Here it is: Batter Up: Chapter 4—the narrator is still a mystery... hehe... and there's another surprise in store....

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Natalie

The day after my first set up, I was afraid that either Romano or Corday would talk to Weaver about Dr. O'Grady not showing up, so, I decided to opt for a preemptive strike against any mishap that could occur if they did speak to her. I forged yet another note from our dear Dr. Weaver, explaining the mishap, and placed them in each of their opposites.

I'd be damned if I was going to slip up on a little technicality.

And, I also planned another meeting—for the very next night. I knew they had chemistry, everyone knew they had chemistry. Hell, I think even they knew they had chemistry. But, I also knew that I had to work fast. I couldn't plan "dates" for them with too much time in between, or this would never work out.

Each of them had to be able to remember the company they were in. And they couldn't do that as effectively with a lot of time in between.

So, I planned it for the night after.

As I was finishing up my letter on the computer, I felt someone staring over my shoulder. I turned around to see who it was, and was shocked to see his face right behind me.

"Hey." I said, trying to disguise my nervousness, but not really being able to.

"Hey." He said simply.

I could tell he had read my letter. Damn.

"So, playing matchmaker, are we?" he questioned jokingly.

I just nodded.

He smiled. "It's about damn time." He said playfully, as I breathed a sigh of relief.

"You won't tell anyone?" I asked.

"No." he said... "On one condition."

Oh great. "What's that?"

"You have to let me come along to see the show."

"Oh no. If you're there, they're bound to see us!" I began to refuse.

"Well, that won't matter much, since I'm going to tell them about your sneaky little plan" he said, turning to Jerry and asking if he'd seen Corday or Romano. Jerry began to answer, but I interjected "Fine. You can come." I said disdainfully as I hit the print button on the computer.

"I knew you'd see it in a different light."

I rolled my eyes. Great. Oh well. If anyone around here had to know about this, I'm very glad it was him. I made a mental note to myself to be more careful next time, and then grabbed my letters and headed upstairs.

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Elizabeth Corday sighed. She had had a relatively late night last night, but yet, she wasn't tired. Dr. O'Grady hadn't shown up, and she had, at first, been angry at this fact. What kind of person simply doesn't show up? No call, no note, nothing.

But as she wandered into her office, her mind wandered as well: To Robert. They had had fun last night, something that she hadn't expected to happen. But, nonetheless, it did. She had fun with Robert Romano. How weird that was to her. But she smiled at the memory.

She had always had a thing for sarcasm, if not in her men, then from herself to her men. And Robert, she suspected, was the quintessence of sarcasm. He could be sarcastic about damn near anything. And try as she might, that little fact intrigued her to him.

She shook her head, clearing the thoughts of Robert out of her head. This was silly.

She sat down at her desk, noticing another envelope on her desk. She sighed and opened it up.

Dr. Corday,
I sincerely apologize for Dr. Ogrady's absence last night, he has assured me that it was unavoidable, citing a personal emergency. He does, however, still need to speak with you, as this matter is of great importance. So please, tonight, meet Dr. O'Grady at Amato's at 7:30 pm.

Again, sorry for the inconvenience,
Kerry Weaver

Damn that Weaver. 'Personal emergency my ass' Dr. Corday said to herself. She had concluded that O'Grady was a flake. And Weaver was a bitch. Of course, that had nothing to do with the situation, but she just felt like reiterating Kerry's bitchiness to herself, as though it would make her feel better.

She didn't want to go. Well, she did, but at the same time, she didn't. She didn't want to go because she was tired, and had no desire to speak to this O'Grady character. She did want to go, however, because she knew now that Robert would be there. She chastised herself for the thought, but it returned. A feeling of nervousness washed over her as she thought of spending another evening with Romano so soon after the last.

She told herself to snap out of it, that this was Dr. Robert "Rocket" Romano, the bastard of the hospital. But, she couldn't. She couldn't forget how much of a nice time she'd had with Robert, and her stomach leapt a little at the prospect of spending more time with him.

'Damn Weaver' she said aloud as she got back to work.

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Robert Romano finished up in surgery, and headed back to his office. This day had not been nearly as bad as the one previous. However, the previous day had taken a different turn, despite its beginning.

