The Devil in Disguises
Chapter Ten - Situation Unknown
By Ayoe
ayoe.lang@get2net.dk

"ER" and all its characters belong to Warner Bros. No infringement of their copyright is intended. This story was written for the enjoyment of "ER" fans everywhere, and may be downloaded for your own pleasure. However this story may not be used, distributed or archived without the permission of the author.

Rated: NC17 - harsh language and sexual contents.

A HUGE thanks to my excellent editor Cathy Roberts...don't know what I should do without you!!!

The afternoon slowly went by. John was so glad his friends were there to kill time. They'd settled in the basement away from the noise and the working officers. He'd never really talked with them before. Now he came to know them a hole lot better.

Doug spoke about his father. Carol shortly talked about her suicide attempt and Lucy told them about her life. None of them really knew much about her, so it was nice to hear her story. They talked and talked about anything and everything. They were curled up on John's bed with blankets and snacks. John felt like he was in camp. He and Lucy kept joking around. John felt that Lucy was a great girl; the sister he'd always wanted. His sister was distant to him and they always had a hard time talking with each other. This was what he'd always wished for.

Five o'clock was getting close. John was getting nervous, fidgeting alone in the empty room.

"Carter, are you okay?" Lucy gently touched his shoulders. He jumped from the sudden interfering of his thoughts. He hadn't heard her come down the stairs. He'd asked the others to give him a few minutes alone, but Lucy wanted to make sure he was okay, so she came back down. 

"Lucy!" he turned to face her. "Yeah..I'm..okay."

She sat down beside him on the bed. "I'm really sorry about this whole thing."

"Yeah..." John sighed.

"I just wanted to let you know I'm here for you. Whenever you need me."

John nodded and gave her a tired smile.

"John...you're like...well, a brother to me."

He stared at her, "You wanted to ask me out!"

She giggled, "Told you I was desperate. You're the first guy in a really long time who liked me. Without acting 15 years old. I did think of you as a friend...a brother. I just thought...why not? But, now I'm glad I didn't get to ask you. A friend like you is more important to me than a boyfriend."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"I'm glad. I've always seen you as a sister, you know."

"Yeah?" Lucy smiled. John nodded, returning the smile. "I'm so happy about that," she whispered. She hugged John. "Okay. Are you ready to go upstairs?"

John took a deep breath. "Let's do this."

They'd placed the phone on the dinner table. John was sitting in front of it, constantly turning a pen in his hand. His stomach was cramping up and Lucy was gently stroking his back.

Suddenly Mark stumbled through the front door, Peter right behind him. "We're here!"  

In thirty minutes the phone would ring. Doug and Carol were sitting across the table. Dalton next to him. Small-talk was flying across the room.

Lucy gave him a glass of water. He didn't realize how dry his throat was until he saw the water. Quickly he emptied the glass. Fifteen minutes more. Time was really going slowly right now. Lucy dragged a chair next to him.

"You really love her, huh?"

John nodded, "I've never met anyone like her, Luce."

"What's she like?"

"Oh...she's...wonderful." John started to speak about Kerry. He'd never thought he would meet anyone like her, and he'd never thought Kerry would be anything like what she was. He told his friends about how shy she really was. How much she hated being so forward, trying to hide the shyness. How scared she was of letting anyone close to her. He told the story about her childhood and what it had done to her. Lucy's eyes were filling with tears and so was his.

"I love her so much. She's everything to me."

Lucy gently hugged him.

"Okay. It's time." Dalton placed his hand on John's shoulder. John took a deep breath. The phone could ring any second now.

"I think you should move away from John now," Dalton said to the room. "We can't let Steven think John's not alone."

They all went to the couch leaving their friend alone. Peter looked at Dalton pointing to the chair Lucy had used. Dalton slowly nodded and Peter sat in it.

"Okay, man. This is it. You ready?" Peter asked.

"Will I ever be?" John signed. "Yeah....I'm ready."