Author/pseudonym: MonaCK and Cathy Roberts
Email address: monaCK2@yahoo.com and huntersglenn@yahoo.com
Rating: NC-17
Status: Finished
Pairing: John Carter/Luka Kovac/Dave Malucci
Date: December 9, 2003
Archive: Please ask first
Series: 31/?
Category: "E.R."
Disclaimer: "ER" and all its characters belong to Warner Bros. No infringement of their copyright is intended. This story was written for the enjoyment of "ER" fans everywhere, and may be downloaded for your own pleasure. The title of the story was inspired by the Jimmy Buffett song of the same name, and no infringement is intended. The story can be found on the following web sites: http://www.heresmona.com/fanfic.html
http://www.geocities.com/Paris/Boutique/7087/, and
http://www.errealmofslash.com
Summary: It's a slashy A/U story about how Season 8 might have been and contains no spoilers for the current season.
"Changes In Latitudes, Changes In Attitudes, Part 31"
By MonaCK and Cathy Roberts
As she had listened to Luka relate all that John had confessed, Millicent alternated between feelings of guilt and rage. She felt guilty because she knew that the family, herself included, had failed John. Even though she hadn't known about what Jenny had done to John, she'd been one of the people who had urged Jack to send John away to a boarding school, feeling that with all of them traveling so much, it would be much healthier for him to be around a lot of other people and not stuck at home with only older servants for company. And, even though Jenny had worked for Jack and not her, Millicent felt guilty because of what Jenny had done with and to John. She also felt guilty for being so quick to name J.C. as the member of the family who had discovered the abuse and put a stop to it, hiding it from everyone else.
The rage Millicent felt was more toward her own son as well as toward Jenny and this Alex person. How could Jack have kept quiet about if for twenty years? Hadn't he seen what it had done to John? The boy should have been put into therapy immediately, and now, now it was all coming out, and everyone around John was feeling the effects of it.
Dr. Meyers had listened in silence, and when Luka was finished he finally spoke up. "Hasn't John been seeing someone since the stabbing? I'd always thought that whenever something like that happened, that everyone involved would be offered counseling because of the very real chances that they would develop Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome."
Luka shook his head. "I'm not sure.. but I don't think that John has been to see anyone since coming back from Atlanta. I don't know for sure, though. I didn't become close to John until very recently. Dave might know -- he's been friends with John longer..."
Just then, there was a knock at the door, and Luka looked towards Dr. Meyers and Mrs. Carter. "Do you want me to get it?"
Millicent nodded. "Please." As far as Millicent knew, John hadn't seen anyone either before or after he went to Atlanta, but she hadn't thought too much about it since he had seemed to have been handling his recovery fairly well. Of course, the drug addiction showed that he hadn't been handling things as well as they all thought, but once he was well and back home, Millicent had wanted to believe that things were finally fine for him. Little did she know that nothing had been 'fine' for John for years.
Luka nodded, and stood to open the door, to find a rather distraught Dave, with a slightly upset looking John in tow. "Dave.. what.. what happened..."
"I...convinced him that pushing us away isn't the best thing. But, I think it's gone too far to the other extreme now. I...I can't deal with this anymore...this is tearin' me apart. I'm trying not to let it, but damn it, I love him...and this is tearin' me apart..."
Dave was hoping that his voice was low enough that John couldn't hear him, but even if he could, it really didn't matter much. Dave could feel John emotionally pulling away from him with every breath that he took, and that scared Dave as well.
John managed a small smile at Luka as he peered at him over Dave's shoulder, glad that the stopped door had finally enabled him to catch up to Dave. Walking had proved to be a bit more rough on his feet than he had expected. "We're going to the store, would you like to come with us?"
Dave looked over his shoulder to John, and then back to Luka again. "I wouldn't let him go by himself.. I told him that I wanted to go with him if he wanted to go to the store...and he wants you to come along too, which I agreed to," Dave said, his eyes pleading.
Luka nodded. "Okay...but John...I'm not sure it's a good idea for you to go out right now...your feet are still bothering you. Why don't you let me go out to get what you want, and you can stay here with Dave, and your grandmother?"
