Daylight




Even as she lay there anticipating a scourge of visitors, at the moment, Kerry Weaver was bored. "How was it," she mused, "that I could run a busy ER efficiently, even when over tired, overworked, and drained, yet lying still in this bed seems to be physically impossible for me?"

Keeping still in the bed wasn't made any easier by the fact that John's soft kisses were lingering on her lips, even though he had left hours ago. She leaned back against her pillows and tried to get her mind off of the way he kissed. Thoughts like those were definitely not the sort to think of while recuperating.

She mentally cursed the infection she'd got; she could be at home recuperating and not forced to endlessly count the ceiling tiles. 'Once my temperature goes down,' she groused to herself, 'I'm out of here!"

She sighed, staring at the ceiling tiles was driving her crazy and decided it was time for a diversion. Glancing around the room for something else to do, her eyes lit on her IV, for the lack of better amusement she started counting drops. She was up to 318 drips when Haleh arrived.

"You feeling any better?" Haleh asked her.

At Kerry's nod, Haleh dropped a package of cards on her lap. "Worse thing I've ever been through was when I had my first child. Bed rest for 2 weeks by the time that child finally decided to make an appearance. I was never so bored in my life." She paused then continued. "This is to keep you busy. Got any preferences?" she asked meaningfully as she glanced at the cards.

Kerry smiled slightly as she fingered the cards thoughtfully. "It must have worked as your boy seems fine to me. Are you on tonight?" She asked quietly.

"Not for at least another 30," Haleh replied. "Time enough for me to beat you at a game or three." She took the package of cards from Kerry and started shuffling seriously. "You do know how to play, don't you??"

Kerry smile and hitched herself up a bit farther on her pillows. "Poker? Or did you have something else in mind?." She took her glasses from the night stand and grabbed the cards that were placed before her. "Are we playing for stakes?"

"Now you know this game wouldn't be fun if we didn't." Haleh pretended to be serious for a moment or two. "Lets play Gin." She paused, thinking of what the stakes could be. "How about this? I bet you that if I win this round, we go to the jazz festival that's coming to town next week. And you pay!" she paused wondering what Kerry was going to say.

"Ok, and if I win, then it's the opera and you pay!" She looked slyly then nodded.

** sometime later**

Haleh laughed and said. "OK you win."

As Haleh spoke, Dave walked into the room. "Hi, Chief." He smiled at Kerry, then sat in the chair next to Haleh.

"I have to go. I'm late as it is. Looks like I owe you, Dr. Weaver." Haleh said. "Malucci, keep her occupied; she's bored. The game is gin …and be careful she's a card shark." Haleh smiled at Kerry as she left the room.

Dave pulled up a chair, turned it around and faced her, leaning his thick muscular arms on top of the back as if it was a arm rest. "So, Chief. You feeling any better?" He looked concerned but grabbed the cards, as if to try to pretend he hadn't been worried.

"A little." Kerry answered him, then deliberately changed the subject. "So Malucci, how good are you at cards?"

Dave smiled slightly, thinking that this could be fun. "I'm okay. Gin?" He proceeded to shuffle the cards expertly before passing out the requisite number. "Okay, what stakes are we playing for, Chief?" Dave asked as he picked up his hand. "Hey, Chief, you know what this reminds me of? An old Adams Family re-run. There was this episode when Fester came into the living room…" he trailed off at her glare.

"Malucci, shut up!" Kerry snapped, then picked up her cards. She looked from her cards to the resident. "What do you say we play for…."

*~*~*~*~*~

Despite the load of painting supplies in his arms, John managed to open the door to Kerry's house and get inside. She had given him her spare key after he had promised to water her plants while she was in the hospital. She didn't know that his real plans were to surprise her with a freshly painted living room. He dropped the supplies on the kitchen table, then began to clean out the living room. A pad of paper on the table became his diagram for where everything had been located. Browsing through Kerry's CD collection, John chose a Rolling Stones CD to use as his "mood" music. An hour later, the living room walls were stripped bare and what furniture that couldn't be moved into the kitchen had been carefully covered. Satisfied that he understood the directions for the paint sprayer, John put on his face mask and goggles, then proceeded to begin the painting process.

*~*~*~*~*~

Jing Mei had meant to visit Dr. Weaver, but so far had been sidetracked by her duties. Feeling guilty about that, she made her way up to the second floor, intending to have a proper visit once she was done with Malucci. She knocked on the door before entering the room.

