Chapter 32

Kerry was not happy. She had two police detectives in her ER looking for Doug. There was a doctor in trauma 2 claiming that Doug had assaulted him. She was frustrated that after all this and agreeing to bring Doug back onto her staff he would go and do something this stupid. He had some explaining that he was going to have to do when she saw him.

Doug followed Anna into the car and drove to County. He walked over to open the door for Anna. After he shut the door for her he put his head down by her ear. "Thanks for coming in. it'll make me feel better to know." He took Anna's hand and walked into the ER with her. He didn't want to sit around waiting all day for a simple x ray so he looked for someone he knew. He spotted Kerry standing in the hall outside trauma two. "Anna why don't you grab a seat." Doug said and walked over to Weaver. "Hey Kerry, I need a favor."

"I have been waiting for you to show up here Doug." Kerry said, "care to explain to me why you have been here only such a short time, I have a doctor from northwestern in my trauma room claiming that you have assaulted him and there are two detectives here wanting to ask you questions."

Doug turned his head to look into the trauma room and see Max on the bed. He scratched the back of his neck as he thought of an answer. He didn't like Kerry being so short with him so he was the same way back. "Well it's kind of personal Kerry, so yes I do mind telling you."

"Doug you do know that I am going to have to suspend you until this is sorted out." She said to him rather harshly.

Doug shot her a look and lowered his voice; he was getting very agitated with her. "No...I didn't know that. Look Kerry it's not like I just walked up a picked a fight with some random guy..." he glared at Max through the door. "I was protecting a friend. I know you have the power to overlook this."

Kerry took a deep breath, "a friend huh, is this the same friend I have had to pull string for earlier." Kerry said, "but yes I will overlook it Doug just take care of the situation before it escalates."

Doug let a grin slip onto his face. He knew he didn't have to explain anything any further. He sure as hell didn't want to discuss his love life with her either. "Thank you...Dr. Weaver." he said before turning to walk into trauma two. "I'm going to take care of it right now." He opened to door to find Max talking to the police. he grabbed Max's chart at the foot of the bed and looked at it.

Max about died when he watched Doug walk into the trauma room and pick up his chart. "What are you doing here?"

Doug was glad to see Max so afraid of him. Maybe he would think twice before messing with Anna again. "Oh don't you know? I'm a doctor here...in fact, it looks like you need to be transported to x ray." Doug walked over to undo the gurney breaks. "It just so happens that I think i can take care of that for you...that is if you're done here?"

Max looked at him, "you're nuts if you think that I am going anywhere with you." The detectives looked at Doug. "Yeah you can take him down to x-ray; we want to talk with his wife anyway."

Doug tried to keep the evil grin off his face. "Yeah good, actually I believe she's in chair's waiting to have her arm examined. Potential fracture." Doug gave Max a fake smile as he grabbed his gurney and pulled him out the door. "Hi I'm Dr. Ross. It looks like I'll be your physician for today. Any complaints can be placed in the tiny box at the front desk..." He loved being sarcastic and scaring Max at the same time. He pulled the gurney into the elevator and waited for the doors to close.

"Haven't you had enough fun for today?" Max said looking at him. "I will get my wife back."

Doug rolled his eyes. "Man I had nothing to do with Anna wanting to be rid of you. She made that choice all on her own." Doug slid around from the foot of the gurney up to the head of the bed. "And as for having fun...Boy if you don't leave her alone..." Doug leaned over him as he spoke. "And I mean not even talk to her. You're going to wish you'd stayed in Philly. And that's a promise." Doug backed off as the elevator door opened and he pushed Max out. He brought the gurney over to the x ray tech and gave him the chart. "Have a good time buddy." he said to Max slapping him hard on the chest. "I'll be back."

Anna recanted the story to the two police detectives. She let them take pictures of the busies and her arms and legs. When they were done she sat back down in chairs waiting for Doug. She didn't know where he had gone after talking with Kerry. She adjusted the ice on her wrist. As she curled her long legs under her.

Doug walked back down to the ER to find Anna sitting in chairs where he had left her. He sat down next to her and looked at her arm. "Anyone take a look at that yet?" he asked. Doug looked around and didn't see the officers that had been there when he had left. "What happened to all the cops? I could have sworn they would want to talk to me."

"No," she said, "they turned me into a photographed guinea pig and then they left said that they would be contacting me if they needed anything else." She said. "Where did you go?"

Doug bit his lip. He didn't want Anna to know he had been threatening Max. "Nowhere" he lied. "Come on" he said standing up and holding out his hand. "Let me take you to curtain one and check you out."

She uncurled out of the chair as she took his hand, "okay."

Doug walked with her into an exam room instead and handed her a gown. "Why don't you put this on." he said turning around to give her a little privacy. "I want to do a little work up." Doug didn't know if anything had happened before he had gotten there that Anna didn't want to tell him about. Because of the way Max had acted in the elevator he just wanted to make sure.

She slipped into the gown, "Okay, you can turn around now." She said sliding onto the gurney.

Doug grabbed some gloves and a chart and turned around. He sat down on a stool and scooted forward. "Ok first and foremost let's see that wrist." he said reaching for her arm. "squeeze my fingers" while Anna was concentrating on her hand Doug took a look at the rest of her. He noticed some bruises on her upper and lower legs that he hadn't seen before. "How'd you get those?" he asked softly.

She looked down at him yet away from his eyes. "Max." Her voice was soft.

Doug tried hard not to look like he was feeling. He rolled down to the end of the gurney leaving her hand alone for the moment. "Ummm" he said looking at her legs more closely. he almost hoped they were from being kicked and not something worse. the question hurt too much to ask so he went around the it. "what he grabbed your leg? kicked you..."

