Song: "Iris" by the Goo Goo Dolls



SCHEDULE OF EVENTS SO FAR (don't read this if you haven't read the last 4 parts - that's cheating!):

8:00 - Cleo is shot

8:20 - Chopper arrives at County, Cleo is brought to ER

Carter is shot and left on the roof

Lucy and Abby are locked in the OB supply room

8:25 - Jing-Mei finds Carter on the roof; both are locked out

Luka is hit in the head and left in the morgue

8:38 - Cleo's death is called

9:00 - Carol and Doug arrive home

9:10 - Luka is found by Romano in the morgue and is rushed to the ER

9:20 - Carter and Jing-Mei are found

9:30 - Carter is stabilized and brought to surgery

Police arrive

10:00 - Malucci breaks his ankle trying to kick the supply room door down

10:45 - Lucy and Abby are let out of the supply room

11:00 - Mark and Elizabeth arrive in Chicago; Doug and Carol go to pick them up

Luka crashes

CURRENT TIME: 11:30

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And I'd give up forever to touch you

Cause I know that you feel me somehow

You're the closest to heaven that I'll ever be

And I don't want to go home right now

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"Time of death . . . 23:30," Malucci stated sadly. Utter silence lined the background as Malucci wheeled out of the room furiously and Abby slowly replaced the defibrillator paddles on the tray.

Lucy was in shock; she just watched the cold, pale, unmoving face for any signs of life, but found none. "Shouldn't . . . shouldn't we keep trying?" she asked weakly. Abby only looked at her with misery in her eyes.

Romano strolled casually into the room, with Kerry on his heels. "Well now, I seem to be running into you ER docs everywhere I go," he smirked. "I know I'm beautiful, but this stalking simply has to stop."

Kerry rolled her eyes as she inspected the gurney. "What happened?" she asked.

"We were walking through the hall . . . and he was crashing . . . Malucci broke his ankle . . ." Lucy desperately tried to grasp onto a single explanation but her mind was going a mile a minute.

Kerry looked up at her. "There was nothing you could have done," she said gently. "He had a major myocardial infarction. None of us could have saved him."

Romano, obviously bored, commented, "Look, Kerry, I am a very busy man and I don't have time for the med student pep talks. I thought we were going to see how Ko - Kov - the foreign doctor I found -was doing."

"For God's sake, Robert, the man's name is Kovac," Kerry said irritably. "It's not that hard to say."

"He's next door," Abby said absently. "He crashed about a half hour ago but now he's stable. After we stabilized him we started to go back to the ER but found Mr. Stanson" -she motioned towards the body in the gurney- "crashing next door."

"Thank you, Miss Lockhart," said Romano as he picked up the chart at the foot of the bed. "Why don't you find Mr. Stanson's family and tell them of the latest developments in his case?"

The three women stared at Romano in awe, incredulous of his insensitivity. "What?" he asked, annoyed. Hearing no answer, he whirled around and left the room to go next door.

Kerry followed, but added on her way out, "It wasn't your fault. You did very well." Suddenly she poked her head back in the room. "Carter's out of surgery now, if you want to see him." Abby and Lucy could hear her walking to the next room, then yelling, "Malucci! Get out of the damn wheelchair and get to work!"

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And all I can taste is this moment

And all I can breathe is your life

Cause sooner or later it's over

I just don't want to miss you tonight

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Jing-Mei watched Carter's chest rise and fall with each slow breath he took. Tubes ran along his bed and into his arms and nose, connected to several machines on either side of the bed. She watched as his hand twitched a little, then rested at his side. She tiredly ran her fingers through her short black hair and covered her eyes with her hand. Her elbow was rested on the bar of the gurney and her legs were crossed at the ankle. She opened her eyes and lay her chin on her hand, her eyes never leaving Carter's sleeping face.

"Why do I feel this way?" she mused. "And about John?"

