Softly Awaken

 

 

Chapter Sixteen

 

*****

An anxious heart weighs a man down,

But a kind word cheers him up.

                                                                                                            Prov. 12:25

*****

 

 

Luka hadn’t expected to say that out loud.  After his talk with Susan, he had been in a pensive mood all that day and he hoped getting out for a break at Doc Magoo’s would do the trick.  When he had asked the waitress to put on that song, Luka wasn’t sure what he was thinking.  He just wanted to remember, he supposed.  And then Abby appeared out of nowhere.

 

“What do you mean?” Abby creased her brow in confusion.  Her heart was racing.  Luka never talked like that.  He was always a man of few words and for him to admit that was something major.

 

“I…”  Luka wasn’t sure what to say next.  He closed his eyes.  He never should have said it at all.  Abby was with Carter.  “Uh, never mind,” he sighed, letting go of her arm and walking out the door.

 

Silently Abby watched Luka leave the room.  She was left speechless.

 

~ * ~

 

For the rest of the afternoon Abby couldn’t help but remember what Luka had blurted out in the staff lounge.  It was the oddest thing.  For the past few days he’d been avoiding her, unable to talk to her but now he came out of nowhere telling her that he wanted to be reminded of her?  It played at the back of Abby’s mind.

 

Obviously he still had feelings for her, but she had thought he was seeing Susan now.  She frowned as she checked on a patient whose saline drip needed to be adjusted.  As Abby marked down her adjustments on the chart, she found herself flattered that he still cared about her in that way.

 

“Hey Abby!” Chuny called, sticking her neck in the door.  “Weaver needs you in Trauma 2.”

 

Abby nodded and waved her hand, gesturing for her to leave.  “I’ll be right there.”

 

She didn’t have time to think about what Luka felt for her.  Abby shook her head as she put the chart back down at the end of the bed.  She didn’t even know why she was thinking about it in the first place.

