The Ransom of Dr. Dave
Part 55
A/N: Anything in bold italic is being spoken in Italian
Kerry: What happened to the baby?
Carter: I'm not sure. Cleo's with him right now.
Kerry: Where's Mrs. Peterson at now?
Carter: In chairs.
Kerry: Let us know when Cleo finds anything out.
Carter nods and Kerry walks over to chairs and confronts Mrs. Peterson. She takes her into the lounge to talk.
Kerry: Coffee?
Mrs. Peterson: Yes, please.
Kerry brings her the coffee and they sit down and chat.
Kerry: I'm sure everything is going to be alright with the baby.
Mrs. Peterson: I don't know what went wrong. The baby was fine all day when I had him over our house. It was so nice having a little one around again. He's such a good baby. Oh, he cried a lot more than usual but I think he just misses his mommy and big brother. Anyway, I put him down for the night after his bath and he was okay but in the morning, he started to wheeze so I gave him his albuterol drops and that settled him down but about an hour later, I went into feed him and he was gasping for air. I thought he was coughing until he started to turn blue. I know a little about rescue breathing but not on an infant. I was afraid I would hurt him but he couldn't breathe so how much more damage could I do. So I gently started breathing in his mouth. His color came back but he was wheezing worse than ever. I started up his nebulizer while my husband called for an ambulance. If anything happens to that little baby, I'll never forgive myself.
Kerry: You did everything right and one of our best pediatricians is working on him as we speak. He'll be fine.
Mrs. Peterson: He has to be. That family has been through enough tragedy. I don't want Dr. Chen to have doubts about me caring for Antonio again, after this. I love that little boy so much and enjoy caring for him.
Kerry: You've gotten close to Dr. Chen, haven't you?
Mrs. Peterson: Yes, she's a very nice girl and her kids are great. I was just telling her the night before she left how easy it was to fall in love with that little Rusty. He's got a certain charm with him.
Kerry: His father has that certain charm too.
Mrs. Peterson: I really can't say that since I don't know Dr. Malucci very much. Actually, I don't know him at all.
Kerry: Give it some time. As soon as Malucci is back firing on all cylinders, you'll love him. Let's just hope his sons don't inherit his rotten sense of humor.
Mrs. Peterson: Oh, Dr. Malucci couldn't take a joke?
Kerry: Just the opposite. Malucci carried jokes too far--to the extreme. It was everyone else that couldn't take his jokes.
Mrs. Peterson: I can see you have probably been at the wrong end of one of Dr. Malucci's pranks.
Kerry: Unfortunately. But I guess that's all part of his charm. His sons are very lucky to have a father like Malucci. He may be a jerk but he's one of the most loving, caring jerks I have ever known and his boys will grow up to be just like him.
Mrs. Peterson(crying): If Antonio has a chance to grow up.
Kerry pulls the older lady into a comforting hug while they wait to hear from Cleo.
In Italy, Jing-Mei has met Sophie's husband and they chat while Rusty played with his cousin, Marissa. He let her see his gameboy. Although, she was only three years old, she seemed fascinated with the video game. She couldn't play it but she liked the fancy and bright lights on the screen.
Jing-Mei: Sophie was a lovely young lady. Rusty simply adored her.
Manny: Yeah, she was like a second mama to him and I was, in his eyes, his papa.
Jing-Mei: But you weren't his papa.
Manny: I know and I made sure he knew it. I never let him call me papa. I am and always will be Uncle Manny.
Jing-Mei: Thank you for taking care of Rusty, like he was your own son. Dave appreciates it. He wanted to be more of a daddy to his little boy but...
Manny: You don't have to say it. I know the story behind Dave's disappearance out of Italy. But I have to say, he's got a lot of character. Not many men would send a child support check every month to a child they've never even met. But every first of the month, that check was in Jada's mail.
Jing-Mei: I wish I could have met Jada. Sophie said that even though she and Dave broke up they still remained good friends. She wasn't bitter at Dave at all for leaving when they found out she was pregnant. And she did such a wonderful job with Rusty, you all did. She seemed like a very special lady.
