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eviemonroeer · 19 hours ago

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The Monroe Effect: Chapter 17

Set in between Seasons 5 and 6 of ER. It's original material y'all!

Warnings: varying pregnancy symptoms

WC: 3.1 k

ER story belongs to original creators, just adding on my own original charter.

Taglist: @pleasecallmeunhinged, @rainmg, @arigoldsblog, @queenslandlover-93, @hagarsays, and @antisocialfiore

Main Story: prev | next

Snapshots: prev | next

I ended up being on bed rest for a total of three weeks. At my first appointment with Dr. Coburn during the second week, which Carter had managed to sneak away to come to, she found that the hematoma had almost totally healed, but another week and a follow up appointment was warranted to make sure everything was okay. Thankfully the appointment wasn’t a total bust. I got some medicine for my nausea which was helping a lot. So, Carter kept bringing me fruit cups and occasionally fries from Doc Magoo’s, my new craving, while I continued to wait it out in my apartment.

Once I got the all clear to go back to work, it felt like a prison break. Granted I was stuck at the admit desk answering phones and ordering labs on half shifts, but at this point I would do anything to get out of my apartment. I could get back to light nurse duty once I was out of my first trimester before working my way back to full RN mode.

Walking through the ambulance bay doors, the light hustle and bustle of the early morning ER was a welcome change from the silence of my apartment. Could someone actually miss this place? I smiled as I walked into the lounge, dropping my stuff off in my locker before I grabbed a clerk jacket and headed out onto the floor.

“Well, aren’t you a sight for sore eyes?” Haleh exclaimed, putting her chart in the holder and giving me a hug. “It’s so good to see you sweetie. How are you?”

“I’m glad to be back. I could only stay in my apartment for so much longer.”

“Evie!”

Lydia came around and joined the hugs, followed by Yosh and Chuny. “Wow, if I knew I would get this reception, I would have taken time off a long time ago.”

“We missed you.” Lydia said. “How’s the baby?”

“Baby’s good. Ten weeks. Hematoma is healed, but they don’t want me going back to nursing duties until I’m past twelve weeks. So, for right now, I’m working the admit desk.”

“We’re just glad you’re back.” Chuny said, before forming a frown. “Someone has been a little cranky without you around.”

“Evie!”

“Speak of the devil.”

I tried to disguise my laugh as Carter walked over to the admit desk. “I didn’t know you were here yet. I’m sorry I couldn’t come in with you.”

“It’s all good. Train ride was fine. Just ready to get to work.” The other four nurses gave me a few more pats and encouragements before walking away, leaving us alone. “I heard you’ve been a little cranky?”

Carter shook his head. “Just miss having you around.” He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a fruit cup and a wrapped plastic spoon. “Here. Wanted to make sure you had a snack during your shift. There’s more in my locker if you want them.”

“Thanks.” I said, smiling as I took it from him. “That’s really sweet, Carter.”

“I have some charts to finish up, but if you want, I can pick up a half shift and stay here.”

“Carter, you’ve been working all night. I’m a big girl. Finish up, go home, and sleep. I’ll bring dinner by later and I’ll call you on the very slim chance something happens.”

He sighed and put his hands in his coat pockets, giving in. “Alright. Stay at the desk. Don’t go running into a trauma because they’re down a nurse.”

“I pinky swear.” I said and held up that finger. He rolled his eyes and took my hand in his before pulling me closer and kissing my cheek. My eyes went wide, and my mouth got dry.

“See you later.”

“You’re back!”

I spun in the desk chair and smiled when I saw it was Carol walking up to me. I stood and gave her a hug. “And not a moment too soon.” I looked her up and down, taking note of her midsection. “Look at you, you’re finally starting to get a bump.”

“I know.” She said, gently stroking it. “It just kind of appeared overnight.”

“And here I am losing weight because I’ve been puking throughout the day.”

“Don’t worry. It’ll make its appearance before you know it. How is everything going with baby Carter?”

I chuckled at the nickname. “We’re okay. Hematoma is gone, thank goodness, and we are officially 10 weeks and five days today. Stuck here at admit until my appointment at 12 weeks.”

“I see you’re still craving peaches.” She said, gesturing to the empty container on the desk.

“It’s the only consistent one so far. It’s actually my second one today. I had to break into Carter’s locker to get it.”

“Just wait till you are craving full meals.”

“I would kill to stomach a full meal right now.”

Carol laughed before the doors to the ambulance bay opened. “Evie, what’s open?” Mark called out as he and Carol joined the paramedics.

“Trauma One!” I shouted back before they took off down the hall. I was itching to go join them, but I knew better. To many people around who would escort my butt right back to this desk. So, I gave my stomach a light rub before I sat back in my seat and started back up with paperwork.

“Hello?”

I smiled at the sleepiness in Carter’s voice. “It’s me.”

“Is everything okay?” I heard the sheets move as he sat up quickly in bed.

“Calm down. I’m fine. We’re fine.” He sighed on the other end, and I could hear him lay back down. “I’m actually about to finish up my shift and wanted to know what you wanted me to bring over for dinner.”

“I can just meet you at your place.”

“Absolutely not. I need to be out of those walls for a while. I was thinking pizza. Does that sound okay to you?”

“Yeah, that’s fine. Whatever you’re craving.”

“Good because I already ordered it, and it should be there by the time I arrive.”

Carter chuckled. “Then why did you even ask me?”

“To be polite. I was just really hoping you would say yes. Get a little more sleep and I’ll see you soon.”

“Can’t wait.”

“Evie! Come on in.” Dr. Weaver said as she opened the front door. She looked like she was getting ready to leave for a shift. “How was your first day back?”

“Good. Different, but good. I imagine Carter’s told you the baby is doing okay.”

“He has. But I’m also glad to hear so are you. Listen, the pizza already came, Carter has it downstairs. Take whatever you guys need from the kitchen. I’m headed into work.”

“Have a good night!” I called out at the basement door.

“You too!” She yelled back as the front door closed behind her. I smiled and opened the door, but Carter was already climbing the stairs to meet me.

“Hold on.” He said and held out his hand to me.

“Carter, I can walk down the stairs by myself.”

“Humor me.” He pulled me into his side and walked with me down the stairs, a hand tightly wrapped around my waist. The pizza box was sitting on his bed, the top open and enveloping the room in a mouthwatering smell.

“I have been waiting for this all day.” I moaned and left his grasp once we were on the floor. I ran over to the box and grabbed a slice, taking a large bite. I moaned again as the flavors danced off my tongue.

“That good, huh?” He asked, chuckling.

“Indescribable.” I muttered, my mouth full.

“Well, just go slow. You don’t want to regret it later.” He sat on the bed and passed me a plate and a napkin, which I happily took and loaded another piece onto. “I’m glad to see your appetite is back.”

“I wouldn’t say its back. I’ve just been craving this since this morning. If it were anything else, I would not be digging in right now.”

“Well, either way, I’m glad. I’m also glad it’s a normal craving, not something weird.”

“I was never really a fan of pickles to begin with. But we’ll see what happens later on.”

“Noted.” He finally got himself a slice, making me feel less insecure about stuffing my face. “You know, I was thinking....”

“Thought I smelled smoke.”

“Ha-ha.” He said and rolled his eyes. “I was actually thinking that maybe we should go on a date.”

“Isn’t that what we are doing right now?” I took another bite. “And if you ask the ER staff, I think they would tell you we’ve been dating for five years, just with a couple breaks in between.” I laughed.

“I’m being serious.” Carter said, and I could tell by the look on his face, he was. “I want to take you out somewhere special. If we’re taking this next step, I want to start off on the right foot and I want to do something better for you then pizza in the basement.”

“But I like pizza in the basement.”

“Evie....”

“I know. It’s very sweet and I appreciate it. But Carter, I told you I didn’t want to start a relationship with you just because we’re having a baby. That’s not a good reason.”

“And I told you I wanted to be with you before and the baby was just a bonus.”

I sighed and sat down my plate, biting my lip. “What were you thinking of for this date?”

Carter smiled, satisfied that he won. “I didn’t want to preplan dinner. Just in case something wasn’t working for you.”

“I appreciate that.”

“I thought maybe we could go walk around the pier. I know you can’t ride any of the rides, but maybe we could still have fun.”

“That actually sounds really nice. I haven’t been to the pier in a long time. Okay Romeo, when do you want to do this?”

“Saturday night?”

“Absolutely not. Our first date will not be on your birthday.”

“Why not? It’s my day. We can do whatever I want.”

“You really want to tell our kid one day that our first date was on your birthday?”

“Would make the date easy to remember for anniversaries.”

I scoffed and shook my head. “Is that what you really want to do?”

“It’s what I really want to do.”

“Fine then. Dr. Carter, you’ve got yourself a date for Saturday night.”

“Come on! Please don’t do this to me!”

I groaned as I tried buttoning up my shorts for the third time, praying somehow this time it would work. For the first ten weeks, I had been losing weight thanks to my constant need to run to the bathroom to puke. Now all of a sudden at eleven weeks, the bloating was real, and I couldn’t get my favorite pair of shorts on. What made it worse was this was the first nice day we had all week. No rain, just sunshine and a slight breeze. Perfect shorts weather.

“Why do you have to do this to your mom now? These shorts make my butt look good.” I threw down my arms beside me and stared up at my ceiling, trying to think of what else I could wear. That’s when there was a knock at my door. “And of course your dad is early for once.” I got up from the bed and walked through the apartment to the front door to open it. Carter was wearing khaki shorts, a polo shirt, and tennis shoes. He looked down at my unbuttoned pants and shoeless feet and furrowed his brow.

“I guess you’re not ready?”

“No.” I groaned and turned to head back to my bedroom. “I thought I was, but then your spawn had to go and mess things up.”

“Hey, stop blaming my kid.”

“Then do you want me to blame you?” I stopped and turned to the side, holding up my shirt so he could see the small curve of my stomach preventing me from buttoning my shorts. “I’m only eleven weeks. I should still be able to fit in my old clothes.” I put my shirt back down and kept padding towards my room.

“I’ll just wait out here.” He said and I could hear him chuckling.

I closed the door behind me and went over to my closet trying to decide what might fit. After some digging, I stumbled upon something I hadn’t worn in a while. It was an ivory, floral sundress with a halter top and open back. I last wore it to some event in college. I had been a couple pounds heavier back then from late night snacking, so many it would fit me now. I quickly switched out the outfit I had for the dress and checked myself out in the mirror. It actually did fit pretty well, the dress hugging my new curves nicely. My boobs did look pretty huge, but I think that was something I was going to have to live with for a while. And it went with the hair and make-up I had already done. Overall, it honestly was a big win.

Dressing it down with a pair of white sneakers, I transferred everything to a matching bag before walking back out to the living room. Carter had turned on a basketball game and wasn’t even paying attention when I walked in. “I’m ready to go.”

“Okay, cool.” He said and turned off the TV and standing. “I thought we could......” But the words died on his lips when he saw me. “Wow. You look amazing.” He walked over to inspect me closer.

“You’re just saying that so I won’t go change again.”

“No, I’m saying it because I mean it.” He put his hands on my hips, his thumb drawing circles over my slightly curved stomach.

“Thanks Carter. Oh, I almost forgot.” I ran back into my room and grabbed the wrapped gift off of my bed. “Here.” I said, handing it over. “Happy Birthday from me and the baby.”

“You didn’t have to get me anything.”

“I know. But seeing as your real gift won’t be here for another 7 months, I thought this would be a good replacement.”

He unwrapped the square shaped gift, getting a black box. He lifted the top cover, revealing a watch. It had a brown faux leather strap with a white and gold face and black roman numeral numbers. “Evie this is too much.”

“I’ve been saving for a while. I heard you saying your other one was broken and so I thought I’d upgrade you.”

“This is very nice.”

I took the box from him and took the watch out. I grabbed his left wrist and put it on, having already set the time before I wrapped it up. “There you go. Looks great.”

“Thank you, Evie.” He said and without thinking, he lightly grabbed me face and kissed me. My breath was taken away at the sudden gesture and it felt like butterflies were floating around in my lower tummy. I think my toes even curled. He backed away and smiled. “Let’s go. We don’t want to be late.”

The sun was just beginning to set as we made it to the Pier. We had stopped for dinner after I got a strong craving for a cheeseburger, and we were finally walking down the length of the Pier together. The walk started just side by side, no touching. But eventually as we talked, our bodies naturally gravitated towards one another and soon we were holding hands.

It all felt easy. The way we could go from talking about our day to just being in comfortable silence without any awkwardness. It was really nice. Granted knowing each other for years helped things, but it always was easy with Carter. Why would this be any different?

“So how does it feel to be twenty-nine? One year closer to the big 3-0.”

“It doesn’t feel too different. Didn’t think I’d become a dad at 29 though.”

“Thought you would be younger?”

“Older.”

“Well, I’m glad I could help you be able to run around with your kids old man.” I suddenly stopped and tugged on his arm. “Oh! Can we go on the Ferris Wheel?” I asked, pointing up to the giant wheel.

“Uh, I don’t think—”

“Oh, come on Carter. Please. It’s the one ride I can get on. Its slow moving.” I put on my best pouty face. “Please.”

Carter thought for a moment and then sighed. “Alright.”

“Yay! Thank you!”

“Man, if our kid inherits that face, I’m in trouble.”

“Especially if it’s a girl.” I said, pulling him over to the line.

After some waiting, we were finally able to board the Ferris Wheel in our own car. The view was amazing, especially with the colors of the setting sun painting the sky. Carter pulled me in close to him the moment we were sent airborne, a tight hold squeezing my side. I used that to my advantage to lay my head on his shoulder as I watched the skyline as we made our way around. It had gotten dark by the time we made it back safely on the ground and Carter’s heartrate went back to normal. We ended the evening with ice cream while we sat in Polk Park. I really wanted to make it until the fireworks, but I guess I had yawned one too many times for Carter, so he said he was taking me home.

“I had a really nice time, Carter.” I said as we walked up to my door. “I hope it was a good birthday.”

“I honestly think this was the best birthday I’ve had in a long time.”

“Well, I’m glad I could be just a little part of it.” I opened the door to my apartment after unlocking it. Carter tried to come in with me, but I stopped him. His brow furrowed. “Oh, I’m sorry. I don’t invite guys in after the first date, even if they are the birthday boy.” He scoffed and rolled his eyes. I smiled and stepped back out a little, raising up to kiss him again. It was a quick kiss, a simple peck, but it still brought a smile to both our faces.

“Happy Birthday John. Good night.” I closed the door, but there was a knock. I opened it and Carter grabbed my face, this time giving me another toe curling, take your breath away kiss. My arms wrapped around him as I melted into him, my exhaustion forgotten as we held each other. Eventually he pulled back and smiled.

“Good night.”

And with that, he left, pulling the door shut behind him.

#er #john carter #john carter er #noah wyle #original character #dr john carter #john carter x female character #john truman carter #john truman carter iii #john carter x reader #er tv series #er nbc #er 1994 #er tv show

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eviemonroeer · 1 day ago

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The Monroe Effect: Chapter 16

Set during Season 5, Episode 22 of ER. Spoilers if you haven't seen the show.

Warnings: mentions of blood, pregnancy symptoms, multiple POVs

WC: 6.0 k

ER story belongs to original creators, just adding on my own original charter.

Taglist: @pleasecallmeunhinged, @rainmg, @arigoldsblog, @queenslandlover-93, @hagarsays, and @antisocialfiore

Main Story: prev | next

Snapshots: prev | next

Carter lightly closed the door to Dr. Weaver’s house. He had left Evie’s apartment to get back here in time to change and get to work. He didn’t feel right leaving her alone, especially after everything that happened yesterday, but he didn’t have much of a choice. It was too late to call in and he was going to need every shift he could get now that they were having a baby. So, he wrote her a note and made his way back to his place.

“Getting in a little late, I see.”

Carter jumped away from the basement door and turned to see Kerry standing in the living room. “Uh, yeah. I was over at Evie’s.”

“Is she doing okay? Mark told me what happened when he was fixing her schedule.”

Carter sighed. Of course, Kerry knew. She was an attending; she needed to know. “She’s okay. No more bleeding once we got back to her place.”

“That’s good. Bed rest should help with that. I’m glad she’s okay.”

“Yeah, me too.”

“Am I allowed to say congratulations?”

This caused him to pause as he reached into his pocket, feeling the ultrasound photo he had torn off from the strip that remained on her fridge. Kerry was the first person outside of the two of them to even suggest verbally that this was a good thing. They both had agreed not to tell anyone else officially until after her follow up, so a part of it still felt like they weren’t allowed to celebrate. But now here Kerry was, offering it to him.

And he wanted it. He wanted it badly.

“Uh, yeah. We decided to keep the baby.”

“Well, congratulations. I know everyone will be very happy for you both.”

“Thanks.”

And with that, he opened the doors and headed down the stairs.

Carter felt the eyes boring into him as soon as he got to the admit desk. He tried to shake it off, ignore it, but it was hard. It made him tingle all over in a way that felt like ants were crawling under his skin. He didn’t like it. So finally, he turned around just to see who the hell it was that had such a keen interest on him.

It didn’t shock him that it was Haleh.

“Good morning, Haleh.” He said calmly before turning back to the charts.

“Carter.” She said and walked up to him. “You wouldn’t happen to know why Evie was admitted last night, would you?”

“Uh, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Or why the other nurses saw Carol take her out in a wheelchair to your car?”

He closed his eyes and clenched his jaw. She got him there. “Or why she’s now on medical leave for two weeks?”

“You looked at her schedule?”

“I have access to everyone’s.”

“Well, it’s not really my place to give out someone else’s medical information.”

“But w—”

“Carter.” Thank God for Dr. Greene. “Dr. Romano and I are about to start rounds. Do you know where Lucy is?”

“Uh, no. I haven’t see her yet today. Hey Jerry, could you page Lucy?”

“No problem.”

“Let’s get this show on the road, gentlemen.” Romano exclaimed. “I don’t have all day.”

The two other men nodded and began leading Romano to the first room. “How’s Evie?” Mark said, his voice low.

“Um, she’s okay.”

“Any......”

“No, no. No more bleeding since we left last night. She was still asleep when I had to leave this morning. I was going to call her later and check in.”

“Good. Good. Just tell her don’t hesitate to come in if something happens. And keep us updated. We can help out where we can.”

“Thanks, Dr. Greene.”

They went into Exam 2, and since Lucy wasn’t there, Carter began to present the patient. “Second EKG was normal, so we’ll hold for another hour, then release.” The sound of running feet stopped him as Lucy entered the room, disheveled and out of breath.

“Thank you, Dr. Carter.” Romano said, taking a sip of his coffee. “Ms. Knight. Would you be catching your breath from running to get here because you're 20 minutes late?”

“Sorry.”

“Let's proceed.” Mark warned, walking over to the other patient.

“With presenting Mr. David Chameides.” Carter finished as Romano handed him the chart before he handed it to Lucy. “Complains of back pain.”

“Yep. Uh, this is a -year-old man. He complains, um, he presents with back pain, and he said it started two days ago when he helped his daughter move into her new apartment.” She scrambled for her notecards, still out of breath. “He was lifting heavy boxes, and she was living in Dubuque... ...but got divorced, so she moved to Chicago... Did I mention the pain was constant?”

“Not yet.” Romano sighed.

“Well, it is. And upon physical examination...”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa! What about pertinent negatives?”

“No fever, no trauma...no abdominal pain, no...” She began to just keep repeating no, messing with her hair as she scrambled more. “He's a heavy smoker... And the BP is one... Sorry.” She dropped her card and struggled trying to find the one with his BP written down. “BP is 170/95. No. No, no. His BP is 170/100. Pulse, 95.

“Neuro exam normal?”

“Yes.”

“And could you appreciate a pulsatile abdominal mass?”

“No.”

“But the ultrasound revealed an abdominal aortic aneurysm.”

“How did you know that?”

“Dr. Carter?”

“Patient has all the risk factors.” Carter said, his leg fidgeting as he felt the secondhand embarrassment.

“Miss Knight, presenting a case is like telling a good story. Succinct, focused, to the point. You lost me around Dubuque. Dr. Carter, Ms. Knight is a student of yours, is that right?”

“Yes.” He sighed, crossing his arms.

“Work harder. Thank God I have a small bowel obstruction waiting for me upstairs. Gentlemen, Ms. Knight.” And he left through the trauma room door.

“I think we can all thank God for that small bowel.” Mark said, a disappointed look on his face.

Carter shoved his hands into his lab coat and looked at Lucy. “If you're gonna be late, at least be prepared.” He said, before leaving the room.

My eyes slowly opened as my body finally allowed me out of sleep. The sun was shining in through the crack in the curtain, the beam of light resting on the bed. As I stretched, I turned over, finding that Carter was on longer beside me, but there was a piece of paper in his place.

Headed to work. Please call me if anything happens and please rest. You need it. -Carter

I sighed and laid on my back, folding the note back up. I could already feel that this bedrest was going to be the bane of my existence. But I put a hand on my lower abdomen, knowing it would be worth it. I couldn’t believe I was having a baby, and with Carter of all people. If the Evie from five years ago could see me now, she’d be shocked.

Thankfully, it was my bladder that got me out of bed this morning and not my stomach, something very rare these days. I slowly got out of bed and made my way down the hall to the bathroom. I took care of my business quickly, but once I was finished, I looked down and my heart squeezed.

“Oh, God, please, no.”

There was blood. Not as much as yesterday, but I could still clearly tell there was spotting. I got up and hurried out to the living room, finding my purse beside the phone. I dug around until I found the business card with Dr. Coburn’s office number on it. After a couple of rings and a panicked plea to the receptionist, I was able to get through.

“Dr. Coburn speaking.”

“Hi, Dr. Coburn. This is Genevieve Monroe. I’m the ER nurse you saw last night for the hematoma. You said to call if something happened and I’m bleeding again.”

“Okay. Before we get too worked up, let’s take a couple deep breaths.” I followed her instructions for a few seconds. “Good. Now, are you actually bleeding, or is it spotting?”

“Uh, I would probably say spotting. It’s not heavy like yesterday.”

“Is the blood bright red?”

“No.”

“Are you cramping at all?”

“Not that I’ve felt.”

“Well, that sounds like good news to me. It’s probably just residual bleeding, but we are still going to take it seriously. If you have a pad, I want you to put it on and keep track of anymore bleeding. If it soaks through in under two hours, you need to come back to the ER right away. Otherwise, just monitor it, especially for cramping, we don’t want cramping. And you can always call me back if you are unsure.”

“Thank you.” I said, my voice cracking. “God, I’m a nurse, but I well so helpless.”

“OB/GYN isn’t your specialty. It’s trauma and emergency, you treat the in the moment. It’s okay to not know and to ask questions. It is your first baby after all.”

“Thank you, Dr. Coburn.”

“No problem. Why don’t you stay on the line, and I will transfer back to my receptionist so we can get your follow up scheduled.”

“I’d appreciate that.”

“Get some rest and try not to worry.”

After getting my appointment scheduled to two weeks from yesterday, I felt a whole lot better. I did what she said and got the pad, hoping I wouldn’t have any more scares the rest of the day. I grabbed a sleeve of crackers and a water, before parking myself on the couch with a pillow and blanket. I must have passed out, because the next thing I knew, the phone was ringing.

“Hello?” I asked, sleep still in my voice.

“Hey, Evie!” Chuny’s cheerful voice came from the other end. “What’s going on? Kerry called and asked me to cover for you. Are you okay?”

I swallowed. “Uh, yeah. I’m okay. Just not feeling too great.”

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that. Do you want me to bring you anything? Medicine? Oh, my mom has a great soup recipe for wiping out a cold.”

I scoffed and ran a hand through my hair. “Thanks, Chuny, I appreciate it. But I’m okay. Just really need to rest.”

“Alright, but if you change your mind, let me know. The soup’s pretty good either way.”

My stomach swirled. “I will, I promise. Talk to you later.”

I didn’t let her respond before I hung up and I was up and off to the bathroom, preemptively finding a spot on the tile floor. You know, just in case.

“Jerry, have you seen my palmtop computer?” Lucy asked as she searched through admit.

Carter scoffed. “That's why you're so scattered this morning? You lost your electronic cheat sheet?” He picked up the next chart in the holder and furrowed his brow. “Hey, Jerry, when did Antoine Bell come in?”

“Oh, yeah, uh, he asked for you.” Jerry sighed, just as scattered as Lucy. “I’m sorry. I put him in Trauma One.”

“Look, just give me a break, alright.” Lucy snapped as she followed the young doctor. “I didn’t get much sleep. I was late and I got my cards all messed up.”

“I've done a hundred presentations without notes, without computers or definitely without sleep. So why don’t you get yourself a cup of coffee and pull yourself together?”

“I am together. I went off the Ritalin.”

“When?”

“Two days ago.”

“That's great. Look, I got a patient. Maybe we can talk more later.”

“Sure.” Lucy scoffed and turned to probably find her missing item. Carter sighed and walked into Trauma One, finding Antoine sitting on the gurney.

“Antoine.” He started, pulling out a pair of gloves. “I expected to see you today. Just not like this.”

“Antoine does not associate with any of those gangs.” A woman standing behind the boy said as he pulled the stool up.

“He knows that, Mom.” Antoine cringed, embarrassed.

“This was one of those bad boys from the neighborhood. And I hate that you go to school with them too.”

“Can we just let Dr. Carter do his job?” Antoine groaned.

“Dr. Carter?” The woman’s face lit up. “I am so happy to meet you. Antoine has so enjoyed all you've been teaching him.” She praised as Carter began checking over the kid. “And thank you for setting up this interview for him to go to.”

“Oh, yeah. That's this afternoon, right?” Carter asked, checking his eyes. “Summer science lab.”

“Maybe I won't go now.”

“Of course you’re going.” His mother jumped in.

“Looking like this? What are they gonna think?”

“Hey, let's worry about that later, huh?” Carter mussed, trying to calm the situation. “Why don’t you tell me what happened?”

“Got mugged, took my wallet.”

“Follow my finger with your eyes.”

“You want an orbital series?” Lily asked. Normally it would be Evie asking him, which made him a little sad.

“Yeah, let's check for a rim fracture.” He confirmed, pressing on Antoine’s face. “Does that hurt?”

“No.”

“No septal hematoma and no broken nose.” He informed as he stripped off his gloves. “But you may have an orbital fracture.”

“What do we do about that?” His mother asked.

“Just apply ice, keep his head elevated when he sleeps.” Lily handed the boy an ice pack before going to order the tests. “We'll wait on the X-ray to see if he needs antibiotics.”

“Can he go to the interview?”

“Mom!”

“Come on, Antoine. It's not that bad. You've worked hard for this. We've worked hard for this. I think your mom's right. Hey, you'll be the candidate they'll remember.” He pat Antoine’s arm, trying to reassure him.

