Unexpected Overdose
Part Four
By Renee
RA3LuvSug4@aol.com

Carter walked out of the room. He had to get out. He ran to the stairs and up towards the roof. Carter opened the door and gasped as the cold air rushed into his mouth, stinging him in the face. He pulled his jacket around him tighter and walked to the edge of the roof. He looked down at the busy road.

"Jump. You don't deserve to live. You caused Chase to be like this. If it weren't for you, he wouldn't be suffering. Now the rest of his life he has to live with the fact that he could be dead instead of suffering. You don't deserve to live."

Carter resisted that voice in his head and walked over to the wall. He leaned his back against it and slowly slid to the ground. He hugged his knees to his chest and sat there. The surprising fact was that he didn't even feel the cold, even though it was 34 degrees out.

He sat there for about an hour. It was getting dark and cold, and now Carter could feel the cold air seeping into his bones. He got up and turned the doorknob to get into the hospital. It was locked. Just his luck. He banged on the door. No one heard him. This time, he knocked, kicked, and screamed at the door. Still nothing. He was just exhausting himself. Carter walked back over to the wall and laid down to try to stay warm. He lay there, thinking for a little while what he would do if no one found him. He knew he couldn't fall asleep, or else he would slip into hypothermia, or something worse. Carter struggled to stay awake.



When Peter got out of surgery, he wanted to find Carter. He went down to the ER and asked Cynthia if she had seen Carter.

"Oh, no, Dr. Benton. I haven't seen him all day. I don't even think he's even on today. Let me see…Uhh…no, he's not on." Cynthia said.

"Ok, thanks." Said Peter. He walked over into the desk area and went to the phone. He called Carter's apartment. Ring, ring, ring. He let the answering machine go on.

"Hey-Carter-It's Benton. Listen, I just wanted to know where you are. I need to talk to you, see how you're doing. Bye." He hung up the phone. Benton was thinking of where Carter could be when Dr. Greene walked up to Peter.

"Hey, Peter. I heard about Chase waking up. Does Carter know?" Asked Mark. Peter motioned for Mark to follow him into the lounge. When they got in there, Peter sat on the couch and buried his face in his hands. Mark sat next to him. Peter took his hands away from his face and rested his chin in his cupped hands.

"I can't find Carter. I told him Chase woke up and he practically ran here. I was in his room with him and he took Chase's hand, said he was sorry, and ran. When I got out of surgery, I couldn't find him." Benton sighed. Mark sat there, thinking for a while.

"Do you have any idea where he could be? I mean, besides his apartment." Peter closed his eyes and shook his head. Mark continued.

"Well, Peter, you could try to search the hospital. See if he's in Chase's room. Just start with the roof and work your way down." The sound of an ambulance coming could be heard. "I have to go, Peter. Looks like there's a trauma coming in. Hope you find him. When you do, tell him I want to talk to him, okay?" Peter nodded and walked out.

The first place Peter went was up to Chase's room. Carter wasn't there. He remembered what Mark had said about working his way down from the roof.

"He can't be on the roof. It's too dark and cold out. Well, I might as well look." Benton thought. He turned around to face Mark. Peter jumped.

"My god, Mark. You scared the hell out of me. What are you doing here? Wasn't there a trauma?" Benton asked.

"The victim was DOA." Mark said. "There was nothing we could do. Besides, I wanted to help you find Carter. Do you mind?" Mark asked. Benton shook his head.

"No I don't. Okay, we'll start with the roof, like you said."

Peter and Mark made their way up to the roof. Peter opened to door and gasped at how cold it was outside.

"Mark, I don't think he's here. It's too cold." Peter said, shivering.

"Well, we've come here. Let's just scan the area really quick." Said Mark. Peter agreed. They slowly walked out onto the roof. Peter was just about to turn around when he saw a darkened area against the wall.

"Hey, Mark-you see that?" Benton asked as he walked closer to the wall.

"Oh my god! It's Carter! Mark-go get a gurney and blankets!" Peter practically yelled as Mark went back inside.

Peter ran over to the figure slumped against the wall. He fell to his knees and turned Carter onto his back. His face was pale and his eyes were closed. Peter felt for a pulse, and found a very weak one. Carter's skin was like ice and he was trembling severely. He couldn't tell if he was seizing or just shivering from the cold. Peter took off his lab coat and covered his friend.

"Hey, Carter, wake up. C'mon, wake up." Said Peter gently as he tapped Carter's cheek. Carter quickly jerked his head away. He opened his eyes and looked around frantically. Benton saw this and tried to get Carter to focus on him.

"Carter-look at me." When he did, Benton gasped silently at what he saw. Carter was mumbling about something. He was obviously confused. Peter couldn't even tell if Carter even knew what happened. His eyes were dull and his pupils were very large. He finally turned his head towards Peter. Carter was having a very difficult time focusing, as Peter could see. He held up two fingers and asked Carter how many he was holding. Carter just smiled weakly.

"Y-y-y-you f-found m-m-me." Carter whispered, trying to control how much his body was trembling. A few seconds later, he grinned and closed his eyes. Peter shook him to try to wake him up, but he stayed unresponsive. Just then, Anna, Mark, Carol, and Doug came rushing through the door with a gurney. They took the backboard and were just going to put Carter on it when he opened his eyes. Everyone stopped what they were doing.

"Carter? Do you know what happened?"

"You know where you are?"

"How many fingers am I holding up?"

Carter wanted all these questions to stop.

"S-stop…L-l-leave me a-alone." He said. The doctors tried to roll him onto the backboard, but Carter didn't want to.

"N-no! Leave me alone! Don't take me there!" He struggled and started waving his hands frantically around. He looked Anna directly in the eyes "No! D-don't let them take me th-there! Please! Nooooo!" Now Carter was screaming. Anna stopped what she was doing and stepped back, her eyes starting to tear.

"Carter, let us help you!" Said Mark, trying to get the young doctor to calm down.

"No! You think I don't know what you're trying to do but I do! I'm not dumb! I know where you're trying to take me! I won't let you!" Carter screamed hysterically. Mark looked at Doug.

"You want 5 of Haldol?" Doug asked. Mark nodded. Carol took out the Haldol and gave it to Mark.

"No! No! I don't want Haldol!" Carter screamed, trying to get away from the needle that just penetrated his skin. He slowly calmed down and closed his eyes, drifting into sleep. As he did, the doctors watched Carter. Anna ran inside. Mark, Doug, Peter, and Carol loaded him onto the gurney. They went inside and down the elevator to the ER.