Title: Comforting Thoughts
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the ER staff, I'm just writing about them. Oh, and if you want this to be a Carby, tell me when you review! Maybe I can pull a little strings, lol. But, I love the Carter/Abby friendship more than anything, but being more can't hurt, right? And sorry to disappoint you, but if I do decide to make it a Carby, it ain't starting in this chapter!
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As Carter and Abby walked back into the ER, they were greeted by Dr. Weaver, though not in a good way.
"Hurry up, you two, there's an MVA coming in," she said, rushing to the ambulance bay.
Carter and Abby looked at each other for a moment, let go of each other's hands and followed Dr. Weaver, with Dave close behind.
"Dave, you're with Carter, Abby, you're with me," Kerry ordered. Both teams took a patient and rushed into Trauma 1 and 2.
"Give me the bullet," Carter told a paramedic as they made their way to the Trauma room.
"Thirty-six year old white male, victim of a hit-and-run, except the driver didn't get to run," the paramedic replied.
Carter nodded.
"Sir, can you hear me?" Carter asked the man lying on the gurney.
The man mumbled something inaudible to him and Carter looked up at Dave. Dave shrugged to say he didn't understand.
"Sir, what's your name?" Dave asked.
"D-Dave, is that you," the man mumbled.
Carter furrowed his brow.
"Oh, God, Mike?" Malucci said, with a panicked voice.
"Dave, let's concentrate all right?" Carter urged.
"Yeah, yeah, sure thing, man," Dave replied, worriedly.
"OK, we need to get an ultrasound in here to check for intraabdominal bleeding and a head CT, Dave, check the airway," Carter ordered.
The heart monitor picked up its beeping and Carter and Dave's heads immediately shot up.
"He's seizing," Dave said.
"Should we intubate?" Haleh asked.
"No, get him an oxygen mask," Carter replied, as the man's heart monitor continued to get faster.
"He's in V-Fib," Lily called out.
"We need the paddles over here," Dave yelled.
Haleh grabbed the paddles and handed them to Dave.
"Charge to 100," he said, "OK, clear!"
Everybody jumped back as Dave shocked him. He shook his head.
"Still in V-fib," he said, "charge to 150. Clear!"
Again, everybody jumped back.
"Still in V-fib," Haleh called.
"Charge to 200…clear! No, ok, charge to 250…clear!" Dave yelled, aggressively.
"He's still in V-fib," Carter said.
"Damn it," Dave huffed, "charge to 300…clear!"
"Still nothing," Lily said.
"Dave, there's nothing else we can do," Carter said, touching the young doctor's arm. The heart monitor flat-lined.
"Asystole," Yosh said.
Dave dropped his eyes and shook his head, biting his lip.
"We should have been able to save him. We should have been able to save him!" Dave said, bitterly, pulling off his gloves and throwing them down. He barged out of the Trauma room.
Carter was concerned about his co-worker. Dave had obviously known the patient and his death had obviously hit him hard. He made a mental note to talk to him about it later. He left the Trauma room and saw Abby hanging around the front desk.
"Hey, how's your patient?" he asked.
"Eh, he's up in the OR," she replied, "how about yours?"
"He flat-lined in the Trauma room," he told her.
She winced and nodded.
"Yeah, apparently Dave knew the guy and he's seemed pretty broken up about it. I think I'm going to go talk to him later."
"That's probably a good idea," Abby agreed, "but on the other hand, you know Dave. He probably doesn't want to be babied."
"Abby, I don't think anybody wants to be babied," Carter laughed.
Abby laughed as well. "I guess you're right. I'll go with you to talk to Malucci, if you want."
"Sure, I guess I could use the company," Carter teased.
Abby punched his arm as they walked toward the Lounge.
They swung open the doors and walked in laughing, but paused after seeing Dave sitting on the couch with his head in his hands, his sobs being heard faintly.
"Dave?" Abby asked, shocked that that man she perceived to be a jackass was crying.
He looked up in surprise and stood up, trying to wipe away the tears.
"Uh, hey, guys," he said, trying to smile, but was unsuccessful.
"Dave, what's wrong?" Abby questioned as Carter looked on.
"N-nothing, I'll…I'll be fine," he replied.
Abby shook her head. "No, Dave, I'm serious, tell us what's wrong," she insisted.
"Does this have something to do with that patient?" Carter asked.
Dave looked from Abby to Carter and back again. He slowly nodded.
"That…that guy…he's…I mean, you know, he was…he was my brother," Dave whispered.
Carter was shocked. He looked at Abby who looked back at him with an expression that showed she was just as surprised as he was.
"Dave, I…I'm so sorry," Carter began.
Dave held up his hand a shook his head. "No, this is my fault."
Carter was taken aback. This was getting more confusing my the minute.
"What?" he asked.
"When I was a kid…I…I ran away from home," Dave began.
"Why?" Abby asked.
Dave averted his eyes from hers. "Uh, well, see, my dad wasn't the nicest guy…or the most sober."
Abby winced and gave a small nod of understanding.
