Homeless Once More, Part Six
By Cathy Roberts
glroberts@bigfoot.com
A John Carter story, rated M15+ for scenes depicting a violent
sexual assault. Spoiler for "The Good Fight"

"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, a heartfelt thanks to my editor, Melissa. I would
also like to send a special thanks to Carolyn for her advice.
And last, but not least, a big thank you to everyone who has
written to let me know how much they are enjoying this series.
I hope that you won't be disappointed.



The E.R. was quiet when Kerry arrived for her shift. She stowed
away her belongings, then checked the board. With the exception
of one pedes case, it was empty. A good time to find Lucy Knight
and find out what had happened last night.

"Randi, have you seen Lucy?"

"She's sleeping in Exam 2. Dr. Doyle sent Carter home a few
hours ago."

"I know, I spoke with her earlier on the phone."

"He looked like he had gone through Hell."

"Yes, I imagine he did."

Kerry went in search of Lucy, finding her sound asleep in
Exam 2, just as Randi had informed her. She really didn't
want to awaken the student, but there was no telling how
busy things would get as the morning progressed.

"Lucy? Do you have a minute?"

Lucy's head jerked up, "Huh? What's up?"

"Nothing. I would like to speak with you. How about if I
buy you some breakfast?"

Lucy sat up and stretched, "What time is it?"

"Quarter to six."

"Wow, I managed to get two hours of sleep!"

"Might be a new record. Do you want to go to Doc Magoo's or
the cafeteria?"

"The cafeteria's fine."

As they stepped out into the hallway, they ran into Mark,
who was also looking for Lucy for the same reasons as Kerry.

"Hello. Lucy, do you have a minute?"

"Uh, Dr. Weaver was just taking me to the cafeteria for a quick
breakfast."

"Mark, why don't you join us? I'm sure that you want to speak
to Lucy about last night."

He nodded, "I'll let Randi and Jerry know where we'll be. I'll
meet you there."

"Shall I get you anything?"

"Just coffee, please."

Lucy and Kerry went to the cafeteria, selected their food and
found a table. They had just began to eat when Mark arrived.

He sat down, took a sip of coffee and began, "So, Lucy, what
really did happen last night? I left right after Corinna
Nelson started to stabilize, so I never got to hear how
Carter dislocated his shoulder."

Lucy sighed, "It was a long afternoon and evening. I left here
when my shift was over and went to the address that Mr. Nelson
had provided. He was no longer living there, but his neighbors
told me that he was a bookie and that I might find someone who
knew him at a hotel downtown. A bell-hop who took bets for him.
I didn't find him, but I did find a doorman who was willing to
tell me the bell-hop's name. That's when John...Dr. Carter, I
mean, and I ended up running into each other. He had found out
about the bell-hop from a guy at the used car dealership where
Nelson got his car. We did eventually find Toby, but he didn't
know where Nelson lived. That's when Dr. Carter discovered
Mrs. Price, the woman with TB."

"And a good thing he did, too!" Kerry said. "So far, around
ten people from that neighborhood have tested positive for TB."

Lucy nodded, feeling a little guilty over her unwillingness to
remain with Carter until the paramedics arrived to take care
of Mrs. Price. Then she continued with her tale, "I spotted
Mr. Nelson up on the El platform and Dr. Carter ran after him.
He wasn't able to catch up to him though, which really made
him angry. But, before we were done with Mrs. Price, Toby
came home and he gave us a lead on Nelson. The man he sent
us to told us that Nelson hung out around the cock fights and
he drew us a map to the place."

"You actually went there?", Mark asked.

Lucy nodded, "It was dark by then, and a fence blocked our way.
Dr. Carter parked his Jeep and we climbed the fence. Actually,
we climbed quite a few fences. We finally found a building.
It was dark and falling apart, but Dr. Carter wanted to check
it out. He went inside and was looking through another window
when he thought he could see a ring. When he tried to get a
better look, he fell into this big trash pit. I was so scared!
When I got there, he was flat on his back and I was sure that
he was badly injured. I guess he just had the breath knocked
out of him, and he dislocated his shoulder. He wouldn't let
me go call an ambulance, which looking back now, was probably
a good idea, because it took us quite a while to find a phone
later."

"Why didn't you just use his cell phone?", Kerry asked.

"The battery had died and he left it back at the Jeep. Anyway,
he asked if we had gone over shoulder reduction and when I told
him 'no', he explained to me how to do one. The first attempt
didn't work too well. Well, it didn't work at all. He then
decided that we needed counter-traction, so he told me to put
my foot on him, then pull his arm." Lucy shivered as she
remembered his agonizing scream. "It worked. It took a
little while, but we finally got him up out of there and we
circled around to get back to his Jeep. When we got there,
it was on fire. Someone had stolen the tires, too. We ended
up walking a long way until we found a place with a working
telephone. I called Toby to see if he had found out anything
to help us and he told me he had a different address for Nelson.
After that, I called a cab, then I called the hospital to check
on Corinna. The address was in a freight yard; he lives in a
trailer there. While there, we listened to a message on his
answering machine and found out that his girlfriend was here
at the hospital to check on his daughter. On our way here to
find her, we both figured out that Nelson was at Doc Magoo's.
We found him there and the rest you pretty much know."

