The Good Ones Go

Chelsea tosses and turns the entire night. When she finally fell asleep for a moment her body would jerk it self awake to eyes brimming with tears and dreams full of heartache. By morning though, it must have tired itself out because when she finally woke she felt that the sunshine illuminating her face through the open window came too soon.

She turns and reaches back with her right arm to find the other half of the bed empty. Feeling a miserable pang in her chest she quickly rises from beneath the covers to hurry downstairs and look for her husband. Her bare feet rush through the unfamiliar corridors until they find the kitchen by the help of her nose, which could smell an Italian espresso a mile away. From the doorway where she stands she sees Adam filling his thermos and lets out a sigh of relief that was cut short when she realizes he has a suit on.

"Good morning," Chelsea says weary. She isn't sure what's going on between them, and she's scared that she might chase him off with a wrong word.

Adam turns upon hearing his wife's voice and looks at her in surprise. He forces himself to look away when he notices she's in front of him only in her underwear. Chelsea's face falls a little when she notices his reaction, and she responds by crossing her arms over her stomach. Is there something unattractive about her body?

Without another word Adam picks up his jacket off the island and walks out with his thermos in hand. Chelsea furrows her eyebrows and runs after him.

"Adam!" she shouts, and it echoes through the half empty house. He stops momentarily to see what she wants. "Where are you going?" she asks him; she's upset that he won't look at her.

"To work," he tells her before continuing to the front door.

"But we're on vacation," she protests. They still have three days before they had to return to work.

"We were on vacation - now we're home," he tells her before shutting the door behind him.

Chelsea stands there in shock for a moment before letting her body slump down against the wall until her bare butt reaches the cool hardwood floor. She wraps her arms around her knees tightly and lets her wet chin rest on them. She isn't sure how long she sits there, but she knows it's been a while. There were knocks on the door several times, but she ignored them. Her phone rang, but she ignored it too. The cold breeze from the open window in the kitchen had reached her, and she could feel the goosebumps forming on her skin, but she ignored those as well. It took several good hours of moping before she stands up and decides to stop feeling sorry for herself.

An hour later she's wearing the best outfit she had packed in her luggage from Hawaii and carrying two take out containers with her as she walks into Adam's office. She watches an intern frantically sorting case files before she decides to knock on the open door. She smiles to herself as a wave of nostalgia overcomes her as she admires the tattooed student who reminded her of a younger Adam.

When she finally does knock the young man looks up and stares at her as she asks, "hi, is Dr. Descarte here?" He seems stunned, like he doesn’t know what to say so she stands and waits 'til he comes to his senses. "Should I come back later?" she asks when he says nothing.

"Uhhh…" she listens to him think out loud. Why is he so nervous?

"Matt, let's go, I need those forms!" Adam demands as he walks into his office from the back. "What are you doing here?" he asks when he notices Chelsea there in her provocative little black dress. He's surprised to see his wife, but he doesn't want to. He had tried to hard to give her everything she wanted, and she didn't even give him a minute to explain before she jumped to conclusions looking for a way out.

"Do you have a moment?" she asks him while glancing over at the intern.

Adam seems to think about it for a second, but he ends up sighing and saying, "no, I'm really busy today."

"I thought we could have lunch," she tells him as she held up the bag of Chinese she bought.

Adam shakes his head, "I already ate, thanks." It's a lie, but he can't talk to her right now.

Chelsea bites her lip and nods, "Ok, well, I'll leave it here. Maybe you two will get hungry later," she tells him as she sits it on the chair and walks out. She leans against the wall outside his office and shuts her eyes tight. Would he ever let this go?

"Dude, what was that?" she hears his intern say, and she can't help but listen in curiously.

"It was nothing, Matt. Can I get those fucking papers, please?" She can hear the irritation in Adam's voice.

"Boss, she was smokin' hot. How could you pass that up?" The young man is in disbelief.

"Because I have a job, and so do you," Adam's words are demanding.

"Job? You're supposed to be on vacation, man," the young man chuckles.

