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Carter winced as he got up off the floor of the ER hallway, and although Jing-Mei appeared to be looking out for him, she was trying not to laugh as she put a hand on his shoulder.
“What is so funny?” he asked.
“Sorry, flashbacks to when we were med students,” she replied. “I was thinking about the time I shocked you with the paddles and knocked you unconscious. Funny, it seems like you’re always in some sort of compromising position around here, whether physically or because you looked uncomfortable after I showed you up in rounds.”
“Oh, come on. It’s not my fault I’m an easy target. You could at least ask if I’m OK, though.”
“Fine. Are you OK?”
“Maybe I should just go sit down for a minute.” He laughed and shook his head before sitting on the bed in Exam 1.
“You’re not in any pain, right?” Jing-Mei asked, trying to be more serious and professional. She closed the blinds to give him a moment’s privacy. “Relax, I’m not going to make any jokes about giving you a rectal this time. But I can check out your back or your neck if they’re bothering you.”
“Nah, I probably just need some ice. This was nothing. Last year, I went right through a glass door after getting kicked in the chest during an impromptu Tae Bo class in Exam 2. I didn’t break any bones, but I did have to get a few stitches on my forehead.”
“Really? Tell me more.”
Just then, the door opened, and Carter was surprised to see Lucy. “Sorry to interrupt,” she said. “I was just looking for a box of gloves. I need to do some sutures and the suture room hasn’t been fully restocked.” She looked up at Jing-Mei. “I’m sorry, I don’t think we’ve met.”
“It’s OK; it’s my first day back.” Jing-Mei smiled and extended her hand. “Jing-Mei Chen, third-year ER resident. I just transferred back to County. John and I worked together as med students. I went by Deb at the time, so he’ll have to get used to using my given name.”
“Lucy Knight, fourth-year med student.” Lucy replied. “Nice to meet you.
“So…you and Carter were in the same med school class? Tell me he was a better student than teacher. He has a lot of work to do on his teaching.”
“Hmmm.” Jing-Mei smiled. “Oh, you should have seen him as a baby doctor. Of course, I wasn’t much better at times. We were really competitive when it came to doing procedures. Actually, we were just reminiscing on some embarrassing moments of our younger days. One time, I shocked him with paddles while he was conscious and I was trying to get them to use on a patient. Granted, I tried to do a rectal on a different patient without lube and got stuck, and I quit the program when I left a guide wire in a patient’s chest. Long story and a definite low point in my career. That’s why I said…no better.
“But anyway, I was just about to hear more about this Tae Bo class in the ER. Have you heard about that?”
“Lucy was the participant!” Carter exclaimed. “I’ll add that because she may try to neglect that detail and pretend it never happened.”
“And I’m sure you won’t admit to Jing-Mei that you were looking at my ass when I was stitching up the kickboxer, right?”
“Checking out your med student, John?” Jing-Mei raised an eyebrow. “That’s a whole new level of embarrassing and compromising, isn’t it?”
“That’s not all,” Lucy said. “I was bandaging his forehead and had confirmed his X-ray didn’t show a broken rib. We started bantering, and I teased him for being a baby and the next thing I knew…we shared a kiss and were fooling around on the floor of radiology.”
“That’s happened to him once before too.” Jing-Mei said. “John, remember that patient who had the rash and kept showing up here to see you?”
“A patient too?!” Lucy joked. “Wow. Carter, I did not know you got around. Did you and Jing-Mei ever…”
“No!” they replied in unison.
“Definitely not,” he told Lucy in a more neutral tone. “Deb and I…sorry, Jing-Mei, have just always been good friends. And remember, you are a student, and we already crossed a line we shouldn’t have. But that’s OK. It’s not like the rest of the ER doesn’t know about it anyway. I guess you guys are right…I’m always making a fool of myself around here somehow.”
“You’re our lovable fool.” Lucy teased him. “I guess she and I need to keep a closer eye on you. Anyway, I should finish these sutures. My patient was already waiting two hours, so I don’t want to keep her hanging around any longer than necessary. Nice meeting you, Jing-Mei.”
“You too, Lucy. Come find me later and you and I can swap more stories about John.”
“It’s like you never left,” he said once he was sure Lucy was far enough down the hall.
“I had a feeling we’d pick back up where we left off. But I have to know…nothing is going on between you and Lucy, right? It really was just one kiss and some flirting?”
“I wasn’t her type,” he replied sheepishly. “She said I was too closed off for her. But neither of us have fully managed to live that night down. Still…every once in a while, she’ll give me an admiring glance or seem like she wants to re-light the spark but knows it’s not the best idea.”
“You know I’ll never go there with you.” Jing-Mei reminded him. “We’re just too much like brother and sister.”
“Believe me, I’ll pass too. I just hope that’s the last time I end up on my back and have to be rescued by one of you. At the same time, though, at least I can count on the both of you to catch me when I fall. And to keep me from doing something else stupid.”
“Yeah. I guess that’s one good thing about me coming back. That said…if you and Lucy ever need to keep things on the down low and you want some space…”
“No, I don’t think that’ll be necessary.”
“I’m just saying.” Jing-Mei turned to leave the room, and Carter followed, feeling much better now. “If you want me to close the blinds or pretend the room isn’t available, just ask,” she added, winking at him. “What are friends for, right? I’ll pretend I don’t know a thing.”
Carter laughed and watched her walk to the front desk to get reacquainted with triage and the patient board. He knew he was in big trouble now that Jing-Mei and Lucy had met.
He couldn’t screw up anything else.