ER/Stand Crossover




Luka cursed as his motorcycle slid along the road. It had started raining not long after sunrise, a slushy almost snow like rain, and it had followed them the whole day. He was wet and cold, and the roads were terrible. It was obvious to him now why spending money on road upkeep was necessary. Just one summer of neglect had made the roads very difficult. There was mud and fallen leaves drifting across the road and the wet rain was collecting in puddles that were difficult to judge in depth. It made him nervous. It also worried him. With the weather turning the way it was, he had serious doubts that they could make the trip to Boulder. After this rain, he thought, the high passes might be filled with snow. With bikes they might make it, but it would be hard and it would take at least a week and a half. That assumed that the weather would be decent. The problems, as he saw it, were numerous. One, the weather wasn't going to hold. The high passes might already be filled with snow. Two, he believed Kerry when she said she couldn't ride a motorbike. She could ride behind someone, and she had done that for short rides to stores and such, but he'd also seen her discreetly grabbing for painkillers from the drug bag afterward. She could do it, he thought, but it would be hard and if he misjudged, she'd really be hurt and they would be stuck. The third problem was that Doug was going to need some time to dry out. He hadn't had anything to drink all day which was great, but he was irritable and complaining of headaches and it was going to get worse before it got better. He didn't think Doug had a physical addiction to alcohol, but he definitely had a psychological one. It would probably be months before Doug felt well. Luka didn't look forward to trying to travel with him.

The fourth reason and probably the one that Luka found most compelling was that he didn't think they were meant to reach Boulder before winter set it. They were not grand players in the game. Who those players were, and what exactly the game was, he didn't know. He was merely glad he wasn't going to be involved. Luka wasn't a coward, not by any means but he also didn't run to fights, and he sensed there was a fight coming.

We might not get to Boulder, he thought, at least not until spring. He wasn't happy about it, but he accepted it. He would have preferred the greater safety of numbers and organization. It would have been nice to drop the load he was carrying. He wanted to get to some organized stronghold and just relax for a little while. He smiled to himself. Be careful what you wish for, he thought ruefully. If we get stuck in Carter's place for the winter, there will be too much time to just relax. He didn't relish the notion of watching his companions suffer from cabin fever. It was probably too close to how they were acting already. He knew that his own reaction to being stuck in the same place for months on end with next to nothing to do was not likely to be good. Maybe I should try to push at least attempting to get to Boulder, he thought.

His bike skidded and he suddenly found himself struggling to keep his balance. Doug and Lucy, riding on the same bike, were having the same problem, worsened by the unsteady load. It was getting late in the day, but he didn't want to stop. They were very close to Carter's place but as much as he wanted to get there, he suspected they were going to have to pull off for the night. He was still considering that when his cycle slid once more and he went flying into the ground.


" He should be all right." Luka's eyes opened at the sound of Doug Ross's voice. He started to get up, but the rolling wave of sudden nausea forced him back down. So instead, he looked around the room he found himself in.

It was obviously a bedroom in a private home. He was on a bed, and carefully propped up on the bed with an assortment of pillows. There were some medical supplies on the nearby dresser, but nothing beyond a first aid nature, and the truth was, despite feeling sick to his stomach and a little overwhelmed by a headache, he felt fine. Sore and scraped up, but as he recalled flying over the handles of his motorcycle, that was to be expected. No wonder people harped on wearing helmets, he thought with a vague sense of amusement. Once again, I escape death through nothing more than sheer chance. He was the worst in their group for wearing the helmet, and he had only put it on that morning because it was cold. Just dumb luck.

" Are you sure?" he heard Lucy ask. She sounded a little tense and upset, not an unusual occurrence. Lucy was the sort to worry and she had been a medical student. She knew just enough to really let her imagination run wild.

" He's been unconscious for just over an hour." Doug's tone was one of mild concern. " He hit his head pretty hard. He's lucky its not worse. Now, if he doesn't wake up soon, then we have a problem." There was a long pause, and then a nervous chuckle. " Of course, there's nothing we can do if he doesn't wake up."

" We've had this discussion before." Lucy said dryly. " Remember? When Dr. Weaver was hurt." Yes, Luka thought, we have talked like this before. At least this time they aren't hysterical from exhaustion. The important thing though, was that he remembered just how worried he had been that time around. His concern hadn't abated until he had actually talked to Kerry and seen her not only conscious but coherent and obviously not brain damaged from an undetected subdural bleed. No doubt Lucy and Doug had similar fears. It was nice, in a way, to know that someone was worried about him. It also made him feel a little guilty. They were worried, and here he was, not fine but not exactly at death's door either. I should get up, he decided, at least for a few minutes and let them know I'm ok. It probably wouldn't be a bad idea to find out where they were either. He knew they had to be close to Carter's place, frustratingly so, but it would be nice to know if they were looking at merely an hour ride or a day of travel.

