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Standing in the middle of yesterday where it all went wrong. Where we made mistakes, I'm sorry for the things I forgot to say. But it won't be long until it will be okay. Well I promised you I would I change. But I'm an asshole and I'm ashamed. I'm upset 'cause I betrayed everything that you gave.-Our Lady Peace - Middle of Yesterday
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"Malucci.. I always knew you had a way with women.." Carol said dryly as she walked from the lounge, a mug in her hand. "It looks like you were hit by a steam roller.."
Luka stood behind the young Italian doctor and avoided Carol's gaze. "Uhh. Hello, Nurse Hathaway.." He muttered formally, staring at his loafers.
Carol sighed, stirring the granules of sugar into her coffee. "Hello Dr.Kovac, how are you?" She shot back as Doug walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. Dipping her head back, she looked at her husband as he kissed her on the lips. "Hi, hon. This is Doctor Kovac." She smiled painfully as she addressed Dave. "And that mess there is Dr.Malucci, he's having women troubles."
Dave sighed, licking his wounded lip. "Yeah.. Dr.Dave, nice to meet you.."
Doug chuckled, shaking his head. "That's okay kid.. I know what you're going through.. I had to go through some real psychos before I found the one.."
Carol looked at him oddly. "Psychos?? I mean not to speak well of my competition, but some of those ladies were nice, you were just too much of a man-slut to stop bed-hopping, and that tended to scare them off."
Doug sighed pitifully. "Man slut?" He cocked a brow. "Thanks.. That's a new one Carol.." He said irritably.
"Oh.. I didn't mean it like that and you know it.. I'm just saying.. You had a thing for the ladies.. It's surprising with all that sex you didn't pick up something more serious than that chlamydia infection a few years ago.." She said accusingly.
"Whoa! Carol.." He hissed angrily. "Do you mind we don't talk about this in front of, *THEM*??!!"
"Why?? You embarrassed that you screamed like a girl everytime you took a leak in the men's room? Or that just about every nurse or doctor here has caught you in some room or closet with your pants around your ankles. I'm serious Doug. I mean, if we're talking about luck and fate.. It's a wonder that Jeanie got AIDS from her husband and you got away clean.. Doesn't really seem fair in the scheme of things. I mean... What about that epileptic addict you brought in, you didn't even know her name!"
"At least I didn't go around kissing firemen on rooftops!" Doug yelled back angrily.
"Naww..." Carol said sarcastically.. "He kissed me Doug.. and some guy kissing me.. That doesn't make up for all the shit you put me through.. You know I had to go to Seattle to get you.. You never came looking for me.. You never came back to me.. I had to go crawling to you. And don't think for a second that those few weekends you came up to see the girls has any bearing on anything. If you'd loved me, you never would have left in the first place!"
Dave exchanged an uneasy glance from Luka.. "Uhh, man.. Maybe we should go.." He hissed at him as the couple's heads swivelled towards them.
"NO! STAY!" They yelled in unison.
Dave raised his brows and nodded. "Uhh.. Okay.."
"You never even kept in real contact with Mark.. If you had, maybe this whole mess would have never happened. Elizabeth accused us of being bad friends.. Maybe we were.. We were too engrossed in our new life, to keep in touch with the old." Carol sighed, tears burning her eyes and rolling down her cheeks. "We should have been here, Doug.."
'Been here to do what?' Thought Dave. There was nothing they could have done, Mark was falling to pieces, and none of his friends in the ER could do a thing except watch. It seemed Chief was more rattled about it than anyone. The man she used to belittle and argue with, was no longer a formidable foe. His vacant stares and glassy, confused expressions just made her sad and depressed.
As Doug went in for the jugular, bringing up Tag, Dave wandered off, leaving Luka open-mouthed and unable to escape. It was like watching a lion bear down on an antelope, it was savage, but you couldn't take your eyes off of it. Luka watched Carol and Doug scrap, the open wounds of despair still hanging in the air like a dampness that wouldn't fade. Mark Greene was dead.