"The two of you could have been killed last night, Lucy. Didn't
that ever occur to either one of you while you were wandering
around?", Mark demanded.

"Not really. All we thought about was that if we didn't find
Mr. Nelson, then Corinna Nelson would die. I just wish that
it would have made a bigger difference for her."

"It saved her life, Lucy.", Mark assured her, "There's no doubt
about that. I'm just not sure if it was worth risking two lives
to save one."

"Mark, nothing happened to them."

"By some minor miracle, Kerry. With Carter's arm out of
commission, they would have been a very easy target. I don't
want the two of you pulling this type of stunt again!"

"With all due respect, Dr. Greene, we were not on duty at the
time. What we chose to do on our time is our business and
none of yours.", Lucy evenly replied.

Kerry tried to hide her smile at Lucy's spirit. She had
heard Lucy talk back to Carter a time or two, but she never
thought that she would hear her talk back to Mark.

Mark stared at his coffee cup, then nodded, "You're right.
I was out of line to tell you that. It's just that people
around here care about what happens to the two of you."

"And I for one appreciate that, Dr. Greene. Really. I just
wish that I knew how Dr. Carter was doing. He was in a lot
of pain when Dr. Doyle chased him out of here."

"I cannot imagine what possessed him to try to work his shift
in that condition.", Mark shook his head.

"Well, Dr. Doyle was here and it was quiet. I got to do a
lot of procedures that I hadn't done yet. He talked me through
them and I didn't mess up a single one."

"Good for you, Lucy. I take it that things are going more
smoothly for the two of you now?", Mark said.

Lucy smiled, remembering how caring Carter had been up on the
roof, "Yeah, things are much better. Well, I had better get on
back to the E.R. Thanks for breakfast, Dr. Weaver."

"My pleasure. Unless Mark feels otherwise, I don't see any
reason why you can't go on and leave now. There's no sense
in you staying here until noon. You haven't had much sleep."

"I don't have a problem with that, especially since Carter's
not here.", Mark nodded.

"Thanks. I'm really beat.", she smiled with gratitude.

"I'll walk back to the E.R. with you.", Kerry stood.

"I'll clean all this up. Go on.", Mark said.

Kerry and Lucy left and Mark sat there, finishing his coffee.

"Can I join you?"

Mark looked up to see Peter Benton standing there with orange
juice in hand.

"Sure. Are you just getting on?"

"Yeah.", Peter sat down and opened his juice, "I checked on
the Nelson girl. She's doing better, but she's still in a coma."

"That's too bad. I was really hoping that she'd be awake this
morning."

"The morning isn't over yet. Mark, I saw Carter last night.
He told me that he had an anterior dislocation of his shoulder."

"I know. I saw him."

"Was he thoroughly checked over?"

Mark nodded, "I believe that Doyle sent him for plenty a CAT scan.
When I spoke with her a little while ago she told me that she
had wanted to rule out any internal bleeding because he was
bruised so badly on his back."

"Any idea how it happened?"

"He fell into a trash pit while trying to locate a cock fight.
Apparently, Mr. Nelson is a bookie and Carter and Lucy Knight
had reason to believe that they would find him there. They
didn't."

"It's a shame they couldn't have found him earlier."

"Do you know where they found him? Doc Magoo's."

Peter stared at him, "You are kidding with me, right?"

Mark shook his head, "Nope. All the Hell that little girl
went through...all she still has yet to go through and her
father was right across the street."

"Bastard."

"My sentiments exactly." A beeping sound grabbed their
attentions and each man reached for his own beeper, "It's me.
I'll catch you later, Peter."

"Sure."

Mark threw away the breakfast debris, then headed for his day
at work.

Peter slowly finished his juice, wondering how a father could
just walk away and leave his child alone in an emergency room.
He knew that he could never do that to Reese. Never. He got
up and threw away his trash, then headed upstairs to begin his
rounds and check once more on Corinna Nelson.



Traffic in the E.R. picked up rapidly and remained steady
through-out the morning. Kerry totally forgot about trying to
call her brother until Jerry told her she had a phone call.
She made a mental note to call the apartment right after she
was done with this call.

"Weaver."

"Hey, sis!"

"Adam! I was just about to call you. You are at the apartment,
aren't you?"

"Yep. So, you want to fill in me on sleeping beauty?"

Kerry looked around. Jerry was still at the desk, but he
was at the other end, unable to hear her. No one else was
within earshot.

"His name is John Carter and he's a doctor here."

"A doctor there at Cook County or a doctor there in the
Emergency Room with you?"

"He works here in the E.R. He dislocated his shoulder last
night. He didn't get home until this morning, so he's probably
going to sleep all day. Would you please check on him from
time to time?"

"Sure, although I was planning to crash on the sofa."

"I really appreciate your help. Oh, he doesn't know that
you're staying with us for a little while."

"So, is he a boyfriend or what?"

