Author's Note: This was a response to the One Can Only Hope April 2004 challenge: Somewhere, somehow we're forced to listen to either Carter or Abby singing a delightful tune of your choice. An accident must also occur causing either Abby to look after Carter or vice versa. The fic must include chocolate Easter Eggs.
I came up with this little one...please let me know what you think! And I take no responsibility for any songs you may happen to get stuck in your head due to this fic. ;)
Jo xx
---
"Whyyyyyyyy do ya build me up, Buttercup baby just to let me down," Susan could hear blaring out of the lounge as she approached the door. Very untunefully. "You mess me around, and worst of all you never call baby when you say you will." She pushed the door open to see who the voice belonged to, and laughed when she saw Abby stood at the sink making a pot of coffee. "But I love you still..."
"I need you, more than anyone darling!" Susan joined in after the door had closed behind her, laughing uncontrollably. Abby trailed off as she heard Susan singing, and turned towards her, her face going a deep shade of red.
"Erm..." she stuttered, causing Susan to laugh even more. "I guess I should say I'm glad it's you who heard, not someone else."
"Yeah, you should be." Susan sat herself down on the sofa, still grinning to herself. "I guess you wouldn't be very happy if I told you that your voice is loud enough for the whole corridor out there to hear?"
"Tell me you're kidding." She looked at Susan, her eyes pleading. "Oh my goodness, you're serious."
"I don't think I saw anyone really walking past, you're fine," Susan reassured her friend. "Now how about pouring me a cup of that coffee?"
---
"Why do you build me up, Buttercup baby just to let me down," Pratt sang quietly to himself as he searched through the charts for an interesting case.
"What are you doing singing that?" Jerry queried.
"I don't know, it's stuck into my head. Must have heard it somewhere today. Can't think where though."
"Maybe it was on the radio," Jerry suggested.
"Must have been." Abby glanced nervously between the two of them from her place at admit. "I mean, I haven't heard anyone singing it." Pratt took two charts from the rack, passing one to her, and she headed off to attend to the patient.
---
"Abby, we've got a trauma rolling up, you're with me," Carter called to her, and she followed him out into the ambulance bay. The ambulance pulled into the bay, and they unloaded the patient, hurrying to trauma one, Sam joining them on their way. As they worked on the patient, Sam was humming a tune.
"This song is driving me mad," she muttered. "I've been humming it all day, and I don't have a clue what it is."
"Build Me Up Buttercup," Carter informed her, a knowing twinkle in his eye. "Abby will sing it to you if you want." Abby opened her mouth to respond, but didn't know what to say.
"I...you...have you been talking to Susan?"
"Didn't need to," he informed her, as the monitors started to beep indicating there was something wrong. "V-fib. Pass me the paddles." Sam passed them over and began to charge the machine.
"Charging to 200."
"Clear!" The patient's body jerked up and down, but no change was seen. "Charge again. Clear!" This time a steady beep began, and a regular heartbeat could be seen on the monitor. "That's better. Where's Corday? We need to get him up to surgery as fast as possible."
---
Abby pushed the lounge door open wearily at the end of her shift. She was fed up of hearing people singing Build Me Up Buttercup. The whole hospital must have heard her singing, or at least heard about it, by now.
Carter was stood by his locker, and looked over at her as she entered. He grinned at her, before started to sing. "Why do you build me up, buttercup baby just to let me down, you mess me around and worst of all, you never call baby when you say you will."
"Oh, you think you're so funny," she said sarcastically, interrupting his singing. "Don't stop, I want to hear you carry on making a fool of yourself." She pushed her own locker door open, and he peered over the top of it, grinning at her as he continued to sing.
"But I love you still, I need you, more than anyone darling you know that I have from the start, so build me up, Buttercup don't break my heart."
"Beautiful," she laughed, pulling her coat out of the locker.
"And more tuneful than your version?"
"Barely." He laughed at her as she closed her locker door. "I don't know why you find this so funny, it's really quite embarrassing."
