CONSEQUENCES part IIIb
Kerry and Dave had spent a lot of time together since that first evening at Dave's flat. Some nights they cooked dinner together and listened to music, other nights they sent out for pizza and vegetated in front of the TV. For the first time in a long while Kerry had a regular companion for non-working hours. Dave for his part had always had friends (both male and female) to share a pizza and a video with, but he had lost contact with many of them over the years, and the ones that he kept in contact, well their lives had taken different paths. Most of them were married with kids and whenever Dave spoke to them he was conscious of their different priorities in life.
Their working relationship had not changed dramatically. If anyone noticed that Dr Weaver's and Dr Malucci's shifts seemed to coincide more often than not, no one said anything to them. Dave continued to flirt with almost every woman in sight, and Kerry continued to run the E.R. in her own inimitable fashion. If he screwed up she reprimanded him as she would any other resident, although most other residents get to eat pizza with her afterwards.
Time passed pleasantly. Kerry broadened Dave's horizons in terms of music and culture, and Dave helped Kerry to become more light-hearted. One evening soon after he got off his crutch, he turned up at her house on a tandem.
"Want to come for a ride? The weathers beautiful," he asked.
"I can't ride that," she replied.
"Sure you can, you just use your good leg to peddle and I'll do the rest of the work."
"No, I mean I can't. I never learnt how to ride. I couldn't, not with this," she indicated her crutch.
"Hey its no biggie. All you have to do is steer us in the right direction, and I'll keep us moving."
How he talked her into it she never knew, but half-an-hour later they set off.
Sometimes Kerry wondered what their colleagues would make of their friendship. If they would accuse her of an undue bias towards Dave. She broached the subject with him one evening.
"It's not as if I'm a candidate for chief resident or anything," he said to her. "Anyway as long as you keep giving out to me like you did today, nobody's going to accuse you of favouritism."
"You had it coming. If you have to be rude about senior staff members, don't do it while there within earshot. No matter how tempting it may be."
Dave smiled in that special way he had. "Come on, admit it. You agreed with me. The guy shouldn't have been interfering in ER business."
"Maybe, but if I hadn't chewed you out, he would have. And you couldn't have got round him with a pizza and a six-pack."
"You're more fun anyway."
And there the issue ended.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kerry was at work and Dave was away visiting his family, when she got the word that Dr Gabe Lawrence had died. She finished her shift and went home to a house that seemed emptier than when she had left it that morning. She rang Gabe's son to find out funeral arrangements, then rescheduled the rosters to allow herself time off to attend it.
All this was done without shedding a tear. She told herself that it was a blessed relief, that he hadn't wanted to linger with no knowledge of who or what he was.
As she was convincing herself of this she heard the doorbell ring.
To her surprise Dave was standing outside.
"Aren't you in New York?"
"I heard about Dr Lawrence, so I came to see how you were coping," he said simply.
Kerry started to reply but to her surprise she burst into floods of tears.
Dave stepped into the house, closed the door behind him and took her in his arms. Kerry made no move to stop him as he gently carried her to the couch and sat down with her.
"Shh, it's all right," he said. "I'm here, and I'm going to stay as long as you need me."
He gently stroked her hair and rubbed her back as the sobs convulsed her body.
"I'm sorry," sobbed Kerry through her tears. "I shouldn't be like this."
"It's ok," reassured Dave. "You just let it all out. Take as much time as you need."
He continued to hold her close to him as she poured out all her grief. As her tears slowed to a trickle, he relaxed his hold on her.
"Don't let go," begged Kerry. "I need to feel you close to me."
"You know I'll always be here for you," said Dave. But he continued to hold her close.
For several minutes there was silence, broken only by an occasional sob from Kerry.
Eventually she pulled herself together, pulled away from Dave and blew her nose.
"Feeling better?" he asked.
"I'm sorry Dave. I don't know what came over me. I thought I was doing fine, organising everything and then I just came apart."
"Don't apologize. You needed a shoulder to cry on even if you didn't realise it until I showed up."
"How did you know?"
"I phoned the ER to check when I was on again, and to say hi. Carter mentioned it in passing. I knew you'd be upset so I got the first flight back."
Kerry leaned back against him. "I'm glad you're here," she said simply.
They stayed like that for a while, comfortable in the knowledge that they weren't alone.
