Chapter 55:

Anna shut the door behind her leaning against it for support before heading into the bedroom. She opened the closet and pulled out a duffle bag. She looked thru her closet pulling out what clothes she had left in there. It wasn't much. She quickly changed her clothes and found a pair of sweats and tee for up at PT. She didn't want to walk into the ER in workout clothes. Granted she was now probably extremely overdressed, but it wasn't like she had a lot of choice. She walked out of the bedroom, there sitting by the TV was one of their wedding pictures. She stopped for a minute looking at it before picking it up then setting it back down. The man in her life now was more than the man in that picture would ever be. She put her coat back on and grabbed the pile of her CD's that were on the kitchen table along with some charts that she needed to take back to the hospital and stuffed them into the duffle bag before heading out locking the door behind her. She wouldn't be coming back. The wind was blowing and snow was starting to fall as she darted across the street toward the ER. The walk wasn't that far, but it seemed farther than she remembered it. She stood outside for a minute shaking the snow from her hair and off her dress. Why she couldn't have been a little more sensible and put on the sweats she wasn't sure. But she smoothed over the little black dress as she started to walk inside. She then pushed her hair back from her face as her eyes darted around the ER for any sign of Doug.

"So you were trying to be love matcher today?" He said smiling at her. "I hope whatever you did Abby that it worked. I don't feel that tired, since I've been sleeping all day" Carter admitted to her.

"Yeah matchmaker," she yawned, "you know there are just some people who are so in love with each other but just can't admit it to themselves. And just need a little pushing to get there. I nearly killed Romano for letting her out of her with out telling anyone. But dang it would have felt so good to kick his little butt across the ambulance bay. But I like my job."

Doug laughed. "Well that I would have liked to have seen." He picked up a chart and walked into exam one to see if his first patient as an attending.

"Well whatever you did, I'm glad your a matchmaker" he told her. "Yea I know what you mean, I mean" he told her. He just held her in his arm well his good one

Anna walked over to the admit desk. "Hey Dr. Weaver, have you seen Dr. Ross?" She asked.

Kerry looked up, "hi Anna. Yeah he just went in to see a patient."

Anna pulled the charts out of her bag and put them into bin for medical records to have. She stood there for a minute, she could see him thru the window, and "he's a good doctor." She said.

Kerry looked up from her charting, "yeah he is. But he's going to be busy with his peds ER."

Anna picked her bag back up, "yeah I know he is." She said, "look I'm not going to hang out long, maybe snake a cup of coffee from the lounge before I head upstairs to PT. Could you tell him I was here." She said as she started to walk towards the lounge.

"I'll pass the message along." Kerry said putting her mind back on the charts in front of her.

Abby closed her eyes, "we'll see come tomorrow if I am a good one. I don't know. Anna was so determined to leave I don't know if Doug caught her in time. For both of them I hope that she didn't." She snuggled against his body, "I'm going to get some sleep baby."

Doug walked out of the exam room. Another case of the flu...and he happened to be in the way of the kid getting sick. He walked over to Weaver setting down the chart. "Remind me again why I even bother dressing up." He quickly walked to the supply closet and changed shirts. He walked back over as he signed the chart. "Two questions for you...do I still need to run narcotics scripts by you and have you heard anything about Carter? I was talking to Abby last night but our conversation got cut short." Doug remembered why it was cut too. He had to thank her for tracking down Romano like that...he was dreading going up to the surgical floor however. He didn't want to remind Romano that he had thrown him earlier; he was happy with his new job and wanted to keep it.

"No, you don't have to run narcotics by me," Kerry said, "Carter should be getting out today. I'm sure that they will stop by the ER on their way out. Oh, and you had a visitor while getting puked on." Kerry smiled and chuckled at the now once well dressed doctor in a scrub top, "Anna said to let you know she was okay, how anyone would want to raid the coffee in the lounge is beyond me. That stuff is nasty especially when Jerry makes it. That would have been more than an extra jolt to get her thru PT." Kerry looked up at him, "shame that she's leaving us."

Doug grinned. "Actually I was meaning to tell you. I...well it's a long story but she decided to stay with us. I am going to hire her in my peds ER. I'm sure she'll double board for you but I told her she couldn't do anything until she was fully cleared."

"And she actually listened?" Kerry said almost surprised. "We'll just have to make sure that she doesn't do any under handing manipulation to get Robert to clear her before she's ready."

Doug just shook his head. "Nah, I think I have a pretty good hold on what she is going to do." Doug smiled when he said it. He knew that his new girlfriend would have to listen to him, especially if she was staying with him for a few days.

"Okay if you say so." Kerry said getting up from her chair, "I have two med students in the suture room, and I'm going to go make sure that they haven't sutured each other together. I'm sure that she will work out just fine for the peds ER. You'll need her more than I will since I hired on the moonlighter that was here. I don't want to overwork her. Can't burn out what doctor's I have left."

