Chapter 97

Anna sat thru another meeting, at the end she talked to a few people and found a sponsor. She picked up groceries on her way home, taking the time to actually put them away when she got to the apartment. She walked back into the bedroom and started to clean up the mess. She looked thru the pictures as she put them back. She came across some from the ER banquet that was held just before she had left again for Philly. Doug and Carol standing under the moose. Her and Carter sitting at a table. The conga line that Mark had started. They all were happy that night, well for the most part. That was the day she had give bone marrow to help out someone. She sat there for a few more minutes before putting the shoebox back on the shelf. She pulled a sweatshirt on over her head and grabbed her things before she started out to walk along the river. She sat down on a bench over looking the river when she felt that someone was sitting there next to her.

"What's a lovely young woman such as yourself doing sitting here alone?" A voice said to her.

"I guess you could say soul searching." Anna replied back looking at the man now sitting next to her; he was well dressed in a three piece business suit, and rather good looking.

"I'm Jack." He said to her.

"Anna," She said extending her hand to him.

"Well Anna, it's a pleasure to meet you."

"So Jack what do you do?" She casually asked.

"I'm a CEO. How about you?"

"Physician." Anna replied, "emergency pediatrician actually." They sat and made small talk before heading off for coffee and more conversation. He seemed nice. She was having a nice time being out with someone even if they were just having small talk. He seemed pretty good at it, and he seemed genuinely interested in her. After a few hours of sitting and talking they exchanged phone numbers and he asked her out for dinner, to which she agreed. He walked back with her for a little while before they went there separate ways.

She was looking forward to dinner at seven. She thought about calling Doug like he had asked. She'd do it in a little while before she left so that the conversation would have to be kept short, not that of late their conversation had been very long. She walked into a hair salon on the way back home. She did the radical, but it was time for a change. She had them cut her hair so that it sat down just below her shoulders and had them color it a deep shade of red. She didn't want to be in a bad mood when Jack came to pick her up. So she put off calling Doug once more when she got home. She walked inside and headed for the bedroom.

She looked thru her closet to find something suitable to wear to a nice dinner. Business suit, no too stuffy, little tiny black dress, no way too sluttish. She finally settled on a blue floor length gown that fit snug around her waist showing off her curves, it had sleeves that were set off her shoulders, and a slit in the side that went from the floor to just above her knee to show off a little leg, but not to much, more of a tease than anything. She looked herself over in the full length mirror; she had to admit that she looked rather elegant. Anna sat down on the couch being careful not to wrinkle her dress and flipped on the TV to find a college basketball game. She watched it while she waited for her date to pick her up.

Doug had a long, hard day. His shift was finally over and he punched out before anyone could ask him for help again. He almost collapsed in his car and started to drive home. He came in and looked at his machine. No messages. "Oh well" he said to himself. "Cant be too worried about it." he took a long shower and tried to loosen up his back. he came out and threw on some shorts and a sweatshirt. after taking his meds and threw on his KU hat and some tennis shoes and headed out. he walked down the street to a bar and sat down to watch the KU LSU game. after a half an hour he got bored and decided to call Lynn. after convincing her to come down Doug ordered a beer and a burger and sat watching the game. he casually checked his cell phone every other minute almost. he knew he shouldn't wait for Anna's call but he couldn't help it. his mind would always be on her and he hated it.

He'd be there in about 15 minutes. Anna decided that she would call Doug. That way it would be a short call. She picked up phone and dialed his cell number. She was in a really good mood and wanted to stay that way. Hopefully this would go well. They were just friends and he couldn't really say anything about her going out, after all it was just dinner and maybe drinks and some dancing. She wasn't sure what all Jack had intended on when he asked her out, but she was up for a good time.

Doug had already downed two beers, but it was nothing for him after the day he had. he smiled as he saw Lynn walk in. he stood up and gave her a kiss on her cheek. as they sat down Doug started to say something when his phone rang. "excuse me." he said pulling it off his belt. the bar was crowded and noisy so he plugged his other ear to hear better. "hello?"

Anna could barely hear him, "hey sorry did I catch you at a bad time, you told me to call you later."

Doug couldn't tell who it was. "What?" he asked. he waited a second while the band stopped playing. "hey sorry...Anna? yeah its fine you called but uhm why don't you get back to me later I cant really talk right now." he said looking at Lynn. she mouthed to him 'don't worry about it' but this conversation Doug didn't want to get into with Lynn there. "can we talk later? I'm off tomorrow morning."

"Yeah that's fine Doug." She said into the phone as she heard a knock at the door, "Give me a call in the morning. I got to go anyway." She quickly hung up the phone and answered her door. When she opened it Jack was standing there in a tux. It took her breath away knowing that this good looking man was going to be her date for the evening. It was a good thing she had dressed up.

"Wow you are absolutely stunning and beautiful Anna," he said as he placed a kiss on her check.

