* 𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐄𝐑

"Whoa, hey," he jolted his arms up automatically, catching the ball, bracing his feel as he palmed it, ignoring the faint twang from his back at the force of it. "How the hell did you get this in here?" he said, with a half laugh now. He'd only come out here to catch a moment of fresh air before the inevitable next patient; the last thing he'd expected was to have a ball chucked at him. He bounced it, on the floor, between his palms before throwing it back in Carter's direction.

"You make it sound like I smuggled in contraband." John mused with a growing smile. "They, uh... they won't be angry, will they? It's just something we used to do back at County." He moved forward, catching the ball with ease when it was thrown back to him, bouncing it a few times with several steps. "It's good to just unwind for a sec, you know? Think about something else for a change." The only thing that was missing was an actual basketball net, though he wasn't quite brazen enough to attach one to the side of the building just yet. "Everything okay?"

Multi's please specify who it's for.

Multi's please specify who it's for.

"I… oh." he blinked a few times, looking towards Carter, mouth opening just slightly. He thought of the beers on the bench outside on the worst days. Of going to a bar with Jack before he shifted to nights. Laughing on Dana's couch with a glass of wine. How long had it been since..? "Yeah, that… that sounds good. Come grab me when you're done here, okay?" he said, with a faint smile.

Glancing around, he looked for Robby before spotting him, practically bouncing up to the guy. "Ready to go?" He asked surprisingly cheerily. "I hear a cheese burger, fries and beer calling my name."

For a while he lets the silence exist between them without forcing conversation into it. Finally Robby glances over briefly before looking ahead again. “How’s your mom doing?” he asks quietly. The question is careful, softer than most people probably expect from him. Real concern sits underneath it, tangled together with years neither of them can get back and a history Robby is still trying to piece together from fragments. His jaw tightens faintly before he adds, quieter now, “Have you told her that we...met?"

With his hands shoved into his jacket pockets, shoulders lightly hunched, he walked by his real father's side, glancing around the hustle and bustle of the city around them, taking in the noise, the lights of the cars as they went by, brows suddenly raised when Robby's voice cut through it all, the mention of his mother half startling him. "My mom? Oh, uh... we don't exactly talk much." Broad shoulders shrugged a little at that, it wasn't new to him, his mother had long since distanced herself from her only remaining son. "No, um... I don't even know how I'm supposed to bring it up? Hey, mom, I met my real dad that you never told me about, but anyway, how're things with you?" He mused with a small shake of his head, sights still out ahead of them. "I'm not even sure she'd answer. I could leave a message, but... it might take her a few weeks to get back to me."

𝐍𝐨𝐚𝐡 𝐖𝐲𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐬 𝐉𝐨𝐡𝐧 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐫 | 1.03 "𝐆𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐇𝐨𝐦𝐞" 𝐄𝐑 (𝟏𝟗𝟗𝟒)

• You shouldn't be working this shift—you're running on fumes. • I need you to trust me right now, okay? Can you do that? • When was the last time you actually slept? • Your hands are shaking. Let me take over. • I can't lose another patient today. I can't. • You're not fine. Don't lie to me, I can read your vitals from here. • We did everything we could. Sometimes that's not enough. • I'm calling it. Time of death— • No, no, no. Come on. Stay with me. • You need to step back. You're too close to this case. • I saw what happened in there. Are you okay? • The family's asking for you. I think you should talk to them. • How long have you been covering up these symptoms? • I don't know how to tell them their kid didn't make it. • Your shift ended three hours ago. Go home. • I've never seen you panic like that before. • We have a code blue! • You can't save everyone. You know that, right? • I need two units of O-neg!  • Why didn't you tell me you were hurt? • I found you passed out in the supply closet. • You remember that patient from six months ago? They're back. • I think I'm having a panic attack.  • Congratulations, Doctor. First solo surgery, right? • The board's asking questions about what happened during that code. • I can't feel my hands anymore. • Someone needs to tell the attending they made the wrong call. • I'm not supposed to be treating family, but here we are. • Your patient in bed seven? That's my sister. • They're crashing—get the crash cart! • I need you to walk me through what went wrong. • You stayed with them. All night. Why? • I haven't eaten in fourteen hours and I'm starting to see double. • The transplant list just got longer and our donor didn't make it. • You can't keep taking the hard cases. It's killing you. • I heard you crying in the stairwell. • This is exactly the kind of case that ended your last relationship. • Your ex just got admitted to our floor. • I'm sorry, there's nothing more we can do. It's palliative now. • You need to scrub out. Now. • I pulled a double and now I can't remember if I already gave that medication. • The family wants to sue. They're naming you specifically. • I know we said no relationships between attendings and residents, but— • You operated on them for eleven hours straight. • I'm not cleared to come back yet, but I'm here anyway. • Whose blood is that on your coat? • The on-call room is not for sleeping anymore, apparently. • You've been charting for three hours. Go take a break. • I made a mistake in there. A big one. • Your first loss always hits different, doesn't it? • They left AMA and now they're back, worse than before.

"You're allowed to rest, Carter." he said, then hesitated, for just a second. God, they were far more alike than he wanted to even consider, a lot of the time… "Look, uh, I have some time before I need to head out. If you want, I can get Lena to chase 'em again and then I can sit in here for an hour if you want to go catch some sleep in the on call room?" he suggested, gentler, now. "I swear, I won't let her out of my sight unless her parents turn up."

Sighing a little, Carter paused to look back at the chief attending again, his reaction practically automatic, not even needing to think about Robby's offer for a single second. "No." It came out instantly. "No, I... I want to stay with her. It's okay." He assured him, finally sitting back slightly as he straightened his spine. "I said I'd be here when she woke up... I made a promise, and I'm going to keep it." He murmured stubbornly, adamant that even a hurricane couldn't take him away from her side. "I, um... I was wondering if you'd fancy a drink after this?" He suddenly asked, brown eyes looking up to the older man. "We used to do that back at County. Sometimes after a long shift, we'd go to the diner across the street, grab something to eat, a few drinks..." Sometimes he missed it. "You know? Decompress a little?"

ER (1994-2009) → 1.13 'Luck of the Draw'

Multi's please specify who it's for.

Maybe it wasn't the best habit to bring to PMTC, but he couldn't help himself. Whenever he had a moment, some free time that didn't involve sneaking off to take a nap, Carter could be found out in the ambulance bay playing basketball with a ball that he'd brought in specially to unwind. A part of him missed it, getting to play a few rounds back at County General. "Hey, catch!" The resident called when he spotted Langdon, throwing the basketball towards him.