Going Home
Part Five
By Cathy Roberts
huntersglenn@yahoo.com

A John Carter/Luka Kovac/Dave Malucci Story. Rated PG. Contains
spoilers for Season Six. Last episode seen was "Be Still My Heart".

"ER" and all its characters belong to Warner Bros. No
infringement of their copyright is intended. This story
was written for the enjoyment of "ER" fans everywhere, and
may be downloaded for your own pleasure. However this
story may not be used, distributed or archived without the
permission of the author.

As always, I wish to say a big "Thank you" to Melissa, who
edits what I write and makes sure that it all makes sense. And
a special thanks to Carolyn, who spotted my medical errors
and put me on the right track.



Dave emptied his pockets, finally finding enough change. He
handed it to Luka. "Hopefully, Weaver will accept a collect call."

"I'm sure she will."

"Have you figured out what you're going to tell her? Obviously,
she doesn't know that John's taking Nardil, so if you tell her
that, then you'll be betraying him."

"I don't know what to tell her. I can't lie to her, Dave." He
also didn't want to reveal something to her that John had not
wanted her or anyone else to know. Then again, maybe she did
know. Luka had no way of knowing the answer to that until he s
poke with Kerry. With a sigh, he headed to the telephones.

Dave sat back down and watched Luka walk over to the bank of
telephones that lined the far wall in the emergency room. He
was trying to do everything he could to keep from letting his
lack of sleep catch up to him. The staff had offered empty beds
to him and Luka, but they had declined them for the present.
Neither one of them wanted to sleep until they knew more about
John's condition. And if they had been infected with this flu.
Dave knew that was something that had the staff worried as well,
and they were making sure that the two men were well. They
brought them food and juice, took their temperature and pulse.
Constantly. They even reassured them that they had a good
supply of zanamavir, just in case they needed it. They were
a good crew, Dave thought with a smile.

But, it wasn't as if they were busy. Aside from John, there were
two other patients in there. The staff assured him that business
would pick up once the roads were clear and the police and rescue
squads could easily reach those in need. And those who were beyond
need. Dave could barely hear Luka's voice, so it was obvious that
he had reached someone back at County. He closed his eyes, certain
that a brief rest couldn't hurt him right now.

"Luka?" Kerry's voice sounded anxious over the phone line.

"We're at the hospital with John, Kerry."

"How is he?"

"Not good. His temperature is slightly above 106, and he's had
two seizures since we left the motel, one in the ambulance and one
here. His breathing is so labored that they had to intubate him on the
way in. We're waiting now to hear from the doctor."

"You're not in the exam room with him?"

"They won't let us in. There's a chance that we might have the
same flu virus, so until it's been determined that we don't, we're
not allowed anywhere but chairs. The staff here is nice though,
and they've been checking us on a regular basis."

"I want the phone number for the hospital and the name of the
doctor that's treating John."

Luka gave her those details. "Luckily, this end of the county
still has electricity and phone service, but the snow is getting
heavier here, so I don't know how long that will last."

"I understand. I asked for Rosher's records from Buffalo. I
thought they might be useful to John's doctor."

"I'll mention it to the nurse and she can ask him. Rosher's
wife, Anna, is she ill?"

"She's also in the hospital, but they're sure she'll pull
through all right."

"Kerry, did John date her?"

"Why would you ask that?"

"He kept calling for someone named Anna, so we thought that perhaps
they had been more than friends while she was working in Chicago."

There was a long pause before Kerry answered. "They never dated,
but John was in love with her. It broke his heart when she left
here with Max Rosher. If I would have known that the two of them
were going to be at that conference, I would have never sent John."

"I see. Kerry, do you know if John is allergic to any medications?
Anything they should avoid giving him?" If Kerry knew about the
Nardil, then he would find out now.

"Not that I know about. I'll arrange for his records to be sent
to the hospital."

"Good. I'm sure that will be a big help here. I'll call you
back as soon as I hear from the doctor." Luka wanted to hang up
before Kerry began to ask him why John's condition didn't match
that of a flu patient.

"I'm getting ready to go home now. Let me give you that number.
Call me with any news, Luka, no matter if it's good or bad."