John really wanted to get out of the house, but he had already told Dave that he'd do whatever it was that he and Luka wanted, so he didn't have much of a choice. He slowly nodded as his smile faded. "If that's what you want, then I guess I'll stay here. I need some cigarettes." John reached into his back pocket for his wallet, pulling out a couple of twenties. "You might as well get a carton of Marlboro 100's," he said, holding the money out toward Luka.
"You're..smoking again, John?" Luka rose a brow, but didn't take the money from John. "I'm not buying you cigarettes, John, I'm sorry..." He shook his head,and crossed his arms over his chest. "You shouldn't be smoking...it's not good for you..."
"Yeah, well you and Dave both drink alcohol, don't you? And it's not good for you. You know what? Forget I asked, I'll go by myself," John snapped as he shoved the money into his pocket, then put his wallet back.
Dave cast a glance over towards Dr. Meyers and Mrs. Carter, hoping they would recognize how erratic John was acting. "John...why don't I take you for a walk outside? Getcha outta the house for a little while...?" Dave was grasping at straws, anything to try to get something normal going on inside him again.
"I don't want to go for a walk, Dave. I want to go to the store to get a fucking carton of cigarettes. I don't see why that's such a crime."
"John Truman Carter, I don't care how upset you are, I won't tolerate such language in my house," Millicent sternly said as she wheeled toward the doorway. "If Dave and Luka don't want to drive you to the store then I'll have Alger run you up there, but not if you're going to stand around using foul language, is that understood?"
John looked down at the floor, mentally kicking himself for forgetting that his grandmother was within hearing distance. "Yes, ma'am, I'm sorry, it won't happen again."
"I'm sure it won't," she replied, her voice once again gentle. "You've always carried yourself as the true gentleman that you are, John, and I've long been proud of you for that." Millicent knew it wouldn't hurt his self-esteem any to be told that someone was proud of him.
"There'll be no need to get Alger, Mrs. C," Dave finally said, not wanting John to be angry with him any further. "If John really wants to go to the store, I'll take him to the store..."
Luka crossed his arms over his chest, his demeanor brooding. "I'll go with him as well. If it means that much to him...I...I'll go as well."
Dave looked over to Luka, and then back to John again -- trying to gauge what John's reaction was to all of this. God, what a mess this was.
John smiled again, relieved that he wouldn't have to rely on his grandmother's driver after all. "Okay. Let's go. Gamma, would you like anything?"
Millicent shook her head. "No, thank you. I'm fine."
"All right, we shouldn't be too long." John looked at Dave. "Shall we take your car? I don't think the three of us can fit in Luka's fast little number," he joked.
Dave looked towards Luka, and then nodded. "Yeah, I'd prefer to drive anyway since I didn't get to do it much, I now like to as much as I can...ya know?"
Dave offered John a smile as he led them out towards the front of the house. Dave's car was parked there, and he unlocked it, allowing the men entry, and the time to decide where each wanted to sit.
"John...do you have a preference? Why don't you go ahead and sit up front," Luka found himself saying. And walking towards the car, he opened the door for the backseat.
John had been about to say that he wanted to sit in the back, but Luka more or less took that option away from him. "The front seat is fine," he said, trying to not sound put out by it. "Nice car," John said to Dave, hoping that would help to start cheer Dave. He had thought that once he gave in to what Dave had wanted, that Dave would be happier, but so far that hadn't been the case. Outside of a short smile or two, Dave had still seemed sad and John didn't understand why.
John got into the car and put on his seat belt. "You might remember the store since you passed it on your way here," he said, referring to the closest convenience store.
Dave nodded. "Yeah...I stopped there on my way in to pick up some stuff for the cottage. Yeah, they seemed to have a pretty good selection," Dave said, as he easily drove the car towards the edge of the Carter property.
Luka sat in the back seat, lost in his own thoughts. He was trying to figure out how he had gotten to the point of falling in love with such a mentally unstable man. But Luka couldn't help but feel tied to John now, it was no longer just his mind talking, but his heart as well.
Dave drove for a few minutes, turning on the radio to drown out the deafening silence of the car ride. And soon he pulled into the parking lot. "Do you wanna just run in, or do you want us to come in with you?" Dave asked, turning his head towards John.
