*** "and Sara thinks she's died here once before.. She's crazy. A pop-book of flowers from grade four is driving her insane. No-one knows why, she sad tonight. No-one can help her find.. Crying.. Crying.. She couldn't afford the view.. Crying, crying, these automatic flowers won't do.." ***
"Dave.. That is really pathetic. Don't let Kerry catch you putting
something like that on the grave.." Haleh warned him kindly as the
young man trudged silently across the green grasses. Grasses that were
dotted with headstones and bouquets of flowers.
"They were expensive, Haleh.." He muttered softly as he neared the grave marker, kneeling as he placed the bouquet ontop of the newly turned earth.
"Dave.." Abby whispered to him kindly, placing her hand on his shoulder. "Hon.. Those bouquets are supposed to be for sick people in hospitals.. I don't think little bouquets with plastic stethoscopes and thermometers is really fit for a funeral."
Tears stung his eyes and he roughly grabbed the basket. Flinging it outwards, watching it hit the ground and bounce into a hedgerow. "N-never mind then.. Figured he'd like it.. Maybe figured he'd want that sorta shit in the afterlife.. I don't know.. I figured.. Hell.. He's a doctor. Little stethoscope. Cool.. But hey.. Malucci's a fucking moron!. Everyone's made that quite clear!" Dave stood shakily, stumbling towards the hedgerow where his little basket was caught in the vines. His gaze turned away from it and to a clump of dandelions, Dave ripping them from the earth, he stomped back to the grave and awkwardly planted the weeds on the fresh grave.
With a grunt of anger and frustration, he forced himself to his feet and stalked off towards the small rented coupe.
"Dave!" Luka Kovac called out to the doctor fruitlessly as he exited the church and saw Malucci stumble down the hillside and to the car. "What did you say to him?" He said accusingly, looking at the nurses gathered around the front doors.
"Nothing. He was putting flowers on Mark's grave-" Lydia muttered, embarrassed as Carol interrupted her angrily.
"They started bugging him about the bouquet he was laying on the grave. Dave flipped out.. I don't know where he's going. You better go after him Luka."
The older man nodded silently and carefully gauged his way down the hill and to the masses of cars. What ever they'd said to Dave, it had hit hard.. Hopefully he could talk some sense into the man before he did anything stupid.
*******
"Elizabeth.. What are you doing here?!" Carol said stunned, as she made the fourth pot of coffee that morning, slipping the pot onto the burner and flipping on the switch. "Are you okay?"
"I could ask you the same thing, Carol.." She replied thickly to the nurse, turning back slightly to make eye contact from the sea of papers and knick-knacks that spilled from Mark's locker. "I'm here cleaning out his things. Might as well do it now... Frightening being alone at home.. I don't want t-. I couldn't.. Ella's with my mother.. I'm just cleaning out his locker.."
"Oh.. I came back for the funeral. Doug is out in the ER someplace. I told the desk, I'd make more coffee.. It's pretty dea-" Carol swallowed nervously, breaking off and leaving the sentence hanging. It was quiet out there.. No patients.. It was dead out there... But dead.. It didn't seem like the term to use.. "I just told them I'd make more coffee. Nobody feels like working out there..."
"No.. Probably not." Elizabeth agreed. "I don't blame them." She trembled slightly, a hand grabbing at the door of the locker to steady herself.
"Did you want any help? I'll grab a box to put his things into." Carol said helpfully as the surgeon turned on her.
"NO! Just go! GO dammit! You weren't here. You weren't here when we needed you! Doug.. His supposed best friend. He wasn't here when Mark was diagnosed.. Didn't come down when he heard.. He didn't come down.. A friend would have come back, a friend would have been here. We got a PHONE CALL! ON OUR ANSWERING MACHINE!" Elizabeth's eyes narrowed to fiery green slits, red rimmed and full of pain. "M-mark.. He.. He phoned back.. Phoned.. G-got wrong numbers.. Got upset.. Thought you had tricked him. What you did was very disgusting. Doing that."
"Elizabeth.. You weren't home.. It's not our fault.. It's not our fault he's died.. I'm sorry Elizabeth.. But it's not." She shook her head and backed out of the lounge, the door swinging shut and leaving the widowed doctor alone yet again.
"I can't do this Mark.. I can't do this alone.. Why did you do this to me!?" Elizabeth sobbed quietly, picking through his belongings and packing it up.