"I will." He took down her number, then hung up and went to tell
Dave what Kerry had said, only to find that he was sound asleep
in his chair. So, he searched for the nurse and told her what
Kerry had said about Rosher's records. She disappeared into the
exam room for just a minute and when she returned she told him
that Doctor Robins would like the records. So, Luka went back to
the phones and caught Kerry before she left work. Minutes later,
Rosher and John's records were coming through on the fax machine
behind the desk. Luka wasn't exactly sure if all of this was
legal, but he didn't care. As long as it helped John get better,
then that was all that mattered.



A hand gently shook Luka's arm and he sat up with a start, not
really sure where he was. Then he recognized the emergency room
of the hospital in Ohio. To his left, Dave was still asleep, and
to his right sat John's physician, Doctor Ben Robins.

"I know you probably needed that nap, but you wanted me to bring
you up to date on John's condition."

Luka ran a hand through his hair as he collected his thoughts. "Yes.
How is he doing?"

Dave began to awaken, but Luka kept his attention on Robins. "As
you know, he was dehydrated, so he's being given fluids for that.
We haven't been able to extubate him yet and we're still working
to reduce his temperature, but the good news is that it hasn't
gone up since his arrival. And he hasn't had any further seizures."

"What about the possibility of the flu going into pneumonia?" Dave
asked.

"There s some consolidation in his lungs, so we're giving him
antibiotics for that. As for the flu, there isn't much we can do
except try our best to reduce his temperature and keep him comfortable."

"Have Rosher's records been of any help at all?" Luka asked.

"Yes, in that we know what medications didn't work for Rosher.
But, John isn't HIV positive, so he should respond to treatment.
However, the drug interaction between the Nardil and the cold
medicine is giving us a new set of problems to deal with. John's
experiencing tachypnea, is hypoxic, and has tachycardia. His
blood pressure is high, dangerously so, but we're attempting to
control that with a labetalol drip. Once we get him stabilized
down here, then we'll be sending him up to the I.C.U., where he
can be constantly monitored. You got him here in good time, and
I feel optimistic though about John making a full recovery."

"That's good," Luka said. He had been afraid that if John did
recover, he would have his health compromised for the rest of his
life.

"And what about us? I know I'm not feeling ill, I don't know about
Luka." Dave said.

"You said you had been at a medical conference with Rosher. When
did his symptoms first appear?" Robins asked.

"I think it was on Friday, the second day. And John was fine when
we left this morning. It wasn't until we were on the road that he
became ill," Luka said.

"That's not really true, Luka. He was complaining Sunday night
about not feeling well. At the time, I thought he was just stressed
from having to deal with Rosher being sick." Dave said.

"So, Rosher exhibited symptoms on Friday, and John on Sunday night.
And knowing when John first became ill gives us another avenue of
treatment for the flu."

"You're referring to zanamavir?" Dave asked.

Robins nodded. "It's proving to be very effective if administered
during the first two days that symptoms appear. It certainly won't
hurt to give it to John. As for the two of you, if you were
infected by Rosher, then you would be ill by now. If you were
infected by John, then we won't know for another day or so. I
think it would be best if the two of you went back to your motel
and stayed put."

"That might be a problem. We rode in with John," Luka said.

"I live out in that direction. I can give you a lift. That is,
if the roads are passable by the time my shift ends. If not,
then I guess you two are stuck here. The head nurse did find
beds for you, didn't she?"

"She did. We didn't want to go to sleep until we knew how John
was doing," Dave said, feeling a little guilty over how easily
he had fallen asleep.

"Well, you should take advantage of them now. John will be on
his way to the I.C.U. soon." Robins got to his feet and Dave
and Luka followed suit.

"Get some rest and something to eat. I'll be checking on John
and if his condition worsens, then I'll wake you."

"Thanks."

The doctor left and Dave and Luka went in search of the head nurse
and their promised beds.



When Dave opened his eyes, he found himself wishing that he hadn't
bothered. His head was pounding and he felt achy all over. The
flu had caught him, although he did hope that his aches and pains
were due to the hard bed and the headache from stress.

He had sat up and was just about to stand when the door opened
and one of the more attractive nurses entered the room.

