Chapter 7

"I think I'm ready to go. I have a shift tomorrow morning," Abby said looking for her pager in her bag. She knew she had heard one go off. "It's not my pager. Is it yours?"

Carol heard the pager too. "It's mine," She said taking it off and smiling. "It Doug, I guess he's been waiting for me for awhile. This was really, fun, we should do this another time," She said. They said their good-byes and went their separate ways.

Susan's alarm went off. She looked at the red numbers that glared at her "Four o'clock. Oh, no..." She yawned. She got dressed and started her way to work.

When she got to the hospital, it was barren. After talking to Jerry and figuring out that no one had been in that night she decided to sleep in trauma room one until something happened. As she got changed in the lounge before going to sleep she decided to write a note for Carter. 'Hope you had fun last night. Wake me when you get in, OK? I'm in TR 1. THANKS! -Susan'

After firmly stuffing the note into his locker, she promptly went into the room and fell asleep. So much for not having a hangover.

Carol finally got home early in the morning. She saw Doug sleeping on the couch and went to lay down next to him.

The movement woke Doug up. "Hey," He said to her with his eyes still closed.

"I was trying not to wake you up, Mister," Carol said as she snuggled close to him.

He smiled. "Don't worry about waking me. I'm glad I got to see your face. Did you have a good time?"

"Yeah I did, what about you and Carter?" She asked him.

"Carter and I... we had a good time, more or less." Doug gave Carol a kiss. "Happy Valentine's Day, Baby."

Carol snuggled more. "Happy Valentine's Day," She said to him as she hugged him close, drifting off to sleep.

They both fell asleep on the couch. A few hours later Doug was woke by the rising sun. "Good morning, Carol." He smiled, nudging her gently. No matter how long they had been together, he always loved waking up next to her. Doug hoped they could talk about getting his job back today.

"Morning? Not really in my book," She said due to her hang over.

"HaHa," Doug laughed. He was glad he and Carter didn't drink because he really would have gotten wasted if they did. "Ouch!" He exclaimed, squinting his eyes. "Do you want some aspirin? Or maybe a beer?" Doug asked joking. "Here, I know what will do it." He reached over and picked Carol up. As he carried her over to the other room he couldn't stop laughing. Then he tossed her on the bed. "Well, you get some sleep. I need some moral support if I'm going to talk to Weaver today! I'll get you some aspirin and then you need to get better, quick!"

"Doug, aspirin, please?" She asked him. She wasn't in the mood for jokes at the moment.

Doug jumped into the shower. Once he was out he shouted for Carol. "Come on, Sweetie. Let's get ready, its almost nine!" After he brushed his teeth he started going through the clothes boxes looking for something good to wear. He held up a pair of khakis and a blue polo shirt. "How's this? You think it'll make a good impression on Weaver? Or is that even possible?"

"Are you sure Doug? You and Kerry never, ever, got along," She said to him.

"HaHa," Doug said laughing "I know, but she is the person I need to talk to so I can get my job back. I really want to work in County again. You got your job back there, and I am friends with Carter, so I would like to be with you all."

He walked over to he bed and kissed her forehead. "You look as worried as I feel about this, but this is why we came back right?"

"Doug I'm going to be a nurse again, but not a Nurse manager. That's Abby's position at County now, and I just like working as a regular nurse," She said to him. "I'm more worried she won't even get you the job back at all." Carol then heard the phone ring, and then stopped. 'That was weird,' She thought.

"Well, thanks for your faith in me Carol," Doug said more than a little annoyed. "What do you want me to do? Get a job somewhere else without even trying?" Doug started to get his coat. He wanted to leave before they got into a fight. "Even if Kerry Weaver is a bitch, I am still a damn good doctor and I deserve to work there!"

Slamming the door a little rougher than he wanted, he felt bad as he walked outside. "I just need some coffee," He said to himself. Doug was still a little sad from the night before. He walked into Doc's and ordered a coffee. As he sat outside the hospital, debating on whether or not to go in he saw Susan standing outside with some other nurses ready to go into action. He really missed County.

As Doug sat there, he wondered when he should bring up marriage again to Carol. 'Well, not tonight,' He thought. H was always scared after every fight they had that she would leave him. He knew she could do much better than him.

"Fine Doug, it's always about you, never me," Carol said hurt. "I said I was worried, I didn't say you couldn't get your job back at County." Just then carol realized that he had already left and she was talking to herself. She saw the closed doors, and went to her Mom's to pick up Kate and Tess. Afterwards, she headed to County. Holding the three-year-olds by their hands, she asked, "Has anyone seen Doug?" She loved Doug so much, but what he said was wrong.

Doug still sat outside, feeling bad about what had happened, but feeling even more scared about his job. He couldn't decide if he wanted to go in or not. 'I can always say I'm looking for Carter,' He thought. Doug got up and walked across the street. As soon as he walked in he saw Carol at the front desk. "Oh, great," He said as he turned around. He sat on the bench outside. He wanted to talk, but he didn't want to be the one to start the conversation. He really wanted Carol to go with him when a talked to Weaver, but he was never good at apologies.

Carol turned around when she saw Doug walk in, She then spotted Susan. "Hey, can we talk," She said still holding Tess and Kate's little hands. She needed to talk to her friend. She had watched Doug trudged out. She really needed at the moment talk to Susan.

Susan smiled. "Sure, what about?'" Susan touched her arm and led Carol into Exam 1. Once she shut the door, she smiled at Tess and Kate. "Your daughters are beautiful." She could tell they got the good genes from both sides. "So what do you need Carol?"

Carol looked at her and then down at the twins. She had realized Susan had never met the two girls. "Susan this is Tess and that is Kate over there, they're identical girls. Anyway, it's about Doug. We had a fight this morning. I don't know if I said something wrong. I also know he wants his job back here," She explained.

Doug sighed. 'This is crap,' He thought, 'I just need to go in there and tell Kerry I should get my job back, I have changed a lot over the years. Maybe she will think so, too.' He rubbed his head. He hadn't been this nervous in awhile. 'Maybe I will just call John.' Doug typed in Carter's number and waited for the signal to pick up, he got a busy signal though. Doug was tired and just wanted to get it over with. He walked into the ER and up to the desk. "Has anyone seen Carol... umm... or Kerry Weaver?"

Jerry looked up at Dr. Ross. "Carol is in Exam One with the girls and Dr. Lewis," He answered.

"Thanks Jerry. It's good to see you again!" Doug looked around. He debated on whether or not to go in there. In looked in the room and saw Susan and Carol smiling.

"Well Carol," Susan began. "I am sure you didn't do anything wrong. It is just a stressful time moving and everything. You know Doug, he will be over it in no time..." She was cut off by the door opening.

Doug opened the door and stuck his head in. He noticed that Susan stopped talking, which meant they were probably talking about him. "Hey Susan what's up?" He asked, not waiting for a response. "Carol, can I speak with you?"

Carol looked up wondering if she should or not. "Well, Susan, you're probably right. Will you watch the girls for a minute?" She asked, as she sat the twins on the gurney.

Susan smiled at them both. "I sure can," She said. she knew Doug didn't look happy, but Carol was strong and could deal with it.

Carol silently thanked her and walked over to Doug. She didn't know if she wanted to talk to him, but she knew she had to. "Umm Sure Doug," She said to him.