Lessons Learned
Part Six
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

Last time on lessons...

Peter squared his shoulders and lifted the fire extinguisher. "I think we both underestimate Carter. We'll find him." Peter opened the door, and both doctors headed for the heart of the inferno.



Dr. Rocket Romano stared at the fire, raging out of control. Of all the things to have happen to his people, he never imagined a more horrid situation. He was annoyed and irritated that he couldn't do anything, so he wandered over to the rescued technician. They were waiting for an ambulance, and Romano squatted next to the injured man despite Logan's presence.

Taylor looked over at the bald doctor and sensed that he was one of the men in charge. "Hey, that doc saved my life. The air conditioning unit landed on me, and he stuck around and carried me to safety. I hope he's all right," the technician said fearfully.

Romano gave the tech and tried to reassure the tech with a sympathetic nod. "Don't worry, my guys will be fine. I'm glad that Dr. Carter was able to help you. When you get better, I hope you will be able to aid the investigators in this matter."

Taylor nodded his affirmatively, and Logan put his oxygen mask back on. He looked up at Romano. "Why don't you go keep an eye out for your people." Dr. Logan watched the visiting chief walk away and turned his attention back to his employee. He stared at the frightened man and whispered in his ear.

"Don't you mention a word about what happened, understand? We had a deal, and you had better keep your mouth shut. Things didn't go off as planned, but the end result is what's important," Dr. Logan uttered menacingly, staying near the tech to reassure his safe distance from Dr. Romano.



Peter ran up the first three flights of stairs as fast as his legs would carry him. He kept the fire extinguisher hose in front of him, and tensed his grip on it when he saw smoke filtering into the hallway.. He checked to see if Luka was still following; the other doctor was, pulling the oxygen tank behind him. Peter knew that it might come in handy, but thought it hauling it up the stairs would slow them down when time was so precious. As the duo neared the door to the fourth floor, the clouds of smoke became increasingly dense. It was hard to distinguish where the doorframe was, and Peter moved to put his hand on the door handle.

"Don't!" Luka said through his dust mask.

Peter whipped his head around, leaving his hand on the door handle. "What's the matter Kovac? We need to hurry!" Benton growled.

"No, check the door for heat. If it is very hot then we can't open it because of the possibility of a back draft," Luka told the surgeon tersely.

Seeing Peter's hesitation, Luka stepped in front of him and placed his hand on the door. Noting that it wasn't hot, he pulled his hand away and glanced over at the surgeon. "It seems fine. We need to go in quickly. Oh, and unlike the movies, you can't see through a fire, so we should stay near the wall."

Peter was annoyed at Luka's intent to take charge, but he didn't question him. If placating the man would shut him up, then Peter would humor him. He nodded so they could get going. Entering the hallway was like entering a dense fog filled with air born dust and dirt. Even breathing shallowly with the dust mask was a trying chore. The smoke was a harsh substance, something that did not have a place in the human body. It was an intruder, a thousand foreign particles that suffocated one's lungs and irritated a person's throat. Peter found the wall and kept the side of his body against it. His mask helped a little and the goggles kept his eyes from burning, but he couldn't see a thing. It was like being in a dense rain cloud of ash, and Peter Benton grew even more anxious.

"Carter! Carter! Where are you man?" Peter yelled. The surgeon wasn't sure if they were even going in the right direction, but he was going to check every room to make certain. Peter could see an orange haze several feet away where the smoke was billowing even more. Knowing that Carter always had a way of finding trouble, Peter wondered if the he had managed to steer clear]of the mess ahead.

Luka tried to calm down, his breathing was erratic from the adrenaline pumping in his veins. The smell of burning wood and the electrical charge in the air brought back horrible memories. Luka pushed those dormant feelings aside and concentrated on his instincts. If Carter were alive, he would need to be the furthest from the fire and the thick haze. Peter had nearly pushed him out of the way when they entered the hallway, letting his emotions get the better of him. With each door the surgeon got to, he felt for heat, then opened it in search of his former student.

"We don't have time for this, we need to go to the end of the hall!" Luka yelled at the surgeon ahead of him. He went over to Peter and grabbed the man's sleeve, pulling him forward while dragging the oxygen tank with left hand.

"Get off me, Kovac! There's something ahead of us." Peter was getting tired of people grabbing at him every time they wanted his attention, even if it was an emergency.

