Chapter 6: Guardian Angel
Recap: In case you haven't read the first 5 chaps, here's what's happened: Dave is found passed out in the lounge,
where Kerry finds him. He is admitted,
and promptly tested for disease. He is
diagnosed with lung cancer, and put in chemotherapy and has a dose of
Docetaxel. He and Kerry have grown from
co-workers, to friends, to lovers, and now, further.
I know that the flashback is cheap, but I'm going to include him flashing back to various areas of his life to keep the story moving, I guess.
I'd like to apologize to those who
don't want me to do a Dave and Kerry shipper, but if I haven't mentioned this
before, It's my fic, and I have been watching ER for about, oh, a month now,
so… But my best bud, Dawn is filling me in.
I'd also like to apologize to The She Devil~ for doing what
I did at the end. Sorry!
Kerry took in the sight before
her. He was still in his boxers
kneeling on the floor. He held the open
box and offered her the ring. He's
Serious! He looked up at her, his
large eyes wide with hope. Her eyes
were now filled with tears as she continued to contemplate. "Oh Dave!" She said, beginning to cry. "Oh Dave What!" He said, wondering. "Yes!" She said, making his eyes
well up with tears. He opened his arms
for her, and she moved forward into them. He wrapped his still well toned arms around her and held her tight. She buried her face into the soft skin of
his neck. He kissed her head, and
gently rubbed his cheek into her wild hair, which was very soft. They stayed tight into that embrace for a
long time, but it felt like a few moments to the pair.
They finally parted and Dave pulled her to stand. She didn't have her crutch and so she almost
fell, until he grasped her hand and held her up. He put his hands to the sides of her face and moved his face to
hers. "Kerr-Bear, I swear to the Lord
above that I will always love you, no matter what. And when, if I die first, I will always be here with you. Even if I have to pull some strings in
Heaven, I will be here to protect you. I will always be your guardian angel." He whispered, hoping that it didn't sound to sappy. He didn't give her a chance to answer before
he moved in for a sweet kiss. She
smiled into the kiss as an answer, loving it too much to end it so soon. Now I know why God gave him such a big mouth. She chuckled a little at this thought. He opened his eyes, and gently ended the
kiss. "What, Are you laughing at how I
kiss?" He said, mock-upset. "No. I was thinking about how your big mouth comes in handy sometimes." She said, smiling. He made a fake pout and looked at her, his lower lip stuck
out. She laughed at this, which in turn
gave him the giggles. They both stopped
laughing and he took her hand and led her into the bedroom. He gently lay her on the bed and crawled up
on top of her. She smiled, and opened
her mouth to use the Malucci charm that had rubbed off on her. "Hey! Who said you get to be on top?" She said, making him laugh. "Geez! I was going to make love
to you, but I guess I'm not needed now!" He said, not really intending to move anyway. "Quiet you!" She said,
pulling him closer. He obliged and
began to kiss her.
When they finished their lovemaking they curled up
tightly against one another. Dave
stroked her hair out of her eyes and kissed her forehead. Neither of them knew what to say, and that
was fine because both were content with lying there together. Kerry listened to Dave's rhythmic breath and
sighed happily. He looked down at her
and smiled. Wow. It has been a long time since I have had someone who's wanted to cuddle
afterwards. And I love it. He said,
leaning down once more to kiss her fiery head. Kerry had been lulled to sleep by Dave's steady breath, but Dave was still
awake. He looked at her and felt bad
about falling in love with her. The
cancer felt like a death sentence to him, and he knew that when-if- he died, it
would have a deep impact on her. He
wanted to have children, but didn't want to leave them with a very busy,
slightly handicapped parent. They
needed a father and a mother both, and Dave wasn't sure he was able to be
there. Ever since he was a child,
playing house with his sisters, he'd wanted to be a dad.
20 years earlier- Chicago
suburbs in Dave's backyard, with Dave's best friend Jessie.
