ER: Doug and Carol Series

Story #20

The Waiting Game

by: Courtney

Doug walks into the lounge. He smiles when he sees Carol. She’s sitting on the nearby couch, sound asleep. He looks down at her. She looks so beautiful. Mark walks in and sees Doug as he is staring down at her. “Hey,” he says quietly.

Doug turns around. “Oh, hey,” he whispers.

“You on a break?” Mark asks as they continue their hushed conversation.

“Yeah,” Doug replies.

“She sick?” Mark indicates Carol.

“No, she just hasn’t had much sleep lately. She tosses and turns most of the night. I think it’s starting to catch up with her,” he replies.

“Anything wrong?”

Doug shakes his head, “No, Dr. Mitchell says it’s normal.”

“You don’t like it though. It worries you, I can tell," Mark says to him.

“Yeah, I guess it does. I just want things to be okay.”

“They will be,” Mark assures him. Just then, Carol begins to stir.

“Hey guys,” she says, opening her eyes. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing, sorry we woke you,” Doug says, moving to sit beside her on the couch.

“You didn’t.” She looks at her watch. “I should get back to work anyway,” with this, she begins to rise. She’s having a little trouble so Doug quickly gets up and offers his hand. “Thank you,” she smiles. “It’s getting harder and harder to lift myself off that couch,” she smiles, patting her round belly. It is mid May and Carol is now six months pregnant. Her condition is now very apparent.

Doug smiles back, “My pleasure mom.” She grins and turns to leave. Doug gives her a quick kiss and Mark waves as she exits.

Doug and Mark sit on the couch with their coffee and Mark says, “She really does look great. I don’t think you have anything to worry about. Jenn was up half the night for the last six months when she was pregnant with Rachel.”

“Yeah,” Doug says, “I guess I’m just being paranoid.”

“Nay, your just excited about being a dad. I remember what it was like before Rachel was born. I woke up every morning on pins and needles, wishing the day would hurry up and get here and scared to death it might be today.”

Doug laughs, “Glad I’m not the only one.”

“So, you two have a name picked out yet?”

Doug groans, “Don’t even mention that! We have a list a mile long! I have no idea what we’re going to do to narrow that thing down.”

Mark chuckles, “I’m sure you’ll think of something.”

Doug nods. “I talked to Ray again yesterday,” he says, changing the subject.

“Really? How’d it go?” Mark wonders.

“Okay, I guess. He’s pretty excited about being a grandfather. He wants to be part of this child’s life.”

“And you’re okay with that?” Mark asks.

“Yeah, I am. I can’t keep punishing him for things he can’t change anymore than I can do that to myself. I just need the past to stay in the past so Carol and I can look to the future.”

Mark smiles, “I’m glad to hear things are finally coming together.”

“Yeah . . . Hey, speaking of things coming together, how about coming over this weekend and helping me get a crib together?” Doug smiles at his friend hopefully.

“Sure, I’m off on Saturday, I can help you,” Mark tells him.

“Great. I just don’t want Carol in there doing it, you know? I had a hard enough time keeping her out while I repainted the nursery.”

“So, I’m more like a chaperone,” Mark grins.

“No, Charlie’s the chaperone. I really do need help with this crib. You wouldn’t believe the number of parts on this thing. Carol must have chosen the most complicated one in existence!” he grins.

Mark laughs and the two men continue to talk. Lately, Mark has been giving Doug some sage advice on fatherhood. He seems to understand exactly where Doug is coming from. He understands him so well, it is almost like he knows what Doug is feeling before he says it. Aside from Carol, Doug knows that Mark knows him better than anyone and his advice is very important to him.

The flurry of whispers around the nurses station comes to an abrupt halt as Carol reappears. She eyes her colleagues suspiciously and turns back to her paperwork.

Charlie walks up to the desk a few moments later. “Hey Carol,” she says with a smile.

“Charlie, you’re here early. How’d you get out of school so soon?” It’s barely noon and she doesn’t usually report for her volunteer duty until after three.

“There was a teacher conference so we got half the day off,” she explains. “I didn’t have anything else to do so I thought I’d come in early.”

“Well, in that case, let me give you something to do before Dr. Weaver steals you away,” she smiles and Charlie comes behind the desk. Carol puts her to work on some filing that is getting behind and then returns to her paperwork.

Once again, she is interrupted. This time, it is her mother who appears in front of the nurses station. “Hello sweetheart.”

“Mom, what are you doing here?” she looks up, surprised.

“I was just in the city doing some shopping and I thought we might have lunch together if you aren’t too busy.”

Carol looks at her watch. “Sure, I’m on lunch in about half an hour. Do you want to wait here or should I meet you somewhere?”

“I can wait,” Helen tells her. Carol shows her mother to a seat in the waiting area and gives her a few magazines to flip through while she waits.

