Lessons Learned


AUTHOR: Kristen
EMAIL: kdarganin@hotmail.com
CATEGORY: JC/PB/LKo/RR Angst
RATING: PG
SPOILERS: About a month after "Under Control" anything after it has been
altered.
ARCHIVE: Yes, just let me know.
DISCLAIMER: I do now own the characters of ER I am just borrowing
them for fun.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: To my wonderful editor Jackie and to all my fellow
friends who have supported me. If you liked my past stories then this one is
for you.
Comments: Will be appreciated and can be sent to kdarganin@hotmail.com
SUMMARY: What happens when John Carter thinks he's having a bad day?
It gets worse.



6:00 a.m.

Carter walked into the admitting area of Grady Memorial Hospital.
Numerous files obscured the counter, and it appeared as if it hadn't been
organized in a long time. An older woman looked up upon his arrival with
not so much as a smile, and pointed her bony finger in the direction of an
exam area.

"The rest of the docs are in Curtain One. I guess they're waiting for you."
She turned her attention back to her crossword, not looking at him. She
adjusted settings on the fan sitting on her desk, and the wind blew her black,
wavy hair in all directions.

"Ah, how do you know that I'm the one they are waiting on?" Carter asked,
puzzled.

"Because, young man, I know the entire staff here and you are not one of
Grady's regular doctors. Want to know my little secret about my exceptional
mental abilities?" the older woman whispered with her hand cupping her
face.

Carter decided to amuse the receptionist, and moved closer for her to speak.

"You're wearing a lab coat, sweetie. Now go on, Dr. Logan does not like
people who are late," she told him.

"Well, thanks," he mumbled, as he headed towards the exam room. Carter
didn't bother finding a place to put his bag, and tried to slip in on the
meeting. "No wonder this place is being closed," he muttered to himself. The
hospital was old, apparently built in the early sixties. Paint was faded on the
walls, and the floor was grimy despite probable numerous cleanings. The
facility just didn't look like it was ever maintained properly, and it was a
shame that no one cared for it.

Carter pulled back the curtain of Exam One, and it nearly fell apart in his
hand as it glided along the rod. The noise was enough to draw the attention
of the others who, by the looks of things, were in the middle of a meeting.
Luka Kovac was leaning on the exam bed, Rocket Romano was next to him
with a scowl on his face, and Peter Benton, standing in the corner, didn't
seem too amused. The only person he didn't recognize was an older
gentleman with salt and pepper hair and a mustache. The doctor that he
wasn't familiar with turned his attention on Carter without much enthusiasm.

"I presume that you're Dr. Carter," he uttered gruffly.

"Yes, sir. I'm sorry..." Carter began to explain.

"I don't want hear it," the older doctor snapped; then turned his attention to
Romano. "I see that we get all the disciplinary problems from this little
staffing arrangement, eh, Robert?" He sneered at the bald doctor. Carter
watched Dr. Romano stiffen with anger, as Peter stood up straighter,
obviously irritated.

"Dr. Logan, we are here because this hospital is closing its doors in a few
weeks, and your pleasant personality couldn't keep all of your staff from
walking out early. We're here for the patients who would be affected by a
shortage and not to stroke your tail feathers. Are we clear?" Robert asked
icily.

"Yeah, whatever. Just don't screw anything up. I didn't want any of you here;
I had no choice in the matter." Dr. Logan stood long enough to glare at the
doctors surrounding him, and stormed out of the exam area.

"Well, this is going to be fun," Carter stated with obvious sarcasm.

"Can it, Dr. Carter. You and Dr. Kovac are here to attend to patients. Peter,
you are to take charge of the OR, while I try to handle the bureaucratic mess
that this situation has created. We all have jobs to do, so let's do them
efficiently and with smiles, all right folks?"

Since none of the men said a word, Romano smiled. "Good. If you need
anything, I'll be upstairs." Without a second look, Robert walked off in the
opposite direction of Dr. Logan.

"Why were we chosen for this assignment?" Luka asked the remaining
doctors.

"Because we're all on Robert's short list, Dr. Kovac," Peter replied.

Confused, Carter looked innocently at Peter. "I haven't done anything
wrong." Carter had looked up at Peter in time to see him shake his head as
he grabbed several charts from the table in front of him. Ignoring Carter's
bewildered stare, Peter walked away.

"Ummm, Dr. Benton, what have I done lately? Dr. Benton?" Carter asked
again, as his former teacher continued to walk away, silence greeting his
unanswered question.

Luka chuckled. "I think Dr. Benton was just being sarcastic, Carter. I
wouldn't worry about it. Come on, let's look around and get familiar with
where everything is." Luka patted Carter on the shoulder, and the younger
man gave him a brief smile.

"I still don't understand why Dr. Weaver isn't here to handle the
administrative chaos," Luka said, waving his hand in the direction the two
were walking.

"I don't know. I heard something about how Dr. Romano doesn't get along
with Dr. Logan, and he wanted to gloat while his hospital shuts down around
him. What I don't understand is why this place is still accepting patients to
begin with, when most of the staff has walked out," Carter told the other
doctor.

"Just because some of the staff here didn't respect their obligations to this
hospital does not mean we stop treating patients, Dr. Carter. There are two
more weeks before we will be forced to close our doors because of budget
concerns. Even though we are to remain open until then, many of the staff
left and took well paying private practice positions. Each hospital will send
four doctors each day to help cover shifts. The two of you will be gone in 36
hours, and then I will have the joy of dealing with staff members from Rush.
Don't worry, the labor shortage will be covered by each hospital in the city.
Know this, we will stay open no matter what, and you will do your assigned
job." Dr. Logan continued to stare at the duo, who were unnerved that the
Chief of Staff overheard their discussion. "Is there a problem?" he asked
with irritation.

"Ah, no sir. We were just..." Carter began.

"Then stop standing around wasting time; go do something useful." Dr.
Logan seethed.

Carter simply nodded a bit, taken back at such hostility. He headed in the
direction of the admit desk to pick up some charts. Luka followed, but was
still close enough to hear Dr. Logan's disparaging remarks.

"For Christ's sakes, I make sure that I didn't spend my remaining time with
Weaver and they send me another cripple instead," The older doctor said
under his breath.

Luka spun around in anger at such disrespectful remarks of a fellow
colleague. It was apparent that Carter had been out of earshot of Dr. Logan's
comments on Carter's lingering limp. 'This man is a doctor, why would he
make such callous statements when it's his job to care for sick people?' Luka
thought. He caught Dr. Logan's attention, and stormed over to where the
administrator was standing.

"I don't want to hear you use such descriptions around any of my co-
workers or patients, you understand?" Luka told the man through clenched
teeth, trying to control his anger.

"Dr. Kovac, I think you misunderstand the chain of authority here. If you
ever talk to me in such a tone, I'll have you up on suspension." Dr. Logan
didn't give Luka time to react and walked away, leaving him furious. Luka
walked back to the admit desk where he overheard Carter introducing
himself to two nurses. He went over to the counter to make his own
introduction, when he saw Carter wave him over.

"Sally, this is Dr. Kovac." Carter was extending his hand in the direction of a
petite young woman with long red hair. She shook Luka's hand, and it was
obvious to Carter that she was checking Luka out; tilting her head, her eyes
scanning him from foot back up to his face.

"Nice to meet you," Luka replied.

Carter turned his attention to Linda, an older blonde woman. She looked like
she worked out, so it was hard to tell her exact age. Before he could
introduce her as well, she spoke instead.

"And I'm Linda. So, what kind of name is Kovac? Russian, perhaps?" She
asked, even though it was apparent that she didn't care what his response
was. Carter knew the effect foreign accents had on women sometimes. He
smiled in amusement, as Luka looked like he wasn't in the mood for that
kind of attention so early in the morning.

"No, its Croatian." He replied softly.

Carter sensed that Luka maybe needed a little rescuing, so he decided to help
his friend out. "Hey, Luka, want to help me find the lounge so I can put by
bag up?"

"Yeah, I might want to know where to get my next cup of coffee." Luka
turned and followed him down the hall and to the left. They found the
lounge, where Carter hung his bag in an opened locker. He then rummaged
around in what appeared to be a storage locker, where some of the white lab
coats were hanging. He took off his own lab coat and placed it on one of the
hangers.

"It's kind of hot in this hospital for that, don't you think?" Luka asked while
wiping his brow.

Carter shook his head in an affirmative nod. Ever since he walked into this
place it had felt like a damn sauna. His hair was already sticking to his
forehead from sweat, and it was still way too early in the morning for such
heat.

"You're right, I think the air conditioning in this place is broken," Carter
said, and looked up at Luka to see the man staring at him. "What?" he asked
suspiciously.

"Nothing, I was just wondering what else is wrong with this facility besides
the fact that its Chief of Staff makes Romano look like a puppy," Luka
replied.

"Who knows. I'll be happy when this little transfer is over with." Carter
walked over to the door and held it open for Luka. They both made their
way through, in search for any patient to help in an effort to pass the time.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

1:00 p.m.

Carter was scribbling notations on the variety of cases he had seen so far. It
was the usual variety of colds, broken bones, and the obligatory drug
overdose. Many of the major traumas were being deviated to County as not
to put a strain on the skeleton crew at Grady. Most of the patients were
walk-ins, despite the notices that were sent out to try to dissuade people
from coming unless it was a desire emergency. A few extra techs and nurses
from Mercy arrived, and went about their duties.

"What is the point of being here?" Carter muttered to himself. He glanced up
to see Peter walking into the lobby. The surgeon had the same downcast
appearance that the rest of the lingering staff had.

"What's with your happy mood?" Carter asked upon seeing Peter's irritated
stance. He had his hands on his hips, and it looked like he was in search of
someone to chew out for an unnamed offense.

"The damn elevator is broken so I took the stairs down. What kind of
hospital can't even keep their elevators running?" Peter replied angrily.

Carter shrugged his shoulders and thought about asking him if, at least, the
air conditioning was working properly up there. He decided not to, and went
with a more lighthearted topic.

"So, that exciting in the OR?" 'Big mistake,' Carter thought as soon as the
words left his mouth.

Peter looked at him with an annoyed expression. "There has been one
trauma the entire morning, and the two other surgeons are not the most
conversational people in the world," Peter grumbled.

"Since when did you enjoy conversation?" Carter asked.

"Since when do you..."

Peter was interrupted by shouts for help. Carter bolted out of his chair to
intercept two construction workers having a difficult time bringing in a third,
convulsing, employee.

"Someone get a gurney!" Peter shouted to one of the nurses, as Carter tried
to determine the patient's symptoms. Two nurses brought out a gurney and
the patient was rolled onto it as it was wheeled into a trauma room.

"What happened?" Carter asked as the patient was attached to a cardiac
monitor.

"He was just standing in the break room when he fell down and started
shaking," one of his co-workers answered anxiously.

"Is there a history of epilepsy or seizures?" Carter asked, as he tried to hold
the man down.

"I don't know," the second worker replied, nervously fiddling with his beard.

"Pulse is 140, BP 150/90, and his airway is obstructed," One of the nurses
informed the doctors, while taking off a blood pressure cuff.

"Okay, I'll intubate," Peter responded, as he went to the head of the gurney.
"His throat is swollen, I can't see the cords; we need to hold him down,"
Peter ordered.

Sally grabbed his feet as they were shaking and jerking wildly. Linda
struggled to keep the patient's upper body still as she desperately added her
own weight over the patient's chest. Carter attempted to do the same from
the opposite side and bent over as he tried to place his hands on the patient's
shoulders.

"What have we got?" Dr. Logan and Romano came in the room in time to
see the two nurses and Carter unsuccessfully trying to hold the big man
down as his seizures continued. "We have a thirty year old male with a
swollen airway, convulsions for three minutes. Dr. Benton's intubating and I
was about to order phenytoin," Carter replied.

"What's the matter, kid, can't you hold this patient still so he can be properly
intubated? Move aside!" Dr. Logan ordered; as it was apparent that Carter
was having great difficulty keeping the patient stable enough for Benton to
work.

Dr. Logan held onto the big man, as Peter placed the tube down the patient's
throat and established an airway. Peter glanced up at Carter as he noticeably
limped away, his hand to his back. The dejected younger doctor moved to
the corner of the room and watched as the patient's seizures ceased after the
medication had taken effect.

Dr. Romano looked irritated, as Dr. Logan was giving him the fifth degree
concerning something, but Carter was too busy chastising himself for being
inadequate. His range of motion had affected his ability to handle the trauma
effectively, and he had embarrassed Romano in front of a man that he
despised. Carter leaned against the wall as Romano and Logan walked with
the gurney outside; he was oblivious to the fact that Peter was staring at him.

"Hey, Carter?"

"Yeah?" Carter responded, surprised that he wasn't alone in the room.

"You okay?" Peter asked.

"I'm okay, if you call being pushed out of the way during a trauma
something to be happy about. I'm sure it impressed the hell out of Dr.
Romano," Carter replied sarcastically.

"Carter, those two are going to be present at anything that can be turned into
something to argue about. This hospital isn't going to see many patients, and
they are going to be sticking their noses into everything. Two Chiefs of Staff
shouldn't be in the ER to begin with."

"Neither should you," Carter answered.

"What else am I going to do? I was selected for this assignment because
Romano is still pissed about that prescription fiasco, and Dr. Kovac is here
because he did a procedure without Kerry's permission," Peter tried to reason
with him.

"So why am I here?" Carter asked angrily. "Is it because this way I won't get
in the way of any real traumas at County?

"No, Carter, you're a good physician," Peter said matter of factly.

"Yeah, I couldn't even hold that guy down so you could intubate him,"
Carter said out of disgust.

"Carter, that guy weighed at least 280. You're not ready to handle King
Kong. It's going to take some time." Peter looked at his former student,
trying to convey to him some confidence he knew Carter lacked.

"I guess you're right. I'm going to do some more chart reviews." Carter
turned around and began to walk off.

"Hey, Carter, you need to give yourself some time. In the mean time, don't
strain yourself and be careful with the bending," Peter told him in his doctor
tone.

"Don't worry, Dr. Benton, I know my limitations." Carter left Peter in the
trauma room and went in search of a place to sit down and relax for a
minute.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXxxxxx

Carter wandered down to the cafeteria. It had been confusing locating it at
first, since the one at County was upstairs; but in the older Grady the dining
area was below the admittance floor. John stared at the lack of variety of
lunch choices, and finally settled for a turkey sandwich and some orange
juice. He headed for an empty table, when he ran into Luka chatting with
Sally, the nurse he had met earlier.

"What's going on?" Carter asked as he slid into one of the unoccupied chairs.

"There's a political rally going on downtown for some art museum's opening
ceremony. Traffic is jammed and all emergency vehicles are being directed
there because there are protesters outside causing trouble," Sally explained.

"Protesters at an art exhibit?" Carter asked with confusion.

"Apparently the politician is pro-choice, and since the elections are heating
up the city sent a lot of police to keep everything peaceful," Luka explained.
"Look at it this way, that means less emergencies for us."

"How's that?" Carter questioned.

"It ties up all traffic coming north; Rush and County are on the other side of
the mess and will get whatever units that respond to calls," Sally interjected.

"So in other words, County is going to be short two doctors and two
surgeons and they are going to be getting an excessive about of traumas.
Unbelievable!" Carter exclaimed, visibly upset.

"Carter, it's only for two days, then Rush replaces us with their staff. Mark
and the others will get by just fine, there are plenty of people to cover. Why
are you so upset?" Luka asked, clearly puzzled by the level of irritation that
Carter was displaying.

"Because I should be back at County, not here because people think I need
to take it easy or something." Carter sat back down in his chair dejectedly.

"I don't understand your line of reasoning, Carter. I don't really think there
was any motivation behind who was selected for this assignment. I thought it
was for some of the problems of late, when Dr. Romano decided to take a
vested interest in the ER. Who knows? I think your level of patient care has
been fine since you returned." Luka carefully studied Carter's expression. On
one hand, he appeared to concur, but his body language seemed to suggest
he wasn't buying it.

"Has anyone said something to you?" Luka asked, wondering if any of the
staff were concerned. As far as he knew, everything at County had been
running fine, with the exception of the prescription screw up between Dr.
Finch and Dr. Benton. Luka had his own patients to be concerned with and
never noticed if there were some performance problems.

"No, well, except for Dr. Logan," Carter responded.

"Carter, Dr. Logan is a jerk. I wouldn't pay him any attention. I know Dr.
Romano doesn't." Luka chuckled.

"Well I guess you're right. The elevators don't work, the air conditioning is
broken, and the Chief of Staff hates me. What else could go wrong?" Carter
asked, even thought he knew whenever he said things like that, they always
came back to bite him in the ass. Just when he was about to take that
statement back, his beeper went off. He glanced down at it.

"Looks like I spoke to soon. I've got a patient." Carter saw Luka getting up,
and he motioned for him to remain seated. "It's not anything I can't handle, if
I need your help I'll let you know." Carter stuffed his hands in his pockets
and headed back to the ER.

Carter ran into Linda, who was patiently waiting for his arrival. She was
holding a chart, and handed it to Carter. "There's an elderly lady with facial
pain in exam two," she told him without enthusiasm.

Carter nodded, and reached out for the door handle. He stopped when he felt
a hand on his arm.

"Just to warn you, Dr. Logan is on the prowl and your Dr. Romano is not
keeping him in a good mood. Just watch your step, okay? He wasn't very
happy at the thought of having to work with people from County." She gave
him a serious look.

"I'll try to stay out of his way," Carter answered glumly. He took a deep
breath; attempting to calm his nerves.

Carter walked into Exam Two, where he found an elderly lady with the most
beautiful silver hair he had ever seen. She was sitting on the gurney quietly,
and glanced up when he entered the room. He saw tears running down her
face, which she hastily dabbed away with a tissue. Carter hurried into the
room and grabbed the chart off the bed. He scanned for her name, and
smiled reassuringly.

"Good afternoon, Mrs. Cobb. I'm Dr. Carter, what seems to be the problem
today?" Carter asked good naturedly. It upset him to see this woman in such
distress.

"W-wellll, my face has been hurting f-f-for hours. I, I I, I haven't b-been able
to feel the left side since I woke up," Mrs. Cobb managed with great
difficulty. She took her tissue and wiped her mouth as some saliva ran down
her chin. Carter dug into his pants pocket and retrieved a clean cloth. He
handed it to Mrs. Cobb, who took it gratefully.

"I-I am so sorry, dear. You're so s-s-sweet. Please call m-me Judith." She
tried to smile.

"Don't worry about it Judith, let's just see if I can find out what is wrong, all
right?" Carter gave her arm a gentle squeeze. "So, you have had pain in you
face. Has it been localized to any side, or is it your entire face?" Carter
asked, while examining her head. He gently placed his hands on her
cheekbones.

"It hurts on the left side," She repeated.

Carter took out his pen light and peeled back each eyelid, watching her
pupils dilate. He then took her left arm and lifted it up in the air. "Please
hold it up for a few seconds," Carter gently instructed her. Judith nodded,
and she kept her arm still in the air, as Carter repeated the procedure on her
right arm as well. He had her squeeze his wrist with each hand.

"Could you please stand up for me?" he asked, while backing up to give her
room.

She stood easily, but stopped momentarily to wipe away some more spittle
that ran down from her mouth. She took Carter's hankie and wiped it away,
obviously embarrassed. Her left eye was tearing again, and Carter gave her a
few seconds to compose herself.

"You're doing fine, Judith. Now could you lift up you right foot slightly?"
Carter stood next to her, just in case she became dizzy and needed help.
Judith lifted her right foot, and then repeated the exercise with her left one.
Carter flipped through her chart, noting the nurse's observations and vitals.
Carter heard the door open, and Dr. Logan and Peter Benton walked into the
room. He groaned inwardly, wondering if the hospital would ever get busy
enough so the surgeons would have something to do.

Peter walked up to Carter's side, giving him a casual glance. "What do you
have, Carter?"

"Well, this is Judith, 63 years old, complaining about pain at the left side of
her face. No complaints of headaches, no numbness in her hands or legs, no
dysarthria, and her upper and lower extremity strength is 5/5 bilaterally."
Carter didn't look over at Dr. Logan, solely focusing on Peter.

Benton flipped through the chart as Dr. Logan took the stethoscope off his
neck and listened to her heart. Peter finished reading over the chart and
stared at Carter. "Go on," he said.

"As I was saying, blood pressure is only slightly elevated at 140/90, pulse is
110 and she is exhibiting left sided facial droop. I want to order some neuro
tests to rule out Bell's Palsy, and maybe a CT," Carter replied.

Dr. Logan slid his stethoscope around his neck and spun around. "Maybe a
CT, Dr. Carter? I think it's quite obvious that Mrs. Cobb most likely suffered
a stroke and should be sent to radiology right away." He didn't even bother
to hide the arrogance in his voice.

"I have to disagree, Dr. Logan. Her blood pressure isn't that high, she's
responsive, and doesn't seem to have any problems with muscle
coordination. I believe nerve conduction studies checks are in order." Carter
stood his ground.

Dr. Logan shook his head. "There is no need to have such expensive tests in
this case. Send her for a CT and go on to your next patient." Dr. Logan
grabbed the chart from Benton and scribbled a few notes into it.

Peter couldn't remain silent. "Maybe Dr. Carter, can send her for a head CT
to rule out a stroke, and then if it is negative, he can perform the necessary
neurological tests." Peter glanced up at Carter to let him know he had some
support in his corner. He saw Carter shift from foot to foot, something he
often did when trying to channel nervous energy.

"Fine, you want to waste hospital money, go ahead." Dr. Logan snarled.

"Can we take this outside please?" Carter asked, nodding slightly towards
the patient, who was nervous enough, as it was, without worrying about if
her diagnosis was in question. It was the last thing on his mind, and should
be the last thing on his patient's mind. He was always worried about the
standard of care for elderly patients. It really aggravated him when doctors
didn't do necessary testing just because their patient was old. It was like they
thought the elderly patients didn't deserve the same standard of care.

"Fine, Dr. Carter, but if you want to do neuro conductive testing, you'll have
to search for the equipment upstairs where it is stored. The technicians are
gone for the day, and I won't authorize you to page a tech to come in for this
unnecessary testing. Most of the equipment has been packed away for a
supply transfer. And when she comes back with CT results indicative of a
stroke, I want you to explain to Dr. Romano why expensive testing was
administered to a Medicare/Medicaid patient, and I'll make County absorb
the cost."

