Lessons Learned
Part Four
By Kristen
kdarganin@hotmail.com

Archive: Yes, just let me know.
Disclamier: I do now own the characters of ER I am just borrowing them for fun.

Category: Story/Angst (JC/PB/LK/RR)

Notes: Thank you Jackie for all of your wonderful advice and editing!

Comments: Of course! Kdarganin@hotmail.com

Robert Romano bolted through his office door with Peter Benton hot on his heels. He was immediately greeted by a mass of doctors, nurses, and techs with various anxious expressions, awaiting guidance from him. Romano had no clue what was transpiring, but he knew he had to get some answers quickly.

"You!" Romano pointed at the tech that had barged in on his conversation with Peter. "What the hell is going on?" Romano commanded, causing all the murmuring from the assembled staff to cease.

The young looking tech looked petrified and gazed over at Sally, who took his cue and quickly explained things to the angry administrator.

"Sir, we just received word from some of the fourth floor staff that the fifth floor is on fire. We need to know how you want us to evacuate the building," Sally said in the calmest voice she could muster.

"Do we know how large it is?" Romano asked while scanning the group of people in front of him. None of the staff answered, and Romano was becoming irritable. "Why isn't there an alarm going off, people?"

"Sir, I just came back from outside, and you can see flames coming through the windows; it looks like the whole floor is on fire," a maintenance man with scraggly hair informed him, unable to keep the panic from his voice. "The alarm system doesn't seem to be working," he added.

"All right folks, let's evacuate each floor and start moving patients like you were trained to do." Romano began to wave his hands to indicate that the staff needed to get moving. As the doctors moved down the halls, Romano grabbed Sally's shoulder for a moment.

"When did the fire station say that trucks would arrive, and where the hell is Dr. Logan?" Romano moved aside as Luka brushed pass him, in hand a clipboard with what appeared to be a list of patients who were currently in the hospital.

"We called 911, and they told us that there would be a delay because of the protesters downtown. There's a traffic jam, they weren't sure how long it will take them to get here," she informed him. "We think Dr. Logan went to lunch, we haven't seen him in a while," she said disdainfully.

"Okay, how do we know that the staff of the fourth and fifth floor have been accounted for?" Romano asked the nurse.

"Craig Wright is head of Neurology on the fifth floor and was leaving when he heard the explosion from the other wing. He told me there were no patients up there and he had sent the other neurologist and the technician to lunch, there wasn't any other staff," Sally explained.

"That's the fifth, what about Radiology?" Romano asked.

"I'm not sure. Dr. Remoss is running that department, and he had two techs to help him. I did see him just a minute ago helping move some of the patients from the third floor," Sally went on, but her voice conveyed that she wasn't certain about the information.

"I'll talk to him when everyone is moved. I don't want to miss anybody because people were sloppy," Romano growled.

Luka ran over to Romano with Peter, who had darted off when the Chief had told them to evacuate the floors. The Croatian doctor did not looked pleased, and Benton appeared more irritated then Romano had ever seen him. Both began to speak and he put his hand in the air. "One at a time, folks."

Luka spoke first, his finger tracing the names on the chart. "We're in the midst of transferring most of the patients. There are currently only six here because the more critical cases were re-directed to other hospitals, and none of them are in serious condition. One surgical case was on the second floor and he is being helped down since the elevators are broken. Most of the staff on the third floor is accounted for, but we are still missing a few people from the fourth and fifth floors. We need to verify
who's here and account for the missing staff."

"Okay, Peter, what have you got for me?" Romano turned to the other doctor as they continued to make their way towards the entrance of the hospital. "I've tried pulling and activating every alarm and emergency device, but it looks like they aren't operating. The sprinklers aren't going off," Peter told him with growing impatience.

All three doctors walked quickly outside, finding the rest of the staff waiting in shock. The six patients, in various states of dress, were huddled on the grass while the nurses attended to their needs. Romano stared at the hospital, seeing white and black smoke rising from the top two floors. The flames were raging outside the windows and heading to the top of the building. From his stance, it was hard to tell where else the fire was spreading.

"Okay, we need to make sure that everyone is a safe distance from the building, and we need to have some kind of roll check." Romano was pacing up and down the grass beside the parking lot, as most of the staff retreated. A red-haired nurse approached him.

"I grabbed the time sheet with all the staff who came on today. I'll go around to verify that everyone is accounted for if you make sure the doctor who has the list of patients can account for all of them," Linda told him, and left without waiting for his approval.

"A person with competence, well that's good," Romano remarked under his breath. He walked over to where Luka and Peter were watching over the patients. Peter was scanning the area as if distracted, while an older lady was complaining about the quality of her care.

