Cohorts
Redux
part 7
by Jo
Luka followed Jim through the Westchester
Hospital ER. They were in a hurry, so Jim didn't stop to
introduce his friend to anyone; he only nodded his hellos and
forged on.
Luka tried to get a decent impression
of his friend’s workplace. Westchester's ER had a
completely different set up than County General-Luka liked how
the waiting area was clearly separated from the treatment areas,
and how the admit desk and board were shielded from the prying
eyes of patients. It was nothing like Kerry's open-air
design, which allowed patients, and even passers-by, to interfere
with the doctors. But really, this ER was like any of a
dozen other ERs Luka had worked in; just another hospital
emergency room.
Until they came to a set of doors
marked "Pediatric Emergency Center." "This
is Felice's pet project," Jim informed him, leading Luka
into a different world where the colors were softer and
everything seemed quieter. Luka glanced into a treatment
room-there were chairs and toys surrounding a bed; the necessary
medical instruments were tucked away next to stuffed animals and
dolls. The staff was dressed differently as well, wearing
scrub tops that featured penguins or aliens or teddy bears, all
very kid-friendly.
"Now this is what a Peds
ER should look like," Luka told Jim, clearly impressed.
"Thank you for the
compliment." Felice seemed to have appeared from nowhere.
"I'm very proud of this place."
"Well, you certainly should be-
you fought hard enough for it," Jim commented. Luka
was about to add something, but Jim cut him off. "Unfortunately,
as much as we'd like to, we can't stay for the tour-there's a
plane to catch and we must get going." He handed
Felice an envelope. "Here are the Yankee tickets, as
promised. Field box, first base side, with a perfect view
of Tino's butt."
Felice laughed and slipped the
tickets into her pocket. "Thanks, Jimbo-I'll think of
you every time Tino flexes his ass."
"Wonderful," Jim said
dryly. "Come on, Luka, we've gotta get to Newark."
Jim turned Luka around and gently pushed him toward the doors.
"It was nice meeting you
Felice-we need to do this again sometime when I'm not in such a
rush." Luka called over his shoulder.
"I'm looking forward to
it!" Felice replied. She stood at the door,
watching the two men make their way back out through the regular
ER. "I doubt even Tino has a butt as nice as either of
those two," she said to herself before finally getting back
to work.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jim got them to the airport with just
enough time to spare, even with the long trek they had to make
from the ticket counter to the departure gate.
"Are we back in New York
now?" Luka asked when they finally reached the jet way.
Jim just laughed and handed the attendant his ticket; Luka
followed suit and hurried down the walkway behind his friend.
They caught up with the other boarding passengers before they
reached the aircraft's door.
"Tell me again why you're coming
along?" Luka asked Jim.
"Moral support," Jim said
simply.
"Mm hmm. Moral support.
Right."
"Hey, you need all the help you
can get, big guy," Jim insisted. "Besides, I still
have some vacation left, and I'm not going to spend it loitering
around my townhouse."
"Not when there's a randy
desk clerk available in Chicago, eh?" Luka teased,
pleased with his little joke. Jim's only answer was a
smile.
Luka looked longingly at the first
class seats, but he knew there was no chance of a free upgrade
today-all the seats were taken. Besides, there was no sign
of-what was her name? No sign of Jennifer. Just
standard-issue flight attendants. Luka reached into the
pocket of his travel jeans; the slip with Jennifer's number was
still there. He tore it into tiny pieces without even
looking at it; when he finally reached the back of the plane, he
dumped the papers into the bathroom's garbage can, then took his
seat in the last row next to Jim.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
They landed in Chicago just after
4:30-"Just in time for rush hour," Jim observed sourly.
"This is nothing," Luka
insisted. "You should see it when traffic gets really
bad." He slipped his Saab into the line of cars of heading
into the city. By the time they reached Luka's apartment,
it was after 6.
"So, have you worked out your
big plans for tonight?" Jim asked, dumping his suitcase on
the floor.
"Not really," Luka
admitted.
"I say you take her to the best
hotel in town," Jim suggested.
"No. No more hotels."
Luka answered vehemently.
"Sorry-I forgot." Jim
apologized. "Sooo-what are your plans? Should I
get a hotel room? Or-do you have a key to her place?"
"Oh, I have her key."
"Good-then we'll set things up
there,” Jim said. He rubbed his chin, clearly planning
something.
"Set what up there?"
