Absence Of Fear

Chapter 2

Bridge Over Troubled Waters

Disclaimer: Don't own ER or any of the characters. Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, feedback was very encouraging so thanks!! Sorry this chapter is a bit late, but it's finally here, so enjoy!!!

Kerry stood motionless, staring into the darkening sky above her. The cool, light breeze blew the strands of her red hair across her eyes, but she remained quiet and somber. This couldn't possibly be happening to her, it had to be a horrible dream. That's right, this is just a nightmare, she thought, glancing up at an equally quiet Susan Lewis. Just a bad dream, that's all. And in a few minutes time I'll wake up and it will all be over. Yet Kerry knew it was just wishful thinking. This wasn't simply a bad dream, this was reality. She looked nervously across at the man holding them hostage, he looked so normal, just like an ordinary person. Why did he want to keep them here on the rooftop? For what reason did he threaten the two female doctors with a gun? This was like a scene from a movie or a television programme, not an actual event of Dr Kerry Weaver's life. Gripping her crutch even tighter than usual, she looked nervously back over at Susan who exchanged her anxious glance. Kerry couldn't ever remember feeling frightened, certainly not the kind of fear and trepidation she was experiencing at the moment. She was usually such a calm and composed woman, always in charge of her own life, her own destiny. Yet here she stood on the rooftop of the hospital she worked in, facing a clearly deranged man clutching a gun. Her eyes lingered for a minute at the small weapon he held in his right hand. It was such a small piece of equipment, hard to imagine it could cause so much damage. After years of working in the ER she had lost count of how many times she had seen the damage it could easily cause. Would she end up like her patients, bleeding profuriously from wounds, dying because of a bullet shot right through the brain? No, she forced herself to think as she shut her eyes tightly. I will not show any fear in front of this man. I am much stronger than that.

"Why are you doing this?" Susan's voice echoed clearly, finally breaking the silence upon the rooftop. "What do you want from us?"

"This is revenge" David replied in a quiet, harsh tone, his face betraying no emotion at all.

"Revenge for what?" Susan asked, feeling a slight chill travel down her spine as she awaited his answer.

"You, her, the nurse, you were all going to lock me up. You were all planning on hurting me. I......I needed to protect myself, I needed revenge" he spoke angrily, waving the gun insanely in the air.

"We just want to help you" Kerry shook her head in a motherly fashion, finally realizing that this was the psych patient she had treated earlier with Abby's assistance. "We don't want to hurt you though, we just want to help you"

"Don't lie!" he screamed, pressing his lips together in a look of irritation. "You were going to lock me up, so now I have to hurt you"

"Just let us go David" Susan pleaded with the man, taking a couple of deep breaths before walking towards him. "We're needed down in the ER, we would be letting a lot of people down if we weren't allowed to finish our shifts. Sooner or later people will realize we're missing, that means you'll get into a lot of trouble"

"Don't talk to me as though I'm a little child!" David roared, pointing the gun in Kerry's direction. "Don't come any closer or I'll shoot your friend"

Susan was silent for a moment as she studied him closely. He was broad- faced with large, muscular shoulders and dark hair that hung heavily over his brow. A thin moustache was visible on his lips as she noticed how his emerald eyes seemed to burn with fury.

"Please let us go" Kerry tried to speak as calmly as possible, her hand trembling as she held onto her crutch tightly.

"Just shut up.......shut up, shut up!" he screamed insanely, physically jerking his head from side to side. Kerry felt the skin crawl on her neck as she finally realized the true extent to the man's psychological problems. He was quite prepared to take her and Susan's lives away from them, and there was absolutely nothing the two female doctors could do to stop him. He held their every breath in the palm of his hands, their very fate depended on his actions. His actions.

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Elizabeth lifted Ella carefully out of the pram and held her tightly in the comfort of her arms, rocking her back and forth to help stop the tiny infant crying. She was far too young to understand what was happening today, to understand they were burying her father. The female surgeon squeezed back the tears as she realized Ella would grew up without a father, grow up without the presence of the man she cherished with all her heart. Staring blankly into the corner of the church, she wished she could turn back the clock. Make up for all the months she spent arguing with him regarding Rachel, the months she spent apart from him living in a cheap hotel. When he was dying she hid from him in a hotel near the hospital with their baby daughter. Why didn't he tell her the truth, why did he choose to keep the painful truth to himself? Why did he choose to tell Susan he was dying before speaking to his wife? He was trying to protect you, Robert had told her. Perhaps he had been, Mark selflessly put others needs before his own. Wiping away a lone tear that slowly slid down her pale cheeks, Elizabeth cleared her throat and looked away from the dark corner she was focusing on. I have to be strong, she told herself, the words echoing through her mind. For Ella's sake at least. Gently rocking her daughter back and forth, the English woman concentrated on a vase of beautiful white lilies that sat at the front of the church. Lilies, the first type of flower Mark bought her. It was hard to imagine that over a year ago they had stood in this very church to exchange wedding vows, to pledge their love for another in front of family and friends. Now she sat here in the front pew waiting to bury her husband. Life could be so cruel at times.

