This was written just after 'Under Control' and ignores any episodes after that point
THE RIGHT DECISION
Part I
Carol sat at her kitchen table with her head buried in her hands. The silence of the house overwhelmed her, but she knew it would only last as long as her mother was minding her daughters. Although normally she missed every minute spent apart from Kate and Tess, she was grateful that her mother wasn’t bringing them home for a few more hours.
As usual when she thought of her children, Doug sprang to mind. She could still see him walking away from her as he had done over a year ago. She could remember how much it hurt her to let him go, the disappointment in his eyes when she told him she wouldn’t leave Chicago. At the time the thought of leaving her home was worse than losing Doug and though she cried herself to sleep at nights for a month after he left she still believed she had made the right decision…. until now.
Ever since Lucy and Carter had been stabbed one thought had been running through Carols mind. “It could have been me”.
She had been on duty that day, she had passed by Curtain area three a dozen, no maybe a hundred times during her shift. When she left the hospital Lucy and Carter were already bleeding on the floor.
All she could think of was what would have happened to her girls if she had been the one to look for Lucy, or if she had gone into curtain area three for any reason while that maniac was running around with a six inch butcher knife.
Now a week later she had come to a decision. The girls needed more than one parent; Doug wasn’t going to make the first move. It had to be her.
She picked up the phone and dialled a number she had memorized the day she was given it. The phone rang for a few seconds and then switched to an answering machine…”hi this is Doug, leave a message after the tone”. The sound of his voice after so long nearly made Carol forget why she was calling; she hesitated for a few seconds, and then spoke. “Doug it’s Carol. I want to talk to you about our children. Please call me back”
She hung up the phone and waited. She knew he’d phone.