Anna smiled as she pulled her wrap around her shoulders and followed him down out of the apartment. She was surprised that he had picked her up in a limo. They went to dinner at the Astoria. It was nice to be wined and dined. He made her feel special with the way that he treated her. They went out to a small night club for some drinks and dancing. Before he took her back home. She smiled as she invited him up for a night cap before he went home. As they sat on the couch in front of her fireplace, he leaned over and kissed her. She felt guilty when she didn't feel that spark that she had with Doug. 'Get that though out of your head Anna'. She said to herself. 'forget about Doug and enjoy the sweet man your with now.'

Doug hung up the phone and turned his attention back to Lynn. "Sorry, that was my friend Anna."

Lynn just smiled. "Yeah I figured. You talk about her all the time."

Doug grinned. "I do not." he said with a laugh. Lynn just rolled her eyes. After a few more drinks they decided to leave. Doug's legs were cold as he went outside. He didn't know why he wore shorts, hoping for spring maybe. he walked her to her car and she stopped before she got in.

"I was thinking maybe you'd like to come over tonight." she said to him.

Doug blushed. he was about to say no but decided against it. he really liked her anyways. "Sure" he said. pulling out his keys. "I'll follow you home."

Anna stretched when she felt the warm of the sun on her face. She looked at her clock it was a little after 9. She had overslept, but there was something about last night that had worn her out enough to get a full night's sleep. Ahh the thought of the previous night with Jack crossed her mine as she rolled over to find an empty bed. She opened her eyes to find that she was alone, and there were no other sounds coming from her apartment. There was a note by her bedside. She picked it up and read it...sorry to have to leave you like this in the middle of the night but something came up and I had to go. I would like to take you out again tonight. I'll be there to pick you up at 8 wear something more casual we're going dancing at one of my favorite clubs. love Jack.

Anna smiled as she lay back on the bed. She had missed her NA meeting. She'd have to catch one later in the day, maybe she'd go to the one at one. Go out for lunch maybe go buy a new pair of jeans. She wasn't sure what she'd do to fill her day but she was sure that she could come up with something. She just hoped that Doug would call before she went out. She didn't want to have to shrug him off again. And she wasn't going to have any kind of conversation with him while she was shopping or tonight when she was with Jack. Maybe she'd just keep her newfound relationship to herself for awhile. He didn't need to know she was seeing, let alone sleeping with anymore right now. Last night wasn't a disaster after all. He wanted to see her again after all. She'd let his leaving in the middle of the night slide. It wasn't like there wasn't a time in her life that she would have to do that. Anna got up off the bed and headed into the bathroom after wrapping her wrist in a bag to keep it from getting wet she climbed into the shower with a smile on her face. Maybe this was just what she needed to get over Doug once and for all.

Doug woke up tired and alone. Lynn had told him that she had to leave early...and did. Doug sighed as he got out of bed and threw on his shorts and sweatshirt. good thing he wasn't on today. after grabbing his hat and keys he left a note for her saying he was off again tonight and would like to go out again. Doug walked down to his car and drove to get some breakfast. just after he had sat down at star bucks and ordered coffee he realized he was suppose to call Anna. he grabbed his phone and hit the speed dial. it was a little after nine so he hoped she would still be able to talk...maybe they could have breakfast together, like friends.

Anna heard her phone ring as she was wrapping the towel around her head. She jumped for hit smacking herself in the head with her cast. "Hello." She moaned.

Doug winced at her voice; he hoped he hadn't disturbed her. "sorry...bad time? i just wanted to know if you wanted to have some breakfast since I'm off today."

"Oh no that would fine." She said rubbing her forehead. "Damn cast jumped right out and hit me." She tried to laugh it off. "Where you at so that I can meet ya."

"Ha-ha" Doug gave a small laugh into the phone. "Oh uhh star bucks, on Ciders street. Don't hurt yourself getting over here." He said laughing again. at least she sounded better than before.

"Yeah, I'll be there in a few." Anna said as she hung up the phone and threw some clothes on. It was just Doug so she didn't think she needed to dress up. She pulled on the first thing that she found. Unfortunately it was her jogging pants and oversized grey sweatshirt. She picked up her keys and drove over. She parked and headed inside, her hair was still a little wet as she spotted him and walked over. "Hey you."

Doug looked up when he heard her voice. "Hey y..." he hair looked really different...she looked really different. he didn't know if he should say something or not. "Sit down. I ordered you some coffee. I got a muffin coming, we can split it if you want." He said setting the book he was reading aside. He didn't understand it anyway. it was one of Lynn's that he had grabbed. She was in to the whole "atlas Shrugged' type books but he was just lost...not that he'd let Anna know it.

"Nah you can keep your muffin. But thanks anyway." She pointed at the book he was reading, "so you decide to go all scholarly on me?"

