ER/Stand Crossover




It was pretty dismal being confined to the basement. It also made for much less privacy. Dave felt it more than the others, he thought, since he had been alone for much longer in the summer. The rest of them were used to things like Luka's snoring and Randi's chuckling. He couldn't sleep. Granted, they had moved mattresses down and it was a lot more comfortable, but he wanted quiet and he wasn't getting quiet.

He also wanted to think, and it was hard to do that surrounded by sleeping people. A quick trip up to the kitchen seemed in order, and he started to carefully step around the various sleeping people. He made his way to the stairs, and in minutes he was in the kitchen puttering around. He wasn't really hungry but he knew that eating had a tendency to make him sleepy.

Then again, he wasn't really sure he wanted to sleep. He was worried, worried about the implications of the radiation, and worried about the people he was with. Oh sure, he put on a good front of being happy go lucky Dave, but in truth, he was damned scared. It wasn't just over with the man out west, that he was sure of, even though they had used the CB radio in Kerry's truck to get a garbled message from some people in Boulder who were positive that a group they had sent with the mission to destroy the dark man had succeeded. He wished he had the Boulder Freezone's confidence on that score, but he didn't. Flagg wasn't in power, that even someone as insensitive as himself could sense, but the war wasn't over yet.

That is, if such a war could ever be said to be won. He had his doubts. Evil had a way of hiding off in a cave licking its wounds until it was strong enough to attack again. The scary thing was, he didn't know what the best defense was. He tried to be a good person, but in the face of true evil, he wondered if that was enough.

And then, he thought as he opened refrigerator and poured himself a glass of powdered milk, there's all the practical things to consider. Like the radiation, which thankfully had dropped down to a little bit above what it was before. They were going to move back up to their old rooms in the morning, which was great, but there were long range consequences to nuking Las Vegas. There was Randi's baby, which would be first. The Freezone people had a few women who were pregnant by men who had died of the plague and he thanked God that no one in his group was in that ugly predicament. He only had mild concerns about the babies not being immune. He thought Luka and Kerry were worrying when they didn't need to, but a baby with a father that wasn't immune... He didn't think it would have a chance. No, he was more worried about birth complications than the idea that Randi and Carter wouldn't pass their immunity on. Randi was starting to look pregnant, which made sense since it was mid November, and she was starting to have the natural concern about where her child would be born. Somewhere in the house was Dave's best guess. Kerry in contrast was barely showing which thankfully meant it was Doug's child and not Walker's, and Dave could see the issue of where to give birth being more of a concern. Randi was simply suffused with nesting behavior. Depending on how the roads held up over winter, it was conceivable that Kerry would be in Boulder when her due date of late May, early June rolled around. Considering how everyone was already chafing at the bit to do something, Dave suspected that they would have some sort of hospital running in Boulder in a matter of days after arrival. Plus, the Freezone people already had two doctors and one was an obstetrician. All things considered, Kerry was probably in a much better position than Randi.

Still, it didn't stop him from worrying, though he was enough of a cynic to think that Randi would be the one to have trouble, not Kerry. That was just how life went, in his opinion. Plenty of women had high risk pregnancies and were fine. It was those perfect pregnancies that had problems from out of no where.

No, he thought as he took a seat at the kitchen table, I'm not worried much about that. I just hope she's not totally turned off about having kids. It was selfish to think that way, but he did want a family. Kerry was having a hard time yes, but that was not due to her age, at least he thought. She'd been under stress, a lot of stress, and she hadn't been taking care of herself. It had not been a great time to get knocked up, and her choice of who to do it with could have been better thought out. The concern she had over the flu was also huge. Dave could see where that was eating at her, and he hoped that things would go all right. Like Randi, he sensed that Kerry would be devastated if anything happened to the baby.

I'm just being selfish, he decided. I want my own child. I don't mind this other kid, but its not like I get to be the dad. That'll be Doug, and I'll just be that man that Mom lives with, and that sucks. It would be a *lot* different if I got to be the dad. He knew he could be a father and if, heaven forbid, something happened to Doug before the baby was born, or after for that matter, he could and would accept the child as his own. It was just that having his own would be nice too. He sighed again. A rough pregnancy would certainly turn Kerry off to the notion of having more kids. He didn't want to be just a stepfather, but he also didn't want to push her into something she didn't want to do. Hopefully it wouldn't come to that.

Besides being a stepfather wasn't so bad. He could be the easy going guy that played ball and things. He'd be ok with that. It might even be easier with just one kid. Well, he thought, then again the biggest problem with having a big family was the money and that was hardly a problem anymore. He sighed again.

" Hey." Dave looked up at the sound, surprised to see Doug standing in the kitchen doorway. Doug was not one to make him feel particularly welcome to begin with and had been in loud agreement when the vote to ban him from the baby meetings had been called. Doug ambled over to the table and sat down. " I'm glad you're here. I've been wanting to talk with you."

