WINDS OF PROMISE by Missy (missy@lexicon.net) The characters that you recognise from ER are the property of Michael Crichton, Warner Bros, Constant Productions and Amblin Television and to the actors who so marvellously portray them. Spoilers up to and including Viable Options. I've only written one part for this story at the moment. It can stand alone or I may continue depending if I get the urge. However, I've got other pressing stories I really must finish (esp. before one of my editors disappears) and this was just to get this part of the story out of my system so that I can get a good night's sleep without dreaming the sequence and concentrate on other stories :) Thank my very wonderful and adept editors, Clotho and Carolyn D, for their patience, time and input into this story. It wouldn't have been the same without them and they pointed out same pretty glaring oversights and errors I had made. Wind whistled through the twisted and gnarled branches of the evergreen tree, its lush foliage rustling wildly and dashing a rhythmic dance against the ebony sky. The turbulent air gained force and beat rampantly against the glass window. Kerry Weaver leaned against the wall, watching the tussle between the tree and the unseen power of the wind as it beat back and forth, striking the elderly sycamore with wild blows. Her own emotions tumbled in similar turmoil. She had tossed and turned in bed, mulling over her short talks with Carter, recognising the pain, fear and guilt he was suffering yet she was unable to help. It wasn't just not having the right words for him, Carter seemed to be pushing away any sign of support. The wild storm raging outside had drawn her out of the warmth of her bed. Kerry had slipped her feet into navy blue moccasins and wrapped herself in a heavy winter robe to ward of the early spring chill. The branches of the tree swayed back and forth, like arms doing a contorted and disjointed waltz against the midnight sky. Listening to the howling wind drown out the whisper of the leaves as they dashed about, Kerry rested her head against the wall. With her eyes closed, she recalled Carter's calm rebuttal of her attempts to speak to him about his physical and emotional condition. There had been no nastiness in his demeanour but there had been a definite iron wall of will. All she could hope was that she would gradually be able to create some fissures and fractures in the stony silence. It had already been a week since the incident with Robert and the young patient, Angie. Kerry was philosophical about it all. She didn't like the implications it held for her career yet she had a sense of satisfaction that she had done the right thing for the family as a whole. There was no way to judge Angie's mental capacity. The only person in that position had been Mrs. Dwyer and Kerry had followed her wishes. She was satisfied that she hadn't broken the rules and maintained protocol, just not followed the directions of Robert Romano and the legal guardian. It had not taken long for her to realise the way in which she would handle Robert in the future with the ER. A dog being operated on in a County Hospital by the Chief of Staff would not be looked on favourably with the Board of Directors. A simple hint here and there and he would know the implications. However, it was not this that weighed heavily on her heart. Her concern for Carter was beginning to overwhelm her, interrupting her sleep and her ability to concentrate on the most menial of tasks. She had given up on trying to give anything her full attention, her cooking and writing suffering a severe deficit in quality and substance. Now as she stood looking out into the pitch blackness, she felt inadequate. There had always been an answer not far around the corner from her problem, even if it caused turbulent waters in her personal relationships. She had seen that as a minor hiccup, justified by the end result. With Carter it was different. He had woven his way into her life in a way no other colleague had ever been able to do since Mlungisi. Somehow Carter had been able to get past her defences, breaking down the barriers that she had set up to protect herself. His gentle nature had filled the house, providing a calming and welcoming atmosphere. It had made the home a more pleasurable place to be and gradually she had reduced her hours at the hospital. She had enjoyed the chance of teaching Carter how to cook but had soon realised that he would never master the art of gourmet cooking. Taking a step down from the exotic, Kerry had managed to teach him the basics, enough that he wouldn't starve if left to feed himself. Still unable to come up with a way to talk to Carter, Kerry realised that she should get back to bed with a book. The chill in the room was seeping into her bones, the time she had spent standing in front of the cold window worsening the deep set aches. Just as she opened her eyes again, a sound much like that of a cracking whip broke through the air. Kerry frowned, confused for a moment, recalling the sound from a distant memory and wondering how she could be hearing it on a night like this. It was the sight of the contorted arms wavering in her direction that made her realise what the sound was. The war had been won by the violent winds of nature, the elderly sycamore tree succumbing to the heavy toll. Kerry moved as fast as she could away from the window, her walking hampered by the loose fitting mocassins and lack of support. Fear flooded through her as she heard the snapping and fracturing as the tree toppled from its broad base, tumbling with a roar directly towards the rear of the single-fronted red- brick townhouse. Kerry heard the glass implode as the first branches broke through the thin pane of glass. As the air whipped at her blue robe, she hazarded a look over her shoulder and was shocked to find the enormous tree crashing through the side of her house, as if it was made of cardboard. Diving to the floor, she felt a red hot fire shoot up her right arm. The room was plunged into darkness as the branches tore at everything surrounding them, dragging