"Fine by me. Which floor is the equipment stored on?" Carter tried to hide
his irritation from his voice.

"On the Neurology floor, Doctor. Do I need you to draw you a map? Maybe
Dr. Benton can hold your hand as you try to find it." Dr. Logan gave both
men a sneer, and left.

Peter sighed heavily and watched the door close in his face. "The most likely
explanation is a stroke, Carter, but not everything is as it appears. Besides,
that man needs to have an attitude adjustment." Benton patted Carter on the
back, and continued the annoying task of following Grady's Chief of Staff
around.

Carter returned to the exam room to let Judith know what his plan of action
was. He saw her sitting there, her hand clutching the hankie that he had
given her. She appeared to be frightened, Judith looked up at his return.
Carter pulled up a chair and sat next to her. She grabbed his hand, in need of
strength.

"Dr. Carter, I didn't mean to get you in trouble with your boss," she told him.

"Judith, you didn't do anything. It's my job to take care of you, which I am
going to do." Carter smiled and took his other hand and placed it on top of
her's. "I want to rule out something that could be causing you some pain. I
need to go find the tests that are needed. Okay?"

"I trust you, young man. I just don't want your boss to yell at you over me,"
She replied sincerely.

"That's easy, Judith; he's not my boss." Carter rose from the chair and
walked out into the hallway to call for a nurse. He saw Sally acknowledge
him, and went back to talk to his patient.

"While I go search for those tests, you're going to go to the fourth floor to
have a special x-ray called a CT, a scan of your head. It's just a precaution,
and it won't hurt a bit." Carter extended his hand to help her stand, when
Sally came in with a wheelchair. Judith was situated and taken to radiology.

Carter slumped back down to the chair. He calculated his actions, knowing
that what he was doing was proper procedure. He had been right with tricky
diagnoses before, and wasn't about to let his patient's care suffer because of
Dr. Logan's smugness. Carter careful stretched his back, since it had been
aching ever since the previous trauma. Today promised to be long and
tiresome, and he needed to pace himself without gardening attention from
his co-workers. He headed for the elevator to track down the needed
equipment.

Carter stood in front of the elevator for a very long five minutes, passing the
time by watching the activity of the staff. The hospital really lacked spark of
life or care. He missed County and couldn't wait to return. Carter glanced up
at the elevator again, noticing that the fourth floor light was still lit. It still
hadn't moved. Carter was getting impatient when he noticed Luka walking
towards him.

"Hey, Carter," he said listlessly.

"Hi, Dr. Kovac, I'm just waiting for this stupid elevator."

"Yeah, I saw you standing there. I just received a call from maintenance, it's
having difficulties and it won't come back down," the other doctor told him
with a hint of amusement.

"You've got to be kidding!" Carter exclaimed. "I just sent a patient up there
for a CT." He looked back at Luka to see the other doctor laughing.

"What's so funny?" Carter asked, currently not seeing anything humorous
about the situation.

"I'm sorry, Carter. Your patient made it up there, its just that you can't see to
catch a break today. They said it'll only be a few minutes." Luka controlled
his laughter, noting that Carter wasn't amused. The day had been intense,
and watching Carter endure one setback after another was not something to
laugh about, but he couldn't help it.

"Both of them are out of order and we're an emergency hospital; I'm glad I'm
not a patient with an urgent need," Carter said sarcastically. "I'll take the
stairs," he told Luka, frustrated and left the man before he could be chastised
for being impatient.

Carter was on his third flight of stairs when he realized he was losing steam.
His back screamed in pain. He should have waited for the elevator and saved
himself some aggravation. He was heading for the fourth flight of strairs
when his left foot slipped slightly. He grabbed the railing fiercely for
balance. He stood there for a second, simply concentrating on breathing.
Sweat dripped down his face, and Carter shakily wiped it away. God, he
hoped no one decided to use the stairs this very moment, he knew he would
probably frighten them with his instability.

Carter carefully composed himself and ascended the final flight to the fifth
floor. He entered a quiet hallway, almost out of breath. He scanned the area
in an effort to find the right storage room. He spotted one just a few feet
down the hall. He searched for a light switch, and was surprised to discover
how large the room was.

There were dozens of metal shelves stuffed with countless boxes of supplies.
Crates were stacked up against the wall, and boxes just sat in the middle of
the room collecting dust. The ceiling tiles looked like they were about to
come crashing down and the area was in complete disarray.

"Just great, this place hasn't seen organization in years. It's a dumping
ground for unused equipment," Carter said out loud. He saw gallon-sized
containers of chemicals in the far corner stacked against the wall. Searching,
Carter started with the bottom shelf, and could tell it contained various
cardio supplies. He went through three more tiers until he came upon the
fourth one. It held, some neuro equipment, but mostly EKG pads. There
were bottles of chemicals that lacked proper labels. He decided that the few
pieces of neurological equipment that were here indicated that his test might
be lurking in one of the nearby boxes.

Unable to reach anything beyond the fourth shelf, Carter glanced around the
room and noticed a ladder. He grabbed it, and slowly dragged it over to the
storage units.

Carter gazed ominously at the ladder, debating the logistics of climbing it.
The neuro kit he needed was probably somewhere on the top shelve that he
could not reach. The entire storage area was totally miscatergarized and
basically, a mess. Sighing with contempt at the situation, Carter took hold of
the ladder and shook it to verify that it was stable. It didn't seem to be
wobbly, so he locked it into place and carefully scaled its steps.

The metal shelves were dusty, and Carter scanned the various unlabeled
boxes for its contents. Each box contained unused vials of chemicals. In fact,
the fifth and sixth shelves were full of containers of iodine and betazine. 'No
wonder this place is being shut down,' Carter mused. You didn't place large
containers of chemicals on the higher levels of a shelf. Since the bottom
ones were packed with boxes, some lazy person just placed them in the first
empty space.

Feeling a bit uneasy, Carter looked down to see that he was up pretty high,
and hoped that his back wouldn't pick this very moment to spasm.
Concentrating on the task in front of him, Carter rummaged through more
boxes until he came across the neuro test that was needed.

Ironically, this box was perfectly labeled, and Carter reached out to grab it.
Forgetting for a moment about the condition of his back he reached out
slightly too far, causing a sharp pain to run down his back and into his left
leg. Carter gasped and involuntarily let go of the box in order to grab a
steadying hold of the shelf. As his hand violently secured itself on a part of
the shelf to prevent him from falling, it caused the steel structure to shake
from the commotion.

This quickly set about a set of reaction chain of events. The shelf shook,
which startled Carter enough that he grasped it more firmly to steady himself
while the pain subsided. By doing so, Carter lost his balance, causing the
ladder to lurch from the shift in weight. Carter tried to prevent the inevitable
fall by lashing out at the metal structure in front of him, but was at a loss for
control. All he managed to do was wrap his fingers around part of the shelf
as he plummeted downward.

Carter crashed to the floor in a heap, and the ladder fell sideways, hitting the
shelf. The result was a thunderous crash as boxes of chemicals and supplies
clattered against the floor. Carter covered his face with his hands as falling
bottles of iodine shattered near him; he removed his arm after verifying that
there was no more flying debris.

Carter craned his neck at the mess that was created by the his lack of finesse.
He remained sprawled on the floor as he mentally went over various parts of
his body for damage. He landed on his right shoulder and it was throbbing,
but he knew that he hadn't broken anything. He had not hit his head, and
after a moment came to the conclusion that he was just momentarily
stunned.

After assessing his situation, Carter brought himself up into a sitting
position; unconsciously rubbing at the soon-to-be-sore muscles in his back.
He stood up slowly and only felt a slight twinge from the movement; he had
been pretty lucky. He hadn't actually fallen that far, but in his condition he
had to be careful. He would keep this little incident from the others. They
didn't need to worry, especially with all the hell going on downstairs.

Not wanting to leave the mess, Carter knelt down; bending with his knees.
There was a pool of liquid spreading over the floor, leaving purple blotches.
Some of the caps of the betazine containers had popped off somehow, too.
That chemical was colorless, so it was difficult to tell where it had spilt.
Carter searched for something to soak the chemicals with, and noticed the
crates in the corner. There were several rags sitting on top, and he made his
way over to retrieve them.

Cursing at his horrible luck in the catastrophe resulting, he had not even
being able to find a simple test. Carter didn't see the spilled liquids spreading
over to the wall. If he had looked up for just a moment, he might have
noticed the bundle of electrical wiring that was hanging from an unprotected
outlet to the left of the shelve. The corroded wires quickly came into contact
with the chemical mix, and resulting in a spark. A series of little bits of blue,
sparks, jumped from wire to wire, and finally a shower of electric current
spark, igniting the chemical spill.

After gathering some of the soaked linen, Carter turned around and saw
flames spreading across the floor. He was momentarily in shock, watching in
horrid fascination as the pools of liquid soon had flames dancing upon it. It
was like one of those little fires one saw on television, being fueled by an oil
spill or something similar. Carter's shock and awe subsided when the flames
quickly spread from the chemical spill over to where several boxes still
remained on the ground.

Carter cursed under his breath, "Why does this is always happen to me?" he
shouted to nobody in particular. He ran over to the shelves and tried to
smother the flames with his soaked rags. Only after a few moments he
realized that this was not the proper way to douse a chemical fire, and
looked around for some flour.

'There's not going to be any flour in the middle of a storage room!' He
chastised himself. Instincts right. Location wrong. Panic started to take a
hold of him when the fire engulfed the cardboard boxes, growing larger and
more menacing as a result.

"All right, get rid of the source of fuel. No problem," Carter spoke to
himself, trying to keep his panic at bay. Unfortunately, the flaming boxes
contained other sets of chemicals, and one of them the boxes, exploded as
the fire ignited the contents of the bottles inside. The explosion startled
Carter as he stepped away from the growing flames. The entire set of shelves
were being consumed by flames as the fire spread from shelf to shelf, eating
up boxes of chemicals and various paper products.

The shelves became a virtual wall of flames, lapping upwards searching for
more fuel. When the fire first ignited Carter thought he could quickly put it
out, since he recalled not seeing a soul that could have aided him in this
emergency. Forgetting how fast chemical fires spread, he was overwhelmed
by its intensity and he knew he had no choice, but leave the room in search
of help. He looked across the room to the door he had originally entered, and
was about to make a run for it when he made a startling discovery. Only a
few feet away from the shelving units were stacks of oxygen tanks.

"Oh god, if they ignite the tanks..." He gasped out loud as he ran his hand
through his hair. Carter began searching for a fire alarm. Clouds of white
smoke were beginning to fill the room, and Carter's throat was becoming
scratchy. Breathing lungs full of poisonous smoke was not a healthy thing to
do, but it was better then being caught in an explosion if the fire reached the
oxygen tanks.

Carter was desperate; he ran to the other side of the room, past the tanks, in
search of a fire extinguisher. Scared and panicked, he began to throw boxes
out of the way that were blocking parts of the wall. There had to be an
extinguisher somewhere in this room. Finally, out of the corner of his eye,
he spotted a red tank mounted by one of the closet doors. It appeared to be
years old, and looked dauntingly heavy.

With a groan, Carter picked it up realizing it weighed a ton. He had already
climbed a ladder and fallen. It didn't matter that he was picking up a heavy
object. He knew Dr. Benton would not be very happy with all the risks he
had taken already, he mused. The extinguisher weighed about twenty
pounds, and his back seared in pain from the effort of carrying it back across
the room.

The flames had jumped from one shelf to the other, and so one. The fire was
not engulfing the walls since they were fire resistant; however, the floor was
covered in chemicals from the spill and the fire was growing larger from it.
Moving towards larger sources of air, it rose towards the ceiling, turning the
tiles black. White smoke was filling the room completely and Carter
wondered why there was no alarm, and why no one noticed the smoke
coming from storage facility.

He dragged the fire extinguisher across the littered floor and aimed the hose
at the flames in front of him. His eyes were burning, and tears streaked down
his face causing his vision to blur. Trying to breathe as little as possible,
Carter took his other hand and put his nose and mouth under the collar of his
shirt. He then stepped as close to the growing wall of fire as he dared, and
squeezed the trigger of the hose.

For a few moments a white mist made contact with the flames beating it
back towards the shelves, but the air pressure from the repellent quickly
sputtered, and the mist ceased. Carter looked down at the extinguisher in
defeat, and decided now was the time to make a dash for the exit. The wall
of fire was now spreading over the ceiling above his head. Carter knew that
the fireproof walls would trap the flames in the room, causing it to build up
and explode. After a giant explosion, there was nothing he could do to stop it
from setting the rest of the hospital ablaze.

Carter dropped the useless extinguisher, and limped heavily towards the
door, as a spasm tore through his back. Just as he was about to reach the
door handle, there was a giant explosion; its force knocked Carter painfully
into the wall. Flames roared behind him as the heat in the room rose
dramatically. Carter hung onto the wall for support as the fumes and smoke
caused him to cough and gag. Knowing he was a dead man if he didn't
move, Carter slid to the floor and crawled out of the room.

The last thing he heard, as he valiantly tried to scramble away, were a series
of small explosion as the fire hit the rest of the oxygen tanks.


After two hours of being forced to follow the man around the hospital, Peter
Benton had finally been able to get rid of Dr. Logan. There was no real
reason why he was being forced to listen to the administrator's lectures, but
Peter had a feeling it was to keep him off of Romano's back. Then without
warning, all hell had broken loose. Romano had approached his nemesis,
some piece of paperwork required Logan's signature, but this only resulted
in an argument, from which Peter was quickly dismissed. Benton could still
hear the screaming match as he walked away in search of something to do.

Peter didn't want to return to the OR, especially since there were no patients
pending, so he was forced to find something to do on the ER floor. As he
came across the admit desk, he noticed Luka trying to avoid a conversation
with an overly aggressive female nurse. It amused him to see the other
doctor try to remain friendly and at the same time avoid the woman's
advances. The man certainly had an effect on women, it seemed. Normally
Peter would let him suffer, but since he was bored, he decided to intercede.

"Dr. Kovac, are there any surgical patients down here?" he asked, knowing
full well that he would have been paged if he were needed.

"No, Dr. Benton there are none, but I could use your advice about
something. Why don't you follow me into the lounge so we can discuss it in
private?" Luka said, with much more vigor then was needed.

Peter couldn't hide his grin over Luka's situation. The man needed to learn
some lessons about women, Peter thought to himself.

"I owe you one," Luka whispered when they were far enough away from
Linda.

"I think all of us are owed big time for this idiotic assignment," Peter said
dryly. He hated it when it was slow over at County, but this
misappropriation of faculty was totally inexcusable. The only reason they
were here was probably to feed Romano's ego and ridiculous desire to pull
others with him into hell, Peter thought.

"Yeah, that Dr. Logan is a real jerk. He's been riding all of us pretty hard all
day, and his attitudes towards patient care is repulsive," Luka said with
contempt.

"Yeah, he was giving Carter a hard time about his diagnosis of an elderly
patient earlier. I happened to agree with Logan's assessment, but he didn't
need to grill Carter in front of her. Its just plain disrespectful to do that in
front of a patient," Peter responded, his voice rising just a bit louder then he
intended.

"He was commenting about Carter's limp behind his back, and then went on
to insult Dr. Weaver's handicap. What kind of doctor makes insulting
remarks about medical conditions? Does the man lack any kind of respect
for others?" Luka asked, already knowing the answer.

Peter scowled in confusion and growing anger. "He was making fun of
Carter?" he asked, outraged at such disregard towards a colleague.

Luka was startled by Peter's tone. It was angry, and Luka could emphasize,
but he never really suspected the level of protectiveness that was evident in
Peter's voice. Luka decided that a confrontation with Logan would not do
anyone any good.

"Yeah, he was, but I'm sure he didn't mean it." Luka responded not wanting
to cause a confrontation between Peter and Dr. Logan.

"He didn't mean it? What kind of excuse is that, Kovac? What did Logan
say?" Peter tersely asked. He didn't notice the fact that he had closed the gap
between Luka and himself, and had cornered the other doctor.

Luka stepped to the side; Peter's rapid breathing was making him
uncomfortable. "I don't remember, Dr. Benton, I think he called Carter a
cripple," Luka responded, almost murmuring the last part.

Peter's frown deepened and he started looking around. The fact that he
remained silent was making Luka nervous. Was the surgeon really that
upset? He never really showed any concern concerning colleagues before,
but he knew that his relationship with Carter was a unique one.

"Don't be looking for trouble. You don't want to make Carter's day any
harder, do you?" Luka asked when he became concerned that the surgeon
was looking for Dr. Logan.

"Don't worry about me, Kovac. I'm just going to have a little talk with
Romano to find out exactly why we were all dragged here for in the first
place," Peter replied.

"We're all being subjected for disciplinary actions," Luka told him, knowing
Peter didn't like to be reminded about his mix up with Dr. Finch.

"Yeah, I now that," Peter replied, leaving the rest of his thoughts unspoken.

"Except, Carter hasn't been written up for anything, and he knows that. He
was talking about it earlier. You wouldn't know anything about that, would
you?" Luka asked. He didn't conceal the accusative tone he took, but he
knew that Peter Benton had been a bit more involved in overseeing Carter's
recovery then he let on.

"Even if I did, I wouldn't tell you," Peter stated, leaving Luka alone.

Luka watched the other doctor walk away, wondering what he had done to
get on his bad side. He knew Peter had a reputation for being a hard ass, but
he was Carter's friend, too. He didn't know him as well as Benton, but he
never suspected the two to be buddies, or anything similar. Just every once
in a while, Peter Benton seemed to surprise him. Benton showed him
kindness when he brought in the little girl who had been hurt in a hit and
run. 'However, sometimes the man was a jerk,' Luka thought.

Luka went to one of the exam areas where he saw Linda evaluating a new
patient. In the meantime, Luka became aware the he had not seen Carter in a
while, since he had gone upstairs. 'Still attending to that elderly woman that
Peter mentioned, Luka mused. 'I'm sure its more interesting then what his
new patient looked like.' Luka grabbed the patient's chart.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


Carter scampered out of the room on his hands and knees. He felt the heat on
his back as he continued down the hall. One large flame lashed out with the
release of the oxygen, but it was sucked back into the storage room. The
flames were spreading along the ceiling of the hallway as the fire sought
more oxygen to fuel it. The fire was not consuming the walls, but the ceiling
tiles were being eaten away. The white smoke was seeping into the hallway,
and Carter kept his head down to avoid the fumes.

The combination of the sweat dripping over his face and the smoke was
making him disorientated. His throat burned, and he tried to take fewer
breaths. Carter moved forward hurriedly, knowing the heat was behind him
and gaining.

'Why in the hell weren't the water sprinklers and alarms going off? This
damn place,' Carter thought. He made it to the middle of the hall, grateful
now that there didn't appear to be any patients. He heard a shout and looked
to see a man racing towards him.

A guy in scrubs bent down and grabbed Carter underneath the arms to help
him stand. He stood up and swayed a bit. "Whoa, there! What the hell
happened? We better get out of here!" the stranger said.

"We need to alert..." Carter was seized by a fit of coughing.

"We need to get out of here!" The man dragged Carter over to the elevator.

"No! The elevator's out, we need to take the stairs!" Carter yelled.

"Okay, can you walk?" the man asked, panicked.

"I'm fine, we need to go back!" Carter indicated by jerking his head back the
way they had come. When he looked up, he saw the blurry image of the fire
creeping up the ceiling, it was spreading in both directions. The fire was
burning its way back to the stairwell and coming in their direction.

"Are you crazy? The fire's blocking our path, there has to be another way!"
the man cried out.

"Hey! Calm down, we can't lose our heads. I'm Carter, thanks for grabbing
me." Carter needed to keep his cool and having his newfound friend freak
out on him wasn't going to help matters.

"My names Taylor, I'm a neurologists tech, all the other docs are either
home or wandering around here. Now, we need to get the hell out!"

The two stayed crouched down on the opposite end of the hallway away
from the fire and Carter knew that they needed to stop wasting time. The
hallway was becoming dense with fumes.

"Okay, put your shirt over your mouth. We'll both take deep breaths and run
as fast as we can, it's the only way." Carter watched as Taylor pulled his
shirt scrub over his mouth and nodded.

"On the count of three! One...two...three!" Carter yelled, and they both ran
right towards the flames that were flooding their path back to the stairwell.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


Rocket Romano was not a happy man. He should be ecstatic, even jovial,
but instead he was here, depressed. He was here to gloat over Logan's
misfortune, but all that he endured was the man's pompous attitude. The last
thing he wanted to do was butt heads with Peter Benton, the arrogant
surgeon. Not that he didn't admire arrogance, he loved it. Just not when it
was in competition with his own. He liked Peter, but he also wanted to keep
his distance from the man. Yet, Peter Benton was pacing outside his
borrowed office like some enrage lion. 'This is not what I need right now,'
Romano thought to himself.

Knowing he couldn't keep the man waiting, he signaled him in, and Benton
strode inside, his eyes filled with irritation.

"What can I do for you, Peter?" Romano asked in his most pleasant voice.

"What you can do is tell me what the hell are we doing here?" Peter barked.

"Dr. Benton, as I understand the duties of my position, I don't believe they
include telling you my reasons for anything." Romano replied smoothly.

"It does when you've dragged two doctors and myself to this hell of a
hospital to endure some little power play with Dr. Logan! I don't appreciate
it one bit, and neither do the others." Peter spoke in the loudest voice
possible without actually yelling at his Chief.

"For your information, I chose you, Peter, because you're a great surgeon
and I wanted to show Logan what he's missing from his staff. I also wanted
to teach you and Kovac a little lesson concerning your recent behavior. Do
you see the atmosphere around you, Peter?" Romano rose from his seat and
motioned around him.

Unable to respond, Peter merely nodded.

"Good. Take a long hard look. Dr. Logan is an incompetent, arrogant son of
a bitch, and he let what used to be a great hospital fall to pieces. I wanted
you to see for yourself what can happen when all those things like pesky
rules and regulation are not followed." Romano stated.

"I don't understand," Peter replied.

"I know. This hospital was run under Dr. Logan's law, not under the proper
administration. I wanted you and Kovac to learn what could happen if you
didn't have someone like me around," Romano concluded with a smile.

"Fine, thanks for the lesson. This doesn't explain why Carter is here. What
lessons does he need to learn?" Peter asked, crossing his arms in front of
him.

"Dr. Carter. Hmmm, well young Dr. Carter is my concern, not yours,"
Romano replied, obviously not wanting to discuss it.

"Since when is he your concern?" Peter asked, pressing the issue.