John looked back at Dave. "Doesn't matter." He looked over the back of the seat at Luka. "Did you want to come in with us?"
Luka shook his head. "No, you guys go ahead in. I'll wait here so Dave can keep the car running," he said, as he focused his gaze outside the window.
Dave looked in the rearview mirror towards Luka, and then over to John. "Just you and me then, John. Why don't we go in? Luka? Can I get ya anything?"
Luka simply shook his head. "No thank you."
Dave shrugged his shoulders, and, after exiting the car, waited for John to join him. Dave couldn't help but notice that John was still walking funny, and as John reached his side, Dave turned towards him, his voice soft. "I wanna check on your feet when we get back to the house, okay? I'm afraid that they're not wrapped well enough if you're still having this much trouble walkin'."
Dave held open the door of the store for him so John could walk in before him, and then he followed.
John nodded, then stepped into the store. Even though he wanted cigarettes, he made a beeline for the slushy machines, hoping that the store had some of his favorite flavors and he smiled when he saw they did. "Hey, Dave, do you want a slushy?" he asked as he grabbed a large cup and began to layer the watermelon, raspberry and cola flavors into it. Maybe drinking something sweet would put Dave in a happier mood?
Dave raised a brow, and a smile twitched on his lips. "A slushy? I dunno if I've ever *had* a slushy," he said, as he looked at the machine. "What do ya put in them? Are they any good?"
This was good. Doing something *other* than obsessing over their relationship...or lack thereof...or whatever the Hell it was. Anything had to be better than that. And if Luka wanted to brood in the car, well there was really not much that Dave could do about that.
"Are they good? Dave, there's enough sugar in one of these to put you into orbit for months. Pick a flavor, or you can mix them up, it doesn't matter." John gestured to the machine in front of them. There were six flavors that day -- cola, watermelon, raspberry, blueberry, cherry, and bubblegum. He grabbed another large cup and handed it to Dave. "Go for it. I get a kick out of mixing some of the flavors because that way as I drink it, I can go through each layer, but to each his own. Oh, hey, fresh hot dogs," John said as he saw the hot dogs on the grill and the aroma from them made his stomach growl. He hadn't eaten since lunch the day before and John realized he was starving. "Want a hot dog to go along with that? You can put on all the chili and cheese and other stuff you want, no extra cost," he said to Dave.
Dave was so happy to see John eating that even though hot dogs didn't agree with him, he eagerly nodded. Turning towards the machine, he filled up his own slushy cup, and then he walked over towards the hot dog grill. "What kind ya gonna get?" he asked, as he licked his lips. Hot dogs didn't agree with Dave, but that didn't mean he didn't like to eat them. He'd deal with the consequences later.
"Anything else ya want?" he asked, looking around the store. "Maybe some chips? Pretzels?"
"Yeah, sure," John said as he looked over the selection, then up at the clerk. "I'll have two of the all beef hot dogs. Dave? What did you want?" he asked as he watched the woman pull out two soft steamed buns. God, he was so hungry. "Do you think Luka would want one?" John felt a little bad about Luka being made to wait while they had food prepared, but he couldn't help being hungry.
"Yeah, I'll have the same," Dave said, as he grabbed a couple of bags of chips. As John asked about Luka, Dave shrugged. "I dunno if he wants anything, and it would be easy enough for Luka to come in if he did. Don't worry about Luka, he's capable of making his own decisions," Dave said, as he walked back towards John. He put the bags of chips up on the counter, and waited for the woman to finish putting together their hot dogs. "Anything else you want? Anything you want, it's yours."
Dave would give John the world if he could...
John figured that Dave was right about Luka, but he still felt a bit bad about not even asking the man if he wanted anything. He loaded his hot dogs with cheese, chili, onions, mustard and ketchup, then joined Dave at the counter. As Dave asked if John wanted anything else, he looked around for the cigarettes and told the clerk which kind he wanted. Then he spotted the pastry and candy section. "Ooh, how about some cupcakes or something like that?" He headed in that direction, looking for some chocolate, cream-filled cupcakes.
The clerk put the carton of cigarettes on the counter beside the hot dogs, slushies and chips. "I think you're gonna want a bag for all of this," she commented as she began to ring up the items.
