InsaneJournal

Crushes and Judge Judy
Who: Elizabeth Weir and Sam Carter
What: Sam picking Elizabeth up from the hospital
Where: Starts at hospital then the car
When: Wednesday night
Rating: G
Warnings: None
Status: Complete!


Elizabeth was packed up and ready to go. She’d had quite enough of hospitals these past few weeks, the doctor...not so much, but the food? Definitely! She zipped up her travel bag that sat on the end of her bed and eased into the chair near the head end to wait for Sam, re-reading the note she was leaving for Dr McCoy with the books he had lent her.

Sam bounced down the hallway as she arrived at the hospital to collect Lizzie, she was really pleased her friend was allowed home again. Their apartment hadn’t been the same without her, as much as Sam liked to think she was a solitary person she didn’t really do that well alone.

Tapping on the door she entered the room, “Hey, hows it going?” she asked.

Elizabeth looked up and smiled at her friend, folding the letter and groaning a little as she stood up. “Hey, it’s going fine...I think,” she tipped her head towards the window with a grin. “At least I can stand and not feel light-headed anymore,” she joked, moving over to her bag and placing the letter back on top of the books she had left in the middle of the bed. “I’m hoping it lasts at least until we get to the car.”

Sam watched as Lizzie placed the letter on the books, she could guess who it was for. Apparently the good doctor was just as crush-worthy off the medication as he was on it.

“I will make sure you get to the car with no light-headed fainting episodes, even if I have to commission a wheelchair to do it” she assured her friend. She moved forward and gestured to the bag, “You got everything in here?” she asked, waiting for an answer before picking it up.

“Oh no! No wheelchairs!” Elizabeth told her categorically, waving a hand firmly in front of her. “I am walking out of here under my own steam even if it kills me!” She laughed and shouldered her handbag across her body, “Yeah, thanks. I’ve checked the room three times, just to be sure,” she smiled.

Sam grinned, “Okay, I get the idea” she teased lightly, taking Elizabeth’s bag and heading slowly towards the door, “I’m sure if you’ve left anything your friendly doctor would bring it to you” she added cheekily.

“Sam...” Elizabeth admonished her friend gently, laughing slightly as she did so. “...don’t tempt me,” she winked, giving the room one last look, eyes landing on the letter again and nodded with a little smile at the digits she saw peeking out from under the folded page. “Ok, lead the way, Captain,” she gave Sam a fake salute. It was strange, giving Sam a military honorific seemed to...fit. Probably had something to do with her dreams she surmised.

Sam laughed, “Come on, I have no doubt you’ve left your number in that letter so he’ll call you without the need to leave anything else behind” she teased her friend.

In the same way it felt strange but right for Lizzie to use the term, it also felt strange yet right for Sam to hear it. The dreams really were messing with her head. Sam found herself daydreaming more and more about the things and people in them, it wasn’t particularly productive.

“Margaery called by to drop off the latest updates for your class” she informed her best friend as they made their way slowly yet steadily out of the hospital, “She’s done amazingly well you know. I’d say between us we’ve got the best TA’s in the university”

“Good, I’m glad,” Elizabeth told her quietly, taking her time as they made their way through the halls. “Remind me to get her a huge fruit basket or something as a thank you,” she smiled. “Hopefully I’ll be back by next week, god knows I have enough to catch up on! I’ve missed out on so much canteen gossip!” she joked, smiling as she finally saw the sunlight through the hospital entrance.

“You know you really haven’t missed much” she confided to her friend, “Oh except Professor Johnson kicking a couple out of his lesson on Valentine’s day due to ‘inappropriate displays of affection’,” she said using quote marks, “They were almost going at it like rabbits” she laughed, “So yeah not so much with the missing stuff”

“Well, I suppose some of us have to enjoy it don’t we,” Elizabeth joked, stopping and inhaling deeply as they came to stand outside of the hospital entrance. “Not quite fresh air, but its better than anything they have in there,” Elizabeth tossed a look over her shoulder at the hospital. “Speaking of which...did you do anything special for Valentine’s day?” Elizabeth teased her friend gently as she let her lead the way to the car.

