Watched You Fall


Watched You Fall

Chapters 1-6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapters 1-6	Chapter 7	Chapter 8	Chapter 9	Chapter 10	Chapter 11	Chapter 12
Chapter 13	Chapter 14	Chapter 15	Chapter 16-18	Chapter 19-20	Chapter 21-23	Chapter 24-26
Chapter 27-28	Home

Background: Joe broke things off with Karen after she lied to him about knowing that Neil wasn’t his son. Julie was acquitted and is divorcing Chris after Rachel found out about Chris stealing Julie’s money from Courtney and Frank and told Julie that Chris never cared about her and was only in it for the money. Christina was a bone marrow match for Neil and he’s recovering. It has not yet come out that Christina is Julie and Frank’s daughter.

Chapter 1

“So Karen, is the rumor true?” Chris Ramsey asked as he approached Karen at the Nurse’s Station.
“Not now Chris, I have enough things to worry about without having to try to figure out what gossip is going around the hospital. Shouldn’t you be worrying about your own relationship problems?” Karen replied, clearly annoyed.
“Aw, c’mon Karen, I just wanted to know if it was true that you and Saint Scanlon were really over. I was going to congratulate you for finally getting away from that family! Oh, and by the way, I have no relationship problems. Julie is divorcing me and that’s the end of it.”
“Looks like we both managed to screw up our relationships.”
“Whoa, are you actually admitting that we have something in common?”
“Hardly. I didn’t bribe Courtney into telling me where she and Frank were hiding the money that they stole from Julie, only to steal it for myself!”
“Gee Karen, you sound surprised. I know you’ve always thought of me as a low-life snake, so why wouldn’t I do something like that?”
“I don’t know, Chris, maybe I thought that you had changed. You seemed to really care about Julie, but I guess it was just her money you cared about.”
“Why would I want to change when I’ve worked so hard to build up this reputation?” Chris said sarcastically.
“You’re too much!” Karen said rolling her eyes.
“Hey, don’t be mad at me because Joe dumped you for lying to him about Neil’s paternity.”
“Frank and Courtney are the one’s who should have told him as soon as they found out! I hated keeping that from him, but it wasn’t my place to be the one to tell him.”
“You’re right, it wasn’t, but that’s not how Joe saw it and instead of putting all the blame on Frankenstein and Courtney where it belonged, he took most of it out on you.”
“I really don’t want to talk about this with you! Now if you’ll excuse me, I have patients to see,” Karen said grabbing a chart and taking off down the hall.
Karen checked on her patients and then headed into the on-call room. Joe was sitting on the couch looking at a file. He looked at Karen and stood up to leave.
“Joe, please wait.”
“I have nothing to say to you, Karen.”
“I just wanted to know how…”
“Wanted to know what, Karen? You gave up that right when you lied to me! I’ve already told you that I don’t want to have anything to do with you unless it’s work related!” Joe yelled at her walking out the door.
Karen fell into the couch as the tears soaked her face. When she had finally composed herself, she went over to the desk and picked up the phone.
“Hey Scott, its Karen.”
“Karen, hi, what can I do for you?”
“Um, actually, I was…”
“Can you hold on a second, Karen? Lucy’s yelling for me,” Scott interrupted.
“Sure,” Karen said waiting for him to come back.
“Sorry about that. She couldn’t find Christina’s diapers. Now what is it you were saying?”
“I just ran into Joe and he wouldn’t even let me ask him about how Neil was doing! He just yelled at me and told me that he wanted nothing to do with me,” Karen explained feeling the tears start up again.
“Ya, well Joe’s a jerk. You were just trying to protect him and it wasn’t your place to tell him that Frank slept with Courtney when Joe and her were together and that Neil was Frank’s son.”
“I know, but I can’t help feeling like…”
“I’m sorry, Karen, can I call you back? Serena needs me upstairs,” Scott interrupted again.
“I, um, I was just leaving, so I’ll, ah, I’ll talk to you later,” Karen lied, her heart sinking as she hung up the phone.
She looked around the empty room and it hit her just how alone she really was. The only think she had left was the one thing she wanted to get rid of: the pain. She grabbed her coat and went to the Outback.
“Hey Karen, you look like you’ve had a rough day,” Felicia observed as Karen took a seat at the bar.
“That’s an understatement. I’ll have a Seven and Seven.”
“Coming right up.”