“Where’s Evie?” The teenager asked. “I thought she would be in here.”

Carter chuckled. “Uh, Evie isn’t here today. She’s not feeling too great so she’s at home, resting.” Or at least he hoped she was.

A few minutes later, transport came to grab Antoine for his X-ray. As he was being wheeled off, his mother stayed behind for a moment. “Thank you again, Dr. Carter. I know Antoine appreciates your mentorship. You’re very good with him. Do you have kids of your own?”

Carter put his hands in his pocket and smiled. No one else was around, so he might as well tell her the truth. “Uh, soon. My, uh, my girlfriend and I are expecting.”

“Oh, congratulations.” She said, smiling. He nodded and returned it.

“Let’s go catch up with Antoine.” He said, gesturing forward.

His chest was warm. He really liked calling Evie his girlfriend.

Once again, I was awakened by the sound of the phone ringing. Damn, they really meant it when they said growing a whole human being was tiring. And now that I was forced to rest, my body sure was taking advantage. I fully sat up and pushed the blanket off me before I grabbed the receiver and put it to my ear.

“Hello?”

“Evie, hey.” It was Carol. I chuckled and shook my head. “What?”

“Oh, nothing. This is just the second call I’ve received from the ER today checking in on me.”

“Who was it earlier?”

“Chuny. Asked if I was sick with a cold. I almost laughed and told her I wasn’t that kind of sick and her mom’s soup couldn’t fix things this time.”

“I think they might know.”

“Really? I didn’t think anyone really saw me last night.”

“Well, if it’s not you, it’s defiantly me. There’s some weird medically psychic lady in here that basically spilled the beans in front of Lydia. Asked me about my due date and everything.”

“Weird.” I shrugged. “But my mom used to say some women just know when someone else is pregnant. Especially if they have also had kids.”

“Well, if they’re focused on me, maybe they won’t bother you. How are you by the way?”

“Exhausted. I think I’ve slept the majority of the day.”

“That sounds about right.” Carol chuckled.

“I woke up bleeding a light bit, that did freak me out.”

“Do you need to come back in? I can go find Carter.”

“No, don’t worry him. I called Dr. Coburn and she said everything should be okay and gave me some things to look out for. I think it might have just been a false alarm.”

“Good. We don’t want anything to happen to my little nephew.”

Now this time I actually laughed. “Nephew, huh? This kid is barely the size of a blueberry and you’re already making claims on the gender.”

“Absolutely. You might have John Truman Carter IV growing in there.”

I groaned. “Oh, good lord. That sounds so ridiculous.”

“Tell that to your baby daddy, not me.”

“Don’t say that to loud.” I warned. “The gossip hounds will hear you and go crazy.”

“Yeah, yeah. Well, I’m glad you and blueberry are doing okay. Make sure you eat and drink something. I’ll call you later.”

“Same goes for you and your pear.”

Haleh always knew when Carter was keeping something from her. He had the worst poker face in the world, especially when it came to anything having to do with Evie. She knew something was up from the minute she saw she was off on medical leave for the next two weeks. And the fact it was signed off by Dr. Coburn got her maternal senses tingling. She would know by the end of the day. Getting stuff out of people was her specialty.

As she walked up to admit, she saw Chuny, Lydia, Yosh, and Jerry huddled together. And she could have sworn she heard them mention someone being knocked up. So, it was true, and it was obvious to others. She knew she was right.

“Are you all talking about Evie?” Haleh asked, stepping into their group.

“What about Evie?” Lydia asked.

“She’s pregnant. Or at least I’m sure she is. Got wheeled out of here last night into Carter’s car and she’s now on medical leave for the next two weeks, ordered by Dr. Coburn.”

“I did catch her and Carter in the drug lock up a few weeks ago.” Chuny admitted.

“And you didn’t tell us?”

“I forgot. It was the night of that big storm.”

“I knew they would always get together.” Yosh added.

“Well then that means Evie and Carol are both pregnant.” Lydia scoffed.

“Carol’s pregnant?” Haleh asked. “Is she happy about it?”

“She hasn’t told anyone.” Yosh said.

“She must have told someone.”

“Well, what about Evie? Who worked her up yesterday?”

That’s when Mark passed through them, trying to get to the other side of admit. Haleh pointed at him with her pen while his back was turned. All eyes went to him and stared. He must have felt it because he looked back.

“What?” The doctor asked, before leaving as quickly as he came.

“I’m calling her.” Haleh announced and pushed through to the phone. She dialed Evie’s home number and waited as it rang. It went on for a while before the other line clicked.

“Hello?” Evie’s voice was raspy, and she coughed.

“Hi sweetie, it’s Haleh. I just wanted to call and check up on you.”

“Uh, yeah. I’m okay. Just hurling my guts out is all.”

“You’re throwing up?” Haleh asked, the other people around her grinning and looking at each other with wide eyes. “That’s not good. Has that been happening a lot.”

“Uh, yeah. That’s what happens with you have the flu.” She stuttered on the other end.

“The flu?”

Chuny��s eyebrows furrowed. “She told me it was a cold.” She whispered.

Haleh smirked. “Are you sure it’s the flu?”

“Pretty sure.” Evie said, her voice raising in pitch. Haleh rolled her eyes. She was definitely lying.

“Well, make sure you get plenty of rest and drink lots of fluids. And call us if you need any help.”

“Yeah. I promise I will. Thanks for checking in.”

“No problem. Talk to you later.” Haleh hung up the phone and looked around at the others. “Oh, that girl is definitely pregnant.”

Let the gossip mill begin.

Carter was getting frustrated. He had been going nonstop from the moment he got to the ER this morning, and now into the afternoon it was still the same. He had yet to find a moment to call Evie. He wanted to check and make sure she was okay and that she was doing what Dr. Coburn asked. He hated to think something could happen and he wasn’t there to help. Was quick phone call to reassure him really that hard to ask for?

He stepped back into the hallway after his talk with Dr. Green about Lucy, another problem he’d have to find time to address. He looked down at his watch as he heard the familiar click of Kerry’s crutch. “Hey, Carter, you busy? I need you to look at that patient.” She said pointing to the gurney getting wheeled into trauma.

“Yeah, okay.” He sighed, putting the phone call in the back of his mind.

“Thank you.” Kerry said before hurrying away. Carter took his time to walk down the hall and round the corner. And when he finally got to the room, he was shocked to see Antoine lying on the bed, far worse than he had been mere hours ago.

“Antoine?” He exclaimed, putting on his gloves and quickening his pace. “That same kid jump you again?”

“No.” The boy said in a low groan.

“Was it somebody else from school?” Carter asked as he put on his stethoscope.

“No, it was the same dude. I jumped him.”

“What? The kid from this morning? You went after him?”

“He took my wallet, man. I can't be letting that go down.”

Carter shook his head as disappointment coursed through his body. “Why not? What did you lose? Ten, fifteen bucks?”

“He sounds like my mom.” Antoine chuckled, looking at Chuny.

“BP's 128/74. Pulse 96.” Chuny said, looking from the boy to the doctor.

“You got any pain in your belly? Did you get kicked or punched in the stomach?”

“No, he only got me in the face.”

Carter sighed and put his stethoscope back around his neck. He looked down and gently pressed on the boy’s hands, which were bandaged and splinted. “Looks like a Colles with dorsal angulation.” He told Chuny as Antoine whined in pain. “It’s gonna need a closed reduction.” He moved to the other side.

“What's that?”

“It means you broke your left wrist. Can you feel this?” He asked as he palpated the other hand.

“Yeah.” He whined, wincing in pain again.

“What kind of sutures do you want?” Chuny asked.

“5-O Vicryl, 6-O nylon.”

“I gotta have stitches?”

“Fifth metacarpal fracture with rotational deformity. You broke both your hands.” He sighed again. “Let's get an orbital series. Left hand, right wrist. Call Ortho. That one’s gonna have to be pinned in the O.R.” He grabbed his pen light and checked his pupils.

“I gotta have an operation?”

“That's right. Well, you wanted to blow off your interview.”

“I can go in a few days.”

Carter scoffed and returned the light to his pocket. “You're not getting into any summer science lab. Not now.” He grabbed the chart from Chuny. “You have to go to surgery, have a pin put into your right hand. Then you'll get a cast that goes from your elbow all the way to your fingers.”

“I can still go to class.”

“It's a hands-on program, Antoine. You not gonna have use of your hands. You not gonna be able to dress yourself. You’re not gonna be able to tie your own shoe or blow your own nose for the next six weeks.”

“Well, it's not your problem.”

“No?!” Carter exclaimed, fully angry now. “I’m the one that’s been spending time with you and showing you around for the last month. Just trying to teach you something, you know? So you can go and screw it up by having to go beat down some punk in the neighborhood.”

“Carter.” Chuny warned.

“You don't know about it!” “I know it just dragged you away from the best opportunity you've ever been given.

“No one gave me anything. I earned that chance myself!”

“You just blew it, all by yourself.”

“Dr. Carter!”

“Yes, Chuny?” He looked up and removed his gloves before turning to leave the room.

“Carter, you were pretty hard on that kid.” Chuny said, having followed him to the hall.

He sighed, running his fingers through his hair. “I know. I just expected better of him.”

“If I didn’t know any better, I would have thought you were his dad.”

Carter turned. “What?”

Chuny bit her lip. “I was just saying that you were being very paternal with him.”

“Uh, yeah. Whatever. Don’t forget to call Ortho.” He shook his head and walked away.

He really needed to make a phone call.

The shrill ring of the phone, once again, caused me to let out an exasperated groan. I paused my tape and reached over the arm of the couch and brought the phone to my ear. “If someone else from that ER calls me today, I swear I’m going to come down there and give them something to call about.”

“Hello to you too.”

I closed my eyes and sighed. “Hi Carter.”

“Everything okay?”

“I have received calls from Chuny and Haleh, all trying to get me to confirm, without actually asking, my pregnancy.”

“Yeah, they’ve been bothering me too. But I haven’t said anything, I swear.”

“It’s alright. They all know. They would just rather get confirmation for the gossip mill from the source.”

“How are you feeling?”

“Your kid’s trying to kill me.” I said, gently stroking my stomach.

“My kid? So, it’s just my kid now?”

“Yes, it’s your kid when they are making me expel my guts.”

“Do you want me to bring you something when I get off? Craving anything?”

“Drugs. All the drugs to keep me from throwing up.”

“I’m not an OB so I really would rather not prescribe you meds.”

“Whatever.” I sighed and rubbed my stomach. “Maybe some more crackers. Ooh, or maybe some peaches? But not the whole fruit kind. Like the kind that comes in the little cups.” Carter laughed on the other end of the phone. “What’s so funny?”

“I used to be obsessed with those when I was a kid.”

“See I told you, your kid. If you don’t bring them, they will get angry.”

“Noted.” He paused. “Any bleeding today?”

“I had some really light spotting when I woke up. But I called Coburn’s office and she said that was normal. As long as it’s doesn’t get like it was and I’m not in pain, it should be okay. And I’ve been fine the rest of the day.”

Carter hummed on the other end. “Well take it easy. Watch your soaps and get some rest. I’ll see you after my shift.”

“Don’t let the nurses hound you too much.”

“I won’t. See you later.”

“Bye.”

For once, Carter was glad Evie wasn’t at work. He’d lost his cool, more than once on Antoine and Lucy. He knew she would be on their side; tell him he was being too harsh and to actually listen to them and what they were saying. And the more he thought about her, the more he knew she would be right. God, she had hold of him even while she was gone. He was done for.

Mark told him they all had a big surprise planned for Carol, who surprise, was also pregnant. He wondered if Evie knew. It was going to be at the end of her shift, but before the celebration, he wanted to go upstairs and check on Antoine before his surgery. When he got there, the kid was laying on a gurney with an IV and in a hospital gown, ready to be wheeled in.

“So, is your mom more or less pissed off than I imagine she is?” Carter asked as he sat beside the bed.

“That’d be more or less than you?”

“That's fair.” Carter sighed.

“She’s acting like I'll never play the violin again.” He joked.

Carter chuckled. “That's pretty funny.”

“I heard it in a stupid TV movie.”

“Why are you doing watching TV when you got homework?”

“Oh, man! You are my mom.” Antoine laughed.

“I don't know about that.”

“You are. I feel bad for your kid.”

Carter raised an eyebrow. “How do you know about that?”

“My mom told me. I’m guessing Nurse Monroe is the mom?”

Carter nodded. “You know Antoine, I think I want the best for you. But I suspect that she does a better job of appreciating you for who you are.”

“As long as I grow up to be just like her.”

“I know that routine. My family wanted me to grow up to be a rich, white guy.”

“Damn, they must be dancing!” The doors to the room opened and the surgical team were ready to go.

“You don't make that kind of money in emergency medicine. I think they figured they'd settle on two out of three.”

“I wish I hadn’t blown that summer thing, Dr. Carter.” Antoine said as the team began wheeling him towards the operating room.

“You'll get another chance.”

“I mean now I'll be spending my time bagging groceries.”

“Actually, I'm not even sure you’re gonna be doing that.” He scoffed. “I’ll come check on you in the morning, okay?”

“Sounds good.” Antoine said, before disappearing into the operating room.

Carter nodded, rubbing a hand over his face, before turning and going for the elevator. By the time he got back downstairs, everyone was already gathering in the ambulance bay. He quickly grabbed his coat and bag before headed to join everyone, a plastic cup of what he only assumed was champagne thrust into his hand. A few minutes later, Carol walked out.

“Surprise!” They all yelled.

“Oh, man.” Carol groaned. “What are you doing?”

“We know you haven’t officially told us about the baby.” Haleh began.

“But we couldn’t sit on it another darn minute.” Connie finished.

“We just wanted you to know how happy we are.”

“And we’re gonna get you something better—” This time it was Lydia.

“But for now.” Chuny finished, bringing out two large boxes of diapers and handing them to Carol.

“Oh man! God!” Carol exclaimed, smiling.

“Hey Carol, need a Lamaze coach?” Malik asked.

“You’re it, Malik. Oh, this is amazing. I, uh, I’ve just been overwhelmed with this news myself. And uh, today I found out I’m-I’m having twins. So, um, I didn’t know when or how to tell people and I’m, I’m really glad that I can share this with you now. So, thank you.”

“Congratulations, Carol.” Carter said and walked over to hug her.

“Hold on!” Haleh exclaimed. He turned from Carol and raised an eyebrow. “You didn’t think we forgot about you.” Chuny came back with another stack of diapers and placed them in front of him. Most everyone else in the group was confused, but Haleh had her eyebrow raised to him, daring him not to come clean. Carter sighed and shook his head. Evie was going to kill him.

“Uh, yeah. Uh, Evie and I are having a baby.” The crowd of ER workers began buzzing around them. “But, hey, look. It’s really early and there’s been a complication. That’s why she’s not going to be working for the next couple of weeks. But we’re hoping everything is going to be okay and she can come back soon.”

And as members of the group came up and congratulated them both, he really did hope it would be soon. But right now, he just wanted to go home to her.

Carter opened the door to Evie’s apartment, sliding the stacked boxes inside, before closing the door behind him. She hadn’t called after their last conversation, so he hoped she had taken it easy the rest of the day and was okay. He looked around the apartment and his eyes fell on the figure on the couch, curled up into the cushions and barely covered by a blanket. He smiled at how peaceful and sweet she looked.

Walking over to the couch, he placed the carton of fruit on the table and grabbed the blanket. He pulled it up to her neck, just like she liked it, so she could be cozy. He grabbed the remote, chuckling at the movie on screen, something about skating, and flipped through the channels, settling on some random game before he sat down beside her. If the sleeve of crackers, half eaten toast, and ginger ale on the coffee table was any indication, her nausea hadn’t settled. He stroked her face, glad that she had at least been able to sleep.

“Hi.” A small voice mumbled. Her eyes were still closed, but Evie grabbed her blanket and pulled it tighter around her.

“Hi. How are you?”

“I’m okay. Haven’t thrown up in a while, so I guess that’s good.”

“You should have told me. I could have brought a banana bag home.”

“Maybe tomorrow.” Evie’s eyes slowly opened, and she looked up at him, smiling. “How was work?”

“Remember that student I was mentoring? Antoine?” She nodded her head. “He got jumped today. And then he thought it was smart to go beat up the kid who did it to him, breaking his hands and missing the interview I set up for him in the process.” Carter shook his head and looked around the room. “I can’t believe he did that. And then Lucy told me she’s back on her Ritalin, even though it’s a drug used for children.” Evie chuckled and snuggled under the blanket again. Carter raised an eyebrow. “What?”

“You already sound like a disappointed dad.”

Carter rolled his eyes. “Chuny said the same thing. The only thing I’m disappointed in with our kid is that they are making you not eat. Maybe we can remedy that.” He leaned forward and grabbed the carton off the table, handing it to her. Her sleepy smile widened as she held the fruit cups like they were the most precious thing ever.

“God, this is the first thing to seem even remotely appetizing today.”

“I’ll get you a spoon.” Carter stood and went over to the kitchen, easily finding the utensil drawer.

“What is that?”

Carter’s eyes fell on the giant diaper box by the door. “From the ER. Congratulations on our new addition. The news is officially out. They even got one for Carol too.” He handed the spoon to her as she opened the carton. “Did you know she was pregnant?”

Evie peeled the plastic cover off and dove in, a pleased moan escaping her lips. “That was nice of them. And of course, she’s my mentor.”

“Did you know it was twins?”

“Better her than me.”

“You never know. Severe nausea could mean higher hCG. Higher levels mean twins.”

“Bite your tongue, John Truman Carter.” She said, pointing her spoon at him. “If I end up having twins, I’m castrating you myself.” She took another bite.

“Not to be controlling, but maybe slow down. I’d rather not see you throw up the first time you’ve had something other than crackers today.”

She rolled her eyes at him but took what he said to heart and slowed down. She turned her attention to the TV. “Who’s playing?”

“Uh, not sure. I just turned it on.”

Evie sighed and put her head on Carter’s shoulder. “Want a bite?”

Carter chuckled. “Sure.” Evie feed him a spoonful of peaches. “It’s okay.” He shrugged. “Not as good as I remember.”

“Well, it’s heaven to me. Thank for bringing it by.”

“Where else would I be?”

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eviemonroeer · 2 days ago

Text

The Monroe Effect: Chapter 15

Set during Season 5, Episode 21 of ER. Spoilers if you haven't seen the show.

Warnings: blood, vomiting, mentions of abortion, fear of miscarriage, probable medical inaccuracies, angst

WC: 4.3 k (wow, I think this is the longest one yet and it's mainly original material!)

ER story belongs to original creators, just adding on my own original charter.

Taglist: @pleasecallmeunhinged, @rainmg, @arigoldsblog, @queenslandlover-93, @hagarsays, and @antisocialfiore

Main Story: prev | next

Snapshots: prev | next

The best way to figure out if I was indeed pregnant, was via a blood test. It would be the most accurate. But how the hell was I supposed to put my blood into the system at work without it being suspicious? I couldn’t go through the clinic like I had with Carol; there was no prenatal clinic to hide the test. I guess I could go to another ER, but that meant I couldn’t put a rush on it. And I really needed to know if this was happening for sure, even if every nerve in my body was telling me it was. I did my best to stay clear of Carter, worried I would spill my guts if I was around him to long.

The afternoon/night shift was busy as normal. First it was the stripper and her weird “FBI” bodyguards and now, later in the evening, we were dealing with three teens in an accident on the way to prom. Major burns, possible paralysis, and another missing teen. It was a mess. And with this nausea, I was having a hard time focusing. Usually in traumas, my stomach was pretty calm, but I was fighting for my life to stay out of the bathroom. Thankfully I lasted until Carter tubed the poor burn victim before I took off.

I fell to my knees in the stall just as the vomit made its appearance. It felt like it went on forever; the minute I felt like I was done, it started again. Eventually all that was left was bile, and I was able to get my arms propped on the toilet bowl so I could lay my head down. This was the worst it had been in the last couple of days, and I had a feeling it wouldn’t be lightening up soon.

Prying my eyes open, I used the stall to slowly stand up. I thought there was going to be a recurrence when a dizzy spell hit me, but thankfully the feeling past. I left the stall to clean up when I was met with the knowing stare of Carol Hathaway.

“Sorry Carol.” I said, moving past her to the sink. “I’m on my way back out there.”

“How far along are you?”

I stopped washing my hands and looked up at her in the mirror. There was no point in lying to her; Carol Hathaway knew me better then I knew myself sometimes. I bit my lip and turned off the sink, turning to her. I crossed my arms in front of my stomach and sighed. “I don’t know. I haven’t even taken a test yet.”

“But you think you are?”

“I would say so with the sickness, the sensitivity to smell, and the fact that I already need to get a bigger bra.”

“That’s sounds about right.” Carol said and offered me a comforting smile. “How are you feeling?”

“Honestly, I don’t know. This whole situation is so unbelievably complicated.”

“Tell me about it.” Carol chuckled, trying to lighten the situation. “Am I allowed to ask who’s responsible?”

“I think it’s kind of obvious.”

“Carter?” I nodded. “Well, honestly, I’m surprised it took you guys this long. We all thought you would have hooked up years ago.”

“I’m guessing you all made bets too.”

“Of course. I think Malik might finally win.” I scoffed and shook my head. “Does he know yet?”

“No. I thought I should at least take a test and have concrete proof before I ruin the poor boy’s life.”

“You’re not going to ruin his life. Maybe scare him a little. That is if......do you want to keep the baby?”

I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. “I... I don’t know. I stayed up most of last night thinking about it. I have a job, a place to live. I’ve always wanted to have a family. I’ve had this maternal instinct for a while. But am I actually ready for this? Am I ready to be in charge of a whole other human being’s life? Someone who is going to rely on me for everything. That is a lot of work. And I don’t have a big support system. Just my aunt. But she lives states away and we only see each other or talk every so often.

“And I mean, Carter is.... Carter. And up until a few weeks ago, I didn’t think he looked at me like that; I thought we were just friends. I mean we’ve flirted back and forth for years, but it was always in good fun. Then Lucy had to go and kick him and mess everything up. If he didn’t want to have this kid, I don’t know if I could work here anymore. He’s stuck here until he finishes residency, and I don’t know if I could see him every day if I decided to keep this baby and he didn’t want it.” I started to feel the tears well up in my eyes. Carol walked forward and wrapped her arms around me, pulling me in. “I just feel really confused and alone right now.”

“You’re not alone in this, no matter what you choose.” Carol paused for a moment. “Especially because I’m pregnant too.”

“What?” I exclaimed and pushed back, looking at her. “H-how far along?”

“Almost fifteen weeks.”

“Why haven’t you told anyone?”

“I’ve kind of wanted to keep it to myself. Not have any judgement.”

“Carol, if anyone’s going to be judged, it’s me. At least you and Ross were engaged. I conceived this baby in the...... Never mind.” I shook my head. “You know, I think we might be about eight weeks apart.”

“We should probably tell the other nurses that they shouldn’t be drinking the water here.”

I laughed, a weak laugh, but a laugh, nonetheless. “Would you mind taking my blood? Just so I know for sure.”

“I can. Why don’t we go to the suture room?”

A few minutes later, we were set up for the blood draw. She was gentle when she stuck the needle in. It only took a moment, but I knew this test would confirm what I already knew and change my whole life. Well not only my life, but Carter’s life. I began walking back to admit for a new patient to try and focus myself on something else until I got the results, when Carter walked into the hall, tossing something in the trash.

“Hey Evie, can I talk to you for a minute?”

“Not right now Carter. I’m busy.” I turned and went back down the other way.

“It’ll just take a minute.” I just ignored him, trying to find another doctor or patient to help. “Genevieve, stop!”

The sound of my full name was the thing that pumped the brakes. I turned back quickly to look at Carter. “What do you want, John?”

Carter scoffed and grabbed my hand, pulling me into the nearby exam room. “What is wrong with you? You’ve barely talked to me lately. I thought we were back in a good place after we talked.” He paused. “Or have you been avoiding me because you don’t want to turn me down?”

I sighed. “Carter now isn’t the time to talk about this.” I tried going for the door again, but he grabbed me.

“Yes, it is. You won’t talk to me unless I corner you or it has to do with a patient. Evie, I thought I was at least your friend. Why won’t you tell me what’s wrong?”

“Carter, I can’t. Not here.”

“Evie, please.”

“Carter I—uh!”

A sharp pain radiated through my lower belly and into my pelvis. I hissed and grabbed my stomach, doubling over. “You okay, Evie?” Carter asked, trying steady me.

“Uh.... I don’t know.” I moaned, still reeling from the pain.

“Evie, you’re bleeding.”

That snapped me out of it. “What?!” I looked down and sure enough there was a blood stain on my scrubs. I looked up and met Carter’s eyes, tears already beginning to pool in my eyes.

“Okay, let’s get you on the gurney.” He instructed and helped me over to the bed, before sticking his head out the door. “I need some help here!” At the sound of his call for help, Carol came running, her eyes widening as she saw me.

“Randi, page Mark.” She called out over her shoulder and came over to me. I was crying by this point, holding my stomach, and praying that I wasn’t losing the baby.

“Evie, baby, it’s going to be okay.” Carter said as he and Carol got me up on the bed. At the word baby, my crying only got worse. God, he was gonna hate me forever. The door to the exam room burst open seconds later as Mark walked in, already putting on gloves.

“What’s going on?” he asked Carter.

“Sudden onset pain followed by vaginal bleeding.” Carter explained. “I don’t know what happened. One minute we were talking and the next, she doubled over.”

“I’m so sorry.” I cried, looking at Carter.

“Evie—”

“Please don’t hate me.” Carter looked down at me, confused. I swallowed and turned to Mark. “I’m pregnant. Seven weeks, give or take. I haven’t seen a doctor yet.”

The whole room stopped. Carol closed her eyes and sighed, knowing how I felt now that the secret was out. Mark was speechless. And Carter...... God, Carter had to be pissed by the way his face started to redden.

“Okay, let’s page OB and get an ultrasound machine.” Mark told Carol before turning back to me. “Gen, have you had bleeding or cramping before?”

“No. This is the first time.” I knew by the look on Mark’s face, he could tell I was scared.

“Okay, don’t worry. We’ve got you. And you’ve been having morning sickness?”

“Yes, pretty consistently.”

“Carter, start an IV.” But the young doctor stayed in place, just staring at my belly. I could tell by the look on his face that he was doing the math in his head. I really wanted to shout at him, ‘Yes Carter we made this baby in the films room, now move your ass!” But I didn’t have too.

“Carter!” Mark shouted, snapping him out of it. “Start an IV. She probably dehydrated and that won’t help the cramping.”

Carter nodded and went into autopilot mode, getting an IV started in my arm. I turned and faced him as he hung a banana bag. “I’m sorry.” I sobbed, my voice cracking. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you.”