 

~~~

 

Jing Mei had just enough time for a short break in the staff lounge, as there was a halt in the incoming patient load.  As she sat in the brightly lit room, Jing Mei couldn’t help but miss County’s small cramped room with only a table and a few chairs accessorizing the dimly lit refuge.  In comparison, Mercy’s staff lounge was an endless sunroom, with its large windows and comfortable couches.  It even had a fridge stocked with many different drinks and food.  She didn’t know why she would miss it.

 

But her thoughts were on Stephen most of the day and the rest of the time, it was spent thinking about the rumor that John and Abby were having troubles.  Even though she wasn’t working at County anymore, the nurses found it easy to fill her in on the new developments around County.  Luka was struggling to keep his head above water, as he was trying to sort out some of his personal problems.  Weaver was Weaver and as much of a drill sergeant as ever.  And this new development in the budding romance between County’s Golden boy and its nurses was hot on the rumor mill.

 

“Hey Jing Mei!” Henry chirped as he popped into the room with a white mug in hand, which had the logo, ‘You break it, I fix it!’ on it.

 

Jing Mei lifted her eyes up and pulled herself from the thoughtful reverie she was indulging in.  “Hey,” she said softly.  “How’s surgery this morning?”

 

Henry shrugged as he pulled the coffee pot from its warm burner.  “Good.  We had a heart transplant this morning.  I think she’s doing good though.”  As he placed the pot back on the burner, Henry carefully took a sip of the hot beverage and made his way over to the couch where she was sitting.  “How about you?”

 

“ER was kind of slow this morning so I’m taking a quick break,” Jing Mei explained, resting her head back on the cushions.  “I’ve got tons of charts, but at least I can take those home with me.”

 

Henry smiled and rubbed her thigh.  “Did I hear right?  Did Stephen wake up?”

 

Jing Mei grinned.  “Yeah.  He’s doing great Henry.  You should stop by, he’d be happy with the company,” she chuckled.  “I think he would love the company of a guy.  Jen and I have been hovering over him for the past couple of days.”

 

Henry laughed and also rested his head back on the couch cushions.  “I don’t know why he would complain!” Henry joked.  “I don’t even have one woman hovering over me.  Unless you would like to fill that position!”  He winked playfully at her.

 

Jing Mei rolled her eyes.  “I thought there were rules about sexual harassment!” she gasped in feigned disgust.  Suddenly they both broke out laughing.  Jing Mei glanced at her watch and groaned.  “I have to get back out there.”

 

Henry frowned empathetically.  “Me too.  I just stopped for a fresh cup of coffee.”  He raised his steaming mug.  “I’ll walk you out,” he offered.

 

Jing Mei nodded.  “Sure.”  She remained quiet as they walked down the empty corridor, but when they came to rest at the admissions desk, Jing Mei frowned.  “What are you doing tonight?”

 

Henry shrugged.  “I don’t know.  Probably pick up another double shift.  Dr. Connors is trying to cop out of his shift because of this new ‘blonde Barbie’ model-esque girl he’s been starting to date,” he groaned.  “I don’t usually have plans and he knows it so he ends up sticking me with it.”

 

Jing Mei didn’t have a shift tonight and had tickets to a new play in town.  Her parents had offered them to her since they weren’t able to go, last minute.  “Well tell him that you’re actually busy tonight,” Jing Mei declared.  “I’ve got tickets to a new play that’s opening and you’re the only person I can think of here, who might actually enjoy it.”

 

Henry smiled as he stuffed his hands in the pockets of his white lab coat.  “Sure, but how come you’re asking me?  I’m sure you’ve got some sophisticated friends who would like to go to a cultured play,” he drawled.  “Hmm, like maybe…”

 

Jing Mei interrupted him before he could say anything else.  “Don’t even think of saying it buster!  I don’t know when my love life became the topic of all of my friends, but you guys are starting to irritate me!” Jing Mei groaned.

 

Henry frowned.  “Lesley?”

 

Jing Mei furrowed her brow.  “What?”

 

“I was going to say maybe Lesley, the red-head from radiology?  She’s into that sort of stuff too.” Henry replied slowly.  “Who did you think I was going to suggest?”

 

Jing Mei felt the blood rush to her face.  She couldn’t believe she put her foot in her mouth like that.  Jing Mei plastered a smile on her face and shook her head.  “Uh, no one.”

 

Henry’s eyebrows raised and the corners of his lips curled up into a mischievous smirk.  “You had someone in mind and it must have been someone I know but you don’t like to talk about…”

 

Jing Mei walked around the admissions desk and pulled a couple of charts.  “I have work to do,” Jing Mei mumbled as she looked over the new admissions’ charts.

 

Henry looked over her shoulder and shook his head.  “You thought I was talking about Dr. Carter!” he sang cheerfully.

 

Jing Mei glared at Henry who was dancing around in the admissions area.  Her eyes darted around, feeling the curious eyes of the nurses and a few orderlies upon the dancing surgeon and Jing Mei, whose face must have been crimson red. She grabbed Henry by the arms and tried to drag him out of the sight of her co-workers, but to no avail.

 

“Who does our Dr. Chen have her eye on?” asked Saril, the head nurse at Mercy.  She was short, plump and a cheerful woman.  Jing Mei got along fairly well with her.  But she loved gossiping and matchmaking her co-workers.  She said that it was a hobby of hers.

 

“Uh no one,” Jing Mei coughed.  By then Henry stopped his awkward dance and laughed.  “Our Dr. Chen has a crush on one of her old co-workers,” Henry informed Saril.

 

Suddenly Jing Mei found herself surrounded by a few of the younger nurses, their eyes glued to Henry.  “What does he look like?” a blonde nurse chirped.  “Is he hot?”

 

Jing Mei couldn’t believe this was happening.  At that moment she wished someone would have an accident and come rolling in.  As her attempt at an evil glare failed, while Henry continued to fill the bubbly nurses in on the ‘love interest’ for the new ER doctor, Jing Mei tried the tactic of ignoring them.  When she tried to focus on the charts she had in front of her, Jing Mei couldn’t help but overhear the ‘oooh’s’ and ‘ahhhh’s’ of the bored staff.  She had to get Henry out of there.

 

Then a brilliant idea sprung to mind as she headed down the hallway to an empty exam room.  Jing Mei slowly dialed Henry’s pager number.  As she peeked around the corner, where Henry was surrounded by several of the staff, Jing Mei smiled mischievously as he jumped up and waved goodbye to the disappointed throng of women.  That would teach him to announce information about her love life to the nurses.

 

Jing Mei let out a sigh of relief as Henry raced by her as he took the elevator to Peds.  As much as she wanted the staff to get to know her, Jing Mei wasn’t ready for them to know about John.  She was having enough trouble with just her immediate family knowing about John and ribbing her mercilessly about why she hadn’t gone after the guy.

 

