Disclaimer: I don't own ER or any of its characters, Warner Brother's does, or NBC or whoever it is… RATED "T" for language.
Summary: For one thing, sorry for my misspelling of 'summary' in the first three chapters, I've just noticed it. So pretty much what happened in the first few chapters was that Abby has her baby, just with a little more drama…lol.
Author's Note: Sorry I haven't written in a while, this whole high school graduation and preparing for college is draining. Well, I hope you enjoy; I've picked up where I last left off. These next chapters are kind of like the sequel to the first three chapters. PLEASE REVIEW!!! I don't care if it's good, bad, or a dancing monkey, I want to know how I'm doing. This is my first fic.
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A cold air tore through him as he stooped down to pick up the Valentine's card. He knew he shouldn't have, but he was a prisoner of his own mind, unable to stop this hellish dream. Carter felt the card in his hand like it was the actual moment. He's relived this so many times in his mind, but yet he could never change the outcome. He blinked and closed his eyes, preparing for what come next. The excruciating pain came with a blinding force as an eight inch knife drove its way into his back, twice. His mind went blank as he grabbed it, feeling the warm, red liquid escaping his body. Carter stared in horror at his blood covered hand as he tried to call out for help. The world around him grew dark as he stumbled and fell on the floor. He tried to heave himself back up, but the pain was too great and the darkness began to take him slowly into its grasp. He looked across from him, ready to surrender, when he saw Lucy. Carter's heart broke into a million pieces as he looked into her dark eyes. He whispered her name into the silent air as the darkness took him into its lair…
Carter's eyes snapped open. His body was drenched in a cold sweat as the phone's shrill rings began the fill the still room. He wearily wiped the sleep from his eyes and fumbled for the receiver, hoping to get it before it woke Josh.
"Hello?" He answered unenthusiastically.
"Hello?" the male voice came on the other line. "Is this John Carter?"
"Yes." He answered as he looked at the digital clock on his nightstand that read 4:54 am.
"This is Dr. Edward Walter from Paris International Hospital," He paused as Carter's heart sank into his stomach. His throat tightens up as he was unable to make a sound. "Makemba, your wife, was in a car accident." Carter closed his eyes as a knot pulled rigid in the pit of his stomach.
"Is she alright?" He managed to whisper.
He heard the voiced sighed on the other line, "She was seriously injured," Carter hands began to shake as he knew what came next, "Despite our efforts, her injuries were too great and she died at 23:34 pm…" The voice trailed off as Carter dropped the receiver on the cold floor. His head bowed as he took his face in his hands and wept. Carter's body shook with sorrow as he thought he heard the phone ringing again in the distance…
Carter eyes snapped open. His body was drenched in a cold sweat as the phone's shrill cries filled the still room. His eyes darted towards the digital clock on the nightstand that read 4:57am. The phone rang again as Carter reached for it with shaking hands. He took the receiver to his ear and heard a female voice on the other line.
"John?" came the soft voice, "Hello? John are you there?"
Carter breathed a sigh of relief as he recognized the voice on the other line. "Kem?"
"Yeah." Kem answered, "I hope I didn't wake you. I tried to wait a little longer before I called you, but it's nearly midnight here and I was getting tired."
"No, you didn't wake me." Carter replied feebly, his nightmare still lingering in the back of his mind.
"John are you alright? Your voice sounds a little shaky."
"I'm fine; I just had a couple of bad dreams, that's all." He whispered into the ear piece. "I love you." He added quickly as he grabbed his wedding band off the nightstand and slipped it on.
"I love you too." Kem replied automatically. Images of both of nightmares loitered as they spoke on the phone till the morning sun slowly began to set into the silent room.
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"Come on Josh," Carter pleaded, "One more bite for Daddy?"
"No more!" Josh retorted, "O-N JUICE!" pointing at his bottle sitting on the table.
Carter laughed as he reached for the bottle. They were sitting in the hospital cafeteria, eating breakfast together before Carter's shift started. "Orange juice Josh." Carter said, about to hand the bottle of juice into small, eager hands. "Can you say it for Daddy, Josh? Or-ange juice."