She smiled when she saw him. "I was sent in here to wake you up,
but I can see that's not an issue. Doctor Robins is ready to go
home now. If you want to catch a ride with him back to your motel,
you'll need to meet him at the admit desk in fifteen minutes."

"Great," he said with more enthusiasm than he felt. What he
really wanted to do was crawl under the covers and go back to
sleep. Suddenly, John's earlier behavior didn't seem childish
after all. "I think you should check my temperature?"

Her demeanor went from playful to professional in a heartbeat.
"You don't feel well either?"

"Either? Does that mean Luka has the flu, too?"

"You didn't hear it from me." She stuck a thermometer in his
mouth, then took his pulse and blood pressure.

"A little over 103. Normal for the flu. I'll tell Doctor Robins
and he'll give you a script for zanamavir. You should be able
to nip this in the bud before you feel any worse."

"Any word on how John Carter is doing?"

"He's much better, but not quite out of danger. His fever has
been reduced and his breathing is less labored. He's going to
be spending some time with us, I'm afraid. I know you want to
see him, but there's no way that you and Doctor Kovac can be
allowed to go to any other section of the hospital."

"Sorry. We didn't intend to infect everyone here."

"Not your fault. The flu shot can't be made to include every
possible strain that might hit."

"You said that Luka wasn't feeling well. How is he?"

"He's already started on the zanamavir and claims to be feeling
better already." There was a far away look in her eyes as she
spoke about Luka and Dave felt a flash of jealousy over the fact
that Ms. Perkins didn't get that look in her eyes when she was
talking to him. The jealousy quickly passed as he remembered
all that Luka had lost. Being good looking and nice didn't
guarantee happiness, that was for sure.



An hour later, he and Luka were in Robins car and on their
way back to the motel. The roads were clear, but the traffic
was still light and Dave commented on that.

"The county has an excellent road crew. The minute the snow
stopped, they were out on the main roads, getting them clear.
It will take a bit longer to clear the back roads, but once
those are done, the traffic will pick up. Aren't the roads
cleared quickly in Chicago?"

"Yeah, but that's a fairly big city. Come to think of it, I've
never been out in the country, so to speak, after a heavy snow
storm," Dave said.

Robins laughed. "You don't have to sound apologetic about
referring to this as "country". We know we're well off the
beaten path. But, we like it that way. I take it that you're
from a big city then?"

"Newark. They keep the streets clear of snow there, too. What
about you? Are you from around here?"

"Yep. Born and raised here. The only time I wasn't here was
while I was in college and medical school. I lucked out and
ended up doing my residency in Cleveland, so home was never far
away. Once I was done with that, I knew that I really wanted
to come back here to work. I know my patients and they know me.
They trust me." He shrugged. "Besides, it's home."

"There is that," Luka whispered, a wistful look on his face.
He had felt that way in Croatia. Until forces beyond his
control had made home an unbearable place to live.

"What about you, Doctor Kovac? Where are you from?"

"Croatia. We get our share of snow there, too."

Robins laughed. "I'll bet you do. My Dad was in Yugoslavia
during World War, II. His plane was shot down and he was
rescued by the chetniks. He called them freedom fighters."

"The chetniks were Serbs," Luka tonelessly replied. "Even
back then, the Serbs and Croats were fighting each other."

"Guess that kind of explains the troubles over there, huh?"

"It's just the tip of the iceberg, Doctor Robins. The bad
feelings go back a long time." Luka saw a grocery store in
the distance and thought it looked familiar. As they got closer,
he saw that it was the one he had gone to the day before.

"Would you mind stopping at the store? I think we could use
some more juice. And some soup. I have money, if you wouldn't
mind going in?"

"Not a problem." The doctor pulled into the parking lot.
"Any special requests?"

"Bee..." Dave trailed off as he caught Luka's stern gaze.
"Chicken noodle would be great."

"I'll be right back." Robins got out of the car and they
watched him disappear through the front door.

"How long do you think we'll be out of commission?" Dave
asked.

Luka shrugged. "A few days at least. Then we can head for
Chicago."

"I wish we were taking John with us."

"Me, too. But, that isn't going to happen. The best we can
hope for is that we're well enough that they'll let us in to
see him. I don't like thinking about him waking up all alone
in a strange hospital."

