Stuck

Author: Robeth
Category: Robert/Elizabeth
Description: Elizabeth and Robert get stuck in an elevator and other things soon ensue.
PG-13
End of season 9
Not yet complete

Chapter 1 ~ Stuck

The elevator came and the doors opened, but just as Elizabeth was going to step in, she heard a familiar voice calling her name:

"Lizzie!"

'Oh please, not now, not him!' Elizabeth sighed as she turned around to face Robert Romano.

"Yes, Robert?" She asked warily.

"Thanks for holding the elevator", he replied with a little smirk.

Elizabeth sighed. "Anything else?"

"Nope" Romano replied curtly as he entered the elevator. Then, as Elizabeth seemed to hesitate, he continued: "Are you coming or not? I haven't got all day."

Elizabeth could see no reason to retreat and so she stepped in and soon found herself standing close to Romano, uncomfortably close. She could almost feel his breath.and smell him, and feel the warmth of his body.'What the hell are you thinking?' Elizabeth heard an inner voice shouting at her and it quickly brought her back to her senses. She stepped further away from Robert who was leaning on the wall, and the disturbing sense of proximity was gone. Elizabeth released her breath and began to wonder why she was suddenly feeling so uncomfortable in his presence.

Then she heard Robert's voice again. It seemed to be coming form miles away:

"You're going down?"

"Huh?" Elizabeth was caught off her guard.

"You know, the elevator? It takes you either up or down. Which way are you going?" Romano asked in a casual, playful tone, but Elizabeth could see he was not feeling exactly comfortable either.

"Um.I'm going down." She replied as she realized he was waiting for her answer. "I'm going home."

"Right. Down it is then." Romano said, pressing the right button and then, fixing his gaze on the floor, he continued under breath: "That seems to be the general direction I've been heading for several months now."

Elizabeth shot a glance at Robert, but he was avoiding her gaze. Had she heard him correctly?

"Robert? Did you say something?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

Romano looked up, his face now emotionless. "No", he replied curtly.

"Robert, if." Elizabeth started, but was brought to a halt as the elevator suddenly stopped with a jolt. Elizabeth, standing in the middle of the floor, lost balance and soon found herself falling towards Romano, who quickly caught her with his good arm.

For an awkward minute they stood still, Romano still holding Elizabeth in his arms. Then she pulled away, blushing slightly and mumbling words of apology. Robert said nothing, but he was looking at her in a way she could not misinterpret. She had seen it before, that look of mingled sadness and desire in his dark eyes. Elizabeth quickly looked away and started to examine her hands. She could hear as Robert let out a deep breath. It sounded like a sigh.

For a moment they both stood in silence, then it finally began to dawn on Elizabeth that they weren't moving. The elevator had stopped, but the doors had not opened. They seemed to be stuck somewhere between the floors.

"Robert." she said quietly, almost fearing to break the silence. "I think we're stuck."

The haunting look on Romano's face suddenly disappeared and his lips curved up a little as he replied: "You really think so, Lizzie? My, the sharpness of your wit never ceases to amaze me."

He was mocking her again. Well, at least it was better than the silence. It was something Elizabeth was familiar with and knew how to respond to.

"Oh, shut up, Robert" she said. "If you are as smart as you seem to fancy yourself, then why don't you get us out of here?"

"And what makes you think I'd want to get out?" He replied, folding his arms on his chest. "I'm not needed at the ER and." he lowered his voice and lifted his dark brown eyes to meet Elizabeth's blue ones, ".I think I have all I want right here with me."

Elizabeth found herself unable to hold his gaze. She looked down at her hands again and felt her cheeks flushing. She was suddenly feeling very hot. Then she remember she was wearing a heavy coat and a scarf. She had been on her way out.

Elizabeth quickly removed the coat in order to cool down, but as she was doing so, her eyes met Robert's again and she noticed that he was still looking at her, in a way only he could manage. Whatever coolness she had just gained was lost.

Another silence fell between them and Elizabeth started staring at the walls, trying to avoid another disturbing eye contact with Robert.

'Oh, this is ridiculous!' she heard the inner voice barking. 'Say something! Who knows how long this is going to take. You can't just stand there like an idiot for the rest of the evening.!' That was true. She had to act.

"How long do you think we'll be here?" Elizabeth finally asked, trying to sound very casual.

Robert seemed to be deep in his thoughts for he started at Elizabeth's question.

"Huh?"

