Post by larue on Mar 10, 2006 15:23:45 GMT 10
It was a planned implosion.....designed to bring the debris inward from the explosives. The city dignataries had finished their speeches and some were already gone. Everyone was rejoicing in the decision to rebuild a state of the art Emergency Care Center at County. Now everyone was just waiting for the process to begin.
Abby stood in the cordoned off ‘safe area’ with the other ER employees, past and present. There were a lot of them there. She glanced around and smiled a little. There had been a lot of reconnections made during the celebrations of the past few days. Carol and Doug Ross had flown in from Seattle and were chatting animatedly with Luka behind her. Their family was staying with them for the weekend. It was a bit crowded with all four children in their apartment but no one minded. A hotel seemed out of the question for some reason. Three year old Lauren was adoring all the attention she was getting from 12 year old Kate and Tess....and even Mark Ross, who called her a ‘royal pain’ from his lofty “7.5 year old” status. Abby did not doubt that her daughter would win him over.......maybe even by the time Luka and Doug took them all to the Shedd Aquarium after the ceremony. Luka was a little dismayed at his daughter’s uncanny ability to bat her long, dark lashes and charm the opposite sex so easily. Abby just didn’t have the heart to tell him that their daughter was learning that particular skill at his knee.
Neela stood off in a corner chatting with Peter and Cleo Benton...... about surgery no doubt. Pratt, Ray and Morris huddled together in the seasonably spring cold. Malik, Yosh, Haleh, Lily, Chuny, Dori, Lydia, Inez....they were all there, standing together, arms linked. They were having their own celebration of sorts later as well. Abby and Carol had been invited. Rachel Green was laughing at something Jerry was saying to her. She was so grown up and gorgeous. Mark would have been proud of her. She’d taken the day off from her classes at Loyola University to be there. Dr. Anspaugh mingled with them all, his hand clasped tightly in Jeanne Boulet’s.
Abby noticed a small television screen off to the side with the implosion engineers. Someone was walking through the emptied ER checking the explosives with a video camera. She moved to get a better view and watched. Good old exam room 3 was where the implosion would begin. How fitting. Abby took a deep breath as she followed the camera through it’s final tour. So many people were not here but she could see them in the camera’s eye. Once he’d been assured that the Joshua Carter Center would be untouched in the renovations, John had decided to stay in Paris. Abby understood. Kem wasn’t comfortable in Chicago anyway. Dr. Corday hadn’t even answered her invitation. Dr. Chen was in Taiwan. Susan wasn’t there either.
“I made my peace with County years ago, Abby,” she’d said on the phone. “I think I just want to leave the past in the past.”
They were all moving on, some to new positions in the hospital. It would be several years before the new ER was ready for patients....or employees. Luka was staying on staff. Kerry wanted him ready to take over again when the new ECC was operational. He was excited about being involved in the renovations. He was already writing grants for the most state of the art equipment he could get his hands on. Abby was going back to her roots in OB and joining Dr. Coburn’s practice. She would be handling office visits and was looking forward to the regular hours for a while. But she knew she would eventually end up back at County. The ER was where her heart was.
She sighed as she watched the camera sweep through the trauma rooms following the laid guide wires. In her mind she saw Mark Green, Dr. Romano......Dave Malucci......Lucy Knight......Sandy Lopez.......E-Ray......Frank at the admit desk...... Nate......they were all still there....along with the endless parade of patients.
“What are you thinking?” Kerry asked as she moved to stand with Abby and watched the screen with her. Abby looked at her and smiled as she shrugged.
“We’re ready, Dr. Weaver,” an engineer said as he handed her a small box with a joy stick trigger. Kerry glanced at Abby.
“Wanna help?” she asked. Abby shook her head and leaned back against Luka, who wrapped his arms around her snugly. He rested his chin on the same hard hat they all wore and held her close. Kerry’s eyes swept over her staff.....her friends.....and she held up the box.
“Here’s to the future!” she said and flipped the switch.
The End
Abby stood in the cordoned off ‘safe area’ with the other ER employees, past and present. There were a lot of them there. She glanced around and smiled a little. There had been a lot of reconnections made during the celebrations of the past few days. Carol and Doug Ross had flown in from Seattle and were chatting animatedly with Luka behind her. Their family was staying with them for the weekend. It was a bit crowded with all four children in their apartment but no one minded. A hotel seemed out of the question for some reason. Three year old Lauren was adoring all the attention she was getting from 12 year old Kate and Tess....and even Mark Ross, who called her a ‘royal pain’ from his lofty “7.5 year old” status. Abby did not doubt that her daughter would win him over.......maybe even by the time Luka and Doug took them all to the Shedd Aquarium after the ceremony. Luka was a little dismayed at his daughter’s uncanny ability to bat her long, dark lashes and charm the opposite sex so easily. Abby just didn’t have the heart to tell him that their daughter was learning that particular skill at his knee.
Neela stood off in a corner chatting with Peter and Cleo Benton...... about surgery no doubt. Pratt, Ray and Morris huddled together in the seasonably spring cold. Malik, Yosh, Haleh, Lily, Chuny, Dori, Lydia, Inez....they were all there, standing together, arms linked. They were having their own celebration of sorts later as well. Abby and Carol had been invited. Rachel Green was laughing at something Jerry was saying to her. She was so grown up and gorgeous. Mark would have been proud of her. She’d taken the day off from her classes at Loyola University to be there. Dr. Anspaugh mingled with them all, his hand clasped tightly in Jeanne Boulet’s.
Abby noticed a small television screen off to the side with the implosion engineers. Someone was walking through the emptied ER checking the explosives with a video camera. She moved to get a better view and watched. Good old exam room 3 was where the implosion would begin. How fitting. Abby took a deep breath as she followed the camera through it’s final tour. So many people were not here but she could see them in the camera’s eye. Once he’d been assured that the Joshua Carter Center would be untouched in the renovations, John had decided to stay in Paris. Abby understood. Kem wasn’t comfortable in Chicago anyway. Dr. Corday hadn’t even answered her invitation. Dr. Chen was in Taiwan. Susan wasn’t there either.
“I made my peace with County years ago, Abby,” she’d said on the phone. “I think I just want to leave the past in the past.”
They were all moving on, some to new positions in the hospital. It would be several years before the new ER was ready for patients....or employees. Luka was staying on staff. Kerry wanted him ready to take over again when the new ECC was operational. He was excited about being involved in the renovations. He was already writing grants for the most state of the art equipment he could get his hands on. Abby was going back to her roots in OB and joining Dr. Coburn’s practice. She would be handling office visits and was looking forward to the regular hours for a while. But she knew she would eventually end up back at County. The ER was where her heart was.
She sighed as she watched the camera sweep through the trauma rooms following the laid guide wires. In her mind she saw Mark Green, Dr. Romano......Dave Malucci......Lucy Knight......Sandy Lopez.......E-Ray......Frank at the admit desk...... Nate......they were all still there....along with the endless parade of patients.
“What are you thinking?” Kerry asked as she moved to stand with Abby and watched the screen with her. Abby looked at her and smiled as she shrugged.
“We’re ready, Dr. Weaver,” an engineer said as he handed her a small box with a joy stick trigger. Kerry glanced at Abby.
“Wanna help?” she asked. Abby shook her head and leaned back against Luka, who wrapped his arms around her snugly. He rested his chin on the same hard hat they all wore and held her close. Kerry’s eyes swept over her staff.....her friends.....and she held up the box.
“Here’s to the future!” she said and flipped the switch.
The End