Finally Kerry broke the silence. "I don't know what came over me when I saw you," she said.
"Well it's not the usual reaction I get from women,"
Kerry smiled. "I mean even when my parents, my adoptive parents died, I was upset, and I grieved for them, but this was totally unexpected. I suppose it could be that Gabe's last months were such a waste. At the end he didn't know who he was, or where he was. At least my parents were rational and free of pain up to the end."
Dave stroked her hair as he replied gently "maybe it's because you've lost your last safety net."
Kerry looked at him in surprise.
"I mean," he continued. "Up till now there's been someone older than you for you to rely on if you needed to. Now they're all gone and you have to be in charge." He paused, "I'm not really explaining this properly."
"No I understand what you're saying, and you could be right."
"It doesn't really matter why you're upset, what matters is you're not alone." He paused for a moment, "and if you want you don't have to be at the funeral alone."
Kerry huddled further into Dave's arms. "All I want now if for you to hold me for a little while and tell me everything's going to be all right."
Kerry woke with a start. Her head ached and her throat felt sore, but she was still feeling better than she had earlier. It was now twilight outside, but she was able to make out the time. With a shock she realised that she had been asleep for almost two hours. She carefully disentangled herself from Dave's sleeping form.
"Poor guy," she thought. "he flies all the way here, and then I barely let him in the door before soaking him with tears."
She gently placed a cushion under his head, and covered him with a blanket. In spite of her efforts he woke as she was making him comfortable.
"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I didn't mean to disturb you."
"It's ok."
"I'm just going to make some tea. Do you want some?"
"Sure, but why are we whispering?"
Kerry smiled in spite of herself. Dave always could be relied upon to cheer her up. She was suddenly relieved that he had offered to come with her to Gabe's funeral. Knowing he was going to be with her made it seem less of an ordeal than it had been a couple of hours earlier.
A few days later Kerry and Dave were driving back from Gabe's funeral. Kerry and Dave had been the only representatives from the hospital (at her insistence), but Mark had organised a wreath from the E.R. staff without her knowledge. Seeing it there alongside a picture of Gabe in the whole of his health was the only point she came close to breaking down. But Dave's comforting grip on her hand helped her remain in control.
Kerry was about to say something to Dave when an impatient driver ran a red light in front of them. There was a screech of brakes, the sound of breaking glass and then silence.
The next thing Kerry knew, she was in the back of an ambulance with a paramedic shining a light in her eyes and asking if she knew where she was. She looked around for Dave, but couldn't see him. By the time Luka and Yosh wheeled her into exam two she was frantic. "Kerry, your passenger was brought in a few minutes ago. Mark is running the trauma. He'll be fine," said Luka trying to calm her down. "Tell me his name, and I'll send Yosh to check on him, just as soon as we have you sorted out."
"It's Dave Malucci," whispered Kerry.
"That's a coincidence," Luka started to say then stopped as he saw the look on Kerry's face. "Oh," he said. "I'm sure Mark will take good care of him."
Mark and Jing-Mei led the team in Trauma one.
"Ok. We've got a thirty-year-old male, restrained passenger in MVA. Unconscious throughout. Possible head trauma and some deep lacerations."
They didn't realise who it was they were treating until Jing-Mei removed the dressing on Dave's head to check his facial lacerations. "Oh my god, Dr Greene, it's Dave," she exclaimed.
"I thought he was out of town?" said Chuny to Haleh.
"Looks like he picked a bad time to come back."
Yosh walked into Trauma one "Dr Greene? Dr Weaver wants to know how Dr Malucci is doing."
"I thought Kerry was off today," said Mark not looking up from Dave.
"She is. She's in exam two." He paused. "She was the driver."
A look of shock swept over their faces as what Yosh had said sunk in.
Chuny flashed an "I told you so" look at Haleh.
"Ok," said Mark. "Tell her he's stable, with good vitals, and I'll be in to see her as soon as I'm finished here."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Finally Mark came in to see her.
"How is he?" she asked. "He has a broken collarbone, some cracked ribs and a lot of cuts and bruises," said Mark. He hesitated before continuing. "He also has a minor head trauma, and he hasn't regained consciousness."
"What's the prognosis?"
"Kerry, you know as well as I do that we can't predict head injuries. I have a consult from neurology coming down and we'll do some more scans, but it's going to be a case of wait and see."