Carol finishes her work and informs Doug that she and her mother are going to have lunch together. He comes over to greet Helen before they leave. She smiles at Doug and tries her best to be nice. It is easy to see this takes more than a little effort on her part.

Helen and Carol go across the street and have lunch at Doc Magoo’s. They have a pleasant lunch conversation, discussing the baby and all of the plans Carol and Doug have made for their new arrival. It’s easy to tell from Carol’s excited manner that they are both eagerly awaiting the birth of their child. She talks incessantly about the names they are talking over, the crib they bought, the color of the nursery, the theme of the decorations she has picked. Helen smiles as Carol goes on and on. She’s happy to be back in her daughter’s life, even if it means having to stomach Doug Ross.

Back at the hospital, Chunny, Wendy, and Lydia are filling Charlie in on their plans. The nurses have decided to give Carol a baby shower this weekend. “But, aren’t you supposed to wait until it’s a little sooner?” Charlie asks them.

“Yeah,” Wendy says, “but this is different. It’ll be a shower for she and Dr. Ross. It’ll just be the hospital staff. We can have another one for Carol when it gets closer to time for the baby and we’ll invite all her other friends and family then.”

“Oh, okay. Well, count me in. What can I do?” Charlie grows excited as the plans for the surprise begin to unfold. They all begin eagerly working out the details.

Charlie and Carter have dinner that night in the cafeteria. He’s all excited about some research project Kerry wants him to help with and he fills Charlie in on every detail. She smiles as he talks nonstop. He seems to feel very comfortable with her. She likes that. She’s beginning to see that she and John are going to be nothing more than good friends, and she has decided that’s okay. He’s a good friend and she can tell him anything, maybe being anything more than that would just ruin what they have.

“So, anyway, I have to write this article and . . . You’re not listening to one word of this are you?” he smiles.

“I’m sorry, I was just thinking of something else. Please, go on,” she tells him.

“No, I think I’ve bored you enough for one evening,” he laughs. “So, what’s on your mind? Anything you want to talk about?”

She shrugs. “I’ve just been thinking lately about the baby.” Carter continues to listen silently as she goes on. “I’m happy, I really am. I think Doug and Carol are going to be great parents. It’s just . . .,”

“What?”

“I guess I’m just afraid I’ll be in the way once they have their own child to consider. What will want with me then?” she hangs her head.

“Hey,” John places a hand on her shoulder, “Doug and Carol care a lot about you. Yeah, this baby will change their lives, but it won’t change how they feel about you. You’re like a daughter to them. That’s not going to change.” Charlie looks up at John as he speaks. She’s consoled a little by his words of comfort.

“Thanks, John,” she says. He smiles and they finish their dinner.

Carol and Doug are sleeping soundly at 8am on Saturday morning. Doug opens his eyes as the sun peeks through the curtains. He yawns and stretches. His eyes fall on Carol. She is curled up beside him. Her head is resting on his chest, she has one arm draped over him and the other hand placed on her expanding stomach. He smiles down at her with so much love in his eyes.

Carol wakes up and sees Doug watching her. “Good morning,” she smiles back up at him.

“Yes it is,” he says. He kisses her gently and rubs her stomach. “I can’t believe we have to wait another three months before we get to hold this little baby. I don’t know how much longer I can wait,” he grins.

“You amaze me, you know that?” she smiles.

“What do you mean?” he asks

“I mean, I would never have guessed in a million years you’d get so excited about this. I’m just happy you’re as anxious as I am.”

He smiles, “I couldn’t be happier.” They share another kiss then go down to breakfast.

Both of them have the day off and the plan for today is to get the nursery in order. Carol has been on a shopping frenzy lately and she and Charlie have bought everything they could possibly think of for decorating what will be the baby’s room. They have decided to go with a mix of pastel colors instead of just choosing one. That way, the room will be just as appropriate for a boy as it will be for a girl. Doug has repainted the walls a soft yellow and everything is ready to be put into the room. All they are waiting on now is the crib which Mark and Doug will put together this afternoon.

“So, have you though anymore about the names?” Carol asks him as she nibbles on a piece of toast.

“Yeah, you know, I had a thought I wanted to run by you.”

“Okay, shoot.”

“What if we named the baby after someone.”

“I thought we already discussed that. Neither of us wanted the baby named after us so . . .”

“I didn’t mean us. I mean, like, if it’s a boy, we could name him James, like your dad.”

Carol nods, this isn’t a bad idea. “I really liked Ben though,” she tells him. Doug smiles.

“How about Benjamin James Ross? I like the sound of that.”

“Me, too,” she smiles. “Now, what about if it’s a girl?”

“We could name her after our mothers,” Doug suggests.

Carol thinks about this. “Sarah Helen? That doesn’t have the right ring to it,” she says.

