Bottoms Up
Part Two
By Clotho & Cathy
clothomoerae@hotmail.com and huntersglenn@yahoo.com

Rating: NC-17
Status: 2/6
Pairing: John Carter/Dave Malucci
Date: December 31, 2000
Archive: Not without permission
Category: "E.R
Disclaimer: "ER" and all its characters belong to Warner Bros. No infringement of their copyright is intended. This story was written for the enjoyment of "ER" fans everywhere, and may be downloaded for your own pleasure. We owe a huge "Thank you" to Alice and Melissa, our wonderful editors. We couldn't have done it without the two of you!

When he exited the stall, Dave was waiting for him. "Are you here alone?" John asked. "You're more than welcome to sit with us, even if you have a date with you." John grinned at Dave, still not believing that it really was Dave Malucci standing in front of him in a gay bar. If not for the small ache in his ass, John wouldn't believe that Dave had just fucked him, but he had. And John wanted the chance to do the same in return, but he had to find out a little bit more about Dave's experience with gay sex before attempting something like that with him.

Dave shrugged. "No date." He turned to the doorway. "So ya fuck on the dance floor, but clean up in a stall?"

"Yeah. Do you have a problem with that?"

Dave shrugged, the ways of bottoms were strange to him.

"We're over on the other side of the dance floor. Come on." John led the way to the table he and Adam were sharing. Adam frowned when he saw that Dave was with John.

"Adam, this is Dave, a friend of mine. Dave, this is Adam, another friend of mine." John sat down, wishing he had pockets so he could grab a cigarette, even if he did have to go outside to smoke it. He drummed his fingers on the table; suddenly worried that Dave would find him unattractive once he saw his body. The first time he had been with Adam, the guy had made a few comments about how cut up he was, although he had never asked what had happened. That had suited John just fine. He didn't like telling that story. With Dave, he wouldn't have to. Dave had been there. Oh, God. A cold feeling swept over John. Had Dave worked on him in the trauma? He didn't remember seeing him that night in the trauma room, but there was a lot he didn't remember after being stabbed.

Dave picked up his wallet. He had to admit that Adam was generous to share Carter like that. "You guys want beer?" He definitely wanted some.

John shook his head. Even though he wasn't an alcoholic, it had been impressed upon him that he shouldn't drink too much, if at all, and he had already drank one beer. "No beer, but a Coke would be nice." John didn't look up at Dave's face. Didn't want to flashback to that horrible night and realize that Dave had been a member of the team working on him. Suddenly, the idea of finding a way to be with Dave again lost all its appeal. There was just no way he could do it.

Adam nodded. "Yeah, I'll take one, but you don't have to pay me for John's services. He might be a slut, but he's certainly not a whore." Even though Adam's tone sounded light, his eyes were clearly reflecting anger.

"Coke it is, Carter." Dave's eyes flashed a little in anger at Adams remark. "I'm not paying for sex. And if I were, it wouldn't be you I paid. Not that he," Dave gestures toward Carter, "needs the money."

As soon as Dave had stepped away from the table, Adam leaned in toward John. "He a friend of yours? Cause he certainly has no manners. I was about to tell him where to go out there when you nodded."

John shrugged. "He's probably not used to 'the rules' of a place like this. It's not a big deal, Adam. Just drop it, okay?"

Adam leaned back in his chair, a frown on his face over the way John was making an excuse for the interloper.

When Dave returned with the drinks, John was still picking up on tension between Dave and Adam. This wouldn't do at all. Not that he was expecting Dave and Adam to walk off the dance floor and be best buddies, but he and Adam weren't boyfriends or anything, so John didn't understand where this anger and possessiveness was coming from. At the most, he and Adam were occasional lovers, not even close enough to be fuck-buddies. They didn't know each other well enough for that. And why would anyone be possessive over him? He wasn't all that hot to look at, most especially since Paul Sobriki had taken a butcher knife to his back.

John finally decided to ignore the hostility. "Thanks, Dave. I haven't seen you in here before. Do you usually go to one of the other bars?"

