:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:
CHAPTER THREE
:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:
Carter had to look twice. It was the face in the nightmare. His face went warm. It really was who he thought it was.
"Hey, Carter," the opposite's voice said in a soft tone.
"Hey. You scared me for a minute there, Abby."
She smiled. "Sorry, I just needed some air."
"I know what you mean," Carter said. It was then that Abby noticed he was shivering from the cold. At the same time, Carter noticed he was still shivering from the fear.
"You look cold," Abby said to him.
"It's actually, uh... It's actually a little more than that," Carter started. "I'll admit, I've been a little paranoid lately."
"Really?" Abby asked, realizing too late that that was a dumb remark. "I mean, you have every right to be," she added hastily.
"Yea, but it's no big deal."
"But you have been acting strange ever since September, are you sure you're all right?"
"Yea," Carter said unconvincingly. "No."
"Well, I have 'til eight. Want to talk to Doctor Lockheart about it?"
Finally, someone to listen to him. Carter's face lit up with joy. They each sat themselves eat the table, Carter now facing the door. And he talked. He told her everything. He told her about the nightmares. Even the details.
:*:*:*:*:*:*:
There was a high, quiet, rhythmic beep between Carter and Abby.
"Well, I guess we have to get back to work," Carter said, looking at Abby's blinking watch, then at her eyes.
"Yea, I guess so. You know, I'm really glad you told me about that."
They had, in the past half-hour or more, concluded that the reason Abby was in the dream was because she had helped save him... twice, she had pointed out.
"Well, I had to tell someone," Carter admitted. "It was really taking a toll on my sleep."
"If you ever need to talk about anything, you know you can always come to me," Abby reassured him with a smile.
By now, they were standing in front of the door and shivering. Carter spilled the rest of the water out of his glass childishly onto the frost- covered roof, then looked at Abby.
"Thanks," Carter said as he hugged her warmly.
"No problem," Abby said, hugging him back.
As they silently descended back to the ER, Carter mentally questioned their conclusion. He knew that people just don't dream about each other like that, or at least that was so from his experience. Abby had saved him, but there was something more. Something he couldn't quite pinpoint inside of him.
Abby went left as they entered the ER again. Carter stood where he was and watched her walk away, sad that she had to leave. He had really enjoyed the talk on the rooftop. He brought himself mentally back to the roof as a stupid smile crossed his face. Abby rounded another corner, leaving Carter to stare vacantly into space with the stupid smile.
"You in love with the air?" Mark asked as he walked past Carter, who didn't respond. "Or something else."
"Huh?" Carter asked blankly.
Mark simply laughed and walked away.
'In love with what?' Carter asked himself, trying to figure out if he had really heard the words that had just come out of Mark's mouth. And then something hit him. It hit him like a brick. Since when did Mr. John Carter act like this? Since he fell in love... it had been a long time, but he finally recognized the feeling. It was the best thing he had felt in a long time.
Then he vocalized the reality to himself quietly. "I can't believe it... I love Abby. I love Abby Lockheart," He smiled again and went to check his schedule. It wasn't until later that he realized a small dilemma. The only person he could possibly tell would be a good listener... And that was Abby herself. He had to tell someone else first, man to man or something of the sort, to make sure he was actually going through this. And to his luck, someone did come along.
"Hey Carter!" It was the sound of two voices that rang melodically in his hears.
"Hey Mark, hey Deb," he replied happily.
"We were thinking, since you've been doing a lot lately, you don't really get much time to yourself, and we were wondering..." Jing-Mei started before being cut off by Mark.
"We were wondering if we could just have a night out tonight. We all get off relatively early, so we figured we could go to Doc's or something," Mark put in.
"Just the three of us?" Carter said with a conniving smile.
"Just the three of us," Jing-Mei confirmed.
"All right. But only if you guys let me invite you over to my house," Carter insisted.
"Well, if you *insist*," Mark said, every word dripping with sarcasm. The trio laughed as they walked to the cafeteria to wait for their pagers to ring and pull them back into the chaotic hall that was the ER.
:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:
All the minute hands simultaneously clicked to twelve throughout the emergency room. In three different places, but all at the same time, Mark, Jing-Mei, and Carter looked at the nearest clocks as if the click had been audible over the hum of the small nighttime crowd. And in unison, they spoke... as if telepathy was traveling through the Trio At Cook County.
