Chapter 8

Doug tried to busy himself with being a doctor. For Carter. He'd sacrificed so much, practically giving up his whole family to be a doctor. To help others and save lives. If he couldn't do more to save Carter, then he'd help others. For him. Because that's what Carter would want.

Entering the pead's ER room, Doug found his next patient. A young boy around 10 was sitting on the medical bed, his legs swinging, and cradling his right arm. It looked like there some scratches and gashes on it that looked pretty deep. Carol was already there attending to him. He paused for a moment to wonder where his parents were, and as he met Carol's gaze, he could tell she was wondering the same thing.

"Hey I'm Dr Ross." Doug said kindly, dragging a stool over to sit in front of him; "What seems to be the problem?"

"My arm hurts." The kid murmured quietly, with a frown as he glared at his arm. As if angry at it.

"This is Archie." Carol explained smiling brightly at the kid as she handed over the chart she started; "10 years old. BP 100 over 50. Pulse 96. Vitals good."

"Great. That's good. So are you feeling ok? Any headaches, nausea, dizziness?" He murmured shining a light in the boy's eyes.

"No." He snapped backing off waving his other hand at the penlight; "Are you deaf? I said my arm hurts not my head."

Doug paused raising an eyebrow at Carol.

"Alright Archie. Sorry buddy. Just got to do a thorough examination. Make sure you are all ok." Then he slipped on some latex gloves and reached for the boy's arm to examine it.

"Can I have some gauze please Carol?" Doug murmured and used the gauze to clean the blood away to get a better look.

"Ow! Watch it dude!"

Doug's jaw hardened, this kid was way too young to have such a bad attitude, and Doug was not in the mood to deal with a bratty kid when Carter was upstairs dying.

"Sorry." Doug murmured half heartedly; "So how did you do this?"

"I er slipped on the snow and fell on it." Archie said hesitantly, speaking it almost like a question, like he wasn't entirely sure.

Strange.

"Hmm."

"Would you like us to call your parents?" Carol asked softly handing some more gauze to Doug; "I'm sure they're worried about you."

"No. No don't it's fine. My brother brought me in. He's in the waiting room."

"Your brother?"

"He was with me when I slipped."

"I'm sure your parents will wonder what happened to you though."

"It's just my mom and she works a lot. She's at work right now, that's why my brother is looking after me."

"How old is your brother?" Doug asked sharing a look with Carol.

"19."

Doug made a face. It wasn't exactly ideal but his brother was an adult so that was good. But still his mom should look after him.

"So can I go?"

"Well it doesn't look broken. Just some scrapes and bruises. I'll bandage it up you'll be all set."

"Fine."

"We're out of bandages here I'll just get some more." Carol murmured sending Doug a reassuring smile as she left.

Smirking as she headed to the main ER to get some supplies, she passed the chairs waiting area. Immediately noticing the noise. She paused to eye a group of teens standing and sitting in the chairs, laughing as they tossed something between them. It looked like a brown shoulder bag.

For a moment, Carol found it all too familiar.

As it was thrown to a kid closer to her, Carol could have sworn she saw blood on it.

They laughed as it was thrown back to a tall kid who looked like Archie. It must be his brother, she realised.

Not exactly a good role model.

Shaking her head, she grabbed her supplies and headed back to the paed's room.

"Your brother and his friends are in the waiting room." Carol commented to Archie; "They must all be worried about you."

Archie didn't reply as Doug was bandaging him.

"You know I saw some blood on a brown bag they were throwing about? Is that your blood? Or was anyone else hurt out there?"

Archie stilled and Doug sent Carol a questioning look. What bag?

"Are we done yet?"

"Carter has a brown bag."

"What?" Doug looked at Carol surprised.

"Nothing. It's just now I know why that bag looked so familiar. Carter has one just like it." She smirked shaking her head.

But Doug stilled. It was like it all clicked into place.

"Doug? Doug you ok?" Carol frowned at him when he didn't move and stared into space.

"The paramedics were talking about an MVA earlier where someone called 911 for some guy who pushed some kids out of the way of getting hit by a car. But by the time they got to the scene, the kids and the guy were gone. There was just blood." Doug turned to Archie for a moment in shock at the realisation.

"Wait..." Carol looked at Archie for a moment confused, and then it clicked; "Oh my god. Carter. You think it was Carter? Carter was hit by a car?!" She gasped horrified.

"Archie what really happened to your arm?"

"It hurts." Archie shifted uncomfortably.

Carol leant down to eye level with the boy; "Archie I need you to listen to me. This is very serious. Was there a man who pushed you out of the way of a car? Is that how you got hurt?"

"Maybe."

Doug huffed sliding backwards.

"Archie. What did the man look like? Did you see his face? Did he say anything to you? What happened Archie?"

"We were playing on the street when I slipped into the road on the ice. We were just playing. A snowball fight you know. Then he shouted at us to get out the road."

"The man?" Carol clarified.

Archie nodded.

"But you didn't?" Doug snapped, yanking his gloves off angrily, seeing where this was going.

"We were just having some fun. My brother Danny, he told the man to go away. Then all of a sudden I was shoved back on the sidewalk, and he got hit by the car."

"Then what happened?" Carol said softly; "Archie what happened to the man?"

"He went up over the car and landed on the road. The car drove off. Danny just told us to run. So we did."

Doug froze looking sharply at Carol and then back at Archie; "So the car hit him and drove off? And you just left him lying in the street? You didn't think to go for help. Call 911?"

