching Kerry downstairs. He heard a female voice answer. He instantly recognized it as Susan.
"Hello?"
He wanted to laugh. She sounded so blonde at that moment.
"Susan? It's Carter."
He heard some chaos in the background.
"So you finally got to phone, huh?"
So he hadn't called or written much.
"Well technically I'm home."
He heard the phone drop for a minute, and he heard screaming on the other side of the phone, along with someone laughing.
"Sorry. It's crazy today. You're home? Chicago?"
It sounded funny to say he was home. It didn't feel like home at all.
"Yeah. Is Kerry there?"
He waited for her to reply, and he heard her asking Frank over the phone.
"She just left. Call her office."
He fiddled with the tiles and his chair while talking.
"Okay, thanks."
He started to hang up, when he heard Susan stop him.
"Carter, wait."
He held the phone back up his ear.
"Mmhmm?"
He suddenly gained interest at the sound of her tone.
"She broke up with Luka a few days after you left."
He was caught off guard, the complete opposite of what he was thinking about at that moment.
"What?"
He heard her sigh on the other end of the phone.
"Abby."
He started to bite his bottom lip, the complete thought of her had disappeared from his mind for a while. He hung up the phone, dialing Kerry's number. After much begging, her secretary put him through.
"You're back, I'm assuming?"
He knew she wasn't in a good mood.
"Yeah, I got home about half an hour ago."
He didn't hear anything but the rustling of papers for a few minutes.
"And you're calling to ask when you can get back to work?"
She had either planned this all out, or knew exactly what she was going to say.
"I know you could use me."
He heard her secretary come in, and ask her about something, he wasn't sure what though.
"We could use you. Except you no longer hold a position at this hospital anymore."
He excepted as much. He didn't say anything.
"You were appointed Chief of Emergency Medicine and within one week you left. You need to realize when you go off playing "Congo Doctor" your choices have consequences, consequences that affect all of us. How the hell was I supposed to get your shifts covered in six hours notice? That's bullshit, John."
He knew she was just plainly pissed off. She had reason to be.
"I'm sorry."
He didn't know what else to say.
"I cannot hire you because I have no positions available and much less funding for them. I just accepted Abby mid-year for her residency. There is no way I'm going to be able to put anyone else in unless I fire someone. And truth being, I believe Abby to stick around longer than you."
He didn't open his mouth. It was like getting lectured. You don't' say anything until the very end.
"Yet I do need an extra doctor. So I'd be willing to take you. On a per diem basis only."
It was better than nothing.
"Sure. Anything you say, Kerry."
He wasn't going to fight. He was too tired and withdrawn to.
She dictated him the rules of the agreement, and he got a rough draft of his hours. Mostly nights. He hung up the phone, and headed upstairs to take a shower. He needed to rest a bit. He was on tonight. He just loved Kerry for her sympathy and compassion.
He walked into his room to grab some towels, and strewn around his room, he saw his last careless packing. He took some of his clothes, and began to refold them. After he had cleared off most of the tornado, he managed to get to his dresser. He dropped his keys on it, along with his wallet. A gleam of paper caught his eye in the corner, covered by something. He pulled it out, and noticed there were more than one. They were pictures, the pictures that Abby had given him back the day he had come back the first time. The day the falling apart started. He looked at the pictures, both smiling and happy. It seemed a million years ago. He threw the picture into the wastebasket, heading towards the door. He walked into the hallway, and then turned around, going back and taking them out, leaving them on the dresser once again. It was hard to hold on, and even harder to let go.
