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Lucy wasn’t used to the Chicago snow, given that she grew in California. It was different. When she first moved to Chicago for medical school, she knew that snow was common, but not like this. Even after graduating medical school and becoming a resident, Lucy doesn’t think she’d ever get used to it. She envied the kids who would have today off school, or the nine-to-fivers who would get to stay home, lay in bed, and keep warm. But alas, Lucy is the one who wanted to be a first gen doctor, not a woman in business.
Everything felt so quiet, peaceful even. One sight she hadn’t got used to was snow falling. Maybe others took it for granted, but it made Lucy feel like a child again. Growing up in California, snow was uncommon. She used to dream about the sound of crunching snow underneath her boots, and now it feels weird for such a thing to have become her reality.
She made sure to carefully get off The El, her gloved hands gripping tightly on the railing. The way everyone effortlessly made their way down the snow covered stairs was beyond Lucy. Despite the surprising amount of people on The El, the Emergency Room looked empty. Even though she no longer worked down there, it was nice seeing everyone she missed so dearly, especially when it was a slow day.
Lucy's gaze diverted to the ground, making sure to observe each footstep. Careful, careful, careful. Her combat boots crunched against the fluffy snow, getting slicker with every step she takes. Maybe she became too confident because the next second, she was falling over a patch of ice she didn’t view as a threat.
It was all too quick. She knew she should’ve gone around! It would’ve been so simple. Instead, she fell to the ground, scraping her knee and hitting her head in the process.
“Shit!” Lucy curses out. God, she hoped no one saw that. She just lays there, accepting defeat, her body shivering from the wet, cold ice against her back. The sky really did look beautiful from this angle. Once again, everything really did feel peaceful, even when her head was tingling from the impact. She watched as the soft, lacey flakes of snow fell from the sky.
“Lucy!” The familiar voice stormed out of the ER, his shoes crunching against the pillowy soft snow. She looked up at him through half lidded eyes, warmth instantly flowing through her body as she realized who it was.
“Did you see that?” she whispered, embarrassment present on her face.
“Uh, nope. Just me,” Carter knows that's a lie, but he wouldn’t let anyone make fun of her for it. If they wanted to make fun of Lucy for falling once, they’d have to go through his consistent moments of clumsiness as well. “Did you lose consciousness?”
“No,” she chuckles lightly. It feels like a bit of an over-exaggeration, but she knew Carter would be overly protective regardless. This was no patient ‘incident,’ though, just her being clumsy. “I can get up on my own, Carter. I’m just… watching the snow fall.”
“No LOC,” Carter mumbles to himself. He squats down next to her, placing his hand on the back of her head, lifting it up to get a better view.
“I’m fine, really. I’m going to be late for work!”
“I still need to examine you.”
“I just fell, Carter.”
“Yeah? I can see your kneecap bleeding through your scrubs. You sure you wanna miss out on that workers comp? I’ll document everything for you.”
“Fine,” ever since Paul Sobriki, he had become overprotective of Lucy, and that alone was still enough to make her blush. Maybe he noticed because his face softened at the newfound redness spread across her face. She wanted to convince herself it was the cold weather, and maybe it was, but she could only deny herself of the truth for so long.
He offers his hand for her to take. “C’mon,” she grabs ahold of his hand, allowing him to help pull her up. Jesus. She stumbled upon standing on her feet. At least she made sure to cling onto Carter. Did she really hit her head that hard? Or was she just out in the cold too long? Upon entering the ER, she was positive the last thing her former coworkers expected to see was their hands interlocked, rushing their way over to an exam room. God, Chuny would be irking her about this for days.
Did he really have to be so close? It was like he wanted to torment her. He was practically in her lap examining her head. She knew she didn’t need this extensive of a workup, but she enjoyed the feeling of him close, touching her head.