Romano got out of his chair once more and strode over to where the other
surgeon was standing. "Since when was he yours?" he asked, waiting for
Peter to react.

"I was his teacher," he replied simply. Seeing that this wasn't enough to
convince his boss, Peter distractedly glanced around the office, not wanting
to look Romano in the eye. "I was his surgeon during, you know." Peter
didn't want to elaborate.

Romano knew what the other doctor was implying and unconsciously
moved his bottom jaw back and forth. "Yes, you were his surgeon, but Dr.
Carter is not your patient anymore."

"I want to know why he's here. Is that too much to ask?" Peter was getting
agitated.

"Why is there a problem?" Romano was tired of this conversation already.
What was causing Benton so much distress?

"I don't like the fact that he's being harassed by Dr. Logan all the time, and
he believes that he was sent here because we don't think he can do his job. Is
there any truth to that, Dr. Romano?"

"For someone who is so concerned for a fellow colleague, you don't pay too
much attention what's going around you, Peter." Romano switched subjects,
noting Benton's further irritation with amusement. "What are you talking
about? Is there something going on with Carter?" Peter was becoming fed up
with playing games when all he wanted was some straight answers. Romano
wasn't quick enough for Peter's liking, and he couldn't hold back his anger
anymore.

"Listen here Dr. Romano, its one thing to jerk some one around because he
didn't follow every rule to the letter. However, Carter has had a very
traumatic experience, and he needs to know that he can do his job without
worrying that others are prying into his business." Peter watched Romano
for a rebuke, but since he felt like the man was going to ridicule him, he
wanted to say one final thing. "Carter is a good doctor--"

"I know quite well Dr. Carter's abilities. That's why I had him sent here in
the first place." Romano interrupted. He placed his hand out to signal to
Peter that he would have his say. "I lost a good med student that night
despite all my effort to save her. We let the lax in hospital policy result in a
brutal attack on two of our own. Now one of them is dead, and the other one
is doing a good job of pretending that nothing happened that night."

Peter stood there, confused at the direction of the conversation and the fact
that Rocket Romano was sharing his feelings with him, of all people. Not
knowing what to say, he just listened.

"I may not have an active role in the ER, but I know when one of its doctors
is having a difficult time. Surgery is my life. I don't have kids, I don't have a
need for a wife. I live and breathe medicine, nothing distracts me. Since I
don't let things like the ordinary world deter me, I have noticed that Carter is
not adjusting well to his return. I know that his physician signed off on him
to returning to work, and some of the staff have concerns about it being too
soon. However, concern can get lost in the hustle and bustle of daily life."

Romano paused to make sure his unwilling listener was still with him.
Satisfied, continued his train of thought. "I wanted Carter to take it easy,
under a less rigorous set of circumstances. Since this place is shutting down,
I thought it would be good for him to take it slower and for me to keep an
eye on him. After this shift, I'm going to recommend to Kerry that we
redefine Carter's workload."

Peter couldn't hold back while Romano told him that his colleague was unfit
for work. "Carter is doing fine considering all that's he's been through. I
think--"

"This isn't about what you think, Peter, it's about what I think. That being
said, I know you're not as much of a tough guy as you let on. Watch him,
you used to be his teacher like you said. I'm not just talking about a typical
adjustment back to work from an injury. I think there is something more
going on and I think he needs someone to look after him. I decided to do that
job, but if you think you know him so well, then you do it. Then, after
observing his difficulties, I want you to reconsider what I just said, and I'll
gladly accept your apology for questioning me."

Romano sat back down and was ready to dismiss Benton. He felt somewhat
less gleeful about dressing the surgeon down when he saw his expression of
sad realization. Peter Benton looked like someone just told him that his wife
was cheating on him and the whole town knew about but him. Romano
clasped his hands in front of him and looked up at Peter when he muttered
something.

"His last MRI looked fine." Peter said now unconvinced.

"Don't be so glum, Peter, life has a way of sweeping us away sometimes."
Before he could add anything else, a staff member burst into the room.

"Sir, we have a fire on the 5th floor!"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


After he had said "three," Carter had raced towards the source of the fire,
with the help of the tech. He was favoring his left side, but the two managed
to sprint a good ways down the hall. As the two neared the destroyed supply
closet, Carter heard a tremendous crackling sound, and looked up to see the
ceiling cave in around him, sending debris and part of the air conditioning
unit crashing on top of them.

Carter fell to the floor and covered his head. After a few seconds, he looked
up to see that the fire was raging above him, burning all the structural
supports that held the metal piece of equipment in place. He peered over to
see, in horror that the air conditioning unit and several beams had landed on
Taylor, who was too terrified to scream. The bulky unit was on top of the
tech's legs, and hips. The tech seemed to be pinned by the weight and Carter
crawled over to the man's side.

"Hey, can you hear me?" Carter rasped. The smoke was really thick, and the
fumes were making Carter gag.

"Help me!" Taylor screamed.

Carter remained crouched by the man's side, trying to avoid the flames that
were overhead and spilling out of the door. It would only be a matter of
moments before the fire overtook the entire hall, as it continued to rage in
the empty space between the ceiling tiles and the next floor. Carter couldn't
keep his eyes open, they burned from the intense chemical fumes, and he
knew that if he remained he would simply be overcome by it all and he
wouldn't be any help. Maybe he could find someone to help him move the
bulky unit that had pinned the tech to the floor.

Thinking quickly, Carter took off his shirt and balled it up. He put it in
Taylor's left hand and instructed him with what little voice he had left. "Put
this shirt against you mouth and breathe through it."

"Please..." Taylor was consumed by a coughing fit. "Please don't leave me!"
he cried out in desperation. The tech suspected that the doctor felt incapable
of helping him and was going to leave him behind.

Carter felt horrible upon hearing such fear, and he knew that he needed to try
to help the man. He used his hands to feel where the unit had landed, and
used all his strength to push the unit off. He didn't want to further injure the
tech, but Carter felt that he didn't have a choice. He felt the metal structure
move ever so slightly, but it was too heavy and Taylor began to moan with
every inch it moved. Carter knew that Taylor was suffering from burns and
each second that the metal unit remained on him would make them worse.

"I know...you hurt, but...try to roll with the movement...it's the only way!"
Carter gasped, as his lungs screamed at him from gulping toxic air. He used
his body to push against the air conditioner, the hot metal burning his hands
and the skin on his side where he removed his shirt. Taylor moved and
Carter screamed from the exertion and the pain from the heated unit, but the
machine began to slide off. Taylor rolled with the momentum and Carter
blindly grabbed at the man. He got a hold on his shirt and pulled him into a
sitting position.

"Let's go!" Carter rasped.

Carter painfully crawled towards the door with Taylor directly in front of
him. Each movement sent sharp pains through Carter's back and his head
pounded furiously. The tech was in obvious pain, as he was barely able to
crawl through the door, but both of them felt the stairs beneath their hands,
and stumbled down the flight of stairs, landing in a pile at the bottom.
Carter's vision was blurry and the stairwell was spinning in front of him. He
may have been slightly blinded, but at least the smoke didn't seem to follow
them into their temporary area of safety.

He could hear the heat from the fire as it consumed the wing of the fifth
floor that the two men just escaped from. Taylor had not said a word, and
Carter feared that the man was seriously injured. There wasn't time to
examine him and Carter knew he was physically unable to carry him the rest
of the way to safety. After a brief moments rest, Carter realized that their
situation was volatile. The fire was searching for more sources of fuel,
which was oxygen and flammable material. Before he got up his, wayward
friend decided to add something to Carter's worries.

"S-s-sounds like the air conditioning is working. Great huh?"

Carter bowed his head for a second as he heard the circulation of air beneath
the roar of the fire. The implications didn't bode well, as the fire would start
to seek the air out through the vents throughout the hospital. He grabbed his
friend's hand and dragged him forward.

"We...have... to keep going." Carter hoped that his luck would change and
by some miracle of God that someone would come and help them.



Robert Romano bolted through his office door with Peter Benton hot on his
heels. He was immediately greeted by a mass of doctors, nurses, and techs
with various anxious expressions, awaiting guidance from him. Romano had
no clue what was transpiring, but he knew he had to get some answers
quickly.

"You!" Romano pointed at the tech that had barged in on his conversation
with Peter. "What the hell is going on?" Romano commanded, causing all
the murmuring from the assembled staff to cease.

The young looking tech looked petrified and gazed over at Sally, who took
his cue and quickly explained things to the angry administrator.

"Sir, we just received word from some of the fourth floor staff that the fifth
floor is on fire. We need to know how you want us to evacuate the building,"
Sally said in the calmest voice she could muster.

"Do we know how large it is?" Romano asked while scanning the group of
people in front of him. None of the staff answered, and Romano was
becoming irritable. "Why isn't there an alarm going off, people?"

"Sir, I just came back from outside, and you can see flames coming through
the windows; it looks like the whole floor is on fire," a maintenance man
with scraggly hair informed him, unable to keep the panic from his voice.
"The alarm system doesn't seem to be working," he added.

"All right folks, let's evacuate each floor and start moving patients like you
were trained to do." Romano began to wave his hands to indicate that the
staff needed to get moving. As the doctors moved down the halls, Romano
grabbed Sally's shoulder for a moment.

"When did the fire station say that trucks would arrive, and where the hell is
Dr. Logan?" Romano moved aside as Luka brushed pass him, in hand a
clipboard with what appeared to be a list of patients who were currently in
the hospital.

"We called 911, and they told us that there would be a delay because of the
protesters downtown. There's a traffic jam, they weren't sure how long it will
take them to get here," she informed him. "We think Dr. Logan went to
lunch, we haven't seen him in a while," she said disdainfully.

"Okay, how do we know that the staff of the fourth and fifth floor have been
accounted for?" Romano asked the nurse.

"Craig Wright is head of Neurology on the fifth floor and was leaving when
he heard the explosion from the other wing. He told me there were no
patients up there and he had sent the other neurologist and the technician to
lunch, there wasn't any other staff," Sally explained.

"That's the fifth, what about Radiology?" Romano asked.

"I'm not sure. Dr. Remoss is running that department, and he had two techs
to help him. I did see him just a minute ago helping move some of the
patients from the third floor," Sally went on, but her voice conveyed that she
wasn't certain about the information.

"I'll talk to him when everyone is moved. I don't want to miss anybody
because people were sloppy," Romano growled.

Luka ran over to Romano with Peter, who had darted off when the Chief had
told them to evacuate the floors. The Croatian doctor did not looked pleased,
and Benton appeared more irritated then Romano had ever seen him. Both
began to speak and he put his hand in the air. "One at a time, folks."

Luka spoke first, his finger tracing the names on the chart. "We're in the
midst of transferring most of the patients. There are currently only six here
because the more critical cases were re- directed to other hospitals, and none
of them are in serious condition. One surgical case was on the second floor
and he is being helped down since the elevators are broken. Most of the staff
on the third floor is accounted for, but we are still missing a few people from
the fourth and fifth floors. We need to verify who's here and account for the
missing staff."

"Okay, Peter, what have you got for me?" Romano turned to the other doctor
as they continued to make their way towards the entrance of the hospital.
"I've tried pulling and activating every alarm and emergency device, but it
looks like they aren't operating. The sprinklers aren't going off," Peter told
him with growing impatience.

All three doctors walked quickly outside, finding the rest of the staff waiting
in shock. The six patients, in various states of dress, were huddled on the
grass while the nurses attended to their needs. Romano stared at the hospital,
seeing white and black smoke rising from the top two floors. The flames
were raging outside the windows and heading to the top of the building.
From his stance, it was hard to tell where else the fire was spreading.

"Okay, we need to make sure that everyone is a safe distance from the
building, and we need to have some kind of roll check." Romano was pacing
up and down the grass beside the parking lot, as most of the staff retreated.
A red-haired nurse approached him.

"I grabbed the time sheet with all the staff who came on today. I'll go around
to verify that everyone is accounted for if you make sure the doctor who has
the list of patients can account for all of them," Linda told him, and left
without waiting for his approval.

"A person with competence, well that's good," Romano remarked under his
breath. He walked over to where Luka and Peter were watching over the
patients. Peter was scanning the area as if distracted, while an older lady was
complaining about the quality of her care.

"Dr. Romano, I have accounted for everyone except for a Mrs. Judith Cobb,"
Luka explained, concern evident in his voice. "Dr. Remoss informed me that
he had gone to review some films when the fire broke out. He told the two
techs to transfer Mrs. Cobb while he made sure that the rest of the floor was
clear, however, those technicians are here, but we can't locate the patient."

Peter snatched the chart out of Luka's hands and stared at the form. "That
was Carter's patient, and I haven't seen him anywhere," the surgeon said as
he frantically scanned the crowd for Carter's face.

"Dr. Logan is nowhere to be found, as well as Taylor Evans, a neurological
technician." Linda walked over with her own chart. She didn't look at the
other doctors, but appeared to be absorbed in the growing fire that raged in
front of them.

Romano took a deep breath and searched the crowd for himself, locking eyes
with Peter. "He could be helping out somewhere, Peter, no need to get too
concerned," Romano told the surgeon without much confidence.

"Oh, no!" Luka gasped.

Peter turned his head in Luka's direction, and Romano stepped closer to the
resident.

"What's going on, Dr. Kovac?" Romano snapped.

"I remember, Carter was heading to the fifth floor to look for something, I
haven't seen him since," Luka replied worriedly. He cast his gaze over to the
hospital, his face betraying his obvious anxiety.

"So, Dr. Carter was upstairs before the fire. There's a chance that he's still
there or he could have left before it started," Romano said, trying to calm his
two companions.

"No, this is Carter we're talking about." Peter said flatly and began to walk
in the direction of the hospital.

Romano grabbed the surgeon's arm roughly. "Where the hell are you going,
Peter?" he asked gruffly, already sensing his response.

"Let go of me, Dr. Romano, I'm going in there to see if I can find Carter."
Peter's tone was unmistakable; he wasn't waiting for consent.

"Are you insane, Peter?" Romano exclaimed.

"He's right, Dr. Benton, you can't go in there. You won't be able to find him,
you'll probably get trapped in there yourself." Luka tried to reason with the
agitated surgeon.

"Look, I'm going in there. Do you hear any sirens? I don't! Dr. Romano, you
told me to look after him, well now I'm going to make sure he's not in any
trouble," Peter notified them in no uncertain terms.

Romano and Luka tried to block Peter's path, but he pushed past them
forcibly. He was not going to let them deter his course of action. Luka was
really getting on his nerves, and he tried to break away from the hold the
other doctor had on his shoulder. He spun around and stared at Luka
intently. "I am not waiting to see if this place burns down while help is
nowhere to be found. I don't know anything about you, Dr. Kovac, but I can
assume that you've been in one of these situations before."

Peter never broke eye contact with Luka. He could see the other doctor
struggle with some inner conflict, and watched Luka stare at the fire with
horror and sadness. He stared back at him with a haunted expression, and to
the shock of Romano, let Peter go. Peter nodded, and ran towards the
hospital while Luka kept Romano from interfering.

Luka watched Peter re-enter the hospital, and he could sense Romano's
furious state from behind. Luka turned around to face him.

"You'll regret that, Dr. Kovac," Romano said firmly, but stormed past him
when he saw Dr. Logan running to where the group of people was standing.

Luka stared at the hospital and its slow destruction, hoping he made the
correct choice.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Carter struggled to keep Taylor upright. The tech was having a difficult time
moving, and was leaning almost all of his weight on the young doctor.
Carter was using the wall for guidance since his vision continued to bother
him. He was suffering from severe vertigo, but he pressed onward, away
from the roaring flames above them. Carter draped his arm over Taylor's
shoulder, but he was losing his balance while fighting to keep himself going.
His left leg was dragging on the floor, affected by the additional weight of
his charge. His back was practically seizing, sending shooting pains through
his body. He ignored it all, carrying on still, knowing full well that if they
stopped then they wouldn't make it out.

Carter stumbled down the next flight of stairs, counting silently to himself.
They should be on the third flight, only a few more, a voice whispered in his
ears. Taylor was really slowing them down, but Carter told himself he would
get both of them out. The tech was whimpering with each step; Carter knew
his leg and pelvis were most likely broken, but it was better then being dead.
As he felt the wall, anticipating the next turn, he thought he heard footsteps
running towards them. Not trusting his hearing, Carter continued down the
stairs until he stopped in his tracks, recognizing a loud voice.

"Carter!" Peter shouted at the sight of the doctor and another man coming
down the stairs. The surgeon had sprinted up each floor and checking each
level for the young doctor. When he started up the second flight, he had
heard something that sounded like people coming down the stairs.

Peter took two steps at a time and grabbed the man who was struggling to
hang on to Carter. He seized the guy's arm and draped it over his shoulder as
he watched Carter nearly collapse to the floor when his burden was lifted.

Carter slid to his knees, trying to control his breathing, which had become
increasingly ragged over the past few minutes. After a coughing fit, he
looked up at Peter. "Thanks," he said, out of breath.

Peter looked on with concern at the sight of his former student. He was
shirtless, for one, and sweating profusely. His face was flushed and he
appeared to stare past him. "Carter, man, you all right?" Peter asked, worried
by Carter's appearance.

"Yeah, never better. That's Taylor, he needs to be moved out of here right
away. An air conditioning unit landed on him and I think he has a couple of
leg fractures, a possible broken pelvis, and some minor burns," Carter
answered while using the wall to stand up again. He peered at Benton, who
appeared to be spinning around. Carter wiped his eyes to try to clear his
vision. It didn't help. He started to walk towards him, his balance slightly
off. "I think we need to get going," he said, ignoring what was probably
concern radiating from his former teacher. "Can you carry him the rest of the
way?" Carter asked, trying to act nonchalant about the request.

"Sure, but let's see if we can find something to make a splint with. I don't
want to further injure this man if I can," Peter proclaimed, carefully lowering
the tech to the ground, who had remained silent the entire time.

"I didn't want to move him, but we didn't have much of a choice," Carter
told the other doctor.

"Hey, I know you wouldn't move him unless it was absolutely necessary,
Carter," Peter replied while he quickly examined Taylor.

"Okay, I'll look for something to make a splint; I know that we don't have
much time. I'll be right back." Peter paused after giving the young doctor a
meaningful look. "Are you sure you're all right? Your side looks like it has a
pretty good sized burn."

"It's from pushing on the air conditioner and its minor, other then that I'm
fine," Carter told Peter, giving him an encouraging smile.

"When we get outside you should be examined, you're not supposed to be
doing anything strenuous," Peter reminded him.

"Not much of a choice there," Carter said glumly.

Peter shook his head, and raced down a flight of stairs and onto the second
floor. He went to a storage self and quickly searched until he came across a
splint. He really wanted a backboard and a neck collar, but knew such
luxuries were not available and he would have a tough time pulling the
injured man by himself. Carter simply didn't look like he was in shape to
help out in that area.

Carter waited for Peter to return, fearful of the ever-growing fire on the floor
above them. He put a hand to his chest as he tried to subdue another
coughing fit. He was lying to Peter about how he felt, but he didn't need him
to worry, not when another person was in a more serious condition and
required immediate care.

He was shaken from his reprieve when he heard Peter return. He watched
him splint up Taylor's leg. When he was done, Peter signaled Carter that it
was time to get moving.

Peter waited for Carter to walk beside him, and the entourage continued to
descend the stairs. Peter wished that someone had come with him, he was
concerned about Carter, but Taylor was more in need of urgent treatment.

Carter never took his hand off the wall, letting it support and pilot him down
the stairwell. He was relieved that Peter had come, and wondered if he was
actually searching for him, or if there were other patients who were missing.

"Is the whole hospital evacuated?" Carter asked.

"Yeah," Peter responded distractedly, trying to concentrate on getting down
the stairs. Taylor was now totally unresponsive and Benton was practically
dragging him.

"Everyone accounted for?" Carter questioned the older doctor.

Not really thinking, Peter answered, "We're still missing someone, but the
others probably found her outside."

Carter stopped when he thought that he knew whom Peter was referring to.
"Was Mrs. Cobb downstairs, Dr. Benton?" Carter asked, worried that the
elderly patient might still be in radiology.

Peter didn't want to waste any more time, so he chose to ignore Carter's
question. He was about to go down the final flight when he realized that
Carter was no longer beside him. Irritated, he yelled up the stairs, "Carter,
stop screwing around and get down here!"

"Mrs. Cobb wasn't down there, was she?" Carter repeated from a few steps
above the surgeon. Seeing that Peter wasn't going to answer him, he turned
around and starting hobbling back up the stairs. He decided to tell Peter what
he was planning on doing. "Get Taylor to safety, I'm going to get Mrs.
Cobb!" Carter yelled over his shoulder.

Peter was stunned, but he couldn't move to go after Carter, who was now out
of sight. "Carter, get your ass back down here!" Carter!" he shouted. It was
no use, the other doctor had managed to climb the next flight of stairs, and
he left Peter no other choice but to carry Taylor outside without him.

The technician moved a little and whispered in Peter's ear, "He's nuts to go
back up there, but he saved my life."

Peter reached the door to the lobby, the entrance to the hospital was only a
few hundred feet away. "Yeah, but who's going to help the him?"



Carter struggled back up the stairs, stopping every few seconds to catch his
breath. He was mentally going over the reasons why he shouldn't be racing
back towards a raging inferno: he could not see, the hallway was spinning,
and his lungs were in constant competition with his back over how much
pain could be exerted. With every medical reason he came up with for not
limping back, there was the one screaming in his head. He would not leave
knowing there was a chance that Mrs. Cobb was on the fourth floor,
forgotten because nobody cared or were too busy to notice her.

Carter could tell by the increased temperature that the fire was spreading,
and smoke was filling the stairwell. 'How did it spread this fast when we
were just up here?' he asked himself. Carter made it to the door leading to
the fourth floor and saw smoke pouring from underneath it. He placed his
hand on it to feel for heat. The door was warm, but it didn't seem hot enough
to indicate that the fire was right behind it.

Carter cursed when it dawned on him that he had nothing to filter his
breathing through when he was going to enter a hallway filled with dense
smoke. Knowing he didn't have a choice Carter opened the door and ran in
as fast as his condition would allow. He remembered to stay low, which was
nearly impossible because it hurt so much to bend over. Carter knew that if
he attempted crawling on the floor, chances were he wouldn't be able to get
back up.

