Title:  Changes In Latitudes, Changes In Attitudes, Part 9
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, f/f
Date:  July 10, 2003
Archive: Please ask first 
Series: 9/?
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 and http://www.geocities.com/Paris/Boutique/7087/
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 9"
By MonaCK and Cathy Roberts


Finally pulling back from the kiss, Dave's eyes were wild with desire as he met Carter's.  The feelings that were stirring inside him he thought were long dead...but they weren't.  They were more alive than ever...If anything, his feelings for Carter were stronger than before.

John's heart soared as he saw the look in Dave's eyes.  "God, Dave...I've missed you.  I've missed the way you make me feel.  I wish you weren't working right now because I want nothing more than to drag you into my bedroom so I can rip off this uniform," John ran his hands over the material, "Even if you do look damn good in it.  I want to kiss you all over, suck you into my mouth, feel you filling me completely.  God..." John's hands pulled Dave back against his chest and he kissed him passionately.

"I'm not on duty right now," Dave stated matter of factly as they broke from the kiss.  "I'm on call.  I'm always on call, but I don't have regular office hours...so...uh...you might say...you can do whatever you want with me...that is...if you really want me..."

This was what Dave had been wanting to hear for *so* long. The fact that staff wasn't supposed to be with guests in this way had completely gone out of Dave's head.  No.  It was worth risking his job to be with him. 

"I love you," Dave said, pulling himself as close to Carter as he possibly could.  "And I'm sorry for letting you go..." He was speaking from his heart...pure emotion... all cards were laid out on the table.

"There's condoms and lube in my room," John said with a slow smile.  Dave really did love him after all and all those months he had doubted that love seemed to melt away as he looked into Dave's eyes.  "I'm afraid I don't have any handcuffs with me, though, but the beds here aren't really made for things like that, either."

"I think we'd better get to your room then," Dave said, smiling broadly as he began to walk towards the room he had seen Carter coming out of earlier.  "Because I really don't think I can wait any longer before ripping your clothes off your body...it's been too long...way too...fucking long..."

His cock was hard...hard for Carter.  It was like it just  *knew* that Carter was there...and he was going to make Dave scream out in pleasure over and over...a pretty mediocre day was turning into a really great one...

"Hasn't it though?  But if you want my room then we need to go over there," John pointed to his door.  "That's Luka's room."  John's penis was hard, as if he hadn't come in years instead of hours.  The morning spent with Luka seemed far away and paled in comparison to what Dave promised.

So Carter had come out of -Luka-'s room earlier?  Dave wasn't sure how he felt about that.  But he was so turned on by Carter that he didn't want to think about it.  All he wanted was Carter.  Carter in any way possible.  Tied to the bed...not tied to the bed...just...on his back...on his stomach...in his arms...It didn't really matter much.  Just as long as it was just the two of them.

He pulled Carter's hand and soon they were both in Carter's room.  Dave shut the door behind him and then wasted no time pulling Carter back into his arms, his lips crashing over Carter's in a motion of pure lust.  Dave was wearing ship whites, not jeans, and it was  *quite* obvious exactly what was on his mind as he pressed his body close to Carter's.  Yeah.  This was *just* what he wanted.

John slipped his hand down between their bodies, pressing it hard against Dave's erection as they kissed.  It was as if no time had passed at all since they had last been together, and his other hand soon joined it down there, undoing Dave's pants so he could free Dave's penis and greet it with a proper kiss.

Dave moaned as he felt Carter's hand against him.  Man...oh man...it had been ages since he was last this turned on.  And like this, it was all because of this man.  This man who haunted his dreams.  This man who was the person he thought about most for months.  Carter had gotten under his skin like no one had ever been before.

Dave broke away breathlessly.  His eyes were wild with desire and his hands quickly moved down Carter's body until they found the bottom of his shirt.  Pulling it over Carter's head, Dave tossed it to the side, not caring even for a moment where the garment lay.  By this point, Dave's pants were completely unhitched, and soon they were pooled around his ankles.  And Dave's hand eagerly moved towards the button of Carter's pants so that he would soon be in the same state.