Anna had gotten as far a filling a cup of coffee, the early morning surprise of the alarm had left her tired, she sat on the couch and kicked back before drifting off into a blissful dream.

Doug walked into the lounge to put his dirty shirt in his locker. He saw Anna sitting on the couch and decided not to wake her up. after all, it was because of him that she had gotten up so early. he opened his locker and went to put his shirt in when a picture on the inside caught his eye. one of the ones he had taped on was a picture of him, carol, and his girls the past Halloween. they were all dressed up and Doug had the pumpkin. the next one was just of him and carol on Christmas. they seemed so happy in the picture but Doug thought back to the fight they had shortly after it. Doug looked back at the first and kissed his hand and touched the photo. "my girls."

Anna opened up one eye peaking at him while she kept her head on the arm of the couch. "You miss them don't you? Why don't you spend some time with them tonight?"

Doug looked over his shoulder and shut his locker. "What are you talking about?" Doug had spent enough time in self pity he didn't need anyone else doing the same for him. He walked over and sat next to her on the couch. "Didn't mean to wake you. It's been kind of slow." he looked at her nice dress and raised his eyebrows. "Guess you haven't made it up to PT yet."

She started to stretched as she remember that she wasn't in her jeans anymore, as she quickly reached down and pulled her dress back into place, "uh no, but I'm getting there. I told you I would and I will, why what time is it anyway?"

"bout nine" Doug answered standing up. "I told Weaver you decided to stay. She seemed pretty happy about it...I also said that you had to be totally cleared before you thought about coming back which better happen. No going to Romano on this one." Doug didn't mean to talk down to her but that's how it sounded, even to him. He grabbed a few aspirin from the counter and searched through the fridge for an unopened bottle of water. "I guess I need to bring my own stuff. so much for the old days of sharing."

"Yeah okay." She said reaching down into her bag, "here catch." She said as she waited for his attention before throwing a bottle of water at him. "I am going to grab a coffee from the newsstand, do you want one?"

Doug caught the water with one hand and shut the fridge. "Thanks babe." after downing the aspirin he handed her water back. "nah the last thing I need is more coffee burning a hole in my stomach." Doug rolled his neck "I don't know I'm starting to not feel very well. I told you you'd give me some disease." he joked. Doug pushed open the door to the lounge and waited for her to follow him out.

She followed him out the door punching his arm as she passed by him, "I'm not the one who got puked on Doc. I'll find you later." She said as she darted out the ambulance bay door. She walked over to the newspaper stand and got her coffee as she headed back. She had to jump as a car came screaming around the corner. A frantic woman jumped out, she was screaming about her baby. Anna's instincts kicked in as she ran over. God the baby was blue; she scooped up the infant and ran back inside the ER. "Doug!" She yelled at the top of her lungs as she headed for trauma 1.

Doug heard her yell and followed her in. He gently pushed aside the mother. "Chuny get her out of here." Doug stepped beside Anna and took a look. "Ok...i need an intubation tray. get me a blood gas and a tox screen." he went to intubate the child and looked up at Anna. "I got it"

She nodded as she took the child's mother by the arm looking at Chuny, "I've got her." She said as she walked the mother out of the room. "Your baby's in good hands." She looked up watching Doug work, "come with me and let the doctor take care of her." Anna led the mother to chairs and then headed up the stairs towards the PT room. She changed clothes and grabbed her water bottle before getting serious with her workout. It ripped her in two not being able to stay and help rescutate that baby, but she would have been in the way. She took her frustrations out on the weights and the treadmill. Pushing herself as hard as she could.

Doug looked at the tox screen. The baby had ingested something that was depressing her respiratory system. Doug had the baby intubated and needed to find out what she had taken. "Kerry, i need you in here!" he yelled as he passed her going to talk to her mother. "what did your baby take? did you give her anything? its very important that you tell me right now." the woman just shook her head as she cried hysterically. Doug got frustrated and walked back into the trauma room. "that baby took something. i cant make it out in the tox screen so its probably a combination of something." he sighed looking down at the girl. "i cant get anything out of the mother."

Kerry looked at the baby and then at Doug, "let me go and talk to the mother." Kerry said as she walked out of the trauma room and sat down next to the mother. After several minutes of coaxing Kerry finally was able to get to the bottom of what had happened. "Doug the baby got into the mother's Vicodin and Depakote." It explained why the infant was not breathing.

"Ahh perfect." he said as he went to grab the chart. "let's get some charcoal." after he signed the order he turned to Kerry. "thanks. we really needed that." Doug stayed with the baby until she was perking up a little. the charcoal did the trick and although the baby was sluggish she seemed better. Doug rubbed his face and looked at his watch. the case had taken longer then he had thought and it was a little past noon. "seven more hours" he said to himself. he checked his pager, no messages. he thought carol might have called him about the girls. he walked to admit to check out what patients he could see. although there were no peds cases he had a bunch of paperwork left to do. Doug sat down in front of the computer to start some work and to wait for something to do.