Remedy

AUTHOR'S NOTES: Romano's niece is still named Carolyn, but also goes by the nickname Carly.


Kerry stormed through the doors of the ambulance bay. She was a frantic mess. Her face was a pale white accented by two very red cheeks. Her eyes were sullen, but full of worry all at the same time. She leaned against the crutch heavily as she padded towards Randi.

"Randi, where's Dr. Carter and Dr. Romano?" Kerry said as she leaned on the front desk. She knew she needed to still down before she passed out or fell over, but Kerry was more concerned about John and his future at County General.

"I haven't seen them in a while. Do you want me to page Dr. Greene?" Randi said as she blew a large pink bubble.

"Kerry, I thought you were at home sick," Mark said as he approached Kerry. He tried not to notice how awful she looked. Her skin rested on her bones like a wet sheet. Her breathing was shallow but tachy. Kerry's blue eyes were bloodshot and tired. He watched Kerry try to straighten up and look professional, but she was a mess.

"I called to check in and Randi told me John was out with Romano. I knew that bastard would approach John the day that neither of us would be available to protect him," Kerry said softly. Her voice was wavering and each word was tinged with regret, guilt, and sadness.

"Kerry, let's go into the lounge," Mark sad as he guided her towards the lounge. He held the door open so she could limp to the sofa. Kerry sat down rapidly. Mark thought her legs had collapsed, but he was not going to fight with her about her health.

"Hey, Chief," Dave said as he paged through a chart, "Dr. Greene, the labs on Carter are back. His lytes were unbalanced, but Carly is titrating a slow drip of saline. Otherwise, he is doing better. His lungs are pretty congested, but Carly said she would evaluate his lung function once he woke up. He kept down the Gentamicin."

"Thanks, Dave. Go check on Carly. See if she needs anything. Call Romano and make sure she was given privileges here. Otherwise, have him draw up the paperwork," Mark said to Dave.

"Mark, what happened to Carter?" Kerry asked.

"Kerry, he relapsed pretty bad. He started vomiting and passed out. Carly said that he was slightly altered and his membranes were dry. She has been taking good care of him," Mark said as he sat next to her on the couch.

"Who the hell is Carly?" Kerry yelled. She was upset that Mark or Deb was not overseeing his care directly.

"She's that new staff member that you were talking about. Romano had Carter giving her a tour. When Carter relapsed, Carly was the only one who could think coherently. After seeing John, I don't think any of us could have acted objectively," Mark said. Her face was red and he could tell how mad she was. He knew that she was insulted that no one had bothered to call her.

"Mark, did you bother to find out how qualified she is?"

"Yes, Kerry, I did. She is excellent. I talked to Romano and he said that she was Brown and Marquette educated. Carly was highly respected in emergency medicine and psychiatric medicine at University of Brooklyn," Mark said.

"Well, what is she? An attending, a resident, what the hell is she doing here?"

"She is a physician's assistant and a medical student."

"You are letting someone like that work on Carter. You people don't respect him enough to make sure that you are there with him. I can't believe you just left him with her!"

Mark looked down at his hands. He wasn't sure why Kerry couldn't understand that it was hard for them to see Carter in pain or ill. Carter was close to most of the staff. He, personally, cared about Carter like a brother.

Mark closed his eyes and remembered the Bulls game he went to with Doug and Carter. They had spent most of the night talking about everything from sports to sex. He was amazed at how different Carter was away from work. Carter was easy to talk to. He didn't act rich. He came to the game wearing jeans and a sweater. He ordered a beer. He was responsible and reliable. He remembered how Carter had taken care of him after his seizure.

"Kerry, I couldn't," Mark started, "I couldn't see him like that again. I froze. I'm not proud of it, but I froze."

"Mark," Kerry said as she sank back into the couch.

Kerry closed her eyes and pictured a very bloody exam three. She understood how Mark felt. Kerry opened her mouth to scream, but she could not. The words were stuck in her larynx. Her mouth was dry and she felt sick. John lay on the floor breathing shallowly. His blood flooded the floor around his limp, pale body.