"I want you...so fucking bad, Carter," Dave moaned.  "God...I've wanted this for so long..."

"Me, too.  I've missed you...missed this," John said as he ran his hand over the silky skin of Dave's penis.  So different from Luka's -- John tried to kneel, but Dave had a firm grip on the waistband of his shorts.  "Dave...please?  I need to..."

Dave swallowed and then nodded slightly, finally letting Carter go so that he could kneel.  How many times had Carter's mouth slid over his cock in his dreams?  His dreams had haunted him...teased him...and now they were a wonderful reality once again.

John greedily lapped at the tip of Dave's penis, taking in everything at once -- the taste of Dave's skin, his musk, the pre-come already there.  It was almost too much to handle at one time because there were just too many things that John wanted.  He needed to kiss Dave, needed to have Dave kiss him, caress him, fuck him.  He needed to suck on Dave until he came -- he needed to be sucked off by Dave.

Dave wouldn't spit him out.  Dave wouldn't hesitate to kiss him afterward.

God, he'd missed all that.  He hadn't really realized just how much he had missed it until he found himself faced with having it all again.  Luka had been right -- it had been stupid of him to hide in the cabin, he should have gone directly after Dave to talk with him.  If he had then they'd be thirty minutes or more further along than they currently were.

He opened his mouth and completely engulfed Dave's penis, slowly sucking it into his mouth while his hands roamed over Dave's skin.

Dave instantly felt weak in the knees when Carter's mouth covered him.  And he rested his hands on Carter's shoulders...for leverage more than anything else...and because he needed to feel *some* part of Carter under his fingertips.  Man, he wanted to feel everything...every part of him...he wanted Carter's body to cover his...Dave wanted to possess him like he had in the past..."Oh, God John...yes...yes..."

Fuck...Dave knew he was close...it had just been *so* long since he had gotten his rocks off by someone else's hand...or in this case mouth...and he tried to focus his mind on anything...anything he could to prolong the way he was feeling at that moment.

John forced himself to stop what he was doing as the tone of Dave's voice let him know that Dave's orgasm was way too close.  "I want you to come in me, Dave, and not in my mouth," John said as he got to his feet and began to unbutton Dave's shirt.  "You don't have any arguments against doing that, do you?" he asked with a grin.

"No...no arguments...never...never any arguments with you...ever again.  I'll never argue with you again, John."  Dave moaned again as he tried to get his body under control.  So close...so close but he knew that he didn't want to come yet. He wanted to *be* inside Carter...pressed inside his ass so far that Carter completely surrounded him.

And more than that...he wanted to make *Carter* scream.

Dave's hands found the top of Carter's pants again, and within moments had them pulled down his thighs towards the floor.  And then his finger went towards the object that had been in his thoughts...

Dave lightly stroked Carter's cock as their eyes locked. "I think we...should go...lie down."

But before either of them could move, Dave's free hand instinctively went to the small of Carter's back as he pulled Carter in for a deep kiss.

John sucked Dave's tongue into his mouth just as eagerly as he had sucked his penis into there moments before.  As they kissed, he stepped out of his pants and boxers, not wanting any further delays once they finally headed to the bed.

Dave as well set his clothes aside, kicking his pants and underwear away from him as he leaned into the kiss.  Man...that sucking thing...how he had missed the feelings that Carter doin' that stirred up inside of him.

As the kiss broke, Dave slowly began to move towards the bed.  His cock was *rock* hard, and he was ready.  Ready for Carter.  Ready to suck him...ready to fuck him until he *screamed* out Dave's name in pleasure.  Because here with Carter was where he belonged.

When the kiss ended, John crawled onto the bed, and then stretched out on his back.  Waiting breathlessly for Dave, he spread his legs, offering himself to the man he loved.

Dave hesitated only for a moment before moving between Carter's legs.  His eyes were locked on Carter's the entire time, and only when he was leaning on his knees, ready to play with Carter's cock did he look down in front of him.