"Dr. Romano, I have accounted for everyone except for a Mrs. Judith Cobb," Luka explained, concern evident in his voice. "Dr. Remoss informed me that he had gone to review some films when the fire broke out. He told the two techs to transfer Mrs. Cobb while he made sure that the rest of the floor was clear, however, those technicians are here, but we can't locate the patient."

Peter snatched the chart out of Luka's hands and stared at the form. "That was Carter's patient, and I haven't seen him anywhere," the surgeon said as he frantically scanned the crowd for Carter's face.

"Dr. Logan is nowhere to be found, as well as Taylor Evans, a neurological technician." Linda walked over with her own chart. She didn't look at the other doctors, but appeared to be absorbed in the growing fire that raged in front of them.

Romano took a deep breath and searched the crowd for himself, locking eyes with Peter. "He could be helping out somewhere, Peter, no need to get too concerned," Romano told the surgeon without much confidence.

"Oh, no!" Luka gasped.

Peter turned his head in Luka's direction, and Romano stepped closer to the resident.

"What's going on, Dr. Kovac?" Romano snapped.

"I remember, Carter was heading to the fifth floor to look for something, I haven't seen him since," Luka replied worriedly. He cast his gaze over to the hospital, his face betraying his obvious anxiety.

"So, Dr. Carter was upstairs before the fire. There's a chance that he's still there or he could have left before it started," Romano said, trying to calm his two companions.

"No, this is Carter we're talking about." Peter said flatly and began to walk in the direction of the hospital.

Romano grabbed the surgeon's arm roughly. "Where the hell are you going, Peter?" he asked gruffly, already sensing his response.

"Let go of me, Dr. Romano, I'm going in there to see if I can find Carter." Peter's tone was unmistakable; he wasn't waiting for consent.

"Are you insane, Peter?" Romano exclaimed.

"He's right, Dr. Benton, you can't go in there. You won't be able to find him, you'll probably get trapped in there yourself." Luka tried to reason with the agitated surgeon.

"Look, I'm going in there. Do you hear any sirens? I don't! Dr. Romano, you told me to look after him, well now I'm going to make sure he's not in any trouble," Peter notified them in no uncertain terms.

Romano and Luka tried to block Peter's path, but he pushed past them forcibly. He was not going to let them deter his course of action. Luka was really getting on his nerves, and he tried to break away from the hold the other doctor had on his shoulder. He spun around and stared at Luka intently. "I am not waiting to see if this place burns down while help is nowhere to be found. I don't know anything about you, Dr. Kovac, but I can assume that you've been in one of these situations before."

Peter never broke eye contact with Luka. He could see the other doctor struggle with some inner conflict, and watched Luka stare at the fire with horror and sadness. He stared back at him with a haunted expression, and to the shock of Romano, let Peter go. Peter nodded, and ran towards the hospital while Luka kept Romano from interfering.

Luka watched Peter re-enter the hospital, and he could sense Romano's furious state from behind. Luka turned around to face him.

"You'll regret that, Dr. Kovac," Romano said firmly, but stormed past him when he saw Dr. Logan running to where the group of people was standing.

Luka stared at the hospital and its slow destruction, hoping he made the correct choice.



Carter struggled to keep Taylor upright. The tech was having a difficult time moving, and was leaning almost all of his weight on the young doctor. Carter was using the wall for guidance since his vision continued to bother him. He was suffering from severe vertigo, but he pressed onward, away from the roaring flames above them. Carter draped his arm over Taylor's shoulder, but he was losing his balance while fighting to keep himself going. His left leg was dragging on the floor, affected by the additional weight of his charge. His back was practically seizing, sending shooting pains through his body. He ignored it all, carrying on still, knowing full well that if they stopped then they wouldn't make it out.

Carter stumbled down the next flight of stairs, counting silently to himself. They should be on the third flight, only a few more, a voice whispered in his ears. Taylor was really slowing them down, but Carter told himself he would get both of them out. The tech was whimpering with each step; Carter knew his leg and pelvis were most likely broken, but it was better then being dead. As he felt the wall, anticipating the next turn, he thought he heard footsteps running towards them. Not trusting his hearing, Carter continued down the stairs until he stopped in his tracks, recognizing a loud voice.

"Carter!" Peter shouted at the sight of the doctor and another man coming down the stairs. The surgeon had sprinted up each floor and checking each level for the young doctor. When he started up the second flight, he had heard something that sounded like people coming down the stairs.