"Yea, well I'm here, so can we please get some work done before I fire you?" Adam threatens.

"Okay, geez. Here are the papers. You have fun with that, but I'm going to eat," he says feeling his belly rumbling at the smell of the bag a few feet away.

"I'll meet you soon," is the last thing Chelsea hears him say. She sighs and rubs her face with her hands. How is she going to fix this mess?

She looks up when she hears footsteps and sees the intern walk out of the office and shut the door behind him.

"Oh, you're still here?" he asks her as he turns around with the takeout in his hand.

She nods and smiles in return. "You wanna help me eat this?" he asks her, and she chuckles at him before agreeing. They sit in the cafeteria chatting for only a few minutes before they're interrupted.

"Matt, what the fuck are you doing?" Chelsea turns when she hears Adam's voice. She watches him walk over to them with a green tray in his hands and a scowl on his face.

Matthew rubs Chelsea's arm thinking she's scared of the angry doctor before he turns to say, "Im on the lunch date that you passed up."

"With my wife?" Adam asks gritting his teeth.

Matt's eyes look as if they would fall out of his head. He quickly glances at her left hand and notices the huge rock that adorns her finger. He groans and hides his face in the palm of his hand - how could he miss that?

"I am so sorry, dude -" he tries to apologize frantically.

"Just get back to work," Adam demands, and the young man stands up and leaves with out another word.

Adam takes his place in front of Chelsea, and she watches as he eats his meal in silence. "I'm sorry," she decides to say.

Adam looks up at her before adding, "me too, Chels."

"I didn't know what to think, but it shouldn't have been that - " she's still upset with herself.

"Look, it's really okay. I can't blame you after everything you've been through. I'm sorry for putting myself in a position where an accusation like that even made any sense," he tells her as he reachs out for her hand. Even when she fucks up he apologizes. She's treating him just like Richard used to treat her, and if she wants this to go anywhere she has to stop.

"I love you, Adam. I also trust you. I wouldn't be here if I didn't. I'm sorry I ruined the surprise. Thank you so much. The house. It's -" he interrupts her.

"You don't have to say anything. I just want to give you the life you've always dreamed of, to show you that you made the right choice," he says. His eyes twinkle as they look into hers. He's hoping things will get easier from here.

Chelsea smiles and squeezes his hand, "I know I made the right choice, Adam. Don't ever doubt that."

"I love you, Chels," he tells her definitively.

"Have you talked to Travis?" she asks him letting go of his hand and getting back to her orange chicken.

Adam laughed at her, and she looks up with a questioning glance. "You remember the first time I told you I liked you? We were on your couch eating orange chicken. Travis came over that night when I left," he says. There's a longing look plastered on his face as he thinks about the past, and how things used to be so easy.

"Should we call him?" Chelsea suggests.

"I don’t know, Chels, he fucked up," Adam doesn't know how to forgive his friend.

"Oh, come on, Adam. He was looking out for me!" Chelsea is surprised by his unwillingness to make things right with his best man.

Adam sighs, "he could have come to me first before he ruined our honeymoon."

"You would have denied it," Chelsea defends.

"Rightfully!" Adam says, and Chelsea rolls her eyes at him with a smile on her face. "Alright, alright, we'll go talk to him," Adam gives in knowing she's right.

"When are you done?" She's eager.

"I can be done now," he says.

"Great," Chelsea grins, "let's go do something fun."

The pair walks hand-in-hand back to Adam's office, and Chelsea stands waiting as he talks to his rambling intern.

"Ready to go?" Adam asks just as Chelsea's phone begins to ring. She pulls the phone out of her purse, and her eyes widen when she recognizes the unsaved number on the screen. "Who is it?" Adam questions leaning over to see the caller ID.

Before Adam can say a word Chelsea frantically answers the call with a, "hello?"

"Chels, thank God! I didn't know who else to call. Casie, she's sick. Please, Chels," his voice more desperate than she's ever heard it before.