"Whoa... John..." A smile spread over his lips.  John was shaved?  Now *that* was something new.  His hand moved over Carter's cock, and then around the area at the base of his dick.  It was nice and smooth... "You've gotten kinkier," Dave teased as his smile grew wider.  "And I *like* it..."

And without hesitating for even a moment longer, Dave brought his mouth down on top of Carter's cock and began to suck while his hand massaged and felt the silky smooth skin under his fingertips.

John was about to protest that he wasn't kinky when Dave's mouth drove all coherent thoughts from his mind.  His hands automatically went down to Dave's head, twining themselves in his hair.  "God...Dave..." he said as his hips rose in an attempt to meet Dave's mouth halfway.

Carter's words encouraged him.  And as Dave continued to suck on Carter's cock, he marveled that it was almost like riding a bike -- you never really did forget how to give good head.  At least it seemed that he was giving good head based on Carter's reactions to him.

His hand found Carter's balls, and he began to squeeze them lightly -- just like he used to.  And Dave hoped that he would get the same response from Carter as he always had when Dave did that to him.

Lord, but Dave knew just where to touch him...*how* to touch him...except he had apparently forgot a few of the finer details.  "Harder," John ordered, not really knowing if he meant the sucking or the squeezing or both.  "Please?" John begged when he didn't get an immediate reaction from Dave.

Dave squeezed his hands tighter around Carter's balls, liking the way the weight of them felt in his hand.  And his mouth formed a tighter "o" around Carter's cock as he continued to hungrily suck on him.

He wanted to taste Carter.  He wanted to taste *all* of Carter until there was nothing left...and then he wanted to make love to him until they were both so exhausted there was nothin' else to do but pass out in each other's arms.

The fact that he was supposed to be working barely entered into Dave's head.  The fact that he'd likely get fired if anyone found out...well...it would be worth it to be fired.  Carter was worth it.

Carter's fingers clenched and unclenched in Dave's hair.  "Yes," he panted in-between moans of pleasure and whimpers of desire.  "Yes, don't stop.  Please don't stop..."

Dave's mouth and hands were sending waves of fire through John's body, and he soon found himself unable to hold back any longer.  "Dave!" he screamed out as his orgasm crashed into and over his body, and Dave continued to squeeze and suck, driving John just a little further over the edge.

Dave had swallowed all that he could...and the rest was like an after dinner treat that he couldn't wait to eat.  Finally, he had licked Carter completely dry, and looked up to him with a seductive grin.  Crawling on his hands and knees towards him, Dave put his hand behind Carter's back and pulled him close, covering Carter's mouth with his. 

John quickly pushed his tongue into Dave's mouth.  It had been so long, so very long, since he had kissed a man like that.  It had been nice enough when Randi had kissed him after she had sucked him dry, but Luka never did.  Luka didn't kiss him when *he* had sucked Luka dry, either.  For all his claims that he was more 'progressive' in matters of sex and the naked body, Luka was sometimes more inhibited than John.

The kiss broke off as John's other desire to be claimed overrode his enjoyment.  He also didn't want to be thinking about Randi and Luka when he needed to have Dave inside of him.  He smiled up at Dave.  "I hope you remember how to do it with us facing each other, because I want to see your face when you come, Dave."

Dave smiled broadly.  "Yeah...I think I remember how to put slot A into tab B," he teased, as he looked down at Carter.  Carter.  The man he loved more than *anything*.  He knew that for sure now.  There was never anyone he felt these feelings for before Carter...and definitely no one since.

"So...uh...where ya keep your condoms...and lube?" Dave asked with a lifted brow.

John tried to remember where he had put the bag from the adult shop.  "I think they're in the top drawer of the dresser.  I hadn't packed any because I didn't sign up for the cruise to have sex...I just wanted to get away from Chicago for a while.  So, we had to stop on the way to the ship yesterday morning," he explained, not wanting Dave to get the wrong ideas about what had happened in his life while they were apart.