Despite the slight anger that simmered in Carter, he couldn’t help his heart breaking for her. She looked so vulnerable lying there on the gurney, obviously fearing the worst, already mourning the life inside her. Carter shook his head and pet her head, resting his hand at the top. He leaned down and kissed her forehead. “It’s okay. We’ll talk about this later. I’m here now.” Another sob left her body. He squeezed her hand and brought it up to his mouth to kiss as well.

Carol finally came back and rolled the ultrasound machine into the room. Mark sat down, setting up to run it. “Okay Gen, we’re going to do an abdominal ultrasound to see what’s going on.” Mark slowly rolled up my scrub top and put a line of gel along my lower abdomen, placing the probe on my stomach. He pressed down a little as the machine came to life. The black and white screen was fuzzy, but as he moved the probe a little, a clear picture of the inside of my uterus came into focus. And thankfully the black circle looked to still have something inside of it.

“Okay, there’s the baby.” Mark explained, pointing to the little bean shape. “And there’s......” He clicked on the machine and suddenly a fast-whooshing sound filled the room. “There’s the heartbeat.” Everyone collectively breathed a sigh of relief and my sobs turned to ones of thanks. “Okay, let’s see if we can find out what’s going on.”

Mark continued the examination the best he could, probably pulling everything from his OB rotation to the best of his memory. “It looks to me that the bleeding is coming from a small spot right here.” He pointed at the screen, to another smaller black circle next to the gestational sac. “I don’t want to risk moving you right now. We’re gonna get OB down here to take a look and confirm. Once they do that, they will advise on what to do next.” He paused and looked at Carter. “Are you guys going to be okay without me?”

Carter ran a hand over his face before nodding. “Yeah....yeah. We’re good.” Mark nodded and left the room, Carol right behind him.

I let out the breath I was holding as Carter walked away, leaning up against the wall with his arms crossed. “How long have you known?” Carter asked, his hand grabbing at the back of his neck.

Way to get straight to the point.

“I started having symptoms a week or so ago. Just discounted them as stress at first, or my period. But then recently, I started having nausea and that kind of tipped me off. I don’t really ever get that kind of sick. I put in for a blood test to confirm, but I hadn’t gotten the results back before this happened. I wanted to wait till I was sure I had something to tell you before I did.”

I saw him hesitate a moment. “Are you wanting to keep the baby?”

“I thought that would be something we talk about together.”

Carter went to open his mouth but before he could, the door to the exam room opened and Dr. Coburn walked in followed by Dr. Greene. “Good evening, Ms. Monroe. Dr. Carter. Why don’t we take a look at what’s going on?” I nodded and rolled my shirt back up as Carter returned to my side. Dr. Coburn pulled the ultrasound machine over again and started her scan. I felt Carter grab my hand as she looked.

She was quiet for some time, tapping on the keyboard and moving the probe back and forth. I couldn’t even see the monitor this time. It worried me. “Dr. Greene, I think your diagnosis is correct.” She finally moved the ultrasound monitor so Carter and I could see it. “There is a subchorionic hematoma, right here.” She pointed at the screen. “It’s a buildup of blood between the chorionic membrane around the baby and the uterine wall. Thankfully it’s pretty small, caught it before it got worse.” She pressed another group of buttons and the baby’s heartbeat filled the room again. “Heartbeat is good. 105 BPM, perfect for this stage of development. Measurements are at seven weeks, three days. Does that seem about right?”

“Yes.” I replied. Dr. Coburn nodded and turned off the machine.

“We’ll get you some ultrasound pictures and set you up with a follow up appointment in a few days in my office. There are no real treatments for this kind of hematoma. You really just have to sit and wait for it to heal on its own. I’m gonna start you with bed rest for two weeks, maybe more depending on your follow up. If you’re cleared to come back to work, you’ll need to be on desk duty until you’re out of the first trimester. Do you think you can do that?”

“We can work it out.” Mark said, stepping in.

Coburn nodded. “That means you’re done for the day. Do you have someone who can take you home? Help you get comfortable?”

“N—”

“Dr. Carter’s shift is done.” Mark interrupted again. “We can cover it. I’ll talk to Kerry.”

“Perfect.” Coburn said, looking between us all. “Bed rest, Ms. Monroe. I mean it. Someone from my office will be in touch about your follow up tomorrow. Don’t hesitate to call if something happens, or you know where the ER is.” Coburn patted the bed and stood, walking out of the exam room.

“Carter, why don’t you go finish up with the patients you have now and pass them off while Gen finishes her banana bag. I’ll have Carol come in with your stuff, a change of clothes, and we’ll get you set to go home.”

“I have an intubated patient waiting to go up to the burn unit.” Carter explained.

“You can sign him over to me. Go get started.” Carter nodded and then looked at me. I nodded too, letting him know it was okay to leave before he turned and walked out.

“I take it you don’t want anyone else to know why you’re in here, right?” Mark asked, now that we were alone. “We can keep it private.”

“They’re gonna know anyway. You can’t force anyone out. But any privacy would be nice.”

Mark nodded. “I’m assuming he didn’t know until now.” I bit my lip as tears pricked in my eyes again. All I could do was nod. “It’ll be okay.” Mark put a hand on mine and squeezed it, before exiting the room, leaving me truly alone for the first time.

The tears flowed freely as I sobbed at the mess my life had just turned into.

Thankfully for once, everyone minded their business as Carol wheeled me out of the exam room and out to the ambulance bay. We waited a couple of minutes before Carter pulled his car in and they got me in the passenger’s seat. Before she shut the door, Carol handed me my purse and the strip of ultrasound photos, a hopeful smile on her face, despite her own red eyes.

We pulled out of the ambulance bay and started the route to my apartment. “Here.” Carter said, pulling something out of his shirt pocket. “I found these in the lounge. Thought they might help.”

It was a small package of crackers, most likely from someone’s salad. “Thanks.” I opened them and lightly nibbled on them, trying to keep my stomach from getting upset.

“You feeling okay?”

“I’m alright. The banana bag helped. I haven’t been able to keep much down lately. Even water.”

He nodded and his hands tightened around the steering wheel. He fidgeted in his seat, obviously unsure of what to say next. “Do you have any food in your apartment? You’re going to have to eat some time.”

“I have some basic things. I’ve kind of been living off the B.R.A.T. diet for the last couple of weeks.”

“I thought you looked skinnier.” He mumbled. “Do you want me to stop and get anything?”

“I really just want to go home, take a shower, and go to bed if that’s okay.”

The rest of the car ride was quiet. He thankfully found a spot in front of my building and parked, shutting the door and running over to my side before I could even get my door open. He helped me from the car and took my things, including the ultrasounds as he placed his right arm around my back and his left hand grabbed mine. We were slow walking up the few steps to the front door. Thankfully my building had an elevator or Carter probably would have had a conniption.

He took my keys and unlocked the door for me. “Where to now?”

“I’m going to the bathroom to take a shower.” I unhooked myself from him. “Alone.”

I walked into the bathroom and shut the door behind me. I turned and laid my forehead against it, taking a deep breath before turning the lock. Once I got the shower started, I stripped and proceeded to thoroughly scrub my body, wanting to get any feel or smell of being in that hospital bed off me. Even when the water ran cold, I did another pass before I felt totally clean. I wrapped up my hair and then dried my body with my fluffiest towel. As I began drying off, I realized I hadn’t grabbed any clothes on my way into the bathroom, so I would have to walk to my bedroom to get them. I took a deep breath and opened the bathroom door. I looked down the hall towards my room and then down towards the living room.

“Jesus Christ!” I yelled and put my hand over my heart.

“Are you okay?” Carter asked, jumping up from his chair to grab me.

“You scared the crap out of me!” I pushed his chest. “Why were you sitting outside of the bathroom door?”

“In case something happened, and you needed me.”

“The only thing I need is a defibrillator after that heart attack you just gave me.” I started walking towards my bedroom to change, but Carter was on my tail.

“You have some soup. I could make you that if you want.”

“How about some toast?” I went to close the door behind me when his hand caught it. “Can I help you?”

“Are you sure you’re okay?” He asked. I rolled my eyes, thinking he was just being overbearing.

But then I actually looked at him.

He was scared. Terrified even.

I suddenly felt like such an ass. At least I had some time to process the possibility of a baby. He learned it was happening while we feared I was losing it. And Carter could be so deeply empathetic. Sometimes I forgot that about him, especially in high intensity moments. It always surprised me since he came from a family that lived like they were childless, people who didn’t show love. But I guess that’s what made it make sense.

I sighed and wrapped my arms around him and held him tightly. “I’m okay.” I felt him squeeze me back, and I breathed a sigh of relief. “I’m going to get dressed. I would appreciate it if you would make me a couple pieces of plain toast and then we can talk.”

“I can do that.”

“Thank you.” He kissed my forehead and then turned to head back to the front of the apartment as I turned back to my bedroom and shut the door.

“Try this.” Carter handed me a plate with two pieces of toast on it. “Eat slow.” I was now seated on my couch in my comfiest pair of sweats. I took a small bite and my stomach stayed calm, so maybe I was getting a break.

“Thanks.”

We both were quiet at I finished the first piece, which was probably the most of anything I had in the last few hours, if not day. I decided not to mess it up and put the plate with the other piece on the table. “You alright?” Carter asked.

“Yeah. Just trying not to overdo it.” I watched him ring his hands together. Might as well get this over with. “I promise I was going to tell you. I just didn’t want to tell you before I had proof that there was a baby. Before everything happened, Carol had taken my blood and sent off for a test.” I scoffed. “I imagine the results are ready now.” I pinched the bridge of my nose and sighed.

“I think we should have this baby.”

I looked up and my eyes went wide. “What?” I asked, not sure I had heard him right.

“I want to have this baby with you. We might not be a couple, but you are my best friend. I honestly trust and care about you more than anyone else in my life. I can’t think of anyone else better to have a baby with then you.” He paused. “But only if that’s what you want. If you don’t want to, I’m not going to be mad. I’ll even hold your hand through the procedure.” He took a deep breath. “What are you thinking?”

“I’m scared.” I choked laugh coming out of me. “Petrified even. Even though I see babies and kids every day, I feel like I don’t know the first thing about raising one. But when I started bleeding, I was more scared of losing it.” I paused and took a deep breath. “I want to have this baby too.” And probably due to the adrenaline leaving my body, I began to sob.

Carter put his arms around me and held me tightly, kissing the top of my head as I sobbed into his chest. I even ended up crawling into his lap at some point and he just held me. And the whole entire time he just kept whispering, ‘I got you’ over and over again.

She had passed out at some point due to the crying. Evie was still in his lap, breathing steadily with her head resting on his shoulder. Carter decided it would be best to move her to her bed so she could be comfy, even if it risked waking her up. He held her in his arms like she was made of glass as he walked down the hall, before laying her in her bed. He covered her and went to leave the room.

“Please stay.”

He turned back around and saw Evie, her eyes open and looking at him. He nodded and turned off the lights before joining her in the bed. She crawled over to him and snuggled up beside him. “I don’t think we should tell anyone until I get the all clear.” She said in a small voice.

“I agree.” He said and wrapped his arms around her, bringing her closer. “It’s going to be okay.”

She nodded. “We have a lot we need to talk about.”

“And we will, but you need to rest tonight.”

And the two laid in each other’s arms until they fell asleep.

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eviemonroeer · 3 days ago

Text

The Monroe Effect: Chapter 14

Set during Season 5, Episode 20 of ER. Spoilers if you haven't seen the show.

Warnings: lewd/suggestive conversation, vomiting, language

WC: 3.9 k

ER story belongs to original creators, just adding on my own original charter.

Taglist: @pleasecallmeunhinged, @rainmg, @arigoldsblog, @queenslandlover-93, @hagarsays, and @antisocialfiore

Main Story: prev | next

Snapshots: prev | next

I rubbed my forehead and tried with all of my might to keep what little breakfast I was able to eat in my stomach. I wasn’t running a fever, so I had to have food poisoning. It had happened once or twice before, but this was the worst case. I hated throwing up more than anything, even more than getting thrown up on. If this was a sign of what was to come, I was in for a long shift.

I tried to steer clear of working with any patients that might upset my stomach. I know we’re not supposed to cherry pick patients, but it was either that or toss my cookies in front of everyone. That meant nothing oozing or bleeding too bad. So, I stuck to the headache, shoulder pain, and the ankle sprain for now. I even managed to take some blood a little later on, which made me want to pat myself on the back. Maybe I had this under control.

That strength of course had to be tested when Lucy, back in the ER fresh from her psych rotation, called me in to help with her newest patient. A woman coming in with shortness of breath and a history of heart issues would have been fine. But a woman with these issues coming in carrying a suitcase full of scents and sprays was not what I needed right now. And of course, sweet, curious Lucy had to go through all of them herself.

“Here Evie, try this.” Lucy encouraged.

“I’m not the best with smells right now.” I shook my head and started placing monitors for vitals.

“Oh, come on, try it.”

I sighed and relented, hoping my stomach would behave. I took the bottle and sniffed it. It actually was pretty good, almost reminded me of Carter. Especially when he wore that one cologne I got him for Christmas last year. It made my heart happy and sad at the same time. I still hadn’t given him an answer to the question of whether or not we should try a relationship. And I could tell the boy was getting antsy. I put the bottle back in the box.

“‘Pher-Catch’. That’s what I need.” Lucy said, picking up a bottle with a pink liquid inside.

“That one has no perfume enhancement.” The woman, Phyllis Farr, explained. “Just pure synthetic pheromones for those who want to maximize biologic signals.”

“I should try this on Al.” Lydia purred. She and Chuny had come in the room to check it out once they heard what she claimed to have: perfumes that enhance your attraction to the opposite sex.

“No, you’re already in a committed relationship, “Full-Pher” is for you.” This time it was a bottle with a green liquid inside. “It has a sandalwood fragrance but with a dopamine-like boost.”

“Mhm, nice.” Chuny exclaimed. “And I’m not one for perfumes.”

“This isn’t perfume! It’s biochemical-awareness therapy.”

“They say pheromones are responsible for who you’re attracted to and why women friends get their period at the same time.” Lucy said and sprayed some on her wrist. Then, of course, she had to go and spray my neck while I was checking vitals.

“Hey!” I exclaimed.

“Exactly. Medical professionals always understand.” Phyllis and the others chuckled as the curtain pulled back.

“Looking for me?” Carter asked, taking in the scene before him.

“Oh, uh, this uh, Phyllis Farr.” Lucy started, handing Carter the chart as Chuny and Lydia left us. “And she experienced some shortness of breath this morning.” She handed Carter a pen, wrist up, and waved it under his nose as he looked the chart over. Phyllis and I both laughed, and I shook my head. “She has a history of A-fib and had an embolic CVA two years ago, and she is now on Coumadin and Dig.”

“One teeny, tiny little stroke.” Phyllis shrugged. “And I was smoking like a chimney then.” She leaned into Lucy as Carter put on his stethoscope. “Some men are inherently less receptive.” She mumbled.

“Hmm?” Carter hummed, thinking she was talking to him.

“I think it was just anxiety. I have a meeting with Marshall Fields—” She paused as he started checking her chest.

“Miss Farr thinks she doesn’t need to stay.” Lucy informed him. “I’d like her admitted to telemetry. Her dyspnea was relieved by nitro, and it could be angina.”

“Darling, I told you I am entirely too young for that.”

“I don’t think we need to admit you quite yet.” Carter started. “But we should get you on an EKG and monitor you here in the ER. Also check a troponin with a CPK.” He said that last part to me. I nodded.

“You’re saying to cancel with Marshall Fields?”

“They want you all the more when they know you’re busy.”

I walked around the bed and over to Carter, taking the chart from him. As I turned, I heard him sniff. “Hey Evie.” I stopped and looked at him. “Whatever you have on is really nice.” He said before walking away. I looked at Lucy and Phyllis, both giving me knowing glances. I rolled my eyes and walked back towards admit, grateful for the moment of fresher air.

The lights went out just as I was headed for the bathroom. I had passed by the room of someone vomiting and I guess my body was audibly triggered. Now I wouldn’t get the chance. “Damn it.” I muttered. I took a couple deep breaths, calming down before I turned and headed back to Ms. Farr’s room. I needed to check to make sure her EKG monitor was still up and running. I opened the door to the exam room and stopped in my tracks when I saw who had joined her.

“Hi Gen.”

“Hi Roxanne.” I said, trying to be as chill as I could. The lights flicked back on, illuminating all three of us. “What are you doing back here?”

“Oh, just waiting for Carter. Ms. Farr was so kind to tell me about her business. It’s such a great idea.”

“It really is.” I forced a smile as I walked past them to the EKG monitor. The screen was mostly black and what lines there were on it, weren’t moving. Shit. I tried rebooting it several times, but nothing I was doing was working. And the two of them just sat there and talked while I panicked both about the monitor and the fact the woman Carter cheated on with me and was now probably going to break up with for me was two feet away. I couldn’t think right now.

“Ms. Farr, I will be right back.” I said and left the room quickly. Thankfully, Carter was at admit, so I didn’t have to go searching for him.

“Carter, can you help me reboot Ms. Farr’s EKG monitor? The battery pack was low. I think it shut off when we lost power.”

“Yeah, I’ll try.”

I walked ahead of him and made it back in the room before he did. I went back to the machine, trying to continue booting it back up. But when I heard the door close again, I turned my head slightly to watch him out of the corner of my eyes. He was tense and honestly looked kind of mad. And I didn’t really know if it was at Roxanne or me.

“Look, some companies won’t consider clients with high-risk profiles, especially those with pre-existing conditions.”

“Roxanne?” Oh, I knew that tone. Carter was pissed.

“Oh, Dr. Carter.” Ms. Farr said, oblivious to it all. “I seem to be powerless.”

“Yes, I know. I’ll take care of that in a minute. Roxanne?”

“Yeah. Bye.” The blonde said to the older woman as she grabbed her things and headed out of the room with Carter. As soon as they were gone I physically and mentally relaxed, my brain finally clearing. I guess I must have audibly breathed a sigh of relief, because Ms. Farr turned to me and raised an eyebrow.

“I’m sensing some tension here.”

“I’m so sorry Ms. Farr. You should not have seen that.”

“I’m guessing that she is Dr. Carter’s girlfriend.” I nodded, not making eye contact as I continued pressing buttons. “And I take it you didn’t know she was coming in today.” Nod. “Mm-hmm.” She hummed.

I knew my face was red and the heat was rising up my neck. I pressed another set of buttons and thankfully, the monitor came back to life. I turned as the door opened again and Carter came in.

“Sorry Ms. F—”

“I got it working.” I announced and pushed past Carter.

I headed straight to the bathroom to puke.

Once I was settled back down for the moment and cleaned up, I left the bathroom into more hustle and bustle then normal. There were also a couple more security officers then normal. What the hell happened while I was in there? Was I really gone that long?

“Evie did you hear?” Connie asked as she and Haleh walked by.

“Uh, no.” I said, wiping the side of my mouth. “What’s going on?”

“Corday and I found a girl in the hallway. Beaten and assaulted.” Haleh explained.

“Turns out she was a patient upstairs in the medical ward.” Connie finished.

“What? No wonder the cops are everywhere.”

“I hope Dr. Corday got a good look at the bastard.” Connie said, shaking her head.

“Pretty scary.” Haleh added as we rounded the corner to admit. A group consisting of Chuny, Jerry, Lydia, and Dr. Romano were already there.

“You know, even I'm looking over my shoulder.”

“Let’s keep our voices down.” Romano said, looking at us as we joined the group. “The police agree that we should alert all staff to the possibility of a tech or someone who looks like a tech and may be dangerous. But let’s try to avoid a general panic.”

“You mean not tell the patients?” Chuny asked.

“Ah, at this point, it doesn't seem necessary.”

“The guy probably bolted.” Jerry offered.

“Still, don't leave any patients unattended for any period of time and don't relinquish patients into the hands of anyone who you don’t recognize or who doesn't have proper hospital I.D.”

“What if you're not sure?” Lydia asked.

“There's a policeman stationed in every hallway. Call them. All right?”

We all nodded and went our separate ways. Thankfully, my patients from earlier had all been released, so I just had Ms. Farr right now. I went back into her exam room to find her still messing with bottles. I went over to the machine and started checking her readings.

“How am I looking, Evie?”

“So far so good. But that’s doesn’t mean things can’t change.” I paused and turned to her. “I’m very sorry about running out of here earlier. That was very unprofessional.”

“It’s alright dear. I imagine there’s a story as to why you didn’t want to be in the room with both of them. Especially after the way Dr. Carter reacted to you wearing that scent earlier.”

I scoffed. “You could say that.”

“How long have you known Dr. Carter?”

“Uh, we’ve been friends for five years.”

“Friends? I don’t react that way with my friends.” She scoffed. “Are you sure you and Dr. Carter have never been more?” I didn’t say anything, just copied down her current vitals. “I’ll take that as a yes, but you have not told anyone. It’s alright dear, your secret is safe with me.”

Suddenly, Ms. Farr grabbed her head and let out some air. “Are you alright?”

“It’s fine. Just a little dizzy.”

“I’ll be right back.”

I stepped out of the room and found Lucy first. She looked her over, noticing Phyllis was becoming a little altered and wanted to take her up for a CT. Technically she was Carter’s patient, so I advised to let me go find him and get his opinion. I found him by admit talking to Jerry.

“Hey Carter, can you come? Miss Farr's a little altered. Lucy wants to send her for a head CT.”

“Doesn't Lucy have her own patient?” He asked before standing to follow me. When we walked back into the exam room, Ms. Farr was sniffing one of the bottles. I went back to check her monitors and do a blood pressure check. “Hey Lucy. Did you get that hip x-ray result back on Mrs. Armstrong?”

“No, it's not done yet and psych is on their way down. I'm actually a little worried. Miss Farr seems a little bit confused. I think she should have a head CT.”

“I’ll handle it.”

“I'll see you later, Miss Farr.” Lucy said, turning and leaving the room.

“Sex.” That word stopped the whole room. I couldn’t help but look up at Carter, probably looking like a deer in headlights. I shook my head and looked back at Ms. Farr.

“What?”

“That's the name of the scent. "Pher-Sex."” She looked up at me and raised her eyebrow.

“So, your head hurts?” Carter asked, walking over to the bed.

“It may be stuffy in here.”

“We should put your perfumes away.” He said, motioning to how she turned one of our trays into a display table. “Some of them are a little strong.”

“You have a very slender nose.”

“Do I?”

“Makes common sense.” She told me as I continued my checks while Carter did his. “The size of the VNO would correspond to the size of the nasal cavity.”

“VNO?” I asked.

“Vomeronasal organ. The structure that picks up subtle messages from other people's glands.” She turned to Carter. “Do you find yourself affected by the opposite sex?”

“Oh, I'd say I notice them.” He said, his eyes briefly looking up at me. I kept my head down on purpose, focusing on the monitors.

“What about your ability to bond?”

“Follow my finger. Are you experiencing weakness or numbness, Ms. Farr?”

“See, people with deficient VNOs often have trouble appreciating oxytocin which is the hormone that evokes deep inta-inim-intimacy.” She struggled with that last part.

“I think we should set Miss Farr up with a head CT.” He told me, us both having noticed the same signs in his exam. I reached around to adjust one of her monitors.

“Dr. Carter, were you breast-fed?” We both made eye contact and I shrugged, daring him to answer the question. He shook his head and came over to the side of the bed I was on, writing on the chart. Then, in almost a comical sort of way, the power went out and a bolt of lightning lit up the room. I groaned and immediately unplugged her monitor, switching it to the red plug.

“Don't worry, Mrs. Farr. We keep flashlights by all the...” And in true Carter fashion, he knocked over the tray of perfumes, breaking some on the floor or tipping them over. “What did I spill?”

“Everything.” I said and started to pick up the broken pieces as best as I could. The smell was really overwhelming, and I tried to hold my breath as my stomach started to swirl. Carter joined me on the ground and looked at me.

“Are you okay? You don’t look so good.”

“I’m fine. J-just go call CT and see how backed up they’ll be now that the lights are out and we’re working on auxiliary power.” I stood slowly and put the broken pieces on the tray. He did the same before turning to exit the room.

“He’s going to smell fabulous.” Ms. Farr purred.

I continued cleaning up the best I could and checking in on her. I was almost completely cleaned up when her monitors started going off as she slumped. “Damn it!” I muttered and ran out of the room. “Carter! She's crashing!” I yelled to him as he, Lucy, and Mark were bringing in a new patient.

“Oh, no!”

“Miss Farr?”

“Get on it, both of you.”

The three of us ran back into the room and began working. We got her back in rhythm from a shock off the batteries, but anymore of that and we wouldn’t have a monitor anymore. Carter had me prep for a nasotracheal intubation.

“Why are you doing a naso-trach?” Lucy asked as he got started.

“Won’t have to paralyze her.” Carter said as he carefully and slowly sent it through her nose. “All right, I'm in. Go ahead. Bag her.” I moved the ventilator over.

“Good job.” Lucy said as she connected the bag and began pumping.

“Not really. Without a CT, I have no idea what to do next.”

“Don't you think she threw a clot?”

“Maybe. If she's inadequately anticoagulated.”

“So, she needs heparin to thin her blood and to prevent further clotting, right?”

“What if she's over anticoagulated and bleeding in her brain? Then she needs IK and

FFP. Heparin would kill her.” Carter checked her with his stethoscope. “Good breath sounds. Hook her up.” I handed him the vent tube.

“That's why you needed a ProTime.”

“Bingo.” He attached the tube.

“Is an AC of 14 okay in the vent?” I asked. But I barely saw Carter nod before the auxiliary power failed and we were surrounded by darkness. “We're dead.”

“I'll bag her.” Lucy said, removing the tube and reattaching the bag.

“What the hell?!” Carter yelled in frustration. “Evie, go get Mark.”

I nodded and hustled through Trauma One into Trauma Two. “Mark, Carter needs you!”

“Okay. Go, Mark. I got this one.” Peter assured him before he followed me back to Exam Two.” When we got in there, Carter explained Ms. Farr’s history and symptoms to Mark.

“So basically, we're boned. The wrong treatment could kill her.” He ended with.

“Don't worry, Ms. Farr. We're here with you.” Lucy said, stilling bagging.

“Our hands are tied without the CT. Watch her chest expansions.” He told Lucy.

“I am.”

“Whole-blood clotting time.” Mark said, standing from his check.

“What?”

“Something from the Dark Ages.” He walked over to me. “Evie, you don’t have an extra red top on you?”

“Of her blood? Yeah. Lydia told me to always hold one.” I reached over and grabbed it off the tray.

“How long ago did you draw it?”

“About 45 minutes ago.”

Mark turned on his flashlight and examined the sample with it. “Yeah. No signs of clotting. I'll say she's over anticoagulated.”

