ER/Stand Crossover




There was definitely a chill in the air. It was cold, and clouds were forming to the north. In theory, they were heading off to Boulder in the morning, but Lucy didn't think it was going to happen. There were far too many things that could go wrong. She had a feeling that Doug would still be sick. The poor man simply wasn't well, that was a fact. She had been sitting with him but Luka had shooed her out a little while earlier. Doug was in withdrawal and it wasn't pretty and Luka had made the point that she didn't have to spend every waking moment keeping an eye on the man. There were plenty of people to help.

At least Luka didn't seem to be implying that he just didn't want her help, and she appreciated that. Carter had brushed her off that morning with the haughty opinion that Doug's physical addiction was mild at best. She agreed with that, but it didn't really change the fact that Doug was sick and barely coherent. Kerry, to give her credit, had been concerned but had slipped into full doctor mode. That meant long lectures on Doug's symptoms and quizzes at conversation lulls. It was like being trapped with a pit bull and covered with steaks. She wasn't sure that she needed that much instruction, but in the end she suspected she made Kerry feel better, if not Doug.

So now what, she thought as she walked down the cobblestone path that led to the long driveway. Its mid afternoon and I have no place to go. She could walk around the house to the backyard, where Dave and Jeanie were playing with Taris, but she wasn't in the mood. Her mood was bad, to be honest, and she wanted to brood a bit. So instead she started walking down the long driveway.

She had a gun in her jacket pocket, a small .22. She had gotten the idea from Kerry, and while she wasn't exactly happy about the older woman's manipulation of her, she wasn't going to abandon a good idea because of it. She wanted to be alone, but that didn't mean she wanted to get killed by some marauding band.

We're such a weird group of people, she thought suddenly. Luka, Kerry, and Carter had, one night a few weeks back, talked long into the night about who had survived and why. It hadn't been the jolliest of discussions and at the time she hadn't cared to participate. Now she was more inclined to think about it and it was interesting.

She didn't look at it the way they had though. They talked about things like immunity vectors, symptoms and population controls. That wasn't what survival was about to her. There was more to it than that. And weird as the group was, she was starting to think that they worked pretty well together. People that survived weren't necessarily people who were immune. Take her captors. She didn't feel one bit of sympathy for their deaths, not at all, but when all the facts were lined up, technically they should be the ones alive. They were bigger, they were actually more skilled as far as survival went, and yet they were dead and she was alive. From a fact stand point it made no sense. It made even worse sense when she considered that their deaths and her rescue was brought about by Doug Ross and Kerry Weaver. Not exactly designed for survival, she thought, those two were walking examples as to why being in a group was better. Without a group to look after them, both Doug and Kerry would not have finished the summer alive. Doug would have, with no people around to stop him, drunk himself to death fairly quickly. Kerry would probably never left Chicago. Lucy had doubts as to whether the woman would have survived the beating Walker gave her if no one had taken care of her. Yet those two had rescued her from men who were physically and mentally better suited to survive. It was odd.

No, she thought as she kicked some colorful oak leaves with her shoe, it made sense. Those men had been heading towards death. Her companions were not. As a group, they complimented each other. Alone even the best of them would have had problems.

Together though, they ended up making a pretty good team. Even Dave who wasn't exactly with them for the whole summer fit in like an old friend. She didn't give them much chance for sticking it out alone, they were too specialized to want to spend the rest of their lives as hunter-gathers or farmers, but in Boulder they would be fine. She smiled a little as she walked. Within three days of arriving at Boulder, she had no doubt that they would be serving as the city's only hospital staff. The familiarity of the job would do more for morale than anything else, that she knew.

It was very lucky that we were all survivors, she decided. If they had faults as people, that was to be expected. Lucy knew better, for example, to expect patience from over half the people in the group. Carter was easily annoyed over everything. Jeanie was the same way, though she tended to mask her irritation. It was just a display of better manners, she knew. Jeanie wasn't a hurtful person but she did get impatient. Randi was impatient with incompetence. Lucy suspected that the woman simply didn't see that she was more physically graceful and loaded with common sense. To Randi, things were simply as they were and if she could see or do something, then everyone else could too. If they couldn't, they simply needed to get with the program. Then there was Kerry, who was definitely impatient, but in such a predictable fashion that it was almost like pressing a button. A person could disagree with Kerry and get intelligent debate from her as long as it didn't get personal. Imply *anything* personal, and you'd be lucky to escape with limbs still attached. At the opposite end were Luka, Dave and Doug. Luka and Dave tended to be very laid back. Luka was simply a calm man. She smiled again. Doug was right, Luka was a good catch. Smart, calm, and god knows he was physically attractive, she wondered sometimes if there was something wrong with her, that she didn't want him as more than a friend. She didn't want him though. She felt the same way about Dave. Yes, Dave was basically a goofy kid with a medical degree, but he was also good humored and cheerful. It was safe to say that she didn't feel motivated in pursuing him when he was clearly interested in another woman. She also didn't begrudge Kerry the attention, though the older woman didn't seem terribly interested.

