:*:*:*:*:*:
CHAPTER FIVE
:*:*:*:*:*:
"He really said that?" Luka Kovac inquired with his touch of Croatian.
"I don't believe it," said the English voice of Elizabeth Corday.
Mark and Jing-Mei nodded in unison.
"In his sleep, nonetheless, but he said it," Mark reassured them.
The perplexed quad sat around a table in the break room, eating various sandwiches and salads. There was a click at the door and a hush over the four of them as the legendary presence of Abby Lockheart herself came through the doorway. She too, as of now, had a perplexed look.
"Hey... what's up?" she asked to break the silence.
"Nothing," said three different accents simultaneously.
There was still an awkward and eerie silence throughout the room.
"Mind if I join you?" Abby asked as she headed to the refrigerator, pulling out a wad of tinfoil and grabbing a chair.
"Nope, not at all," Mark answered, almost in invitation.
"So..." Jing-Mei started.
"Uh, what did everyone do last night?" Abby asked, making Luka spit-take his water back into his cup.
"Nothing," Elizabeth admitted. For that was what she had done.
"Night shift," Luka said, sustaining a cough.
Jing-Mei looked at Mark.
"Well, Jing-Mei and I went to Doc's with Carter," Mark admitted with no hesitation. Everyone looked at him, although Abby's look was of interest and not of silent accusation.
"Oh, really? I didn't do much," Abby put in.
"Yea, and then we kind of had a sleep-over, or whatever you want to call it," Mark continued. "I'll tell you, Carter sleeps like a baby." Mark wasn't about to tell, but he wanted to push some buttons. He knew it was working when all the looks turned to annoyance.
"I thought you wore those scrubs yesterday," Elizabeth put in for laughs. It worked.
:*:*:*:*:*:
Carter froze in the hallway when he saw Abby enter the break room door. He decided to make a discreet appearance. As he headed in her direction, he halted to look through the blinds of the interior window to the break room. 'Good,' he thought, seeing a crowd of people around the holders of the nighttime tale.
:*:*:*:*:*:
Everyone froze again as there was another click at the door. It was the rambling man himself, the (as in THEE) John T. Carter.
"Hey guys," Carter said, trying successfully to sound oblivious.
"Hey, we were just having lunch, care to join us?" Elizabeth invited. This was an engraved invitation.
"Sure, I'm starving." Carter went to the refrigerator, then returned with a crumpled paper bag.
There was an awkward silence as he emptied the bag. Everyone was staring at him (most likely, anyway) and he hoped that Abby was one of them.
'No, she doesn't know. I knew it. No one would tell her. You know what? I'll do it. No, wait, I can't. I'M the one who started this, so I obviously can't be the one to end it. Damn it, why do I come up with such stupid plans? Go figure. I finally figure out a plan for the girl to know, but of course she never will! I thought those two were supposed to be loudmouths. Look at Abby, she's clueless,' Carter thought.
The other four, save for Abby, were all thinking the same thing. They should tell. They WANT to tell. It would be best... but Carter would be betrayed. Because he can't help what he does in his sleep. Maybe he didn't mean it, but what if he did? Then they'd be tattling on the naïve Carter.
'Well, they told us. How were we supposed to know they were going to tell us? Now we have to deal with the hell of it all by not telling.' Elizabeth and Luka thought the same thing.
'Why did we have to open our mouths? We should have told Carter first. Go figure.' That was the thought going through Jing-Mei and Mark's minds.
'What the hell is with the silence?' was all that Abby could think of.
:*:*:*:*:*:*:
Glances were going around the ER. Kerri knew. Luka knew. Elizabeth knew. As did Mark, Jing-Mei, Romano, Benton, all the receptionists, and all the nurses. The only ones that didn't know were the ones who didn't know Carter. And of course Abby... and supposedly Carter. So on the whole, everyone knew. Everyone save for Abby. But Abby was the only one that was supposed to know. That was, of course, the whole idea.