Jing-Mei knew that something had happened between them on the roof, some sort of chemistry had ignited - from her side, anyway. He hadn't been exactly conscious enough to return her feelings. But why, after 5 five years, did she suddenly feel this way? They hadn't really gotten a chance to be very close since she had started to work at County again. She was always struggling to keep up with the demands of her job, and he always seemed wrapped up in his work . . . or in Lucy. Jing-Mei had always assumed that there was something going on between them, and for some reason, she had always felt a pang of jealousy whenever she was around. Jing-Mei sighed and brushed a strand of hair from her eyes. She never experienced anything like what she had felt towards Carter as she held him in her arms on the roof; it was a closeness that she had missed and that she now needed. It pained her to even contemplate seeing Carter and Lucy together in the halls again.

Just then, Lydia walked into the room. "How's Carter doing?" she asked.

Jing-Mei looked up from Carter. "He came out of surgery about 20 minutes ago," she told Lydia. "He should be waking up soon."

Lydia nodded and checked his chart. "So they ruled out hypothermia, huh?" she asked.

Jing-Mei nodded. "Thank goodness. Otherwise he probably would have slipped into a coma."

Lydia leaned over Carter's sleeping form to retrieve a readout from a machine. "BP's much better," she observed. "I should go tell Kerry - she could use some good news." Eyeing Jing-Mei, she asked, "How are YOU doing?"

Jing-Mei shrugged. "Physically I'm fine. But emotionally . . ." she looked back at Carter, "I'm a wreck."

"Join the club," Lydia said sympathetically as she gave her a small smile and left the room.

Sighing, Jing-Mei settled back into her chair and continued watching Carter breathe. The events of the night had exhausted her, and she wanted to sleep more than anything. But for some reason she couldn't tear her eyes from his face.

It WAS a nice face, after all. His mouth was relaxed in a gentle curve; his full lips were parted slightly. His long nose was exactly the right size for his face, and it was set between his perfectly shaped cheekbones. His skin, paler than usual, had the slightest hint of stubble, which complimented his strong chin. His smooth, brown hair was combed into place but mussed from the day's events, and it moved a bit with each slow breath he took. And those eyes . . . Jing-Mei sighed in pleasure as she imagined John Carter's deep brown eyes, full of kindness and concern, looking into her own; his strong hands holding her small, feminine hands; his perfect lips turned into a slight smile, parting to say-

Beep beep, beep beep! Startled, Jing-Mei reached for her pager, annoyed at it for interrupting her dream. "Leave me alone," she grumbled as she stood up to go to the ER. At the doorway, she took one last look at John Carter, sleeping peacefully. Yes, it was a nice face, indeed.

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And I don't want the world to see me

Cause I don't think that they'd understand

When everything's made to be broken

I just want you to know who I am

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"Now, how long ago did you put the marble in your ear?" Lucy asked.

"I told you, I didn't!" the little boy hollered. "Eric did!"

"Shut up, you liar!" his brother yelled.

"Now, now, it doesn't matter who did it," Lucy told them. "Right now we just have to get it out."

"Is it gonna hurt?" the little boy asked, frightened.

Lucy considered the procedure. "Not if you're a good boy and let me do my job," she told him.

His brother smirked. "It's gonna hurt a lot," he assured his little brother.

"NOOO!" the boy wailed, clamping his hand over his ear.

Lucy sighed. All she wanted to do was to visit Carter, but once she got down to the ER there had been a flood of patients. Romano had insisted that she do her rounds before she took "another 2 hour break" (a fairly painful statement, considering). Luckily, Lucy had been able to take of dose of Ritalin before the huge amount of patients had arrived. Now that Luka, Carter, Malucci, and - Lucy winced - Cleo, were unable to do their rounds, Lucy, Abby, Benton, and Kerry were the entire ER staff for the night - and Benton had been faced with a mass amount of emergency surgeries. So of course, Lucy and Abby had to consult Kerry on everything they did, which led to a very slow shift. *At least Dr. Greene and Dr. Corday will be here soon, * she thought as she flipped through the chart and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Why does he have a marble in his ear this late at night?" Lucy asked the mother.

