It was, Carter thought with great relief, wonderful to see everyone wandering around their small encampment. Even if the sound of bickering was the over all sound that pervaded the camp. So people were grumpy, he thought. It had been a pretty crappy day really, and the last three days had been no picnic for anyone. He was just glad that no one had ended up dead. We're pretty lucky, he thought again. He was simply glad that everyone was alive and not too badly injured.

Lucy had barely spoken to any of them. He didn't expect her to give a dissertation on her time with the bikers, but he was a little worried that she spent the entire afternoon asleep. He hoped she would be ok. He knew though that it would take some time. He hadn't examined her, Doug and Luka had, but he felt it was a pretty safe assumption that she had been raped. That she had been beaten was obvious. He had seen the bruises on her face. He had wanted to help her, but Doug had turned him away with the comment that they already had too many men looking at her. If that was really the case, he mused, then they would have let Kerry take over.

Then again, Kerry had spent the better part of the afternoon throwing up. The new guy, Dave, had been keeping an eye on her so Carter still didn't know what was up with that. Dave didn't seem terribly worried. Still, just judging by the weird tension running between Dave, Doug, and Kerry, something was going on there. No doubt it would come out at dinner. He had a sneaking suspicion that dinner was going to be long and involved and that they would probably talk long into the night. It meant they probably wouldn't appreciate his dinner. He sighed. He was hardly a chef, and he had long since gotten tired of eating out of cans. He had set up their camp stove and was heating up Dinty Moore Beef Stew. That, saltine crackers, and Hostess HoHos was his dinner for everyone. If they aren't happy, he decided suddenly, then they can get their own dinner. No one else was making any effort to provide a meal.

He looked away from the camp stove, just in time to see Dave walk up to the stove. He hadn't really talked to the young man yet, just enough to get basic details. Dave had just graduated from medical school and was only a few years younger than he was. The group he'd been traveling with had been torn apart by the band of bikers, and he'd been shot. It had been lucky beyond belief, he had said earlier, that Kerry had happened upon him when she did. Carter sensed there was a little more to the story there, but it hadn't been a good time to press the issue. Dave seemed to have a sense of humor and Carter was reminded of Doug, when Doug wasn't wallowing in depression. On the plus side, he seemed genuinely concerned about Lucy. Carter didn't particularly like how he was eye balling Randi and Jeanie but most of Dave's attention had been focused on Kerry.

" Wow... hot food." Dave looked at the heating stew hungrily. " Is it gonna be done soon?" He gestured around the camp site. " Is everything ok? The chief is still sick... She probably not gonna want to eat, but I was wondering if maybe there was some ginger ale around. My mom insists that's the best thing for an upset stomach."

" There's a Sprite in my motorcycle's saddlebag. I don't know how good it would be. Kerry probably wouldn't appreciate a soda shower. " He stopped for a moment. " Why is she so sick anyway? I know we've had the flu going around but throwing up wasn't part of it."

Dave shrugged. " Well, we gave her some antibiotics this morning. I picked up erythomiacin because I was worried about potential allergy reactions."

" That's not a bad idea but..."

" Yeah, I can see she's reacting to the stuff. She'd probably be better off with the penicillin but I didn't want to risk it at the time. She wasn't coherent enough to ask last night." Dave managed to sound concerned and lackadaisical all at once. Carter was oddly struck by his concern and his cheerful good humor. He was also struck by the young man's obvious affection for Kerry. The fact that Kerry seemed to like him was a plus, especially since she wasn't allowing anyone but Dave to check on her condition. He wasn't even sure where she was. Of course he didn't really want to watch her dry heave into the bushes, but it was a habit keeping track of her.

" You know, she's kinda had a hard time of it this summer," Carter said softly. He had concern for her, the same way he was worried about Lucy to the point of distraction. They were like family and he didn't want some interloper hurting Kerry. Not after all that had happened.

Dave, to give him some credit, managed to look serious. " You mean she's upset over most of the human race croaking? Or that she shot some psychotic rapist and all of you thought she's been crazy ever since? I'm on top of that, but thanks for the heads up. "

" Ok..." He was taken back but decided to push forward. " Think she'd like some tea? I was going to make Lucy some." He was planning on making enough for everyone. Again, judging by everyone's tense posturing and by the chill in the early evening air, he thought something hot and soothing would be good for everyone.

