Soft rock music filtered outside as Abby pushed open the door and entered the clinic, only to find a young girl who resembled Dr. Faith at the desk with a pad of paper and a phone in front of her.

"Excuse me, do you know where I can find Doctor Malucci?" Abby asked, smiling at Erinn as she approached the desk. "He said that I could come by and help out at the clinic today."

The girl was silent for a moment and then she pressed a small intercom buzzer that was on the desk, "Katie, can you get Doctor Dave? There's some lady at the desk wanting to see him."

Abby smirked, she couldn't remember the last time she was referred to as a lady.

"Erinn, what are you doing at the desk?" Dave's voice suddenly answered. "Where's Nathan?"

"Oh, hey Doctor Dave," Erinn replied. "Nathan went to pick up his girlfriend an hour ago."

Erinn looked at Abby, "What's your name?" she asked curiously.

"Abby Lockhart, I'm a doctor," Abby replied in a gentle tone, trying to look confident.

Before Erinn could reply, Amy, who had been in the back showing Lucas and Katie how to prepare exam beds, came out into the foyer, "You must be Abby," she said warmly, extending her hand to Abby. "Dave mentioned that you and John were coming to help out today."

"John slept in, I think he'll be here by noon, though," Abby said, smiling as she and Dr. Faith shook hands. "From what Dave told me, I'm guessing you are Doctor Faith?"

Amy smiled, "Actually, my last name and that of my children's is Romano," she explained, as she put a friendly arm around Abby. "Dave's in the back getting things ready, but he asked me to come and give you a tour. After that, we'll go and see what we can do to help him, all right?"

Abby nodded, already feeling at ease about being here, "All right," she replied.

"Erinn, when Nathan comes back with his girlfriend, tell him that he's on desk duty," Amy stated, as she led Abby further into the clinic. "Dave or I will find something for his girlfriend to do."

Erinn nodded and turned her attention back to the door, as she had to monitor who came in and out because of safety precautions that Dr. Malucci had recently implemented into clinic policy.

Impressed by the fact that she could hear a great deal of productive noise coming from the clinic, Jeanie opened the door and led Chase inside by the hand. She saw Nathan at the desk dressed in jeans and a sweater shirt. He looked up from some notes, revealing glasses on his face.

"Nate!" Chase jabbered in an excited voice, happy to see his friend. "I came with Jeanie to help!"

Nathan smiled and rose from the desk, "Hey there, Chase," he replied, as he came around the desk and gave both Chase and Jeanie a hug. "Everyone's in the common exam room...There's about 60 people here already getting medical help...I love these medical blitzes."

Smiling, Nathan pulled a walkie talkie from his belt, "Doctor Dave, Jeanie and Chase are here," he stated into the walkie talkie. "Should I get them looking at patients?"

"...Yeah, we've got about 30 more coming in through the side door," the voice of Dave replied. "Abby, your mom, and I are busy with patients already...Your girlfriend's looking after all the kids that don't need medical attention...Katie and Lucas are making sure everyone's relaxed and comfortable while they wait...send Jeanie and Chase back here and then go start up the grill out back...get some food out of the freezer in the alley...you can make lunch for everyone..."

Nathan smiled at Jeanie, "You heard the boss," he replied in a pleasant tone as he rose and moved outside to find the grill and begin making a barbecue lunch for everyone.

Jeanie smiled and squeezed Chase's hand, "Chase, let's go help," she gently instructed, leading Chase through the foyer and down the hallway. "I'm sure Doctor Dave is anxious to see you."

As they entered the common exam room and saw it filled with people, Jeanie waved to Dave, who was finishing up an IV on a person laying on a bed in the corner. Dave smiled and waved back.

"C'mon Chase, let's go see who needs help," Jeanie said, as she grabbed a blank chart from the cart of sorted supplies that Dave had set up earlier that day.

Chase grinned like a little kid at Christmas and followed Jeanie into the sea of people.

Across town, near an abandoned warehouse, Elton lit a cigarette and waited impatiently in front of the semi that he had rented. The driver of the semi was urinating behind the building.

Taking a puff, Elton threw the cigarette down and stamped on it. He knew that today was going to be busy at the clinic, as his horrible ex-wife and Malucci also ran a medical blitz last year on New Year's Eve Day.

Since both of them would be within the clinic, there was every guarantee that if the semi hit at just the right angle, they would both die. A lot of innocent people would also die, not that Elton cared.

Ever since Malucci survived the near-fatal stabbing in Grenada and still managed to protect Amy from the abuse that she deserved for not being submissive, Elton had hated both of them.

