ER - Moral Code, by Aeris Jade Orion
Part One...
She walked down the sidewalk of the plaza, letting her
mind go blank. She didn't really need anything, but
she liked to treat herself every once in a while. It
was something she had started doing whenever life was
hard. It wasn't the "Ben & Jerry's" solution but it
helped, without the added weight. If she ever needed
a boost it was today.
Romano had called her into his office about the
incident that she'd been suspended over. The board
had some doubts about her continuing as Chief. She'd
thought that was over, that she'd paid the price for
breaking the rules, but Corday's incident had put them
on eggshells. In other words, with them settling out,
they were afraid of how it would look with her in
charge of the ER.
Then there was Kim. She had finally allowed herself
to admit that she was attracted to her, but the
question of whether she was gay or not was still
hanging over her head. But did she really need to
label herself? Couldn't she just be whatever she
wanted without having to worry about what sexuality
she was?
A glint of light caught her eye. Stopping next to the
display window, she stared at the long, dark, red silk
nightgown. It was beautiful, something she never
would've dreamed of trying on. She didn't have the
body for it. 'Would it really hurt just to try it
on?'
She was someone who wore cotton nightgowns and pajama
sets to bed. Even when she was married, she didn't
get into the whole lace and silk thing. She just
didn't have the mentality or the self-esteem for it.
She had always been afraid that her lover or husband
would laugh at her.
She nervously entered the store and scanned it, just
to make sure no one she knew was there. There was a
young couple in the back, grabbing shirts and jeans in
a hurry. The dark-haired man with the bushy mustache
was holding his arm close to his body. The lanky
blonde woman with severe features was very quiet and
glancing around subtly. They both had the too-lean
look of people who were living on too much stress and
not enough food and rest. Kerry saw it enough in
students and residents to recognize it instantly.
A younger, muscular black man was close by to them,
waiting in line to pay for a sweater. He was eyeing
the couple out of the corner of his eye suspiciously,
even Kerry could see that. There were a couple of
other people in the store, but no one she recognized.
Satisfied that she was safe, she approached the rack
with the nightgown, and started to shift through them.
She stopped as she saw the size ten, focusing on it
for a long minute. She was still indecisive about it.
Was she doing this for herself? Or for someone else?
What was she thinking? She should just walk away and
forget about this ridiculous idea.
"Oh. Classic design, and very tasteful," said a voice
directly behind her. Kerry blushed as the young
saleswoman looked her over. "Excellent choice." She
reached over and pulled it off the rack. "I just
happen to have a dressing room available."
"I...don't know..."
"Well, I do." The energetic blonde grabbed her arm
and pulled her towards the dressing rooms.
Kerry came to a stop to tell the saleswoman that she
had decided to leave. That she wasn't interested.
Something about all this made her nervous, more so
than she would have imagined. Maybe it was the
saleswoman. She was young and perky, reminding Kerry
eerily of the late Lucy Knight, and made Kerry feel
old and dumpy by comparison.
The blonde...Karen, her tag said, glanced at her
curiously, just as Kerry's attention was captured by
something else over her shoulder. Blood. Just a
glimpse of it in her peripheral vision, but Kerry'd
seen enough of it to know. Someone was bleeding. The
stressed man with the mustache.
Ignoring Karen, Kerry turned to go offer her
services...and then time slowed down as everything
happened at once...
The mustached man winced as blood dripped from his
left hand, he looked over at his wife and over at the
black man standing in line. His wife and the man in
line stared at each other, and her eyes suddenly
narrowed in recognition. Something clicked between
the woman and the black man and they dropped the
clothes in their hands, drawing their guns at the same
time.
The woman shot first, hitting him in the chest, but as
the man fell back his hand convulsed and his gun
fired. The woman's husband jerked back and fell to
the ground, a stain of red spreading across his chest.
Kerry's world seemed to turn to ice as she watched it
all happen in slow motion. Both men fell at once, the
black man already dead. As his body struck the
ground, she saw a flash of silver clipped to his belt
where his shirt rode up. A police officer, maybe off
duty.
"NOOO!!!" The woman screamed out in rage, turning her
9mm Beretta on the small crowd, as if searching for
more enemies, and firing at whoever she saw.
The collected onlookers let out screams of their own,
some diving for cover, some just dropping to the floor
piteously. Kerry heard Karen shriek behind her, and
knew she should turn and tackle the saleswoman, pull
her down. But something made her hobble forward,
toward the mustached man, her medical instinct
screaming at her to save his life.
The tall woman with the gun pivoted, smashing Kerry
across the back with the butt of her gun. Kerry cried
out in pain and fell, turning over to look down - or
up - the barrel of the gun, seeing the white knuckle
tightening on the trigger.
