Yeah, yeah, yeah, I still don't own anyone from ER- which is quite unfortunate, because I'd just have all the men in amazingly provocative positions around my bed…and…


Oh, now there's some NC-17 fan fiction! Grins


Although Melissa is my own character.

This is an ongoing series. At least 6 more chapters, so keep a look out! You might be surprised at what happens!


Anyway- I want to thank all the reviewers- you've kept me motivated, and kept me writing, which is a nice change of pace.


Oh, and this series is dedicated to Lisa (forehand79@hotmail.com I believe)- may our mutual passion for a character on ER come shining though during this fanfic series.



Chapter three:


Carter strolls through the ER, coming to the admin desk. Things had been hectic all day long, but nothing he couldn't handle. It was a beautiful spring day outside, and things seemed to be going well. He hadn't felt this good since…well, since Lucy. He whistled, making his way down the hall, and saw Jerry at the desk.

"Jerry- anything special on the board?"

"Not really- a couple of kids in two- and a lung case in five."

Carter walks toward exam five, to see an older couple holding hands. The woman was laid down on the bed, clearly having problems breathing. They had the oxygen mask on her, but she was not panicking, just looking steadily into her husband's eyes.

He pulls the chart from the door, and walks in.

"Hello, I'm Doctor Carter, and you must be Mrs. Boworth?"

She nods, as her husband responds. "Yes, and I am Mr. Boworth."

"Can you tell me about your wife's condition?"

"She has advanced lung cancer. Nothing that can be done at this stage, except wait for her to die." Carter is shocked at how bold and contrived this man speaks, but he looks over at the wife, and she nods her head. "We've come to accept that, she's signed a DNR form, she's made a living will, but she's pretty close to the end, Doc. Can you give her something for the pain?"

Carter jots notes down. From the looks of her chart, and her labored breathing, it wouldn't be long.

"Okay, well I can give her some morphine for the pain, and keep a check on her. If she gets really bad, just call someone, we'll be more than glad to help her in any way. Chuni? Give Mrs. Boworth 10 of morphine, IV push. That should help."

He walked out into the hall, and Kerry was walking by. "Hello Dr. Weaver. Getting ready to leave?"

Kerry looked over at Carter. "Yeah, getting ready for my annual retreat into the wilderness. So instead of me riding your back, it'll be Luka."

Carter almost rolled his eyes and sighed. He'd never liked the Croatian- there was no secret about that. And with Kerry gone, he knew that life at County General wouldn't be enjoyable. Kovac would seal that fate.

"Come back soon, Kerry- as the well rested hard nose we love." Carter grins.

"I will Carter. It's going to be a good trip, I feel it. Just keep an eye on everybody. Especially Malucci. You never know some of the things that he's going to come up with. And keep Romano out of here, I mean it!"

"Will do, Chief."

Carter walked on down the hall, not paying attention, and backed right into Abby, knocking suture kits out of her hands, and onto the floor.

"Abby! I'm sorry. Let me help you pick them up."

"Oh, it's not a big deal Carter, I am just trying to restock the nurse's station. That involves going into that disaster area that is called the supply closet, Kerry just told me that when she gets back, she's going to have someone go though that and clean up."

"I don't envy the person who gets that job. It's a mess!"

They pick up the suture kits from the floor, and look at each other with smiles.

"So, Carter, how's Rena?"

Carter stutters. He was a little lost in the moment. "Umm…oh…Rena? She's umm…fine."

"Good, I wouldn't want her to break us up if she was just a flash in the pan." Abby comments sarcastically, with a grin.

She walks away to the sound of Carter's laughter.

____________________________
Dave was in the basement section of the hospital. He was pulling a double shift, and was 14 hours in. Only two more to go, but he was about to drop. Hoping to catch a quick catnap, he went to find a secluded spot, and this happened to be it.

He found a hospital bed, laid down, and closed his eyes. "Finally," he thought, "a moment of peace."

_____________________________


Mark was up in trauma two; he was working on a heart attack victim. After all this work, the thirty minutes of mandatory CPR, the shocks, the epi- he still laid on the table, no heartbeat, no life. Melissa was with him, bagging him steadily. She watched him for the end, she knew it was close.

"Time of death, 16:04." Mark said it with such finality. He stripped off his gloves, and threw them away. Walked out of the room, without a word.

Halee and Melissa just stood and looked at each other. "Let me help you clean this up, Halee."

They took to the quiet preparations of a body for the morgue.

_____________________________

Elizabeth was sitting in the lounge, waiting for Mark.

"Miss me, Mr. Greene?"

He was genuinely surprised. "Yes, I did, Mrs. Greene. How are the two of you doing?" He laid his hand on Elizabeth's stomach.

"We're fine. How's your day?"

"Just lost a patient. Heart attack, caught too late. What are you doing here?"

