Chapter 34

Part of her wanted to get up and follow him, part of her told her to stay put. She slammed the chart shut. And walked into the living room. "What do you want me to do Doug? No one can make promises on the future." She said. "But I am not going to pass up that opportunity because I got knocked around by someone who supposedly loved me. I'm going upstairs. You can sit down here and stew, and think that what Carol yelled in a moment of anger is really true, or you can come upstairs. Either way, the man I see before me, isn't that kind of person." She walked up the stairs into the bedroom. She didn't close the door but instead curled up in the bay window staring at the stars.

Doug rubbed his face as she walked upstairs. "He knew she was right. It was easier for him to feel sorry for himself then deal with it at the moment however. He walked into the kitchen and put away the alcohol. after little debating he headed to the stairs. he had indented to go to his room and go to sleep but when he saw Anna sitting in her window something drew him in. he walked over and looked at the snow and stars. after a second his eyes drifted down to her. he held out his hand for her to take. even though there was no music he thought he'd ask, "Want to dance?"

She put her hand into his and stood up. "I'd love to dance."

Doug put her hands around his neck and rested his own on her back. He closed his eyes and whispered the song he was dancing to in his head. "and this thing they call our time heard a brilliant woman say she said you know it's crazy how I want to capture mine I think I love this woman's way I think I love this woman. the way she shimmers, the way she shines the way she radiates the way she lives, the way she loves the way she never hates." he pulled her back to look in her eyes. "How about we go back about an hour ago...both on the couch...kind of like this." he said giving her a kiss. "what do you say?"

Anna's heart fluttered skipping a beat. She held his eyes with her own. "I'd like that." As she brought her lips back up to his.

Doug held onto her as he back up slowly towards the bed. He closed his eyes and let go of his fears. He felt safe with Anna. If it turned out to be a mistake they would deal with it later. but right now, being with her felt right. He laid down and kept them both from waiting any longer.

Doug held Anna in his arms and kissed the back of her neck. He smiled thinking of what just happened. "You ok?"

"I'm better than okay." She whispered, "you do have a lot of hidden talents." Anna felt safe and secure in his arms. She hoped that when she woke up tomorrow this wouldn't all be a dream. That he would somehow change his mind as see her in the same light Max had. She shook the bad thoughts from her mind. "Are you okay?"

Doug squeezed Anna closer. "I will be." He put his head next to hers on the pillow and closed his eyes. It wasn't very late, and he knew he wouldn't be able to sleep so he decided to lie still until he was sure that Anna had. The night seemed perfect to him...but they all had before her too. He just hoped it would stay that way.

"Okay," she yawned and closed her eyes. The warmth of being next to him, the exhaustion from being with him taking a hold of her. She squeezed his hand as she drifted off to sleep.

Kerry was getting slammed in the ER. There had been a 50 car pile of up on the Kennedy and County was getting most of the casualties from it. She picked up the phone, dialed Doug's pager and proceeded the proceeded to call in the rest of her docs.

Doug grabbed his beeper on its first sound. He looked at the message and sighed. He sat up and looked at Anna. She was still sound asleep and he hoped she would be until he left. He quietly got up and dressed. Before he went downstairs he stuck his head back in her room to look at her once more. he closed her door and headed off the county. Doug walked through the doors and saw everyone running around. He threw his stuff in admit and put on a trauma gown. He walked around the corner and stuck his head into trauma two. "hey Kerry where do you need me?"

Kerry had her hands busy, trying to restart this kid's heart. "Next door," She said, "we have ten critical right now there are more on the way. Dispatcher's never listen when you tell them you can only take three." She said as she started internal cardiac massage.

Doug walked over to the next room. His listened to the paramedics bullet again. It was a fifteen year old with blunt force trauma and massive internal bleeding. Doug was too shirt handed. He yelled through the door to Kerry. "Hey! I need some help! Where are Abby, Susan and Carter?"