"Yeah…anyway, I ran away from home when I was 15…he…he'd been uh, hitting me for about 8 years before that, when my mom died, and these people found me sitting on the sidewalk in the winter and they took me in. They adopted me and…well, I never saw my brother or father again."
Carter was beginning to feel very guilty. He had had absolutely no idea about Dave's childhood…but then again, he never did ask. Dave started to speak again.
"My brother called a couple of days ago," he explained, "he said he'd been looking for me, but he hadn't been able to find me until now. He wanted to meet me for lunch or something, but I said no…I don't know why. I think it's…it's probably because I was still mad at him for not protecting me from getting abused…I know that's selfish…"
"Dave, that's not selfish, it's perfectly understandable," Abby consoled, "he was your older brother and you thought he should be the one to protect you."
Dave closed his eyes and tried to prevent the tears he knew were forming from dropping.
"Look, I don't know why I told you this," Dave said, quietly," but I beg you not to tell anyone what I said."
"Don't worry, we won't," Carter assured.
Dave nodded, took a deep breath, and stood up. He put on a smile.
"Well, time to get back to work, there's patients to see," he said cheerfully and walked out of the lounge.
Carter and Abby stood rooted to their spots, amazed how Dave could just get up and leave after his brother had just been killed.
"Abby, he needs help," Carter said.
She turned to him. "I know," she replied, "I think we need to tell Weaver."
Carter nodded in agreement. "He needs to get some time off," he added.
Abby and Carter both felt guilty about betraying Dave and telling his deepest and darkest secret, but they knew it was for the best.
"So, wanna get a bite to eat later?" Carter asked as they walked out of the lounge to see their patients.
Abby snorted and gave him a small push. They walked toward the board and fished around the charts to find some patients.
"Oh, Abby, here you go, this one's perfect for you," Carter joked, handing her a chart for a patient with diarrhea. She rolled her eyes and shoved it back into his arms.
"Shut up, Carter," she said, with fake annoyance.
"Hey, guys, can you tell Weaver I'm going home, I don't feel too good," Dave said, coming up behind them.
"Oh, sure Dave, no problem," Carter told him.
"OK, thanks, see ya later," Dave replied and walked off.
"Well, at least he realized he needs to get some rest," Abby said.
But as they watched Dave just walk out of the ER into the cold, they tensed.
"Dave, your coat!" Abby tried to call to Dave, but he was oblivious to her yells.
"Huh," Carter grunted, "maybe not."
They gave a worried glanced at each other, considering whether or not to go after him, but their thoughts were destroyed after they were called to another trauma.
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the ER staff, I'm just writing about them. Oh, and if you want this to be a Carby, tell me when you review! Maybe I can pull a little strings, lol. But, I love the Carter/Abby friendship more than anything, but being more can't hurt, right? And sorry to disappoint you, but if I do decide to make it a Carby, it ain't starting in this chapter!
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
As Carter and Abby walked back into the ER, they were greeted by Dr. Weaver, though not in a good way.
"Hurry up, you two, there's an MVA coming in," she said, rushing to the ambulance bay.
Carter and Abby looked at each other for a moment, let go of each other's hands and followed Dr. Weaver, with Dave close behind.
"Dave, you're with Carter, Abby, you're with me," Kerry ordered. Both teams took a patient and rushed into Trauma 1 and 2.
"Give me the bullet," Carter told a paramedic as they made their way to the Trauma room.
"Thirty-six year old white male, victim of a hit-and-run, except the driver didn't get to run," the paramedic replied.
Carter nodded.
"Sir, can you hear me?" Carter asked the man lying on the gurney.
The man mumbled something inaudible to him and Carter looked up at Dave. Dave shrugged to say he didn't understand.
"Sir, what's your name?" Dave asked.
"D-Dave, is that you," the man mumbled.
Carter furrowed his brow.
"Oh, God, Mike?" Malucci said, with a panicked voice.
"Dave, let's concentrate all right?" Carter urged.
"Yeah, yeah, sure thing, man," Dave replied, worriedly.
"OK, we need to get an ultrasound in here to check for intraabdominal bleeding and a head CT, Dave, check the airway," Carter ordered.
The heart monitor picked up its beeping and Carter and Dave's heads immediately shot up.
"He's seizing," Dave said.
"Should we intubate?" Haleh asked.
"No, get him an oxygen mask," Carter replied, as the man's heart monitor continued to get faster.
"He's in V-Fib," Lily called out.
"We need the paddles over here," Dave yelled.
Haleh grabbed the paddles and handed them to Dave.
"Charge to 100," he said, "OK, clear!"
Everybody jumped back as Dave shocked him. He shook his head.
"Still in V-fib," he said, "charge to 150. Clear!"
Again, everybody jumped back.
"Still in V-fib," Haleh called.
"Charge to 200…clear! No, ok, charge to 250…clear!" Dave yelled, aggressively.
"He's still in V-fib," Carter said.
"Damn it," Dave huffed, "charge to 300…clear!"
"Still nothing," Lily said.