“Eve, did you and Kevin find out anything more on Rachel?” Chris whispered as they walked down the hall of the hospital.
“Not yet, but as soon as we found out her connection to this ‘Livvie’, we’ll be able to put all the pieces together.”
“I can’t wait for the day that that woman’s secrets finally come out and she’s exposed as the fraud she really is.”
“I know. The only good thing she’s done since she got here was getting you out of that marriage to the axe murderer!”
“Don’t start, Eve,” Chris warned.
“I’m sorry, I know that for some twisted reason that I will never understand that you really care about Julie.”
“I’d still like to know how Rachel found out about the money. She couldn’t wait to run to Julie and get her to think that I never had any feelings for her and that I was only in it for her money. Julie will believe anything that woman says.”
Eve bit her tongue to keep from making a comment that she knew Chris wouldn’t like.
“I’ve gotta go, I’m meeting Kevin at the PC Grill for dinner. Are you going to be okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. I’m just going to go out and throw back a few Martini’s and then take a cab home and pass out.”
“Okay, but if you need anything, just call me on my cell phone,” Eve said kissing him on the cheek before they took off in different directions.

“Can I get a refill?” Karen asked holding up her glass.
“Maybe you should slow down, Karen. How about a cup of coffee instead?” Felicia offered taking away her third empty glass.
“Nah, I’ll stick with the alcohol, it tastes better!” Karen giggled.
“Maybe you should listen to her, Wexler,” Chris said taking a seat on the stool next to Karen.