"He's a colleague who is renting a room from me, Adam.
Nothing more."

"Got it. Anything special I should know? Does he carry a
gun in case he runs into strangers, should he be muzzled
or what?"

"Nothing like that. I know he took a pain killer before he
went to sleep, so he might not even notice that you're there
when he does awaken. Make sure he eats."

"Yes, Mama Kerry. Anything else?"

She grinned, "Yeah, I'm glad that you're going to be staying
with me for a little while."

"Me, too. If things work out, I just might end up living here
in Chicago."

"Really? That would be nice."

"It sure would. Of course, you still wouldn't see me all the
time, but you would get to see me more often."

"Would you be doing overseas flights or domestic ones?", she
asked.

"Domestic. Of course, the time zone changes still mess you up,
but it's not as bad as the overseas flights. Well, I'll let
you go, sis. What time will you be home?"

"I should be getting off from work around six."

"Then you'll be here between six thirty and seven?"

"I hope so."

"See you then. Bye."

"Bye, Adam."

Kerry hung up the phone and nearly bumped into Jerry when she
turned around.

"So, is Adam a pilot?"

"Jerry, do you make it a habit to eavesdrop on other people's
conversations?"

"No, Dr. Weaver, but this is my station and I couldn't help
but overhear."

"I make it a habit. Who's Adam and what does he do?", Maggie
asked.

"Adam is my brother and he is a flight attendant for United
Airlines. He's going to be staying with me for about a week."

"You should bring him by the E.R.", Lydia said.

"I don't know if he should be subjected to the collective
scrutiny of this bunch."

"Aw, Kerry, we're not so bad.", Doug grinned as he approached
the desk, "Besides, we've all had our shots."

"That doesn't make you safe, Doug.", Kerry grinned back at
him at she walked past.

"Ouch! That hurt, Kerry!", he called after her.

She shrugged and kept on walking. Doug turned his attention
back to Jerry, Lydia and Maggie. "So, what were we talking
about?"

"Dr. Weaver's brother Adam is here to stay with her for a
week. He's a flight attendant for United Airlines.", Jerry
informed him.

"I thought that he was supposed to be a pilot."

"Maybe Dr. Weaver has more than one brother."

"Don't dare to think such things, Jer.", Doug visibly shivered,
"It's bad enough imagining two Weaver's in the world!"



Adam Weaver had just gotten settled on the sofa when the
doorbell rang.

"Damn. I guess I just wasn't meant to get any sleep yet.",
he muttered as he headed for the door. He didn't recognize
the beautiful woman through the peephole, which wasn't too
surprising considering that he didn't live there. But, he
sure hoped she was looking for him. He put the chain on the
door, then opened it, "Yes?"

"I'm looking for John Carter.", she didn't sound as if she was
sure as to whether or not he lived there.

"You've got the right place, but he can't come to the door right
now. I can tell him you came by."

"I'm his mother, Jenny Carter. May I please come in?
Please?"

Adam thought about it a second. This wonderful creature was
the mother of the guy sacked out in the next room? Man, he
was sure one lucky fellow. Well, she certainly looked enough
like Carter to be his mother. He shut the door and undid the
chain, then opened the door to let her in.

"Come on in and have a seat."

"Thank you. I appreciate this."

"No problem." He closed and locked the door, then went to sit
on the couch.

"I'm sorry if I woke you up, Mr.?"

"Weaver. Adam Weaver. And you didn't wake me up. I haven't
been to sleep yet."

"Oh. Are you by any chance related to Kerry Weaver?"

"She's my sister. This is her place, but you probably already
know that."

"Actually, I didn't. John just gave me the address and
apartment number. He didn't tell me who else lived here.
I take it that he's asleep?"

"Yeah. Did you want to check on him?"

"That would be nice. Where's his room?"

"Down the hall, first room on the right. It's across from
the bathroom, so you can't miss it."

"Thanks, Mr. Weaver."

"Please, it's Adam."

She stood, then looked at him closely, "I know that I've seen
you somewhere before. Have you ever been to Paris?"

"Lot's of times. I'm a flight attendant for United."

She smiled, "That's probably it then. I've seen you on the
plane. First class attendant, right?"

"That's right. I'm sorry that I can't say I remember you.
I see so many people in one day that it's impossible to keep
track of the faces."

"That's okay. I didn't expect you to remember me."

She went to Carter's room, opening the door as quietly as she
could since she didn't want to wake him. She walked over to
his bed and gently brushed the hair back from his forehead,
then gave him a soft kiss on his cheek. Roland had thought
she was overreacting about John's injury, but she just couldn't
rest easy until she saw for herself that he really was okay.

She returned to the living room, "He's sleeping pretty soundly,
isn't he?"

"Kerry told me that he took a pain killer and would be out
of it for a long time." As soon as Adam saw that she wasn't
going to sit down again, he stood to let her out.

"Come by anytime, Mrs. Carter."

"I wish I could, Adam. Thank you for letting me in."

"Hey, it was no problem at all. I'll see you around."