"Mark, I understand," Kerry muttered.

Dave tried to concentrate on the charts in front of him, but the tension was too much. He thought of Carter and how awful he looked. Dave remembered when Carter was not a broken man. He used to walk around with a smile on his face . . . laughing with the patients and staff. Now, he carried himself like damaged goods.

Dave remembered how he convinced Carter to go out barhopping with him. He remembered how comfortable he felt around Carter. Dave's original intention was to find out all the dirt about Jing-Mae, but they spent most of the night talking about sports, their childhood, and women. He respected Carter, as a doctor and a friend.

"Chief, Carly is good. She is the best," Dave said. He was still looking blankly at the chart.

"How the hell do you know?" Kerry challenged.


"I went to Brown with her. She was dedicated. I thought she was insane the way she was president of the honors society, tri beta, biology and chemistry clubs. Her undergraduate clinical skills were amazing," Dave said.

"How the hell did you get into Brown?" Kerry said. She was immediately embarrassed that she had said something so hurtful to Dave. He was doing nothing more than trying to ease her pain.

"Kerry, is that really any of your business?" Mark said. He was know upset at Kerry for her inappropriate behavior.

"I got into Brown because I worked hard. Some stuff went down during my last two years that screwed up my chances of getting into a decent medical school. I'm not proud of it, but it happened. Are you happy?" Dave yelled as he stood up and walked out of the lounge leaving a pile of unfinished charts and two stunned doctors behind him.

Dave looked through the window of exam three. Carly was staring at the clock. Carter was in a deep slumber. Carly would occasionally look at John and move a few strands of hair off his forehead. Dave quietly opened the door.

"Carly, did you want some supper? I can go pick us up something," Dave whispered.

"Sure. I don't really care what you pick up for me," Carly said.

"How's he doing?"

"He's asleep. His fever went down . . . lung function is within normal limits. I'll take him home when he wakes up," Carly said.

She was still staring straight ahead. Her eyes were slightly glassed over. She was exhausted. Today was not what she had expected. She never imagined that she would see David again or meet the Carter that Anna had always talked about fondly. Now, she was trying to comfort a broken man. Carly could not even begin to imagine the amount of baggage that Carter had toted with him over the last few years.

"Carly, can we talk?"

"About what?"

"About Brown and us."

"David, too much has happened since then."

"I know. Anna is the only person who will tell me where you are, how you are doing, and if you are happy."

John listened intently without opening his eyes. He respected Dave as a friend, but he always wondered if there was more to Dave than was ever let on. Dave always put on a brave face and a show when they would talk about their lives. Carly was equally as interesting. She was beautiful, smart, and gentle. He wondered about Anna . . . about her and Anna. Carly represented everything in his past that he did not want to confront. Her appearance represented Anna. Her intelligence and authoritative nature represented Harper Tracy. Her caring and nurturing instinct represented Lucy. Carly was a mixture of all the failed relationships in his life.

"David, quiet down. I do not want you to wake John. A lot has happened since Brown. Has Anna told you anything about all the roles I have been forced to take on in the last two years? Has she told you about my father?"

"I want to know, Carly. We had something special."

"I know, but it wasn't special enough for you. You had to bring another woman into what was special."

"Carly, I swear to you that I didn't mean to hurt you. I really loved you," Dave said not realizing the decibel to which his voice has raised.

"Let's not do this here, David."

"Fine, whatever. I'm not going to let you push me out of your life again."

Carly shuddered as the door to the dank, dark exam room closed. She wrapped her arms around her torso. She began to shake uncontrollably. Carly could feel the tears welling in her eyes. She felt all the hurt and anger come back to her.

"Carly," John whispered.

"John, what do you need?" Carly replied as she turned toward John.

"I want to go home."

"Can I do one more assessment?"

"Fine, I just need to go home and get some sleep."

"Will anyone be there to help you around?"

"No."

"I don't know if I like that, John. Is there anyone you could stay with for a day or two . . . just until you are a little more stable on your feet?"

"Kerry."

