Good Friends and Green Doors
Carter awoke to the sound of his alarm. He reached over batting at it, he didn't want to wake Abby up. He slipped into the bathroom and dressed. He glanced over at her as he headed out to go to work. He locked the door behind him before heading off to County.
John saw Susan come into the ER. He headed into the lounge after her. "Hi Susan."
"Good morning, Carter. Where's your better half?"
"She's on at seven." He said to her as he got a cup of coffee, "I have a favor to ask you before it get busy."
"Sure, what do you need?" Susan asked.
"Would you mind taking the stitches out of my head?" He asked.
"No problem. What happened, anyway?" she asked, as she pulled a suture removal set out of her pocket.
"I got hit by a car."
"What! "Susan exclaimed "You guys didn't say anything about that."
"At Barbara's wedding my Dad hit on Abby. I had been mad at my mother and drinking. I saw it happen and I wouldn't listen to Abby the next thing I knew she was screaming at me and there was the car."
"Oh my God," Susan gasped.
"I was so glad Abby was there afterwards, Susan."
"That must have really shook you both up," Susan said, as she took the sutures out of Carter's head.
"It did." He said, holding back a tear, "I couldn't believe that my mother was calling her a trollop and my father was kissing her."
"That's just awful, Carter." Susan said.
"There's more." He said, fighting to control the tears now.
Susan finished taking the sutures out, then came around Carter to look at him.
"I," He said taking in a deep breath, "almost relapsed."
"Relapsed? You mean drugs?"
"The pain from everything was so bad, I sent my sister to the pharmacy for me, if Abby hadn't walked in when she did, I would have taken them."
"Oh, Carter," Susan sighed. "I'm glad she was there for you."
"I ride Abby so hard about her alcohol problem and here I go and do the same thing."
"But that's because you care about her. And I think she knows that."
"I know, but I'm a hypocrite." he sighed.
"No your not. You have problems, Abby has problems, and together you will face them, and overcome them.
"We will," He said to her, with assurance in his voice.
"I know you will. Now go, I'm sure there are patients for you to see."
"Yeah I don't want to spend the whole day trying to clear that board." He said heading toward the door. "Thanks for listening."
"Anytime, Carter," Susan said with a smile.
Carter walked over to the admit desk, "who's attending Jerry?"
"Dr. Kovac," Jerry answered.
"Do you know where he's at?" Carter asked as he started to walk off.
"Exam one, I think."
Carter walked down the hall and pushed the door open. "Dr. Kovac?"
"Good Morning, Carter," Luka answered.
"Morning, what do you have for me this morning?" Carter asked.
"The board isn't too bad, " he answered.
"Slow night?"
"Blessedly," Luka said.
"Anything that you need to hand off?"
"Just this one, and the two in exam 4."
"I got them." He said heading off to work.
Abby hear her alarm go off. She groaned as she got out off bed. John must have let her sleep after all. She got dressed, pinned her new name tag over her heart and headed off to work. She was anxious to see her husband. Carter was busy with a hand lac when he saw Abby walk into the ER. She headed for the lounge, put her purse in the locker and headed to work. Carter finished giving the patient instructions and headed over to her, "good morning."
"Good morning, how has it been so far?"
"Slow," he said, "Pablo is in 2, but other than that, an ear infection."
"Good, because I am still a little tired," Abby said, with a yawn.
"You look it." He said.
"Gee, thanks,' she said, with a frown.
"Did you not sleep well, or did I wake you up?"
"No, I slept ok, and you didn't wake me. I just still feel tired," Abby explained.
"Do you feel okay?" He asked, feeling protective of her.
"John, I'm fine. We've been busy this last few weeks."
"Sorry," He said backing down, "I'll be in with Pablo if anyone needs me."
"What time are we doing lunch?" she asked,.
"Around noon if I don't get busy."
"Sounds good to me."
He headed down the hallway to help clean up his patient. Things stayed fairly slow which he was thankful for.
Noon arrived, and Abby looked around for John. He came out of exam two, walking toward the drug lockup.
