ER: Doug and Carol Series
Story #30
by: Courtney
“So, you get the cake?” Carol asks as she and Doug walk into the lounge together. She is on her break and Doug is just arriving for his shift. He’s early, for once.
“Yep, I got it,” he replies as they sit side by side on the sofa.
“Well, where’d you put it?”
“It’s at Mark’s place. I stopped by this morning and dropped it off. I’ll just swing by after my shift tomorrow and pick everything up. She’ll be with Sarah by the time I get home and we can go ahead and start setting things up.”
“I hope she likes this surprise,” Carol says.
“Oh, she will. Listen, Charlie is going to love this party! She’s turning 16, we’ve invited all her friends, there’ll be food, music, presents. What’s not to like? You have nothing to worry about,” he assures her.
“I hope you’re right. It’s just, I know how I feel about surprises . . . maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all.”
“Carol Hathaway, do you mean to tell me that when I engineered that surprise party for you the year before last you didn’t have fun?” he asks with a smirk.
She looks at Doug and returns his grin. “Yeah, yeah I guess I did,” she admits.
He gives her a quick kiss then jumps up from his seat. “I better get going. Don’t want to be late,” he turns to wink at her as she laughs at the thought of Doug actually being concerned about being on time for once. Smiling, she watches him go.
“Hey everybody,” Charlie says as she sets her book bag behind the nurses station. Carol looks up and smiles.
“I thought you had art class this afternoon?” Carol says to her.
“No, Mr. Jenkins had to go out of town. He cancelled. That’s okay though. I wanted to come up here anyway. So, how’s it been going today? Busy?”
“Umm, on and off. Not too bad though. It’s been much worse.”
“Yeah . . . So, you’re off at five, right?” Charlie asks.
“Yep, one more hour to go,” Carol says.
“Mind if I wait here for you? I thought maybe we could stop somewhere on the way home and grab a bite to eat, maybe rent a movie?”
“Sure,” Carol says. “You can wait in the lounge if you want.”
“Okay, I think I’ll go find John first though. I have something to talk to him about.”
“Okay, I think I saw him head up to the cafeteria for his lunch break a little while ago. Maybe you can still catch him.”
“Thanks,” Charlie says, then she turns for the elevators to go find Carter. Carol watches her go, wondering what it is Charlie has on her mind this evening. She can tell there’s something she wants to talk about. Lately, they’ve been really close. Charlie seems to turn to Carol more and more with her problems. Carol smiles, it’s nice to know Charlie thinks enough of her to turn to her now. There was a time she wouldn’t even talk to Carol. Now, the bond between them is unmistakable. As Carol continues to watch her, Charlie boards the elevator and heads up to the cafeteria.
“Hey,” Charlie says as she slides into the seat next to John Carter at a small corner table in the hospital cafeteria.
“Hey yourself,” he smiles slightly as his friend joins him. “So, what brings you up here today?” he asks as he sips his coffee.
“Looking for you,” she says.
“Really? Well, I’m flattered,” Carter grins.
Charlie smirks. “Actually, I’m waiting for Carol so I thought I’d come talk to you while I wait.” She reaches over and grabs a few French fries off his tray. “So, how’d things go with Anna last night?” she grins.
“Very well, thank you. She’s really great. Tell me the truth, do you like her?” he asks, suddenly looking awfully serious for the friendly conversation they have been sharing.
Charlie looks quizzically at him, not sure what he’s getting at. “I guess, why does it matter? You like her, that’s what counts.”
“Well, I’d like you to like her too. You’re one of my best friends. And I trust your judgement. Let’s face it, I haven’t exactly had the greatest luck with women in my lifetime. You think Anna and I have a chance?”
“I don’t know John. Who can tell something like that?” She looks at him and sees how serious he is about this question and her expression softens. “I think Anna is great. She likes you, you like her. Just take things as they come.”
“Well, I’m wondering how I’m going to tell her the truth about myself.”
“What truth might that be?” Charlie asks.
“About my money. Well, I mean, my family’s money. She doesn’t really know about that. I think she thinks I’m a working class kind of guy. I’m afraid if she finds out the truth, things will change. She’ll think I’m different somehow.”
“Well, the two of you do come from very different backgrounds. I guess it’s not impossible that that could cause a problem somewhere down the line,” Charlie says.
Carter shakes his head. “The thing is, the money doesn’t matter to me. I can live without all the things that money provides. It’s never really made me happy. But, when I’m with her . . . Charlie, I’ve never been so happy,” John’s face breaks into a wide grin. Charlie smiles back at how happy John seems to be.
“It’ll work out. Just tell her what you just told me and things will turn out fine. If she likes you as much as you like her, the money won’t be enough to separate you two.”
He nods, “Thanks, you always make me feel better.”
