Kidnapped - Part 10 B - The Conclusion
By Lynne Facella
Mulderette@aol.com or Lynne1919@aol.com

Rating: PG (violence, language)
Keywords: Angst
Spoilers: Episodes through All in the Family
Archive: Sure, just ask so I know where it is going.
Disclaimer: All ER characters are the property of Warner Brothers, NBC, etc., etc. (The bad guys are mine).
Summary: Dr. Carter is held for ransom and an unwitting Dr. Benton gets dragged along for the ride.
Author's notes: Thanks to all the support I have gotten despite the long wait between chapters. It's appreciated more than you could know. And a special thank you to Victoria for your storyline suggestions. They were very helpful to me :)

Dave's eyes widened in horror as the car in front of him slowed suddenly and
began to turn. He slammed his foot on the brake, but he was too close and
there was no room to maneuver. He braced himself as the van careened into the
driver's side of the Ford. Dave was flung forward just as the air bag burst
open. He then sat momentarily stunned as he shakily tested his limbs, relieved
to discover that except for a bit of soreness in the back of his neck he seemed
to be okay. He had just put his hand on the door handle to get out of the van
when two police cars emerged on the scene. The officers flew out of their
vehicles, guns drawn, and Dave decided to just stay put as he watched them
cautiously approach the Ford.

"Sir, are you okay?"

Dave jumped, startled by the knocking on the window and the police officer's
face that suddenly appeared.

"Yeah...yeah..." he nodded as the officer opened the door and Dave got out of
the van.

"Driver's dead."

"This one's still breathing."

"I'm a doctor," Dave stated as he approached the passenger side of the car
where the officers had helped the semi-conscious man onto the ground. "Anyone
else in there?" Dave glanced at the back seat, unsure if he felt relieved or
just more concern to find it empty.

Tony kept his eyes closed as he mentally debated what to do. Frankie was
dead...the stupid fuck... He was out of this and Bill most likely was long
gone too. Tony was going to end up being blamed for the damn thing. The kid
was probably dead by now, but maybe not...maybe he'd at least be able to avoid
a murder charge. "In the trunk..." he murmured. "He's in the trunk."

Dave felt his heart go into his throat as one of the officers managed to pull
the keys from the ignition and they approached the back of the car. The trunk
was unlocked and the lid raised, revealing Carter's unconscious form inside.
As some of the officers carefully lifted him from the trunk and placed Carter
on the ground, Dave stared at his friend, unable to even imagine what kind of
horrors he had faced. He knelt down next to him as he heard one of the
officers call for an ambulance. Carter was pale and feverish, his face covered
with sweat, and his breathing obviously labored. Dave quickly took his pulse
which was rapid at 130.

"Carter? Carter...it's me Dave. Can you hear me? You're safe now. You're
going to be okay." He anxiously watched for any signs of responsiveness to his
voice, but there were none.

"Carter!" Dave looked up to see a frantic-looking Benton and Greene running
towards him. "How is he?" Benton asked, kneeling on the ground beside them.

Dave shook his head grimly. "Ambulance is on the way."

"You hang in there, Carter," Benton said, brushing the sweat-soaked hair off
the younger man's forehead. "You've got to pull through this man...you've just
got to..."



The ambulance ride to County seemed to take forever. Benton clutched Carter's
hand tightly the whole way in and spoke words of encouragement, trying to get
some kind of a response, but he remained unconscious. "You've got to hang in
there man. You stay with me, Carter. You stay with me..."

Luka and Kerry were waiting outside as they pulled into the ambulance bay.
Kerry couldn't help flashing back to the day of the stabbing, only then she had
worked on Lucy, not Carter. She tried to focus as his vitals were recited by
the paramedic. "Two large bore IVs. 15 liters O2. Pulse 130, respirations
32, shallow and labored, BP 90/50, O2 sat 94, temp 102.1.

They quickly wheeled Carter into the hospital and down the hall to Trauma Two.
"Get some O negative down here," Benton shouted.

"Peter....Peter wait outside. You need to have someone take a look at you,"
Kerry said as she tried to lead him towards the door.

