well, this is yet another chapter in my series of standalone 'stuck in an
elevator' fics.
Enjoy.

DISCLAMER: "ER," the characters and situations depicted within are the
property of Warner Brothers Television, Amblin Entertainment, Constant
c Productions, NBC, etc. They are borrowed without permission, but
without the intent of infringement. The story presented here is
written solely for entertainment purposes, and the author is making no
profit.

Stuck with you - (Dave & Kerry)

Spoilers for season 8, up to 'Never say Never'

---------------------

Kerry stood by the elevator doors and tried not to think about the meeting
she'd just been at with Romano and all the heads of departments.  Robert had
been worse than usual today.  Every time he opened his mouth, there had been
a cutting remark on his lips.  Kerry hadn't been his only target, but she
had born the brunt of it.  It made her very uneasy every time he aimed a
pointed comment in her direction.  She knew that he was just waiting for the
right time to let her secret slip.

Kerry mentally cursed the impulse that had led her to 'out' herself to him.
It wasn't as if it had done any good.  Romano hadn't retracted Kim's
dismissal - not that Kim would have wanted her job back under any
circumstances - and now he had 'leverage' over *her*, the next time she went
up against him for any reason.  Worst of all, it hadn't made any difference
in her relationship - or should she say 'lack of relationship' with Kim.
Kim had listened to Kerry explain what she had done, but all she had said
was that she wished Kerry had done it for the right reason, and that had
been that.

Lost in thought, Kerry heard the elevator doors open and stepped inside.
Automatically she pushed the button for the ER, but it wasn't until the
doors had closed, sealing her inside, that she glanced up and realized that
she wasn't alone.

Kerry froze in place as she saw Dave Malucci standing silently at the back
of the elevator car.  "You?  What...what are *you* doing here?" she
stammered.  "You don't work here anymore, Malucci."

Dave looked at her harshly.  "Well gee...I just knew when I walked in the
doors of this place that there was something I'd forgotten...oh yeah...I'd
forgotten that you fired me.  Wow, it must have slipped my mind," he added
sarcastically.

Kerry flushed as he continued.  "If you must know, *Weaver*, I was here
meeting with the hospital lawyers.  They wanted to talk to me before my
deposition for the Marfan's case.  Probably to make sure I'm not gonna do or
say anything to get the hospital in trouble."

"Don't you mean, in *more* trouble?" snapped Kerry.  "Your carelessness and
incompetence has already opened the hospital up to a massive lawsuit."

"Pity you weren't around to pick up on my 'mistakes' then," commented Dave,
dryly.  "I mean that's what Attendings are supposed to do, right?  To teach
the residents and students so that they *don't* make mistakes...and to help
us learn from the ones we *do* make."

"At this stage in your training, you shouldn't need someone to 'hold your
hand' like that," replied Kerry, trying to control her temper as she
realized that she was alone in an elevator with a man who had already shown
himself to have violent tendencies, and who most likely hated her guts.
"You should..."

But her words were cut off by the screech of the elevator as it came to a
halt.  Kerry glanced quickly at the doors, willing them to open.  It didn't
matter if they weren't at her floor...she'd gladly walk down all the stairs
in the hospital...anything to get away from the glowering man a few feet
away from her.  Nervously she hit the 'open doors' button, but nothing
happened.

"Looks like we're stuck," observed Dave.

"With powers of observation like that, I'm surprised you never made Chief
Resident," snapped Kerry.  So much for not aggravating him, she thought to
herself.

"No need to get all snarky on me," replied Dave, with an odd expression on
his face.

"You know," he continued, in a carefully neutral tone.  "The last time I was
stuck in an elevator, I saved a guys life...but then, that time there were
plenty of people there to see it...not like now."

Kerry shrank back against the wall...her face draining of color as Dave
approached her, and loomed over her.  Gripping her crutch tightly, she
wondered if she could defend herself against whatever he had planned.  She
opened her mouth as he stood in front of her, but her mouth was suddenly
dry, and she couldn't form the words...not that words were likely to
dissuade him...

As he leaned closer to her...his face only a few inches away from her, she
heard him say, "I'm sorry," before stepping back.

"Wha...what?" stammered Kerry, unable to believe that she'd heard him
correctly.