He let her out and locked the door, then got settled on the
sofa and fell fast asleep.



Benton was checking Corinna Nelson's vital signs when Litvak
approached him.

"I understand that you and Dr. Anspaugh performed some very
tricky surgery yesterday.", he spoke lowly so he wouldn't
disturb the other patients.

"We did what we had to do. I'm just afraid it wasn't enough.
Her crit is up to 25, but she's still comatose."

Litvak shook his head, "What a wild case, huh?"

"Yeah. I guess that the only good thing about it is that
Carter and Lucy Knight did locate the father and bring him
in. Having his blood saved her life."

"I take it that the father is still around?", he asked as
Anspaugh approached them.

It was Anspaugh who answered, "I was just informed that the
police arrested him last night. At least if we need his
blood again, it will be handy."

"And a lot less dangerous to get.", Benton added.

Litvak looked at him narrowly, "How do you mean?"

"Carter was injured while looking for him. Luckily, it wasn't
serious, just a simple anterior dislocation of his shoulder.
Still, it could have been worse."

"Where is he?", Litvak demanded to know, worry evident in his
voice and eyes.

"At home, resting. He did attempt to work last night, but
he was sent home. I'm sure that just about anyone down in
the E.R. can keep you apprised of his current condition.
They were quite concerned about him.", Anspaugh said.

Benton looked down at the child, knowing that there were people
outside of the E.R. who cared about what happened to John Carter.
What bothered him was that Litvak appeared to care. He didn't
know Carter. For some reason, he set Benton on edge. So
far, Litvak wasn't any better liked in surgery than he had
been in the E.R.

"I need to check on my patients. Excuse me.", Litvak left.

The other two doctors stood there silently until Anspaugh
broke the silence.

"I'm beginning to wonder if it was a mistake to hire him.
He's a gifted surgeon and he has an excellent reputation, but..."

"He makes my skin crawl.", Benton spoke lowly.

"Yes. He seems to have that effect on a lot of people.
And...oh never mind."

"What?"

Anspaugh watched the Nelson girl's heart monitor, "He seems
to be more than a little pre-occupied with Dr. Carter. I
can understand that when he was also in charge of the E.R.
that he wanted to get to know his staff, find out about the
people he had working for him. But, his questions about him
have only increased since he accepted the position as Chief
of Surgery. Of course, I haven't heard any complaints about
Dr. Litvak. None at all.", he cleared his throat, "Dr. Benton,
I trust that nothing I've said will go any further."

"It won't. But, for what it's worth, Dr. Anspaugh, I agree
with you."

Anspaugh nodded, then headed for his office before beginning
his rounds.

Benton reached down and took Corinna's hand in his. So
small and helpless. He could still hear her voice calling
out for her Daddy and Carol Hathaway's attempts to placate
the child. He shook his head and gently laid her hand on
the sheet, then went to find Elizabeth so they could do
their rounds.



Carter ran his tongue around his teeth, his mouth feeling dry.
He needed a drink of water. His limbs felt sluggish, as did
his brain. Nothing wanted to work for him. He slowly opened
his eyes and turned to look at the clock. It took a little
while for it to register in his brain that it was almost
four-thirty in the afternoon. He had been asleep for close
to twelve hours courtesy of the morphine. He tossed back the
covers and sat up, a twinge in his shoulder letting him know
that the pain killer was indeed wearing off. He knew he
should put some ice on it. That would help. He slowly
kneaded the shoulder, getting some small relief from that.
He went to the kitchen to get something to drink, not really
noticing that the stereo was on. He grabbed a glass and
filled it from the spigot, then took a long drink, getting
rid of some of the cottony feeling in his mouth. "Wait a
minute!", he thought. "Something's not right here." He turned
around and leaned back against the counter, wondering just
who in the Hell it was who was adjusting the controls of
Kerry's stereo system.

The man looked up and smiled, "Hello. I'm Adam Weaver,
Kerry's youngest brother. I already know that you're John
Carter. Feeling any better?"

"Not really. Kerry didn't mention that you would be here."

"I know. She told me that she forgot to tell you. I'm on
vacation for a week and I'll be staying here."

"I took your room."

"No! No, you didn't. The sofa is fine for me. It pulls
out into a bed and it really isn't that bad for a sofa bed.
I've slept on it before. Hungry? Kerry told me to make sure
that you ate something when you finally woke up."

Carter had to think about that, then he finally nodded, "I'm
starving."

"What would you like to eat? Kerry won't be getting home
until six-thirty or seven, so I don't see any sense in us
waiting for her."

"I think I could eat just about anything right now."

"Well, there's a good Chinese place about a block away.
How about if I run out and bring something back. Unfortunately,
they don't deliver."

"That would be great. Let me get you some money.", Carter
headed for his bedroom, but he stopped when Adam shook his head.

"My treat tonight. You can buy me dinner some other time.
Any preferences?"

"As long as there's a lot of it, I don't really care."

Adam grinned, "Got it. I shouldn't be gone long."

Carter grinned back at him, "I don't think I'm going anywhere."