Manny: She was. I can't believe someone would hurt her let alone kill her. You know the details of when she was killed.
Jing-Mei: Not many. The cops didn't tell us much. They said she walked into a robbery in progress at her home. She was killed instantly.
Manny: Yes. She was coming home from Christmas shopping. She had her arms loaded with presents and when she was shot her blood was splattered all over them. When Sophie and Rusty came back for her funeral, we debated whether to give the presents to him or not. We decided against it. We put them away and thought we'd give them to him some time later. But, now his birthday is coming up. Maybe, enough time has passed and he's ready for them. I hope we are doing the right thing.
Rusty runs up to Jing-Mei and Manny.
Rusty: Mama Jing. Mama Jing. I want you to meet my friends and show you my favorite places.
Jing-Mei looks confused.
Manny: He wants you to meet his friends and show you around Italy, Mama Jing?
Jing-Mei: Oh, that's what he calls me. I guess he figures if me and his papa get married then I'll be his stepmother. But even if we don't, I'd still like for him to come back and visit me, Dave and his little brother. He will always be a part of our family.
Manny: Really. I think he would love that. He loved America and he loves you, that's obvious. He needs to spend time with his own father. Dave's a good man. He took excellent care of Sophie as they grew up. He protected her from that maggot of a father of theirs.
Jing-Mei: I know I've seen the scars on Dave's back. (looking at her watch) Well, I guess we better get to the funeral.
Manny: Yeah, it's that time.
Jing-Mei: How are you and Marissa handling Sophia's death?
Manny: It's hard. I miss her so much even though I know she's no longer in pain. Marissa's still too young to understand. She keeps asking for her mama and I tell her she's in heaven but I don't think she really gets it.
Jing-Mei: Same with Rusty, although I think he knows that this is just like it was with his mama. He still cries about her. Poor little kid.
Manny and Jing-Mei get the children ready and head off to the funeral.
Back at the ER, Cleo comes out of trauma 2. She walks up to the admit desk.
Cleo: Randi, have you seen Mrs. Peterson?
Carter: How's little Antonio Malucci?
Cleo: Let me just talk to Mrs. Peterson first.
Randi: She's in the lounge with Dr. Weaver.
Cleo: Thank you.
Cleo walks into the lounge and Kerry and Mrs. Peterson jump to their feet when they see her.
Kerry: Cleo, you know Mrs. Peterson the Malucci's babysitter.
Cleo: Yes, nice to see you again.
Mrs. Peterson: You too. How's the baby?
Cleo: He's had an asthma attack. I have him on oxygen and I've given him a shot of steroids.
Mrs. Peterson: I don't know what I did wrong. I followed Dr. Chen's instructions to the letter. I even put an air purifier in the room to keep away anything that might aggravate his asthma.
Cleo: It's not your fault. It's difficult to care for an asthmatic . No matter how careful we are, there's always the possibility of an attack coming on suddenly and there's really nothing we can do to prevent it.
Kerry: He's going to be okay, Mrs. Peterson.
Mrs. Peterson: I can take him back home then.
Cleo: Well, because of his premature status and his lungs are still a bit under-developed I want to keep him here overnight as a precaution. I'm going to give him another breathing treatment in about an hour and if he responds to it and the steroid shots, you can probably take him home tomorrow morning.
Mrs. Peterson: Good. Can I see him now?
Cleo: Sure, he's awake but he does need his rest.
Mrs. Peterson: I understand.
Mrs. Peterson heads into trauma 2 to see a smiling, gurgling Antonio looking back her.
Mrs. Peterson(smiling): Hi, baby. I'm sorry if I did anything to hurt you. I would never do that again little guy. (to Cleo and Kerry) I know that look. He's hungry. Can I feed him?
Cleo nods and arranges for some formula to brought in.
At Sophie's funeral, Manny and Jing-Mei try to comfort the children as they go up to the casket. Both children start crying. Marissa keeps trying to wake her mama up. Rusty puts his arm around his little cousin and starts to calm her.