He was greeted by the bitter cold of Chicago. It was the middle of February, yet snow laid in piles on the ground, and he headed home. Wherever home was. He had spoken to his father and they were planning to get together. But first he needed to unpack, find some suitable clothes, and call County. He knew Kerry wouldn't be too happy. But what else was he supposed to do? The ride from O'Hare took shorter than he had thought, and in what seemed like minutes, he was home. He thanked his driver, and got out, bringing his two bags along with him. He pulled out his keys from his travel bag, and opened the door. The heavy, thick air hit him hard, and he started to choke. No one had been there in a while. No one had any reason to. He was the only one, alone in the world. He closed the door, looking around at the furniture, everything covered in plastic, preserving it for the next generation. He dropped his bags on the floor, and headed toward the kitchen, the only usable phone in the house as far as he knew. Everything was covered in dust, the marble floors even refusing to echo his footsteps like they always did. He reached the kitchen, and it seemed a bit more alive than the rest of the house. Maybe that's because someone came in every so often. But it didn't matter. He pulled up a chair, and sat down, pulling the phone off the charger. He saw the message blink. 98 new messages. Probably all from the foundation. He dialed County's number, and he dialed the extension for the ER, by mistake, being used to only dialing that number. He didn't hang up, maybe he would have the luck of catching Kerry downstairs. He heard a female voice answer. He instantly recognized it as Susan.
"Hello?"
He wanted to laugh. She sounded so blonde at that moment.
"Susan? It's Carter."
He heard some chaos in the background.
"So you finally got to phone, huh?"
So he hadn't called or written much.
"Well technically I'm home."
He heard the phone drop for a minute, and he heard screaming on the other side of the phone, along with someone laughing.
"Sorry. It's crazy today. You're home? Chicago?"
It sounded funny to say he was home. It didn't feel like home at all.
"Yeah. Is Kerry there?"
He waited for her to reply, and he heard her asking Frank over the phone.
"She just left. Call her office."
He fiddled with the tiles and his chair while talking.
"Okay, thanks."
He started to hang up, when he heard Susan stop him.
"Carter, wait."
He held the phone back up his ear.
"Mmhmm?"
He suddenly gained interest at the sound of her tone.
"She broke up with Luka a few days after you left."
He was caught off guard, the complete opposite of what he was thinking about at that moment.
"What?"
He heard her sigh on the other end of the phone.
"Abby."
He started to bite his bottom lip, the complete thought of her had disappeared from his mind for a while. He hung up the phone, dialing Kerry's number. After much begging, her secretary put him through.
"You're back, I'm assuming?"
He knew she wasn't in a good mood.
"Yeah, I got home about half an hour ago."
He didn't hear anything but the rustling of papers for a few minutes.
"And you're calling to ask when you can get back to work?"
She had either planned this all out, or knew exactly what she was going to say.
"I know you could use me."
He heard her secretary come in, and ask her about something, he wasn't sure what though.
"We could use you. Except you no longer hold a position at this hospital anymore."
He excepted as much. He didn't say anything.
"You were appointed Chief of Emergency Medicine and within one week you left. You need to realize when you go off playing "Congo Doctor" your choices have consequences, consequences that affect all of us. How the hell was I supposed to get your shifts covered in six hours notice? That's bullshit, John."
He knew she was just plainly pissed off. She had reason to be.
"I'm sorry."
He didn't know what else to say.
"I cannot hire you because I have no positions available and much less funding for them. I just accepted Abby mid-year for her residency. There is no way I'm going to be able to put anyone else in unless I fire someone. And truth being, I believe Abby to stick around longer than you."
He didn't open his mouth. It was like getting lectured. You don't' say anything until the very end.
"Yet I do need an extra doctor. So I'd be willing to take you. On a per diem basis only."
It was better than nothing.
"Sure. Anything you say, Kerry."
He wasn't going to fight. He was too tired and withdrawn to.
She dictated him the rules of the agreement, and he got a rough draft of his hours. Mostly nights. He hung up the phone, and headed upstairs to take a shower. He needed to rest a bit. He was on tonight. He just loved Kerry for her sympathy and compassion.
He walked into his room to grab some towels, and strewn around his room, he saw his last careless packing. He took some of his clothes, and began to refold them. After he had cleared off most of the tornado, he managed to get to his dresser. He dropped his keys on it, along with his wallet. A gleam of paper caught his eye in the corner, covered by something. He pulled it out, and noticed there were more than one. They were pictures, the pictures that Abby had given him back the day he had come back the first time. The day the falling apart started. He looked at the pictures, both smiling and happy. It seemed a million years ago. He threw the picture into the wastebasket, heading towards the door. He walked into the hallway, and then turned around, going back and taking them out, leaving them on the dresser once again. It was hard to hold on, and even harder to let go.
