The usual stuff…I do not own the characters, not making any money from this, just having some fun. Please email me with any feedback, good or bad, at cxcarleo@naz.edu --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This is separate from my usual fanfic series. The idea just came to me, so I went with it. It is, at this point, the beginning of a new series, the whole series with the name "Thank You For Being a Friend." Let me know what you think. This takes place somewhere between the end of the 5th and the beginning of the 6th season. Its pretty true to who is there, and who is not there. Doug is gone, Carol is pregnant, Mark and Elizabeth are together. I do not know exactly at what point they got together, so I am declaring them together at this point. In addition, Luka has been around for a few weeks, although he is still technically moonlighting. Thank You For Being a Friend Part 1 "Thank you for being a friend Travel down the road and back again Your heart is true You're a pal and a confidante" -Golden Girls --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Shit!" Benton exclaimed in frustration as he slammed into the lounge in the ER. He opened the door with such force that it hit the wall with a loud bang. This startled Carol, who woke with a start. "Huh? What's going on?" "I'm sorry. I didn't see you sleeping." "It's ok. I should get back out there. I've been asleep a while." "It looks like it's still quiet…." He stopped as he saw Carol grab frantically for the edge of the couch as she tried to stand. "Are you ok? Sit back down," Peter said, putting down his coffee and rushing to her side. Carol sat back on the couch, and Peter knelt down in front of her. "I don't know what happened. I didn't feel great earlier, but…." "You're very pale. Let me get someone to come take a look at you." "Thanks Peter," Carol said, laying back down. Peter walked out to the desk and saw Elizabeth standing talking to Jerry. "Excuse me," Peter said. "Elizabeth, are you busy?" "No, we're just chatting, why? Is everything ok? You look worried?" "Can you come take a look at Carol? She got lightheaded while trying to stand up and she is very pale." "Of course," Elizabeth said, hurrying off and following Peter to the lounge. Opening the door, they saw Carol curled up in the fetal position. Seeing Elizabeth and Benton come in, Carol said "I'm sorry if it smells in here. I just got sick," she said nodding toward a garbage can that was next to the couch. "I'll clean that," Peter said, taking the garbage bag and heading towards the door. "Thanks." Elizabeth sat on the edge of the couch and asked, "Do you want a cup of water to wash out your mouth?" "That would be great." As Elizabeth came back with a small cup of water, she noticed that Carol had not moved. "Do you want me to help you sit up?" "Yes please…Slowly." Elizabeth put her arm around Carol's shoulders and gently helped her sit up. Carol took small sips, not totally trusting her stomach. "I'm less dizzy than I was earlier. Maybe I stood up too quickly." "Maybe…. I still think I should check you out, if you don't mind." "I was thinking the same thing, dizziness or not, I still feel pretty lousy." "Let's go see which rooms are open. Almost all of them probably…. Do you think you can walk?" Elizabeth helped Carol stand up. "OK?" "I'm a little woozy, but I should be ok." They walked out of the lounge and passing the desk, Elizabeth looked up at the board and said to Jerry, "We're going into Exam 2." Once in the room, Carol layed on the exam table. Elizabeth asked, "How long haven't you been feeling well?" "I've been run down for about a week, but in the past few days it has gotten worse. Headache, sore throat, and today the nausea…." Feeling Carol's forehead, Elizabeth added, "and a pretty high fever." Elizabeth took Carol's temperature and noted that it was almost 103. She listened to her lungs, checked her throat, and did a throat culture. "Well we won't have the results of that until later, but I'd say the chances are pretty good that you have strep." "And the flu?" "Yes, we need to get your fever down…." Although she did not like it, Carol prepared for Elizabeth to give her the medicine. She shivered, as her body was wracked with violent chills. After she was done giving her the medicine, Elizabeth went and got her a blanket. "Rest here for a moment. I need to make a quick call." "Ok…And Elizabeth?…Thank you." Elizabeth went out to the desk, and called Mark who was off that day. "How is it today?" he asked. "Quiet, which makes me happy. Are you really busy?" "Not at all, just doing some stuff around the apartment…Why?" "I need a favor. Carol got really sick here at work. She needs to go home, but I do not want her to be alone. Her fever is high, and she's throwing up, so there is the risk of dehydration. She needs someone to watch her. I go on lunch in a few and I was thinking if I could drop her off with you, you could just take care of her?" "Of course. I'll be here all afternoon." "OK, we'll probably be there in about 20 minutes." After hanging up with Mark, Elizabeth went to talk to Kerry Weaver. She was shocked that Kerry already knew what was going on. "Jerry told me and then I heard part of your talk with Mark. Feel free to take her home. It is slow today anyway. Any idea what she has?" "The flu and probably strep." "Ooh…and on top of being pregnant, I know that doesn't feel too good." "Thanks for letting her go. I'll be back as soon as I get her settled with Mark." She then went into the lounge and got Carol's purse and jacket before walking back to the exam room. "Come on sweetie." "Huh?" "I'm driving you to the apartment. Mark is off today, and he's going to take care of you." "I can't ask him to do that." "You didn't. He is more than happy to." She helped Carol to put on her coat and they walked out toward the door. Kerry was at the desk and said, "Take care of yourself, Carol. Don't worry about coming back until you're ready." "Thanks." When they got to Mark and Elizabeth's place, Mark met them at the front door. They walked into the living room, and could see that Mark had opened the sofa bed and gotten it all ready. "You didn't have to go through all this for me." "I didn't have to, I wanted to." Elizabeth said, "I'm sorry to rush off, but I need to get back." Giving Carol a hug, she said "I'll get the results of the throat culture and let you know what they are. Call me if you need anything else and I will pick it up on my way home. If you want to change put on something of mine. We're about the same size" "Thank you so much... For everything." Elizabeth left, and Mark walked Carol to the sofa bed. "Did you want to change?" "I'm good for now, thank you." She crawled under the covers and said, "I just want to sleep." "You need plenty of rest. I have a pitcher of water here for when you need a drink." "Thanks, I will try small sips. My stomach is still not great." "You're just a mess today, aren't you?" "Yeah…" Carol said, starting to cry. "I'm sorry," Mark said, gathering her into his arms." "It's not you... I'm just…I don't know way too emotional and I feel like shit." "Well you just relax, I will take care of you," Mark said, rubbing her back gently. Minutes later, as Carol was getting sleepy, she said, "Mark?" "Yeah?" "Thank you for being such a great friend all the time." "Of course…"

Next week on ER: Carter helps Kerry around the house Getting to know Luka a little better And more

-- skinglist (skinglist@aol.com), August 22, 2001