"Never mind." Elizabeth said, sitting down on the floor, having decided that sitting on the floor like an idiot couldn't possibly be any worse than standing. Besides, it was more comfortable. If she had to make a fool of herself, she could do so with dignity.

Romano soon followed her suit and sat down, a bit too close for Elizabeth's liking. So much about the sitting being more comfortable. She shifted a bit uneasily, trying to find an easy subject they could talk about.

"Um.how is you arm?" she then asked, soon wondering if she could have picked a worse topic even if she had tried. This could get emotional, and emotional was not something she wanted right now.or was it? She glanced at Robert, but averted her eyes before he could lock her gaze again.

"What does it matter?" he replied quietly.

"It matters a great deal." Elizabeth replied. "It's you arm, for God's sake."

"It's a useless arm and will probably remain so. And I'll soon be as useless as the arm, but that's probably just for the best..."

"Robert-"

"I will be gone and everyone will be cheering for such good riddance."

"Robert." Elizabeth turned to look at him again, but now it was his turn to avoid her gaze.

"Say it, Lizzie." he said, staring at the floor in front of him

"Say what?"

"That I'm a useless wreck of a man."

Were her eyes deceiving her, or did she just see something wet at the corner of his eye? Elizabeth felt a sudden urge to take him in her arms and.. 'What the hell has gotten into you?' she heard the voice inside of her head again, but this time the voice sounded muffled and she hardly paid any heed to it as she slowly moved closer to Robert on the floor.

Romano looked up at the sound of her movement, a look of surprise in his eyes. Then the eyes seemed to deepen as Elizabeth gently brought her hand to his cheek. Her heart was racing and she hardly knew what she was doing. All she knew was that she couldn't bear to watch Robert in such a state.

"Robert." she said quietly. "You are not a wreck of a man and you would be very much missed if you had to go."

He swallowed, his eyes burning into hers. "Who would miss me?" he asked hoarsely.

There was a short silence as Elizabeth looked down. Then she looked up again to meet Robert's eyes with a level gaze before she replied, her voice barely above a whisper: "I would."

There was another silence during which Elizabeth could hear the beat of her own heart. Then she noticed that Robert was leaning forward. Their lips were only inches away from each other and Elizabeth hadn't yet decided if she wanted to be kissed or if she should respond to it, when she suddenly felt the elevator moving again. She jumped up, startled, almost expecting the doors to flow open to reveal their current position to the entire ER. She felt her cheeks burning. She could not, and would not, look down to Robert, who still lingered on the floor. . Finally the elevator reached the ground floor and Elizabeth turned to look at Robert once more before stepping out. He was still sitting down, now with an unreadable expression on his face. The mask that had fallen for a while seemed to be back on its usual place.

"Robert?" she asked.

He looked up, but did not reply.

"Are you not coming?" she asked.

"I - I think I'll have to pick up some stuff from my office before I leave for tonight."

"Ah.I see." Elizabeth replied. Was that a feeling of disappointment creeping in to her heart? For some reason she didn't feel like parting from Robert. "I guess we'll see tomorrow then?" She asked, trying to push all the strange feelings out of her head. This was not a good time. She needed to get out and cool down. She needed a better moment to sort out her thoughts and feelings about what had just happened.

Romano stood up and seemed to be a bit unsure of himself for a while. For a moment Elizabeth thought he would reach out to caress her cheek, but then he finally turned to press the button in the elevator instead. He would go back up, alone.

"See you tomorrow", he said. "Good night."

"Good night." Elizabeth replied before heading out. The cool breeze of winter air on her face as she stepped out had never felt so wonderful and refreshing before.

Chapter 2 ~ In the Lounge

She was sure Robert had intended to kiss her. What she wasn't so sure about was how she would have, or should have, reacted. She had never wanted Robert's attentions and she had always kept him at a certain distance. There had always been this line she hadn't allowed Robert to cross. He had almost crossed it that day in the surgeons' lounge when he had caressed her cheek in a moment of "momentary weakness", as he had put it. That day she had escaped and kept the distance, but today she had been the one to cross that delicate line, the line she herself had drawn. Had that too only been a momentary weakness?

After a short consideration, Elizabeth assured herself that it had to be so. Robert was the most selfish, insufferable and annoying person she had ever met. It was sometimes hard enough to work with him, so why would she want to make things any more complicated by starting to think of him also outside of work? It was absolutely ridiculous. No, what she had done in the elevator had indeed been a momentary weakness and it would never happen again. She had been affected by the sadness in Robert's eyes, and whatever it had made her feel was only some form of pity or compassion. If she had felt uncomfortable it was because of the general heat in the elevator, not because she was uncomfortable with her feelings.