Chapter 2

“Maybe you should mind your own business! Don’t you have someone else to annoy?” Karen said.
“Oo, you’re nasty when you’re drunk!”
“I’m not drunk, I’m…”
“Ah, nice try, you’re wasted, Karen. This isn’t like you, what happened?”
“How do you know what’s like me? You don’t know a thing about me.”
“Fine, you want to drink away your sorrows, then let me buy you your next drink. Two Martinis please.”
“Whoa, Chris Ramsey’s being nice? Should I be worried?”
“No, I just have an idea of what you’re going through and came here to do the same thing you are.”
“Well then, here’s to our miserably pathetic, lonely lives,” Karen slurred clinking her glass against Chris’s.
“I’ll drink to that,” Chris agreed.
“I’m beginning to think I’m cursed,” Karen admitted finishing off her drink.
“What makes you think that?”
“Because no matter how good things seem, they always end and I end up back at the beginning, all alone. It’s got to be me. I don’t know what I’m doing wrong, but it’s got to be bad if everyone just keeps leaving me!”
“Karen, I already told you, you’re better off without Joe, but I get the feeling that’s not all that’s bothering you.”
“I just said it Chris, I’m cursed. Jagger didn’t want to be with me anymore, so he cheated on me. Joe hates me for lying to him, so he left me. My mother’s off in Canada somewhere and Scott just doesn’t ca…” Karen stopped not wanting to say the words.
“C’mon Karen, you don’t really believe that, do you?”
“Forget I said anything, let’s change the subject. And how about another round of Martinis!”
“Not for you, you’ve had enough. Maybe I should take you home.”
“Home is the last place I want to be right now. It’s empty and lonely and…and I wanna dance! Let’s see whatcha got, Ramsey!” Karen exclaimed grabbing his hand to pull him off the stool.
“You want to dance with me? I thought you thought I was slime?” Chris teased, not moving.
“I do, but I wanna dance and you’re right here!” Karen smiled.
“Admit it, you want me!”
“Oh get over yourself, Chris! Ya know what, I changed my mind, I’m going to go home,” Karen rolled her eyes as she went to get up.
She got up too fast and the dizziness hit. She lost her balance and Chris caught her before she hit the ground.
“Karen! Are you okay?” Chris exclaimed as he helped her stand.
“Whoa, that was spiffy!” Karen giggled.
“Spiffy? All right, now I know you’re trashed! Let’s get you home so you can sleep this off.”
Chris led Karen to his car and drove her home. He helped her inside and sat her on the couch.
“So, this is where the Chief Resident lives, huh? Cute…” Chris teased.
“Yep, this is my nice lonely little apartment. See why I didn’t want to come home?”
“I don’t want to go back to my place either. Ever since Julie moved out, it’s just so empty. We were just starting to really connect, and then Rachel had to come in and convince Julie that I was only after her money.”
“You really care about her, don’t you?”
“Yeah, I do. I tried to get her to believe me, but with all the lies that Rachel planted in her head, I just couldn’t get through to her. So, here I am, all alone again.”
“Join the club,” Karen sulked.
“I must admit, the last thing I expected to be doing tonight is taking care of my incapacitated boss.”
“Ah, I can take care of myself, thank you very much! I don’t remember asking you for your help!” Karen glared at him.
“Well, ya coulda fooled me! Do you also not remember that had I not been there to catch you, you would have landed on the ground?! Well, I see where being nice gets me! I’d have more luck trying to run through a brick wall!” Chris exclaimed standing up to leave.
Karen felt the guilt set in and she got up to stop him.
“I’m sorry, Chris. I didn’t mean to sound so ungrateful. I appreciate everything you’ve done for me. Please stay,” Karen begged touching his arm.
“I really should go. You need some sleep. You’re going to have a hellova hangover in the morning.”
“This is probably the alcohol talking, but I want you to stay, please,” Karen sat back down as Chris’s eyes widened, “I know we’re not exactly friends, but neither of us wants to be alone right now, so we might as well keep each other company.”
“Sounds good to me as long as you’re going to be nice! I mean, it’s the least you could do after I rescued you from yourself tonight!” Chris smirked sitting in the chair by the couch.
“Aw, thanks for the rescue, Superman.”
“Think ya can keep my secret, Lois?” Chris whispered, winking at her.
“My lips are sealed!” Karen laughed, “And for the record, I’m always nice. People expect me to be the friendly little goody-goody who never does anything wrong. So, that’s who I am. It’s been so long, I think I’ve even forgotten the definitions of the words spontaneous, impulsive, excitement even!”
“Don’t you ever get bored with playing the good girl? Why don’t you try being you and to Hell with anyone who doesn’t like it!”
“You know, I might as well! It’s not as though I’ve got anyone to stop me. Playing the sweet, innocent one just isn’t doing it for me anymore. I’m sick of people expecting so much from me.”
“You shouldn’t do things just to make everyone else happy. You need to make yourself happy for a change and stop worrying so much about what other people think…” Chris explained looking over at Karen.
She had passed out across the couch and probably didn’t hear a word of what he had said. He just sat there looking at her, trying to figure out how he had managed to end up in her apartment. He knew that there was more going on with her then she was telling him, but couldn’t figure out why he had this feeling that he needed to find out. It’s not like Karen and him were best friends or anything, but for some reason, and maybe it was because she had opened up to him a bit, he felt almost like they had connected on some level. He continued to watch her sleeping peacefully wondering if he should chalk her behavior up to too much to drink, or if this was the real Karen that she never let anyone see?