Dave nodded, really not sure why he was so full of explanations.  "So...uh...why'd ya stop if you weren't gonna have sex on the ship?" Dave asked innocently, as he pulled away from John.  He crawled to the edge of the bed and climbed down, stumbling to the drawers to find the bag.  "Ah...uh...what else did you buy?"

There was a mischievous glint in Dave's eyes as he looked over towards Carter.  Truth be told, at that moment he didn't give a shit as to *why* Carter had bought the stuff...but he was mighty glad that he did.

"Just that, and a video," John admitted.  "A porn video," he shyly added as he watched Dave's body move.  God, but the man looked magnificent.

"My plans changed once we reached LA," he said.  "I told you that before, about Luka and me."  John didn't want there to be any secrets between the two of them.  Now that they were back together, there would be no one else for John; not Luka, not Randi, not Maggie.  And he still wouldn't go anywhere near Abby.  "And with Randi and Maggie...well, they're full of surprises, too."

Dave remembered that.  Yeah.  Carter had mentioned something about being with Luka...and there was a twinge of jealousy over that.  He knew that was something he'd have to deal with later...

He was beginning to walk towards the bed with the condoms and lube when Carter spoke about bein' with Randi and Maggie.  "Whoa...you mean...Randi and her tough girlfriend there?  Wow...you *are* full of surprises today," Dave teased as he climbed back down into bed.

"I don't wanna talk about them.  I don't wanna talk about any of them.  I want you...all of you...every part of you, but at this moment I specifically mean your ass.  I want to make love to you..." Dave handed Carter the box of condoms and lube with a grin.  "And I want you to get me ready...you think you can do that?"

John sat up and grinned back at Dave as he accepted the box and the bottle from him. "I can definitely do that.  Am I supposed to get myself ready for you, too?  Or are you going to take care of that? Lu..." Dave didn't want to hear about him, John remembered.  "I'm not used to you anymore, remember?"

"No...no...I'll take care of gettin' you ready," Dave said, his eyes full of lust as he looked over Carter from head to toe.  The only thing missing was the hard-on that he had been sporting earlier...but Dave had no real complaints about that since he had been the one to suck Carter off.

"You...just..I wanna feel your hands on me, John...please..." Dave leaned back in the bed, intent on enjoying the moment before giving in to ultimate satisfaction.

"Good," John replied as he poured out a bit of lubricant into his palm, "because I just want to put my hands all over you."  He leaned over and began to massage Dave's penis with his slickened hand while his tongue started to flick over a taut nub of a nipple.

"Yes...God John...yes..." The words came out in almost a moan as Dave felt the feeling of Carter's touch on his body...from his cock up to his chest, Carter just seemed to be everywhere.  And he knew what to do to turn him on...keep him turned on...keep him wanting more and more and...

Dave felt like he was an *ass* for letting Carter get away from him in the first place.  He did not intend on making that same mistake again.

John raised his mouth from Dave's nipple, not to talk, but merely to move it to the other one, giving it equal treatment.  He loved the way Dave responded to his touch, the way his penis flexed under his hand, as if it needed the contact as much as John did.

He nipped lightly at the nipple, and then looked up at Dave.  "Are you ready for me to put the condom on you?"

"Yeah...yeah I'm ready."  Dave leaned his head back fully on the pillow, one of his hands finding it's way up to Carter's chest so that he could massage some part of his skin while John was taking care of him.

Dave knew that he needed to take care of stretching Carter a bit...but he also knew that since Carter had...uh...recently been with someone else, it wouldn't be too bad.  At least, he hoped not.  It wasn't like Dave had vast amounts of experience in this department...

John ripped open the foil packet, then carefully rolled the condom down and over Dave's penis, making Dave safe.  Then he smiled at Dave, gave him a quick kiss and stretched out once more on the bed beside him.

"I'm all yours, Doctor Dave.  Feel free to have your way with me," he said.

"Yeah...yeah...I guess you are all mine...and right now...I'm going to possess you, John."

Dave moved between John legs, grabbing the tube of lube as he crawled.  Once he was there, he rested on his knees as he squeezed a liberal amount in his hands.