Yes, that was it. Elizabeth sighed in relief. What had she been so scared of in the first place anyway? That she'd suddenly find herself in love with Robert Romano? Ridiculous! She settled in her bed, ready to fall asleep after sorting out her thoughts, but for some reason the sleep was still failing her.

'Love? Who said anything about love'. It was the stupid inner voice nagging again, but Elizabeth had to admit herself that her mind still wasn't quite settled. She realized she was in for a long night.

And as if the voice inside of her head wasn't bad enough, the look in Robert's eyes suddenly returned to her mind at full force and stayed there for the rest of the night.

"Dr. Corday?"

It was the following morning. Elizabeth stood at the ER desk staring blankly at some papers, absentmindedly trying to figure out what she had been doing. The sleepless night had left its marks on her and she was finding it difficult to concentrate on anything.

"Elizabeth?"

At the sound of her Christian name, Elizabeth finally looked up. It was Susan and she appeared to be looking at her hip.

"Yes, Dr. Lewis?"

"Your pager."

Elizabeth looked down at her pager. It had been beeping for God knows how long and she hadn't noticed anything. 'Damn' , she moaned under her breath, before looking up at Susan again.

"Thanks.I -I don't know how that escaped me." Elizabeth blushed slightly and before Susan could make any comment, she added. "I have to run."

On her way to the trauma room Elizabeth bit her lip, trying to gather her thoughts and hoping she wasn't coming too late. She wasn't. The patient, a young girl injured in a car crash, was only just being brought in.

"What do we have?" Elizabeth asked, finally feeling herself at least remotely awake at the face of real action.

"Broken bones, possible injuries in inner organs. She is breathing."

"Has she been conscious?"

"She was for a while when she was being brought in."

The action brought Elizabeth, at least for a moment, back to her normal rhythm. She quickly examined the patient and to her relief nothing too serious was found. The girl's situation was soon stabilized and since there seemed to be no immediate need to bring her to the OR, Elizabeth decided she could let the other doctors treat her and so she soon exited the trauma room.

She was feeling tired. A cup of coffee seemed to be the only thing she could get her mind fixed on at the moment, so after taking a quick look at a couple of her patients, Elizabeth decided to retire for the lounge for a little break. She needed the caffeine and a moment of solitude wouldn't be unwelcome either.

Elizabeth filled her cup and then fell on the nearest chair with a heavy sigh. But she didn't get to sit there for long before it occurred to her that it was the same chair that Robert had been sitting on when he had reached out to stroke her cheek not so long ago. In fact, it was also the same chair she had been sitting on crying, after finding out about Mark's tumor's return. Robert had been so kind to her that day.and Mark - Why did the memory of Mark suddenly seem so distant? Granted, it was almost a year now since his dead, but she was still wearing her wedding ring and until recently she had also felt as if she was still mourning. But now, no matter how hard she tried to bring all the endearing elements of Mark into her mind, she couldn't feel the same sense of loss anymore. Had the time come for her to move on? Elizabeth suddenly remembered how Susan had once said that Mark would have wanted her to do it, to move on with her life.

Elizabeth looked at her left hand, fixing her eyes on the golden wedding ring. She remembered how Robert had retrieved it for her after she had lost it. At the time she hadn't been ready to lose the ring, but now it suddenly looked out of place in her hand. She hadn't had a husband for almost a year now, the ring was there only to remind her of days that would never return. She knew she couldn't live like that forever.

Slowly Elizabeth drew the ring out of her finger, and for a while she sat there, contemplating the piece of jewelry, until she was suddenly startled by a sound of the door opening. Elizabeth quickly looked up to see Robert Romano storming in, clearly upset about something.

He stopped abruptly in the middle of the room as he noticed Elizabeth.

"Lizzie", he exclaimed, seemingly surprised to find her there. "I thought you were on shift."

"I - I was" Elizabeth replied, closing the ring in her hand. "I'm just on a little break." She wondered if he had seen the ring.and wondered why it would make any difference to her whether he had or had not seen it.

"Having a rough day?" Romano asked, pouring himself a cup of coffee. Apparently he hadn't seen the ring.