Chapter 3

Chris woke up to the sound of a door slamming. He jumped up and his eyes frantically scanned the room. He quickly remembered where he was and realized that he must have fallen asleep while he was watching Karen sleep.
“Karen? Are you okay?” Chris called out.
“Please don’t yell! My head feels like it’s going to explode,” Karen begged putting her hand to her forehead, “Ugh, I can not believe I drank so much.”
“Aw, does poor Karen have a hangover?” Chris joked, “Why don’t I go make you a pot of coffee and some toast,” Chris offered going into the kitchen.
“What are you doing here?”
“I fell asleep after we…”
“Oh my…please tell me that I didn’t black out and that we…We didn’t, right? Please tell me that nothing happened!”
“You really don’t remember, do you? I brought you home after Felicia and I shut you off and we were talking and you started going on about not wanting to be alone and…”
“Ugh, I think I’m going to be sick again,” Karen groaned starting for the bathroom.
“Nothing happened, Karen!” Chris said stopping her, “We talked and we fell asleep, that’s all.”
“That’s all?” Karen asked as Chris nodded, “Did I make a total fool out of myself? I think I remember everything, but I’m not sure. Please tell me everything that happened.”
“Well you were already pretty wasted when I ran into you at the Outback and we insulted each other like we usually do and then I bought you a drink. You started going on about thinking you were cursed and then just changed the subject. I brought you home after having to catch you because you couldn’t even stand up. We talked for a while and you asked me to stay because you didn’t want to be alone and we just fell asleep.”
“I think I remember that conversation. Please forget about anything I said, I was drunk and it just came out. I don’t know what I was talking about.”
“Yes you do, you meant every word of it. You’re tired of living up to everyone’s expectations and you want to just be yourself. So, who exactly is the real Karen Wexler?” Chris inquired.
“You’re looking at her! Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’d like to die in peace,” Karen grumbled stretching across the couch.
“Don’t you have to work today? Here, eat slowly and sip this,” Chris said handing her dry toast and a cup of coffee.
“Ugh, I forgot about work. Thanks for making this, you didn’t have to do that.”
“Don’t mention it. We’ll just add it to the list of nice things I’ve done for you and you can just repay me whenever you get a chance,” Chris smiled walking towards the door.
“Goodbye Chris!”
“See you at work,” Chris said leaving.

“Hey Chris, you’re looking strangely happy today. Did I miss something?” Eve wondered entering the on-call room.
“What, I can't have a good day? Just because my wife’s divorcing me doesn’t mean that I have to be miserable all the time. It wastes too much energy to be miserable, so I’m not going to bother.”
“Good for you, and besides, Julie’s not worth it. You’ll find a woman who deserves a great guy like you. Just give it some time.”
Karen walked in and went over to the coffeepot.
“What, no hello?” Chris teased, “I guess the walking dead don’t notice us mortals.”
“Hello Chris. Hi Eve. Is that better?” Karen replied glaring at him.
“Much, thank you!” Chris smiled, “Didn’t your shift end like two hours ago?”
“Yeah, but I have nothing better to do so I figured I’d stick around.”
“So dedicated to your work! Why can’t there be more doctors like you?”
“I guess I’m one of a kind, huh?” Karen said sarcastically.
“Are you feeling better? You still look a little pale.”
“I still have a pounding headache and I can’t even look at food, but other then that, I’m just peachy! I gotta get to the OR. I’m observing a pericardectomy. Bye guys.”
“What?” Chris asked noticing Eve staring at him after Karen left.
“Would you care to translate that little scene that just played out here?”
“It’s a long story and would ya look at that! I have to go start rounds,” Chris said looking at his watch.
“Fine, I’ll just hunt you down later!” Eve warned as Chris hurried out of the room.

“Karen, have you seen Mr. Campbell’s chart?” Joe asked stopping her in the hallway.
“No, I haven’t. Um, can we talk?” Karen went into an empty room and Joe followed her in.
“Do you not understand that I don’t want to talk to you? You broke up with me when you thought that I was lying to you about being some sex addict, but you expect me to forgive you for lying to me? Sorry, but it doesn’t work that way, Karen.”
“But we got through that, Joe. Why can’t we get through this? I didn’t tell you that Frank was Neil’s father because…”
“Because you were trying to protect me, yeah, you’ve tried that one before. And ya know what? I don’t care! You didn’t trust me before and this time you didn’t trust that I could handle finding out that Neil was Frank’s! I can’t be with a liar that doesn’t trust me.”
“I was just trying to make an effort to save our relationship! I love you, Joe, and I think we can work things out,” Karen said her eyes glassing over with tears.
“If you really loved me, you would trust me and wouldn’t have kept things from me. There’s nothing left to save, Karen, we’ve been over for a while. Too bad it took so long for us to realize it,” Joe replied coldly leaving the room.
The tears spilled over, drenching Karen’s face. She slid down the wall, burying her face in her hands. As much as she wanted to deny it, she knew Joe was right. Things just hadn’t been right between them since Frank and Courtney schemed to break them up. The reality finally hit and Karen knew that there was nothing that could be done, and it was really over. She wiped away the tears and headed back to work figuring it was the one thing she had left to keep her from completely falling apart.