~~~

 

John wasn’t sure if Abby was trying to avoid him or whether it was just coincidence that he couldn’t spend more than five minutes talking to her that day.  Of course in the beginning he had been relieved about it, but now it was just grating on his nerves.  He vowed that the next time he saw her he would grab her and sort this stuff out.  It had been two days since their scuffle.  And John had already heard the rumors about the friction between them.  It was disturbing how much of his relationship with Abby was discussed widely around the ER. 

 

When he spotted Abby taking inventory in the hallway, John quickly grabbed her arm and ducked into an empty room.  “Hey,” he said casually, as Abby’s brow furrowed in wonder.

 

“Hey yourself,” she chuckled.  “What is it?”

 

John took a deep breath, hoping to sort out his own thoughts on the subject.  But before he brought up the topic, his beeper went off.  As John checked the two-word phrase, he rolled his eyes and let out a big sigh.  “I have to go,” he mumbled.  “Drowning.”

 

Abby nodded.  “Was there something you wanted to talk about?  I haven’t had lunch yet because of all the traumas, but I could sneak away for a late lunch?”

 

John swallowed.  He didn’t know if he’d feel like eating during this conversation.  As he looked down at her serene face, John couldn’t help but wonder why she was pretending nothing had happened.  They’d had an argument and she acted as if it was over and done with.  John nodded, as he opened the door.  “Yeah, how about I meet you in the cafeteria?”

 

Abby nodded.  “Yeah, sure.”

 

~ * ~

 

“So what is it that you wanted to talk about?” Abby asked, taking a bite out of her ham and cheese sandwich.

 

“I want to know what’s up with us?” John stated matter-of-factly.  He thought being blunt would be the best course of action.  He hated when they danced around their feelings, it was too high school, and they had been there and done that before.

 

Abby frowned.  “What do you mean?” she asked, a confused expression on her face.

 

“I mean, have you been avoiding me because of that fight we had two nights ago?”

 

His question seemed to take her aback.  She chewed a couple more times swallowing the food she had hastily packed that morning.  “No,” Abby denied.

 

“Well you could have fooled me,” John retorted, picking at his tossed salad.  “I’ve seen you less at work than I would one of the other nurses.”

 

Abby leaned back in her chair and tucked a strand of loose hair behind her ear.  “I’m sorry John, I’ve been kind of busy.  And then Weaver sent me on a gopher run…”

 

John paused, wondering if this was the truth and that he had been overreacting.  He had been on edge lately and wasn’t sure why.  They had been dating almost a month and a half now.  Which had been one of the longest relationships he’d had in the past several years.  Maybe he was getting antsy.  John frowned.  Why would he be getting antsy if this was right?

 

“Carter?” Abby called, waving her hand in front of him.  “Are you all right?”

 

John nodded.  “Yeah, I just zoned out for a moment.”

 

“Carter, just forget about it.  I was in a bad mood, I had just woken up because of a late night phone call and I was grumpy.”