“So, we treat her?” Carter asked.

“We do an LP first.” I nodded and took the blood, going to set up for the LP. The door to the room opened. A man who a recognized as a psych resident stood there.

“Miss Knight, do you have a minute?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh, I'll take over.” I offered. “As long as you boys can set up without me.”

Mark nodded and Lucy left the room as they began setting up. I just kept bagging, pressing in every three seconds at a steady pace.

“Prep with the vitamin K?” Mark asked as he began the LP, Carter checking her pupils with his pen light.

“And mannitol, in case she herniates.” John reminded.

“Don't worry, Carter. I'm using a 22-gauge needle. You holding up, Evie?

“Oh, yeah. Strong hands.” I replied, though I could feel myself slowly starting to lose strength. I hadn’t really eaten today on account of all the nausea.

“Don't be afraid to let Carter know if you need to be spelled.” Carter nodded at me from his spot holding her head. Mark put in the needle and began collecting. “Let's get the FFP. Give vitamin IK, milligrams, slow IV push. How are the pupils, Carter?”

“Equal and reactive. Thanks for the backup.”

“No problem.”

Thankfully a few minutes later, as Mark finished up, the power came back on to everyone’s delight. Another nurse came in and switched out with me as other patients were able to be put back on vents again.

“CT's holding a table.” Mark said as we wheeled Ms. Farr out into admit.

“How are you doing, Mrs. Farr?” Carter asked. She pointed to the tube in her nose. “We'll take that out when you come back. I was very careful with your VNO.”

“So, Carter, I need to ask you,” Mark started as we let transport take over. “What was going on in there?”

“I was worried that she'd herniate.”

“I mean between you and me. I was getting a weird energy.” I just sat back and listened, following behind them with the chart. “I mean, it was almost like you were.... I couldn't tell if you were being territorial or admiring me. Ah, I don't want to say that you were flirting. Cause I mean obviously you weren't flirting with me, were you?”

“Oh, man! You know, I spilled those pheromones on me, like a whole bottle.”

“Is that what I smelled?”

“Maybe that’s what you were picking up on, one of those chemicals.”

“That's pretty far-fetched.” Mark said, noticing Carter had put a hand on his shoulder.

“I mean, I admired you when you went for the LP.” Carter stuttered. “But that was it.” He held up the bag on LP fluids. “I better get these to the lab.” He took a moment before walking up. Mark came over to me.

“Get him?” I asked.

“Got him.” He confirmed. We both bumped fists before he too walked away. I took a deep breath and went back to my chart.

“Hey, Evie.” Carol said popping up next to me. “Kerry brought food. I saved you a piece of chicken.” She held out the piece of meat to me on a napkin.

The smell hit me like a punch, sending a warning sign to get to the bathroom. I tried to keep my face as collected as possible. “That’s sweet, but I’m alright right now. Thanks though.” I turned and returned Ms. Farr’s chart to the holder and made my way to the hallway. I knew I wasn’t going to make it to the bathroom. All I had time for was to grab an emesis basin from the supply rack before I blew chunks.

“Woah. Are you okay?” I looked up and Mark was walking towards me, that concerned dad look etched into his face.

“No.” I barely got out before I hurled again. “I think I have food poisoning.” I added with a cough.

“How long has this been going on?”

“All day.”

“Really? You’ve been hiding it well. Okay, why don’t you get cleaned up and head home. I’ll tell Carol what happened.”

“I’m fine Mark. I only have an hour left.”

“Yeah, and in that time, you could pass out or vomit on one of your patients.”

“I’ll wear an IV or take some Compazine.”

“Gen, come on. Take the free pass and go home. I know I would prefer to get sick in the privacy of my own place.”

I gagged again and Mark took the full basin, handing me an empty one. But thank God it was just a false alarm. I nodded slowly. “Okay, fine. I’ll go home.”

I sighed and leaned my head back against the wall as the toilet flushed, the rain still heavily falling outside. All I could think was that I needed to brush my teeth badly, but I was scared the nausea would get triggered again if I stuck anything in my mouth. I had to get rid of this taste.

Maybe mouth wash would be better?

I slowly crawled over to my sink and opened up the cabinet door, looking for the container. I began digging through everything when my blood ran cold.

“Oh shit.”

I sat back, holding up the unopened box of tampons. Nausea, vomiting, sensitivity to smell. Now that it was all right in front of me, I had the sinking realization that I hadn’t had my period since before the big storm.

Since the night I had sex with Carter.

“Fuck!”

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eviemonroeer · 4 days ago

Text

The Monroe Effect: Chapter 13

Set during Season 5, Episode 19 of ER. Spoilers if you haven't seen the show.

Warnings: sick at sight of blood, lewd/suggestive conversation

WC: 2.5 k

ER story belongs to original creators, just adding on my own original charter.

Taglist: @pleasecallmeunhinged, @rainmg, @arigoldsblog, @queenslandlover-93, @hagarsays, and @antisocialfiore

Main Story: prev | next

Snapshots: prev | next

“Evie?”

I slowly opened my eyes, Chuny coming into focus as my vision cleared. “What’s wrong?” I asked, sitting up straight and stretching.

“Uh, I came in here and you were asleep.”

“No, I wasn’t. I was just resting my eyes.”

“You were snoring sweetie. And you have a little drool on your chin.” She tried to wipe it for me, but I shooed her hand away to wipe and look at the evidence myself. I had been drooling. “You feeling okay?”

“Yeah. I’ve just been really tired recently. Which is even crazier, because I feel like the moment I get home, I pass out.”

She furrowed her brow before standing and going to the coffee machine. “Have you tried coffee?” She poured me a mug and held it out to me. The smell of burned coffee beans did not sound great at the moment. I shook my head.

“No thanks.” I said, making a face. “I-I’ll grab a soda from the machine.”

I grabbed some change from my locker and headed out to chairs, happy to be away from the coffee smell. I went over to the vending machine and bought a Coke. The machine spit out two. I lifted the tab, and the crisp sound filled the air before I took a sip as I walked towards admit.

“Isn’t it a little early for soda?”

I shook my head at Carter as he raised a brow at me. “Coffee does not sound good right now. Here.” I handed him the second can. “The machine gave me two for one.”

“Thanks.” He said as he pocketed the can and headed back to the exam rooms.

I tried my best to stay on my feet after my impromptu nap. That meant changing out multiple IV bags, taking blood, and even taking some time to help Jeanie in triage. I was so scared that if I sat down, I’d be out again in seconds. But there wasn’t anything like an incoming trauma to get your blood pumping.

I made sure the room was prepped before I grabbed a gown and gloves, heading out to the ambulance bay. Carter was already waiting there with a kid I didn’t recognize. “Hey Carter, you gonna introduce me?”

“Oh yeah. Sorry. Antoine, this is Nurse Monroe, or Evie if you prefer. Evie this is Antoine Bell. He’s a student at the Math-Science Magnet School and he’s shadowing me today.”

“Nice to meet you.” I said, giving him a nod. “Magnet School, wow. Must be one bright kid.”

“Thank you, ma’am. I try.” He smiled at me, which I returned. He seemed like a really good kid.

The ambulance pulled up with lights and sirens flashing. We got the gurney out of the ambulance and into the ER. “We got a 55-year-old man stabbed in the neck during a robbery.” Zadro explained as he wheeled him towards trauma. “BP’s 135/82, pulse 110. Airway seems okay.”

“Alright, we got a zone two neck injury.” Carter yelled out after a quick look. “Good carotid pulse. Can you see?” He asked Antoine.

“What else about the third man?” A police officer who was following us questioned the patient. “Was he big, small?”

“Skinny, not big.” The injured man said, his voice hoarse.

“Excuse me, sir. Are you usually hoarse like this?” Carter asked as Elizabeth joined us, and I could see Lily and Chuny already inside the room.

“No.”

“Alright could be a nerve injury.”

“Yeah, or an expanding hematoma.” Elizabeth countered. “Call X-ray. I need a neck film.”

“Pulse ox is 96.” I yelled out as we pushed the gurney inside the room.

“You wanna explore him in the OR?”

“No, he’s pretty stable.”

“Skinny and what else, Mr. Cho? What was he wearing?”

Lily handed Carter and I eyeglasses, which we put on before grabbing the sheet underneath. “Alright, on my count. One, two, three.”

As we got transferred him over, I got my first true, good look at his injury. I looked down and for the first time in years, the sight of blood made my stomach flip. It wasn’t even anything particularly crazy, but it was enough. I swallowed, suddenly feeling woozy. I paused and backed up towards the wall. “Evie, you okay?” Lily asked, looking back at me.

“Yeah. I think I just need a minute.” I turned and tore off my trauma gown, glasses, and gloves, shoving them into the waste bin before I headed for the ambulance bay. As soon as I stepped outside, the fogginess left my brain, and I felt a lot better. I Iet out a sigh of relief and put my hands on my hips.

“You okay?”

I turned and found Antoine sitting on the bench. “Hey. Yeah, I’m okay. Are you?”

“Yeah, I’m okay.”

“It’s okay to get woozy in the trauma room. Happens to the best of us.” I chuckled. “It’s not for the faint of heart.” I took a deep breath of the fresh air, clearing my head.

“What was the name of that nerve Dr. Carter was talking about?”

“What nerve?”

“He said the man could have a nerve injury and that’s why he was talking that way.”

I paused and furrowed my brow. “You know, I’m actually not sure. Do you want to find out?”

Antoine nodded his head and I smiled at him. “Come on.” I got up slowly and led him to the lounge. I dug through the books on the shelf until I found the one I was looking for. “Here. This book should help you find what you are looking for. Sorry I can’t be much help.”

“No, this is great. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

“You feeling okay?” Carter asked as we walked to curtain two, Antoine on our tail. “I saw you rush out of trauma.”

“Yeah, I’m good. Just needed some air for a minute.”

“Antoine showed me the book you gave him. Helped him find out about that nerve.” He chuckled. “I think the kid has a crush on you. Asked if you were joining us the rest of the day.”

“Oh? Are you jealous Dr. Carter?”

“I think I could take him.” He joked, causing me to laugh. “It’s kind of cute.”

I chuckled as we got to Curtain Two and Carter introduced himself to the mother. We went over his vitals and the mother gave Carter a description of how her little boy, Lonnie, had been acting the past couple of days. I kept track on the chart while they talked. “And you say he’s been irritable?”

“Off and on, kind of grouchy from all the spitting up and his stomach hurting, probably.”

“Has he lost any weight?”

“I think so now that you say that. His pants used to be snug and now they’re looser.”

“Where do you live?” Carter asked as he started checking the toddler’s heart and lungs.

“Some apartments on cottage grove.”

“Pretty old building?”

“Yeah, I say so. Roaches be having family reunions.” She chuckled, looking over at Antoine.

“Peeling paint?”

“Peeling everything.”

“I bet Lonnie likes to put things in his mouth.”

“Yeah, he do.” The mother said, chuckling.

“Has he been screened for lead?”

“Lead? No. What’s wrong with him doctor?”

“Well, we’re gonna run some more tests. Try and get a better sense of what’s wrong.” I handed Carter the chart. “So, let’s get a CBC. And a lead level.”

“Got it.” I said and nodded.

“I wanna try and find out if Lonnie’s symptoms are a results of lead poisoning. Maybe from eating flakes of paint, which kids do.” He stroked the kid’s head. “Uh, the lead levels won’t be back for a couple of days but there are things we can learn right away from the blood work.”

“Okay, whatever. Just make him better.”

We got the little boy laid down on the bed so I could stick him easier for the blood sample. I took two vials, just in case, and Carter actually decided to take them to the lab himself. While it wasn’t unheard of, it was odd that a doctor would handle their own lab work. But I could tell he was really liking Antoine and wanted him to learn. So first-hand experience it was. I guess messing up so bad with Lucy must have straightened him out on the teaching front. Hopefully that meant things would be better when she was back down here for her second ER rotation in a few days.

“Anymore impromptu naps?”

I rolled my eyes as Chuny walked up beside me. “No. I’ve been staying on my feet all day to prevent that.”

“It’s alright Evie. Nothing to be embarrassed about. I’d be tired to if I was spending all my time with a cute doctor.”

“Chuny....” I groaned and turned to her. “What you saw in the drug lock up was not what it looked like.”

“I didn’t say anything about the drug lock up.” She said, feigning innocence. “But if I did, I would say I don’t believe you. Because it looked like Carter was trying to eat you up in there.”

“Chuny!” I exclaimed and looked around, hoping no one was around.

“Evie, when are you going to stop denying your feelings for each other and just go for it? We have watched you two skirt around each other for the past five years. It’s annoying at this point. Just get under the boy already and make it official.”

I cringed. “It’s not that simple.”

“Yes, it is. Go right up to Carter, grab him by the collar and kiss him. I bet he’d take your right in front of the ER without a second thought.”

“Okay. That’s enough.” I said and turned away from her. She wasn’t wrong, but I was scared if I kept up with this conversation, I would confess everything to her. And then the whole ER would know.

I headed back to my patients, checking on Lonnie and his mom. Carter had found evidence of lead in the toddler’s blood sample, so now it was about working out a treatment plan so he could get better. Antoine was following me around a little bit, asking questions, curious about everything I was doing. It was actually really sweet; I could tell the kid really liked to learn.

After a couple more patients, I went to admit to check on a couple lab reports, when something caught my eye. It made my heart speed up a little and made me feel a little more than butterflies. Carter was with another child patient, the little boy sitting on his lap as he examined him. He always looked really good taking care of kids, but for some reason, this time short circuited my brain. No wonder Doug Ross was a pediatrician. Chicks really do dig guys who are good with kids.

“What’s up with you?”

I turned my head away from Carter and looked at Randi. She was chewing a piece on gum, her hand resting on her hip. “What are you talking about?”

“You’re looking at Carter like you want to eat him up.” She smirked. “What gives?”

“Uh....I don’t know.” I said and shook my head. “I’m going to go get something to drink.” I turned and headed for the lounge to get some water. ‘What was wrong with me?’ I thought as I turned to head to the lounge. I grabbed a bottle of water, before heading outside to the ambulance bay.

As I sat on the bench by the door, a member of the transport team pulled out a cigarette. My nose wrinkled, but thankfully the wind picked up a little and kept the smell and smoke mostly on the other side of the bay. I don’t know how long I sat there for, the cool bottle in my hands as I occasionally took sips. Eventually the doors slid open, and I heard steps.

“Hey. There you are.” I turned my head and Carter was walking out of the ER towards me, a mug in his hand.

“Hey.” He sat down beside me. “How’s the kid you were looking at?”

“Showing the same symptoms as the other little boy. He's getting a blood test.”

“Do you need my help?”

“No, Lily’s got it. You look like you need a break.”

“Wow, thanks.” I scoffed and took another sip for my water.

Carter shook his head. “I didn’t mean anything by it. You just look tired. It was out of worry, not judgement.” He sat down on the bench with me, running his thumb along the rim of the coffee mug. “I know this really isn’t the best place to have this discussion, but I really have to know. Do you regret what happened between us?” Carter asked, looking down into his coffee. "We've been on opposite shifts the past week, so I haven't gotten the chance to ask."

I sighed, knowing this conversation had to happen sometime. “Do you want me to be honest?”

“Yes.” He said, his eyes soft, but worried. “I really do.”

I bit my lip. “No. No, I don’t regret what we did. I mean, I told you it was pretty nice.” We both chuckled. “I think the thing I regret most is what it’s done to our relationship. I feel like we’ve been circling around each other, waiting for the bomb to drop. It doesn’t feel like it used too.”

“Yeah. I agree. We haven’t talked about how we feel. I don’t like not talking to you.”

“I really miss my dopey friend.” I brushed a stray piece of hair from his face.

“Just your friend?”

“Carter......”

“I like you.” He said, his voice firm. He turned completely towards me. “I really like you. I don’t want this to just be a one-time thing. We owe ourselves the chance to see where this goes?”

“And what if it doesn’t go anywhere?” I asked, my voice cracking a little. “I told you I cared about you to much. What if it doesn’t work out? Where does that leave us?”

“I don’t know. But we won’t know unless we try.” His thumb brushed underneath my eye, catching a lone tear. “I’ll wait for you. I don’t want you going into something unless you absolutely want to. Whether we want to stay being just friends or see where things go.” He paused, and gave me a small smile. “Does that sound okay?”

“Yeah. That sounds perfect.”

He nodded. “If I hugged you right now, would that be okay?” This time I nodded, and he slowly pulled me towards him, enveloping me in his strong arms.

My insides were screaming at me to ask for more: a tighter hug, a hand rubbing my back, or even a kiss. But I couldn’t let myself fall to far without truly weighing the pros and cons. If it came down to keeping Carter in my life with some awkwardness or trying a relationship and never talking to him again, I’d choose the awkwardness any day of the week. While my heart wanted it all, my brain was telling me, maybe some was good enough.

Ooh......y'all this one was a struggle to write. It's hard because I have the next two chapter already written, and connecting them was hurting my brain. I also deleted a whole chapter for episode 18 before this because it was mainly show plot. But we made it through and I hope you like it. Things are about to start to ramp up in the original plot category.

Also! I just watched the first Librarians movie this week! While you can tell in some places this is definitely an early 2000s TV movie, it really was fun and a good watch. Noah is such a cute little puppy dog dork and I was getting massive early season Carter vibes. Would 10/10 recommend just for those vibes alone and I can't wait to watch the other two!

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eviemonroeer · 6 days ago

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The Monroe Effect: Chapter 12

Set during Season 5, Episode 17 of ER. Spoilers if you haven't seen the show.

Warnings:

WC: 916

ER story belongs to original creators, just adding on my own original charter.

Taglist: @pleasecallmeunhinged, @rainmg, @arigoldsblog, @queenslandlover-93, @hagarsays, and @antisocialfiore

Main Story: prev | next

Snapshots: prev | next

To say going to work was hard, was an understatement. After everything that happened, I switched shifts with enough people to make sure Carter and I were only on together maybe once or twice for the whole next month. It was probably childish of me, but I really didn’t feel like being cornered or crying. I was so stupid. I did exactly what Carol told me not to do and now I had lost not just my comfort at work, but probably my best friend.

That was the worst part.

After a long day shift, I was so excited when I finally got home. I cooked a nice dinner and enjoyed a soothing bubble bath and a glass of wine. I actually felt relaxed for the first time in weeks. I threw on my comfiest pair of sweats and spent some time watching episodes of television I taped, before dragging my butt to bed around midnight. I actually was having a pretty good night’s sleep until a loud heavy knock woke me up.

I groaned and threw the blanket off before practically stomping to the front door. I wasn’t supposed to get out of bed for a few more hours; perks of working a later shift. Who the hell needed me now? As I made it to the door, I looked through the peep hole and sighed, my heart constricting. I knew that back of the head anywhere. What the hell was Carter doing here?

I undid the chain lock and then moved to my deadbolt, slightly opening the door. “What do you want Carter?” I asked. I would have been madder at him for coming to my apartment if his appearance didn’t suddenly worry me.

His breathing was a little rapid and he was pale. He was blinking a lot, like he was trying not to cry, and his arms were crossed as he turned to face me. “Hi.” He said rapidly. “I’m sorry to just show up at your apartment. But I didn’t know where else to go.”

“Carter, what happened?” I opened the door further, allowing him to walk in. He began ringing his hands together and pacing.

“I was on a night shift ride with the paramedics. Everything was going so well, but then we got this call: a landlord whose tenants were ganging up on him. Lars was stuck outside, and we had to get the guy out of there, so I-I drove the ambulance away. But I ran over this kid. We got him fixed up, but they...... Th-they shot Lars because they saw him driving this morning and thought he was the one who did it, not me.”

Carter ran his hand over his face, which was now turning a little red and the tears began to fall. His breathing also was becoming shallower. “Carter it’s okay. Breathe.” Carter shook his head and tried to speak, but nothing came out. “Carter, breathe.” I walked over to him and pulled him over to the couch. I took his face in my hands, demonstrating the deep breaths I wanted him to take. It took a moment, but he finally began to calm down enough to even out his breathing.

“I didn’t mean for it to happen.” He whispered, his voice breaking.

“No one would ever mean for something like that to happen.”

I wiped a tear away from his face before running my fingers through his hair. He leaned down and put his head on my shoulder, nuzzling into my neck. I let out a soft sigh and laid my head on his. The nerve ends in my body started to fire off as my hands moved down from his head to his back, scratching gently, resulting in a hum from him. This felt so nice, so right. I really wanted to kiss him right then and let the world outside melt away from us.

“Wait.” Carter said, sitting up. “I’m sorry I came. I know you don’t want me here. You’ve been avoiding me at work.”

I looked down for a moment, biting my lip, before looking back up at him. That wasn’t true. I did want him here. I just didn’t know how to say it and have it actually be meaningful. So instead, I asked, “Do you want to stay on the couch for a little bit?”

“Yeah, I’d appreciate that.”

“I’ll go get some blankets and a pillow. If you want something to eat, you know where everything is.” I went into my hallway closet and gathered the items for him. I set them up for him while he went into the kitchen and got a glass of water. “I’m going to lay down for a little while longer. My shift’s not until later. Just lock the door if you decide to leave.”

“Thanks Evie. I really appreciate it.”

“No problem.”

I turned and walked back to my bedroom, leaving the door partially open. I got into bed and pulled the covers up around me before closing my eyes. As I started to doze, I heard the door to my door creak open before closing. I froze, trying to maintain the ruse that I was asleep. The bed dipped behind me, and Carter laid down, his cologne the indicator that it was truly him. He wrapped his arm around my middle before pulling me close. I couldn’t help but melt into his embrace, slowly going back to sleep.

Deep down I knew I was in deep trouble.

#er #john carter er #john carter #noah wyle #original character #dr john carter #john carter x female character #john truman carter #john truman carter iii #john carter x reader #er tv series #er nbc #er 1994 #er tv show

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eviemonroeer · 7 days ago

Text

The Monroe Effect: Chapter 11

Set during Season 5, Episodes 14 & 15 of ER. Spoilers if you haven't seen the show.

Warnings: THIS CHAPTER IS 18+ ONLY!! MDNI. Smut (p in v, unprotected) This is my first time writing smut so please be kind. Angst and Language.

WC: 3.8 k

ER story belongs to original creators, just adding on my own original charter.

Taglist: @pleasecallmeunhinged, @rainmg, @arigoldsblog, @queenslandlover-93, @hagarsays, and @antisocialfiore

Main Story: prev | next

Snapshots: prev | next

Again, MDNI. 18+ ONLY for this Chapter.

“I paged Dale. He and Lucy are on their way for the surgical consult for that case in trauma.” I passed the chart to Carter as we walked out of the exam room and into the elevator foyer. The aforementioned two had come down the stairs right on time.

“What have you got?” Dale asked as Carter and I walked up.

“Fender bender. Tender abdomen.” Carter explained, handing him the chart.

“Have you seen Titanic, Carter?”

“Nope. Chick flick.”

“That's what I said. Lucy rented it, wants me to watch it with her.”

“Leonardo DiCaprio, hoop skirts and tragic love is my idea of hell.”

I scoffed and shook my head. “Says the man who watched 'While You Were Sleeping' and ‘Pretty Woman’ with me.”

“That’s different.” Dale said, actually defending Carter.

“Why? Because she plays a sex worker?”

“Whatever happened to the sensitive 90s male?” Lucy asked me. “The ones who love romantic candlelight dinners.

“They're all gay, aren't they, Carter?” Dale offered.

“Jesus Christ.” I muttered.

“I don't want to ruin it, Dale, but in the end, the ship sinks.” Carter “spoiled”.

“I hate you both.” Lucy said before we both pushed into the trauma room, leaving the boys behind.

“She was hit in the face while kickboxing.” The paramedic told us. Carter, Lucy, and I’s newest patient was a young woman in from an exercise class. Aside from a cut over the eye, she seemed relatively unharmed.

“Not kickboxing. Tae-bo class.” The patient corrected. “It’s like aerobics, but only better.”

“Yeah, I heard about that.” I said. “It’s supposed to be good for losing weight.”

“Yeah, I lost 16 pounds.”

“Sixteen pounds!” Lucy exclaimed. “Wow.”

“I had everybody in the class spread out enough.” The instructor added. “But this new guy shows up and she got kicked.” Carter and the paramedics transferred her to the bed.

“Did you lose consciousness?” Carter asked.

“No, but I was pretty dizzy.”

“How long did it take you to lose the weight?” Lucy probed.

“Just melted off. Hope this won’t keep me from getting back to class.”

“Fundus is sharp.” Carter said, checking her eyes. “No papilledema. Want to palpate the orbit?”

“No that’s okay.” Lucy brushed off. “Is it expensive?”

“Not too bad. It’s worth it.”

“You feel this.” Carter poked at her cheek bone.

“Mm, yes.”

“Any numbness.”

“No.”

“Do you have early classes?” Lucy turned to the instructor. “I usually have to be here by 7.”

“Any visual changes?” Carter asked, his tone becoming annoyed. “Shapes, things out of focus?”

“I teach a 5:30 class. If you buy 20, you get five free.”

“No kidding?

“Anyone know where a phone is?”

“Yeah, there’s a pay phone right over there.” I told him, gesturing behind me.

“No step off.” Carter continued his exam. “I’m concerned about your blurred vision. So, let’s get some facial films and a visual acuity. Lucy, if you think you can tear yourself away from fitness bargain hunting for five minutes, stitch her up.”

“Your wish is my command, Dr. Carter.”

“Irrigate and suture.” Carter moved to sit beside the bed as Lucy moved to begin, continuing to talk with the women.

“I don’t usually get a lunch break, so I end up eating out of the vending machines and it’s hard to keep the pounds off. First lidocaine to numb the area. And then you’ll feel a little bit of wetness as I irrigate the wound.” I put my stethoscope on and began checks. “Dr. Carter.” I looked up when Lucy tried to get his attention and I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.

He had been looking at her ass. Carter was totally checking Lucy out.

“Yeah?”

“Uh, the cut’s pretty deep. Should I do a few subcutaneous first?”

“Yeah, absolutely.” Lucy turned back to me, and I had to force myself not to make a face. “Well, I’ll check back with you in a little bit.” He stood and awkwardly left.

Lucy turned back to me. “Was he staring at my ass?”

"Oh yeah." I scoffed and rolled my eyes before getting back to work.

When I left Lucy is when I heard about Doug Ross and the little boy with ALD. It was crazy to think he could have done that if what they were saying was true. It just put a whole cloud over the entire ER. And it was noticeable. “I think I just beat it in, the roads are getting really slick.” Jeanie informed us as she walked in through the bay doors, covered in snow. “Took me forever to navigate the Kennedy. Traffic was backed up...... for miles. What’s the matter, somebody die? Somebody we know?”

“Dr. Ross lost that ALD kid.” Malik told her.