Adam picked up his keys, then left. Carter turned off the
stereo, then turned on the television and sat down on the
sofa to watch. The growing darkness of the room made his
eyes feel heavy and he quickly dozed off.

The incessant ringing of the doorbell brought him out of his
slumber and he jerked to his feet. Adam, that was his name,
right? Kerry's brother. He remembered that much about him.
He must have forgotten to take a key with him.

Carter pulled the door open, then stood there, stunned.

Daniel Litvak smiled at him as he breezed past. "I heard
about your little 'accident' and I wanted to make sure you
were okay."

"I'm fine, Dr. Litvak. You can leave now."

"Don't be rude, John. Close the door. I really don't think
you want your neighbors to see me examining you, now do you?"

Carter pushed the door shut, but he didn't move. "I was examined
in the E.R., Dr. Litvak."

"My name is Dan. Since we don't work together, I think we can
be on a first name basis, don't you agree?", he said as he
began to turn on some lights.

"No, I don't. You should really leave."

"Once I examine you and find out for myself that you are all
right, then I will go. But, not before then. So, the longer
you put me off, the longer I'll have to stay."

For some bizarre reason, that seemed to make sense. "Must be
the morphine.", he thought as he shook his head. "I told you
that I'm fine. Please leave me alone."

"John, there are a lot of people back at the hospital who are
concerned about you. They are depending on me to bring back
word on your condition. Dr. Weaver herself asked me to examine
you.", he explained earnestly.

"She did?"

"Yes.", he smoothly lied.

Carter had to think about that. If Kerry had asked him to look
him over, then he must be here to do just that and not for any
other reason. If only he could think straight or if Adam was
back with dinner!

Litvak pulled out a chair out from the kitchen table and turned
it around, "Straddle the chair so I can take a look at your
back as well as your shoulder."

He had taken the time to read Carter's file and knew there
was serious bruising on his back. He also saw the CAT scan
that confirmed there had been no serious damage.

Carter slowly walked to the kitchen, taking his seat as
instructed.

"Let's get the immobilizer off first."

Carter fumbled with the buckles. Litvak impatiently pushed
his hands out of the way and removed the immobilizer himself,
laying it on top of the table. He felt the shoulder. It was
still a little swollen, but not in bad shape. Carter wouldn't
have full use of it for a while, that was for sure. He then
turned his attention to Carter's back. The bruises were ugly
looking and covered a large area. He ran his hands tenderly
over the back, not liking the fact that his Carter had been
hurt. "No serious damage here."

"Dr. Doyle already determined that."

"Well, it never hurts to have a second opinion, John.", he
moved his hands back to Carter's shoulders and he slowly
began to massage them. "Does that make your shoulder feel
better?"

"A little." It did feel better, but the touch of Litvak's
hands made Carter uncomfortable and he wanted this to stop.
He suddenly stood and stepped over the chair, "Thanks for
taking the time to check me over. I do appreciate it."

Litvak smiled and began to walk toward him. Carter stepped
back one step for every step forward that Litvak took. The
next thing he knew, he could feel the edge of the counter
cutting into the small of his back. Litvak kept coming
forward until he was mere inches from Carter. A lecherous
grin on his face, he announced, "I haven't yet begun to
check you over, John."

"This is just a bad dream, a very, very bad dream.", Carter
repeated over and over in his mind. He squeezed his eyes shut,
willing himself to be awake in his bed when he opened them
again. To his dismay, the only thing that had changed when
he opened his eyes again was that Dan Litvak was leaning
toward him, pressing his body back over the counter.

"No.", Carter tried to step to the side but found his path
blocked.

"You and I were meant to be together, John. You can't fight
destiny."

"You've lost your mind, Dr. Litvak!", Carter quickly moved to
the left, but again, Litvak was there to block his escape,
this time painfully as he grabbed Carter's upper arm, jarring
his shoulder.

Carter closed his eyes against the pain, his body tensing as
Litvak's arms encircled him, pulling him closer. What was
it that women were told to do in a case like this? Think!
He took in a shaky breath, then shuddered with revulsion as
Litvak's lips pressed against his own. This could not be
happening to him. "Dear God, please help me.", he prayed.
Then it occurred to him. Hit him where it would do the most
damage.

As Litvak's hands roamed lower, trying to get beneath the
waistband of his pants, Carter brought his knee up, making
strong contact with Litvak's groin. The older man screamed
and fell to the floor, doubled over with pain.

Ignoring his own throbbing shoulder, Carter stepped away
from the counter and headed for the living room and the door,
his route of escape. He didn't see Litvak's hand reach out,
but he felt him grab his ankle and he was barely able to
avoid hitting his left shoulder again when he fell to the
floor. Litvak was on him instantly, pinning his body to
the floor. Carter's wrestling experience kicked in and he
instantly knew what to do to get away from Litvak now.
Even though the move required two good arms and he only
had one, he managed to ignore his pain and gain the
leverage he needed to push Litvak to the side.