Luka approached cautiously, an area of the hallway in front of them was on fire. It was only a few feet from the stairwell and was effectively blocking their path; it could have prevented Carter and his patient from reaching their exit. Luka had peered down the right hall only to see fire erupting from the vents and ceiling. The blaze was spreading towards the wing they were in now, leaving only the undamaged hall they were presently in untouched for the time being. Directly in front of them, it was visible through the smoke that part of the ceiling had collapsed and the material was on fire. Luka looked up to see the huge hole in the ceiling where it had given in, fire raging above, sucking in the air in between floors. The fire in front acted as a barrier to the other end of the hallway, which still seemed clear of the flames.

"We need to go through this!" Luka yelled at the other doctor, who remained further back from the flames that danced in front of them. The heat in the hallway was reaching an unbearable level. Luka wiped away the sweat dripping down his face. He bit his lip, and motioned Peter to come closer.

"Spray this area down and I'll run through it. I'll go to the other end and see if I can find him." Luka told him.

Benton stood next to Luka, wary of the fire, flinching every once in a while when one of the flames lurched forward. "How do you know he's down there?" he asked, unconvinced.

"If he's not down the hall, then he's already perished. The other wing is in flames and we haven't come across him on the floor yet. Now, come on," Luka rasped, his throat was beginning to get sore from the fumes despite the mask.

"No, we'll go together. I'm not staying behind here only to have to find you later on. I'm not arguing with you, Kovac." With that, Peter dosed the small fire in front of them with foam. The flames began to disappear and Peter sprayed the source of the fire, as well as the ceiling tiles and debris that lay in a pile.

When the flames died away, Luka ran through it, pulling the oxygen tank behind him. Peter turned around and continued to shower the foam as he passed through the debris, bumping into the Croatian doctor as he kicked some of the ceiling tiles out of his way. The two doctors went over to the wall; Peter kept his hands out, trying to feel for the structure. His hand brushed against the wall and used it as a guide through the unlit hallway. He called out again, his voice growing hoarse from yelling.

"Carter! Carter, where the hell are you? Get your ass out here, Carter!" Peter was starting to feel panicked. He couldn't see more then a few inches in front of him and the longer they remained, the higher the probability that they would all become trapped. The heat was getting to him, and feared that he wouldn't be able to find the younger doctor. Which way was he supposed to go? How many rooms were there to be checked?

Luka started to cough from the smoke, and placed the mask over his nose and breathed in fresh oxygen. They only had another minute or two remaining and he knew the importance of staying oriented. Luka heard a crackling noise and saw flames leaping out of the hole from the ceiling they had just passed. Instead of feeling overwhelming fear, Luka was angry that nature was conspiring against them.

"Carter!" he called out. Luka continued down the hall, Peter right behind him calling the younger doctor's name.

Luka started pounding on the hallway wall, trying to get the attention of anyone who may be trapped within the rooms. There was not enough time to investigate each room, as Peter wanted to do. The foreign doctor fought off the idea of how hopeless it was to pound away at walls made of fire resistant concrete, but maybe making noise would alert his co-worker that someone had come to search for him. If Carter were still alive, he would have gone to some part of the hospital that was the greatest distance from the fire. He would not have picked a room at random, and Luka's gut told him that they needed to go to the end of the hall.

The duo hurried through the cloud of smoke. Luka used his feet to nudge the empty floor, just in case his foot made contact with an unconscious body on the floor. He pulled the oxygen tank behind him, veering it in a zigzag motion to cover more ground just in case it bumped into someone who wasn't in Luka's direct path. Desperation was overwhelming Luka's thoughts, and he could not keep himself from calling out John's name.

"Carter!" Luka shouted into the void that was once a busy hallway.

Peter put his hand on Luka's shoulder to hush him when he thought he heard a faint sound. He couldn't see the other doctor's expression, but they stood motionless. Each doctor held their breath in the hopes of catching another noise. Peter lowered his head trying to distinguish the source of the clamor. After a moment, he recognized a faint voice calling for help.

"Down here!" Peter yelled, racing towards a door at the end of the hallway. He didn't even bother placing his hand on the door, but busted through as he barreled into the room. He scanned the room, seeing two figures leaning out a window. Peter ran towards the window finding a very shaken woman coughing while holding onto Carter.

"Bring that damn oxygen tank, Kovac!" Peter barked at the other doctor.

Luka wheeled the tank over to the window. The elderly lady had a death grip on Carter, who was slouched over the windowsill. "Please let go of Dr. Carter so we can help the both of you out," Luka tried to tell the frightened woman.

