"Weaver

"Weaver!  Romano wants a word with you."  A secretary said.

"In a minute."  Kerry said, filtering through various documents, all unrelated to the ER.

"No. Now."  Romano snapped, coming up behind her and snatching the documents.

Kerry looked up in surprise and hobbled along behind the man.

While cradling a phone to his ear, stirring a pan of soup, and watching Maggie play, Dave talked to his mother.

"Mom?  I really need your help!"  Dave begged.

"Why?  What happened, David?"  She asked.

"Um, I…  This is hard to say."  He whispered.

"Please tell me, Dave.  I promise that I won't be mad!"

"I lost my job today.  I need some money, as a temporary fix."

"Why don't you apply at Mercy?"

"Mom, I don't want to work at Mercy.  I'm going to fight for my job at County!"

"DAVID!"  His mother shouted over the phone.

"MA!"  He shouted back, pausing for a moment.  He sighed and rubbed his temples.  While he wasn't paying attention, his shirt went into the flame of the gas burners on the stove, catching fire. 

"Uh, Ma!  IgottagoIsetmeonfirebyeiloveyou!"  He said, hanging up.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"  He yelled, running into the bathroom, and turning on the shower.  The fire sizzled out and Dave sighed in relief as he watched the smoke dissipate.  As he walked back into the living room, drops of water got all over the floor and he slipped and fell on his ass.  Maggie giggled and Dave smiled.  He loved that childish laugh.

Romano leaned back in his Leather chair at his desk.  Shooting a glare at the redhead before him, he placed his hands behind his head and then began to casually speak.

"So, Dr. Weaver.  I'm sitting in here working on important papers, namely trying to figure out how to save our ailing funds, when I hear that you fired Malucci.  Naturally, I felt a little happy that I wouldn't have to fire anyone to keep the budget in check, but then I realized that Malucci didn't deserve to be fired.  Care to explain why you did?"

"Well, Robert."  Kerry began, taking a breath.  "A young man came in from the concert…  Metalhead or something… Anyway, Dave got a patient and assumed that complications were from cocaine use, and administered a drug, which proved fatal to the youth.  He made a mistake.  It killed a man, and he deserved to be sent away."

"No, Kerry.  Doctors make mistakes.  It's what they do.  They learn from their mistakes, and save other lives.  Occasionally, we are forced to sacrifice a person to do that, but that's life."  Romano said.

"Malucci was screwing around with a girl in an Ambulance while traumas were coming in."  Kerry told him, throwing her hands in the air.

Who hasn't?  Romano thought to himself.

"Kerry!  You've been known to fuck up on things yourself!  Remember when you were at his status?  I know damn well that you've made as many mistakes as Malucci!"

"Robert, please!  Watch your language!"

"FUCK language!"  Romano screamed.  "Weaver, you've made more mistakes at this hospital than Malucci probably has in his short career.  You want me to count them?"  He asked, irate as could be.

"N- I don't think-"

"You're right, Kerry!  You don't think!  You've fucked around with Kim on your shift, and I didn't fire you then!  You've made countless personal phone calls on staff time, while traumas were coming in, I might add.  You've taken breaks at crucial points during the shifts.  You've bossed every single staff member around like you were the God Damned queen.  Most recently-"  Romano paused to take a breath. 

Looking directly into Kerry's eyes, he continued.  "Most recently, you've left during a trauma, and went to Doc Magoo's to make a personal errand to meet your birth mother.  Unfortunately for you, there was a trauma that Malucci and Chen paged you thrice for.  You turned off your pager.  A young man is dead because of your not being there to make the right decision." 

"Robert, I…"

"Malucci shouldn't be the one that was fired.  You are."

"Robert!"

"Have your locker cleaned out in an hour.  I don't want to see you here at that time."  Romano said, picking up the phone.

Oh, come on.  Pick the damn phone up, Malucci!

Riiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnng!

Dave was currently giving his daughter a piggyback ride through the apartment.

"Come on, Maggie!  Let's go answer the tel-E-phone."  He said in a baby-talk voice.  Piggy-backing towards the phone, he picked it up.

"Hell-O?"  He said in the same baby talk.  He realized his mistake and tried to correct it.

"Uh, I mean, hello?"

"Cute, Malucci.  We need you down here right away.  You've got your job back."

Dave was dumbfounded and didn't answer Romano.

"NOW, Malucci!"  He yelled again.

Is this for real?  Dave thought.

Is it for real?  Am I just making it up?  Was I in such a hurry that I had to finish before ER came on tonight?  Will there ever be a sexier doctor than Dr. Dave?  Tune in next chapter…

This quote is from an earlier episode of Newradio:

Dave:  You've been making a lot of long distance phone calls from the office, haven't you?

Matthew:  Yeah…

Dave:  Tell whomever you're talking to that you'll call them back later.

Matthew:  Okay, your office, 5 minutes?

Dave:  Now, Matthew!

Matthew:  Je vous telephone une entre temps…

(BTW, I am not a French buff, so I don't know/care if that is correct or not.