Two days later
Chicago, Illinois
Gazing out at the night through the window of his apartment, Dave sighed and fought the urge to yawn. He was so tired, yet if he tried to sleep, the same nightmare would disturb him.
Two days had passed since Katie had been taken and since Daniel had almost been taken by that psychopathic monster who had almost killed Nathan. Nathan was still unconscious and in the ICU.
It was extremely fortunate that nobody had seen him at the school and Daniel had understood his shame well enough not to say anything. The school had been kind enough to not say anything about the incident, but the police had been trying to contact him for a statement ever since.
Although he had wanted to help find Katie, Dave knew that if he brought up the fact that he seen her looking possibly drugged, he would have to also bring up the fight that he had with Elton.
Letting out a sigh, Dave moved away from the window and into the kitchen. The clock on the second-hand microwave that Luka had left behind read 1:45. Much too early to be awake.
Daniel was in the other bedroom, sound asleep and comfortable in his pajamas and bed; he was aware that his dad was having trouble sleeping, but Dave had told him not to worry.
The second-hand phone on the kitchen counter suddenly rang, bringing Dave out of his painful memories. Hoping that Daniel wasn't woken up by the phone, Dave picked up the reciever.
"Hello?" Dave asked, automatically feeling a surge of adrenaline rush through his body.
There was silence for a few minutes and Dave nodded, "...I'll be in within the next half hour," he said in a calm tone. "...No, I really don't mind...All right, see you soon...bye."
Dave quietly set the receiver down; the ER had constantly been short on staff ever since Ray and Carter had left and the medical personnel from Africa on an exchange trip were long overdue. Despite the help of Tony, who worked as much as he could in the ER while still doing bookwork, it was chaos.
Despite living in a safer place and being an Attending, Dave found that he was constantly low on money because of taxes, medical school loans, food costs, transit costs, Daniel's school fees, and the private donations he made to ensure that people on the street could afford something to eat.
Fortunately, now that he had been pegged by the ER as a responsible doctor, Dave found himself being offered the occasional midnight shift by Dr. Anspaugh to help balance things out.
Letting out another sigh, Dave moved out of the kitchen. No doubt Daniel would be crabby about being woken up, but he would probably fall asleep again on the EL ride to County.
Besides, with work and fatherhood to keep him busy, Dave could escape from the nightmares...if only for a little while.
Pediatric ICU Isolation - Cook County General - Chicago, Illinois
Chills ran up and down Nathan's spine as his senses slowly returned. He felt so cold.
The sounds of erratic beeping irritated him to no end; it sounded like his alarm clock at home.
Light flashed in his eyes; was his mom or Luka trying to wake him up to do his schoolwork?
Irritated, Nathan tried to swat the light away, but he couldn't feel one of his arms.
"...Doctor Corday?" Nathan heard a voice say. "Doctor Corday...I think he's waking up."
Hearing that her stepdaughter's seriously injured boyfriend was possibly finally coming out of anesthesia, Elizabeth hurried into the PICU isolation room and over to Nathan's bed.
In Elizabeth's personal opinion, Nathan was extremely lucky to be alive right now.
Nathan had had his left arm surgically repaired from shoulder to fingers and now it was all casted and in a sling that was pinned against his healing ribs; chest tubes were reinflating his lungs and the bandaging was hidden underneath a clean gown; the gash on his forehead had been cleaned, stitched, and bandaged; his abdomen was stapled and bandaged and the knife had taken his spleen and had almost cost him a kidney; it had also caused the need for a colostomy to be done.
A large blanket was covering the teen's weakened body and since he was in an isolation room, nobody except authorized medical personnel could enter. It was speculated that perhaps in a few days, Nathan could be moved to either a normal PICU room or a room on the Peds floor.
Fortunately, Nathan would be fine with lots of rest, time, and rehabilitation therapy.
As a precaution, the tube had been left in Nathan's mouth and was connected to a ventilator to give his lungs and the rest of his body a little more time to rest before working to heal.
Elizabeth gently took hold of Nathan's uninjured hand, "Nathan, it's Doctor Corday," she said in a soothing voice, hoping that it would calm the teen. "If you can hear me, squeeze my hand."
Nathan weakly squeezed the hand that was in his own and opened his eyes, "Nathan, don't try to talk, you've got a tube down your throat to help you breathe," Elizabeth explained. "You just went through some very serious surgery and it's going to take some time, but you'll recover nicely."
