#Disclaimer: I don't own any of the ER characters but I do own Cheryl, Maria and Allison. If anyone wants to know what happened to Erik Palladino, I'm holding him hostage for my own personal S&M. Okay, I'm not but I can dream can't I.
A/N: I don't really know about Dave's past, since they never gave us a chance to know it, so I just made it up as I went along.
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PART 3
That night at Dave and Cheryl's house, the ER staff ate and chatted mostly about the hospital. None of them could get it out of their minds or the fact that one of their colleagues was there in CICU. Carter, who suffered a relapse after his stabbing attack almost a year ago, was fighting for his life after several collapses and chest pains revealed he had damage to his heart and was in need of a heart transplant in order to survive. Trouble was they had to find a donor who was not only A+ but contained the rare small p factor in their blood in order to be compatible and they were running out of time. The whole hospital was on a search for a donor. They wanted to get him better within the next couple of months in time to see his Gamma dedicate the new medical center his family had paid for. Malucci always making a joke of things to lighten the mood, henceforth giving him his reputation, said if he weren't using his heart at the time he'd give it to Carter where people would appreciate it more. Just after hearing in unison from the others ," SHUT UP MALUCCI" then a roar of laughter, Allison runs up to her dad with his guitar and asks him to sing. Dave asks her what should he sing? "Anything, and you too, mommy." Allison begged. Dave said, "I don't think these people want to hear me sing." Thinking that this is just another Malucci practical joke, they replied again in unison "YES, we do!!" After deciding on a song to sing, Allison put a tape in the recorder, Dave started picking his guitar and between him and Cheryl they belted out the Bee Gees hit" To Love Somebody" which in Malucci's present state seemed to fit. To everyone's astonishment they were good --very good. They never would have expected that from Malucci. Abby asked him why he never told anybody he could play the guitar or sing before. Dave answered with a simple, " Nobody ever asked or even bothered to find out about him before. I also play the piano." They didn't even know what kind of music Dave liked. He told them he liked any kind but was especially fond of classical. Well, this was just too much for them to handle, so Malucci had to prove it to them and got up to the piano and played a piece by Mozart. This knocked them off their feet. They could not handle the fact that Dr. Dave Malucci, Cook County's own comic relief, was actually an amateur concert pianist(and an excellent one at that).They would never in a million years have thought that Malucci was cultured. Well, while they absorbed their new knowledge, Dave put Allison to bed much to her dismay. But when Dave told her she needed to be well rested for their father-daughter trip to the zoo tomorrow she'd agreed. They said goodnight to her and Dave lifted her up ,already half asleep, into his arms and carried her to bed.
While he was gone, everyone remarked on what a good daddy he was and Cheryl said that Allison absolutely adored him even before she knew he was her dad. Then Maria explained that Dave was an excellent father despite his role model--their own father. Seeing their opportunity, the others started asking Maria if there was any truth to the rumors about Dave being abused as a child by their father. She had realized she had open a door that she couldn't exactly close now and said shyly, "Yes, he was. Severely and it was all her fault." She continued, " Everything was alright before she was born, Davey was only four years old at the time. They were an ordinary family until their mother died in childbirth with her. After that, their father would go on drinking binges usually 24/7. That left Davey to raise her. He was more like a father than a big brother to her. Davey knew just how his father felt about his new little sister. He hated her because she took the one person away from him that he ever loved and to rub salt in the same wound she was the spitting image of her mother. When ever Dad got upset and had already had a few drinks in him he would take it out on the only people around him: Davey and her. Davey always knew just when not to annoy their father and just before Dad would explode he would hide me in a closet, the same closet that would become Davey's prison until he left home when he was 11.When Dad couldn't find me he would go after Davey and he beat that poor boy until there was nothing left of that boy to beat. I don't know how many near-death beatings Davey took to protect me, but I swear, Dad never laid a hand on me once. Davey would get me up in the morning and ready for school. He'd have my clothes laid out on the bed and made breakfast then he would walk me to school then be right there to bring me home in the afternoon. He would help me with my homework and fix dinner although there was never anything in the refrigerator to eat, except what the neighbors would occasionally bring over or Davey would manage to get with the money he saved collecting recyclables or doing small chores around the neighborhood. When Dad was sober enough to go to work his paycheck was usually only enough to pay the rent and buy his booze so usually we went without gas, electric and heat . When Davey wasn't able to get any money and the refrigerator was empty we didn't eat. Dad always manage to bring home part of a sandwich or whatever he had for lunch that day and sit at the table to eat while he made Davey and I watch him. As I got older, and Dad would come after me Davey would tell me to go to my room and lock myself in and not to come out until he came for me. He didn't hide me in the closet anymore because that is usually where he would wind up after one of his beatings from my dad. Then dad would leave the house and when it was quiet I would come out of my room and look for Davey. The closet had a padlock on it and the key was always hidden in an undisclosed location or with my dad. Even when Davey manage to have a duplicate key made, the padlock was so high up on the door I couldn't reach it. Sometimes Dad would be gone for 2-3 days at a time and Davey would be locked in the closet I would have to fend for myself. Occasionally, I would find crackers or bread and slip them under the closet door to Davey. She couldn't count the number of times Davey was taken to the hospital and nothing was ever done, despite our pleas and confessions about what was happening. No one listened and no one stood up for her brother. She said from that first day on Davey vowed he would never stand by and watch another child suffer the way he did. If the kids couldn't speak up for themselves and be heard than he would. No other child would slip through the cracks like he did. Before she could finish, Dave re-entered the room accompanied by a room full of stares.
Without her realizing it, Dave overheard most of what she said to his co-workers. He didn't talk about it before because he thought no one cared, but when they seemed interested Dave continued with stories of his many beatings and time spent in the closet.
Trying to change the obvious painful subject, Kerry said she just couldn't picture Dave taking piano lessons. He said," Neither could I, that's why I never took any." Everyone wondered how he got so good if he never took a lesson. He told them his father didn't want to buy him food or clothes, you think he was going to put out money for music lessons for his worthless son and that he taught himself to play. Malucci said, "There was something to being locked in the closet for 2-3 days every week. He got a lot of reading done to pass the time and there was never a distraction like stopping to eat because there was never any food anyway, except what Maria was able to slide under the door to him. He planted a night light and lots of books in the closet to prepare for his never-ending punishment . He read a lot of different books but especially liked the medical and music ones. He always wanted to put both sources of knowledge to use and he did. When he was in one of his many foster homes over the years, the family had a piano and he started playing on it from the start. He didn't realize he was musically gifted and could play by ear, but by the time he had a chance to use it he was moved to another foster home. He eventually graduated from high school and with a counselor's help and a foundation to help underprivileged and handicapped children from poor families he got into college but ,although, he was smart he saw college as his license to freedom and partied it away. His grades just weren't good enough to get into medical school in the U.S. He was advised to try outside the country. His only hope....Grenada. Everyone was confused. Dave might have been underprivileged, but, handicapped? They wondered. Well, as the party was winding down and everyone seemed to have a great time and even gained a new respect for Dr. Dave Malucci it was time to go home and prepare for a brand new day in the ER.