"Yo estoy dispuesto a ir, ¿dónde quieres que te lleve a?" the Mexican driver whom Elton had asked for help and promised a very large fee to, asked as he came out from behind the building.

Elton smiled menacingly about the dynamite that he had strapped to the bottom of the semi, for once the semi had crashed into the clinic, he would detonate it and chaos would reign supreme.

The brats his sperm had created were most likely at the clinic too, but Elton wanted them dead too. He had never wanted children, he had only wanted to cause his ex-wife intense pain.

"Quiero que vaya a esta dirección y unidad de las semifinales en el edificio," Elton replied, handing the driver a piece of paper with the clinic's address on it.

Horrified at what he was being asked to do, the driver shook his head and began talking rapidly in Spanish, so fast that Elton could only tell that the driver wasn't comfortable with the idea.

"Quiero que vaya a esta dirección y unidad de las semifinales en el edificio," Elton again stated, pulling a loaded pistol from his pants pocket and pointing it at the driver. "Hazlo, o te pego un tiro y tomar el mismo semi."

The driver was silent for a moment, "Muy bien, voy a conducir a la clínica y no hacer preguntas," he replied slowly as he moved over to the driver's door. "Eso sí, no me maten."

Pleased that the time spent stalking Malucci in Grenada and learning the language seemed to have some benefit to his current plans, Elton smiled and opened the passenger door. He pulled himself into the truck and slammed the door, pondering as he waited for the truck to start. The blood was going to spill and it would be truly glorious to see.

Letting out a yawn as another treated patient moved off to enjoy the barbecue party that had manifested itself both in the foyer and outside, Dave stretched and gazed at the cart.

"Hey, Amy, I'm going up to the attic and getting some more supplies," Dave yelled to Amy, who was across the room dealing with a head laceration, as he stood up and moved towards the door.

Amy nodded and gestured to Chase, who was looking slightly tired from working so hard, "Hey, Chase, why don't you go help Doctor Dave?" she suggested. "You've been working hard since seven and after you help Dave, you can get a burger and take a break, okay?"

Chase nodded eagerly and got to his feet, "Wait up!" he jabbered excitedly, running over to where Dave was standing with a smile on his face. "I wanna help you Doctor Dave!"

Dave smiled and put a protective arm around Chase, "Well, buddy, we're needing some supplies and we need to get them from the attic," he explained, as they walked out into the hallway.

Chase watched as Dave grabbed a string that hung from the ceiling and pulled down a wooden flight of stairs that touched the floor, "We need quite a few supplies, so we'll be up here for a little while...Are you okay with that?"

Chase nodded eagerly, so Dave took his hand, "Dad!" a voice suddenly said. "Can I come too?"

Dave turned to find Daniel standing there, "Can I help you and Chase?" he asked in an eager voice. "Everyone else is too busy to give me something to do...I wanna help!"

Dave grinned and mussed Daniel's hair, "Sure you can help us," he replied. "C'mon."

Daniel beamed and followed his father and Chase up the stairs into the supply attic.

In the supply closet, Amy sighed as she took another canister of empty syringes off the top shelf of the left rack. Despite being tired, she suddenly found herself missing both Luka and Joe.

Once her kids had turned in for the evening on Christmas Day night, Amy had phoned Luka and had invited him to work in the clinic that New Year's Eve day, but he had to work at County.

The first time they had met, Amy knew that they hadn't gotten along too well and it was equally both their faults, as they were both stubborn to the core. However, as time had gone on she had found herself wanting to be Luka's friend, if not something much, much more.

"Hey, Doctor Faith, I was wondering if you found those syringes yet," Abby commented, as she opened the door and saw Amy staring blankly at the top shelf. "Some patients are starting to complain that they'll die if they don't get numbed up before they get stitches..."

Amy laughed, "Sorry, Abby, I was just thinking about things," she replied, as she handed the box of syringes to Abby. "We're short on other stuff too, but Dave and Chase are up in the attic getting more supplies...I know we're busy, I just needed a moment alone to think."

Abby studied Amy for a moment, "You've met Luka, haven't you?" she asked, intrigued.

Amy's eyes widened, "How did you know that?" she asked, surprised at Abby's comment.

"You endured a terrible ordeal when you went missing for two weeks, yet you seem calmer," Abby replied. "Not even Dave could calm you that much...You must have talked with Luka about it."

Nodding, Amy sighed, "I still can't remember everything that happened and after talking to Dave about it, I still felt unsettled," she admitted. "Dave suggested I talk to someone who could offer advice about it in an impartial manner...Somehow, I ended up talking with Luka and felt better."

"I think Luka would be good for you," Abby commented. "Even though I don't love him anymore and I'm very much in love with John, I think Luka deserves true happiness...so do you."