Dave nodded. "Yeah, cupcakes are good too." He wasn't going to argue with the guy. John was *hungry*. That in and of of itself was a minor miracle. And as the cashier spoke, Dave nodded again. "Yeah, if you can put it all in a bag, that would be good.
The cashier finished, and told Dave the total. And Dave reached into his wallet for money to pay for everything. It was worth it, it was all worth it all to see a smile on John's face again.
************
Luka watched with dark eyes as John and Dave interacted inside the small convenience store. And his stomach growled as he watched them buy all sorts of food. Luka wondered if either of them were going to come out and ask if he wanted anything, but that didn't happen. So instead, he crossed his arms over his chest, and just watched.
Dave turned to John as he finished paying, and smiled. "So ya ready to head out to the car? I just wanna throw some stuff on this these, and then we can go on out."
He headed over to the toppings bar, and put some cheese and chili on his dogs, and then turned back towards John. "C'mon. Let's go."
As they walked out towards the car, the first thing that Dave noticed was that Luka was practically glaring at the two of them. Dave couldn't help but wonder what the Hell his problem was? It wasn't like Luka couldn't have come in with them...
John got into the front seat, stuck his slushy in the cup holder and looked back at Luka. "Sorry it took so long, but I suddenly realized I was starving." He put the bag down on the floor and started pulling things out, setting Dave's hot dogs on the dashboard, then pulling out the cupcakes and chips and the carton of cigarettes until he finally reached his hot dogs, which were on the bottom.
The aroma from the bag was nearly overwhelming and John thought he just might pass out from hunger before he even had a chance to take the first bite. Still, his breeding did win out and he looked over his shoulder at Luka. "Do you want a bite?"
Luka thought 'yes', but the word "No" was on his lips before he had a chance to stop it. He knew he was being childish, but he didn't care. He was in a bad mood.. and he was going to share that bad mood with everyone around him. Luka didn't want to be in this situation. He didn't want to be in the back seat of Dave's car, watching Dave and John enjoy a picnic lunch of hot dogs. He wanted to be home...with John in his arms, and if he could, he would literally push Dave out of the state. Life, very simply, was not very fair.
Dave turned towards John, a cheesy grin on his lips as a result of the cheese on top of his hotdog. "Mmm.. this is really great. Good idea. I"m gonna pay for it later, but man...I *love* hot dogs."
John nodded, then glanced back at Luka. He had found a way to cheer up Dave, but now Luka seemed sad or even upset. "Do you want a cupcake then?" John asked as he held up the package. "Or even some chips or something?" There had to be something that Luka would want, and John was hoping he'd soon figure out just what it was.
"You know what I would like, John?" Luka said, bringing his eyes up to meet John's. "I would really like to go home right now, and go lie down for a little while. Do you think that would be possible?"
Dave took a final bite of his first hot dog, and used a napkin to wipe his lips and hands. "Yeah, we can head outta here. I'll eat my other dog when we get back to the house. Ya.. ya doing alright?" Dave frowned. Luka looked like he might be sick or something, and Dave certainly didn't want Luka throwing up or anything in the back of his car.
"I'm fine, Dave," Luka said, carefully controlling his voice. "I just want to go home."
John put his hot dog aside so he could put on his seat belt. "Dave will have you back home in no time," he said as he packed up the rest of the stuff, then grabbed the hot dog. "I'll just eat while you drive," he told Dave. It wouldn't take long for them to get back to the house and then Luka could go and lie down. John was thinking that perhaps Luka hadn't slept well the night before, what with all of his bad memories haunting him and all of that. And with him calling out sick, John was sure that Luka had to work a little harder than usual on his shift and that made John feel a little guilty, but not enough to ruin his newly regained appetite.
As promised, Dave had them back to the house in very little time. As soon as Dave pulled the car to a halt in front of the house, Luka had his door open. "I'll be up in my room. I need to lie down," he said again. And without turning back to look at John, Dave, or anyone else involved, Luka retreated, knowing that he was not fit to be near anyone at that moment.
Dave turned towards John, and shrugged. "I hope he's alright, but, I have to say...I'm glad to see ya eating again. I'm glad ya have an appetite." Because John having an appetite meant to Dave that John was beginning to feel better.
