Title:Paging Dr. Carter

Author:Jules - mailto:goddess_julie@just-in-dreams.com

Series: 28 parts.

Pairing:Nick/Kevin

Rating:NC-17

Disclaimer:This is all fiction for entertainment purposes. I am not making assumptions on the lives and times of any of these people. It's just a figment of my imagination. Can't handle that? Then what are you doing reading this?

Warning:Slash warning. Bigroupal and OTHER warning (other meaning Christina, Brit, Drew Lachey, Carter clan etc etc) If you don't like any of these people, then don't read. Consider yourself warned. And I will warn you that there are ...not pleasant events that happen. I don't write death fics, so no one is going to die.. But I do put a few people through some really ...rough situations.

Notes:I've characterized people how I want to. Nick's parents are not portrayed as nice because that's the way it fits in my story. And Britney... If you don't like her, that's too bad because she's portrayed as sweet and friends with Nick and Justin in the story. I don't want all this mail with people complaining that she's a skanky ho and she shouldn't be written the way I've written her. Too bad peoples, it's fiction. Also, please bear with me with the medical stuff. I'm not exactly practiced in medcial ..preactices LOL, and for the most part, I'm making stuff up as I go. I don't know how long the types of surgery I'm writing about goes, nor do I know how fast people would recover. Just suspend your willing supsicion of disbelief and go with me on this. Please? Thanks.
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Paging Dr. Carter
by Jules

Part 1

The vibrating of the pager against his thigh was what woke him up. With a groan, he looked down and saw the message displayed. 911. Something was going on and there was trouble in the ER Seeing the message, he was awake in an instant and out the door, heading down the hall towards the emergency room. From where he was, he could hear loud voices calling out orders and commands. It was amazing how the adrenaline pumped through his veins, the exhaustion completely gone. This was what he lived for and as he rushed into the chaos, his evening was just beginning.

"What have we got here?" he asked, approaching the other doctors and nurses that were hustling around.

"Doctor Carter. Thank God you're here. There was a bad accident." One of the nurses said moving so that he could move in to assess the situation. "There are a total of six victims. Two are critical, the other four stable."

"Thank you..." Nick Carter nodded towards the young man at his side.

"Justin, Dr. Carter. My name is Justin Timberlake.. I just transferred from..." They continued down the hall towards the ambulance where stretchers were being unloaded.

"South Western. Yes. I recall looking over your papers. Do me a favour Justin. Page Dr. Chasez. Josh needs to be here for this. I need him." Nick watched Justin nod and scramble towards the nurses station to page the other doctor. A voice penetrated Nick's thoughts which were now in overdrive.

"Nick!!"

Nick turned his head and found the second stretcher being rolled past him by a familiar face. He immediately sprinted towards the stretcher. "Kevin! What do we have here?" Nick pushed his glasses up on the bridge of his nose, straining to hear the other man speak amidst the commotion around them.

"Ugly car crash. Four in one car, two in the other. Cause is still undetermined. The driver of the second car was hit straight on in his door a t-crash style. The front passenger of the first car wasn't wearing a seat belt and went straight through the window."

Nick assessed the situation of the patient as they wheeled him through the hall towards the operating room. Kevin gave him the necessary information he needed as they hurried.

"We almost lost him on the way over but managed to keep him alive. By a thread."

"Which one is this one?" Nick asked.

"Driver of the car that was hit. The second car. The name we got from a wallet was Brian Littrell. The passenger riding with him was the first one that came in. He was in stable condition."

"And the second critical patient? The one that went through the window?"

"Was right behind me. Should be in now." Just as Kevin spoke, a man in a white coat ran past them quickly.

"Nick. I'm on it. Take this one up and I'll get the other one."

"Josh. OR 4 is being prepared." Nick yelled at his colleague, not waiting for a response. If anyone, Dr. Joshua Chasez was Nick's first choice as a night shift partner. They had both graduated from medical school early, finding themselves doing their residency at the same hospital on the same ward. At first they'd clashed quite fiercely, the competition for positions steep. But being on the same shifts for 2 years and many intense situations occurring on their shifts had brought them together like no one had expected. They'd learned to work together and get along, thus turning them into best friends. Josh was probably one of the only people in the world Nick knew he could trust 100%, and in their profession, that was important.

Nick kicked open the door to OR 4, allowing for the nurses to prep the patient. Nick got himself ready for surgery and soon found himself looking down on the stranger. "Well Mr. Littrell. Looks like you've had a rough night." Nick's voice was soft as he spoke, assessing the damage. "You might think you're done, but not on my shift." He vaguely heard the doors open as Josh wheeled in the next patient, working diligently to save him.

