Between You & Me, Chap. 2
Title: Between You & Me
Author: Gaia
Rating: FRM (Profanity)
Disclaimer: Without Prejudice. The names of all characters contained here-in are the property of NBC, Inc. No Infringments of these copyrights are intended, and are used here without permission. Any characters not a part of ER are my own so please no touching.
Spoilers: S12 & S13
Content Warning: Could become a little heated later on...we'll see.
Okay, forgot to mention this, but we will find out more about Laura & Ray's relationship in the next chapter. So hang tight. :D
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CHAPTER 2
One month later.
The rude ringing of the phone interrupted Ray’s sleep. It was just as well since he had been having unsettling dreams. But the fatigue from the last few weeks at the ER had taken its toll and he felt as though he was on the brink of collapse.
“What?” Ray barked into the phone.
“Good morning to you too.” Laura replied, a smile in her voice. Ray glanced at his alarm clock. It flashed the painful truth: 7 am.
“I just wanted to let you know that I’m waiting for you at the train station.”
That caught Ray’s attention. “What? Laura, you’re here? In Chicago?”
“No. This is all a dream, Ray. I figured since you don’t let me visit you in real life, why don’t I haunt your dreams?”
Ray groaned. Laura was here. In Chicago. Now. “God, Laura. Did you know that it’s polite to inform people that you’ll be arriving and taking over their homes?”
“I could’ve just taken the cab to your apartment you know. At least I called beforehand.”
“Let me guess. You didn’t have enough for the cab fare?”
“Oh, you’re so funny. Just come get us, will you?” Laura hung up.
Ray sighed and got ready.
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Ray stood in the middle of Union Station, amid a multitude of bustling people, searching for Laura.
“Ray! Ray, I’m over here!” Ray turned towards where he thought Laura was, and lo and behold, there she was. He couldn’t help but give in and smile at the pleasure of seeing her. He jogged over to her and in one smooth move, gathered her in a tight embrace. After several seconds he finally released her.
He took his time appraising her and laughingly she turned to the side for his inspection. “Have you gotten chubbier around the middle?”
Alarm shot into her eyes, and her hands immediately went to her belly, squeezing and pinching to gauge the truth of that remark. Only Ray’s teasing laughter distracted her. She playfully smacked him on the arm.
After quieting down, Ray finally realized that he had yet to welcome his other guest. Bending down onto one knee, he peered beneath the stroller’s hood to see sleeping Meg’s cherubic face. It had been a long time since he had seen her beautiful face and he felt a pang of shame for not being more present in her life.
“Hi, baby girl.” Reaching in he gently pressed a kiss on her forehead. “Wow, Laura. She’s grown so much.”
“I brought her with me to make you feel guilty for being inattentive.”
Ray shook his head slowly, “Well, it sure worked.”
“It’s okay, Ray. Don’t worry about it.”
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Ray called in sick that day so he could spend time with Laura and Meg. He made pancakes while Laura tucked Meg into Neela’s old bed. He could hear her singing softly but couldn’t make out the words.
“What were you singing to her?” Ray asked when Laura reappeared in the kitchen.
“‘Imagine.’ I figure it’s never too early to teach your kid about world peace and tolerance.”
“Well, I’m very proud of you,” Ray said and pressed a kiss on her cheek and simultaneously pressed the flipper into her palm. “You’re a good mom. Who would’ve thought?”
Laura laughed but sobered quickly, adeptly taking up the cooking. “Ray, my visit here might be long term.”
Ray turned slowly from the refrigerator. “What do you mean?”
“I left him. I left Joel.” Laura stated calmly, turning off the stove and prepared a plate of pancakes for herself and Ray. The only gesture that gave her away was the shivering of her hands as she placed the plate in front of Ray. Ray reached over and squeezed her hand tightly. “Why?”
“He was cheating on me.”
Stars exploded into Ray’s periphery and his grip on Laura’s hand tightened in anger. “That fucking bastard!”
“Ray! Calm down! You’ll wake the baby.” Laura exclaimed.
Ray massaged his temples and his shook his head in apology. “Where is he now?”
“He’s at the house.”
“He kicked you out?!”
“No. I just couldn’t bear to be in that house. I had to get away. So I came here. I hope you don’t mind.”
