| Tuesday, April 19th, 6:45 A.M., Sheraton Hotel, New York City Susan awoke to the beeping of her alarm clock. That meant she had to drag herself out of bed to go sit at that boring trauma fellowship conference at 9 o'clock. She just couldn't wait for this week to be over. She had sat in her room all of last night feeling sorry for herself. She had ordered Chinese take-out up to her room and sat and watched old movies. Then, she took care of some paperwork from County. She dictated reports, finished writing and editing her article for the medical journal, and took care of all the loose ends. After she was done, she couldn't help but feel good that she was all caught up. But that feeling didn't last long. She still felt stupid, embarrassed, and most of all, hurt. If he was going to turn her down, he could of atleast had the decency to put it in a less harsh way. She took it as a slap in the face... "She's the last person I'd date..." the words stuck in her head. Part of her wanted to forgive him. He probably did have some sot of a lame explanation for saying that about her. But the other side of her, her stubborn side, refused to put herself through that again. She felt humiliated as it, she didn't need to put herself through the embarrasment of trying to talk to him again. But, as much as she hated him right now, she was also overcome by how much love she felt for him. ___________________________________________________________________ 4258 N. Central Street, Trauma Fellowship Conference, Tuesday, April 19th, 9 A.M., New York City Susan stepped into the main lobby, which was already full of doctors. She walked to the main desk, where they were instructed to sign in. "Your name, please?" a red haired lady asked Susan. "Dr. Susan Lewis, Cook County General Hospital in Chicago." "Well, Dr. Lewis, someone thinks highly of you. Ah,let's see...Dr. Romano puts you at the top of the list of the doctors from Chicago. He says you are "one of Chicago's best". the lady said as she handed Susan a nametag, a schedule of seminars, and a notepad. Enjoy your stay in New York, and have fun at the conference." The lady told Susan as she walked away. "Something tells me that I WON'T enjoy my stay here in New York, and that I WON'T have a fun at this damn conference." Susan muttered under her breath as she walked to her first seminar class. _____________________________________________________________________ EARLIER!!!!! 55th Precinct HQ, Camelot, Tues. Morning, 7:00 A.M. Lieutenant Swersky blabbed on during roll call for what seemed like forever. But Bosco didn't hear a single word. Les that 24 hours ago, he had unintentionally dismissed Susan in this very room. And that's all he'd been thinking about since he woke up this morning. He felt terrible. He HAD to find her and he HAD to talk to her. Tell her how he really felt...Gusler interrupted his thoughts. "Hey Bosco, are you coming? Roll call's over. I'll go get the radios if you wanna head to the car." "Just when I thought my day couldn't get ANY worse, I get stuck with Gusler, "Mr. Dumbass Rookie". My...life...sucks." Bosco thought as he walked to the car with Gusler trailing closely behind. __________________________________________________________ Cruisin' the NY streets, 9:15 A.M., Bos & Gusler "Remind me to shoot myself." Bosco thought as he listened to Gusler blab on about worthless shit for the millionth time this morning. The morning had been pretty uneventful. The only call so far had been a domestic abuse call on Seventh and Broadway. Bos had shown that sorry son-of-a-bitch who was boss. And, of course, while Bosco did all the work, Gusler just stood there picking his nose. Bos decided to listen to Gusler to see what worthless shit he was talking about this time. "...and there's, like, a ton of doctors swarming around, and stuff. I guess they got some huge Trauma Fellowship Conference goin on, and they're bringing in trauma doctors from all over the nation. But, anyways..." A lightbulb instantly went on in Bosco's head. Trauma Fellowship Conference...ER docs from around the nation. THAT'S why Susan is here. Or so he hoped..."Gusler...SHUT UP FOR ONCE AND LISTEN! Do you know where this Trauma Fellowship Conference is at???" "Uh, I think North Central Street." "Go there! NOW!!!" "But, uh, that's out of our precinct boundaries. That's the 49th precinct's area...not ours..." "GUSLER! Get your head out of your ass and listen to me for once!!!" Bosco yelled as Gusler sped the car through the streets towards N. Central Avenue. Bosco prayed that Susan was there...... ________________________________________________________________ Trauma Fellowship Conference, 4258 N. Central Avenue Susan twirled her pen as she sat and listened to this guy blab on."What a waste of my time." she thought. She had a few notes written down on her notepad, but other than that, nothing else. This guy was a pediatrician from Los Angeles and he was talking about the proper way to deal with an infant in shock from hypothermia. Susan only thought of one word throughout that whole lecture: "Snoozefest!". Unfortunately, she would have to have something to present to Robert when she got back to Chicago. Otherwise, he'd chew her ass for paying for that whole trip and she not coming back with anything. But, knowing Robert, he'll chew her ass anyways. Susan laughed to herself when she thought of him and all those damn surgical med students. What a mess. Poor Robert...he'd been stricken with some "flu bug" the week before, and it had wreaked havoc, not only on his stomach (nausea sucks) but his mind. When he's sick, he's cranky, and when he's cranky, he's downright just a pisser. Before she knew it, the lecture was over. "Thank god..." Susan thought. She watched another pediatrician get up and start his lecture. This one was about effects of different drugs on infants. Susan yawned. She thought "Damn...this is going to be a long day..." _________________________________________________________________ Same building, Main Lobby Bosco ran into the main lobby, dodging doctors, and not caring about what Gusler was doing. This was personal, and he HAD to find Susan, if it was the last thing he did. He ran up to the main desk labeled "Sign In" and panted, being out of breath. A red haired lady looked up and said "Can I help you, Officer?" "Do you have a Dr. Susan Lewis from Chicago registered for this conference?" The red haired lady looked through her charts for a minute checking for her name. Bosco prayed that she would find it. "Yes! Dr. Susan Lewis from Cook County General Hospital in Chicago has checked in for the day." Bosco's mind went wild. She IS here! He was extatic. "Do you know what seminar or class she's in right now?" "Well, I can't tell you exactly why seminar she's taking, but I gave her the seminar schedule, so I'm assuming that she's in Gallery 108B for the pediatrics lecture, seeing as how that's the first seminar class on the schedule." The lady had barely finished her sentance before Bosco darted off in the direction of Gallery 108B, with Gusler following close behind. He and Gusler soon disappeared into Gallery 108B. ___________________________________________________________________ Gallery 108B, 10:45 A.M., Pediatrics Lecture Susan was busy taking notes on the current lecturer. This was actually starting out to be one of the more interesting lectures of the morning. She was engulfed in her notes and the lecture, when she heard the doors open. Since she had a seat in the front of the gallery, she didn't bother looking back. She figured it was some doctor who was coming in late, so she figured she'd stick to her lecture, instead of wondering what was going on. She soon heard a hush go over the room as people started to whisper. She just ignored it and kept writing. Then she felt a tap on her shoulder. She looked up, and the blood drained from her face. It was Bosco. How was she going to get out of this one? She couldn't exactly get up and run away? And what was she going to say? Her mind went blank. All she could remember was his words from yesturday, "...She's probably the last person I'd date..." The words still rang in her ears. Her eyes filled with tears as Bosco looked down at her...... |