He had spent time with Elizabeth. That was still amazing to him. He had dinner with her, she laughed, he laughed, they drank wine, and they were merry. It was completely wonderful to him. In fact, he couldn't remember when he had had a better time. He didn't think he ever had.

Her company abated the anger he felt that Dr. O'Grady, whom he had deemed as being a complete flake, had not shown up. He was still pissed, mind you, but he wasn't nearly as angry as he would've been, had he been left to sit at the restaurant by himself. But, alas, that was not the case. He was at the restaurant with Elizabeth Corday, woman extraordinaire. And he was fine with the fact that O'Grady hadn't shown up. In fact, he was damn well near pleased that he hadn't shown up.

He smiled as he thought of Elizabeth, and entered his office. Last night, he hadn't wanted her to be there, when she'd first shown up. He'd wanted anything but that. Every time he was around her, he got that stupid feeling in the pit of his stomach, and he hated it. Plus, this wasn't really his idea of a dinner with Elizabeth, sharing her with some old guy bent on talking about procedural medicine.

But O'Grady hadn't shown up. Hallelujah! He was with Elizabeth the whole night, and he couldn't remember having a better time.

He sighed as he tried to bring himself down from the cloud he was floating on.

He hit the ground when he saw an envelope sitting on his desk.

He opened it with caution. It read:

Dr.Romano,
I sincerely apologize for Dr. Ogrady's absence last night, he has assured me that it was unavoidable, citing a personal emergency. He does, however, still need to speak with you, as this matter is of great importance. So please, tonight, meet Dr. O'Grady at Amato's at 7:30 pm.

Again, sorry for the inconvenience,
Kerry Weaver

'Damn Weaver.' That was, by far, his favorite catch phrase. He didn't want to shoot the breeze with this O'Grady fellow, but he did, however, want to see Elizabeth. He smiled at the thought of her, and then his smile got even larger at the fact that he realized Kerry Weaver had apologized.

He would go tonight, and speak of procedural medicine with what was sure to be a "geezer". But, at least Elizabeth would be there, her beauty to keep him company.

He sighed and got back to work.

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I really feel as though I've accomplished something when I get people together. So, I guess you could say that I do this kind of thing for somewhat selfish motives. But, who really cares? It doesn't matter how two people get together, for what reason, so long as it's right for them to be together.

And this was definitely right. There wasn't even the slightest question in my mind that contradicted that.

I entered the restaurant at 7:15, to perform my little ritual of securing Dr. O'Grady's table. This time, the table at which I was seated was hidden from the fateful table of O'Grady. Thank the Lord that I didn't have to hide behind my menu. I could still see the table just fine, but there was no way they'd see me. Hallelujah!

I sat down, and not two seconds later I heard a familiar voice behind me "So, the show begins." He said as he sat down.

I smiled at him "Yes, so it does. But I like to think of it as a game."

He looked at me curiously "How so?"

"Well, you see, it's like baseball. I'm the pitcher, and Corday and Romano are the batter. I throw them the curveball known as love, and they're going to hit it." I was blatantly aware of how odd this sounded, but it was my mind, and I was welcoming him to it.

He looked amused.

"What?" I asked with a small smile on my face.

"Nothing." He said, smiling "Nothing at all."

"Shut up." I said and playfully smacked him on the arm.

We both shared a laugh, as a tension came across the table.

Great. This was just what I needed. I wasn't in the mood to be paired up. I was the one doing the pairing. This was certainly a helluva time for Cupid to get off of his ass, huh? 'Oh well', I thought as I waited for my subjects to arrive. Cupid may be back in the game, but I was still compensating for the match he was too lazy to make.

And as I thought these words, my companion tapped me lightly on the arm, pointing to the table.

Corday had arrived.

And as I looked towards the host, I saw Romano enter expectantly searching for Elizabeth. The host took him to the table where Elizabeth was seated, of course alone, as Dr. O'Grady would never be joining them.

Tension was there.

Tension was here.

Hell, tension was everywhere.

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Hit me.... With your review!!!! : )

Yes, there is yet another surprise in store... I just decided to add it. Anyway... review me! (That's an example of taking a noun and using it as a verb, although it doesn't sound like it... because I'm not saying to review ME, I'm saying to review my story... and give me reviews)... anyway.... Review me!!!

Thanks!!

Natalie