Still On Your Side
Part 21 - Misconceptions
By Kitchen_Sink5 and LovelyLuka24
kitchen_sink5@yahoo.com and run-away-bride@juno.com

CATEGORY: Dave Malucci and a made up character
RATING: PG
SPOILERS: None that we can think of!
ARCHIVE: Please ask us first
DISCLAIMER: Neither one of us own the characters from the television show ER. Don't believe us? Come on, would we really spend our time writing this if we owned the ER characters. Puhlease.......
AUTHOR'S NOTES:
SUMMARY: Ally's pregnancy brings things that are hard to deal with.



"Can you hear anything?" Ally asked Dave.

"No, but I'm going to keep trying," Dave replied

Ally was lying in bed, in her pajamas, with Dave's
head resting on her stomach. It was morning, and Dave
was about to leave for work when he decided to try and
hear the baby. So he had laid down on the bed,
straining his ear to hear any noises that he could.

"Dave, you're a doctor. You know that you won't be
able to hear anything this early on in the pregnancy."

"It doesn't matter that I can't hear anything - It's
enough just to know that the baby's there." Dave
explained, his head still on her stomach.

"Alright then - You better get to work before they
fire you....." Ally joked as he stood up.

"See you later," He replied, bending over to plant a
kiss on her forehead before he left



Practically three months along in her pregnancy, Ally
was becoming more and more excited about the baby with
each passing day. It seemed like the only one who was
more excited was Dave. Dave had bought so many baby
books that he could have created a library. Ally had
a feeling that if Dave had to transfer over to OB, he
would have no problems whatsoever.

Ally had also done her share of reading, and becoming
more pregnancy aware. She had taken just about every
precaution - changing her diet, etc, and was now
concentrating on preparing for the baby. Ally just
loved to daydream about what it would be like with the
baby. Her mind was filled with decorating the
nursery, and buying baby clothes.

Dave would be working late, so around seven o'clock,
she prepared for a dinner alone. As she was chopping
up vegetables, a pain unlike any she had ever known
crossed over her abdomen. Her eyes slightly blurring,
she set down the knife, before her hands flew to her
stomach. Wobbling, she made her way to the bathroom,
pulling down her pants. She practically screamed when
she saw it - She was bleeding........



Dave stretched his arms as he stood in the lounge.
Checking his watch, he sighed - He still had another
hour before his shift would be over. Ever since he
had found out about Ally's pregnancy, he found himself
wanting to spend more and more time with her, wanting
to prepare for the baby.


"Dave?" Randi stuck her head into the lounge, "OB just
called down - They need you to go up there and get
Ally."

"What? I don't remember Ally having an appointment
today...." Dave thought outloud.

"Hey, don't shoot the messenger. All they said was
that you needed to get up there."

Dave went to the elevator, but after a minute of
waiting, he became impatient and headed for the
stairs. He barreled up the six flights of stairs
quickly, and enter the OB floor. Slightly breathless,
he continued towards their front desk.

"I was told to come up here?" He said, looking at the
doctor behind the counter.

"Okay, and you are?" The redheaded woman looked at him
in question.

"Dr. Dave Malucci......My wife Alyson is up here."

"Oh." The expression on the woman's face immediately
changed, "We need to talk - I'm Dr. Mitchum." She came
out from behind the counter and shook Dave's hand,
then continued. "Ally came in earlier with bleeding
and severe cramping. Upon examination we discovered
that she suffered a miscarriage."

"Is she okay?" He asked, in shock.

"Physically, she will be fine. She's ready to go
home, but we needed someone to drive her - That's why
we called you."

"Can I see her?" Dave swallowed the lump in his
throat.

"Yes - she's in room three."

"Thank you." Dave whispered.

Feeling like someone had just punched him in the
stomach, he walked down the hall. He wasn't exactly
sure how he was managing to walk, to carry on - It was
as if his body was on an automatic pilot while his
mind was elsewhere....He pushed the door open to see
Ally sitting there. Her eyes were red and puffy, her
hair and makeup a mess.

"Dave, I.....I....." She started to say as tears began
to stream down her face.

Silently Dave walked over to her, wrapping his arms
around her, cradling her sobbing body. She didn't
need to say anything - He understood.



Ally was now seated in the chairs of the ER, Dave's
jacket wrapped around her cold and tired body. She
waited as Dave went to find Doctor Weaver, so he'd be
able to take her home.

"Dr. Weaver?" Dave questioned as Kerry crutched over
to him.

"Malucci - Nice of you to show up. Where have you
been for the last half hour when I had five traumas
come in?!"

"Randi didn't tell you?" Dave crossed his arms

"No Randi did not tell me - She went off duty. Now if
you think that you can just waltz off whenever....."
Kerry began to rant.

"Dr. Weaver." He cut her off, not being able to take
it, "I had to go up to OB - There was a complication
with Ally, and she lost the baby." Somehow his voice
managed to remain steady, "I need to take her home."

"Oh, Dave - I'm sorry." Kerry's face immediately
softened, "Go on home, I'll get Carter to cover. Oh,
and you tell Ally that I'll take her off the schedule
for the next few days."

Dave nodded, and then returned to Ally, helping her
get up. "Come on Ally," he said gently, placing his
hand across her back. "Let's get you home."

They would find themselves in bed, looking at the
ceiling. They had barely spoken more than ten words
to each other since they had left the hospital. Dave
was afraid to say something, afraid to trigger his
emotions. Ally was amazed by Dave's demeanor - She
knew that he was devastated, and that he was trying to
hide it. She couldn't help but wonder if he was
trying to be strong just for her sake.

Finally, Ally broke the silence, her tears resurfacing
again, "It's all my fault...." She wailed, "It
happened because of the rape, didn't it?"

Dave, surprised by Ally's sudden outburst, sat up and
pulled her to him. "Ally, you know it wasn't because
of the rape."

"Then why?" She choked another sob.

"Why?" He repeated, stroking her hair. "Because some
things aren't meant to be, I guess."

Ally buried her head against his chest, slightly
muffling her sobs. The tears for a child that just
wasn't meant to be.



Hours later, Dave looked at Ally's tear stained face
as she slept. After a couple hours, Ally had cried
herself to sleep. Dave, however, could not sleep at
all. They had been through so much together, that
Dave thought they'd have an easy life. It hadn't even
occurred to Dave to worry when Ally got pregnant.
It's always the things you least expect that get you -
For here they were, two sorrowful people without a
child.

Dave worried for Ally. She had so many tragedies in
her past, and now she had to go through this. He
thought it so terribly unfair for her to lose this
baby. Even more, he felt bad for the baby - Their
little not-child. A baby who simply became another
one of those children lost, babies without names,
without a known gender.....No known hair color, eye
color......A child who never knew its parents, or
their love. A child lost forever.....

Dave felt tears sting his eyes, but he wouldn't allow
them to pass. Dave didn't cry - He had never cried,
and he wouldn't cry. *I have to be strong - I have to
be strong for Ally.....Be strong, be strong.....*

Nevertheless, as the clock struck three a.m., Dave
lied down on the bed, laying his head on Ally's
stomach. Placing his ear down, he waited a second,
listening for any noise to be heard. But this time,
there really was nothing there. Keeping his head
there, Dave's body began to tremble as he soaked
Ally's stomach with the tears that came from his eyes.

END OF PART 21