A Very Odd Couple - part 25

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Previously on ER.

On Dave's first day back at work after the attack he was slightly unnerved when the staff of the ER threw a surprise 'welcome back' party for him. Chris returned to Chicago, and she and Luka consummated their relationship. Arriving at County to pick up Dave after his shift, Luka was worried to find out that he had already left the building.

Note: This fic was started in Summer 2000, so season 7 never happened. Also, I had named Luka's wife 'Maria' before I saw 'The Crossing', and I'm not changing it now.

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"I'm sure Dave's all right," said Kerry. "Maybe he didn't realize you were going to meet him."

Luka shook his head. "No...something's wrong...I know it."

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"What do you mean, he just walked out?" asked Chris, her voice tinged with a mixture of anger and hysteria. "Didn't anyone think to stop him?" she asked accusingly.

Frank shrugged. "It's a free country. He said his shift was over and he left. It's not *my* problem."

He quailed slightly under Chris's glare.

"I'm sure that Dave is fine," said Kerry, with more confidence than she felt. "Maybe...maybe he just didn't feel 'comfortable' waiting around once his shift was over."

A wave of guilt swept over Chris. She knew they should have been there earlier...but somehow there had been so many things that had 'delayed' them.

"Did something happen during his shift?" asked Luka. "Is there a reason you believe he was 'uncomfortable' here?"

"No," replied Kerry automatically before remembering her conversation with Dave in the Lounge. "Well, maybe..."

Chris stopped her pacing and looked at Kerry. "Maybe what?" she asked through clenched teeth.

"We had a small party for him...for his return to work. He...he seemed a little 'unsettled' by it all. Then a trauma came in and we were called away...and that's the last time I saw him," finished Kerry lamely. Inwardly she was wishing that she'd taken just a few minutes longer to speak with Dave. Maybe he would have opened up to her more...if she'd only taken the time.

"Did he tell you what had 'unsettled' him?" asked Luka.

"No...there wasn't time...I'm sorry."

"I'll try the house," said Chris. "Maybe...maybe he took a cab home...we could have just missed him." With shaking hands, she dialed the familiar number.

A wave of relief swept over her as she heard her brother's voice...only to crash in disappointment as she realized it was just the answering machine.

"Hey, you've reached the Malucci Kovac fun..."

"That's Kovac Malucci," Luka's voice interrupted, before Dave continued, "The Kovac Malucci fun factory. Leave a message after the tone...and we'll get back to you when we've finished having fun...or maybe not..."

"Beep"

"Dave? Dave...if you're there, please pick up." Chris waited a few seconds hoping to give Dave a chance to answer if he was there. Finally she continued, "Dave, when you get this message, I want you to phone me or Luka immediately...please..."

The last word came out as almost a sob, and Luka moved quickly to take the handset from Chris and replace it before putting his arms around her and hugging her close to him.

"Where is he?" she asked, on the verge of tears. "Where *is* he?"

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At that moment Dave was a mile away from County, and sitting on a low wall to rest. He had been trying to pace himself, but the exertion of the walk on top of his shift in the ER, had taken their toll. And now he was gathering his strength for the final leg of his journey.

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A few hours earlier Dave had been heading back to the admit desk when he had passed by Trauma one. For a change, there was nobody working there. The remains of the last trauma to be treated there had been cleaned away. To all intents and purposes, it was just another ER room...but not to him. Drawn by an uncontrollable urge, Dave stepped inside the room for the first time since he had been wheeled out of it several weeks earlier.

He didn't know what he had expected to find there. He knew that plenty of patients had died or been saved there since he had lain on the gurney staring helplessly at the ceiling.

["Possible pneumothorax...may need a chest tube."]

["Where the hell is the surgeon...I don't care *how* busy they are...we need one down here NOW."]

["Dr. Kovac, he's conscious."]

Dave absently rubbed the back of his hand...he could almost feel the sting of pain he had felt when the I.V. had been pulled out...not that he had realized what had happened at the time, of course. It was hard to focus on one particular point of pain when your whole body was a seething mass of agony. Closing his eyes, he shuddered at the memories that threatened to overwhelm him.