"Just trying to get over a sleepless night." Elizabeth blurted, then bit her tongue for revealing the truth. She didn't want Robert to guess the sleeplessness had been on his account.

But Romano didn't seem to be paying much attention to her. Something was troubling him.

"Robert?" Elizabeth tried gently.

"What?" Romano snapped, placing his cup down and turning to face Elizabeth.

"I thought we were having a conversation." Elizabeth said dryly.

"Right." Romano muttered, clearly trying to keep his voice level. "You want to hear something about a rough day?"

Elizabeth raised her eyebrow but said nothing. Robert didn't need more to have the flood gates opened.

"I was demoted!" he spat. "Demoted!"

Elizabeth was taken aback. She hadn't expected that one coming. Of course she had sensed something was going on, but now that it came it seemed so sudden. Robert seemed to enraged, and Elizabeth could only silently agree with him.

"You heard me." Romano continued, when Elizabeth didn't seem to be able to manage a reply. "Chief of Surgery, Chief of Staff, all gone." He paused to take in a deep, frustrated breath. "And do you want to hear where they put me?"

Elizabeth didn't know what to say, but Robert didn't seem to need any encouragement after getting started.

"Head of ER! That's where they put me. ER! Of all the rotten places and positions in this town."

"Robert" Elizabeth tried to hush him.

Romano kicked a chair in front him, then fell down on it and sat in silence for a long time. Elizabeth didn't know how to approach him.

Finally she leaned forward on her own chair and whispered gently: "I'm sorry, Robert", but she knew it sounded pathetic.

Romano looked up with an expressionless face. "I bet you are." There was a short pause. "I'd put my money on it that they'll make you the next Chief of Surgery.I wouldn't blame them if they did."

That possibility hadn't yet even crossed Elizabeth's mind. She sat back and tried to take in the information, but Romano stood up and headed for the door. His hand was already on the door handle when Elizabeth suddenly raced after him and, before thinking, placed her hand on top of his on the handle.

Robert stiffened. Elizabeth could hear him taking in a deep breath. She quickly let go of his hand and muttered something unintelligible to her toes. But she could see her action had had the desired effect as Robert let go of the door handle and moved past Elizabeth to return to his seat.

Elizabeth didn't follow him, but stood still for a while, gathering her thoughts. She couldn't explain herself why she had not wanted to let Robert go. She didn't even know what she should say to him.

In the meanwhile, Romano seemed to have fixed his gaze on something that was lying on the chair Elizabeth had just been sitting on. She soon realized it was her ring that she had left there when she had raced after Romano. Elizabeth let out an exasperated sigh. This was clearly a day when everything was set to go wrong.

Finally Robert broke the silence, a hint of his old sarcasm in his voice.

"You should be more careful with your ring, Lizzie. I can't always be around to retrieve it for you."

"Actually."Elizabeth started, hesitating a little. "I - I took it away on purpose."

She returned to her seat and picked up the ring. Absentmindedly she almost put it back in her finger before she caught herself at it and quickly placed the ring in her pocket.

"Ah, so I take it you are offering me a new job as your personal ring retriever, not wanting to keep the thing in the same place all the time." Robert retorted. Then he seemed to sigh before he continued, "Well, considering the options, I might even take the job." He sounded bitter.

"Robert." Elizabeth started, but couldn't find anything to say. She wanted to comfort him, but she didn't know how. There was the line she didn't want to cross. Or did she? An awkward silence fell between them.

"Elizabeth, you don't have to do this." Robert suddenly said, breaking the silence.

"Do what?"

"Sit here with me, trying to think of something to say that would make me feel better but would still be meaningless." He stood up again and this time made a quick exit before Elizabeth could even realize he was on his way out.

Elizabeth sighed. She was relieved to be alone again, yet unhappy about how her conversation with Robert had gone. She had wanted to help, but has she only made him feel worse? Did he think she only pitied him? She didn't even know it herself whether it was pity or something else that she was feeling... and if it wasn't pity, then what was it?

Chapter 3 ~ A Challenging Encounter

'Well,' Elizabeth sighed to herself while changing her clothes after the day's last surgery. 'At least I haven't had any time to think about Robert for the last..'

Elizabeth paused, and then cursed silently under her breath:

'Damn Robert'

The mention of Romano's name had brought it to her mind that there were some files in his office that she needed to get before the weekend. She wouldn't be on call on either Saturday or Sunday, but Robert had piled some paperwork for her that she had resolved to take home with her.