"Okay just relax. Bring her to John Hopkins, I'm on my way over. Don't worry, it'll be okay," Chelsea replies and hangs up.

"What's going on?" Adam asks. The short conversation didn't seem to go well, and he's curious.

"A patient. I have to go," she's suddenly overwhelmed by thoughts as she turns and speeds out of the office building.

"Chels, wait. I'll come with you," Adam doesn't want to leave her now that they've reconciled.

She begins to panic, "No, Adam, you should just go home."

"Chelsea, I'm not going home. Let's get to the hospital," Adam demands. He wants to help her, and if this is what she needs to do, then he'll stand by her side.

Chelsea follows behind him trying to keep herself from hyperventilating. Adam's going to be so pissed. She shouldn't have told him she'd be there; she should have told him to just take her to the ER. What did she have anything to do with it anyway? She isn't a superhero.

Chelsea can't think straight so Adam is behind the wheel of her VW Golf while she's battling to contain the freak out in her head. Why didn't she say no?

When they walk toward the revolving doors she can see Colson. His clothes. His body. Everything is a blur. It's as if she could touch him from so far away. It's as if he -

"Chelsea!"

She jumps a little at the sound of Adam's voice. As her eyes adjust to their surroundings she realizes Adam is outside holding her door open at the entrance of her hospital. Chelsea lets out a deep breath, "let's go."

"Chelsea Lisle, she told me she'd be here, please!" had he forgotten that she's married?

"I'm sorry, sir, but I told you Dr. Descarte is on vacation," Chelsea hears the security at the front desk say as she walks through the doors.

She takes a deep breath and tells herself to pretend that Adam is not here. "It's okay, Donna, I got it!" she says rather loudly. Colson turns around with Casie in his arms, and she could see the wave of relief wash over him when he sees her.

Adam on the other hand is not so lucky. His hands ball up into fists at the sight of the man, and he doesn't understand. They've only just made up, what is Chelsea doing trying to fuck it up again?

Chelsea waves Colson over, and they walked to the ED where she instructs them to sit and wait for her. The two men refuse to look at each other and sit patiently waiting for Chelsea to return.

"Angie, I need a bed for this girl," Chelsea's voice rings over the commotion.

"Well, you're gonna have to wait, there's another patient in front of her," her friend Carrie says.

"I can't, she's sick!" Chelsea is flustered.

"So is everyone else here - it's a hospital," Carrie retorts. She's irritated by Chelsea's behavior when she knows the protocol.

Chelsea rolls her eyes at her bridesmaid, "let's go upstairs for a check up. I'm not dealing with this." When they get to her office Chelsea turns to shut the door on Adam. "Family only," she tells him. Her face is void of emotion as he stares in disbelief.

"It's okay," she hears Cole's voice from behind her, "he can stay."

Chelsea obliges by letting him the fuming Adam in and closing the door behind him without a word.

"We don't have any history on, Casie. Who's her doctor?" she asks as she looks through the database on her computer.

Colson fidgets, "He's in Cleveland. I don't really take her anywhere here."

"Has she been ill before?" Chelsea asks and watches as the man shakes his head in response. In her four years of life Casie has never even caught a cold, and he doesn't understand why his little girl is in so much pain.

"Ok, what's going on today, Casie?" Chelsea asks the girl lying on the examination table writhing in pain.

"My legs," she sobs in her little voice, "they hurt."

Chelsea lifts up the dress far enough to see a pair of rather thick thighs on a four year old. She presses her finger into one and noted the concave imprint it leaves. Swelling. Adam watches pursing his lips. He's furious, but as he looks at the girl he can't help but to feel sorry for her. He's a pediatrician himself, and he's yet to encounter something like this, but he knows it's no good.

"Ok, Casie. I'm gonna have a nice lady come in and test your blood; if you're good she'll give you a big lollipop after. Then we're gonna take some cool pictures of your legs to see why they hurt. Doesn't sound too bad right?" Chelsea asks. How awkward is she with kids? Did she look as awkward as she feels?

