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Disclaimer: None of the ER characters are mine, but I do take credit for Cindy, Nick Kerrigan, and Officers Davidson and Jones, all of whom appear later on. Author's Note: This is my very first fanfic! I hope you enjoy it. Feedback is always welcomed and appreciated at yoshinaka@sprint.ca
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Lucy Knight jerked awake, and for a moment she was disoriented. She first thought she was in her dorm room, but as her eyes adjusted to the dim light she could make out the shape of the I.V. stand by her shoulder. She wasn't in her dorm, of course. She had fallen asleep on one of the beds in Exam Room 2. She contemplated going back to sleep but decided against it. She was awake now so she might as well get up. Besides, she really had to use the washroom.
Yawning, Lucy stepped out into the hallway. She immediately got a sense that something wasn't right. What was it? After taking a few steps, she realized what was wrong. It was too quiet. She had grown accustomed to the hustle and bustle of the ER and now it just seemed...dead.
Jerry looked up from the computer. "Lucy, you're up already. I thought you wanted to be woken up at seven," he said, glancing at the clock.
Lucy looked at her watch. It was 6:33 so she'd only been asleep for about half an hour. "I know. I just woke up on my own," she said, walking to the admitting desk. A couple of nurses were doing paperwork at the desk, but other than that the place looked deserted. "Where is everyone?" she asked.
"In the lounge," Jerry said, leaning back in his chair. He placed his hands behind his head and yawned. Lucy went up to the board and found only one space filled in. Dr. Doug Ross was in Exam 1.
"That's it?" Her voice was incredulous. "One patient?"
"Yup," Jerry replied, grinning. "Hard to believe, isn't it."
"I'll say. I've never seen the ER this quiet before. It feels really weird." She turned to look outside and groaned at the sight of falling snow. "It's *still* snowing? When is it going to stop?"
"Yeah, it's been like this all day. Only a few inches were supposed to fall, but at this rate it'll be more like a few feet," Jerry said, closing his eyes and massaging the back of his neck.
Lucy sighed and started walking away. Her glance fell on the computer screen and she stopped short. Was she seeing things or were those women missing their clothes?
"Jerry, what is that?" she asked, stifling a laugh.
His eyes flew open and he quickly turned off the monitor. "I just, uh...came across that accidentally. You know, when I was surfing the net," he said lamely. He smiled rather sheepishly when Lucy rolled her eyes at him. "Ok, I was bored. So sue me. I haven't had anything to do for the past hour."
Lucy laughed and shook her head. She finally headed towards the washroom.
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"What's this? I didn't know about that rule!" Elizabeth Corday exclaimed, her brow furrowed with annoyance.
John Carter smiled smugly at her, holding a black checker in his hand. They were in the doctors' lounge playing a round of checkers. He had no idea who had brought the game in. It probably had been used to keep some kids in the waiting room busy and somehow had ended up in here. He hadn't played the game since about sixth grade, and Elizabeth had never played at all. Since they had some free time, he was teaching her the game.
"You could have jumped me here," he explained again, pointing to a square on the board. "But you didn't, so I get to take your man."
"Is that true, Mark?" Elizabeth asked.
"What, you don't believe me?" Carter said, raising his eyebrows and pretending to look hurt.
Elizabeth ignored him. Mark Greene looked up from where he was writing some notes. "Sorry, what's going on?" he asked. As Elizabeth explained the situation, Mark took off his glasses, rubbing at his eyes. He placed them back on and blinked. "Well, some people play that way," he said after a moment. "But you should establish those rules first, before you start playing. That's the only fair way to do it."
Elizabeth smiled sweetly at Carter and grabbed the black checker out of his hand. "I'll take that back, thank you very much." She placed it back on the board as Carter laughed. Her competitiveness was showing, even in this simple game.
The lounge door swung open and Lucy walked in. "So this is where everyone's hiding." Grabbing a can of gingerale from the refrigerator, she said "I can't believe how quiet it is out there. How long has it been like that?"
"The past hour or so," Mark replied. He stretched out his long legs and looked out the window at the swirling snow. "Probably the combination of this unexpected storm and the fact that it's New Year's Eve."