He sat up again, taking it very slow. The room spun for a moment but then settled down. Ok, he thought as he set his feet onto the hard wood floor, where am I anyway? The room he was in didn't appear to be hospital orientated in any way and he knew they hadn't even come close to any on the trip out. This was obviously a private home. He could still hear the two of them talking but they had moved off and their voices had melded into an indistinct murmur. He stood up slowly and carefully left the small bedroom, finding himself in a wood paneled hallway. Definitely someone's home, he thought as he gazed at a series of photos that clearly depicted an elderly couple with dozens of grandchildren.

The floorboards creaked as he stepped upon them, but he made no effort to walk silently. There was no point in surprising Doug and Lucy, and he suspected that it really wouldn't take much to startle Lucy. He didn't feel up to dealing with a frightened Lucy. It didn't help. They simply went on with their low conversation. He followed the sound, confirming along the way that they seemed to be holed up in a large farmhouse. It was frustrating to be so close to their destination and yet be forced to stop. While he knew in his heart that they didn't *need* to be in Boulder, he wanted the security of other people. Other people meant having a safety net. Their safety net as a group of seven was pretty low. The addition of Dave Malucci was welcome but it only increased their survivability slightly. If they ran into any problem that required more people, say for example a violent attack by people who were less drunk and more intelligent than the people who grabbed Lucy, they would be in for a hard time. It worried him. It worried him a lot. He didn't even want to think about what might be happening back at Carter's place, or what could have happened to him if Doug and Lucy hadn't been there when he spilled.

It was clear that Lucy and Doug were in what he assumed was the kitchen. It was already starting to get dark and he could see the flickering flame of a kerosene lamp. The house wasn't built on an open plan so he wasn't surprised that they hadn't heard him. Their conversation became clear to him once again, and he listened to it for a moment.

" If it helps any, " Lucy said, " you aren't the only one who feels like a complete idiot. In case you missed it, they all watch me too. Evidently, they're waiting for me to collapse. Its bad enough that I feel horrible about being caught. "

"It could have been any one of us," Doug said after a moment. Luka was struck by how run down the other man sounded. " From what that Dave guy said, they weren't really all that choosy about victims."

" Its not the same." Lucy said sadly. " I know why Kerry never said anything about being raped. Everyone acts like I'm about to fall apart." Luka considered what she'd just said. Lucy seemed pretty fragile to him, but he could see where their concern was overboard. He had, for starters, gone chasing after her not because he thought she was incapable, not really. He had gone chasing after her because she had been raped. HE had somehow decided after the fact that it was time to protect her. And Kerry had been raped and never said a thing about it. Somehow he wasn't shocked by that little bit of omission, and was he really surprised by the fact at all? No, not after thinking about it for a moment. Rape didn't always leave visual evidence but he could remember examining Kerry and wondering if she had been. He shook his head. It was in character, he decided, but it brought him no closer to understanding.

" The problem, " Doug said with a chuckle, " is that Kerry did fall apart. Don't look at me that way, I'm not being critical. I'm not saying that it wasn't justified or that there weren't a lot of issues revolving around that contributed. She snapped pretty violently, for starters. She didn't say anything about being raped because she didn't remember at first, and by the time she did, she knew better than to say anything. You have to be careful Lucy. You have an excuse, in everyone's mind, to spend your life wallowing. So does Kerry. Technically we all do, but as a group..."

" They'd let me wallow." Luka could almost see the irritated look on Lucy's face.

" You might want try drugs of some sort. The positions of town drunk and town crazy have already been filled."

There was a long pause. Luka almost made his presence known then. Doug had been trying, he suspected, to be funny. It had fallen flat. I might as well rescue him, he thought. Lucy's voice chimed in just as he started to shift his body. " No, not drugs. I was thinking of more behavioral disorders for the group. Like maybe becoming a nymphomaniac with bisexual tendencies. You know, overcompensating. I think I'll start with Randi. Then Carter. Then maybe Randi *and* Carter."

Another long pause. Then Luka heard a burst of laughter. He almost started laughing himself, it was that funny. For a moment, he could actually imagine it, right down to the annoyed look on Randi's face. It *was* funny.

" Maybe we should go check on Luka, " Lucy said after her laughter died off. " He might be awake. He's not the type to start yelling if he's in agony. "

" No, " Doug said, " He's a strong silent type." He paused. " He's a good man. I didn't understand why you never seemed interested in him. Let's face it Lucy, you're not exactly overwhelmed with suitors."

" God Doug, next you'll be telling me what great breeding stock he is."

" You'd have tall, lean children. Reasonably bright kids too. I worry a little about what Randi and Carter might produce."

" Their kids would be attractive."

" But imagine if they all had Randi's attitude and Carter's clumsiness." Lucy laughed. Doug pressed on. " Think about it. A whole little flock of them tripping over their own feet and rolling their eyes."

" You should think positively." Lucy said between laughs. " They could have Randi's gracefulness and Carter's enthusiasm. Hey, what do you think the kids that Dave and Kerry would produce would look like? "

" Are they together?" Doug seemed more surprised than Luka would have suspected.

" Not yet. They will though." Lucy took on a slightly superior tone. " Maybe its just my woman's intuition talking, but they really like each other. They just seem awkward about the age thing." Luka wondered suddenly, if Lucy was saying more than she intended. She seemed to feel awkward about the age thing, but he really wondered if it was *Dave and Kerry* she was feeling awkward about. It occurred to him that she had never really responded to Doug's question either.