Kerry slumped in a chair by Dave's bed. Luka had tried to tell her how lucky she was, to have come out of the accident, with nothing worse than some minor bruises and lacerations.
How could she be lucky, when Dave was lying unconscious in front of her, and no one knew when or if he would wake up.
She thought back to their first evening together. It seemed eerily prophetic that the first people to see them together had assumed they had been in a bad accident.
He looked so vulnerable lying there. What was it about hospital beds she mused that made their occupants so look so helpless? Lucy too had looked helpless. She swept the thought of Lucy from her mind. Dave would recover, he had to. She could no longer imagine a life without him playing a part in it.
---------------------------
------------------------
Mark and Elizabeth were watching her from outside the room.
"I can't believe no one knew about them," said Mark
"The nurses had their suspicions," said Elizabeth. "Apparently when Dave came back to work Haleh changed his dressings and noticed that it wasn't the same one she'd applied."
"So what. He would have had to change it a few times at least."
"Yes, but his arm was bandaged the way Kerry usually bandages wounds."
Mark thought about this for a moment.
"But that's hardly conclusive."
"I know. But a few days later, Yosh heard him humming a piece by Verdi, the day after Kerry was at the opera festival."
Mark considered this. Malucci and the opera was an even more unlikely combination than Malucci and Kerry. "I'm just surprised neither of them said anything before."
"Kerry's always been reticent about her private life, but I never thought Dave would be able to keep a secret like this." Her voice trailed off.
Luka joined them.
"How's she holding up?" he asked.
"She's hanging on by a thread," replied Elizabeth. "She refuses to leave his side."
"There's been no change then?"
"None for the last few hours."
"At least there was no spinal damage or internal injuries."
"I doubt if Kerry feels that is any compensation for his present condition."
There was an awkward silence.
"I'd better go back to the ER," said Luka. "Let me know if anything changes."
Dr Romano turned up moments later.
"Robert,"
"Elizabeth," He indicated the room. "How are our patients doing?"
"There's been no change in Dr Malucci's condition. Dr Weaver's injuries are minor, but she insists on staying."
"Hmm," grunted Romano. "Well when she does come out, tell her that the E.R. shifts have been reshuffled. She's not on duty until further notice."
"Why Robert, that's a most generous gesture,"
"Yeah well no point in having her bring a malpractice suit down on us because her mind wasn't on her work." He walked off without further comment.
Elizabeth looked at her watch. "I have a surgery scheduled. I must go."
"I'll have a word with Kerry. Talk to you later,"
Elizabeth set off towards the O.R. and Mark joined Kerry in Dave's room.
She looked up as he approached. "Still no change," she said.
"He's young and fit, I'm sure he'll be ok,"
"Don't patronise me Mark. I'm not some relative who can be palmed off with a comment like that. I know I've dealt with enough of them myself...'yes sir I know your son or husband or father is unconscious, but they could wake up at any time', and then we point them towards the I.C.U. and forget all about them."
"It's always harder when it's someone you're close to." He paused and then continued, "None of us had any idea that you and he were, you know,"
"No Mark, I don't 'you know'"
"Well that the two of you having an affair,"
"We're not. Dave is a very devoted friend, that's all." Even as she spoke she realised how implausible that sounded. She also realised that he meant more to her than that. She prayed that she would get the chance to tell Dave how she really felt about him.
"Could've fooled me," Mark thought to himself. Anyway, for now it didn't really matter.
"I'd insist that you go home, but you'd probably end up sitting on the phone in case there was any news. So I've arranged for a bed to be set up in here."
"Thank you Mark, for that and for taking care of Dave."
"Try and get some rest." He left the room.
Kerry was disturbed a few minutes later by Frank, who set up the bed for her and checked Dave's vitals. "Keep your chin up Dr Weaver, we're taking good care of him," he said as he left.
When he was out of sight, Kerry curled up on the bed in a foetal position. She wrapped her arms around her and sobbed bitterly. This was all her fault. If only she had declined Dave's offer to accompany her to the funeral. If only she had paid more attention to the traffic. She should have been the one lying there not Dave.
Although she wouldn't have thought it possible, Kerry fell asleep. Her dreams were disturbed by images of Dave. "Don't leave me," she begged the dream Dave as she jerked awake.