"Ya ready to go back inside? Or...maybe you wanna sit out by the lake and finish eatin' our food?"
"Actually, going over to the lake sounds pretty good to me," John said, his eyes following Luka as the man walked to the door and then disappeared into the house. John stared at the closed door for a moment, then turned to smile at Dave. "Um, did you want to drive over there or walk?"
"Why don't we drive?" Dave said. "I don't wantcha walkin' on your feet any more than you have to. As it is, when we get back inside, I wanna check your bandages and make sure you're not bleedin' through. The cuts didn't look deep...but I hope you don't need stitches..."
John wanted to argue with Dave, but the truth was that it had taken all of his will power to walk out of the store and not limp or show any signs that he was in pain. Still, he couldn't let Dave think that he was going to submit willingly. "If you say so, Dr. Dave," John replied, "But I'm sure I don't need stitches."
Since he'd never really parked, or cut off the engine, Dave pointed the vehicle towards the lake where a few minutes later he parked it. "It's a nice day...a perfect day for a picnic."
John looked out over the lake and nodded. "It is a nice afternoon. Come on." He opened the door, grabbed the bag of food and his slushy and got out, walking over toward the water until he found a nice grassy area where they could sit. "I don't suppose you have a blanket in the trunk, do you?" John asked Dave as he knelt on the ground. He could handle sitting on the grass to eat, but it would be nicer to have something under them to keep the bugs away from the food.
Dave walked with him, and pondered as they walked. "Yeah, actually, I think I do. I had a blanket around some of the more valuable stuff while I was movin'...and I think I left it in the trunk of the car." A grin spread across his lips. "Wait right here."
Dave turned back towards the car, and opened the trunk. After a few moments, he returned, holding a blanket in his arms. "One blanket to sit on, as you ordered. Your wish is my command," he teased, as he spread out the blanket before them.
Dave sat down on it, and then waited for John to do the same. Only then did he reach into the bag to grab his uneaten hot dog. It was a little bit coolish, but still good nonetheless.
John settled onto the blanket, more than happy to be off his feet. The two men ate in silence for a bit. Once his last hot dog was eaten, John took a long sip of his slushy, and then reached into the bag for the cup cakes. "Want one?" he asked Dave as he opened the package. In a way, he was sorry he had broken the silence just for those two words -- it had felt nice to just sit there with Dave, and the silence hadn't been overpowering at all, but rather had felt as if it was just a natural part of the two of them.
The words startled Dave -- the silence had been very...calming for him. It was as if they didn't need words to speak, because there was so much unsaid between them. Dave turned his head and nodded. "Yeah, I think I could go for somethin' sweet right now."
As John handed him the cupcake, Dave's hand brushed over his, and the younger man couldn't help but feel a thrill throughout his body. It was still there, that...that attraction, that energy, but Dave was really beginning to learn something. That he didn't need to be making love to John to show him how he felt, that sometimes...sometimes words and action weren't needed at all.
John smiled at Dave, then stretched out on his back as he tore his cup cake in half so he could lick out the cream filling. In the comfortable silence he wondered how he could have ever thought that leaving Dave and Luka was the only choice he could make, and he wondered if either man would ever forgive him for his thoughtlessness. Still, John didn't want to ruin the moment by even thinking about what had happened earlier, let alone try to talk about it. The less that Dave was forced to remember of the afternoon the better, John thought.
Dave ate his own cup cake sitting up, enjoying the way that the creamy filling tasted against the sponginess of the cake. He ate them the way he usually did, first eating most of the icing, and then eating the cake part, leaving the last bit of icing as a final treat. When he finished, he licked his fingers and turned towards John.
"You know, I'm not really ready to go back to the house yet...ya wanna sit out here for a little longer?" Dave hoped so. Because he wasn't quite ready to get back to reality yet. And being outside, just him and John, was very, very nice.
John nodded. "Sounds good to me. I'm not really in the mood to clean up right now." He sat back up, definitely overdue for one of the cigarettes he, or rather, Dave, had bought. "Would it bother you too much if I smoked? I promise to stay down wind from you, so it won't bother you."
