Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter! We know it's been a while since we last updated. Please forgive us. You know how reality can intrude on a beautiful dream. lol Anyway, here is Chapter Eight of our story. We hope that you enjoy it and tell us what you think.
Thanks again!
butterflyswest and Erin Allen
8
"Tell me again why we have to walk?" Emily grumbled for what seemed like the millionth time. Ray shot a quelling glance Neela's way and scowled when she raised an eyebrow.
"Because we always take the train," he said for the millionth time that morning. "Its cheaper than a car, and walking is good for you."
"If you say so, Doctor Sadistic, but freezing my butt off was not on the itinerary this morning."
Ray stopped, turning on his heel to point a finger at her. There were so many things he wanted to say, but he clamped his jaw over all of them, spun around, and kept walking with his hands jammed in his pockets. She'd done nothing but grumble since she had been informed that they would walk to the station. He didn't blame her for complaining. It was friggin cold, but he'd be damned if he let her see that he was just as uncomfortable. Neela was no help either, alternating between fits of laughter at Emily's grousing and knowing smirks thrown at him. Between the two of them, it was enough to make him nuts.
When the train finally came, he was just glad to be out of the cold. Or rather, he was glad that his sister had something to distract her. She gaped at everything as if she'd never seen anything like it before. She hasn't, he reminded himself. Their home life was much different than anything he had come to think of as normal. His father didn't believe in public transportation. Not for the children of John Barnett. That was for the dregs of society, the paupers. Ray settled his elbow on the armrest and his chin in his hand. He glanced at Emily who was chattering like a little magpie, and wondered if he actually thought he could outwit a man who drove a hundred thousand dollar car.
"Are you all right?" Neela asked softly from his left.
"Fine," he said too quickly, and her expression grew skeptical. He put his arm around her shoulders and gave her a reassuring squeeze. "I'm fine," he lied. "I just didn't think that teenagers went from smart ass to twenty questions so fast."
She tilted her head to give him another odd look, but then shook her head. He was hiding something. She could feel it in the sudden tension around him, but she couldn't call him on his bluff. Not right here with Emily listening.
"You had better get used to it," she said dryly. "When this is all settled, that is all you will be listening to."
He grimaced, but some of the anxious energy she was feeling from him drained away.
"Don't remind me," he muttered. "I don't think I was like this when I was her age."
"You were likely taller," Neela said smartly, earning a laugh from him.
"Between the two of you, I'm gonna be insane," he said, kissing the top of her head. The train was slowing at their stop, and he rose, pulling her up beside him. "Come on you two. We have a lot to do today."
They left the El and walked the few blocks to County. The weak winter sunlight was just beginning to seep between the buildings that lined the streets, though it was long past sunrise. Ray pulled his coat close to his chin to drive away the bitter wind that kicked up pellets of dirty snow in his face. Windy City my ass, he thought to himself as he ducked through the ER doors. Neela and Emily darted in behind him, sighing with relief at the warmth that hit their wind-stung cheeks.
"What are you doing here?" Morris asked in his usual tactless manner. He glanced at his watch. "You're not on for another four hours."
"We'll wait for you at the lift," Neela said, shooting Morris a disdainful look. "Good morning to you, too, Morris," she said crisply as she wove her way to the elevators with Emily.
Morris gaped at her, then at Emily. "Where is she going? And who's the girl?" He grinned then, giving Ray a deliberate wink. "A little young for you don't you think, Barnett?"
Ray clamped down on the sudden urge to smash him through a window. Idiotic as he was, Morris couldn't know that Emily was his sister. He was also Ray's boss, and, the last he knew, throwing your boss through a window was still illegal.
"Don't worry about her, Morris," Ray bit out, brushing past him. "I'm not on until noon. I'll be back then."
"Okay," Morris said. His tone implied that he was being gracious enough to humor Ray in his illusions. "I get the message."
Ray paused to glower at him, gritting his teeth. "And what message is that?"
