Chapter 11- Happy Birthday
I
don't know when Dave Malucci's birthday is, so I made one up. I held the wedding date on May 10th
because that is my best friend Deanne's birthday, and it is also Erik
Palladino's birthday. About 2 weeks or
so later is Dave's birthday, ok?
This doesn't have anything to do with the story or the show, but I felt like making my friend Becky famous for a while by putting in her quote from lunch today:
"I Am an Inconsiderate Prick!" –Rebecca N.
Kerry
awoke next to her husband who was lying there snoring. She smiled at him. She shook his snoring figure making him jump and snort really
loud. "Wake up, birthday boy!" She commanded. He sat up, groggy from his dreams. "Huh?" He asked. "I said, Wake Up!" Dave smiled. "After my
coffee." He said, getting up. He stood up and walked to the other side of
the bed. He kissed his wife and then
fell to his knees before her. He gently
put his hand on her belly and felt for a sign that his child was kicking. IT wasn't yet, but he felt anyway. "Good morning, kid." He whispered, kissing her belly through the
soft pajamas. Kerry smiled and put up
with this daily ritual, knowing that Dave was trying so hard to prove that he
was a good person, when In truth, he'd proved it in the ER time and time again,
with traumas, child abuse, and that one particular case of child
molestation. He'd been foolish to hurt
the guy while Carter worked on him, but then again, he deserved much worse than
one of Malucci's fists.
He
got back up for work and another chemo session. "Shower?" He asked. "Already got one." She said, pulling out a maternity dress, frowning at it and
putting it on. This
kid had better be worth wearing *this* stupid looking thing! She thought as she looked at it in the
mirror. Dave headed for the
shower. He stripped down and looked at
the rest of his body. The chemo had
actually taken all the hair off of his body. He hated being hairless, but then again, it felt so nice when lying down
under the bed sheets. He turned the
water to a nice steaming temperature and got in. The hot water felt good on his skin as he relaxed under the
spray. He reached out and grabbed the
shampoo, not realizing what he was doing until he put the bottle back. Oops. He thought as he washed his head. He rinsed the suds and Grabbed a bottle of regular body soap. He sniffed the fruity smell and smiled. The pleasures of living with a woman;
Number 77: You don't reek. He thought to himself as he lathered a
washcloth. He washed his head first, to
get rid of the incriminating scent, and then finished the rest of his
body. He finished rinsing and stood
under the water for no apparent reason until he heard a banging on the bathroom
door. He jumped and turned the water
off. He quickly wrapped a towel around
his waist and opened the door. Carter,
in his underwear stood there. Dave
cracked a grin as he looked at Carter. "Why John, I didn't think you were that kind of guy!" He wisecracked. Carter glared. "I'm
not! I would just like to have a warm
shower before I go apartment hunting. I
want to leave you newlyweds alone, remember? Now, if you'll excuse me!" Carter said as he went back downstairs. Dave meanwhile toweled off and put on some clothes. He listened until he heard the shower in the
basement begin to flow, and then he went to the kitchen sink and turned the
faucet on. He listened downstairs once
more. "AAAAAAYYYIIIIIEEEEEEE!!!!" Carter shrieked. Dave laughed an evil laugh. "Sucker." He said, having pity
and fear of retaliation and turning off the faucet. He smiled a little and checked his email.
To:
David.
From: Mom
Dear
David-
How
are you, honey? I hope you and Kerry
are doing okay together, just like your father and I did. Anyways, that isn't why I emailed. I want you to come over to our house tonight
to celebrate your birthday. Happy 30th
birthday, Sweetie.
Love,
Mom
Dave
couldn't help but smiling. It's been 30
years, yet his mom still called him Sweetie. He didn't mind it, as long as his mom loved him, she could have called
him Malucci for all he cared. He
replied to the message, and then left for work.
