Epilogue: Welcome To The World
Anna was asleep. So was Kat, who, deciding that it was too late and she was too beat to drive home, had crashed in an exam room in the ER. Carter was wide awake, watching over his son. Quietly, he began to talk to the sleeping baby.
'Hey, Malcolm, I'm your dad. You don't look like me at all, though your mommy thinks you have my nose. You've got her hair, and her blue eyes, and you're the sweetest baby either of us has ever seen. I took you down to the ER before, and you've got dozens of willing aunts and uncles who think so too. You've got lots in Philadelphia as well, that's where your mommy comes from. And tomorrow morning, I have to call Uncle Doug and Aunt Carol in Seattle to tell them about you. In my family, we have ways of screwing kids up, but you got so many people looking out for you that I can't see you being able to go far wrong.
'You have a big sister too. Her name is Kat, and she's nineteen. She's not mommy's daughter, but that's a long story that I'll tell you someday. It doesn't seem to make much difference to how they get along, and she thinks you're adorable.
'Your mommy and daddy are doctors. We work here, downstairs in the ER. I've been here for over ten years, and your mom for almost two. She was here for a year a while ago, but she went back to Philadelphia to help set up a paediatric ER. She broke my heart when she left. I don't care about that anymore, because she came back to me and she gave me you.
'There's some things you should know about me. My dad is one of the richest men in Chicago, but he doesn't like me very much. He wanted me to grow up to be a rich white guy, he didn't want me to be a doctor, and he didn't want me to marry your mom. He hasn't spoken to me since we got married, for almost a year now. Gamma's great. She's going to be thrilled to have a great-grandson. What I really need to tell you is this. I had a friend named Lucy, and almost six years ago, we were stabbed by one of her patients. Lucy died and I survived, but I got addicted to narcotics. I've been completely clean now for five years and one day, and I… it's scary to hope too much, and I don't wanna break any promises, but I will do everything in my power to make sure that I never go back on drugs. It's not something I'd like to go through again.
'Your name is Malcolm Julian Carter. Your mom and I chose it together. Malcolm is after a man who was a very good friend to her. He was called Malcolm Crowe, and he was a child psychiatrist at the Childrens' Hospital of Philadelphia. That's a feelings doctor. Your mommy says that he was a very special man. I wish I had known him. Julian is after your sister's mom. Her name was Julia, and she was my first girlfriend. She died almost two years ago. Carter is our surname. Mine and your mommy's. Our names are actually John and Anna, but most people do call me Carter. Only a few people call me John, like mommy and Aunt Deb and Aunt Abby. Maybe you're supposed to call Aunt Deb, Aunt Jing-Mei. I don't know, she gets kind of mad when people call her Deb. I guess I'm the exception.
'Most of all, I want you to know how much I love you. You, your mom, and Kat are the best things to happen in my life since forever, and the three of you have made me happier than I ever thought I could be. You give me a reason to keep going, and I honestly don't know how I made it through the last thirty-odd years without you guys.
'I love you, Malc.'
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
It's over, and I don't know what else to say. Last November, when I started the original story, I never thought I would actually make it this far. I had no idea where I was going. And after nine months and 13 chapters, there are a few people I should probably thank.
- Rhiannon Perkins and Victoria Houghton, my fellow fanficcers
- Laura Semmens, Karen Scauzillo, Paula Graves, and PD Fitzgerald, for the alt.tv.er episode summaries.
- Triggums, for her 'First Aid Kit For ER Fanfiction Writers and RPG Players'. Or summat like that.
- People whose songs I nicked
- Warner Bros, Amblin Television, Constant C, and Michael Crichton, for being nice and not sueing me
- Bill Gates for the use of his computer system (to placate Rhiannon, I will say that purple iMacs rock)
- Everyone who has reviewed this, thank you so much. It really means a lot.
- John Carter & Anna Del Amico (and Noah Wyle & Maria Bello), without whom this story would never have
happened.
I feel that I have to say this. I remember, about seven or eight years ago, in creative writing lessons, my teacher told us that we should be starting to write stories that were 100 words long. I mean, how long did that feel like, writing a 100 word story took forever. And I've ended up writing a piece of fiction that's over seventeen thousand words long. Little did we know.
