A Christmas Carol Blooms (New Amsterdam fanfiction)

Ghost of Christmas Future

A cold wind wakes Lauren up from her slumber. Her head slumped over the kitchen counter, she looks up to find a hooded figure in her kitchen, face shroud in darkness.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?"

Silence.

"Oh. So you don't speak. Let me guess. Ghost of Christmas future. You wear this scary garb to symbolize the fact that the future is scary and full of the unknowns. Am I right? I have told past and present already I don't need you. Nothing scares me. I am fine. Now leave me alone so I can sleep. Or whatever it is I am really doing."

Silence.

"Oh. Really. Nothing from the peanut gallery. That's the first. Past and present were all chatty about "you're not fine. We're not really here. Figments of imagination crap."

Silence.

"Can't you point or something? Lift an eyebrow. Flip the bird. Something to indicate you can hear me. Hello!!!" Lauren starts to wave her hand in front of the hooded figure. "What's under this hood anyway? Since you won't tell me anything, might as well see for myself."

Lauren reaches for the hood. Her fingers barely making contact with the piece of cloth before the room dissolves around her once more. "Oh shit. Not again. Seriously."

As her surroundings become clear, Lauren looks around. She finds herself in a dimly lit bar. A lone occupant hunched over the bar pouring a glass of Jack Daniels.

"Where are we?" Lauren asks. As if In reply, notices a lit up sign hanging behind the jukebox calling this place Joe's.

Suddenly the door opens and Lauren notices a familiar gait approaching the lone customer. "Hey thanks joe for calling me. How much was the tab? I can take care of it." Max Goodwin has entered the picture.

"Here's the receipt. Sorry to call you. But it's closing time. And you asked me the last time to call you instead of the cab."

"Hey don't worry about it." Max pulls out a hundred dollar bill, hands it to the bartender as he walks towards the customer. "Keep the change."

He pulls up a stool and sits on it. "Hey, Lauren."

At the sound of her name, present day Lauren's face reads shock as she realizes the disheveled customer is none other than herself.

"Max, hey man. What are you doing here? Haha. You want to join me for a drink?" Future Lauren drawls out.

"No thanks. I am here to take you home. Bar is about to close."

"Ha! Hard to believe. I just got here."

"No, Lauren. Your tab is almost 100 dollars. Come on let me take you home."

"No!" Lauren stumbles out of her chair, staggering towards the door. "Leave me alone. I don't need your help. I'm not one of your patients."

"Lauren." Max grabs her jacket and follows her out the door.

Present day Lauren and Future follows suit, being drawn towards these two. Lauren watches as her boss puts the jacket on her future self, and leads her towards his car.

"Hey what's going on here. Why am I at the bar drinking til closing time. Why is max saving me. Better yet, when am I?" She grabs a newspaper from the nearest newspaper stand to find out the date was December 25, 2020.

"Two years into the future. What happened to me. No way I could have turned out like that in a short time." Lauren's anger is now directed to the hooded figure. "Don't just stand there. Say something. Hello. This can't just be it. I need to know what happened."

This time Future grabs hold of her hand and the scene changes to a familiar place, Lauren's apartment. Keys can be heard from the outside as someone opens the door. It's max carrying future Lauren inside. He turns on the lights and lays her down on the couch.

As the lights turn on and present day Lauren adjusts to the room, shock and dismay fleets across her face. The once pristine apartment now looks a mess with liquor bottles strewn everywhere and empty pill bottles on the coffee table.

"Hey Lauren. I'm gonna cook you some bacon and eggs. Hope you still have some from when I was last here. Yup. Fridge looks the same as it did when I was here." Max takes out a package of bacon and two eggs ready to make breakfast.

"What are you doing here Max? You fired me."

"I had to Lauren. You were putting yourself and patients in danger. I gave you a choice. Go into treatment and get sober or have your medical license be taken away. You didn't want treatment."

"Because I'm-"

"Fine. Yes. Lauren we know." Max flips the bacon. He hears Lauren stumble into the bedroom. "Hey where are you going?"

"Shower!" Lauren yells back from the room.

*****

"What the hell just happened?" Present day Lauren exclaims in shock. "No no no. Silent treatment can't work this time. What happens in the next two years. Please answer me."

The scene changes again once more to the sparsely decorated but clean home of Present day.

"No you are not allowed to leave without answering my question. What happened. How did I get my medical license taken away? How did I become that wreck in two years? Hello. Help me. Please."

As if finally released from immobility, Future, at the sound of those words, lifts the hood from her face, surprised to see her own face staring back at her.

"This must be a joke. This can't be real. Why now all of a sudden you reveal yourself to me."

"Because I needed you to ask for help. It was the only way." Future responds.

"Well then explain to me what I just saw. How? Why? When? What happened?"

"For two years, you overworked, taking the pills so you can stay up. It got to the point where your patients started to suffer. Casey wasn't around to cover up for you anymore. You started ordering the wrong meds. Giving wrong doses to patients. After many malpractice suits, max couldn't protect you anymore. The board took away your license."

"No. There's got to be a mistake." Lauren paces the living room floor. "I'm fine."

"No you're not fine. The minute you admit to that things can change."

"Evie told me I can't change the past. No one can."

"She's right. You can't change the past. But the future can be changed. You just have to make the right choices. Learn from what you've seen tonight. And more importantly, you're not alone Lauren. You have friends who are willing to help you if you're willing to ask."