“The police are in trauma two.” I added.

"The boy’s father accused Doug of giving him an overdose. Called the cops.” Chuny finished.

“Oh my god.”

“Yeah. Coroners took the body.” This time it was Jerry. “Police are interviewing everybody.

“Where’s Doug?”

“In the pedes room, I think.” Lydia offered.

“Chuny, have you seen the, uh, labs on that drunk with the head lac?” Carter asked, oblivious to our topic of conversation as he walked up.

“No, but he managed to throw up on me again.” She replied. “Third scrub’s up today.”

“Yeah, we should wire a bucket to his head.” Malik suggested. “Like one of those feedbags for horses.”

“Yeah right.” Carter scoffed. “Hey, any, uh, word on Doug Ross?” He asked me. “Police are still interviewing Dr. Greene.” I told him and resumed my computer check for some patient labs.

“Have you seen Lucy?” Jerry asked him. “Dr. Edson keeps coming down here looking for her.”

“Yeah, last time I saw her she was working on the...” He turned to the curtain area. “Hey, where’s my, uh, kick boxer?”

“Dr. Weaver moved her into exam two when that rule-out MI came in.” I told him. “Lucy was still working on her about ten minutes ago.”

“Suturing?”

“Yep.”

“Well, that should’ve taken like, two minutes.”

“I haven’t seen her come out.”

Carter walked over to the exam room, but as soon as he went in, he literally flew back out, breaking the glass on the door and falling over a patient in a wheelchair in the process. “Oh my god!” I exclaimed as he landed hard on his back. I ran over as Lucy kneeled beside him, calling for a backboard and a collar. I made it over with the collar, putting it on him, while Malik brought the backboard.

“What happened?” Malik asked.

“I kicked him in the chest.”

“Why?” Lydia asked, her eyes wide.

“I was practicing my Tae-bo. Now we’re going to roll him...” We got the backboard underneath him and lifted him up, taking him into the room to be looked over.

I stuck the X-ray in place in the films room and took a second to look at it. I scoffed and turned back to Carter. “You’re lucky. Doesn’t look like she broke anything. Maybe a small fracture, but nothing crazy.” I paused. “Though it was kind of fun to watch her kick your ass.” I sat back down in front of him.

“Uh, I feel like an elephant sat on my chest.” Carter groaned and rubbed his chest.

“Well, it serves you right. Especially after you checked her out.”

Carter scoffed. “I did not check her out.”

“I hate to break it to you Carter, but you definitely checked out your med student. Played right into the cliché.”

Carter stuttered, trying to find an excuse. But finally, he huffed and relented like he normally did with me. “I didn’t mean to. It’s just something Dale said—”

“Dale? Smarmy, egomaniac Dale?” I scoffed. “Why would you ever listen to anything that asshole says?”

“I don’t know.”

I shook my head and got closer, starting to gently clean the small cut on his forehead, knowing he was a baby with this kind of stuff. I shifted and felt his knee in between my legs, throwing me off balance a little. I rested a hand on his chest to stabilize myself. “I don’t blame you. Lucy’s smart, she’s very pretty. I mean you clearly have a type.”

“I don’t have a type.”

I scoffed again. “Oh please. I hate to break it to you Carter, but you want to hump any blonde that will give you attention.”

“I do not.”

I stopped what I was doing and looked at him, an eyebrow raised. “Oh really? Care to hear my proof?”

“Go ahead.”

I smirked and held up my hand, counting on my fingers as I listed names. “Roxanne? Anna?” Carter scoffed. “Harper? Dr. Keaton?”

“Okay, you’ve made your point.”

“Face it Carter. You and blondes are like peanut butter and jelly.” I picked up another gauze and dabbed his face.

“I don’t like just blondes.” He muttered and I could have sworn I saw his eyes roam my close figure. I stopped dabbing and met his gaze, feeling a familiar heat blooming in my chest.

“What did you say?”

He swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing before he licked his lips. “I said, I don’t like just blondes.”

Carter brought his hand up to my face and pulled me in, but I stopped, pressing on his chest. He looked at me with a raised eyebrow. “Carter, please don’t start something if you’re not going to follow through with it.” My voice was small. “I care about you too much.”

“I care about you to. I have for a long time.” He brushed a piece of hair behind my ear. “Ever since you told me your name that first day at the admit desk.” My eyes went wide for a moment, surprised he actually remembered that.

Carter used it to his advantage and pulled me in for a kiss.

At first, the kiss was gentle, just two people exploring each other in this way for the first time. But years of pent-up feelings and emotion ramped things up very quickly. Carter moved his hands, grabbing my hips and dragging me onto his lap. I straddled him, moving my arms around his neck. Our lips moved together like a choregraphed dance. I felt his tongue slip into my mouth and a little moan left me. He smiled into the kiss, liking how I was reacting. I did too.

He took this as the go to move his kisses down to my neck and when he gave me a light bite, I ground my hips into him. He responded this time with a deep groan, which sent a spark straight to my lower half. I ran a hand through his hair and grabbed on. I ground into him again and this time he responded by bucking his hips up. I could feel the zipper of his pants through my scrubs, and it was my turn to moan.

“Did you like that?” He asked, his voice rough. I nodded my head, and he repeated the motion. I was embarrassed at the whine that left my body. I felt Carter smile against my neck. He moved his hand from my waist and moved it under my shirt and scrub top, before cupping my breast. He looked at me for a moment when he realized I wasn’t wearing a bra. “Well, this is a surprise.” He muttered. He took my nipple in between his fingers as he moved back in to continue kissing my neck.

“Make that sound again.” He instructed.

I shook my head. “Someone will hear.”

“Make that noise again or I’ll make sure everyone hears.” He pinched my nipple harder, and the whine escaped me again involuntarily. “Good girl.” He rasped.

That did it. My hips ground down again, this time harder into his lap. I wasn’t going to let him take control of everything. I grabbed his hair again and pulled him back, moving down to his neck. I gave him a few kisses before I sucked down on his neck and gave him a bite. This time it was his hips that bucked involuntarily, and I smiled. Carter put a hand around my neck and moved me back up, so we were face to face.

“That wasn’t very nice.”

“I never said I was nice Dr. Carter.”

He groaned again and lightly squeezed on my neck. “Take off your pants. Now.”

A little too excited, I stood and walked over to the doors, locking each quickly before going back to Carter. I slowly peeled off my scrub pants, showing off the thong I was now grateful I had worn today. “Oh fuck.” Carter whispered, running his hands through his hair. I smirked. Walking back over to him, I bent down and popped the button of his pants, pulling the zipper down.

Without breaking eye contact, Carter helped me slide his pants and boxers down his legs until they pooled on the ground. My eyes went wide for a moment. While Carter’s length wasn’t bigger than anything I’d taken before, he was girthier. I felt myself clench at the thought of how good of a stretch he was going to be. I met Carter’s gaze once more and straddled him again.

Taking him in my hand, I gave him a couple of slow strokes. I hovered over him and pulled my thong to the side before I lined him up and slowly began to sink down. I gasped as I slowly stretched around him, the lack of foreplay noticeable, but not a deal breaker; I was still wet. Carter grabbed my hips, his fingers wrapping in the sides of my lacy thong.

“God, you are so beautiful.” Carter moaned.

I continued to lower myself, taking my time. Whenever I stopped for a moment to collect myself, I would kiss him, before sinking down again, repeating the pattern until I was fully flushed against his lap. “Oh my god.” I moaned. Carter took my face in his hands again and he kissed me hard. This encouraged me to move.

The feeling was insane. I had never felt so full in my life. We kept a steady pace, a delicious push and pull of pleasure. But it soon became frantic. I think we both heard the growing number of voices outside and knew our privacy was about to end. I tried keeping my focus but was growing frustrated. I whined again. “What wrong, pretty girl? You need help?” I nodded and Carter put his hand in between us, his thumb finding my clit. He applied the slightest pressure and I gasped. “There we go.”

Carter continued his steady pace, both with his hips and his hand. The pressure inside me began to ramp up and I chased it with everything I had, forcing my brain to focus on nothing but that. Finally, the pressure snapped low in my belly, and I buried my face into Carter’s shoulder, dampening my cry. He wasn’t too far behind me, and he grunted into my chest as he came.

We both stayed like this for a moment, panting as we came down from the high. Once my head was a little clearer, I laughed, which caused Carter to raise an eyebrow. “You know when a girl laughs while you’re inside her, it’s not typically a good thing.”

I scoffed. “No.....it’s just...... I should have known you would be someone who liked being a little more dominating during sex.”

“You liked it. You know you did.”

I shook my head and rolled my eyes. Carter’s beeper went off and we both looked down at his pants on the floor. That’s when reality came back in. “Oh my god.” I groaned and laid my head on his shoulder. “We just had sex in the films room.”

I sat back up and slowly pulled off of Carter. The sudden emptiness was jarring, but I needed to get back to my patients. I grabbed a new gauze and cleaned myself up the best I could before I offered one to Carter. He took it and did the same with himself.

“Are you okay?” He asked as he tucked himself back in his pants before zipping and buttoning up.

“Yeah.” I breathed out. “That was just......very unexcepted. We literally just had sex at work.” I paused for a moment to collect myself, feeling Carter’s eyes on me. “We both need to get back out there, or someone is going to come looking for us. They paged you, so you go out first and I’ll clean up.”

“Okay.” Carter mumbled.

I continued cleaning up the room, not saying anything else. Eventually I heard the door open as he left. Once it was closed, I let out a sigh and sat down, putting a hand on my mouth.

What the hell did I just do?

“I’ll be right back.” I told my patient and opened up the curtain to go grab the needed medication. I got into the drug lock up and began searching, when I felt a presence behind me, blocking me in where I was.

“You bit me. Hard.”

I swallowed. “Well, you didn’t want the whole emergency room to hear me, now did you?” Carter moaned behind me and moved my hair, kissing the back of my neck. “I have patients.” Another kiss. “And so do you.” I felt his hands grip my hips. “Carter......”

“Hey Evie— oh!” Carter and I quickly turned to see Chuny standing in the doorway. She had a knowing smirk on her face, like the Cheshire cat. Carter cleared his throat and ran a hand through his hair as he tried to create space between us. “Never mind.”

Chuny turned and walked back down the hall. I sighed and turned to Carter. “We can talk about this later, okay?” And with that I grabbed the medication and headed back to my patient, knowing full well the avalanche of hospital gossip that was about to hit us.

I stuck my current patient’s orders in the holder and sighed. Didn’t a storm coming, mean people should stay home? I shook my head and sat in the open seat at admit, thankful for the moment of peace to get off my feet.

“The 92-year-old dislocated ankle in exam one has been reduced.” I heard Carter say behind me. I turned as he passed by the window and around to the desk. “Lydia, give her a Vicodin and tell her to stay off her skates.”

“92 years old and she still skates?” Kerry asked. She looked up and pointed at Carter’s neck. “You got something on your neck.”

“Looks like somebody bit you.” Lydia added, examining the bite.

“Uh, yeah.” Carter stepped back. “I think I might have hit something when I fell down.” He walked around to my left side and bent down. “Told you, you bit me.” He said in a low, hushed tone.

I turned and finally got to see the thing. It was pretty nasty. “Sorry.” I mumbled and went to check the board, passing Malik.

“Now that’s what I’m talking about.” I heard him admire. It took everything not to turn back around, knowing he was checking me out.

“Hey, Carter,” Jerry started. “Roxanne called. Twice.”

That’s when I felt my heart constrict. What the hell was I thinking? I had sex with Carter at work, and he had a girlfriend. I quickly grabbed a chart and headed back to curtains, praying I wouldn’t have to see him for the rest of my shift.

That hope was quickly dashed as word of a mass causality event occurred. I began running around, assisting in stocking every station and trauma room. The victims were all kids, so it was definitely going to be a hard one. I threw on a trauma gown, gloves, and eyewear before making my way out to the ambulance bay. As the first ambulance pulled up, Chuny came over and bumped my shoulder, giving me another one of those smiles. I just chose to ignore it and focus on what was in front of us.

I got stuck with the third ambulance, a young girl with blunt force trauma to the chest, with Lucy, Chuny, and Carter. As we wheeled her into Exam Two, the sound of the girl next door screaming filled the air as we worked. Lucy and Carter found that the girl had a ruptured diaphragm and her intestines had shifted. We got her stabilized, thankfully, and rushed up to surgery.

Once she was out, I floated around on a couple of more minor cases until a hypothermic kid came in. We took him into an exam room, and he was throwing multiple PVCs. We started warming him before Kerry Weaver joined us. That was until she got the word that Doug and Jeanie had been in an accident. She went out to meet them, but I had to find her soon after when the kid started tanking. Carter realized he had conductive loss and we had to get him out of his wet clothes. He to eventually stabilized and the ER began to slow down as we pushed towards the morning. As the night shift ended, I was grateful to finally be able to grab my stuff and head out. I needed a hot shower and sleep.

But I guess the night wasn’t finished with me yet.

“Evie!” I sighed and kept walking out of the ambulance bay doors, grabbing hold of the strap of my bag. “Evie!” I heard him huff behind me. I still didn’t turn. “Evie!” This time, I felt a hand grab my arm and spin me around. “Would you please stop and talk to me?”

“I don’t have anything to say to you Carter.”

“Please Evie—”

“I don’t want to hear it.”

“Please listen. I like you. A lot. You’re the only person who drives me crazy like you do. And I like it. You make me a better person and a better doctor for it. We need to talk about what happened.”

“No, we don’t.” I turned and started walking again.

“Evie wait!”

“No, Carter!” I exclaimed, turning to face him. “What happened in there......” My voice broke and I swallowed. “It was great. I can’t deny that. And honestly, things have probably been building to it. But it still shouldn’t have happened. I mean, you’re with Roxanne, right?”

“Evie—”

“Are you still with Roxanne?”

Carter sighed. “Yes.”

I closed my eyes as the sting of his words settled on me. I took a deep breath and looked back at him. “No matter how much we both liked what happened today, you just made me the one thing I never wanted to be: the other woman. My mom was devastated when my dad cheated and left. I promised I would never do that to somebody else, but here I am. So no, Carter, I don’t have anything else to talk to you about. Go home and call your girlfriend.”

I grabbed hold of my bag again and left the ambulance bay; Carter didn’t try to stop me this time. I don’t know if that made me feel better or worse. I was mostly just thankful that I made it all the way onto the train before I started crying.

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eviemonroeer · 8 days ago

Text

The Monroe Effect: Chapter 10

Set during Season 5, Episode 13 of ER. Spoilers if you haven't seen the show.

Warnings: canon medical procedures/biopsy, cancer mention

WC: 1.4 k

ER story belongs to original creators, just adding on my own original charter.

Taglist: @pleasecallmeunhinged, @rainmg, @arigoldsblog, @queenslandlover-93, @hagarsays, and @antisocialfiore

Main Story: prev | next

Snapshots: prev | next

“Excuse me.”

I looked up through the admit window and found three young men in white coats staring back at me. They all looked a little too happy and eager to be full on doctors. Must be med students. “Can I help you?” I asked, giving them a welcoming smile.

“Yes.” The blonde one started. “We’re looking for Dr. Carter. He’s supposed to be teaching our doctor/patient class today.”

“Right.” I nodded and turned to Haleh. “Have you seen Carter?”

“Was in Exam 2 last time I saw.”

“Thanks.” I turned back to the trio. “I’m just going to make sure he’s ready for you.” I lightly pat the counter as I turned and headed for the exam room. The blinds were closed, but I still went in. “Hey Carter, I have—”

But I stopped short. He had turned when I walked in, his suspenders hanging at his side while his naked upper half was fully on display. I hadn’t realized how naturally broad Carter’s chest and shoulder were. He had an athletic build, but wasn’t necessarily ripped. I swallowed. “What’s up?” He asked, slipping on a hospital gown and covering himself.

“Uh, uh, your med students are here.” I stuttered, trying to collect myself. “They’re waiting by chairs.”

“Great. Would you mind sending them in, please?”

“Sure.” I said and slowly stepped back until my back had pushed opened the door and I was out of the room. I shook my head and made my way back over to admit. “Uh, Dr. Carter can see you now in Exam Two. Go on ahead.”

“Evie!”

I turned to see Carter, back in his normal attire, sticking his head out of the exam room. He gestured for me to come to him. I turned to Chuny. “You got this?”

She nodded and I put my stethoscope back around my neck as I made my way over. I walked into the exam room and was greeted by the three young and eager looking men from earlier. “Guys, meet Nurse Monroe. Or just Evie. Evie, this Dudzik, Hilzig and Strauss, my second-year medical students for my doctor patient class.”

“Nice to see you guys again.” I said, giving them a smile.

“I was about to show them how to check a patient’s lymph nodes, and thought maybe you could help me with a demonstration.”

“Sure.” I took the hair tie off my wrist and pulled my hair up. Then I walked over and sat down on the exam table. Carter came over and stood in front of me, very close, with my legs in between his.

“Alright, when you are examining the patient, you want to first remember to use gentle circular motions with your fingers tips to check for swelling or any tenderness.” He put his hands on the sides of my face. “For right now, the areas we’re going to check are behind the ears, the jawline, the chin, and the clavicle.” As he told them which body part, he traced each spot with his fingers. I tried to keep from blushing at the sudden intimacy of his movements. “You want to ask yourself, do these feel like BBs, peas, or sour balls.”

“Grapes are also a little easier to picture.” I said, raising an eyebrow at Carter.

“Nurse Monroe is right.” He paused. “So, how’s Tim?” He asked me as he felt my neck.

“Dr. Carter, I don’t think this is an appropriate conversation to have in front of your students.” I said, narrowing my eyes.

“They don’t mind. Do you guys?”

‘No.’ ‘Nope.’ and ‘Not at all.” filled the room quickly. I rolled my eyes.

“If you must know, we went out a couple of times, but it wasn’t going to work out.”

“Why? Was he boring?” Carter smirked.

“No, we actually had a really good time. Several times actually.” This time I smirked, and Carter’s previous look grew stern. “We just realized we don’t want the same things in life, so I didn’t want to waste my time. Even for a good time.”

“What things?”

“Oh, you know, the big basics. The eventually-s. Marriage and kids. He didn’t want any of that.”

“You want to have kids?”

“One day.” I paused, looking him up and down. “Do you not want kids?”

“Maybe one day. With the right person.” He moved his hand underneath my chin and my heart started to race just a bit. I swallowed hard and bit my lip. I needed to get out of here and away from him.

“I think your students get the idea, Dr. Carter. Are we done? I have patients to check on.”

“Yes, that should be it. Thank you, Nurse Monroe.” I hoped off the exam bed and headed for the door. “Who’s ready to do their own check?” I heard him ask as I left the room.

It wasn’t even thirty minutes later that he came to find me again.

“Carter I am not being your demonstration doll again.” I said as I put my patient chart back in the holder.

“Can you help me set up for a biopsy?” He asked, his voice serious. I looked up at him.

“A biopsy? What the hell happened while I was gone?”

“One of my student’s has an enlarged lymph node. I need to get some labs sent and Mark agreed that we needed to perform a biopsy. Can you help?”

“Uh, yeah. Come on.”

Carter and I moved the students and set everything up in the suture room. I got the poor kid a gown and had him sit on the bed to take some blood and send it to the labs. Once those were all clear, I had him lay on the bed as I sterilized his neck and Carter got the drape ready.

“Alright, Evie, pass me the lidocaine please.” I handed him the syringe. “Thank you. Strauss, you’re going to feel a pin prick and some burning.” He pushed the needle gently under the skin and administered the antiesthetic. “That should do it. We’ll wait for Dr. Greene and let that start working.” He handed it back to me and I disposed of it in the sharps container.

“Ready to go in here?” Mark asked as he walked in.

“Yep. Labs are all okay.” Carter confirmed. “Upon physical exam, no significant findings in the head or neck, other than the enlarged jugulodigastric node in the right submaxillary area.”

“Okay. You want to do the honors, Carter?”

“You know, I’ve actually never done a neck biopsy.”

“Well, here’s your chance.” He handed Carter the scalpel. “Ready there Mr. Strauss?”

“Yeah. Okay.”

Carter bent over him and slowly made a small incision in the kid’s neck. He cut out a piece of the node and placed it in the specimen jar I held out. I closed it as he began cleaning and closing the wound. “Alright, Mr. Strauss. We will get you all sutured up and we’ll wait for those results. Evie, can you get that to pathology and tell them to put a rush on it.

I nodded and left the room, heading straight for the lab.

Carter sighed and came up next to me as I stocked the supply cart. “So much for this doctor/patient class being easy. I just had to tell one of my students he was lymphoma.”

“Oh no.” I sighed, stopping what I was doing and leaned up against the wall beside him. “But hey, at least he was in doctor/patient class, and you found it. Imagine what would have happened if he found it weeks or even months later. Now he has a better chance at recovering since it was found sooner.”

“I guess.”

“It’s going to be okay.” I crossed my arms. “Look, my shifts about to be done. Carol asked me to take home a patient’s dog for the night before we turn them into the rescue in the morning. Want to come over and hang out with me and the pup? We could order pizza again and watch a movie.” I paused. “Unless you’re meeting up with Roxanne?”

“Uh, no. No, no. I don’t have anything tonight.” He stuttered as he put his hands in his coat pockets. “What kind of dog is it?”

“Not sure. I just told her I could only take one and it had to be little. I’m not allowed dogs at my place.” I chuckled. “Want to go to the lounge and find out which ones are left?” I smiled at him, which he returned.

“Yeah sure. Let’s go.”

He put his arm around my shoulder and led me to the lounge.

We ended up spending the night was a cute little Schnauzer that Carter smuggled into my building in his jacket, who laid in our laps while we watched Sandra Bullock fall in love with Bill Pullman.

Who knows the movie I reference at the end?

Also, I hope you all are ready for tomorrow's chapter.......... Buckle Up

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eviemonroeer · 9 days ago

Text

The Monroe Effect: Chapter 9

Set during Season 5, Episode 11 of ER. Spoilers if you haven't seen the show.

Warnings: mention of blood, lewd/suggestive conversation

WC: 1.8 k

ER story belongs to original creators, just adding on my own original charter.

Taglist: @pleasecallmeunhinged, @rainmg, @arigoldsblog, @queenslandlover-93, @hagarsays, and @antisocialfiore

Main Story: prev | next

Snapshots: prev | next

“I told you I am not letting you set me up on a blind date.”

I rolled my eyes as I said the statement into the phone for the third time this morning. Nicole, a friend I had made when I moved to Chicago, had been trying for weeks now to set me up on a blind date with this one particular guy. Timothy Lawrence, Tim for short. Twenty-seven years old and an architect from here in Chicago. Tall and handsome according to Nicole and a supposed great personality. Not to mention apparently very hot.

“Come on Evie.” She moaned. “You haven’t gone out on a date in how long?”

“Three months is not a long time to go without dating, especially when you work in one of the busiest ERs in the city.”

“Stop using that excuse! You deserve to have a personal life. And that includes getting under a man to get over one.”

“Nicole!”

“You know I’m right. Isn’t there a certain doctor you wish would make a move?”

“Carter and I are just friends.”

“As you’ve been saying since I met you. If you really are just friends, then why not try it out with Tim? What’s the worst that could happen? Free drinks and hot one night stand sex?”

“Nicole!"

“Evie.”

I sighed and rolled my eyes again. “I’ll think about. Now, I’ve got to go, or I’m going to be late for work.”

“You’re giving me a yes or no by the end of the day. Got it?”

“I got it. I’ll talk to you later.”

“I look forward to it.”

“I can’t believe you didn’t even tell me!” I exclaimed as I stocked the drug lockup.

“I know. I’m sorry.” Carter groaned, leaning up against the wall, coffee mug in hand. “But it was kind of in the middle of the ‘you being mad at me for being stupid’ phase.”

“Yes, but telling your friend you’d been exposed to tuberculosis of all things should count as a cease fire.” I shook my head. "When is your chest x-ray?”

“Scheduled for tomorrow. I’m fine. All I have is the spot. Just have to take this medicine for a few months and I’ll be all good.”

“Only you would be so nonchalant about testing positive for TB.” I rolled my eyes and put the last box away before locking everything back up. “It’s not really something to be casual about.” I added, leaving the room.

“And I’m not.” He said, following behind me. “All I have is this spot and that’s as bad as it’s going to get. I know it.”

“Whatever you say.”

“Oh, Dr. Weaver.” Carter started, spotting the attending. “I almost forgot. Your mom called.”

“My mom?” Kerry asked, looking at the chart in her hand as she walked.

“Yep, this morning, right before I left the house.”

“What did she say exactly?”

“Just that she’d try you again later.”

The phone system began beeping and I walked over to answer it. “County General, go ahead.”

“County be advised of a commuter plane crash at Meig’s Field. Anticipating up to 14 trauma patients. How many can you handle? Over.”

I turned to Kerry. I wasn’t the charge nurse, so it wasn’t my call. She mouthed a number to me. “We can take three major, seven minor. Do you have an ETA? Over.”

“Negative, we’re waiting reports from the scene, over.”

“Alright, this is County General. Clear on med nine.”

“Okay, everyone, we have a mass casualty incident!” Dr. Lee called out to the ER. “Implement disaster protocol. Evie, grab Carol and set up Curtains One and Two, Trauma One and Two for critical patients.” I nodded and went off to find my mentor.

Everyone worked quickly and organized to prep the ER for the influx of patients we were about to receive. Carol and Mark took to prepping the trauma rooms and I got curtains ready. Once I was done, I grabbed a gown and tied it up. But sadly, despite all of our prep, the dispatcher called in saying there weren’t any survivors of the crash. One minute we were preparing for the worst, and the next, it was like nothing happened.

Later on, I helped Kerry and Elizabeth with a man hit by a chimney of all things. Once we got him stable, I left him in Lydia’s capable hands at took care of some more minor cases. I was actually able to take a break, and when I was leaving the bathroom, I saw Lucy hustle by. I raised an eyebrow and followed after, just catching a glimpse of her as she went into the suture room.

“Hey Lucy.” I said as I walked into the room, treating her almost like a baby deer. “Are you okay?”

She lifted up her hand, showing me her glove which had a little bit of blood dripping down the side of one finger. “I got stuck working on a patient.” I could tell she was scared by the look on her face.

“Okay. That’s alright. We can get this taken care of. Do you want me to help you?” She nodded her head and I smiled. “Have a seat.” Lucy sat down and I started grabbing materials: gauze, a basin, band aids, and a lavage to irrigate and clean the wound. I sat them on a tray in front of Lucy, before grabbing gloves myself and putting them on. I started talking her through it.

“First, I’m going to carefully remove your gloves.” I did so and dumped them in the waste bin. “Next, I’m going to use this lavage to flush out the wound and make sure it’s clean.” I sat her hand over the basin and began cleaning her finger. “Was anyone with you when this happened?”

