~*~Chapter 7 ~*~
Karen opened her apartment door and greeted her father and sister who were standing on the other side. "Hi guys, come in…"
"Hey sis," Serena said plopping down on the couch and flipping on the television.
"Hi…" Scott said looking around her apartment and noticing that things were spread everywhere, "are you moving out or something?" he asked as he looked inside a bag of clothes.
"No," she said with a laugh as she began to clear a path to the kitchen, "I'm just doing a little spring cleaning, getting rid of excess junk, you know."
"Hey, Kare, can I use you're phone to call Jesse? Dad wouldn't let me call from home."
Karen looked at Scott for a second. She finally answered when he nodded in approval, "Sure, go ahead," she said looking back at Scott. Noticing that he was about to speak, she mouthed his words along with him.
"Yeah, I want to talk to your sister anyway," he said frowning when he noticed Karen. "Am I that predictable?"
"No, I just recognized the fatherly 'I want to talk to you' look on your face," she answered. "So is this going to be a short chat or should I put on a pot of coffee?"
"I would love a cup of coffee." He said in reply.
"Ah, I feel a lecture coming on," she mumbled to herself as she made the coffee.
"No lecture," he said in defense, "I just want to know how you're doing? You know, make sure that you're okay. When you left my office the other day, you were rather upset."
"Well, I have to admit that seeing Jagger in your office was not something that I expected. And I don't think that I really knew how to react. How long have you known that he was here in town?"
"Well I had just found out myself. That's why I had asked to see him. I wanted to find out what his plans were before I came to you spouting off that he was in town."
"Wanted to know his plans or warn him to stay away from me?" she asked with a skeptical look.
Scott looked down at the floor unable to look Karen in the eye. She was his daughter and she knew exactly how he thought. But then a small smile crept over her face. "Scott, it's okay. I'm not going to throw away everything that I worked so hard for, just because my ex-husband moved back to town. Although, it feels good to know that I have you watching out for me. It gives me a secure feeling that I never had before." Scott finally looked up at her and smiled. "Just don't go overboard with the over protectiveness, there Dad," she finished sending him a distinct glare.
"Of course not. So, have you told Chris that Jagger's back?" he asked.
Karen sighed at Scott's question, "No…not yet. I'm stilling mulling over whether I should or not."
"Well don't you think that you owe it to yourself and him to be honest? And, let him know what is going on?"
"Yeah, but incase you haven't noticed, Chris reminds me a lot of my father and has a tendency to act irrationally when someone uninvited comes within the family boundaries, if you catch my meaning," she implied as she raised her eyebrows.
"Yeah, I catch your meaning. I also heard you compare that lughead to me." he smirked.
"Scott…"
"I know, I know. I'm sorry. It's just that I…I mean we, don't want to see you get hurt. That's all."
"And I appreciate that. But I'm not going to get hurt. I won't let that happen. And as for Jagger, well, I'm not going to purposely seek him out but I can't very well avoid him either. We probably have things that we need to discuss anyway."
"And Chris?"
"Chris is another story. I'm definitely going to tell him. I just haven't figured out when and how."
"Well," Scott said grabbing her chin and slightly shaking her head, "just remember, I'm here if you need me."
"Thanks," she said with a smile as she watched him turn around to find Serena.
"Serena, that's enough, get off of the phone now."
Serena looked up at him with a frown then ended her conversation with Jesse. "Are you done lecturing Karen?" She asked hanging up the phone.
"What is it with you girls? I want to have a simple discussion and you both decide that it's a lecture."
"We're the kids, we're supposed to read into everything that our parents do," Karen said as she picked up the controllers to the video game console and handed one to Serena.
"Hmmmph….Well you two enjoy your video games. I'll see you two tomorrow," he said giving the both a kiss on the head and walking to the door.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Hey, Chris…"
"Hey Eve, what are you still doing here? Didn't you get off at 4:00?" Chris asked as Eve approached the Emergency Room desk although seemingly uninterested.
"I'm pulling a double. It was between Karen and me but she already had plans with Serena. So, here I am." Eve explained.
