Sharon and Di stared down at Kerry. "We didn't really think this through did we?"

Di frowned and took off her lab coat. "We'll, uh, okay, I'll put pressure on it."

Sharon slammed her hand against the panel. "Phone's dead. I... who knew..."

"...that the elevator would break? I know. This place..."

Sharon shook her head, "It's crazy. People puking, yelling, and the smell, and now, shooting in the middle of the ER. I should never have come here..."

A groan came from Kerry and her eyes poked open just a bit. "When you talk to your mother, leave this part out, okay?"

Sharon looked down at Kerry with surprise, "You know my mother?"

Di knelt down between Kerry and Sharon. "Later. Doctor Weaver, can you feel everything, is there anything else wrong than..."

"Other than two gunshot wounds, no. Help me sit up."

"I don't think..."

Kerry started to do it herself, which got the two women to quickly start to help her. "Which of us has the Doctor before her name Di?"

"You... And..." Di frowned, "How did you remember my name?"

They finally got Kerry up against the back wall. "It's my department, I know everyone's name."

Sharon was stuck on Kerry's mother comment still though. "How do you know my mother?"

"Helen Kingsley right?"

Sharon nodded, "Yes. Tell me, please."

Kerry glanced towards the doors of the elevator. "This is my life isn't it. One disaster after another." She brought her focus back to Sharon. "She came here a few years ago, actually checked in under your name, then revealed why she was really here."

Hearing that her mother had made a secret visit to a hospital didn't allay Sharon's fears. "What's wrong with her?"

"She's my mother too."

Silence finally came over the elevator car and Kerry closed her eyes in relief. "Okay, we're going to sit here like this for another few minutes. No questions, no griping, and keep your breathing to a silent minimum." Neither woman spoke, "Good."

"Where is she?"

Randi did a double take as Kim came into the ER. She was soaking wet from head to toe, her hair was going everywhere and her eyes were wild
with panic. "She's... uh..."

"She's in the Elevator."

"Carlos? What happened, I heard on the radio that there was shooting here. Where is Ker? Tell me, now."

"We're getting her, she was pulled into the elevator by a couple of women according to witnesses."

"Fine, fine, then what's the problem?"

It was Donald Anspaugh who spoke, "The elevator broke as it was going up." He took a hold of Kim's arm. "Let's let them do their thing. People didn't think that she was hit badly." He grimaced and mentally whacked himself in the head as the words came out of his mouth.

"Not badly. Tell me everything Don, everything."

Ken stepped next to Kim, "If there's anything I could..."

He didn't get to finish his sentence as Kim's fist impacted his nose in a spurt of blood and he flopped to the ground. Kim took a deep breath in, shook her hand a bit and walked towards the Doctor's lounge, leaving Don to help the Cardiac Surgeon up from the floor.

Abby was already in the doctor's lounge and looked up as Kim banged in. "Oh God Kim..."

Abby stood and after a moment's hesitation hugged Kim. After a few moments they parted and Abby slumped back down into a chair. "It was horrible. It was... he was aiming for me, she..." Abby took a breath, "For eight years she... she's always had a crutch, she's always moved slower than the rest of us, not by a lot really, but, why would she do that Kim. She has you, Henry, your family, her family... I just have Joe."

Kim sat down in a chair next to Abby and put an arm around the dark haired woman, "I don't know why Kerry does most of what she does actually."

Di finally just had to speak up, "Are you sure that you're not..."

"Bleeding out? No, they're superficial."

Sharon was simply sitting there and shaking her head, "You're my sister? No. I think you're lying."

Di shushed Sharon, "No, Doctor Weaver wouldn't lie."

Kerry gave a bitter laugh, "No, Sharon's right, Everyone lies, a good friend of mine told me that. Of course, he was referring to his patients. No one has no secrets, if they tell you that, they're lying." A small grin quickly appeared and disappeared on Kerry's face. She sucked a breath in through her teeth and Di was at her side again, "What should I do. There has to be something."

Kerry put a hand on Di's shoulder and met her gaze. Both Di and Sharon expected her to say something comforting, something like 'it'll be okay' or the like. Instead the red headed ER chief fell silent and simply stared at Di.

It was only after thirty seconds or so that Kerry's brain seemed to turn back on. "No, it's okay, I'm okay." She tilted her head to one side, "I think they're working on us."

Kim paced back and forth in front of the admit desk. "She could be bleeding out in there, why the hell doesn't the phone work? She could already be dead."

"They called down to them, they're okay Kim." Randi glanced over the admit desk to make sure that Kim wasn't literally wearing a hole in the floor, and decided that a change of subject was in order. After all, what she had said was true, she had heard Carlos and Abby talking about it. Boy did those two make a weird couple.

"So, is your sister single?"

"Isn't she a little young for you Randi?"

Randi blinked, "Age, not that she's straight?"

