Happy holidays! It's been a bit of a gap because of a busy time at work and all the running around of getting ready for the holidays, but I'm hoping to get back up to the old speed of posting in January.

I thought I could write the full chapter I had planned for the new year or write a short Christmas one in time for Christmas. So, I chose to throw Elizabeth and Robert into a hospital carol concert together.

Thanks again for reading and for the reviews. I hope everyone reading has a great holiday!

Chapter Six: You Can Sing?

'Are you coming down to the carol service, Sam?' Dr Anspaugh was working his way amongst the staff of the OR with a mission. 'Good, good. And you, Peter? Oh, you have to cover here, of course. Elizabeth, you'll come along, won't you?' He herded them along.

Elizabeth hadn't planned on it, but if Dr Anspaugh was set on the idea, it would make a cheerful break in a long shift. Even under other residents than Edson, the life of an intern involved long hours. She wanted to feel fully part of the OR again and a carol concert where she could bury herself amidst the other staff sounded just the thing.

Dr Anspaugh was working through the attendings. 'Martin, you'll come along, won't you? Charlie, you're covering…ah, Robert. You're coming to the concert this year, aren't you?'

Romano gave him a level look. 'A concert in the E-armpit with thirty kids singing flat and everyone coughing? I'd rather do a small bowel resection.'

Anspaugh let out a disappointed breath. 'This is one of those things, Robert, where heads of departments are expected to show their face. Half an hour would be politic. Besides, it's for charity.'

'Fine,' Romano sighed. He dropped into the group next to Elizabeth and waited until Anspaugh had moved on. He gave Elizabeth a sideways glance. 'You got suckered in too, Lizzie?'

'You'd prefer to do a small bowel resection? Really?' She raised her eyebrows with a slight smile.

'Very festive, in the right atmosphere,' he insisted with a straight face.

Kit looked back at the pair, grinning. 'What atmosphere's that, Dr Romano?'

'Mistletoe above the patient.'

The staff around them broke down, laughing.

Down in the ER, the concert had already started and the children from a local choir were singing, and the atmosphere was festive. Here and there, staff were sporting Santa hats and reindeer antlers. The OR staff worked themselves into the crowd.

Mark tapped her on the shoulder. 'Hey, Elizabeth. Isn't this great?'

Behind her other shoulder, Romano clearly had a different opinion. 'There's at least two kids singing sharp,' he grumbled.

Just ahead of them in the crowd, Jeannie Boulet turned with a gentle smile. 'I think it's the two young boys in the front row,' she breathed. 'But they're doing their best.'

They listened. Elizabeth couldn't hear the difference.

'Yeah, you're right,' Romano answered. 'Good spot, Miss Boulet' he added amiably.

'Shhh', someone hissed.

Romano gave the offending nurse a look which stopped her in her tracks and went on talking to Jeannie.

'Crap, huh?' he murmured. 'They're two tones out.'

Mark caught Elizabeth's eye and winked. She gave him a conspiratorial smile and rolled her eyes.

'And this one's for everyone to join in,' the choirmaster announced cheerfully. 'O Little Town of Bethlehem.'

She turned her attention to singing. She could hold a tune, but she was no expert. Luckily, Jeannie Boulet sang beautifully, and Elizabeth could copy her. She tried to pick out the men singing behind her. Peter would have sung very well. Surprisingly, Robert was very good. He had a fine tenor voice, and it was a pleasure to listen to him, but the whole experience was odd for her. It was strange to hear the carols she knew sung with north American accents. It left her feeling vaguely homesick for London. Here she was at Christmas in a country which wasn't her own and with the internship schedule, there was no chance of going home for Christmas either. Amongst a sea of strangers, there was something solid and reassuring in having Robert Romano and Mark Greene at her back.

'And now, an old favourite,' the choirmaster announced. 'Once in Royal David's City' with everyone joining in from the second verse.

To Elizabeth's ears, the little boy singing the first verse solo sounded a little shaky and nervous, but it was charming. He was only a little boy. She gave him a big, encouraging smile in case he was looking at the crowd. She heard Romano draw in a breath and risked a quick glance.

'Sharp?' she mouthed.

'Flat' he breathed back, supporting the word with a flick of a downturned thumb.

She flicked back around as the second verse began. With the familiar carol, her mind was free to wander again. She wondered if Robert had ever sung in a choir as a child. If he had, she pitied the poor man or woman trying to lead him. She suspected that a young Robert Romano had just the same stubbornness and anarchic sense of humour of the older Robert. Mark, on the other hand, would have been gentle and cheerful.

Lost in her thoughts, she jumped slightly when a pager went off. There was a ripple in the crowd as the doctors checked their pagers. Romano drew the short straw.

'Staying to the end, Lizzie?' He passed her a folded bill. 'Throw this in the bucket for me?'

It was a fifty. 'Robert, you said they were…. singing flat,' she hissed, startled.

He waved a hand dismissively. 'It's a good cause.' He gave her a quick grin and was gone.

He was a better singer than she realised. Without Robert, the other men were struggling. It was oddly typical that Robert would be the centre of gravity in singing as he was in the OR.

She gave her attention again to enjoying the singing, Mark's presence and being ensconced amongst the staff.