Nathan blinked tiredly, "It's okay if you want to go back to sleep," Elizabeth said in a gentle tone as she kept hold of his hand. "I'll let your mother and Luka know how you're doing, all right?"
It didn't take long for Nathan to fall back into a deep slumber, as he felt extremely sick and weak.
Elizabeth carefully tucked Nathan's hand under the blanket and turned away, only to find Dr. Romano peeking in through the small window that was on the door to the hallway.
Sighing, Elizabeth moved out into the hallway, "You don't need to lecture me about staying late for the past two days, Lizzie," Dr. Romano stated tonelessly. "I spent most of my time in the ER, trying to help with the staff shortage, but even I am getting tired of being here..."
"I didn't have a chance to tell Nathan about Rachel before he fell back asleep," Elizabeth commented. "She's been a great help to Mark and I with Ella ever since she came back."
Dr. Romano nodded, "You should go get some rest before your actual shift," he commented as they walked down the hallway. "I phoned Doctor Malucci to come in and if the ER's slow enough, I'll have him come and check on Nathan so nobody has to worry."
"Robert, it's the middle of the night and Malucci has a son-" Elizabeth started to say.
"Doctor Malucci is already on his way and while he works, Daniel will be fine sleeping on the couch in my office," Dr. Romano stated. "I have some paperwork to do anyway, don't worry. I'll even let Amy and Doctor Kovac know how Nathan is doing so that you can get some rest, okay?"
Elizabeth nodded and walked off down the hallway to find an empty room where she could sleep.
After watching her go for a moment, Dr. Romano sighed and decided to go down to the ER to inform Dr. Kovac that Dr. Malucci was coming in to assist if the ER turned out to be busy.
Kinshasa Airport - Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Africa
Gritting his teeth in anger, Elton lifted his head from the dirt and realized that not only was he in serious pain, Katie had run off when he had been forced to drop her at the start of the shooting.
A little over a day ago, he had carried a sick Katie off the plane from the States and, along with the other few passengers, had been immediately ambushed by rebels shooting in every direction.
The plane had been severely damaged, the other passengers killed, and Elton had found himself falling to the ground and quickly passing out while Katie fell from his grip. He reasoned that she had run off while he was unconscious and she was probably now in the clutches of rebel soldiers.
There was no point in trying to move or roll on to his stomach, as the pain was so intense.
Katie had taken her passport with her when she ran off, Elton realized, as he felt around in his pocket and found that he only had his own, carefully forged passport and visa on him.
Legally, thanks to the interference of Dave Malucci back in Grenada, Elton knew that he wasn't allowed to leave American soil. However, it helped to have friends in high places who knew how to create good enough documents that even the government couldn't tell that they were forgeries.
"HEY, DOCTOR GREG, THERE'S A SURVIVOR OVER HERE!" a voice suddenly yelled.
Suddenly, Elton felt something being slid underneath his body and saw a dark face hovering over him, "Neela, get over here," the man yelled. "He looks pretty bad...The plane'll have to wait."
Elton quickly began feeling as if he were going to be sick, "I don't feel good," he said in a faint voice. "I just got here and never got a chance to play with the little girl I took from her mother..."
Sounds suddenly flooded Elton's ears and his vision began to fade; the sound of footsteps and speaking filled his ears, but his body and mind weren't responding to the urge to run away.
The tan face of a woman hovering over him was the last thing that Elton remembered.
Cook County ER - Chicago, Illinois
Fighting back a yawn, Luka leaned back in his chair and turned the page of the relaxation book that Amy had gotten him from the hospital gift shop yesterday. Amy was supposed to be working per diem tonight, but he had insisted that she stay at the hotel and rest with Joe, Lucas, and Erinn.
After waiting up in the O.R. waiting room, he and Amy had been told by Dr. Corday that Nathan would take a while to wake up and he would be in isolation until his condition improved.
With the search for Katie in the police's hands and Luka's visa in the process of being processed, Amy and Luka had elected to focus what energy they had left on Lucas, Erinn, and Joe.
Ever since Katie had been taken and Nathan had almost been killed, everything had been chaotic.
Police and reporters had been swarming everywhere for information and not wanting the rest of his family to be overstressed, Luka had packed some things and had moved them into a hotel until the house could be cleaned good enough and it was safe to go back there without fear.
Dr. Romano had said that after Nathan was well enough to be released from the hospital, that it would be better if he stayed at a place where he would consider himself safe. Although they wanted to keep their family close together, Amy and Luka agreed to let Nathan stay with Dr. Romano.