"I think that's why it's so funny."
"Did you really hear me?"
"Oh yeah!" She rolled her eyes at him. "Hey, you like white chocolate don't you?"
"Yeah, why?"
"Kem sent me a Milky Bar Easter egg, and..."
"You don't like white chocolate," Abby finished. "Who doesn't know that?"
"Kem, obviously. Anyway, you want it?" He pulled it out of his locker and handed it to her.
"Wow, you're so generous. And now you're making me feel bad for not having a boyfriend who gave me an Easter I don't like, so I don't have anything for you," she replied sarcastically, taking the egg.
"I can give it to Susan if you want..."
"No, I'm fine. I'm sure I'll get over the immense guilt I'm currently feeling."
"I'm sure you will." He pulled out his own coat and shut the locker. "I know how you can start to sort out that."
"How?"
"Buy me a coffee."
---
"I'll have a coffee and some apple pie, please," Abby ordered.
"Same, please."
"Hey, who said I was buying you pie too?" Abby objected when the waitress left.
"I'll pay for the pie."
"I was teasing."
"I can pay, whatever. I was only teasing about having to buy me coffee."
"Yeah, well I don't mind. Like you always said, the amount off coffee and pies paid for evens out eventually."
"I was full of wisdom, wasn't I?" She nodded, suddenly feeling awkward. They sat in silence, not sure what to say now that they were through with the teasing. Eventually the waitress arrived with their coffee and pie, and they began to eat in silence.
Carter was just taking a sip of coffee when a new song came onto the radio, and he burst out laughing, desperately trying to swallow the coffee without spraying it out all over Abby and the table.
"What's so funny?" Abby asked.
He shook his head, still unable to swallow the coffee, and not trusting himself to open his mouth. Laughing, he pointed up at the speaker, confusing Abby further until she realised what he was talking about.
"Why do you build me up, Buttercup baby just to let me down," she joined in quietly, laughing too. This only caused him to laugh even more. Eventually he realised he couldn't cope with it any longer, and got up, indicating to her that he was going to the bathroom. When he returned he was still laughing, but was no longer trying to keep a mouthful of coffee in. "Coffee down the sink?" she asked, laughing.
"Yup." He put his hand down on the table to slide himself back into the booth, not realising he'd put it down on top of his upturned fork. "Ouch!" he yelled, moving his hand and squeezing it tightly with the other hand to try and relieve the pain.
"What did you do?" As he sat down he turned his hand over and showed the three marks on his palm from the prongs of the fork. "Ouch."
"Yeah, like I said."
"You want a band aid?" She reached into her purse and searched for one, which she held up triumphantly when she'd found it. He winced as she began to put it on his hand. "Oh for goodness sake, don't be such a wimp! It's a little cut."
"Sorry," he mumbled as she pressed the final corner down.
"So you should be." They sat in silence again, and began to eat their pie once more. "You know," Abby began after a while, wanting to make conversation. "You should really tell Kem that you don't like white chocolate."
"I don't want to hurt her feelings."
"Surely it's worse that she doesn't even know something like that about you? Most of the ER probably know."
"You're right, I know."
"I'm always right," she laughed. "So, can she make pie?"
"What?" He looked at her, confused.
"You know, this stuff." She pointed to her plate. "Can Kem make pie? The amount you eat it, I would have thought you'd like some home made pie."
"We never ate pie." He paused. "I wouldn't want to eat pie with her."
"Oh." Once again an uncomfortable silence descended upon them. Abby stared down at her coffee and pie, wondering what she could do to relieve the tension.
"Why do you build me up, Buttercup," Carter began before she could think of anything, a grin on his face. "Baby just to let me down, you mess me around and worst of all you never call baby when you say you will." She laughed at him as he sang, glad for the distraction from the awkwardness. "Come on, join in!"
"But I love you still," she joined him. "I need you, more than anyone darling, you know that I have from the start. So build me up, Buttercup don't break my heart!"
---