Chapter Twelve
Alex
I hadn't heard anything from Cam for several days, but since my schedule was filled with studying and ER shifts, I didn't give it a whole lot of thought. Or if I did, I knew there wasn't anything I could do about it. My studies came first, and with graduation in sight, I had to keep my eye on the prize.
Liz and I were scheduled to work the late shift in the ER on Friday after having been absent for a few days, so we'd whipped up a batch of enchiladas for the staff and brought dinner in for everyone. There was a great deal of appreciation in addition to the comments about Liz's new dye job and what role that had played in the enchilada making. After all the fussing over the sink, I'd managed to turn Liz into a platinum blond with blue tips on the ends of her hair. We weren't sure how Mrs. Rikka was going to respond to the change in her charge's hair color, but we figured that at worst, we'd argue that Liz was going for hospital pride by matching her hair to her scrubs.
Around seven, Mrs. Rikka toured the ER on her nightly rounds, and in tow she had Violet, Jessica, and Lydia. Liz and I exchanged looks as the girls followed Mrs. Rikka into the exam rooms and emerged making notes about the condition of each room.
"Now, ladies, you'll see that every well-run ER needs someone who is deeply invested in ensuring that it is stocked and ready to go," she lectured as she walked around the nurses’ station. "And in every ER you'll also notice that there are people designated to be the stockers."
Mrs. Rikka looked at Liz and I pointedly as she explained the way in which it was best to approach assigning jobs in the ER. It took her a few moments, but when it registered, she turned and exclaimed, "Elizabeth Banks, what have you done to your hair?"
"I dyed it," Liz said in a voice she would have used with a small child.
"I can see that," Mrs. Rikka sniffed. "Why on earth would you use such an unnatural color?"
"Oh, it's the rage with all of the scholarship students," Violet interjected as she stared coldly at Liz. "You know, when they can't make their academic mark, they aim lower for shock value."
"Not really sure how much lower one could get than that 80s hairstyle, you sport, Vi," Liz said in an exaggeratedly cheerful voice. "But keep digging!"
"Ladies!" Mrs. Rikka exclaimed. "Enough! This is a hospital not a school yard, and I'll not have you fighting in front of patients and staff!"
"I'm sorry," Violet said, but I could tell she wasn't at all by the way she nudged Jessica and Lydia and then gave Liz a nasty little grin.
"If she leaves me alone, we won't have any problems," Liz said, flashing a big grin at the trio. "But they're always starting something."
"Miss Baker, I don't care who's starting what, I will not have fights in my hospital, is that clear?" Mrs. Rikka asked.
"Crystal." Liz nodded as she turned toward me and rolled her eyes. Then asking in a sweet voice, she said, "Shall we get back to work, Mrs. Rikka?"
"Yes, please do," the supervisor responded as she motioned for the other girls to follow her. I could hear her lecturing them on proper hand washing techniques for each floor as they exited the ER.
"That Violet Metzler is a menace to society," Liz muttered once they were gone. "I wonder if her parents are aware of that."
"Aw, Liz, you need to ease up on her a bit or you're going to get yourself in trouble," I warned.
"I'm not the problem," Liz replied. "She starts everything, I just finish it."
I laughed as I shook my head and went back to stocking the exam areas. It wasn't until midnight that I noticed Liz had disappeared again, but then a string of ambulances flooded the ER and I got busy triaging patients and restocking supplies.
Around two in the morning, when the rush had died down, I heard the front doors swoosh open and a familiar laugh fill the ER. I looked up from the patient charts I was filing and saw Cam walking through the door in full gear. His face was covered with soot and his hair was even wilder than it normally was. I smiled as I watched him scan the ER and find me. His eyes lit up and a smile spread across his lips as he turned and said something to his buddies before taking long strides toward the desk where I was sitting.
"Hi, Alex Pierce." He grinned down at me. "Fancy meeting you here."
"Hello, Cam Connor." I laughed as I stood up and walked around the station. "I'm not sure why it's such a surprise for you, other than maybe you were hit on the head by falling debris at your last call."