As he entered the horribly long hallway he saw that the smoke billowing out
the air conditioning vents. Considering how fast it was spreading, Carter
raced down the hall on the opposite end.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Luka paced up and down the grass, watching for any sign of his co- workers.
The feeling of helplessness was something that he would never get used it,
he despised it. He never stood by before when there was danger or when
someone was in need of help, just because he was in another country didn't
mean he had changed his convictions. He scanned the lawn to see if there
was anything he could use if he went back for his friends. He locked eyes
with Romano, who was waving his hand in his direction. Luka reluctantly
walked over, seeing Dr. Logan screaming at Romano.

"What the hell is going on here, Romano?!" Logan was shaking with rage
and wildly gesturing with is hands. "I leave to go to lunch and when I return
I see that my hospital is on fire! What the hell did you do? I'll have you on
report for your incompetence you son of---"

Luka was appalled at Dr. Logan's lack of concern for his patients, and
interrupted the man in anger. "There is a missing patient up there, Dr.
Logan. Two of our doctors are up there right now trying to locate her, and
there is also a missing technician. If I were you, I would show them a little
concern!" Luka yelled at the administrator.

Dr. Logan spun around into the face of the foreign doctor, own his face red
and full of fury. "Shut up you little..."

"Be quiet, both of you!" Romano shouted. "Dr. Kovac, keep your opinions
to yourself." Romano turned back to face Dr. Logan. "And you, Chuck, don't
ever talk to one of my doctors like that again!" Romano growled.

"It's Dr. Logan; I never gave you permission to use my first name. Why
were so many people left up there, did you not follow the evacuation plan?"
Logan asked, his voice full of contempt.

"Wipe the spit of your chin, Logan, it's so unbecoming. Dr. Carter was
unaccounted for and was last spotted on the fifth floor. Dr. Benton went after
him, the missing patient, and the Grady employee. All the other staff and
patients are safe, just in case you were concerned for them," Romano added,
his sarcasm evident.

Logan rubbed his chin and stared at the ablaze building. "I expect a complete
report in triplicate, Dr. Romano. I want to be informed when you locate all
that are missing. I don't want you covering anything up, since one of you
employees seems to be involved in all of this," Logan spat.

"What are you talking about?" Luka exclaimed, still enraged that the man
had no concern for anyone's safety.

Romano glared at Luka and smiled coolly at Logan. "The only way my
employees were involved in this were as victims of a faulty security system
that could not be activated when the fire broke out." Romano stepped closer
to Logan, staring up at Chief's face.

"If anyone is hurt because of your negligence, I'll have your head on a
platter, Dr. Logan," Romano told him calmly.

"If one of yours caused any of this, I'll make sure they never practice again.
I'll see what's taking the fire units so long," Logan replied, and walked away.

Romano was about to grab the other man's sleeve when he heard Luka
shouting his name.

"Dr. Romano, some people are coming out of the building!" Luka
announced, and then ran to meet those returning from the fire.

Romano sprinted to the parking lot to help Luka. Peter Benton was carrying
someone while barking orders.

"I've got a male in his twenties, with a possible broken pelvis, fractured leg,
and burns. He's been semi-conscious and suffering from smoke inhalation. I
need a backboard and oxygen!" Peter shouted to the other assembling
doctors.

Romano pulled the surgeon aside as several other doctors came to help the
injured tech. "Peter, are you all right?" Romano asked the agitated surgeon,
placing his hand on Benton's shoulder.

"I'm fine, I have to go back for Carter," he said tersely, twisting out of
Romano's grasp.

"What? Where is Dr. Carter?" Romano was confused. Luka ran over to the
duo, as it appeared that Dr. Logan himself was overseeing the technician's
care.

Peter was irritated, and didn't have time to explain. "I found him, but he
went back up to Radiology to go after the patient he was treating. Now let go
of me, he's going to need some help."

"I'll go with you," Luka said.

Peter didn't have time to argue and simply nodded. "Let's go, we need to
hurry!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Running was something Carter's body wasn't going to tolerate for long,
despite how much he willed it to ignore the strain. He doubled over from the
pain and leaned against the wall. Panting for breath from the exertion, Carter
put his forehead to the wall. He would not let his pain defeat him; instead
used the agony and re-directed it and screamed Mrs. Cobb's name.

"Judith!" he shouted. "Judith, it's Dr. Carter!"

Carter used the hallway wall for guidance and he moved forward, hoping he
was heading in the right direction. He called out again, never taking his hand
off the wall, he feared if he moved away he would become helplessly lost as
effect of the vertigo. He opened each door he came across in hope that he
would find the elderly woman. As he reached one of the last doors, he heard
a small voice a few yards away.

"Dr. Carter?"

Carter's mind filled with relief, and he squinted at the person coming out of
one of the imaging rooms. "Judith, come over here!" Carter yelled, and
immediately was seized by another coughing fit. He felt a hand on his
shoulder and glanced up to see Judith's blurry face.

"I-I-I am s-s-so glad to see you. Are you all right?" Judith asked in a
quivering voice. She was shocked to see her calm, professional physician
with his suspenders hanging down the sides of his pants, no longer in
possession of his shirt. She diverted her eyes to the recent scars that marred
his chest, and a large size burn mark on his side. The strangest part was the
fact that his bloodshot eyes were not even focusing on her.

"I'm fine," Carter rasped. "I'm having a hard time seeing, Judith, so I need
you to guide me a little. Can you do that?" Carter asked in a hoarse voice.

"Dear God, young m-m-man! You look t-t-terrible. Where's your shirt?" The
woman asked, as if he were a young child who left his coat outside.

Carter stifled a laugh despite their dire situation. "It's a long story, Judith.
Come on, let's go back to the stairs." Carter stayed beside the wall and the
elderly woman held Carter's hand, leading the way. The duo made
dreadfully slow progress, as Judith could not walk very fast and Carter was
stumbling around like a drunk.

"Why can't you walk straight, Dr. Carter?" Judith was struck by such odd
behavior.

"I think it's because of some of the chemicals I breathed in, there's nothing to
worry about," Carter tried to reassure her. Carter decided he needed to keep
her mind off his health, and asked her a question in return.

"Why were you in the imaging room?" he asked.

"I-I-I heard the explosion and t-t-the tech guy left to c-c-check it out. He
never came back. After a while, smoke was filling in from the air vents and
w-w-when I went out to the h-h-hallway I saw the fire coming though the
vents there," she told him as they inched towards the seemingly distant
stairway.

"That was in the other wing?" Carter asked, trying to figure out where the
fire was heading.

"Yes," she replied.

So that meant that they were in the only safe part of the floor, and the fire
was about to cut them off. The door to the stairwell was right in front of
them now and as they approached it an explosion erupted, rocking the
hallway, and Carter instinctively pulled Judith down to the floor covering
her up. When he didn't feel any overwhelming heat burn his body, he peered
up into the darkness. The lights no longer worked, and in the distance he
heard the crashing sounds of the ceiling giving way just a few feet in front of
them. Judith was shaking in terror so he released his protective grip on her.

Carter stood motionless in disbelief, unable to think where they could run to
next if the fire blocked their only escape route. How were they going to get
out now? He wouldn't show Mrs. Cobb how panicked he felt, so he turned
back to the direction they came.

"We'll just have to find another way," he told her in a confident voice.

"The smoke is getting worse, Dr. Carter." Fear was evident in her voice.

"We'll stay low." Carter used all of his remaining strength, and pulled Judith
close so he could guide her back down the hallway.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Luka and Peter ran back towards the hospital entrance, ignoring the cursing
and yelling from their boss. They entered the lobby when Luka stopped.

"We should get some oxygen masks before going up there." Luka ran
towards one of the supply shelves and grabbed an oxygen tank on wheels.
He also found two dusk masks and two pair of protective goggles.

Peter moved beside him and began searching along the wall. He located a
small fire extinguisher and carried it back to the lobby. "We will probably
encounter some of the fire. If we do, I'll clear a path and you go through. We
should stay low, we'll find Carter then get the hell out." Peter attached the
dusk mask and eye protectors over his face and tried to read Luka's
expression. Peter knew why he was going back into the fire, but why was
Luka Kovac helping him. Did the other doctor know the risks of entering
such a dangerous situation? Peter wondered for a brief second if he could
actually complete the task in front of him and he cursed himself for briefly
thinking he wouldn't be able to. Benton told himself he wouldn't let Carter
down again.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Carter never took his hand off the wall, continuing to use it as a support
system. The smoke cloud followed them into the darkness. The emergency
lights flickered, casting an eerie glow around them, bringing forth images
reminiscent of horror movies. Judith stayed by Carter's left side, her arm
wrapped around his as he escorted her.

They passed the imaging room where he had found her; she tugged at his
arm to keep him from colliding with a gurney.

"Stop a minute!" Carter shouted, and he fumbled with the sheets on the bed.
He tried to strip them quickly, noting the smoke and Judith's slight coughing.
He attempted to take shallow breaths, trying to ignore the burning sensation
in his chest that had worsened since leaving the stairwell. He ripped one of
the sheets in half, and dizzily glanced about the hallway".

"Do you see a water fountain?" he asked Judith; his vision was useless.

"I know what you're thinking, I'll go do it." Judith took the sheets from
Carter's hands and hurried over to the water fountain, pouring water over the
sheets. When they were sufficiently drenched, she carried them back,
handing one to Carter.

"Now breathe through these, and let's keep going." Carter suppressed
another cough and the duo continued down the hall.

When they finally reached the end of the hallway, Carter fumbled with the
doorknob of the last room and opened it. He ushered Judith in and closed the
door behind them. He could make out the blurry shape of an exam bed, and
pulled the sheets off it. He took the linen and stuffed it in the cracks of the
door. There wasn't as much smoke in the room as there had been in the
hallway, but some of was seeping in from the air vent above the door, but
neither of them could reach in order to close it.

"There might be a window in here," Carter told the older woman who
maintained her death-grip with his hand.

"There's one in the corner, Dr. Carter," Judith told him, her voice hopeful.

"Good." Another coughing fit seized Carter, and he leaned over the exam
bed. When he finally caught his breath, he hobbled over to the window and
opened it. Fresh air blew in and Carter signaled Judith to come over and
stand next to him. Carter moved aside, allowing Judith to stand next to him.
She wrapped her arm around his waist, and he put a supportive hand on her
shoulder, carefully trying not to put any weight on her. He didn't know how
much longer he could stay standing; his body was signaling that it had had
enough strain. The burning sensation in his chest was reaching an almost
unbearable crescendo, and his head was pounding unmercifully.

"We'll wait here for the firefighters," he whispered to the older woman.
Carter tried taking in the fresh oxygen, but his lungs seemed to protest the
effort. The burning feeling in his chest was quickly becoming a sharp pain
that he was unsuccessfully trying to ignore.

"It s-s-seems to me that you underestimate yourself, Dr. C-c-Carter." Judith
noticed him become rigid from some sort of pain, so she simply hugged the
young doctor.

Judith heard his ragged breathing and rubbed her hand up and down his
back. Her left eye continued to water from her medical condition, but fresh
tears from her right eye joined. Judith held on to her young protector, who
had came back for her when the other doctors had simply forgotten. Judith
tried not to think about the fact that there were no sounds of sirens, and that
the room was slowly filling with more smoke. It occurred to her that the
doctor could jump out the window, if it came down to that, with the
possibility that he might survive. Judith also knew she would never
withstand the fall with the same confidence that she understood the young
man would probably never leave her behind, because of the kind of man he
was. She closed her eyes and buried her head into Carter's side, hoping that
someone would help them.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Are you ready for this?" Peter asked as they ran towards the door that lead
to the stairwell.

"Yeah, it's going to be hot and hard to see when we get in there. Use one of
your hands to feel for someone on the floor. Stay focused, and don't let
yourself get disoriented," Luka instructed the surgeon.

"I don't want to now how you know all that," Peter told him. The surgeon
was about to open the door when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He glanced
at Luka, a serious and concerned expression on his face.

"We can't stay up there more the a few minutes. We must face the possibility
they we won't find them." Luka said gravely.

Peter squared his shoulders and lifted the fire extinguisher. "I think we both
underestimate Carter. We'll find him." Peter opened the door, and both
doctors headed for the heart of the inferno.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Dr. Rocket Romano stared at the fire, raging out of control. Of all the things
to have happen to his people, he never imagined a more horrid situation. He
was annoyed and irritated that he couldn't do anything, so he wandered over
to the rescued technician. They were waiting for an ambulance, and Romano
squatted next to the injured man despite Logan's presence.

Taylor looked over at the bald doctor and sensed that he was one of the men
in charge. "Hey, that doc saved my life. The air conditioning unit landed on
me, and he stuck around and carried me to safety. I hope he's all right," The
technician said fearfully.

Romano gave the tech and tried to reassure the tech a sympathetic nod.
"Don't worry, my guys will be fine. I'm glad that Dr. Carter was able to help
you. When you get better, I hope you will be able to aid the investigators in
this matter."

Taylor nodded his affirmatively, and Logan put his oxygen mask back on.
He looked up at Romano and told him, "Why don't you keep an eye out for
your people." Dr. Logan watched the visiting chief walk away and turned his
attention back on his employee. He stared at the frightened man and
whispered in his ear.

"Don't you mention a word about what happened, you understand? We had a
deal and you had better keep your mouth shut. Things didn't go off as
planned, but the end result is what's important," Dr. Logan uttered
menacingly, staying near the tech to reassure his safe distance from Dr.
Romano.



Peter ran up the first three flights of stairs as fast as his legs would carry
him. He kept the fire extinguisher hose in front of him, and tensed his grip
on it when he saw smoke filtering into the hallway.. He checked to see if
Luka was still following; the other doctor was, pulling the oxygen tank
behind him. Peter knew that it might come in handy, but thought it hauling it
up the stairs would slow them down when time was so precious. As the duo
neared the door to the fourth floor, the clouds of smoke became increasingly
dense. It was hard to distinguish where the doorframe was, and Peter moved
to put his hand on the door handle.

"Don't!" Luka said through his dust mask.

Peter whipped his head around, leaving his hand on the door handle. "What's
the matter Kovac? We need to hurry!" Benton growled.

"No, check the door for heat. If it is very hot then we can't open it because of
the possibility of a back draft," Luka told the surgeon tersely.

Seeing Peter's hesitation, Luka stepped in front of him and placed his hand
on the door. Noting that it wasn't hot, he pulled his hand away and glanced
over at the surgeon. "It seems fine. We need to go in quickly. Oh, and unlike
the movies, you can't see through a fire, so we should stay near the wall."

Peter was annoyed at Luka's intent to take charge, but he didn't question
him. If placating the man would shut him up, then Peter would humor him.
He nodded so they could get going. Entering the hallway was like entering a
dense fog filled with air born dust and dirt. Even breathing shallowly with
the dust mask was a trying chore. The smoke was a harsh substance,
something that did not have a place in the human body. It was an intruder, a
thousand foreign particles that suffocated one's lungs and irritated a person's
throat.

Peter found the wall and kept the side of his body against it. His mask
helped a little and the goggles kept his eyes from burning, but he couldn't
see a thing. It was like being in a dense rain cloud of ash, and Peter Benton
grew even more anxious.

"Carter! Carter! Where are you man?" Peter yelled. The surgeon wasn't sure
if they were even going in the right direction, but he was going to check
every room to make certain. Peter could see an orange haze several feet
away where the smoke was billowing even more. Knowing that Carter
always had a way of finding trouble, Peter wondered if the he had managed
to steer clear]of the mess ahead.

Luka tried to calm down, his breathing was erratic from the adrenaline
pumping in his veins. The smell of burning wood and the electrical charge in
the air brought back horrible memories. Luka pushed those dormant feelings
aside and concentrated on his instincts. If Carter were alive, he would need
to be the furthest from the fire and the thick haze. Peter had nearly pushed
him out of the way when they entered the hallway, letting his emotions get
the better of him. With each door the surgeon got to, he felt for heat, then
opened it in search of his former student.

"We don't have time for this, we need to go to the end of the hall!" Luka
yelled at the surgeon ahead of him. He went over to Peter and grabbed the
man's sleeve, pulling him forward while dragging the oxygen tank with left
hand.

"Get off me, Kovac! There's something ahead of us." Peter was getting tired
of people grabbing at him every time they wanted his attention, even if it
was an emergency.

Luka approached cautiously, an area of the hallway in front of them was on
fire. It was only a few feet from the stairwell and was effectively blocking
their path; it could have prevented Carter and his patient from reaching their
exit. Luka had peered down the right hall only to see fire erupting from the
vents and ceiling. The blaze was spreading towards the wing they were in
now, leaving only the undamaged hall they were presently in untouched for
the time being. Directly in front of them, it was visible through the smoke
that part of the ceiling had collapsed and the material was on fire. Luka
looked up to see the huge hole in the ceiling where it had given in, fire
raging above, sucking in the air in between floors. The fire in front acted as a
barrier to the other end of the hallway, which still seemed clear of the
flames.

"We need to go through this!" Luka yelled at the other doctor, who remained
further back from the flames that danced in front of them. The heat in the
hallway was reaching an unbearable level. Luka wiped away the sweat
dripping down his face. He bit his lip, and motioned Peter to come closer.

"Spray this area down and I'll run through it. I'll go to the other end and see
if I can find him." Luka told him.

Benton stood next to Luka, wary of the fire, flinching every once in a while
when one of the flames lurched forward. "How do you know he's down
there?" he asked, unconvinced.

"If he's not down the hall, then he's already perished. The other wing is in
flames and we haven't come across him on the floor yet. Now, come on,"
Luka rasped, his throat was beginning to get sore from the fumes despite the
mask.

"No, we'll go together. I'm not staying behind here only to have to find you
later on. I'm not arguing with you, Kovac." With that, Peter dosed the small
fire in front of them with foam. The flames began to disappear and Peter
sprayed the source of the fire, as well as the ceiling tiles and debris that lay
in a pile.

When the flames died away, Luka ran through it, pulling the oxygen tank
behind him. Peter turned around and continued to shower the foam as he
passed through the debris, bumping into the Croatian doctor as he kicked
some of the ceiling tiles out of his way. The two doctors went over to the
wall; Peter kept his hands out, trying to feel for the structure. His hand
brushed against the wall and used it as a guide through the unlit hallway. He
called out again, his voice growing hoarse from yelling.

"Carter! Carter, where the hell are you? Get your ass out here, Carter!" Peter
was starting to feel panicked. He couldn't see more then a few inches in front
of him and the longer they remained, the higher the probability that they
would all become trapped. The heat was getting to him, and feared that he
wouldn't be able to find the younger doctor. Which way was he supposed to
go? How many rooms were there to be checked?

Luka started to cough from the smoke, and placed the mask over his nose
and breathed in fresh oxygen. They only had another minute or two
remaining and he knew the importance of staying oriented. Luka heard a
crackling noise and saw flames leaping out of the hole from the ceiling they
had just passed. Instead of feeling overwhelming fear, Luka was angry that
nature was conspiring against them.

"Carter!" he called out. Luka continued down the hall, Peter right behind
him calling the younger doctor's name.

Luka started pounding on the hallway wall, trying to get the attention of
anyone who may be trapped within the rooms. There was not enough time to
investigate each room, as Peter wanted to do. The foreign doctor fought off
the idea of how hopeless it was to pound away at walls made of fire resistant
concrete, but maybe making noise would alert his co-worker that someone
had come to search for him. If Carter were still alive, he would have gone to
some part of the hospital that was the greatest distance from the fire. He
would not have picked a room at random, and Luka's gut told him that they
needed to go to the end of the hall.

The duo hurried through the cloud of smoke. Luka used his feet to nudge the
empty floor, just in case his foot made contact with an unconscious body on
the floor. He pulled the oxygen tank behind him, veering it in a zigzag
motion to cover more ground just in case it bumped into someone who
wasn't in Luka's direct path. Desperation was overwhelming Luka's
thoughts, and he could not keep himself from calling out John's name.

"Carter!" Luka shouted into the void that was once a busy hallway.

Peter put his hand on Luka's shoulder to hush him when he thought he heard
a faint sound. He couldn't see the other doctor's expression, but they stood
motionless. Each doctor held their breath in the hopes of catching another
noise. Peter lowered his head trying to distinguish the source of the clamor.
After a moment, he recognized a faint voice calling for help.

"Down here!" Peter yelled, racing towards a door at the end of the hallway.
He didn't even bother placing his hand on the door, but busted through as he
barreled into the room. He scanned the room, seeing two figures leaning out
a window. Peter ran towards the window finding a very shaken woman
coughing while holding onto Carter.

"Bring that damn oxygen tank, Kovac!" Peter barked at the other doctor.

Luka wheeled the tank over to the window. The elderly lady had a death grip
on Carter, who was slouched over the windowsill. "Please let go of Dr.
Carter so we can help the both of you out," Luka tried to tell the frightened
woman.

Reluctantly, Judith let Carter out of her embrace and moved aside as Peter
went over to the younger doctor. Carter was slumped over on the windowsill
his hands dangling outside. Peter quickly grabbed a hold of the doctor who
had started to slide down as soon as Judith had released her hold of him.
Peter held Carter up and struggled to lower him to the floor. As he crouched
down to quickly examine him, his eyes fluttered open. Carter struggled to
get up for a second, but fell back down holding on to his chest when he
could not catch his breath.

"Easy, Carter, we're going to get you out. Hand me that oxygen mask, Dr.
Kovac," Peter ordered while he checked Carter's pulse.

"Just a second, I'm giving some to Mrs. Cobb," Luka responded.

Peter glanced over to see Luka administering oxygen to the elderly woman
who was staring at both doctors, oblivious to Luka's ministrations. Peter
frowned when he felt Carter's heart rate racing at 125. The younger man was
seized by another coughing fit, and Peter glared at Luka.

"He needs that oxygen, now Dr. Kovac, he's tachycardic." Peter snatched the
oxygen mask without a word as soon as Luka handed to him. He placed the
mask on Carter, who tried to breathe in deeply.

Luka watched Peter administer oxygen to Carter as he quickly examined
Mrs. Cobb. "Are you suffering from any injuries, Mrs. Cobb?" Luka asked
her with concern.

"I'm fine. I-I-It's hard to breathe from time to time. Dr.Carter, are you all
right, young man?" she asked him.

Luka watched Carter nod affirmatively, and he reached out to take a hold of
the older woman's hand. She slipped hers into his grasp and gave it a little
squeeze.

Luka glanced around the room, trying to formulate a plan for getting out. He
looked back from Carter to Mrs. Cobb. He turned to face the woman. "Do
you now if Dr. Carter is injured in any way, Mrs. Cobb?"

