Title: In From the Cold
Author: little_miss_writer
Rating: PG-13 for some mild swearing. Hopefully the rating will be going up as the story progresses…
Disclaimer: I own nothing unfortunately. Elizabeth Corday, Robert "Rocket" Romano (wonderfully portrayed by Paul McCrane) and any other ER characters mentioned belong to Warner Bros, Michael Crichton and a variety of other lucky, lucky people. I wish I did own them, but I don't. This is a work of fiction so nobody get upset ok?
Notes: A few things to know. In this story Elizabeth is not involved with Mark, so no marriage and no Ella. Takes place sometime before "Lockdown". It's just a nice little piece about Romano and Corday's friendship. I have read the season nine spoilers (I wish I hadn't!), but nothing is given away here at all, so its entirely safe. Also I'm British and so is my spelling, you have been warned!
Also, I'd just like to thank everybody for their reviews…its always nice to be appreciated! You made me feel happy after a really, really bad day…..thank you all.
Feedback: Yes!! Always wanted!! Send it to little_miss_writer@hotmail.com. Please r/r!
Chapter 2
"Bon appetite."
"Oh Robert, it looks wonderful." And it really did. Certainly a higher calibre of food than she was used to eating. A picture of Robert in a chefs hat and apron ran through her mind. Robert Romano, master chef. Lizzie couldn't help but chuckle.
Romano looked at her quizzically as he poured her another glass of wine and then took a seat at the other end of the table. "Did I get the arsenic confused with the laughing gas again? I really must re-label those bottles." He said dryly.
"Sorry Robert. How did you learn to cook like this?"
"You haven't tasted it Lizzie, you might be in for a shock."
"Oh I don't think so." She carefully twisted the pasta round her fork and lifted it to her mouth. She glance up and saw Romano looking at her intently. The moment their eyes met a faint blush spread across his cheeks, and he looked away. Had Robert been staring at her? Or was he simply waiting for her reaction to the meal? He had blushed twice this evening, maybe he was coming down with something.
"Out of books. Y'see I actually know what they put in McDonalds burgers and crap like that. Once you work there, you never eat there. And all that other microwave crap, at least if I cook it I – what are you laughing at now? If you're going to comment about me in a McDonalds uniform, don't bother."
Elizabeth tried, valiantly, to control her laughter. "I'm sorry I'm sure you looked, uh, uh," She searched for an appropriate word. "lovely."
Robert snorted. "Clashed with my hair."
"What hair?"
Robert raised his eyebrows. "Miaow, Lizzie."
There was a loud rustling sound, as Gretyl clambered out of her bed and made her way to Robert, dropping her head on his knee. He ruffled her fur gently. "Hey girl, did we wake you? You here to defend you're poor, harmless owner from this vicious Brit?" He looked up at Elizabeth, trying his best to look wounded. She smiled in return, amused by his affection for the Bouvier, she truly did seem to be his best friend. He was like a little boy with his pet dog, his faithful companion.
"The spaghetti is wonderful Robert, really."
"Glad to hear Lizzie."
They ate in companionable silence. Robert seemed entirely comfortable, in fact Elizabeth didn't recall ever seeing him so relaxed. At work, he was either shouting orders, winding people up, or concentrating 100 percent on the task in hand. She admired his dogged determination, his complete confidence when operating, the way he could talk nearly anybody around to anything. But she also felt sorry for him. Everybody loved to badmouth him. She knew he didn't have any close friends at County, she wondered if he had any close friends at all, apart from Gretyl. But that was down to his attitude towards others. If only he could make the effort to be friendlier, less patronising, more understanding. Elizabeth could never be called and eternal optimist, but even she knew that Robert couldn't be that way by choice. Something had to have forced him into it, made him scared to open up, taught him to hurt others before they could hurt him.
Elizabeth ate quickly, after the shift she'd had, she could probably eat for the rest of the night. It was not long before the bowl in front of her was completely clear.
"Enjoy that did you?" A trace of amusement floated in his voice.
"Yes, it was excellent. I didn't have time to eat today, between the ER and that GSW this afternoon.
His eyes flashed with concern as he cleared the plates from the table. "You shouldn't push yourself so hard. It's not good for you."
Don't push yourself, she thought, he's one to talk.
"As I said before, my boss keeps paging me at ungodly hours. I think he enjoys it."
"Lizzie, I'm shocked and appalled that you could even suggest such a thing. In fact I was going to give you dessert, but now I-I just don't think I'll bother."
Elizabeth laughed, and watched as Gretyl padded around after Romano, nudging his knee. "I think she's trying to give you a hint Robert."