"His brother put it in when he was asleep," the mother explained wearily. "I thought it would be better to bring him immediately, rather than wait for morning."

Lucy nodded. "You did the right thing," she told the mother as she turned around to leave the room. "I will be back in one second." From the outside she could hear a SLAP! "Ow . . . Mommy, Eric hit me!"

Lucy groaned as she walked away from the room and to the reception desk. "Randi, have you seen Dr. Weaver?" Lucy asked anxiously.

Randi yawned and inspected her nails. "Yup," she answered.

Lucy waited for a second, then asked impatiently, "Well, where?"

Randi glared at her. "Can't you see I'm busy?" she told her irritably, cracking her gum as the phone rang. Randi continued inspecting her nails as the phone rang over and over again. Annoyed, Lucy finally picked it up. "County General ER," she said, turning away from Randi.

"Hello, I just got a call about my grandson on my answering machine," the voice on the other end said. "I was wondering if I could see him, even though visiting hours are over."

"Look, if he doesn't have a marble in his ear, I can't help you, " Lucy said crossly. This woman was just taking up her time.

"Um, no . . . he was shot," the woman stammered. "His name is John Carter. He's a doctor there."

Lucy's jaw dropped - she had almost blown off Carter's Gamma. "Yes . . . of course . . . of course you can visit him," she said quickly.

"Do you know how he's doing?" Millicent Carter asked anxiously.

Lucy thought for a moment. "Actually, no . . . but I will go check on him right now!" *Finally, an excuse to see him! * she thought happily. She hung up the phone and tried to keep from smiling as she approached Abby. "Abby, I've got a kid with a marble stuck in his ear in Curtain 3, do you think you can take it?" By the time Abby opened her mouth to protest, Lucy was already on the elevator.

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And you can't fight the tears that ain't coming

Or the moment of truth in your lies

When everything feels like the movies

Yeah you bleed just to know you're alive

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"God, they've got every news station in town out here!" Elizabeth marveled as Doug drove past the ambulance bay. Carol craned her neck to see half a dozen news vans, each unloading several cameras, technicians, and reporters. "How are we going to get past this?" she whispered to Doug.

"We just are," Doug answered firmly as he rounded the corner.

"Hush, little baby, don't say a word," Elizabeth sang to Kate, who was fussing loudly.

"Doug, thanks again for doing this," said Mark. "A cab would have taken forever."

"No problem, you'd do the same for me," Doug replied as he looked for a parking space.

"And Mark, I'm sorry again about . . . Tess . . ." Carol apologized.

"Hey, it's my own fault for playing with her right after she'd eaten," Mark assured her as he attempted to clean the last bit of spit-up off of his shoulder.

Doug swerved the car into an available spot and turned it off with a click. The motor stopped, and the car was silent; no one moved to scramble out. After a few moments of listening to Kate scream, Elizabeth said hastily, "Well we've got to get out sometime. We knew we would arrive here eventually."

Carol nodded and unbuckled her seat belt. "Doug, you get Kate, I'll get Tess," she told him as she climbed out of the car.

Elizabeth opened the door on her side. "My God! It's freezing out there!" she exclaimed. "Will the girls be all right?"

"Yeah," Carol called from outside. "I brought their jackets, their boots, their hats, their gloves -"

Doug laughed as he opened his door and joined her outside. "It's not even snowing, Carol! They'll only be outside for a few minutes at the most."

Carol glared at him. "Do you want to risk our girls getting pneumonia in this cold?"

Mark gathered his luggage and climbed out of the car. "Actually, Carol, cold weather doesn't cause pneumonia," he informed her. "It's caused by a virus -"

"I know that, Mark," Carol said irritably. "I was just making a point." She leaned into the backseat and retrieved Tess, whose small face barely peeked out from her padded, marshmallow-like body.

Doug whistled in awe. "She's packed like a sausage," he marveled. "How did you get her into so many layers of clothes?"