Putting some onto his fingers, Dave moved his hand down until he found the opening he was looking for, and slowly eased his fingers inside. 

He pushed his fingers inside John, lubricating, preparing, remembering how good it had felt when his dick was inside John...and with every press it seemed that his cock grew harder...if that was at all possible.

He wasn't sure how long he was going to last once he entered Carter...but he was going to try to make it as long as possible.

Dave thought for a moment, trying to remember how they had done it in the past, and finally, he slide down the edge of the bed, recalling that was how they had gotten the best leverage.  "Push your knees up," he commanded, and soon, it was right there...right there for Dave to take...to make his...

"Mine," he repeated, as the tip of his dick found the opening to John's ass.  "You're *mine*..." Dave pressed himself inside, gasping as Carter's body enveloped him -- welcoming him home.

John had been softly moaning while Dave was stretching him, making him ready to be taken and reclaimed.  And his moans turned to whimpers as Dave's penis began to enter him.  God, it had been so long, so damn, damn long, and John had missed the way that Dave stretched and filled him.

He flexed his muscles around Dave, knowing his lover could feel that movement.  With tears in his eyes -- tears of joy and not tears of sorrow or loss -- John looked down his own body to where they became joined as one.  "Yes!" he exclaimed and then he looked up into Dave's face, his breath taken away by the look of bliss he saw there.

"Take me, Dave.  Make me yours forever."

He pushed himself fully inside Carter, his cock seeming to eagerly go where it wanted to be so badly.  And man...did it feel...Dave couldn't even grip words around his feelings because he was so full of emotion...

He continued to press...moving against Carter's pleasure centers with rough strokes, his hands gripped around Carter's thighs to keep from falling over as Dave's eyes sought his. "Y...yes...God...God I love you...God...yes...Yes..."

Dave knew he was close, so he slowed his motions slightly.  He wanted this to last as long as possible.  He wanted this to last forever.

John reached down and placed his hands over Dave's, holding them in place.  Every movement, every stroke, sent sparks to his brain and he bucked his hips upward, doing his best to match Dave's rhythm.  He wanted Dave to last all day, but knew that was impossible, still, knowing it couldn't be done and wishing it could happen were two different things.

"I love you, too.  Please?"  John said, although he wasn't quite sure what he was asking for -- probably for Dave to never stop what he was doing.

"What...what do...you want me to do...John...I'll...I'll do...anything for you...you know that...right?  Anything...any...oh...God...John...you make me feel...so...fucking good..." Dave shut his eyes tightly, and slowed his movements ever so slightly once more, trying his best to keep from flying right over that edge...he was riding the line, and that felt pretty damned good too.

"Don't stop.  Don't ever stop," John said, his eyes fixed on Dave's face.  "Don't ever stop."  Loving me or fucking me, John thought.

"I won't...I promise...I...won't...Oh...God...John...I...I can't...I can't...I'm gonna..." And then, Dave's world went hazy as he came full force into John, filling the condom with his come as he screamed out the other's name in pure pleasure. 

Dave felt like he came in buckets -- and in reality, it had been months since he had come by the ass...of another.  Somehow, his own hand just wasn't the same.  Dave's knees were weak, and he leaned heavily against Carter as his eyelids drooped to half shut. "I love you so damned much...and I'm...so...sorry..." Sorry it had taken him *this* long to realize that all along Carter was all he needed.

John strained to get into a halfway seated position on the bed, wrapping his arms and legs around Dave's body and holding him in place.  "I know.  I'm sorry, too.  I love you, Dave Malucci.  I never stopped loving you."  He said right before planting kisses on Dave's eyelids and then his mouth.

It had been a very long time since Dave had felt this wanted...and the tender kisses that Carter planted on his eyelids only served to reinforce that feeling.

As they kissed, this one was much more tender and loving than the previous desperate embraces had been.  And Dave couldn't help but smile as the kiss ended. "I'd...better clean up a bit...and uh...then I wanna lie with ya...for a little while before I have to get back downstairs...does that sound like something we can do?"