Feeling a blush creeping over her face, Amy looked down, "Um, we should get these supplies out there so the patients don't start a riot," she said with a smile. "Then, I think we'd better go check on the barbecue party that has manifested itself in the foyer...I hope that Nathan is being responsible with the grill and not letting things burn because of his girlfriend..."

Abby nodded, eager to sneak a burger after she took out the spare syringes, since Jeanie and Yosh, who had been a per diem nurse at the clinic for about a year, were handling the patients that needed immediate assistance, "Maybe after that, we could even sneak a burger and wolf it down before getting back to work?" she suggested as they left the supply closet.

"Now that you mention it, I could use a burger," Amy replied, as they walked back into the mass of people. "It's starting to slow down here anyway, since most of the people are outside eating...Could you grab me one?"

Abby managed a laugh and as they resumed their work, the joyful mood continued.

Realizing that it was nearly noon and he was probably going to get a lecture for sleeping late and leaving the clinic shorthanded for the morning, Carter pulled his car over to the side of the road.

Allowing himself a sheepish grin, Carter got out of his car and as he locked it, he looked across the street and noticed a crowd people outside, lingering beside a grill that was being manned by Nathan, who was flipping burgers while talking with a girl that looked like Rachel Greene.

It seemed like a peaceful event, Carter thought to himself as he waited at the crosswalk for the WALK sign to appear so that he could get over to the clinic. He thought he could hear music.

While waiting, Carter noticed Abby come out of the clinic and grab a burger from the table next to the grill. She was smiling and after talking with Nathan for a moment, she went back inside.

As the sign changed, a loud horn blared out of nowhere and just before Carter was ready to cross, a large semi came speeding down the road and crashed into the clinic.

Horrified, Carter stood motionless for a moment and then ran towards the damaged building.

"Mark, we have to do something about the Ray Barnett situation," Kerry said, as Mark entered the lounge and walked over to the coffee pot. "He neglected to show up for his shift yet AGAIN."

Mark grabbed a styrofoam cup and filled it with coffee, "Malucci's not even here to yell at him, since Anspaugh hasn't given him any more hours," he replied. "No doubt Mr. Barnett is sleeping off a hangover because he spent the night playing with his band in a bar and getting drunk..."

"That's another thing we need to talk about, Mark," Kerry stated. "Romano says that Malucci's hospital bill is paid...The thing is, I'm not so sure if I want to lose a good member of staff."

Mark gave Kerry a surprised look, "You want to keep Malucci on staff?" he asked in a surprised tone. "I thought you were just tolerating Malucci for the sake of the situation."

Kerry sighed, "I know that the budget doesn't allow for hiring of any more ER staff and that our roster is full," she replied. "However, maybe we can find him a place in Peds or something."

"Well, I'm not going to ask Malucci about it today, as he's busy running his clinic," Mark stated, taking a sip of coffee. "I'll talk to Anspaugh about it later and I'll talk to Malucci tomorrow."

Suddenly, a scream could be heard from outside the lounge, followed by loud chatter.

Frowning, Mark and Kerry moved towards the door, concerned as to what was going on.

Upon exiting the lounge, Mark and Kerry saw several of the ER staff clustered around the wall TV, which had a scene of a semi in the middle of a large building displayed on it. Both Jerry and Frank were at the desk and while Frank was on the computer, Jerry was talking on the CB radio.

"What's going on here?" Kerry asked as she moved over to the desk. "Why is there a movie on?"

Frank sighed, but kept his eyes on the computer, "We just got a call from dispatch that a semi crashed into some medical clinic and rescue workers are just arriving on scene," he replied, his tone slightly solemn. "Doctor Kovac's already prepping trauma rooms..."

"...This is Channel Five reporting live from the scene of the Free Clinic of Hope," a reporter said as behind him, people were moving around and a huge amount of noise was being made.

Suddenly, Carter, who was trying to find Abby in the chaos, came into view and the reporter grabbed him, "Are you one of the head of this clinic,?" he asked, gazing at Carter.

"No, I'm not, the head of the clinic is Doctor Dave Malucci, but I don't know where he is," Carter replied, suddenly seeing Amy emerge from the damaged building. "Amy, where is everyone?"

Rolling her eyes at the appearance of the media, Amy sighed and walked over, "Jeanie, Abby, and Yosh are still inside trying to get people out and stabilize people that are trapped," she replied. "Dave, Chase, and Daniel went up to the supply attic nearly half an hour ago, but I can't get him on his walkie talkie...Nathan and Rachel are inside trying to get people out...Lucas and Katie are evacuating kids out the side door...John, I need you to help me find where Dave is..."