“Well, what’s Helen’s middle name?”

“Maria.”

“What if we made it Marie. Sarah Marie Ross,” he tests the sound of it.

“I like that,” she smiles. She reaches for the baby book that Sarah gave them a few months earlier and looks up the name. “Sarah means ‘princess’,” she reads.

“Sounds perfect,” he tells her. He walks over to Carol and wraps his arms around her. She stands up, still in his embrace. He pulls her close, as close as they can get with the baby between them. Carol laughs at the tight squeeze. Doug smiles and meets her lips in a passionate kiss.

Mark arrives at Doug and Carol’s door at just after 11am. Carol shows him in and directs him upstairs to the nursery. Doug is already getting started on their project, sort of. He is sitting in the middle of the floor surrounded by what looks to be a hundred different parts that somehow all fit together to make a crib. He’s holding the instructions up and peering quizzically at them. He turns them one way then the other, trying to determine which way is up. Mark chuckles, “Having fun yet?”

Doug sighs and says, Yeah tons. Am I glad to see you!” He hands the instructions to Mark. Mark looks them over and has much the same confused expression as Doug. “I think we’re in trouble,” Doug laughs.

At Cook County General Hospital, the patient load is slow on this Saturday afternoon. But, that doesn’t seem to have effected the flurry of excitement in the ER. Everyone is hard at work preparing for the surprise baby shower scheduled for this afternoon. Jerry and Malik are hanging streamers, Randi is blowing up balloons, Carter and Doyle are setting up tables in one of the empty exam rooms to hold the food that the nurses have brought. Everyone has a job and they seem to be well choreographed in their efforts.

Charlie and Mark have been given the most important jobs: getting the parents-to-be to the big event. Charlie is going shopping with Carol that afternoon and she’ll bring her back by the hospital just in time for the festivities to begin. Mark has got to find a way to get Doug to accompany him to the hospital in time for the celebration as well.

Mark and Doug finish up their efforts shortly before 3pm. The job was pretty complex, but in just under four hours they have managed to build the crib. They admire their work proudly. “Thanks for your help today, Mark. I’d have never gotten that thing put together without you,” Doug says as they head downstairs to grab a cold drink.

“Anytime,” Mark says as he accepts a can of soda from Doug and opens it.

“So, big plans with Nina tonight?” Doug inquires.

“No, actually I thought maybe we could go somewhere. We hardly ever go out anymore and I thought since you’ll be pretty busy here soon . . . “

“Sure, that sounds great. What’d you have in mind?”

“I don’t know. Why don’t we just head out and see what we can find to do?” Doug agrees and goes to get ready. Mark leaves and heads to his own apartment for a quick shower.

Mark returns at 4:30 and Doug is waiting to leave. The two men get in the car and head off. “Oh, you know, I need to stop by the hospital really quick, do you mind?” Mark asks.

“No, that’s fine,” Doug says absently. They pull up in front of the familiar building and Mark gets out.

“You coming?” he asks when he sees Doug has made no move to get out of the car.

“Naw, I’ll just wait here,” he says.

“It could take a few minutes,” Mark says. “Why don’t you come in and wait there.” Doug reluctantly gets out of the car and follows Mark. As they reach the door, they see Carol and Charlie approach.

“Hey,” Doug says, surprised to see them. “What are you two doing here?”

“I could ask you the same thing,” Carol smiles. “Charlie wanted to stop by for something.”

“Mark too,” he and Carol eye their companions with suspicion and Mark and Charlie look quickly away and scurry through the doors of the hospital. “Something is going on,” Doug says with a smile and holds the door opened for Carol, then follows her in.

They are greeted by the sight of all of their coworkers yelling, “Surprise!” A banner overhead reads ‘Congratulations Mom and Dad’. Doug and Carol smile and join hands.

The party gets into full swing and everyone has a great time. Doug and Carol receive numerous gifts from everyone. The most special gift, however, is from Charlie. With Carter’s help, she brings out two large packages and hands one to each of them. They open them to find two oil paintings. There is one of Carol and one of Doug and each has been painted from a baby picture of them. “I thought you could hang them in the nursery,” she says. Carol is thrilled with the gift and hugs Charlie excitedly.

The party lasts until about 8pm, with everyone stopping now and again to tend to patients and do their everyday duties. By the time they get home that night, Doug and Carol are both exhausted. They say good night to Charlie and head up to bed. Carol gets into her nightgown and lays down on the bed. Doug pulls on a T-shirt with his boxer shorts and lays down beside her. “What a great day,” she says, snuggling closer to him.

“Yeah,” he replies, taking her in his arms.

“Only three more months,” she says, closing her eyes.

“I can hardly wait,” he says, closing his eyes as well. Each of them drifts off into a peaceful sleep, filled with dreams of their future together as a family.

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Created by Courtney Stovall © 1998

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