Carter scrambled to his feet only to find himself grabbed
from behind and swung around, his head slamming against the
edge of the kitchen table. Spots swam before his eyes as
dizziness and nausea washed over his body. As Litvak pushed
him to the floor, Carter looked up, seeing a streak of red
upon the white painted wood. This time, Carter's attacker
straddled his body, kneeling on Carter's good arm, rendering
it useless while keeping both of his own hands free. Litvak
rested his full weight on Carter's chest, making it difficult
for him to breathe. Carter shivered as he looked up at the
man because the look on his face was ugly as he stared down
at his elusive prey.

"I wanted this to be nice for you, John. I honestly did.
But, you don't leave me much choice now, do you? Didn't it
ever occur to you that a person who knows how to do a shoulder
reduction would also know how to dislocate a shoulder?"

"Please, no.", Carter gasped. "Leave me alone. Please go.
I won't tell anyone about this, I swear, if you just leave
me alone."

Litvak's answer was to grab Carter's bad shoulder with both
hands. A terrible wrenching pain seared through Carter's body
and mind, clearing away the remaining cobwebs from the morphine.
He screamed, hoping that someone would hear him. All that
got him was a strong backhand across his face.

"Shut up and enjoy it, John!" Litvak knew now that John Carter
was not going to be a passive participant. Stronger
actions were required. He grabbed the younger man by the
shoulders and slammed his body and head into floor, over
and over until Carter's eyes glazed over. Now he could do
what he wanted. What he had dreamt of doing since the first
day he had met him. He moved down until he was straddling
Carter's thighs, then he grasped the waist bands of both
his sweat pants and underwear and jerked them down.



Adam was almost to the apartment door when he realized that
the man who had been in the elevator with him was now following
him. He turned, "Can I help you?"

"That depends. Do you live here?"

"Who are you looking for?"

"My name is Roland Carter. I'm looking for my son,.."

"John Carter. Well, you have the right place. And you're in
luck. He's awake. Well, he was awake when I left to pick up
dinner."

As Adam searched for the key to the door, the door of the
apartment next door opened and an elderly woman stuck her
head out, "Excuse me, young man."

"Yes?"

"I was about to call the police about the screaming I heard
from next door, but I suppose that since you're home, you
can do something about it. Kerry probably has the television
turned up way too loud. It's not usually so bad, but I just
got a new hearing aid and I don't appreciate the noise!"

"Kerry's not home.", Adam said, a sense of dread falling
over him as he realized the implications of what the
neighbor had just said.

"Then it must be that nice young man who lives with her.
Just tell him to keep it down. Are you listening to me?
Young man, are you listening to me?"

Adam was struggling to get the key in the lock, Roland
Carter at his elbow, "C'mon, get it open!"

"I'm trying the best that I can! Yes, I hear you, lady.
I'll tell him! There!" He pushed the door open and Roland
Carter shoved past him. Adam froze as he looked at the scene
in front of him, but Roland didn't hesitate to act. He
roughly grabbed the man who was on top of John and and threw
him, then dropped to his knees beside his son. With a thud,
the man's body fell at Adam's feet. He didn't spare him a
second glance, his eyes immediately taking in the scene at
the edge of the kitchen where Roland Carter had scooped
John into his arms, whispering soothing words to his son.
To Adam, it seemed that blood was everywhere: smeared on
the kitchen table, matting John's hair and pooled
on the smooth vinyl tile of the floor. He was immediately
afraid that Carter was dead, but Mr. Carter wasn't behaving
as if he had just lost his son. It was too late to warn the
man that since Carter had a head injury, he shouldn't move him.

Roland Carter looked up at him, "Shut the door and find
something to tie that bastard up with."

Adam pushed the door closed with his foot, then deposited
the sacks of food on the sofa and rummaged through Kerry's
kitchen drawers until he found some strong cord. A shiver
ran through him as he glanced down at the naked body of his
sister's roommate. Give him some dignity, he thought.

"His bedroom is the first door on the right. You should get
him in there, sir."

Roland Carter nodded, then stood, his son a dead weight in his
arms, but not as heavy as he would have thought. He
disappeared down the hallway and Adam went to secure Carter's
attacker. As he knelt by the unknown man, it occurred to
him that his head was at a strange angle. A wrong angle,
just as John's shoulder had been. Taking a deep breath,
he felt for a pulse on his neck. Nothing.

"Shit.", he blew out noisily through his mouth, wondering
how Mr. Carter was going to take the news that he had just
killed a man. He went to the bedroom and stood in the doorway.
Roland Carter sat on the edge of bed. He had already covered
John's body and was using the edge of sheet to blot at the
blood on his son's forehead. The older man turned worried eyes
in his direction, "He won't talk to me. His eyes are open,
but it's like he's not there."

"It looks like he has more than one head injury. He's
probably got a concussion. Mr. Carter, it looks like his
shoulder is dislocated again. He really needs to go to the
hospital."

Roland nodded, "I know. Can you please call 911 for the
police and an ambulance?"

"Umm, you might not want to call the police. It looks like
that man broke his neck when he hit the floor. He's dead."

"Dear God. I wasn't thinking about what might happen to him.
All I knew was that I had to get him off my son before he..."