"What caused a semi to crash into the clinic?" the reporter asked, oblivious to the gravity of the situation unfolding behind him. "Would you take a moment and talk with me?"

Glaring at the reporter, Amy muttered swear words under her breath and as she walked off back towards the clinic, she pulled a walkie talkie from her belt and began speaking into it.

Mark's eyes widened as on the screen, Carter sighed and suddenly looked angry.

"If anyone from County is watching, we could really use another doctor on scene," Carter stated in an angry tone as he turned and ran back towards the chaotic scene.

Mark looked at Kerry, "I'm going to take my van and drive over to the clinic," he stated. "Stay here and help Luka prepare the ER. "I'm guessing that there's about 50 or more there..."

Kerry nodded, "Take some supplies and meds with you," she ordered, turning her attention to the crowd crowded around the TV. "Let's get to work people! Jerry, say that we'll take as many as we can...Keep in touch with the rescue crews and let me know when Doctor Malucci is found."

Letting out a deep sigh, Mark turned and walked off towards the supply and drug lockers.

Letting out a groan, Dave opened his eyes and immediately realized that his legs were pinned to the floor by a supply shelf that had fallen when the semi crashed into the clinic. He quickly realized that part of the roof had fallen in, effectively trapping him in a small space with no escape route. He must have passed out from shock when the truck hit the clinic.

"Dad, are you okay?" Dave heard Daniel's voice yell from the other side of the fallen ceiling.

Dave winced and pulled himself into a semi-sitting position, "Daniel, where are you?" he yelled anxiously. "Are you and Chase okay?"

"Chase is scared, but I'm okay," Daniel replied. "I can't get to you...part of the roof fell in."

Dave nodded, "Daniel, are the stairs still down?" he asked.

Even though he was feeling scared, Daniel moved away from the corner where Chase was huddled in fear and saw that the stairs were still intact, but not by much.

"The stairs are still there," Daniel replied in a trembling voice. "They don't look damaged."

Dave nodded, "All right, I need you to be brave right now," he said, trying to hide the intense fear in his voice. "I want you to take Chase and go downstairs...tell someone that I'm trapped up here."

"Dad, I wanna stay with you!" Daniel protested. "Chase doesn't want to leave you either..."

Even though nobody could see him, Dave nodded, "You and Chase are gonna have to be brave for me," he replied. "I have my walkie talkie, so once you two are outside, I want you to find someone who has a walkie talkie and talk to me, okay?"

Daniel nodded and crawled over to where Chase was huddled, "Chase, my dad says we have to be brave and go downstairs," he said, gently placing a hand on Chase's arm.

Chase looked at Daniel, "Doctor Dave's trapped," he whimpered. "I can't leave him."

"Chase, you have to be brave and go with Daniel," Dave's voice sounded out from behind the fallen roof. "I know you're scared, but you have to be brave for me...okay?"

Chase hesitated for a moment and reluctantly got to his feet, "I'll be brave for you, Doctor Dave," he said, as he followed Daniel to the stairs. "I'll be brave..."

As he heard footsteps descend the attic stairs, Dave sighed and with a shaking hand, he pulled the walkie talkie off his belt and raised it to his mouth, "Is anyone there?" he asked.

As ambulance doors were closed and another rig took off with its sirens wailing, Amy walked back into the damaged clinic with Carter following close behind, "John, go see if Abby needs some help getting more people out," she ordered, watching as yet another ambulance drove away.

"...Is anyone there?" a voice sounded out on the walkie talkie that was clipped to Amy's belt.

Amy's eyes widened as she took the walkie talkie off her belt and put it up to her mouth, "Dave?" she asked, gazing at Carter, who looked shocked. "Dave, where are you? Are you all right?"

"..When the semi hit the clinic, some stuff fell and I pushed both Chase and Daniel to the other side of the attic," the weak voice of Dave replied. "Some shelf is pinning my legs down and I can't lift it...the roof fell in...just barely missed me...Chase and Daniel are on their way out..."

Carter grabbed the walkie talkie, but before he could use it, he saw Nathan leading a trembling Chase and Daniel out of the wreckage, "Doctor Carter, they're both fine, but Chase is scared out of his mind and says he has to be brave because Doctor Malucci told him to be..."

Seeing the walkie talkie in Carter's hand, Daniel grabbed it, "Dad, can you hear me?" he asked as he fought to keep calm. "Chase and I are outside with Aunt Amy and Doctor Carter."