" Hmmm if Dave and Kerry had kids.... I don't know, " Doug mused. " Somehow I see either a bunch of doofy acting dark haired kids that find throwing water balloons at each other the summit of entertainment or a group of angry little red headed kids plotting with some high tech plan they all made so they could get revenge on the kids throwing water balloons at them."

They both laughed. Luka struggled not to, but it was hard as Doug painted a rather apt picture. Still, he wondered what Lucy wanted. Luka had made a point early on of not chasing after the women. He had felt, at the time, that it was too likely to blow up and be a problem. Kerry had never seemed interested at all, and he was starting to understand why. Randi had blatantly flirted and that had been tempting but he had brushed her off and she had found Carter. Jeanie hadn't *flirted* per se but he had known that she found him attractive. Lucy had been the same but he had never sensed any interest from her. He had simply assumed that she was like him, trying to not jump into a relationship just because they were in close proximity. Lucy certainly hadn't shown much interest in Carter and hadn't really had opportunity to even talk to Dave. Yet here she was, discussing what Luka considered very intimate things with Doug Ross.

You're reading way too much into it, he told himself as he went back to the room he'd been in. She just needs someone to talk to. And Doug is sober for a change and I can't really fault that. It occurred to Luka that it might even be good for Doug to have somebody lean on him for support. Doug was right, after all, in that he had been allowed to wallow. Instead of forcing the man to help them, they had let him drink and drink. Luka himself had assumed that Doug needed time. Now he was starting to realize that what Doug needed was something to do.

He shook off his thoughts. The truth was that his head hurt immensely and he didn't really want to think any more. While Doug and Lucy were concerned, he suspected that they were a little too engrossed in their talk to check on him. That was fine though. A little communication was something their group sorely needed.

He stopped in the hallway, taking a moment to really look at the family photos. He assumed that the home was once owned by the elderly couple that figured in all of the photos. A nice looking family, he thought sadly, with almost twenty grandchildren of various ages, shapes and colors. He sighed. One of the pictures looked recent, a large gathering at picnic tables that was almost seventy people strong. It was the sort of picture that Americans cherished. Four, possibly five generations gathered for an orgy of food and good times, no doubt to be finished off by an evening filled with cheap fireworks and laughing around a fire, while the children stuffed themselves with roasted marshmallows. He hoped the picture was from that summer, that the anonymous family had that one last gathering. Suddenly, he heard a low pitched whine, followed by a loud meow.

" Shhhh... Be quiet Trixie. We don't want them to hear us." Luka's ears pricked at the sound. It was the voice of a child, a very young child. He walked down the hallway, taking great care to move silently, following the meowing of what was obviously a hungry kitten. He traced it to a small bedroom that looked like a child's room. It was very rumpled looking. The closet was closed and he could hear more meowing and scratching. He almost laughed but he didn't want to startle the child.

" Is someone in there?" he asked softly.

There was silence. " No, no one's here. Go away!" After a long moment, the closet opened. A small girl with cocoa colored skin and badly made braids in her hair glared at him. " When someone says they're not there, you're supposed to leave." A kitten snuck out from behind the girl and went to Luka, purring and rubbing itself against his feet. The little girl frowned. " Trixie, that's a stranger."

Luka knelt down and petted the kitten. " My name is Luka. Are you here all by yourself?" The little girl looked badly kept, with dirty clothes and messy hair. She also looked like one of the grandchildren in the picture.

" I'm not by myself. I have Trixie, Mart, Honey, and Jim." Luka smiled as another kitten, and two german shepherd puppies popped out of the closet. The little girl looked chagrinned. " I told you guys to stay!"

" Maybe they're lonely," Luka said easily. He sensed that the little girl was nervous and not feeling very secure with him. " I was lonely too until I found some people. I have some friends in your kitchen and we were going to make dinner. Would you like some dinner?"

" I made dinner already. I opened a can of tuna fish." She glared at him again, but seemed to relent after a moment. " Would you and your friends make me a toasted cheese sandwich? I'm not supposed to use the stove." She eyed him. " You talk funny."

" I'm not from here," he said easily. The girl was maybe eight, probably younger. " Have you been here with your puppies and kittens all summer?" He certainly thought so.

The girl nodded. " My mommy got sick so my daddy brought me here to Granpa's. Then Granpa got sick and died. I tried calling 911 like my teacher said but the phone doesn't work. Isn't Luka a girl's name? Why do you have a girl's name? Will your friends like my pets?"

" Of course they will." That was easy enough. Luka didn't know anyone that didn't like puppies and kittens. Of course, he didn't know if either Doug or Lucy had allergies, but he figured they'd deal. " What's your name?"

" It's Taris. Taris O'Brien. Granpa said I'm black Irish. Then he'd laugh. " Taris frowned. " Granpa was funny. He'd laugh all the time. Are your friends funny?"

" They have their moments." Luka said. He took her hand. " Let's see what we can find for you in the kitchen."



Part 44
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