Chapter Text
“Last, but certainly not least,” Doug says with a grin. “Leah, when-”
“If you ask me the damn sex question, Doug, I will hurt you,” Leah interrupts, pointing at him.
Doug raises his hands in mock innocence. “Fine, anyone else want to go first then?”
“Leah, are you seeing anyone right now?” Elizabeth asks.
“I am not,” Leah replies, tucking a rich, chestnut-colored curl behind her ear. She can feel Carter's eyes on her.
“Have you ever been in love?” Abby asks, leaning back a little, her shoulder bumping into Luka’s. Neither of them moves, both keenly aware of the other one breathing.
“I uh, I have.” Leah licks her lips, glancing at Carter for a split second. His eyes are soft and already on her.
“Why did you come to County? From what I understand you made a pretty hasty transition from your old hospital to here.” Doug says.
Leah knew this question would come up. She clears her throat and fidgets in her seat. “Yeah, I uh, I needed a change.”
“Change from what?” Carter prompts gently, sensing that this was going to be a difficult conversation.
“Well you see, I was seeing this guy for a little while, and um, he was a nurse that I worked with.” Leah starts to explain. “Anyway there was this freak accident where his brother was killed at their house by a drive-by shooting, and it really hurt him. He got really depressed, and he wouldn’t see anyone about it, even though I tried to convince him to see a therapist or something. And then he suddenly got really violent.” Leah clears her throat again. “Anyway, one night I ended up in the ER because of him, and after that, I decided I couldn’t take it anymore. I didn’t want to see him anymore, and I couldn’t bear to see anyone that I worked with again after that, I was so embarrassed and ashamed. They all knew it had been happening, but once you end up in your own ER, it just hits different. Anyway, I quit pretty quickly, and thankfully, you guys were hiring.” Everyone exchanges looks, silence blanketing the room.
Carter reaches out wraps his fingers around hers. “Leah, I’m so sorry.”
“It’s fine, I mean, that was like a couple of years ago now, anyway.” Leah tries to brush it off, even though her cheeks are aflame for speaking about it.
“Have you heard from that guy since?” Peter asks. Leah looks up at him, surprised.
“Only once or twice he came for me. I ended up moving, so he either stopped looking for me or stopped caring.” Leah replies with a shrug.
“Did you seek counseling for that?” Abby asks softly.
Leah pushes her glasses up and squeezes Carter’s fingers a little tighter, subconsciously. “Um, I mean, no, not really.”
“If you ever want to talk, I mean, we’re all here for you.” Susan pipes up, giving her a half-smile.
“Thank you,” Leah looks at her lap. “Someone ask a different question, please.” She laughs nervously.
“Okay, um, do you have any siblings?” Mark asks.
“I had a brother, but he passed away a couple of years ago from an overdose of opioids,” Leah replies with a grimace, everyone else making the same expression as well.
“Damn, sorry Leah,” Mark says regretfully.
Leah laughs the same nervous laughter. “No no, it’s fine. I expected this.”
“If you couldn’t be a nurse, what would you be?” Carol asks hopefully a safe question.
“I would be a lawyer,” Leah answers dreamily. “I know I don’t look intimidating enough, nor am I tall enough to be taken seriously, but I would love it.”
“Are you close with your parents?” Carter asks, the two of them still holding hands.
“No.” Leah sighs. “My father was also abusive and then he left eventually right before my sixteenth birthday. The first time that I was hit by that boyfriend, I went home and cried to my mom. She told me to leave, that she dealt with that herself enough, and she wouldn’t be around for me to do the same thing to myself. We haven’t spoken since.”
“Leah. . .That’s messed up,” Elizabeth says, her voice sad.
“Yeah, I guess,” Leah lets go of Carter’s hand to push her glasses up and brush her long hair out of her face. “Anyway, sorry.” She forces a laugh.
“Do you want kids one day?” Luka asks, changing the subject again.
“Absolutely,” Leah replies.
“Do you want to get married?” Abby asks.
“I do,” She answers cleverly, making everyone laugh.
“What’s your biggest fear?” Susan asks.
“I guess that um, that I’ll get into another abusive relationship. Or that my last boyfriend will find me.” Leah replies.
“Alright we’re at twelve questions, guys, try to ask something a little less depressing.” Carol jokes.
“How do you unwind after a long day at work?” Carter asks.
“Taking a hot shower, maybe a bath if I’m feeling especially down. I like to read a good book, go for a walk, maybe go out to eat or something. Going to bed whenever I get too tired.” Leah answers.
“Are you more of a cat or dog person?” Mark asks.
“I would say more of a cat person, but I still love dogs.” Leah answers.
“Would you ever try contacts?” Elizabeth asks.
Leah shudders. “No. I mean I know I have my fingers inside people all the time, but touching my own eyeball is where I draw the line.”
“Who’s your favorite doctor to work with?” Doug asks.
“My loyalty lies with John, he’s the only one who said I’m his favorite nurse,” Leah replies, smiling at Carter. Carter feels his insides grow warm when she calls him by his first name. She’s the only one who does.
“Do you like working at this hospital better?” Luka asks.
“I do,” Leah smiles. “I like working with all of you guys a lot.”
“Do you ever think about going back to school?” Susan asks.
“Not really.” Leah shakes her head. “I mean, I love what I do. I don’t think I’d want to change a thing.”
“So what made you choose nursing over being a lawyer?” Carter asks.
“Schools in my area, and scholarships,” Leah replies with a laugh. “Nursing was much more of an attainable goal.”
“What was tempting about being a lawyer?” Abby asks.
“I like all that legal jargon. I like arguing for people that I believe in, for what I believe is right. I’d like to think if I were a lawyer, I’d be putting the bad guys away, you know?” She shrugs. “Because I mean, criminal law is what I wanted to do.” She smiles. “But anyway, that’s twenty questions!” She claps.
“Thank God,” Peter mumbles, and everyone laughs and sighs in relief.
“Who wants to play two truths and a lie?” Doug asks, clapping his hands together and jumping to his feet. Everyone groans and laughs, begging for no more games. They all look around the room for a moment as the laughter dies down, appreciating and empathizing all the things they've learned about each other in the past little while, how they've become even more like a big family during this quarantine period.