Morris threw up his hands and backed away, a small knowing smile on his face.
"Nothing. Nothing at all." He turned, pointing back at Ray. "See you back here at noon, Barnett."
Ray waited until he was gone, rolled his eyes and went to the end of the hall to join Neela and Emily at the elevators. Neela narrowed her eyes at him.
"What was that all about?" she asked.
Ray punched the button as if he wanted to jam it through the wall. He shook his head.
"I think he was implying that Emily's my new girlfriend," he said tightly.
"Ooo…" Emily squeaked in disgust. "That's not even funny!" She gave Ray an odd look, turning a little green. "What kind of people do you work with, Ray?"
"Sick ones," he grumbled, as the doors opened, spilling passengers into the hallway. Ray let Neela hit the button that would take them to the right floor before he damaged the thing. He was already nervous about this meeting, and Morris's crap hadn't helped ease that strain.
"I don't understand how he ever made Chief Resident," Neela said in exasperation, as the lift began to rise. "He has the mental capacity of pocket lint."
Ray grinned, wondering if he should tell her about the day Morris had toyed with the idea of analyzing lint, but decided against it. That was something he would keep to himself for a rainy day. Like the next time Morris decided to speak.
When the doors slid open, Ray led Emily to Wendell's office at the end of the hall. The silver sliding plaque discreetly spelled out her name and title. Ray reached for the door handle, but Emily pulled him back with a hand on his arm.
"Wait, Ray," she said in a small voice. "I don't know if I can do this."
"Do what?" he asked in confusion.
"I don't know this person," she said urgently. "What if she tells someone what I said? You know how Dad gets when he thinks we told."
Ray and Neela exchanged looks. Neela felt her heart clench at the near panic in his eyes. If Emily wouldn't talk to Wendell, then this would be over before it had begun. Neela bit her lip, unsure of precisely what to do. Neither one of them could force Emily to say a word, but if she didn't, it was back to Philadelphia. Just as Ray opened his mouth to speak, the door opened behind him, and Wendell stepped out. The warm smile on her face slipped a notch when she saw them. Neela wondered what she saw through her trained eyes. Ray, stiff and tense with anxiety; Emily near tears. And me, she thought dryly. The odd one out.
"You're early," Wendell continued looking at Ray, her smile widening once again. "That's actually good because I had a cancellation this morning." She turned to Emily and held out her hand. "I'm Dr. Meade, and you must be Emily."
Emily stared at her hand for a long moment before she reluctantly took it.
"I'm Emily," she said softly, as if she hadn't been talking almost nonstop since dawn.
"Would you like to come into my office, Emily?" Wendell asked, stepping aside. Her brow furrowed with concern when Emily took a step back. "I'm not going to bite," she said gently.
Emily shot Ray a look of near panic. "I can't do this," she whispered. "Please, Ray…"
"Emily, I explained all of this to you," he said with as much patience as he could muster. "I'll go in with you if that's what you want."
"I really need to speak with Emily alone, Dr. Barnett," Wendell broke in. "I know how you feel about the situation. Now I need to hear it from her." She gave him a slight frown when he opened his mouth to argue. "These things are delicate, Ray. I need to speak with her alone."
He shot Neela a wild look, and she stepped forward to avert disaster. Not only was Emily turning suddenly obstinate, but now Ray was being asked to leave her alone.
"Ray promised her that he would stay, Dr. Meade," she broke in. "We both told her that we would be here for her."
Wendell looked from Neela to Ray and back again. A slight smile crossed her lips and was gone before she turned to Emily.
"Will you speak in with me if I let Neela come with you?"
Emily glanced at Neela then at Ray. His face darkened with frustration.
"I'm her brother…"
"You are too close to this to be objective," Wendell said firmly. "I'll want to speak with you again later. Right now, however, I need to speak with Emily alone."
Neela touched his arm, and he turned his attention from Wendell to her. She could feel his irritation in every breath and was proud of his control.