She looked at him, "I had just come down from the shower, when there was a knock at the door, I opened it he was there, I tried to shut the door but he pushed his way in, yelling and screaming at me. We fought. I fell over the coffee table onto the floor," she didn't want to tell him everything.

Doug tried not to rock back and forth. the way Anna was acting was making him nervous. he felt like she was lying to him. "Anna...there are bruises up by your thighs...coffee tables rant that high." he wanted to know what happened but he didn't want to push her away. he rolled back over to her side and gently push down on her abdomen. "this hurt?"

She shook her head, "No it doesn't. I didn't let him Doug, I didn't. That's when he flipped. All he did was throw punches and scream. He was pulling me out the door said we needed to leave, to go home when you got there."

Doug nodded. He wanted to believe her so much but something was pulling at him. "Anna...is that all that happened. If you don't want to tell me I'll get Kerry to come in or something." he took a breath and calmed his voice a little. He didn't want to scare her. "As your doctor i need to make sure all of you is ok. and as your friend i need to take care of it if you're not."

"That's what happened." She said quietly to him, "I have no reason not to tell you the truth. He tried but he didn't. That's where the bruises came from."

Doug looked her in the eye. He was already twice as mad that Max had tried to do something like that...if he had Doug would have really killed him. After examining her wrist a little more he finally spoke again. "You have pretty good movement. I don't think there is a fracture and with all that swelling we wont be able to tell with an x ray today anyways. Ill write you a script for an anti inflammatory." he scooted back and went to leave. "you can get dressed. ill be in the lounge when you're done." Doug slipped outside and signed off on Anna's chart. He looked to see when he was working tomorrow and noticed his name wasn't on the list. Doug quickly went to find Weaver. "Hey Kerry, is there any way you can take that guy Max? I need to take Anna back home. and by the way...i thought you said i wasn't suspended...I'm not on the sheet to work tomorrow."

"Doug are you complaining about having days off?" She asked looking up at him. "You're not suspended, Carter, Luka, Susan and I are working tomorrow, and you're on the day after tomorrow at 7 am."

Doug nodded, "yeah sorry. Thanks Kerry, it's just one of those days you know?" he walked back and grabbed what little he had brought and stood outside of the exam room waiting for Anna to come out.

Anna got dressed and walked outside. "Hey there."

Doug wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "Let's go..." He walked with her outside and back to his jeep. after they both got in Doug turned to her. "man we both need apartments. are we going back to carters?"

Anna shrugged her shoulders, "I don't know, I have to find someplace. But I haven't gotten a chance to look. I have to get my stuff from what's left of my car before I can rent anything. Everything but my ER badge was in there."

"You know i can always help you out with money." Doug said starting the car. "Hey if you don't want to go back to carters and hang with another guy i fully understand. i can call Abby or Susan. I'm sure they'd be more than happy to spend time with you."

She just shook her head and smiled, "don't we have a date for a basketball game?"

Doug smiled and sent the car in reverse. "Yeah, you're right." he kept pretty quiet going back to the house. when they got in Doug looked at his watch. "thirty minutes to tip off. have any ideas how we could kill half an hour?"

"Nothing really pops to mind." She said to him, "and don't worry Doug it's not money I need from my car. I have some saved up, waiting for this to happen. And I'm sure that I will be able to go back to work soon."

Doug nodded. "I hope so...i need at least one person on my side in the ER." Doug scrunched up his face for a moment. "You don't have any ideas huh? well i do..." He went and picked Anna up again and carried her over to the couch. " How about a back rub then a nice bubble bath...ill make some popcorn and we can watch the bulls loose."

"Now that sounds like the royal treatment." She smiled, "back rub, bubble bath, and the bulls, what woman would turn that down."

Doug sat and down in front of the couch, between his knees and started to work on her neck. "Well apparently some...but it's ok. I haven't done this in awhile."

She closed her eyes letting her body relax and go limp, as Doug's hand worked the sore muscles of her neck. She let out a loan moan, "oh man does that feel good. I didn't realize that you had the magic touch." She paused for a minute, "I talked to Kerry about going back to work."

"Ummm. hidden talents baby." Doug said working out a knot by her shoulder. "what'd she say?"

"Oh god good hidden talents," She moaned, and then did her best Kerry imitation, "not until you have been cleared by Dr. Ross, and then you can only do triage for a few days."

Doug snickered at her imitation. "oh boy did i get in trouble when she saw me trying to imitate her one day...but yours was pretty good." he stopped rubbing her back and wrapped his arms around her. "i don't know if ill be able to let ya go. with you doing triage i wont be able to see you." he looked at his watch. "if you're going for a bath you better head up. game starts in twenty minutes."

"Oh but that means I have to move." She said not sure if her legs were going to let her, Doug had turned her into putty. "Then tell her I am perfectly capable of doing traumas. " She said getting on her knees facing him. "Thank you for the neck rub." She stood up the rest of the way. She was now looking down at him. She placed a kiss on top of his head, "and I want that popcorn."

"Yes ma'am" Doug said watching her stand up and walk away. "Hey if you fall in and need a lifeguard give me a shout. otherwise popcorn will be ready soon."

Anna walked up the stairs laughing. Fall in, yeah right. She walked in to the bathroom and ran the hot water into the tub. She undressed and climbed in soaking in the hot water felt good against her battered body. Things were really not going well today. She closed her eyes as she sank further down into the tub avoiding getting her head all the way wet. She propped her legs up and drifted off.