She had time to scream, "WAIT, I'M A DOCTOR...!!"
before the gun fired.
"I don't believe I'm hearing this," Romano muttered.
"What was that?"
Romano scowled at Anderson until the fat jerk gulped.
"I said, I don't believe this. Dr. Weaver is one of
the best administrators that this hospital has ever
had. Under her leadership the ER has gained a 10
percent efficiency rating. The budget has been cut by
another 17 percent, and morale is at its highest."
"I thought you'd be happy about this. After all, you
are the one that gives her the hardest time," Anderson
stated.
Romano clenched his fist, fighting back the urge to
deck Anderson. The smug bastard was always looking
for an excuse to get a rise out of him. He flinched;
all right, that wasn't a mental picture he needed
right now. "I give her the hardest time because she
has the most potential," he explained patiently. "She
is my pupil and I am training her. When I retire, I
fully expect that she'll take my place."
It was Romano's turn to smirk at the board's silence.
They had not expected that.
Kerry opened her eyes, the breath ragged in her lungs.
The woman had turned the gun barrel away at the last
instant. "What did you say...?" she demanded.
"I-I'm a doctor..." she gasped. "...please. I just
want to help."
The woman glanced down at her husband who was bleeding
and back at her. "You expect me to believe that
you're a doctor?" she finally asked, gesturing at the
crutch.
"I'm Doctor Weaver. I'm an attending at County
General." She took another deep breath.
The woman glared at her, considering, and then seized
her by the collar and pulled her up off the floor, the
gun jabbed painfully under her chin. "Fine. You help
my husband or I'll kill you." Then she turned the
Beretta on the store manager. "Lock up. Now!"
She watched as the older man raced to the front
lowering the blinds and snapping the lock into place.
His hands were shaking, and he looked like he had to
go to the bathroom.
"Is there a back entrance?"
The manager cleared his throat nervously.
The woman leveled the gun at his right eye and made a
growling sound. "Don't...make me...ask again."
"No," he answered quietly.
"Thank you." She smiled, and blew his brains out.
Romano smiled happily to himself as he strolled into
the ER, one of the lesser provinces of his little
empire. Kerry was going to owe him big time for this
one. He had managed to talk the board into letting
her keep her job, and he, in turn, hadn't lost his
future replacement. All he needed to do was to get
that last shred of humanity out of her, then she'd be
ready.
Of course, he wasn't planning on retiring any time
soon, but it was never too soon to plan for it.
Besides, if he lost her now, he'd probably have to end
up handling all her paperwork himself. Speaking of
which...
"Where's Weaver? Isn't she supposed to be on today?"
he asked, receiving only a brusque shrug in reply. He
leaned over the admittance desk and glared at Randi.
"Are you just dumb or did you just not hear my
question?"
"What was that? I couldn't hear you," she said
sarcastically, popping her gum.
"Because I'm in such a generous mood I'll let that go,
If you tell me where Weaver is."
"Not here."
"I will ask you one more time, and if you don't give
me a straight answer you'll be working three shifts
straight this Saturday."
Randi shifted uncomfortably, the threat hitting the
mark. "Fine. She never showed up, and she hasn't
called. Satisfied?"
Romano stared at the desk clerk for a long moment.
Kerry's shift started over ten minutes ago, and she
was never late. "Then find her. Call her, page her,
I don't care. Just...find her."
Kerry forced herself to keep her eyes open, to keep
them focused on the cold killer in front of her. She
couldn't let herself feel right now, not if she wanted
to stay alive. She couldn't let herself see the
deaths of the manager and the policeman.
Carefully she turned her head to look at the
saleswoman from earlier. She was still alive and
standing, thank god. So were a few customers and one
other salesman, but the nervous, angry impulses
running visibly through the armed woman's body told
her that someone could die at any second. Including
her.
She cut those thoughts off. If she thought, she felt,
and if she felt, she would break down. Right now, she
had to be strong.
"All right, now here's what's going to happen," the
woman declared, stooping to pick up the dead cop's .38
revolver and stick it in her belt. "You are all going
to sit down and stay quiet."
The remaining customers and staff all sat obediently
down at the base of a sales desk.
"As for you...doctor...what's your name again?"
"Weaver. Kerry Weaver," she replied, hoping her voice
wouldn't break.
Without warning, the woman smiled crazily. "Nice to
meet you, Dr. Weaver. I'm Erin." She stuck out an
empty hand.
Kerry shook it before she realized what she was doing.
And then, before she could pull her hand back, she
felt it gripped with painful strength.
"And you're going to take care of my husband as if
your life depends on it," the smiling woman informed
her with Clint Eastwood coldness. "Because it does."