"Perhaps it would be best if you spoke with Dr. Carter now," she told him quietly. "This is the perfect time. I'll stay with her."
He blew out a heavy breath and looked at his sister. She looked so scared, so alone. It caught him around the heart in a way that was almost painful. He didn't want to leave her here. Not when he'd promised that he would stay by her side, help her through it. But Neela would be here. It suddenly struck him how much he was coming to think of her as his family. Without her, he would be lost, floundering. She had turned to him just when he needed her, when the ghosts of his past had come to haunt him the most. She was here, now, offering more. All he wanted at that moment was to pull her close and never let her go. Something of what he was thinking must have shown through, because she suddenly blushed and gave him a small smile.
"Thank you," he said softly.
"Go. We'll be fine," she told him, looking at Emily.
Ray turned, pulling Emily into a hard hug.
"Just tell the truth, squirt. Wendell is only trying to help us," he told her.
She nodded against his chest then pulled away. "Will you be here when I'm done?"
"If I can be," he answered reluctantly. "If I'm not, then Neela will bring you down to the ER to find me."
She nodded, and Ray glanced at Neela.
"I'll see you later?" he asked. She nodded with a smile. God, how he loved her smile! As he passed, he brushed her hand with the backs of his fingers, discreetly trying to convey how much he loved her. Her blush and the heat that spread through him at the simple contact was enough for him. He reluctantly turned toward the elevators to find Dr. Carter.
He wasn't looking forward to this conversation either. It had become a joke around the ER that Ray Barnett would find any excuse possible to get out of a shift. It was damn near impossible for him to lock down either Kerrie Weaver or Carter for any kind of talk. It was true that he had asked for a lot of time off when he'd first started, but he'd always found someone to cover for him. It would be just my luck, he thought as the doors slid open on the ER hall, the one time I have a serious problem to talk about, they won't listen.
He stepped out of the lift and snagged the first nurse that came by, asking where Dr. Carter was.
"I think he's in the lounge," she said, her arms full of supplies. "I'm not sure, though. You want me to page him?"
"Nah, Inez, you look like you're busy enough. I'll take care of it."
She shrugged and hustled away without another word. Ray took a deep breath and headed for the lounge.
Ray was surprised to actually find him there. Usually, Carter could be counted on to be everywhere at once. The man was uncanny in that he would show up just when you didn't have the slightest clue as to what to do. Ray actually cringed at some of those memories, then shook his head and shoved through the door. Fortune rewards the bold…
"Dr. Carter, can I talk to you for a minute?"
Carter kept his eyes on the chart in front of him, turning a page before he spoke.
"What is it this time, Dr. Barnett? A week in the Bahamas for a rock festival?" He glanced up and raised his eyebrows. "Did the band get invited to Lollapalooza?"
Ray ground his teeth and forced a laugh.
"No, nothing like that. I've got a problem that I need to talk to you about."
Carter's eyes narrowed and he sat back in his seat. His eyes scanned Ray's face for a long moment, before he motioned to the seat beside him.
"Have a seat."
Ray took the offer and sat across from him at the table. He couldn't help but fidget as Carter's eyes bored into him. He'd always felt a little uncomfortable around John Carter; as if he were trying to live up to some expectation that he didn't even know existed.
"What kind of trouble are you in?" Carter asked calmly. "And don't tell me nothing, because you have that look on your face."
"Look?"
"Yes," Carter said with a slight smile. "That look that says 'I screwed up, fix it'. So what's the trouble?"
Ray shot him a guilty look. "I didn't think I was that bad."
"You aren't," Carter laughed. "But you do look like you're about to fall apart. So spill it, Barnett."
Ray took a deep breath and rested his elbows on the tabletop. As he began to speak, he felt as if a weight were being lifted from his chest. In the span of two days, he had told more people about his past than he'd confessed to in three years. So far, lightning hadn't struck him; no one had come out of the woodwork to beat him senseless. He suddenly felt free in a way that he had never felt before. And, most importantly, the people he had confessed to believed him. By the time he was finished speaking, Carter was leaning forward, a slight frown on his face.
