No More Mrs Nice Nurse (Doctor Happy 2)

Chapter 20

Unfortunately for Carly, Phil was now in the midst of a week long holiday, and wouldn't be back for a couple of days. Although it wasn't the greatest news she'd ever heard, she wasn't exactly in a rush to get back home, her statement about being frustrated at seeing Lee come in from work every day still very much an issue.

As a result, she decided to extend her stay in Pittsburgh. Mr And Mrs Johnson were more than happy for her to stay with them for a few more days and she also saw it as a chance to do a bit of sightseeing, something that she hadn't really done, despite living in the city for six months. First though, she had to call her husband and tell him about her new plans.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" He asked her down the phone. His voice sounded like he was in the room with her, instead of thousands of miles away.

"I don't really have a choice" She sighed. "Phil seems like the only guy who's got any answers and he's not back for another couple of days"

"Why is it that in all my years of working in Pittsburgh, I could never get Phil to take a day off but when I leave, he finally decides to spend his millions on some crazy holiday?"

"Well there was that time we got him really drunk and he took a week off because of the embarrassment" Carly reminded him.

"A real highlight" Lee smirked, even though he was the only one who'd know it.

If Carly couldn't still hear Lee's breathing down the line, she'd have thought that he was no longer there; such was the length of the long silence that followed.

"How's work?" She finally asked, not really wanting to know the answer.

"Work is work" He replied, "No one's died lately but the place is a little gloomy without Nurse Sunshine" He joked, recalling a nickname he'd used to call her by. "I've actually taken on some overtime lately. Without you here I don't have anything to get home for so I've been doubling up as a nurse" He added.

"How ironic, considering how much you used to say how much better doctors were than nurses" Carly mused.

"They are, that's why I can fill in so easily" Lee sarcastically replied.

"Count yourself lucky that I'm so far away from you right now or your head would be through the wall"

"I miss you too" Carly could just imagine Lee winking at her.

After finally getting back onto serious conversation, they said their goodbyes and went to sleep.

Carly was up bright and early the next day though and got in a full day of being a tourist. She took in a variety of sights from "The Steel City" that included the Andy Warhol Museum, the Carnegie Science Center and the local zoo, with a plan to go on a trip to the Allegheny Mountains the following day. Despite the current cold temperatures and almost record levels of snowfall, she still wanted to go. She thought that the added layers of white would make it look a lot more breathtaking then it probably normally would. Carly had never been an overly active person so she was fully expecting to be exhausted when she finally met Dr. Davis upon his return.

*

Everything remained the same, yet everything was different.

Lee's daily routine wasn't all that different now that Carly wasn't around. He'd still wake up early and get showered and ready before work, before having a small breakfast and leaving the house. He took the same route there and the same route home every night. Instead of doing it consciously though, he felt like he was just going through the motions. A robot performing its tasks without any thought or feeling. Lee was an automaton.