******
"You killed my daughter.. I saw the charts.. I saw her doctor, you bastard.. You didn't even tell her did you!?" The Reverend trembled with rage, his large fist crashing down upon the fibreboard desktop of the ER admit desk. "You little bastard.." He repeated again, as if saying it over again would bring his Serena back through those doors.
"Gabriel.." She said tiredly, and Dave was grateful for the break in family anguish. Serena's mother never had been one of his biggest fans, but at least she didn't want him dead. At least he didn't THINK she wanted him dead.. He hoped. "Please.. Don't torment the boy.. He lost a wife and a child as well.." Laura pinched the bridge of her nose and shook her head. "Don't do this.. Not here.. Not now.."
"Lost a wife and a child?! We lost a daughter!! A daughter and a grandchild.. This boy is.." The Reverend sighed, swaying his great bushy head from side to side like a buffalo in heat. "No.. You're not worth the effort of thinking of the words..." He waved the young doctor away with an indifferent swat of his meaty hand.
"I.." Dave sighed. What COULD he say without sounding... Stupid, ungrateful, worthless?? Nothing.. To this man... There was nothing he COULD say.. Nothing but.. "I'm sorry.."
Carefully, he scooped up the jacket that was thrown over the chair and slipped from the hospital. His car sat expectantly in the parking lot across from the hospital, a yellow parking ticket stuck under the windshield wipers. Dave walked past and down the street, wrapping his coat tighter around himself as he navigated the sidewalk with his shivering muscled frame. "I didn't kill her.. She just.. I had just.."
***
"YIPPEE!!!!!" Mark launched himself onto the bed, a gangly belly-flop, his arms flailing as he landed on the mattress. Elizabeth giggled, untying the robe and letting it slip to the floor as she uncapped the can and began to deposit white airy clouds of whipcream on her smooth skin, that he kissed with each advancement..
Mark giggled, pulling his wife onto the bed, and kissing her neck as they pushed the bed clothes to the floor.
"What in the fuck!?" Dave rubbed his head, struggling to untangle himself from the blankets and peeped out from under the sheets to see Elizabeth armed with her can of whip cream, start to mount Mark. "Holeee sheeeit!"
The two lovers' heads swivelled, staring suspiciously at the trembling mound of blankets. "Mark.. I think that comforter just swore."
"That's okay honey. I'll kill it for you." Mark smiled, climbing out of bed.
"YAGHHHH!! Get away from me!" Dave scrambled for the door as the older doctor jumped off the bed and grabbed Dave around his middle. ***
Kerry looked upwards at the second large thump that thundered from upstairs. A fine dust of plaster rained from the ceiling, and the light fixture swayed. "What on earth is going on up there?!"
Carol shuddered. "Do you really want to know? Mark and Elizabeth are friends.. But what goes on behind closed doors... That's their business, I really don't want a mental image.. Do you?"
The ER Chief looked at her and shook her head readily, her face scrunched in disgust. "Not bloody likely."
***
"So Chauncey.. Where is this Denny's anyhow?" Abby said accusingly as she stared out into the distance, not a building in site. The sun had grown hotter and hadn't improved either of their tempers.
"How in the hell should I know!?" Carter snapped back, his feet aching, and his shirt sticking to his back, sweat dripping down the back of his neck.
"I think we should phone somebody." She conceded, pausing on the dirt road. "A cab, or the house.. I don't want to walk anymore, John."
"YOU, don't want to walk anymore!?!" He snarled angrily. "I never asked you to get out of the car, did I?! That's your own fault. You can stay here. I'm still walking. I'm hungry." Carter threw his hands up in disgust and stomped further down the road, weaving down the center median and attempted to flag down a car.
***
It was the right thing to do. He had to see if the man was okay. It was strange enough, being stuck with Luka, a constant reminder of his daughter. Nik was glad when Luka had finally left, but the way he'd left.. So abruptly, Nikola sighed, his knuckles whitening on the steering wheel, he had to see if he was okay.
As the car crested over the hill, the old man spied the figure wandering dangerously in the middle of the road. Leaning on the horn, Nikola swerved as Carter stumbled. "Get out of the road!" He yelled more to himself, than anyone. The windows rolled up and the airconditioning cranked in an attempt to have relief from the heat.
Carter wouldn't have heard him even if the windows had been rolled down, because as the car came over the hill, as the old man laid on his horn, the doctor spun around and glared at Abby. "Come on. We have to keep going, as much as you hate me, I can't leave you here. I'm not that much of a bastard."