Peter looked up at Luka's question and listened intently to the elderly
woman's answer. Carter shook his head in annoyance. He lifted the mask
slightly to talk. "I can speak for myself, Dr. Kovac. Where are we? What's
going on?" Carter let out another cough that was soon transformed into
wheezing.

Peter placed the oxygen mask back on the younger man. The surgeon locked
eyes with Luka; both worried about Carter's strange remarks.

"He c-c-couldn't walk straight and a few minutes b-b-efore you got here his
chest was hurting." Judith wiped away more tears from her face.

"We need to get out of here, Peter, or no one is going to get any help." Luka
warned him. Luka walked back to the door and peered into the hallway. The
smoke was so dense that it now blocked the emergency lighting. He could
see the fire spreading over the ceiling towards them; it was only a matter of
time before the roof collapsed.

Peter got up and lifted Carter to his feet. The younger doctor swayed and
Peter put Carter's arm around his neck. There was no way that Carter would
make it out of the building quick enough, despite his aid. Peter decided the
only was to carry the man, but he wasn't sure how he could do it. Carter was
a good six feet-two inches tall. He knew the younger man was lean, and had
still not gain back all the weigh he lost as result of his past injuries. This still
didn't mean that he could carry him through the hall and down several flights
of stairs without some difficulty. Peter knew he worked out, but weight
lifting was not one of his strong suits. After arguing with himself, Peter
concluded that it didn't matter. He would have to carry Carter out; it was the
only way. He lifted the younger man up and put him over his shoulder in a
fireman's carry.

"God, that hurts!" Carter screamed through the mask. Peter's shoulder dug
into his stomach and abdomen and a lancing pain shot through him like a
lighting bolt.

"Peter, you are going to interfere with his breathing, and it's obvious that his
respiratory system has been compromised," Luka told the surgeon angrily.

"We have to get out of here, Kovac, and he can't even walk. Let's go now!
See if you can push that oxygen tank, I still have to carry the fire
extinguisher." Peter went over to the door and waited for the other doctor
and Mrs. Cobb to stand next to him.

"If we need to get out of here, then it would be best if I carried Mrs. Cobb to
help navigate the building. We need fast mobility, both the fire extinguisher
and oxygen we will have to leave behind," Luka informed him. Peter sighed
heavily and Luka went over to Carter, where his head was hanging down.
"One more deep breath, Carter," Luka told him.

Carter breathed in and Luka took the mask away. The younger man groaned
when Peter shifted him slightly. "Carter, just hang on man, I know this is
hurting you, but we need to move fast," Peter told his former student softly.

"Sorry about this, Mrs. Cobb." Luka told the elderly woman, as he lifted her
up and carried her in his arms. Both men mentally counted to three, and ran
into the hallway one final time.


Note: This chapter would not have been possible without the help of Debbie
who answered in my time of need with wonderful brilliance. Thank you so
much Debbie!
Warning: This contains some serious angst.


The dangerous trek back through the hallway was a struggle for Peter, as he
tried to run while shouldering Carter's weight. He could not use the wall as a
guide, and the only way he stayed oriented was by staying close to Luka.
Peter kept his right hand wrapped around Carter's back and his left one
around the doctor's legs. Peter tightened his grip on his co-worker when the
group approached the site of their previous confrontation with the fire. The
hole where the ceiling had caved in was like a gateway for the flames as they
crawled along the ceiling. Peter had no choice but to unload his friend to the
floor, or Carter could get burned from being in close contact with the ceiling.

"Wait a second," Peter called out. He waited until he heard Luka stop, then
he bent down to slide Carter off his shoulder. The younger doctor could not
stand on his feet, and Peter once again wrapped Carter's left arm around his
neck.

"Okay," Peter said, and he pulled Carter with him, his feet practically
dragging on the floor.

Carter wasn't able to keep up with Peter's pace. The surgeon took his right
hand and grabbed hold of the side of Carter's pants, since the man wasn't
wearing a belt. 'I never understood why you wore suspenders' Peter thought
his mind trying calm him down with idle thoughts. Peter pulled on the fabric
in an effort to lift the man up and encourage him to walk forward.

Luka managed to carry Mrs. Cobb without much difficulty, but he was on a
constant look out for falling debris from the ceiling. Small parts of burning
ceiling tile would descend to the floor, and Luka tried to dodge the toppling
pieces as best he could in the blackness of the smoke.

The group trudged through the pile of rubble that was on fire earlier and
valiantly avoided the flames above their heads. Peter's heart was racing, as
he knew that they were near their escape now. He used this feeling to re-
energize his resolve and pulled Carter along even faster than before.

Luka found the door and entered the stairwell. The smoke there was as dense
as the floor they exited, and Luka prayed he could keep his balance as he
descended the stairs in the dark. As he made his way down the first flight, he
stopped to verify that his co-workers were behind him.

"Are you all right, Peter?' he asked when he noticed that he was alone on the
landing.

"I'm coming!" Peter called back. Peter took a deep breath and rested for just
a brief moment before lifting Carter up again over his shoulder. It would be
easier and faster to haul the doctor down than it would be to continue to drag
the man down the stairs. "God, Carter, you're heavier than you look." Peter
complained under his breath.

"Thanks," was Carter's almost whispered reply. With each flight of stairs
Peter gradually felt safer from the danger. By the time they reached the third
floor he could make out some of the steps through the haze. When he
approached the second floor he stopped for a moment to catch his breath as
he struggled to carry the other doctor.

For his part, Carter allowed himself to be hauled around. He wasn't quite
sure how and why he was being carried over Peter Benton's shoulder. Carter
was relatively confused about what was transpiring. He couldn't stand, he
hurt all over, and he was having a hell of a time breathing. To top it all off,
being carried upside down was compounding the horrible headache that
threatened him with a cloud of blackness, beckoning him away from the pain
he felt.

Peter reached the final flight of stairs and went through the door that was
being held open by Luka. Both men carried their charges through the lobby
and were startled when another explosion rocked the hospital. Luka looked
behind him for a moment, and turned to face Peter.

"There goes the ceiling on the fourth floor," he told the surgeon.

Peter didn't answer the man, knowing how close they all came to being
caught on that floor when it finally gave in to the fire raging within its walls.
Instead, Peter was more alert to the sounds of sirens that could be heard
outside. There were several blurring noises and horns honking. He could see
blue and red lights flashing through the windows, Peter hoped that there was
an ambulance waiting for them when they went outside.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XX

Robert Romano was a champagne cork ready to be popped. Pacing was not
exactly what he was doing, more like he was wearing away the grass in the
path from his constant nervousness and anger. He was furious that three of
his doctors were in the middle of a burning hospital against his orders and he
was close to going postal towards Dr. Chuck Logan.

After a few more strides over the grass Romano halted in his tracks and
screamed out loud, "Son of a bitch!"

Many of the staff that was milling around looked up, startled from the
outburst, and Romano did not bother to hold his composure. He locked eyes
with Dr. Logan who was a few feet away, drilling a hole in the man's head
with his intent gaze. The Grady chief of staff simply turned away, oddly
intent with talking with the injured tech. Romano had about enough of the
man's callous unconcern about his people and was about to unload holy Hell
on the man when he heard sirens in the distance.

"About Godamn time!" He grumbled to no one. Romano went about
explaining procedures to the gathered staff concerning patient transfers. He
went over to where Dr. Logan was standing over Taylor Evans.

"I think he is our number one priority for transfer because of his injuries, I'll
arrange for his immediate transport when the EMT's get here." Romano
informed his nemeses.

"I'll oversee his care when he arrives in the ER." Logan told the balding
doctor.

"I think you have more immediate concerns regarding this disaster and your
lax in safety protocols, Logan." Romano told the Chief in a most accusing
tone.

Logan walked right to Robert's face and peered down at him, using his
height in some kind of intimating tactic. "I think the fact that one of your
staff was in the very spot of the fire's outset is what you should be worried
about, Rocket." Logan glared at the man with a slight smile tugging on his
face.

"What in the world gave you that ridiculous notion?" Romano fired back.

"Well, according to Mr. Evans, he had to drag Dr. Carter out of a supply
closet where evidently the fire started. It seems to me that your gimp of a
doctor was probably the cause of the fire. Should teach you a thing or two
about letting unqualified personnel on your staff." Logan replied.

Romano could feel his face turn several shades of red and he tried valiantly
to control the tremors going down his arms and into his fists. Before he had
a chance to channel his rage several EMT's ran up to the two doctors with a
barrage of questions.

Romano cut away from his confrontation with Logan to ensure that someone
took charge of Grady's patients. Just as he was overseeing Taylor's transfer
onto an ambulance he heard a commotion and turned to see Luka Kovac and
Peter Benton running out of the hospital. Both doctors were carrying people
and Romano went into action.

"You!" He pointed to two EMT's. "Come with me!" Romano ran towards his
co-workers meeting them half way towards the lawn.

Romano caught up with his doctors and helped Peter Benton lower Carter to
the ground. Romano saw the kind of shape the young resident was in and
wanted to make sure that the other two doctors were uninjured. Robert
glanced at Peter to see if the man was all right. The man was breathing hard,
but he wasn't struggling for breath, a sign of smoke inhalation. There were
no signs of burns on either doctors and Romano assessed that Benton was
simply winded from carrying Carter.

Luka Kovac put down Judith, who was able to stand on her own two feet.
One of the EMT's, a very tall and thin, black man went up to her with an
oxygen mask.

As soon as Peter had Carter settled on the ground he looked at a female
EMT who's nametag read Jennifer. "This man needs oxygen right now!"
Peter barked.

Carter lay on the ground unable to breathe properly. His face was flushed
red and he was sweating profusely. Peter saw that the burn on his side was
minor and now he had the chance to mull over the question whether Carter
had damaged any of his previous injuries. There was no telling what the
young man had gone though and Peter was frustrated at the fact that he
could have caused further injury by hauling around like a sack of potatoes.

Jennifer brought out an oxygen mask and placed it on the wheezing man on
the ground. The EMT then took out a blood pressure cuff and wrapped it
around Carter's arm and took his pulse.

Jennifer yelled at one of her associates, "We need a gurney here right now!"
She turned to Peter, "Pulse is 130, BP is 80/60." She said with concern.

"Why is his pressure so low, Peter?" Romano asked angrily after hearing the
EMT's relay.

"I don't know!" Peter replied miffed.

Peter looked at his friend. "Carter, hey Carter? Were you exposed to
anything in the fire? Any chemicals?" Peter asked frantically.

Romano watched the younger doctor shake his head confusion evident on
his face. Carter placed his hand on his chest while he continued to struggle
to breathe despite the oxygen.

Peter was persistent as the other EMT's placed a backboard under the
younger man and loaded him on a stregher. Peter ran along side it hoping to
get his former student to answer him. "Come on man, try to think?" Peter
pleaded.

Carter locked eyes to see the worry and panic on Peter Benton's face. He had
only seen that look on very rare occasions and he tried to think hard. His
head was killing him, making his mind all fuzzy. Deep inside Carter felt like
he couldn't let his mentor down and tried to recall the events that transpired.
After concentrating, the circumstances of the day started flashing through his
mind and Carter understood what was happening to him and what he had
done. Carter struggled to pull the mask off his face. He vainly tried to gasp
for breath and managed to choke out a word.

"Benzene." Was his panicked reply. Carter looked at Peter with a sad
expression hoping the surgeon would not be too mad at him for keeping this
information from him.

Peter felt two totally unmistakable emotions at once. He was experiencing
utter fury at the fact that the younger doctor knew he was exposed to
Benzene fumes and recklessly disregarded his own health for the sake of a
patient. He also felt overwhelming fear knowing the medical effects it would
have on him.

"Damn it! Carter!" Peter watched his former student being loaded into the
ambulance.

Luka, who had been observing Judith's care decided to chime in on the
information.

"Could be the reason he appeared confused earlier." Luka said trying to be
helpful.

"I know that, Dr. Kovac!" Peter bitterly snapped at the other doctor.

Peter placed his hand on the ambulance door as it was about to be closed in
his face. "I'm riding with him, now scoot over!" Peter ordered the female
EMT who didn't seem to want to argue knowing how limited their time was.

Robert Romano and Luka Kovac stood silently by as the ambulance drove
away and as fire trucks starting pouring into the parking lot. Both doctors
looked at each other and ran over to the ambulance that was transporting
Mrs. Cobb. Romano strode overt to the EMT who was heading to the
driver's side door.

"Hey, have all the patients been transported to County?" Romano asked the
medic.

"All cases were picked up while we were attending to these victims. The
only people transported to County was the man with the injured pelvis, your
guy and we're sending this lady there." He answered obviously in a hurry.

"Well then the two of us are riding with you. Dr. Kovac and I will be needed
and I'm not taking no for an answer." Romano told the driver pointedly.

"Fine, one in the front, one in the cab. Now let's go." The medic replied
annoyed.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Peter could not sit aside in the ambulance, instead he stayed close to the
head of the gurney as the other medic, Steve, worked feverishly to establish
Carter's vitals. Carter was very pale and his burns covered a larger area on
the lower part of his chest then Peter first noticed in the hallway.

Steve looked to the surgeon, "BP is down to 80/50, pulse still 130, his
respiration's are 9. I'm setting up an IV."

Carter looked at Peter expectantly while fighting to catch his breath on 100
percent oxygen. Carter was gasping for air as well as struggling to tell Peter
something as he weakly signaled him with one of his hands to come near
him.

Peter placed his hand on the gurney as he leaned in close to Carter's face.

"Carter, don't fight the mask, come on now, calm down." Peter tried to relax
the resident who maintained fighting for the air needed to tell Peter
something.

Carter violently grabbed Peter's shoulder and pulled him down with more
strength than the surgeon gave him credit for. Carter swiped the mask away
and lifted his head up to his friend's ear.

"Sorry." Carter managed to rasp out between gasps, startling Benton as he
fell back to the gurney and his eyes rolled back in his head. Peter placed his
hand on Carter's shoulder, "Don't do this to me, man!"

Peter looked down at Carter panicked as Steve went to action. "Carter!" The
surgeon called out to his unresponsive friend. Peter instinctively grabbed the
man's hand and squeezed it.

"Resps are down to 6, I need to establish an airway." Steve went to intubate
Carter and glanced at the shocked surgeon. "Start another IV, Doc!" the
EMT commanded.

Peter went to start an IV on Carter's left arm. He was in the midst of
injecting the needle when Carter's arm jerked away, ripping it out. "Damn
it!" Peter cursed as blood started to trickle from the wound.

Suddenly Carter's arm starting twitching and his body began to shake. "He's
having a seizure! Hold him down!" Peter yelled at he put his arms on
Carter's chest, careful of his burns.

The medic removed his intubation kit; "I can't establish an airway; he's
moving around too much! I'm bagging him now!" Steve grabbed the oxygen
and started forcing the air into Carter's lungs.

Steve looked over at Benton and gave him a stern warning. "We'll be at
County in less than a minute, DO NOT give this man any cardio stimulants
because of the Benzene toxicity!" Steve locked eyes with Peter and noted his
apprehension. "Trust me, I handled these cases before. The Benzene is
blocking the oxygen receptors in his red blood cells." Steve told the other
doctor as they pulled up to County.

Peter nodded and whispered to Carter who had not stopped convulsing.
"You're not letting some chemical defeat you man, you're so much stronger
then that!"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Dave Malucci was walking by the admit desk when he saw Dr. Chen
looking over a chart. He never understood why the other resident never came
around to his charm, but that was something he could not think about right
now.

"Hey, did you hear that the guy in exam one was in a fire over at Grady
Memorial?" Dave asked.

Chen looked up from her paperwork, a look of worry across her face.
"There's a fire there?"

"Yeah, the doc that's with him is ordering Dr. Greene around like he's
running the trauma. Abby's still there and Greene sent me out here for two
more victims."

"Where's Dr. Weaver?" Chen asked as she started to get gowned for the
incoming units.

"She went home, its you, me, Dr. Greene and Elizabeth is coming down."
Dave replied.

"Aren't Benton, Kovac, and Carter at Grady?" Chen asked.

A gurney came crashing through the bay doors with Benton racing along
side it. Dave's answer to Chen was cut off as he saw Carter laying on the
gurney in the midst of convulsions. He experienced a horrible feeling of deju
vu at the sight of his co-worker being transferred to a trauma room for the
second time in three months. Dave thought Chen looked to be as shocked as
he felt.

"Chen, go get Dr. Greene!" Dave told her anxiously, trying to snap the
young woman out of her shock.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Green burst into the trauma room after sending Dave and Chen to attend to
the injured tech. He approached the gurney, shocked to see Carter even
though both Dave and Chen warned him ahead of time.

They moved Carter over to the trauma table. His color was ashen, and he
was barely breathing. His body was in the throes of a violent seizure; it took
every hand in the room to keep his body on the table.

"B/P 70/40, pulse 140, respiration's 4, GCS 5, lost the IV en route, unable to
secure an airway, bagged him by mask en route, burns over the lower third
of the chest." Steve rattled off quickly. "Started seizing about 3 minutes out."
He pointed out two IV sites, one on either arm. The left arm still copiously
bleeding from the site.

"We need an IV here! And prep for a central line." Mark called out.

Haleh moved in with the IV kit, she was the best around with hard sticks.
She secured Carter's arm between the table and her hip. "Got it." She called.

"Get his head to the side!" Mark yelled. "Move, MOVE!" They moved his
head over to the right as a stream of saliva made its way from his mouth,
almost black in color, tinged heavily with blood.

"We need to get him intubated now!" Mark moved to the head of the table,
attempting to hold John's head still to intubate him.

"Mark, he's tachy at 150." Lydia called out. "He's in V-fib!"

"An amp of Epi!" Mark called for the drug.

"No! No Epi!" Peter yelled.

"Why not, Peter?" Mark asked.

"He inhaled Benzene, so no cardiac stimulants." Peter replied.

"He's in asystole!" Lydia looked nervously at the monitor.

"Move the cart over here now! Let's move!" Peter took hold of the paddles.
John's body lay perfectly still on the trauma table, the seizure had ceased.

"Charge to 200 and CLEAR!" Peter yelled. John's body was lifted slightly
off of the table from the shock, his arms dangling limply over the sides.

"Nothing!" Lydia confirmed that the monitor showed flatline, no cardiac
activity whatsoever. The deafening whine of the cardiac monitor filled the
room.

"Again, charge to 250 and CLEAR!" His body lifted a good two inches off
of the table.

"Still in asystole!" Lydia called.

"Oh God, come on Carter, don't you die on me, man!" Peter pleaded as he
placed the paddles to his former student's chest.

"Again, to 300 and CLEAR!" Peter yelled.

As Peter introduced another shock to his friend Luka Kovac and Robert
Romano burst into the room.

"We have a rhythm!" Peter shouted with relief.

Luka forced his way to Carter's side with a glance at Romano, who remained
in the doorway nervously watching, but staying out of the way knowing that
the three doctors were handling the crisis.

"We have to get him intubated now! How long was he down at the scene?"
Mark asked those present, "How long?" He asked more forcefully then he
intended. He was greeted by a momentary silence.

"I'm not sure?" Peter answered gravely.

Mark gazed gravely at his colleagues, mentally ticking off how long it had
taken them to transport, and the down time in the trauma room, he may
regret intubating him if he was never to come of the vent again, or worse
suffered brain damage from hypoxia.

Dave Malucci slipped into the room nervously and whispered something to
Romano. The administrator's face reddened with anger. He gritted his teeth
and nodded his head. "Help them out!" Romano ordered him pointing to the
team working on Carter and then Romano left the room.

"I can't see the cords, I need some light here!" Mark attempted to intubate;
"I'm not getting through, what the hell? His trachea is constricted!"

Luka grabbed the fiberoptic scope and a pediatric endotracheal tube. "I need
some cricoid pressure!"

Mark moved to the side, assisting Luka with the intubation. Dave went to
Carter's left side unsure on how to help.

"Tachycardic at 160! What do you want to give him?" Lydia asked.

"Hang on a second, one thing at a time!" Mark and Luka called almost
simultaneously.

"Okay, Luka's in! Bag him! Somebody get respiratory in here, we need to
get him on a vent!" Mark ordered.

"Good job Luka." Mark said quietly. "Can somebody call chemistry?"

"Get a central line in! Malucci! Get over here, we need a central line now!"

Dave quickly grabbed the tubing needed, grateful that he was doing
something.

"Mark, he's still in V-tach!" Lydia informed him urgently.

"Peter any ideas?" Mark asked. The phone rang, answered by Peter, it was
chemistry. He explained the situation and waited their instructions. The only
thing Peter knew for sure was no epi or cardiac stimulants, and the only
reason he knew that was because the paramedics told him that on the ride in.

"We can't give Epi or any other cardiac drugs, it'll interact with the benzene,
hang on." Peter continued a short conversation; "We need to set up for a tap
water lavage, normal saline catharsis." Peter moved to the head of the table
and massaged the carotid arteries; they all watched the monitor closely as
the heart rate decreased to a more acceptable level.

"Okay, we got 110." Peter alerted the others, relieved that he was feeling
more in control.

The respiratory therapist moved in quickly, setting up the portable vent. She
listened intently to his lungs, "I'm hearing rales 3/4 of the way up, both lung
fields. He's awfully tight, do you want Albuterol?"

"Do you think it'll help?" Luka asked the therapist.

"Can't hurt." The respiratory therapist set up for a combination Albuterol and
Atrovent treatment. Mark watched with horrid fascination, as the arm that
had dangled limply over the table just moments previously, starting jerking
and twitching, followed by the other arm, and both legs. The seizure came
on again, with no warning. John's body started jerking violently and
rhythmically, almost dislodging the ET tube from his throat.

"Luka hold onto that ET tube!" Mark called. Luka moved again to the head
of the table, and held John's head as firmly in place as he could. "Give 5 mg
of Diazepam!"

"I've lost the IV access!" Haleh called as the IV tubing swung to the floor,
the site bleeding copiously. Haleh attempted to stop the flow with some 4 x
4's and pressure, but his arms were jerking so violently by this time it was all
she could do to just wipe at it.

"God but he's strong!" Haleh was unable to hold the arm down and was
content to tape a 4 x 4 over the bleeding site.

"Malucci! Get that central line in now!" Mark snapped at the resident.

"I'm trying, I can't do this when he's moving around!" Dave replied
frantically as he struggled to insert the tube.

Luka was struggling to hold John's head and neck in place so the ET tube
wouldn't become dislodged. "Give it IM then!"