But Elizabeth knew it wasn't the work that bothered her, for she would have plenty of time to get it all done over the weekend. It was the fact that she would have to venture to Romano's office to get the damn papers that made her uncomfortable. She had been successfully avoiding him all day and now it seemed it would all come to nothing.

'What a perfect ending for a perfect day', Elizabeth muttered to herself sarcastically, taking a deep resigned breath as she left the women's locker room.

On her way to the dreaded office, Elizabeth's mind was working furiously on a plan of action: She would go in.No, she would knock, then she would go in, meet his gaze levelly and explain quickly that she had come for the files they had been talking about. Then she would take the papers, avoiding his glance, and excuse herself. If he tried to talk, she would say she was busy to get home. No awkward silences or lingering looks.

Outside of the office Elizabeth came to a halt. She noticed that the door looked somehow different this time. Robert's name that had still stood there the last time she had been in his office had been removed. For some unexplainable reason the sight saddened Elizabeth, but she quickly told herself off of getting too emotional. She was about to enter Robert's office and the last thing she wanted was to get all emotional again.

Elizabeth was just about to knock on the door, when it finally dawned to her that the room seemed to be dark. It hadn't even occurred to her before that Robert might already have left. It was an unexpected relief, or it should have been, but for some reason Elizabeth began to wonder if she was actually feeling a bit disappointed.

Ridiculous. She was just tired and if she was disappointed, it was because she now wouldn't be able to carry out the plan she been working on, on her way there.

After a moment of deliberation, Elizabeth decided to knock on the door nevertheless. 'Better safe than sorry', she told herself.

There was no answer. Slowly, Elizabeth opened the door, as if still fearing Robert would be hiding behind it, ready to give her a good scare. For some reason this thought brought a smile to her lips, the first genuine one of the day. But the room was empty. Or at least it was empty of people. There were, however, numerous boxes lying around the floor, and it looked like most of the books and items in the had been packed in them. Another reminder of the fact that Robert had indeed been demoted and was moving out of his office. The smile died on her lips.

Elizabeth began to wonder if she would ever find the necessary files from the mess she was facing, but to her great relief she soon noticed a neat pile of papers on one corner of Romano's desk. They were the very files she needed, Robert had not forgotten about them. Elizabeth quickly crossed the room and was just about to reach for the papers when she heard Romano's husky voice whispering in her ear:

"Came to investigate my private belongings, Lizzie?"

Elizabeth jumped and almost screamed out loud at the unexpected arrival of her boss. 'Former boss', she mentally corrected herself as soon as she was able to breath again. He must have sneaked in right behind her and she had been too preoccupied to notice anything.

"W-What are you doing in here?" Elizabeth managed to stammer after taking a few more breaths, turning to face Robert.

A small smile played on his lips.

"I believe this is still my office." He said. "Unless, of course, I have been misinformed." he added, leaning on the desk with his good arm, getting much closer to Elizabeth than what she could be comfortable with in her present state of mind.

Elizabeth blushed. She took a little step away from Robert, but found her way being blocked by a huge box on the floor.

"I didn't scare you, did I?" Romano continued playfully, leaving his position and moving behind his desk, taking a seat.

"No", Elizabeth replied curtly and, getting back her composure, seized the pile of papers she had come to get in the first place. "I just came to get these files", she mumbled, and started browsing them through to get her mind elsewhere. Robert didn't say anything.

After a while, Elizabeth finally lifted her eyes from the files. "Right...", she started. "I - I guess this is it, then."

Romano was contemplating her with an unreadable expression, but said nothing. He certainly seemed know how to make her uncomfortable.

"I think I'll be heading home now." Elizabeth added, when there was no reply. "Good night!"

She turned to leave, but Robert's voice caught her before she could exit the room.

"Leaving so soon?", he asked, as if Elizabeth hadn't just been talking about leaving.

With a sigh, Elizabeth turned to face him once more. This was getting frustrating.

"Look", she said. "This has been a long day and I'm exhausted. I really need to get home." She didn't want to get into yet another awkward conversation with Robert. One per day was more than enough for her.

Romano didn't seem to be paying much attention to her words. Instead, he lifted up a bottle of scotch from his drawer and continued:

"I was hoping you'd join me for a drink." He paused, then continued, looking down. "For the old times' sake."