"No...no I want to stay with him."

"Peter come on...let us work on him," Mark, who had just arrived, stated
firmly. "Dave...Dave take him and check him out."

"Sure...come on Dr. Benton."

"No....I need to be here."

"Peter please. We'll take care of him," Mark said sincerely. "I promise."

"He has a bullet in his shoulder," Benton called frantically as Dave tried to
lead him away by his arm. "And I think he might have pneumonia...you'd better
get a chest x-ray. He might have some cracked ribs too."

"Peter," Kerry said firmly. "We'll check everything. I promise."

Finally Dave succeeded in getting Peter out of the trauma room. They were met
by Elizabeth in the hallway. "Peter...thank God you're all right. We'll talk
later," she called back over her shoulder as she opened the door to the trauma
room."

"Take good care of him, Elizabeth," Peter called softly after her.

"I will, Peter."



Peter allowed Dave to lead him into Exam 1 and sat complacently as Dave
examined him. Finally he tired of it all though. "Enough!" he snapped, giving
Dave an irritated look.

"I'm just trying to do my job," stated Dave. "You're not the only one who is
worried about Carter you know. We all are."

"Yeah well I'm the one who has seen him go through hell the past few days.
I've seen him get shot and kicked and watched as he laid there delirious,
burning up with fever, begging me for water when we had none. Do you have any
idea what it was like, Malucci? To be in a pitch black death trap...thinking
that no one was going to come...that you were going to die a lingering death in
that place and no one would ever even know what happened to you? Well let me
tell you...it was pure hell."

Dave stood quietly and let Benton have his say. He knew it was good for him to
get some of this off his chest. He knew that they had gone through hell and it
was probably going to take some time to be able to get over it.

"Dr. Benton?" Dave spoke up after Benton had been silent again for a short
time. "You really ought to be admitted, at least overnight for observation.
You're slightly dehydrated and you took quite a blow to the head."

"I don't need to be admitted," Benton replied. "I'll be here anyhow, but I
don't want to be admitted."

"Dr. Benton..." Dave began hesitantly, not wanting to start anything.
"You...you've been through a very rough time. You really need to rest and push
some fluids. If you don't...you're going to end up requiring an IV."

Benton sighed deeply, giving Dave an irked look but he wasn't up to arguing.
"Let's talk about this later. Actually...I could use some water right now,
want to get me some?"

"Yeah sure..." Dave knew Benton was just trying to get rid of him, but he did
need to be drinking. He went off and returned a few minutes later with a
pitcher filled with ice water. He had paused to look in the window of Trauma
Two on the way back but they had still been working on Carter.

"Thanks," Benton said as Dave poured him some water from the pitcher and handed
it to him. "Any word on Carter?"

"No. They're still in there with him." Dave replied as he watched Benton
sipping from the cup.

"Damn..." Benton said, taking another sip from the cup as silence descended
upon the room. "Uh Dave?"

"Yeah?" Dave asked as he sank onto a stool in the room. He was actually
pretty tired and the adrenaline rush had long since worn off.

"I just wanted to say thanks...thanks for what you did. It took guts, chasing
those guys down the way you did...you could have been killed..."

"Thanks..." Dave looked down at the floor, feeling a bit embarrassed. "You
know...I didn't even think when I did it. I wasn't really considering what
could happen. I just wasn't sure if you guys were with them...and I wasn't
going to let them get away...not if I could help it."

"Well...I appreciate what you did."

"No problem." Dave stood up and awkwardly patted Benton on the shoulder. "I'm
going to go get your paper work sent upstairs. You need to get into a room,
get cleaned up, get some rest."

"Yeah...listen is Carter's grandmother here?" Benton gave Dave a questioning
look. "I should talk to her.'

"Yeah...uh she must be...I'll check it out and send her in if I find her,
okay?"

"Thanks Dave," Benton said, nodding. "And let me know if you hear anything
about Carter, okay?"

"I'll let you know," Dave promised.



"Dr. Benton?"

Benton forced his eyes open and found himself looking up into the concerned
face of Millicent Carter.