"Someone has to slip it out," Carter told himself as he stood by his locker. "Some... body... has... to... slip... OW!" Between each word came a resounding bang that was the result of Carter redundantly slamming his head into the locker. He stepped back with a hand on his forehead, realizing all to late that it was a bad and masochist idea to slam one's head into a locker door... especially one made of a hard, solid metal. And definitely one with sharp slats of metal that made for the vent at the top, which Carter's head had lined up perfectly with at the time. There were a few definite red lines going across Carter's forehead, one of which was on the verge of bleeding.
"Owies," he complained, seeing his reflection in the mirror of a locker that stood slightly ajar. "Bad move, bad move." He then headed to the door, his eyes closed to bear the pain. When he overestimated the distance between him and the door that stood closed very tightly, another pain came even more suddenly.
"AHH!" Carter cried in agony, which came simultaneously with another resounding bang as he walked headfirst into the glass window of door. As the door moved with a thump, all the heads faced the door to see who was going to come walking out.
"Ooh," a few voices said, looking at Carter who had finally emerged from behind the wooden obstacle while others grimaced, feeling their own foreheads as though they were the ones that had just walked into a door.
Carter's face flushed red at the sight of all the eyes that now lay on him. He closed his eyes again, then realized that was a bad idea. He opened his eyes and walked to the nearest freezer, grabbing an ice pack. He used no towel, just the bare pack on his head.
"I'm such an idiot," Carter told himself.
Just then, Abby approached Carter, looking very worried. There was a hush over those who knew... The Secret.
"Are you all right?" Abby asked him. "You know that hurting yourself doesn't do any good." She laughed at her own comment, a sad thing to do, she knew that, but she laughed slightly anyway. Carter didn't.
"I know, I know."
"You mean, you really did this to yourself?" she asked, now very concerned.
"Well, the first few times."
"Then he walked into a door," one anonymous man shouted from the chairs.
"Yea, thanks," Carter said.
"You what?"
"Yea, I didn't see the door there. Ah, man... you have an aspirin or something?"
"You should have heard it, it was real loud!" the man put in again just to give Abby the mental picture.
"Well, come with me... I'll get you, well, I'll get you something," she offered.
Carter had to accept the offer.
:*:*:*:*:*:*:
After Carter was set up with an upright cot and pillow, which Abby had fluffed personally, she walked over to him and sat on the bed with him. Carter also sat, his knees in front of his face, almost blocking his view of her as he held the ice pack on his head.
"You must have hit that door really hard," Abby said to him.
Just then Kerri Weaver stepped in. She gawked slightly at the sight of the two.
"Hey," she started, "do either of you know what happened to the locker room door? There's a crack in the glass... Carter, what happened to you?"
"Don't worry, I'll pay for the damages," he offered.
Kerri could do nothing but laugh as she walked out of the room.
"I guess I did hit really hard," Carter responded to Abby's previous comment. "No wonder I was bleeding," he said, trying to see the gauze on his head. "I didn't know I broke it!" he added shamefully. "I feel so..."
"Bad?" Abby suggested.
"Stupid," Carter corrected.
Abby snickered a bit. "So, I heard you were with Jing-Mei and Mark last night."
"Yea, they stayed over."
"So I heard."
"Jeez, word spreads like wildfire around here," Carter said, trying to see if maybe, just maybe, someone had told her.
"Not really, but have you noticed anything weird today?"
"Like what?" Carter asked anxiously.
"I don't know, everyone's acting really strange."
"I never noticed it," Carter lied.
"Hmm. Well, are you okay here? I have to get back to work."
"Yea, I'm fine." Carter pained to tell. He yearned to tell. He had to tell.
"Okay. I'll come back in a few minutes; I just have to do a few charts. I'll see you later." She bid Carter goodbye as she headed to the door.
Carter nearly kicked himself. "Hey Abby?" Carter called after her almost as the door was closing.
"Yea?" she asked, peering back in with a smile.
"Uh, can I... well, could I... oh, never mind."
"Okay," she replied, shutting the door again. "Something's not right. Something is definitely going on around here. Oh well," she told herself with a sigh. "Must just be me."
:*:*:*:*:*:*:
"Argh! I missed it again! My window of opportunity! Jesus, see me through this. I suck at this women thing!" Carter scolded himself from behind the closed door. "Must just be me."