Elizabeth looked at him, not sure of how to answer. She felt she could indeed use a drink after the hectic day, but she was hesitant to stay with Robert for any longer than she had to. It clearly wasn't good for her. Yet, a part of her also hated the thought of leaving him all alone, knowing full well that if she had had a bad day, Romano's day had probably been even worse.

"Look." she began, but was interrupted by Robert:

"Come on, Lizzie. This is your last change! Next time you come to this office you'll find yourself sipping orange juice with Weaver."

Elizabeth snorted and finally gave in. Robert seemed to be in a playful mood and that was something she could deal with. Besides, she had recently called home and she had been told that Ella was fine, so there was no real reason to hurry home immediately.

"Fine, Robert." She replied with a small smile. "But don't expect me to stay for long."

"I wouldn't dream of it." Robert replied, but seemed satisfied as he pulled out two glasses and filled them with the whisky. In the meanwhile, Elizabeth took a seat opposite Romano, wondering what she had gotten herself into and suddenly remembering the many times she had sat on the very chair feeling far less uncomfortable than now. She was, however, soon brought back to present, when Romano handed her the drink with a quick "Here you go, Lizzie".

Their fingers met briefly as Elizabeth took the glass from Robert's hand. The short touch sent a shiver down her spine and the shock made her draw her hand away as soon as she could do it without dropping the glass. Damn Robert. Elizabeth leaned back on her chair, putting as much distance between herself and Robert as possible, and then fixed her eyes on her drink, trying to avoid his gaze.

"You don't have to look at it like it was poisoned", Romano spoke after a short silence, nodding towards Elizabeth's drink. If the touch had made him feel anything, he was hiding it well. "I thought you'd know you're not on the top of my 'to poison' -list."

With that, he gave a little grin and drained his own glass with one big swig, then put it back on the table.

"See?"

"How very relieving," Elizabeth snorted, but gave a little half smile and ventured to look up again before taking a sip of her own drink. A mistake. The strength and taste of the liquid made her cringe as she swallowed it. This seemed to amuse Robert.

"That bad, huh?", he asked, refilling his own glass.

"Never trust a surgeon," Elizabeth breathed, setting the rest of her drink on the desk. "If this isn't poison, I wonder what is!"

"It's the first sip that always tastes the worst", Robert replied meekly. "I'm sure you can do better than that."

"Is that a challenge?" Elizabeth asked, loosening up a little.

"If you're up for it."

"Robert, you should know by now that I'm always up for a challenge.", Elizabeth retorted, taking another sip of her drink to prove her point. This time she made sure she wouldn't cringe.

"You're learning." Robert said teasingly as he watched Elizabeth put down her glass and take a deep breath. "Will you let me refill this for you?" he then asked, taking the glass and refilling it before Elizabeth could say anything.

"If I didn't know better, Robert, I'd say you are trying to." Elizabeth started, but was cut short by Romano.

"You need a full glass so that we can have toast."

"A toast?" Elizabeth asked. "For what?"

"Anything." Romano replied lightly. "Does there always have to be a reason?"

Elizabeth rolled her eyes, but smiled. "Well, if you put it like that.", she said, reaching out for her glass.

It didn't seem like she would be able to escape anytime soon, so Elizabeth resolved to try to enjoy herself instead.

Capter 4 ~ Is It Okay If I Call You Tomorrow?

Robert looked disappointed when Elizabeth announced that she was leaving.

"Is there nothing I can do to make you to stay a little longer?", he asked, knowing full well that when Elizabeth had decided something the decision wasn't easily shaken.

"No, Robert. I think I've had more than is good for me already." She retorted, then added with a smile: "And, quite frankly, so have you."

"Always the spoilsport", Robert sighed resignedly, getting up of his chair. "But if you insist on leaving, I think I'll be heading out as well."

He took a couple of unsteady steps and almost stumbled on a box that was lying on the floor.

"Don't tell me you are with a car, Robert." Elizabeth said, being all too well aware of the fact that Robert Romano never went anywhere without his Jaguar.

"Worried about me, huh?" Robert was staggering his way through the boxes as he spoke, trying to make his way to Elizabeth who already was standing near the door.

"No, I am only worried about the people you will knock over if you start driving now", she replied dryly, hiding any concern she might have felt.

Robert feigned a pout and sighed heavily. "And here I was thinking you actually cared for me!"

"Well, I'm relieved to know you still are thinking." Elizabeth shot back, making a face at his back as he was pulling on his coat.

"So, what do you suggest then?" Robert asked, ignoring Elizabeth's last remark as he was battling with his coat, trying to get his left arm in.