"Lunch?" she asked.
"Yeah just let me get lasix for the guy in 2, he's in CHF." Carter said.
Abby waited for him by the bay doors. He made sure that exam 2 was taken care of and walked over to Abby, "where do you want to go?"
"Mcgoo's?"
"Sure." He said smiling, "pie and coffee."
"That sounds really, really good."
He took her hand as they crossed the street. He headed inside to the first open booth. "Still tired?"
"A little," she answered.
"Sure you don't want anything other than pie and coffee?"
"No, just that sounds good."
Carter flagged down the waitress. He ordered and then turned back to Abby. "Maybe it will stay slow the rest of the day."
"One can only hope," she said.
"I called the landlord and cancelled the rest of my lease." He said, "I just have to have my stuff out in a week."
"I have until the end of the month, but I don't think I want to wait that long."
He looked at the circles under eyes, "we can go slow, really there is no rush."
"I can't wait to see the house, though."
"We can go tonight, when you we get off." He said.
Abby pushed her coffee away. "John, can you order me a glass of milk?"
"Yeah sure," He said flagging down the waitress again, "is your stomach bothering you?" "No, milk just sounds good." she said.
He was a little worried about her. "Okay." As he watched the waitress bring her milk.
Abby drank her milk, then looked at her watch. "Looks like we need to get back."
"Yeah," He said. He took care of the bill, "maybe you should take it slow the rest of the afternoon."
"John, I'm fine. You are such a mother hen."
He backed off, "okay."
The rest of the day went quickly. Abby was in the lounge, resting her eyes, when John walked in.
"You ready?" he asked.
"I sure am." She said, getting up from the couch.
"Let's go then and see our wedding present." He took her hand and walked her out to the jeep. Abby had the slip of paper with the address in her hand. She gave directions while John drove. He pulled up in front of the address he had given to her.
"Oh look," she gasped.
In front of them was a white house with green trim, and a white picket fence.
"You'll still have your green door." He said smiling at her.
"Did your Gamma know where I live?"
"She must have." He said opening the door for her. "Shall we see the inside of our new home."
"Oh, please", she said, unable to stand still.
He took her hand and walked up to the front porch. He scooped her up when they got to the front door.
"John, you did this already," she laughed.
"But this is our home now," He said pushing the door open, "and you are still technically my bride."
"I'll always be your bride, John," she said, with a smile.
He smiled down at her as he walked into the front room of the house.
"Look at that fireplace," she said, "John, put me down. I want to see more.
He set her down. And followed her. Abby went from room to room, getting more excited as she went.
"Which room do you want as our bedroom?"
"Duh, John. That huge bedroom with the bathroom with the Jacuzzi tub in it."
"I had a feeling you would say that."
"When can we move in?" she asked, excitedly.
He looked at her, seeing how happy she was, "when do you want to?"
"I work the next three."
"I work the next two, but then only have one off, then three more."
"Are we going to have any days off together."
Abby pulled her pocket calendar out of her purse. " Looks like we both have the 22 and 23rd off."
"Well then I guess you will have to wait until then."
"But can we get started before that, please?" she pleaded, batting her eyes at him.
"A little at a time sure."
"Great." she said, her feet doing those little shuffling steps again.
"We'd better get some boxes." He said to her, "and we can start packing up the apartment."
"Can we start tonight?"
He laughed, "sure."
They got in the Jeep and headed back toward the apartment. He stopped off to pick up some boxes and then took her back to the apartment. He carried them upstairs and started to help her pack. Abby was in her room, empting her dresser into the boxes. All of a sudden she felt really tired. She pulled a pillow over, and lay down on the floor.
Carter hadn't heard any noise from the bedroom in a while, so he went to check on Abby,. He found her laying on the floor in front of the dresser. "Are you okay?" he whispered.
The only noise Abby made was a soft snore. He picked her up off the floor and laid her on the bed. She seemed so tired. He pulled the covers up over and turned off the lights before snuggling in close to her. Maybe it was all the excitement. He closed his eyes and went to sleep next to her.
