Going Home
Part Two
By Cathy Roberts
huntersglenn@yahoo.com

A John Carter/Luka Kovac/Dave Malucci Story. Rated PG. Contains
spoilers for Season Six. Last episode seen was "Be Still My Heart".

"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. However this
story may not be used, distributed or archived without the
permission of the author.

As always, I wish to say a big "Thank you" to Melissa, who
edits what I write and makes sure that it all makes sense.



It was about an hour later when Luka returned. "How is John doing?"

"He's been asleep since right after you left. His temperature then
was 103.8, but I want to take it again before we give him anything.
What did you get?"

"I bought some microwaveable food that doesn't have to be kept
frozen. Here's your beer. I bought lots of juice since I think
we should drink that as well. And broth and some sports drinks
for John. I also bought some plastic bowls and utensils for us."
Luka had also bought a cold and flu medicine and a bottle of
alcohol, just in case they ended up needing to give John an
alcohol rub. Luka hoped it wouldn't come to that, but he believed
in being prepared, and it hadn't cost that much.

"Good idea. I'll fix the food if you'll look after John."

Luka nodded as he hung up his coat in the closet. "It's snowing
harder out there and on the radio they said it was looking as if
this would be a bad storm. The power might even go out in some
areas of the county."

"I hope it doesn't happen here." Dave scanned the instructions
for heating the broth, then poured it into a bowl and popped it
into the microwave.

Luka measured out a dose of Motrin, then woke John so he could take his temperature.

"Back so soon?" John asked as he sat up.

"I didn't want to buy too much at one time. Open up." He stuck
the thermometer in John's mouth, then took his pulse, finding it to
be slightly fast. The thermometer beeped and Luka noted that John's
temperature had not risen since Dave had taken it earlier.

"Well? What's the verdict?"

"Your temperature is the same as it was when Dave took it, and your
pulse rate is a little fast."

John fluffed up the pillows behind his back and leaned back against
the headboard. "Is it still snowing?"

"Yes. Quite heavily. It's a good thing we stopped. I'm going to
call Kerry to let her know that we won't be getting back on schedule."

"I think we're going to have to pull some extra shifts to make up
for getting back late. Guys, I'm really sorry that my getting sick
has resulted in this. I could literally strangle Rosher for this."

"Did you know him before the conference?" Dave asked as he stepped
over to the bed with the bowl of broth and a spoon.

John took the bowl from him and stirred it. "Yeah, I knew him. He
came out to County to set up the emergency pediatric unit. That's
his specialty. He didn't stay long though, but when he left, he...
never mind." John stared at the broth, remembering the day that Anna
told him that she was returning to Philadelphia with Max Rosher. That
had hurt and it had taken him a long time to get over that pain. As
much as it had been a shock to see Max Rosher at the conference, it
had been just as startling to see Anna. And to find out that she was
now Anna Rosher. It hadn't hurt though, and he was glad of that.
Although to be honest with himself, he wasn't sure if that was due
to him actually getting over her or to the fact that Doctor Daraad
had him on an anti-depressant. Whatever the reason, John couldn't
deny that she was happy with Rosher and in the end he supposed that
her happiness was what mattered the most. There had been one good
thing about the housing arrangements at the conference. While he had
been put in a room with Rosher, Anna had been put in a room with
someone else. Rosher had assumed that he and Anna would be put in
a room together because they were married, but the housing director
had quickly informed him otherwise. They did end up with connecting
rooms though, so John ended up seeing a lot of Anna. And a lot of
Anna and Rosher hugging and kissing. A year ago that would have torn
him apart. Roxanne and Elaine had helped him get past that.

"You should drink some of this, too. And take this." Dave placed
a glass of the sports drink on the nightstand beside a measured cup
of medicine.

John looked at the drink, medicine and broth with disinterest. He
knew he needed to get fluids into his system, but he had no
appetite. What he wanted to do was crawl back under the covers, get
warm and pray for God to either make him feel better soon or just
kill him outright. But, he knew that neither one was going to happen.
He also wasn't surprised to see that Luka had not listened to him
about not wanting to take any medicine. Hell, why should he have?
John knew he couldn't have sounded very convincing. He did want it,
he just knew he couldn't take it. He wasn't so out of it that he
didn't remember that mixing a cold medication with his Nardil
prescription. Very nasty things could happen as a result of that. But,
he wasn't up to baring his soul to Luka and Dave right now, so he
wasn't going to tell them about his meds. He would just avoid
taking the cold medicine. That couldn't be a difficult thing to
accomplish.

John put the bowl on the nightstand. "It's too hot to eat right now."