"I'm not going anywhere chief,"
She heard Dave's voice, but it took her a few seconds to register that she was no longer dreaming.
Dave was lying on the bed, looking and sounding very weak, but he was awake.
"Oh Dave," she said. "I thought I'd lost you." (She was aware even as she spoke how clichéd that sounded, but she didn't care)
"Don't know where you were looking, I've been here all along," He gave her his trademark lazy grin, and tried to sit up then winced as the movement sent waves of pain through his battered body.
"I'll get the nurse," Kerry said pressing the call button.
"Just hold me for a little while and tell me everything's going to be all right"
Kerry sat down on the bed beside Dave. Carefully so as not to cause him any more pain, she slid her arm round his shoulders and held him close. "You know I'll always be here for you," she said. She kissed him gently on his forehead, and whispered, "I love you."
Dave reached for Kerry's free hand. Ignoring the pain it caused him he brought it to his lips and kissed it. "I've been waiting for you to say that for a long time," he said in a barely audible voice. "When I saw the car coming towards us, all I could think was how I didn't want anything to happen to you." He looked up at her "you are ok chief?"
She smiled back at him and said, "I wasn't for a while, but I am now,"
They were interrupted by Frank, who had answered Kerry's page.
"Good to see you're back with us Dr Dave," he said as he checked Dave's vitals.
"Hey someone has to keep an eye on you guys upstairs,"
"I'll let the docs know you're awake, and then I'll come back with something for the pain. Then I'll let the two of you be alone,"
He left the room.
Dave looked up at Kerry, "does everyone know?" he asked.
"There might be a few maintenance workers in the basement who haven't heard yet, but apart from that, yeah everyone knows."
Dave laughed at this and then groaned in pain. "How long do you think I'll be stuck in here?" he asked.
"Not too long I hope," replied Kerry. She paused. "When they let you out, I want you could stay with me, at least until you're fully recovered. That is if you'd like to?"
"I think I'd like that"
When Frank returned a few minutes later they were both sleeping peacefully still holding hands. He considered waking Kerry sure that she would be more comfortable in the second bed, but seeing the looks of contentment on their faces he simply covered her with a blanket and turned down the lights.
THE END
Kerry and Dave had spent a lot of time together since that first evening at Dave's flat. Some nights they cooked dinner together and listened to music, other nights they sent out for pizza and vegetated in front of the TV. For the first time in a long while Kerry had a regular companion for non-working hours. Dave for his part had always had friends (both male and female) to share a pizza and a video with, but he had lost contact with many of them over the years, and the ones that he kept in contact, well their lives had taken different paths. Most of them were married with kids and whenever Dave spoke to them he was conscious of their different priorities in life.
Their working relationship had not changed dramatically. If anyone noticed that Dr Weaver's and Dr Malucci's shifts seemed to coincide more often than not, no one said anything to them. Dave continued to flirt with almost every woman in sight, and Kerry continued to run the E.R. in her own inimitable fashion. If he screwed up she reprimanded him as she would any other resident, although most other residents get to eat pizza with her afterwards.
Time passed pleasantly. Kerry broadened Dave's horizons in terms of music and culture, and Dave helped Kerry to become more light-hearted. One evening soon after he got off his crutch, he turned up at her house on a tandem.
"Want to come for a ride? The weathers beautiful," he asked.
"I can't ride that," she replied.
"Sure you can, you just use your good leg to peddle and I'll do the rest of the work."
"No, I mean I can't. I never learnt how to ride. I couldn't, not with this," she indicated her crutch.
"Hey its no biggie. All you have to do is steer us in the right direction, and I'll keep us moving."
How he talked her into it she never knew, but half-an-hour later they set off.
Sometimes Kerry wondered what their colleagues would make of their friendship. If they would accuse her of an undue bias towards Dave. She broached the subject with him one evening.
"It's not as if I'm a candidate for chief resident or anything," he said to her. "Anyway as long as you keep giving out to me like you did today, nobody's going to accuse you of favouritism."
"You had it coming. If you have to be rude about senior staff members, don't do it while there within earshot. No matter how tempting it may be."
Dave smiled in that special way he had. "Come on, admit it. You agreed with me. The guy shouldn't have been interfering in ER business."
"Maybe, but if I hadn't chewed you out, he would have. And you couldn't have got round him with a pizza and a six-pack."
