Flip, more than ten days – just realized how long I've been slacking off for. Actually I've been way-too-involved in my Mark/Susan story. But enough excuses, back to the action.
**
"Someone wanted a consult." Elizabeth pushed open the doors of exam two.
"That's us." Robert's face visibly lit up on her entrance.
Pratt presented the case. Robert did his usual snark just to make sure Pratt's head didn't get too far up his own ass and then Elizabeth nodded and signed the chart. "You can take him up." Elizabeth looked at Pratt so that she'd be left with Robert for a moment.
"Sure." Pratt pushed the gurney out just as Elizabeth stepped in his path. The side of the bed hit her roughly in the stomach almost winding her and throwing off her balance. She stumbled back blinking and gasping.
Pratt apologized profusely.
"Just go." She insisted – that patient needed to get upstairs. "Go on."
"Do you need directions?" Robert took the other side of the bed and wheeled it as far as the door. Pratt took over looking the epitome of regret and Robert rushed back into the room. "Are you okay?" he held her shoulder familiarly.
"Yeah." She took a controlled deep breath. "I just…" she screwed up her face as she flexed her ankle. "Damn it, I think I turned my ankle."
"Come on." Robert put one hand around her waist and led her to a chair. He knelt in front of her and watched her face to guage her pain as he removed one shoe. He rested her ankle on his knee and rolled up the leg of her scrubs.
She smiled at him and shook her head, "You shouldn't be enjoying this."
He chuckled. "The pot calls the kettle black."
She just looked shocked. "I rolled my ankle, yah, highlight of the day."
"No, I'm the highlight of the day." He smiled at her cheekily and returned to examining your foot.
"Has anyone ever told you that you have a very healthy ego? Ow!" she yelped – he'd tried to flex her ankle.
"No need to ask if that hurt. But it's just a sprain. I'll grab a bandage." He stood.
"I'm pretty sure that's a nurse's job."
"I'm having way to much fun." He disappeared but soon returned with, "and no, no one has ever mentioned that I have a healthy ego. Though I'm pretty sure they could think of other words to describe it.
"I can understand that."
He pretended to look offended for a moment before the playfulness returned to his eyes. "How does that feel?"
"About the same. But thank you."
He kissed the top of her foot. "And now?"
"Save it for Ella." She laughed at him.
"She is the easier one to please."
"Hm, the lesser of two evils." Elizabeth went to stand up and he put his arm around her to help her. "So, how am I supposed to get out of here and back to my office without causing a scene."
"Well, we could climb out the window and go up the drainpipe but I'm afraid I'm only Spiderman at night."
"Really? Well there's something to look forward too." She flirted, laughing at herself.
"Or…" he tried to compose himself, 'gosh, she's amazing', "you could bare with the humiliation of walking through the ER with your arm around my shoulder and use me as a crutch."
"They'll probably just assume we've finally decided to make our relationship public." She shrugged, putting her arm around his shoulder and testing her weight on her strapped foot.
"And they'll be suggesting names for our first child before we've even slept together." He grinned.
He looked so good when he smiled – and he seemed to be doing it a lot more.
"Well, we haven't had sex but technically we have 'slept' together." She said as they hobbled through the door.
"Nice timing." Robert mumbled as several heads turned to them.
"We're doing well." Elizabeth slapped one hand across her mouth.
"Might as well put the icing on the cake." He replied under his breath, turned to face her and kissed her quickly full on the mouth. She could barely respond for laughing. He turned back and she had to hobble double-time to keep up.
"Back to surgery." She said, hopelessly trying to keep from outright laughing but as the doors of the elevator closed they both cracked up. They would have loved to see the surprised faces that watched those doors close. Elizabeth leant back on one wall and Robert stood opposite, both laughing so hard it hurt. She managed to control their breathing enough so that when they hobbled off into the surgical floor they were only smiling silly smiles. They disappeared into Elizabeth's office and collapsed onto the couch.
"I can't believe you did that." Elizabeth smiled at him, shaking her head.
"I couldn't resist." He shrugged. "I rarely can." He leaned in and kissed her again, but this time she did respond.
"I should get back to work." She pulled back and hopped across the room, sitting heavily in her desk chair.
"Yeah, novel idea. Not all that appealing." Robert slouched back on the couch lazily.
"Yeah, you have to go back down there in the near future." Elizabeth teased him, glad it wasn't her.
"Well, unless… I mean, you know if your ankle were bad then someone would have to take you home and, doctors orders would definitely be to keep off it. So you're going to need someone to help you out, you know get Ella's meals, make coffee, change the television channel."
"This is pathetic." She shook her head, laughing.
"But it just might work." He let the question sit in his eyes.
She had to admit it, going home sounded good. And she could take most of this paperwork with her – though if she were honest that wouldn't necessarily mean that it got done any quicker. Damn it he was good. "Do you want to go and get Ella from daycare and I'll…"
He cut her off, "Ah, ah." Shook his head, "You're not walking. You can't stay away forever, they need you here. So you need to heal quick."