"Well, well, burning the midnight oil in a book?" the calm voice of Dr. Romano suddenly asked.
Luka looked up from his book and saw that Dr. Romano was standing at the desk, "Doctor Kovac, I thought I should let you know that Nathan woke up about 40 minutes ago while Doctor Corday was doing rounds," Dr. Romano stated in a calm tone. "He didn't stay awake for very long, but the fact that he seemed to understand whatever she was saying is a good sign of a full recovery."
"Do you have any idea when he'll be out of isolation?" Luka asked in a concerned tone.
Dr. Romano sighed, "Probably in the next 24 to 48 hours and then he'll be put in a regular Peds ICU room for a day or two so he can be monitored post-extubation," he explained. "Maybe by the end of the week, Nathan will be able to be moved to a regular Peds room for the rest of his hospital stay."
Luka nodded, but remained silent, "Oh, on my way down here, I phoned Amy and she told me that you're planning an impromptu trip to the Congo," Dr. Romano stated. "Does this have anything to do with the fact that Nathan said that Elton Douglas said that he was taking Katie to the Congo?"
"I know the Congo," Luka stated, returning his gaze to his book. "I have to do this...I really do."
Before Dr. Romano could argue, he spotted Dave walk into the ER wearing his shoes, scrubs, white coat and carrying a sleeping Daniel, who was wrapped in an oversized coat, in his arms.
"Just let me get Daniel settled in the lounge and I'll get right to work," Dave said, avoiding the curious look that Luka was shooting in his direction. "I came in as fast as I could."
Dr. Romano and Luka watched as Dave quickly disappeared into the lounge, "Why did you call Dave into the ER in the middle of the night?" Luka asked, glaring at Dr. Romano. "I didn't think that he was scheduled for night shifts because both Daniel and him need a good amount of sleep."
Unfortunately, Dr. Romano didn't get a chance to reply, as a couple of police officers suddenly entered the ER and looked around, "What can I do for you officers?" Dr. Romano asked.
"We're looking for a Doctor Malucci," one of the officers stated as they walked over to the admit desk. "We've been looking for him for two days to talk to him about an altercation he was in."
Luka and Dr. Romano exchanged a look, "Altercation?" Luka asked, raising an eyebrow.
"According to witnesses at Rhodes Elementary School, Doctor Malucci was involved in an altercation with a man who matches the photo of Elton Douglas that an Amy Kovac provided us with," the officer explained. "We've been trying to contact Doctor Malucci for two days now."
Dr. Romano bit his lip, "Doctor Kovac, I want you to go get Doctor Malucci," he ordered, both irritated and concerned that Dave didn't say anything. "Officers, I want to know what happened."
As Dr. Romano and the officers engaged in a conversation, Luka walked off to the lounge and pushed open the door to see that Daniel was sound asleep on the couch with Dave's worn-down coat over him and a rough pillow underneath his head. Dave was lingering near the fridge and gazing out the window with a styrofoam cup in one hand wihile the other rested on his chest.
"Dave?" Luka asked, keeping his voice quiet so not to wake Daniel. "Are you okay?"
Dave sighed, "I think I just need to use the bathroom," he said in a soft voice as he tossed the styrofoam cup in the trash, "Daniel probably will sleep through the night...lucky kid."
Before Luka could stop him, Dave silently left the lounge. Luka watched him go in concern.
It was then that Luka knew that something had happened two days ago, something that had obviously involved Dave, Daniel, and someone who was obviously trying to hurt them.
The lounge door suddenly opened, "Doctor Kovac, the police got dispatched out on another call and I thought I would come see what is taking you so long to find Doctor Malucci," Dr. Romano commented. "I thought he was in the lounge with Daniel...where did he disappear to?"
"Dave said he needed to use the bathroom," Luka replied in a hesitant tone. "When I first came in here, he had a hand on his chest as if he were hurt."
Dr. Romano raised an eyebrow, "Kovac, do me a favor and keep an eye on things," he stated in a firm tone. "Jerry should be back to the desk at any minute..I am going to look for Dave."
Luka nodded and watched as Dr. Romano left the lounge wearing an expression of concern.
Relieved to be alone after two days of pretending that he was fine, Dave gently laid his coat over a stall door and wincing in pain, he lifted his shirt and saw multi-colored bruising on his body.
Biting his lip, he lowered his shirt and gazed into the mirror. He was extremely tired.
Dave knew that he could probably charm one of the few nurses who were spending the down time resting to get him a shot for the pain, but it would most likely lead to questions about the injury.