"Oh no, no, no. You've already been fed today, three times in fact. If you eat any more you'll be bigger that Thompson in Radiology." Greyly put her head on her paws and whined, pitifully. "Well, ok, only a bit though." He took out some dog biscuits and poured them into a bowl marked "Dog". Gretyl dived into the bowl, as though it were months since she had her last meal, instead of hours. Elizabeth smiled, that dog had him wrapped round her paw, so to speak.
"You spoil her."
"Yes I do. She puts up with me, she deserves it. Dessert?"
Elizabeth always wondered if Robert knew what others at County thought about him. She was sure he knew. After all, people made their opinions known, often loudly, at the hospital, and Robert was far to sharp not to notice. Although he frequently joked about the issue, Elizabeth didn't know if it really bothered him. Surely it had to? Could she work in a place where people were willing to badmouth her about the smallest matter? It was particularly difficult for Robert; he was Head of Surgery and Chief of Staff. Either he was overloading people with work, or they complained he was keeping all the decent cases from them. Either he wasn't trying hard enough to get extra funding, or he was cutting back too much to achieve targets set by the committee. Either he rude and dismissive to people or he was too close, too clingy. It had to get to him at some stage.
"Yes please."
"You ok with Ben and Jerry's?"
"Lovely. What kind?"
"I don't know. Some kind of triple chocolate stuff. Y'know the stuff that makes you put on ten pounds just by looking at it. But after the day you've had, you look like you could use some calorie therapy."
Elizabeth smiled. "Oh, you understand woman so well Robert."
"I have my moments."
Elizabeth didn't comment as she watched Robert scoop out several scoops of Ben and Jerry's and place them into a large crystal desert bowl, he then brought out a tub of plain vanilla ice cream.
"Not a chocolate fan Robert?"
"I'm trying to keep in shape Lizzie. I have no intention of having a heart attack, no matter how much it would please the staff of County."
"Now Robert that's not true."
He raised his eyebrows. "Oh really?"
He finished with the ice cream, nearly tripping over Gretyl as he made his way back to the table. This time he sat at Elizabeth's end of the table. Gretyl yelped indignantly, and then trotted through to the living room, and collapsed on the rug.
"Great, now she won't speak to me for the rest of the night. I swear that dog is premenstrual."
Elizabeth laughed. "Has she ever had puppies?"
"Nah, she's fought off every dog I've ever introduced her to. I don't think she and I have the same tastes."
"Not unless you like your partners furry Robert."
He smiled slightly and she started to eat. She hissed when the cold substance met with her back teeth.
"Something wrong Lizzie?"
"It's a bit cold."
"Really? Who would have thought it, cold ice cream?"
She pulled a face at him and continued to eat, carefully. Well, Robert had been right about one thing; she could feel the calories going to her hips and thighs as she ate. But she didn't worry too long before she noticed Robert's staring again. Only this time he wasn't looking at her, he was staring at the chocolate ice cream. Elizabeth smiled; she could have fun with this. That's all it would be, just a little harmless fun, that's all. A small voice at the back of her mind egged her on, despite the fact that every ounce of common sense she had was screaming a warning not to push things.
"Your ice cream nice Robert?"
He turned his eyes back to his bowl, the contents of which had melted slightly. He'd hardly touched it. "Very pleasant."
"You not want some of this?" Oh god, what a stupid thing to say. It must be stress, making me say ridiculous suggestive comments. Shit, my face must be beetroot now.
"Sorry?" Robert stared at her, eyes wide, not quite sure what he'd heard.
"Ice cream, you want a taste?" Dear lord, you'll scare the poor man out of his wits. What are you thinking? You can't do this.
"No, thank you."
"Are you sure? Are you not tempted, not even just a little bit?" Elizabeth smiled, waving a spoonful of Ben and Jerry's at him.
He eyed her suspiciously. "No."
"Go on, just one spoonful. You wouldn't let the staff at County stop you eating chocolate would you?"
"Alright, alright, fine. I should hire you as my PR assistant, I could pay you in chocolate."
"You don't have enough."
"Don't be so sure."
"Close your eyes and open your mouth." He started at her for a beat, as though trying to judge whether or not she was serious, trying to decide if he were going to end up with chocolate ice cream in his lap. Elizabeth watched him, wondering what he was thinking, if his sharp mind had noticed the obvious attraction and tension between them. What if he laughed in her face? The wine. She'd say she was drunk. She'd only had three glasses; she could claim to be a lightweight. She couldn't stop a thrill of pleasure course through her, when his eyes fluttered shut, and his mouth slowly opened. She tried to push the doubts from her mind, concentrating on the feelings running through her body, the hormones pumping through her veins. With a slightly shaking hand she lifted the spoon, heaped with ice cream, to his mouth, sliding it in, watching as his lips closed round the spoon, staring as he swallowed gently. Then Elizabeth noticed a trickle of ice cream, down the side of his mouth. "Oops, stay still." She leaned over, and heard Robert take a deep breath, registering her close proximity. His eyes were still closed. He tensed slightly when he felt her finger make contact with his skin. It was surprisingly soft. Gently she traced the line made by the ice cream, wiping it up with her finger. Slowly she withdrew. Robert opened his eyes just in time to watch her licking the ice cream off her finger. He released a shaky breath.