 

“Don’t try to pass it off like it was nothing,” John sighed frustratingly.  “It’s okay if you’re jealous or upset, but you have to tell me Abby.  You have to talk to me!”  Once the words left his mouth, John knew that it was true.  He wasn’t just rambling.  It had been a relationship of silent looks and stolen kisses.  There were moments of honesty and communication, but he always had to drag it out of her; or wait for her to let something slip before understanding what was going through her head.

 

Abby’s eyes darted around, avoiding the curious stares.  She leaned over and whispered in an agitated hushed tone, “Can we not do this here?”

 

“And when are we going to talk about it?” John asked glaringly.  “You always manage to find a way to avoid what’s going on in your life.  You pretend like things are okay, and hope that they just go away.  It’s what happened with Maggie.”

 

Abby shook her head.  How could he throw Maggie in her face?  And she couldn’t believe that he was making a scene.  He always made a scene.  In their short span of friendship and even dating relationship, Carter managed to always end up getting frustrated with her and then timing it just in the middle of a crowd, large or small.  He never seemed to care that she felt completely humiliated whenever he felt ‘justified’ in doing so.

 

“Carter look,” Abby plastered a smile on her face, as she looked over her shoulder at the engrossed crowd.  “I am not in the mood for this right now.  Can we do this when several people aren’t staring at us like a sideshow?”

 

John looked around and noticed that the doctors, nurses and other strangers in the cafeteria were giggling and whispering to themselves, while their eyes kept glancing over to their table.  He gritted his teeth and stared down at the floor, trying to let his frustration go.  “I’m sorry,” he said curtly.  The words tasted bitter in his mouth.  John would have never apologized to anyone else, but he wanted this to work.  He was tired of being known as someone who couldn’t make a relationship last.  He was tired of it himself.

 

When he apologized, Abby allowed herself to relax a bit.  They had been having a lot of troubles lately and she wasn’t sure why it was.  They didn’t see eye to eye on things, though they never had in the first place, but she figured that a couple could still work if the people cared about each other enough.  Couldn’t they?  Abby pushed the doubt that lingered in the back of her mind aside and reached out and took John’s hand.  “Good,” she grinned.  “Now can we get back to lunch?”