“God, Laura, of course I don’t mind. I just feel like killing that sonovabitch. With my bare hands. Dammit, I’m going to find the fuckhead and castrate him. Without morphine.”
“Trust me, that sounds incredibly tempting but we’re adults. We can’t do that.” Laura said, regretfully.
Ray stood up and hugged Laura again. He whispered into her dark, curly hair, “How are you dealing with this?”
“I don’t know. I try to make myself so busy that I don’t have time to think about it. But then at night, it comes back, all the hurt and pain.”
That makes the two of us, Ray thought, “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because it hurt too much. Love is supposed to be forever and when you realize that not everyone feels that way it cuts you. And it’s so hard to live in a world with sunshine and happiness feeling the way you do. It’s shaming.”
“You should’ve still told me! I love you too. I would’ve taken care of you.”
“I know. But I couldn’t bear to see you. You would be so good to me; so kind. I couldn’t bear it. And besides, no matter who was with me, the only person who could move past it would have to be me.”
“And have you? Moved past it I mean?”
“No, it still hurts. Every time I look at Meg it hurts. But I’ve accepted that Joel isn’t a part of our life anymore. And some days that hurts but most of the time it helps.”
Ray looked across the table at her in awe. A beautiful woman who he loved and he was watching her hurting. Hurting so much. But she was still able to smile, to live, to take care of someone else who needed her. He felt guilt and shame penetrate his anger. But most of all he felt sadness.
“What’s the matter, Ray?”
“It hurts me that you’re hurting.” Ray said, smiling at her sadly. He got up and pulled her out of her chair and drew her into a fierce embrace. “I’ve missed you.”
Laura pulled away and smiled. “I’ve missed you too. More than you know.”
Meg’s shriek interrupted them but Ray stopped Laura from getting up. “You relax. I’ll see to her.” Ray squeezed her hand before leaving for Neela’s room.
Laura resettled herself into the chair. And grinned when she heard Ray’s voice crooning ‘Imagine.’
You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one
~John Lennon, Imagine
To read Chapter 1, here's the link: Between You & Me, Chapter 1
Author: Gaia
Rating: FRM (Profanity)
Disclaimer: Without Prejudice. The names of all characters contained here-in are the property of NBC, Inc. No Infringments of these copyrights are intended, and are used here without permission. Any characters not a part of ER are my own so please no touching.
Spoilers: S12 & S13
Content Warning: Could become a little heated later on...we'll see.
Okay, forgot to mention this, but we will find out more about Laura & Ray's relationship in the next chapter. So hang tight. :D
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHAPTER 2
One month later.
The rude ringing of the phone interrupted Ray’s sleep. It was just as well since he had been having unsettling dreams. But the fatigue from the last few weeks at the ER had taken its toll and he felt as though he was on the brink of collapse.
“What?” Ray barked into the phone.
“Good morning to you too.” Laura replied, a smile in her voice. Ray glanced at his alarm clock. It flashed the painful truth: 7 am.
“I just wanted to let you know that I’m waiting for you at the train station.”
That caught Ray’s attention. “What? Laura, you’re here? In Chicago?”
“No. This is all a dream, Ray. I figured since you don’t let me visit you in real life, why don’t I haunt your dreams?”
Ray groaned. Laura was here. In Chicago. Now. “God, Laura. Did you know that it’s polite to inform people that you’ll be arriving and taking over their homes?”
“I could’ve just taken the cab to your apartment you know. At least I called beforehand.”
“Let me guess. You didn’t have enough for the cab fare?”
“Oh, you’re so funny. Just come get us, will you?” Laura hung up.
Ray sighed and got ready.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ray stood in the middle of Union Station, amid a multitude of bustling people, searching for Laura.
“Ray! Ray, I’m over here!” Ray turned towards where he thought Laura was, and lo and behold, there she was. He couldn’t help but give in and smile at the pleasure of seeing her. He jogged over to her and in one smooth move, gathered her in a tight embrace. After several seconds he finally released her.
He took his time appraising her and laughingly she turned to the side for his inspection. “Have you gotten chubbier around the middle?”