The pain had bothered him ever since the fight, but Dave, being as he was, had put the needs of his son and everyone else around him first, preferring not to even think about his problems.
A sudden deep breath caused Dave to wince, "How bad is the pain tonight?" the suspicious voice of Dr. Romano suddenly sounded. "I don't want you to lie to me either, Dave."
Dave turned and saw Dr. Romano standing there, "The police stopped by to talk to you about some sort of altercation you were involved in two days ago at Daniel's school," Dr. Romano stated, a concerned look on his face. "They said that the attacker resembled Elton Douglas."
Dave sighed, "I didn't want anyone finding out about this," he stated. "He had Katie in the truck with him and I tried to rescue her, but then he tried to get his hands on Daniel..."
"Dave, take off your shirt," Dr. Romano ordered, holding a hand up to cut Dave's rant off.
Dave was silent, but looked slightly nervous, "Look, Dave, I won't tell anyone about this, but I really need you to take off your shirt so I can see how badly you're injured," Dr. Romano stated in a slightly gentler tone. "Doctor Kovac said that you had a hand on your chest."
It didn't take Dave long to take his scrub shirt back off, "Oh, jeez," Dr. Romano commented as he touched the bruising on Dave's chest with his flesh hand and immediately saw Dave struggling not to show how much pain he was in. "Okay, you will definitely need a chest x-ray."
"I'm supposed to be working tonight, Luka can't do it all by himself," Dave protested as Dr. Romano snatched his scrub shirt away from him. "I don't want anyone to know about this...really."
Dr. Romano sighed, "Put your lab coat on and button it up," he stated, tucking the scrub shirt under his arm. "I'll escort you to Radiology and hang around so that you don't panic...okay?"
"Don't tell anyone, not even Anspaugh," Dave said as he quickly put his lab coat on over his bare torso and buttoned it up. "I'll call the police and talk to them during my break."
Dr. Romano gently took Dave's arm, "One thing at a time," he said. "Come on, we'll take the back way to the elevators so that you don't have to talk to anyone...Just take slow, deep breaths."
Swallowing hard, Dave nodded and silently allowed Dr. Romano to lead him from the bathroom.
Kisangani, Democratic Republic of the Congo
A coughing fit pulled Carter out of the sleep that he had been trying to get for the past day and a half. Abby was working at the hospital, so he had been alone for nearly two days.
Pulling himself into an upright position, Carter grabbed the sealed bottle of water that was on top of the blanket and, opening it, he drank as if he had been thirsty for years. He felt so hot and tired, but didn't really want to drag himself to the hospital for sub-standard tests and poor medication.
No doubt he had malaria; Dr. Rasgotra knew he had it, but since she was probably in the U.S. by now on her surgical exchange trip, he was completely alone in dealing with his illness.
Tossing the empty water bottle on the floor, Carter got out of bed and ignored the fact that his khaki pants and t-shirt had been on his body for two days. He didn't have the energy to change clothes.
The hospital had asked about him, yes, but nobody had the time to come and actually check on him, as the hospital was constantly being swamped with sick people and injured refugees.
A raspy cough escaped Carter's mouth as he staggered into the front room of the hut that he and Abby shared and he suddenly frowned; a small girl in pajamas was standing in front of him.
"I want my daddy and mommy," Katie whimpered as she began to cough anxiously.
Alarmed at the little girl's coughing, Carter forgot his own sickness and gently picked Katie up in his arms, "I'm Doctor Carter and what's your name?" he asked, keeping his tired voice gentle.
"Katie," Katie replied in a weak voice. "A bad man hurt my big brother and took me on a long airplane ride...I just got a new daddy and the bad man didn't like that."
Carter suddenly frowned, "Katie, is your mommy Amy Romano by any chance?" he asked, horrified that Katie had somehow ended up in the Congo alone.
Katie nodded as Carter carried her into the sleeping area, "Okay, Katie, I'm gonna let you sleep in my bed for a little bit and I'll get you some water," Carter stated. "Just relax, okay?"
Carter gently laid Katie down on the bed that he and Abby shared and then he got a few bottles of water out of the rusted icebucket that was at the foot of the bed. He opened one of them and carefully helped Katie to sit up so that she could drink from the water bottle.
"It's a little cold, but it'll help you feel better," Carter said in a soothing tone as sat on the bed and helped Katie drink the water. "I want you to rest for a little while..."
Katie nodded, but before she could reply, shooting could be heard in the distance.
