Chapter 6

Earlier that night, Susan, Abby, and Carol walked out of the hospital right after Doug and Carter had left. "So, were and how are we going? I took the EL to work today?" Susan asked. As she was waiting for a reply she pulled Carol into a big hug. "I am so glad you are back! You and Doug are perfect! You guys made my day today!"

Carol smiled at her. "Thanks, Susan. It's really neat to see you working here again too," She said. "I think we should take the El. What do you think, Abby?" Abby agreed, then they were off.

Carol was having the night of her life. She told Susan about the twins and what they meant to her and Doug. About how much she loved being together with Doug, even though they were not married, yet. Carol looked at the two woman. "Now Susan, how did you end up back here," She asked totally drunk. She could tell Abby was looking with eyes as curious as she was.

Susan laughed. "Arizona was too cheery for me. I like the depressing winters here." She could tell they were all pretty wasted so she just decided to go for it. "Well, actually, I did miss all of my friends here." She wrapped her arms around both Abby and Carol. "Besides, I am glad I came back. I got to fix things with Mark, date Carter, and now be with you again Carol!"

Susan was really glad that they all were able to go out this night. "Once I find a date we could all go out on a triple date! Speaking of that, since your grilling me, why haven't you and Doug been married?"

Carol smiled a little. "Yea I know," She replied.

"I have to see your girls sometime, I'm a great baby-sitter!"

"Well, then I will have to introduce you to Tess and Kate. They are a handful, but we sure do love them."

The girls ordered another round of drinks. "Your men at home aren't going to mind you guys staying out so late with me on Valentine's Day, right?"

Carol smirked and replied, "Oh, no, not at all. Carter and Doug might be out all night partying. If I know Doug, he make sure they stay out long enough."

Susan smiled, "Well, good then. I am so glad we got a girl's night out! So what made you come back? I can't believe you got Doug to come too! Although, I am really glad you did."

Carol looked at Susan. "Well, let's just say it's a long story," She said. "But I miss being in Chicago, and I missed working at County. So, I hope he can get his job back. Fortunately, I already got mine. That's what convinced him to move."

"Well, I will be raising some serious hell if he doesn't! How does that sound," Susan replied, laughing. "So what do you think? One more round and then call it a night? I have a 5am shift tomorrow."

"Yeah. One more Susan. Then we should go home. You are so going to have a hell of a headache in the morning."

Susan smiled. "Are you kidding? I think I have the hangover routine down. Besides, I'm half Irish on my mother's side! I am sure the Russians have it too, huh, Carol?"

"You have an early shift? This is not going to be pretty. I have to go in at 7 so I think we should go. We can do this again when none of us have to work. "

"Yep," Carol said.

Susan sighed. "Yeah, we should do this next week, but I need to go." She was really glad that they had the time together. being with her friends always made her forget that she hadn't found anyone of her own to spend holidays with. She gave Carol and Abby big hugs as she got bundled up to face the cold. "I will see you two girls at work soon OK? Thanks again, this was really great!" She smiled and left. She was fully confident that she could make the drive home. There were no one on the streets and she didn't live far away.

"Ah darn, she left. Now I want to know how you ended up with Carter. The last time I saw you were just a student, but your back as a Nurse in the ER," Carol said to Abby. She hadn't had a chance to say bye to Susan at all.

"Carter and me? It's kind of complicated. We were friends since all the stuff with Lucy and everything. Then we were seeing other people. I was with Luka and he was with Susan. It took awhile for the timing to be right."

Carol nodded. "Oh. Well, at least you two are together now," She said to her friend. She looked at Abby. "Do you want to stay here, or go home like Susan?"

Susan reached her house only to realize she was now alone. She really did hate being alone. She was glad that her two good friends had come back though. Susan loved Carol and Doug a great deal.

After getting into her night clothes and reading from her favorite book, she set her alarm clock for 4am. That would give her just about an hour to get ready and be at work. She loved her work. Helping other people made her not think of herself. It made her feel like a better person. 'Tomorrow is going to be great,' She thought. She couldn't wait to go out with the girls again.

Back at Doug and Carol's house, Doug woke up in a sweat. He hated when he had nightmares. He looked at the clock, it said 2:30am. He got up and walked around the house. There was still no sign from Carol. Doug tried to go back to sleep but he couldn't.

