A Way Around Indecision (An ER Fic)

Dancing Around It

John paced back and forth, his head lowered, watching his feet step one after the other. His hands were clasped behind his back to keep from trembling. It didn't help much. Occasionally, he would look up from the floor and at the clock. Time seemed to move slower when waiting for something. Even more so when fuming.

As he huffed out a frustrated breath, he stopped and grabbed the phone. Right when he dialled Dennis' number, the door to the apartment opened. Dennis stepped in, brown paper bag in hand. John glared, silent for a long time. He hung up and tossed the phone on the couch. "Well, where have you been?"

Two seconds inside and he starts with this already? Dennis thought. He held his tongue as best as he could, and in an even tone, he replied, "I had a meeting."

"Oh, really?" John folded his arms over his belly, carefully. "Who is she?"

An exasperated sigh escaped his full lips. "Elizabeth Corday."

Thrown off by the answer he didn't expect to get, he stammered, "W-what?"

"I took the offer and had to have a meeting with the surgical department. It went quicker than I thought it would, so I got lunch," He held out the paper bag. "Double cheeseburger, extra onions and extra, extra, extra cheese."

John's cheeks pinked up real nice. "Oh," His eyes flicked from the bag to Dennis repeatedly, curious. "Fries?"

"Onion rings. And vanilla soft-serve."

A few seconds more of silent anger; the offer was definitely tempting. Food usually was for him. Eventually, much to his chagrin, John caved and snatched the bag, stuffed his hand in and grabbed the burger, unwrapped it angrily and took a huge bite. Muffled from a mouthful of bread, cheese and beef, he uttered, "This changes nothing."

Dennis breathed off an easy chuckle, watching him stuff his sweet baby face. "You're really putting it away lately."

Mid-bite, John set his food on a plate and eased himself down at the table. Pregnancy paranoia, something he was convinced that only he went through, hit harshly. He began to panic, worried he found out from someone at County. He gulped down hard. "What?"

"You're eating more. I'm glad."

"Yeah, I'm eating fine," Or he was until Dennis brought it up. John then started picking at his food rather than inhaling it. "Why worry about me?"

Dennis walked over to the table and settled down beside him. He rested his elbows on the surface and his clasped hands rested under his chin, staring intently at John. "I always worry about you."

They looked into each other's eyes, wishing with every molecule and cell in their body to escape the norm and lie together. Nothing too intimate, just lying there, holding each other. They almost forgot, for a moment, why they were fighting in the first place. It wasn't until John's pager beeped went off that they snapped back into reality.

Dennis jerked his head in the noise's direction. "You need to check that?"

"No," John cleared the desire, and greasy phlegm, from his throat. "No, I'm off."

The beeping continued, annoying the crap out of John.

"Well, they obviously think otherwise."