down curtains, lights and ornaments. An irrational fear took over as the branches settled over her, pinning her to the ground, their sharp talons digging into her body. At this moment, she had never felt so alone in the world. Tears burned at her eyes and she was unable to brush them away. Right now she took solace in the tears and as the air cooled and the wind combined with rain, a shiver of fear ran through her as Kerry realised that it could be some time before anyone came to rescue her. **************************** COUNTY GENERAL HOSPITAL 7.30 a.m. **************************** Carol ended the MICN call. The atmosphere around her was solemn. They had all heard the details and were still as they absorbed all the information. "ETA is two minutes. All right. Everyone knows the drill. Let's clear Trauma One. Get some warm saline and blankets. Connie, call medical records and get Kerry's blood type and have a couple of units on hand. Carter, can you assist?" Mark gave the instructions out thick and fast, not wasting any breath and trusting that the staff would pull together in a couple of minutes. There was no response from Carter. "Carter?" "Ah. Yeah. No problem." Carter shook his head to stop himself thinking about the fact that if he had still been living at Kerry's house that things may have been different. That they might not have been treating her for her injuries. He might have been able to warn her of the danger. Mark pulled out a pair of latex gloves from the box at the admit desk. He glanced across at Carter, concerned about how distracted he had become since the attack. He recognised the subtle signs of post traumatic stress disorder. Although he didn't have any confirmation either way from Carter, he was sure that Carter was suffering from sleepless nights. His face was losing more colour as the weeks went on, the dark circles under his eyes becoming a permanent imprint. There were passing comments made by other staff members about the change in his behaviour. It was not severe enough for anyone to accuse Carter of being unable to work with patients yet his easy going nature had been replaced with unpredictableness. Hearing the sirens of the approaching ambulance, Mark pulled on the pair of latex gloves and went out to the ambulance bay. His face was etched with worry, the initial reports over the MICN indicating that Kerry was unconscious with multiple lacerations. Mark shuddered to think how bad the injuries were considering that she had been trapped by an enormous tree. The ambulance backed up to the doors and Pam jumped out of the driver's seat. "She's regained consciousness," Pam commented to Mark before he could ask any questions. She opened the doors and helped Zadro slide the gurney out. Pam gave the bullet as they moved Kerry through to Trauma Two. "Multiple lacerations to the legs, arms and back. Pain and tenderness to the right wrist and mild hypothermia. Core temp at scene 95 with altered mental status. BPs 95/65, Pulse is 99, Resps 32." "Hey Kerry. How are you feeling?" Mark gave a quick inspection of Kerry who was strapped to a spinal board, c- collar around her neck, her head held securely in place. Her face was clear of any lacerations, her left arm, where an IV had been inserted, bore several superficial cuts and abrasions A thermal blanket covered her body keeping her warm, though she still shivered uncontrollably beneath it. "Like a tree fell on me," Kerry answered flippantly, her voice distorted by the oxygen mask. She rethought her choice of words as Mark's brow furrowed, obviously taking her response seriously. Being strapped down to the backboard made it impossible for her to move and argue. Lights flashed over her as they swung the gurney through the hall towards Trauma Two. She was tempted to close her eyes and just let everything pass her by. But if she wanted to convince Mark that she was okay, it was the one thing she could not give in to. Looking back into Mark's concerned eyes, she pleaded her case. "Mark, I'm fine. A few scratches from the branches and that's all." "We'll check you over and make sure we come to the same diagnosis, Dr. Weaver." Carter's voice startled her. He was on the opposite side of the gurney and outside the limited range of her restricted vision. The gurney pulled up beside the trauma room gurney. Multiple sets of hands reached out to hold transfer her across as Mark gave the count. Pam and Zadro removed the ambulance gurney from the room allowing the staff to work unhampered. The room took on a surreal feeling as familiar faces darted in and out of her vision in response to Mark and Carter's instructions. Kerry felt utterly helpless. The whole scene was disjointed, her place as the patient out of context with reality. She felt a pulse monitor placed on her right finger and Mark's voice caught her attention. "No sign of head trauma." Mark released the c-collar and began an examination for any spinal injuries. "Any tenderness here?" Moving his hands at various points around her neck and shoulders, he received the negative to all queries. "Kerry, do you have any headache or nausea?" "No." "BPs 98 over 65." Malik undid the pressure cuff from around her arm. Mark quickly flashed his penlight in her eyes. Kerry blinked for a moment in response. "Follow my finger." Kerry did so with a mild argument. "I don't have any head trauma. I wasn't hit at all. Just pinned to the ground by the branches of an overgrown sycamore tree." She winced as Carter palpated her right arm. "Chuny, order a right wrist x-ray," Carter instructed. "I think it's only a bad sprain but we'll know for sure when we get the x-rays back." "Kerry, humour me." Mark hovered over her, his concern palpable. "You're BPs down and your pulse is slightly elevated." "Core temp is 96," Haleh reported. "My normal BP is around 100/70. I was in the cold for near on five hours which would account for quite a lot of my symptoms. You can remove the c-collar." Mark gave in to her request, sure that she would not risk the chance of spinal injury out of stubbornness. It might be one of her traits but she wasn't stupid