ER/Stand Crossover




Doug groaned as his alarm went off. He turned it off and got out of bed. It was only six thirty, but he was the designated breakfast maker of the day. After endless arguments, a large chore chart had been devised. That only made the arguing worse at first, with people trading and ignoring the various things they didn't like about the job. Things came to a head a week earlier. They actually had what amounted to an all day yelling match. That had led to Jeanie and Carter typing up checklists for each job. They had laminated the lists and the chore chart. It was all very draconian. Still, he didn't feel like starting the day with argument.

He threw on a t-shirt and jeans and headed down to the kitchen. According to the list, breakfast making included setting the table and making coffee. It also involved mixing up enough powered milk for the day. Aside from that, breakfast wasn't a hard job. Some hot water boiled, some juice poured, and a variety of Quaker Instant oatmeal packets set out, and he could use the rest of the day to snipe at everyone else.

He knew something was wrong as soon as he hit the first floor. The light in the kitchen was on and he heard someone bustling around. More importantly, he could smell coffee. He stepped through the kitchen door, not sure whether to be pleased or annoyed. One of the reasons they had resorted to a chore chart was because people tended to do their favorite chores only. Someone had done his work for him, which was fine, but he had no intention of picking up some other job.

He walked into the kitchen and was surprised to see Kerry at the stove, sprinkling cheese on scrambled eggs. Kerry had been a supporter of the "no trading" faction in the great chore chart war, and it wasn't like her to violate her cherished rules. Besides, fixing breakfast wasn't really one of her favorites and she usually didn't go to much effort. More than he would, that was true, but judging by the various scents, she must have been up for almost an hour. " Kerry, what are you doing?"

" Making breakfast." She gestured to the frying pan. " I thought it was obvious." She gave him a look, the sort of look that always seemed to make him feel like an idiot.

" Why are you making breakfast?" he asked, trying again. He noticed that she had the laminated card with his job listing on it, each task neatly checked off. It's just wrong to be that organized, he thought darkly.

She looked at him, an odd smile crossing her face. " I wanted to talk to you, alone, and this is the only time of day where no one would bother us. Why don't you get a cup of coffee and sit down? I'll join you... I just want to put these eggs in the warming oven with the pancakes and sausage."

He watched her for a moment and then headed for the coffee pot. He was resigned to whatever weird little lecture she had in store for him, and he didn't doubt that he would need the coffee. Coffee had been his only real weakness for the past month or so. He grabbed two mugs. " You like milk and sugar, right?"

" Lots of sugar," she said pleasantly. " I want lots of sugar." He added three spoonfuls to her cup, wondering when she had developed that quirk. He wasn't opposed to sugar in coffee, but too much made his teeth ache.

Noticing that the table was already set, he sat down in his customary spot and placed hers at her chair. " So tell me, Kerry, what do we need to talk about under the cover of secrecy? I haven't been drinking, and contrary to popular opinion, I haven't been sleeping with Lucy." Not that Lucy would have had a big problem with it, but he hadn't quite shaken off the notion that it would be sleazy. Plus, she was young and he worried that her affection for him wasn't quite romantic. He certainly liked her, but he was willing to concede that he wasn't ready either.

Kerry took her seat and picked up the coffee mug, taking a sip. " I don't think you've been drinking and you and Lucy are adults. But since we're on that subject... Be careful. She likes to please people. She might do something she's not ready for, just to please you."

HE waved off her concern, curious as to what she wanted. " Then what is it?"

She took another drink. Finally she said, " Do you remember the night you left? What we did?"

He felt himself blushing. " I thought...." he said slowly, " that we had an unspoken agreement not to talk about it." It wasn't so much that he regretted having sex with Kerry, it was simply embarrassing. He had been drunk and upset. It was one of many acts that he regretted. Kerry had been drunk and depressed, and he couldn't shake the feeling that he had taken advantage of her. It probably wasn't the worst thing he'd done in his life, but having sex with Kerry when they were both drunk ranked right up there. On the other hand, he thought suddenly, here he was with the opportunity to make amends. " Kerry, I am so sorry..."

She held up her hand, the odd smile still on her face. " Doug, I'm not looking for an apology. I didn't say no, and I could have. We're both grown ups, and from what I recall, we both had a pretty good time. Is that your recollection as well?"

" Gee Kerry, are you asking me to rate your performance?" Doug felt his irritation start to rise.

" No, I'm just establishing the fact that you don't have to apologize. We both consented. We might not have had the best reasons for doing what we did, but I don't regret what happened and I wasn't forced. Do you agree with me there, at least?"

He could tell by her tone that she was getting annoyed. " Fine, we were consenting adults, and whatever the reason we did it, we're equally to blame. Kerry are you trying to make some sort of point?"

She took a deep breath. " I'm pregnant, Doug." She sipped her coffee again.

" You're pregnant?" He felt as though an icy cold wave of water struck him. " How did that happen?"

