Luka watched, concerned, as Dave used the brick wall to stand, but didn't put any weight on his left ankle.
"I'm fine, Doctor Kovac," Dave said, leaning heavily on the wall. "It's been a while since I've seen you."
Luka raised an eyebrow, "If you are fine, why don't you put your left foot on the ground?" he asked.
Letting out a deep sigh, Dave relented, "Okay, so my ankle hurts and I'd be stupid to walk on it," he admitted. "I was crossing the street and I got hit by a speeding car. It threw me over here."
"Did you lose consciousness at all?" Luka asked, suddenly concerned.
Dave shook his head, "No, I was just stunned for a bit," he said. "I need to suck up the pain and get on with my day, I guess, I have a lot to do before I pick up my son at school this afternoon."
Luka was surprised that Dave had a son, but wisely didn't comment about it, "Look, I can help you if you let me. I am still a doctor and it won't do you any good to walk on an injured ankle."
"Look, I know it needs to be looked at, but I can't go to County," Dave snapped, suddenly remembering his past days as a doctor at that hospital and how he was treated. "I should just go home and rest, I think."
Luka sighed, he might as well help Dave home and then hurry back to work, "Let me help you home, you can't possibly walk on that bad ankle," he insisted. "I assume you don't live far from here."
"It's not far, I'll tell you where," Dave said, as he allowed Luka to grab his arm and put it around his neck. "I really appreciate your help, Doctor Kovac. I honestly didn't expect it."
Luka smiled and holding tight to Dave's arm, he helped the injured man travel down the sidewalk.
Blocks away, John Carter, a renowned doctor at County and owner of the Joshua Carter Center, which was slowly being planned, was sitting in his car going over the notes he had collected from the most recent meeting with his lawyers, construction managers, and others involved with the clinic.
Progress was happening, but, alongside all that, John was stressed, as he had broken many traffic laws, including yielding to pedestrians, just to get to the meeting on time.
He had intended on leaving early enough so he could breathe, but a phone call from Kem had sidetracked him. They had spent about an hour on the phone, as Kem wanted him to consider going to work in Africa for Doctors Without Borders again, but Carter had explained that there was too much going on to leave. Kem had accepted it and, as soon as she hung, up, Carter had hurried off.
Now, sitting in his car, John worried that he might have accidentally hit someone when speeding through that intersection. He didn't see anyone around, but he had that nagging feeling anyway.
Nevertheless of his thoughts, John threw the papers of notes on his car passenger seat and turned the ignition. Now he had to get to County and into medical work at the ER, which he dearly loved.
"It's not a great place, but it's a roof over our heads," Dave said, as he pushed open the door and allowed Luka to help him into the apartment.
Luka gazed around at the apartment. White walls covered with a few pictures of Dave and Daniel together. A small bookshelf in one corner and a couch in the other, with a coffee table in front of the couch. There was a doorway to the kitchen and closed doors that probably led to bedrooms. It was a tiny home.
"It's not much, but Daniel and I call it home," Dave said, as Luka helped him over to the couch and he sat with his foot propped up on an arm.
Luka kneeled next to Dave's ankle and, taking both the sock and the worn sneaker off, he gazed intently at Dave's foot, which was swollen and beginning to color. He sighed, it was badly sprained, if not broken.
Dave coughed and closed his eyes, he was tired and his wretched cold was not going to disappear any time soon. Luka, having heard the dryness in the cough, looked up and saw Dave's eyes closed.
"You should get that cough checked out," Luka said, as he stood. "It could turn into pneumonia quickly."
Dave sighed tiredly, "I can't focus on myself," he said sleepily. "I have responsibilities that are more important…."
Luka realized that Dave had fallen asleep and was hopefully going to be okay.
Making a mental note to return to visit Dave after his shift, Luka quietly left the apartment.
Over at the school playground, Daniel was sitting alone on a bench, watching as the other kids played on both the equipment and the grass. Despite the cold, the energy level was high.
Usually, his friend Lucas would be there to talk to him, but he was home today with a cold.
Nearby, Ella Greene was on the swings and she was watching Daniel. Thinking he was lonely, Ella got off the swings and walked over to the bench. She immediately noticed that he looked extremely sad.
"Hey, Daniel, are you okay?" Ella asked, as she sat down next to him.
Daniel sighed, Ella was nice, but she was a little annoying, "I'm fine, Ella," he said, trying to sound polite.
"Thinking about your dad again?" Ella asked, not willing to leave him alone.
Before Daniel could reply, some fifth grade boys came over and began taunting and making faces at Daniel.
"Yo, Malucci, you still wearing that second hand crap?" one of the boys taunted. "What's the matter, your deadbeat dad can't get a job since he was laid off at that hospital?"
Daniel looked angry, but he did nothing but stare at the ground silently.
The boys continued their taunting for a few more minutes and then sauntered away. Ella gazed at Daniel and saw that tears were rolling down his cheeks. Daniel glanced up at Ella.
"Thanks for coming and talking to me, Ella, but I need to be alone," Daniel said, as he stood up.
Ella nodded and, standing, she returned to her friends on the swings, her concern forgotten.
As he walked back inside the school, Daniel wiped the tears off of his face with his shirt sleeve.
When would his dad be able to stop worrying about others and take care of himself? What would it take?