"John, you haven't even tried it yet. You know how important it
is for you to eat right now." Dave sat down on the other bed, trying
not to listen to the conversation that Luka was now having with Kerry Weaver.

"Why? All I'm going to do is throw it back up. Why waste it?"
John slid back under the covers, not even caring that he was
being unreasonable. He was achy and sore, dammitt, and he wanted
to sleep.

"Then at least take the medicine. You'll feel better if you do."

"No. Go away." he said. So what if he was behaving like a spoiled
child? He just wanted Dave to leave him alone.

"Only if you eat something."

John sat back up, glaring angrily as he took the broth from Dave.
He got down two spoonfuls, then handed it back to him. Then he
burrowed back under the covers, shutting out the two men in the
room with him.

Dave wasn't sure what to do with the broth, so he just left it on
the table beside the medicine. Going back to the microwave, he
opened a small container of ravioli and popped it into the microwave,
then opened his beer. By the time his food was ready, Luka was done
with the call.

"John didn't eat?"

Dave shook his head. "Said that since he was going to just throw
it back up, then there was no sense in wasting it. He did finally
get a few spoonfuls down. And a few sips of the drink. He wouldn't
take the medicine."

"You should have made him."

Dave shook his head. "He's a grown man, Luka. How am I supposed to
make him do anything? I can't sit there and feed it to him."

"You can if you need to. He needs the fluids. This flu strain is
new, which is why it wasn't included in the shot this year. There's
no telling how it will progress."

"Well, when he wakes up again, you can feed him. I have no intention
of playing "Mommy" to a grown man. Especially him."

"I thought you liked John."

"I do like him. That's why I have no desire to sit there and feed
him. The microwave is all yours if you're hungry." Dave sat down
at the table and began to eat. "What did Weaver have to say?"

"She seemed understanding and told me to use my best judgement as
far as trying to get back to Chicago. She also doesn't want us coming back sick."

"Well, let's see. John spent a few days as Rosher's roommate
and he ended up catching it. They didn't even spend all day
and night in the same room. We've been in the same car as John
for hours and now are in the same room with him. I'd say the odds
are not in your favor. Since I've already had the flu this season,
I should be all right."

"Don't you ever listen? It's a new flu strain, Malucci. You're just as
vulnerable to it as I am. That's why I bought the juice for us.
And some vitamins. We should do all we can to try to stay healthy."

Luka brought his food and juice to the table, then began to eat.
Since neither one of them really wanted to have a conversation
with the other, the meal passed silently. The only noise in the
room was the sound of the heat coming through the vents and John's
muffled coughing.

One of the things that Luka had not told Dave was that Kerry was
going to try to call to see how Max Rosher was doing. If she found
out, she would call him back so he would know what to expect for
John. Kerry was quite fond of John and Luka had inadvertently been
let in on one of her big secrets. Even though she had originally
told John to move out of her house when she had been appointed as
Chief of Emergency Services, John had not moved out. He had looked
For weeks, but had been unable to find anything. So, Kerry had let
him stay on the condition that he get a post office box for his
mail and not tell anyone that he was still living there. Luka knew
because after he had obtained the rental car, he had gone to pick
John up and Kerry happened to be home at the time. She had not
intended to be there. As a matter of fact, she had already left
for work. But, she had forgotten something and returned home for
it, thinking she would be able to grab what she needed and be gone
before Luka arrived. Luck had not been on her side. She had
carefully explained the situation to Luka, then asked him to keep the
news to himself. He had readily agreed. What business was it of
anyone where John lived or to whom Kerry rented a room? He was
glad that he had not yet picked up Dave, that man would have been
elated to know that information.

Luka carried his bowl and spoon into the bathroom and quickly washed
them out, then dried them. He was aware of Dave's eyes on him the
entire time, and he wondered just how much time would pass before
Dave said anything. Dave had not seen the necessity of cleaning
his bowl and spoon - he had simply tossed them into the trashcan.
Perhaps Dave had the right idea about what was and was not disposable,
but Luka couldn't bring himself to waste them. He was still too
conscious of what had been in short supply back in Croatia to do that.

As Luka walked back through the room, Dave watched him, but he
kept quiet. Good, Luka thought. I really don't feel up to
arguing with him. He retrieved John's broth and reheated it, then
set it back on the nightstand before attempting to awaken John.
It took a few minutes, but he finally got John awake and into a sitting position.