"Oh yeah, sister night. I forgot about that," Chris answered in a monotone voice.
Eve eyed Chris watching him tap his pencil on the chart in front of him as he stared straight ahead. "Thinking about running away with the circus? Are you going to be a clown or a trapeze artist?" Chris just continued to stare blankly. "Chris?" Eve said waving her hand in front of his face "Chris, are you still with me?"
Chris finally snapped out of his daze only to see Eve staring at him with concern. "What?" he snapped at her.
"Chris, is everything okay? You seem awful melancholy" she replied.
"Yeah, I just can't stop thinking about this girl that was brought in earlier. Fourteen years-old with never diagnosed Type 1 diabetes."
"Never diagnosed? You make it sound like she should have been diagnosed years ago…"
"She should have."
"Chris, she's 14. It could have recently developed. Is there a history of diabetes in the family?"
"No."
"Well what were the conditions when she came in?"
"Passed out at a school, complained of being tired and thirsty, blood sugar was above 400."
"Sounds like you made the right call to me. But if you want, I can check her out and give you a second opinion." Eve offered.
"Thanks, Eve, but I'll take care of it." He said looking down at the chart once more. "Ah…on second thought, two opinions are better than one. Maybe it can help put my mind at ease. Thanks, Eve. Her name is Shelby Campbell." He said as he handed Eve her chart and turning around to walk away. "I think I'm going to take a break."
"Good you need it!" She yelled after him, as she opened Shelby's chart to get caught up on the case. As she read the chart, she didn't notice the man that had approached the desk.
"Excuse me," Jagger said clearing his throat to get her attention.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't see you there. Can I help you?" she asked.
"Yeah…" he said holding out his hand that had a deep cut on it. "I cut myself fixing some broken floorboards at my house. I checked in at outpatient and they told me to come here."
Eve looked at the cut on his hand and motioned towards exam room 3. "Right in here sir. I'm Dr. Lambert," she greeted, "when is the last time that you had a tetanus shot?" she asked getting the supplies that she needed to suture his hand.
"John Cates," he returned before answering her question. "Five years ago, when I cut my leg at work."
"Good…" she replied, "you won't need another one then."
"I don't mean to sound ungrateful or anything, but is Dr. Baldwin working?" he finally asked.
"Dr. Baldwin is a psychiatrist, I hardly think that you would want her to suture your hand…"
"No, the other Dr. Baldwin…" he said.
Eve looked at him with a very questioning looking, "the other Dr. Baldwin….Oh, you mean Karen? She goes by Wexler these days. Well at least for a little while longer. But no, she's not on duty tonight. Why? Do you two know each other?"
"We go way back. I just didn't realize that she was still going by her mother's name. I knew that she had become rather close with her father. And I just assumed…" he tried to explain without showing his embarrassment.
"Well I can't begin to answer for Karen, but if you want my opinion, it's a pride thing. When she came here, she was wanted to make it on her own and not because she's a Baldwin. She wanted the world to see what Karen Wexler became, not Karen Baldwin. But it really didn't work out that way." Eve explained remembering back to the first night the interns met.
"What do you mean?" Jagger asked.
"Well, when we started our internship, we were held hostage, by a doctor who was dropped from the program. His goal was to find the person who pulled the strings to get his spot. It turned out to be Karen. Her Grandfather made arrangements for her to get the internship, to get her to come back home to Port Charles. And Cooper let everyone know it. So much for trying to keep a low profile."
Jagger shook his head, "That's right, I remember her telling me about that night."
"But it all worked out for the best. She is one of the best doctors here at GH." Eve said with a faint smile.
"Does it surprise you? Coming out of that family, you're either a doctor or a lawyer."
Eve laughed at his response, "You know, you're right. It'll be interesting to see which path Serena takes," she said finishing the stitches. "There you go. Clean it every day with peroxide and Neosporin. Come back in two weeks and we'll take the stitches out."
Jagger got up and nodded. "Thanks Dr. Lambert, tell Karen I said 'hi' when you see her. Would ya?"
"Sure thing…" Eve said. As she watched him leave, she couldn't help but to wonder why this man was so interested Karen.
