Prequel B
A Most Willing Student

Going Fourth
By: Cathy Roberts
Glroberts@bigfoot.com

One of the response stories for the "Going Fourth" FanFic Challenge, this
is also one of two Prequels to a story entitled "A Most Willing Student".
While it is not necessary to read this story and the other prequel "Going
Fourth (Cathy.3)" in order to understand "A Most Willing Student", it
certainly won't hurt, as the two stories do form the basis for the third story.

Rated 15+ for sexual overtones and one-sided m/m slash (no actual sex).

"E.R." and all its characters belong to Warner Brothers. No copyright
infringement is intended. Honest. Please ask before archiving. This was
done without the assistance of an editor, so please be gentle. They are
archived at "The Five Archives" under the Going Fourth Challenge. The
site address is http://www.hiley.demon.co.uk/archives/index.htm



Carter only had ten minutes for his break and he wanted to
get up to the fourth floor to check on the pregnant patient he
had sent up hours earlier. He saw an open elevator and headed
for it, then began to sprint as he saw the doors close.

"Can you hold the elevator, please?" he called out. A dark
arm stopped the elevator door and Carter's heart lurched as
he hoped it was Peter Benton. It had been a day or two since
he had seen Benton and he found himself wishing that it was
him in the elevator. Just him and no one else.

"Thanks." Carter was slightly out of breath as he entered the
elevator. 'Yes,' he thought, 'We're all alone.'

"No problem. What floor?"

"Four."

Benton pushed that button, then re-pushed the button for the
surgical floor.

"So, how have you been?" Benton asked him, the tone of his
voice telling Carter that he had asked because it was expected
and not because he cared. Some things never changed.

"Pretty good. How's Lucy working out?"

After she had completed her E.R. rotation, Lucy Knight had
begun a surgical rotation with Benton. Benton smiled, "Not
too badly. I am getting a little tired of hearing 'Dr. Carter this'
and 'Dr. Carter that'. She can do the basic procedures, so that's
a big help."

"I'm glad she's doing okay. She couldn't do a thing when
she started her E.R. rotation."

"Students seem to have that problem. If I remember correctly,
you couldn't do an I.V. when you started your surgical rotation."

Before Carter could reply the elevator shuddered, then came
to a lurching halt, throwing both men off balance and into the
walls. Carter cursed softly as he rubbed his left shoulder.
Why did dumb, stupid things always seem to happen to him?
And why did this have to happen in front of Benton?

"Did you injure your shoulder again?" Benton stepped up to
him and gently touched the shoulder in question.

"No. It's okay." As much as Carter wanted Benton to touch
him, he also wanted to avoid having Benton touch him. He
remembered the night he had dislocated his shoulder and how
pleased he had been to see Benton in the surgical locker room.
He had wanted so much for Benton to touch him, to examine
his shoulder with his big, but still gentle hands. How much
he had wanted Benton to kiss his shoulder and make it all better.

"You're sure?" Benton asked, probing Carter's shoulder.
"Once a joint
has been dislocated, it has a tendency to dislocate easily."

"I'm fine. I wonder what happened with the elevator? It
can't be a power failure because the lights are still on."

"I'm sure they'll have us moving again in no time." Benton
stepped away from him.

"I hope you weren't urgently needed in surgery," Carter said
as he turned his body slightly, hoping that Benton wouldn't
notice the steadily growing bulge in his pants.

Benton shook his head, "What about you? Were you in a
hurry to get to the maternity ward?"

"No. I had a patient this morning that went into premature
labor. We couldn't stop it in the E.R. so we sent her up to
Labor and Delivery. I just wanted to see if she was okay
and find out if she did have the baby." Talking about work
helped to make his erection subside. He might actually get
through the elevator ride without embarrassing himself.

Without warning the elevator jerked upward, then dropped a
few feet. Benton was thrown forward against Carter, his body
pinning the younger man to the wall.

"Are you okay?" Benton asked.

"I'm fine. What about you? Are you okay?" Oh yeah, he
was fine all right. Benton had him pressed up against the
wall and his body was responding to that full force. He was
sure that Benton would be able to feel his erection. There was
no way he could miss it, could he?

"No. I mean, yeah, I'm fine." Benton answered, then he
closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Benton's face, his
lips, were only inches away. Carter thought of how easy it
would be to kiss those lips. He knew that once he did that,
he would never want to stop. Then his medical training
slapped him upside the head. Maybe Benton was injured in
some way and that was why he wasn't moving?

"Are you sure?"

Benton opened his eyes again, his dark eyes looked at him
intently. Convinced that Benton was in pain, Carter reached
up and grabbed Benton by his upper arms. "Let me help you."

Benton pulled out of Carter's grasp. "I said I was fine." He
walked to the other side of the elevator. Carter looked down
at the floor, knowing that he had screwed up one more time.

"Sorry," Carter softly said.

"Forget it," Benton snapped, shoving his hands into the
pockets of his lab coat. Carter could sense the tension in
the air and Benton's body language told Carter that Benton
was upset with him. Was it because he had felt Carter's
erection and was angry? Maybe he hated him now and
didn't want Carter to touch him at all. Still, if Benton was
hurt, then he was the only one available right now who could
help him. Carter slowly approached him and asked, "Are you
sure that you're okay?"

Benton jumped and snapped at him, "I said I was fine. Now
drop it, Carter."

Carter shook his head, frowning, "I don't understand you at
all, Dr. Benton. You refuse to allow anyone to be your friend.
Aren't you afraid that one day you'll wake up and realize that
you're all alone?" Carter was so afraid that one day he would
be alone. Every woman he had ever cared about had ended up
dumping him and the only man he had ever been attracted to
didn't care if he lived or died.

"My personal life is none of your concern, Carter. It never
has been and it never will be."

Carter hated hearing that. As usual, Benton had slammed a
door in his face.

The elevator cam to life again and this time it kept moving.

The two men silently looked at one another until the doors
opened.

"I believe this is your floor, Carter," Benton said.

"Yeah." Carter exited the elevator, then turned around and
put his hand on the door to prevent it's closing. "If you ever
decide that you want a friend, you know where to find me."
With that, Carter dropped his hand and the door slid closed.
Maybe someday Benton would look at him in friendship. Even
though Carter so desperately wanted Benton to look at him with
something more in those eyes, he would settle for friendship.
He would settle for anything besides that look that made him
feel as if he were barely being tolerated.

Maybe someday.


The End.