“Hey, what are friends for?” she grins. “Now, let’s talk about what Doug and Carol are getting me for my birthday,” she says with a mischievous glint in her green eyes.
“No way! I’m not getting into this situation. Doug would murder me!” he says.
“Aw, John! Come on, just a hint? I *swear* I won’t tell!!”
He gets up from his seat and goes to the trash cans with his tray. Charlie follows close behind, still trying to weasel a hint out of him. “You’ll just have to wait one more day,” he smiles as they walk towards the elevators. The sounds of her coaxing and his laughter can be heard halfway down the hall.
“Hey beautiful,” Doug purrs in a low voice as he comes up behind Carol and wraps his arms around her waist. She’s standing in front of the counter in the lounge getting a cup of coffee. She smiles and leans back, placing her hands atop his on her waist.
“Hey there,” she tilts her head back to meet his mouth in a tender kiss. “How’s it going tonight? I’ve barely seen you, you’ve been so busy.”
“Yeah, it’s busy alright. I’m just glad we’re both off tomorrow. I never get to spend enough time with you,” he smiles and spins Carol around to kiss her again.
They are lost in their embrace when Charlie walks in. She watches them for a moment in silence. A slow smiles spreads across her face. The love between these two is so evident. Whenever they’re together, Doug and Carol seem to make each other so happy, happier than they could ever be with anyone else. For Charlie, it’s especially nice to see this because, until she came to live with them, her life was filled with people who couldn’t even love themselves, much less anyone else.
“I hate to interrupt . . .,” Charlie breaks in with a grin. Doug and Carol snap back to reality and both turn to look in the direction of the door where the girl is standing. “Sorry,” she says.
“No, no, that’s okay. We were just . . .,” Doug begins but he’s not sure how to finish his statement.
“I think she could see what we were just doing,” Carol laughs. She pulls gently from Doug’s embrace and walks over to Charlie. “You ready to go?” Charlie nods. “Okay, I’ll get my coat. Be right back,” she says then turns to exit the lounge and retrieve her things from the locker room, leaving Doug and Charlie all alone.
“I really am sorry I interrupted before. Maybe I should have waited outside,” Charlie says to him as they sit together on one of the sofas.
“Don’t be silly,” Doug says. “Carol and I have the rest of our lives for that stuff,” he grins. “Hey, I hope it doesn’t embarrass you, walking in on us kissing, I mean.”
She looks up at him, rather surprised. “Why should it?”
“I don’t know, most teenagers don’t like to see their par . . .” he starts to say ‘parents’ but stops himself. Does Charlie really think of them as her parents? He doesn’t know if it’s appropriate for him to use this term. He’s not sure it’s his place.
“Their parents? Yeah, you can say it,” she smiles at him. His gaze, which has been focused on the green nagahide of the sofa, shifts to meet hers. He sees the sincerity in her face and his lips slowly curl into a smile that mirrors Charlie’s. “I’m not sure I know how to be a daughter though. I mean, I’ve never really been one. Not the way you and Carol would picture a daughter at least.”
He looks at her with the most serious expression. His cheek twitches a little as his mind waivers between an expression of happiness that Charlie wants to be his daughter, and sadness that she would think for a moment she isn’t worthy of that title. “Charlie,” he begins. She averts her gaze, but Doug isn’t going to let her run from this. She got this started, now he wants to be sure they are clear on things. “Charlie, look at me. Look,” his tone is gentle but firm. He takes hold of her chin with his hand and turns her head carefully to face him. “Look,” he repeats.
Her gaze finally meets his and her eyes rest upon him. She bites her lower lip slightly and watches as he begins to speak.
“My only regret about you becoming my daughter is that it took me so long to do it. If I could go back and change things, I’d have straightened my act up a long time ago and taken care of you when you needed me. Don’t you ever worry that you aren’t what Carol and I imagined our daughter to be. You’re more than we ever dreamed of and everything we ever wanted. Carol and I are honored you want to become our daughter, because, in our hearts, you already are.”
As Doug finishes speaking, a single tear slides down Charlie’s cheek. He brushes it away with his thumb and smoothes her long hair from her face. Charlie smiles. “Thanks,” she says in a voice so low it is barely a whisper.
“For what?” Doug asks.
“For wanting me,” she replies.
“So, where to?” Carol asks as she and Charlie get into her car.
“Wherever,” Charlie replies.
“Something wrong?” Carol questions.
“Nope, nothing.”
“Okay,” Carol replies, some what skeptically. They pull out of the hospital parking garage and enter the busy Chicago street. Carol turns the car towards home. “You want to go in somewhere or get take out and a movie?”
“Take out’s fine.”
“Chinese, Italian?”
“Whichever.”
“You’re a big help tonight,” Carol kids.
“Sorry,” Charlie smiles a little as she realizes how lost she’d been in her thoughts since they left the hospital. “How about Chinese.”