 

~~~

 

Luka threw himself into his work.  After he left the staff lounge Kerri found him and put him to work, which he didn’t mind at all.  If it kept his mind off of the state of relationship with Abby, or whatever it was they had; it was fine with Luka.  He had run into Abby a few more times during his shift, but nothing that involved any major conversation.  They would have a trauma and once the patient was seen, Luka was out of there.  He was just about to punch out when Abby came in with a few of the nurses.

 

“Luka!” Abby smiled awkwardly.  There was silence in the lounge.  “Are you done your shift?”

 

Luka wrapped his scarf around his neck.  He couldn’t wait for the chill to be out of the Chicago air.  “Yeah,” Luka replied, their eyes locked in an uncomfortable gaze.

 

“So got a hot date tonight,” winked Chuny, as she poured herself a cup of coffee.

 

Luka broke the gaze and looked laughably at the Hispanic nurse.  “No, just a quiet evening,” Luka smiled.

 

“Aw,” the nurses pouted in unison.

 

Luka rolled his eyes and threw his bag over his shoulder.  “Don’t feel too bad ladies,” he laughed.  As he headed towards the door, he brushed past Abby who had been silently staring at him during the nurses’ merciful teasing.  Just as he walked past her, Abby looked up at him and whispered, “Can we talk?”

 

Luka blinked a few times before looking away from her concerned face.  He had almost gotten away without having to have this conversation.  Almost.  Luka swallowed and nodded hesitantly, as his eyes looked back to find the nurses scrambling to occupy themselves, while listening intently.  “Yeah, okay.”

 

He knew exactly what she wanted to talk about, or at least the outline of a conversation.  They were headed out into the ambulance bay, where they could talk away from prying eyes.  Luka knew he had pulled a hit and run on her earlier that afternoon.  It was just he didn’t know how to explain himself, or why he had blurted it out.  Never before had he had problems with keeping his feelings in check, especially when it came to women, but that afternoon had been an especially hard one.  He lost a woman in the ER that morning and watched as this woman’s husband crumbled before him, when he told him the news.

 

“I wanted to talk to you about what you said before…”  Abby looked awkward and didn’t seem to know what to say.

 

“I know, I was out of line,” Luka apologized.  “I had a rough morning and I got nostalgic for some reason.”

 

Abby folded her arms across her chest as they enjoyed the cool afternoon breeze.  “It’s just that I thought you…we were done, ya know?” she admitted a little bewildered.  “From our last conversation you were quite adamant about not caring about me or John.  You kept repeating the fact that you weren’t jealous or…”

 

Luka found himself standing outside in the twilight.  Abby was prattling on like she usually ended up doing when she was nervous, and he smiled.  He missed her.  That was the truth. 

 

For several nights he kept having this recurring memory of Carol’s sudden departure.  He didn’t know why she kept popping into his thoughts every now and then.  She had been the first woman who had sparked his interest since the death of Daniella, and it hurt when she explained to him how she had to ‘go find out’ if Doug still loved her.  She had promised him that there was someone out there for him – someone who would love him like his wife loved him.  And as he watched her leave, Luka had scoffed at the idea of there being another single woman who could love him – whom he could love – like Daniella did, but then Abby walked into his life. 

 

He hadn’t seen it then because he was still a mess from his entire family’s death.  Luka wanted someone, but wasn’t willing to allow himself feel that way about someone.  He was still torn and in pain from the guilt he carried for so long.  And when he was ready to actually find that someone, to let that person in, Luka lost her.  He had lost Abby. 

 

Luka found himself spending many sleepless nights thinking about the state of his love life, and over and over, he told himself over and over that it didn’t matter.  He and Abby were right to break up.  John was the ‘right’ person for her.  He’d never fought for a woman before, why would he now?  If it were meant to be, it would be.  It was something that had kept him ‘in denial’ about his feelings for Abby, as Susan would say. 

 

And he was tired of it.  The time for the truth had come.  Carol had been right.  There would be a woman to love him, and a woman that he could love.  And that woman had been and was Abby.

 

“Abby, I lied.”

 

~~~

 

Jing Mei sat in the empty coffee shop, trying to focus on the book she had brought with her.  She didn’t feel like sitting at home that evening after her shift so she grabbed her shoulder bag and a few charts she needed to finish and a she was halfway through.  The charts had been done for the past half hour, and now trying to sift through Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina.  Her mind was too distracted by thoughts of her brother but mostly - she hated to admit it - John.

 

The joy and thrill she always got from helping a patient and being up to her elbows in a trauma seemed somewhat diminished at Mercy.  Everything was so different, so…unfamiliar.  Even being at Mercy for the past month and a half hadn’t made her feel at home.  It was hard getting used to a new set of colleagues and a different way of doing things.  Each doctor had their own little quirks, and when she had began, they had been endearing, but now something like Dr. Chattam’s little habit of chewing gum loudly had begun to get on her nerves.  Jing Mei now realized how odd it was that those quirks never seemed to show up in her peers at County.

 

As she was mired in her thoughts, Jing Mei was startled by the melodic tune coming from her bag.  “Hello?” Jing Mei answered tiredly.  She set the weighty porcelain coffee mug on the table.

 

“Deb?” the voice on the phone said uncertainly.

 

“Yes?” Jing Mei frowned.  No one ever called her Deb except John, and she was sure he didn’t have her cell number. 

 

“Deb, it’s John.”

 

Jing Mei leaned back into her chair and stared out the coffee shop window.  “John, I wasn’t expecting to hear from you.  How did you get my cell number?”

 

There was a break of static and then John sighed.  “Uh, I phoned your apartment and you weren’t there, and then I tried Mercy,” he explained breathily.  “One of the nurses gave me your cell number when I asked for it.”