The fact was, she just didn't really want to be with a man. It was irrational, and she knew enough psychology to know that it was a reaction to being raped, but she didn't feel safe with the men. Well, she amended, she didn't feel safe with Carter, Dave or Luka. She felt fine with Doug. Doug, sh suspected, was "safe" in her mind even though he was probably the worst scamp from a historical perspective. He was grieving, grieving for Carol, and there was no reason to feel threatened at all. It made her feel bad, to think that she was essentially using him but she didn't know what else to call it. Besides, it wasn't like she wanted to date him. It was just... nice to be able to talk to a man without her skin crawling.

She heard the leaves rustling from more than just the light wind and stopped. It sounded like another person and she tensed up immediately. Realistically, she knew it had to be one of the people in her group, but that didn't stop her from grabbing the tiny pistol that she had in her pocket.

" You know, all that little gun would do to an assailant is piss them off before they kill you." Lucy spun around, her adrenaline pumping despite the fact that she recognized the voice. Randi was standing at the edge of the cobblestone driveway, almost hidden by the trees. In her hands was a long, neatly trimmed wooden staff with just a little bit of bark on the ends to show that it had only hours earlier been a young oak sapling. Behind Randi and the small stand of trees, Lucy could see the overgrown remains of a horse meadow, the grass grown to almost knee high. Another summer of rampant growing, Lucy thought suddenly, and the grass would be waist high.

Rand stepped forward onto the road. She was lightly, and conservatively dressed in a grey hooded sweatshirt and a pair of shorts. Surprisingly, she wasn't wearing shoes, yet Lucy could see that she had been working up a sweat doing something. Randi pointed her stick at the jacket pocket that Lucy kept the gun in. " You picked up that little idea from Dr. Weaver, didn't you?"

Lucy nodded after a moment. " I remembered her and you saying something the other night when we were... you know... talking about the dreams."

Randi smiled a little. " Fair enough. Consider this though. Now that we no longer watch Dr. Weaver like a hawk, what does she carry when she goes into town?"

Lucy shook her head. " I don't know... I hadn't been paying attention."

" Its a 9mm Glock. Sometimes a Colt .45." Randi twirled her stick in a circle. " Here's my point. She was carrying a tiny little .22 pistol because she was hiding it from us, but was afraid to be unarmed and left alone. Personally, I'd bet she also considered it as a back up suicide tool. Given a choice, she goes with a larger gun. Why? " Randi shrugged." Aside from the numerous psychological issues that wanting a "bigger gun" raises, she knows enough about guns to know that a .22 has no stopping power. The thing with a gun is this, if you plan on shooting someone for self defense, you better be able to kill them with one shot."

" So whats your point?" Lucy was starting to get irritated. Randi was clearly trying to make some sort of point but she didn't see it.

Randi pointed to her pocket again. " If you're going to carry a gun for protection, it better be big enough to actually stop something larger than a cat. You also need to know how to use it. Do you? If you don't, you should ask. Luka knows a lot about guns. Kerry could give you some pointers, or Dave. Don't just pick up a gun and think it'll save you." She eyed Lucy, seeming to consider something. " Besides, you're young and healthy. You aren't *forced* to consider a gun your only defense."

" Thanks for the tip." Lucy said, trying not to sound as irritated as she felt.

" I'm not trying to make you feel stupid." Randi said. " You're not helpless. You don't need to walk around with a gun. If you want, I could show you some moves."

" I'm not really into karate, Randi, but thanks." Lucy didn't buy into the myth that using martial arts meant that a smaller assailant could beat a larger. Somehow she didn't think it would have help her at all in her assault.

" I'm not talking karate, " Randi said easily as she twirled her oak staff, " though I wouldn't mind teaching you if you wanted. I meant some self defense stuff. Some arm bars, eye gouging, all the good stuff. Some throws too. Not high tech stuff, but once you know how to do it, you could take down any of the guys. It'll be fun. You need something."

Lucy considered it. She wasn't interested, and yet she was, she had to admit, somewhat intrigued. Randi knew how to handle herself. At the same time, Randi seemed to be reaching out in a way that the others hadn't. Instead of pity and concern, Randi seemed to be taking a practical bent. More of a "let's make sure it doesn't happen" sort of attitude. " Ok, but we need to take it easy... I'm really black and blue still."

Randi smiled and twirled her staff again. " Do I look like I'd hurt you?"

" With the stick, maybe." They both laughed and started walking back towards the lodge. " What were you doing, anyway?" Lucy asked. " I mean, with bare feet? Its cold."

Randi shrugged. " Just practicing kata in the meadow. Bare feet are more stable." She was quiet for a long moment. " I needed to think about something. I think better when I work out." It was a surprisingly gentle thing to say, something Lucy had never really seen in Randi.

" Did you get everything sorted out?" Lucy asked.

Randi nodded, and brushed her long brunette hair away from her face. Again she smiled, though it seemed a little nervous. " I think so. I decided that everything was going to work out the way it's supposed to."



Part 47
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