“Okay,” Carol says. She decides that before the end of the night she will get to the bottom of whatever it is that’s on Charlie’s mind.
Carter rings the doorbell and waits nervously on the front stoop. The few seconds it takes Anna Del Amico to get to the door seem to drag on forever. His anxiety about this date has been steadily growing all day and now he’s just about to the point of passing out. His plan was to take her to dinner then go for a quiet walk in the park. Once they were alone, he planned to tell her about his family. He’d been praying all day that she’d understand and not hate him for deceiving her. Now, as he waits for her to answer the bell, he’s sure he’ll never make it through dinner. He has to tell her and it has to be now.
“Hi,” she smiles as she opens the door. “Come on in.” She steps back to allow him to enter. Carter smiles at her and enters the apartment.
“You look . . . fabulous,” he says. She’s wearing a short black dress and he’s not sure he’s ever seen a woman make a simple garment look so breathtaking.
She blushes, smiling at him. “Thank you, you look very handsome yourself doctor. So, are we ready to go? The reservations are for 7pm right? We better hurry if we’re gonna make it.” She starts for the door but Carter reaches out to take her arm and stop her. “What? What is it?”
“Anna . . . I . . . there’s something . . .” he’s not sure how to begin. She stopped in front of him, watching his expression. Her face is a mixture of curiosity and concern. By the way he’s acting, she’s beginning to think there’s something horrible going on.
“Please, just tell me.”
He takes her hand and leads her to the couch. They sit side by side and he turns to face her. “I have to tell you something. It might effect the way you feel about me. You see, I haven’t been completely honest with you. I mean, I didn’t lie, I just sort of . . . withheld some information.”
“About what?” she asks, beginning to think she’s not going to like his answer.
“About my financial situation,” he says. She gives him a puzzled look. “I’m . . . well, that is, my family . . . I guess you could say we’re rich.”
“Rich? How rich is rich?”
“My father is worth over 100 million dollars.” Anna’s jaw nearly drops to the floor.
“John . . . you’re kidding, right? 100 . . . million??” her expression is now one of total shock. This is far from what she expected him to say. “I . . . I . . . wow.”
“You’re mad, right? I knew I should have told you up front, but . . . I wanted you to like me, wanted you to see the real me. I . . . you were just so beautiful . . . I just didn’t think I’d have a chance if you thought I was some snotty rich kid who lives off his parents. I wanted a chance, that’s why I didn’t tell you,” he’s rambling now and he knows it but he’s hoping something he says will make things alright, that somehow she can see past the fact that he didn’t tell her the truth.
“John . . . John!” he’s still babbling some sort of explanation and he doesn’t even acknowledge his name. She decides there is only one way to shut him up. So, she leans forward and presses her lips to his. The talking comes to a screeching halt.
Carol and Charlie come into the house carrying Chinese take out boxes and a bag from the local video rental place. Carol drops the movies in the living room and they head to the kitchen.
Within a few minutes, both women are gathered around the table with no less than half a dozen opened white cartons scattered about. “How’s the Moo Shoo pork?” Carol asks.
“Good,” Charlie answers.
Carol nods as she eats another bite of rice. She wonders for a second if this is the right time to start their conversation. She decides it’s as good a time as any. “So, what were you and Doug talking about while I was getting my coat? When I came back in you both looked pretty serious.”
Charlie looks up. “Just, you know, stuff.” “Any ‘stuff’ you want to talk about?” Charlie shakes her head and looks down at the bite of sweet and sour chicken before her. “You can talk to me, you know. No matter what’s on your mind I’ll always be here to listen.”
“I know,” Charlie responds. They continue to eat in relative silence. Soon, the meal is over and they clean up, put away the leftovers, and go together into the living room.
“Which movie should we watch first?” Carol asks.
“Either one. You decide.” Carol looks at Charlie with a hint of concern. She is sure there’s something on Charlie’s mind but she hasn’t a clue what it might be. She turns to put the movie in.
“Wait,” Charlie says before Carol can push play. She turns around and looks back at the couch where Charlie is sitting. “Would you mind if we skipped the movie? I really don’t feel like it tonight.”
Carol’s face falls but she nods and tries her best to hide her dejected expression. She was actually looking forward to staying up late watching movies with Charlie. ‘Maybe another night,’ she thinks as she puts the film back in it’s case.
“No problem, we’ll do it another time,” Carol tells her.
“You’re not mad are you?” Charlie asks. “It’s just, I was hoping . . . maybe we could just talk?”
Carol’s expression immediately changes. She smiles, “Sure.” She puts the movie on top of the television and walks over to the couch to sit beside Charlie. “What’s on you mind?”
“Well . . .” she seems to be searching for the words to begin. Carol watches a moment as a silence falls between the two of them.
“Does this have something to do with your conversation with Doug earlier?” she asks.