Dave walked down the hall, his head hung, things were strange. He wasn't friends with Mark Greene. He hardly knew the man, never made the effort to. What was the point? There hadn't been one, Mark had never gone out of his way to understand him, so why do the same? He knew bits and pieces.. Being an only child like himself, the dad who had been in the army.. Or was it the navy? Having the two daughters.. He sighed, almost with relief, he didn't have any kids yet, none that he knew of anyway.. His track record had been almost marred by a girl in Queens but the test had turned up negative.. At least that's what she had said.. Dave didn't know the man, and yet why did he feel so guilty? Why did he feel so upset over a man he didn't know?
Wandering aimlessly down the hallway, he stumbled out the side doors and into the alleyway, steam seeped up from the subway below and the tired doctor sunk to his knees on the wet asphalt, the broken crate underneath him, barely keeping his scrubs from getting soaked. It was less than a week since it had happened. Walking in for his shift, finding one of the docs outside having a cigarette. The man had stared at Malucci for awhile before lifting his head. He looked familiar, one of Mark's colleagues, a friend of his.. Dave knew that for sure, another thing was certain. The guy looked like crap. As the doctor took another shaky drag on the cigarette he flicked it out into the cold black night.
"What's up?" Dave muttered, somewhat worriedly, as if the guy was going to run out in front of a bus or something...
"Mark Greene's dead.." The doctor muttered gruffly in response, his voice breaking. "I.. I was taking a nap in exam two.. One of the nurses woke me up.. Then E-lizabeth came in.. I dunno man. It was awful.. So sudden.. He had been ranting as usual... Malik and the guys trying to calm him down, trying to get him to go home.. Then he keeled over.. I.. I dunno man.." He hung his head, closing his eyes, red-rimmed and puffy from crying, a few tears seeped out and ran down his cheeks.
"Who else knows?? Anyone??!" Dave said alarmed, bent down beside the man.
"N-no.. It was jus' me on shift.. A few others.. The nurses.. The usual.. Dr.Kovac.. Finch, Weaver.. All off.." He shuddered, wrapping his labcoat tighter around himself and standing. "I'm gonna go in, man.. It's cold out here.."
Dave nodded. "Yeah.. it is.. Go try to get some sleep.." He said kindly, following up behind the doctor and into the ER.
"Dave.. There you are, Greene he jus-" Wendy called out to him as he walked to the desk. The man shook his head and sighed.
"I know Wendy.. It's okay.. I know.. Does anyone else?" He said tiredly.
'They're off.. Went home.. I didn't think that we should-" She stammered, staring at her hands, there was an thickness in the air tonight.. It stunk of death and misery. Dave wrinkled his nose, it was an unpleasant smell that he'd grown accustomed to long ago, but now.. It stank, and he hated it.
"I'll phone them.. Tell them to come.. Then I'll tell them.. Did you phone Weaver or Romano?" He queried tiredly. Surely she'd done that.. That throbbing pain that had been hiding in the back of his head was slowly returning, and it'd brought friends.
"No.. I.. I'm sorry, Dr.Malucci.." Wendy said sadly, "I wasn't thinking.. I.. I just saw him fall over.. I.. I screamed and.. I.."
Dave looked at her, pale and trembling, biting the inside of his cheek hard enough to well blood, he muttered. "Go home, Wendy.. Go get some sleep.."
"What?? Dr.Malucci, my shift.." She bit her lip and stared at the floor. The floor was quite interesting actually.. Pale grey tiles.. Clean too.. Wendy sighed, looking up as Dave repeated himself.
"I said go home, Wendy.. I'll inform Weaver of your absence." Dave said tiredly, rubbing the back of his neck and focusing on a spot of dirt on the desk. "I'll phone them.. Go to bed."
"Kovac isn't home.. he's asleep upstairs in OB.." She murmured, walking to the lounge.
"OB? What???" Dave looked at her confused as she disappeared.
"His patient went up there.. We stabilized her downstairs.." She said absently, exciting with her coat on. "He went up to check on her.. But his shift ended.. Kovac said he'd sleep until his next shift."