"Hey, Mr. Carter, I understand completely. I'm just sorry
that I froze up and didn't do anything to help."

"All I could think about was getting to John.", Roland looked
at his son, reaching down to tenderly brush his hair back
from his eyes. He knew that John should be in terrible pain
from his shoulder, but it certainly wasn't registering on his
face or in his eyes. Oh, what he wouldn't give right now to
have John tell him to get lost. To tell him anything. Now
he knew how his brother felt whenever he went to visit with
Chase and he prayed that this was not a permanent state with
John.

"He's probably in shock, Mr. Carter. Uh, did the guy actually,
well, you know?"

I have no idea. I pray that he didn't. But, I don't know."

They both heard the door to the apartment open and close.
Adam glanced down at his watch. It was only just now six
o'clock. Kerry must have gotten off early. He stepped
back into the hallway and looked toward the door. Kerry
just stood there, her face pale, staring down at the man,
then she looked up and locked eyes with her brother.

"Would you like to explain to me why Dan Litvak is laying
dead on my floor?", her voice was tight and controlled.

"Is that his name? You know him?"

"Who is that out there?", Roland asked from the bed.

Kerry heard the strange voice and stepped around Litvak,
going straight to Carter's room. Adam stood back to let
her enter.

"What's happened here?", she asked, immediately concerned.
From the doorway, all she could see was blood on the sheet
and pillow case. However, she could also see that Carter was
conscious, so that was a good sign.

"Who are you?", the older man asked.

"I'm Kerry Weaver. This is my apartment. Who are you?"

"Roland Carter. I'm John's father. I believe that John has
mentioned you before. You're also a doctor, correct?"

"That's right. Again, let me ask the two of you, what has
happened here and why is Dan Litvak dead out in my living room?"

"That bastard was in the process of sexually assaulting John
as we came in the door. I wanted to get him away from my son
and I was rather rough with him. Adam thinks that his neck
broke when he hit the floor."

Kerry came over to the bed, noting that Carter
was in emotional and maybe even physical shock. It wasn't until
she was right beside the bed that she saw the profusely bleeding
wound on his forehead. She could also see his injured shoulder
and the way that several places on his face were beginning to
bruise. "Did penetration occur?"

"I don't know. I didn't look that closely. I think that
John needs to go to a hospital, but if we call for an ambulance,
then the police will show up as well."

"John needs to be taken to the hospital by the paramedics.
We can hide Litvak's body in the bathtub for now. Adam, get
me a wash cloth dampened with warm water, then call 911 for
help. Once you've done that, gather all of Litvak's clothing
and put his stuff in the bathtub as well. Mr. Carter, you'll
have to help Adam get the body in the tub."

"Dr. Weaver, as bad as all of this is, I can't let you cover
this up for me. I'm a lawyer and I have enough money to
ensure that I'll have excellent representation. This just
can't be pushed under the rug."

"Mr. Carter, I appreciate your honesty, but I wasn't thinking
about covering up for you. I'm thinking about how this will
affect John. If you are charged with murder, then John will
have to testify or else risk having you go to jail. Either
option would tear him apart and you know it."

Roland looked deep into her eyes, knowing that she spoke
the truth. "I could just plead 'no contest' and hope for
the best."

She turned to her brother, "Adam, go and do what I told you.
As far as we know, the man who attacked him got up and ran away
while the two of you were tending to John. You do not know
who he is."

"Got it, sis.", Adam quickly returned with the wash cloth then
went to the living room to place the call and to clean up what
he could.

Kerry went to the other side of the bed so she could reach
Carter's head wound more easily. She gently pressed against
the gash, hoping that the wound was not as bad as the bleeding
made it seem to be. "Luckily for us, there's no blood involved
with Litvak's broken neck. I believe that the paramedics in
my area take their patients to Mercy. I'll instruct them to
take John to Cook County. It will be better for him to be
there. His psychiatrist is there and I can call and make
sure that he'll be in the E.R. when John arrives."

"John is seeing a psychiatrist? Why?"

Kerry debated between the need for protecting Carter's
privacy and the very real possibility that this incident
would plunge him back into a deep depression. Her fear
that he would attempt suicide once again overrode her stand
on violating his privacy.

"John has been very depressed lately. So much so that
two weeks ago he tried to kill himself at the hospital."

"Dear God.", Roland clasped his son's hand in both his own.
"It was right after Halloween, wasn't it?"

"When he tried to kill himself?"

He nodded.

"Yes, it was the same day that Dr. Greene spoke with you on
the telephone. Mr. Carter, he had been depressed before then.
I think that whatever happened to him at Halloween was just
one of the last straws. Plus, it was around the same time
that Litvak began to make advances toward John."

"He's a doctor at the hospital, isn't he?"

"The less you know about him, the better. You've never seen
him before and you have no idea who he is. I'm sure that
both you and Adam will be able to identify him later."

"I'll never forget that bastard's face."

"We'll figure out something."

"Actually, we don't have to. There are some people who owe
me more than a few favors. I think that one of them can
handle this situation for me. It would be best if you
left the room."