"Me, either. He's going to think we deserted him or something."

"Or something. Like nearly killing him." Luka's eyes were
grim as he spoke.

"Luka, it isn't our fault."

"That's right. It's my fault. I was the one who bought the
medicine in the first place, and I was the one who slipped it
into the juice. I have to live with the fact that my arrogance
almost killed another person."

"You aren't arrogant. That's my department, remember?"

Luka turned around to glare at him. "I'm not in the mood for
humor, Dave."

"Sorry. Luka, yes, you bought the medicine and you put it in his
juice. But, I'm the one who got him to drink the juice because
I agreed with you. If John would have been up front with us about
what he was taking, then this wouldn't have happened."

"You can't blame this on John. He was under no obligation to tell
us his personal business."

"I'm not blaming him. I'm blaming fate. He did what he thought
was right for him by not telling us that he was taking a prescription
medicine. We did what we thought was right by giving him cold
medicine without his knowledge. None of us knew that this would
happen. We did the best we could and John is alive. That's what
counts most, right?"

Luka was still for a moment as he thought about what Dave was
saying. Then he slowly nodded. "I guess you have a point. We
all learned a lesson from this. I learned to listen to my patient
a little more closely. Hopefully John learned to be more up front
with his friends regarding his medical condition."

"And I learned to go through a person's luggage at every possible
opportunity," Dave said with a grin.

Luka shook his head, but he couldn't keep the smile off his face.
Dave was never going to totally change, but right now, he wasn't
sure if he ever wanted him to. There had to be someone around who
didn't take life seriously.

Robins exited the store and got back in the car, passing the bag
to Dave in the back seat. "I hope that's enough."

Dave looked in the bag, nodding. "It looks like it. Thanks."

"No problem." Robins started the engine and headed for the motel.

"Are you sure this isn't out of your way?" Luka asked.

"It is, but just a little. The next time I see you two, I trust
that you will have driven yourselves to the hospital. I'll call
you to keep you apprised of John's condition."

"Thanks. You know, for someone who is exposing himself to the
flu, you seem pretty happy," Dave said.

Robins looked up in the rear view mirror and smiled back at Dave.
"I am happy. I have all of today and half of tomorrow off, and
I intend to spend most of it sleeping. Just in case though, I
did bring some zanamavir with me."

He pulled into the parking lot of the motel and Luka directed
him to their room, where he parked beside their rental car.

"If you're off tomorrow, then who should we speak with about
John?" Luka asked.

"Doctor Robert Hastings or Doctor Alex Smith. They're both
taking care of him. They're both good doctors, but I like Alex
best."

"He's that good?" Dave asked.

Robins grinned again, and this time there was a twinkle in his
eyes. "Yes. Plus, she's my fiancé."

"I guess you are partial to her then," Luka said. He wished he
could be lucky enough to fall in love with a woman who shared his
passion for healing. His wife hadn't shared that passion, but
she had understood it, and that meant a lot.

"Thanks for the ride. Drive home safely," Dave said as he got
out of the backseat.

"I will. Take care, follow the directions for the medicine and
I'm sure the two of you will be feeling better in no time."

Luka unlocked the door to their room and stepped inside. It didn't
look any different than it had when they had left it. Both beds
were unmade, towels were piled on the bathroom floor where they
had dropped them after giving John his tepid bath. The only thing
extra was the debris from the I.V.'s the E.M.T.'s had administered
to John.

Dave closed the door and locked it. "Seems empty without John
here, doesn't it?"

"Yeah. It does. I'll call the manager and see if he can bring
over some fresh linens. I don't know about you, but I want to
crawl into a warm bed and get some more sleep." Luka began to
pick up the trash from the floor.

"I agree with you about that, Luka." Dave put the bag of
groceries on the table, then began to strip the beds. He ended
up stuffing all the dirty linens, towels and wash cloths in the
used pillowcases. By the time he was done, the manager was
there with fresh linens for them. As before, he wanted to talk,
and Luka indulged him for a few minutes, then reminded him to
wash everything in very hot water to kill the germs. He didn't
quite close the door in the man's face, but he didn't miss it by
far. A few minutes later, both men were sound asleep in freshly
made beds.


End of Part 5