Haleh drew up the med, and sunk the needle into John's thigh as she held
onto him, she didn't want to break the needle off in the process.

Peter didn't have any patience anymore and felt compelled to get things set
up at a faster rate. He had no time for foul ups or excuses.

"Get a portable chest in here. I want that central line in, then a chem-20,
trauma panel, CBC, and electrolytes and a benzene level!" Peter ordered, not
willing to give up all control to Mark during the trauma.

"I need that lavage set up, and somebody get a Foley in!" Mark called out.
John's body was still jerking but not quite as violently as before. The
nasogastric tube was passed through his nose into his stomach.

"No gag." Luka quietly announced.

Peter set up the lavage, as Malucci finished up the central line, "Got it!"
Malucci called, proud of the accomplishment, which was difficult even
under the best circumstances.

The portable x-ray was wheeled into the room and they all moved back a bit
from the table as the film was shot.

"I want those back stat!" Mark yelled. Lydia continued to watch the cardiac
monitor as she finished cutting John's pants away to prep for the Foley. It
didn't seem so long ago that she had done much the same thing. "Foley's in."
This time at least, Lydia thought, he didn't have to feel the pain. She looked
sadly down into his ashen-colored face, and noticed John's eyes opening.

"Mark!" She called, "His eyes!"

"Carter, Carter? Can you hear me?" Mark called out to him. John's eyes
stared blankly ahead. The scleras were bright red, and there was no
recognition in his eyes.

Peter moved to the head of the bed, "Carter? Carter!" He squeezed his
friend's hand, "Squeeze my hand if you can hear me!" John's eyes continued
to stare up at the ceiling tiles, as his hand jerked free of Peter's, his body
again jerking rhythmically, starting out more slowly than the last seizure, but
turning into a violent tonic clonic seizure. John's eyes widened, pupils
dilating and constricting, dilating and constricting and finally dilating so far
that they couldn't even see the iris'.

"Another 5 mg of Diazepam IV, and set him up for a phenobarb drip." Mark
called, as they all manned their stations, attempted to keep all of the tubes in
place.

"I think you may want to up that to 10." Luka called as John's head jerked
violently to the side, the NG tube working over time suctioning the tap water
out of his stomach. The saliva was foaming over the ET tube, and the blood
was coming at an alarming rate.

"Okay, give him 10 mg of Diazepam." Mark called, watching as John's body
finally relaxed with only an occasional twitch marching from his shoulders
to his hands, which were blackened with soot from the fire.

"Where the hell is all this blood coming from?" Luka asked. The respiratory
therapist looked gravely up at Luka, meeting his gaze. It was left unsaid.
They both knew that between the benzene and the smoke inhalation his
lungs were probably seared. The x-ray tech moved quickly into the room and
handed the films to Mark. He slapped them quickly up to the light box, and
let out a heavy sigh. Luka noted his colleague's obvious distress, and looked
back at the films. The room was silent as those present looked at the results.
His lung tissue was damaged and it was hard to tell how permanent the
results would be.

"We need to get him up to ICU, let's move, people!" Peter barked as most of
the staff followed the gurney out into the hallway.

Peter led the gurney into the elevator with Lydia faithfully along side. The
elevator doors closed on the silent staff that remained. Mark sighed heavily
realization dawning on him at how close they came to losing Carter. He
looked over to Luka with anger.

"What the hell happened out there!" Mark demanded an explanation from
the foreign doctor.

Luka looked down at his feet trying to crush the feelings of confusion and
exasperation from his mind. Before he could answer, Robert Romano
stormed out of trauma one and marched over the assembled doctors.

His eyes were darting from each person in the hallway, his nostrils flaring. It
was apparent to Luka that the man could barley control his shaking and the
balding doctor's face was turning beet red.

"Where the hell is Dr. Logan!" Romano demanded to know. The
administrator whirled around, staring at each doctor as his fists clenched and
unclenched.

"I haven't seen him since I left his patient to attend to Carter." Mark replied,
unsure as to why Romano was fuming.

"Is Carter all right?" Romano asked, his voice lowered an octave.

"We stopped his seizures and his lungs appear to be seared from Benzene
poisoning and smoke inhalation. Peter took him to ICU" Mark replied
solemnly.

"If you find Dr. Logan, call security then call me. Don't you dare call the
police until I get there. I want the chance to kill that son of a bitch before
they can stop me!" Romano told the group and went down the hall to the
stairwell, obviously not wanting to wait for the elevator.

Mark and Luka stared at each other in confusion. Dave wiped the sweat off
his brow and turned to his colleagues. "I guess that tech had something
important to say to Dr. Romano." Dave relayed to his friends in amazement
to Romano's reactions.



Time is the space that events take place in. Memories are what fill in those
gaps and tend to remind us about the most trivial and the most dramatic
events. Sometimes it is those conversations that make up our memories that
can haunt us later on.

"Dr. Benton, hang on a second, I want to talk to you." Carter yelled.

"Not now, Carter," Peter replied in a hurry.

"No, wait," Carter told him forcefully. "You know, for a longtime, I bought
into your abuse and humiliation because I thought I was learning
something."

"You were," Benton replied while walking.

"No--but--okay, even if there was a point to it then, there's no point to it
now," Carter told him.

"Good night, Carter." Peter hurried along the El.

"You know, I'm really tired of you blowing me off. You're going to have to
talk to me!" Carter shouted.

"You want to talk now?" the surgeon replied, annoyed.

"Right now," the other man insisted.

"No," Benton told him as he tried to avoid the younger man. "Carter, move--
!"

"No!" Carter would not get out of Peter's path.

"Carter, move!" Benton demanded angrily.

"No." Insistent as ever.

"Carter, get out--"

"You're not going anywhere," Carter said as he grabbed Peter's shoulder.

"Get off me!" Peter shouted as he pushed Carter to the sidewalk.

"You okay?" Peter asked, embarrassed that he pushed Carter down.

Carter slapped Benton's outstretched hand away. "What, do you care?"

"Carter, what the hell is your problem?"

"You know, I'm not your student any more--"

"I know that -" Peter tried to answer.

"Then you could treat me like any other colleague!" Carter yelled, visibly
upset.

"You're not a colleague, you're an intern!" Peter's voice matched Carter's
tone.

"For three years I did everything you asked of me and more. I deserve your
respect because I earned it!" Carter shouted angrily.

"And you threw it away!"

"Why, because I don't want to be like you?" Carter demanded.

"No, because you wasted my time."

"This isn't about your time, it's about your egotism." Carter replied, touching
a nerve.

"Yeah, right, Carter. I'm egotistical. I got a lot of people that worked damn
hard to make sure I am where I am, and for them I've got to be self-centered.
I don't take time for anything. But you, man...man, I did for you, Carter. I
did, man. You decided you don't want to be a surgeon, you don't come to
me, you go to Anspaugh," Peter fired back.

"Well, I was afraid you'd talk me out of it," Carter answered honestly.

"I wish I'd had the chance to try."

"Hey. You're right. I'm sorry." Knowing he did not have a real answer.

"Can I go home now?" Peter asked tiredly.

"Yeah."

"You know Carter? You don't want to be treated like my student? Stop
seeking my approval," Peter told his former student, and left without waiting
for a response.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Peter Benton sat motionless in his chair. He was like a statue caught forever
in a memory, his eyes lost in scene that repeated in his head. It was like a
bad dream that played continuously, like the rewind button on a VCR. Of all
the memories, times, and conversations in his life, the only one that he could
remember in every vivid detail was one from a couple years ago. All his
frustration, all of his disappointment came out in one onslaught in that very
moment. The one thing tugging at his heart now was the fact that he couldn't
think of any other memories to replace it. There were better times, but with a
mind so totally focused on regret, it was hard to conjure any of those
precious retrospectives at the very moment.

How many times did he tell the Carter that he never gave him a second
thought? How many moments did he lament, regretting that he couldn't
show a little more thought, a bit more emotion, towards anybody? Why did
he guard his heart so fiercely and dish out dissatisfaction so easily? Peter let
his eyes wander over the various machines and tubes that were connected to
his colleague. The vent was the only thing to break up the silence of the
room, a slow 'whoosh' every five seconds, forcing air into a body that could
not take in any on its own. Carter looked frail, his skin pale, and his eyes
closed. The sight of eyes that were so over-dilated still haunted Peter's mind.
It was the fact that eyes that once gleamed with jovial enthusiasm were
reduced to pupils that were void of any sign of life.

Peter blinked suddenly from an intense wave of emotion, and his body
slightly shivered as his hands nervously played with the sheet covering the
patient in the bed. Very slowly, Peter inched up towards the gurney and
leaned in close. His hand hovered above the sleeping form and gradually
descended to Carter's limp arm. Peter wrapped his fingers around Carter's
wrist, careful of the IV, and squeezed it.

No reaction, no movement.

Peter gazed at the cardiac leads on Carter's chest, then to IV and central line,
followed by the intubation tube going down his throat and to the pulse ox
clip on his right finger. Peter moved his hand down and slid it into Carter's.
He held on to it, hoping that he would feel a twitch, a change, anything.
Peter stared at his hand clasping his former student's.

"You don't need my approval because you earned it a long time ago, Carter.
I-I should have told you. I'm sorry," Peter spoke softly.

Still no reaction.

Peter squeezed the unanimated hand harder and with more persistence.

"What the hell happened in there, man?" Peter asked the unconscious figure.
"What do you think you were doing?" His voice growing louder. Benton's
anger was increasing, the frustration of the traumatic events replaying in his
head. The thought that the current situation could have been avoided gnawed
at Peter's conscience.

"Benzene! God damn it, you know better! What were you trying to prove in
there? Who were you trying impress?" Peter shouted, his voice echoing
inside the ICU.

"You flatlined for Christ's sake, Carter! I had to restart your heart! All
because of what, because of what, Carter?" Peter continued to yell, his body
trembled from stress, and his voice became hoarse. "Do you know what that
did to me?" Peter mumbled to himself.

Realizing that he was shouting to a person who could not respond or defend
himself, Peter ended his tirade. Frustration, that was always the term he used
to identify his emotions in regards to Carter.`It was never friendship, never,'
Peter thought. Yet, here he was, sitting across from the other man, lecturing
him for putting his life in danger. He was venting his hostility at Carter
because he cared. Peter Benton was throwing away the rulebook in regards
to speaking with the unconscious. He was exasperating at Carter, hoping the
man would once again try to prove him wrong, and then Peter would be
satisfied. Peter Benton would feel better because Carter would be looking at
him, alive and not flatlining on the table where Peter had to will his hands
not to shake as he applied 300 Jules of electricity to the man's chest.

"You didn't come back on your own, Carter." Peter paused, squeezing the
hand again. "You needed my help, and it was the scariest thing that I have
ever done," Peter whispered, his voice once again failing him.

"Dr. Benton."

Peter swung around when he heard a voice from behind him. Peter let go of
Carter's hand and it fell absently on the bed. Peter turned his head, startled to
see the concerned eyes of Luka Kovac staring back at him. Before Luka
could say anything, Peter carefully placed Carter's hand gently next to the
man's still side.

Luka watched the other doctor try to compose himself, wiping at his face.
The room was too dimly lit to tell if Peter was crying or not. Luka didn't
have to guess the way Peter turned around startled and the slight tremble that
was evident in his hand was enough for him to know what the other doctor
was feeling.

Peter faced Luka, his hand never leaving the bed, it remained on top of the
blanket next to Carter' hand. That very gesture touched Luka very much.

"How is he?" he asked softly.

Peter looked at the monitors again, noting that nothing had changed since the
first time he had entered the room.

"His pulse ox is 84, he's still tachy, and his B/P is still low, 90/60. It's to be
expected with the Benzene in his system. We'll start treating him with an
Intal nebulizer, and I've already got him on Cefteim and Vancomycin for
any infection." Peter's voice faltered slightly when he realized he was
rattling off statistics as if he was any other patient.

Peter sighed heavily and looked the other way staring at the wall, gazing at
anything other the man in the bed and the doctor in front of him. Peter's wall
of subtle indifference and detachment was failing him now. He was
embarrassed that his voice cracked over giving a simple summary of Carter's
vitals.

Luka didn't wish to make Peter uncomfortable, but he had things to do.

"The others are involved with something and sent me up here. We didn't
wash out his eyes when he was in the ER." Luka explained, his voice soft
and apologetic.

"I'll do it," Peter said, turning to take the saline solution out of Luka's hands.

"I thought I should do it," Luka paused for a second, trying to find the words
needed to tell the doctor the other reason he was here.

Impatient Peter sighed, "What is it Dr. Kovac?"

"You need to go back down to the ER. The technician that Carter saved says
he has something very important to tell you." Luka chose his words
carefully.

"I'm a bit busy here," Peter replied, again trying to take the eye wash
equipment.

"Dr. Benton, it's very urgent that you speak with him," Luka responded more
forcibly.

"Why? What is it?" Peter asked, agitated.

Luka could sense Peter's refusal to leave. "Taylor Evans says the fire wasn't
an accident, and he will only explain things if you come down and talk with
him."

Peter walked away from the bed and went up to Luka. "What do you mean it
wasn't an accident?"

"I don't know Dr. Benton, he apparently told Dr. Romano some things and
when he stormed off the tech was afraid to tell anybody else unless you were
there with him," Luka said, raising his hands out in a calming gesture.

Peter was confused at first. Then when he managed to process what Luka
had told him, all of his fear was re-charged into anger. He didn't have any
idea what caused the fire; it was the least of his concerns. Now he was being
told that a fire that almost killed four people was the result of something
deliberate. It was enough to send Peter over the edge.

Luka didn't know how to pacify the man in front of him, who went from
defeated to infuriated in less then a few seconds. However, Luka noticed
some slight movement from the patient in the bed.

"I think he's coming around, Peter," Luka told him as he moved to the
railing.

Benton was instantly back at Carter's bedside as the younger man began to
stir. "Hey, Carter?" Peter whispered.

Carter's eyes opened for a second and quickly squeezed shut. He scrounged
up his face and Carter's hands went to wipe at his eyes.

Peter noticed the pulse monitor beeping a bit faster and Peter turned to Luka.
"Let me have that saline."Peter took the saline. He pulled Carter's hands
away from his face. "Hey, man, it's fine. I'm going to rinse out your eyes so
theydon't burn so much," Peter calmly informed the other doctor. The
surgeon peeled each eyelid open and washed out each bloodshot eye.

After a few moments, Peter finished cleaning Carter's eyes out. He put the
saline on the tray next to him and sat back down on the chair. Luka remained
standing keeping a watchful eye on all the monitors.

Carter blinked several times and ran his right hand over his throat. He craned
his neck and then pointed at the vent. He looked at Peter, his face betraying
his fear.

"The benzene burned the alveolar sacs in your lungs. The tissue will heal
though, and we'll do a bronchial wash to clear things out. In an hour we'll
use an Intal nebulizer with a blow that will be inserted into the intubation
tube," Peter told Carter calmly.

Carter nodded his head and closed his eyes. He put his shaking right hand on
his chest and gently rubbed it. He stared at Peter, his eyes giving him a
questioning look. Carter's eyes then drifted over to the dressings on his side.

"You only have minor burns, I don't even think they will be permanent. As
for your chest, it is probably sore from the decreased lung capacity," Peter
lied.

Luka shifted uncomfortably at the other doctor's words, and his eyes drifted
over to Carter's. The younger man looked over at him and turned to face
wall. Carter traced some imaginable circles on one side of his breastbone
and then on his left side.

Peter watched Carter's trembling hands went back to his face. Even though
his head was turned away from the two doctors both Luka and Peter could
see a tear stream down the side of Carter's face. Peter's throat constricted and
his breath hitched inside his chest. The surgeon glanced at Luka, and the
other doctor left the room to give them privacy.

Peter walked to the other side of the bed so he was facing Carter. He would
not leave him alone again. He went away to give Carter time to compose
himself regarding Lucy's death; he wouldn't do that again when the man
needed comfort.

Carter draped his left arm over his eyes to hide them from Peter's view.

"Carter," Peter called to him. The man didn't move, so Peter pulled Carter's
arm away from his eyes. "Carter, it's going to be all right. I know...I know
what you're feeling. I'm the one who had to do it," Peter said in a low voice.
The surgeon understood that as a doctor, Carter knew how serious his
condition had been that he had to be shocked to re-start his heart. The young
man's chest was probably very sore and Carter could tell from that dull ache
that he was some point in V-tach.

Carter locked eyes with Peter. His face was sullen, and the fact that he
couldn't speak was even more troublesome. He lifted his arm and pointed at
the blood pressure reading, which was still low, and he gestured with his
hands weakly towards his central line.

"We need to wait for your lung capacity to improve before we take out the
tube. You're blood pressure will remain low as long as the benzene
depresses your bone marrow and blocks off the red blood cells."

Noticing another look of panic spread on Carter's face, Peter placed one
hand on the man's shoulder and the other one in the doctor's grasp.

"I didn't let anything happened to you in the ER, and I'll make sure you get
through this just fine." Peter tried to smile reassuringly. "However, I won't
promise that I won't kick your ass when you're better for lying to me about
your condition back in that hallway.

Carter looked sheepishly at the other doctor and Peter squeezed his hand
again. "I'm glad you are going to be all right, Carter."

John stared at him intently.

Peter bent down, his face mere inches from Carter's. "You will be fine,
Carter. I'll be back in a few minutes, then I'll walk you down to your MRI,
for your back, so I can make sure you didn't destroy all the hard work I did a
few months ago."

Carter closed his eyes and Peter glanced at all the monitors one more time.
Peter then left the room and rested his back against the wall. Luka got up
from his chair and wandered over to the other doctor.

"He's going to be okay, Peter."

Peter didn't look at Luka as he started stalking off towards the elevators. The
foreign doctor ran after him. "You are not going to do Carter any good if you
go bursting into that room downstairs."

Peter spun around, his face twitching, "If someone started that fire, then
there is going to be hell to pay!" Peter gritted his teeth and stormed into the
elevator.

A few moments after Peter and Luka left the floor, Dr. Logan came around
the corner of the hall. He stared at the elevator, but headed to room 111. He
opened the door to Carter's room and stood there, staring at the frail man in
the bed.

"Good evening Dr. Carter, I do hope you're feeling better," Logan snarled
venomously. He peered over the bed and grabbed Carter's chart, flipping
through it.

"Wow, seared lungs, smoke inhalation, says here you went into asystole. I
always wanted to know what it was like to have my heart stop. Must have
hurt like hell, especially when Peter had to shock you back. No chest burns
from the paddles, lucky man, considering how faired skin you are." Logan
stared down at Carter, who shifted uncomfortably under his gaze.

"Chart says you're on Intal for you're breathing. I would have gone with
Proventil myself, but who am I to question Dr. Benton." Logan tapped the
chart on the bed, looking at the vent. "Well, I can'tstay long, I think a nurse
will be coming by with that nebulizer to clear up those lungs."

The monitor's rhythms were steadily increasing and Logan stared at the
pulse ox read out. "Low pulse ox, John. You don't mind me calling you that,
do you? I mean, since you are the one responsible for my hospital burning
down."

Carter placed his hand on his chest as a pain shot though it; he struggled to
breathe on the ventilator.

"Hey, hey, Dr. Carter calm down now. I mean, we want you well for that
review board. So, this Benzene poisoning you're suffering from must have
happened when you knocked down some containers, huh?"

Carter struggled to sit up in the bed, and he grabbed a hold of the railing. He
couldn't deny what Logan was saying, he knew he had caused the fire. `Why
was the Chief of Staff tormenting him withthe knowledge?' he wondered.

Logan's eyes darted to the source of the increased beeping, and smiled
coolly. "No one can blame you for your clumsiness of course, you should
have never reported to duty in the first place. I don't understand why good
old Romano allows cripples to work in the ER, they don't belong there."
Logan placed his hand on Carter's shoulder in a placating manner.

"Poor Dr. Carter, first you misdiagnosed that psyche patient and it cost you
dearly, but it really ended up killing Dr. Knight. Man, when you make
mistakes you make doozies." Logan ignored Carter as tears ran down his
face and he started to gag on the vent.

"However, when you screwed up tonight, you almost killed that patient you
were so concerned about. I would really reconsider your choice of
profession, so that your mistakes will stop hurting others," Logan said
condescendingly.

"Just try to remember how all of this was your fault, young Dr. Carter, and
maybe all they will do is take away your license." Logan tapped him on the
shoulder. "You get better now."

Logan walked out of the ICU smoothly. Carter lay in his bed, struggling to
control his breathing. He angrily swiped at the tears running down his face.
The sobbing only hurt his chest, and all he wanted to do was curl up and
hide from all the pain he felt and all the torment he caused others.




Dr. Chuck Logan exited room 111, shutting the door very quietly behind
him. He examined the hallway, noting the absence of staff members. He
rubbed his mustache thoughtfully with his right hand while retrieving
Carter's chart, hidden from view, with his left. He studied it for a moment,
flipping though several pages of notes. Logan took out a pen and scribbled a
few sentences in various areas. He tore out a page, and for the briefest of
moments, hesitated, considering his next actions.

Logan glanced around the hospital again, noticing how clean the halls
looked and how content the faces of the staff were as they walked past him.
His hand wavered slightly, and he shifted his weight to the tips of his toes
and back down to his heels. After this brief pondering, Logan regained his
strong sense of righteousness and strode over to the ICU desk. The nurse on
duty was on the phone and had her back turned to him, as she tried to calm
an irate family member.

While she was distracted, Logan placed the chart on the desk and hurried
along as he saw another doctor coming towards him. He smiled brightly at
the woman and spun around. Logan wiped his brow with his hand, also slick
with perspiration. Dismayed at his own temporary self doubt, Logan balled
up his fist and shook it angrily by his side. "Get a grip. Got to strike while
the iron is hot, Chucky boy," he muttered to himself as he entered the empty
elevator.

Dr. Kate Brooks tapped her fingers impatiently on the ICU desk while the
nurse behind the counter finished with her phone call. The older nurse
smiled apologetically at the doctor. "Sorry about that Dr. Brooks, I had to
calm someone down, you how it goes sometimes," the nurse explained.

"Yeah, I understand. So, any new orders for me before I go on break,
Mary?"

Mary flipped though several files on her desk, piling them into a neat and
orderly stack. She glanced around, then spotting the chart off to the side of
the desk. She grabbed it and read the contents of the orders. "Hmmm, yeah,
it appears as if Dr. Benton wants the patient in 111 to be extubated. Funny,
he didn't say anything to me about it," Mary said as she handed the slip to
the doctor.

