Going Home
Part Seven
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 " All In The Family ".

"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.



A few days later, Kerry pulled Luka and Dave aside.

"It looks as if John won't be moved here after all. The insurance
won't cover it. I understand from Doctor Smith that John could be
released tomorrow provided he has a place to stay where someone can
watch him for a few days. So far, a lot of people have volunteered
to go watch him at his place, but..."

"But that might be too crowded?" Luka suggested. He knew that she
didn't want people finding out that John was still living with her
and having people there to keep an eye on John would certainly
give away her secret.

"Right."

"Hell, I have a big place. Two bedrooms even. I could clean out
the guest room and he could stay there. It isn't that far from
here, so everyone wouldn't have to go far to stay with him." Dave
said.

"You wouldn't mind putting him up for about a week?" Kerry asked.

"Not at all." Dave grinned. "Provided of course, that we get
to go pick him up tomorrow."

"I was just about to get to that part. Would you?"

"We would be honored, Kerry."

"Great. Find someone willing to cover your shifts tomorrow and
you can go get him, then take him directly to Dave's. In the
meantime, I'll go by John's and get the things he'll need. You
guys can even have first crack at watching over him."

"That sounds great. Thanks, Doctor Weaver."

"No problem, Dave." Kerry walked away from them.

Dave turned to Luka, a big smile on his face. "I think I can
get Cleo to cover for me again. What about you?"

"I'm sure I can find someone to cover for me. Maybe Chen or even
Mark. We should plan to get an early start tomorrow."

"Right. And I'll need to get that spare room cleaned up."

"Why don't I come by tonight to help you with that? Then I can
stay on the couch and we'll be on the road even sooner," Luka
suggested.

"Good idea. Excuse me, I gotta go find Cleo and see if I can con
her into working for me. See ya." Dave loped off toward the
pedes trauma room and Dave headed for the admit desk, where he
told Carol the good news about John.

"I heard that he was going to be released. A lot of people have
volunteered to stay with him. I think that Randi has made up a
sign-up sheet for it."

"Well, according to Kerry, Dave and I are first."

"And I know you'll do a great job."

"I hope so." Luka was afraid that he would mess up again. And
this time John wouldn't be lucky enough to survive his error.

"Luka, there won't be that much to do. He's recovering from the
flu, not a major surgery or illness."

"He nearly died, Carol," he snapped.

"I know that, Luka," she patiently replied. "But, he didn't. You
and Dave kept him alive until he got to the hospital. You did
well. You should be proud of the way you handled things and not
so down on yourself because he became ill in the first place."

"He wouldn't have become that ill if not for me," he shouted.

Carol merely stared at him, then grabbed him by the sleeve of his
lab coat and led him into the lounge. "Luka, you aren't this upset
because you missed the fact he was sick with the flu. What really
happened in Ohio? Spill it."

"I can't tell you what happened. To do so would violate John's
privacy."

"I see." Carol led Luka over to the couch and pushed him down,
then sat beside him. "I take it that this has something to do
with the fact that Carter is taking an anti-depressant?"

Luka's head jerked around and he stared at her. "You know about
that?"

"Yes. I know. Doctor Daraad gave him a script for Nardil. What
happened Luka?"

"I asked John if he wanted any medicine to help fight the flu
symptoms. He was pretty adamant about not wanting or needing to
take anything. I bought something anyway. And I put it in his
juice so he didn't know he was taking it." Luka got to his feet
and began to pace in front of the couch. "I was so sure that I
knew what was best for him, Carol. So sure that I had no qualms
about sneaking medicine to him. Not once, but twice. We gave
him two doses of it. That's what made him so ill. It wasn't
the flu. It was a drug interaction caused by me."

"You had no way of knowing what would happen, Luka."

"I know that. I also know that John didn't tell me why he didn't
want any medicine. None of that matters, Carol. What matters is
that I didn't listen to him. I assumed that I knew what was best
for him and then acted on that assumption."

"Is John angry with you about that?"

"No. He's not."

"Then why are you so angry about it?"

"Because he nearly died," Luka yelled. Then he realized that he
was yelling and he dropped into the nearest chair. "I almost
killed him and I can't forgive myself for that."

"Have you considered talking this over with Doctor Daraad or one
of the other psychiatrists on staff? If it bothers you to talk
to someone who works here, then I can give you the name and number
of a psychiatrist who isn't connected with the hospital."

"I don't know. John went to talk to a psychiatrist and look
where he ended up."

"I wouldn't have pictured you as the type of person who thinks
that it's a bad thing to seek help when needed," Carol softly
replied.

"I'm not. I think that it's the sensible thing to do. I just
don't think I can explain this to someone."

"You need to. The anger that you're directing at yourself isn't
doing you or your patients any good. Everyone can see how
hesitant you are now, ignoring ordinary patients in favor of
traumas. They're talking about how it's as if you and Dave switched
your personalities because he's now giving his full attention
to every patient he gets and isn't dumping any of them on
students or the nurses."

"You've noticed all of that?"

"The nurses notice a lot around here, Luka. Don't forget that.
We see and hear things that you miss. And I can tell you another
thing. Kerry Weaver has noticed. She's been watching you
carefully since you got back."

"That I have noticed."

"Luka, please do yourself a favor and see someone before your
anger and guilt get out of hand." Carol didn't even try to hide
the concern she felt over Luka's state of mind.

"I'll think about it, Carol."

