Common Ground

Comments: This is the final installment of Common Ground. Originally, I did have more "angst" planned for this part, but I decided to wrap it up a little differently. You be the judge on how it turned out. Thanks!


The day was warm enough that Nathan and Carter took the outdoor seating at the restaurant down the street. They ordered their beverages and reviewed the lunch specials on the menu.

"What are you getting?" Carter asked Nathan.

"I'll probably get the Turkey and Swiss sandwich with soup," Nathan replied.

"I didn't know you were a health nut," Carter joked. "Especially after last night."

"Ha Ha, funny," Nathan answered. Carter told him he was getting the BLT with soup. The waiter took their orders. After the waiter left, Carter noticed that Nathan was a little quiet.

"How was your morning?" He asked the teenager, who was stirring his lemonade with his straw in repeated motions.

"O.k. I went outside for awhile." Nathan wasn't sure if he should tell Carter that he found out about the attack. But if he didn't say something soon, chances are he would have a hard time eating. "Something on your mind?" Carter was picking up on Nathan's nervousness.

Nathan finally quit playing with the straw and nodded. "Your grandmother. She and I were talking. I still haven't told her the truth, but we were talking about you. I asked her how you got hurt and she told me."

For a moment Carter just stared back at him, but then his expression turned to one of remorse. "I was going to tell you…I'm sorry."

Nathan felt like he was the one who should be sorry, not Carter. "It was really none of my business."

Carter told him it was okay. He also explained that someone else had gotten badly hurt in the attack, but she hadn't been as lucky. He told Nathan about how Lucy would have graduated in the spring and that she even received a letter of acceptance to work in psychiatry at Cook County General.

"So are you okay?" Nathan asked. "Do you think a lot about what happened?"

"I think about it often." Carter sighed. "Unfortunately, the way I deal with these thoughts is unhealthy…I can't believe I'm saying this." Nathan was not sure what Carter meant, but he did not want to force his friend to explain. Just then the waiter came with the food. After taking a few bites of his sandwich, Carter looked up at Nathan. "Nathan, you have a lot of courage. Taking the time to grieve after the loss of your friend must be difficult, especially when your family says things that imply you should continue on as if nothing happened."

Nathan put down his sandwich. "I think you're brave just getting up and going to work every day. Your friends must think about how close they came to losing you, too." Again, Carter was astounded by the words of a teenager.

****** Dr. Greene finished examining an 11-year-old, Samuel Jacobs, who had been brought in with several others after the afternoon's El car derailment. "Looks like you just have a few scrapes and bruises. Do you go by Samuel or Sam?"

"Sam," said the boy.

"Sam, is this your mom over here?" Greene pointed to woman with long, reddish-tinted brown hair, sitting on the next exam bed. Sam told him it was.

"Mrs. Jacobs, Sam is fine. How is your elbow?"

"Just a little tender," Jill Jacobs answered the doctor. "Thank God Sam is okay. Was anyone seriously hurt?"

"I don't think so." Mark replied.

"My other son ran away more than a week ago, so you can probably imagine what was going through my head after the accident!" In fact, her heart was still racing a bit.

"He ran away? Do any of his friends know where he is?"

"Probably."

"My daughter is 11, the same age as Sam. She snuck out one night last summer to go stay at a friend's, and I nearly had a heart attack," Greene remarked.

Jill nodded in understanding. "Nathan will be sixteen soon. He can pretty well take care of himself. I'd rather have him home, though. He's been through a lot lately, and we're just trying to help him move on."

"Well best wishes to you. Is there any other pain, anywhere else?" Greene asked. Jill told him everything seemed fine and thanked him for looking Sam over. A nurse came to escort them out.

They had only been out the door a few seconds, when Sam suddenly got excited. "Mom, Look! There's Nathan!"

"No honey, it's probably just a boy who looks like him," Jill replied, not even looking in the direction where Sam pointed.

"No mom, it really is him!"

Nathan stopped in his tracks, only to have his little brother come up and greet him with a huge hug. "Hey little guy, what happened to you?" Nathan saw a band-aid on his brother's cheek.

"Mommy and I just saw the doctor," Sam explained. "The train almost tipped over."

Nathan did not know how to respond, except he wished that Carter hadn't gone inside already. "What were you doing out here?" his mom finally asked.

"Having lunch."

"Would you like to come home for dinner?" She asked with a tentative tone in her voice. "I could use a little help tonight."

"Mom I…I need to think about that. How are you getting home?"

"Good question. I don't think we want to get back on the El after what happened."

"I'll ask my ride if she can bring you two home," he said, glancing out in traffic for the black Lincoln Towncar that had dropped him off.

"Are you coming home with us?" Jill hoped she didn't sound overeager, and yet it had been nearly two weeks since she had laid eyes on her son. He looked like he had been bathing and otherwise taking care of himself.