"Dave, there's nothing else we can do," Carter said, touching the young doctor's arm. The heart monitor flat-lined.
"Asystole," Yosh said.
Dave dropped his eyes and shook his head, biting his lip.
"We should have been able to save him. We should have been able to save him!" Dave said, bitterly, pulling off his gloves and throwing them down. He barged out of the Trauma room.
Carter was concerned about his co-worker. Dave had obviously known the patient and his death had obviously hit him hard. He made a mental note to talk to him about it later. He left the Trauma room and saw Abby hanging around the front desk.
"Hey, how's your patient?" he asked.
"Eh, he's up in the OR," she replied, "how about yours?"
"He flat-lined in the Trauma room," he told her.
She winced and nodded.
"Yeah, apparently Dave knew the guy and he's seemed pretty broken up about it. I think I'm going to go talk to him later."
"That's probably a good idea," Abby agreed, "but on the other hand, you know Dave. He probably doesn't want to be babied."
"Abby, I don't think anybody wants to be babied," Carter laughed.
Abby laughed as well. "I guess you're right. I'll go with you to talk to Malucci, if you want."
"Sure, I guess I could use the company," Carter teased.
Abby punched his arm as they walked toward the Lounge.
They swung open the doors and walked in laughing, but paused after seeing Dave sitting on the couch with his head in his hands, his sobs being heard faintly.
"Dave?" Abby asked, shocked that that man she perceived to be a jackass was crying.
He looked up in surprise and stood up, trying to wipe away the tears.
"Uh, hey, guys," he said, trying to smile, but was unsuccessful.
"Dave, what's wrong?" Abby questioned as Carter looked on.
"N-nothing, I'll…I'll be fine," he replied.
Abby shook her head. "No, Dave, I'm serious, tell us what's wrong," she insisted.
"Does this have something to do with that patient?" Carter asked.
Dave looked from Abby to Carter and back again. He slowly nodded.
"That…that guy…he's…I mean, you know, he was…he was my brother," Dave whispered.
Carter was shocked. He looked at Abby who looked back at him with an expression that showed she was just as surprised as he was.
"Dave, I…I'm so sorry," Carter began.
Dave held up his hand a shook his head. "No, this is my fault."
Carter was taken aback. This was getting more confusing my the minute.
"What?" he asked.
"When I was a kid…I…I ran away from home," Dave began.
"Why?" Abby asked.
Dave averted his eyes from hers. "Uh, well, see, my dad wasn't the nicest guy…or the most sober."
Abby winced and gave a small nod of understanding.
"Yeah…anyway, I ran away from home when I was 15…he…he'd been uh, hitting me for about 8 years before that, when my mom died, and these people found me sitting on the sidewalk in the winter and they took me in. They adopted me and…well, I never saw my brother or father again."
Carter was beginning to feel very guilty. He had had absolutely no idea about Dave's childhood…but then again, he never did ask. Dave started to speak again.
"My brother called a couple of days ago," he explained, "he said he'd been looking for me, but he hadn't been able to find me until now. He wanted to meet me for lunch or something, but I said no…I don't know why. I think it's…it's probably because I was still mad at him for not protecting me from getting abused…I know that's selfish…"
"Dave, that's not selfish, it's perfectly understandable," Abby consoled, "he was your older brother and you thought he should be the one to protect you."
Dave closed his eyes and tried to prevent the tears he knew were forming from dropping.
"Look, I don't know why I told you this," Dave said, quietly," but I beg you not to tell anyone what I said."
"Don't worry, we won't," Carter assured.
Dave nodded, took a deep breath, and stood up. He put on a smile.
"Well, time to get back to work, there's patients to see," he said cheerfully and walked out of the lounge.
Carter and Abby stood rooted to their spots, amazed how Dave could just get up and leave after his brother had just been killed.
"Abby, he needs help," Carter said.
She turned to him. "I know," she replied, "I think we need to tell Weaver."
Carter nodded in agreement. "He needs to get some time off," he added.
Abby and Carter both felt guilty about betraying Dave and telling his deepest and darkest secret, but they knew it was for the best.
"So, wanna get a bite to eat later?" Carter asked as they walked out of the lounge to see their patients.
Abby snorted and gave him a small push. They walked toward the board and fished around the charts to find some patients.
"Oh, Abby, here you go, this one's perfect for you," Carter joked, handing her a chart for a patient with diarrhea. She rolled her eyes and shoved it back into his arms.
"Shut up, Carter," she said, with fake annoyance.
"Hey, guys, can you tell Weaver I'm going home, I don't feel too good," Dave said, coming up behind them.
"Oh, sure Dave, no problem," Carter told him.
"OK, thanks, see ya later," Dave replied and walked off.
"Well, at least he realized he needs to get some rest," Abby said.
But as they watched Dave just walk out of the ER into the cold, they tensed.
"Dave, your coat!" Abby tried to call to Dave, but he was oblivious to her yells.
"Huh," Carter grunted, "maybe not."
They gave a worried glanced at each other, considering whether or not to go after him, but their thoughts were destroyed after they were called to another trauma.