Chapter 14: The least I can do
Carter carried Abby inside the ER, attempting to avoid as many people as possible, the few people that knew they were there; he thought the better off that they would be. It wasn't that he was ashamed or embarrassed about the shape that Abby was in, it was that he didn't want to play 20 questions with everyone and have the constant barrage of the "how is she doing?" aimed at him. He needed to focus on her right now and her alone. She would always be his number one concern but right now she was all he could afford to think about.
He didn't ask what room was open, sliding by admit with out a single head turning. Most everyone seemed busy with the normal barrage of patients that came as a constant flow into the ER. He walked down the hallway until he found an open room where they wouldn't be disturbed.
"Susan you want to put a Jane Doe on the board so that they don't try to put anyone else in here." Carter said softly as he laid Abby down on the gurney. She stayed right where he had placed her. Not phased at all with the change of surroundings.
"You want me to page psyche?" She asked in hushed tones.
"No I'll do that, I want Carl down here himself." He said without an iota of hesitation behind his voice, "I don't want some resident or intern dealing with this."
Susan nodded as she headed back out the door and down the hallway. Carter made sure that all the blinds were down so that those who were passing by couldn't just peer in. He knew that this was the right decision and he picked up the phone on the wall. When he got through to Deraad's office he explained the situation what had been going on and what was happening now. Carl agreed with Carter that Abby was not a teaching case and that Carter should bring her upstairs, that they would have a place for her when they got there.
Carter hung up the phone and waited for Susan to return. "We need to take her upstairs, Carl is waiting for us."
"Good thing, cause it's starting to overflow out there, they would come looking for us if they knew we were here sucking us into the ER Vortex that never lets go." Susan was trying to keep the mood light. She wanted Carter to be more relaxed not that this was something that should be joked around with but the tension in that room was so thick that you could cut it with a knife.
"You think we can get up there with out being spotted."
Susan looked at him, "covert operation." She said softly, "I think we can make it, what if we went back and took the service elevator rather than the ones in the main ER?"
"That might work." Carter said. They weren't that far from them right now as it was, and they could go on the ones used to take carts up and down between the various floors possibly without being seen.
"It should." Susan said. She watched and waited as Carter picked up Abby and then she poked her head out in the hallway, "other door, there's Weaver." She said darting back inside and opening up the other door, "come on this way."
The snuck there way through the ER darting and ducking as they needed to but managing to get to the elevators with out being seen.
"You know I think that's the first time that I have gone through the ER without being spotted by a soul, but then I never had tried that hard to sneak through it either." Susan said as the door started to shut, they were now home free and headed up to the 5th floor.
"You need to try more often and keep your skills up." Carter said he knew that Susan was trying to keep things light and he would play along with her. He knew that this was stressful enough on both of them without the added need for silence in the ER.
"Ever thought about joining the CIA?" She joked softly now.
"Nope," Carter said giving her a soft smile, "why have you?"
"Not that I know of." She replied back as they watched and waited for the elevator to get to the right floor.
"God these are slower than the main elevators." Carter said.
"Yeah they seem to be way slower, I thought the ones in the ER were but I guess they are nothing to be complaining about." Susan replied.
"Oh no when you can take the stairs up faster than you can take the elevator, you have something to complain about."
"You must have ran those stairs a million times a day when you were a resident."
"Only when I was Benton's student." Carter replied. "Once I left surgery I didn't have to run up and down between the floors answering pages all day long. How I definitely do not miss those days."
"Ah but you were such a cute and sweet medical student Carter." Susan said, "you were the first one that Mark, Doug, Benton and I had ever seen in a starched white lab coat." She laughed softly. "I remember that day like it was yesterday almost."
"Some days if feels like yesterday." Carter answered.
"I worked on your very first patient after graduation." She said smiling as she thought back on a time that seemed so long ago. "Benton had just given you a brand new lab coat and you got to try it on and out."
"Yeah." Carter said as he remember back to then too. "Seems like it's a whole different ER now. Nothing stayed the same."
"Nothing ever stays the same Carter." Susan said, she could tell that she was helping to keep his mind somewhat off where they were going. "You remember that first day you came in so quiet and bashful, your clipboard landed right on the Admit desk bell. We all had to wonder if you actually knew anything, but then of course Doug's answer to that was that you knew how to dress."
"I didn't know a whole lot then, and I can't say that I know a lot more now." He said, "just more experience under my belt and having the greatest teachers." He smiled at her now.
"Yeah this place did have good teachers, well okay not all of them. Man I remember when Mark said that Kerry Weaver was coming over as Chief Resident, the next thing it seems like she became queen of the ER overnight."
"But she hasn't done a horrible job." Carter replied back.
"No, Kerry hasn't done a horrible job and she's kept this place running." Susan said, "I just never thought that I would be Chief of the ER when I came back from Phoenix."
"I never thought that Kerry would be Chief of Staff either." He said looking down. "I guess I always just pictured her as holding the iron fist over those of us slaving away in the ER."
"She does run that place with an iron fist." Susan said looking over at him as the elevator jerked to a stop so that they could get out.
The walk down the hallway towards the psych entrance was one of the longest walks that Carter had ever taken in his life. His feet felt as if they had been dunked in cement and had dried heavy. When they reached the desk, he looked over at Susan and you could see the sadness in his eyes, surrounded by all the concern he felt and the worry that was buried in there as well.
"Abby Lockhart," He said his voice barely more than a whisper. "I talked to Dr. Deraad; he said that he'd have a bed for her."
"Yeah 560, down the hall."
Carter started to walk again down the hallway towards the room. He reached the door and took Abby inside.
"Carter do you want me to stay with you longer?" Susan asked.
"Would you, I understand though if you need to get home." Carter answered.
"No I can stay it's really okay." Susan replied, "you guys are my friends and sometimes you have to put friends first." She patted Carter's arm. He looked horrible and exhausted right now.
"Dr. Carter." Carl said as he entered the room. "Dr. Lewis."
"Hello Carl." Carter said.
"Hey Carl." Susan answered.
The three of them talked for a few minutes and then Carl wanted to sit and talk to Abby without the two of them there. Carter was reluctant to leave the room.
"She's in good hands Carter." Susan said as she led him down the hallway. "Why don't we go and get some coffee while Abby is in there with him."
She didn't wait for an answer from Carter as they headed off to have coffee. She knew if would keep him occupied for awhile and this way he wasn't pacing a hole in the carpet up there. It was the least that she could do for him right now. They got back onto the elevator and headed down and outside. Walking over to the newspaper stand where Susan got them both coffee and they walked back across to the ambulance bay to wait, there was no reason to rush back up there. The conversation that was taking place up on the 5th floor was going to be one that was either very one-sided or very long.