*****
"Fucking stupid flowers.. Stupid funeral, stupid grave, stupid Greene.." Dave muttered angrily as he stomped through the halls, around the corner and stumbled over a huddled figure against the wall. "CHRIST!" He yelped in fright, his arms outstretched to cushion his fall. "What in the f-" Slowly he raised his head and met eyes with the mother and widow. "Sorry.. I didn't see you.." Dave whispered sadly, as he picked himself off of Elizabeth.
"Malucci.. You ignorant, stupid, thoughtless pathetic excuse for human life." She spat sadly, roughly shoving the man away. "Get off of me.."
"Dr.Corday.. I just.. I'm sorry.." He mumbled, ducking his head as he stood.
"SORRY?!" She screeched at the young doctor, tears streaming down her reddened cheeks. "You planted WEEDS on my husband's grave! What are you?! A child!? You're a hurtful bastard." Elizabeth growled, as she hauled off, swung, and punched Dave Malucci.
******
"What happened again, Dave?" Luka asked curious, as he stitched up the small lac above Dave's bruised cheek.
"A patient punched me.."
"Oh.. Distraught mother?" The doctor prodded, handing Dave the icepack.
"I.. umm.. no.. Drunk... That's all.. Some drunken bum.."
"A drunken bum with a three stone diamond wedding ring?" Luka smirked, shaking his head. "Dave.. The cuts on your face.. Did Elizabeth-"
"Just shut up okay! It's none of your business! A drunk punched me.. Okay?" Dave stormed from the room, the icepack, held clumsily over one eye.
****
She'd paced the parking garage.. Walking the dirty asphalt and wondering how she'd ever cope without him. It didn't seem possible.. Carol had done it for months before she'd run back to Doug.. But.. Elizabeth had nobody to run back to.. Nobody.. She was alone.. It didn't seem possible.. A year ago.. Locked the basement with the man... Now she held his old medical journals in a cardboard box, her wedding ring on her finger.. His daughter.. Home... Their home.. A home she'd now have to sell to make ends meet. "Mark.. Why?" She shuddered, remembering the vivid recounting of Mark's sudden collapse at the front desk.. Aneurysm. Quick.. Painless.. They'd told her. Never felt a thing.. They'd reassured her.. It didn't change the fact that he was gone. Didn't change a thing.
"Dr.Corday?"
Elizabeth raised her head, her brow cocked at the comical sight. "Dave... I didn't know you smoked.." She said hoarsely as she watched the man hold onto the ice pack with one hand and the cigarette with the other. "Don't you know it's bad for your health?"
"So is hanging around you, it seems." He muttered back, taking a slow drag and adjusting the bag over his eye.
"I'm sorry about that Malucci.." Elizabeth sighed, walking towards the man and plucking the cigarette from his fingers. "I was quite out of line.."
"No.. It's okay.. really.. I flaked out at the church.. Acted like an idiot.. You have every right to punch my lights out." He shrugged and watched as she put out the cigarette on the bottom of her shoe. "I was using that.." Dave sighed.
"It's not okay. You have every right. You have the right to even charge me with assault.. I shouldn't have-" Elizabeth sniffled and broke off in a flood of tears.
"Heyy.. Uhh... Hey.. It's okay.. I'm fine.. It's only my eye.. I've had worse.. Trust me.. Dr.Corday?" Dave advanced on her, his hand tentatively outstretched in comfort as he reached for her shoulder. "It was my fault.. I'm sorry, I'm sorry about Dr.Greene."
A hand clawed blindly at his scrubs, grabbing him as she pulled him close, sobbing into his shirt. "I... I.." Her fingers pulled at the cloth, tugging as she buried her face into his chest, her breaths hitching with gasping sobs. Nervously Dave groped at her back, clueless as to where to put his hands. Patting at her shoulders anxiously, as he placed a tentative, comforting kiss to the top of her head.
"D-dave.. I.." Carefully she lifted her head, meeting his eyes as their lips slowly brushed in passing.
"Whoa..." Dave whispered in disbelief., backing away from the surgeon.. "Dr.C.. That was a little.." He swallowed, shaking his head. "That was weird.. I'm sorry. I gotta go.. Gotta get back to work.. Take care of yourself.. "
"Yes Dave... You too.." Elizabeth murmured in reply, watching the resident lope awkwardly from the garage.