Title:Ponce de Leon Day

Series: #8 in Holidays Series

Disclaimer: Don't own most of the characters.

A/N: Another catch up story. And there'll be the rest of the series (as written so far, not sure if I'm going to continue it though) coming soon after. And, I promise, I'm still working on Promise the Stars!

"It's just wrong that this isn't a holiday, just, plain, wrong."

Kerry stared over at Randi. "What do you mean?"

"C'mon, Ponce de Leon Day."

Kerry shook her head and went back to her chart, "Florida Randi, nothing to do with Chicago."

"Yeah, and Puerto Rico." Kerry frowned at Randi and Randi imitated Kerry's voice, "Randi, get back to work."

Sam appeared and handed Kerry a chart. "Says you know her."

Kerry looked down, "Oh, Lori... of course."

She left a confused Sam and Randi at the Admit desk. Randi spoke, "What was the last name?"

"Legaspi."

"Lori, what happened?"

She held a dish towel around her arm. "Stupid mistake. I know this is probably below you, but, could you sew me up?"

"Of course. So..." Kerry took the towel off and went to work while she talked. "What exactly do you do?"

"Architect."

Kerry glanced up at Lori's face, "Ah, so, you're the one who got my son into it."

"Oh... I..."

"No, no, it's okay. I was just surprised, he seemed to pull architecture out of thin air."

Lori relaxed a bit. "He asked questions, I answered them. He's very smart." She trailed off, "This is weird, it shouldn't be weird, it's not weird with Bev, and it wasn't weird with Mel's ex."

"I tend to do that to people. In my personal and professional life."

Lori laughed, "Throw us off our game? It's what you did to my sister the first time around."

This gave Kerry pause, "I think that neither of us were in the right place or entirely prepared for what happened seven years ago. Now, it's your turn. Why do you and your brothers and sisters..."

"Rag on each other so much?" Kerry nodded and Lori shrugged, "I don't know, we're pretty competitive. Between ourselves and also the rest of the Legaspi/Soren clan."

"Soren, your mother's family?"

Lori smirked, "I'd explain all the family dynamics, but a spreadsheet would be better. I guess we just find each other's weaknesses better than strengths, but... I mean, we're there for each other too... usually. I mean, that's why I was at Kim's apartment when you came by. I was just starting school, 19 years old, and my roommate kicked me out. I had to find another apartment, but I crashed with the crazy clowns until I did."

Kerry let go of Lori's arm, "You're done." Lori stood and waved her arm around. Kerry caught it on the upswing. "Not a good idea."

Lori rolled her eyes, "Sorry Ma..." Kerry groaned which only caused Lori to laugh, but only for a moment before her face got serious, "If you... if it's too much the teasing and... stuff. Just tell me to shut up, any of us. Stewie can be really bad, and Craig, he may look like the Clark Kent type, but he has a killer sense of humor. We, we do it without thinking."

"No, no..." Kerry shook her head, "Just takes a little getting used to. Ah... here's your sister."

Kim turned on full big sister mode when she saw Lori walking back to the admit desk with Kerry. "What's wrong? What happened? Why are you here?"

"Nothing, don't worry, and I'm here because bleeding out didn't really appeal to me. Now, I'm going to go..."

Kim watched her go and then turned to Kerry. The red head quirked an eyebrow, "So, what're you doing down here?"

"Consult..." She held up the chart and then looked at the name. "Oh..."

The resident who had called Kim down swallowed, he was being faced with both the Psych head and ER head. "She came in with a cop. Altered with a head lac."

Kerry held her hand out, "I'm going in."

Kim tried to smile, "Sewing up two lacs in one day, what will the students think? But..."

Kerry finished Kim's thought, "...get Paul down here."

Kim hadn't moved from the admit desk, and because of this Randi was watching Kim. "Doctor Legaspi, she can even run now you know?"

"What? I know, but that woman screwed up my life once, it won't happen ag..."

A male yell came from the exam room and before Kim could take a step towards the room a familiar young woman came out of it, a knife to Kerry's throat. She was older than when Kim had met her the first time. That had been a night that had gone so well after she had gotten off shift. She and Kerry had really connected. For a whole week Kim
had felt Kerry relaxing, had felt her not trying to logic everything out in her head and then Shannon Wallace had accused Kim of harassment.

"You don't want to do that Shannon."

She whirled and Kim could see a little rivulet of blood flow on Kerry's neck. "How do you know my name?"

Kim shrugged, "Whatever it is, we can talk about it."

Shannon made a growling sound, "All I do is talk, talk to your parents, talk to your friend, don't keep it in, let it out, talk, talk, talk..." Shannon pressed the knife deeper into Kerry's neck,
"I'm done talking. Move, or she dies."

Kim stepped back from Shannon and met the eyes of the guard. He took a step back. "We're doing it. Hurting her will only mean more talking, for years and years you'll be tellin' your story, people like me will make you talk, talk and talk."

"No..." She yanked Kerry towards the exit, and before Kim or the guard could move, a figure flew through the air and impacted Shannon throwing them both against a wall.

They scuffled and then there was a grunt. It was like a bad movie, everyone held their breaths until Randi pushed herself up off the ground.

Kerry held a hand to her neck, "Morris, get her into Trauma one."

Morris blinked, "What?"

"NOW!"