Carter awoke to the sound of his alarm. He reached over batting at it, he didn't want to wake Abby up. He slipped into the bathroom and dressed. He glanced over at her as he headed out to go to work. He locked the door behind him before heading off to County.
John saw Susan come into the ER. He headed into the lounge after her. "Hi Susan."
"Good morning, Carter. Where's your better half?"
"She's on at seven." He said to her as he got a cup of coffee, "I have a favor to ask you before it get busy."
"Sure, what do you need?" Susan asked.
"Would you mind taking the stitches out of my head?" He asked.
"No problem. What happened, anyway?" she asked, as she pulled a suture removal set out of her pocket.
"I got hit by a car."
"What! "Susan exclaimed "You guys didn't say anything about that."
"At Barbara's wedding my Dad hit on Abby. I had been mad at my mother and drinking. I saw it happen and I wouldn't listen to Abby the next thing I knew she was screaming at me and there was the car."
"Oh my God," Susan gasped.
"I was so glad Abby was there afterwards, Susan."
"That must have really shook you both up," Susan said, as she took the sutures out of Carter's head.
"It did." He said, holding back a tear, "I couldn't believe that my mother was calling her a trollop and my father was kissing her."
"That's just awful, Carter." Susan said.
"There's more." He said, fighting to control the tears now.
Susan finished taking the sutures out, then came around Carter to look at him.
"I," He said taking in a deep breath, "almost relapsed."
"Relapsed? You mean drugs?"
"The pain from everything was so bad, I sent my sister to the pharmacy for me, if Abby hadn't walked in when she did, I would have taken them."
"Oh, Carter," Susan sighed. "I'm glad she was there for you."
"I ride Abby so hard about her alcohol problem and here I go and do the same thing."
"But that's because you care about her. And I think she knows that."
"I know, but I'm a hypocrite." he sighed.
"No your not. You have problems, Abby has problems, and together you will face them, and overcome them.
"We will," He said to her, with assurance in his voice.
"I know you will. Now go, I'm sure there are patients for you to see."
"Yeah I don't want to spend the whole day trying to clear that board." He said heading toward the door. "Thanks for listening."
"Anytime, Carter," Susan said with a smile.
Carter walked over to the admit desk, "who's attending Jerry?"
"Dr. Kovac," Jerry answered.
"Do you know where he's at?" Carter asked as he started to walk off.
"Exam one, I think."
Carter walked down the hall and pushed the door open. "Dr. Kovac?"
"Good Morning, Carter," Luka answered.
"Morning, what do you have for me this morning?" Carter asked.
"The board isn't too bad, " he answered.
"Slow night?"
"Blessedly," Luka said.
"Anything that you need to hand off?"
"Just this one, and the two in exam 4."
"I got them." He said heading off to work.
Abby hear her alarm go off. She groaned as she got out off bed. John must have let her sleep after all. She got dressed, pinned her new name tag over her heart and headed off to work. She was anxious to see her husband. Carter was busy with a hand lac when he saw Abby walk into the ER. She headed for the lounge, put her purse in the locker and headed to work. Carter finished giving the patient instructions and headed over to her, "good morning."
"Good morning, how has it been so far?"
"Slow," he said, "Pablo is in 2, but other than that, an ear infection."
"Good, because I am still a little tired," Abby said, with a yawn.
"You look it." He said.
"Gee, thanks,' she said, with a frown.
"Did you not sleep well, or did I wake you up?"
"No, I slept ok, and you didn't wake me. I just still feel tired," Abby explained.
"Do you feel okay?" He asked, feeling protective of her.
"John, I'm fine. We've been busy this last few weeks."
"Sorry," He said backing down, "I'll be in with Pablo if anyone needs me."
"What time are we doing lunch?" she asked,.
"Around noon if I don't get busy."
"Sounds good to me."
He headed down the hallway to help clean up his patient. Things stayed fairly slow which he was thankful for.
Noon arrived, and Abby looked around for John. He came out of exam two, walking toward the drug lockup.