Chapter 4

Julie stepped off the elevator and headed down the hallway towards Rachel’s office. She ran into Chris on the way.
“Julie, hey, is everything okay?” Chris asked surprised to see her.
“Not that it’s any of your business, but I’m here to see Rachel and I’m late, so please excuse me.”
Chris stood and watched Julie disappear around the corner. He saw Eve at the Nurse’s Station and went over to her.
“How would you like to have a late lunch with me at the Recovery Room?”
“I would love to, I’m starving. Give me ten minutes to finish this so I can start rounds as soon as I get back.”
“Great, I’ll meet you back here in ten minutes,” Chris said walking off.
“Eve, do you know if Dr. Jones is around? I need to ask him about a patient,” Karen asked approaching.
“I believe he’s still in surgery. I thought you had today off?”
“I did, but I didn’t feel like going home, so I stayed and lost track of time while I was catching up on some work.”
“Well, you look exhausted, you should go home.”
“I’m fine, I slept in the on-call room for about three hours. I can’t go home, I’m meeting Scott for lunch.”
“You pulled a double shift yesterday and the day before, and you’re working on your day off. Something is definitely wrong, spill.”
“Nothing’s wrong, I just have a lot to do around here and I have time, so I might as well get things done,” Karen lied.
“Uh huh, sure. Does this have anything to do with that strange conversation between you and Chris a few days ago?”
“I really have to go, I’m already late,” Karen said dodging the question, “Thanks for the concern, but there’s nothing to be concerned about. See you later,” Karen said getting on the elevator.

“Karen, your father just called and said he’s sorry but he wont be able to make it for lunch, but he’ll call you tonight,” Mike relayed the message approaching the table.
“Thanks Mike,” Karen replied forcing a smile.
“Can I get you a menu?”
“No, I’m just going to go back to work.”
“Alright, fine, turn down a gourmet meal for hospital cafeteria food!”
“Well Mike, if I decide I’m hungry, I promise I’ll come back,” Karen told him standing up.
Mike winked at her and went back behind the bar. Karen started for the door, but it opened before she got to it.
“Karen, where are you going? I thought you were meeting Scott?” Eve asked.
“Um, something came up, he had to cancel.”
“Why don’t’ you join me and Chris?” Eve offered noticing the disappointed look on her face.
“Thanks but I’m just going to go back to the hospital and see what I can get done over there. I’ll see you two back at the hospital,” Karen said leaving.
“Is it just me or does something not seem right with her?”
“Eve, Joe just broke up with her and has been treating her like dirt ever since they got back together after Frank and Courtney broke them up, and Scott just stood her up. I’m sure she’s just got a lot on her mind and she thinks throwing herself into her work will make it all go away,” Chris explained thinking back to the night he found her at the Outback.
“She’s wearing herself out is what she’s doing. I tried talking to her about it earlier and she acted like nothing was wrong.”
“Well, Karen obviously isn’t ready to talk. How about we change the subject?” Chris said, not wanting to let on that he was so concerned about Karen.
He made a mental note to find out just what was going on with Karen. Sure they weren’t exactly friends, but ever since spending the night at her apartment, he couldn’t stop thinking about her.