"You heard me...I'm sorry, okay?  I was out of line when I yelled at you in
the ER that day...and...and I shouldn't have called you those names in front
of everyone..."

This was the last thing Kerry had expected him to say, and she stared at him
open-mouthed for a few seconds before she recovered her composure.  "Do you
think that an apology is going to change anything?" she asked.  She was
embarrassed to think of how easily unnerved she had been by Malucci's
presence, and there was a note of anger in her voice.

Dave shrugged, "Doesn't matter.  I didn't do it cause I thought it'd change
things...I said it cause I meant it.  I *am* sorry...whether you believe it
or not.  I was angry...upset...I didn't mean what I said...or at least, I
didn't mean to say it how I said it...*where* I said it..."  He looked away
from her.  "You didn't ought to have been shown up like that...you deserved
an apology."

Kerry's voice was cool as she replied, "If you're planning on apologizing to
everybody who deserves one from you, you're going to be kept extremely
busy...starting with the family of that Marfan's patient."

Kerry could see a slight flush on Dave's cheeks as he said, "I was gonna do
that...but the lawyers laughed me out of it...said that if I went and
apologized then *their* lawyers would only use it as an admission of guilt,
and take the hospital for all it's worth."

He looked up and caught the expression on Kerry's face.  "Hey, I know I
screwed up, all right?" he snapped.  "I *know* I should have looked at the
Goddamned x-rays...hell, even a doctor who 'doesn't know his ass from his
elbow' would have copped that *something* was screwy about the guys films.
Even if I didn't know what it was...I could have done something...asked
someone...maybe waited for the tox screen to come back..."

Turning suddenly, he slammed his hands hard against the wall and leaned
there, breathing heavily.  "Do you *know* how often I've replayed it in my
mind?" he asked, with his back to Kerry.  "Do you know how much I've wished
that I'd taken a lousy few seconds to really *look* at the x-rays?  I'm
gonna spend the rest of my life, knowing that a patient of mine died, not
because he was too badly hurt to save...not because I didn't know what was
wrong with him...but because I was too cocky to even *look* at a simple set
of chest films.  I was just soooo sure that I knew the answer...I didn't
even bother looking at the information."

Turning around, he leaned back against the wall, eyes closed, his face
twisted into an expression of despair.

"I didn't realize," said Kerry, quietly.

Dave opened his eyes and looked at her.  "Realize what?  That Dave Malucci
isn't the insensitive bastard that you thought?  See, I told you that you
don't know a *thing* about me.  I..."

Dave's comments were lost in the sound of the elevator motors starting up
again.

Kerry's relief at the thought of finally getting moving was short-lived,
however, as a few seconds later, the car lurched to an abrupt stop, and the
lights went out.

She hung on tightly to the handrail, to keep her balance, and waited in vain
for the emergency lights to kick in.

"You okay Chi...Dr. Weaver?" she heard Dave ask...a note of genuine concern
in his voice.

"I think so," she said warily, not letting go of the handrail.
Dammit...ever since she was a child, she had hated the thought of being
stuck in pitch darkness.  "Do...do you have a light?"

"Why Dr. Weaver," she heard Dave say in an amused tone.  "I thought *you*
would be aware of the dangers of smoking."

Kerry glared at him, even though she knew he couldn't see her.  "Do you have
a light or not," she snapped.

The smile faded from Dave's face and he muttered, "Keep your hair on," as he
rummaged blindly in his backpack.  Cursing under his breath, he finally
crouched down and upended most of the contents onto the floor.

Finally his hand closed over the familiar shape of his cigarette lighter.

"You might want to shield your eyes for a bit," he warned Kerry as he stood
up.  "Don't look directly at the flame until your eyes get used to it."

Kerry carefully stared at the blackness where she knew her feet to be.  She
could hear the click of the flint in a lighter...followed by some stifled
curses...and then finally a louder click, followed by the sound of a flame.

Cautiously she looked up and saw Dave standing with a lighter in one hand,
and using the other to shield the flame.  "I didn't know you smoked," she
said without thinking.

"I don't," replied Dave.  "This used to be my Mom's...before she got quit."

"Oh...okay...I...I guess we'd better try the emergency phone."  She moved
towards the control panel.