At the same time, Adam said, "I know full well what John needs. You don't need to educate me on that. And what he doesn't need is someone like you coming around trying to take advantage of him. He's still vulnerable you know." Adam had no idea what caused those horrible scars on John's body, but he knew it had to have been something bad. Something very bad.

That was about enough for John. "Excuse me, but I'm right here. There's no need for you guys to talk about me as if I weren't. So, just drop it, okay? I'm not vulnerable and Dave's not taking advantage of me."

Adam looked closely at John. "You're pretty tense right now. I have something that might help you relax."

Dave pushed the drinks toward their respective owners. "Chill out. Both of you." He turned to Carter's earlier question - not that he wanted to answer it, but at least it wasn't insulting. "Nah, this place is too usually too rich for me, but what the Hell, it's New Year's Eve right?" He wasn't about to admit that just now was his first gay sex in six months - couldn't see that going down too well with either of them. Dave sat back and took a slurp of his beer.

John took a sip of his Coke. "Yeah, it is." He wanted to ask Dave which bar he usually cruised, but there was still that little voice telling him that his body would only disgust Dave, so he didn't. He would just have to settle for what happened out on the dance floor. "New Year's Eve is always full of fun."

"Here." Adam held out his fist toward John. John held out his hand and he felt his eyebrows raise with surprise when Adam dropped two Vicodin into his palm. "Those will make you feel better in no time."

John jerked his hand away, letting them fall to the table, but he couldn't keep his eyes from them. He was still shaken up by how easily he had popped two of them in his mouth just before Christmas -- never even thought about it, just did it. And now Adam was handing them to him. And in front of Dave, too. Shit.

Dave leaned across the table and slapped Adam. Then turned to Carter. "He feeding you that shit?"

John vigorously shook his head. "No. Never. I haven't taken any, Dave. I haven't." He was beginning to shake just from the nearness of the pills -- and from how scared he was that he would reach out and grab them, swallowing them without thought, just like he did before.

Dave turned to Adam, mocking him. "Yeah sure that's what he needs. Drugs. What the fuck is it?"

Adam was furious at Dave. How dare he hit him? "Why don't you 'chill out'?" he asked, mocking Dave's earlier words to him and John. "It's just something to help him relax. A little Vicodin never hurt anyone, and anyone can see how tense he is."

Adam wanted to take Dave out back and beat the shit out of him, but he saw that John was shaking and pale, and taking care of John overrode beating up Dave. "You okay?" Adam asked John.

John abruptly stood, almost knocking over his chair. "I gotta get out of here." He pushed his way through the crowds and out the door, not even caring that he was leaving his coat behind on the back of his chair. Once outside, he didn't even feel the coldness of the winter night. All he cared about was getting away from the crowds and the temptation. He was halfway down the sidewalk when he realized he couldn't go home because the keys to his Jeep were in his coat pocket. That meant he would have to go back in there, which was about the last thing he wanted to do. Dave probably thought he was using again and John didn't want to look into his eyes and see disappointment and disdain there.

John knew he needed to get to Abby. Need so desperately to talk with her. But Kovac was back and she was probably spending New Year's Eve with him. Or was she on duty all night? John tried to remember the schedule, but he couldn't. His mind just wasn't cooperating. He backed up against the wall of a building and sank down to a sitting position, ignoring the cold and wet cement. He drew his knees up and rested his arms and head upon them, just giving up for the moment, trying to remember all the things his counselor at rehab had told him about how to chase away the wanting.



Dave looked down and saw the pills on the table. At least they were still there - or two of them were - that was something. He pushed them to the floor with one angry sweep of his hand.

Carter's coat was here. Dave didn't know where the fuck he'd gone, but anything was better than him coming back here to someone who actually fed him pills. He picked it up, then turned to Adam. "You're a real asshole, you know that?" He'd have punched the man like he deserved, but he was encumbered by the heavy wool of Carter's winter coat.

Adam got to his feet, reaching out for John's coat. "Just what in the Hell do you think you're doing? If anyone is going to chase him down, it's going to be me. He came here with me and he's leaving with me." That wasn't entirely true, but Dave didn't need to know that he and John had driven separate cars to the bar. "Give me his coat and quit acting like the asshole you are."