"Well, I, for one, will not question Dr. Benton's orders. That man can be a
real ass when it comes to obeying his word to the letter," Kate replied,
accepting the piece of paper. She read scanned the contents. "This guy must
have come in when I wasn't on shift. All right, I'll finish with Mr. Carter and
then I'm gone for thirty." Kate smiled and headed for room 111.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Peter strode into the ER, frantically searching for Mark Greene. When he
spotted the attending, who was talking on the phone near the admit desk, he
stalked over. Mark looked up at Peter's determined approach and put the
phone down. He placed his hands up in the air, reminiscent of what Luka
had done earlier.

"Whoa, Peter, you're going to have to calm down before you go barging in
there." Mark looked at the other man pointedly. Noting his rapid breathing,
Mark tried to reason with him. "Look, you have been through something
very stressful and you have been on since early this morning. Take a
moment to compose yourself, you just got out of the ICU and I know you.
You're high strung from what happened in the ER earlier, we all are."

Mark noticed Luka walk up next to the surgeon, who was apparently
ignoring his lecture. "I'm going in with you and Dr. Kovac because I want to
know why three of my doctors and an elderly patient were caught in a fire."
Mark used his authoritative tone and noticed Peter sighing with irritation.

"By the way, Mrs. Cobb wants to see Carter when we are done in there,"
Mark mentioned as an afterthought.

"Shouldn't she be admitted somewhere? The woman suffered a stroke," Peter
asked exasperatedly.

"No, she didn't. I sent her up for a head CT and the results were negative. I
sent Chuney up to Neurology to get nerve conductive tests and the results
were indicative of Bell's Palsy," Mark informed the two doctors.

"Oh, man," Peter muttered, obviously disturbed by the news. The doctor
rubbed his hands over his face and chuckled in an almost hysterical way.

"Are you all right, Peter?" Mark asked, concerned by the surgeon's odd
reaction.

"I'm fine. Carter was right." Peter stared off into space and then startled
everyone by slamming his hand into the desk. "Damn it!" he shouted.

The sudden outburst caused a wave of silence across the room, and quite a
few stares. Randi stopped polishing her fingernails and Chuney looked over
with a worried expression. Mark glanced around, his expression telling
people to ignore the emotional display and get back to work. Peter remained
hunched over the desk in a vain attempt to keep his feelings under control.
He methodically stood up and put his hands on his hips.

"I'm fine. I want to talk to the tech now," Peter said in a smooth and calm
voice.

Mark adjusted his glasses and indicated to the other doctors to follow him.
The trio walked to a private room, which was flanked by two security cards.
After inspecting their ID badges, the doctors were allowed in, where two
police detectives were seated in chairs. Upon their arrival, both detectives
got up, relieved that they might finally receive some answers.

The first man was short and overweight with a balding head of hair. He
extended his hand to Mark. "Dr. Greene, glad you brought the other doctor
so we can finally get started." The short detective turned his attention to
Peter. "So, you're Dr. Benton, my name is Detective Walter Burns and this is
my partner, Detective Jack Hammond.

Detective Hammond was middle aged with a buzz cut and a long nose.
"How are you doing?" he asked Peter.

"Just fine," Peter answered gruffly. He turned to Taylor, who had been
watching the exchange nervously. He was hooked up to an I.V. and was
running his hands through his hair. Peter tried to slow his breathing and
glared at the tech. Taylor was flat on his back and tried to squirm from
Peter's intense gaze, but with a cast on his leg and several bandages from his
burns he couldn't move around in the bed very much. `He wasn't even on an
oxygen mask. Sometimeslife shined on the wrong people', Peter thought"I
wanted to talk to you Doctor," Taylor said timidly.

Luka watched Peter, as he crossed his arms in front of him, simply staring at
the tech, biting his lip in anger. Luka stayed close to Peter and he glanced up
at Mark. The two exchanged a silent understanding that if the surgeon lost
control, they would restrain him. Both doctors inched up a little closer as the
tension in the room thickened. Luka wiped his brow, it seemed the
temperature had risen very quickly from the high levels of emotion.

"Go ahead," Peter told the technician in a tone that was more like an order.

"Well...you see, that young doctor saved my life. He...he didn't have to help
me, but he did," Taylor stammered, looking at his hands as he spoke.

"He tends to selfless when it comes to helping people," Peter told the tech
bitterly.

The two detectives shifted their gaze to Peter in a silent communication; that
he should let the patient continue without interruption. Peter shifted his
weight from one foot to the other, but stopped when he recognized it as a
sign of nervousness. It was also the same thing Carter did when he was
impatient. Peter sighed inwardly at the thought that he had picked up one of
Carter'shabits.

Taylor closed his eyes and rubbed them. When he spoke again the words
came out in one long burst of sobbing regret. "The hospital was closing
down and I couldn't find a job. I was desperate, since I was new and all. I'm
three months behind in all my bills and my wife, Jenna, is pregnant. I really
needed the money!" Taylor explained in near hysterics.

The three doctors listened carefully, still unsure of what to expect. The two
detectives took notes quietly.

"Then Dr. Logan offered me a large amount of money if I did...did this thing
for him," Taylor continued.

"Dr. Logan?!" Peter bellowed as he grabbed the railing of the hospital bed.
Mark and Luka moved forward, but Peter didn't make any attempt to grab
the tech.

"You mean Dr. Logan had something to do with this?" Lukaquestioned with
outrage.

"Who is Dr. Logan?" Detective Burns asked, scribbling in his notebook.

"He's the Chief of Staff as Grady Memorial," Luka answered abruptly.

Taylor watched Peter carefully, aware of how volatile the man was. He
licked his lips before continuing. "He, uh, wanted me to start a fire. He told
me no one was going to get hurt!" Taylor pleaded with the group to
understand.

"How did he want you to do this, Mr. Evans?" Detective Burns asked.

"He told me that on the fifth floor there was a supply closet, and it had a lot
of Benzene containers. He wanted me to place the containers in an area that
would catch the most stuff on fire as possible and still seem like an
accident," The tech said as he played with the sheets on the bed.

"Benzene?" Detective Hammond questioned.

"Benzene is the chemical that is used in hospitals to get E.K.G. pads of
cardio leads off a person. In small quantities, it is a simple solvent that we
keep in small tubes. They are stored in large gallon containers in most
cases," Mark explained.

"Okay, go on Mr. Evans," Detective Burns prodded.

"So, I placed them on the shelf. I mean, that closet was a disaster area, lots
of boxes and flammable stuff. I loosened an electrical outlet so it would
seem like a short circuit might have started the fire, and I even got a bunch
of dust rags ready." Taylor continued to tell his story.

"The problem was waiting for everyone to go on lunch, no one was
supposed to be on the floor. I waited in one of the imaging rooms for the
longest time. The next thing I know I hear this explosion." Taylor looked at
Dr. Benton. "I swear I didn't start that fire, that kid must have accidentally
knocked something over." Taylor seemed to beseech understanding from
Peter.

"That was Dr. Carter, not some kid! He's worked very hard to earn that title,"
Peter growled. His grip on the railing turned his knuckles white as he
channeled his rage onto part of the bed.

"He...he collapsed into the hallway. I...I helped him out of there, he couldn't
walk." Taylor tried to reason with the group of doctors. "I, I helped." Taylor
started to sob. "He was the one to remain calm and shook me out of my
shock. He made me breathe through my shirt because the hallway was full of
benzene fumes. When we ran towards the fire to get out, the ceiling caved in
and the air conditioning unit landed on me. He...he took his shirt off so I
could breathe through it and he...he was left unprotected. He pushed the unit
off me and got us out of there!" Taylor was shaking. "No one was supposed
to be there, I swear! Then Dr. Logan turned on the air conditioning like he
said he would," Taylor explained between sobs.

"What was the point of that, Mr. Evans?" Detective Burns asked.

"If there is air circulating through the vents, it will draw out the fire and help
it spread. By waiting until about the time the fire started, it was a guarantee
that it would burn through the infrastructure," Luka explained.

The detectives looked at him with interest, and Mark gave him a questioning
look. "I was involved with some fires back home," Luka simply stated, and
gazed at the floor.

"So, where is this Dr. Logan?" Detective Hammond asked the group.

"I'll go and find him for you," Peter growled and stormed out of the room.

Mark and Luka followed the enraged doctor out into the hall. Peter was
pacing up and down, barely avoiding people as they walked by. Mark
walked up to Peter as Luka returned to the exam room to speak with the
police.

Mark cautiously placed his hand on Peter's shoulder. "Peter, why don't you
go home and get some sleep?"

Peter stared at Mark as if he had suddenly grown a second head.

"I'll look after Carter personally," Mark added, knowing the surgeon
wouldn't leave the hospital when Carter was still in intensive care.

"I'm staying, and when I find that son of a-"

Mark cut Peter off. "No, I'm ordering you to go home. I'm the attending here
and I don't think you are emotionally fit to be at work right now." Mark
spoke calmly and with authority.

"If you want to pull that attending crap with me to stop me from working,
fine, but you can't prevent me from doing anything when I'm off duty," Peter
retorted.

"Peter, you-" Mark's rebuttal was interrupted by the beeping of a pager.

Peter looked down and grabbed his pager from his belt. If it was possible,
his frown deepened.

"It's the ICU," Peter said, hurriedly leaving Mark behind as he sprinted
towards the elevator doors, which slid close in his face. Peter slammed his
palm against the metal and raced to the stairway.

Mark was left agape in the hallway, torn between following Peter to the ICU
to find out what was going on, or grabbing Luka for an update on Dr. Logan
and Dr. Romano's whereabouts.

"Oh boy," Mark said under his breath, as he turned back to retrieve Luka and
see if they could locate Logan before Peter Benton got his hands him. Not
that Mark didn't want the bastard to pay for endangering his employees and
putting Carter in the hospital, but he didn't want the displeasure of bailing
out one of County'semployees from jail for assault.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Peter bounded into the ICU almost out of breath, and nearly collided with
Mary, who was waiting for him outside of Carter's room with an anxious
look on her face. Peter peered into the room and noticed two people trying
frantically working on Carter. Mary followed Peter in as he made his way to
Carter's bed.

"What the hell is going on here?!" Peter bellowed at the doctor who was
unsuccessfully trying to intubate Carter.

Carter was weakly trying to restrain the hands of the female doctor, who was
attempting to place the intubation tube back down his throat amidst the
shrilling of alarm bells. "Move aside!" Peter yelled at the resident as he
pulled the intubation kit from her hands. Peter gave her a fiery stare that
quenched her bewildered look of shock.

Peter looked down at his patient, whose face was flushed red straining to
take in air. Carter held out his hands, indicating to Peter that he wanted to
give him a second as he struggled to breathe freely without the aid of the
ventilator. Peter's eyes darted to monitor that was beeping at a faster rate
then the doctor would have liked. When Peter turned back, Carter's eyes
begged him to givehim a chance to breathe without the vent.

"What are this man's vitals?" Peter barked to the nurse on the other side of
Carter's bed.

She wiped a strand of red hair out her face. "Pulse is 125, BP 105/80 and I
don't have a pulse ox," The nurse rattled off quickly.

"Carter, let me intubate you, your lungs are took weak for this." Peter's voice
was edged with a pleading tone that he didn't like to hear. "Who the hell
extubated this man?" Peter hollered atthe staff assembled, but all that he
heard was silence.

Carter placed his hands over his chest in a futile effort to alleviate some of
the pain. His chest was sore and tight from what felt like a crushing pressure
pinning him down. Ever so slowly, he took a shallow breath, followed by
another one. He was breathing on his own but felt extremely dizzy and
lightheaded. He closed his eyes, focusing on every in and exhale that he
shakily took.

Tired of watching Carter fight for every breath, Peter turned to Dr. Brooks.
"Put him on 8 liters by mask," Peter tersely ordered the resident.

Kate scrambled for the mask, and put it over Carter's nose and mouth and
turned the oxygen up. Carter took in the air and his face seemed to regain a
more normal color. Peter scrutinized Carter with his gaze, making sure that
that the man was able to breathe with the mask and that he wouldn't have to
switch to a non-breather.

Peter turned to Kate, his face twisted by the thunderous rage that was
cascading through him. "Where the hell is the pulse ox clip? Did you bother
checking it when you tried to cut this man's oxygen?" Peter asked furiously.

"He didn't have one on when I came in to check on him Dr.Benton," Kate
replied, defensive under Peter's verbal assault.

Carter shakily removed his mask and spoke in a hoarse voice. "It...it came
off...when...I shifted," Carter rasped in between breaths.

Peter fixed the man in the bed with a disapproving look. "Why didn't you
leave it on, Carter, what the hell were you thinking?" Peter asked harshly.

Carter shrunk down into the bed further and he removed his mask to speak
again. "I'm sorry...I was too...busy thinking about...what Logan said," he
wheezed.

Peter's eyes widened and he clutched the railing of the bed fiercely. "Dr.
Logan came in here?" Peter was outraged.

Carter simply nodded, too tired to mess with the mask. Peter didn't bother to
look up at the other two people in the room when he spoke. "You two get
out of here. As for you Dr. Brooks, I want you to wait for me outside to
discuss the irresponsible actions that almost sent my patient into respiratory
arrest," Peter said through clenched teeth.

"But, Dr. Benton...."

"I'll speak to you in a while, now get the hell out!" Peter shouted.

The surgeon wearily sat in a chair next to Carter, and put his hands to his
face when he heard the other staff members leave. Peter didn't hear Carter
move, which disturbed him, but he finally had a good look at his friend. The
man looked completely defeated, his somber demeanor frightened Peter.
Carter was staring at the ceiling, his eyes void of emotion as if he
succumbed to some battle waged in his mind.

Carter turned his head to face Peter, his eyes joyless and impassive. There
was a depth of sadness; all the exuberance that Peter remembered absent.
"Listen, I now this is going to come as a shock to you, but it is better for you
to deal with what I know then to beat yourself up over something that you
had no control over."

Peter was not sure what Dr. Logan had discussed with the younger man, but
from Carter's disposition, he knew the man had either filled him with lies or
tried to mess with Carter's head. There was no way Peter was going to sit
back and watch Carter drown in a pool of self-blame.

Peter took a deep breath before continuing. For a second, he felt utter guilt
over the action. The simple action of breathing in deeply to relax one's self
was a natural way of overcoming conflict. Carter couldn't do that at all. No
soothing, cleansing breaths to focus on, just ragged breathing while oxygen
was forced upon him. Peter looked at the tube that was connected to the now
unused vent. Peter contemplated the horror that Carter felt at the thought that
the machine was responsible for a life sustaining function. No wonder Carter
refused to be intubated again, despite his medical condition.

"Carter, the technician that you saved informed us that Dr. Logan wanted the
hospital to burn down. He intended to pay the tech money, and that is the
reason the fire started," Peter spoke keeping his voice even.

Carter stared at him as he took in the information. He seemed confused and
shook is head in a negative manner.

"Hold on a second, let me finish. I don't know what happened up there, but
Mr. Evans insisted that the supply closet was set up to catch on fire using
Benzene and other chemicals as the fuel. He even sabotaged the electrical
outlet to start the charge. He was waiting for everyone to leave; he thought
you started it prematurely by accident," Peter relayed to Carter.

The doctor shifted his weight in the chair. "The fire would have started even
if you weren't there. It was pure chance that youwere on that floor, and when
we find Logan he'll be brought up on charges," Peters said, He was bitterly
unable to keep his feelings tucked out of the last sentence.

Peter watched Carter absorb what he had said and his eyes clouded over with
anger. His breathing labored as he tried unsuccessfully to breathe deeper
from the intense emotion. Peter placed his hand on Carter's shoulder and
forced the other man to look at him.

"Calm down Carter, your pulse ox is only 91 and I'm still tempted to put you
back on the vent. I know you're angry, but you need to relax and let us
handle the situation." Peter squeezed Carter' hand even tighter. "I won't let
the man get away with this," Peter said with conviction.

Despite all of Carter's anger, he gave the doctor a brief smile from under the
oxygen mask. He slide the mask away, "Be careful...Dr. Benton, people
might think you...care." Carter tried to chuckle and ended up coughing.

"Yeah, well I'll deny it," Peter retorted with a smallsmile. The surgeon
looked at Carter, but the moment's camaraderie ended andthe doctor noticed
Carter's furrowed face.

Carter met Peter's concerned eyes; he pulled the mask away once again.
"That...man tried to blame me." Carter took anothershuddering breath. "Do I
look that...gullible?" Carter asked.

Peter didn't answer, but he didn't want Carter to misinterpret his silence. "I'm
not even going to try to reason out why that man did what he did, Carter. He
will not come near you again, the next time I lay my eyes on Dr. Logan he'll
be handcuffed," Peter vowed.

Carter lay still, breathing slowly, and removed his mask. "If Iever see him..."
Carter trailed off, his eyes blazing with anger. Therate of the pulse monitors
began to increase again.

"Stop taking your mask off, or I will tube you again," Peter admonished.
Carter grunted and Peter gazed at him intently. "Whydid you allow that
doctor to extubate you when you knew your lungs couldn't handle it?" Peter
questioned quietly.

Carter shrugged. Peter shook his head. "You never doubtedyourself before,
Carter, don't start making it a habit." Peter rosefrom his chair, but paused a
moment.

"You were right about Mrs. Cobb, she didn't suffer a stroke,she does have
Bell's Palsy." Peter watched a sense of relief andexoneration wash over
Carter's face. He smiled at Peter and the doctor lefthim alone.

Peter closed the door behind him and stalked over to where Kate stood
impatiently. "Dr. Brooks, do you mind telling me why the hell you extubated
my patient?" Peter asked furiously.

The woman in front of him stared back as if he was an alien, and she crossed
her arms in front of her chest. "I did exactly what you ordered me to!" she
snapped back and handed him the orders.

Peter snatched the offered chart and flipped through, staring at it in disbelief.
"I never authorized this!" he snarled."Where did you get this?" Peter asked.

Kate looked at him confusedly; "It was left for the ICU nurse.That is Mr.
Carter's chart, and that is your signature." Shepointed to Peter's handwriting.

Peter shook his head defiantly. "Yeah, this isn't my order tohave him
extubated. I want you to gather all of Dr. Carter's chartsand bring them to
me. Then I want you to call security and have guards posted in front of this
room right now!" Peter ordered.

Peter stopped in his tracks and turned to Kate once again. "Dr. Carter is to
get his Intal nebulizer and check his Cefteim and Vancomycin levels. Those
are my orders for now."

Dr. Brooks nodded and scrambled away to do what she had been told. Peter
took the orders and put them in his pocket. He waited a few minutes for
security to arrive and walked up to them when they did.

"Do not let anyone into that room except for me, Dr. Brooks, orMary the
ICU nurse. I think the Grady Chief of Staff tried to hurt my patient. You
have any questions you page me." Peter finishedgiving his instructions and
went back down the stairs.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Peter sprinted down the last set of stairs and opened the door into the lobby.
He searched for Dr. Greene and bumped into Luka Kovac. Peter approached
the other doctor. "Do you know where Mark is? Ihave something extremely
important to tell him."

Luka looked at Peter, concerned at the man's distressedappearance. "He's in
the lounge, but..." Luka couldn't finish hissentence, because the other doctor
brushed past him towards the break room.

"Peter, wait!" Luka called out.

The surgeon walked into the lounge, ready to share his suspicions with
Mark, concerning Logan. When he looked up, he saw Detective Burns and
Hammond standing on each side of, Dr. Logan whom sat smugly in one of
the chairs with a very unhappy Mark Green in the corner.

Logan glared at Peter with a sly smile tugging at his lips. "Ah,good to see
you again Dr. Benton. I was just explaining to these fine detectives how
Taylor Evans tried to blackmail me concerning some financial manners at
the hospital, and since that didn't workwell, he resorted to copping out this
ridiculous story about a fire. Seems when young Dr. Carter bumbled through
that supply closet he accidentally started the blaze, and I'm sure when these
officers question him on that he'll concur that this dreadful accident washis
fault," Logan explained in a rational voice.

Peter stood motionless, in shock at the audacity that Logan would try to
blame the whole situation on the younger doctor. He stepped closer. "You
were wrong about Mrs. Cobb and you are wrong aboutDr. Carter. You
falsified his charts and tried to..."

"I tried to what? Come on, please, Dr. Benton, don't tell methe incompetence
of this staff goes from student to teacher?" Logan replied.

Before anyone could react, Peter lunged at Dr. Logan just as Rocket
Romano barged into the room.

..................................


Robert Romano stormed into the lounge unaware of the heated
discussion going on. Upon instantly observing the situation, he
reacted quickly and grabbed Peter's shoulder just as the man lunged at
Logan, who stood up quickly in preparation of the oncoming attack. Romano
pulled Peter away hard, twisting the man towards him. Mark stepped
forward to restrain Peter while instinctively rearing his left hand back to
knock the smile off of Logan's face, furious at the idea he was getting a rise
out of the man in front of him.

"Peter, get a hold of yourself!" Mark yelled as he grabbed Peter's fist in the
air just before it made contact with Logan.

"What the hell are you doing Robert?" Peter huffed in response to Romano's
manhandling.

"Keeping your ass from getting suspended, Peter!" Romano snapped back.

"Are any of your people competent, Rocket?" Logan sneered, as both
detectives placed their hands on the man's shoulder in a warning.

Mark whipped his head back, keeping his body in between a seething
Benton and the taunting Logan. "Can it Dr. Logan, before I let Peter pound
on you without remorse!" Mark shouted. "Detectives, is this meeting over
with yet?" Mark asked, trying to maintain the peace while his rational side of
his brain was in control.

"Yeah, I think we'll finish our discussion with Dr. Logan at the station
house." Detective. Burns replied, ushering Logan around the table past Luka,
who had been observing the crisis and prepared in case he needed to jump
in.

Peter glared at Detective Burns. "You're going to talk to him?" Peter
emphasized the word "talk." "Shouldn't you be charging him? He doctored
Carter's chart and almost put him in respiratory arrest!" Peter explained
exasperatedly.

"Dr. Benton, if you have any evidence for this claim, please gather it and I'll
review it. Until then, I have to ask you to let us
continue our investigation," Detective Hammond responded in the typical
unfeeling professional voice.

"Don't worry, I'll show you evidence, then maybe you'll do your jobs," Peter
growled. "You two can stay away from me!" Peter spat at the two hovering
doctors.