"Ten o'clock," they all said as they rose and went to their lockers.
"Hey Deb, Hey Mark," Carter greeted.
"Hey Carter," they replied in unison.
They all put their jackets on tightly and headed to the doors, Jing- Mei leading at a quickened pace as they stepped out of a doorway into the frosty air.
As they all stepped out the door, there was a yell from Jing-Mei as she slipped down a handicap ramp. Carter held onto the cold metal of the railing as he slid after her. As she fell back, Carter put an arm around her, breaking her fall.
"I meant to tell you it was..." Carter started when he was interrupted by his own laughter at the sight of Mark, who was using a death grip on the railing, his feet shooting out from under him as he tried to walk.
"Shut up, Carter" Mark scolded lightly with a laugh.
"I meant to tell you it was slippery before."
"I should have known. I mean, the way you flew in the doors today ought to make anyone remember."
"You forgot. You really forgot, didn't you?" Carter asked as he stood straight and continued sliding with no strategic technique but a free fall.
"Well, obviously," Mark said sarcastically.
"No, I mean about telling someone about the frost problem out here."
"No, I was just busy," he defended.
"Yea, you looked real busy, I mean, the way you were twiddling your thumbs in the cafeteria was just so time consuming for you," Jing-Mei put in.
"Yes. Yes it was," Mark answered.
"Come on!" Carter called from the bottom of the ramp. "Let's go get some cocoa or something. I'm freezing my ass off again," he said, laughing. But that would be only the second time he would laugh that night, compared to the many occasions he would find were worth laughing at in the time to come. It felt good to laugh again, and he knew it. He loved it.
There was one small thought running through the back of Carter's mind as the other two came down the ice ramp that was nagging for his attention. He had to tell, but when was the concern. Doc's sounded good. Yes, Doc's was a good place to sit and talk to your friends, he figured as they began to walk. 'Doc's Confessional,' he thought to himself. Then they ran across the road and into the warm wall of air at the legendary Doc Magoo's.
CHAPTER THREE
:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:
Carter had to look twice. It was the face in the nightmare. His face went warm. It really was who he thought it was.
"Hey, Carter," the opposite's voice said in a soft tone.
"Hey. You scared me for a minute there, Abby."
She smiled. "Sorry, I just needed some air."
"I know what you mean," Carter said. It was then that Abby noticed he was shivering from the cold. At the same time, Carter noticed he was still shivering from the fear.
"You look cold," Abby said to him.
"It's actually, uh... It's actually a little more than that," Carter started. "I'll admit, I've been a little paranoid lately."
"Really?" Abby asked, realizing too late that that was a dumb remark. "I mean, you have every right to be," she added hastily.
"Yea, but it's no big deal."
"But you have been acting strange ever since September, are you sure you're all right?"
"Yea," Carter said unconvincingly. "No."
"Well, I have 'til eight. Want to talk to Doctor Lockheart about it?"
Finally, someone to listen to him. Carter's face lit up with joy. They each sat themselves eat the table, Carter now facing the door. And he talked. He told her everything. He told her about the nightmares. Even the details.
:*:*:*:*:*:*:
There was a high, quiet, rhythmic beep between Carter and Abby.
"Well, I guess we have to get back to work," Carter said, looking at Abby's blinking watch, then at her eyes.
"Yea, I guess so. You know, I'm really glad you told me about that."
They had, in the past half-hour or more, concluded that the reason Abby was in the dream was because she had helped save him... twice, she had pointed out.
"Well, I had to tell someone," Carter admitted. "It was really taking a toll on my sleep."
"If you ever need to talk about anything, you know you can always come to me," Abby reassured him with a smile.
By now, they were standing in front of the door and shivering. Carter spilled the rest of the water out of his glass childishly onto the frost- covered roof, then looked at Abby.
"Thanks," Carter said as he hugged her warmly.
"No problem," Abby said, hugging him back.
As they silently descended back to the ER, Carter mentally questioned their conclusion. He knew that people just don't dream about each other like that, or at least that was so from his experience. Abby had saved him, but there was something more. Something he couldn't quite pinpoint inside of him.