"I was scared. Danny said the cops would come after us and take me away. He made me swear not to tell anyone. Am I in trouble?"

Doug just looked at him and stood up shaking his head angrily.

"Finish this up for me Carol and stay here."

Doug marched out after that utterly fuming and in shock. Carter wasn't attacked, he was hit by a car saving a kid's life! And then those kids just left him there to die! Unbelievable.

"Mark!" Doug called catching him as he entered the hallway; "Get the police and security and come with me."

"What why? What is it?"

"Carter wasn't attacked. He was hit by a car."

"What?!" Mark exclaimed rushing after Doug as he headed to chairs.

"Hey?" Doug said entering the group of teens, but they ignored him as they chatted; "HEY!"

"Yo is my brother done yet?" One asked, Doug assumed as Danny.

"No not yet. Listen we know what happened. That you were witnesses to a car accident. A man saved your brother's life and got hit instead. And you just left him there."

Mark's eyes widened in realisation.

"Yo doc we don't know what you're talking about." Another said.

Out the corner of Mark's eyes he spotted one trying to sneak out with something.

"Hey." He grabbed their arm and something fell to the floor. A brown bag, covered with blood.

"That's Carter's." Mark said picking it up and inspecting it, flipping it open to find it empty.

He looked accusingly at the group of kids, one had a black pager strapped to his waist and another juggling a silver flip phone; "Where did you get all this?"

"Just found it on the street." One shrugged; "Finder's keepers man."

"You mean it stole it!" Doug snapped; "Off the man who saved your brother's life."

"It's not like he's going to need it." Danny quipped and everyone laughed.

"You think this is funny!" Doug yelled glaring at them; "This isn't funny. That man who saved your brother's life, he's a doctor here. And he's upstairs in the ICU fighting for his life."

"Damn man that sucks." Danny murmured his face becoming solemn; "So is my brother done yet?"

Doug looked at Mark in disbelief; "Unbelievable. What is the matter with you?!"

"Doug." Mark warned, seeing people were starting to stare and although he was furious too, this wasn't the right place or time.

"He saved your brother's life! Do you get that?! That your brother could have been severely injured or even dead, but instead my friend is. Because he risked his life for your brother. And you just left him in the street to die!"

"Hey I didn't ask him to do that." Danny shrugged not a care in the world; "Do you know where I can get a snack?"

Doug lost it, lunging forward. Mark had quick reflexes, grabbed him and pulled him back. The teens just laughed.

"Cool it Doug!" Mark breathed, before turning to Jerry; "Get security and the police here now! Don't let these kids leave."

Shoving Doug into the doctor's lounge, Mark closed the door before rounding on him; "Dammit Doug you can't do that."

"Me? Didn't you hear them?! Carter saved that kid's life, all their lives and they couldn't care less! They just left him bleeding to death in the street. And that driver? God knows where they are!"

"I know!" Mark exclaimed; "And I'm just as pissed as you. But you can't just go off like that. They're kids..."

"Don't stand there and tell me they're just kids they..."

"It's not going to help Carter." Mark tried instead and it made Doug pause. He looked at Mark before turning, rubbing the back of his head furiously and then punched a locker.

A moment later Carol rushed in. Mark knew by her face she knew the truth.

"I've got Haleh with Archie. I told the police and security what happened. They're talking to the kids now. The ones that didn't run off."

"Thanks Carol." Mark said softly, and Carol turned to look at Doug, standing with his hands on his hips looking down at the floor.

Carol gestured to Mark that she got this, and he excused himself.

"Doug." Carol said softly moving to him.

"Do you know why I became a doctor? A paediatric doctor?"

"No."

Chuckling weakly, Doug murmured; "When I was a kid I got into a lot of fights and scrapes, you know dumb kid stuff. But I ended up in the ER a few times. And there was this other kid there who was brought in from a car accident. Some drunk driver ran a red light and ploughed right into this other car. The parents and the kid were brought in all injured. But the kid was the worst. And she had this really rare blood group which they didn't have. The parents didn't match and they had to try and find someone else."

"What happened? Did she...?"

"No. Because the doctor's scoured every hospital in the city to find some. They worked so hard to save her life, and they did. I was just an angry kid at the time, because my dad was gone and I was angry at the world. But seeing that. The way they fought for this little girl's life and saved her. It just showed me that even in a world full of tragedies and bad things, that there is good. It just made me want to make a difference to other kids, to other families. Like that family."

"That's really nice Doug."

"Yeah but then something like this happens." He gestured angrily at the door towards chairs; "I mean Carter pushed that kid out of the way of a speeding car to save his life, risking his own, and they just left him there." He let his hand stay in mid air as he shook his head just having no idea what to say. Because it just wouldn't register in his mind; "It just makes you think what kind of world we live in. That no matter how much good you do, it doesn't matter. Bad stuff still happens. Patients continue to come here injured and dying, and all we can do is treat'em and street'em. We can't make a difference out there where it counts, so what's the point?"

Carol at that point just walked forward and wrapped her arms around Doug in a hug. With a sigh, he rested his head on her shoulder and clung to her.

"I know." Carol murmured softly; "What happened to Carter is just horrible...and we'll all terrified for him. But he's still here." Pulling back she cupped his face; "Right now. Carter is alive and still here. He's fighting, and he needs us. Now those kids may not care about Carter, but we do. And that boy in there is alive because of Carter. He saved a child's life. That matters. That's who Carter is. Now we have to save his life."

"You're right." Blowing out a breath, Doug nodded reluctantly; "We need to focus on Carter. He needs family right now."