Having run every red light just to get to the scene and park his car across the street near Carter's, Mark ran up to them, "...Go tell Nathan to turn the gas and power off...I think some water pipes up here are busted...I think I'm being rained on..." Dave's voice sounded out. "...Did someone call for a tow truck or something to get that semi pulled out of the clinic?"

"Is that Malucci?" Mark asked, giving both Carter and Amy a look. "Where is he?"

"Jeanie called them and they should be sending a tow service in about an hour," Amy replied into the walkie talkie, raising a hand to shush Mark. "Dave, are you injured at all?"

There was a moment of silence, "...I have no idea," Dave's voice replied. "Once someone can get up here and get this shelf off my legs...Don't send just anyone up here, the floor's unstable..."

"You're at risk for hypothermia and you might have possible fractures," Mark argued into the walkie talkie. "I can send paramedics up there in a manner of minutes..."

"...There are at least 60 people who are in need of the ambulances more than I am," Dave's voice, which was growing weaker by the minute. "...I can wait...I'm last on the triage list..."

The walkie talkie beeped, "..Look, Doctor Greene, help everyone else that you can reach," Dave's voice said. "...I'll stay here and save whatever strength I can...tell Nathan to take someone's car and take Daniel and his siblings to County...Rachel should go too...it's safer there."

Amy nodded and moved back towards the wreckage, "Doctor Faith, tell Nathan to take my vehicle," he said, tossing Amy the keys. "He's a safe driver, right?"

As she turned and caught the keys in her hands, Amy nodded and promptly disappeared into the sea of people. Mark looked down at the walkie talkie in his hand and then looked at Carter, who was trying to talk to Chase and being ignored, as Chase was hugging Daniel and crying.

"Carter, go inside and up to the attic," Mark ordered, as he watched Daniel hold Chase and talk quietly to him. "I don't care if the floor is unstable...Malucci shouldn't be left alone."

A shout came from inside, "CARTER!" a voice screamed. "WE NEED YOU HERE NOW!"

Mark sighed, "Carter, go and see what that screaming's about," he ordered. "Daniel, can I give you my cell phone and you phone County for me? Tell them to prep for traumas..."

Daniel nodded, so Mark pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and handed it to him, "Stay on the phone with whoever answers," he stated. "Tell them that I'm going inside to check on Doctor Malucci...I want you and Chase to go over and sit by the cars across the road...okay?"

"Tell my dad I love him, okay?" Daniel requested, as he whispered Dr. Greene's instructions into Chase's ear.

Watching as Chase and Daniel stood and quickly moved across the street, Mark sighed and, after seeing the two reach the cars safely, he put the walkie talkie to his mouth, "Malucci, you still there?" he asked, concerned that Dave would die of shock and hypothermia fairly quickly.

"...Yeah, I'm still here," Dave's voice replied. "What's up?"

"I don't care if the floor is unstable, I'm coming up there," Mark replied in a stern tone.

There was a beep and cracking, "The walkie talkie's low on batteries," Dave's tired voice stated. "I'm gonna have to turn it off...in case there's an emergency..."

Before Mark could react, there was a click. Mark stared at the walkie talkie for a moment before turning. Being careful of the semi that was still there but not running, he edged his way inside, silently praying that the attic stairs were still intact.

Malucci was a stubborn person, yet he was a good doctor and a life that needed to be saved.

Despite every available medical personnel in the hospital being in the ER to deal with the 30 plus patients that had been brought to the ER, Kerry saw Frank at the desk on the phone.

"Doctor Weaver, it's Daniel Malucci on Doctor Greene's cell phone," Frank said, offering the reciever to Kerry. "He says that Doctor Greene told him to call here..."

Frowning, Kerry took the receiver, "Daniel, it's Doctor Weaver," she said into the phone. "You want the speaker phone on? Okay, one moment..."

Frank pressed the speaker phone button, "...Doctor Greene told me to phone the hospital and tell someone that he's going into the supply attic to check on my dad," Daniel's voice explained, which shocked Kerry. "My dad's trapped up there with a shelf on his legs...When the truck hit, he pushed me and Chase out of the way so nothing would fall on us..."

"Where is Doctor Greene now?" Kerry, who was concerned what was going on at the clinic site, asked. "Why are you phoning and what is going on over there?"

Before Daniel could reply, Kerry could suddenly hear the sound of a big rig truck nearby and concerned, she looked at Frank, "Daniel, what was that noise?" she asked.

"That was the tow truck to pull the semi out," Daniel replied through the crackles. "...I have to go now, though, Nathan and Rachel have Erinn, Lucas, and Katie...they want to leave..."

Kerry nodded as there was a click, indicating that Daniel had hung up. Kerry sighed and seeing that another ambulance was approaching, she swore and ran out to the bay.