Anna was asleep. So was Kat, who, deciding that it was too late and she was too beat to drive home, had crashed in an exam room in the ER. Carter was wide awake, watching over his son. Quietly, he began to talk to the sleeping baby.
'Hey, Malcolm, I'm your dad. You don't look like me at all, though your mommy thinks you have my nose. You've got her hair, and her blue eyes, and you're the sweetest baby either of us has ever seen. I took you down to the ER before, and you've got dozens of willing aunts and uncles who think so too. You've got lots in Philadelphia as well, that's where your mommy comes from. And tomorrow morning, I have to call Uncle Doug and Aunt Carol in Seattle to tell them about you. In my family, we have ways of screwing kids up, but you got so many people looking out for you that I can't see you being able to go far wrong.
'You have a big sister too. Her name is Kat, and she's nineteen. She's not mommy's daughter, but that's a long story that I'll tell you someday. It doesn't seem to make much difference to how they get along, and she thinks you're adorable.
'Your mommy and daddy are doctors. We work here, downstairs in the ER. I've been here for over ten years, and your mom for almost two. She was here for a year a while ago, but she went back to Philadelphia to help set up a paediatric ER. She broke my heart when she left. I don't care about that anymore, because she came back to me and she gave me you.
'There's some things you should know about me. My dad is one of the richest men in Chicago, but he doesn't like me very much. He wanted me to grow up to be a rich white guy, he didn't want me to be a doctor, and he didn't want me to marry your mom. He hasn't spoken to me since we got married, for almost a year now. Gamma's great. She's going to be thrilled to have a great-grandson. What I really need to tell you is this. I had a friend named Lucy, and almost six years ago, we were stabbed by one of her patients. Lucy died and I survived, but I got addicted to narcotics. I've been completely clean now for five years and one day, and I… it's scary to hope too much, and I don't wanna break any promises, but I will do everything in my power to make sure that I never go back on drugs. It's not something I'd like to go through again.
'Your name is Malcolm Julian Carter. Your mom and I chose it together. Malcolm is after a man who was a very good friend to her. He was called Malcolm Crowe, and he was a child psychiatrist at the Childrens' Hospital of Philadelphia. That's a feelings doctor. Your mommy says that he was a very special man. I wish I had known him. Julian is after your sister's mom. Her name was Julia, and she was my first girlfriend. She died almost two years ago. Carter is our surname. Mine and your mommy's. Our names are actually John and Anna, but most people do call me Carter. Only a few people call me John, like mommy and Aunt Deb and Aunt Abby. Maybe you're supposed to call Aunt Deb, Aunt Jing-Mei. I don't know, she gets kind of mad when people call her Deb. I guess I'm the exception.
'Most of all, I want you to know how much I love you. You, your mom, and Kat are the best things to happen in my life since forever, and the three of you have made me happier than I ever thought I could be. You give me a reason to keep going, and I honestly don't know how I made it through the last thirty-odd years without you guys.
'I love you, Malc.'
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
It's over, and I don't know what else to say. Last November, when I started the original story, I never thought I would actually make it this far. I had no idea where I was going. And after nine months and 13 chapters, there are a few people I should probably thank.
- Rhiannon Perkins and Victoria Houghton, my fellow fanficcers
- Laura Semmens, Karen Scauzillo, Paula Graves, and PD Fitzgerald, for the alt.tv.er episode summaries.
- Triggums, for her 'First Aid Kit For ER Fanfiction Writers and RPG Players'. Or summat like that.
- People whose songs I nicked
- Warner Bros, Amblin Television, Constant C, and Michael Crichton, for being nice and not sueing me
- Bill Gates for the use of his computer system (to placate Rhiannon, I will say that purple iMacs rock)
- Everyone who has reviewed this, thank you so much. It really means a lot.
- John Carter & Anna Del Amico (and Noah Wyle & Maria Bello), without whom this story would never have
happened.
I feel that I have to say this. I remember, about seven or eight years ago, in creative writing lessons, my teacher told us that we should be starting to write stories that were 100 words long. I mean, how long did that feel like, writing a 100 word story took forever. And I've ended up writing a piece of fiction that's over seventeen thousand words long. Little did we know.