Karen opened her apartment door and greeted her father and sister who were standing on the other side. "Hi guys, come in…"
"Hey sis," Serena said plopping down on the couch and flipping on the television.
"Hi…" Scott said looking around her apartment and noticing that things were spread everywhere, "are you moving out or something?" he asked as he looked inside a bag of clothes.
"No," she said with a laugh as she began to clear a path to the kitchen, "I'm just doing a little spring cleaning, getting rid of excess junk, you know."
"Hey, Kare, can I use you're phone to call Jesse? Dad wouldn't let me call from home."
Karen looked at Scott for a second. She finally answered when he nodded in approval, "Sure, go ahead," she said looking back at Scott. Noticing that he was about to speak, she mouthed his words along with him.
"Yeah, I want to talk to your sister anyway," he said frowning when he noticed Karen. "Am I that predictable?"
"No, I just recognized the fatherly 'I want to talk to you' look on your face," she answered. "So is this going to be a short chat or should I put on a pot of coffee?"
"I would love a cup of coffee." He said in reply.
"Ah, I feel a lecture coming on," she mumbled to herself as she made the coffee.
"No lecture," he said in defense, "I just want to know how you're doing? You know, make sure that you're okay. When you left my office the other day, you were rather upset."
"Well, I have to admit that seeing Jagger in your office was not something that I expected. And I don't think that I really knew how to react. How long have you known that he was here in town?"
"Well I had just found out myself. That's why I had asked to see him. I wanted to find out what his plans were before I came to you spouting off that he was in town."
"Wanted to know his plans or warn him to stay away from me?" she asked with a skeptical look.
Scott looked down at the floor unable to look Karen in the eye. She was his daughter and she knew exactly how he thought. But then a small smile crept over her face. "Scott, it's okay. I'm not going to throw away everything that I worked so hard for, just because my ex-husband moved back to town. Although, it feels good to know that I have you watching out for me. It gives me a secure feeling that I never had before." Scott finally looked up at her and smiled. "Just don't go overboard with the over protectiveness, there Dad," she finished sending him a distinct glare.
"Of course not. So, have you told Chris that Jagger's back?" he asked.
Karen sighed at Scott's question, "No…not yet. I'm stilling mulling over whether I should or not."
"Well don't you think that you owe it to yourself and him to be honest? And, let him know what is going on?"
"Yeah, but incase you haven't noticed, Chris reminds me a lot of my father and has a tendency to act irrationally when someone uninvited comes within the family boundaries, if you catch my meaning," she implied as she raised her eyebrows.
"Yeah, I catch your meaning. I also heard you compare that lughead to me." he smirked.
"Scott…"
"I know, I know. I'm sorry. It's just that I…I mean we, don't want to see you get hurt. That's all."
"And I appreciate that. But I'm not going to get hurt. I won't let that happen. And as for Jagger, well, I'm not going to purposely seek him out but I can't very well avoid him either. We probably have things that we need to discuss anyway."
"And Chris?"
"Chris is another story. I'm definitely going to tell him. I just haven't figured out when and how."
"Well," Scott said grabbing her chin and slightly shaking her head, "just remember, I'm here if you need me."
"Thanks," she said with a smile as she watched him turn around to find Serena.
"Serena, that's enough, get off of the phone now."
Serena looked up at him with a frown then ended her conversation with Jesse. "Are you done lecturing Karen?" She asked hanging up the phone.
"What is it with you girls? I want to have a simple discussion and you both decide that it's a lecture."
"We're the kids, we're supposed to read into everything that our parents do," Karen said as she picked up the controllers to the video game console and handed one to Serena.
"Hmmmph….Well you two enjoy your video games. I'll see you two tomorrow," he said giving the both a kiss on the head and walking to the door.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Hey, Chris…"
"Hey Eve, what are you still doing here? Didn't you get off at 4:00?" Chris asked as Eve approached the Emergency Room desk although seemingly uninterested.
"I'm pulling a double. It was between Karen and me but she already had plans with Serena. So, here I am." Eve explained.