The next day-
“Karen! There you are, I’ve been looking all over for you!” Alan exclaimed approaching her.
“Yeah, sorry, I got your message, but I haven’t had a free moment since I walked through the door, and I’m not even on today! I can’t believe the nurses really did it.”
“This strike has left us extremely short-handed. Stefan Cassadine has called for a meeting in about an hour,” Alan said looking at his watch, “I know you’ve been working a lot these past few days, but we really need you to stick around today.”
“Of course. I was just going to go home and catch up on some sleep, but I can always reschedule that,” Karen joked, smiling slightly.
“Ah, you’re forgetting Dr. Wexler, Residents aren’t allowed to sleep!”
Karen’s pager went off.
“That’s the ER, I’ll see you at the meeting,” Karen said heading downstairs.
“Matt, did you just page me?”
“Yes, Lucy and your father just came in. Scott was playing catch with Serena in the yard yesterday and it looks like he broke his index finger. Nothing major, but I’m about to head up to surgery so I couldn’t examine him and everyone else is busy running around. He’s in curtain three.”
“Thanks, I’ll go take a look at him,” Karen replied with a hint of disappointment in her voice.
She knew she shouldn’t be jealous, but she couldn’t help it. He couldn’t find time to have lunch with her, and be there when she needed him, yet he had time to play catch?
“Wow, things are pretty crazy around here, huh? I tried to get him to come in yesterday, but he kept insisting that he was fine! You know how stubborn your father is, he just wouldn’t give in!” Lucy explained.
“Hey, I tried calling you a few times last night but I kept getting your machine. I wanted to apologize for missing lunch yesterday. I had some business to take care of and I knew you’d understand.”
“Yeah, I was here late last night and went straight to bed when I got home, so I didn’t get to return any messages,” Karen replied as she examined his hand.
“Are you feeling alright? You look really run down,” Lucy observed.
“Lucy, she’s a doctor, I think she knows how to take…ouch!…to take care of herself.”
“I’m okay, it’s just been a long couple of days. I’m pretty positive it’s broken, but we’ll do a x-ray just to be sure,” Karen told him, trying to avoid the topic.
Karen sent them to radiology and went to get a splint and some medical tape to keep the finger stabilized.
“What can he take for the pain?”
“I’ll have to run down the hall and get you a few Vicodin. You can take one every four to six hours.”
“Wait, before you go, the other day when you called me and I had to hang up, you sounded pretty upset. Was there something you needed to talk to me about?”
“No, I was just having a bad day and thought I’d call, but I’m over it,” Karen said unable to suppress the annoyance.
“I meant to call you back, but…”
“Don’t worry about it, Scott, I understand that you’re busy. You’ve got work, and two daughters to raise. I already told you that I’m over it, so let’s just drop it!”
Karen got up and left the room leaving Lucy and Scott stunned. She unlocked the cabinet door and scanned the medication. Almost automatically, her fingers stopped at the Diazepam. Without thinking, she picked it up and closed her eyes. She flashed back to when she was seventeen and stealing pills from the hospital. She quickly put it back, but accidentally knocked over the Dexedrine. Feeling the exhaustion set in, and thinking about how bad she felt for snapping at Scott, she knew that if she kept going at this pace, she was bound to crash sooner or later. As much as she knew that she needed to get out of there, away from the temptation, she was frozen. Even though it had been a while, and she had almost forgotten what it felt like, she found herself craving the easy way out. Distraction from the pain of her break up with Joe, and feeling abandoned by her parents. Picking up the individually wrapped pills, she nonchalantly shoved a few in her pocket before grabbing the Vicodin for Scott.

Chapter 5

“Here, as I said before, just take one every four to six hours. I wrote everything down for you,” Karen said handing the medication to Scott.
“Karen, I think we should talk about what happened before. Something is obviously bothering you and I’d like you to help me understand it,” Scott said sincerely.
“It’s not worth it, nothing will change. I need to get back to work, I hope your finger feels better,” Karen said in an irritated tone.
“Please let us try, Karen…” Lucy started as Karen left.
“What’s going on with her?”
“Something is definitely not right. I’ve never seen her like that”
“Me either. She’s always so good at handling things, but the stress of the strike seems to be getting to her.”
“Seems to me she just wants her father to be there for her. She’s reaching out and there’s no one at the other end.”
“Karen knows that I’m always here if she needs me.”
“Face it, Pal, you haven’t exactly made much of an effort to be her father. As someone who grew up without my parents, I can understand where she’s coming from. Sure I had Aunt Charlene, but I always wondered what it would be like to have my mother and father raising me. Karen basically had to raise herself, and I’m not saying that’s you’re fault, you didn’t know you had a daughter, but I’m sure she dreamt about having her mother and father be around for her.
Now, she’s got a sober mother and she finally knows her father, and her mother’s living in Canada and her father’s busy with his other daughters. I think that’s what she was trying to say. From what I’m getting out of this, she’s feeling a bit rejected.”
“Lucy, that’s ridiculous. I’m not rejecting Karen!” Scott exclaimed, offended.
“I’m just telling you what I think is going on. I could be wrong, but you have to admit that you’ve been blowing her off a lot lately.”
“It’s not like I’m doing it on purpose! I think that she’s just having trouble getting over Joe and she’s all stressed out about the strike and she needed to let off some steam. I’ll give her a call later and see if she wants to talk.”
Lucy just shrugged her shoulders and followed Scott out of the hospital.

