Chapter 2: Return to the end, brand new starts are possible

Doug Ross never thought that he would be standing outside the ER at County General ever again. Let alone about ready to start a shift. He thought that once had left that would be the end of it, but for some reason things weren't that way. He was being given a second chance. This was a chance that he was willing to take, only because now that he and Carol were back in Chicago. Doug needed a job to support his wife and two children. County seemed like a good choice, why not go back to the hospital that had almost ruined his career, forced him to leave the woman he loved and move across country. Oh wait that was all his own doing, and he had learned some valuable lessons from that. Seattle had made him a changed man in many ways. He had slowly rebuilt his career and proved to people that he was no longer the short tempered, fly from the handle rebel that he had been in his younger days. Helen, Carol's mother, had taken a turn for the worse and her health was slowly declining. Doug knew that no matter how poorly he and Helen got alone, he wouldn't keep Carol and the girls from being there with her, so they packed up their family and headed back to Chicago. He had worked hard to rebuild his reputation while he was in Seattle and it seemed that Kerry Weaver was willing to put aside bygones and start again. He had good strong references from Seattle in his hand when he had talked to Kerry about rejoining the staff here. Yet, he never thought in a million years with Kerry Weaver that brand new starts would ever be possible.

He took a deep breath and walked inside the hospital. Carter was standing at the admit desk talking to a woman who Doug didn't recognize but then it had been nine years now since he had left County. Nine years, in reality that didn't seem that long, but yet for everything that was around him time had moved faster than he thought possible.

He walked up to him, "Hello Doctor Carter." Doug said to him standing beside him. He wasn't sure why he decided to add the formality of calling him Doctor Carter, but he did it anyway maybe as out of a professional courtesy more than anything, but Carter, would always be Carter to him. He could still see him as that fresh faced young new medical student who placed a chart on the bell and showed up in a starched tailored lab coat as a surgical student. He was shocked when Carter turned and snuggled up against him was a sleeping child.

"Well look what the cat dragged in, hey there Doug." Carter was a bit surprised to see him. "What bring you to County?"

"Carol and I moved back here about a week ago, and well work brings me here." Doug said. "Who is this little one sleeping on you?"

"Ah this is my son," he said kissing the top of the toddler's head now that was starting to stir in his arms, "William."

"Wow," Doug said looking at the two of them smiling. "He huh looks just like you." Doug turned his attention now to the woman who was standing next to him, "Doctor Doug Ross." He extended his hand to shake hers.

"Doctor Abby Carter," she said as she shook his hand.

"Ah," Doug said, "Congratulations Carter, I had no idea that you got married. Guess I am a little out of the loop still."

"Two years ago." Carter said shifting the toddler in his arms. "I'm a lucky, lucky man. Well I had better get William home so that he can go to bed." He leaned over and kissed Abby on the cheek, "have a goodnight sweetheart and don't let that new medical student of yours get to you. I'm sure she'll work out just fine. Tell Carol I said hello." Carter walked out of the ER with his precious cargo.

"I had better get to work." Doug said as he watched Carter's retreating form.

Abby quickly stopped him when Carter had mentioned Carol. It clicked as to who this was. "Oh, so you are Carol's famous Doug." She said, "It's nice to meet you. How are the twins, Tess and Kate?"

"Oh they are doing great. They are with Carol right now at the new house that we bought when we got here. I will tell Carol that you were asking about her, if you have time I'm sure that she wouldn't mind if you stopped by and saw her and the girls." Doug wasn't sure how Abby knew Carol but she might have arrived at County after he had left but before she joined him in Seattle with the girls. "I'd better get to work. I don't want Dr. Weaver to think that I am slacking off after being gone so long."

He walked into the lounge and put his things in his locker. There putting on a lab coat was a face that he hadn't seen in a long, long time. He thought quickly what had it been now 11 years. The last time he had seen her she was getting ready to leave for Arizona to be with her sister Chloe and her niece little Susie. "Susan? Susan Lewis?" Doug said almost shocked.

Susan turned around to look at him, "Doug Ross, oh my god how are you?" She said hugging him. She was as shocked as ever, she had heard rumors that he was coming back to work here, but that's all she thought them to be were rumors.

"I'm fine how are you doing? I never thought that I would see you in Chicago again." He said as he gave her a quick hug back.

"Been here going on six years now." She said smiling at him, "it's nice to see your face again there Dr. Intercom after all this time."

Doug had to laugh at that. After all this time she still had that nickname for him. "Well Carol's mom's not doing to well so we moved back so she and the girls could be with her."

"How are the girls?" Susan asked.

"They are getting big. It's hard to believe that they are eight now." Doug said smiling as he mentioned his daughters. "What have you been up to?"

Susan smiled, "well not much got married three years ago shortly after Alexis was born."

"Wow so much has changed since I left. It's a miracle that I recognize anyone anymore." He said putting his stuff away and pulling on his lab coat. "I know that it was hard to recognize the ER, Dr. Weaver sure has made a lot of changes since I left."

"Well not that much has changed." She said laughing a little, "okay well it has, Carter's married, I'm married we both have kids. Alexis and William are both four and seem to get along really well. Looks like the next generation of County doctors are growing up. Not that I am really wanting Alexis to be a doctor, I know her dad would be thrilled if she decided to be a flight nurse." Susan said as she headed for the lounge door towards admit.

Doug let out a small laugh as he followed her, "yeah don't blame him there. I don't know about Tess and Kate. I can't see them going into medicine just yet, but they still have a long time to make up their minds. As much as they've hung out in hospitals, I think it might just rub off onto them."

"We'll I had better get busy, looks like the board is starting to back up." Susan said as she picked up a chart.

"Yeah that's what I'm here for too." He said following her lead and grabbing a pediatric case from the rack. "Maybe we can get coffee sometime and I can play catch up. It looks like there's a lot that I have missed." He said as he headed off with his chart to start what looked to be a very promising night.

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