Kim glanced over at Randi and then back at the elevator. "She's twenty five Randi, she doesn't know her head from her ass. And yes, she's single, and as far as I know, straight, which, by the way, you are as well. What the hell is taking them so long."

Abby frowned as the door to the doctor's lounge opened and Carlos Lopez came in carrying Joe in his arms. "What?"

Joe saw his Mom and immediately wanted out of Carlos' arms, wriggling his two year old body to try to get out by himself. Carlos handed him over. "I was assigned carrying duty."

"Shouldn't you be... lifting or levering or something?"

Carlos shrugged, "Actually, I'm off. I just came because I knew that Kerry was on today."

"You know her schedule?"

Carlos looked sheepishly back at Abby. "Yeah, which probably isn't healthy, but..." He shook his head, "Abby, do you want to... I don't know, get some coffee some time?"

Abby opened her mouth and then closed it, "No, I... Luka and I... we're still married, nearly divorced, but I'm not sure I'm ready for..."

Carlos held his hands up, "Had to try. Bye buddy..." He waved at Joe who waved back.

He was almost out the door when Abby spoke again, "Not no forever, just, no for now."

Carlos nodded over one shoulder and then continued out the door. Abby shook her head and spoke to her son, "Now we didn't see that coming
now did we Joe."

The door opened again and Abby looked up, "Carlos?"

"Just Neela."

Abby closed her eyes, "Sorry. It's been a long day."

"I'm taking you home."

Abby shook her head, "Everything is at home." Her face fell, "Oh, Luka's getting back tomorrow."

Neela had her arms crossed over her chest, "And what were you going to do then?"

Abby let a breath out as she shrugged, "I don't know, probably a loud fight?"

"You're officially divorced? Signed the papers and everything?"

"Yes."

Neela's face was marred with a frown, "Then what the bloody hell are you still doing there? No.." She uncrossed her arms and held them up towards Abby. "Don't answer that. We'll get the guys up in Ortho to help you move in to my place for now."

"You really like it with them?"

Neela looked sheepish, "Yes, I do..." She shook her head, "Don't ask me why."

Abby stood with a now asleep Joe in her arms and looked down at him. "Not as much dying. The dying gets so old."

Kerry jerked awake with a gasp and Kim was at her side immediately. "Where? What?"

"Just the ER, Exam two."

Kerry looked around, squinting mostly, "No... this is sutures..."

Kim smiled as she brushed a few of Kerry's bangs out off her forehead, "Well, your facilities are still there."

Kerry took a deep breath, "I should have told you before, but I..." She swallowed and started telling the story. "I was nineteen, about to be a Sophomore in college, I went over that summer to Africa, to see Mlungisi. At that time we were still... intimate. When I got back I... didn't have my period. I was pregnant. I..." Kerry closed her eyes and swallowed.

"Don't rush it love."

Kerry let a breath out as she opened her eyes again and continued her story, "You know, you'd think that I'd have a brain, even at nineteen, I mean after what I went through as a child. I took a year off, two semesters, went back to school that next summer, it only put me a little behind in my school work, and before long I had caught up." Kerry shook her head, "I even graduated with my class."

"Ker..."

Kerry wasn't really listening to Kim anymore though, "That's what was going through my head. At least my mother wanted to keep me, I don't even have a parent to blame giving her up on. It's why I lost the baby you know."

Kim blinked, "Wait, what?"

"Before Henry I tried to get pregnant, and did actually, but lost the baby, lost little Catherine." Kerry sniffed back a tear, but they were determined to make an appearance. They rolled down her face and into the bed sheets. Kim managed to squeeze herself in behind Kerry and simply held the red head until the sobs subsided.

When the room fell silent Kim started to speak, but Kerry wasn't done, "She was the most beautiful baby I've ever seen, the one with Mlungisi. But no one ever knew, not my friends from college, not that I had a lot, not my parents, not even Mlungisi. I... I put it, put her out of my head for so long... he can't know Kim, how can Kenneth know."

Kim gave a harrumph, "That's it, a kid... I was picturing three ways with Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt or something..." A laugh snorted out of Kerry's mouth. "That's better."

"That's not all..."

Kim did give a slight groan at this, "Lay it on me Weaver..."

"I think I know her name though. It came to me while we were in the elevator. Perdita."

Kim was silent, processing this information, "You think Di is your daughter." Kerry nodded and Kim shook her head, "You just walk into things don't you."

"Step in is more like it. I'm sorry Kim..."

Kim pulled Kerry closer to her, "Don't be... I am going to have to go make up some secrets though. Maybe my very own creepy husband, or perhaps a..."

Kerry cut Kim off with two fingers on the blonde's lips. "Shush my head is throbbing. As a wise, young, gorgeous character named Max once said, 'The world will still be broken in the morning.'"

Kerry could feel Kim smirk and Kerry let her fingers drop. "It was Logan."

The fingers reappeared, "Shush..."

Fin ~ February 29th, 2008