"My stuff is at their house."

"Whose house?" Jill was puzzled.

"You'll meet them in a bit." Nathan waved as the Towncar pulled next to the curb. The man sitting in the driver's seat must be Carter's grandpa, he thought. Gamma got out to greet them.

"Mr. and Mrs. Carter, this is my mom, Jill, and my brother, Sam. Mom, this is Mrs. Carter." The two women shook hands. Gamma smiled at Sam.

"Umm, Mrs. Carter, my mom and brother were taking the train, but it had an accident. Is it possible for them to ride with us?"

"Josh, of course it's okay," she answered. Jill silently wondered why the woman just called Nathan by his middle name.

Jill, Sam and Nathan climbed into the back seat while Gamma introduced them to her husband. --------------------- "Can I talk to you and Mark again today?" Carter asked Kerry about an hour before his shift ended.

"I'll check to see if Mark's free," Kerry replied. "I will be available at 2:45."

"Thanks." Carter couldn't decide exactly how to tell Mark and Kerry he was ready. He was ready to learn how to cope with his pain -- even if it meant taking a leave of absence from work. Actually, his grandmother wanted him to leave the hospital forever. Carter didn't want to leave forever. Just long enough so that he would no longer put patients at risk.

Kerry went back to her duties, but she couldn't stop thinking about Carter. Chuni even noticed something was on her mind and asked her if she needed anything. All week, Kerry had been wondering if Carter would ever consider the pain management program. She hoped he was ready to discuss it now.

When Kerry talked to Mark, he was encouraged to hear that Carter was willing to talk about getting some help. **** Jill finished giving directions to Mrs. Carter. "I understand my son's been staying with you. I really appreciate you being willing to help up out here today."

Millicent responded, "Well, my grandson thinks a lot of Josh. We all planned on having dinner tonight to welcome my husband back from his trip. If you and your little boy want to come over, you're more than welcome.

Nathan could not believe what he was hearing. Mrs. Carter did not even know the truth about why he was staying with them.

Jill hesitated. "We really appreciate the invitation. I don't know what to say. How old is your grandson?"

"He'll be 30 next month."

"Well, I would like to meet him sometime." She sensed Nathan had grown up considerably during his weeks out on his own. He did not seem so detached. It took only 10 minutes before they arrived at the Jacobs' home.

A few hours later

Carter arrived home around 3:30 and smelled the dinner cooking from the kitchen. They would probably be eating in an hour or so. He wondered where everyone was. That was the hard part about living in a large house. Finding just one person could be a chore.

He looked forward to seeing Chen tonight, especially because he probably would not be seeing his co-workers for a while. Starting tomorrow he was officially on 12 weeks paid medical leave. Kerry and Mark had decided that limiting cases or work hours would not help him focus on the root of the problem. Kerry had discussed two different options. There was a pain clinic in Suburban Chicago. Or he could go into a comprehensive narcotics addiction recovery program. Mark knew of a program for tailored for doctors in Atlanta. Carter barely said three words while he, Mark and Kerry were in the conference room. In fact, he had nearly broken down crying during their talk. The past few weeks had been such a confusing roller-coaster.

When he got to his room, Carter wasn't sure if it was all the emotional tension or something else, but he realized that he was starting to ache all over. He hoped he would have his appetite back in time for dinner. He also wondered if Nathan had given any more thought to going home. Carter hoped he had been of some help to the boy, but he wasn't sure if there was much more he could do.

About twenty minutes later, Nathan knocked softly at Carter's door -- which was partially open. "You okay? Can I come in?" Carter was sitting on his bed, putting on some socks. "Yes, come in. I'll be alright. You?"

"Well John, I saw my mom and my brother today. In fact, your grandma and grandpa and I gave them a ride home. Mom and Sam were on the train when it had the accident."

"That's a little scary. I take it they are both okay?"

"Yeah, fine. Just a few scratches and my mom sprained her elbow. I ran into them as I was leaving the hospital. I didn't realize how- how much I really did miss them."

"Are you packed?" Carter asked, not wanting to assume, but hoping his friend was ready to sort things out with his mom.

"Yes," Nathan smiled a little. "But if it's okay with you, I'd like to stay for dinner."

"Sure.!" Carter grinned back. "You can meet my friend, Dr. Chen."

"Are you sure she's just a friend?"

"Hey you, now be quiet."

As Carter stood up so that they could go downstairs, Nathan shook Carter's hand. "Thanks for everything. I will never forget this." Carter nodded. "Neither will I." He suggested Nathan could come over and go swimming sometime in the summer. "That is - if you aren't too cool to hang out with me." Nathan told Carter it sounded like a decent idea.

Carter figured he could decide tomorrow about where he would be spending the next 12 weeks. Right now he would just enjoy being in the company of people he cared about.

The End.




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