"So this for the good of the hospital?" she stared at him incredulously.
"Absolutely." He overcompensated then laughed again.
She shook her head and rolled her eyes for his benefit. "Alright." She picked up a satchel and put a stack of papers in it, passed Robert her other bag and hopped over to him, picking her keys up with her little finger.
"Here." He took them from her and opened the door. She hopped out and he locked up behind them before taking her weight, helping her hobble down to daycare.
"Can you carry her?" Elizabeth asked him as they went in.
"Sure." He left Elizabeth at the desk to sign Ella out and went in to find her.
Ella giggled and stood up when she saw him, walking over to him confidently.
"Hello." He crouched down beside her.
"Hello." She mimicked.
"You ready to go?"
She nodded and took his offered hand, yawning.
"Is it that bad? I never enjoyed daycare either." He didn't expect an answer.
"That's cause you're a grown up. This is for kids." Gosh she sounded like her mother. Robert just laughed, looking at her.
"Hey Ella." Elizabeth smiled at the image of the two of them walking hand-in-hand toward her. Ella dropped Robert's hand and ran to Elizabeth, who crouched to hug her daughter. "Hey. How's my girl?"
Ella nodded enthusiastically. "Robert picked me up today."
"I know. Mummy hurt her foot so he's going to take us home."
"What happened?"
"I fell over, but I'm okay, I just have to be careful." Elizabeth explained. She reached over and took Robert's hand, standing up shakily on one foot. "Come on." She turned around as Robert picked up Ella. He looked like a packhorse with Elizabeth's satchel over his shoulder, Ella at one hip and Elizabeth at the other.
"Guess that make's it official." The heard someone say behind them.
"We're on a roll." Elizabeth murmured into his ear.
"Yeah, such a shame about your foot." Robert shook his head tsk-ing.
"Hey!" she pushed him away playfully. Only she actually pushed herself away because Robert had two feet to keep him up. Ella and Robert laughed, watching Elizabeth hop around in circles before colliding with/grabbing the wall.
"Come here." He slipped his arm around her waist. "She's crazy." He pretended to whisper to Ella.
"Oh no, she's on my team." Elizabeth hopped along.
Ella just laughed.
"You think that Lizzy."
She wanted to pretend to be annoyed but she couldn't pull it off. Plus, he called her Lizzy and that pretty much blew any resolve.
**
"Someone wanted a consult." Elizabeth pushed open the doors of exam two.
"That's us." Robert's face visibly lit up on her entrance.
Pratt presented the case. Robert did his usual snark just to make sure Pratt's head didn't get too far up his own ass and then Elizabeth nodded and signed the chart. "You can take him up." Elizabeth looked at Pratt so that she'd be left with Robert for a moment.
"Sure." Pratt pushed the gurney out just as Elizabeth stepped in his path. The side of the bed hit her roughly in the stomach almost winding her and throwing off her balance. She stumbled back blinking and gasping.
Pratt apologized profusely.
"Just go." She insisted – that patient needed to get upstairs. "Go on."
"Do you need directions?" Robert took the other side of the bed and wheeled it as far as the door. Pratt took over looking the epitome of regret and Robert rushed back into the room. "Are you okay?" he held her shoulder familiarly.
"Yeah." She took a controlled deep breath. "I just…" she screwed up her face as she flexed her ankle. "Damn it, I think I turned my ankle."
"Come on." Robert put one hand around her waist and led her to a chair. He knelt in front of her and watched her face to guage her pain as he removed one shoe. He rested her ankle on his knee and rolled up the leg of her scrubs.
She smiled at him and shook her head, "You shouldn't be enjoying this."
He chuckled. "The pot calls the kettle black."
She just looked shocked. "I rolled my ankle, yah, highlight of the day."
"No, I'm the highlight of the day." He smiled at her cheekily and returned to examining your foot.
"Has anyone ever told you that you have a very healthy ego? Ow!" she yelped – he'd tried to flex her ankle.
"No need to ask if that hurt. But it's just a sprain. I'll grab a bandage." He stood.
"I'm pretty sure that's a nurse's job."
"I'm having way to much fun." He disappeared but soon returned with, "and no, no one has ever mentioned that I have a healthy ego. Though I'm pretty sure they could think of other words to describe it.
"I can understand that."
He pretended to look offended for a moment before the playfulness returned to his eyes. "How does that feel?"
"About the same. But thank you."
He kissed the top of her foot. "And now?"
"Save it for Ella." She laughed at him.
"She is the easier one to please."
"Hm, the lesser of two evils." Elizabeth went to stand up and he put his arm around her to help her. "So, how am I supposed to get out of here and back to my office without causing a scene."