"Thought I might take the Daddy of my baby to eat. I know you probably haven't eaten." Elizabeth explained, while she rubbed her belly. "The baby's hungry, and…"

"It gave you an excuse to come by the hospital, right?" Mark smiled. She was so predictable. "Let me tell someone that we are going, and we'll go over to Magoo's. Did you go upstairs?"

"Absolutely not. I didn't want to see that troll Romano."

"Elizabeth- he has been treating you civilly lately. Don't wreck that."

"Only because I haven't been here." Elizabeth grumbled.

Mark takes Elizabeth's hand, and looks at the desk. Melissa was conversing with Luka about a patient.

"Hey you two- I am going to Magoo's. Page me if you need me."

"No problem, Mark. How are you doing Elizabeth? Feeling okay?" Melissa replied with a smile. She knew that they had just married, and they seemed like a really sweet couple.

"I am fine, Melissa. Just the size of a House!" They laughed together, in that secret womanly way.

Luka piped up. "Where's Malucci?"

Mark sighed. He had no idea. "He may be napping somewhere. He is working a double shift."

"I'll go find him." Melissa said. She knew if he was napping, he was in his hiding spot in the basement. And she also knew that if his hiding spot was discovered, he'd never rest again.

__________________________________

Dave had just awakened to the sounds of someone coming down the stairs. "Damn, I am almost caught," he thought to himself. "But let's see if I can have fun with them anyway. It's probably Abby or Carter anyway."

Melissa opened the door to the basement floor. She saw all the unused equipment, the piles of dust and debris, and wondered why Dave liked it down here. She thought it was really creepy.

She moved around the room, and wondered which room Dave was sleeping in. She moved slowly, just a little freaked out by this whole situation, she was just jumpy by nature.

She opens the first door. Nothing. The bed hadn't been disturbed. "Damn it. Where is he?"

"Dave? You here?" She was really quietly calling out. She didn't want to surprise him.

Her hesitant nature comes out when she pushes the second door open. That's when she felt two arms grab her and drag her into the darkness.

Her flight or fight instinct kicked in. "Let me GO!"

Her years of wrestling with her brothers came back in a flash. She punches, scratches, hears a grunt, and absolutely doesn't let up until she hears a familiar voice. "Melissa, it's DAVE. Stop it!"

She gets up, and turns on the light. In the floor was a sheepish Dave, rubbing his head where she had wailed on him.

"Dave, you IDIOT. What the hell were you doing? You nearly gave me heart failure!"

"Melissa, I…."

"I don't want to hear it. I am going upstairs. They told me to come down and awaken you. I think you're awake." With that, she stalks out of the room.

"Melissa, WAIT!"

________________________________

"Carter," Chuni said, "the Boworths want to see you."

Carter looks up from the charts he was working on. "Okay, I am on the way."

He rises from his sitting position, and makes his way to exam five.

Mr. Boworth is sitting there, head in his hands, when Carter enters. "Is it supposed to be easy? Because we are having second thoughts."

Carter looked at Mr. Boworth. "About the DNR? Or the living will?"

He nodded.

"Well, what does your wife think?" Carter inquired.

"Ask her." He says, looking over at the bed.

Carter walks to Mrs. Boworth's bed. Her breathing is more labored than earlier, and Carter knows that soon, she'll have to be put on the respirator.

"Mrs. Boworth- have you changed your mind about the DNR?"

She nods.

"You want to be put on the respirator?"

She nods again.

"You do realize we will have to do it soon, don't you? It's becoming more difficult for your body to get oxygen."

Mr. Boworth starts to cry, silent, empty tears.

Carter walks into the hall. "Chuni?"

"Yes, Doctor Carter?"

"Get me a chest tube, and a recess kit."

"I thought she was a DNR."

"She changed her mind."

_________________________________

"What a jerk! A complete pain in the…" Melissa stomps up the stairs, her heart still erratically beating. He'd scared her to death.

"What's wrong?" Abby walked up, and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Dave, and his dumb prankster tricks." She looks over her shoulder. "I hope you have a black eye! That'll teach you!"

Abby turns, and sees Dave climbing the stairs. He has a set of parallel scratch marks across his face, and a couple of red marks, almost if he'd been slapped.

"What did you do, Dave?"

"How come it's automatically my fault?"

"Because Dave, I know you. What did you do to Melissa?"

Melissa pipes up. "He decided to jump out and scare me in the basement. Nearly gave me a heart attack."

"I cannot believe you did that to her. She had every right to beat you up." Abby said.

"But…But…"

"Come on Abby, let's go get a cup of coffee in the lounge."

Melissa and Abby take off down the hall, leaving Dave a stuttering mess.

__________________________

"Here you are, Carter, a tube and a kit, ready to go." Chuni says, handing over the supplies.