Part One...
She walked down the sidewalk of the plaza, letting her
mind go blank. She didn't really need anything, but
she liked to treat herself every once in a while. It
was something she had started doing whenever life was
hard. It wasn't the "Ben & Jerry's" solution but it
helped, without the added weight. If she ever needed
a boost it was today.
Romano had called her into his office about the
incident that she'd been suspended over. The board
had some doubts about her continuing as Chief. She'd
thought that was over, that she'd paid the price for
breaking the rules, but Corday's incident had put them
on eggshells. In other words, with them settling out,
they were afraid of how it would look with her in
charge of the ER.
Then there was Kim. She had finally allowed herself
to admit that she was attracted to her, but the
question of whether she was gay or not was still
hanging over her head. But did she really need to
label herself? Couldn't she just be whatever she
wanted without having to worry about what sexuality
she was?
A glint of light caught her eye. Stopping next to the
display window, she stared at the long, dark, red silk
nightgown. It was beautiful, something she never
would've dreamed of trying on. She didn't have the
body for it. 'Would it really hurt just to try it
on?'
She was someone who wore cotton nightgowns and pajama
sets to bed. Even when she was married, she didn't
get into the whole lace and silk thing. She just
didn't have the mentality or the self-esteem for it.
She had always been afraid that her lover or husband
would laugh at her.
She nervously entered the store and scanned it, just
to make sure no one she knew was there. There was a
young couple in the back, grabbing shirts and jeans in
a hurry. The dark-haired man with the bushy mustache
was holding his arm close to his body. The lanky
blonde woman with severe features was very quiet and
glancing around subtly. They both had the too-lean
look of people who were living on too much stress and
not enough food and rest. Kerry saw it enough in
students and residents to recognize it instantly.
A younger, muscular black man was close by to them,
waiting in line to pay for a sweater. He was eyeing
the couple out of the corner of his eye suspiciously,
even Kerry could see that. There were a couple of
other people in the store, but no one she recognized.
Satisfied that she was safe, she approached the rack
with the nightgown, and started to shift through them.
She stopped as she saw the size ten, focusing on it
for a long minute. She was still indecisive about it.
Was she doing this for herself? Or for someone else?
What was she thinking? She should just walk away and
forget about this ridiculous idea.
"Oh. Classic design, and very tasteful," said a voice
directly behind her. Kerry blushed as the young
saleswoman looked her over. "Excellent choice." She
reached over and pulled it off the rack. "I just
happen to have a dressing room available."
"I...don't know..."
"Well, I do." The energetic blonde grabbed her arm
and pulled her towards the dressing rooms.
Kerry came to a stop to tell the saleswoman that she
had decided to leave. That she wasn't interested.
Something about all this made her nervous, more so
than she would have imagined. Maybe it was the
saleswoman. She was young and perky, reminding Kerry
eerily of the late Lucy Knight, and made Kerry feel
old and dumpy by comparison.
The blonde...Karen, her tag said, glanced at her
curiously, just as Kerry's attention was captured by
something else over her shoulder. Blood. Just a
glimpse of it in her peripheral vision, but Kerry'd
seen enough of it to know. Someone was bleeding. The
stressed man with the mustache.
Ignoring Karen, Kerry turned to go offer her
services...and then time slowed down as everything
happened at once...
The mustached man winced as blood dripped from his
left hand, he looked over at his wife and over at the
black man standing in line. His wife and the man in
line stared at each other, and her eyes suddenly
narrowed in recognition. Something clicked between
the woman and the black man and they dropped the
clothes in their hands, drawing their guns at the same
time.
The woman shot first, hitting him in the chest, but as
the man fell back his hand convulsed and his gun
fired. The woman's husband jerked back and fell to
the ground, a stain of red spreading across his chest.
Kerry's world seemed to turn to ice as she watched it
all happen in slow motion. Both men fell at once, the
black man already dead. As his body struck the
ground, she saw a flash of silver clipped to his belt
where his shirt rode up. A police officer, maybe off
duty.
"NOOO!!!" The woman screamed out in rage, turning her
9mm Beretta on the small crowd, as if searching for
more enemies, and firing at whoever she saw.
The collected onlookers let out screams of their own,
some diving for cover, some just dropping to the floor
piteously. Kerry heard Karen shriek behind her, and
knew she should turn and tackle the saleswoman, pull
her down. But something made her hobble forward,
toward the mustached man, her medical instinct
screaming at her to save his life.
The tall woman with the gun pivoted, smashing Kerry
across the back with the butt of her gun. Kerry cried
out in pain and fell, turning over to look down - or
up - the barrel of the gun, seeing the white knuckle
tightening on the trigger.