Kerry looked up, "Susan is at the scene, and I have no idea where Carter is." She yelled back as she prepared to transport her patient upstairs. She spotted Abby, "Doug needs you in one now." Kerry snapped.

Abby walked into the trauma room, "Weaver said you needed me?"

Doug looked over his shoulder to see Abby. "Yeah i need you to start a second line here." Doug Was about to intubate the kid when he started to crash. "Ahh man. we need to crack him...Abby hand me a scalpel had come bag this kid! Come on, lets move!"

Susan was on the freeway helping the paramedics. "This is the last one." she said to them. "Take him to county, ill ride with you!" Susan got in the ambulance and rode to the hospital with them. once they got there she directed the gurney into the hospital but couldn't find a room. "Kerry what am i supposed to do with this guy! he's crashing!"

Abby got another line started and then began to bag the kid. As she reached over handing Doug the scalpel. "Lost a pulse. BP's down to nothing." She said.

Kerry pushed the door open to trauma two, "Pratt move you patient into the hall." She said, "In here Susan."

Romano's pager was beeping like crazy. He walked into the zoo in the ER. He pulled on his gown as he walked into trauma one where Doug was cracking a kids chest. "Paging surgeons well, it looks like I got here just in time. Looks its County's very own ER cowboy, didn't think I'd ever see you on my staff again, back to inflict more damage here Dr. Ross?"

Anna awoke to the sound of her annoying cell phone ringing. She stumbled out of bed to try to find it. "Dr. Del Amico," she said listening to the voice on the other end. "Isn't there someone else?" She paused listening to the response. "Okay, Okay I will be there in 15." She said searching for her clothes. She went downstairs, she didn't see Doug anywhere in the house and she had no idea where he had gone. She ran back upstairs and grabbed the only set of keys that she had on her. "Ah thank god." She said picking up her lab coat, tucking her cell phone and pager inside the pockets She never should have let Max talk her into moonlighting. Doug would probably have her head for this. She scribbled a note leaving it on the table, be back soon, I'm at Northwestern. ----Anna. Then she headed outside where she proceeded to hotwire her husband's car. Thank god for brothers. She thought as she pulled out and headed towards Northwestern to help cover in their pediatric ER.

Doug shot Romano a glance. "hey I'm trying to save this kids life...want to do something too?" Doug looked up at the heart monitor. no pulse. "Abby charge the paddles to 200..."

Susan moved her patient into the exam room Pratt was in. "Ok Mr. Levine you're going to be just fine..." just as Susan said that the man began to spit up large amounts of blood and passed out. Susan went to grab an intubation tray. "I need some help in..." she looked around the hospital. everyone was busy and for the most part by themselves. "This is a law suite waiting to happen." she said to herself. She walked back into her room and tried to get an airway.

Romano threw himself into the mix, after they got the patient stable enough to transport he made another snide remark, after all that's what he did best, "all right people let's get him upstairs so the real doctors can do their work."

Abby watched them take the patient and ran next door to help out Susan. "What you need?" She asked as she watched Susan trying to save a patient by herself.

Doug rolled his eyes at Romano. He was just glad he had been able to save the kid. He walked into Weaver's room. She was still working on the man's heart. "You got it or do you need some help?"

Susan removed her bloody gloves. She had tried to release the blood around the man's heart but it was too little too late while she was by herself. "Just a body bag." she sighed. "His family is out in the hall. They followed the ambulance, I need to go take care if it."

"I've got it." She said as the man's rhythm returned. "He's good to go upstairs as soon as there's an OR available. You can go. I think Susan, Luka and I can handle the rest of this."

Abby looked up at Susan. "I'll clean him up, you did the best you could Susan." She said to her.

Doug ripped off his gloves. "Hey, I'm here for you." he said to her. "If you guys get backed up later let me know. I'd be glad to help again. Otherwise...I'll see you tomorrow!"