Dave kept a firm grasp of the coat. "Let go. He's going nowhere with anyone who feeds him that shit." One advantage of being shorter was that Dave's elbows were conveniently at the level of Adam's solar plexus. Dave gave Adam one last chance to back off before starting a fight. "Let go."

"I already told you what the deal was. John belongs to me, not to some scumbag that doesn't even know how to dress right." Adam was on the verge of hitting Dave. The only thing holding him back was that he had made the mistake of grabbing the coat with his right hand and not his left. To get off a decent punch, he would have to switch hands, and he was sure that once he let go of the coat Dave would take off with it. And there was no way in Hell he was going to let that happen. John was one fine piece of ass and he was his piece of ass.

Dave'd given Adam a chance. And he hadn't taken it. Dave jabbed his elbow into Adam's solar plexus with a swift and vicious movement. Once, then twice. When Adam's grip on the coat loosened Dave pulled it from his grasp and made for the exit that he'd seen Carter leave from.

He looked about, gasping in the cold air. Carter needed to get out of here NOW before Adam came charging out too. He looked up and down the street for his friend. Then called out. "Carter, where the fuck are you?"

John heard someone calling his name. It sounded like Dave. He lifted his head and saw someone standing near the door of the bar, a coat in hand, but looking the other way. He almost called out to him, but stopped himself in time. He didn't want Dave to find him. He lowered his head once more, curling up on himself as much as he could in an attempt to shut out the world that was passing by him on the sidewalk.

Back inside the bar Adam was having trouble catching his breath after the double blows to his gut. When he finally was able to stand straight, Dave was gone. Adam grabbed his own coat and put it on as he headed for the door, but for some reason the crowd seemed thicker than before, and he found himself slowed by the crush of bodies. At this rate, Dave was going to find John first, and Adam didn't like that idea.

Dave took a direction at random, and began walking down the street. "Carter. Your coat. Here." The coat was heavy, and more to the point, Dave had left his own jacket behind. He wanted to find Carter and fast. He definitely didn't want to go inside that bar again. Dave looked to either side of the street but didn't spot his friend.

John heard Dave's voice as the man walked past him. He really sounded serious about finding him and not too angry. But John still didn't dare call out to him.

Damn it, where was he? Dave turned around to see if there was any sight of a furious 6-foot something Adam emerging from the bar. Not so far. He looked down then and saw someone slumped against a wall. "Carter. That you?"

Damn. Dave had found him. "Go away, Dave," he wearily said. "Just go." But John wouldn't look up at him. He couldn't bring himself to do that.

"I'm not leaving you here for that dealer low-life to find. Come ON." As Dave spoke he heard an angry shout up the street, and saw warm yellow light spill out on to the snowy street, and Adam coming out with it. "Come ON, Carter. Now."

John looked up at Dave, seeing that he looked anxious about getting him to his feet. And now that John thought about it, his butt was pretty cold. He grabbed Dave's hand and got to his feet, taking his coat from Dave just in time to see Adam bearing down on them. Clearly angry, but John wasn't sure who he was angry with -- him or Dave.

Adam grabbed Dave right above the elbow and swung him around. "Try to run away now, asshole," he shouted. Then he punched Dave in the stomach.

John could see his Jeep and thought the best thing to do now was getting him and Dave out of there. He trotted over to the vehicle, hoping that Dave would be able to hold his own against Adam for a few more minutes.

Dave doubled over as Adam hit him. He just managed to keep himself from falling down, and leaned against a wall to catch his breath. But the taller man was coming at him again. No time to recover. Dave stood up and tried to punch the taller man, but Adam's arms had a longer reach.

Dave dived under the arm coming to get him and rolled out onto the snowy street...

John hit the brakes just in time to keep from running over Dave. He leaned over the passenger seat and opened the door. "Get in," he yelled, noting that Adam was headed their way.

On the ground Adam's height wouldn't be such and advantage. Dave reached for a leg coming to kick him, and pulled with all his might.

"Dave, get your ass in the Jeep. Now!" John urged, hoping that this time Dave heard him.

Dave heard Carter's yell, scrambled to his feet, and dived into the open passenger door.