"Probably won't work," said Dave, as he held the lighter to illuminate the
panel.  "Half the phones in these things don't."

True to Dave's prediction, the phone was out of order.  "Now what?" asked
Dave, as Kerry replaced the handset.

"Surely someone will notice that this elevator isn't working."

Dave snorted in disgust, "Good luck...we could be here for days before
anyone notices."  He caught the flash of fear that swept across Kerry's
face.  "Hey, chill out...it shouldn't take more than an hour or two before
someone figures it out."

"And how long will that flame last?" asked Kerry, her voice shaking slightly
at the thought of being trapped in the dark for God knows how long.  She
swayed on her feet.

Dave grabbed at her with his free hand.  "Maybe you'd better sit down for a
bit."

Kerry would have protested his touch, but she could feel her mouth drying up
so she just nodded and allowed him to lower her to the ground.

Dave observed her for a few moments before saying, "So...how long have you
had a problem with the dark?"   He crouched down in front of her."

Kerry looked at him questioningly as he explained.  "Your skin is cold and
clammy...you're shaking like a leaf...and I don't think that's it's *my*
proximity that's making your pulse race so fast.  In short, you have all the
classic signs of a panic attack about something.  You were doing fine when
we were stuck earlier, so it can't be just that.  The only thing that's
changed has been the light going out, so my guess is you've got a phobia or
something about the dark."  He sat down in front of her and waited for her
reaction.

"And how do you know I'm not a diabetic going into insulin shock?" asked
Kerry.

Dave thought for a moment before shaking his head.  "Nah," he said.   "If you
were diabetic, someone would have copped you shooting up by now, and it'd be
all round the ER.  Besides, you're too efficient to be not wearing one of
those medi-alert thingies if you needed one."

Kerry found herself nodding approvingly at his reasoning.  "An accurate
diagnosis," she commented.  "Yes...I do have a problem with dark
places...ever since I was a child."

"Maybe you should see a shrink," said Dave.

"Been there, done that," replied Kerry with a wry smile.

Dave frowned at her comment, but she didn't elaborate.  Closing her eyes,
she leaned back against the wall.

"Just hang in there Chi...Doc," said Dave.  "Somebody will get us out...and
long before this runs out."

He thought for a minute and then said.  "Hey...maybe if I lit some paper or
something, maybe it'd save on the lighter fuel."

"Or maybe it'd set off the smoke-alarm," commented Kerry dryly.  Opening her
eyes, she looked at Dave.  "The *smoke* alarm...that's on it's own power
circuit...if it went off..."

"Somebody'd be *sure* to realize where we are," finished Dave.

---------------------------

A few minutes later, Dave was holding his lighter up to the center of the
ceiling.

"Can't you reach any higher?" asked Kerry.  "I don't think you're close
enough."

"Not unless you want me to lift you up," said Dave, stretching further.
There was a short beeping sound.  "Bingo," he said as the alarm sounded.

It took several minutes for someone to respond...and it was a further half
hour before they managed to get the elevator moving again, but by then
various torches had been passed in through the emergency hatch.  Dave had
been given the option of climbing out, but had insisted on staying until
Kerry was able to leave the car.

As the elevator, with lighting fully restored, started once again, Kerry
turned to Dave.  "Dave," she said quietly.  "I just want to say thank you.
I...I wouldn't have handled things too well if I'd been trapped in the dark
on my own."

"And do you think this is going to change anything?"

Kerry shook her head.  "No...but it's the right thing to do."   Fumbling in
her pocket, she pulled out a card and handed it to him.  "If...*when* you
find another residency program...have them call me for a reference.  It
won't be a waste of time."

Dave took the card without a word.  Shoving it into his pocket, he stood by
the doors as they opened.  "Goodbye Dr. We...Chief," he said, before
stepping out of the elevator and striding away without a backward glance.

Kerry was about to follow when she saw something on the ground.  Figuring
that Dave must have missed it when he was repacking his backpack, she bent
down to pick it up.

It was a photo...of Dave...with a girl of about 4 perched on his shoulders.
Kerry turned it over and leaned against the wall as she read the caption.
"To Daddy from Nancy"

"I didn't know a thing about you," she said to herself.

-------------------------

The End