Carol shrugged and handed Tess to Doug. "She was the easy one," Carol told him as she reached into the car and picked up Kate, who was howling at the top of her lungs. "Kate hates wearing jackets."

Mark nodded. "Rachel was like that, too." He tapped on the car window. "Ready, Elizabeth?" he called.

Elizabeth hurried to pack up her luggage. "Just go in without me," she called back. "I won't be ready for a bit."

Mark poked his head in the car. "I don't think that's a good idea," he told Elizabeth. "I really don't think you should go in there by yourself."

Elizabeth looked at him with strong, honest eyes. "I'll be fine," she assured him. "It's only County. It's not a battlefield. Don't worry about me; just find Kerry and see how everyone's doing." She smiled at him. "It's what you do best."

Mark smiled back at her, but sighed. "Hurry," he told her seriously before kissing her lightly.

"Hey Mark," Doug called, "you're getting paged. Oh, so am I." He held out Marks' pager with one arm as he struggled to carry Tess and search for his own pager with the other arm.

Mark ran to him and took his pager. "ER," he said to no one in particular. "We should hurry." Mark walked quickly, and Doug and Carol held onto the twins as they rushed towards the hospital

"I'll be right behind you!" Elizabeth called out, zipping up her handbag.

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And I don't want the world to see me

'Cause I don't think that they'd understand

When everything's made to be broken

I just want you to know who I am

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"Hold it! What's going on?" Kerry yelled as she limped towards the officers.

A pair of handcuffs clicked as the officer lifted his head to Kerry. "We're taking him in," the officer answered.

"But why?" she cried. "He's not the gunman! He was with Romano when Cleo was shot!"

"Dr. Finch was shot at Mercy," the officer informed her. "Dr. Carter was shot here, at the precise moment when Ben Herrington" he motioned to the student in handcuffs - "was dismissed by Dr. Romano, claiming to be 'sick at the sight of blood.' He then headed to the roof, shot Carter, ran to the morgue and attacked Kovac, and remained at the scene of the crime only to be found by Dr. Romano here." Romano, standing next to the officer, grinned proudly.

Kerry shook her head. "He couldn't have gone all over the hospital in the amount of time between Cleo's arrival and Luka's attack," she told him. "I think he simply found Luka and was too frightened to leave the morgue." She quickly followed the officer to the door. "Have you even talked to him about it?"

The officer led Ben Herrington away as he spoke to Kerry. "He won't talk. And he doesn't need to - his fingerprints were all over the weapon used to attack Kovac," he explained. "They were also all over the doorknob to the roof. Give us a call when the docs wake up so we can get a description and lock this kid away for good." The other officers followed him as he led the student though the ER doors.

Kerry rushed to another one of the officers. "They found the weapon?" she asked.

The officer nodded. "Yup. It was weird . . . I had thought that it would be a baseball bat or something, but it turned out to be some kind of metal stick. We're taking it in as evidence. But here's a picture of the scene, if you want. It's in there." He handed her a picture and turned away, following the other officers.

Kerry stopped walking and looked at the picture. Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped as she immediately recognized the weapon. *My cane . . . so that's where it was . . .* she thought as a shiver ran through her entire body. Her eyelids fluttered as she realized that what the officer said was true: the student had probably stolen her cane while she was on the phone with the doctor from Mercy, and trapped poor Luka in the morgue where he hit him in the head. *I need to lie down . . ." she thought weakly as she stumbled to Exam 2. She wasn't sure how much more of this she could take.

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And I don't want the world to see me

'Cause I don't think that they'd understand

When everything's made to be broken

I just want you to know who I am

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Lucy sighed and leaned against the back of the elevator. She resented the feelings that were flooding her head: feelings about the gunman, feelings about Cleo's death, and feelings about Carter. Lucy didn't really know why she told everyone that she hated Carter. The truth was . . . she didn't know how she felt about him. She could convince herself that he was slime when she was at home, or after a long day of him yelling at her. But one look at his tall, adorable figure striding down the hall towards her, his hands resting comfortably in his white lab coat pockets, his chocolate brown eyes staring into hers . . .