"Malucci! We've got a trauma coming in now!" Benton yelled. "What have we got?" He
asked. "15 year old girl involved in a
schoolyard fight. Her opponent is also
coming in, but Carter's got him." He
explained. "Can you tell me your
name?" Dave asked. "Melissa." She said upset that her fight was interrupted. "Ok. I'm Dr. Dave, and
Dr. Benton and I will be taking care of you." He said to the girl. "Okay we
need to lift. 1-2-3!" He said calmly. He reached for scissors and began to cut her shirt. "Hey! Stop it You Perv!" She shouted. "Melissa! Listen to me! There is blood
soaked through your shirt, and if it isn't taken care of, then the cut under it
could be infected, and you could possibly die from it! Would you like that?" He asked. She shook her head and scrunched up her face as he cut the shirt and bra
off. This didn't faze Dave one bit, as
he had seen this many a time in the ER. There was a large bleeding cut that started just below her neck that
curved as it went down and ended on her right breast. Dave became really gentle as he began to clean the abrasion
out. She gasped in pain as the fluid stung
the cut. "Sorry." He said. Benton left for another trauma, leaving Melissa and Dave in Exam 5. "Well, Melissa, the cut was deep, but not
deep enough for you to have to get stitches." She breathed a sigh of relief. He saw Kerry out of the corner of his eye. "Hey, Chief? Could you
get me a scrub top?" He asked. "Dave, can't you see I'm pregnant? Why the hell-" "It's not for me! It's for her!" He said. Kerry smiled and got her a scrub
outfit. "Melissa?" He asked. "Please call me Mel." She
said. "I need to ask you about this
fight. How did this cut happen?" HE asked her. The girl shifted uncomfortably. "He pulled a razor blade on me." She said. Dave's eyes
widened. "That's definitely a tactic of
an experienced street fighter." HE
said. She looked at him. "You've fought before?" She asked. "Yeah. I used to be in a tough
crowd when I grew up. They hated my
brother because he was a musician, but I was the fighter." He said. "But, I got out of that habit, because fighting doesn't prove anything
but physical strength, and mental weakness." He told her. She nodded. "We have to get you down to have a blood
test in case that razor was infected." He said, sending her to a lab. "Hey, Carter!" He yelled walking
into the next exam room. There was a
young man there involved in the fight. Dave bent down to whisper in Carter's ear. "John, this kid, you can't let him leave. He may have pulled an infected razor blade
on the girl I just treated." He said,
walking back out. Melissa came back
disease-free, but the police arrested the young man anyway as he was wanted in
a drug dealing case anyway. Melissa
walked up to Dave before he discharged him. "Thanks, Dr. Dave." She said, as
she walked over to her mother who was coming in. He smiled and talked to the mother on how to care for the cut and
other Doctor talk that I know nothing about.
A
few hours later, he had rounded up Kerry to go have dinner at his mother's
house. He knocked. "Come on in, Davey!" Angelia yelled. He entered the door with Kerry, and was promptly attacked by his
niece and nephews, who were goofing around and playing 'pirates'. "Arrrgh…Ye little brigands!" He yelled chasing after them playfully. Kerry watched him disappear out the back
door and then looked at her mother-in-law. "He's never going to grow up, is he?" She asked. Angel laughed. "We've been trying to get him to grow up for
at least 20 years now. We'll see if all we had to do is marry him off…" She said, causing the two of them to laugh as
Kerry began to help Dave's mother with the cooking.
A few hours later, they had already eaten, except for Dom, who had a gig and said he'd grab a bite to eat before he got there, which didn't faze them much. Dave had actually gotten gifts from everyone. Giuseppe got him a game for his computer, which Dave had played countless times on his mom's. His mother got him some clean socks and underwear as she always did, and for which Dave was grateful. A knock at the door caused them to jump, but then they realized it was only Dominic. He was wearing a hooded sweater that smelled like warm beer and cigarettes, proving he was at a gig. He carried a package and sat down and handed it to Dave. Dave looked at his brother funny, since he was wearing a sweater in June, but then again, Dom had always done the dumbest things. Dave opened the package and took out a toupee with a shaggy hairstyle. Dave looked at Dom who looked back at him. "Wait. Where did you get this?" He asked curiously. Dom said something illegible. "Huh?" He asked. This time Dom spoke louder. "You really don't want to know." He said. "Yeah I Do." "No You Don't." "Yeah I Do." "No You Don't." "Yeah I Do." "No You Don't." "YES I DO!" Dave shouted. "FINE!" Dom yelled in frustration as he threw his sweater on the floor. Dave looked at his brother's head. Dom didn't shave it, rather having it cut much shorter. (It looks like Ashton Kutcher's Shaggy 'do on That 70's Show.) "Why did you cut your hair? It was so cool." Dave said to him. "Dave, I cut it so I could have it made into a rug for you. I don't want you to be alone in the 'hair' problem." He said. Dave began to cry as he threw his arms around his twin. "This is the best thing I have ever gotten!" He said. Dom just smiled and hugged Dave tightly. They stayed that way for a few minutes, until Steve stopped them. "Hey, man. Put the rug on and let us see it." He said. Dave did just that, following the instructions. "Ta-Da!" He said, whirling around to show them. Everyone looked at him. He looked a lot better in the wig. He looked like he never even had cancer, making them all feel a little bit better than before.