"Dr. Malucci," she said as she nodded towards Kerry in greeting.

Dave looked up and smiled guiltily before placing his hand face down on the bed. "You win. The next three oil changes are on me. But I reserve the right of a rematch!" Kerry smiled slightly at his cockiness. She had a feeling he would be a bad card player, and she was right. Her car did need some maintenance done, and she just knew she had found the right person to do it.

Jing Mei smiled ever so slightly at Dave's guilty expression, then spoke sternly. "Dave, your patient in exam 3 has been waiting for over thirty minutes."

Dave looked chagrined, then he sheepishly looked over at Kerry. "We'll do that rematch later, Chief." He then beat a hasty exit out of the room.

Jing Mei looked over at Kerry and quirked her eyebrows upwards.. "Rematch?" she asked.

Kerry indicated the chair before her. "Have a seat, Dr. Chen."

*~*~*~*~*

Kerry, after having beat Jing Mei soundly, placed the cards on the small table near her bed. She then watched as a nurse quietly entered the room to add more medication to her IV. The nurse left as soundlessly, but at least she had been smiling.

Missing John's reassuring presence, Kerry found herself wishing that he was there with her. At least if he had been at work, she would have been able to find comfort in knowing they were both in the same building. She clicked on the TV, and was scanning through the channels when she heard her door open softly. Curious as to who her visitor might be, she looked over to see her ex standing there.

"What are you doing here?" She asked him, looking straight into his eyes. "Afraid I'd die before I'd forgive you?" She said acidly to him.

"Still as cheerful as ever I see." Erik spoke quietly as he entered her room. "I'm not here to ask for your forgiveness."

He walked halfway into the room before stopping at the foot of her bed.

"Then why are you here?" she finally asked him. Through narrowed eyes she waited for him to answer.

Erik looked from Kerry to the TV, then he noticed the small package of cards on the table. "I'm here to play cards with you." He told her quietly.

"Really?" Kerry asked him cynically.

"I'm here because I was worried about you? Okay. I was worried! " he said explosively. His handsome face showed his worry and irritation for, and, about her.

"Erik, you picked the damnedest time, to grow up." she said quietly.

"Turn that seat around and sit down, you might as well keep me company for a bit." She smiled suddenly at him, then grabbed the deck of cards. This should be fun, she thought. "You do still play Gin, don't you?" she asked him before starting to shuffle the cards.

* ** * *
Several hours later.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Erik watched as Kerry smiled, then placed her cards down. "Okay, Erik, you win. One week of extreme politeness from me. Happy now?" Kerry was only partially irritated; for once she and Erik were getting along. The past wasn't so much forgotten or forgiven, but for once it was just in the past.

"OK, and if you don't live up to it, I'll let the entire office know that you used to sleep in Mickey Mouse pajamas when we were first married." Kerry glared at him. Erik laughed as he headed out the door. "And that you snore in your sleep, too!"

"Erik, keep that up and I'll start a book with Jerry on just exactly how long your relationship with Ms. Lockhart survives your comments." Kerry snapped back.

Erik considered that for a moment, then hastily ducked out of the room, almost bumping into Dr. Romano on his way out.

"Well, Kerry, how is our favorite patient today?" Robert asked her as he entered her room. For once, his tone of voice almost sounded friendly, Kerry thought as she moved just enough to get comfortable.

"Pretty good for someone whose been shot and survived to tell about it." Kerry told him as she leaned back against the pillow, grateful for the support it gave her.

Kerry watched as Dr. Romano grunted then picked up her chart and started to review it.

"I thought you preferred someone else to handle post op, Robert. Are you slipping?" Kerry asked him. She moved slightly, then winced as the brief movement sent pain coursing through her shoulder.

"Kerry, it looks like you've been refusing to take your pain medication. As a doctor I'm sure you know that the quickest way to heal….." He trailed off at Kerry's glare.

"Robert, why are you here? The charge nurse mentioned earlier that you had already done your post op instructions. I believe that the staff is more than competent to handle a little gunshot wound. So there must be some sort of logical reason for you to be here." Kerry said quietly, wondering if he was only here to harass her. If so, he could just leave now. She hitched herself up further in her bed.