"Davey! Get back here! You're supposed to be my husband!" A little girl with curly black hair and glasses yelled. "Jessie! You're a Girl! Girls are mean!" He yelled back at his friend. "Oh Yeah? You're a Boy! Boys are
disgusting pigs!" She yelled back, this
time chasing after him. Dave grinned a
youthful Malucci smile and ran. He was
no match for the girl who caught up to him and tackled him to the ground. The youths rolled around roughhousing until
Jessie pinned Dave to the ground. Dave
looked up and lifted his head up enough to kiss her. Jessie and Dave both blushed and she let him up. The children stood up and began to giggle at
their first kiss. Dave held out his
hand and she took it. They walked
around together in silence, save for the giggles that they emitted. "I still think you're mean." Dave said smiling at his friend. Jessie smiled. "I still think you're disgusting." She answered. Dave pecked
her on the cheek. "C'mon. Let's go play house before Palidette and
Dominic wonder where their cute, innocent little brother is." He said grinning like an idiot. "Moron." She said. "Ditz." He
replied. "Retard." "Loser." "Jerk." "Brat." The two giggled and headed back to Dave's
siblings. "Where were you guys? I'd swear you two were making out!" Dom said, jealous that his brother had
Jessie and not him. Palidette shoved
the two together. "Ok. You two are Mr. and Mrs., um…Page! And Dominic will be your kid, and I will be
Jessie's mother!" She said. Dave looked at Dominic who sulked over
having to be the kid. He flashed an
evil smile making Dom sulk even more.
Dave smiled as he remembered Jessie. She'd been his first kiss, his first
girlfriend, his first slow dance…He even lost his virginity to her, but they
broke up when she won a Track scholarship to NYU. They tried to remain friends, but with Dave in Grenada and Jessie
in New York, they grew apart. She still
would come home for Christmas, as did Dave, and so they would jog together in
the morning. It hurt him that he wasn't
with Jessie, but he shook the feeling and remembered he had Kerry. His thoughts eventually lulled him to sleep.
Kerry awoke first and realized she was in Dave's
arms. He looked so sweet and peaceful as
he slept. Hell, he was quiet, which
suited her just fine. Why can't he
be this well behaved all the time? She
thought with a chuckle. She brought her
fingers to his hair and toyed with it. He stirred but only began to snore. She was annoyed and gently tugged on his hair. "AYEIEEI!" He yelled as
he sat up. "Hey! That was NOT funny!" He said standing up. He glared at her and smiled. She was grinning, knowing that he wouldn't
stay mad. She was right, and he leaped
forward and began to tickle her. She
shoved him off and limped to the shower. He realized the mistake he made and scrambled toward the bathroom, and
promptly had the door shut in his face. "GAAAAAAAHHH! That was totally un*fair*!!" He yelled in mock-upset.
He went to the bedroom and found his boxers and put them
on. He headed down to the laundry room
to get some clean clothes when he bumped into Carter. "Hey Malucci. Did you
propose to Kerry?" He asked, folding
some shirts. A slow grin spread across
his face. Carter looked at it and
grinned himself. "You did! What'd she say?" He asked, more excited than a kid in a toy store. Dave's smile bared teeth now. Carter's grin grew even larger. "Congratulations, Man!" He said, hugging Dave. He backed off as he realized that Dave was
half-naked. "Sorry, dude." He said, as he went back to his pile of
laundry. Dave grabbed some clothes and
headed upstairs to Kerry who had finished her shower, gotten dressed, and was
presently blow-drying her hair. She had
unlocked the door for Dave who came in, smiled at her and promptly
stripped. (Girls,
Can u just imagine yourself in Kerry's place right now? :-) He hopped into the shower and closed the
door. He was a little disappointed when
Kerry bade him goodbye and left, but he knew he'd see her later at chemo. He reached out for a bottle of shampoo and
put some in his hair. He began to
lather and then he ducked under the showerhead and rinsed it out. He gasped as he stepped on something that
did not feel right. He looked down and
saw a clump of his brown hair. He
looked at his legs, then a little further upwards (I'm
not going to go there in this fic ;-) and then under his arms. He panicked a little, and touched his wet
head. Sure enough, there was a patch of
bare skin there. This can't
be happening! I shouldn't go bald until
I'm in my 40's! He thought, less than
pleased. He looked downwards. Well, at least the rest of my bod is in good shape!