"Hmmm." Lucy watched in amusement as Carter and Dr. Corday continued their game. She studied Carter's profile as she sipped her drink and wished he weren't so handsome. It would make her life much easier if she didn't have such a crush on him. While he sometimes annoyed her to no end, she couldn't deny that she found him attractive. *Maybe he'll grow a big wart on his nose and shatter that perfect profile* The thought made her smile.
Carter chose that moment to glance over at Lucy and caught her smirking at him. "What's so funny?" he asked.
"Nothing." Her blue eyes were wide and innocent.
He opened his mouth to say something but was distracted by the sound of a checker smacking the board three times. He whipped his head around to find Elizabeth happily plucking three of his red checkers from the board. "Hey!" he exclaimed, staring at the pieces and trying to figure out where he had made the wrong move.
"I'm starting to like this game," Elizabeth said with a chuckle, brushing a stray lock of curly hair out of her eyes. "You're a great teacher, Carter...even though you tried to cheat."
"I did *not* try to cheat."
"Yes you did, Carter," Mark said, without even taking his eyes off his notes.
Carter gave an embarrassed laugh and raised both hands in the air. "Ok, I give up. You win, Dr. Corday. You have more men left than me."
The lounge door swung open again and this time Carol Hathaway entered. She headed straight for the coffeemaker, glancing at the checker board as she walked by.
"Who's winning?" she asked, searching for a clean mug.
"It appears I just won," Elizabeth said, as she started to clear away the game.
"Even though Dr. Carter tried to cheat," Lucy couldn't resist adding.
Carter shot her a dirty look as the others laughed.
"Any problems with that baby, Carol?" Mark asked, referring to their one and only patient.
"No, it was just a minor ear infection. Parents were a little over-anxious because it's their first child." Carol sat down next to Lucy with a small sigh.
"Rough day?" Lucy asked sympathetically.
"No, not really. I'm just tired. I think I'm coming down with something." Carol took slow sips of her coffee. "I need this if I'm going to stay awake until midnight tonight."
"Are you and Dr. Ross going anywhere?"
Carol gave a short laugh. "Yeah, straight home. I think we'll just get under the covers and watch the ball drop on TV. Hopefully I'll manage to stay awake." She looked over at Lucy. "How about you? Any plans for tonight?"
"I'll probably get together with some friends from my dorm. There's some club that they want to go to. I don't usually like clubs, but I guess it could be fun on New Year's Eve."
"I'm going to a club too, with a friend of mine," Elizabeth said. "It's just a block away from here. I found it a couple of days ago and bought tickets for tonight."
"I didn't know you're into clubs," Carol said, sniffling. She sneezed, almost spilling the coffee down the front of her uniform.
There was a chorus of "Bless you" and Elizabeth continued. "Well, it's more of a restaurant that has a small dance floor and a jazz band. I'm sure it won't be nearly as rowdy as the one Lucy is going to."
Lucy smiled at her and looked over at Carter. He had started going through some patient charts. She wondered what he was doing tonight and was pretty sure it would involve Roxanne, his girlfriend. "How about you, Dr. Carter?" she asked.
"Huh?" He looked puzzled for a moment. "Oh, I'm going to some fancy dinner with Roxanne." His tone of voice and expression indicated he was less than thrilled. Lucy's curiosity was piqued but she wisely held her tongue.
"Hey, it's seven o'clock," Doug Ross announced as he entered the lounge with a wide grin. "Time to go home."
"Only for you and Carol," Mark said, finally finishing off his notes. He tossed his pen down. "The rest of us have a while to go yet."
Doug came around the back of the couch and Carol sighed in appreciation as he started massaging her neck and shoulders. "What made you volunteer for the graveyard shift?" he asked Mark. "You didn't have to do that."
Mark shrugged. "I had no plans. New Year's Eve never meant much to me anyway. It's just another night."
Jerry stuck his head in. "Trauma's coming in. Gunshot wound to the chest."
"I knew this was too good to last," Mark said as he got to his feet. "How long, Jerry?"
"Two minutes."
Everyone sprang into action then, and Doug asked "You want me to stick around?"
Mark shook his head. "No, we'll be ok. I've got Elizabeth and Carter. Benton should be here any minute. Go on home."
"Want me to call the OR for you?" Carol offered.
"Yeah, thanks Carol. Happy New Year, guys." Mark hurried out of the room.
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Feedback is welcomed and appreciated!
Shirley yoshinaka@sprint.ca
Thank you :)