"Because, Kerry, as careless as you may appear to be outside of the E.R., we at County need your unique skills here," he paused to let Kerry absorb what he was saying, then continued. "and I'm here to make sure that everyone takes care of you properly so that you can get back to work as soon as possible." Robert tried to appear casual as he looked down at her chart. He pretended to look much more concerned about her chart than he needed to be.

"Robert, in case you don't remember, I quit! OR did that little piece of information escape your notice?" Kerry snapped at him.

"I'm well aware of your status in this hospital, Dr. Weaver. I am also quite aware that you quit your job as chief of staff, but unless my memory is failing me, and it isn't, you are still working here as an attending. So, unless you are prepared to be completely jobless, you might want to think carefully before you answer." Romano told her briskly. Kerry sat straighter and tried to figure out what his angle was.

He glanced over at her chart and then looked up and noticed her fingering a deck of cards. "I presume you're a card player of some type. Have you ever played any poker?" Robert's eyes narrowed slightly, his face giving away nothing of what he was thinking.

Kerry watched him through her own narrowed lids. "A little." She told him guardedly.

"Good." Robert stretched his hand out for the deck of cards and watched in satisfaction at her slight hesitation in giving him the deck. "Okay, Kerry, here's the deal! One hand takes all! You win and you get your chief position back. I win, and you convince Lizzie to cover all my shifts while I'm on vacation."

"Are you serious?" Kerry exclaimed, 'he's gone and lost it now,' she thought.

"Completely. People have bet each other in this hospital for less serious things, why not this?" He shuffled the cards competently before catching her eye and starting to deal.

* * * * * * *

John looked around the small living room. The last coat of paint had been dry for at least an hour and he had already put the furniture back in place. Now he was finishing the job of putting up the last of the masks that Kerry had kept on the living room walls. He sighed as he looked around, thinking he just barely had time to put the finishing touches to the room before taking a shower and heading over to the hospital.

After twenty more minutes of furious work, he knew he would never be able to have his shower first. He called Kerry and was grateful to find her awake.

"Hi, hon. Feeling better?" he asked her as he leaned against the kitchen counter.

"A little." Kerry groggily told him as she sat up. After Robert had left the nurse had came in and given her enough pain medication to completely knock her out.

"I have good news for you," she told him teasingly.

"What?" he asked her curiously.

"I'll tell you when I get there," she said mischievously then hung up the phone.

Kerry then let herself drift back to sleep.

* * * * * *
The next day.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

John leaned over Kerry and kissed her softly on the lips. He chuckled when she reached for him with both arms, wincing only slightly.

She opened her eyes and smiled softly at him. "You have an amazing way of waking me up out of a sound sleep." she said quietly to him.

"Not really, I just felt like kissing you. I can stop if you like," he told her teasingly.

Kerry wrapped her good arm around his neck and pulled him closer. "Don't." she whispered to him.

"You were asleep when I stopped by last night, avoiding me for some reason?" he said before kissing her hand softly.

"Brat."

"I talked to Romano." He said softly.

"And??" She asked him seriously.

"He said you were clear to go." John told her.

"Home? Is that all he said?" She asked him suddenly. "He didn't mention anything else?

"Like?" John asked her, perplexed at what she was getting at.

"Never mind. I'll tell you later. If I'm free to go, then it's time for me to get the hell out of this place." She sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed. As she did, John picked her up and swung her around.

"John, you're making me dizzy."

He laughed and let her slide down till her feet touched the floor. She had looked up to scold him when she noticed the flecks of paint in his hair. "You do know you have paint in your hair don't you?" She asked.

"Yup." He glanced around the room to see what she needed to take with her. "I brought you a change of clothes. Are these your cards, Kerry?" He asked her suddenly in an attempt to change the subject.

"No, Haleh's. We need to drop them off on the way out the door." She told him as she looked for her shoes.

"Sounds like a plan." John replied, then he left so she could get dressed in private.

* * * * * * * * * * *
a short while later
* * * * * * * * * * *

Stuck with having to use a loaner crutch from the hospital, Kerry let John help her out of the car. She didn't like the crutch, but it would have to do until she could buy herself a new one. "That will teach me not to deck someone with my crutch," she thought.

She let John open the door to the house, then watched as he backed away and with a small flourish let her enter first.