He felt a hand on his shoulder and a voice asked, "Dr. Dave...are you all right?"

Opening his eyes, he saw Haleh standing beside him. "I...yeah...no...not really," he said, sighing heavily.

"It just seems...it seems such an ordinary room," he said finally. "It should look, I don't know...different. You know, I mean, I almost died here...and it's just a room...just like any other."

Haleh squeezed his shoulder gently as she said, "You didn't 'almost die' here...this is where you *lived*...this is where we saved you. I know you've been having some problems with what happened." Holding up a hand, she stopped Dave's protests. "Hush now, don't interrupt. Like I said, I know you've had problems dealing with this...and who could blame you. But sooner or later, you have to move on. This room...you're right...it *is* just a room...and that's the way it should be. You can't let what happened to you torment you for the rest of your life. You have to move on."

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Dave remembered her words as he sat facing the alleyway where he had been attacked. A few weeks ago he had looked at this place from the shelter of Luka's car...and still he had been frozen with fear. But now it was time to face up to that fear. Maybe retracing his steps wouldn't stop the flashbacks...but maybe if he could stand in the actual spot where he had been attacked, and *not* freak out totally...then maybe it would reduce their effect on him. Taking a deep breath, he moved towards the alley.

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The ATM was deserted when Dave got to it. Surprisingly, it was working, in spite of all the graffiti sprayed on it. With shaking hand, he slid his new cash card into the machine and keyed in the number. It took him a few tries before he managed to get it right and make his transaction. Replacing his wallet in his pocket, he took a deep breath and turned around.

It wasn't until he had taken a few steps away from the machine that he realized he was no longer alone.

"What are you two doing here?" he asked in surprise and a little shock.

"Haleh told us about your conversation earlier," said Luka quietly. "We...we thought you might have come back here."

"So we drove along this route until we spotted you," added Chris softly.

"We watched you from a distance...but we did not want to interfere," said Luka.

"You were watching me?" asked Dave. Luka nodded. "Why didn't you say anything sooner?"

"Because we knew that you had to make this journey on your own. The demons you face had to be vanquished by you alone."

"But we also wanted to be here in case it was too much, too soon," said Chris.

"Thank you," said Dave quietly. "I...I nearly didn't do it...but I knew that if I backed down now...it'd only be harder to do it another time."

"I knew you could do it," said Chris, hugging her brother. "I knew you'd be all right."

"Thanks, sis," replied Dave. "But I'm not 'all right'...maybe I never will be. But I can deal with that...I just have to take things one day at a time...but I can do it."

"*We* can do it," Luka corrected him. "Remember, you are not alone. Chris and I are here to help you."

"I know that," said Dave. "Believe me...I know that." He pulled Luka into a 'group hug'.

Breaking apart after a few moments, Dave continued, "And speaking of 'Chris and you'...you got something to tell me about that? Like what your intentions are?"

"How...how did you know?" asked Luka. Chris instinctively reached out and clasped his hand tightly.

"I'm not *that* dense...it was sort of obvious that Chris wasn't coming all the way to Chicago so often to see me...*just* to see me," he corrected himself quickly. "And I did get a little suspicious when she rang and it took half an hour for you to hand her over to me."

"Hey, 'she' is standing right here," protested Chris good-naturedly. Inwardly she was breathing a sigh of relief that Dave had taken the news so well.

Dave ruffled her hair affectionately. "You've always been my favorite sister," he said gently. "And Luka...you're my closest friend...I...I can't think of two people I'd rather see happily together."

"It means a lot to me that you approve," said Luka quietly. "Come...let us go home...all of us."

"Yeah. I'm finished with this place now," said Dave. Without a backwards glance, he finally left the scene of his nightmares. Maybe they weren't gone for good...maybe it would take time to get over them completely...but he felt that he had taken a big step today...and from here on in, things were going to get better.

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THE END!!!!!!!! (well...at least until I get started on the sequel )