"Hey Carter, what have you got?" Luka steps in the exam room, looking around, trying to gage the situation.

"I have a lady whose oxygen is down to 60%- I am getting ready to tube her. She's unconscious."

Luka picks up her charts. "She has advanced lung cancer. She's also a DNR, you're not respecting her wishes!"

Carter looks up from the patient, who is struggling. "I have verbal approval from her, and her husband that she has changed her mind, she wants the tube."

"Carter, I have the paper right here that says she doesn't. Now back away from her."

"No, Luka. I am doing what she wishes."

Mr. Boworth stands up. "Dr. Carter is only doing what we told him to."

Luka shakes his head. "It doesn't matter, you signed the paper, and you can sue us later." He raises his voice. "Carter, get away from her."

"No."

"What do you mean, No?"

Carter shakes his head. "She is my patient, and I am obeying her wishes. No, I won't do it, Dr. Kovac."

Jerry overhears the raised voices. He walks to the lounge, and sees Melissa and Abby on break, gabbing like girls usually do.

"Hey you two, you better check exam five. Carter and Luka are about to start a war."

They look at each other. Then rise to move.

Dave is already leading the way down the hall. Abby calls over her shoulder, "Page Greene. NOW."

"I won't let you do it, Carter. Get away from her, NOW." Luka is under controlled rage. He is the senior staff in charge, it's his call.

Carter responds, with venom in his voice. "She wants to breathe, she wants to live. It's up to HER."

"Mrs. Boworth's stats are dropping. Her heartbeat is down to 79, pulse is weak, pressure down to 90/51." Chuni injects, quietly. She's not getting in the middle of this.

"What's going on in here? We have patients to attend to." Dave announces, walking into exam five.

"We're losing her, Kovac. Against her wishes. Her SPOKEN wishes." Carter looks directly at Luka, anger in his eyes.

"She has a signed DNR in her folder. I don't care WHAT she told you. You are not to touch her." Luka's voice was now yelling.

"Doctor Carter? Do something." Mr. Boworth was crying now, watching his wife die.

"Mr. Boworth- your wife is going to die. Because THIS man won't let me obey her." He walked up to Luka, and poked him in the chest, hard. "She's your case, Kovac. I am gone."

Carter bounds out the door, cursing under his breath.

"Damn him!" Luka curses, and throws the recess kit against the wall.

Melissa walks over to Chuni, who is attending the woman, and quietly asks her to give Mrs. Boworth another 10 of Morphine. She was going to die peacefully and painlessly. The morphine wouldn't speed it up, but it would ease the tension in her lungs. And she had so little left anyway…mere moments.

"Abby, get Luka out of here." Dave said.

Luka looks up. "Now." Melissa adds.

"Come on Luka." Abby grabs his arm, and leads him out of exam five.

"Chuni, why don't you take Mr. Boworth…" Dave started, but he interrupts.

"I am not leaving my wife."

Melissa looks at him, nodding. "Okay. It's going to be quick. Just hold her hand."

Greene comes running in the room. "What's going on?"

Dave made his way into the hall, there wasn't a lot more that they could do for the woman. Melissa stayed with them.

Dave replies, "There was a small altercation between Dave and Carter. We called you in case we needed back up."

Mark sighs. "Has anyone seen Carter?"

"I am guessing he either went to the roof, or left the building. It was time for him to go," Dave said.

"Please help my wife, let her breathe," Mr. Boworth cried, and Melissa touched his shoulder.

They heard the cardiac machine begin to wail- she had lost her heartbeat.

Dave and Mark walked back slowly into the exam room, and joined the other two. There was no reason to hurry.

Dr. Greene shut off the machine.

"Time of Death- 18:22."

They signed off on all the paperwork, and headed to the lounge to explain all of this to Doctor Greene. Elizabeth was sitting in there, in all the confusion, she just came back to the hospital.

"So you're telling me this woman wanted to revoke her DNR status?" Mark inquired.

"According to Carter, that's exactly what happened. I don't know about the paperwork portion. Mr. Boworth was pretty upset about it." Melissa said quietly. This was a bad situation.

"A bad situation. That's one way to put it, Ms. Bynum." Doctor Romano walks in. "Just what in the hell is going on in this ER, Mark? I come in, and find Doctor Kovac in my office, frightfully annoyed at Carter. Something about a DNR patient. Now I have a Mr. Boworth sitting in my office, asking for the policies on DNR, and how they can be changed. Did anyone witness any of the exchange?"

"Only Chuni." Dave commented.

"Well, have Carter, Luka, and Chuni in my office at 8 am sharp tomorrow. I am not tolerating this kind of behavior in my hospital." Romano leaves the lounge.

Dave thinks aloud. "Both Carter and Luka are going to resent this."

"I know, Dave. I know." Mark shakes his head.