"And you called your mother?" he asked.
"She pretended that nothing was wrong," Ray said bitterly.
"And your sister is talking to Wendell right now?"
"Yes. Neela is with her."
Carter sighed and shook his head.
"I tell you, Ray. I've heard some stories that would make you want to cry, but yours just pisses me off."
Ray felt his heart drop to his stomach only to rise to his throat to choke him. His hope suddenly died. He had been an idiot to think that anyone…
"What do you need, Ray? Time off? A lawyer? Whatever it is, I'll see what I can do for you."
"W-what?"
"I'll do everything I can to help you," Carter repeated slowly with a smile. "What? Did you think that I wouldn't believe you?"
"Actually, yes," Ray admitted sheepishly.
Carter smiled. "You and I have had some differences, Barnett. I ride you hard because I see your potential. I'd hate to lose you because of this or any other reason. Now, what do you need?"
Ray slumped back in his seat and rubbed the back of his neck with a grimace.
"I'm not sure yet," he admitted. "Most of it is in Wendell's hands right now."
"Let me make some phone calls," Carter told him. "I'll see what can be done from a legal standpoint. What I do know is that you'll need help if your father is as well off as you say he is. You can't fight him in court on your salary."
Ray laughed at Carter's attempt at humor. Nothing about this situation was funny, but it was either laugh or go crazy.
"Give me a day," Carter said, pushing to his feet with his hands on the table. "We'll get this taken care of."
Ray nodded and rose to his feet beside him.
"Listen, Dr. Carter. I just want to say thanks," he said quietly, holding out his hand.
Carter grinned and shook his hand. "Remember that the next time I need you to work a weekend," he said.
Just then, the door to the hall burst open and Inez skidded to a halt just inside it. Ray felt his stomach drop at the shocked look in her brown eyes.
"Doctors! We just got the call on a trauma. GSW five minutes out."
Carter and Ray leapt forward, following her out as she ran from the room. Carter immediately began shouting orders to prepare Trauma One. He turned to Frank.
"What are the vitals?"
Frank got on the radio, and Carter listened intently as the paramedic listed off the vitals of the incoming patient. Ray spun away from the desk, grabbing up a trauma gown as he went to the ambulance bay. Within seconds, Carter was beside him.
"You're not on for a while," he remarked. "Are you sure you want to start already?"
Ray nodded grimly. "Better now than later. I'd rather be busy than sit around thinking of everything that's going on upstairs."
Carter nodded, his eyes on the ambulance that was just then pulling into the bay, its lights flashing, sirens winding down to silence. The doors slammed open, and he stepped forward with Ray on his heels.
00000000
"Are you feeling better?" Neela asked as she handed Emily a tissue. The girl sniffled and nodded, wiping her eyes.
"Yeah," she said half surprised. "It wasn't as bad as I thought it was gonna be." She glanced at Neela and gave a watery smile. "She believed me."
Neela's heart cracked at the proud astonishment in that statement. She nodded, pushing the button on the elevator to bring it to them.
"We'll come back in a day or so to talk to the police," she said as the doors opened with a whoosh. "You'll swear out a statement, and you'll be one step closer to what you want."
Emily smiled shyly. "Thank you, Neela. Thanks for staying with me."
"You're welcome."
They were silent for a long moment as the lift descended. Neela was thinking of what she had heard in Wendell's office. It was worse than she had at first thought. The whole poisonous tale had left a bad taste in her mouth and left her gut churning. It drove home just how lucky she was to have parents that drove her crazy because they loved her. She was so deep in thought that she almost missed Emily's next words.
"Are you gonna marry Ray?"
"What?" Neela asked, shocked.
"You're good for him," the girl said, her face turning red. "And you're obviously more than just roommates." She shrugged. "I was just asking."