She rolled her eyes. " We had *sex*, Doug. I sure wasn't on the pill and you evidently aren't sterile. I don't have to explain the birds and the bees to you, do I?"

" Christ..." He rubbed his head and then ran his hands through his hair. He didn't doubt her. He knew it couldn't have been Walker's. Too much time had passed for Kerry to not be showing and he could remember having a conversation with her where she confirmed that she wasn't pregnant by Walker. " Ok, I assume you don't want me to marry you or anything archaic like that."

" While I'm sure that would be amusing to everyone, obviously that's not a good option." Kerry said.

" You're going to have it, aren't you?" In that instant, he realized he wanted her to have it. He would understand if she didn't, she was older and there were a lot of risks involved, but he knew *he* wanted the baby. But, he realized, he had Kerry to contend with.

After a long moment she nodded. " Yes, I am going to have the baby. I would like for you to... participate in the child's life. You are the father, and I don't want to cut you out. However..." Her voice trailed off and she took another drink of coffee as if to fortify herself. " I understand if you don't want to be involved. I know this isn't something either of us planned on or wanted, and... I know you and Carol were trying to have a baby... This can't be easy...."

" So you're willing to absolve me of all parental responsibilities?" Somehow that irritated him.

" Or you can be a father to this child." Her voice also took on an irritated tone. " But if that's the case, we need to figure out how we're going to do this, so that we're fair and not screaming at each other every ten seconds. That's all I want."

" This is killing you, isn't it?" Doug leaned back in his chair.

" It's embarrassing Doug." Kerry looked into her coffee cup and then back at him. " You know, ten or fifteen years from now, we're going to have to explain to this child how they were conceived, and I'm not looking forward to starting off with how crazy I was acting and how drunk you were. " She was starting to turn red from anger. " I didn't have to tell you. I could tell everyone that it was Dave's and they'd buy that long before they would believe that we had sex on the porch. I'm trying to do the right thing because I believe you have a right to know your child." She started to get up.

He reached over and gently placed his hands on her shoulders, getting her to retake her seat. He'd overstepped and he did feel bad. As much as it was irritating to think that Kerry would offer to let him run off and not take responsibility, she was trying to do the right thing in an awkward situation. A damn awkward situation. " Kerry, sit down. I didn't mean that the way it sounded." He waited for her to calm down, and removed his hands, letting his right hand rest on top of hers. " I do want to be involved. Its just... You didn't think we were going to get everything hashed out this morning did you? We have a lot of time. At least seven months... "

" We could make a list of things... to discuss and decide on." Kerry said.

Of course, Doug thought, it's Kerry. We have to make a list. " We could type it up and laminate it. You know, to make it permanent."

Kerry blinked. " But if we laminate it, then how can we sign it in blood?" She grinned at him. " Your expression really is priceless. I hope you can duplicate it for the baby album."

He started to laugh. After a moment, so did she. " God, Kerry," he said between laughs," We are going to have a baby. Can you imagine what everyone will say? Or what they would have done back at County?"

" Well, first they would have all made bets on how high we were," Kerry said, laughing, " How drunk were we? I have to admit, I am amazed that your drunken sperm actually found my egg."

" Your egg was probably hiding near the cervix, plotting to kill my sperm in some sort of homicidal rage." That got both of them rolling with laughter. " So what other important issues are there?" Doug asked. " You're not a ticking time bomb of genetic disorders are you?"

" Wouldn't know, I was adopted. You?"

" Well, there's that troubling alcoholism tendency. My family does have a lot of twins." He looked at her, his eyes twinkling. " So what are we going to name the little blessing? Doug Ross the Second?"

" Ok, no."

" We'll have to put this on that list." Doug said. He stood up and took the coffee cup out of her hands. " You are off caffeine, by the way. Its bad for the baby."

She took the cup back. " You don't want me to kill you, do you? Besides, considering our mutual blood alcohol content at the time of conception, I think the damage has been done."

" Seriously, Kerry, you need to take better care of yourself. You're an older woman, this is a high risk pregnancy. You're a doctor, you know about prenatal care." Doug tried not to sound like he was lecturing. The more he let the idea roll around in his head, the more he liked it. Oh, it wasn't ideal, but there was something inherently joyful about the notion. " You need to eat better too. No more not eating."

" You're quite the doting daddy. Are you going to tie me to my bed too?"

" What are you two talking about?" They both turned around, finding Jeanie, Carter, and Dave standing at the kitchen door. Dave had a knowing smirk, and Doug realized in an instant that the younger man knew exactly what was going on.

" Kerry, you want to tell them?" he said. Somehow he thought she'd get more amusement from it. He was right.

" I'm pregnant." Kerry said brightly. " Doug is the father. We're thinking of naming the baby Damian if its a boy and Wednesday if its a girl."

They were all silent. " Are you both high?" Jeanie asked.

" No, " Carter said. He walked over to the warming stove and opened it. " Look, there's pancakes. We only have pancakes when there's shocking news to be dispensed."



Part 53
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