with it. "We're running in warm saline to combat the hypothermia," Carter commented as he removed the blanket. Thermal blankets were of no use to warming a patient unless they were out of their wet clothing. "Dr. Weaver, your clothes are damp. We need to get you changed out of them." "Haleh, would you and Chuny attend to that while I discuss this with Carter. Malik, maybe you could go assist Dr. Chen elsewhere?" Both doctor and nurse understood the subtle message to leave the room. Kerry was relieved that they were going to change her clothing without the presence of her male colleagues. She wasn't sure how she could have looked any in the eye knowing that they had seen her undressed. *********************** OUTSIDE TRAUMA TWO *********************** "What do you think, Carter?" "I think she's fine." Carter expanded on his assessment. "Her reflexes are normal. No sign of head trauma. Vital signs are within normal range. She was in the cold for nearly four hours and it was only about 55F last night. As she says, hypothermia would account for most of her symptoms. The cuts and abrasions are mainly superficial with only a few deeper lacerations. Her worst injury appears to be a sprained wrist." "Dr. Greene!" Pam Olbes called out from a few feet away. She approached them both. "Is Dr. Weaver okay?" "Yeah. Just mild hypothermia and some lacerations," Mark responded. "You should know that the tree did a number on her house. Brought down most of her roof. Her bedroom is a disaster area. She won't be able to go back there straight away especially if she's supposed to be recovering from hypothermia. The hole in the back of the house is the size of a freight train." "Thanks for that Olbes. We'll try to make some alternative arrangements for her. Have the fire department called in the someone to help with cleaning up her house. "Yeah. They got the Red Cross started on the house right after we got her out. It'll take them half the day to cut the tree out of her house." "Hey, Pam. We've got another call." Zadro had his hands full of medical supplies. "Look, I've got to go. Tell her that the Red Cross are taking care of everything." Pam gave them a quick bye and took off after her partner. "Where can she stay? We can't admit her." Mark realised his house was too small even without his father's presence on the fold out couch. "Her parents are dead and she's got no close relatives," Carter added. "Maybe she could stay with Elizabeth?" "Dr. Greene, I've got an idea. I'll speak to her about it while I'm cleaning up those lacerations." ************** SUTURE ROOM ************** "Dr. Weaver, your x-ray came back clear. You've just got a bad sprain. I'll strap it for you." Carter pulled up the stool beside the gurney on which Kerry lay on her stomach with her arms resting above her head. Kerry nodded in acknowledgement, weary from the lack of sleep and hypothermia. Her body felt leaden and it was too much effort to fight the sleepiness that kept coming over her in waves. "I'll also clean up these cuts. The peroxide will sting a little. There's a couple of deep lacerations. I'll close them with deep dermal as well as subcuticular stitches." Carter rambled on as he went about his job, finding it extremely unusual to find Kerry so silent. She wasn't unresponsive as she had nodded and given occasional muttered responses to his questions. "You can turn over now and I'll bandage your wrist." Kerry turned over carefully, wincing at the pressure on the abrasions. "Thanks, Carter." "Do you want to sit up?" "Yeah. Can you give me a hand?" Carter supported Kerry's shoulders as he helped her sit up. . "Not feeling dizzy?" Kerry shook her head. He placed the back of the gurney in a sitting position. "I suppose you realise that your house is not livable?" "I hadn't really thought about it. I suppose it wouldn't be now that you mention it. Have they secured it? No one can steal anything?" Kerry's face was anxious as she imagined her valuables disappearing out the door. "It's all okay. Everything's been taken care of except one thing." Carter's calm demeanour settled Kerry's racing heart for a moment but she was nervous about the 'one thing' he had tacked on the end of his sentence. He began bandaging her wrist. "What's that?" "Where you are going to live until your house is repaired." Carter took a breath before continuing. "I've got the perfect place for you to stay but I'm unsure whether you will be happy about it." "You haven't got me staying with Robert Romano or Malucci, have you?" "No. Gamma has agreed that you can stay at her place." "Oh, I couldn't impose on your grandmother like that." "Gamma's house is enormous and she has a large staff so it wouldn't be an imposition." "Are you sure that it's okay?" Kerry knew that the Carter's were wealthy and believed that it was possible to stay in Gamma Carter's house and probably not come into contact with the old matriarch. "Yes. But there another thing you should be aware of. I'm living there at the moment as well." Carter finished the bandage, securing the end with a butterfly clip. Kerry sucked in her cheeks, let the air out again and her mouth twisted wryly as she considered her choices. Her concern for conflict of interest earlier in the year had caused her to ask Carter to leave her basement. She regretted the position she was put into but she also knew that she needed to be able to make independent decisions in the running of the ER. Now she was faced with a choice which conflicted with her earlier resolve. Kerry debated and realised that she could kill two birds with one stone by accepting Gamma Carter's hospitality. Not only would she gain a roof over her head but she would also be in a position to monitor Carter daily. "I accept your grandmother's offer. I need a place to live and I'll have trouble doing a few things with this." "Hmm, using your crutch for one." Kerry realised that he was right in his assessment. She hadn't even thought about the fact that she'd hurt not only her writing hand but also the one that held her crutch. Life was going to be very different over the next few weeks. The End.