Disclaimer: I do not own these characters



Setting: Tuesday December 23, 2003 7:30pm




Chapter 3: Catching Up




"Nick, you didn't have to chose the most expensive place in Philadelphia." Dana said as they walked into The San Marino, one of the most elegant restaurants in the city. Nick smiled.

"Only the best for the best." Nick followed Dana to their reserved table located in a corner. After they were seated and their before supper drinks had been ordered, Dana perched her elbows on the table and folded her hands.

"So what's up with Lu? You said she's had a tough year."

"Well, the past six months, really. Her boyfriend died in June." Nick replied.

"Boyfriend?" Nick nodded.

"His name was Migual Arenis...Mickey."

"Lu's had a lot of boy friends," Dana said, remembering that most of her boyfriends hadn't lasted more than a few months.

"This one was different, Dana. They had been in high school together. They got together again when Mickey brought his mother in as a patient. Lu was there for him when his mother died of cancer. Then they started seeing each other. They were good together. They became very close, much closer than she had been with any of the other guys she dated. He was special, Dana. We could all see it. And she loved him very much. And he loved her. You would have liked him."

"So what happened? How'd he die?" Dana questioned, expecting Nick to say that maybe he had died in a car accident. She was unprepared for his answer.

"He was murdered." Nick said after a brief pause.

"What?" Dana asked. Nick nodded.

"Yeah, he was murdered. By one of Lu's patients."

"What?" Dana asked again. Nick nodded.

"Yep. This woman was mentally unstable. She showed signs of suicidal tendencies, so Lu admitted her to the psych ward for evaluation. During that 24 hour period, she didn't show any harm to herself or anyone else, so they discharged her without even talking to Lu first. "

"I'll bet that went over real well," Dana said, knowing perfectly well that something like that would upset her former partner. "So did she come to the clinic? Why would she shoot Lu's boyfriend? To get back at her?"

"Mickey and Lu had been out one evening, then they went back to Lu's apartment. Within seconds they realized that they weren't alone, that someone else was in the room. It was her patient. She had a gun. As she raised the gun, Mickey put his arms around Lu and turned her around, putting himself between her and the line of fire. He was shot in the head." Dana stared at Nick in disbelief.

"Oh my god. He died saving her life." Nick nodded.

"Yeah." He took a deep breath. "When they arrived in the ER that night..." Nick paused as the memory of that horrible night came flooding back to him....the sight of Mickey lying bleeding on the gurney, the sight of a hysterical Lu covered in blood...Mickey's blood. He shuddered at the thought.

"It was awful, Dana. Lu was hysterical. She was covered with blood. I could tell right away that he was gone...or close to it. But she insisted on putting in a breathing tube. She did it herself. It was plain that she was in shock. We paged Dr. Campbell. Dr. Campbell was able to get her out of the ER and took her to her office."

"I can only imagine how awful that must have been." Dana said softly. Nick nodded.

"She refused to let him go, even though it was plain that he was brain dead. Dr. Jackson and the board wanted to take him off the respirator right away. One of the board members felt that the bed shouldn't be taken by someone who..."

"Had no chance for survival." Dana finished for him.

"Yeah. But Dr. Campbell and Dr. Morton defended her, saying that she needed time to say good bye. So he was kept on the respirator til the next day. She found an organ donor card attached to his driver's license, and one of Dr. Campbell's patients needed a heart transplant. So she knew she had to let him go. Sad thing is, his heart didn't go to Dr. Campbell's patient. It went to a woman in prison on death row for murdering her husband." Nick finished.

"Wow. Poor Lu. How did she deal with something like that?" Dana questioned. Nick took a sip of his drink, which had arrived a few moments before.

"Well, you know how she is. She didn't take time off. She just threw herself into her work. She blamed herself. She felt that the bullet was meant for her. And she is probably right. Mickey knew that too. I don't think she ever really grieved for him. We tried to get her to at least take a couple of days off. But she wouldn't. Not even the day of the funeral. We all went to the funeral, then back to work. Even Lu. She wouldn't talk about it."

"That sounds like Lu." Dana said. "She did the same thing right after she was raped." Nick nodded. He remembered very well that night a year and a half earlier when Lu had arrived in the Rittenhouse ER announcing to him that she had been raped. Dana had performed the rape exam on her that awful night. She had returned to work right away, struggling to put that night behind her.

"She fought hard to work through that and put herself and her life back together." Dana commented, remembering well the weeks following the rape when Lu began a downhill spiral that had threatened to destroy her and everything she had worked so hard for. "She was finally able to put it behind her."

