WOULDN'T IT BE GOOD
Carter and Dave
Yet another fic for the song challenge
The song in question is 'Wouldn't it be good' by Nik Kershaw (1984)
Disclaimer: I don't own these characters and I probably never
will
I'm not making any money from this, so don't bother suing me (please)
Spoilers for Loose Ends, Such Sweet Sorrow, Mayday
Wouldn't it be good
John Carter lay on his bed in the Rehab clinic staring idly out
the window. It had been twelve hours since he had been admitted.
It had been almost twenty hours since he had taken the Fentanyl
in Trauma one. He knew that the withdrawal symptoms were going to
be starting soon.
How had all this happened to him? Life had been going so well
until the fourteenth of February. He had been on track to make
chief resident next year. He had found himself a nice little
apartment after he had moved out of Kerry's place. Life had been
good. And then Paul Sobriki had turned his life upside-down. He
knew that he should consider himself lucky. Lucky hah, he thought.
Lucky to have had to crap into a bag for a month. Lucky to
require five units of blood before he'd even got as far as the
operating table. Lucky to have been in so much pain that the only
way he could cope was to increase his dosage of painkillers.
He groaned as the first cramps hit him. Why him?
Why did he have to be the one to suffer? Why had he been born to
rich parents who weren't even concerned enough about his health
to visit him in hospital? Oh sure, they had phoned him and sent
him expensive cards and flowers, but all he had really wanted was
to see their faces, telling him they loved him. The tears rolled
down his cheeks. It wasn't fair. Why couldn't his life be more
like.... say Malucci's? Dave strolled through life without a care
in the world. He had partied his way through college, but still
managed to get into med-school. John had worked his butt off
through four years of college and four years of med-school and
here was Malucci who had probably goofed off half his lectures
and yet they both were M.D.'s.
And Malucci's parents cared. On his birthday a few months after
he had started at County, Malucci had brought in a massive cake
that his mother had baked for him and shared it around. It had
been a simple cake, but the thought that Malucci's mother had
cared enough to send it to him, well why couldn't John's mother
do something like that.
As the cramps grew worse John started shivering uncontrollably.
This was only the beginning.
-----------------
I got it bad
You don't know how bad I got it
You got it easy
You don't know when you got it good
It's getting harder
Just keeping life and soul together
I'm sick of fighting
Even though I know I should
The cold is biting
Through each and every nerve and fiber
My broken spirit is frozen to the core
Don't wanna be here no more
--------------------------
John shivered as the chills started. At this moment he just
wished he could be in Malucci's shoes. Sure Malucci was rarely
out of trouble at the hospital, but he usually shrugged it off
with a wink and a smile. If only things had been different. If
only he hadn't been John Carter, rich boy and druggie. If only.
-------------------------
Wouldn't it be good to be in your shoes?
Even if it was for just one day
And wouldn't it be good if we could wish ourselves away
Wouldn't it be good to be on your side?
The grass is always greener over there
Wouldn't it be good if we could live without a care?
--------------------------
Dave Malucci lay on his bed in his tiny apartment staring idly
out the window.
The neighbors on one side were having their usual 10pm argument,
and the one's on the other side were listening to some cop show
at full volume. He thought about work that day. Carter had been
nowhere to be seen, and when he had asked around, he had been
bluntly told to mind his own business. Benton hadn't been around
either, which meant that Corday had been in and out of the ER all
day. He had done his best to avoid her, but their paths had
inevitably crossed when he had called for a surgical consult.
Corday had barely looked at him while he was filling her in on
the patient. And when she had spoken to him, the word 'doctor'
coming from her lips had sounded like an insult. He sighed and
rolled over in the bed. Man he was hot. The air conditioning had
broken down a week ago and he couldn't afford to get it repaired
until his next payday. Even then, it was going to be a stretch to
manage. Why was it that all the utility bills fell due on the
same day? Dave sighed. If only he was as rich as Carter was.
Hell, even if he was only half or a third as rich. Bet you Carter
never had to worry about his electricity supply being cut off for
non-payment. Carter probably never had to worry about his med-school
fees. Okay, the guy <had> been stabbed and nearly died, but
he was fine now. Back to work as if nothing had happened. Taking
extra shifts when old man Greene was dying, taking on twice as
many patients as anyone else.
And when Carter screwed up, everyone gave him a second chance. No
one assumed that a patient of <his> was screaming because
he hadn't been given enough pain medication.
Dave threw back the sheet in an effort to get cooler. Life just
wasn't fair. <His> life just wasn't fair. Carter didn't
know how lucky he was. The guy was probably taking a holiday
somewhere leaving the rest of the staff to pick up the slack.
---------------------------
You must be joking
You don't know a thing about it
You've got no problem
I'd stay right there if it were you
I got it harder
You couldn't dream how hard it got it
Stay out of my shoes
If you know what's good for you
The heat is stifling
Burning me up from the inside
The sweat is coming through each and every pore
Don't wanna be here no more
------------------------
"Dave is so lucky," thought Carter several hundred
miles away. "I wish I was where he is."
"Carter is so lucky," thought Dave in Chicago. "I
wish I was where he is."
------------------------
Wouldn't it be good to be in your shoes?
Even if it was just for one day
And wouldn't it be good if we could wish ourselves away
Wouldn't it be good to be on your side?
The grass is always greener over there
And wouldn't it be good if we could live without a care
------------------------
the end
Stand Alone stories