"Huh?" Elizabeth had been watching Romano's struggle with the evil coat and hadn't paid any attention to his words.

"What do you suggest? Your place or mine?"

"I beg you pardon?!" Elizabeth could hardly believe her ears.

Robert chuckled, finally managing to get the coat on.

"I just had to make sure you were listening." he explained calmly. "I was asking what do you think I should do with the car."

"Oh" Elizabeth blushed slightly. The last drink had probably been too much for her. "Um...I think you should leave it here and take a cab."

"Sounds reasonable." Robert admitted. "But what about you?"

"What about me?"

"How are you planning to get home?"

Elizabeth hadn't really thought of it, but she didn't think there'd be a problem since she didn't have a car with her anyway.

"As you might know, there are people who actually use the public transport." She therefore replied without much hesitation.

Robert frowned.

"Oh, did I just lose your good opinion by confessing I don't always have a car with me?" Elizabeth asked sarcastically after noticing his expression.

"No", Robert retorted. "But don't expect me to let you go there all alone in the dark after all the drinks you have had."

Elizabeth realized he was being serious. Maybe it was the alcohol that was making her emotional, but at that moment she found his concern quite touching.

"Are you worried about me?", she asked softly.

Robert seemed to contemplate her question for a second, then his lips curved into a grin.

"No. I'm only worried about the people you will knock over if you have to run to catch the train."

Elizabeth crossed her arms over her chest and managed to look indignant for a second before breaking into laughter.

"I guess I deserved that one." She finally admitted.

"You certainly did" Romano replied simply.

"But actually." he then continued in a more serious note "I meant what I said earlier. I don't think you should take the train. You could come with me."

"In a cab?"

"No, on top of an elephant - of course I mean in a cab!"

"But we live in totally different directions!" Elizabeth protested.

"So?"

"So, if I were to take a cab, don't you think it would be better to just take two cabs and go our separate ways?"

Robert sighed. There seemed to be no point in resisting.

"Whatever you say, Lizzie"

"I'm glad you think that way." Elizabeth smirked, opening the door as she spoke. "Now, shall we go?"

"Ladies first." Romano offered, standing back to let Elizabeth pass first.

She raised a quizzical eyebrow.

"I had no idea you could be such a gentleman."

"There's a lot about me you don't know."

Elizabeth could only silently agree with him as she stepped out of the office, closely followed by Romano who stayed behind to lock the door. She walked slowly towards the elevators, suddenly beginning to wonder why she had never bothered to find out more about Robert before. She now realized she had no idea what he was like outside of his office and outside of the hospital. She didn't know what he liked to do when he had spare time and if he had any hobbies. She wasn't even sure if he had any close friends. The list of unanswered questions seemed endless and it slowly began to dawn on Elizabeth that she knew absolutely nothing of the man she had been working with for almost six years. She had had many chances to get to know him better, but she had never used them.

Silently Elizabeth reached the elevator doors and she stood there in her thoughts until Romano finally joined her again. Elizabeth was startled out of her reverie as she heard his voice from behind her.

"Lizzie!"

Elizabeth looked up to see Robert coming to a halt beside her.

"Have you lost your 'Elevator for Dummies' -manual or did you just forget to press the button?" he snapped as he proceeded to press the 'down' -button.

Elizabeth was embarrassed to realize she hadn't ordered the elevator, even though she had been standing right before it for a while already. Damn it. She would have to get a grip of herself and stop drifting off to her own thoughts in Robert's company or she would never hear the end of it.

"I just wanted to save you the pleasure." She finally retorted to get back her dignity.

Robert seemed to be ready to shoot back his response, but he never had the change to deliver it, because at that moment the elevator doors flew open and they suddenly found themselves face to face with Kerry Weaver.

"Ah, Kerry!" Robert cried, feigning excitement. "Just the person I was not looking for."

"Elizabeth, Robert" Weaver greeted, sounding somewhat reserved.

For a moment it looked like she was going to pass them both by without any further notice, but then she suddenly came to a halt, looking at Romano incredulously. Elizabeth realized she must have smelled the alcohol in their breaths and quickly looked away, but Robert didn't seem to be so easily intimidated.

"Anything I can do for you, Kerry?" he asked with a smirk. "Because whatever it is, the answer is no."

"Have you been drinking, Dr. Romano?", Weaver asked, ignoring his comment.