"You're more fun anyway."
And there the issue ended.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kerry was at work and Dave was away visiting his family, when she got the word that Dr Gabe Lawrence had died. She finished her shift and went home to a house that seemed emptier than when she had left it that morning. She rang Gabe's son to find out funeral arrangements, then rescheduled the rosters to allow herself time off to attend it.
All this was done without shedding a tear. She told herself that it was a blessed relief, that he hadn't wanted to linger with no knowledge of who or what he was.
As she was convincing herself of this she heard the doorbell ring.
To her surprise Dave was standing outside.
"Aren't you in New York?"
"I heard about Dr Lawrence, so I came to see how you were coping," he said simply.
Kerry started to reply but to her surprise she burst into floods of tears.
Dave stepped into the house, closed the door behind him and took her in his arms. Kerry made no move to stop him as he gently carried her to the couch and sat down with her.
"Shh, it's all right," he said. "I'm here, and I'm going to stay as long as you need me."
He gently stroked her hair and rubbed her back as the sobs convulsed her body.
"I'm sorry," sobbed Kerry through her tears. "I shouldn't be like this."
"It's ok," reassured Dave. "You just let it all out. Take as much time as you need."
He continued to hold her close to him as she poured out all her grief. As her tears slowed to a trickle, he relaxed his hold on her.
"Don't let go," begged Kerry. "I need to feel you close to me."
"You know I'll always be here for you," said Dave. But he continued to hold her close.
For several minutes there was silence, broken only by an occasional sob from Kerry.
Eventually she pulled herself together, pulled away from Dave and blew her nose.
"Feeling better?" he asked.
"I'm sorry Dave. I don't know what came over me. I thought I was doing fine, organising everything and then I just came apart."
"Don't apologize. You needed a shoulder to cry on even if you didn't realise it until I showed up."
"How did you know?"
"I phoned the ER to check when I was on again, and to say hi. Carter mentioned it in passing. I knew you'd be upset so I got the first flight back."
Kerry leaned back against him. "I'm glad you're here," she said simply.
They stayed like that for a while, comfortable in the knowledge that they weren't alone.
Finally Kerry broke the silence. "I don't know what came over me when I saw you," she said.
"Well it's not the usual reaction I get from women,"
Kerry smiled. "I mean even when my parents, my adoptive parents died, I was upset, and I grieved for them, but this was totally unexpected. I suppose it could be that Gabe's last months were such a waste. At the end he didn't know who he was, or where he was. At least my parents were rational and free of pain up to the end."
Dave stroked her hair as he replied gently "maybe it's because you've lost your last safety net."
Kerry looked at him in surprise.
"I mean," he continued. "Up till now there's been someone older than you for you to rely on if you needed to. Now they're all gone and you have to be in charge." He paused, "I'm not really explaining this properly."
"No I understand what you're saying, and you could be right."
"It doesn't really matter why you're upset, what matters is you're not alone." He paused for a moment, "and if you want you don't have to be at the funeral alone."
Kerry huddled further into Dave's arms. "All I want now if for you to hold me for a little while and tell me everything's going to be all right."
Kerry woke with a start. Her head ached and her throat felt sore, but she was still feeling better than she had earlier. It was now twilight outside, but she was able to make out the time. With a shock she realised that she had been asleep for almost two hours. She carefully disentangled herself from Dave's sleeping form.
"Poor guy," she thought. "he flies all the way here, and then I barely let him in the door before soaking him with tears."
She gently placed a cushion under his head, and covered him with a blanket. In spite of her efforts he woke as she was making him comfortable.
"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I didn't mean to disturb you."
"It's ok."
"I'm just going to make some tea. Do you want some?"
"Sure, but why are we whispering?"
Kerry smiled in spite of herself. Dave always could be relied upon to cheer her up. She was suddenly relieved that he had offered to come with her to Gabe's funeral. Knowing he was going to be with her made it seem less of an ordeal than it had been a couple of hours earlier.
A few days later Kerry and Dave were driving back from Gabe's funeral. Kerry and Dave had been the only representatives from the hospital (at her insistence), but Mark had organised a wreath from the E.R. staff without her knowledge. Seeing it there alongside a picture of Gabe in the whole of his health was the only point she came close to breaking down. But Dave's comforting grip on her hand helped her remain in control.