"Good one." He laughed as he bent down and leaned on the counter. "No, no falling debris. Just a car fire that got a little out of control."
"Is there ever a car fire that is not out of control?" I asked with a skeptical grin.
"And again with the astute observation." He laughed before adding more quietly, "I'd like to see you again."
I stared at him for a few seconds until he looked down and muttered, "I mean, if you'd like to see me again, that is."
"Silly man, of course I'd like to see you again!" I laughed as he looked up visibly relieved. "I was just trying to think about when I'll have time what with exams, classes, and work this week."
"I could help you study," he said hopefully. "Quiz you on whatever it is you're being tested on."
"You know, that might actually work." I nodded, but when I looked back up at him, I realized that any pretense of studying was likely to be abandoned if we were in a room alone together. I could feel the magnetic pull of his body, and a memory of his lips pressed against mine flashed before my eyes causing me to look away.
"Uh huh, sure it would," Cam said as if he'd just read my mind. "Well, at the very least I could take you to dinner to help keep up your strength."
"I'd like that." I smiled.
"How about tomorrow night?" he asked as the guys from the squad signaled that it was time to get back to the station. "I'll pick you up around seven?"
"Sounds good!" I called as he ran for the door. It was only after he'd left that I wondered where he was taking me.
"Got a date with the firefighter, do you?" Leslie asked with a smile. "He's a hottie."
"Do you all conspire to make that same joke?" I laughed as Leslie laughed with me. I looked around and wondered where Liz had wandered off. I told Leslie I was going to go look for Liz, and she nodded as she updated more patient charts.
#
It took twenty minutes of searching to finally find Liz. She was standing outside the pharmacy, staring at the poster covered with a diverse group of people, presumably employees, which announced Chicago General would soon be part of a larger network of hospitals throughout the area.
"Liz, are you okay?" I asked as I put my hand on her shoulder and turned her around.
"Yeah, fine. Why?" she said in a brisk voice. "Just learning about the changes coming to Chicago General."
"I see," I said. "We've missed you down in the ER. Want to come back with me?"
"Yeah, sure." She nodded as I took her arm and led her back to the department. I wanted to ask her what was going on, but I knew her well enough to know that she wasn't going to give me any answers until she was good and ready.
"Hey, Cam came in a little while ago and asked me out," I said, trying to find a topic that we could discuss, hoping it would draw her out of whatever funk she was in.
"Did he, now?" she replied as we walked into the ER, then suddenly she was back to normal. "I hope you told him he needs to take you someplace good, not to another of those dive bars he and his coworkers seem to like."
"Liz! That's rude!" I laughed as she gently punched my upper arm and winked at me.
"You've got enough condoms, right?" she asked with a knowing grin.
"Elizabeth Banks!" I half-gasped, half-laughed.
"Oh, don't be an old spoil sport," she said. "We've had the talk, now it's time for you to get some action!"
Something about Liz's nonchalant tone set me off, and I laughed until the tears rolled down my cheeks. She stood looking at me, shaking her head as she watched my complete meltdown, and that made me laugh even harder. When it was over, Liz offered me some water and then said, "But seriously, condoms."
That set off another wave of laugher and it wasn't until Leslie came over to find out what was going on that I was able to stop and catch my breath.
"I have no idea what's got her so hysterical." Liz shrugged as we cleaned up Exam 2. "Something random just set her off."
"Alex, do you think that overnight shifts are a little too much for you to handle?" Leslie asked. "Maybe you aren't cut out for late shifts."
"There's a lot that's a little too much for her to handle," Liz muttered under her breath. "But it ain't overnight shifts, I'll tell you that."
This sent me into a new fit of laughter and made Leslie giggle too. Liz continued sweeping the floor as she looked at both of us and shook her head sadly. For the rest of the night, anytime Liz look at me and said, "But seriously," I broke down in laughter.
On the walk home, Liz chattered about exams and the hope that Violet would fail all of hers, but nothing was said about what had happened outside of the pharmacy. I worried about her, but decided that if she needed something, she'd ask. It was Liz, after all, and she knew she could ask me for anything.