 

Jing Mei frowned.  She knew that she had told the nurses not to give out her private cell number unless it was an emergency.  Was this an emergency?  Had something happened to Stephen?  Jing Mei sat up at the thought, sitting on the edge of her seat.  “Is something wrong with Stephen?” she asked anxiously.

 

She had just seen him yesterday and though she was unable to get to County during visiting hours after her shift, Jing Mei hadn’t suspected that anything could have been wrong from her earlier visit.  Another thing that surprised her was that John was calling her.  If anything, she would have expected to hear from her parents or brothers if anything was wrong.

 

“No Deb,” John replied.  “It’s not Stephen.”

 

Her heart fluttered at the knowledge that Stephen was okay.  She didn’t think she could deal with another unexpected trial like that.  “Oh,” Jing Mei gasped.  “I so glad.”  At that moment, Jing Mei closed her eyes and let herself sink back into the chair.  She cleared her throat and frowned.  “Then what’s with the emergency?  The nurses know better than to give out my cell number.”

 

Jing Mei heard a rustling over the receiver and then John laughing.  “Yeah, what was with that?” he asked humorously.  “When they asked me who was calling and I told them my name, there was silence and then I heard some whispering on the phone.”  Jing Mei was mortified, if they had said anything to John.  “They said, ‘the John Carter’ giggled and then they gave me this number.  Do you know why they were acting like that?”

 

It took a moment for Jing Mei to recover from the idea that the nurses would be so mischievous and embarrass her like that.  Of course, the nurses didn’t know her as well as the ones at County, so it was no skin off their nose to almost rat her out like that. She hesitated in answering his question.  “Uh, they’re just like that,” Jing Mei lied, hoping he wouldn’t continue with the inquiry.  “So what’s wrong?”  Changing the subject seemed to be the best option.

 

“What do you mean?”

 

Jing Mei rolled her eyes.  John hardly ever phoned, and since he started dating Abby, he never phoned.  So she knew something was up.  “What I mean is, there must be something up because you never phone me unless something’s wrong.”  Jing Mei heard a slightly off-pitch scoff in her ear and smiled.  She was right, but John wasn’t about to admit it.

 

“I do not!” he protested.  “I phone you all the time!”

 

“Uh-huh,” Jing Mei laughed.  “When?”

 

“Well…I phoned you…”  There was a sudden silence over the receiver.  “I can’t think of it right now,” John mumbled.  “But I know I don’t just phone you when I have a problem.”

 

Jing Mei felt her body relax as she listened to the familiar cadence of John’s voice.  She missed having him to joke around with and tease.  Albeit they hardly ever spoke to one another in the last couple of weeks she was working there, but there were just little moments, where she would look at him and he would look at her and they knew exactly what each other was thinking.  Jing Mei missed that.  “Sure, whatever John,” Jing Mei chuckled.  “So let’s get to the point…what’s wrong with you and Abby?”