"Dr Corday?" a male voice interrupted her thoughts as she turned around to see John standing beside her.

"John" she nodded, acknowledging his presence.

"Have you noticed Susan anywhere? She said to meet me here over half an hour ago yet I can't seem to find her anywhere"

"If she said she will be here, she will be here" Elizabeth replied coldly. She still resented the fact that Susan hid the truth from her regarding Mark's illness, but a part of her wanted the woman to be there at his funeral. She was a valued friend to him, they had to unite with one another and share their grief. But the situation puzzled her, where exactly was Susan?

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"Frank do you know if a Mr. David Young has been discharged?" Abby asked the male desk clerk as she leaned against the reception desk, clutching her patient's chart at her chest. Dr DeRaad had finally arrived for the psych consult she had been awaiting for the past half an hour but the patient had seemed to have vanished, worrying the young nurse.

"Not as far as I know" Frank shook his head as he answered the telephone that rang loudly beside him.

"That's strange........" Abby muttered as she tucked a strand of her dark hair behind her ear. "Haleh, did you move a Mr. Young to another room?" she questioned the passing nurse.

"No" Haleh answered as she placed a handful of charts on the reception desk beside them. "Have you seen Weaver anywhere, double trauma coming in, ETA's ten minutes away"

"Well maybe Kerry took my missing patient up to psych herself" Abby bit her lower lip as she placed her hand on her hip. "It's just a little strange though"

"Abby, where's Dr Lewis?" Frank called over as he held the telephone away from his ear, a male voice talking loudly at the other end.

"No, I thought she was leaving at one o'clock to attend Dr Greene's funeral"

"Well she's not at the church" Frank shrugged his shoulders before resuming his conversation to the male at the other end of the line.

"I'm going to try and find Weaver" Abby mumbled to herself as she walked briskly towards the stairs. Not only was it strange that three people had suddenly disappeared, but she was also worried about David's mental status and of the possibility he could pose as a danger to others. It was just a gut feeling...........

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Susan glanced down at the gold watch on her wrist, she was currently missing Mark's funeral, missing out on the chance to say goodbye to her dear friend. The female attending tried her best not to think about the fact that she might die today. That these could very well be her last moments in this wonderful world, the future might never come. Her throat felt as dry as a desert despite her best efforts to stay as calm as possible. If these were going to be her last moments on earth she certainly didn't want to spend them being scared.

"You don't have to do this David" Kerry's voice could be heard as Susan looked up at the red headed woman. "I know you don't want to hurt us"

David opened his mouth and laughed, walking menacingly towards the Chief of the ER. "Oh but I do" he smiled, his evil grin growing more psychotic by the second. His dark hair glittered with sweat as he brushed it away from his forehead with one sweep of his hand. Kerry suddenly felt a wave of nausea she had never experienced in the company of another human. This man was evil, if she had the chance to strangle him with her bare hands she would.

"You won't be saving any more patients now doc" he laughed, pointing the gun straight at Kerry's abdomen.

"Please don't hurt me" she begged, trembling with fear for the safety of her life. She looked directly into the man's eyes, a tunnel of endless darkness. "Please, I'm begging you, just let me go"

"No" he spat pressing the weapon he clutched against her stomach. "I have to kill you, they're telling me to"

"Who?" Susan asked, shuffling her feet timidly towards him. "Who is telling you to kill us?"

"Them!" he raised his voice ever so slightly.

"Who, tell us who?"

"The voices" David finally answered after a long pause of awkward silence. "I didn't want to bring you up here, but the voices ordered me to. They are making me do this"

"You don't have to do anything you don't want to" Susan continued to speak in a calm, soothing tone, hoping to ease his anger. "We can help the voices disappear David. We want to help you, but first you have to let us go, please"

David nodded as he took a step backwards, moving the gun away from Kerry's body and placing it by his side. Susan smiled at him as he continued to nod at all, understanding her words. As a gentle breeze blew in their direction, the silence was broken by the sudden bleeping of Dr Lewis's pager. David's face twisted with fury as a gun shot was suddenly fired. Not once but twice............

Author's Notes: So has Kerry and Susan been shot, will they survive, what will happen to David, will Carter and co find them in time? Tell me if you want another chapter, feedback very welcome!!