" Really?" That was something of surprise. Doug didn't seem to like him much. Dave wasn't quite sure why. He didn't really care either but it was odd.

Doug nodded. " We need to talk. About the baby and things."

" I thought you didn't want me involved." It rankled at Dave, that was the truth. Not only did Doug get in first, but then he agreed with Kerry and Luka to kick him out of the baby meetings as a non involved third party.

Doug smirked at him and chuckled. " It never crossed your mind that those meetings are designed mostly for Kerry's benefit? I know you've seen her obsessive compulsive side."

" Oh?" That didn't ring entirely true to Dave. Most of the baby discussions had been rather serious in tone.

" Some of it is serious yes, but come on. Kerry's just needing to feel in control. It makes her feel better to treat this like a contract negotiation. She wants everything under her thumb and your prescence in the meetings just reminds her that she'd much rather be having a child with you than with me. There's a lot of stuff that you and I need to talk about." Doug was being surprisingly serious and Dave started to think that he was being truthful.

" So what do *we* need to talk about?" It was an honest question, he thought.

Doug leaned back in his chair, looking pensive. " Are you serious about Kerry?"

" Are you asking me what my intentions are?" Dave almost chuckled at the thought.

Doug eyed him carefully. " Yes, I am."

" And this is your business how?"

" It's my business because you're currently living with the mother of my child. We're not always going to live in the same house. I somehow doubt that Boulder will be a paradise. I need to be sure that Kerry and her child will be all right. I also need to be sure that you don't have a problem with all of this. If you're not serious about Kerry, or if you aren't happy about the baby, and I can understand if you're not, then you need to say so. If you're not going to be there, or if you aren't ready for a child, then I need to make sure I'm there." He paused. " I know everyone has a low opinion of me. That's fine. I spent the entire summer drunk so everyone gets a few cheap shots for free. But here's my point. Kerry and I will never be best friends, but she's going to have my child. It's not ideal, we both agree on that. We both want this child, and we agree on that too. That means, like it or not, I have an obligation to the child and to its mother. If, when we get to Boulder, you run off with some other woman because this isn't a serious relationship, then I need to be there to make sure Kerry is able to take care of the baby."

It made sense, even though it rankled at Dave to be asked. It wasn't the sort of thing that men generally asked each other. " Yes, I plan to stay with Kerry. I don't plan to go running off the second we reach Boulder. I love her. " He surprised himself by saying it out loud. " I'm not, you know, jumping for joy that she's pregnant by someone else, but she's worried that it'll be the only child she has and I don't want to take anything away from that. If that is the only baby she has, then I plan to treat it like my own."

" You're both a little overly worried that she won't be able to have more." Doug's voice held a scoffing tone, but Dave could see the older man visibly relax. " Plenty of women have kids well into their late forties. Kerry's not that high risk. The only reason I *would* worry is that she doesn't to listen to me or Luka so she isn't taking care of herself. Take for example, her coffee habits."

" Actually, " Dave said, a grin on his face, " I talked her into switching to decaf. She's just pretending its real to screw with you."

" Screwing with me got her into this mess." Doug said with a chuckle. " But you just proved why its important we talk. We both want the same thing, for different reasons. We both want Kerry to come through this and be fine. We both know she doesn't take direction well. I know she's taking the prenatal vitamins. Now I know she's not drinking all the caffeine. Anything else I should know about?"

" She hasn't been sleeping well, and she's been throwing up a lot but otherwise she's been fine." It felt like a betrayal of sorts, but he tried not to let it bother. Doug had a point. Amusing as it was to watch Kerry mess with everyone, he could see why Doug was worried. She probably needed to stop the game playing but he suspected that it was a little too ingrained in her for it to stop. It was fairly harmless though. Kerry was taking care of herself, and Doug had the same problem of enjoying their arguing too much. That was going to make the raising of their child interesting to say the least. " I don't have a problem playing double agent but I think you're worried over nothing. She's not going to do anything that risks the baby. I think you know that."

" Yeah..." Doug's voice trailed off. " There's something else. If Kerry were to die, obviously I would take custody, but if something happened to me, the kid wouldn't have a father... Kerry wants you to be the godfather. After talking with you, I think that's a good idea, but I understand if you want to think about it."

" You're planning on dying?" Dave had to admit, he was surprisingly touched to be asked. Being a godparent was a huge responsibility, his own godfather had told him that, but it was also a huge honor. That both Doug and Kerry agreed was even better. Still, it creeped him out.

" I'm not planning on dying," Doug said easily. " But I want to make sure things are taken care of. There's..." He hesitated. " I can't shake the feeling that something bad is going to happen. Do you feel it?"

Dave felt a chill run through his body. As if drawn by a higher power, they both looked out the large window. There was nothing to see except whirling snow, but Dave found it menacing. Something bad *was* going to happen, he could feel it.



Part 55
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