Everyone scurried into action, getting a barely breathing Shannon onto a gurney and into Trauma one. Kerry looked over at Abby. "I'm okay, check on Paul." Abby raised an eyebrow, "Really..." Kerry took her hand away, "Already clotting..."

Kim took Kerry gently by the arm, pulling her towards the suture room. When they got there Kim let out the breath she had been holding. "Let me see that."

"Kim... it's just a scratch."

Kim raised an eyebrow and moved over to the counter, getting a bandage and antiseptic. "What happened?"

"Paul was talking to her and then... she just snapped, tried to stab him, I'm not sure if she hit her target, and grabbed me. I don't know why, Paul probably has some psychological reason." She looked into Kim's eyes as the blonde washed the cut and put a bandage carefully on the cut.

When Kim finally looked away from the cut and into Kerry's eyes the red head started. Tears lay unshed in the blue orbs. "Kim, I'm okay, everyone's okay..."

Kim looked down, "I want to yell, quit, quit, quit... but I know, a, you wouldn't listen to me and a b, it would be hypocritical, but God Ker, you..."

Kerry pulled Kim into a tight hug and they simply stood there in each other's arms until Malik cleared his throat in the doorway. "There are a couple of detectives here Chief."

Kerry took a step away from Kim, but kept an arm around the taller woman's waist. Kim felt like she would burst with Kerry's show of closeness, even as small as it was. "Graham and his partner?"

Malik blinked and nodded, "Uh, yes... they're using the Doctor's Lounge."

Kim gave a short chuckle after Malik left, "He's now thinking, how'd she know that, probably thinks you've turned into Super Weaver."

Kerry shook her head, "It was just a guess, based on how the day is going so far. And don't smile like the cat that ate the canary, it was just a hand around your waist Kimmy..."

The smile didn't leave Kim's face, "You say tomato, I say tomahto... we ready?"

"Let's go."

Kerry rested her head back against the outside wall of the ER and let a breath out. April eighth. There was just a nip in the air, which would, thankfully, be gone sooner rather than later.

A yell of 'Mama' wafted in on the air and Kerry looked to the end of the ambulance bay as Henry came to her, followed closely by Lori.

Kerry picked Henry up, "Lori, what are you doing here?"

"I went by your place, talked with Carlos for a while."

A smirk came to Kerry's face, "Oh?"

Lori rolled her eyes, "You do know he's head over heels for some police woman?" Kerry shrugged, "But you are right, he's cute..." She paused, "I.. I heard on the news, the altercation."

Kerry nodded, "Kim is still in the hospital, somewhere." She closed her eyes, "What a day." She opened her eyes and looked down at Henry. "We need to get home, huh Hen."

Henry shook his head, "No, first Kim..."

Lori held out her hands, "I'll take him up."

Henry was transfered, "Thank you. I'll be up too..."

Lori and Henry went into the hospital, leaving Kerry alone again.

Kim looked up from behind her desk, "Henry..." She frowned when Lori came into her office next. "Lori, what happened?"

"I could ask you the same thing. Now, I know you work random schedules most times, but what the he... what are you still doing here?"

"Trying not to have flashbacks to years ago." Henry pulled at Kim's pants and the blonde looked down, "You're definitely helping, but Graham and his partner didn't... What?"

Lori shook her head, her face creased in a minor frown, a look that she rarely wore on her face. "I don't think that... I think that something else is going on in her head. Seriously..."

Kim thought for a moment and then moved towards her computer, she brought up her browser and typed for a few moments. It wasn't long before she closed her eyes. "Today is April Eighth... I didn't even... Crap, I didn't even know..."

She stood and grabbed her jacket, "Are you two good?"

Henry laughed behind his hand, "Well Kim, Well..."

A snort of laughter escaped from Lori's mouth, "We're fine..." Kim practically pushed Lori and Henry out of her office and locked the door behind all three of them. "Go, go..." They both watched Kim walk down the hall. "So, what kinda trouble do you think we can get into little Henry?" Henry giggled.

"I'm sorry..."

Kerry pursed her lips, but didn't move from the wall. "For what? You didn't know the date, I worked on her you know..." A tired groan came out, "I think that everyone in the room thought I couldn't do it."

"They don't know you then."

"She changed my life. It shouldn't have worked, we were... so alike. Both too intense, too focused on our jobs, she loved being a firefighter. Everything was a competition with her, with me... She outed me in the worst way, she kept pushing and pushing and pushing..." Kerry trailed off.

Kim settled against the hospital's wall next to Kerry, but didn't touch her. "And you pushed back, and broke up, why'd you get back together."

Kerry sniffed and shook her head, "It was stupid." Kim stayed silent. "It was just another day in the ER, a school fire, a couple of friends, roommates, I don't know, one stabbed another. Sandy was missing, I found her outside some bar, she was drunk, I was relieved she was alive. We never had an easy relationship, even after that, but in the moment when John told me that she wasn't accounted for yet, I loved her."

Kerry shivered and Kim put her arms around the shorter woman. "Have you... done anything to remember her, on this day I mean?"

Kerry shook her head, "Not really. I... will you come with me to her grave."

"Of course. Then we can make my little sister a real meal and undo whatever bad habits she's taught Hen-."

This coaxed a small laugh from Kerry, "Or we could get back at her by setting her up with Carlos..."

Kim smiled, "I like how you think Doctor Weaver..."

Fin ~ February 18th, 2008