John looked out the open door as Dave dove nearly headfirst into the Jeep. Adam was slowly getting to his feet, rage etched on all his features. Definitely time to get out of the neighborhood. "Put on your seatbelt," John ordered as he drove off, leaving Adam and the bar behind.

Dave sat up slowly as Carter accelerated away. Before he obeyed Carter's command, he opened the window and gave the diminishing figure of Adam the finger. That accomplished he turned to put the belt on.

Luck was on John's side as he headed down North Halstead and he didn't have to stop at any lights. When he finally did hit a red light, he was able to take the time to look over at Dave.

"You're bleeding." He dug into his coat pocket and pulled out a clean handkerchief, handing it to Dave. "Right about your left eye. Did Adam hit you there?"

Dave felt his ragged breathing calm down. He stared out of the windscreen as they drove. When they stopped at a red he turned to look at Carter and saw that he himself was being watched in turn

Dave shook his head slightly. "Yeah or maybe I hit in on the street. That's one mean bastard. So how long's he been feeding you drugs?"

John shook his head at both of Dave's statements. Adam had never been mean to him, and he certainly had never before given him drugs. But John decided to only address the last statement. "He hasn't. I had no idea that he had anything with him, Dave. Honest. I've been clean since I went to rehab back in May and I have the blood and urine tests to prove it." The memory of taking the Vicodin at work pushed itself to the front of John's mind, but he shoved it aside. He had thrown up those pills, so they didn't count, right?

"You sure about those drugs, my friend? 'cause it's better . . . Anyway, Mr. Fancy Pants," Dave grinned looking down at the leggings, "you're not going back to him. Not if he's offering you that crap."

"He's not my boyfriend or anything like that, Dave. So there's no worry about that." Dave's cut was still trickling blood, and John though about taking him to the hospital to get it checked out. But he wasn't sure he wanted to walk into County in those pants, even if he did have a long wool coat on over them. But he could take him to the house. His grandparents were out of town and the help had been given a few days off as well, so John was alone at home. And right now he didn't like being all alone. The light turned green and John headed down the road.

"You need to get that cut cleaned up. How about my place? Or do you have somewhere else you need to be?"

Dave shrugged. "Have you told him he's not your boyfriend? 'cause he sure doesn't know it."

"I don't know where Adam would get that idea. We've only gone out a few times and had sex a bit more than that." John shrugged, not really caring what Adam thought. What mattered now was what Dave thought.

The cut would stop on its own. But Dave didn't want to be alone at midnight on New Year's Eve. He grinned. "Your place sounds good." And he moved his hand over to feel Carter's crotch "Sure you didn't get frost-bite?"

John jumped slightly as Dave's cold fingers found his warm skin, but he didn't make Dave move his hand. "I don't know. Maybe once I have a look at your wounds, you can check that out for me." He shot a quick glance Dave's way, grinning.

"Whatever you say." Dave wasn't interested in Adam. He was interested in Carter's cock that lay silent and warm under his hand. He was interested in getting it to move for him. Dave stroked it, feeling its softness through his own rough skin and the frustrating lacing.

"So how far is your place?" Dave asked. They were moving in the wrong direction to go to Dave's small apartment. And he wanted to be somewhere. Somewhere soon

"It's not far. Once we get on the expressway, it won't take long at all. It's not really my place though. It's my grandparents' house." John could feel his cock starting to harden under Dave's touch and he thought that if the lanes were snow-free on the expressway, he would risk a speeding ticket to get to the estate. He was really thankful that he hadn't driven in to a "park and ride" location and ridden the El into town as he sometimes did when going to work in bad weather. "They're out of town until next week and the staff are off for a few days, so we'll be alone there."

"Good." John's cock was getting less flaccid as it responded to Dave's fingers "Get there." Dave fitted a thumb and forefinger through the lacing to encircle the organ. As Dave played a thought struck him. "Your grandparents, as in 'Richie Rich' rich grandparents? There's staff? Shit." Dave said.