And then he would speak, and prove what slime he could be.

*But he only really yells at me,* Lucy thought. *Why is that? Because I'm his student? Or because he hates me?!*

She didn't know the answer to that question, which is why she told everyone how much she truly hated him. She knew that she was lying to people to cover up the pain of being rejected (*Thank you, Psych rotation,* she thought bitterly) after their "rendezvous" in the suture room. It had been too painful for her to remember, so she had simply stopped believing it had happened.

*But it did happen,* she thought sadly. *He totally messed with my feelings and rejected me. And now I'm running away from patients to see him. I am truly pathetic.* Lucy moaned as she put her face in her hands. She felt stupid for feeling this way about him but she just couldn't help it.

The supply room had really put her over the edge. There had been a period of about an hour when she was sure Carter was dead. The old janitor hadn't known who was killed, but Lucy had had a gut feeling that it had been Carter. A sense of grief had come over her like none before - she immediately regretted everything she had ever done to make him angry. She had wanted to cry more than anything, but Abby was doing enough crying for the both of them.

When she found out that he was alive, but had been shot, all she knew was that she needed to see him. The sense of relief she felt had completely overruled the sense of grief, so much that she now had completely changed her opinion of Carter. *Maybe this whole experience will make him realize what an ass he's been . . . and maybe he'll realize how he really feels about me!* This thought exhilarated her, and she brightened as the elevator doors opened.

Lucy stepped out of the elevator and, still feeling nervous about leaving her shift to visit Carter, tiptoed down the hall until she reached Recovery. She took a quick look around her, then took a quiet step past the doorway into the room. *I hope no one saw me, * she thought guiltily. Then she looked up and surveyed the room. Finally her eyes rested on Carter's bed.

Her heart sank as she saw the IV tubes and monitors attached to his frail body; the only sound in the room was a slight beep . . . beep . . . from the heart monitor. Lucy slowly stepped over to his bedside and observed the machines. "Pulse and BP are normal," she mused. Her gaze fell upon his sleeping form. She had seen him sleeping in gurneys dozens of times, when he was catching a nap between shifts. But he looked so pale, so vulnerable now . . . tears welled up in Lucy's eyes as she pictured the gunshot wound in his leg. Slowly she sat next to him, brushing a strand of soft brown hair from his forehead. Her fingers lingered on his skin, and slowly she traced a path from his forehead to his temple, and then to his eyelid. A tear slipped down her cheek as her finger gently moved from his eyelid, down his cheek, and to his lips. She had loved kissing those lips . . . she had waited for what seemed like years to kiss them, and when she finally had, the moment had simply slipped by. *Why couldn't it have worked?* she thought mournfully as she stroked his cheek with her finger. *Who cares if you're a resident and I'm a med student? Why did you have to brush me off afterwards? Why can't you feel about me the same way I feel about you?*

Suddenly Carter's eye twitched above Lucy's finger, and she drew her hand back quickly. She watched in anticipation as his eyes blinked slowly, then opened. "Luce?" he croaked.

Lucy's heart leapt as she leaned towards him quickly. "Yes, John?" she answered as maturely as she could.

Carter opened his eyes wider as he struggled to gain some sort of consciousness. "What . . . time is it?" he asked.

Lucy checked her watch. "12:15," she answered softly.

Carter moaned and covered his eyes with his hand. "Dammit, Lucy, I told you to wake me up for my shift," he said crossly. "Now it's over. Kerry's gonna kill me!" He glared at her. "I sure hope you're happy. Can't you do anything right?"

Lucy felt like she had been punched in the stomach. "But . . . you . . ."

Carter silenced her with a hand. "Just forget it, ok?" He struggled to sit up but seemed bewildered when he couldn't. Lucy could see that he was waking up a little more when he finally noticed the IV in his arm. "What - what's going on?" he stammered, blinking his eyes to get rid of the last bit of sleep.