Casie just nods in response - it's all she can manage. Chelsea lets out a deep sigh and goes to order the tests. Adam follows her out.

"Why didn't you tell me you were treating his kid?" Adam asks. He's obviously furious and not trying to hide it.

"Because I'm not," Chelsea admits refusing to look at him.

"So when he called once you dropped our plans to come see him?" The thought doesn't help Adam's temper.

"His kid is sick!" Chelsea defends herself with arms crossed as the nurses secretly watched the two bicker. This is thy same kid she wished wasn't real. Why is she intent on helping her?

"There are hundreds of doctors that could have seen her," Adam accuses.

"He called me. I couldn't say no," she's still trying to defend her decision.

"Yea, I wonder why," Adam's words seem to spit at her.

"Stop it, Adam! That's not fair, and you know it! You'd help a sick person any day. Don't let this be any different," Chelsea says. She knew this would happen. She feels terrible that this is getting between them when they just reconciled. Chelsea turns and watched through the open door as Casie clenches her father's hand while the nurse places a band-aid on her arm, and suddenly she doesn't feel as bad. She's doing the right thing. Right?

Adam said nothing else as they all follow Chelsea down to radiology. He watches as she steps out of the room and approaches a worried looking Colson. Her hand finds its way to his shoulder, which he doesn't take advantage of now, but Adam knows he would as soon as he found out his daughter is okay.

Chelsea walks toward Adam who's leaning against the wall as far away from Cole as possible. She leans next to him letting their shoulders touch and her gaze linger on Colson.

Adam throws an arm around her shoulders and whispers, "you're too close to this case. You need to drop it," before nuzzling into her neck.

"No," Chelsea steps away and furrows her brows. Where did this side of Adam come from? She has never seen it before. She crosses her arms and says, "I think you're the one that's to close to this. Maybe you should just go home and wait for me."

"Go home?" Adam raises his voice a little, "so you can get cozy with your fucking ex?"

"Adam!" Chelsea whispers sternly. This is getting out of hand. "I'm not leaving a sick patient here all alone," Chelsea's voice is full of reprimand.

"I'm not telling you to, Chels, just come home with me, please, find someone else," he begs grasping her hands tightly.

Chelsea shakes her head in response, "a familiar face is always better. I have to follow this through."

Adam lets her go and steps back. He runs a hand through his hair and lets out a heavy sigh. What is he doing? He's a man, not a dog. He knows Chelsea is stubborn and begging her is just barking up the wrong tree. He needs to man up and stop letting her walk all over him. "Fine," Adam says, "if you want to stay here all night with this dick then go ahead. But don't expect me to take care of you when you come home crying - I'm not Travis."

Chelsea sharply inhales. She has never seen him this angry, and it's scary. He's her husband. She doesn’t want to lose him, but this little girl, she wouldn't be disappearing any time soon, and Chelsea can't be selfish...

Adam turns around and hurries down the hall to the elevators.

"Adam!" Chelsea yells after him. This is not happening. She could feel herself breathing faster. Panic. She is panicking. "Adam, please!" she begs.

He stops and turns around asking, "are you coming home?"

She stares back at him in silence. Her face contorts in pain, fear, heartache. She holds her breath and shakes her head, "I cant." As soon as the words leave her mouth so does he, and there she stands all alone - with Colson, but that is alone.

Cole walks over and places a boney hand on her shoulder. She stiffens up at his touch. It's cold. It feels like she's dying, and he's the grim reaper who came to take her life away. There is this emptiness. Helplessness. She has never felt so weak. Would she fall? She feels as if she would fall any moment. She spins and let herself lean into Richard's chest as she sobs. There she is - falling into his arms again.

"I'm sorry, Chelsea. I didn't mean to cause any problems. I just didn't know who else to call," Colson's words sound genuine.

"The ED?" She chuckles at his explanation through sobs.

"I really am sorry, Chels," Colson hugs her tighter.

"It is what is," she offers a sigh as she hold back any more tears. This roller coaster ride is getting old, and she doesn't know how, but she desperately wants to get off.