Four Attendings and a PA
Disclaimer: nope, don't own, make no money, et cetera.
Thanks to my wonderful reviewers! Enjoy!
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Part 3
"What's going on?" Elizabeth Corday asked as she leaned over the front desk in the ER the next day and helping herself to a doughnut.
"How do you mean?" Kerry queried, looking round from the board, reaching out to steady herself with one hand and holding a pen in the other.
"I think I've stepped into the Twilight Zone."
"Huh?"
"Romano's in a very good mood. It's scary," she confessed through a mouthful of doughnut. "I almost want the old Romano back. At least I know where I am with him."
Kerry raised her eyebrows. That's an interesting way of looking at things. "Maybe it's love," she suggested knowingly. "That's probably why I'm always so awful. No love life." She smiled self-deprecatingly.
"Oh, come on. You're nowhere near as bad as Romano or Coburn. Maybe they should get together."
"Elizabeth! Need you in here!" Mark yelled from Trauma One.
"Better go." She hurried off, stuffing the rest of the doughnut rather inelegantly into her mouth.
"Wouldn't you like to know," Kerry murmured, allowing herself a secret smile. It looked like things were progressing nicely – although the thought of Romano being nice was, admittedly, somewhat terrifying.
She gulped. What had she and Doug done?
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"Are you ever going to tell me what you and Kerry are up to?" Carol demanded as Doug pulled up at a set of traffic lights on their way to work. "Please?" She looked pleadingly at him, making puppy-dog eyes at him. It usually had the desired effect.
"And what if I don't?"
"I'll get it out of Kerry or Jeanie…"
He sighed, relenting. "Okay. We're setting Romano and Coburn up," he said, driving off as the lights changed.
"With who?" Carol asked curiously.
"Each other."
Silence. Then Carol exploded in hysterical laughter. "You're not!"
"We are."
Carol's giggles subsided as realisation slowly sunk in. "This will be interesting…"
"You bet. They were already planning to meet up yesterday evening. I wonder what happened…"
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"Is Dr. Coburn around?" Romano demanded of Abby Lockhart.
Abby looked up from the notes she was writing, annoyed at being interrupted. "I'm afraid she's busy. You know, people giving birth, that kind of thing."
"Oh. OK. Tell her I came by." It was a command, not a request.
"Will do." Abby watched him wander off, a stupid grin on his face. She was more than slightly disturbed by it. When he rounded the corner, out of sight and earshot, Abby reached for the phone and dialled down to the ER, whose staff had been the most vocal recently in complaining about him.
"Hello. ER." Damn. She'd got Weaver. Abby's luck always went that way.
"Hi, Dr. Weaver. Erm, it's Abby Lockhart from OB. Um, I just thought I ought to warn you, we're in some kind of parallel universe or something."
"How come?"
"Well, Coburn's been in a great mood all day, so's Romano, and he's just come by looking for her."
"Oh yes? Do tell." Down in the ER, Kerry smirked. Things were going better than she and Doug had imagined.
Abby was surprised at her reaction. "Well, she's not here, but," she lowered her voice conspiratorially, "he asked me to tell her he'd dropped by."
"That's extremely interesting. Look, you will keep me posted, won't you?" Kerry requested.
"Sure. Oh, I've gotta go. Bye." Well, that was odd. Kerry Weaver in a good mood, and she seemed awfully interested in the whole romance.
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"Robert!"
"Janet! What a surprise!" Romano cried as he bumped – literally – into her outside at the newspaper and coffee stand at lunchtime. It wasn't really. He'd cleverly engineered it so he'd bump into her. "So, did you have a good time last night?"
She let out a girlish giggle. "Oh, most definitely. Although your bedside manner could use a little practice. Want to come over to mine tonight and I'll give you a few tips? At, say, eight?"
Kerry, hiding the other side of the stand, nearly exploded, and only managed to prevent herself from being given away by stuffing a handkerchief into her mouth. However, by doing this, she ended up nearly choking. Tears streamed down her face and she desperately willed them away. Fortunately, the two she was eavesdropping on chose that moment to head back inside.
"You okay?" Mark asked her, coming up alongside her. Kerry jumped, startled. "God, Mark, don't do that! You nearly had me in heart failure!" she gasped, still coughing. He put an arm round her and gently helped her to a nearby bench.
"What brought the coughing fit on?" he asked, concerned. "You're not sick, are you?"
Kerry yanked a tissue out of her pocket, shaking her head, and wiped her eyes. "Romano – and – and…Cob –" she broke off, coughing. When she'd calmed down, she continued. "Coburn. What they were saying. I nearly gave myself away by nearly exploding."
Mark nodded. "I see." Not that he did – but it was easier just to pretend that he did. He didn't understand what was going on. Not that there was anything unusual in that.
When the coughing had subsided, he let her lean on him as they went back inside. She definitely knew more than she was letting on. Maybe he could get Carter to get it out of her, seeing as he rented her basement. He'd probably have better luck.
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Kerry scribbled a note for Doug and Jeanie and asked Randi behind the front desk to ensure they got it. Things were definitely looking up. She'd been to ask Coburn about the woman who'd delivered in the ER on Thursday and got a very civil response. Romano was also being nice to everyone. Staff who encountered either or both of them were very confused.
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The doorbell rang. Janet hurriedly threw a towel round her shoulders to prevent them from becoming damp from her newly-washed hair. "You're early," she told the man standing on the doorstep.
Romano grinned and brought his hand out from behind his back. "I brought these for you." He handed over a huge bouquet of flowers and Janet gasped.
"Robert! They're lovely!" She suddenly remembered how cold it was. "Do come in."
"Thank you." He turned his head towards the kitchen. "Mmmm. Something smells good."
Janet blushed. "I thought I'd cook. I even got candles specially."
"I like people who can cook," he remarked as she took his coat and hung it up. "It's true what they say, you know. The way to a man's heart is through his stomach. Certainly this man's heart."
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After the meal, he sat back and smiled contentedly. "Delicious. A good doctor and a good cook. A killer combination." He reached for the wine bottle and refilled the glasses. "Now, about those tips…"
She laughed. "Just let me put the dishes in to soak."
"They can wait," he told her, putting a hand on hers. She shivered as a warm, tingly feeling spread throughout her body.
"Ah, I didn't say I'd do them. I'm just going to soak them, otherwise they'll never be clean. Give me five minutes."
She was out in four and a half, and grabbed his hand. "I promised you those tips. Come hither." They entered the bedroom, which smelled faintly of incense.
"The trick is to relax into the situation. It won't work out right if you're standoffish," she whispered.
He grabbed hold of her. "Show me. Don't just talk me through it. Put me through my paces."
"Very well…"
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TBC