Four hours later, Nick was pleased to report that both critical victims were in stable condition. There had been a few minutes when they weren't sure Josh's patient would make it through, but due to his excellent skills, Alexander James McLean, as his chart read, was stabilized. Brian Littrell had already been moved to the ICU by this time.

Nick rubbed his eyes tiredly as he returned to the ER to check on things. Stopping at admitting, Nick smiled at the man behind the desk. "Joe. How are our other crash victims?"

"Dr. Carter..." Joey greeted him with a peppy smile, getting up to grab the blonde doctor a cup of coffee. Nick accepted it gratefully as he sat on the counter. "Well, I hear that Brian Littrell is okay?"

Nick nodded. "Considering."

"Mmmm-hmmmm. Dr. Chasez says that Alex McLean should recover nicely. And the other four..." Joey checked his charts, "...should be fine. We're keeping one for observation. The passenger in Brian's car. His name is James Bass. His leg was broken and he suffered head trauma from where the seat crumpled against him. But the driver in McLean's car, as well as the two passengers in the back seat were okay. Only minor nicks and cuts."

Nick nodded again, wincing as he swallowed down another mouthful of the coffee. "Thanks Joe. I'm going to go and check on Josh. See how he's doing."

As Nick headed down the hall towards the Doctor's lounge, he decided to stop by and check on the doctors doing rounds. He talked to a few nurses and checked a few charts, making sure that everything was going okay. Once he'd made one last stop by ICU, he exited the wing finding himself face to face with one of the Emergency Response workers. "Kevin."

"Great work Doctor Carter." Kevin replied, smiling at the blonde.

Nick fought back the butterflies in his stomach at the sight of the paramedic. There was just something in his emerald green eyes, or the way his smile lit up his face that turned Nick's knees to mush. "Well thank you."

"How are you doing? I mean...." They stood in the hall, awkwardly staring at one another.

"Good. I mean... considering what a crazy night it's been." Nick took a breath and tried to calm his nerves. "I'm on my way to the lounge..."

"I was just heading there..." As they walked towards the lounge, Nick felt the tension leave his body. He turned to Kevin and smiled, secure in the fact that the other man didn't notice.

"Have you been here this whole time?"

Kevin shook his head. "No. We had a few calls. The last one brought us back here. It wasn't anything serious but we had to bring her in for observation. Chris is in talking to a few of his friends so I thought that I'd just go and sit down for a bit." Kevin pointed in the direction that his partner stood. Nick smiled and waved to the

other man. It was comical to see the paramedics together. They were completely opposite, but the perfect team. Kevin was tall, lean and quiet, reserved. Chris on the other hand was considerably short, stocky and a ball of fire. He was always hyper and goofing around. Both men were the same age, but where Kevin acted like his age, Chris acted more ...Nick's. Nine years younger. Well actually, Chris acted younger than that, but Nick thought he was a kick so it didn't really phase him all too much. "Our shift's almost over so we thought we'd stick around for a bit," Kevin said opening the door to the lounge so they both could step in.

"Shit. If your shift is over...." Nick removed the stethoscope from around his neck and tossed it on the table. "...then mine must be too."

"You wish junior." A voice called from the adjoining room. "If I'm right... and I'm always right. You're not done until 9 am. It's only 5:45!"

Nick pouted as Josh came into view, a huge smile on his face. "Oh god Carter. I'm too tired to deal with the pout." Josh shook Kevin's hand in greeting. "Kevin. How have you been?"

"You know. Same shit really."

"Yeah. I hear that."

Nick listened to the two men make small talk as he pulled his shirt over his head, throwing it into the hamper. He grabbed a clean one and headed towards the bathroom, unaware of a pair of eyes focused intensely on him. A few minutes later, he re emerged to find Kevin and Josh laughing with Chris at the small table in the centre of the room. A low whistle accompanied his entrance.

"Dr. Carter. Orlando's official Dr. Hot Buns." Chris joked, standing up to bow. Nick's reply was a roll of his eyes and mumbled 'fuck you'. To which everyone laughed harder. "I'm serious Nick. I hear the talk in the ER. 'Ooooh. I hope I get Dr. Carter tonight. He's so fine.. his ass is so squeezable." Chris teased, making Nick's blush deepen.

"Shit Chris. That's nothing. You should hear what the staff says," Josh broke in, winking at Nick.

"Yeah Josh. Like you aren't all that popular. I've seen how the nurses swoon when you're on shift," Nick retorted, standing up to grab a cup of coffee. "You've got them all creaming in their scrubs. Men AND women." As he took a long swallow of the hot liquid, he put it back down, grimacing. "You'd think we could get some coffee in this place that at least tastes like coffee. I mean... just a little bit anyways."