“Carter and Lily.”

“Did they already get the patient’s blood?”

“Yeah.”

“That good. Then they will add on an HIV test and send it to the lab.”

“And if it’s positive I’ll have to start prophylaxis.”

“It probably won’t be positive.” I tried to reassure her. “Let’s not think about that. You’re studying with Carter tonight, right? What are you guys going over?”

“Well, we were going to go over chief rounds for tomorrow, but we’re actually not studying together anymore. I think I’m going out with Dale to a casino riverboat tonight and he’s going to help me on the ride.”

“Dale?! You mean Dale from surgery? Oh god Lucy, do I need to give you a big sister lecture on the dangers of surgical residents?”

“Didn’t Carter use to be one?”

“My point exactly.”

“He can’t be that bad.” I gave her a look as I put down the lavage to dry the wound. “Whatever. And besides, what else am I going to do with myself tonight? Carter bailed on me to go on some date.”

“A date? With who?”

“Roxanne.”

I froze for a moment. I can’t believe it. He lied to me. He told me things hadn’t worked out with Roxanne before I went back to Ohio for Christmas. But here I was finding out that he had lied about the real status of their relationship. In all honesty, it shouldn’t have been a big deal. But it still rubbed me the wrong way that he absolutely lied to my face. I shook my head and bit my lip as I finished up with Lucy and applied the bandage to her finger. It also happened to be the moment Carter decided to walk in.

“How are we doing in here?” He asked.

“She’s all set.” I said, trying to keep my tone even. “Stuff just needs to be cleaned up.” I took off my gloves and walked past Carter, deliberately shoulder checking him. I dropped my gloves in waste before leaving the room to head to lounge. I opened my locker and dug into my coat pocket for my phone.

“Hey Nicole. Can you see if Tim’s free tonight? And if so, you’re going to have to bring me something to wear.”

I applied one final layer of mascara before checking myself out in the tiny mirror hanging on my locker door. I was wearing a short black dress with stockings and heels Nicole had brought me after she raided her closet. Not the most ideal outfit for the snow, but something to make an impression. I even managed to fluff my hair and get some make up done in the lounge. Damn, I had some serious skills. As I placed the make-up back in the little pouch Nicole brought and stuck it back in my locker, Lucy walked in.

“Oh, wow.” She gasped. “You look hot.”

I chuckled. “Thanks. I’m actually surprised it turned out this well.”

“I’m impressed.” She said and walked over to her locker, putting away her coat. “You headed out on a date?”

“Maybe. Are you still going out with Dale?”

“Maybe.” She responded back an identical tone.

“Just be careful.” I said, serious this time. “Guard your heart.”

“You too.” She threw on her jacket, pulling her hair out from under it.

“Oh, hey. Did you ever get those test results back?”

“Yep. Guy was negative, thank God.”

“That’s great. Must be your lucky night.”

“I hope so.” She smiled. “Have a nice time.”

“You too!” I called as she left the lounge. I made sure everything was ready for tomorrow. I would just leave anything unnecessary here for the night and take only essentials in my purse. I grabbed my coat and shut my locker before leaving the lounge.

“Look at you!” Chuny exclaimed as I walked over to the admit desk. “You look hot!” She smiled, bumping me in the shoulder. “Got a date?”

“Yeah. I’m going to meet him now.”

“Have fun.” She replied and winked before leaving.

I chuckled and set my clutch on the admit desk, making sure I had everything. I pulled out my lip gloss and compact and applied another layer when I felt a pair of eyes on me. I turned mid-swipe and eyed Carter. “Are you okay?” I asked and stuck the wand back in the tube and returned my things to my clutch.

“You do look nice.” He said, his voice low.

“Thank you. I wanted to impress. Hate to say it, but it’s my first date in a while.”

“Who’s the lucky guy?”

“His name’s Tim. He’s an architect my friend Nicole has been trying to set me up with for a while. I finally gave in.”

“An architect, huh?”

“Yep.” I put on my coat and slung the strap of my clutch over my shoulder. “I’m excited.”

“Dinner?” Carter asked, looking rather perturbed.

“And drinks. We’ll see what happens.” I paused and thought of one final blow. “Tell Roxanne I said hi.”

And with that I turned and walked out of the ER.

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eviemonroeer · 10 days ago

Text

The Monroe Effect: Chapter 8

Set during Season 5, Episode 9 of ER. Spoilers if you haven't seen the show.

Warnings: language

WC: 1.5 k

ER story belongs to original creators, just adding on my own original charter.

Taglist: @pleasecallmeunhinged, @rainmg, @arigoldsblog, @queenslandlover-93, @hagarsays, and @antisocialfiore

Main Story: prev | next

Snapshots: prev | next

The sound of the phone ringing jolted me from my sleep. I ran a quick hand down my face before throwing off the covers and dashing for the living room. “Fuck!” I yelled as I hit my toe on the coach, sitting on the arm to check out the injury and answer the phone.

“Hello?” I groaned, grateful to see the nail probably wouldn’t fall off.

“S.O.S.”

“Carter?”

“Yeah. I need your help.”

“Uh, in case you haven’t realized I’m off today and I am still mad at you. Find another nurse.”

“Evie don’t hang up!”

I took a deep breath and put the receiver back to my ear. “What do you need John?”

“Oh, just your lovely personality.”

“I’m hanging up.”

“Wait! I need your help with an admin issue.”

“What kind of admin issue?” I scoffed.

“I’m being forced to give a tour of the hospital to a 100-year-old former patient and her family. I can’t do this by myself, especially with my arm, and no one else will take it for me.”

“I am not doing your job for you on my day off.”

“You won’t have to. Just come keep me company. Please. You’re better with larger groups then I am. Not to mention witty......kind......so incredibly beautiful.”

“If you keep trying to butter me up, I’m definitely not coming.”

“Okay, what do you want?”

I thought for a moment and then smiled. “You have to take my clinic shifts for the next two weeks.”

I could hear him groan on the other line and I swore I heard the receiver hit his head. “Fine. Okay, I’ll do it.”

“I’ll be there in an hour and a half.”

“Make it an hour or its only one week.”

And with that, he hung up the phone.

I was actually surprised by how fast I was able to get ready. I did my hair, threw on some make up, and got dressed in record time. Most of what I owned was either too casual or too formal for this kind of thing. So, I stuck with a black, long sleeve, turtleneck dress with stocking and heeled boots, at the last minute adding a belt to dress it up a bit. The thing stopped at a pretty decent length between my thigh and knees, so I prayed it would be appropriate enough. I grabbed my purse and my coat and hopped on the train, making it just at the hour mark. Hopefully Carter wouldn’t be to mad at me.

I bypassed the ER and went straight to the surgical floor just in time the see Carter start to begin the tour. He wasn’t kidding when he said there would be a crowd. Just as he began pushing the wheelchair, I pushed through the double doors, and all eyes locked on me.

“I’m so sorry I’m late. I’m Genevieve Monroe, RN. I’m helping Dr. Carter with your tour today.”

“Well, aren’t you a pretty thing.” The woman in the wheelchair said.

“Thank you, ma’am.” I said with a smile. “Why don’t I push your wheelchair. We wouldn’t want Dr. Carter to hurt himself more.” The group laughed and I walked around to Carter, taking his position behind the chair.

“You’re late.” He whispered, a forced smile still on his face.

“By one minute, give me a break.” I paused. “You clocked me in, right?”

“I must have forgotten.” I went to pinch his shoulder. “I clocked you in! I clocked you in!” He said hastily. “I know you’d kill me if I didn’t.”

“Thank you.” I turned back to the group. “Where should we start?”

After traversing the hospital, visiting everything from cardiology to OB, we all ended back up on the surgical floor. Part of me was glad because someone might have to wire my jaw closed so I could stop smiling. I don’t know how many questions Carter and I answered, or how many elevator rides we had taken. I was beginning to regret making him take just my clinic hours. I should have bartered for some scut work too.

“Ms. Monroe.” I turned quickly at that voice.

“Dr. Anspaugh. How are you?”

“I’m fine. I didn’t know you would be joining Dr. Carter today.”

“I thought he could use some help.”

“Well, what are we doctors without exceptional nurses?” He turned to Carter. “However, I am a little worried. You haven’t gotten off the surgical floor yet?”

“We are back on the surgical floor.” Carter countered. “It’s their favorite. They’d like to observe an operation if that’s at all possible. Something in the open-heart variety.”

“Oh, settle down, now, Carter, this won’t kill you.” We walked past Ruth, the birthday girl, asleep in her wheelchair. “Is, uh...... She, you know, uh...... Pretty well out of it?”

“No, not at all.” I confirmed. “She just has a tendency to doze off unannounced.”

“Right. Well, carry on.” Anspaugh pat Carter’s good arm and took off down the hall.

“I’m awake.” We both turned to Ruth. “Just playing possum. I’m sick of meeting people. Can we get outta here?”

“I don’t know where we’d all fit.” Carter said, trying to hold it together.

“Oh, not them. Us three.”

Carter and I looked at each other before turning back to Ruth.

“Why not?”

After sneaking off, the three of us found a spot outside the hospital, down by the river and bridge. There were no clouds in the sky, such a beautiful day for December. I pushed Ruth’s chair up by a bench and Carter and I sat down next to her. “Is this okay?” He asked. “Not too cold?”

“Not to cold.” She confirmed.

“This is a bit of a better view.” I added.

“At my age, anything vertical will do just fine.”

“So, how does it feel to have 100 birthdays?” Carter asked.

“Downright appalling.” We both laughed. “I’m so old, I can practically remember when this river ran the other direction.”

“That’s right.” Carter exclaimed. “That’s right, they changed it.”

“My husband Everett used to love this river. Staring down at it from 20 stories high.”

“He worked in one of these building’s here?” I asked, looking up.

“Built ‘em. Construction spree after the first war. Even worked on the Chicago Board Trade Building. We did real well. Sent every child to college whether they wanted to go or not.”

“Well, they must have appreciated it.” Carter offered. “They seem pretty devoted.”

“Family should be.”

“Some are more than others.” He paused for a second. “My mom and dad, they, uh... they tend to travel quite a bit.”

“Oh, don’t tell me your sad tale.” I stifled a laugh, covering my mouth. “I hear enough of that at Happy Valley. ‘My kids hate me. I hate my kids. My son never visits me.’ On and on. Given that you never know what you’re gonna get, Everett and I were darn lucky in what we begot.” She looked both of us up and down. “You know, you two make such a handsome couple.”

I scoffed and looked at Carter. He shook his head while he smiled. “Thank you, ma’am.”

“Well, I suppose we should be heading back. They’re all terrified I’m gonna die before they get this picture taken.”

Despite how long we’d been gone, no one seemed to notice. We snuck back in right as the photographer arrived. They carted Ruth off into the nursery while her family got a group photo. “Okay, I just need, uh, Mrs. Johnson’s children inside, okay? For a quick picture.” The photographer directed and some of the older members of the group walked in. “She’s done it again.”

Carter and I turned, seeing Ruth slumped over in her chair, playing possum again. We both sighed and walked into the nursery. “Mrs. Johnson?” Carter asked. We made our way to her and bent down beside her.

“Mrs. Johnson, are you playing possum again?” I asked. But that’s when Carter and I realized she wasn’t this still earlier.

“Come on, Ruth. Time to wake up now. Ruth?” Carter grabbed her head and listened to her nose and mouth. “Mrs. Johnson?” He suddenly stood. “Oh, God. Kit, go get a gurney and a crash cart now!”

Turns out, she wasn’t dead. She just got a piece of candy lodged in her windpipe. We were able to get it out and she was resting in the trauma room. This also meant Carter and I were now off the hook. Grabbing his stuff from the lounge and clocking out, we made our way out to the ambulance bay.

“Thanks for coming to help me today. Especially on your day off. I’ll let Carol know I’m taking your clinic shifts for the next two and a half weeks.”

“Two and a half?” I asked. “What did I do to deserve that?”

“Think of it as one more apology for being an ass to you about the whole Lucy thing.”

“I warmly accept your apology. As does my social life.” I paused. “Speaking of, I’m sorry things didn’t work out with Roxanne. She seemed nice.”

“Uh, yeah.” He stuttered. “It’s not your fault. I probably shouldn’t have asked her out in the first place.”

“You want to come over and watch a movie? We can get Chinese take-out again and see if it ends better than last time.”

“You know, I kind of just want to go home and go to bed. But thanks.”

“No problem. See you tomorrow.”

“See ya.”

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eviemonroeer · 11 days ago

Text

The Monroe Effect: Chapter 7

Set during Season 5, Episode 8 of ER. Spoilers if you haven't seen the show.

Warnings: canonical mention of medical procedures, blood, some angst

WC: 3.8 k

ER story belongs to original creators, just adding on my own original charter.

Taglist: @pleasecallmeunhinged, @rainmg, @arigoldsblog, @queenslandlover-93, @hagarsays, and @antisocialfiore

Main Story: prev | next

Snapshots: prev | next

That next week was the first time in five years I think I actively tried to avoid anything to do with John Carter. Ask me to help with a patient? Send Haleh in. Trauma came in that he was running? Send Malik or Lydia. Try to stop me in the hallway to talk? Pivot with a claim I had to get something from the lab or duck into the ladies room until he was pulled away. It was childish, I know. But I really didn’t feel like hearing some half assed apology for what he said in Weaver’s basement. Was I shortchanging myself with working on different patients? Maybe. But it beat having my heart break every minute at work. Carter tried everything. He left voicemails on my answering machine. He tried to get Carol involved. Hell, he even put notes in my locker like a schoolboy. But I just kept avoiding in the hopes that maybe it would all just go away and be some kind of bad dream.

That all changed when a little girl came in with her dad after a car accident. Carter ended up running the trauma on the little girl and there weren’t enough nurses to justify not jumping in. While he wasn’t unprofessional or unfocused from the patient, I could definitely feel his eyes on me as we worked.

“Hook her back up to the puIse ox.” Carter ordered as we brought her back in from CT. “Hang 500 of saIine.”

“BP's 120 over 30. PuIse 80.” Carol shouted out.

“You got that second crit?” Carter asked, looking up at me.

“It’s coming.” I said, trying to hide my annoyance at his impatience.

“Daddy, it hurts.” The little girl, Corinna, moaned.

“I know, honey, I know.” Her dad said, holding up a gauze to his forehead. “They'II heIp. It's gonna be aII right. Can't you give her something?”

“Evie, titrate another two of morphine.” Carter ordered as he came around my side of the gurney to check her with his stethoscope.

“I’ve got the CTs.” Jeanie called out.

“Dr. Greene?”

“He's on his way.”

“Page Benton, it's a spIenic injury.”

“Is that bad?” The dad asked, his face going pale.

“Daddy, you're bIeeding.”

“Lucy, I thought you were going to suture Mr. Sawyer’s scalp.” Carter asked, giving his med student a harsh look as he rounded back over to the other side where the dad was.

“He wanted to go to CT with her.” Lucy justified.

“Crit's 24 after 600 cc's.” I announced.

“What was the Iast one?”

“33.”

“Alright, Mr. Sawyer, we should really get that sutured.” Carter said, exchanging his bloody gauze for a clean. “Come with me.”

“What’s going on? What's wrong with her?” He asked.

“Your daughter is bleeding from her spIeen.” Carter started to explain as he guided Mr. Sawyer to the suture room.

“Oh my God!

“Most splenic injuries this size usuaIIy heaI on their own, especially in children.”

“So, what do you do?”

“If she remains stabIe, nothing except transfer some bIood. So why don’t you Iet Ms. Knight suture that cut and I’ll come find you.”

“No, no, no. I want to be with her!”

“First take care of the gash.”

“Corinna, I'm gonna be right next door, okay?” “Lucy, can you get consent?” I asked, handing her a clipboard. “Yeah.”

“I’m going to go find Dr. Greene and fill him in.” Carter told Carol, Jeannie, and I.

“Go.” Carol pushed. “We’ve got her.”

“Benton should be here soon.” I added and he nodded, going off to find Greene. My guess on when Benton would get here was right and we filled him in before

Carter came back. “Hi, Corinna, I'm Dr. Greene.” The man began as he joined us. “How are you feeIing?”

“My back hurts.” She moaned.

“Your back, not your tummy?”

“Where's my daddy?

“He’s right next door, sweetie.” I said from over her shoulder as we propped her up for Benton.

“She has rigors.” The surgeon told Mark. “Warm to the touch.”

“Probable febrile reaction to the transfusion.” Mark guessed.

“How many units of blood are in?” Benton asked.

“That's her first.” Carter confirmed.

“I need saIine.” Mark began to order. RectaI TyIenoI, 500 mgs. Twenty-five IV, Benadryl.”

Suddenly Corinna went slack in our arms and her monitors started going off. “BP's down to 60 paIp.” I announced.

“Corinna?” Carter asked as we laid her down and he checked her over.

“BIood's been cross-matched?” Mark asked.

“No, it's type specific.”

“There’s pink urine in the Foley bag.” Carol announced, holding it up.

“She must be hemolyzing her bIood ceIIs.”

“She couId also be bleeding from the spIeen.” Benton argued.

“Maybe both.” Mark compromised. “500 cc boIus of saIine. Stand by with epi.” I began grabbing the medication.

“Mix a dopamine drip.” Benton added. “We're sure she got type-specific?”

“It says B-positive on the bag.” Carol confirmed.

“That’s her type.” Carter added.

“AII right. Retype that bIood and the patient. They may have mislabeled it up in the blood bank.”

“Add a CBC, haptoglobin, free hemoglobin, direct/indirect Coombs. PT, PTT.” Mark ordered.

“What's going on?” Lucy asked as she walked back in from the suture room.

“Hemolytic reaction.” Carter told her.

“Her immune system's chewing up the red bIood ceIIs.” Mark added in more “layman’s” terms.

“Aren’t you supposed to be suturing the father?”

“He wants me to caII the mother.”

“Go ask the father if his daughter has any history of hematologic disease. Now!”

Lucy turned and went back in the room as we all worked to stabilize Corinna. However, not a couple of seconds later, she returned. “He’s gone.”

“What?” Carter asked, his voice getting loud. “What do you mean he’s gone?”

“I mean just that. I left the room for a moment, came back, and now he’s gone.”

“Get on the phone with the mother.” Mark said, giving Carter and Lucy both a look.

Eventually, we were able to get Corinna stabilized enough to wait on test results and allow some people to go back out onto the floor. I stayed behind with Peter. I took another crit for him. It had dropped again, this time to 22. He shook his head when I told him, and joined the assembly of Mark, Carol, Doug, Carter, and Lucy out in the hallway to confer over her care. Once they dispersed, Doug and Peter came back in.

“Good afternoon, Evie.” Doug said, taking a look at the chart.

“Nice get up, Dr. Ross.” I replied, furrowing my brow at his golf shoes.

“Evie, Carol’s getting some medicine.” Peter started. “Can you check on Carter? He’s out calling blood banks.”

“Sure.” I said with a sigh, wanting more to stay in here with the two other men. I passed Carol as I walked out, and I almost stopped dead in my tracks when I saw who was at admit with Carter and Lucy: Roxanne. I scoffed and shook my head. Jerry walked towards me; his brow furrowed.

“You alright?” He asked.

“Uh, what’s Roxanne doing here?” I asked, trying to hold my disdain down.

“She and Carter are going sailing.”

“Sailing?”

“Yeah, something about taking her uncle’s boat out.”

“Sounds like a great time.” I said with fake enthusiasm. I walked towards the admit just in time for Roxanne to say, ‘You have fifteen minutes, Mr.’, before walking away.

“You're Ieaving?” Lucy asked him.

“Soon as I find this bIood.”

“How’s that going by the way?” I stepped in. “Benton wants an update.”

“Still looking.” He replied, his tone dripping in annoyance.

I shook my head and turned to leave, heading back to Trauma One. “He’s still calling.” I told the men as they worked.

“Evie, can you get me another crit?” Doug asked. I nodded and did the procedure. When the results came back, I sighed. This was not good.

“Crit’s down to 19.” I told them.

“Steroids aren't working.” Doug said as Peter hung his head. “Let's go IV IG, 25 grams over four hours.”

“I gave you time to treat the hemolysis.” Peter told him. “Now we gotta stop the bleeding up in the O.R.

“She's not hemodynamicaIIy stabIe.”

“Okay, I'II use the ceII saver.”

“The serum you'd cycIe wouId keep destroying her ceIIs.” Mark told him, defeat present in his voice. Carter walked back in looking about the same.

“Any word on the bIood?” Doug asked as I gave her the medicines he ordered.

“She has antibodies to both VeI and Lan. One is found in four out of 10,000 people, the other in one and 25,000 people. She's got both, so do the math.

“You know the father matched?” Mark asked.

“Let's hope he comes back.”

“One in 50 million.” I scoffed. Carter looked down at me. “The math.” I shrugged.

“There's nothing in the Midwest. The Rare Donor Program is on it, but they're not optimistic.”

“We can't wait that long.” Peter warned.

“The anesthesiologist won't put her under with this crit.” Doug told him.

“That’s why I wanted to operate when she was at 22.”

“Right now, donor bIood is her best chance.” Mark jumped in before things could get heated. “We'II manage medically untiI we get it.”

“If we get it.” Carter added.

“Did you reach the hematologist?”

“Yeah, he's on his way.”

“Why don't you go home?” Mark took Carter off to the side as I listened to Peter and Doug debate what they should do. Carter stopped in the doorway and ran a hand through his hair. He looked from Corinna and back at me before turning to leave.

“Hey, Mark?” Doug began. “Can you use albumin to prime dialysis?”

“What are you thinking?”

“Plasmapheresis.” Peter confirmed.

“I don't know if that'II heIp.”

“Couldn’t hurt.” Doug turned to me. “Evie, grab Carol. Have her prep and call upstairs for the unit.”

“Will do.”

After grabbing Carol, I switched out with Connie to check on a patient I had earlier. Thankfully all they needed was some medication and they would be cleared to leave. As I headed towards the drug lock up, I bumped into Carter and Roxanne on the way out. “Hey, Evie.” He handed me a card. “Can you give this to Dr. Greene? A detective came by to talk about the case and left this. He should be getting back to you guys soon about Corinna’s father.”

“I can do that.” I said, sticking the card in my pocket.

Carter nodded, his body tense. “Uh, you remember Roxanne, right?” He said, awkwardly gesturing to her.

“I do.” I held out my hand, trying to be cordial. “Evie.”

“Yes, I remember you. And Carter’s talked about you before.”

“Uh, yeah. I bet he has.” I looked down for a moment and shook my head. “Listen, I’ve got to get this medication for a patient so they can leave. I’ll see you later.” I turned to walk away.

“Can you please let me know what happens with the girl?” Carter asked.

I stopped and turned. “Sure. I’ll call you later.”

I proceeded back down to the hallway to grab what I needed. After that, it was a quick injection, and they were ready to go. I walked them back towards the doors and found Mark at admit. “Hey, Dr Greene. Carter told me to give you this.” I handed him the card. “Said a detective should be calling later about the father.”

“Is he still here?”

“No. He and Roxanne left a while ago.”

“I mean the detective.”

“Oh. Uh, I don’t—”

“Mark, she’s seizing!” Mark and I took off running towards the trauma room at Carol’s call.

“How Iong?” He asked.

“Almost a minute. I got the phenobarbital.” She told Doug.

“Push a third mig of Ativan first.” Doug ordered.

“Accu-Chek's 40.” Connie announced.

“I need D-50.”

“What's her crit?” Mark asked as we both joined the swirling around the little girl.

“17.”

“Get another H & H.” Marked ordered.

“She's hypoxic.” I yelled.

“Heart and kidneys could go next.” Kerry exclaimed, having joined in as well.

“BP's 100/60.”

“Alright, I’m gonna intubate.” Doug decided. “Push the phenobarb.”

“Not gonna do it.” Mark declined. “We need some damn bIood.”

Eventually, Doug won out and they ended up having to intubate the poor girl. I volunteered to bag her while everyone worked for a solution. “Crit's leveled out at 16.” Doug said, running his hands over his face. “I think we stopped the hemolysis.”

“Her kidneys are faiIing.” Peter warned. “She'II die if her spIeen's bleeding.”

“No one disagrees. She needs surgery.” Anspaugh sympathized, having come down to discuss their surgical options now that her crit was so low, and she was declining. “The question is, how Iong can we wait for bIood?”

“It may never come. Look, at some point, there are desperate measures.”

“We're not there yet.” Doug groaned.

“Oh, my God! Corinna?” We all looked up as a woman, obviously her mother ran in. She was crying. “Can she hear me?” She asked, stroking Corinna’s hair.

“She's been drifting in and out.” Mark told her, having followed her in.

“We should type the mom.”

“I did whiIe I was explaining Corinna’s condition to her. A-positive.”

“I can't give it anyway? It's better than nothing.”

“She needs a perfect match.”

“And Keith has it? How typicaI! He takes her, he hurts her, and he runs away when she needs him.”

“Got it!” Kerry exclaimed as she walked into the room.

“What?”

“NIH found a match. Two frozen units in NashviIIe.”

“How Iong before it gets here?” Peter asked.

“It's in the air in ten minutes.”

“AII right! Let's get her up to pre-op. I want to be ready when that blood gets here.”

Doug grabbed the saline bag off the IV pole and the bag from me as they all hurried out of the room. And just like that, after hours of frantic work, the place was eerily quiet. I sighed and ran my fingers through my hair. Well, I might as well get this room ready for the next trauma, I thought, and began cleaning up the space like nothing had happened the last few hours.

The rest of my shift was spent catching up on triage patients. We were severely backed up and the ER was a mess. But that’s what happened when you had four of your doctors working on one patient at the same time for a couple of hours. I tried to get updates on Corinna as best as I could. Last I heard, she had made it through surgery but still was in critical condition after a bloodless surgery. When I heard that, I was shocked. I couldn’t believe Benton managed it. And apparently, I wasn’t the only one. Every time I went up to Randi for updates, she told me Carter and Lucy had been calling every once and a while, supposedly playing detective to try and find Mr. Nelson.

I put my last patient chart of my shift in the holder and let out a deep breath. “Yeah, hold on a second.” Randi told whoever was on the phone. “Evie, Lucy needs to talk to you.”

I nodded and took the phone. “Lucy?”

“Evie! Oh, thank God. We need your help.”

“Where are you?”

“Carter and I are in a cab on our way back to County. We think we found a lead on Mr. Nelson. A woman named Inga should be up on the surgical floor keeping an eye on Corinna for him. Could you go up there and try and find her? See if she can tell you where he is?”

“Uh, sure. You said her name was Inga?”

“Yes.”

“Okay, yeah. I’ll head up there now. Call Randi if you get an update before I do.”