"Well, we could climb out the window and go up the drainpipe but I'm afraid I'm only Spiderman at night."
"Really? Well there's something to look forward too." She flirted, laughing at herself.
"Or…" he tried to compose himself, 'gosh, she's amazing', "you could bare with the humiliation of walking through the ER with your arm around my shoulder and use me as a crutch."
"They'll probably just assume we've finally decided to make our relationship public." She shrugged, putting her arm around his shoulder and testing her weight on her strapped foot.
"And they'll be suggesting names for our first child before we've even slept together." He grinned.
He looked so good when he smiled – and he seemed to be doing it a lot more.
"Well, we haven't had sex but technically we have 'slept' together." She said as they hobbled through the door.
"Nice timing." Robert mumbled as several heads turned to them.
"We're doing well." Elizabeth slapped one hand across her mouth.
"Might as well put the icing on the cake." He replied under his breath, turned to face her and kissed her quickly full on the mouth. She could barely respond for laughing. He turned back and she had to hobble double-time to keep up.
"Back to surgery." She said, hopelessly trying to keep from outright laughing but as the doors of the elevator closed they both cracked up. They would have loved to see the surprised faces that watched those doors close. Elizabeth leant back on one wall and Robert stood opposite, both laughing so hard it hurt. She managed to control their breathing enough so that when they hobbled off into the surgical floor they were only smiling silly smiles. They disappeared into Elizabeth's office and collapsed onto the couch.
"I can't believe you did that." Elizabeth smiled at him, shaking her head.
"I couldn't resist." He shrugged. "I rarely can." He leaned in and kissed her again, but this time she did respond.
"I should get back to work." She pulled back and hopped across the room, sitting heavily in her desk chair.
"Yeah, novel idea. Not all that appealing." Robert slouched back on the couch lazily.
"Yeah, you have to go back down there in the near future." Elizabeth teased him, glad it wasn't her.
"Well, unless… I mean, you know if your ankle were bad then someone would have to take you home and, doctors orders would definitely be to keep off it. So you're going to need someone to help you out, you know get Ella's meals, make coffee, change the television channel."
"This is pathetic." She shook her head, laughing.
"But it just might work." He let the question sit in his eyes.
She had to admit it, going home sounded good. And she could take most of this paperwork with her – though if she were honest that wouldn't necessarily mean that it got done any quicker. Damn it he was good. "Do you want to go and get Ella from daycare and I'll…"
He cut her off, "Ah, ah." Shook his head, "You're not walking. You can't stay away forever, they need you here. So you need to heal quick."
"So this for the good of the hospital?" she stared at him incredulously.
"Absolutely." He overcompensated then laughed again.
She shook her head and rolled her eyes for his benefit. "Alright." She picked up a satchel and put a stack of papers in it, passed Robert her other bag and hopped over to him, picking her keys up with her little finger.
"Here." He took them from her and opened the door. She hopped out and he locked up behind them before taking her weight, helping her hobble down to daycare.
"Can you carry her?" Elizabeth asked him as they went in.
"Sure." He left Elizabeth at the desk to sign Ella out and went in to find her.
Ella giggled and stood up when she saw him, walking over to him confidently.
"Hello." He crouched down beside her.
"Hello." She mimicked.
"You ready to go?"
She nodded and took his offered hand, yawning.
"Is it that bad? I never enjoyed daycare either." He didn't expect an answer.
"That's cause you're a grown up. This is for kids." Gosh she sounded like her mother. Robert just laughed, looking at her.
"Hey Ella." Elizabeth smiled at the image of the two of them walking hand-in-hand toward her. Ella dropped Robert's hand and ran to Elizabeth, who crouched to hug her daughter. "Hey. How's my girl?"
Ella nodded enthusiastically. "Robert picked me up today."
"I know. Mummy hurt her foot so he's going to take us home."
"What happened?"
"I fell over, but I'm okay, I just have to be careful." Elizabeth explained. She reached over and took Robert's hand, standing up shakily on one foot. "Come on." She turned around as Robert picked up Ella. He looked like a packhorse with Elizabeth's satchel over his shoulder, Ella at one hip and Elizabeth at the other.
"Guess that make's it official." The heard someone say behind them.
"We're on a roll." Elizabeth murmured into his ear.
"Yeah, such a shame about your foot." Robert shook his head tsk-ing.
"Hey!" she pushed him away playfully. Only she actually pushed herself away because Robert had two feet to keep him up. Ella and Robert laughed, watching Elizabeth hop around in circles before colliding with/grabbing the wall.
"Come here." He slipped his arm around her waist. "She's crazy." He pretended to whisper to Ella.
"Oh no, she's on my team." Elizabeth hopped along.
Ella just laughed.
"You think that Lizzy."
She wanted to pretend to be annoyed but she couldn't pull it off. Plus, he called her Lizzy and that pretty much blew any resolve.