"Fees?!" Elizabeth queried nervously as Carol began digging in her purse for Doug's gold card.
***
The taxi stopped at the front gates and the cabbie smiled evilly. "That's fifty dinar, madame."
Kerry nodded, pulling the bills from her wallet. "According to that meter of yours, I only owe you thirty. That's what the dispatcher quoted me on the phone. Here you go." She carefully got out of the car, slipping the crutches under her to fully support her weight.
"Cheap bitch.." The cabbie muttered as he drove away.
She walked up the lane, the crutches splashing in puddles as she neared the house. Luka's newly washed pickup sat in the front driveway and Kerry yawned tiredly.. Two days spent at the hospital sleeping in the waiting room with two of the most neurotic, nervous and highstrung women on the planet. Kerry had, had enough of it.
Informing Peter and Abby, who were content with playing a never ending game of Crazy Eights in the cafeteria, that she was going back to the farm, Kerry packed herself into a cab and went back to Drzislav's farmhouse.
"Luka!?" She called out, nervously. "Dave?!" Entering the house, she found Luka asleep on the sofa. "Luka..." Kerry hissed, shaking him. "Luka, where's Dave?"
"Ran away.. Seri dead.." He murmured in his sleep, rolling away from her and starting to snore.
"He told you she was dead? Kovac! Wake up! Where did he go!?" Kerry angrily grabbed him and pushed the sleeping man off the couch and onto the floor.
"Ouch... Kerry.. You did not have to do that." Luka grumbled, rubbing his back.
"WHERE IS HE KOVAC!?" She yelled at the Euro-doc as she beat him over the head with a cushion.
"I... I'm right here Chief.." Dave murmured quietly as he stood in the doorway and brushed himself off. Stray pieces of grass and dirt stuck on his clothes and in his hair as he picked out the bits of straw.
"Oh.. Thank god.. Malucci... Where were you!?" Kerry breathed in relief as she coaxed him to a chair.
"W-who is Seri? I am confused." Luka murmured tiredly as he picked himself up off the floor and helped Dave into the chair.
"Serena was my wife." Dave whispered, staring at the floor.
"I am sorry Dave. I didn't know. You never let on. It never seemed like..." Luka trailed off, embarrassed.
"Seemed like what, Kovac? That 'Dr.Dave' could never have a serious relationship? That I could never have loved and lost and got on with my life? You don't know me. Just because I didn't do the patented 'Kovac mope' and spread my problems around for the gossip mill does not mean I never had a life before Chicago." Dave stated simply.
"I didn't mean... All those women chasing after you, all those dates, your general preference for bed-hopping.. I never would have guessed.." Luka sighed, rubbing his eyes.
"People deal with their grief differently. Just because I have girlfriends, just because I go out and have fun, does not mean I don't still love my wife. I don't sleep with co-workers and I don't air my dirty laundry at work. You have a problem with that!?" Dave snapped.
"No... I... Hey... wait.. Didn't you? What about Randi?" Luka stammered, shuffling his feet nervously and staying out of Dave's eye contact.
"Randi was fun.. I had fun with her.. She's very... Imaginative. We went out on a few dates.. But she's not a slut, and neither am I.." Dave replied coldly, getting up from the chair and storming up the stairs.
"I'm going to go after him, Luka. Keep an eye out for the rest of them. They should be along soon." Kerry retreated up to bed and to console Dave.
***
"I've found you a crutch, but I'd advise you to stick with the pair
we gave you earlier, until you get the hang of walking with the cane. I'm
glad you've decided to stay Kerry. We'll start therapy beginning Monday,
then we'll get your transfer arranged."
Dr.Lawrence smiled as he watched Mlungisi enter the room and wrap a
protective arm around her shoulder as he lead her to the car.
Back at home, Kerry smiled as Mlungisi curled up on the floor at the foot of the bed. "You don't have to sleep on the floor, Mlungisi!" She laughed, patting the bed. "Sleep here with me, after all you've done for me. I think Finn would be honoured that I've found someone like you." She wrapped an arm around him as he climbed in under the covers.
"I think I'm going to like Africa.. I think I'm going to like it here. It'll be just fine." Kerry murmured sleepily as he draped an arm over her and pulled himself in close.
"I'm going to like this too.." Mlungisi murmured back as the two drifted off to sleep.
***
"It ended alright.. Everything ended okay.." Kerry murmured as she struggled up the stairs, dragging the crutches behind her with one hand, while clutching the stair-rail with the other. "At least Mlungisi is still alive." She muttered before nearly running into Dave. He'd hidden himself in the dark shadows of the upstairs, cowered in the corner.
"Who's Mlungisi?" Dave whispered, causing her to jump in fright.
"He was a very good friend." Kerry replied, catching her breath. And not a bad lover either.. She added silently to herself. "He was a very good friend of mine. I lived in Africa for awhile. Studied there and did my first few years of internship in Sierra Leone.."
Dave nodded. Her leg.. It was all falling into place. West Africa was infamous for it's masses of minefields.
"He went away to sort out things when his father passed away. We lost touch and I returned to the States and took a job at Mt.Sinai. I hadn't seen him till a few years ago. We keep in touch now.." Kerry whispered as advanced on the trembling form. "I'm sorry Dave. I'm sorry about Seri.."
"S'okay." He sighed, retreating further into the shadows and away from her. She'd never understand. The man she'd loved was still alive, harsh words could be fixed, glossed over. He didn't have that sort of power that would be needed to fix his gaffes.. There was no way. He could apologize all he wanted over her gravestone, but she couldn't forgive him.. She could never forgive him.
"You want to talk? It's okay Dave, Luka didn't mean anything by what he said." She said softly as she moved in to sit beside him.
"Talk about what? She's dead, Chief. I wasn't even there when it happened!
Seri died all alone. The last thing I said to her.. I.. I never said that
I loved her.. I yelled at her.. She was going out with some people.. Going
to have fun.. Then.. Then she gets it into her head that she's leaving
me.. She threw the pregnancy test results in my face, and left.. I never
saw her again.. I killed my wife.."