Abby went left as they entered the ER again. Carter stood where he was and watched her walk away, sad that she had to leave. He had really enjoyed the talk on the rooftop. He brought himself mentally back to the roof as a stupid smile crossed his face. Abby rounded another corner, leaving Carter to stare vacantly into space with the stupid smile.
"You in love with the air?" Mark asked as he walked past Carter, who didn't respond. "Or something else."
"Huh?" Carter asked blankly.
Mark simply laughed and walked away.
'In love with what?' Carter asked himself, trying to figure out if he had really heard the words that had just come out of Mark's mouth. And then something hit him. It hit him like a brick. Since when did Mr. John Carter act like this? Since he fell in love... it had been a long time, but he finally recognized the feeling. It was the best thing he had felt in a long time.
Then he vocalized the reality to himself quietly. "I can't believe it... I love Abby. I love Abby Lockheart," He smiled again and went to check his schedule. It wasn't until later that he realized a small dilemma. The only person he could possibly tell would be a good listener... And that was Abby herself. He had to tell someone else first, man to man or something of the sort, to make sure he was actually going through this. And to his luck, someone did come along.
"Hey Carter!" It was the sound of two voices that rang melodically in his hears.
"Hey Mark, hey Deb," he replied happily.
"We were thinking, since you've been doing a lot lately, you don't really get much time to yourself, and we were wondering..." Jing-Mei started before being cut off by Mark.
"We were wondering if we could just have a night out tonight. We all get off relatively early, so we figured we could go to Doc's or something," Mark put in.
"Just the three of us?" Carter said with a conniving smile.
"Just the three of us," Jing-Mei confirmed.
"All right. But only if you guys let me invite you over to my house," Carter insisted.
"Well, if you *insist*," Mark said, every word dripping with sarcasm. The trio laughed as they walked to the cafeteria to wait for their pagers to ring and pull them back into the chaotic hall that was the ER.
:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:
All the minute hands simultaneously clicked to twelve throughout the emergency room. In three different places, but all at the same time, Mark, Jing-Mei, and Carter looked at the nearest clocks as if the click had been audible over the hum of the small nighttime crowd. And in unison, they spoke... as if telepathy was traveling through the Trio At Cook County.
"Ten o'clock," they all said as they rose and went to their lockers.
"Hey Deb, Hey Mark," Carter greeted.
"Hey Carter," they replied in unison.
They all put their jackets on tightly and headed to the doors, Jing- Mei leading at a quickened pace as they stepped out of a doorway into the frosty air.
As they all stepped out the door, there was a yell from Jing-Mei as she slipped down a handicap ramp. Carter held onto the cold metal of the railing as he slid after her. As she fell back, Carter put an arm around her, breaking her fall.
"I meant to tell you it was..." Carter started when he was interrupted by his own laughter at the sight of Mark, who was using a death grip on the railing, his feet shooting out from under him as he tried to walk.
"Shut up, Carter" Mark scolded lightly with a laugh.
"I meant to tell you it was slippery before."
"I should have known. I mean, the way you flew in the doors today ought to make anyone remember."
"You forgot. You really forgot, didn't you?" Carter asked as he stood straight and continued sliding with no strategic technique but a free fall.
"Well, obviously," Mark said sarcastically.
"No, I mean about telling someone about the frost problem out here."
"No, I was just busy," he defended.
"Yea, you looked real busy, I mean, the way you were twiddling your thumbs in the cafeteria was just so time consuming for you," Jing-Mei put in.
"Yes. Yes it was," Mark answered.
"Come on!" Carter called from the bottom of the ramp. "Let's go get some cocoa or something. I'm freezing my ass off again," he said, laughing. But that would be only the second time he would laugh that night, compared to the many occasions he would find were worth laughing at in the time to come. It felt good to laugh again, and he knew it. He loved it.
There was one small thought running through the back of Carter's mind as the other two came down the ice ramp that was nagging for his attention. He had to tell, but when was the concern. Doc's sounded good. Yes, Doc's was a good place to sit and talk to your friends, he figured as they began to walk. 'Doc's Confessional,' he thought to himself. Then they ran across the road and into the warm wall of air at the legendary Doc Magoo's.