Adam came back in, "An ambulance is on the way. Mr. Carter,
I need you to help me with him."

"I'll be right there.", Roland reluctantly let go of John's
hand as he stood, "Please stay with him until I get back."

"Of course.", Kerry reached across Carter's body and grasped
his hand. As she had feared, it was cold. Not a good sign.
She felt for his pulse and it was thready, while the pulse on
his right wrist was relatively strong all things considered.
She had entertained a brief thought of doing the shoulder
reduction herself, but his condition told her that it would
have to be done in the hospital. She watched through the
doorway as the two men carried Litvak into the bathroom and
deposited him in the tub. "Are you sure you have all of his
clothes?"

"Yes. The only clothing left out there belongs to John.",
Adam replied.

"Lock the door and shut it."

Roland pulled out his cell phone as he approached the bed
and Kerry left the room, pulling the door closed. "I should
have told you to use the phone in my room, just in case the
police want to take fingerprints later. What did you tell
the dispatcher?"

"Just that we needed an ambulance here.", he followed her
into her bedroom. She wearily sat on the bed and dialed work.

"Cook County, Emergency Room. How can I help..."

"Randi, this is Kerry Weaver. Get Mark on the phone now."

"Right away."

She heard her put the phone down and call for Mark. It didn't
take long for Mark to pick up.

"Kerry?"

"Mark, listen to me. The paramedics will be bringing Carter
in. You need to call Dr. McIntyre and have him meet us there."

"What's happened, Kerry?"

"Someone tried to assault him. Sexually. We don't know if
there was any penetration, but he's been badly beaten and his
shoulder is dislocated again. I don't want to attempt to do
a reduction here because it may require surgery. His hand
and lower arm are cold to the touch and his pulse isn't very
good on that arm."

"Damn. When will you be here?"

"The paramedics are on their way now."

"To your apartment?"

"Right."

"Aren't you in another district?"

"They would normally take him to Mercy, but I'll tell them
to take him to you. Just make sure that McIntyre's there.
He's in bad shape, Mark. Very bad shape."

"He'll be here. Any idea who did this?"

"No.", she lied. "John's father and my brother interrupted
the assault, but the man got away while they were tending to
John.

"I see. Let me go and I'll call upstairs to see if McIntyre
is still here. I'll see you soon."

"Right."

She hung up just as Roland Carter stepped out of Carter's room.

They met in the hallway, "I called the E.R. and they're
getting Dr. McIntyre."

"Good. When you leave here, don't lock your front door.
By the time you get back home tonight, everything will have
been taken care of."

Kerry mutely nodded, wondering just who it was that owed
favors to Roland Carter and hoping that she would never
find out.

"I called home and our driver is going to take my wife
to the hospital. Thank God I drove myself over here. Jenny
was pretty torn up when I told her about John. I don't
think she would have been able to drive herself to the hospital."

There was a knock at the door, "Paramedics!" someone called out.

"I'll get it.", Kerry took a deep breath and went to answer
the door, ready to put this deception into motion. She
directed them to the bedroom and followed them, watching
from the door as they checked Carter's vital signs. She
told them who she was and why she wanted him to be taken to
Cook County. They didn't argue with her on that. In next
to no time, they were taking him down to the waiting ambulance.

"I'll drive.", Adam announced, sensing that of the three of
them, he was the most together. The other two nodded and
they left the apartment, remembering to keep the door unlocked.



After Mark hung up the receiver, he had immediately called
upstairs, looking for McIntyre. Luck was holding out, because
he was still there, finishing with his last patient of the
day. The receptionist put his call through and Mark told
McIntyre what Kerry had told him. He was vaguely aware of
the small crowd that was gathered around the desk, the normal
crowd for a change of shift, but the mood was somber as they
realized he was talking about one of their own. He hung up
and turned to face them, surprised to see Peter Benton and
Elizabeth Corday amongst the crowd.

"All right, you all probably heard me on the phone. Carter's
been injured, we don't know how badly. Dr. Weaver did not
sound optimistic on the phone with me. Peter, are you still
on duty?"

"I am for Carter.", Peter took off his coat and handed it to
Elizabeth, who immediately headed for the lounge to find an
empty locker.

"Lydia, get a rape kit ready and put in a call to ortho to
have someone standing by in case he needs immediate surgery on
his shoulder."

"I'll call.", Carol reached for the phone.

"You're not on duty any longer, Carol."

"I am for Carter.", she replied, dialing the number. Everyone
who moments before had been preparing to go home nodded. No
one was going anywhere, not if there was a chance they were
needed. And if they weren't needed, then they weren't leaving
until they knew that Carter would be okay.

"I should call Anspaugh and Lee.", Mark said to himself as
he reached for the phone to call to see if the Chief of
Emergency Services and the Chief of Staff were still in the
building. He was tempted to call to see if Litvak was still
here because the minute Kerry had mentioned sexual assault,
that was the first name that came to mind. He looked over
at Doug and their eyes met. Each man thinking the same thing.
If it was Litvak, then there would be Hell to pay.