Thanks to the ERFFCC for their comments and suggestions
Previously on ER.
Dave was attacked on his way home from work. Recovering in the hospital, he started suffering from nightmares. Luka told Dave that he too had suffered from nightmares after an incident in Croatia, and tried to help Dave realize that he was not to blame for the assault. Carter returned from Atlanta and tried to help Dave as well. He was shocked to find out that Dave knew all about his addiction, as it wasn't common knowledge in the ER. After a final check-up from Elizabeth, Dave was cleared to leave the hospital, but insisted on walking through the ER rather than let his colleagues see him in a wheelchair.
Dave stared tiredly out the window of the car as Luka drove. He knew that he probably should have let Luka wheel him through the ER instead of insisting on walking, but he hadn't been able to bear the thought of his colleagues seeing him like that. Not in the ER.
Occasionally Dave responded to Luka's attempts to engage him in conversation, but for the most part Luka might as well have been talking to himself. Sighing, Luka pulled to a stop in a line of cars waiting for a green light.
"So, what would you like for dinner this evening?" he asked. "I thought I could cook you something special to celebrate your discharge from the hospital."
There was no response from Dave. Surprised, Luka looked over to the passenger seat. Dave had sunk down into his seat. His arms were wrapped tightly around his body and Luka could see that he was trembling.
"Dave?" said Luka, puzzled. "What is the matter?" Dave didn't respond. He continued to stare fixedly out of the window. Luka followed his line of vision and saw that Dave was staring at a small alleyway leading off the street.
With a sickening chill, Luka realized that he had stopped the car outside the alleyway where Dave had been attacked. "Oh God, Dave," he said. The blaring of car horns interrupted him and he noticed that the traffic light had changed to green. Hurriedly he drove away. A few blocks later, he pulled into the side.
Switching off the engine, he turned to Dave. "I am so sorry," he said softly. "I didn't realize...I drive this way almost every day...I never thought...I never thought it would upset you so."
Dave turned to Luka, with tears in his eyes. "It's not your fault," he said, his voice cracking. "I knew...I knew we were going to be passing it. I...I just thought I could handle it. I mean..." He swallowed hard, "I thought I'd be okay with it..."
"I should have taken another route home," said Luka. "You should not have had to face this...not so soon."
"How can I ever get past this if I can't even look at the place where...where it happened?" he said sadly.
"You will get past this. You just have to give it time. There is no need to rush things."
"I just hate the way it makes me feel. I don't want to be like this forever."
"You will not be," said Luka reassuringly. "It may take time, but you will get better."
"Didn't take long for Carter," said Dave, sighing. "I mean, he was in and out of Curtain 3, his first week back...and he was stabbed."
"You are not Carter," said Luka firmly. "Your recovery will not take the same path as his." Luka hoped that this would be true. He couldn't bear the thought of Dave becoming an addict. "Carter tried to do too much too quickly. He did not allow himself sufficient time to heal and paid the price. I will not let you suffer the same fate. That is a promise."
"I'm not gonna turn to drugs," said Dave quietly. "I know they're not the answer."
Luka looked at him in surprise. "You knew?"
Dave shrugged, "I found out by accident. Carter talked to me about it...helped me understand a few things..."
"Then you understand why I do not wish you to rush into anything. Please Dave. Continue with your Psych appointments and remember that you have friends and family who care deeply for you and want to help you. You are not alone."
"I know that," said Dave softly. "Thank you."
Dave spent a long time on the phone to Chris that night. Luka wasn't eavesdropping intentionally, but he did hear Dave speaking to her about the attack, telling her more about it than he had done before. When Dave was finished, he handed the phone to Luka. "She wants to talk to you," he said.
Luka nodded and took the phone. "Chris, how are you?" he asked.
"I'm doing fine," replied Chris. "Better now that I know that Dave's back home. I was thinking of coming to Chicago tomorrow to see him. I've got about thirty hours between shifts, and I was hoping I could crash at your place again. If that's okay."
"Of course it is okay," replied Luka, with an involuntary smile. "It will be good to see you again."
"That's great," replied Chris. "See you tomorrow then."
The day after Dave returned home, Luka quietly opened the front door. He hadn't wanted to leave Dave alone less than twenty-four hours after he had been discharged, but Dave had expressed the desire for home-made lasagna and Luka hadn't had all the ingredients. Not wishing to disappoint him, Luka had decided to make a quick trip to the Mall. Of course there was no such thing as a quick trip, but Dave had assured him that he would be fine for a few hours.
After the phone call from Dave's sister, he and Luka had talked for a long time about a lot of things that had been troubling both of them. Dave had seemed a lot more relaxed than he had been for weeks and Luka was relieved to hear the next morning that Dave's sleep hadn't been disturbed by nightmares. Hopefully it was the beginning of a full recovery.
He pushed open the door to the living room where he had left Dave sprawled on the couch. Hopefully Dave would have managed to get some sleep by now. To his surprise, Dave wasn't there. Puzzled, he checked the rest of the ground floor, but without success. "Dave?" he called, starting to get worried. "Dave, where are you?" He heard a muffled sound coming from upstairs and took the stairs two at a time, in his haste to find out where it was coming from.
"I'm in here," called Dave from the bathroom.