"Smells funny in here. What is that odd odor?" She said quietly as she made her way into the house. She glanced around the living room and dropped her purse on to the couch. "I swear, John, that plant was on the other side of the couch. Did you move.." she paused slightly, then exclaimed. "You painted the living room."

John watched as she turned slowly on her heels, turning this way and that to see the entire room at once. Every wall was a creamy white with just the barest hint of blue in the paint. She noticed that every picture and mask had been put in exactly the same place as before. Each item exactly correct as if someone had taken a ruler and carefully made sure that each item was level before going on to the next.

"I can't believe you did this." She blurted out.

"A deal's a deal," he said softly.

"Weeding your garden is one thing, but, John." He smiled to see tears in her eyes as she continued to say, "this is too much." She reached up and kissed him gently.

***later that evening.****

The smell of a cooking roast awoke Kerry from her nap. She arose from her bed, and padded softly through the living room on her way to the kitchen, stopping suddenly at the site of the kitchen table

It was set with a beautiful hand woven tablecloth, place settings, a bouquet of red roses, and two tall candles, each softly lit.

Shocked, Kerry stood still and stared as John walked up behind her and held her gently for a moment, before guiding her towards a chair.

"You did all this?" She exclaimed again, shocked. She watched as he entered the kitchen only to return with two wine goblets in one hand and a bottle of sparkling apple cider in the other. "Do you need any help?" she asked him.

"No I have it covered." John placed the goblets and bottle of cider on the table, went back into the kitchen and came back to place several dishes of food on the table.

He watched as Kerry's attention seemed riveted on the living room he had painted for her.

"I still can't believe you did all of this, John. I'm shocked." She turned back to the table after smelling the delicious odors of roast beef. "I'm amazed.. home cooked meal, also?" She asked as she placed some of the Caesar salad in her bowl.

"Guilty as charged." He grabbed her glass and watched as she placed some of the roast on her plate. He poured her a glass full of apple cider. "I know its not wine, but since you're on meds. I figured this was just as good."

"Guilty as charged." John grabbed her glass and poured it full of apple cider. "I know its not wine, but since you're on meds. I figured this was just as good."

"Apple cider works for me, John." She smiled over at him, a bit shyly. Still completely overwhelmed.

"I'm curious," he said. "What were you going to tell me yesterday before you fell asleep?" He asked quietly.

"Beating Robert at a game of poker!" She said mischievously.

"Poker? I'm confused. Since when does Romano play poker?" John asked her.

"Dr. Romano," she said, stressing his professional title, then watched as John quirked his lips at her words. "Was arranging for me to come back to work without loosing face. I had everyone from Haleh to Erik come in and offer to play cards with me today. But in spite of their best attempts at card playing, I did manage to win two free tickets to the jazz festival next month with Haleh, 3 free oil changes from Malucci." John smiled her recital, his eyes drawn to the wine glass she was drinking from. At the rate she was going, he was going to need that extra bottle of apple cider he'd hidden in the kitchen.

"What did you win from Erik?" he asked curiously as he refilled her glass, handed it over to her, and waited for her answer before he dug into the food on his plate.

Kerry looked sheepish. "I lost." She mumbled under her breath..

"You lost?" he repeated.

"Yes. I had to promise him I'd be nice to him for a week." She said, then tried to think of something to say that would change the subject.

"Are you sure you'll be able to do that?" John asked her, almost choking on his laughter.

"Ha ha." Then she took another drink of her cider. She watched as he took her plate and carried it along with his to the sink. He came back carrying a plate of brownies and another bottle of apple cider.

"Mmmm brownies," Kerry exclaimed, then bit down on the chocolately goodness. "Tell me you made these, too?" she asked him curiously.

"No, I cheated, and bought them at the store." John told her indulgently. "Everything else I made myself."

"Well, I must say I'm totally amazed." She lifted her glass to toast him when she noticed a small object at the bottom of it.

"What's this?" she asked suddenly, as she turned her glass over and watched a ring fall out.

"John?" her eyes watched him seriously.

"Took you two glasses to find it.. you're slipping." He said quietly to her. He watched as she fingered the ring, tears falling gently down her face.

"Kerry, will you marry me?" He asked as he reached over and took her hands in his.

"Yes!" she told him softly, then leaned over and kissed him softly.

"Oh, GOD, yes!"

The end.




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