Chris slipped into the on-call room and closed the door behind him. He looked around the empty room and let out an exhausted sigh. He went over to his locker and took out the envelope that held his divorce papers. He sank into the couch and looked them over. There was no way he could get Julie to change her mind, and as he thought about it, maybe a divorce was the right way to go. Especially seeing as how he couldn’t get Karen out of his mind. He picked up the pen that was sitting on the table and started signing the papers.

“Hey Julie, what are you doing answering phones?” Karen asked approaching the nurse’s station.
“Alan agreed to let me help out during the strike. I heard that he hired Frank as a nurse, so I figured I’d try to get him to give me my old job back, but he said it’s this or nothing.”
“Well, either way, I’m glad to have you back,” Karen smiled as the phone rang, “If anyone needs me, I’ll be in my office.”
Julie nodded and picked up the phone. Karen grabbed her messages and went to her office. She threw her stethoscope onto the cot and took a bottle of water out of the little refrigerator in the corner. She sat at her desk and stared off into space. All she could think about was the pills in her pocket. She couldn’t believe things had gotten so bad that she was losing control over her own life. Every time she turned around, things were getting worse and she felt like there was no way to stop it.
Karen reached into her pocket and pulled out the medication. She put all but one in her desk drawer and she opened the little package. Holding the little pill in her palm, she stared at it, contemplating what to do with it. Knowing that she should throw it away and return the rest to the cabinet, she popped it into her mouth and swallowed it down just as there was a knock at the door.

Chapter 6

Karen nearly jumped out of her skin at the sound of someone at the door. She managed to get the wrapper in the trash as the door opened.
“Hey, I’m sorry to burst in, but Monica’s looking for you,” Chris told her, “You look like you’ve just seen a ghost. Are you feeling alright?”
“I’m…yeah, I’m fine. I just had a fight with Scott, that’s all,” Karen lied a bit, “Are things any less hectic out there?”
“Oh wouldn’t that be nice! No, actually, it’s getting worse. We’re all so exhausted that we’re at each other’s throats. I almost killed Harmon earlier! He was trying to tell me that…” Chris stopped when he noticed Karen wasn’t paying attention, “Karen? Knock, knock.”
“What? Oh, sorry, I was spacing. What were you saying?”
“Never mind, it wasn’t important. You should go see what Monica wants. I’ll be around if you decide you want to talk.”
Chris left, leaving Karen confused. Since when is Chris so interested in her problematic life? Sure he helped her out that night at the Outback, but she figured that he had just done it out of kindness.
“Wait, what am I thinking? Chris doesn’t act out of kindness! He’s got to be looking for something…” Karen thought to herself as she left her office to find Monica.
She couldn’t help but feel guilty for trying to find an ulterior motive to explain Chris’s sudden interest in her crumbling life. People saw Chris as an obnoxious jerk that would do anything to get what he wanted. Karen was starting to wonder if there was another side to Chris, a softer, gentler side that he was slowly letting her see. But why her?
She continued down the hall hoping she’d soon be finding an answer to her questions.