Kerry was about to say something to Dave when an impatient driver ran a red light in front of them. There was a screech of brakes, the sound of breaking glass and then silence.
The next thing Kerry knew, she was in the back of an ambulance with a paramedic shining a light in her eyes and asking if she knew where she was. She looked around for Dave, but couldn't see him. By the time Luka and Yosh wheeled her into exam two she was frantic. "Kerry, your passenger was brought in a few minutes ago. Mark is running the trauma. He'll be fine," said Luka trying to calm her down. "Tell me his name, and I'll send Yosh to check on him, just as soon as we have you sorted out."
"It's Dave Malucci," whispered Kerry.
"That's a coincidence," Luka started to say then stopped as he saw the look on Kerry's face. "Oh," he said. "I'm sure Mark will take good care of him."
Mark and Jing-Mei led the team in Trauma one.
"Ok. We've got a thirty-year-old male, restrained passenger in MVA. Unconscious throughout. Possible head trauma and some deep lacerations."
They didn't realise who it was they were treating until Jing-Mei removed the dressing on Dave's head to check his facial lacerations. "Oh my god, Dr Greene, it's Dave," she exclaimed.
"I thought he was out of town?" said Chuny to Haleh.
"Looks like he picked a bad time to come back."
Yosh walked into Trauma one "Dr Greene? Dr Weaver wants to know how Dr Malucci is doing."
"I thought Kerry was off today," said Mark not looking up from Dave.
"She is. She's in exam two." He paused. "She was the driver."
A look of shock swept over their faces as what Yosh had said sunk in.
Chuny flashed an "I told you so" look at Haleh.
"Ok," said Mark. "Tell her he's stable, with good vitals, and I'll be in to see her as soon as I'm finished here."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Finally Mark came in to see her.
"How is he?" she asked. "He has a broken collarbone, some cracked ribs and a lot of cuts and bruises," said Mark. He hesitated before continuing. "He also has a minor head trauma, and he hasn't regained consciousness."
"What's the prognosis?"
"Kerry, you know as well as I do that we can't predict head injuries. I have a consult from neurology coming down and we'll do some more scans, but it's going to be a case of wait and see."
Kerry slumped in a chair by Dave's bed. Luka had tried to tell her how lucky she was, to have come out of the accident, with nothing worse than some minor bruises and lacerations.
How could she be lucky, when Dave was lying unconscious in front of her, and no one knew when or if he would wake up.
She thought back to their first evening together. It seemed eerily prophetic that the first people to see them together had assumed they had been in a bad accident.
He looked so vulnerable lying there. What was it about hospital beds she mused that made their occupants so look so helpless? Lucy too had looked helpless. She swept the thought of Lucy from her mind. Dave would recover, he had to. She could no longer imagine a life without him playing a part in it.
---------------------------
------------------------
Mark and Elizabeth were watching her from outside the room.
"I can't believe no one knew about them," said Mark
"The nurses had their suspicions," said Elizabeth. "Apparently when Dave came back to work Haleh changed his dressings and noticed that it wasn't the same one she'd applied."
"So what. He would have had to change it a few times at least."
"Yes, but his arm was bandaged the way Kerry usually bandages wounds."
Mark thought about this for a moment.
"But that's hardly conclusive."
"I know. But a few days later, Yosh heard him humming a piece by Verdi, the day after Kerry was at the opera festival."
Mark considered this. Malucci and the opera was an even more unlikely combination than Malucci and Kerry. "I'm just surprised neither of them said anything before."
"Kerry's always been reticent about her private life, but I never thought Dave would be able to keep a secret like this." Her voice trailed off.
Luka joined them.
"How's she holding up?" he asked.
"She's hanging on by a thread," replied Elizabeth. "She refuses to leave his side."
"There's been no change then?"
"None for the last few hours."
"At least there was no spinal damage or internal injuries."
"I doubt if Kerry feels that is any compensation for his present condition."
There was an awkward silence.
"I'd better go back to the ER," said Luka. "Let me know if anything changes."
Dr Romano turned up moments later.
"Robert,"
"Elizabeth," He indicated the room. "How are our patients doing?"
"There's been no change in Dr Malucci's condition. Dr Weaver's injuries are minor, but she insists on staying."