He decided just to go for a walk. With everything he and Carter had talked about running though his head, their was no way he would be able to sleep again that night. Doug threw on another shirt and a jacket and he grabbed for his hat before he left the house. As he walked the street he realized that he didn't know where to go. He walked to the hospital, thinking he could find Kerry and talk to her about a job.

However, before he got to the hospital he saw Carter's car. Doug walked past it worried, since he had left Carter here almost three hours ago. Doug looked in the window to find Carter sleeping in the car. He had his hands wrapped around himself and was shivering. It was way to cold to be sleeping outside without heat. Lightly he knocked on the window, trying to wake Carter from his sleep.

Carter was sleeping soundly, when he heard the knock on his window. He woke up freezing, forgetting that he had fallen asleep in the car. He opened the window and looked up to see Doug right there. "Doug," He said as he rolled down his window.

Doug smiled, "What are you doing Carter?" Doug asked. "You must be freezing!" Doug opened the car door and took off his coat. He placed the coat around Carter to warm him up. "Come on, move over," Doug said. "I'll drive you home."

"I was going to drive home Doug, but then I got so tired I didn't realize I fell asleep in the car," Carter said. He scooted over. "Thank you."

Doug laughed. "No problem, Carter. Just give me directions." Doug started the car and pulled out of the parking lot. "I know you're probably wondering what I was doing. So, no, I'm not stalking you. I couldn't sleep so I decided to go talk to Kerry. I guess I chickened out." As he drove, Doug sat there thinking of the real reason he decided to go out. He never liked being home by himself and he wished Carol had come home.

"Hey, John, anytime you need a ride or something let me know. You live pretty close, I can always pick you up." Doug parked the car in Carter's apartment lot. "Here you go," Doug said as he got out of the car and handed Carter his keys. As he started to walk away he turned around and said, "Have a good night, Carter, and try and get some sleep!"

Carter looked at Doug. "OK," He said to him. "Thanks," He said. He watched as Doug parked in his apartment complex. Walking over to Doug, he asked, "Umm, how are you getting home from here?"

Doug looked around. "I don't know." He laughed. He hadn't thought about that until just now. "I guess I will just walk."

Carter nodded. "Thanks again ,Doug. See you tomorrow. Oh, you want this?" He asked, giving Doug his coat, that had been placed around him.

Doug looked down, he had forgotten he had given Carter his coat. Laughing he said, "Yeah, man I would be really bad off without that!" He took his jacket. As he put it on he smiled at Carter. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow, John. Next time you want to play hobo and sleep in your car, pick a warmer city...or a different month!" Doug always tried to joke.

Carter nodded and before Doug had said anything else he headed back inside his apartment, maybe tomorrow he could have some time alone with Abby. Now that Doug had gotten him up, he was wide awake, what could he do. He wasn't sure at the moment. He walked around and turned on the TV. He really had a nice time with Doug.

As Doug started the walk back to his house he turned around again, but Cater was gone. "Your a hell of a guy, John Carter," Doug said to himself. "A hell of a lot better than me."

Doug put his hat on his head and started the walk back. It was nearly 3 now and the streets were silent, the best time of night. Doug hoped that Carol would be home, but once he got around the block he saw the lights still were not on. 'Damn,' He thought. 'She must have had a much better time then we did.' Doug didn't care though, he was glad to have a friend in Carter. By the time Doug got in the house and got warmed up he could barley stay awake. Again he curled up on the couch and fell asleep as he waited for Carol once more.

Doug's watch woke him up. It beeped every hour and he had forgotten to take it off. Yawning he sat up again. The house was dark and cool, the fire he had started in the fireplace was almost out. "Ahh," He grumbled. He hated not being able to sleep.

After he stumbled around for awhile he found his beeper. He had no messages. 'Surely,' He thought 'Carol would be home soon.' He hoped that nothing had happened. He didn't want to call her and ruin her time out with the girls, but he wished she was home.

Doug sat on the couch again and turned on the TV. He thought maybe he would just beep Carol to make sure everything was OK, maybe she needed a designated driver. He typed in her beeper number with only one message. 'I Love You.'

He sighed, after several minutes, there was no reply. 'Oh, well,' He thought. 'At least she is having a good time.' Once more he laid down on the couch. 'Maybe I will talk to Weaver tomorrow,' He thought. 'It couldn't hurt.' That's what he would do, he would see if Carol would go with him to the hospital to get his job back. As he waited for her he began to doze off again until he was finally asleep.