I hung up the phone and took off for the fifth floor, completely bypassing the elevator in my rush. I think I asked every single woman I didn’t recognize up their what their name was, both in the waiting room and on the actual surgical floor. But I wasn’t having any luck. I peeked my head into the recovery room, seeing Mark and Peter standing over Corinna’s bed. I left the room and waited by the door for Mark to come out.

“Evie what are you doing up here?”

“Trying to find someone for Carter and Lucy. They’re still out looking for Mr. Nelson. Did that detective ever call you back?”

He shook his head. “I have to go talk to Corinna’s mother.” He said, pointed over to where the woman stood against the wall. “Do you want to come with me?”

“Sure.”

We both made are we over to the woman, and when he recognized us, she got a hopefully but panicked look on her face. “How is she? How’s Corinna?”

“Mrs. Nelson, your daughter is out of surgery and in recovery.” She let out a deep breath. “But we still have a long road ahead. Unfortunately, she is going into renal failure. Typically, we would try dialysis to help with her symptoms, but without a blood transfusion, she is too unstable for that procedure. She also had another seizure. It’s honestly a miracle they got her through it.”

“What else can we do for her?”

“Like I said, unfortunately without the—” But Mark’s pager went off. He looked at it before going to a nearby phone. “Okay. Okay, great. Send them up to the PICU as soon as possible.”

“What’s wrong?” I asked. He hung up the phone and walked back over to us.

“Carter and Lucy found him.”

“What?” Both Corinna’s mother and I asked at the same time.

“Apparently he’s been across the street waiting to hear about Corinna.” “Are they getting the blood ready? Do I need to go down there?”

“No, they’re on their way.”

Mark turned to the mother. “The bIood wiII heIp, but—”

“I'II kiII him. Take his bIood and then I'II kiII him.” Corinna’s mother interrupted; now angrier than the last time I saw her.

“Coming through! Get that gurney out of the way.” I turned as Carter and Lucy were bringing Mr. Nelson towards us on a gurney.

“Oh, thank God!”

“TaIk to me, Carter.” Mark instructed.

“We found Mr. NeIson at Doc Magoo's.”

“One unit donated. Another one fiIIing.” Lucy added, passing Mark the blood bag.

“Screened for viruses?”

“They tested the draw from this morning. It's cIean.” Carter informed.

“If I knew there was a problem—” Mr. Nelson began.

“Someone page Benton. Kit, get this hung.” He asked, passing the bag to the PICU nurse. “Repeat crit in 30 minutes. Check phenobarb IeveI.” He passed me the venting bag as he detached the tube, letting me plug it in and begin administering breaths.

“Corinna? Corinna, I'm here, sweetie.”

I looked down. “ET cuff's Ieaking.” I said, continuing breaths.

“I'II change it over a catheter.”

“She's gonna be okay now, right?” Mr. Nelson asked.

“It's hard to say. What she has is multiorgan system faiIure.”

“What does that mean?”

“She's been deprived of oxygen. She's in a coma. It's been hard to treat her seizures. She has three intravenous medications to stabiIize her heart rate. And, uh, and her kidneys have shut down.”

“But his bIood wiII make her better?” Mrs. Nelson asked, hopefully.

“A Iot of damage has been done.”

My heart fell as I looked back down at the poor little girl, focusing on making sure to time my squeezes perfectly. It was the only thing I could do to help.

God was I ready to get out of this place. My head was starting to throb, and I just wanted to fall into my bed. My eyes were on nothing but that clock out system so I could get out of here as fast as possible.

“Evie, Carter needs your help in exam 2.” Haleh said as she walked by, my timecard in hand. I groaned and placed it back in my holding slot. He was the last person I wanted to talk to, but Haleh wasn’t going to let me out of it, she was the one in charge right now.

I walked into the room to find Carter trying to put on an immobilizer sling without help. I stood there for a moment, smirking, with my arms crossed and just letting him struggle one handed for a little bit. Finally, he looked up at me.

“Please.” He asked, holding it up, his eyes reminding me of an injured puppy.

I rolled my eyes and walked over, taking pity on the boy. “What did you do?”

“I fell and dislocated my shoulder.”

“Do I need to grab an attending to reduce this?”

“No, Lucy already did. It should be fine. I just need the sling.”

“You let Lucy do it, huh?” I asked as I began putting it on. “I bet that felt good.”

“Yeah, she got her payback. I didn’t have much of a choice.”

“Yeah, I heard about your adventure. I thought you were supposed to be going sailing with Roxanne, not playing detective.” I might have said her name a little to bratty, but I couldn’t help it.

“Yeah, I was supposed to. I just couldn’t bring myself to do it.”

“Just had to save the day, did ya?”

Carter’s eyes met mine for a moment and then he looked away. “Actually, yeah. I wanted to make sure that little girl got the blood she needed. She was my patient and I wanted to finish the job.” He paused and looked back at me. “Evie, I’m really sorry about what happened the other day. I was being an ass and I’m sorry.” He paused and grabbed my hand. “I don’t think less of you because you’re a nurse. Actually, the opposite. I was just frustrated, and I took it out on you. You were right to not talk to me. I deserved it. And even now, I wouldn’t blame you if you were still mad.

I bit my lip and finished up with the immobilizer. “How does it feel?”

“Stable. Thanks.”

“You’re welcome. Any pain meds?”

“Nah, I’m okay.” I helped him put his coat on. “You haven’t seen Lucy, have you?”

“I haven’t since we were up on the fifth floor. I’ve been trying to clock out for the last hour.” He nodded and got off the bed, walking to the door. “Hey Carter.” He turned quickly, that golden retriever energy taking over. I sighed. “I appreciate the apology. I do. But I’m still mad at you.”

He nodded. “I would expect nothing less. See you around.”

“See ya. Get some rest and watch the shoulder.”

“Yeah, yeah.” He muttered and left the room. I shook my head and cleaned up before making my way back to clock out. Thank God I had the next couple of days off to recuperate, relax, and think.

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eviemonroeer · 12 days ago

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The Monroe Effect: Chapter 6

Set during Season 5, Episode 7 of ER. Spoilers if you haven't seen the show.

Warnings: canonical mention of abortion, mention of family drama/trauma, blood, angst

WC: 1.7 k

ER story belongs to original creators, just adding on my own original charter.

Taglist: @pleasecallmeunhinged, @rainmg, @arigoldsblog, @queenslandlover-93, @hagarsays, and @antisocialfiore

Main Story: prev | next

Snapshots: prev | next

“Hey Evie. Want to know your porn star name?”

I stopped in my tracks and turned, raising an eyebrow. “Jerry, that is such an odd thing to ask your co-worker, especially so early in the morning.”

“Oh, come one Evie. It’s just good fun. Take your middle name and the street you live on. Mine is Anthony Broadway. Tony Broadway.”

“You got that mixed up, Jer.” Jeanie said from her spot at admit. “That’s your romance novelist name.”

“Excuse me?”

“Your porno star name would be your pet name with your mother’s maiden name. Like my porno star name would be Nibbles McGee.”

“That’s a great porno name.” I laughed as I rounded the admit desk.

“So, then mine would be Fluffy Florez.” Chuny added.

“Well, what if you don’t have a pet?” Jerry asked.

“Just use one you had when you were a kid.” Jeannie said.

“Nibbles.” I laughed again. “That is a great name.”

“I don’t think that’s right Jeanie.”

“So, Evie, what would yours be?”

“Bunny Monroe.”

“Bunny Monroe! That sounds to classy to be a porno star.” Chuny purred.

“Wait, your mom’s maiden name was also Monroe?” Jerry asked.

“I have the same name as my mom. She changed it after my dad left.” I could see the shock and questions on their face. Over time I had learned to speak casually about my weird family dynamic, forgetting it wasn’t the norm. “It’s a long story.” I said, before walking off to see patients, avoiding having to tell the drawn-out story of my fractured, messed up family.

Finally getting a moment, I headed for the hallway and the women’s bathroom. I stopped short of the door when I heard a voice inside. Someone must be giving themselves a pep talk. I opened the door in time to hear ‘........ Dr. Carter we need to talk.’ I walked inside and Lucy looked at me in the mirror with wide eyes before turning around. “Lucy, is everything all right?”

“Hmm?”

“You were talking to yourself. Not that it's a bad thing, but—”

“Actually, do you think I should sit down and talk to Dr. Carter?”

I nodded. I thought this might be happening soon. I knew there was some tension between Lucy and Carter from my own observation, not to mention Carter complaining about her to me. “Um, depends on how direct you want to be. You don't want to be confrontational from the get-go. You don't want him to be defensive.”

“Right.” “I'd do it over a meal.” I said as I walked into the stall.

“Oh, like a chat. I like that. Makes sense.” I heard her gather her stuff. “Thanks!”

“You’re welcome! Good luck!”

Along with duties in the ER today, I was also assigned to help out as needed with the prenatal clinic for Carol and Lynette. It mostly included taking blood for testing, but it was still nice to work with people in this way, not just when they were in the middle of a crisis. I actually needed more disinfecting wipes and tourniquet bands, so I let Lynette know where I was going and headed to the suture room. It was dark when I walked up to the door, but it wasn’t empty.

I flipped on the lights, finding Carol sitting on the bed, struggling to tie a tourniquet. “Hey, Carol. What's going on?” I asked, going to the cabinet for supplies.

“Just doing a quick blood draw. So, how's the clinic going today?” “Pretty good. I really like prenatal days. I actually almost went into OB before I stuck to emergency medicine.” I turned to look at her as she struggled. “Why don’t you have someone helping you?”

“Because I was trying to be discreet.”

“Well, let me do it. I mean it’s what I’ve been doing all day. And it's kind of hard to stick yourself.”

“Thanks.”

I finished tying the strap and then grabbed a wipe to disinfect her arm. “What labs you need?”

“Just a CBC, check if I'm anemic.”

“Oh, I only ask because if you'd like......I can run the results through the clinic since I’m in there today. It would be more private.”

“That's a great idea. Um, listen, what I'd really like is to check my hormone levels.”

“Oh, okay.” I nodded my head and tried to offer her a smile. “Are you and Doug trying to get pregnant?”

“Yeah, but I don't really want to discuss details.”

“I understand. Like I said, I’ll run it through the clinic.”

“I appreciate it.” I gently and easily stuck the needle into her arm and took the blood. Once I had enough, I removed the needle and vial and cleaned everything up. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome. Your secret’s safe with me.”

After I submitted Carol’s blood test, I left the clinic for a little bit to help with the traffic that had backed up in the ER. It was a couple hours of that before I was able to check the blood test results and I found Carol’s. I found her at the admit desk.

“Hey Carol, I got your blood work back.”

“Thanks, Evie.”

“Progesterone level's normal. That's good news, you ovulated.”

“I've been trying to get pregnant, and I haven't”

“How long have you been at it?”

“Couple months.”

“Well, they say to give yourself at least six months before you start worrying.”

“Yeah, you're right. I'm crazy.”

“Don’t say that. Maybe you guys need to increase your activity. How often do you, you know......do it?”

“What?”

“Oh, sorry, am I being indiscreet?” I fanned shock and we both laughed.

“Carol, what's the deal?” Weaver asked, walking up to us. “I went to see your ectopic. She's dressed, ready to leave.”

“You mean Maria Jones?” I asked. I had seen her as I was in and out over the last couple hours.

“She pulled her IV?” Carol asked, but the woman in questions was already walking out of the clinic, Lynette on her tail. “Maria, where are you going?”

“I’m feeling better nurse. I'm going home.”

“Wait a minute.” Lynette interrupted. “You came in here in so much pain, I couldn't examine you. “

“But I'm better now.”

“But wait. We need to make sure everything's okay with you and the baby.” Carol warned. “Just let the doctor look you over and what’s the hurry?”

“Look, I just wanted to know if it was a boy or a girl. Nothing's wrong, so why worry?”

“Wait! You were faking those abdominal pains?” Lynette asked, now angry. “Are you crazy?”

“But you said you weren't even sure you were pregnant.” Carol scoffed. “I mean, why would you lie and cause all that drama to find out if it's a boy or a...” Carol trailed off in thought as the woman walked away. “Oh no, are you gonna abort this baby?” She exclaimed, grabbing the woman.

“Let go of me!”

“Carol!” I warned.

“She's had two boys and two abortions. Are you getting rid of this child because you think it’s a—”

“It's my baby and I'll do what I want.”

“I told you that ultrasound is inconclusive. It could be a boy!”

“Lady, take your hands off of me.”

“Carol, let her go.” I pleaded.

“Girls are trouble anyhow.” The woman finished with as she left the ER.

“What's the matter with you?” Carol yelled after her. “What's the matter with you?!”

“Carol—”

But before I could say anything else, she stormed away. I sighed and put my hands on my hips. I understood where Carol was coming from. She wanted a baby so bad and to see someone get rid of one simply because they were a girl was baffling, even to me. But sadly, there wasn't anything we could do. I shook my head and went back to my patients, hoping the day would turn around.

“This is so weird. I can’t believe I’m in Dr. Weaver’s house.”

Carter and I both descended the stairs in the basement, his new place of residence, to enjoy our takeout dinner for the night. Towards the end of our shift, I had started begging him to let me come over to check it out, intrigued how the strict doctor lived. It was actually a lot nicer and more normal than I expected.

“Just don’t go sneaking around upstairs. It’s where she keeps her coffin.”

“Shut up.” I said and hit his chest as we burst out laughing. We walked over to his bed and sat down, pulling the white to-go boxes from the brown paper bag. “God, I needed that laugh.” He said as I used my chopsticks to get a bite of rice.

"Me too. Today has been a day."

“Lucy is driving me crazy.”

“How so?”

“There’s so much I want to teach her and it’s not happening.”

I took a bite of chicken and rolled my eyes. “Don’t you think it might not be her, but you?” I asked after I swallowed.

“What’s that supposed to mean? I don’t think I’m a bad teacher.”

“You aren’t. It’s just sometimes you aren’t the best communicator.” He scoffed and shook his head. “What?”

“You sound just like her.”

“Well then maybe that should tell you something.”

“Okay well if you know so much, what else do you see wrong with my teaching.” He sat his food down and crossed his arms, sitting back. He raised an eyebrow before gesturing out with his hand, like he was telling me to go on. He was getting hostile, and I didn’t like it.

“Fine.” I said and set my food down. “You don’t listen to her half the time, even though she knows what she’s talking about. You only get half the information from her and then make your own assumptions.”

“I don’t do th—”

“And you are defensive as hell, especially with her.”

“This is so stupid. You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Why? Because I’m a nurse?” He was silent and just recrossed his arms. I scoffed and shook my head. “Wow Carter, real nice. I thought we had more respect for each other than that.” I stood from the bed. “You know if you’re being this much of an ass with me, I really do feel sorrier for Lucy.” I grabbed my jacket and purse. “Enjoy your dinner.”

“Evie.” Carter moaned as I stomped up the stairs.

“Evie!”

I slammed the door behind me as I made my way towards the door. “Hi Gen.” I stopped in my tracks and turned, seeing Dr. Weaver sitting on the couch, her brow raised, obviously having heard everything that just happened downstairs.

“Good night, Dr. Weaver.” I replied before turning and leaving her house.

#er #john carter #john carter er #noah wyle #original character #dr john carter #john carter x female character #john carter x reader #john truman carter #john truman carter iii #er tv series #er nbc #er tv show #er 1994

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eviemonroeer · 14 days ago

Text

The Monroe Effect: Chapter 5

Set during Season 5, Episode 6 of ER. Spoilers if you haven't seen the show. I really like this episode, so I hope you do too.

Warnings: drug and alcohol mention

WC: 2 k

ER story belongs to original creators, just adding on my own original charter.

Taglist: @pleasecallmeunhinged, @rainmg, @arigoldsblog, @queenslandlover-93, @hagarsays, and @antisocialfiore

Main Story: prev | next

Snapshots: prev | next

I honestly wasn’t shocked when Carter told me he got fired from his RA job. Two med students overdosing on your watch definitely felt like grounds for dismissal. What I didn’t really expect was having to get to his dorm at the crack of dawn so he could move out before our shift started. And it was a rainy day, which added to the misery of the whole situation. Not wanting to get soaked, I took a cab instead of the train, and arrived at the dorms by 5:30 AM. Way too early in my opinion.

“How do you have so much stuff?” I asked, taping up another box. “I thought boys didn’t hoard like we did.”

“I honestly don’t know. I didn’t think I had this much stuff when I moved out.”

“Speaking of moving out, do you know where you are going to stay until you find a place?”

“I mean I guess a hotel. There is no way I’m not going back to my grandparents’ house.”

“If you need, you can stay with me. I have another room.”

“Evie I couldn’t do that. I’m not gonna invade your space.”

“Why not? I know the room’s not big, but it’s free.”

Carter sighed and thought for a minute. “I mean, if you’re offering.”

“I am.”

“Okay. Yes, I would appreciate it if I could stay at your apartment only until I find a place."

“Great. We can take some of your stuff over there before we go to work.” “Can’t wait for the sleepover.” Carter joked and picked up a couple boxes. He opened the door, and I heard an ‘Oh, Dr. Carter. I didn’t think you’d be up yet.’ Must be Lucy. “Hi Evie.” Yep, definitely was her.

“Hi Lucy.” I waved and kept packing. I moved to the next drawer and was greeting by Carter’s boxer collection. I slowly closed it back up. I should probably let him handle that.

“I left you a note. Um, I just wanted to tell you how sorry I am that you lost your RA job because of the Halloween disaster.”

“Me too.”

“And, um, I was wondering if you thought it might help if I wrote the dean a letter.”

Carter had been moving finished boxes out to the hall the whole time she was talking. “Thanks, but I think you’ve done enough already.”

“Or at least, I could help you pack. I’m not on until 7:00.”

“I think Evie and I can manage. Thanks though.”

“Where are you even going to l—”

“Lucy, we’ve got it.” He said with a firm tone. The young blonde nodded and walked away. I felt bad for her, I really did. Carter had been such a jerk to her lately. It was like he was taking the Peter Benton approach, but a little too extreme. As if reading my mind, he turned to me with a raised eyebrow. "What?"

"Nothing." I said with a shrug, continuing to fold clothes. "I didn't say anything."

“Okay. ‘Cat-lover seeks like-minded roommate?” I read from the newspaper. I had been reading him roommate and rental ads since we left my apartment to head to work.

“Forget it.” Carter scoffed as we walked into the ER.

“Would you consider joining a communal vegetarian household?” He laughed. “Alright. Here’s one. Uh, ‘Furnished apartment in old town home, access to full kitchen, many amenities.’”

“That sounds promising.”

“Yeah, and it’s actually not too far from here. It’s been a while, but do you want me to call the realtor who helped me get my apartment and get you an appointment to see the place?”

“Yeah, that would be great. You know, thanks for helping you out with all of this. I owe you big time.”

“And lunch today will just be the tip of the iceberg.”

“Anything at Doc Magoo’s is yours.”

“How fancy?” I joked as we walked into the lounge.

The rest of the day was steady, one of those busy in a good way days. It made the time go by quick. I got Carter an appointment to look at that apartment after work and with the rain clearing up, he got me a burger and fries from across the street as step one of his thank you. I dealt mainly with “normal” cases today, until a big and pretty weird one came in: two brothers were stuck to their truck seat by carpet glue and in turn, stuck together. I had prepped the trauma room the best I could ahead of time, but how do you prepare for something you’ve never seen before and something so random as this.

“Malik, get some monitors on him.” Mark instructed as we got them on the gurney, the taffy like substance baffling and annoying us all.

“How?”

“Get a tongue depressor.” Weaver ordered. “See if you can scrape off a few spots.

“Why did Eddie stop talking?” The brother asked.

“Hold still.” I said as Weaver examined them.

“If you move another inch, you could kill him.” She added.

“Pulse ox is falling.”

“Stand by with intubation.” Mark warned. I nodded, handing him the mask and bag and started prepping the necessary equipment.

“Wow.” Carter chuckled as he and Lucy came in.

“I’m covering for Dr. Benton.” This time it was Elizabeth, putting on her gown as she walked it. “Need a consult?”

“We’ve got an impalement.” Mark told her. “Watch out for the glue.”

“Lucy, have you intubated?” Weaver asked.

“No, but I’d like to.”

“Uh, pretty tough intubation.” Carter said hesitantly.

“Yeah, let’s find out. Carter, you’ll talk her through it.”

“Great.” I handed Lucy the laryngoscope.

“Uh, runs of PVCs when he’s jostled. Probably from the impaled tool against the heart. Carter, get the crash cart.”

“Uh, Lydia?” He asked, glue covering his hands.

“On it.”

“Thank you.”

“Malik, we need a Sauer Bruch cutter down here as fast as you can.”

“Carter, I need you to come over here and carefully pull Marcus away so that Lucy has room to intubate.”

Carter did as Mark said, and they slightly pulled the two apart. “Watch your beard.” I said, noticing how close his face was getting to the stuff.

“I know." He said to me. "Can you get in there?” He asked Lucy as she began.

“Yeah, just a little more.”

“Lydia grab the camera and snap some pictures. New policy everyone, we’re documenting our interesting traumas. Take her through it Carter.”

“Alright, now pass the tube.” He said and motioned me over. I handed her the tube, and she stuck it into the man’s mouth. “Not too far. Alright, take out the scope, pull the stylet.” She passed it back to me.

“I’m in I think.”

“Good job.”

“Let’s call respiratory for a vent.”

“I heard good breath sound.”

The monitors started going off. “He’s in SVT.”

“We need to shock him.”

“Not while they’re attached. Try six of Adenocard.”

“Please save my brother.”

“Carter, let go.”

“Ah-h, I’m stuck.”

“Charging, 200.”

“I told you to be careful.” I said as I walked up behind him. I grabbed a hold of Carter and pulled. He wouldn’t budge. I tried again and this time, with Mark pulling on Elizabeth on the other side, I managed to get him and the guy he was stuck to off the bed before they shocked the patient.

“Are you okay?” Carter asked as I pushed off of him and stood.

“Yeah, are you?”

He nodded slightly; his beard still stuck. They wheeled the bed out of the trauma room, going up to the OR. “Still want pictures?” Lydia asked, holding the camera.

“Why not?” Weaver offered.

Mark circled around over to us. “Carter, you alright?”

“Yeah, I think so.”

“Thank you for saving my brother.”

“Just doing our job.” Mark pulled out a pair of trauma shears. “We need to extricate Dr. Carter.” He handed them to me. “Evie, why don’t you start with his beard.”

I thought back this morning and smiled. “Actually, I have a patient I need to check in on.” I turned. “Lucy, why don’t you have the honors.” I looked back at Carter who was giving me a death glare. But I just smiled and removed my trauma gown and gloves before heading back out on the floor, leaving Lucy to mangle him however she chose.

I knocked on the men’s locker room door. “Carter? You in there?”

“Yeah, it’s just me.”

I nodded and walked in not prepared for what I was going to see. He had changed clothes, but he was missing a large, scraggly chunk of hair on the right side of his face. I started laughing and shook my head. “Oh, now this is great.”

“Ha-ha, laugh it up. This is your fault.”

“Oh, come on Dr. Carter. It’s a teaching hospital. Lucy needs to learn.”

“Yeah, but not on my face.” He went to reach for the electric razor, but his grimaced and groaned. “How is this crap still on my hands? I scrubbed them twice. I got PTSD to my surgical internship."

“Need some help?” I asked. “You’ve got to get to your viewing appointment.”

“I don’t know if I trust you with my face either.”

“Alright then. But when you get stuck to your razor, don’t come crying to me.” I turned and started walking for the door.

“Fine.” He huffed. “Just hurry.” He held out the clippers and I happily took it. I hopped onto the counter and positioned myself in front of him. “You know I’ve always wanted to do this. Mainly to see how many different kinds of facial hair styles I could make.”

“I don’t want to leave anything. Just shave it all off.” He said as I turned the electric razor on. “Have you done this before?”

“Not on someone. But I have had a couple ex’s show me what to do. I think I got the gist.”

I cut down the length of his beard with the electric razor until it was short and clean. “Okay, wet your face with warm water.” As he did, I got a razor, some shaving cream, and a towel. I took the shaving cream and rubbed it all over his cheeks, his chin, under his nose, and even his neck. A little got on his lip and he blew it at he, causing me to shriek. The door to the bathroom opened as I began shaving.

“There you are.” Lucy told Carter. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you. What happened with Brad?”

“His mom took him home. She decided not to risk it.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

“Me too.”

“I wouldn’t have asked so many questions if you had told me what you were doing.”

“Well, I’m sorry that you thought it was your business to ask me.” My eyebrows shot up a little, but I stayed quiet, tapping the razor in the sink and moving back up to his face.

“What’s going to happen?”

“He’s gonna die.” And with that, he went from looking at Lucy in the mirror to looking at me. Neither of them said anything else and she left the bathroom.

“What was that about?” I asked, carefully.

“I’ll tell you about it tonight. Let’s just get this done.”

I nodded and continued my work, trying to be as thorough, but careful as possible. When it got to his upper lip, he took over after I tried and failed to convince him to keep it.

“Hey.” I called out as the apartment door opened and Carter walked in. I shut my book and sat it beside me, bringing my knees to my chest. “How did it go?”

“Uh, I had drinks with Dr. Weaver.” He informed, removing his jacket.

“I’m sorry, what?” I exclaimed. “I thought you were going to look at an apartment.”

“I did. Turns out its in Weaver’s basement.”

“Really? How weird?” He nodded as he sat beside me. “How was it?”

“It was alright. A decent space, nothing special.”

“Not the apartment, her house! Is it as dark and depressing as you would think?”

Carter laughed. “It was actually pretty nice. Not what I expected.”

“Huh. Well, is she renting you the apartment?” “Yeah. I can even start moving in tomorrow. Rent is cheap. The only other thing is I have to do yard work and other stuff around the house she can’t handle.”

“That’s great. I guess tonight will just be a sleepover then.”

“Well, what should we do? Pillow fights or paint our nails?”

“Or we can talk about the boys we think are cute.”

“That sounds like so much fun.” Carter said with exaggerated excitement. I scoffed and grabbed the couch cushion, flinging it around and catching him in the face. He was shocked, his eyes wide and mouth open. “Oh, now you did it.”

The apartment was filled with our laughter as we started pelting each other with pillows.

#er #john carter #john carter er #noah wyle #original character #dr john carter #john carter x female character #john truman carter #john truman carter iii #er nbc #er 1994 #er tv show

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eviemonroeer · 16 days ago

Text

The Monroe Effect: Chapter 4

Set during Season 5, Episode 5 of ER. Yes I did skip Episode 4 on purpose; that will happen with a couple episodes. Spoilers if you haven't seen the show. I really like this episode, so I hope you do too.

Warnings: alcohol use, mentions of drug use and vomit, language

WC: 3.k

ER story belongs to original creators, just adding on my own original charter.