CHAPTER FIVE
:*:*:*:*:*:
"He really said that?" Luka Kovac inquired with his touch of Croatian.
"I don't believe it," said the English voice of Elizabeth Corday.
Mark and Jing-Mei nodded in unison.
"In his sleep, nonetheless, but he said it," Mark reassured them.
The perplexed quad sat around a table in the break room, eating various sandwiches and salads. There was a click at the door and a hush over the four of them as the legendary presence of Abby Lockheart herself came through the doorway. She too, as of now, had a perplexed look.
"Hey... what's up?" she asked to break the silence.
"Nothing," said three different accents simultaneously.
There was still an awkward and eerie silence throughout the room.
"Mind if I join you?" Abby asked as she headed to the refrigerator, pulling out a wad of tinfoil and grabbing a chair.
"Nope, not at all," Mark answered, almost in invitation.
"So..." Jing-Mei started.
"Uh, what did everyone do last night?" Abby asked, making Luka spit-take his water back into his cup.
"Nothing," Elizabeth admitted. For that was what she had done.
"Night shift," Luka said, sustaining a cough.
Jing-Mei looked at Mark.
"Well, Jing-Mei and I went to Doc's with Carter," Mark admitted with no hesitation. Everyone looked at him, although Abby's look was of interest and not of silent accusation.
"Oh, really? I didn't do much," Abby put in.
"Yea, and then we kind of had a sleep-over, or whatever you want to call it," Mark continued. "I'll tell you, Carter sleeps like a baby." Mark wasn't about to tell, but he wanted to push some buttons. He knew it was working when all the looks turned to annoyance.
"I thought you wore those scrubs yesterday," Elizabeth put in for laughs. It worked.
:*:*:*:*:*:
Carter froze in the hallway when he saw Abby enter the break room door. He decided to make a discreet appearance. As he headed in her direction, he halted to look through the blinds of the interior window to the break room. 'Good,' he thought, seeing a crowd of people around the holders of the nighttime tale.
:*:*:*:*:*:
Everyone froze again as there was another click at the door. It was the rambling man himself, the (as in THEE) John T. Carter.
"Hey guys," Carter said, trying successfully to sound oblivious.
"Hey, we were just having lunch, care to join us?" Elizabeth invited. This was an engraved invitation.
"Sure, I'm starving." Carter went to the refrigerator, then returned with a crumpled paper bag.
There was an awkward silence as he emptied the bag. Everyone was staring at him (most likely, anyway) and he hoped that Abby was one of them.
'No, she doesn't know. I knew it. No one would tell her. You know what? I'll do it. No, wait, I can't. I'M the one who started this, so I obviously can't be the one to end it. Damn it, why do I come up with such stupid plans? Go figure. I finally figure out a plan for the girl to know, but of course she never will! I thought those two were supposed to be loudmouths. Look at Abby, she's clueless,' Carter thought.
The other four, save for Abby, were all thinking the same thing. They should tell. They WANT to tell. It would be best... but Carter would be betrayed. Because he can't help what he does in his sleep. Maybe he didn't mean it, but what if he did? Then they'd be tattling on the naïve Carter.
'Well, they told us. How were we supposed to know they were going to tell us? Now we have to deal with the hell of it all by not telling.' Elizabeth and Luka thought the same thing.
'Why did we have to open our mouths? We should have told Carter first. Go figure.' That was the thought going through Jing-Mei and Mark's minds.
'What the hell is with the silence?' was all that Abby could think of.
:*:*:*:*:*:*:
Glances were going around the ER. Kerri knew. Luka knew. Elizabeth knew. As did Mark, Jing-Mei, Romano, Benton, all the receptionists, and all the nurses. The only ones that didn't know were the ones who didn't know Carter. And of course Abby... and supposedly Carter. So on the whole, everyone knew. Everyone save for Abby. But Abby was the only one that was supposed to know. That was, of course, the whole idea.