"Anything else?" He said, picking up the receiver of the phone.
"No.." Wendy said sadly.
"Then go.. I'll take care of it.." She looked at him expectantly, before he waved her off with a flick of his hand and Wendy left through the double doors. Dave stared at the phone, picking it up as Luka appeared behind him.
"What are you doing Malucci?? Where is Wendy?" He slurred sleepily, rubbing his hair and stretching. "I was sleeping in lounge.. What are you doing?"
"Greene's dead.." Dave said, his voice thick with pain, quivery and shaking like his hands.. "I.. I just saw.. You know.. That guy.. Tall.. Has a mustache like the oatmeal guy.. But he's young.. You know.." He struggled for the right word and shrugged. "I dunno.. One of Greene's friends.."
Luka cocked a brow. "Dr.Prentice? Yes.. Where is he now?" The Croat looked around worriedly.. "Maybe he knows more.."
"He didn't seem to.. I don't know.. He went to sleep somewhere.." Dave said exasperated, his shift had started ten minutes ago and he was already feeling drained.
"Well we should tell the others.. You use the phone here.. I'll use the phone over there.. Who do you want to start with..." Luka exchanged a knowing look with Dave and nodded. "Jen" They whispered in unison, scanning their fingers down the staff listing and contact numbers.
****
"Who?? Who are you?? What? What do you mean?? I.. I don't understand.." Jen shuddered, wrapping her arms around herself and staring out into the darkness. Two-thirty in the morning and she was being told her ex-husband might be dead. Slowly, mechanically, she let the phone slide from her fingers, and she hung it up. "RACHEL!!!!" She screamed, panicky like a trapped animal, more of a scream than a yell.. Like a rabbit caught in a trap. It was anguish, it was pain and confusion and she wanted it to stop. "RACHEL!!!!! C-Come down.. W-wake up!!!"
**
Luka stared at the phone listening to the dialtone. "She.. She hung up on me.. I.." Dave shook his head. "Forget it.. Phone Weaver.."
"Wh-what do you mean?!" Weaver mumbled sleepily, stumbling out of bed and searching for her robe. "What do you mean?? Greene?? Collapsed? I.. I'll be right there.. Where's Elizabeth.. What do you mean at St.Michael's? What about our hospital?!!" She sighed, as Luka's soothing tones calmed her.. Greene's Oncologist was at the other hospital.. They'd rushed him there.. There wasn't anymore news.. "I'll. I'll be there.. You have to phone Carter and Jing-Mei and everyone.. Yes... Now.. We.. we have to get this sorted."
***
When Weaver made it to County, there already was smattering of colleagues spread around the ER. All pacing, all red eyed and all frazzled and sleep deprived. "PEOPLE!" She yelled above the voices, that chattered nervously. "People listen to me.. Stay here.. Don't move.. Don't go anywhere.. Stay on this floor by the admit desk, treat minors.. Randi, have the majors transferred to Mercy.. Don't do anything.. Okay.. I'm going to check on Greene.. Stay put."
Dave looked at her. Taking charge.. All of a sudden taking charge.. It was odd. A few minutes ago he was the person telling everyone the news.. He somewhat the hero, the messenger, now he didn't matter.. He watched as everyone crowded around each other. Luka trading hugs with Abby and Carter and everyone as he sat at the admit desk, finally retreating to the lounge. What was he doing here? Dave sighed, "I should just go home.. I'm just in the way.." he muttered to himself, looking up to see somebody standing in the doorway.
Dave looked at her. Taking charge.. All of a sudden taking charge.. It was odd. A few minutes ago he was the person telling everyone the news.. He somewhat the hero, the messenger, now he didn't matter.. He watched as everyone crowded around each other. Luka trading hugs with Abby and Carter and everyone as he sat at the admit desk, finally retreating to the lounge. What was he doing here? Dave sighed, "I should just go home.. I'm just in the way.." he muttered to himself, looking up to see somebody standing in the doorway.