Reluctantly, Judith let Carter out of her embrace and moved aside as Peter went over to the younger doctor. Carter was slumped over on the windowsill his hands dangling outside. Peter quickly grabbed a hold of the doctor who had started to slide down as soon as Judith had released her hold of him. Peter held Carter up and struggled to lower him to the floor. As he crouched down to quickly examine him, his eyes fluttered open. Carter struggled to get up for a second, but fell back down holding on to his chest when he could not catch his breath.

"Easy, Carter, we're going to get you out. Hand me that oxygen mask, Dr. Kovac," Peter ordered while he checked Carter's pulse.

"Just a second, I'm giving some to Mrs. Cobb," Luka responded.

Peter glanced over to see Luka administering oxygen to the elderly woman who was staring at both doctors, oblivious to Luka's ministrations. Peter frowned when he felt Carter's heart rate racing at 125. The younger man was seized by another coughing fit, and Peter glared at Luka.

"He needs that oxygen, now Dr. Kovac, he's tachycardic." Peter snatched the oxygen mask without a word as soon as Luka handed to him. He placed the mask on Carter, who tried to breathe in deeply.

Luka watched Peter administer oxygen to Carter as he quickly examined Mrs. Cobb. "Are you suffering from any injuries, Mrs. Cobb?" Luka asked her with concern.

"I'm fine. I-I-It's hard to breathe from time to time. Dr. Carter, are you all right, young man?" she asked him.

Luka watched Carter nod affirmatively, and he reached out to take a hold of the older woman's hand. She slipped hers into his grasp and gave it a little squeeze.

Luka glanced around the room, trying to formulate a plan for getting out. He looked back from Carter to Mrs. Cobb. He turned to face the woman. "Do you now if Dr. Carter is injured in any way, Mrs. Cobb?"

Peter looked up at Luka's question and listened intently to the elderly woman's answer. Carter shook his head in annoyance. He lifted the mask slightly to talk. "I can speak for myself, Dr. Kovac. Where are we? What's going on?" Carter let out another cough that was soon transformed into wheezing.

Peter placed the oxygen mask back on the younger man. The surgeon locked eyes with Luka; both worried about Carter's strange remarks.

"He c-c-couldn't walk straight and a few minutes b-b-efore you got here his chest was hurting." Judith wiped away more tears from her face.

"We need to get out of here, Peter, or no one is going to get any help." Luka warned him. Luka walked back to the door and peered into the hallway. The smoke was so dense that it now blocked the emergency lighting. He could see the fire spreading over the ceiling towards them; it was only a matter of time before the roof collapsed.

Peter got up and lifted Carter to his feet. The younger doctor swayed and Peter put Carter's arm around his neck. There was no way that Carter would make it out of the building quick enough, despite his aid. Peter decided the only was to carry the man, but he wasn't sure how he could do it. Carter was a good six feet-two inches tall. He knew the younger man was lean, and had still not gain back all the weigh he lost as result of his past injuries. This still didn't mean that he could carry him through the hall and down several flights of stairs without some difficulty. Peter knew he worked out, but weight lifting was not one of his strong suits. After arguing with himself, Peter concluded that it didn't matter. He would have to carry Carter out; it was the only way. He lifted the younger man up and put him over his shoulder in a fireman's carry.

"God, that hurts!" Carter screamed through the mask. Peter's shoulder dug into his stomach and abdomen and a lancing pain shot through him like a lighting bolt.

"Peter, you are going to interfere with his breathing, and it's obvious that his respiratory system has been compromised," Luka told the surgeon angrily.

"We have to get out of here, Kovac, and he can't even walk. Let's go now! See if you can push that oxygen tank, I still have to carry the fire extinguisher." Peter went over to the door and waited for the other doctor and Mrs. Cobb to stand next to him.

"If we need to get out of here, then it would be best if I carried Mrs. Cobb to help navigate the building. We need fast mobility, both the fire extinguisher and oxygen we will have to leave behind," Luka informed him.Peter sighed heavily and Luka went over to Carter, where his head was hanging down. "One more deep breath, Carter," Luka told him.

Carter breathed in and Luka took the mask away. The younger man groaned when Peter shifted him slightly. "Carter, just hang on man, I know this is hurting you, but we need to move fast," Peter told his former student softly.

"Sorry about this, Mrs. Cobb." Luka told the elderly woman, as he lifted her up and carried her in his arms. Both men mentally counted to three, and ran into the hallway one final time.