 

~~~

 

“So let’s get to the point…what’s wrong with you and Abby?”

 

John frowned and pulled the receiver away from his ear and stared at it for a moment.  It was surreal how well Deb knew him sometimes.  As he rested the telephone receiver snuggly between his shoulder and his ear, he began to pour himself some coffee.  Abby had been asked to work a double shift that night and so he decided it would be a good time to check up on Gamma.  He hadn’t seen her for a while now, since he spent most of his evenings with Abby over at her apartment. 

 

“Well John I don’t have time for that!” Gamma groused.  “You should have phoned first.  I am just on my way out.”

 

“Well, couldn’t you cancel it?  It’s just another one of those boring black tie affairs.  You get to go to at least one of these a month, if not two or three?” John coaxed.

 

She looked at him sternly and shook her head, as her Andrew, her driver, opened the door for her.  “John, really.  Do you just expect me to drop everything just because you and your girlfriend are having a spat?”

 

John plastered on a smile, though the comment stung, and shook his head.  “We’re not having a fight Gamma.  Abby just had to work a double shift and I thought I could come by and maybe take you out coffee or something,” he protested.

 

The petite 79-year old woman patted her neatly pinned up hair and stuck out her chin.  “I don’t appreciate being ignored which is what you have been doing for the past couple of weeks, John Truman Carter, and though I would love to have dinner with you sometime, maybe you can call and inform me when you’re free, since all you seem to care about these days is work and that Abby woman,” she lectured.  “I do not enjoy being treated like a back-up plan.” 

 

“And she just walked out the door, to one of those boring fundraisers,” John sighed, after recounting what happened earlier that night.

 

Deb was always quick to the sarcasm, and this time was not any different. “Well do you blame her?” Deb scoffed.  “You live with her for how many years of your life and then suddenly you disappear, only to come back when Abby’s working a double shift?  It really makes a person feel special John.”

 

John slowly spun his coffee cup while talking with Deb on the phone.  “I guess not, it’s just…”  He didn’t have the words to express what he was feeling at the moment.

 

“Frustrating?” Deb offered.

 

“That, and it’s just…she doesn’t understand.”  John rolled his eyes.  He sounded like a teenager.  His Gamma didn’t understand.  She didn’t like his girlfriend.  She didn’t like what he was doing.  His Gamma wished he would be more responsible. 

 

“Well maybe she would if you talked to her more.”

 

The suggestion was a valid one.  He did love Gamma, but he sometimes had a hard time fitting into her world and the values they held.  John saw himself a blue-collar working stiff who just wanted to make a difference to as many people as he could.  “That’s easier said than done,” John sighed.

 

He heard Deb laugh.  “Yeah, I guess.  Maybe you should just bring her flowers or something like that, next time?”

 

“I’ll try that,” John smirked, also joining her in laughing. 

 

After the laughter subsided, silence hovered between them.  He didn’t know what else to say.  John didn’t have any plans for that night after the Gamma ‘debacle’ and the thought of Deb popped into his head.  “So what are you up to tonight?  I know you’re not at home.”

 

There were muffled voices over the phone and then Deb’s voice rang clearly over his receiver.  “I’m sorry about that,” she said breathlessly.  “What did you say?”

 

“I was asking what you were doing,” John repeated curiously.  “Is someone with you?  I don’t want to bother you if you’re in the middle of something.”

 

“Oh yeah,” Deb snorted.  “I’m so busy!  I’m so busy that I’m sitting in a coffee shop finishing up my charts and trying to read this darn book I’ve started for the millionth time.”

 

John smiled at the thought of Deb rolling her eyes at the waitress as she was focusing on something.  He’d done that once before during med school, and he had learned never to do it again.  “So why don’t you come over then?”  The words that came out of his mouth surprised him, when he realized what he had suggested.  John frowned.  What is Abby going to think? 

 

He didn’t know why Abby would be bothered by it, though he knew she had an issue with Deb.  But John pushed the worried thoughts aside and was glad he would have someone to talk to that night.  Deb didn’t always have an opinion on things.  John knew that sometimes that was what he missed most about Deb working at County, she was there when he needed her, and he could bounce thoughts off of her.

 

“Are you sure?” Deb asked hesitantly.

 

John smiled over the phone.  “Yes,” he chuckled.  “Like I should need to ask twice.  Have you eaten already?”

 

“Sort of,” Deb hedged.  “Don’t think it’s unhealthy of me, but I ate cereal for supper.”  She laughed at herself.

 

“Well, do you feel you could eat something else?  I haven’t had a real meal yet today.”

 

“Sure,” Deb answered.  “What are you thinking?  I could pick something up along the way?”

 

“Pizza?” John suggested.  He had a major craving for pizza all of the sudden.

 

“Sure,” Deb laughed.  “Extra large pepperoni, bacon, and mushrooms?”

 

“Uh-huh, you remembered!”  Deb and John always used to order an extra large PBM because of their late night cram sessions.

 

“I’ll be over in about 20 minutes.”  There was a pause.  “I’m glad you called John.”

 

After John hit the ‘end’ button on the phone, he smiled and went to pour himself another cup of coffee.  He was glad he called too.