"Do you remember going to a trauma?" Lucy asked, trying not to cry. She hadn't anticipated that Carter's first conscious words would be scolding her.

Carter struggled to think. "Yeah . . . yeah I do," he said, remembering a little at a time. "At Mercy, right?"

Lucy nodded. "Yes. Some time after you returned, you were found on the roof with a GSW. You had to have surgery, but it looks like you'll be fine."

Carter squeezed his eyes shut. "I was shot?" he murmured. "I don't even remember being shot. I remember going to the trauma . . . and Dr. Kovac's stupid joke on the helicopter . . ." Lucy could see that the memories were unraveling as he slowly replayed the entire night in his mind. "I remember getting to Mercy . . . and getting off the helicopter . . . I remember Deb for some reason . . . and Dr. Finch . . ." Carter's eyes snapped open. "How's Dr. Finch?"

Lucy lowered her head. "Carter -"

All of a sudden Jing-Mei walked in, and upon noticing a conscious Carter, sped to his gurney. "John!" she exclaimed. "You're awake!"

Carter's strained face relaxed when he caught sight of Jing-Mei. "Deb!" he said happily.

Lucy looked back and forth between Carter and Jing-Mei, puzzled by their equally happy expressions. *What is up with them?* she thought suspiciously.

"How do you feel, John?" Jing-Mei asked as she began to sit in the chair by his bed, not noticing that Lucy was already sitting there. Lucy quickly stood up before Jing-Mei could sit on her.

"Ok, I guess," Carter said, grimacing slightly. "Lucy said that I was shot at the trauma . . . or something . . ."

Jing-Mei shook her head. "No, John, only Cleo was shot at the trauma. They think you were shot after the helicopter returned to County. I found you unconscious on the roof with a GSW to the lower leg. The roof was locked so we had to stay up there for about an hour before they found us."

Carter's eyes widened. "An hour?? Was I out the whole time?"

Jing-Mei shook her head. "You went in and out for about 50 minutes, then you went completely out for 10 minutes before they found us."

Carter frowned. "I don't remember that at all." Suddenly he winced and asked, "Did I say anything embarrassing?"

Jing-Mei laughed. "Only that you're madly in love with me." Carter blushed beet red, and Jing-Mei quickly said, "I'm joking, I'm joking!" She smiled at him, and he grinned awkwardly.

*Oh, gag me,* Lucy thought, repulsed by the obvious flirtation between the two. Something was definitely going on between them, and it was making Lucy feel strange.

"Deb -"

"Jing-Mei," Lucy corrected him crossly.

Carter stared blankly at Lucy. "Yeah . . ." he turned back to Jing-Mei, "What happened to Dr. Finch?"

Both Lucy and Jing-Mei drew a deep breath and paused for several seconds. Lucy opened her mouth to speak, but Jing-Mei's voice came first. "She had very severe injuries, John," Jing-Mei said gently.

Carter interrupted her. "They weren't that severe," he informed her. "We stabilized her even before we put her in the chopper. She was alert and conscious."

Jing-Mei took his hand. "I was speaking to the police when you woke up," she told him. She squeezed his hand lightly as she said, "They think the person who shot you also shot Cleo a third time when the helicopter landed on the roof."

Carter stared at her in disbelief. "What - where did they shoot her?" he choked.

"In the back," Jing-Mei told him softly. "The ER staff couldn't help her. She died at about 8:40."

Carter squeezed Jing-Mei's hand as his face stiffened to stop the impending tears. "I was sure she would be ok," he whispered. "I don't even remember any gunman. Luka, Cleo, the pilot, and I were the only ones on the helicopter."

Intrigued by this new information, Lucy wanted to ask Carter some more questions about the shooting but was interrupted by his sudden emotional breakdown. The events of the night had caught up to him, and he was now weeping into his hands as Jing-Mei was cooing, "I know . . . I know . . ." and stroking his hair.