"CARTER!!" Abby screamed fearfully as the old Datsun weaved down the dirt road and towards him."Carter! Get out of the way!"
"You can't tell me what to do, woman!" Carter yelled back angrily, turning away from her and into the headlights of the oncoming car.
***
"I'm gonna kill him." Luka growled, grabbing his coat. "All these years and he still can't leave us alone! Why can't he get his own woman! Doesn't he have enough money to get a whole fleet of those inflatable dolls!?"
"Luka.. Killing Carter doesn't solve anything." Doug smiled goofily from the kitchen table, sipping orange juice and watching Luka struggle with his shoes. "If it did, I would have killed you years ago.. Always making eyes at my wife. So you're with Abby. So what. You've been engaged to her for how many years? Don't have the guts to go through with it. You know why, Kovac? Because you still love my wife. If you want to do something about it, then marry her, make a commitment and stay the hell away from Carol." Doug glared at him, grasping the glass in a shaky hand and downing it in a gulp.
"Killing him would solve everything. I'd have him out of my life, no more competition." Luka growled back.
"No more competition eh? Your Abby is a pretty girl. You'll always have some guy making eyes at her, you can't kill them all without getting the hospital suspicious. I mean you already have County calling you Dr.Death.You want to compound that with cold blooded murder?" Doug laughed, pouring himself another glass of juice.
***
"JOHN GET OUT OF THE WAY!" She screamed again, running towards him to push him out of the path of the vehicle.
Nikola stared at the people scurrying out in front of his car and slammed on the brakes, swerving towards the ditch as the woman ran out into the path of his vehicle. In a last desperate effort, he leaned on the horn and braced himself for impact.
***
"Murder? I've never murdered anyone. The deaths of the people in my care weren't planned, they weren't accidents caused by any incompetence, I've always done everything I could for my patients, sometimes it wasn't enough to save them and that's not my fault. Carter however is a scheming little bastard and should learn to stay out of other people's business." Luka snapped, pulling on his shoe and slamming out of the house towards the pick-up truck.
***
"Get off me you bald boob!" Dave yelled, beating at Mark with his fists and squirming. "Get off of me!"
"Mark.. It's Dave.." Elizabeth murmured embarrassed, covering herself with her hands, and licking the whipcream off her fingers. "Mark.. Get off him.. It's just Dave.. He was sleeping in the bed."
"Die vermin!" Mark squealed, wrapping his arms around Dave's neck as Dave stood, spinning the man around in a wrestling move that even Hulk Hogan would envy.
"Get off me you idiot!" Dave growled, moving his arms up and breaking the hold Mark had around his neck. The doctor fell to the floor and whimpered in pain.
"Bethie, he hurt me!" Mark whined, holding his leg.
"Dave, you better get out of here.." Elizabeth said tiredly, as she went to her husband's aid.
"But.." Dave sighed, grabbing his pants from the floor. "Okay.. What ever."
Dave wandered from the bedroom, closing the door behind him and sitting on the staircase, pulling on his jeans. Buttoning them up, he walked down the stairs and stood in the doorway of the livingroom watching Carol and Kerry drooling over the sea men in U-571. "Hi, guys.." He said softly, Kerry turning her head slightly and smiling.
"Come over here Dave.. Have a seat. All of Elizabeth and Mark's sex romping wake you up?" She asked concernedly.
He nodded, shrugging. "Yeah.. Something like that, what you guys watching?" Dave pulled the quilt off the floor and tucked it up to his chin.
"U-571, you okay Dave? How did you sleep?" Carol asked concerned, squeezing his knee and smiling softly.
The man winced, remembering the dreams and shook his head. "Okay I guess. Is the movie any good?"
Kerry and Carol exchanged a knowing look and sighed. "The movie's good Dave. Lots of blowing up and bombs and sex. You'd like it." Kerry said comfortingly. "Did you want any breakfast?"
Breakfast. Doug snorted. What were they worrying over Malucci so much for? Doug made the small mistake of kicking Kerry in the head while he slept and suddenly he found himself dumped off the couch and onto his head. Nobody offered HIM breakfast.
***
Oh god.. What had he done?! Nikola wondered fuzzily as he pulled himself off the steering wheel and assessed his injuries. His head hurt.. There was a cut on his forehead, the seat-belt had bruised his ribs.. The man grunted, he was okay though, he decided. He was probably a lot better off than the two people that he had hit with his car. Slowly the old man got out and walked to the road.
*****