"That's complicated," Neela stammered as the lift came to a slow halt and the doors opened to chaos. Shouting and the sound of running feet greeted them as they stepped from the tiny compartment, and Neela frowned.
"Emily, go to the lounge," she ordered urgently. "Just down that hall. It's the second door on the left…"
"Where are you going?"
Neela turned her toward the lounge with a hand on her shoulder.
"Just go," she said kindly. "It looks like there's a trauma. I've got to see if I can help."
"But, Ray said…"
"Ray is likely helping right now," Neela broke in. "He'll be along shortly."
Emily sighed, looking sullen, but she moved down the hall. Neela grabbed up a trauma gown on her way to Trauma One. Glancing in, all she could see was blood and a score of doctors in scrubs. She pushed her way through the doors.
"Do you need any help in here?" she called loudly.
Carter didn't even glance up as he fitted a tube down the patient's throat.
"Go to Two and see if Ray does. We're almost finished with this one."
Neela cut through the trauma room and slammed through the doors to Trauma Two.
"What have you got, Ray?" she asked as she eased past nurses to the table. There was blood everywhere and the pulse ox monitor was screaming at them.
"Where's Emily?" he asked, his eyes narrowed.
"She's in the lounge," Neela answered.
"I've got multiple gunshot wounds to the chest and abdomen. I can't get this guy stabilized enough to go up to the OR. Every time I have him, he starts to crash again."
Neela quickly assessed the injuries. Two shots to the chest, both on the right side. Certainly lung damage, and possibly damage to a major vessel. The two to the bellymost likely hadhit the liver if not every other major organ as thebulletsbounced around inside.
"You're going to need a chest tube," she said as she ran for the equipment.
"Haven't had the time," Ray said in frustration. "This guy's bleeding from every goddamn pore it seems."
"Pulse down to fifty," Sam called out as the monitor began to whine again.
"Damn it! Get another unit of O neg and get the crash cart ready just in case." He glanced at Neela as she returned with the tube. "I've got to intubate."
"I've got this," she answered, already beginning to cut an opening for the tube.
Ray ordered the succs and took the number 8 tube that Sam slapped into his gloved hand. He was just inserting the tube when he felt someone watching him. He glanced up and found his sister at the door, staring at the blood with wide frightened eyes. He froze, unsure of what to do. Then her eyes locked with his and some of the fear in her eyes disappeared. She gave him a small sick smile, and backed out of the room. Every nerve in his body told him to follow her, explain what she had seen, and tell her that everything would be all right. He glanced at Neela to see if she had noticed Emily's appearance. She nodded in answer to his unspoken question.
"If you want to go, Ray…"
Just then, the patient seized, the monitors going haywire as his body convulsed. Ray forgot about leaving. There was no one else. Neela was an excellent doctor, but even she couldn't do this on her own. He shoved the vision of his sister's face from his thoughts and paid attention to what he was doing.
Thirty minutes later, he stood in the hallway as the surgical team wheeled the patient away to the OR. He didn't want to move, he was so exhausted.
"That your patient?" Carter asked from his left.
Ray could only nod.
"You kept him alive long enough for surgery," Carter said. "That's all you can do for him right now."
Ray glanced at him.
"Maybe. But my sister came in while I was working on him."
Carter raised an eyebrow. "Don't you think you'd better go explain things to her?"
Ray nodded slowly and turned as Neela pushed through the Trauma room doors. Her gaze came to rest on Carter and then bounced back to him.
"Do you want me to…" she began, glancing toward the lounge.
"No. I've got it. How did things go?"
She raised an eyebrow at Carter.
"I already told him," Ray said.
She smiled and nodded approval.
"She did very well. Wendell thinks there is a good chance of her staying"
Ray blew out a relieved breath.
"I'd better go talk to her. She came in to the trauma room when we were working."
"I know."
Carter clapped him on the shoulder. "I'll make those calls now," he said, starting down the hall. He turned, walking backward, and smiled. "You did good, Doctor."