"Uh, yeah." John shifted slightly in his seat as Dave's fingers toyed with him expertly. "But, like I said, they aren't there. And the staff isn't so big. Just three people. Corrine, the housekeeper and cook, Pierre, the butler, and Henry the driver." John wanted to feel more than just Dave's thumb and forefinger on his skin. And as his cock was getting larger, it was straining against the lacing, especially since the way he was sitting was making the pants tighter in the crotch. "The laces loosen you know."

"Just three people! Not so big!" Dave shook his head in disbelief. Still whether the house was built of gold bricks or not, right now Carter's cock was responding to him in no uncertain terms. "They do? How long till we get there?" Dave took his hand from the skin, and started to feel around for the ends of the laces. He wished he'd paid more attention to the way those pants were done up in the bar. And his own cock was hardening to match Carter's. "How long till we get there?" He repeated.

"Here, let me do it." John was going at a good speed and wouldn't need to shift gears for a bit, so he reached up under his shirt and began to undo the lacing. He had it completely undone to the head of his cock when he put his hand back on the steering wheel. "I'm sure you can figure out how to get them out the rest of the way." John said, grinning from ear to ear.

Dave felt the lacing, and traced it through the holes, undoing it one step at a time. And at each step, Carter's cock, released from its constraints, leapt a bit further outwards. Dave was so intent on the process that he continued past when the cock was free and upright, unlacing all the way back to Carter's balls, which he held for a moment in his hand.

As more and more of his cock was freed, John found it difficult to concentrate on his driving. There wasn't much traffic out on the expressway, which was good, but his Jeep wasn't the only vehicle out there. And when Dave cradled his balls in his hand, John really lost his concentration. A sharp and continuous honking sound brought him back to what he was doing and John realized he had drifted into the next lane -- right in front of another car. He got back in his lane, then grabbed Dave's wrist and moved his hand away.

"I think we had better hold off on that until we reach the house. I'd like to get there alive." John said. He shot Dave a quick smile to let the other man know that he had been enjoying the attention and wasn't angry with Dave.

"Yeah, me too." That other car had been CLOSE. Dave grinned a little shakily and used his now free hands to press through the fabric of his jeans and feel his own erection - which also wanted out.

This Carter sponsored erection was also going to be a Carter relieved one. No need to do it himself like he had been all week. Dave grinned wondering if he'd get into Carter's ass again straight away, or if the bottom would want something else first. "You've got a hot ass, you know that?"

"You think so? Adam had said something like that, but I figured it was just talk, you know, like some of the other guys used to say just to get laid. Of course, that was before..." John trailed off, not wanting to think about February. Adam, and now Dave, had been the only guys he'd been with since then. John shook his head as if doing so could shake away the bad memories, then he grinned. "You've got a pretty great cock, although I never did get a chance to see it. Still, it felt very impressive."

Dave grinned, and stroked himself complacently through the jeans. "Yeah. I've never had any complaints. So how long?" He did his best to control his voice, but he wanted to be back inside Carter, not sitting here in this car. "Or we could pull off."

John laughed. "It's not much further, Dave. Just keep your pants on, okay?"

He saw the exit up ahead and put on his turn signal, then left the expressway. From here it was only less than five minutes until the driveway of the estate.

"Good." Dave looked out the window. He hadn't been in this part of town before. He did his best to concentrate on the houses out the window rather than the man beside him in the jeep or the throbbing in his jeans. The houses were larger and set back from the road - often he could see only faint lights far back through the trees, and he couldn't hear any of the sounds of the city coming into the car over the engine noise. He wound down a window a little and listened - nothing just the silence of the rich.

John watched Dave out of the corner of his eye, seeing that Dave was getting interested in the neighborhood. If he thought the houses here were something to see, just wait until they got a little further down the road, John thought. A few minutes later, the spaces between the houses grew larger and they were set further back from the road until you couldn't see any houses at all from where they were. "Just in case you were wondering, we're west of the city now." John switched on the turn signal and entered the drive, stopping in front of closed gates. He rolled down his window so he could punch in the security code. The gates swung open and John pulled through, knowing they would close and lock automatically once the Jeep cleared them. He wanted to see Dave's face when he saw the house, so he kept looking over to the other side of the Jeep, waiting for Dave's reaction.