She had time to scream, "WAIT, I'M A DOCTOR...!!"
before the gun fired.
"I don't believe I'm hearing this," Romano muttered.
"What was that?"
Romano scowled at Anderson until the fat jerk gulped.
"I said, I don't believe this. Dr. Weaver is one of
the best administrators that this hospital has ever
had. Under her leadership the ER has gained a 10
percent efficiency rating. The budget has been cut by
another 17 percent, and morale is at its highest."
"I thought you'd be happy about this. After all, you
are the one that gives her the hardest time," Anderson
stated.
Romano clenched his fist, fighting back the urge to
deck Anderson. The smug bastard was always looking
for an excuse to get a rise out of him. He flinched;
all right, that wasn't a mental picture he needed
right now. "I give her the hardest time because she
has the most potential," he explained patiently. "She
is my pupil and I am training her. When I retire, I
fully expect that she'll take my place."
It was Romano's turn to smirk at the board's silence.
They had not expected that.
Kerry opened her eyes, the breath ragged in her lungs.
The woman had turned the gun barrel away at the last
instant. "What did you say...?" she demanded.
"I-I'm a doctor..." she gasped. "...please. I just
want to help."
The woman glanced down at her husband who was bleeding
and back at her. "You expect me to believe that
you're a doctor?" she finally asked, gesturing at the
crutch.
"I'm Doctor Weaver. I'm an attending at County
General." She took another deep breath.
The woman glared at her, considering, and then seized
her by the collar and pulled her up off the floor, the
gun jabbed painfully under her chin. "Fine. You help
my husband or I'll kill you." Then she turned the
Beretta on the store manager. "Lock up. Now!"
She watched as the older man raced to the front
lowering the blinds and snapping the lock into place.
His hands were shaking, and he looked like he had to
go to the bathroom.
"Is there a back entrance?"
The manager cleared his throat nervously.
The woman leveled the gun at his right eye and made a
growling sound. "Don't...make me...ask again."
"No," he answered quietly.
"Thank you." She smiled, and blew his brains out.
Romano smiled happily to himself as he strolled into
the ER, one of the lesser provinces of his little
empire. Kerry was going to owe him big time for this
one. He had managed to talk the board into letting
her keep her job, and he, in turn, hadn't lost his
future replacement. All he needed to do was to get
that last shred of humanity out of her, then she'd be
ready.
Of course, he wasn't planning on retiring any time
soon, but it was never too soon to plan for it.
Besides, if he lost her now, he'd probably have to end
up handling all her paperwork himself. Speaking of
which...
"Where's Weaver? Isn't she supposed to be on today?"
he asked, receiving only a brusque shrug in reply. He
leaned over the admittance desk and glared at Randi.
"Are you just dumb or did you just not hear my
question?"
"What was that? I couldn't hear you," she said
sarcastically, popping her gum.
"Because I'm in such a generous mood I'll let that go,
If you tell me where Weaver is."
"Not here."
"I will ask you one more time, and if you don't give
me a straight answer you'll be working three shifts
straight this Saturday."
Randi shifted uncomfortably, the threat hitting the
mark. "Fine. She never showed up, and she hasn't
called. Satisfied?"
Romano stared at the desk clerk for a long moment.
Kerry's shift started over ten minutes ago, and she
was never late. "Then find her. Call her, page her,
I don't care. Just...find her."
Kerry forced herself to keep her eyes open, to keep
them focused on the cold killer in front of her. She
couldn't let herself feel right now, not if she wanted
to stay alive. She couldn't let herself see the
deaths of the manager and the policeman.
Carefully she turned her head to look at the
saleswoman from earlier. She was still alive and
standing, thank god. So were a few customers and one
other salesman, but the nervous, angry impulses
running visibly through the armed woman's body told
her that someone could die at any second. Including
her.
She cut those thoughts off. If she thought, she felt,
and if she felt, she would break down. Right now, she
had to be strong.
"All right, now here's what's going to happen," the
woman declared, stooping to pick up the dead cop's .38
revolver and stick it in her belt. "You are all going
to sit down and stay quiet."
The remaining customers and staff all sat obediently
down at the base of a sales desk.
"As for you...doctor...what's your name again?"
"Weaver. Kerry Weaver," she replied, hoping her voice
wouldn't break.
Without warning, the woman smiled crazily. "Nice to
meet you, Dr. Weaver. I'm Erin." She stuck out an
empty hand.
Kerry shook it before she realized what she was doing.
And then, before she could pull her hand back, she
felt it gripped with painful strength.
"And you're going to take care of my husband as if
your life depends on it," the smiling woman informed
her with Clint Eastwood coldness. "Because it does."