Disclaimer: I do not own any of the ER cast just Ashleigh, DJ, Nancy, Marianna and the idea for the story.

A/N: A.L.S- Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis(Lou Gehrig's Disease)- a progressive wasting away of certain nerve cells of the brain and the spinal column. It is a debilitating disease that affects movement, swallowing, speaking, breathing, and sometimes vision. There is no cure and the prognosis is death.

This story is dedicated to the memory of one of my favorite actors who passed away from the disease. Michael Zaslow, I miss you.

Part 5

Haleh and Malik wheeled Malucci into be prepped for surgery. Once they left him, they looked into the surgical room and watched Peter and Elizabeth scrubbing.

Haleh: They have no idea who they are getting ready to operate on.

Malik: Shouldn't we tell them?

Haleh: No, they're surgeons. They'll figure it out all by themselves. Like Dr. Romano said that's why they make the big bucks.

After Elizabeth was done scrubbing she entered the OR and looked at the medical record of their patient. She skimmed it and the nature of the disease caught her eye. Then she saw the patient's name--Malucci, David A. Dr.

Elizabeth: (out loud to herself)Please tell me that is a coincidence.

Then she caught sight of the patient on the operating table and it took her several minutes to picture that as their Dr. Malucci. Then she went and told Peter as he stepped out of the scrub room.

Elizabeth: That patient we're going to put the Hickman in, he has A.L.S.

Peter: I know. Mark told me.

Elizabeth: Did Mark also mention to you who the patient is?

Peter: No and why should he. Do we know him?

Elizabeth: Does the name Dave Malucci mean anything to you.

Peter: Is this a relative of his?

Elizabeth: No. It's him!

Peter: No way. Couldn't be.

Then Peter went over to Malucci after he was anesthetized and stared down at him.

Peter: Well, I be damned. What a difference two years makes. I never thought the next time we see him it would be on an operating table, maybe a wanted poster.

Elizabeth: I don't know what this is all about, but, I'll be sure to ask Mark after surgery.

Peter: Scalpel, please.

Down in the ER, most of the staff was trying to get back to work. Those who were not busy went into the lounge and sat with Ashleigh.

Jing-Mei: How long have you known Dave? I imagine it must be a long time.

Ashleigh: Since we were kids. I think we met when he was 12 and I was 11. It was back in Italy where we were both born. Dave was my twin brother's best friend. Dave didn't have a good family life. His mother died in childbirth along with his baby brother, Dominic. His father drank and did drugs a lot. He had a temper and took it out on Dave and his sister. Dave got the brunt of his dad's temper because he fought back. In order to escape an abusive home, Dave hit the streets and it wasn't long before he joined a gang. It was easy for him. He already had a reputation. It was common knowledge that Dave's father had mob connections. My brother joined the gang shortly after Dave. With Dave hanging around my house most of the time, we got to know each other in the biblical sense. We never consummated it until we were teens. I know we seemed young, but back in the streets of Italy it was the thing to do. When Dave was 14, he and my brother got involved in a drug deal gone wrong. My brother, Giovonni (Vonni, for short) was killed and Dave was arrested on drug charges. He was incarcerated as an adult and sentenced to a year in an Italian prison. After his trial, I went to visit Dave in jail and told him about my pregnancy. He was excited, but knew he wasn't ready or in the position to be a father. I told him just as well because I wasn't ready for a baby and planned to have an abortion. He hated that idea, but I said that if this was the kind of life he wanted I wouldn't want to bring a baby into it anyway.

Abby: I don't get it. If you had the abortion then... you did have the abortion didn't you?

Ashleigh: Not exactly. I couldn't go through with it. I went to Naples and lived with my aunt and had the baby. It was a boy that I named Maxamiliano Giovonni Malucci after my father and brother. He looked just like Dave. You have no idea how hard it is to love someone so much that looks like someone you hate. At least, I thought I hated him. In the next few years, Max started asking about his father and I wanted to tell him that he was killed in a prison riot but I couldn't lie to him. Besides, we lived in a small village and word got around that Dave became a doctor. I knew Dave had really turned his life around and was living somewhere in the states. I set out to find him because Max deserved to meet and know his father and Dave had a right to know he had a son.

Carter: So how long did it take you to find Dave?

Ashleigh: A long time. Max was 15 years old, married and with a son of his own. I tracked Dave down to Chicago. I called him up and told him it was in his best interest to meet with me. Dave couldn't believe he heard this voice from his past. A little curious he met with me at my hotel room. I told him I never had the abortion and we have a fifteen year old, married son with a baby. He refused to believe me. Then Max walked in with his wife, Angela and carrying David Antonio Malucci Jr.(DJ). Dave had to admit that both Max and DJ had his same good looks and sparkling personality but he was still doubtful. He insisted on a paternity test. The next day we went to Mercy hospital and had the test done. Later that day, we got the results of the DNA test. Dave was 99.99% the true father of Max. Both he and Max were thrilled. I guess I was a little excited too. We finally had a real family. Dave wanted to make up for lost time with his son, daughter-in -law and his namesake grandson. Although Dave spent a lot of time with Max and DJ, there was nothing going on between us romantically. We both dated other people which was cool with all involved.

Kerry: It sounds like the perfect family. How is Max dealing with his dad's illness?

Ashleigh: We were the perfect family until... Well anyway, Max doesn't even know his dad is sick.

Chuny: Why not? Are they on the outs?

Ashleigh: No. About two and a half years ago when Max and Angela were coming back from their high school graduation party they were killed in a car accident. Hit head on by a high driver. They died instantly. Thank god, DJ was staying with me. They were taken to Mercy and I called Dave. It destroyed him. He finally started to get to know his son and daughter in law and now they were gone. That's another reason why Dave hates drugs so much.

Jing-Mei: I can't believe Dave never mentioned one word about this to any of us.

Ashleigh: He was always very private about his personal life.

Kerry: Even still, I don't think I remember Dave taking time off for a funeral, especially his son's funeral.

Ashleigh: You wouldn't. He took an unscheduled leave of absence. He knew if he told you what he needed time off for you either wouldn't have believed him or he would have to explain everything to you. He just couldn't. Anyway, I got custody of DJ and Dave was given visitation rights, but with all the time he spent with DJ bonding, we got close and started seeing each other romantically after he was fired from County, It felt like old times. We fell in love all over again and decided that DJ, who was barely 3 years old at the time, needed a stable family and home. So, Dave, DJ and I moved in together. The rest you know.

Carter: Not really we don't know about the last two years and when Dave became sick.

Just then a young lady came in with a very handsome and simply adorable little boy on her arm.

Boy: Nana, what happened to poppy?

Ashleigh: Thank you Nancy for bringing him. Everyone this is Dave's grandson, DJ.

To be continued. Please read and review.