Sam waited while her friend rested and breathed in the outside air, she snorted as she led Lizzie over to the car, luckily she had managed to park fairly close, “Yeah right” she replied, “I spent the day with my imaginary boyfriend” she laughed, “No, I went to work and then spent the evening at a local theatre, some woman had hired it and was showing horror movies all day. Kind of an alternative Valentine’s Day thing”

“Horror movies on Valentine’s day...yep, romance is officially dead,” Elizabeth laughed as she got into the passenger seat. “Oh well, there’s always next year,” she sighed, settling into the seat and buckling herself into the seat. “So, did I miss anything else? Please tell me Miss Bartlet got rid of that awful pink...‘fro...mullet thing she had going on!”

“Actually it was pretty good fun” Sam informed her friend, “It seemed really popular too, couples as well as singles” Sam had liked it, there had been plenty of people there and she’d had some really interesting conversations.

“Ha, nope its alive and kicking” she replied, adding, “And I do mean alive, I am pretty sure I’ve seen it breathing on her head”

“Oh god,” Elizabeth laughed. “I don’t think that woman ever looks in the mirror does she, how have the faculty not pinned her down and shaved it off?”

“We could always propose it at the next faculty meeting” Sam replied, “I bet we’d all agree”

“I’ll be sure to put it on the agenda,” Elizabeth joked, settling back into the seat with a sigh. “I can’t wait to get home, Sam,” she admitted quietly watching the world go by as they drove. “Don’t get me wrong, they were great while I was there, but there really is no place like home,” she smiled happily over at her friend.

“I’ll be glad to have you home” Sam told her friend, giving her a warm smile before looking back at the road, “It’s been far too quiet without you, I’m not sure I could get used to living on my own again”

“I know what you mean,” Elizabeth sighed. “I can’t tell if that’s a good thing or bad thing,” she joked.

“Let’s go with optimism on this one and say it’s a good thing” she grinned, “So as it’s your first night back eating actual food rather than the crap they gave you at the hospital, what do you feel like for dinner?”

“Ooo...my choice?” Elizabeth made a show about thinking hard about it. “How about....ravioli from Luigi’s down on College Boulevard? I hear they deliver now...although not to the hospital...” she grumbled that last part, still a little sour that the one time she had tried to order something into the hospital they had refused, saying they had been asked not to by members of staff.

Sam chuckled softly, “It’s just because the nurses would get jealous and steal the patients food” she told her friend, “But it’s a great choice. We’ve not eaten there in ages and being able to have it in the comfort of our own home is damn near perfect” she grinned.

“I’m glad you agree,” Elizabeth replied quietly, feeling more and more tired as the journey progressed. “We should watch a movie...” she hadn’t meant to yawn as she was talking, but she couldn’t help herself. “Oh god, I’m sorry,” she said, covering her mouth.

A proper laugh escaped Sam as Lizzie apologised for yawning, “Not sure you’ll make it through dinner and a movie” she teased lightly. Knowing it would still take a while for her friend to adjust to being back at home and into her normal routine. It would no doubt take too long for Lizzie and she’d try to do too much. Sam would have to keep an eye on that.

“Hey! I’ve still got stamina!” Elizabeth defended herself, although the ensuing yawn did little to verify her defense. “I didn’t say it had to be a long movie...” she relented reluctantly. Elizabeth hated to admit when something had her beaten, that was how she had managed to push herself through her studies when she had so many pressures on her and she barely found time to eat, let alone sleep.
Sam snorted as Lizzie’s defence fell apart with another well timed yawn, “Of course you do dear, that’s just an effort to take in more air” she teased.

“Let’s watch something trashy on tv then if you fall asleep you won’t mind and it’ll be easier to turn it off” she suggested, knowing Lizzie wouldn’t be happy if they gave up on the idea entirely.

“Ok, we can give TV Guide a look when we get in and see what’s on,” Elizabeth accepted the compromise with a smile. “And if not, I’m sure there’s a channel showing Judge Judy somewhere...”

“Sure, absolutely” Sam replied with a somewhat forced smile as she internally facepalmed. How somebody as intelligent as Lizzie could watch that stuff for hours on end she’d never know but hopefully she would fall asleep fairly quickly. She hoped so anyway as they pulled up in their parking space outside their apartment. Hope was a wonderful thing.