Title: Next of Kin (Part 2 of 4)
Beta: Ash... much thanks, hon.
It had been a few weeks since Morris had been attacked and the lawyers were gearing up on both sides for court. Hopefully everything would be settled quickly, giving Morris, Jane and the rest of the staff at Cook County ER a little more peace of mind.
Dr Susan Lewis was once again having one of those days; Chuck's cold may have been over and done with, but Cosmo had since caught the bug and was even more irritable. A med student had spilled hot coffee over her as she'd entered the lounge, though thankfully she'd had spare clothes around to change into – the student was since avoiding her very carefully so as not to receive any more tirades.
The one good thing to have happened was that she had finally been given permission to do something about the Next of Kin situation. It had been ridiculous that it had taken so long to retrieve the information on Morris; it was even more ridiculous that it had taken this long to receive the ability to do anything on the situation.
The shift was changing; however Susan still had several hours to go so that she could inform everyone on all shifts of the changes to be made. She gathered the staff from the previous shift at admin to give them the good news with the next shift at the same time as they would pass over cases and go through the board.
"Right-" she began.
Luka interrupted. "Will this take long, Susan?"
"No more than a few minutes." She sighed. One minute the man is wonderful; the next, a pain in the neck trying to get away as soon as possible and making me look incompetent.
"Just a few notes; Dr Morris is well on the way to recovery and should be back with us within the next couple of weeks."
Smiles all round, with just a few eye rolls added into the mix. Just because the man had been attacked did not make him the sudden angel of the ER. An extra large smile came from Jane; was she that worried? Or is there something going on there? Susan shrugged off that thought and continued.
"And in relation to that incident, I'm sure you've all heard by now how long it took to get Morris' Next of Kin details, and how badly he could have been affected by the delay that caused." She waited as most nodded. "I've finally been given 'permission' to do something about this."
She turned to the desk behind her, separating a sheaf of paper into two, one in each hand, and turned back around with a grin on her face. "I need each and every one of you to fill these in; I want them back within 48 hours. You'll fill them in every two months, even if there hasn't been any change."
Most looked annoyed at this extra paperwork, and there were a few groans too.
"Guys, it's five extra minutes every two months and you all know it could save your lives." She saw a strange look on Ray's face, like he was worried about it, then Neela elbowed him and the usual smirk reappeared.
She held her hands out to those coming off shift and put the other pile back on the desk. "I'll leave this pile for the new shift, and I will know if you've picked them up or not."
The day was coming to an end for Ray and Neela as Susan had handed out the small forms that were about to change everything for them. Not long after, they were sitting on the sofa in their apartment worrying on the details.
Neela sighed. "We knew this wouldn't last for ever, it being just us… in fact, it isn't even just us anymore; Abby knows." She scrunched up her nose. "Well she knows that we're together, at least."
"Soon she'll know we're more than that."
"I know. We can't let her find out through office gossip," said Neela, her teeth worrying at her lower lip.
Ray resisted the urge to kiss away that worry; this was something serious that they really needed to deal with. They had been kidding themselves that they could have themselves to themselves for so long. He sighed, laying his head on the back of the sofa.
"We'll have to tell her before we hand the sheets in, 'cause even if Lewis tells no one they'll find out somehow."
"And it isn't fair to Abby for Susan to find out first. It's bad enough that we didn't tell her in the beginning."
The forms sat on the small coffee table in front of them, the same coffee table they'd nearly fallen on over a year ago after a tennis match. Ray grinned at the memory, the emotions of that day, and thought of the strawberries sitting in the fridge waiting for later.
"Let's tell her tomorrow."
Neela looked up in shock; she hadn't expected him to give in so easily. He laughed and nodded.
"OK, then, tomorrow."
They each reached for a form at the same time, so in tune with each other now to know what the other was going to do next. A smile on each face as for the first time in a long time they told the truth.
Neela looked at the rings on her fingers and realised that soon she'd be able to wear them there all the time instead of hidden round her neck; and the ring on Ray's finger would no longer need to switch hands all the time.
Jane, too, had finished her shift as Dr Lewis had handed out the forms. Susan had held her back a moment and asked her to pass on a form to Archie for her. Jane was somewhat taken aback that Dr Lewis had known that she was seeing enough of Archie for her to be the person to give the form to. Perhaps, as she was the boss, she was supposed to know things like that.
Or maybe I'm not being as sneaky as I'd like to be. Come on Jane, maybe it is obvious… but that's ok, you're allowed to be worried about the guy, you were there when he was hurt, it was your fault, kind of. At least know one's caught me calling him Archie, I'd never see the end of it, especially from Neela – not that she can talk, but I'm not supposed to know that she's seeing her roomie.
Jane's inner monologue had brought her all the way to Morris' front door for the third time that week - and it was only Wednesday. It's good to laugh at yourself, Jane, 'cause if it's not I'm just going crazy. She reached up her arm and rang the bell to his apartment. The little box buzzed for a moment then his voice reached out, "come on in, Jane."
She opened the door, wondering how on earth he knew it was her; it wasn't like any of his windows gave a view of the door. Unless she was becoming predictable. Soup in one hand and the form in another, she climbed the two flights of stairs to his apartment and let herself in; once again ignoring the fact that she had a key. Just so I don't have to get up to answer the door, Jane.
He was sitting in the lounger facing the doorway to the living area, which was just off the small hallway after the front door. He had that little grin on his face, the one that used to annoy the hell out of you, Jane, why doesn't it do that anymore? Huh?
Shrugging off her thoughts and her coat, she ventured inside the room, smile on her face. She turned and hung her coat on the peg on the back of the door, just like you've done every day since he got out of hospital, Jane.
"Hey, how's it going? Did you have a good day?"
"Sure, it was great; daytime TV is fantastic." Gee, Jane, where do you think he's gotten that sarcasm from?
She rolled her eyes at him as she tried to avoid that inner voice, the one that sounded like a combination of Abby and Neela. "Well, I have stuff to brighten up your day a little."
"What flavour?"
She refrained from rolling her eyes and told him as she handed him the bowl and went into the kitchen to find a spoon, "Parsnip."
As she came back and handed him the spoon, she sat on the sofa opposite and waved the form.
He looked up from his meal. "What's that for?"
"A form Dr Lewis is making everyone fill in; entirely your fault."
"Huh?"
"'Cause it took so long to sort out the next of kin thing." He blushed; he'd been avoiding that conversation entirely, and Jane wasn't about to have that discussion with him, we'll save that 'til much later on. In what? Your relationship? She blinked and continued, "We all fill it in, and we do it every two months."
A childish smirk crossed his face at her last words.
"Fill it in."
He outright laughed. Jane blushed all over.
"The form, Archie, the form," she told him through gritted teeth.
"Sure. Let's have a look then." He held his free hand out for the form, which she passed to him.
"Doesn't look too complicated; I'll have to remember to put my mother back on it this time." He looked up at her. "Until I have someone else to fill that spot."
End Part 2.