"Hmm," grunted Romano. "Well when she does come out, tell her that the E.R. shifts have been reshuffled. She's not on duty until further notice."
"Why Robert, that's a most generous gesture,"
"Yeah well no point in having her bring a malpractice suit down on us because her mind wasn't on her work." He walked off without further comment.
Elizabeth looked at her watch. "I have a surgery scheduled. I must go."
"I'll have a word with Kerry. Talk to you later,"
Elizabeth set off towards the O.R. and Mark joined Kerry in Dave's room.
She looked up as he approached. "Still no change," she said.
"He's young and fit, I'm sure he'll be ok,"
"Don't patronise me Mark. I'm not some relative who can be palmed off with a comment like that. I know I've dealt with enough of them myself...'yes sir I know your son or husband or father is unconscious, but they could wake up at any time', and then we point them towards the I.C.U. and forget all about them."
"It's always harder when it's someone you're close to." He paused and then continued, "None of us had any idea that you and he were, you know,"
"No Mark, I don't 'you know'"
"Well that the two of you having an affair,"
"We're not. Dave is a very devoted friend, that's all." Even as she spoke she realised how implausible that sounded. She also realised that he meant more to her than that. She prayed that she would get the chance to tell Dave how she really felt about him.
"Could've fooled me," Mark thought to himself. Anyway, for now it didn't really matter.
"I'd insist that you go home, but you'd probably end up sitting on the phone in case there was any news. So I've arranged for a bed to be set up in here."
"Thank you Mark, for that and for taking care of Dave."
"Try and get some rest." He left the room.
Kerry was disturbed a few minutes later by Frank, who set up the bed for her and checked Dave's vitals. "Keep your chin up Dr Weaver, we're taking good care of him," he said as he left.
When he was out of sight, Kerry curled up on the bed in a foetal position. She wrapped her arms around her and sobbed bitterly. This was all her fault. If only she had declined Dave's offer to accompany her to the funeral. If only she had paid more attention to the traffic. She should have been the one lying there not Dave.
Although she wouldn't have thought it possible, Kerry fell asleep. Her dreams were disturbed by images of Dave. "Don't leave me," she begged the dream Dave as she jerked awake.
"I'm not going anywhere chief,"
She heard Dave's voice, but it took her a few seconds to register that she was no longer dreaming.
Dave was lying on the bed, looking and sounding very weak, but he was awake.
"Oh Dave," she said. "I thought I'd lost you." (She was aware even as she spoke how clichéd that sounded, but she didn't care)
"Don't know where you were looking, I've been here all along," He gave her his trademark lazy grin, and tried to sit up then winced as the movement sent waves of pain through his battered body.
"I'll get the nurse," Kerry said pressing the call button.
"Just hold me for a little while and tell me everything's going to be all right"
Kerry sat down on the bed beside Dave. Carefully so as not to cause him any more pain, she slid her arm round his shoulders and held him close. "You know I'll always be here for you," she said. She kissed him gently on his forehead, and whispered, "I love you."
Dave reached for Kerry's free hand. Ignoring the pain it caused him he brought it to his lips and kissed it. "I've been waiting for you to say that for a long time," he said in a barely audible voice. "When I saw the car coming towards us, all I could think was how I didn't want anything to happen to you." He looked up at her "you are ok chief?"
She smiled back at him and said, "I wasn't for a while, but I am now,"
They were interrupted by Frank, who had answered Kerry's page.
"Good to see you're back with us Dr Dave," he said as he checked Dave's vitals.
"Hey someone has to keep an eye on you guys upstairs,"
"I'll let the docs know you're awake, and then I'll come back with something for the pain. Then I'll let the two of you be alone,"
He left the room.
Dave looked up at Kerry, "does everyone know?" he asked.
"There might be a few maintenance workers in the basement who haven't heard yet, but apart from that, yeah everyone knows."
Dave laughed at this and then groaned in pain. "How long do you think I'll be stuck in here?" he asked.
"Not too long I hope," replied Kerry. She paused. "When they let you out, I want you could stay with me, at least until you're fully recovered. That is if you'd like to?"
"I think I'd like that"
When Frank returned a few minutes later they were both sleeping peacefully still holding hands. He considered waking Kerry sure that she would be more comfortable in the second bed, but seeing the looks of contentment on their faces he simply covered her with a blanket and turned down the lights.
THE END