" Well..." Dave grinned. " What the hell, sure. The worst that'll happen is that she'll throw it back at me, and maybe snarl some more." A worried look crossed his face. " I better go make sure that she's ok."

At least he knows she snarls, Carter thought charitably. He set some water to boil. Once it was ready, he brewed up a cup. Dave can make his own tea, he thought as he carefully walked over to where Lucy was sitting.

He was glad to see that she was awake. Doug was sitting next to her and as Carter watched, he placed a sleeping bag around her shoulders. " I made you some tea."

Doug looked at him as if deciding whether to be mad or simply irritated. They had been talking, Carter realized, and I interrupted them. He felt bad but there was no way he could have known that they were talking. He was frankly shocked that Doug was still sober. Finally Lucy broke their silent standoff.

" Some tea would be nice," she said softly. She glanced at Doug. " You've been sitting with me all day. You can take a break you know. "

Doug rose hesitantly, as if he was stiff from sitting far too long. He looked at Carter and then at Lucy, his expression one of concern. " Ok, " he said finally. " I could use a drink. You guys want anything?"

They both shook their heads. Carter waited until the older man moved off towards the truck before he took a seat beside Lucy. Up close, he could see her trembling just a little, but it was hard to tell if it was due to her nerves or the chilly wind that was blowing in off the mountains. He handed her the hot mug taking care to make sure she was holding it tightly before letting go. " How are you feeling?"

She shrugged, and sipped the hot beverage. " Do you really want an honest answer to that, Carter?"

" I wouldn't ask if I didn't want to know," he replied quickly. He realized suddenly that it was the truth. He wasn't asking out of some forced sense of obligation. He wasn't dreading the answer even though he knew it wasn't going to be good news. All summer, in many ways, he had put his head in the sand when it came to the problems around him. Coping with Doug's grief, or Kerry's odd little monologues had simply been too much. He had shut them out, subconsciously feeling perhaps that his own issues over the summer's events needed to take center stage. For the first time in a while though, he felt like he could handle someone else's problem.

She took a deep breath. " Carter, I was gang raped by five different men. I feel like a piece of garbage. I really feel like tearing something apart with my bare hands. " Her voice shook but her expression remained calm. " What if I'm pregnant? What they had diseases? They sure weren't using condoms."

" Maybe you are but if you are, we could deal with that." Of that Carter had no doubt. They were doctors, and none of them had moral compunctions about what to do in that sort of situation. If Lucy was pregnant, she would not have to keep the child or carry it to term. He started to put his arm around her but she flinched away.

" Don't touch me," she snapped. He pulled away, feeling suddenly ashamed. Of course, he thought, she doesn't want some man touching her just yet. She managed to wipe the angry look off of her face after a moment. " I'm sorry, " she said. " I know you're worried and you're trying to help. I just... I just don't want to be touched... not yet."

" It's ok..." He waited for a moment, until he could see that she had perceptively calmed down. " I just want you to know you can talk about this with me... if you want. We were all pretty worried. Even Randi, and you know she hates admitting that she worries about any of us." That managed to produce a smile on Lucy's face.

" She was just worried she'd be stuck as the only one who can fix the motorcycles." Lucy didn't quite laugh but she did smile and Carter took hope. Depression was probably the least treatable issue she was likely to have. It was hard not being depressed with the day to day situation, and then with her experience placed on top of it, he was worried. After a moment, her expression grew serious. She looked at him intently. " You know... there is something..."

" What?"

She hesitated and then looked away. " Have... have you been having bad dreams? About a dark man, with no face..." He could see her cheeks redden, but for that instant, he didn't care. His own dreams had been so terrible... and Lucy's hesitant question struck far too close to home. " Forget I asked," she said after a moment, her voice almost a whisper, " It's not important."

" No, " Carter said. " It is important. I... I have had dreams like that. Why are you asking?"

" The bikers would talk about the dark man like he was real." Lucy shook involuntarily. " They talked about their dreams and they were the same as my dreams. How could they be having the same dreams as me? And why?"

" I don't know," he said. His own dreams had been horrible, with visions of a dark man that tempted him and taunted him at varying moments. He had gotten to the point that he had taken sleeping pills. What Lucy had described was like his dream, right down to the fact that he had never seen the dark man's face clearly. He felt cold inside, as if something ugly and terrible had finally forced itself into his awareness. " I have had dreams like that. What could it mean... different people having the same dreams?"

Lucy shuddered again. " I don't know, but I kinda doubt it's a good thing."