"Someone has to slip it out," Carter told himself as he stood by his locker. "Some... body... has... to... slip... OW!" Between each word came a resounding bang that was the result of Carter redundantly slamming his head into the locker. He stepped back with a hand on his forehead, realizing all to late that it was a bad and masochist idea to slam one's head into a locker door... especially one made of a hard, solid metal. And definitely one with sharp slats of metal that made for the vent at the top, which Carter's head had lined up perfectly with at the time. There were a few definite red lines going across Carter's forehead, one of which was on the verge of bleeding.
"Owies," he complained, seeing his reflection in the mirror of a locker that stood slightly ajar. "Bad move, bad move." He then headed to the door, his eyes closed to bear the pain. When he overestimated the distance between him and the door that stood closed very tightly, another pain came even more suddenly.
"AHH!" Carter cried in agony, which came simultaneously with another resounding bang as he walked headfirst into the glass window of door. As the door moved with a thump, all the heads faced the door to see who was going to come walking out.
"Ooh," a few voices said, looking at Carter who had finally emerged from behind the wooden obstacle while others grimaced, feeling their own foreheads as though they were the ones that had just walked into a door.
Carter's face flushed red at the sight of all the eyes that now lay on him. He closed his eyes again, then realized that was a bad idea. He opened his eyes and walked to the nearest freezer, grabbing an ice pack. He used no towel, just the bare pack on his head.
"I'm such an idiot," Carter told himself.
Just then, Abby approached Carter, looking very worried. There was a hush over those who knew... The Secret.
"Are you all right?" Abby asked him. "You know that hurting yourself doesn't do any good." She laughed at her own comment, a sad thing to do, she knew that, but she laughed slightly anyway. Carter didn't.
"I know, I know."
"You mean, you really did this to yourself?" she asked, now very concerned.
"Well, the first few times."
"Then he walked into a door," one anonymous man shouted from the chairs.
"Yea, thanks," Carter said.
"You what?"
"Yea, I didn't see the door there. Ah, man... you have an aspirin or something?"
"You should have heard it, it was real loud!" the man put in again just to give Abby the mental picture.
"Well, come with me... I'll get you, well, I'll get you something," she offered.
Carter had to accept the offer.
:*:*:*:*:*:*:
After Carter was set up with an upright cot and pillow, which Abby had fluffed personally, she walked over to him and sat on the bed with him. Carter also sat, his knees in front of his face, almost blocking his view of her as he held the ice pack on his head.
"You must have hit that door really hard," Abby said to him.
Just then Kerri Weaver stepped in. She gawked slightly at the sight of the two.
"Hey," she started, "do either of you know what happened to the locker room door? There's a crack in the glass... Carter, what happened to you?"
"Don't worry, I'll pay for the damages," he offered.
Kerri could do nothing but laugh as she walked out of the room.
"I guess I did hit really hard," Carter responded to Abby's previous comment. "No wonder I was bleeding," he said, trying to see the gauze on his head. "I didn't know I broke it!" he added shamefully. "I feel so..."
"Bad?" Abby suggested.
"Stupid," Carter corrected.
Abby snickered a bit. "So, I heard you were with Jing-Mei and Mark last night."
"Yea, they stayed over."
"So I heard."
"Jeez, word spreads like wildfire around here," Carter said, trying to see if maybe, just maybe, someone had told her.
"Not really, but have you noticed anything weird today?"
"Like what?" Carter asked anxiously.
"I don't know, everyone's acting really strange."
"I never noticed it," Carter lied.
"Hmm. Well, are you okay here? I have to get back to work."
"Yea, I'm fine." Carter pained to tell. He yearned to tell. He had to tell.
"Okay. I'll come back in a few minutes; I just have to do a few charts. I'll see you later." She bid Carter goodbye as she headed to the door.
Carter nearly kicked himself. "Hey Abby?" Carter called after her almost as the door was closing.
"Yea?" she asked, peering back in with a smile.
"Uh, can I... well, could I... oh, never mind."
"Okay," she replied, shutting the door again. "Something's not right. Something is definitely going on around here. Oh well," she told herself with a sigh. "Must just be me."
:*:*:*:*:*:*:
"Argh! I missed it again! My window of opportunity! Jesus, see me through this. I suck at this women thing!" Carter scolded himself from behind the closed door. "Must just be me."