Alarm shot into her eyes, and her hands immediately went to her belly, squeezing and pinching to gauge the truth of that remark. Only Ray’s teasing laughter distracted her. She playfully smacked him on the arm.
After quieting down, Ray finally realized that he had yet to welcome his other guest. Bending down onto one knee, he peered beneath the stroller’s hood to see sleeping Meg’s cherubic face. It had been a long time since he had seen her beautiful face and he felt a pang of shame for not being more present in her life.
“Hi, baby girl.” Reaching in he gently pressed a kiss on her forehead. “Wow, Laura. She’s grown so much.”
“I brought her with me to make you feel guilty for being inattentive.”
Ray shook his head slowly, “Well, it sure worked.”
“It’s okay, Ray. Don’t worry about it.”
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ray called in sick that day so he could spend time with Laura and Meg. He made pancakes while Laura tucked Meg into Neela’s old bed. He could hear her singing softly but couldn’t make out the words.
“What were you singing to her?” Ray asked when Laura reappeared in the kitchen.
“‘Imagine.’ I figure it’s never too early to teach your kid about world peace and tolerance.”
“Well, I’m very proud of you,” Ray said and pressed a kiss on her cheek and simultaneously pressed the flipper into her palm. “You’re a good mom. Who would’ve thought?”
Laura laughed but sobered quickly, adeptly taking up the cooking. “Ray, my visit here might be long term.”
Ray turned slowly from the refrigerator. “What do you mean?”
“I left him. I left Joel.” Laura stated calmly, turning off the stove and prepared a plate of pancakes for herself and Ray. The only gesture that gave her away was the shivering of her hands as she placed the plate in front of Ray. Ray reached over and squeezed her hand tightly. “Why?”
“He was cheating on me.”
Stars exploded into Ray’s periphery and his grip on Laura’s hand tightened in anger. “That fucking bastard!”
“Ray! Calm down! You’ll wake the baby.” Laura exclaimed.
Ray massaged his temples and his shook his head in apology. “Where is he now?”
“He’s at the house.”
“He kicked you out?!”
“No. I just couldn’t bear to be in that house. I had to get away. So I came here. I hope you don’t mind.”
“God, Laura, of course I don’t mind. I just feel like killing that sonovabitch. With my bare hands. Dammit, I’m going to find the fuckhead and castrate him. Without morphine.”
“Trust me, that sounds incredibly tempting but we’re adults. We can’t do that.” Laura said, regretfully.
Ray stood up and hugged Laura again. He whispered into her dark, curly hair, “How are you dealing with this?”
“I don’t know. I try to make myself so busy that I don’t have time to think about it. But then at night, it comes back, all the hurt and pain.”
That makes the two of us, Ray thought, “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because it hurt too much. Love is supposed to be forever and when you realize that not everyone feels that way it cuts you. And it’s so hard to live in a world with sunshine and happiness feeling the way you do. It’s shaming.”
“You should’ve still told me! I love you too. I would’ve taken care of you.”
“I know. But I couldn’t bear to see you. You would be so good to me; so kind. I couldn’t bear it. And besides, no matter who was with me, the only person who could move past it would have to be me.”
“And have you? Moved past it I mean?”
“No, it still hurts. Every time I look at Meg it hurts. But I’ve accepted that Joel isn’t a part of our life anymore. And some days that hurts but most of the time it helps.”
Ray looked across the table at her in awe. A beautiful woman who he loved and he was watching her hurting. Hurting so much. But she was still able to smile, to live, to take care of someone else who needed her. He felt guilt and shame penetrate his anger. But most of all he felt sadness.
“What’s the matter, Ray?”
“It hurts me that you’re hurting.” Ray said, smiling at her sadly. He got up and pulled her out of her chair and drew her into a fierce embrace. “I’ve missed you.”
Laura pulled away and smiled. “I’ve missed you too. More than you know.”
Meg’s shriek interrupted them but Ray stopped Laura from getting up. “You relax. I’ll see to her.” Ray squeezed her hand before leaving for Neela’s room.
Laura resettled herself into the chair. And grinned when she heard Ray’s voice crooning ‘Imagine.’
You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one
~John Lennon, Imagine
To read Chapter 1, here's the link: Between You & Me, Chapter 1