"I guess I can't ask more than that of you right now. Well, I
have to get back to work. Why don't you come by for dinner
tonight?"

"Thanks for the offer, but I told Dave I would help him get the
guest room ready for John. I'm even staying the night there.
We're planning on getting an early start tomorrow. The sooner
we get to the hospital, the sooner we can get John back to
Chicago."

"Tell him that we miss him," Carol said as she opened the door.

"I will." Luka sat still, enjoying the quiet as he thought about
what Carol had said. And not just then, but what she had told
him earlier. What she said made a lot of sense. He just wished
he had the sense enough to take her advice. Sighing, he got to
his feet and returned to work.

"I really appreciate you're taking the time to see me," Dave
said as he reached for the door knob.

"I told you that my door was always open for you, Dave. I meant
it. I just wish that you didn't have to drive all the way to
Ohio tomorrow. I had hoped that Romano would find some way to
get John brought back here." Karl Daraad shook his head,
wondering why he had ever thought that Romano would pull whatever
strings were necessary in order to get John Carter back to Chicago.

"I thought you were the one behind that," Dave said.

"I tried my best. I know he'll be happy to get home."

"Well, my apartment isn't exactly his home, but I guess it'll have
to do, won't it?"

"Yes, it will. Have a safe trip, Dave."

"We will." Dave walked on out, then stopped short as he nearly
collided with Luka in the reception area.

"Hey, Luka."

"Dave. I didn't expect to see you up here."

"I decided to take Doctor Daraad up on his offer to listen. He's
in his office. That is, if that's what you're here for."

Luka slowly nodded. "Yeah. That's what I'm here for."

"Should I wait around for you or do you just want me to give you
directions to my place?"

"Would you mind waiting?"

"Not at all. It will give me a chance to think about what I
need to get at the store. I don't keep my fridge well stocked,
so I'll need to make a run to the store tonight."

"I don't know how long this will take."

"It doesn't matter. But, Luka, it will go faster if you actually
go into his office."

"Smart ass."

Dave grinned and Luka approached the door, knocking lightly, then
entering. As the door closed, Dave let go with a sigh of relief.
He had been hoping that Luka would decide to talk to someone. He
knew that he was feeling better about things now that he had
taken the time to talk to Daraad. Luka would also feel better
about things, Dave had a gut feeling that he would. And tomorrow
they would bring John Carter home where he belonged and
everything would be okay for all of them.

An hour later, Dave's gut feeling was validated when the door
to Daraad's office and Luka exited, looking better than he had
before the day they left that conference in Buffalo.

"All done?" Dave asked as he stood and reached for his coat.

"For today. I've made an appointment to see him later this
week. It seems I have a lot of other issues to work through.
John was just the latest in a long string of mistakes."

"I know the feeling. Well, how about if we go get something to
eat, then hit the grocery store, then see about getting that
room ready for John."

"That sounds good to me. So, do you really have a bed in that
room or do we need to buy one?"

"I have a bed. It's just messy in there. It collects all the
extra junk I manage to collect."

"Ah, I see. I think. That was one advantage to living on a
boat -- no room for junk."

"I can see where that might be an advantage. Maybe I should
get a boat."

"From the way you describe your apartment, I think you would
need something along the size of the Titanic to hold what you
have."

"Oh really? And how much room do you have at your place?"

"Not much. I wisely chose a one bedroom apartment. Compact
kitchen, dining area adjacent to the living room. One bathroom.
Small closets. I moved all of my belongings in and still have
space left over."

"That's sick, you know that? What about a t.v.? Stereo?
And...just general stuff?"

"I've lived without all of those things for years, Dave. Why
ruin my good record now? Besides, if I want to see something
that bad, I have friends who are nice enough to invite me over,"
Luka grinned.

"I can always stop doing that, you know."

"You could, but then you'd miss my company."

"I can get other friends."

"Carol Hathaway is thinking of getting a large screen t.v."

"But, I can't think of anyone I'd rather invite over than you
and John. As a matter of fact, you should feel free to just
drop by at any time, Luka."

"I thought you might feel that way. Come on, let's find that
food you were talking about. I'm starving."

They headed across to Doc Magoos where they ordered their
dinner and made their plans for bringing John home. Like Dave,
Luka knew that once John was back in Chicago, then things
would be better. Doctor Daraad had told him that the three
of them had gone through a lot together and that had created
a unique bond between them. For some reason, Luka was
reminded of the Dumas book, "The Three Musketeers". Three
friends who were there for each other, even when they kept
secrets from one another. Secrets were eventually learned
and accepted, grievances forgiven. All for one and one for
all, or something like that, Luka wasn't sure he was
remembering it correctly. Yes, that was the three of them.

"You know, I was thinking that since you and I are now seeing
Daraad, maybe we can get a group discount or something." Dave
caught Luka's unamused look. "Or maybe not."

Luka laughed. "Don't ever change, Dave."

Dave grinned. "I'll do my best to stay this way, Luka. I
promise. Hey, did I tell you what I had to promise to do in
order to get Cleo to switch shifts with me? And she's even
on Randi's list to watch John. You will never believe this."

"Try me."

Luka leaned back, listening with amusement as Dave related his
latest tale. It was comforting to know that some things
remained constant, and Dave was going to be one of those
things. With a little luck, John would continue to be one
of those things as well. In Luka's mind, constant and
comforting equaled home and he knew that he had made the
right choice when he had decided to make Chicago his home.
They all had.


The End.