Dave nodded, and kept his eyes locked on John's. "I'm...I'm not gonna stop you. You know I'm not happy about it, but I'd never wanna try to tell you what you can and can't do. You're a doctor,. you know the risks, so I'm not gonna recant them to you. And God knows you've been stressed enough in the past few days..."
Turning away, Dave sighed. Even though on the surface, things seemed okay, they were far from being normal. Not that Dave even knew what normal was anymore.
When Dave nodded, John had reached for the carton of cigarettes, but by the time Dave turned his face away, John had stopped moving. Dave was disappointed in him, again, and rightfully so. John put the carton back in the bag. "That's okay. I can always grab a smoke later tonight. Want some chips?" he asked as he grabbed for something to keep his mouth and hands occupied so he wouldn't think about the cigarettes that were so tantalizingly close, yet still so far out of reach.
Dave turned back towards John, surprise in his eyes. "No...go ahead and smoke. I mean it. It's okay...I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said anything..."
John smiled. "It's okay, Dave. I won't explode if I don't have one now. But...just you wait until the next time you want a beer or something. Man, will you ever get a lecture then," he teased. He held the open chip bag out toward Dave. "Want one?"
Dave returned the grin. "After the amount of drinkin' I did last night, I *deserve* to get a lecture about my drinking," he retorted, as he reached into the bag of chips. Grabbing a handful, he began to munch on them, occasionally stealing glances at the man sitting next to him. In a lot of ways, he felt almost as if he was on a first date, but in other ways, it was like being with an old friend. It was a mix of emotions he was feeling, trying to ignore the attraction, and just genuinely enjoy the *time* he was spending with John.
John ate a few chips, then nodded as he remembered how anguished Dave had sounded. "Yeah, you're right about that. I should make a copy of that voice mail just to have around to play back to you if you even *think* about taking a drink." And that was about all John wanted to say on that particular subject. There was no need for Dave to know just how much that voice mail had torn him apart, John thought. No need at all. "So," he began, fishing around for something neutral to talk about, "are you all moved in or do you still need to do some shopping?"
"Oh man, nothin' like gettin' a few drink's in you to make you pour your heart out, huh? Man, I'm *so* sorry for doin' that to you...you didn't deserve that. I really think I need to curb my drinkin'. Anyway, yeah, I still have a bit of shopping to do...food shoppin', stuff like that. I also wanna get out to buy a new TV, but I can't do that until I get a few paychecks, ya know? I miss my big screen TV. Watchin' sports on my 19 inch just isn't the same."
Dave grinned from ear to ear, genuinely enjoying the bantering back and forth. "I don't suppose I can convince you to come shoppin' with me at some point, that is, if you still want me around?"
"Of course, I'll go with you," John said, feeling a bit confused as to why Dave would even begin to think that John wouldn't want him around. Hadn't he told Dave over and over again that he loved him? "I owe you lunch or something since you paid for all this. When did you want to go? I happen to be free for the rest of the day."
"Don't worry about lunch, but yeah...if you want, we can go now. But, before we do, we do need to go back inside. I wanna check your feet, and I want your grandmother to know that you're okay, and in better spirits. Is that alright with you?"
Dave smiled a genuine smile, both because of the demeanor change, and because John wanted him around again. Maybe everything was going to be okay?
"So check them here," John said as he swung his legs over into Dave's lap. He knew Dave was right about needing to reassure people, but John just didn't feel quite like going in. The afternoon was too nice and the company too good for him to want to leave the lakeside.
Dave nodded, and began to remove one of John's shoes. "Okay, I'll check 'em here, but I'm gonna call up to the house, just make sure they know that you're with me. And...we're still gonna have to deal with some of this...but we don't have to right now, okay? I'm...I'm just happy to be spending time with you, you know that, right?"
After taking off both of John's shoes, Dave gently pulled down John's socks, and looked at the bottoms of his feet. "Okay, you're not bleedin' through, but are you sure it's a good idea for you to be on your feet right now? I'd imagine your feet are mighty sore..."