Doug smiled his usual big flashy one. "Nah, just expanding my vocabulary." He joked as he muffin came. He picked at it for a second. "So I talked to Kerry and the same rules apply for me. We'll see how you're doing and talk about it again in a few months ok?" He really didn't want to talk about that. He had just wanted a friend to talk to. Even though he had a girlfriend he was feeling pretty lonely. He hoped she wouldn't be able to read that off him like she usually did so he smiled more often as he talked. "So your brother's not going to hunt me down right?" He said joking. "I really am sorry about that. temper kind of got me."

She reached over and picked off a small piece of his muffin, she shook her head, "I don't know I'm not talking to him. I haven't seen him since I put his sorry ass in a cab yesterday and I went ooowver to the library." She said tripping herself up. But she kept the smile on her face.

Doug grinned. He knew she was lying but decided to play along. "To the library...really? Catching up on your reading?" He said sarcastically leaning back into the chair and pulled off a piece of muffin. "We should hang out today since we're both off. We could go shopping. you could help me pick out a nice shirt or something." He said with a laugh

Anna giggled and did a little hair toss, "Yeah me and Billy were hiding in back making out." She did a little shoulder shrug. "I'd like to hang out with you today, a shirt huh," Anna paused for a minute, "hey wait since we do guys dig shopping Doug..." She winked at him, "is there something that you're not telling me?"

Doug rolled his eyes. "Oh yeah, by the way I'm gay...you flipped me...what can i say!" he joked flicking a crumb at her. "What! i cant want to spend an afternoon with my friend. We can go see a movie or something if you want. I just don't want to spend my day off alone." He ended in a softer tone. He hadn't wanted that to sound sad but it did. He tried to recover quickly. "I mean, unless your ego is killed after turning such a good looking guy gay...damn, I had promise too." He joked with a grin.

"No movie." She said laughing, "so then my best friend is really just one of my girlfriends." She was laughing now. "Shopping is fine." She smiled at him; she needed to catch a meeting before her date. "Uhm, I'd love to spend the afternoon with you but the 90 thing, oh never mind don't worry about it, I can do it later tonight."

"Hey if you don't have time that's fine. I just thought it might be fun... to have fun again. you're pretty easy to get along with you know...well most of the time." Doug had finished up his food and was getting things together. If she wasn't going to go with him he still needed to go to the mall and grab some shoes, shirts, and slacks.

She shook her head, "no I always have time for you. Besides," she said looking him up and down, "you need help with clothes babe."

Doug looked at his Long sleeved blue t-shirt and his kaki shorts. he twisted his hat on backwards and slipped on his sunglasses before standing up. He casually looked at what she was wearing. "Yeah you're one to talk." He said with a grin. Even though his legs were still scratched up from the accident in Kentucky the weather was turning warmer and, especially today, it was nice to wear shorts. "We're going to have to buy you some nice things too my little fashion expert." Doug held the door for her and looked around to see her car. "Did you drive here?"

She chuckled, "You and gay don't belong in the same sentence ever, cause there is no way in hell that I turned the great Doug Ross, lady killer to the other side. Did I drive... ha-ha now what kind of question is that, brand new car, did I drive," She was still smiling as she pulled her sunglasses down over her eyes, "Yeah it's not easy but I managed okay. I can't wait to get this ten ton weight off my arm. I'm going to be so buff when this is done; this is so going to mess up my golf game now. Spring is here and I can't hit the courses now for another 6 weeks. I suppose you have your jeep too. We can take yours if you want cause I know mine isn't something manly, my friend. And I really don't need any more new clothes," She might have been fairly financially secure, but not being able to work for awhile she was going to have to be a little more careful with how she spent money right now, "I just have to remember how to do laundry. So as my friend tell me, does my new look suit me?"

Doug grinned. "Well it's another thing I can kill ya in...golf! we'll make a date out of it." He joked as he started to walk to his jeep. He had parked about a block down the street. when she asked him about her look he said the first thing that came to mind. "Yeah I was going to mention that. I do like your hair. But you'll always be beautiful to me, and do you know why?" He said turning to walk backwards so he could look at her with his usual goofy grin.

Anna laughed shaking her head, "oh Doug you are such a goof, and the only reason I am beautiful to you is because you are certifiably insane."

"Well..." he said shrugging his shoulders. He turned before he hit someone. He reached his car before he answered her. "That could be but most of all...it's because you have a good heart." He looked at her seriously for a moment before snapping her a wink and opening the door. He really did mean it though, even if he could only say it as a joke. "Come on! its off to the mall. I need a woman to help me with some fashion...and burning my new paycheck. first one as an attending!" he said as he got in and rolled down the windows. He knew Anna liked it and it was nice out so it seemed like a good thing to do. He was trying really hard to make things seem good again, to make her forget they both had problems for a few hours.