"It's time to take your temperature again. Open up." Luka put
the thermometer into John's mouth, hoping that the reading would
show that John's fever had abated somewhat. Not that one could tell
by looking at him. John's face was flushed and his eyes were bright
from the fever. His lips were dry and looking chapped and there
was a slight sheen of perspiration on his forehead. Luka checked
his pulse again, noting that his skin was clammy. The pulse was
still fast, but not enough to warrant concern. The thermometer
beeped and Luka checked it. As John's body was wracked by coughs,
Luka shook his head. "I wish you would reconsider taking the medicine."

"I thought you believed that fevers were one of the many ways our
bodies fight infections? That they're good for us? Let mine work
then, all right?"

"I'll let it go for now. But, you do need to eat."

"I'm not hungry." John closed his eyes and leaned back against the
pillows. Just the thought of eating made his stomach feel queasy.

"I will give you a choice, John. You can feed yourself or I can
feed you. Which will it be?"

"Neither."

"Don't be so childish. You are a doctor and you know how important
it is for you to eat. You don't want to make yourself any more ill
than you already are, do you?"

"If I try to eat, then I will throw up. I don't want to throw up,
so therefore, I refuse to eat. Sounds simple enough to me, Luka."

"If you do not eat then you will become dehydrated. There is a
bad snowstorm raging outside and according to the news, it might
become a blizzard. We cannot get you to a hospital in a blizzard,
even if we knew where the nearest one was located. Therefore, you
will eat. If you throw up, then you will eat again so that you can
keep fluids in your body. Sounds simple enough to me, John."

Over at the table, Dave began to laugh, but Luka sent a stern
glare in his direction and he tried his best to stop.

"Fine," John snapped. "Give me the damn bowl."

Luka handed him the bowl. "Go slowly. Give your stomach time to
get used to having something in it."

"I know what to do, Luka. As you pointed out, I am a doctor."
John slowly raised the spoon to his lips, hoping that his stomach
wouldn't betray him. He knew that Luka was right about the need
for fluids, but he didn't see how he could manage to force the broth
down his throat and not end up losing all of it. He managed to get
about six spoonfuls down before he knew he had to get into the
bathroom. He shoved the bowl at Luka and got out of bed, feeling
unsteady on his feet as he tried to hurry into the other room. He
barely made it, and he sank down onto his knees as his body rebelled
against his will.

"Done?"

John nodded and took the damp wash cloth from Dave. "Maybe I
should just stay in here. I won't have to walk so far next time."

"Nah, that isn't such a good idea. The floor's too cold." Dave
helped him to his feet, then reached out to steady John when he saw
that he was swaying on his feet. "Dizzy?"

"A little." John coughed deeply, then pulled away from Dave and
walked back toward his bed. He hated being sick and he hated
having people take care of him. He was beginning to hate everything
about this trip.

"You should drink some of this," Luka held out a glass of juice to him.

"No." John sat down on the bed, thinking that he wanted to take
off his clothes and change into a t-shirt and sweat pants. But,
his suitcase was over by the door and he didn't feel much like
getting up to haul it to the bed. He began to unbutton his shirt,
deciding that stripping down to his boxers would be good enough
for now. He could get his sweatpants and T-shirt when he felt a
little less light-headed.

Luka set the glass down. "Here, let me help you get out of that."

"I can undress myself, Luka. Why don't you two watch t.v. or
something? I don't need you or Dave hovering over me."

Dave, who had been on the other side of the bed and behind John,
looked over at Luka, hoping that Luka had seen how unsteady John
had been just then.

"Okay, we'll be over at the table if you need anything." Luka and
Dave went to sit down.

"He said he was dizzy," Dave said, making sure to keep his voice
low enough so that John wouldn't overhear. Not that it mattered,
he was coughing again and probably wouldn't overhear anything they said.

"I thought he seemed disoriented when he walked back in here. I
hope that Kerry calls back soon with some news about Rosher and
this strain of flu."

"You didn't mention that she was calling back."

"Well, she is. She's going to try to track down Rosher and find
out how he's doing."

Dave nodded, seeing the sense in that. "I think I'll go to the
manager's office. It wouldn't hurt to know just how far away we
are from a hospital."

"Good idea, but I think maybe I should go."

"Why? Don't you think I can handle asking a simple question?" Dave
had just about had enough of Luka and his irritating way of thinking
that he was the only one who could do anything right. Okay, Dave
admitted to himself that getting them lost wasn't the brightest
thing he had ever done. He should have swallowed his pride and
woke Luka up so the guy could navigate for them. But, he let his
pride get in the way and now they were stuck out in the boonies of
Ohio with a sick friend who, by the looks of things, was going to
get worse before he got better. The only consolation that Dave
had was hearing on the t.v. that the snow system was widespread over
this northern part of Ohio and they would have ended up in it
anyway. At least this way they were warm and safe in a motel and
not pulled over to the side of the interstate freezing their butts off.