“Head looks good. No LOC. You’re fine,” he flashes a quick smile her way before leaning back. Part of her wanted him to just stay like that, whispering to her that he’ll take care of her. Unfortunately for her, she wanted to be around him and the warmth radiating off his body forever.
“Told you so.”
“Yes, but you’d never have the reassurance of that if you didn’t come get it examined. Lift your leg up for me,” he pats his thigh and without hesitation she lifts her leg up quickly, placing it where he wants. Carter gently rolls up her scrub pants, making sure to be careful around the scrape. “Ouch. Poor thing,” he grabs the gloves sitting vacantly in his pocket and secures them onto his hand, the latex snapping on echoing throughout the room. “Okay. I’m just gonna put a wet cloth on it to remove any dried up blood. Is that okay?” She nods, bracing herself for the stinging. “Okay,” he grabs the cloth from the medical cart next to him. After ensuring all the excess water from the cloth is removed, he begins to gently tap on her kneecap.
“Shit,” she hisses, squeezing her eyes shut.
“It’s okay, Luce. Feels weird because you’ve got no epidermis there.”
“Yeah. I know. And it hurts. Like really fucking bad for a scrape.”
“Being as gentle as I can,” he removes the damp towel from her kneecap, substituting it for a clean one to pat it down dry. “Alright. That part is over. Now I gotta put Neosporin on it, okay?”
“To prevent infection.”
“Smart girl,” he smiles, reaching for the ointment next to him. She just playfully rolls her eyes. It hadn’t been that long since she was a med student, had it? Oddly enough, the praise made her truly feel like the smartest girl in the room, even though applying ointment to a scrape is probably the most basic health information can get.
“How’s psychiatry?" He inquired. It’s something at least everyone had asked her once before, but from Carter it felt genuine. By the soft inflection of his voice, she knew he cared. It wasn’t just small talk between them.
“Great, actually. I feel like I’m making a real difference up there,” but, Carter, I miss you. Like… too much. Not a normal amount. Don’t say it. Don’t say that, Lucy.
“Of course you are,” he smiles, “I knew you would, Lucy.”
“But,” she cleared her throat. “I, uh, miss being down here. More than I thought I would,” Carter looked up, his focus changing over to her. Did she say too much? His gaze seemed unreadable, but the glint in his eye told her otherwise. Maybe she wasn’t crazy.
“I miss you. Being down here, I mean,” he continues to apply the ointment onto her scrape. He hated how much he loved her confession. It felt impossible for him to control himself around her. With every inch they come closer, his craving grows stronger, and stronger, and stronger. Her sweet scent is suffocating him. Lucy was his worst addiction. Even when she had fallen on the ice, her nose red from the cold, she was still the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Nothing could change that. Being this close to her made the ache worse.
“Yeah. I suppose I got too used to the cush life,” the callback made the corners of his mouth turn up. Things were definitely not any less complex then, but his feelings felt more clear now. Maybe letting people in isn’t so bad anyways. He twists the cap right back on the Neosporin, as well as grabbing a bandage.
“Lift your leg up for me.”
“Hurts.”
“Just bend it if you can,” he grips onto her thigh with his left hand, keeping her leg steady. “You’re trembling,” he whispers softly as he begins wrapping the bandage around her kneecap. Lucy brings her lip between her teeth, trying her best to not let her blush reemerge. “Okay. All done,” Carter leans down, placing a gentle kiss on her now bandaged up wound. Then, he slowly rolls down her scrub pants over the bandage. “Good as new.”
She makes her way off the patient bed and begins to collect her things. “You really didn’t have to do this,” Carter just shrugs it off, like he does every time he does something that blurs the line between friends and a clandestine relationship. “I’ll see you later, okay?”
“I’d like that. Come down later today.”
“Whatever you say, Dr. Carter,” she stands on her tippy-toes, planting a soft kiss on his cheek. “Thank you. I’ll figure out a way to repay you,” she makes her way out of the exam room, flashing a quick smile towards him before she hurries off to not be late for work.
“I’d like that too.”