Luka opened the door to see Dave slumped against the side of the bathtub. "Oh my God," said Luka as he rushed to Dave's side, and knelt down beside him. "Are you all right? What happened? What are you doing?" Luka was nearly frantic with worry. He had given Dave strict instructions, not to climb the stairs unattended, because although Dave's injuries were healing, he was still suffering occasional bouts of dizziness.
"I'm fine," replied Dave. "Just a bit worn out." That was an understatement. It had taken Dave almost half-an-hour just to get from the living room to the bathroom. There had been a moment on the stairs, when he had lost his balance and had spent a few anxious minutes, clinging to the railing, willing himself not to pass out.
And now with his heart pounding, and his body aching, he was almost regretting his earlier impulse.
"What are you doing upstairs?" asked Luka, checking Dave's pulse as he did so.
Dave looked embarrassed. "Well, I got fed up with my hair being so filthy and greasy, so I thought I'd wash it. Only, by the time I got here I was too exhausted to do anything. I was just trying to catch my breath for a minute."
"You wanted to wash your hair?" said Luka in disbelief.
"Yeah, man. When I was in the hospital, they used this crappy dry shampoo on me. It hasn't been washed properly for weeks."
Luka shook his head in incredulity. "Do you have any idea how much of a scare you gave me?"
"Sorry, Luka," said Dave with a repentant expression on his face. "But I thought I'd be finished and downstairs again before you got back."
"And just how did you think you were going to manage without getting your cast wet?"
Dave looked at the cast on his left arm. It was hard to see the plaster under the cover of all the signatures on it. "Oh," he said. "I hadn't thought of that."
Luka rolled his eyes. "Okay then. Now that you're here, I suppose we had better do something about it."
"We?"
"Do you think I would let you do this alone? Come, kneel over the side of the bath, and use your good arm to keep your balance. I will get a plastic bag to keep your cast dry."
After wrapping Dave's arm securely in plastic, Luka checked his watch before removing it and rolling up his sleeves. "Chris should be here soon. We will see if we can get you finished before she arrives."
So Luka set to work. His task was not made easier by Dave's persistent wriggling. "Careful," said Dave. "You're getting suds in my eyes."
"Keep them closed," ordered Luka. "And stop squirming so much."
Dave yelped as Luka sent a stream of water down his neck. "Sorry," said Luka, unrepentantly, "But I told you not to move."
Finally Dave was lathered and rinsed. Luka wrapped a towel around his head and helped him to a seated position. Dave tried to towel dry his hair one-handed as Luka replaced the bottles on the shelf.
"Uh-oh," said Luka.
"Uh-oh, what?" asked Dave.
"Do you know if Chris left some stuff here the last time she stayed over?"
"Dunno, I guess so. She wouldn't want to be carrying stuff back and forth. Why d'you ask?"
"I was just wondering what this product 'Nair' does."
"What?" yelped Dave. He dropped the towel and tried to pull himself up to where he could look in the mirror. Everything looked okay. He turned around to see Luka in fits of laughter and holding a bottle of shampoo.
"You..." said Dave. His eyes fell on the shower attachment, which was dripping idly in the tub where Luka had left it. Quickly he reached for it.
"You would not dare," said Luka.
"Oh wouldn't I?" Dave quickly flicked the 'on' button and started directing the resulting stream of water at Luka. Luka tried to wrestle it away from Dave. He wasn't trying too hard, because he didn't want to hurt him. Within a few minutes they were both soaked.
Neither of them heard the door open, and so both were startled when they heard Chris say, "Oh, if I only had a camera with me."
They stopped struggling in surprise. "I let myself in," said Chris. "And I was wondering where you'd both got to. Don't let me interrupt you."
Luka and Dave looked at each other for a moment. "Shall I?" said Luka nodding in Chris's direction.
"Go for it dude," said Dave with an evil grin. In a quick movement, Luka let go of Dave, and grabbed Chris. Taking her by surprise he had her almost in the bathtub before she recovered and started struggling.
"Oh no," said Chris as she tried to pull her feet under her.
"Oh yes," said Dave as he directed jets of water at her.
A few minutes later, all three of them were soaked, and the bathroom looked as if a tidal wave had hit it. Their fun was interrupted by the sound of the doorbell.
"Are you expecting anyone?" asked Luka.
Dave shook his head. "Not me. Are you?"
"Well don't just stand there," said Chris. "Go get it."
Luka grabbed a towel and tried vainly to make himself look presentable as he hurried down the stairs. Chris got out of the bathtub, and helped Dave out to the hall, to where they could hear what was going on.
Luka opened the door to find Kerry standing there. Kerry raised her eyebrows at the sight of Luka standing there dripping. "Is everything all right?" she asked.
"Everything is fine," said Luka. "We just had a bit of a problem with the plumbing."
Upstairs, Chris and Dave heard this and tried not to burst out laughing. "Plumbing, good one," said Chris. "C'mon we'd better get you looking presentable before you see your boss."
"Yeah, don't want her thinking I'm a total slob," laughed Dave, leaning on Chris as they walked back to his room.
"I've missed that," said Chris. Dave looked at her curiously. "I've missed your laugh, your smile."
Dave put his good arm around his little sister. "It's been a rough time sis, I know. I'm just glad that I've had you and Luka to help me get through it. I mean I know I've still a long ways to go, but I'm getting there."
"I know that," said Chris, "And you know I'll always be there for you."
to be continued
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