"Okay, I'll have David come in and take care of that," Carly said as she began to take his vital signs.

She moved the stethoscope about his chest and back. Every time her fingers grazed his warm skin, she could feel tiny sparks of electricity races through her body. His skin was tan despite the paleness his illness cast upon his body. His chest was not defined, but it was muscular and fit. His entire body was that way. Although he was ill, Carly could tell how handsome he was.

"Carly, I heard what you said to Dave," John confessed a little embarrassed that he had not spoken up earlier.

"I know. I saw your eyelids fluttering," Carly said as she smiled warmly at him.

"I'm sorry," John said.

"There you go again. You don't need to apologize. I would rather have you hear it first hand rather than from a bunch of gossiping nurses. It would explain why I am telling you that I will refuse to work on any of David's patients."

"Why would you do that?"

"John, he hurt me badly. He used me and then he waited until I was struggling to kick me one more time before he left. I can never forget that pain."

"It sounds like someone is harboring the same guilt and hurt that she tells others to let go of."

"I know practice what you preach. If you don't stop it, I'll make sure I miss your vein when I have to do a final lab draw."

"Sassy too. Hurt, angry, and sassy . . . interesting combination, Ms. Del Amico."

"And you think you are a bundle of joy? Though, I have to admit that interactive tours are more exciting," Carly said laughing as she gestured to little splotches of vomit on her pants.

"Maybe I think I am a bundle of joy. Now let me go home," John said.

She looked so beautiful when she smiled. John was slightly surprised at how comfortable he felt around her. Around Anna, he constantly struggled to find the right words or he would walk about like a bull in a china shop. He acted like the around almost all the women that he knew. Women made him uneasy, but around Carly, he felt different. He felt so different that all the fantasies about Kerry escaped his mind.

"Okay, John. I will send David in. He'll get you discharged?"

"Does everyone else know?"

"No, only Dr. Greene, David, Malik and I. I figured that it would be best to keep it quiet. I wouldn't want you to fall victim to rumors."

"Thanks."

"You owe me, John," Carly said as she walked out of the exam room so John could dress and collect himself.

Carly entered the lounge and was promptly greeted by Dr. Greene. She observed the small, redhead sitting next to Dr. Greene. The redhead appeared to have been crying. Carly immediately felt uncomfortable and began to look for a way out of the room.

"Carly, this is Dr. Kerry Weaver. She is the chief of emergency medicine. Kerry, this is Carly Del Amico our new PA and Carter's medical student," Mark said.

"Pleasure to meet you. John mentioned something about you being stranded at his apartment sicker than a dog," Carly said sweetly as she shook the woman's hand.

"Is he awake?" Kerry asked. She was eager to go see John and make sure he had been taken care of properly.

"Yes, he was asking if we could call you to come take him home."

"Mark, prepare the discharge papers. I'll go pull the car around."

Kerry grasped her crutch tightly and tried to lift her body off the couch. She shook violently as she neared a standing position. Mark and Carly looked on anxiously as the woman kept swaying and shaking. Kerry could feel her knees buckle the second she was standing. She fell backward onto the couch hard. Carly and Mark rushed to her side asking a millions questions to assure that she was all right.

"Dr. Greene, she's brady at 50 beats per minute and at 12 respirations per minute. God, she's burning up," Carly said as she helped Mark lay Kerry across the sofa.

"Carly, would you like your second patient of the tour?" Mark kidded as he began to examine Kerry's leg.

"Sure, bring it on. County by far has the most interesting way of acclimatizing new staff to the hospital," Carly said as she put a pillow underneath Kerry's head.

"It's a recent addition to the orientation."

"Dr. Greene, considering she was staying with John, I would prescribe a Tylenol and a few days off. We could do a quick leg series, but unless there is evidence of discomfort, I wouldn't be worried."

"Sounds like a deal. I can call her friend Kim from psychiatry to come claim her body."

"Do you two have to talk to me like I'm not here?" Kerry growled.

"You're going to be just fine," Carly said as she went to retrieve a Tylenol from the stockroom.





Part 6
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