"Time of death, 11:34." Dr. Weaver stepped away from the patient, removed her gloves and yellow smock and reclaimed her crutch. She took one last look at the middle aged man on the gurney, sighed and walked out of the trauma room.

"I’ll tell the family," Dr. Kovac said quietly to her as they exited.

"Okay." Kerry knew he was trying to be helpful. It had been so long since she’d worked the ER, it was taking her a while to get back into the swing of things. Though she didn’t want to admit it, she was grateful for her collegue’s support. "Thanks."

They looked at each other once before parting ways, he heading for the family room and she to the admit desk. The ER was slow for the moment, everything on the board currently being taken care of, so she grabbed a couple of charts to fill out while waiting for the inevitable rush. Even despite her ER hiatus, Kerry knew this to be the calm before the storm. She was focusing so intently on her work that she failed to notice the body placing itself in front of her on the other side of the desk until it spoke.

"Kerry." The voice was feminine, soft and tentative. She recognized it immediately, her eyes widening, pulse quickening, but she hesitated before looking up to confirm her suspicions. It couldn’t be her…but it was.

"Kim." She looked up at the taller woman, blonde curls cascading around her tanned face, falling below her sculpted shoulders. She was smiling, blue eyes twinkling, uncertainty barely noticible in her expression.

"Hi, Kerry."

"Kim, what are you doing here?" Confusion overwhelmed the older doctor. She never expected to see Kim again. Ever. As many times as she had dreamed it in the past, she never actually expected it. Her being there changed something vital in Kerry’s very existence, but she couldn’t even begin to sort her emotions to figure out what it was. She was shaken to the core, her world had been turned upside down in an instant.

"I came here to see you," Kim said slowly. She seemed to be struggling for words. "Look, Kerry, I know it’s been a long time-"

"Five years," she interrupted.

"Five years." Kim looked down, seemingly contemplating the enormity of the time gap, as if for the first time. She had no idea that Kerry had been through an entire lifetime in the past five years. She looked up again, her confidence cracked but not broken. "Kerry, I just want to talk."

Kerry was suddenly reminded of their last conversation. Kim had told her to move on, she’d walked away from her, out of her life. She had packed up and left Kerry with a heartful of painful memories and nothing else. An uprising of anger cut an edge to her words, "We should have done that five years ago." She wanted to storm off, but something kept her there.

"Okay." Kim said, defeated. She opened her mouth to speak again, but closed it, pursed her lips. She looked deep into Kerry’s eyes, spoke so quietly it was more of a whisper. "I’m sorry." She turned and started walking back toward the door through which she came. Kerry couldn’t stand to see her walk away again.

"Kim, wait." Kim stopped, turned slowly around to look at Kerry but didn’t speak. "How about a cup of coffee?"

Kim smiled, nodded, looking relieved. "Coffee sounds great."

"Not here it isn’t. Let me get my purse and we’ll go across the street." Just as Kerry turned to go fetch her things, Chuny yelled to her from the other side of the desk.

"Dr. Weaver! We’ve got a multiple MVA on the way. Seven victims, at least four critical. ETA around five minutes."

"Here comes the storm," she said under her breath. Looking back at Kim apologetically, she thought for a moment. "I get off at seven. How about dinner?"

"Okay," Kim said, smiling as she walked back to the desk. She quickly jotted down her cell number for Kerry, "Call me when you get off."

"I will" she smiled back, then shifted herself back into Weaver mode and started shouting orders at her staff. She tried to push Kim out of her mind, but couldn’t get rid of the slight hint of a smile on her face.