"I'm scared," Katie whimpered, diving under the blanket.
An explosion suddenly rang out nearby, "Doctor Carter, I'm really scared," Katie whimpered as she scrambled across the bed to sit next to Carter. "Can you give me a hug?"
Carter nodded and as he pulled Katie into a hug, another explosion sounded so close that it caused the walls to shake, "Okay, we have to get out of here," he said, scooping Katie into his arms.
Rising from the bed, Carter grabbed a small sack off the floor that contained identification, passports, a photo of him and Abby, a few snacks, and several warm bottles of water. He slung it over his shoulder and quickly moved out of the bedroom and towards the curtained door.
From the doorway, Carter could see people fleeing and he could also hear the horrifying sound of gunshots and jeep engines; he swallowed hard, the Mai Mai were descending on Kisangani.
Ignoring the sound of his heart pounding in his ears, Carter held Katie close and quickly ran from the hut, hoping that he could get Katie to a safer place before the Mai Mai found them there.
Once he had gotten Katie to safety, Carter would find a phone and let Amy know where Katie was and that she was safe. He would then arrange for someone to escort Katie back to Chicago.
Unfortunately, none of these thoughts could be put into action as an explosion suddenly blasted the hut apart, immediately sending Carter and Katie to the ground, shrouding them in smoke.
Pediatric ICU Isolation - Cook County General - Chicago, Illinois
Biting his lip to keep from crying, Dave silently lingered at the door that led to the isolation room where Nathan lay asleep. His chest still hurt, but none of his ribs had been broken, just badly bruised enough that it hurt to take deep breaths, which is why he needed pain medication.
The x-ray hadn't taken long, but when Dr. Romano left the room to find some medication for him to take so he could complete the rest of his shift, Dave had put his scrub shirt and white coat back on. He had then bolted from Radiology while left alone.
Even though he was a doctor and enjoyed it, being on the other side of things was too unnerving for him and he avoided it as much as humanly possible. It reminded him of his dark past.
If it weren't for some kindness shown to him when he was a teenager full of anger and pain, Dave knew that he would have ended up on drugs or in jail. Once he was old enough and had medical qualifications behind his name, Dave had repaid the kindness by helping Nathan out of trouble.
Despite having people who cared about him, Nathan's past was still as scarred as Dave and just as in Dave's case, the past was trying to wreck his future. It hurt Dave to see it happen.
"Doctor Malucci, you should know that Nathan's going to be fine," Dr. Romano suddenly said as he approached Dave with a syringe and plastic tie in his hand. "You, however-"
Dave sighed, "It only hurts when I take deep breaths," he replied tonelessly. "No needles."
"It's either this or I put an IV in and put you on paper duty for the rest of the shift," Dr. Romano stated in a no-nonsense tone. "I can do the shot here and I'll even talk to you while I do it."
Pursing his lips, Dave nodded and remained completely quiet as Dr. Romano rolled up the sleeve of his lab coat, "In case you haven't heard, the medical exchange personnel from Africa got delayed because apparently, they need someone from their host hospital to come escort them from their current workplace," Dr. Romano stated as he tied the plastic tie around Dave's arm.
Dave nodded, but remained silent, "Anyway, Anspaugh asked me if I knew of anyone who could serve as sort of an ambassador and go get them," Dr. Romano explained. "I believe you actually worked with one of the doctors there, a Doctor Greg Pratt, if I'm not mistaken...Anyway, I think you would be a good choice to do it...I'm even more sure of it after the events of the last two days."
Dr. Romano quickly inserted the syringe into Dave's arm, pulled it out, and replaced it with a cotton ball and bandage, "I haven't seen Doctor Pratt since we worked at Mercy together," Dave commented. "I can't believe he actually followed through with his plan to shoot off to Africa."
"It'll take a week or two to get everything in order, but it won't take more than a few days to carry out this responsibility," Dr. Romano stated. "Daniel can stay with me while you're gone..."
Dave sighed, "I'll do it," he replied in a tired tone. "Tell Luka I'll be down in the ER in a minute."
Dr. Romano nodded and moved off down the hallway to start making the arrangements.
Folding his arms, Dave continued to watch Nathan sleep for a moment more and then, with another sigh, he moved away from the window and began the long walk back towards the elevators.
Daniel would understand about the Africa thing, as Dave had taught him that it was always important to help others and doing this service was definitely helping others.
However, Dave didn't know that Africa would turn into something that he had never expected and would change his life forever.