"Oh yeah, sister night. I forgot about that," Chris answered in a monotone voice.
Eve eyed Chris watching him tap his pencil on the chart in front of him as he stared straight ahead. "Thinking about running away with the circus? Are you going to be a clown or a trapeze artist?" Chris just continued to stare blankly. "Chris?" Eve said waving her hand in front of his face "Chris, are you still with me?"
Chris finally snapped out of his daze only to see Eve staring at him with concern. "What?" he snapped at her.
"Chris, is everything okay? You seem awful melancholy" she replied.
"Yeah, I just can't stop thinking about this girl that was brought in earlier. Fourteen years-old with never diagnosed Type 1 diabetes."
"Never diagnosed? You make it sound like she should have been diagnosed years ago…"
"She should have."
"Chris, she's 14. It could have recently developed. Is there a history of diabetes in the family?"
"No."
"Well what were the conditions when she came in?"
"Passed out at a school, complained of being tired and thirsty, blood sugar was above 400."
"Sounds like you made the right call to me. But if you want, I can check her out and give you a second opinion." Eve offered.
"Thanks, Eve, but I'll take care of it." He said looking down at the chart once more. "Ah…on second thought, two opinions are better than one. Maybe it can help put my mind at ease. Thanks, Eve. Her name is Shelby Campbell." He said as he handed Eve her chart and turning around to walk away. "I think I'm going to take a break."
"Good you need it!" She yelled after him, as she opened Shelby's chart to get caught up on the case. As she read the chart, she didn't notice the man that had approached the desk.
"Excuse me," Jagger said clearing his throat to get her attention.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't see you there. Can I help you?" she asked.
"Yeah…" he said holding out his hand that had a deep cut on it. "I cut myself fixing some broken floorboards at my house. I checked in at outpatient and they told me to come here."
Eve looked at the cut on his hand and motioned towards exam room 3. "Right in here sir. I'm Dr. Lambert," she greeted, "when is the last time that you had a tetanus shot?" she asked getting the supplies that she needed to suture his hand.
"John Cates," he returned before answering her question. "Five years ago, when I cut my leg at work."
"Good…" she replied, "you won't need another one then."
"I don't mean to sound ungrateful or anything, but is Dr. Baldwin working?" he finally asked.
"Dr. Baldwin is a psychiatrist, I hardly think that you would want her to suture your hand…"
"No, the other Dr. Baldwin…" he said.
Eve looked at him with a very questioning looking, "the other Dr. Baldwin….Oh, you mean Karen? She goes by Wexler these days. Well at least for a little while longer. But no, she's not on duty tonight. Why? Do you two know each other?"
"We go way back. I just didn't realize that she was still going by her mother's name. I knew that she had become rather close with her father. And I just assumed…" he tried to explain without showing his embarrassment.
"Well I can't begin to answer for Karen, but if you want my opinion, it's a pride thing. When she came here, she was wanted to make it on her own and not because she's a Baldwin. She wanted the world to see what Karen Wexler became, not Karen Baldwin. But it really didn't work out that way." Eve explained remembering back to the first night the interns met.
"What do you mean?" Jagger asked.
"Well, when we started our internship, we were held hostage, by a doctor who was dropped from the program. His goal was to find the person who pulled the strings to get his spot. It turned out to be Karen. Her Grandfather made arrangements for her to get the internship, to get her to come back home to Port Charles. And Cooper let everyone know it. So much for trying to keep a low profile."
Jagger shook his head, "That's right, I remember her telling me about that night."
"But it all worked out for the best. She is one of the best doctors here at GH." Eve said with a faint smile.
"Does it surprise you? Coming out of that family, you're either a doctor or a lawyer."
Eve laughed at his response, "You know, you're right. It'll be interesting to see which path Serena takes," she said finishing the stitches. "There you go. Clean it every day with peroxide and Neosporin. Come back in two weeks and we'll take the stitches out."
Jagger got up and nodded. "Thanks Dr. Lambert, tell Karen I said 'hi' when you see her. Would ya?"
"Sure thing…" Eve said. As she watched him leave, she couldn't help but to wonder why this man was so interested Karen.