Lucy's own eyes began to well with tears as she watched the tender scene, but it wasn't because she was touched by the emotions. She was jealous. It wasn't fair that he had yelled at her as soon as he had awakened, and that he had been sweet and gentle with Jing-Mei. What did Jing-Mei have that Lucy didn't?

*An M.D. after her name, of course, * Lucy thought sadly. Had Carter only opened up to Jing-Mei because she was a doctor and therefore his equal - and because Lucy was only a med student? Or did he simply prefer Jing-Mei to Lucy?

Lucy slowly backed towards the door, mumbling, "I've got a patient." She turned around and left the room, unnoticed by the two embracing doctors.

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And I don't want the world to see me

'Cause I don't think that they'd understand

When everything's made to be broken

I just want you to know who I am

---------------------------------------

"Excuse me, can we have a word with you?" a short, blond woman asked frantically.

Elizabeth mumbled "No," as she tried to rush past the reporter but was confronted by several more reporters, all shoving microphones and cameras into her face.

"Are you a doctor here at County General?"

"Were you shocked to hear of Dr. Cleo Finch's death?"

"What is the status on Dr. John Carter and Dr. Luka Kovac?"

"Do you think the killer is still here?"

Elizabeth groaned as she found herself surrounded by people and camera equipment. *Don't lose your temper, Elizabeth,* she told herself silently as she gritted her teeth and accidentally bumped a woman in the jaw with her shoulder. Suddenly the crowd dissipated and ran towards a nearby police car, where several officers were gathered. "What's going on?" she cried outwardly.

"Someone's collapsed!" one reporter said breathlessly as she rushed past Elizabeth.

*All this hysteria over a collapse?* Elizabeth wondered exasperatedly. She brushed off her irritation and composed herself to be professional. She ran to the crowd around the police car and pushed through the crowd. "I'm a doctor!" she yelled to the officers. "What happened?!"

"I don't know!" one officer yelled back. "He just kinda collapsed!"

Elizabeth bent to the figure in the street and looked up. "Go inside and get help!" she cried as she felt for a pulse. "I need a gurney! What's his name?"

"Um . . . Benjamin Herrington," the officer answered.

"Benjamin! Benjamin, can you hear me?" Elizabeth shouted over the noise of the crowd. "Benjamin!"

Suddenly the boy's eyes fluttered open, and he looked at Elizabeth with fear in his eyes. "What . . . what happened?" he asked dizzily.

"You collapsed," Elizabeth told him gently. "We're going to bring you into the hospital to see what's wrong. My name is Dr. Corday, and I'm going to take good care of you."

The student's eyes widened. "Dr. Corday?" he asked hoarsely. "Dr. Elizabeth Corday?"

"Yes," Elizabeth answered. "Do you know me?"

"No," Ben said softly as he leaned up to her and whispered, "Dr. Greene is looking for you."

*Mark's looking for me?* Elizabeth thought, confused. *I just saw him not 5 minutes ago!*

Just then, Abby and Doug came out with a gurney. "What happened?" Doug called out.

"21 year old male, collapsed on the street," Elizabeth answered. She helped to load Ben into the gurney. "Thank you for giving me the message," she told him.

"It wasn't a message," Ben told her timidly. "I wasn't supposed to tell you but I wanted to warn you."

"Warn me?" Elizabeth asked, concerned. *Against Mark?* The thought was enough to make her laugh.

"Yeah," Ben told her as he was wheeled away. Elizabeth took the back of the gurney and helped to guide it into the ER, and Ben motioned for her to lean closer. "Please be careful, Dr. Corday," he said with terror in his voice. "Dr. Greene's really mad now. . . and the gun's still in the morgue." The blood drained from Elizabeth's face as she stopped in her tracks and let the gurney slide through her hands. Ben turned his head around from the gurney and yelled, "And Dr. Greene said you're next!"

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I just want you to know who I am

I just want you to know who I am

I just want you to know who I am

-----------------------------------