"Fine with me, Peter." Romano strode past the surgeon towards the two
detectives. He smiled at Logan, who chuckled openly at him. "I just wanted
to save you the repercussions from this." Romano's fist connected squarely
with Logan's midsection, causing the Grady Chief to double over and fall to
his knees.

Romano stepped away as Logan clutched at his gut, moaning on the floor.
Detective Burns grunted his dissatisfaction and grabbed
Romano's arm. "That wasn't very smart of you Dr. Romano, now this
arrogant ass can press charges. You want to help us with this case, get us
some proof."

"This man is scum and nothing will make me more happy than to know that
he is sent to prison and someone named Big Ed made him his
bitch," Romano replied and glared at the shocked faces of his colleagues.
"We'll find you the evidence that you need."

The detectives helped Logan to his feet, and he stumbled out the door
mumbling obscenities under his breath. Romano turned to his haggard staff.

"Peter, you look like hell. Go home at take a shower, you've got soot all over
you. Same goes for you, Dr. Kovac. I don't want to see your faces in my
hospital for at least eight hours." Romano had regained his calm and self-
assured manner.

Peter began to protest, but Romano cut him off with a slashing motion of his
hand. "I'll have the ICU staff fill me in regarding Dr. Carter's chart."
Romano watched Peter's face twitch with disbelief. "Don't worry, I'll oversee
his care while you are at home, Peter." Romano rebuffed the other doctor's
argument before he had a chance to state his case.

"What happened in the ICU, Peter?" Luka spoke for the first time since the
chaos erupted.

Mark and Romano looked at Peter expectantly. "When I went up there, Dr.
Brooks had extubated Carter," Peter explained.

"He was extubated?" Luka asked, shocked. "His lungs are not strong enough
to breathe on their own."

"By the time I arrived, it was too late. I took charge and ordered for him to
be placed on 8 liters by mask," Peter replied tiredly.

"Peter-" Mark started in a disapproving tone.

"Look, he was adamant about staying off the vent, I left orders for him to
monitored closely and he'll be receiving his Inteblizer every few hours. I
have him on Intal to help him with his respiration and at the slightest hint at
a problem he'll be re-intubated."

"What about his MRI?" Luka asked.

Peter rubbed his eyes wearily. "I was going to go back up there when it was
administered," Peter said, looking at his watch. "I should go now and-"

"I'll go, Peter, I already told you to go home," Romano interrupted.

"I told Carter-"

"My orders are final Peter. Don't worry." Romano patted the doctor on the
shoulder and left the three doctors alone.

No one had anything left to say, so the three doctors filed out of the room
silently. Peter and Luka walked out together, fatigue
evident by their slow movements. Mark watched them leave and hoped that
the next day would bring all of them better news.


XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Next day. 10:00 Am.

Carter lay on the bed, exhausted. He desperately needed to sleep, his body
demanded it, but having to fight for every breath was keeping him awake.
Earlier Dr. Romano had taken him up to radiology for his MRI, which
proved to be an exercise in patience. He was hooked up to an oxygen tank,
his IV, and his central line. These items proved to be a chore to transport,
and John just wanted to be left alone.

Romano had tried to convince him to be re-intubated, chastising him for
straining lungs that were not healed; however, Carter would have none of it.
His body decided to remind him that it lacked proper rest and it did not
appreciate all the damage that had been inflicted upon it. His burns itched on
his side and his eyes felt like he was in a room full of dust as they teared up
from all the irritation they had endured. His back hurt, constantly sending
throbbing pain through his body, and his chest was still sore from his
laborious breathing and the result of being defibrillated.

After cataloguing all of his pain, Carter had agreed to an increase in his
medication so that he could finally sleep, which only resulted in a four hour
slumber. He was going to have to get up this
afternoon, and move his muscles and try to sit up in a chair. He recalled
quite vividly how much it had hurt to do that back in
February, and he shivered at the thought of doing it again. He knew Peter
would be displeased that his pulse ox had only risen to 92, and he had yet to
be informed of his MRI results. Carter could only guess at what he did to
himself by hauling Taylor up and down those stairs.

He grunted when his thoughts strayed to the tech. The idea that the fire had
been an intentional act orchestrated by Dr. Logan had
infuriated John; he took his life seriously and was upset that
someone had caused him to have to re-evaluate it again. There was another
victim in this; Mrs. Cobb had been left up in Radiology, forgotten by all.
John clenched his jaw under the oxygen mask and tried to shift positions to
alleviate his growing anger.

Benton had promised him that the police were going to arrest Logan for his
crimes, but the fact that Romano had been unresponsive to his inquires about
the Grady Chief had John wondering otherwise. What had him the most
confused was Logan's little visit. The thought of the man pushing all of his
buttons so easily had taught John to be more careful about wearing his heart
on his sleeve. Exactly how Logan had picked up on his self doubt, he didn't
know.

A noise disturbed John's thoughts, and he turned his head to see Mrs. Cobb
staring back at him apprehensively. John smiled, but understood it couldn't
be seen underneath the breathing device. He muffled
hello, embarrassed, he pulled the mask away from his face.

"Hello, Judith," Carter rasped. His voice sounded gravely to his own ears
and he grimaced inwardly.

Judith approached the bed, wearing a sunflower dress, and her hair looked
like it had been styled. "I went to the beauty salon bright and early this
morning, Dr. Carter, just for you," she told him brightly.

Carter was touched by the thought and waved her over with his hand. Her
face seemed to beam and Judith slid her hand into Carter's. "You look
beautiful, Judith." Carter closed his eyes for a second and drew in a shaky
breath. "Your husband might get jealous," Carter added in a humorous tone.

Judith blushed and laughed out loud. "Dear, Dr. Carter, Mr. Cobb has been
dead for several years, God bless his soul. Now don't you be getting upset, I
still go by Mrs. Cobb because our marriage is
forever, and I'll see Jim up in heaven someday." Judith patted Carter's hand
and her tone of voice transformed into a more worried one. "I'm so sorry you
are in here, Dr. Carter, it's all my fault that you have to be hooked up to all
of these machines."

Carter glanced around at all the tubes that seemed to invade him. He smiled
and pulled the mask away once more. "It's not that bad...I'll be out of here
very soon." Carter tried to reassure the older woman.

Judith shook her head in disapproval. "You are not a very good liar, Dr.
Carter."

The doctor mumbled something and removed his mask once again, a chore
he was beginning to get annoyed with. "Call me John."

"I think it is best you keep that mask of your on, John." She smiled as Carter
pushed the mask back over his mouth and nose. The
conversation seemed to have worn him out a bit, but he wanted to convince
Judith that he was doing better even if his body still hurt all over.

"I would have to agree with Mrs. Cobb, stop taking that damn mask off,
Carter." Peter's irritated voice pierced the air.

Carter merely grunted his dissatisfaction with Peter's entrance. The other
doctor walked into the room, chart in hand and a very
unpleasant look on is face. Not that this was something new, Peter Benton
always wore a scowl, but this expression just seemed to
emanate bad news for Carter.

Judith released her grip on Carter and leaned down to give him a kiss on the
forehead. "Well, John, I will always think of you as my hero. I plan on
having you and the three other doctors over for supper when you are feeling
better."

Judith walked over to where Peter was standing undoubtedly waiting for her
to leave. "You take care of John now, Dr. Benton," she told him in one of
those motherly tones that you just don't question.

Peter actually shifted uncomfortably from Judith's gaze. "I intend to, Mrs.
Cobb," he said in a quiet voice.

"Well, good. Now, do I have to show some ID to those guards outside to
leave as well?" she asked, a bit miffed.

"No, no, just go ahead and sign out when you leave," Peter replied and
watched the older lady nod and then exit the room.

Peter walked over to Carter and saw his bewildered expression.
"Guards?" he said from under his mask.

Peter hesitated, but decided to be straight with the him. "I have suspicions
that Dr. Logan falsified my orders and wrote for you to be extubated last
night, knowing that it would send you into repository arrest." Peter's voice
was void of emotion in an effort keep a lid on his anger.

Carter blinked several times, trying to absorb this little tidbit of information.
He had not given much thought to the surprising
procedure. At the time, he had been emotionally drained from Logan's little
mind games. He removed his mask to speak despite Peter's
obvious unease and annoyance.

"He first tried to pin this thing on me, then he tried to kill me?" Carter
couldn't quite believe it. "Doesn't sound quite right to me." Carter wheezed
slightly, gaining a thunderous glare from Peter.

"What did you want him to do, rip the tube out of you himself?" Peter
retorted bitterly. Seeing Carter's wounded expression, he sighed.

"Sorry, it's been a horrible night," Peter said frustrated.

Carter didn't want to risk messing with his oxygen and again be on the
receiving end of a Benton lecture, so he settled for a shrug.

Peter chuckled slightly. "I guess you know something about that. Has the
Albuterol nebulizer helped at all?" Peter asked, trying to switch subjects. His
question only earned him another shrug.

"Well, I ordered an Intal and Albuterol combination treatment, but I could
switch to Proventil orally if you want," Peter said.

Carter shook his head in a definite no, recalling that was the
treatment that Logan had suggested.

"That's fine, Carter. I won't lie to you, I am still very nervous about your
pulse ox, it hasn't improved that much. The benzene should be working its
way out of your system, but we are combating the
damage from the smoke inhalation as well. You are not tachy anymore, so
that is some good news." Peter reviewed Carter's chart and continued to talk
about his medical treatment, comfortable in
sticking to a non-emotional topic.

"We will keep you on Vancomycin for prophylaxis for the next three days. I
don't want you to suffer a set back from a lung infection. Your MRI showed
inflammation around several vertebrae, especially around the midline. That
means more physical therapy, which brings me to my visit. You need to get
out of bed and move around."

Carter understood that it had to be done, even though he was dreading the
movement.

"I'm going to get a nurse to help. Just take it easy, you'll probably experience
some dissertation," Peter explained.

There was a knock on the door, and Malik appeared in the room. "Hey, Dr.
Carter, I'm here to help." At Carter's strange look concerning Malik's
appearance in the ICU instead of the ER, he spoke. "Some of the others
wanted to see how you were doing and well, I knew Dr. Benton needed an
assist." The nurse looked over at Peter expectantly.

Peter started to remove the sheets and Carter pushed him away,
unnerved at the helpful gesture. "I can move my own sheets," he said under
the mask, irritated.

Carter struggled to sit up by himself, determined to do so unaided. Once up
it was much more difficult to swing his legs over, so he allowed Malik to
help move his stubborn left leg. Carter sat there momentarily, as Malik and
Peter situated themselves at each side of him.

Luka walked into the room and stood there in case his help was
needed. Carter looked over at him, evidently embarrassed at the fact that so
many people he worked with were there, waiting for him to screw up.

Peter noticed Carter's reluctance and stole a glance at Luka. "There really
shouldn't be more than three people in an ICU unit, Dr.
Kovac."

"I know, I needed to speak with you when everything is done. I can help
move the IV poles and oxygen tank so he could move around with getting
too tangled," Luka mentioned. He watched Carter nod his head in
understanding and he signaled to Malik and Peter that he was
ready.

Carter gingerly stood on wobbly legs, and his two friends helped him
straighten up as his body slightly shivered with strain. He took several steps
forward while Peter and Malik held on to him by his shoulders and
underneath his elbows. It was obvious that, just like a few months earlier, his
left leg could not support his weight much, and it dragged slightly.

Peter noticed Carter's left side weakness and adjusted his grip on him.
"You're doing good, Carter, we just need to get you in the chair. I know
what you are thinking, but the MRI did show some
strained muscles on C-5 and C-6 of the lumbar," Peter told him
encouragingly.

Luka pushed the IV stand and oxygen tank. He was careful of Carter's
central line and catheter and made sure they did not get in the way. He
watched as Carter made slow progress to the chair, his breathing becoming
increasingly labored from the effort. Finally, after want seemed like forever,
he reached it and sagged heavily into it.

Carter closed his eyes and held on to the oxygen mask as he tried to calm his
harsh breathing. He knew that he was not increasing the flow of oxygen by
holding on to it, but it made him feel better. He still felt Peter's hand on his
shoulder and he opened his eyes to see the surgeon peering down at him
worriedly.

"How's the pain, Carter? Do you need another does of morphine?" Peter
asked.

Carter was too busy catching his breath and he shook his head no.

"Okay then, you need to stay sitting up for thirty minutes, then we can move
you back to the bed. I'll stay with you for a while," Peter told him.

That caught Carter's attention. There was no need for Peter to sick around,
Malik or another nurse could make sure that everything was all right. Carter
looked up and saw Luka standing in his room,
tension evident on his face. He glanced over at Peter and could feel the
concern and radiating off the other man. Recalling how Romano how
ignored his previous questions, Carter knew something was not
following certain reassurances. Carter pulled off his mask and stared at
Peter, his eyes daring him to lie.

"Logan hasn't been...arrested, has he?" Carter asked his mentor.

Luka looked down at the floor and Malik fiddled with his hands. "I think I'm
needed upstairs," the nurse said nervously, and left the room.

Peter looked away something he always did when he didn't want to face
someone with bad news.

"Dr. Benton?" Carter asked again.

Peter exhaled heavily and looked Carter in the eye. "No, he was taken down
just for questioning, Carter, but they are bound to charge him," Peter said
unconvincingly.

"Ah, Dr. Benton." Luka tried to get the other doctor's attention.

"Not now, Dr. Kovac," Peter growled not taking his attention away from
Carter.

"Dr. Benton," Luka said more forcibly.

Peter whirled around, "What is so important?" Peter questioned.

"Maybe outside," Luka tried to hint.

Noticing that Luka had something pertaining to him, Carter was not amused
by the over-protectiveness he had somehow garnered from the two doctors.
"If it has to do with Dr. Logan, Luka, please tell me," Carter implored. "I'm
suffering from...respiratory problems, not brain damage," Carter explained
in an annoyed tone. As if to prove his point, he pushed the mask over his
face and took in as much of a breath as his lungs would allow.

Luka walked over to where Peter was standing and explained his
presence to both doctors. "All right Carter, I'm sorry if I seemed like I was
trying to hide something from you. I..." Luka stole a glance with Peter.
"We...just want to keep you from stressing out too much. However, I hate to
tell you, but the police have released Dr. Logan for lack of evidence. They
are arresting Taylor Evans and will hold him for further questioning," Luka
explained gravely.

"What about Carter's chart? I sent that detective the falsified notes and told
him to interview Dr. Brooks!" Peter said outraged.

Luka was at a loss as how to calm his colleague, but there was no easy way
to put his anger to rest. "Detective Burns informed Romano that he would
submit the chart for some handwriting analysis, but that could take weeks
because they are so backed up."

Peter paced in the confined space of the ICU area, shaking his fists by his
sides. "What about Taylor's testimony? Why would he
incriminate himself just to blame Logan? Shouldn't they at least do a little
more investigating in an arson case that almost killed four people?" Peter
yelled to the walls.

"Peter, I don't know why. They said there has to be physical evidence and
something to collaborate with Taylor's testimony. Unfortunately, Carter's
accounts of what happened sheds no light on who would have started the
fire. There are no other witnesses and it will take time to gather physical
evidence since the fourth and fifth floors are rubble now," Luka tried to say,
his explanation falling on deaf ears.

Carter shifted in his chair, tired of watching Peter pace up and down in front
of him. The sight was making him nauseous. It was amazing how America's
legal system seemed to ground to a halt sometimes, he tried to come up with
a way in which he could help, but nothing came to mind.

Peter's restlessness was keeping Luka on edge and he didn't want the man's
inability to control himself to stress out Carter anymore then it did. Carter
looked absolutely defeated in his chair, and he felt that as a doctor he should
keep any agitation from interfering with his recovery.

"Peter, why don't you go speak with Romano, he has all the
information that the detectives gave. He didn't take the news very well
himself." Luka tried to subtly persuade Peter to leave.

Peter didn't cease his pacing, too caught up in his internal rampage. "What
do those guys need, a damned confession?" Peter asked everyone in the
room. Before anyone could react, Peter's pager went off.

"Damn it, it's the ER, 911." Peter looked torn over leaving Carter.

Luka sensing his concern about leaving Carter unmonitored, and
thought the least he could do was try to keep his mind as ease. "I'll stay until
Carter gets back in bed," Luka offered.

"I can sit in a chair," Carter said from beneath his mask.

Both men ignored his comment. "Fine, make sure he receives another
breathing treatment and don't let anyone administer any of his meds without
you in the room," Peter ordered.

"Dr. Benton, I don't think there will be any more falsified charts, but I'll do it
anyway," Luka answered, relieved that the surgeon was leaving and taking
the weight of tension with him.

Peter rubbed his chin contemplatively, and turned to leave. He paused at the
doorway for a second as he spoke. "Make sure he keeps that mask on, and
Carter," Peter made eye contact with the younger man, "I made you a
promise, and I'll find some way to keep it."

Peter disappeared from the room and Carter rubbed his fatigued eyes. How
was Peter going to deliver something that was totally out of his hands? It
wasn't his duty to bring Logan to justice, it just doesn't happen that way.
Carter felt bad enough that he had unknowingly
triggered the fire, but now Peter blamed himself because Logan wasn't in
jail. Carter ran his fingers through his hair as his ragged mind tried to
conjure up some way to help the situation. The Grady Chief had to have an
Achilles' heel. Of course, how could he do anything, he was having a hard
enough time getting well, like a patient in the ICU could outsmart Dr.
Logan. Suddenly, a small smile tugged at
Carter's face as an idea formed in his head. It was far-fetched and risky, but
it could work, he thought.

Carter removed his mask for a second to test out his spontaneous
respirations without aid, while Luka busied himself with his chart. His chest
felt tight, like someone was squeezing him from the inside. It still burned
when he drew in a breath and his head felt very
fuzzy. After several short inhales and exhales, the room began to dance
around and Carter struggled for more air. He hastily replaced the mask, his
test completed and took in as much oxygen that was allowed. After
composing himself, Carter pulled the mask away to speak.

"Hey, Luka," Carter called.

Luka glanced up, a frown across his face. "Carter, put your mask back on
please."

"I will, but I need you to do me a favor," Carter asked in between breaths. "I
need you to bring me a couple of things," Carter said, trying to be
nonchalant.

"What? Do you need a magazine?" Luka asked, happy that he might be able
to help his friend out.

"No, you see I have this idea," Carter said, his face a mix of seriousness and
mischief.

"Yeah, what is it?" Luka asked, not knowing what to expect.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It took a lot of persuasion and assurances, but Carter was certain that his
plan withstood a chance of working. He felt guilty about keeping Peter out
of it, but if he knew anything for certain, it was that Peter Benton would kill
him for what he was about to do. As it was, it took quite a bit of
orchestrating and pleading on his part to get Luka to help him out with his
plan. Carter did admit that it stood a huge chance of not succeeding, or even
putting himself in a risky situation, but if it nailed Dr. Logan then it was
worth a shot.

Carter laid in bed in a sitting up position. His back ached from moving
around, but he didn't take any extra dosages of pain
medication. He wasn't stupid, he accepted his normal morphine drip, but he
couldn't afford an extra dosage if he wanted to remain alert and somewhat
mobile.

Carter kept a few small things from Luka, knowing he would not
approve of certain aspects, but Carter had to take a chance. He
looked up when Luka walked into the room. He did not look very
comfortable, but he handed Carter the tape recorder.

"Here it is. I hope it is small enough," Luka said, his voice tinged with
apprehension.

Carter took the device and put it under the sheets. "Were you able to get the
other items?" Carter questioned the man.

Luka seemed reluctant to produce the things that Carter had
requested, but he took them out of his lab coat. "Yeah. I am still very
concerned about this. I know Dr. Benton would be very displeased that I
aided you in this plan of yours," Luka told him glumly.

Carter took the cell phone and a piece of paper with a phone number on it.
"Thank you. I can do this, Dr. Kovac, and it will work. I just need you to
grab me a pair of sweatpants for me; I hate being in this hospital gown,"
Carter told him.

"Planning on going somewhere?" Luka asked suspiciously.

"I don't think I could if I wanted to, I just want a little dignity." Carter
replied with a hint of his humor in his voice.

"Okay, I'll find you a pair, but I'll help you put them on," Luka replied.

"Sure," Carter replied with the mask on.

Luka retreated from the room, but he wanted Carter to understand something
before he left. "I'm only doing this for justice's sake. Benton will kill me if
anything happens or this backfires. I've seen too many crimes go
unpunished, but I can live with that if I knew this might get you hurt,
Carter."

"It won't, Dr. Kovac," Carter replied with confidence.

Luka left and Carter dialed the number on the scrap of paper, waiting for
someone to pick up on the other end of the line. He willed his hands to stop
shaking and inhaled as much as he could when he heard the voice on the
other end.

"Hello," it said.

"Yeah, this is Dr. John Carter."

There was a pause and Carter took the opportunity to breathe from his mask
that he held in his hand.

"What can I do for you, Dr. Carter," it replied.

"Actually, there is something that you can help me with," Carter said. He
breathed in more oxygen and placed the phone back to his mouth.

"I want $100,000 dollars for my silence," Carter explained.

"Silence for what?" The voice scoffed.

"$100,000 that I don't tell the cops my side of things and not the story you
told me when you payed me that little visit."

Another pause, another breath from the mask.

"What makes you think your story matters?" came the annoyed reply.

"You can't take the chance that it could. So far you have gotten away scott
free, and well, I could really throw a wrench in things." Carter mustered the
strength for two complete sentences.

Another wave of silence.

"You know that there is no way I can talk to you with guards outside your
door, Dr. Carter, even if I choose to do so," the voice replied.

"Well, since no one could prove you tried to harm me, there won't be any
guards at the door," Carter said smoothly, knowing that it was all too true.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Dr. Carter, I would never wish poor
health on anyone. In fact, I don't think there is any need for a visit, perhaps
I'll send you some flowers instead."

"Well then, I guess an injured invalid might just have to teach you a lesson,
Dr. Logan," Carter said through clenched teeth, his voice rising.

"Don't play around with me, kid. I tell you what, let's just discuss the matter
a bit more tomorrow, whenever I feel like showing up. You make sure
you're out of the ICU and in a standard room and I'll speak with you. It'll be
best to wait a day for tempers to cool over
there," Logan replied smoothly.

"Fine by me." Carter heard the click of the phone, and tossed it in front of
him. He took another shaky breath and contemplated what he had just done.
He checked the voice recorder once more and bit his lip. He prayed he hadn't
just done the stupidest thing in his life.



To Be contiuned...