Taglist: @pleasecallmeunhinged, @rainmg, @arigoldsblog, @queenslandlover-93, and @hagarsays

Main Story: prev | next

Snapshots: prev | next

Today had been long and with it being Halloween, that meant it felt longer than usual. I was more than ready to get home. I grabbed my stuff from the lounge and clocked out, walking by admit on the way out to grab a handful of candy before I went to catch the train.

“Hey Evie, do you mind sitting here until Randi gets here?” Jerry asked. “I’ve got to get home to help my mom. Candy emergency.”

I sighed, really regretting clocking out now. “Sure Jerry.” I sat down at admit, praying nothing crazy would happen in the next thirty minutes. But knowing Randi, it might be forty-five. A few minutes into my desk duty, the phone rang.

“ER.” I stated, impatient to get out of here and get on with my night; leave the ER before it got to weird.

“Evie?”

I raised an eyebrow and shifted my purse and jacket. “Carter? I thought you went back to the dorms?”

“I did. But I forgot some stuff I need to go over for my presentation tomorrow in my locker. Would you mind bringing it to me?”

“Sure. What am I looking for?”

“It’s a manila folder full of patient notes. I thought I grabbed them all, but I only have three.”

“One manila folder coming right up.”

“Thank you so much. Do you mind meeting me at my dorm?”

“Can do. See you soon.”

A few minutes of digging through Carter’s locker after Randi finally arrived, and I found the folder he needed. A train ride later and I was walking through the Northwestern campus. The night was quiet for the most part, just the occasional student running by wearing a costume, probably on the way to some party. It was cool; it reminded me of where I was not that long ago.

I could tell I was at the dorms based on the blaring music, coming from inside; Lucy had mentioned earlier they were having a party. I rounded the corner and was glad to see I was arriving just as Carter was. He was walking back with a student, most likely from the library, based on the contents in his hands. He tilted his head up at me, acknowledging my arrival as the student next to him badgered on.

“Looks like the party’s up and running.” I said with a laugh as we reached the bottom of the stairs. We all looked up just in time to see a burning chair come careening over the balcony and rolling down the steps. Carter stepped in front of me as the thing came to a stop in front of us. “What the hell?” I asked, looking at him. He shook he head and started for the building, a pissed off look on his face.

Once we were inside, he walked straight for the fire extinguisher, handing me his stack of books as he removed it from its holder and kept going, this time up to the second floor. The music was even louder up here, obviously the main hub of the party. Students were everywhere in an assortment of costumes. Everything from a bride to the least creative: scrubs. They were dancing, making out, and even smoking from a bong. Carter walked through them all, determined and angry. That’s when I recognized Lucy in a skating waitress outfit.

“Dr. Carter!” She exclaimed, obviously drunk. “Party picked up. The booze is right there.” She pointed over to a table and I was half tempted to grab a drink. Carter just stared at her for a moment, before venturing outside to the balcony, giving a group of guys the extinguisher he had gotten. “Hey! Evie! What are you doing here?”

“I was bringing Carter some work stuff.”

“Ah, to bad. I thought you were here to take the stick out of his ass.”

A laugh burst out of me, but I tried to play it off as a scoff. I eyed the aforementioned man as he returned from outside and made his way over to the sound system. He reminded me of a disappointed dad. He turned off the music to the outrage of the students. “Okay, kids, that’s it. Party’s over.” He declared, standing on a nearby chair. “You don’t have to go home, but you can’t stay here.”

“What’s up?” Lucy asked. “Were we too loud?”

“No, the furniture was too on fire.” He scoffed as he stepped down and put a hand on my lower back, leading me towards the exit. Before we could get too far though, I shot a hand out by the table and retrieved a bottle of booze.

“Oh really? I’m sorry.”

“I’ll be in my room, studying.”

“Happy Halloween.” Lucy called out as he led me around the corner and back out into the hall.

“What the hell were they thinking?” He muttered, continuing to lead me.

“Oh, come on Carter, they’re students. Med students at that. They just wanted to have a little fun.”

“A little fun?” He scoffed, retrieving his keys from his pocket, and unlocking his door. “You call that a little fun?” He gestured for me to go inside, which I did, setting his books on the desk by the door.

“Wow, Dr. Carter is such a party pooper.” I let out a laugh and sat down on Carter’s bed, crossing my legs.

“These kids are crazy.”

“And you were them, what, just a couple years ago?”

“I didn’t light chairs on fire and throw them off the balcony.”

“You got me there.” I went to untwist the top of the bottle off, thankfully finding the seal unbroken. I brought the bottle up to my lips and took a drink. Regretting swallowing, I cringed at the taste. “God that’s disgusting.” I offered the bottle up to Carter.

“You just said it was bad.” He laughed.

“It’s cheap liquor for college students, of course it’s bad.” Carter rolled his eyes and took the bottle from me, taking a quick swig. He coughed at the taste before handing it back to me. “Did you get your research done for your presentation?” I asked him, taking another drink.

“Yeah. Thanks for bringing this by the way.” He said, holding up the folder.

“No problem. Not like I had any plans tonight. Besides, I haven’t been in a boy’s dorm room in years. I was curious. Glad to see things haven’t changed much.” I took another swig, trying not to breathe and force it down.

“How many boy’s dorm rooms have you been in?”

“Enough.”

Carter laughed, shaking his head as he came to sit down next to me. “I just learn new things about you everyday Evie Monroe.”

“Yeah, and what’s that?

“That you were a tease in college.”

I scoffed, pushing him over as he laughed. “I was not a tease. Let’s just say I had a healthy extracurricular life.”

“Extracurricular, huh?” Carter asked, moving in closely next to me. “What kind of extracurriculars?”

“Oh, you know...... Football. Basketball. And there was that one time with soccer.”

“Guess you broke a lot of hearts.” He said, his voice becoming low as he stared at me. I felt a shiver go up my spine and it wasn’t from the booze.

“I guess you could say that.”

“Any med students?” His head dropped down as he slowly came closer.

“Maybe. Maybe not.”

“What about doctors?” His hand came up to my face, his thumb gently caressing my cheek.

“Oh, but doctors are troublemakers.”

“Are we?”

I nodded my head and bit my lip. Carter’s gaze darkened and he licked his lips, leaning in more. He was so close I could feel his breath, my heart pounding inside my chest. I went to grab his face, wanting him to just kiss me already, completely forgetting I still had a hold on the neck of the bottle.

Well, not anymore.

“Shit!” I exclaimed and jumped up, the alcohol spilling on both of us as the moment broke. “I’m sorry. Did I get your bed wet?”

“No, it’s okay. I think our clothes got the brunt of it.” He said, standing. “I’ll get you something to wear.” He tossed a towel at me, before going over to his dresser. I dried everything off the best I could. “Here.” Carter held out a pair of sweats and a T-shirt.

“Thanks.” I said, trying to smile, even though I could still feel the heat throughout my body. We just stood there, staring at each other. I looked down, the wetness from the liquor still soaking through. “You mind turning around?”

“Oh yeah, sorry.” Carter swallowed and nodded, his face growing red, before turning and facing the wall. “Do you mind to?” He asked.

“Sure.” I sighed and sat the new clothes on the bed, as I turned towards the wall. I looped my fingers into my jeans before pulling them down. The alcohol had soaked through to the skin, so everything was unwearable. I used the towel to wipe myself off the best I could, before slipping the sweats onto my naked skin. Next came the shirt. If I was no longer wearing underwear, I might as well not wear a bra. The oversized shirt felt soft on my skin. It was a well-loved Northwestern shirt, grey with faded purple letters.

“Everything okay?” He asked. I smiled and wrapped my clothes together.

“Yeah. I’m decent. You?”

“Yeah.” We both turned around and Carter’s hands went into his sweat’s pockets as he looked me up and down.

“I look ridiculous, don’t I?”

“No!” He said quickly. He cleared his throat. “It suits you.”

I smiled at him, my cheeks getting warm again. I walked over to his desk, setting my clothes in the chair and picking up the folder. “So, do you want some practice with your presentation?”

“Sure.” He said, taking his hands out of his pocket and crossing his arms. I opened the folder and walked back over to the bed, sitting down, and propping myself up on the headboard, looking through the papers. Carter was hesitant for a moment, before walking over to the other side and joining me on the small bed. It was quiet for a moment, us looking at each other, before I finally cleared my throat.

“Where do we begin?”

A loud knock started to pull me from sleep.

I don’t remember when I laid down, but it felt nice. A pair of arms was wrapped around me, holding me close in a comfortable embrace. My leg wrapped tighter around the other person, and I ground my hips into them, earning a groan. They were semi-hard against my thigh.

The loud knock kept happening. And this time, I could make out a voice.

“Dr. Carter! Wake up, Dr. Carter!”

“Go away.” He groaned, pulling me in tighter as I nuzzled into his chest, his beard scratching against my forehead.

“Dr. Carter! I need your help! Please, wake up!”

Carter groaned and finally unwrapped himself from me, getting out of bed and stomping to the door. In my haze, I sat up as the door flew open. “What?!” He exclaimed. Lucy opened her mouth to say something when she spotted me on the bed. I could see it took her brain a moment to register before she turned back to Carter.

“Willie’s passed out on the couch in the lounge and won’t wake up.”

That woke both of us up immediately. I got out of bed fast, following Carter and Lucy back to the lounge. By the time we got there, a small crowd had gathered. “Okay, everybody, back off.” Carter instructed. “Give him some air.” He went over to the couch and kneeled down next to the younger guy. “Anybody call 911?”

“I did, Dr. Carter.” Another student said.

“Come on, Willie, wake up.” He said, holding the boy’s head as he shook him. I pushed through the other kids and came around the other side of the couch. I put my fingers on his neck.

“I got a weak carotid pulse.” I informed him.

“Yeah, but he’ s not breathing.” Carter pinched his nose and opened his mouth before beginning CPR. A few puffs in and there was a retching sound. The others groaned as Carter pulled off, grabbing a nearby bottle of alcohol to wash out his mouth as I turned the kid on his side.

“Can I do anything?” Lucy asked. “What can I do?”

“He vomited. That’s-that’s, that’s good right?” Another student asked.

“No that’s bad.” I answered as the sound of sirens started to be heard. I kept the kid turned as he continue to retch. “If he vomits and it gets down in his lungs, he could die of aspiration pneumonia.” Lucy reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet as Carter started breaths again.

“Alright, his parents live in Downer’s Grove. Here.” she said, giving the card out. “Call them, give them a call.”

“We’re up here, second floor!” I heard someone shout out on the balcony. I noticed something poking out of the kid’s pocket and pulled it out. I groaned.

“It’s X. Liquid ecstasy.”

“What is that?” Lucy asked.

“It’s like a narcotic.” Carter told her. “Did anyone else take it?”

“I don’t know. I didn’t even know Willie took it.”

“Branch took some earlier.” Another student replied.

“I can’t leave Willie.” Carter exclaimed in between breaths.

“I’ll go.” Lucy offered and skated away.

Seconds later, the paramedics showed up and Carter filled them in on the situation. Willie ended up needing to be intubated and if I had to bet, this Branch kid was going to need it also. Carter grabbed another intubation kit from their pack and headed off to find the other boy, with me right on his tail. We found Lucy in the hall.

“Where is he?” Carter asked.

“Ah, his roommate said he went to take a shower. How’s Willie?”

“Paramedics intubated him.” I explained as Carter led us towards the men’s shower room.

“Liquid ecstasy?” Lucy questioned. “These guys are med students. You’d think they’d know better.”

“Yeah, you would.” Carter huffed before pushing open the door. “Branch? Branch?” The water was running as we rounded the sink barrier, finding the kid passed out on the tile, halfway out of the shower. Carter groaned and stepped over him, turning off the shower head. He stepped back out and we both kneeled down on the ground, pulling the kids out as we worked wordlessly in tandem, just like we did in the ER. I felt his neck.

“No pulse. Starting compressions.”

“Dammit!” Carter yelled and reached for the intubation kit.

“Lucy, go find the paramedics.” I instructed as he stuck the tube down the kids throat and pumped an epi through the tube. Lucy took off out of the bathroom and we took turns, Carter breathing into the tube before I resumed chest compressions, switching off as we waited for help to arrive.

The doors to the ER burst open as Carter and I led the two gurneys inside. “Branch Crockett and Willie Goldman, ages 22 and 23.” Carter began explaining to the staff. “Mixed overdose of alcohol and GHB. Willie is intubated from a respiratory arrest. Branch came back with epi after a full arrest.”

“What? A little late-night club-hopping?” Connie asked, taking over bagging the patient for me as I moved around to Carter’s side of the gurney.

“No.” I sighed. “Med school Halloween party.”

“Alright, everybody.” Carter groaned as we grabbed ahold of the blanket. “On my count. One, two, three.” We lifted, getting him placed on the hospital gurney so the paramedics could move out of the way. “CBC, ABG, lytes, blood alcohol, tox screen, and a 12-lead. Evie, call respiratory for a vent.” I nodded and walked over to the phone.

“Somebody should call his parents.” Connie said.

“Lucy can do that.”

“I wanted to help.” The med student stated, already putting on gloves.

“You’re drunk. You don’t belong here. Now, get out.”

Although Carter’s words were harsh, he was also kind of right. I sighed and turned back to the phone, dialing the extension for respiratory. Thankfully in the end, the boys were stabilized and moved up to beds in the ICU. I walked over to the admit desk and slouched into the chair, putting my head in my hands.

“What’s with the get up?” I looked up at Randi, who had a smirk on her face as she chewed her gum. I looked down and sighed. “Which man does that belong to?”

“Evie?”

Just great. Randi turned as Carter walked up to us. He had changed into a green scrub top after his shirt was soaked from the shower. His hair was even still a little wet. Randi looked both of us up and down, before raising an eyebrow to me and walking away.

“I’m so sorry this happened.” He said, putting his hands in his pockets.

“It’s alright. What’s Halloween without a little crazy, huh?”

“Let me get a cab and we can head back to the dorm. You have to get your stuff, right?”

I nodded and Carter headed over to the phone. The cab arrived not to long after and the ride to the dorm was quiet. As we rounded the corner to the building, we stopped, spotting Lucy sitting on the front steps. “Hey, Dr Carter. Evie.”

“Hi Lucy.” I said. Carter put a hand on the small of my back before putting a key in my back pocket.

“I’ll be right there.” He whispered. I nodded and walked up the stairs, passing Lucy and giving her a pitying look.

I went inside and up to Carter’s floor, dragging my feet. I opened up his door and the exhaustion washed over me. The bed looked to inviting. By the time I heard the door open again, I was already laying down, eyes closed. I heard a soft chuckle and the click of the lock, followed by the lamp turning off. I felt a dip in the bed before Carter wrapped his arm around my waist, pulling me close. I snuggled into the pillow and sighed, the adrenaline of the evening slipping away as we both passed out.

#er #john carter #john carter er #noah wyle #original character #dr john carter #john carter x female character #john truman carter #john truman carter iii #er 1994 #er nbc #nbc er #er tv show #John Carter #er tv series

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eviemonroeer · 17 days ago

Text

The Monroe Effect: Chapter 3

Set during Season 5, Episode 3 of ER. Spoilers if you haven't seen the show.

Warnings: patient death, dangerous situation

WC: 2.3 k

ER story belongs to original creators, just adding on my own original charter.

Taglist: @pleasecallmeunhinged, @rainmg, @arigoldsblog, @queenslandlover-93, and @hagarsays

Main Story: prev | next

Snapshots: prev | next

A nine-year-old with a fever.

A mom with a burn from making breakfast that morning.

A spray down for one of our unhoused regulars.

These were just a few of the patients I had already seen that morning.

I was already exhausted and had only been on a few hours. This shift was dragging by in the worst way. I was also tired of my hair sticking to the back of my neck but was ill prepared for the first time. “Hey Randi.” I asked the clerk after searching my pockets. “Do you have a hair tie?”

“Yeah.” She said, popping her gum. “Here.” She handed me the one from her wrist and I took a few seconds to throw it up in a messy updo. “Alright Pam Anderson.” Randi smirked. “How can you make that look so hot.”

“I guess it’s just God given.” I teased.

She rolled her eyes. “I got your lab results for Carter’s patient.” She said and held up a piece of paper.

“Thank you.” I replied and grabbed it from her. I remembered last seeing him sitting on a gurney in the hall, charting. So, I went off in that direction. Before rounding the corner, I took a quick look at the results. “Dr. Carter I have your—” I looked up, seeing he was in conversation. It was the blonde from Jerry’s surprise party. Roxanne, I think her name was. “Oh, I’m sorry, did I interrupt?”

“No.” she said, before turning back to Carter with a smile. “Thank you.”

Carter’s gaze followed her as she sauntered down the hall, her heels clicking as she disappeared. He sat down and grabbed the chart he was working on. “What was wrong with her?” I asked.

“Oh, nothing. She was here signing someone up and wanted me to look at her toe. It was still bothering her.”

“Uh-huh.” I muttered and shook my head, crossing my arms. “You do realize she came over to flirt with you right?”

“No, she didn’t. She talked about annuities for Pete’s sake.”

“Money talk with the rich guy. Yeah, definitely not flirting.”

“I’m not interested in her.” Carter said, rolling his eyes as he finished up what he was writing before looking back up at me. “You put your hair up.”

“Yeah, it was getting in the way.”

“I like when you do that. You can see your face more.”

A blush creeped up my neck and I prayed I wouldn’t be to red. “Uh, I have the tests results for your patient in Curtain One.” I said, holding it out for him. He took it and read it over.

“Want to go with me to let them know?”

“Sure.”

He hopped off the gurney and put an arm around me, resting his hand on my lower back to allow me to go first.

“77-year-old female, found unconscious in her apartment.” The medic explained as we rolled the gurney into the ER.

“Her name is Emily Holmes.” An older woman walking behind the gurney said. “She always said she had very good health coverage.”

“We found her with BP 90/60, pulse 120. Started a line. She arrested en route.”

“Any history?” Carter asked.

“No meds in the bathroom.”

“Do you know if she has any medical problems?” He asked the other woman as we wheeled into trauma.

“Oh, I’m just her neighbor. She always seemed alright, just forgetful.”

We moved the woman over to the hospital bed as Lucy came in. “Okay, let’s get her on a monitor.” Carter ordered. “7.5 ET tube.”

“There were three days of newspapers on her doormat. That’s how I knew something was wrong.”

“Alright, I’m in.” Carter said, pulling out the stylet. “Bag her.” I attached it to the tube as the monitors started beeping rapidly. “Hold compressions.”

“V-fib, no pulse.” Chuny called out.

“Charge. 200.”

“Is she dead?” The neighbor asked. “What’s happening?”

Chuny handed Carter the paddles. Lucy walked forward. “Can I help with the—”

“Everybody clear.” I let go of the bag for a moment as he shocked her.

“Sinus tach.” I yelled out, looking at the monitor and continued to bag her.

“I got a pulse.” Carter said, satisfied as he took off his stethoscope. “Why do you think she arrested?” He asked Lucy.

“Uh, elderly woman, could have had an MI. Could be septic, hypoxic, electrolyte imbalance.”

“BPs 90 palp.”

“Okay, let’s start her on Dopamine and let’s get a 12 lead. She’s not out of the woods yet.”

“Does that mean she’s going to die?” The neighbor asked.

“That’s a possibility.” Carter informed her, putting it back around his neck. “Are you in touch with her family members?”

“Oh, I never saw anyone come to see her. I only ask because my sister’s on a waiting list for an apartment in the building.”

We all looked up at her with some serious are you kidding faces. “Ma’am, maybe you should go wait out in chairs.” I suggested. She frowned, but turned and left the trauma room. She probably just left.

We got the woman’s tests back and got her hooked up to a vent. Since my patient load had gone down, I stayed to monitor her with Carter while Chuny and the other nurses went back out on the floor. I checked all her monitors and levels again once we got her settled. “pH 7.32, PO2 345 on 100%.”

“Good. Good, turn down to 50% and check another gas in a half an hour.”

“Got it.”

“Is this Emily Holmes?” A woman in a suit asked, as she walked into the trauma room.

“Yes. John Carter.” He said, holding out a hand. They shook. “She was found in her apartment.” “Margo Aikin, I authorize admissions for Blue Beacon, her HMO.” She closed her folder. “This lady’s a DNR.”

I looked from the patient back up to Carter. He scoffed. “She came in full arrest. She didn’t have any papers. Or any family. Let’s, uh, step outside.”

I watched the two of them outside in the hall out of the corner of my eye as I continued my monitoring. Carter didn’t look to happy when she walked away. That’s when Peter and Yosh ran by and I swore I heard Carter yell, ‘Bomb Squad?!’ I took off my stethoscope and hung it back around my neck as he walked in. “Did I just hear you right?” I asked.

“You did.”

“Do I need to prepare to move her?”

“Not yet. Let’s stay put until we know more.”

We both watched through the window as they rolled the new trauma in. It wasn’t even a couple minutes before we heard the words ‘Out! Now!’ yelled and nurses from the other room came rushing into ours. Carter grabbed my waist and threw me onto the ground, placing his body on top of mine a second before a small explosion happened next door, causing the lights to go out and smoke to fill the room.

“Alright people!” I heard Peter yell. “We got an open bowel here!”

“Are you okay?” Carter asked as he got off of me and slowly helped me up.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Are you? You’re the one who jumped on top of me.”

“I’m good.”

I gave him a smile before we got back to work to check on our patient and air out the room. Once we got everything settled, I took a moment to check on the one or two patients I had left, before heading back to trauma to get the repeat blood gas Carter wanted. The patient was still holding, but where she was holding wasn’t great. I let Carter know when he came back to check up on things.

“Okay. Let’s just keep monitoring her. I’m still not quite sure what to do since they won’t admit her.” He turned to leave but stopped, putting his hands in his pockets. “You were right by the way.”

“You’ll have to be more specific.” I smirked.

He rolled his eyes. “About Roxanne.” He specified. “She was definitely flirting with me. Gave me a pass to join her for a free workout and sauna session.” He pulled a yellow card out of his coat pocket and handed it to me.

“You gonna go?” I asked, examining it.

“Uh, no. I’m not interested.”

I nodded. “Well, it’s a pretty nice gym. Mind if I take it?”

“Knock yourself out.”

“Thanks.” I pocketed the pass. “I love a good sauna.”

Carter chuckled and began leaving. “Let me know if anything changes.”

It was getting towards the end of my shift when Carter came back in again. He looked pretty beat up emotionally as he walked in, putting on his gloves. “Her vitals are stable. Pulse ox 98. I weaned her off the Dopamine.” I informed him.

“I’m going to, uh, turn off the vent. Do an apnea test.”

“Should I get an attending?”

“I already talked to Dr. Greene.” He paused before making eye contact with me. “She’s a DNR. She didn’t want this.” I nodded as he turned and flipped the switch on the ventilator, the machine beeping as it powered down. He detached the tube and pushed it aside. “Spontaneous respiration.”

“Just one breath.” I warned, not wanting to feed his hopeful tone. “That might be it.”

“No. She’s breathing on her own. I’m going to extubate.” I grabbed the syringe and handed it to him. He hooked it into the tube, dispensing the medicine before slowly untapping her face. He pulled out the tube and I proceeded to use the suction tube to help Ms. Holmes out with the mucus. “Let’s give her five liters of oxygen.” I put the suction down and grabbed the nasal cannula, slipping it carefully over her head. “When are you off?” He asked, now seated beside the patient.

“About 45 minutes.”

“I’ve got this. Go finish up whatever you need to and get out of here.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah.”

I nodded and put a hand on his before turning and leaving the room.

The sweet sound of the punch out clock put a smile on my face. I was officially ready to go home, order a pizza, and enjoy my Julia Roberts marathon. The perfect way to relax after a long day. I placed my timecard back in my slot and turned, coming face to face with Lucy. “You scared me.” I said as I jumped, putting a hand on my heart. I smiled and shook my head, until I caught the look on Lucy’s face. “What’s wrong?”

“Carter’s patient just died. He seems pretty upset by it.”

“Yeah, he was having a hard time with her.” I paused, biting my lip. “Thanks Lucy.” She nodded and turned, rounding the corner to leave the ER. It was where I should be headed, but instead I went back into the lounge. About ten minutes later, the door opened, and Carter walked in.

“Hey, what are you still doing here?” He asked as he went for his locker.

“I’m really sorry about Ms. Holmes.”

“Thanks. Never gets easier.” He tried to muster a smile as he opened the door, but it was hard.

“You know, I was planning on going home and ordering a pizza, maybe watch a movie. You want to join me? Unless you’re on RA duty tonight?”

“Uh, no.” He paused, halfway through taking off his coat. “I’m not. Sure. That sounds nice.”

“Great. I’ll meet you outside.”

“I’ll be quick.”

“Okay. Pizza should be here in 20.” I informed Carter as I hung up the phone. He was currently being nosey, going through my CD collection. I didn’t blame him though. Surprisingly, it was his first time ever in my apartment. Sure, he’d dropped me off a couple of times, but never actually came up. I would be doing the same thing if I was him. I went into the fridge and pulled out a half-drunk bottle of wine. “Want a glass?” I asked, holding it up.

“Sure.” He said, flipping over a CD to check out the track list. I reached into the cabinet and grabbed two glasses. “You know we actually have some of the same music.”

“Really? Like what?”

“Well for starters, I didn’t know you liked Jimmy Smith.”

“Can’t a girl like jazz?” I asked as I sat at the counter, taking a sip.

“I just didn’t expect organ jazz.”

“My aunt likes it. I used to listen to it while I studied for finals.”

Carter opened the case and put the CD in, a beautiful melody filling the apartment. He nodded his head in approval and walked over to me. I slid his glass towards him. “Why thank you.” He said, taking his own sip. “So what movie were you planning on watching tonight?”

“Well, it was going to be ‘Pretty Woman’, but I imagine that’s not your taste in cinema.”

“Oh, come on. I love Julia Roberts. I could go for a romantic comedy.”

“I think I’m going to have to see it to believe it.”

“Whatever makes you happy, boss.” I rolled my eyes and laughed, putting the glass to my lips. Carter’s smile faded, but his eyes remained soft. “Dance with me.”

“What?”

“You heard me.” He held out his hand and I looked down at it, before looking back up at him. “Don’t make me beg, Evie.”

Without a word, I set down the glass and put my hand in his. He led me to the only open spot in my living area. He gently put both his hands on my waist, and I wrapped my arms around his neck. We began to sway as we looked at each other, the music leading us. My heart warmed and I couldn’t help but rest my head on his chest. His heart was racing a little bit, but his breathing was calm. Carter rested his head on top of mine as the rest of the world melted away.

We stayed like that until the pizza came, continuing to dance even after the song changed.

#er #john carter #john carter er #noah wyle #original character #dr john carter #john carter x female character #john truman carter #john truman carter iii

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