"Thank you."
They finished the ice cream quickly and quietly, each a little embarrassed, each a little unsure. Oh god, thought Elizabeth, what do I say now? You want to come home with me Robert? I could use a new table. Despite her embarrassment, she was relieved. At least he hadn't yelled at her, or worse, laughed. He seemed a little surprised but not too upset. Or maybe he was just hiding it well. She didn't know.
Wordlessly Robert lifted their dishes, carrying them to the sink.
"Would you like a hand Robert?"
"No, it's ok Lizzie. I'll leave them till the morning. You uh-uh wanna sit in the lounge, probably more comfortable."
"Fine with me."
They moved, resuming their previous positions, careful not to rouse a sleeping Gretyl.
"You'd think she'd ran a marathon or something," Robert commented.
"It's a dogs life, Robert."
"Indeed it is."
Lizzie smiled. She couldn't help but notice that Robert was sitting much closer to her on the couch than he had previously. She could feel him, feel the heat radiating off of him.
" So, uh, going anywhere for Christmas vacation Lizzie? Is your mother coming over? For her astrology?"
"Oh I hope not! And its astronomy, not astrology. I don't think I could face that, listening to her advice on Christmas cooking, what I should wear, how I should decorate. No. Just a quiet Christmas. Of course, I'll phone my mother, and I had better phone my father too. But apart from that nothing special planned. Yourself?"
"Gretyl and I will be watching reruns of A Christmas Carol and Oliver. No doubt I'll get paged at sometime, probably a maniac Santa with a gun."
"Family?"
"Sure I'll give my sister a call, see how she's coping with her tearaway niece."
"How old is she?"
"My niece? Just turned fourteen I think. It all goes downhill from then."
"How about your parents?"
"Yeah I'll call mom, been a while since we've spoken."
"Your father?"
"No." He said shortly. "We're not close."
His answer concerned Elizabeth. The warm tone in his voice vanished, and was replaced with a hard, almost cold one. Why wasn't he close to his father? Did that have something to do with his personality? Had something happened? Elizabeth's mind was full of questions, but the way Robert answered the question warned her to be cautious, not to push him.
"Oh. I'm sorry."
"Don't be. He's not worth it."
"Oh."
She needed to change the subject, quickly. The last thing she wanted to do was bring up bad memories so close to Christmas. She was supposed to be paying him a friendly visit, not trying to depress him. Elizabeth leaned down and stroked Gretyl's head gently. The great dog lifted her head, responding to the caress. Then an idea came to Elizabeth.
She whispered to Gretyl, just loud enough for Robert to hear. "Hey there Gretyl. Don't you think it's about time your owner gave us a song? Then you can start your dancing routine."
She was rewarded from a short laugh from Robert. "Persistent aren't you Lizzie? I thought you'd forget about that."
"Memory like an elephant Robert."
"You said it, I didn't." He quipped.
" I really would like to hear you sing." She hoped he heard the sincerity in her voice.
"And I wanna job in the Bahamas, d'you hear me complaining?"
"Oh come on Robert. Please. Think of it as a Christmas present."
"What do I get?"
"Uh-uh I'll tie Christmas bells to Kerry's cane?"
Robert laughed. "Lizzie! I'm proud of you. When did you become so malicious? I must be a good teacher."
"And a good singer."
"Okay, okay." He grumbled, reaching behind the couch for his guitar. It was a beautiful instrument, obviously fairly old, but kept in excellent condition. "What do you wanna hear?"
Elizabeth raised her eyebrows. "You do requests?"
"Not Christmas carols. I've heard enough of them to last me a life time, or ten minutes in Kerry's company."
"And there went my plan for Little Donkey."
"Awww what a shame. No carols, including Away in a Manger, and The First Noel, and all that meaningless other crap."
"We'll I can't think of anything, surprise me."
Robert looked thoughtful for a moment, and then his eyes seemed to glaze over, as though he were lost in his own thoughts, his own memories. He snapped back to reality, glanced at Elizabeth, and smiled slightly. She returned his smile wordlessly, silently encouraging him.
He took a deep breath, and began to sing.
To be continued…
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