"I think that right now John is very irritated with me. He needs
to drink some more and I feel he will be more willing to have you
ask him right now." Luka glanced in John's direction, then lowered
his voice. "I put the medicine in his juice."

"Oh. Good idea. Yeah, well, I'll make sure he drinks it."

Luka nodded. "Good." He put on his coat and headed outside.

Dave looked over to John's bed, noting that he was finally
undressed enough to get under the covers. "Hey, John, why don't
you drink something before you go back to sleep? I can put a
trashcan by the bed just in case. That way, if you do get sick,
you won't have to get up again."

John pulled the covers up around his waist. "I guess that will be
all right."

When Dave handed the glass to John he was a little surprised to see
that John's hand was shaking. He ended up supporting the glass
while John drank nearly half of the juice.

"Thanks, Dave."

"No problem. The trashcan is right down here and I'll just put the
rest of the water on the nightstand, okay?"

John nodded, then burrowed under the covers, closing his eyes
against the bright light of the room. He could hear the telephone
ring and Dave answering it, but he easily tuned that out as he
fell into a troubled sleep.

"Hello?"

"Malucci? It's Kerry Weaver. Is Luka there?"

"He's out of the room right now. He told me that you were going to
try to call Rosher to find out how he was doing."

"Yes. I didn't get a chance to speak with him though. He's in the
hospital in Buffalo. It seems that he collapsed at the airport as
they were returning to Philadelphia. His doctors don't know too much
about this strain of flu. They were able to tell me that it does
result in a high fever, persistent cough, nausea, irritability, etc.
The usual symptoms, but more intense."

"Why is Rosher in the hospital? Dehydration?"

"Partially that. The flu went into pneumonia, so you should watch
John for that. But, I also found out that Rosher didn't take a flu
shot of any kind this year, so that might account for how badly he
was affected. How's John?"

Dave told her how he was doing, including the fact that he was
able to get him to drink some juice right before she called.

"That's good. How bad is the storm there? The weather report I
heard makes it sound as if you're in for a bad time of it."

"That's what we hear. Luka went to find out where the hospital
is located. You know, just in case."

"That's a good idea. Aside from the flu, how is John doing? He's
not depressed, is he?"

"Depressed? No. Irritable."

"I see. I heard that he roomed with Max Rosher. They know
each other."

"That's pretty much what John said. He told us that Rosher was
at County for a short time doing consultation work. I also met an
old County person -- Anna Del Amico. She said she had worked in
the E.R."

"That's right. I found out that she was at the conference when
I called to check about Rosher. She and John were good friends
at one time."

"Really? He didn't mention that. Neither did she for that matter.
Asked a lot of questions about him though. Then again, she asked
a lot of questions about everyone there."

"And I'm sure you were more than willing to fill her in on all
the gossip. Have Luka call me when he gets back. I'm at work."

"Yes, ma'am. Bye."

Dave hung up, his ego wounded that Kerry Weaver would think that he
had a big mouth. Sure, he liked to talk a lot, but most of what he
said wasn't important. Was it? Had he been gossiping about his
co-workers? While it was true that he asked a lot of personal
questions about them, it wasn't because he was being nosy or malicious.
He just wanted to know more about them. Was that such a crime?
He heard John mumble something and went over to see what he needed.
It turned out that John was still asleep, but having a dream or
something of that nature. Please don't let his fever be so high
that he's delirious, he prayed.

He was reaching for the thermometer when Luka returned to the room,
distracting him from the task at hand. They sat down and Luka
told him about the latest reports on the progress of the storm and
that the hospital was on the other side of the county -- about sixty
miles away. The only good thing is that it was on the same road
as the motel. Then Dave told him about Weaver's telephone call.

"I would say that we should try to get John there now, but the
road is almost impassable out there. The manager said that he
hasn't even seen any snow plows out there yet, and he thinks that
the county is waiting until the storm is over before going out to
clear the roads. I don't think that our rental car is equipped
with four wheel drive. I know that I would not feel comfortable
driving out there right now."

"Me, either. It's been a long time since I had to drive in a
snowstorm. But, I don't think we need to worry yet about John.
He drank about half of the juice, so that's good. And it's stayed
down, which is even better. Once the medicine starts to work, he'll
be fine."

"I hope so. I suppose I should call Kerry. Weren't you about to
take John's temperature when I came back?"

"Yeah, I was."

The two went to their respective tasks, each one hoping that this
day would quickly come to an end. But, they knew that wouldn't happen.
It was only five in the afternoon and it was a long time to go until
they could call it a day.


End of Part 2