Rusty: It's alright Marissa. Aunt Sophie is up with my mama and they are looking after each other now the same way I'm going to be looking after you down here.
Marissa looks up at Rusty with such love and trust in her eyes. Jing-Mei and Manny notice.
Jing-Mei: Marissa and Rusty get along great together.
Manny: They were practically raised together. Marissa always thought of Rusty like an older brother.
Jing-Mei: He's real good with his little brother back in Chicago. I want him to visit a lot so he and Dave can teach little Antonio to be a Malucci man. (pause) Sophie looked so beautiful. They did such a wonderful job with her not that it was very difficult. She was always a very beautiful young lady.
Manny: From the very first time I saw her I knew she would one day be my wife and the mother of our children. We always planned on having a large family, but I am grateful that I at least have Marissa.
Jing-Mei: She's very beautiful like her mother. You must be extremely proud.
Manny: I am. She's the world to me. She's daddy's little girl. Every day that I live will be for her.
Jing-Mei: I feel the same way about Dave, Antonio and Rusty. That dress she's wearing. It's beautiful.
Manny: She wore it on our first anniversary. We had dinner at a very nice Italian restaurant, Poppa's Pasta Restaurante, that's when she told me she was pregnant. I was speechless. I couldn't believe it. I was going to be a papa. I think the hardest thing was when she had her mastectomy and couldn't feed Marissa herself.
Jing-Mei: I know the feeling. I had a hard time feeding Antonio at first. He eventually....
Manny starts to shake. He tried to be strong for Marissa and Rusty but Sophie's death was finally taking it's toll on him. He started to cry. Jing-Mei held him.
After everyone left the cemetery, out of the shadows steps Vincenzio Malucci. He kneels down next to Sophie's grave with tears in his eyes.
Vincenzio: My sweet, beautiful little baby girl is gone. I love you and I'll miss you always. You didn't deserve to die, baby girl.
Then Vincenzio gets an evil look in his eyes that carries onto his face. He clenches his teeth and pounds his fist into his hand.
Vincenzio: It should have been your mother-fucking brother. That's all right, little girl. Daddy, will make things right again and your loser brother is going to wish he never got out of that hangar alive when I'm through with his worthless ass. I promise.
At Manny's house, an entire Italian feast was set out for the funeral guests. Mr. Santini chatted with Manny while Jing-Mei called the ER.
Jerry: County ER. How may I help you?
Jing-Mei: Hi Jerry. It's Dr. Chen. Who's on duty?
Jerry: Take your choice. Dr. Weaver, Dr. Green, Dr. Carter..
Jing-Mei: Never mind. Put Dr. Carter on.
Jerry: Hold on a minute.
Jerry pages Carter and within two minutes he turns up at the admit desk.
Carter: Did you page me, Jerry?
Jerry: Phone call. It's Dr. Chen.
Carter takes the phone off Jerry.
Carter: Deb, how are you doing?
Jing-Mei: It's so hard. Sophie looks so beautiful. Her poor husband and little girl.
Carter: What about Rusty?
Jing-Mei: He's upset but he's a tough little kid. He's assumed the role as big brother to Marissa, Dave's niece. He reminds me more and more of Dave. You know, trying to be strong in a crisis but he's really soft and sensitive on the inside.
Speaking of which, how is Dave?
Carter: Out of the coma.
Jing-Mei: Thank god. Finally, some good news for a change.
Carter: I'm afraid it's not all good news.
Jing-Mei: What do you mean? Something's wrong. I knew it.
Carter: Not with Dave, he's stable right now. Mrs. Peterson brought Antonio in.
Jing-Mei: OH GOD! MY BABY!
Carter: Relax, he had an asthma attack but Cleo is taking care of him. She has him on oxygen and steroids and is keeping him overnight for observation. He's responding fine to the medication.
Jing-Mei: You will still look after him, right.
Carter: Sure, after all he's my godson, isn't he?
Jing-Mei: Yes. That's still good news about Dave.
Carter: Yeah, and all it took was a lecture from Weaver.
Jing-Mei: What?