"Drinking at work? Me?" Romano replied innocently. "Kerry, I'm disappointed to hear you could even suspect something like that of me." Then he turned to Elizabeth. "Dr. Corday here can confirm that we only shared a glass or two of orange juice in my office."

Elizabeth coughed to hide her chuckle and then tried to reach a lever voice to convince Weaver that that was indeed the case.

"See?" Romano snapped before Kerry could open her mouth again. "Now, if you will excuse us. We don't want to miss the elevator."

With that, he quickly dragged Elizabeth with him to the elevator, leaving a wordless Weaver on the other side of the gliding doors.

"Bitch", Robert snapped as soon as the elevator was moving.

"Robert!" Elizabeth protested, but didn't manage to sound very convincing.

"Oh, don't bother. You know that's exactly what she is."

Elizabeth didn't reply. Robert was right. She had never liked Kerry and probably never would. It would just be hypocritical of her to try to stop others from calling her names.

"Do you think she will get us into trouble?" Elizabeth asked instead, remembering that Kerry now was the Chief of Staff and had the power to make their lives miserable if she wanted. In fact, she already had made Robert's life miserable. The bitch.

"What? For drinking? She can't prove anything", Robert replied lightly. "And even if she could, there's still the fact that neither of us were on call or treating patients."

"You're probably right", Elizabeth agreed, relaxing and yawning. She was beginning to feel increasingly tired and she had no wish to think about Kerry Weaver any longer.

The elevator soon stopped and the doors opened. This time they had reached the ground floor without any interruptions.

They were both silent as they stepped out and proceeded to walk outside. Elizabeth had finally been overcome by sleepiness and she found herself too tired to keep up the conversation. Robert, on the other hand, seemed to be too deep in his own thoughts to talk. Or maybe he was tired too, Elizabeth couldn't tell. Once she was almost certain she had caught him staring at herself, but he had quickly averted his eyes and turned to look at something that was on the other side of the road. He seemed to be slowly descending back into moodiness again.

For a while they walked quietly down the street. Then Robert finally managed to stop a cab.

"You're tired", he said quietly once the cab had been secured. "You can take this one."

Elizabeth didn't have much will to protest, but she was also hesitant to leave Robert all alone in his current mood.

"What about you?" she asked softly.

"I'll take the next one", he shrugged, looking away.

"You promise?" Elizabeth asked, trying to make Robert meet her eyes. "I don't want you to even consider going to take your car as soon as I'm gone."

"Well, I wasn't going to, but now that you brought it up..." he replied a bit more lightly.

"Robert!"

"Oh, right, you're thinking about the people I will knock over again, aren't you?"

There was something in Robert's voice that alarmed Elizabeth.

"No", she pleaded. "I'm thinking about you. I don't want you to get hurt." Elizabeth no longer cared if she sounded worried. Robert seemed moody, probably due to the drinking, and she wasn't sure what he was up to. She had a right to be worried, she told herself.

Robert finally looked into Elizabeth's eyes and held her gaze for a while. Then he sighed.

"All right, I will promise", he finally said.

Elizabeth had barely time to register her relief when Romano suddenly continued:

"Um...Elizabeth?"

"Yes?"

"Uh...You have tomorrow off, right?

There it was. He was going to ask her out. Elizabeth cursed herself for having shown too much concern for him. She should have known he would mistake it for something else. But what else could she have done?

Robert seemed to be waiting for some kind of confirmation, so Elizabeth nodded, dreading for what would come next.

"I was just wondering if I could.." he trailed off. "I mean, if you wouldn't mind me calling you tomorrow?"

Elizabeth looked at Robert in surprise. "Calling me?"

"Yeah." Robert nodded, his mood seemingly lifting again. "I trust you are familiar with the telephone?"

"Of course I am, Robert!" Elizabeth retorted. She could only wonder why she was suddenly feeling almost disappointed. She should have been relieved that Robert was not asking her out. She was relieved, Elizabeth told herself firmly. Of course she was.

"So?" Robert was still waiting for her answer.

"Um..No, I don't think I would mind." Elizabeth finally replied, stretching her words. Then she pulled herself together and smiled.

"Actually, I'd be happy to hear from you, to know you got home safely." She continued more assuredly. After all, it was just a phone call. What harm could it do to anyone?

Robert seemed satisfied. For a moment Elizabeth almost thought he returned her smile, but the moment didn't last for long. He quickly bid her good night and helped her into the cab before disappearing into the night.