"Mrs. Carter..." he said as he sat up in the bed, looking a bit sheepish.
"I...I guess I fell asleep."

"I'm sorry...I shouldn't have woken you...but Dr. Malucci said that you wished
to speak to me...and I thought you should know...They stabilized John enough to
bring him up to surgery. There was a bit of a debate on whether or not to
wait, but the wound is beginning to develop an infection and Dr. Corday decided
it would be better not to wait."

"Elizabeth is an excellent surgeon. Cart...John is in good hands." Benton
smiled at the woman and gestured to the chair by his bed. "Please...have a
seat."

"Thank you," Millicent sat down in the chair, smoothing an imaginary wrinkle
from her skirt. "I won't stay long though...I don't want to tire you out. I
know you've been through a terrible ordeal."

"I'm all right, really," Benton said, offering a faint smile.

Millicent shook her head. "Dr. Benton...I want you to know how very grateful I
am for what you did for John..."

"Please Mrs. Carter," Benton said. "I really didn't..."

"Please..." Millicent said, placing her hand lightly on Peter's arm. "I really
would just like to say this. Although I'm very sorry you had to go through
everything you've been through these past few days...I am grateful that you
were there. I know in my heart that you saved John's life. He never would
have made it if he was alone. If there is anything at all that I can ever do
for you in the future, I would consider it a great honor to do so."

"Your grandson...He's very important to me..." Peter said solemnly. "I just
want him to be all right."

"I think he will be...thanks to you," Millicent said, smiling as she rose to
her feet. "You know...you're very important to him too. He has a great deal
of respect for you. I know he's always looked up to you." She could see that
Dr. Benton was looking a bit embarrassed by her praise. "I'm going to leave
you now. You'd best get some rest." Impulsively she leaned down and kissed
Peter's cheek. "Thank you again, Dr. Benton."

"You're welcome, Mrs. Carter." Peter watched as she walked out of the room and
leaned back in order to get some rest.



The first thing Carter felt as he struggled to awaken was the soft warmth of a
blanket underneath his hand. He took a deep breath and groaned softly,
straining to hear the voices in the background.

"Mrs. Carter...he's starting to come around. Carter...Carter can you hear me?"

Carter slowly opened his eyes and blinked several times as he tried to focus.
Finally his gaze settled on Dr. Benton. "Hey," he whispered , managing a smile
in spite of the rough, raw feeling in his throat. "Guess we finally got out of
that place."

Benton nodded, grinning down at Carter. "I told you we would, didn't I? I
told you we'd get out of there."

"John? Darling?"

Carter turned his head towards the familiar voice of his grandmother who was on
the other side of his bed. "Gamma! I didn't know you were here."

"Oh John..." Millicent leaned down to give her grandson a gentle hug, holding
him closely for several moments before releasing him and gently brushing the
unruly locks from his forehead. "Thank God you are going to be all right. I
was so frightened that I was never going to see you again."

"I'm fine, Gamma...It's going to be okay."

"I can't bear to think of what you must have gone through."

"Please Gamma...I'll be okay. I...I really don't even remember a much of what
happened. A lot of it is just a blur. I was pretty out of it."

Millicent nodded and smiled down at him, blinking back tears as she kissed
John's cheek. "I'm going to go and make some phone calls. I think it's time I
told the rest of the family what happened here. You rest and I'll be back
shortly, okay? Is there anything you need? Anything you'd like me to bring
back for you?"

"No I'm fine," Carter responded softly. "Gamma?" He grabbed her hand before
she turned away. "I'm sorry that I worried you."

"Don't' be silly, John. I'm just grateful that you're safe now."

After his grandmother had left the room, Carter turned his attention back to
Dr. Benton. "So...what's the verdict? What's wrong with me?"

"Let's see..." began Benton. "The bullet in your shoulder didn't cause any
major damage so that should heal up nicely. You were starting to develop a
wound infection though so Elizabeth decided to remove the bullet right away
rather than wait. As I'm sure you suspected, you have a slight case of
pneumonia. It's actually not as bad as I would have thought though considering
what you went through. You're on IV antibiotics for that and that should clear
up your infection also."