"Lunch?" she asked.
"Yeah just let me get lasix for the guy in 2, he's in CHF." Carter said.
Abby waited for him by the bay doors. He made sure that exam 2 was taken care of and walked over to Abby, "where do you want to go?"
"Mcgoo's?"
"Sure." He said smiling, "pie and coffee."
"That sounds really, really good."
He took her hand as they crossed the street. He headed inside to the first open booth. "Still tired?"
"A little," she answered.
"Sure you don't want anything other than pie and coffee?"
"No, just that sounds good."
Carter flagged down the waitress. He ordered and then turned back to Abby. "Maybe it will stay slow the rest of the day."
"One can only hope," she said.
"I called the landlord and cancelled the rest of my lease." He said, "I just have to have my stuff out in a week."
"I have until the end of the month, but I don't think I want to wait that long."
He looked at the circles under eyes, "we can go slow, really there is no rush."
"I can't wait to see the house, though."
"We can go tonight, when you we get off." He said.
Abby pushed her coffee away. "John, can you order me a glass of milk?"
"Yeah sure," He said flagging down the waitress again, "is your stomach bothering you?" "No, milk just sounds good." she said.
He was a little worried about her. "Okay." As he watched the waitress bring her milk.
Abby drank her milk, then looked at her watch. "Looks like we need to get back."
"Yeah," He said. He took care of the bill, "maybe you should take it slow the rest of the afternoon."
"John, I'm fine. You are such a mother hen."
He backed off, "okay."
The rest of the day went quickly. Abby was in the lounge, resting her eyes, when John walked in.
"You ready?" he asked.
"I sure am." She said, getting up from the couch.
"Let's go then and see our wedding present." He took her hand and walked her out to the jeep. Abby had the slip of paper with the address in her hand. She gave directions while John drove. He pulled up in front of the address he had given to her.
"Oh look," she gasped.
In front of them was a white house with green trim, and a white picket fence.
"You'll still have your green door." He said smiling at her.
"Did your Gamma know where I live?"
"She must have." He said opening the door for her. "Shall we see the inside of our new home."
"Oh, please", she said, unable to stand still.
He took her hand and walked up to the front porch. He scooped her up when they got to the front door.
"John, you did this already," she laughed.
"But this is our home now," He said pushing the door open, "and you are still technically my bride."
"I'll always be your bride, John," she said, with a smile.
He smiled down at her as he walked into the front room of the house.
"Look at that fireplace," she said, "John, put me down. I want to see more.
He set her down. And followed her. Abby went from room to room, getting more excited as she went.
"Which room do you want as our bedroom?"
"Duh, John. That huge bedroom with the bathroom with the Jacuzzi tub in it."
"I had a feeling you would say that."
"When can we move in?" she asked, excitedly.
He looked at her, seeing how happy she was, "when do you want to?"
"I work the next three."
"I work the next two, but then only have one off, then three more."
"Are we going to have any days off together."
Abby pulled her pocket calendar out of her purse. " Looks like we both have the 22 and 23rd off."
"Well then I guess you will have to wait until then."
"But can we get started before that, please?" she pleaded, batting her eyes at him.
"A little at a time sure."
"Great." she said, her feet doing those little shuffling steps again.
"We'd better get some boxes." He said to her, "and we can start packing up the apartment."
"Can we start tonight?"
He laughed, "sure."
They got in the Jeep and headed back toward the apartment. He stopped off to pick up some boxes and then took her back to the apartment. He carried them upstairs and started to help her pack. Abby was in her room, empting her dresser into the boxes. All of a sudden she felt really tired. She pulled a pillow over, and lay down on the floor.
Carter hadn't heard any noise from the bedroom in a while, so he went to check on Abby,. He found her laying on the floor in front of the dresser. "Are you okay?" he whispered.
The only noise Abby made was a soft snore. He picked her up off the floor and laid her on the bed. She seemed so tired. He pulled the covers up over and turned off the lights before snuggling in close to her. Maybe it was all the excitement. He closed his eyes and went to sleep next to her.