"I will Doug, thanks. You're a good doctor." She said, thinking for a minute, "consider your probation lifted, a little extra for hauling your butt in here so late."

Susan smiled at Abby. She walked out of the room and turned around. "Abby where's Carter?" she stalled before going to talk to the man's wife. She hated telling families someone close to them had died. She had never been much good at it. She walked over and sat down next to his wife and tried to explain.

Abby had no idea where Carter was. She walked over to the phone and dialed his pager number; she hoped that he would page her back. Hopefully something didn't happen with the patient that he had to go with up to the CT scanner.

Doug grinned. "Thanks Kerry...I appreciate it." he gave her a wink and headed off to his car. It was still the middle of the night and Doug figured he could get back to sleep next to Anna without her even knowing he had left. He walked into carter's house and upstairs to find himself alone. His first thought was that Max had come back, but he knew he was still at County. He walked back out the door without seeing Anna's note on the counter. "Maybe she went to County?" he thought to himself. He didn't even have her cell phone number. He walked back into county to find Weaver. "hey has Anna come in here?"

Kerry looked up at him, "no she didn't Doug, and I thought that she would have been with you. Did you try her cell phone? The number's over there on the contact list." She said as she pointed towards the clipboard with all the doctor's contact numbers on it.

Doug nodded his head. "Yeah she was supposed to be." Doug walked over to find the number. he was more then a little upset. he dialed it into his phone and pressed send. a few seconds later he heard the ring and waited for her to pick up.

Anna felt her phone vibrating against her hip. She flipped open, "Dr. Del Amico."

Doug heard her voice. she sounded fine which relieved his worry but mad him mad that she left without telling him. "oh hey. it's dr. Doug Ross." he said sarcastically. "where in the hell are you?"

Anna got this feeling that she was in very hot water right now. She put her hand over the phone as a nurse started to talk to her, "Yeah gentamyacin, IV piggyback, no after that he can go up to 3."

Doug dropped his mouth open. He couldn't help but think he was getting blown off on the phone. "Hello! Anna I swear to God…"

"Sorry Doug," She said, "I had a patient who's orders I needed to clarify. I'm not ignoring you just hum well working." She stuttered.

Doug was shocked. "What! you were supposed to wait until I cleared you. I'm going to kill Weaver for calling you in too!"

"I'm not at County." She said, "I'm over at Northwestern right now. They called and asked me to come in to cover for one of their doctors." Oh god she was getting the feeling that he was livid. "I hotwired Max's car because I couldn't find you and drove."

Doug would have let her have it if she was standing in front of him. Instead he let the disappointment fall into his voice. "I see. So you basically disregarded my diagnosis as a doctor...scared the crap out of me as a friend, not only hotwired your soon-to-be ex-husbands car but drove it on the ice covered streets, at one in the morning mind you, and are now treating patients less than 36 hours after a massive head trauma!" he yelled and stopped for affect to let his words sink in. "that's just great Anna."

Oh god, she thought to herself as she listen to him. There was no way that she was going to explain herself out of this one. "No, I did not disregard your diagnosis as a doctor. I explained it to them, they didn't have anyone else. And yes I hotwired my soon to be ex husbands car. I know that it was one in the morning and the street are icy. Just how mad are you?" She covered the phone again with her hand, "no, page Morgan he's on now, I'm off."

'Just how mad am I?' Doug mouthed to himself. He took a breath to calm himself down. There was nothing he could do about it now, she was already there. "I'm not mad Anna. I was just worried about you..."

She scribbled her name on the chart. She didn't believe that he was worried, she knew he was mad, "I'm done here," she said to him, "I'm going to go see if I can get his car to start again and I'll be back at Carter's soon."

"Ahh no...i can come and..." Doug thought about it for a minute. she was a grown woman and northwestern wasn't exactly close to County. if she drove herself there she could drive herself back. "ok. see you at carter's then." Doug pinched his phone shut. he gave weaver a wave and headed back to the mansion.