Ray watched him for a minute before he headed for the lounge. Neela fell in beside him and took his hand.
"What did he mean by that?" she asked, unaware of his surprise. She had reached out to him again, this time at work. In full view of everyone. He decided to say nothing about the gesture, afraid that if he did, she would pull away.
"He's going to help me get a lawyer," he told her quietly. "He's going to rearrange my shifts, too, so Emily doesn't have to stay at that apartment by herself all the time."
Neela gave him a little nudge and grinned up at him. "Didn't I tell you that talking to him would be a good idea?"
He chuckled. "Yes, nag, you did."
"I don't nag," she said defensively. "It's not nagging if it works out."
He laughed and pushed open the lounge door. Immediately, he sobered when he saw Emily's tearstained face. He quickly crossed the room to kneel on the floor in front of her.
"What is it?"
She sniffed hard.
"I didn't know that you were that kind of doctor," she said in a choked voice.
"What kind of doctor?" he asked in confusion.
"Like out of some TV show. You like, saved that guy?"
Ray sighed. "He's in surgery right now. I don't know anything other than that."
"But he lived because of you." She glanced at Neela who stood just inside the doorway. "And you too."
Ray looked at Neela, feeling a smile tug at the corners of his mouth.
"What kind of doctor did you think I was?" he asked, struggling to keep the laughter from his voice.
"I don't know," she answered. "I didn't think you worked well with needles, so…"
Ray raised an eyebrow and shook his head. He didn't want to even look at Neela who he knew would be laughing. His aversion to needles was another joke around the hospital that he would never live down. With a growl, he reached out and snatched her up.
"Making fun of me now, squirt?"
She started laughing as he locked her head under his arm.
"Can't you control yourself until your shift ends, Barnett?"
Ray turned to find Morris in the doorway, staring at him with an odd smile on his face. He let Emily go and crossed his arms over his chest.
"This is my sister, Morris."
"Right. Your sister. I guess it's your story. You can tell it any way you want," he said as he crossed to the coffee machine.
"You don't know a damn thing about me, Morris," Ray said dangerously.
Morris stirred his coffee as he turned that vapid little smile on Emily.
"What is there to know?" he asked. "You're in a band and…"
Ray took a step toward the little weasel. Neela ran across the room to stand between them, on hand on Ray's chest.
"What seems to be the problem, doctors?"
Morris was the first to speak. Ray clamped his lips together to stave off the wave of hostility that washed through him.
"I was just asking Ray about his new girlfriend," Morris said in that whining voice that always grated on Ray's nerves.
Carter glanced at Neela, but she shook her head, angling her head toward Emily, who was watching all of this as if it was a scene playing out on the television.
"You must be Ray's sister, Emily," Carter said, striding forward with his hand outstretched. She took it more from surprise than anything. Morris's mouth dropped open in shock and he looked at Ray for confirmation.
"She's really your sister?" he asked incredulously. "I always thought…"
"Don't think, Morris," Carter snapped. "Unless it has to do with patient care, you should really learn to shut up."
Morris's face turned crimson, but he shut his mouth as Carter handed Ray a slip of paper.
"Call this number in the morning before your shift. He's expecting your call."
"Thanks, Carter."
"Anything else, you let me know."
Ray nodded, and Carter left the lounge with one last scowl at Morris. Morris backed away, following Carter.
"I'm sorry, Ray. I just assumed that she…I mean that you are…"
"Shut up, Morris," Neela snapped.
"Right, well, I'll just leave you all alone then," he muttered as he backed out the door.
Emily turned to Ray with her eyebrows raised.
"Who is that?"
"Dr. Morris, the Chief Resident here at County."
She glanced at the door then back at him.
"He has a medical degree?"
"I think so," Ray said, swallowing his laughter. "The jury's still out on that one."
She shook her head and flopped back down on the sofa. "They must really be desperate," she said dryly.