"What? And spoil you doctors? I don't think so sweet cheeks." Chris stood, slapping Nick on the shoulder. He turned to face Kevin. "Come on Kev. You ready? The replacements should be out front waiting to change over." Kevin nodded and stood, smiling at Nick and JC. He bid them a good night ... or good day actually. It would only be a matter of 12 hours before they were back in the same place, starting the routine all over again.

When the two paramedics were gone, Nick and Josh were left alone in the lounge to take a breather. Josh turned to smile at Nick. "Someone's got a crush..."

Nick blushed and shook his head. "No I don't. I barely even know him." Nick missed the soft giggle from Josh.

"Don't know who?"

"Kevin. I barely know him outside of the hospital. I mean, yeah. He's hot. So fucking hot, but it's not a crush." Josh simply stared at him making him even more nervous. "Do you think it's a crush? Oh god. Was I that obvious? He's probably straight and thinking I'm some fucking freak." Nick folded his arms on the table in front of him and laid his head down, feeling the heat from his cheeks rise.

"Nicky Nicky Nicky." Josh laughed causing Nick to look up. "Who said anything about you?"

The colour drained instantly from Nick's face. "Huh?"

"I meant it's clear that Kevin has a crush... On you of course. But now that you mention it..."

A groan was heard through the room and Nick's head once again fell to rest on his arms. He'd been conned. Sort of. Taking a deep breath he realized what Josh had said, his head snapping back up. "What? You think.. you think he's interested in me?" He didn't dare get his hopes up.

Josh laughed at his friends' innocence. He'd been watching the two men for months. How they would flirt with one another, steal glances when they thought the other wasn't watching and how much they both wanted each other. Josh just couldn't figure out why neither had made a move. "Carter.. you'd have to be blind to miss the vibes that he's putting out. Why do you think he's here so much?"

"You dumbass." Nick's heart fell. It was just Josh's imagination. "He has to be here.. seeing that he sort of works here." Before JC could answer, the door opened and Justin rushed in.

"Dr. Chasez? Dr. Carter?"

"Yes Justin." Josh said, standing up and stretching.

"The police are outside in the ER. They want to talk to the doctor in charge tonight. You know, when the crash victims came in."

"Well, usually that's me." Josh said removing his jacket. "But seeing that my shift was over 20 minutes ago, Nicky boy will have to do the honours." With that, Josh flashed them a grin and headed towards the showers and lockers.

"Fuck you Chasez." Nick had to chuckle at the expression on the nurse's face at Josh's lack of concern at his statement. He turned to Justin who was watching him with wide eyes. "It's all good Justin. Don't worry about him. Josh likes to think he's important. Everyone knows I'm the senior Doctor here."

"Fuck you Carter. You wish." Josh called from the showers, causing the two men to laugh. Nick watched Justin shift from foot to foot and knew that in a few weeks, some of his anxiety would lessen. It would be easier to distinguish the emergencies from everything else.

"Come on Doctor Carter..."

"Justin." When Nick had his attention he smiled at the other man and put his hand on his arm. "Call me Nick." Justin nodded and they exited the room, Nick calling a good bye to his friend with promises to see each other that night.

The two men continued towards the ER where Nick recognized the two police officers at the desk talking to Joey. "Howard. Christina. What's up with you two?"

"Nickolas. Good to see you." Howie said, shaking Nick's hand. "We just wanted to go over a few things with you. About the accident."

Nick nodded, leading the two officers towards a more private area of the Emergency room. He'd gotten to know the Latino man and petite blonde woman quite a bit over the past few years working late nights in the ER and thus had become pretty good friends with them. Forty minutes later, the three friends said their good byes and Nick returned to the desk, exhausted. Checking the clock he was happy to find that there was less than two hours left to his shift..

"So, what did they say?" Justin asked, seeing Nick's exhaustion clearly. The blonde looked almost dead on his feet.

Nick rubbed his eyes and stretched. "Apparently, the car crash with Alex McLean .... the one that crashed into Brian Littrell and James Bass... well the driver of Alex's car had been swerving to miss a reckless driver. They weren't sure if it was a result of drunk driving or he'd fallen asleep at the wheel. As they hit the breaks, the car swerved and lost control. That's when they hit Brian Littrell's door head on."

"Thankfully everyone's okay. It would have been such a shame." Justin's face was serious.

"It was sketchy there for a while... we weren't sure..."

"Nah. We all had faith in yourself and Dr. Chasez. From what I've heard from the other nurses and doctors here, you both are two of the best doctors here in Orlando. They were lucky to have you on tonight."

"Thank you Justin." Nick said, smiling at the nurse shyly. "Well... life goes on. There are still patients to see... I should check on them before a riot starts in the ER." He gave the younger man a shake of his head and headed down the hall. He was thinking about a tall, sexy paramedic that seemed to occupy his thoughts a lot lately.