Carter nodded. None of it sounded too bad and he felt much improved from when
he had been in the cell. He knew he had to be pretty heavily medicated. "Dr.
Benton?" he began hesitantly. "I...I just want to thank you for what you did
for me in there. I would never have made it without you."

"Come on, Carter..." Benton replied. "I didn't do anything that you or anyone
else wouldn't have done in the same situation."

"Even so...you saved my life." Carter looked sincerely into the eyes of the
man he had admired for so long. "And I want you to know that I appreciate it."

"I know you do Carter...but you should know by now that I'd never let anything
happen to you, not if I could help it."

"I do know that," Carter said, absently toying with a stray thread on the edge
of his blanket.

The two men were silent for a short time before Benton spoke. "You know
Carter...what we went through...it probably isn't going to be the easiest thing
in the world to just forget. If...if you ever want to talk about it or
anything...well...you know...you should come to me."

"Really?" Carter pondered that for a few moments. He remembered when Dennis
Gant had died. He had wanted to talk to Dr. Benton then too, but Benton had
refused to discuss his feelings. He hadn't even acknowledged that what had
happened to Dennis had affected him. They had certainly come a long way since
that time. "That'd be good." He knew the memories of what happened weren't
going to fade away any time soon. For right now though, he preferred to try
not to think about it. He knew at some point he was going to have to face what
had happened, but not quite yet. He just wanted to focus on getting well,
being grateful for light and water and warmth...all the things he had thought
he would never have again.

Carter put his hand up to his mouth as he unsuccessfully tried to stifle a
yawn.

"I'm going to let you get some sleep, Carter," Benton said, standing up as he
lightly patted Carter's shoulder. Half the people in the hospital are going to
be in here visiting you. You'd better get some rest while you can."

"Okay...I will..." Carter didn't even try to fight the sleepiness that was
overcoming him. Even the pancake-like hospital pillows seemed like an amazing
luxury to him, after days spent on the cold, hard floor of the cell. "Thanks
again, Dr. Benton..." he said as his eyes closed and he drifted off to sleep.

Benton stood and watched his former student for a few minutes. He knew that
neither of them would ever forget what they had gone through together. He had
heard before of how people's lives changed after going through certain
life-altering events. He knew that his own life would never be the same, nor
would his relationship with Carter. He vowed to no longer take any of his
relationships for granted in the future. He sighed deeply as he slowly headed
out of Carter's room. Now that Carter was on the mend, it was about time he
reunited with Reese. He could hardly wait to hold the little guy in his arms.
He'd be back soon to see Carter. They could help each other through the
aftermath of this whole nightmare and hopefully put it behind them.



Bill sighed in contentment as he lounged by the pool of his friend's home.
Good old George had done very well for himself since his release from prison.
Bill had only arrived the day before and George had made him feel right at
home. He had all kinds of connections and would be able to help Bill find a
job, leave the country, get false identification...whatever Bill decided he
wanted to do. For now, Bill was going to lay low and enjoy his friend's
hospitality. He had never before had an opportunity to experience the finer
things in life and he planned to take full advantage.

He reached over to the tray on the patio beside him and picked up the copy of
the Chicago Sun-Times George had obtained for him earlier today. Poor
Tony...He had no sympathy whatsoever for Frank...the bastard had deserved to
die, but Tony had just been a follower and now was going to be left holding the
bag alone. Bill knew that he too would be implicated in what had
happened...but he was pretty sure that no one would find him. He had covered
his tracks well and he trusted George. He was also gratified to read that
young Carter was going to fully recover from his injuries. He didn't regret
stealing the money...Hell the Carter family had gotten off cheap, having
retrieved two-thirds of the ransom, but he had never meant for anyone to be
hurt. He wondered if their paths would ever cross again. He doubted it, but
one never knew. For now though he was going to just sit back and enjoy his
life and the wealth he now possessed, all thanks to young Dr. Carter. "To your
health, Dr. Carter," he said, raising his frozen Margarita in a toast.
"Perhaps some day, we'll meet again."


The End