Peter took two steps at a time and grabbed the man who was struggling to hang on to Carter. He seized the guy's arm and draped it over his shoulder as he watched Carter nearly collapse to the floor when his burden was lifted.

Carter slid to his knees, trying to control his breathing, which had become increasingly ragged over the past few minutes. After a coughing fit, he looked up at Peter. "Thanks," he said, out of breath.

Peter looked on with concern at the sight of his former student. He was shirtless, for one, and sweating profusely. His face was flushed and he appeared to stare past him. "Carter, man, you all right?" Peter asked, worried by Carter's appearance.

"Yeah, never better. That's Taylor, he needs to be moved out of here right away. An air conditioning unit landed on him and I think he has a couple of leg fractures, a possible broken pelvis, and some minor burns," Carter answered while using the wall to stand up again. He peered at Benton, who appeared to be spinning around. Carter wiped his eyes to try to clear his vision. It didn't help. He started to walk towards him, his balance slightly off. "I think we need to get going," he said, ignoring what was probably concern radiating from his former teacher. "Can you carry him the rest of the way?" Carter asked, trying to act nonchalant about the request.

"Sure, but let's see if we can find something to make a splint with. I don't want to further injure this man if I can," Peter proclaimed, carefully lowering the tech to the ground, who had remained silent the entire time.

"I didn't want to move him, but we didn't have much of a choice," Carter told the other doctor.

"Hey, I know you wouldn't move him unless it was absolutely necessary, Carter," Peter replied while he quickly examined Taylor.

"Okay, I'll look for something to make a splint; I know that we don't have much time. I'll be right back." Peter paused after giving the young doctor a meaningful look. "Are you sure you're all right? Your side looks like it has a pretty good sized burn."

"It's from pushing on the air conditioner and its minor, other then that I'm fine," Carter told Peter, giving him an encouraging smile.

"When we get outside you should be examined, you're not supposed to be doing anything strenuous," Peter reminded him.

"Not much of a choice there," Carter said glumly.

Peter shook his head, and raced down a flight of stairs and onto the second floor. He went to a storage self and quickly searched until he came across a splint. He really wanted a backboard and a neck collar, but knew such luxuries were not available and he would have a tough time pulling the injured man by himself. Carter simply didn't look like he was in shape to help out in that area.

Carter waited for Peter to return, fearful of the ever-growing fire on the floor above them. He put a hand to his chest as he tried to subdue another coughing fit. He was lying to Peter about how he felt, but he didn't need him to worry, not when another person was in a more serious condition and required immediate care.

He was shaken from his reprieve when he heard Peter return. He watched him splint up Taylor's leg. When he was done, Peter signaled Carter that it was time to get moving.

Peter waited for Carter to walk beside him, and the entourage continued to descend the stairs. Peter wished that someone had come with him, he was concerned about Carter, but Taylor was more in need of urgent treatment.

Carter never took his hand off the wall, letting it support and pilot him down the stairwell. He was relieved that Peter had come, and wondered if he was actually searching for him, or if there were other patients who were missing.

"Is the whole hospital evacuated?" Carter asked.

"Yeah," Peter responded distractedly, trying to concentrate on getting down the stairs. Taylor was now totally unresponsive and Benton was practically dragging him.

"Everyone accounted for?" Carter questioned the older doctor.

Not really thinking, Peter answered, "We're still missing someone, but the others probably found her outside."

Carter stopped when he thought that he knew whom Peter was referring to. "Was Mrs. Cobb downstairs, Dr. Benton?" Carter asked, worried that the elderly patient might still be in radiology.

Peter didn't want to waste any more time, so he chose to ignore Carter's question. He was about to go down the final flight when he realized that Carter was no longer beside him. Irritated, he yelled up the stairs, "Carter, stop screwing around and get down here!"

"Mrs. Cobb wasn't down there, was she?" Carter repeated from a few steps above the surgeon. Seeing that Peter wasn't going to answer him, he turned around and starting hobbling back up the stairs. He decided to tell Peter what he was planning on doing. "Get Taylor to safety, I'm going to get Mrs. Cobb!" Carter yelled over his shoulder.

Peter was stunned, but he couldn't move to go after Carter, who was now out of sight. "Carter, get your ass back down here!" Carter!" he shouted. It was no use, the other doctor had managed to climb the next flight of stairs, and he left Peter no other choice but to carry Taylor outside without him.

The technician moved a little and whispered in Peter's ear, "He's nuts to go back up there, but he saved my life."

Peter reached the door to the lobby, the entrance to the hospital was only a few hundred feet away. "Yeah, but who's going to help the him?"