"O-N JUICE!"
Carter chuckle and handed the bottle to his young son. He began to get out the charts that he meant to work on last night when a figure overshadowed him.
"What are you doing here?" Carter asked, noticing who it was.
Luka took a seat next to Carter. Sleep hung heavy on eyes as he sipped his coffee. "I'm just getting on my shift." Carter looked at Luka with a surprise look. "I couldn't take off today, and Abby insisted that she would be fine."
"Oh." Carter said, picking up the next chart in the pile. "Sounds like something she would say."
"Yeah," Luka replied. "I'll go see her and Danielle during my break." He smiled. "They're going home later today after my shift."
"That's good."
Luka looked up from sipping his coffee. "Thanks to you." Their eyes locked and Carter felt their friendship build just a little more.
Carter smiled and looked at his watch. "I need to get this little guy up to daycare." He said getting up. "I'll see you later today?"
"Yeah." Luka replied as Carter gathered Josh and his stuff in his arms and headed toward the elevator.
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"Will you be good for Daddy?" Carter asked Josh as he sat him down in the daycare room. He kneeled downed to his level.
Little Josh nodded his head, his brown locks bouncing up and down.
Carter smiled and kissed him on the forehead. "That's my boy." He paused a moment. "Daddy loves you, you know that right Josh?"
Josh nodded again, and then he looked up at Carter with his big brown eyes. "I wuv you too Daddy." Carter's heart melted as he kissed him again and got up and left for the door.
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Carter automatically put in his locker combination like he's done for years and started to put up his stuff when Sam walked into the lounge.
"Carter, we have a GSW coming in; a gang member got shot up after a bad deal."
"What's the ETA?" He asked jadedly.
"Pulling in right now."
Carter shook his head laughingly. "Gun shots in the morning, just how I wanted to start off a shift."
They walked outside as Carter took note of the darkening skies. The smell of upcoming spring rain tickled his nose as the ambulance carrying his first patient pulled up.
"Teyshawn Johnson, seventeen years old, two GSW, one to the upper right forearm, the other to the chest."
"That bastard shot me!" Teyshawn screamed.
"Which bastard would that be?" Carter asked calmly.
"My own gang member." He retorted angrily.
"You must have done something wrong." Sam commented.
"Shut up bitch."
"Hey, knock it off; we just want to help you." Carter countered. "Let's take him to trauma one."
They rolled him into trauma one when Ray walked in. "Can I help with this one Dr. Carter?"
"Yeah." Carter answered as he started working on the patient. "There's plenty of Teyshawn to go around."
"What the hell are you implying doc?" Teyshawn snapped.
Carter looked at him disgustedly "Open up a chest tube tray; he's bleeding in his chest."
"I'll go get one." Sam said when somebody walked in.
"You bastard." Teyshawn screamed at the dark figure.
The man took out a gun from deep within his jacket and pointed it at Teyshawn. Time seem to slow down as Carter looked up. The gun fired its deadly components at Teyshawn twice in the head, killing him instantly. The man turned the gun from the dead Teyshawn towards the others. Grasping what was going to happen next, he tried to turn to protect himself, but it was too late. A bullet drove itself deep into his chest. Carter mind went blank as he saw the ground coming closer towards him as he fell. Josh and Kem flashed into his mind as he felt the warm liquid begin to flow from him. "I wuv you too Daddy…" His breath got short as the pain hit him. An immense agony ripped through his chest, causing him to heave.
"Nobody move or I'll shoot him again!" screamed the man. The taste of blood lingered in his mouth as Luka appeared in the corner of Carter's eye. He tried to yell out to him, tell him not to come close, but his throat betrayed him. Luka stopped instantly as the gun went off again. Carter crumbled in pain as the second bullet hit him. His eyes grew glassy as the blood began to pool around him. The mono-tone monitor screeched in his ear as he lied on the cold ground, letting the darkness began to take him…
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