From: EHursh <ekhursh@bdexx.com>
Subject: "Aftermath" - On-the-fly fanfic - spoiler??? Pt. 1
Date: 2000/02/11
Message-ID: <38A4418B.69577923@bdexx.com>#1/1
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
X-Accept-Language: en
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
X-Trace: tw11.nn.bcandid.com 950288781 206.148.209.234 (Fri, 11 Feb 2000 10:06:21 MST)
Organization: bCandid - Powering the world's discussions - http://bCandid.com
MIME-Version: 1.0
NNTP-Posting-Date: Fri, 11 Feb 2000 10:06:21 MST
Newsgroups: alt.tv.er.creative


(Haven't done this sort of thing in years...)

The usual disclaimers - characters and "ER" property of Warners,
Amblin, Constant C, etc.; this time, I am *not* promising to take
very good care of everybody, but the "real" writers are gonna screw
with 'em soon enough.

AFTERMATH

Kerry crutched through the doors of the ER, and was immediately hit
by the wave of loud... "music", if one was being charitable. She clapped
one hand over an ear, disgusted as usual by the crutch that occupied her
other hand, and had to get almost right up to the desk before anyone
could hear her yell "TURN THAT OFF!"

The partyers stood, blinking, as the ER was quiet again. But... it
wasn't quiet. Not as quiet as it should have been. There was some kind of
little noise, that seemed to be coming from one of the exam rooms.
Kerry wheeled away from them, and went in search of it. She had
mentally counted up everybody at the party, and was coming up short
one male resident and one female student - the math disturbed her,
especially *today*, of all days. "Carter, you are going to be in SO much
trouble," she murmured, then paused at the door. Something *really*
wasn't right... she flung open the door, now almost hoping that she'd
only be catching them in a compromising position. "Oh my *God*!"
she choked out, as she first saw the floor smeared with something dark
that could - in the semi-darkness - have been chocolate, but wasn't.
She could see Carter, sprawled on his side next to the bed amid a
clutter of equipment that he'd probably taken down with him. "get..." she began
hoarsely, then cleared her throat and tried again. "I need a backboard
in here!  Carter's down, and there's blood all over the place!"

The Valentine's Day party was now over. Abby watched, stunned, as
people who'd been relaxed and happy sprang into action. *Carter*?
That couldn't be - she was just talking to him a few minutes ago! Benton
pushed past someone - he couldn't see who - in his haste to get to the
scene. He'd just *known* that something like this would happen to that
kid one of these days, with his stubborn insistence on switching to
emergency as a specialty. Oh, who am I kidding, he thought. He isn't
stubborn, he's just like me.

Luka went in the room first, somehow knowing that they weren't going
to find just Carter in there, and was dismayed to see that he was right.

Kerry hadn't gone far enough into the room to see Lucy lying on the
floor on the other side of the bed, with a vast, brilliant red collar
spreading around her. He determinedly shut off  *that* part of himself,
the part that ached and bled with every death he saw, and examined her
quickly. "Get more in here!" he ordered sharply as he heard people
clattering into the room. "Lucy--" he explained tersely. The girl's
throat had been slashed, he saw, as Lucy stirred. Her eyes opened, and she
looked up at him with huge frightened brown eyes - like a wild animal,
or... no. He pushed back that thought, although those thoughts always
had free rein as he slept.

Lucy's backboard came, and he got her onto it, installing IVs and
performing a field tracheotomy - not pretty, but it would help her
breathe until something more formal could be arranged.

Carol assisted him, handing him materials as he called for them.
Weird, she'd never really warmed up to the girl, but now she realized
that the kid had only been doing her best to keep up, and to please
Carter (and after all, that had been why Lucy had lied about having
started that IV, which had originally alienated Carol). What a pity, she
thought as she passed Luka a syringe of epi, I didn't realize that
before. Her thoughts turned to the Croatian doctor - when they'd been trying to
save that woman earlier, she'd sensed his desperation to save her.
Little things had been clicking into place, very gradually, things that some
people wouldn't have noticed, and there were things she was beginning
to realize about him.

Lucy was finally hooked up; Carter had already been taken to an OR,
but Lucy had to be stable before they could transport her, and she
*wasn't* stabilizing. In fact, she was having a very nice little dream -
everything was haloed in white light, and she was seeing people she'd
thought she'd never see again. A man came toward her, and she
somehow *knew*-- "Dad?" He nodded, and held out his hand to her.
"It's time, isn't it? I'm dead...." He nodded again, and she could see
his face was twisted with sorrow.

"You're too young for this, Lucy-Goose. I wish I'd been able to know
you, I wish you could have had a good long life with that young man of
yours, but yes. It's time."

...to be continued