"Until several months ago when everything resurfaced again." Nick said.

"What?" Dana questioned. Nick nodded.

"Yeah. About a week after Mickey's murder. She was in the ER treating a patient when the paramedics brought in a man who had collapsed at a medical conference. I was treating a patient a short distance away. Lu was called over to assist. The guy had gone into cardiac arrest and needed the paddles. Lu got ready to do it, then froze. When I realized there was a problem, I went over to find out what was going on. The nurse was talking to Lu, but she was staring down at the patient with the paddles still in her hand. When I looked at the patient, I knew what the problem was. So I took the paddles from her and she left the ER. It was Rand Kilner."

"Oh my god." Dana whispered softly. Rand Kilner had been the man who had raped Lu. At the time, he had just been made the chief of surgery at Rittenhouse. Shortly after the rape and the events that had followed, he had transferred to Manhatten General.

"Poor Lu. To come face to face with him again after she fought so hard to put it behind her."

"Yeah. Sometimes she seems to be doing well, but other times we can see that she is a different person. On the surface she is the same caring, gentle person we all know. But we know that she is still hurting. I once suggested that she talk to someone, like a professional. She almost bit my head off. You know how she is." Dana nodded.

"Yeah, I know how she is."

"If she would just open up and talk to someone." Nick said, taking another sip of his drink.

"Yeah, but we both know how stubborn she is."

"Dana, maybe you could talk to her....get her to open up."

"Nick, you and I both know that I am probably the last person she would talk to" Nick knew she was probably right, but he still felt the need to try.

"Maybe so, Dana. But all of the rest of us have talked to her. She just insists that she doesn't need to talk, that nothing is wrong. Same old story. But we all know differently." Dana sighed. She knew Lu probably wouldn't open up to her either, but she also knew that she would have to try.

"I'll see what I can do, Nick. But I seriously doubt that it will do any good."

"That's all I ask, Dana." Nick replied, taking another sip of his drink. "So how are things with you in Virginia? Everything going okay with the girls?"

"Everything is going well." Dana answered. "My practice is booming. I bought a house shortly after we moved back there. There was a small empty building right next door, so I bought it also and turned it into my clinic. I set my own hours, I don't work weekends or evenings. I can work my schedule around the girls. I go home and have lunch with the girls every day. It's great. Julie lives with us and cares for the girls while I am working. I have Wednesdays off so I can spend the day with the kids. That is Julie's day off. We're close to my folks."

"That's great, Dana. I'm glad things are going so well for all of you. Do you ever regret your decision to leave Philly and move back to Virginia?" Nick asked. Dana shook her head.

"No, Nick. Deciding to adopt Annie and Louise was one of the most important decisions I've ever made in my life. And I really believe that I couldn't have given them what they needed if we had stayed here. With my schedule at the RWHC, I would never be home with them. And they need a mother who can spend time with them. I know I did the best thing for all of us. Both girls are thriving. Annie is in kindergarten, and she loves it. We found a doctor nearby who specializes in pediatric aids for Louise. Really, we are very happy there.."

"I'm glad, Dana. I really am." Dana reached across the table and touched his hand.

"Nick, that doesn't mean that I don't miss all of you. I mean, you all are like family to me. I miss all of you very much. I mean, you and I..." Dana paused. At one time they had been romantically involved, and had even lived together. "You and I were very close. And we will always be friends, no matter where we live." Dana took the last bite of her steak, which had arrived earlier. Then she drank the last of her drink.

"This was really nice, Nick. Thank you."

"I'm glad you're here, Dana. It's great seeing you again." Nick said.

"And thanks for telling me about Lu. I'll do whatever I can to help. But I can't promise that she will talk to me."

"I know, but she won't talk to any of us. Not even Marc. She just seems to shut us out when we try to talk about Mickey."

"What an awful thing to have witnessed. And also to know that he was killed while protecting her. That can't be an easy thing for her to live with."

"This would have been their first Christmas together." Nick said as he finished his drink. "She really seems to be down right now. And I know having Marc gone with his dad isn't helping her any. This is also her first Christmas without Marc here." Dana glanced at her watch.

"It's almost 10. I really should get back. I always try whenever possible to be home with the girls when they go to bed. We have a regular bed time routine."

"This has been really nice, Dana." Nick said as they both stood to go. "I'm glad you're back. I really miss you." Nick leaned over and kissed her on the cheek.

"I miss you too, Nick." Dana replied softly.