“Oh God, the rumors were true!” Eve exclaimed, surprised to see Julie at the nurse’s station, “Gee, they must really be desperate for help if they’re letting any nut that will cross the picket line work!”
“Yeah, well hello to you, too!” Julie snapped not even looking at her as she continued to copy down a message.
“Oo, here’s that chart,” Eve started walking away, got an idea, and stopped, “Wait, I almost forgot…” She pulled a small drawstring bag out of her lab coat pocket, “Some little boy found these and I was going to bring them up to Peds, but I think they might be yours.”
Eve dropped the bag on the desk and walked away, smiling to herself. Julie picked it up, opened it and poured its contents onto her palm. Marbles.

“So, how’d the meeting this afternoon go? Will the strike be ending anytime soon?” Frank asked approaching Karen.
“Huh?” Karen jumped almost dropping the chart she was reading, “Oh, the meeting…um, well Cassadine doesn’t want to budge, but my grandfather’s doing his best to get him to give in to some of the nurse’s more reasonable requests.”
“Let’s just hope things are resolved soon. My mother’s not too happy with me for crossing the picket line, but she understands why I’m doing it.”
“We’re really grateful to have you helping out. We’ve almost made it through day one, but without the nurses, things are getting tougher to handle.”
“It can’t be easy being Chief Resident in a situation like this and having to boss your friends around. You’re doing a great job keeping it together, Karen.”
She was surprised by Frank’s compliment. If only he knew that even though she looked together on the outside, on the inside she was falling apart.
“Thank you, Frank, that means a lot coming from you.”
“Well, we might not be the close friends we used to be, but that doesn’t mean that I stopped caring. Just because Joe doesn’t…”
“Please don’t take this the wrong way, but I really don’t want to talk about Joe right now.”
“Not a problem, I’m sorry I brought it up. Oh, I need this form signed, please.”
Karen took the pen from her pocket and tried to keep her hand steady as she signed the paper.
“Looks like you need to cut down on the coffee,” Frank teased noticing her shaky hands.
“Yeah, I guess I do,” Karen half smiled, “I should get up to ICU, I’ll see you around.”
Karen hurried up the stairs, her heart pounding as she leaned against the wall and took a few deep breaths. She got lucky being able to pass off her shakiness as too much caffeine, but that excuse would only work for so long. Not wanting to worry about it, she headed into her patient’s room.

Julie opened the door to the on-call room only to find Chris stretched out on the bed sleeping.
“Chris…hey, Chris, get up. Joe needs you to decipher the dosage of medication you’ve prescribed for Sandra Holmes,” Julie said shaking him.
“I’ll be there in a minute,” Chris groaned trying to keep his eyes open as he went over to his locker to get out the divorce papers, “Here, I finished signing these. So, I guess it’s official, huh?”
“Will be after the divorce is finalized, but we’ve been over since the day you stole my money. I should have listened to everyone when they told me to stay away from you. The only good thing you did for me was help me bring my daughter into this world. Now I just need to get her back from those Baldwins.”
Julie left before Chris had a chance to comment. He picked up his stethoscope and went to find Joe.
“There you are, I can’t read this chicken scratch of yours. What’s the dosage on this?”
“It clearly says give five milligrams q.i.d., now that’s four times a day” Chris said slowly, smiling.
Annoyed, Joe grabbed the file out of Chris’s hand and got on the elevator. Chris chuckled to himself.
“You sure ticked him off,” Karen said coming up behind Chris.
“He’ll get over it. You’re looking a little too bubbly for someone who’s been working non-stop for days. What’s your secret?”
“I…I just started realizing that things are really over between Joe and I and that I need to move on and stop dwelling on something that I can’t change.”
“Funny, I just came to the same realization about Julie and I. I signed the divorce papers, now we just have to wait for it to be finalized,” Chris told her sadly.
“Well Dr. Ramsey, as soon as this strike is over, we’ll have to go out for a drink to celebrate our newly single lives,” Karen smiled before walking away.
Now it was Chris’s turn to be confused. Had Karen Wexler just asked him out? No matter what the reasons behind it were, he found himself intrigued by the idea of going out with Karen.

Chapters 1-6	Chapter 7	Chapter 8	Chapter 9	Chapter 10	Chapter 11	Chapter 12
Chapter 13	Chapter 14	Chapter 15	Chapter 16-18	Chapter 19