Carter: Well, she was with...I've got to go. Trauma coming in. Talk to you when you come back. Bye.
Jing-Mei: Bye.
The following day of the funeral, Rusty took Jing-Mei on a tour and introduced her to all his friends. He showed everyone pictures of his little brother back in America. He was very proud of him. After a tearful goodbye with Manny, Marissa, Rusty and Mr. Santini, who decided to stay behind in Italy for awhile, Jing-Mei headed to the airport with her guard beside her.
Once her flight landed, Mrs. Peterson and Antonio came by to pick her up.
Mrs. Peterson: Dr. Chen, over here!
Jing-Mei walks over to her baby and his sitter. She hugs Mrs. Peterson and picks up Antonio.
Jing-Mei: Hi little guy. Mama's here. I heard you weren't feeling too well.
Mrs. Peterson: I'm sorry about that. I thought I was doing everything right. I tried to do exactly what you told me but I guess I screwed up.
Jing-Mei: You did fine. It's not your fault. Even I have trouble managing his asthma sometimes and I'm a doctor. We just have to be on top of it and take more precautions around him.
Mrs. Peterson: I'm glad you're not mad. I was afraid that you wouldn't trust me to care for him anymore. I love him as much as I would my own grandson. If anything happened to him...
Jing-Mei: Nonsense. You are very good with Antonio and he likes you. I trust you fully. In fact, I need to ask another favor of you.
Mrs. Peterson: If it will make up for the mistake I already made.
Jing-Mei: You didn't make a mistake and I don't want to hear you putting yourself down one more time. Funny, that's what I use to tell Dave when he did it to himself. Anyway, something John Carter said on the phone when I talked to him got me thinking.
Mrs. Peterson: Nothing bad, I hope?
Jing-Mei: Hardly. I asked him to check in on Antonio while he was at the hospital. He said he would be glad to since Antonio is his godson.
Mrs. Peterson: So what was wrong with that?
Jing-Mei: Nothing, but I haven't even officially had Antonio christened yet.
Mrs. Peterson: You've been a little busy and with Dr. Dave so sick in the hospital.
Jing-Mei: I know but I want to do it some time soon. Maybe, when Dave gets better and they let him out of the hospital, if only for one day, then we will set a date for it. Well, about the favor, I would love it if you would be Antonio's godmother.
Mrs. Peterson bursts into tears.
Jing-Mei: I upset you, didn't I?
Mrs. Peterson: No, no you didn't. And I would be honored to be the little fellow's godmother. Thank you for asking me.
Jing-Mei: Thank you for accepting. You are already a big part of his life, I just wanted to make sure you have a more solid and permanent connection to our family. I hope Mr. Peterson won't be hurt if I don't ask him to be the baby's godfather. I did sort of promise Dr. Carter.
Mrs. Peterson: Well, he would have loved it but I don't think he will be hurt.
Jing-Mei(thinking for moment): Where's the law written that a baby could only have one godfather. Why not two godfathers?
Mrs. Peterson(smiling): Why not. I am so happy.
Jing-Mei: Well, I have to clear it with Dave first but I don't think he'll have any objections and if he does I'll just withhold the thing he treasures the most from him.
Mrs. Peterson: What's that? His whoopie cushion or rubber vomit.
Jing-Mei: No. SEX. When he's ready of course. (pause) Just kidding.
The ladies laugh as the two of them with baby Antonio and their guards leave the airport and head to the hospital to visit Dave.
At the hospital, Jing-Mei, Antonio and Mrs. Peterson head up to the ICU. Mrs. Peterson goes to phone her husband as Jing-Mei and Antonio head towards Dave's room. As they approach, the desk nurse tries to stop Jing-Mei from going in but the phones are ringing off the hook and another patient is seizing generating the attention of the other ICU staff. Jing-Mei continues into Dave's room smiling and carrying a laughing Antonio.
Jing-Mei(entering Dave's room): Look, who's here to visit his daddy... Oh god!!
She enters Dave's room to find it empty and the bed stripped.
To be continued. Please read and review.