Lightning Strike 3: Normal service will
be resumed as soon as possible
Spoilers for 'All in the family'
Because I don't want to turn this in to a Carter angst fic
I'm asserting that the only after-effects Carter suffered from
the incident in 'All in the Family' are chronic back pain and a
slight limp.
Previously on ER
John and Dave were struck by lightning and woke up in each
other's bodies.
They decided to play along, at least until they could figure out
how to get back to normal.
Gamma Carter insisted on bringing 'John' and 'Dave' back to her
house while they recovered.
----------------------
Two days later....
Dave finished his third bowl of cereal and pushed himself back
from the counter. Wiping away his 'milk moustache' with the back
of his hand. Strolling over to the fridge, he took a look inside.
"Let's see," he thought to himself. "What to have
for dessert?"
Man, this was the life. Living in a mansion, with a bunch of
servants to do all the work, and ready cooked food available
round the clock. Dave wondered why John had ever moved out.
Humming to himself he grabbed an ice cream from the freezer
section and went looking for John. They were due to go back to
work the next day and he wanted to get a few things sorted out
first. Locker combinations and stuff like that.
All in all, these last few days had been like a holiday for Dave.
Of course it wasn't all fun. There was the nagging pain from his
or rather John's injuries from the stabbing. And then there was
'Gamma', who had brought him breakfast in bed on the first
morning he had been there. It had been a thoughtful gesture, and
he would have appreciated it even more if he had been wearing
anything when she came into the bedroom.
To give her credit, she hadn't seemed fazed by the sight of her
'grandson' standing naked in front of the mirror. All she did was
put the tray down on the bedside table and say, 'don't catch a
cold dear' before leaving. Dave had been too shocked to say
anything.
"John." He heard her voice from below him on the stairs.
Turning around he walked down to meet her, quickly finishing his
ice cream as he went.
"Hi there," he said, as he reached the spot where she
was standing. "You going out tonight?"
"I have to attend an opera. Will you be all right here?"
"Sure thing. Jo..that is, Dave and I will probably watch a
few videos, maybe make some popcorn."
Millicent Carter frowned at the mention of Dr Malucci. "I've
been meaning to talk to you about your friend," she said to
Dave. "Is there something 'strange' about him?"
Dave shrugged his shoulders. "What d'you mean?"
"It's just that I've noticed him staring at me quite a lot.
And he has this sort of 'wistful' expression in his eyes."
"He probably just realized how mighty fine you're looking
these days," said Dave with a grin. Inwardly he was cursing
John.
Millicent swatted Dave gently on the arm. "Well you take it
easy. And don't stay up too late. I know you have an early start
tomorrow."
"We'll be good, I promise," said Dave, as he helped
Millicent into her coat.
She picked up her bag and headed for the door, stopping just to
say, "Are you sure that you're ready to go back to work? I'm
sure that nice Dr Weaver would let you have some more time off if
you needed it."
Dave laughed inwardly at the thought of the Chief's face if he
asked her for more time off. "We'll be fine. Now go and
enjoy yourself, and don't do anything I wouldn't do."
Millicent gave Dave a light kiss on the cheek. "Goodnight
John."
"Goodnight Gamma," called Dave as she sat into the car.
----------------------
Alone once more he made his way up the stairs to the guest
bedroom, where John was lying on the bed staring moodily at the
ceiling.
"Hey," said Dave as he flung open the door. "What's
up?"
"Don't you ever knock?" asked John, slightly irritated.
"Lighten up, it's not as if you've got anything I haven't
seen before," replied Dave with a grin.
"Yeah right," muttered John. "Has Gamma gone to
the opera?"
"She just left. And while we're on the subject of 'Gamma',
she told me she's caught you staring at her a lot. You'll have to
stop doing it, or she'll think you're some kind of weirdo."
John sighed. Every time he saw his grandmother, he wanted to yell
at her, 'don't you recognize me? I'm your grandson.' Of course
actually <doing> that would probably result in a quick trip
to the Psych ward and a new wardrobe consisting mainly of
straitjackets.
------------------
The next day, John and Dave were dropped outside the ER by
Gamma's chauffer. Standing outside the doors, they hesitated
momentarily, looking at each other for reassurance. "You
ready for this?" asked Dave.
John shook his head. "Not really, but we can't put it off
much longer. We just have to remember who we're supposed to be."
"Let's do it then." And together they walked into the
ER.
Chuny greeted them as they headed for the lounge. "Carter,
Malucci, good to have you back."
"It's good to be back," said Dave, easily.
"Well, Dr Weaver's in the lounge. Said she wanted a word
with both of you before you started."
"Thanks Chuny," said John, as she headed for reception.
-------------------
"Just remember to keep calling her Chief," hissed Dave
as he pushed open the door of the lounge.
"Call her chief, right, got that," said John. He wished
that they didn't have to face Kerry so soon. Of all the people in
the ER, she was probably the most observant, as well as the one
who knew him best. If anyone was going to realize that something
was wrong it would be her.
"Good morning Dr Weaver," said Dave, trying to remember
his manners.
"Morning Chief," grunted John, trying to forget his.
"John, Dave, how are you feeling?" asked Kerry, pushing
herself up from her seat at the table.
"Bit sore in places," said John as he fumbled with the
combination of Dave's locker. Damm, he couldn't remember the
combination.
"And you John?" asked Kerry smiling at Dave.
"My hand's still a bit painful, but I'm not too bad
otherwise," replied Dave. He could see that John was having
trouble and he hoped that the chief would be called away before
she got suspicious. Buttoning up the unfamiliar lab-coat, he
tried to think of a distraction. Luckily Yosh came in with a
question for Kerry. While she was busy explaining to him, Dave
took the opportunity to quickly open the locker for John.
John quickly threw Dave's jacket into the locker and grabbed his
stethoscope. They were about to leave the lounge, when Kerry
looked up from her conversation with Yosh, and said, "Just a
minute Carter, I'd like a quick word with you."
"Uh-oh," thought John, wishing that he had been able to
fill Dave in on a bit more of his history with Kerry. Still, at
least if Dave made any slip ups; he could always blame his
concussion.
"I'll catch you later Dave," said Dave as he turned
around to face Kerry.
"Sure thing, Carter," said John as he left the room.
---------------------------
Back in the lounge, Kerry sat down on the couch beside Dave.
"So how <are> you feeling John?" she asked.
"I'm fine," said Dave. "Well, still a little sore
in places. But that's to be expected."
"Hmm," said Kerry thoughtfully. "You know, you
gave me quite a scare. When I saw you lying there on the ground,
it was almost like deja-vu for me."
"Wow, Kerry, I never realized," said Dave. It had never
occurred to him that other people had been affected by the
accident.
"Well, just try not to do it again. I'm not sure I could
stand to see you on a gurney a third time." Kerry patted
Dave's hand affectionately.
Dave caught her hand and squeezed it gently. "I'll be
careful," he said, looking into Kerry's eyes.
Kerry looked into John's eyes. There was an intensity there that
she hadn't noticed before. Tearing her gaze away with difficulty,
she pulled away her hand and stood up quickly. "Try...try to
take it easy today," she said and hurried out of the room.
Dave watched her limp away. Hmm, if he had done <that>
while in his own body, the Chief would have hit him with her
crutch, or worse. "Maybe this body has it's good points
after all," he thought to himself as he headed out to work.
----------------
to be continued
Part
2