John quickly shook his head. "I'm fine. Really. And I think it'd be great if you could call up to the house, although I probably should shower and change before going out again. These are the same clothes I was wearing yesterday. How about you going to check in while I shower?" John really didn't want to see his grandmother, or Dr. Meyers, if the man was still around. He did, however, want to check on Luka, and he could easily do that while Dave was speaking with Millicent. "If you'll give me my feet back, I can put my socks and shoes back on and we can go," John said with a grin, although it did feel nice to have Dave touching him, even if it was just his feet that were the beneficiaries of Dave's caresses.
Dave nodded. "Yeah, yeah I can do that..." Dave figured that both Dr. Meyers and Millicent would be al lright with the fact that at least John wasn't alone. He'd be with Dave, and Dave would be able to take care of John if the man had another breakdown.
Dave reluctantly let go of John's feet, and watched as John put his shoes and socks back onto his body. And then Dave stood, putting out his hand so he could help John up. As the other man stood, Dave continued to hold his hand, unable to resist leaning in to plant a light kiss on John's lips.
"This was really kinda nice. Now that the weather's gettin' nicer, we should try to do this more often...don't you think?"
John smiled at Dave. "That sounds like a great idea. We should plan the next one for when Luka's not feeling tired, though. I'm sure he'd enjoy being outside, too." John bent over to pick up the debris from their late lunch. "I feel a little responsible for him being so tired. If I hadn't called in sick, then he would have had an easier day at work, I'm sure."
"Yeah...yeah...Luka. I'm sure he'd like this." The very mention of the other man's name sent shivers up Dave's spine, but he refused to let it show on the outside. "I'm sure that it's not completely your fault that he's tired. I wouldn't let yourself worry about it. If you're concerned, why don't you check on him after your shower?" Not that Dave particularly wanted that, but he supposed that he was going to have to get used to Luka being a central figure in John's life.
"I had planned to," John said as he straightened up, the cigarette carton in one hand while he held the convenience store bag out to Dave. "There's nothing but trash in there now," he informed Dave, and then John started to gather up the untouched items into the blanket. "You don't mind if we carry stuff back in the blanket, do you?" he asked. "I thought it would be better than making several trips back and forth from the car."
"Yeah, yeah...that's fine," Dave said, as he watched John gather everything up.
He waited for an answer from Dave before starting for the car. The less John had to walk, the better -- he wanted to save his feet for shopping with Dave.
Dave watched John for a moment, not liking the way that he was walking in the slightest. But he didn't want to argue with John. He had done enough of that for one day. So instead he caught up to him, and opened the trunk so that John could put the stuff inside. Shutting the trunk, he walked over to open the door for John so he could sit comfortably inside. Dave then made his way over to the drivers seat, and then started the engine.
Soon he pulled back in front of the house, and then Dave turned to John once more. "Home sweet home..."
"Yeah, if you ignore all the broken glass." John said as he got out of the car and headed for the door. Once there he stopped to let Dave catch up to him. "Shall I meet you back here or at the cottage?"
"About how long ya gonna be? You wanna meet down here by my car in about an hour or so? I really don't wanna have you walkin' when ya don't need to be..." His eyes were full of worry, and his voice was laced with concern. Concern over everything. Was Dave doing the right thing by taking John out? He wasn't sure, but Dave did know he loved spending time with John, and he wanted to try to spend as much time as possible with him...without Luka brooding about.
"Oh, it won't take me that long. How about I meet you back here in thirty minutes?" John asked. That would give him fifteen minutes or so to check on Luka and the rest of the time to shower and change. "And as far as walking goes, I've already told you that I'm fine, Dave, so you don't have to worry about me, okay?" John said as he opened the door, hoping that going into the house would end the conversation. He hated it when people expected him to be incapacitated by any little injury, or worse yet, when they catered to him because of it.
Dave nodded. "Yeah.. okay.. I'll see you in a half hour or so." He walked with John up the stairs, and as they reached the top of the landing, Dave faced John once more, reaching out his hand to brush his cheek. "So, I'll see ya in a few minutes, okay?"
Dave leaned in to plant another kiss on John's lips, and then made his way down the hallway. Dave turned to look at John again, smiling softly as he watched the other man knock on Luka's door. Only then did Dave rap his knuckles on the doorway of Mrs. Carter's room.