Luka asked. Knowing Jim, he was thinking blindfolds and
satin and such, and Luka was worried.
"Don't worry, dude-I'm thinking
something tasteful, but something that'll knock her socks
off."
"What do you have in mind?"
"Something to really impress
her," Jim assured him.
"It can't be too much-she has to
work tomorrow."
"I know," Jim answered.
"But she doesn't drink anyway, so that leaves lots of
options open. Hmm. Hand me the phone book, big
guy-we've got a lot of calls to make if you want to pull this
off."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`
Just before 9, a tall man with
close-cropped brown hair strode up to the admit desk of County
General's ER. He was wearing tight black slacks, with a
matching shirt that clung to his every muscle. Lily felt
like she'd seen him before, but she couldn't quite place him.
If only he'd take off those dark glasses-didn't he know it was
nighttime?
Jim walked right up to the admit desk
as if he owned the place. He knew he cut a fine figure; he
was justifiably proud of his physique and enjoyed showing it off.
But he was truly disappointed to see that Randi wasn't at the
desk; it was some woman he didn't recognize. He had been so
hoping to be able to hook up with Randi tonight after running his
errands for Luka.
The clerk looked him over
approvingly, and Jim flashed his smile at her.
"Can I help you?" Amira
asked brightly. Lily was surprised to hear Amira so eager
to help someone, but looking at Jim again, she thought, "Hell,
I'd be eager to help him, too!"
"I'm here to pick up Abby
Lockhart," Jim told Amira, sounding as formal as possible.
"Abby?" Amira exclaimed.
She and Lily exchanged a quick look. 'Um, I believe she's
in the lounge-let me get her for you." Amira hurried
towards the lounge, eager to pick up any bit of gossip she could.
But she stopped at the door. "Can I ask who's calling
for her?"
"All I know is that she's
expecting me to pick her up," Jim replied. "I'm
just giving her a ride-she knows where to. A good limo
driver never asks for more than an address." Jim
chuckled to himself as he saw Amira's eyes widen; he could only
guess at what gossip she might be concocting. This could
be fun, he thought as Amira disappeared into the lounge to
get Abby.
Abby came out of the lounge with
Amira trailing along behind her, ready to pick up any bit of
juicy gossip she could. Abby had been confused when Amira
had told her there was a limo driver waiting for her, but as soon
as she saw Jim she understood. Damn, he looked good dressed
all in black. Randi better get her butt out here before
she misses him, Abby thought.
"Miss Lockhart?" Jim asked,
pretending not to know her.
"Can I help you?" Abby
replied, playing along as Lily and Amira hung on every word.
"I was told to tell you that-let
me get this right." Jim was playing this up to the
hilt, and Abby loved it. "Ahem," he cleared his
throat self-consciously. "Someone special has sent me
to take you to the land of your dreams. Your chariot
awaits, milady." Jim bowed low as Abby giggled.
What the hell are these two up to?
Abby thought-but what ever it was, she thought it was wonderful.
She took Jim's arm and let him escort her out the door, fully
expecting to find Luka waiting in his car for her-but instead,
Jim lead her to a black Lincoln Town Car. She figured Luka
would be waiting inside for her, but she was disappointed to find
that the car was empty.
Randi had finally emerged from the
ladies room, where she had been preparing herself for a lonely
night of clubbing. As soon as Lily told her of Abby's
mysterious driver, Randi hurried to the door. Amira was
standing to the side, watching as Jim helped Abby into the car;
Randi recognized him immediately but did nothing to blow his
cover.
"Looks like Carter has big plans
for tonight," Amira whispered.
"Carter?" Randi asked.
"Why do you say Carter?"
"Who else could it be? Luka's
in New York, right?"
"Yeah, right," Randi said
sourly. "You know, spying and gossiping are
rude," she added as she pushed open the door. Amira
stared after her, wonder what alien had taken over Randi's brain.
"As for me," Randi
continued, speaking loud enough for Jim to hear, "I'm going
home now." She looked pointedly at Jim, who had just
closed the car door behind Abby. He met Randi's eyes and
nodded. Message received, his smile said.
Randi smiled back. This
night is definitely looking up all of the sudden, she
thought.
Jim smiled as he climbed into the car
and started to drive. Luka's not the only one getting
lucky tonight, he thought with a smile.
Abby fretted nervously in the
backseat. I hope tonight turns out the way I want it to,
she thought, afraid to hope too much...
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