Dave's smile went straight to John's heart and he quickly nodded. "I'd like that a lot, thank you.  Maybe you can come back later?  I know you probably have things you have to do, but they do let you sleep at night, right?"  It would be perfect if Dave were able to stay the night with him.  Or rather, it would be even more perfect, since they had already reached perfection moments earlier.

Dave knew that there was a chance that he'd get fired for it, but it would be worth it.  "Yeah...yeah I can do that.  In fact...I think that's a very good idea...waking up in your arms will certainly make it worth going to work in the morning..."

He carefully pulled out of Carter, and then planted a soft kiss on John's lips.

"I'm gonna get cleaned up...I'll be back very, very soon..." And with a grin, Dave padded off to the bathroom. 

John was all smiles as he got out of bed long enough to pull back the covers and then he looked up at the bathroom door, eager to see Dave again.  John wanted nothing more than to sit and stare at Dave, to reassure himself that Dave wasn't going anywhere, that he was really and truly there.  Although, John thought with a grin, the empty feeling in his bottom told him in no uncertain terms that Dave had most definitely really been *there*.

When the door opened, John rose up on one elbow and pulled back the covers.  "Climb on in, I've been warming the sheets up for you."

While in the bathroom, Dave had carefully cleaned himself up, and took the time to *really* think about what had happened.  He still couldn't believe that this was real...that Carter was *here*...that they had just fooled around...Hell...MORE Than fooled around...Actually made love...and now he was gonna spend more time with him.

Carter loved him.  Carter had said several times that he loved him.  Man...he was *so* sorry that he didn't pursue things...that he ran... just like he always did...

And as Dave opened the door, he had a smile on his face as he made his way back to the bed.  He fell inside, pulling the covers up over them as he did so.  And instinctively, as if they had never been apart, Dave's body conformed to Carter's.

"Yeah, you sure have been keepin' them warm.  I...wow...that was pretty fucking amazing, John...really amazing...and...whoa, I haveta admit I was surprised to see you so clean shaven.  Is that something that Luka's into?" Dave asked, as he settled back into bed.

"Maggie," John replied as he snuggled tightly against Dave's body.  "She and Randi were trying to blackmail us with those pictures you saw, so I told Maggie that if I made her scream within twenty minutes then she had to hand them over to me.  She's, ah, um, shaved, and when I saw that I found myself asking her if she'd shave me and she did." 

"Maggie?  Maggie shaved you?  I guess she's bi like Randi, huh?  Sounds like I've missed some real kinky times," Dave teased, as he planted a light kiss on his ear.

John shook his head. "Not Maggie. She's a card-carrying lesbian. That's what made it such a challenge."  John grinned.  "Anyway, since the pictures are here, I think you know who won that bet."

Dave nodded, but said nothing.  He just smiled broadly.  If there was one thing that Dave knew, it was how awesome Carter's mouth was.  And obviously, Maggie had gotten a treat of her own.

John started to draw circles on Dave's belly.  "So, were you by yourself all this time?  Any girlfriends?"

Dave quickly shook his head.  "No one.  I mean...no one.  I didn't get laid...I didn't even try to look.  Not since that chick in the ambulance that got me fired...maybe parta me wanted to get fired...I didn't wanna be at County if I couldn't be with you...couldn't stand comin' to work every day and seeing you and not bein' able to touch you...but you know that story..."

Dave's eyes met John's, and he smiled sadly.  "I...I guess I don't blame you for movin' on...I mean, I was an ass...there's no denying that. "

Dave just somehow didn't expect the younger man to move on with someone Dave actually *knew*.  And yeah...he couldn't help it.  He was  *really* jealous that Luka had been with Carter when Dave hadn't been able to.

"I tried to move on, but I didn't quite make it.  There was this one woman, Susan, she used to work at County and she came back.  Well, we were dating, but I never did anything more than try to kiss her. No one could take your place, Dave."

Dave took this in, and then nodded.  "And...what about you and Luka?  You sure there's nothin' going on there except for the two of you havin' fun every once in a while?"  Dave just wanted to make sure.

"That's a long story.  You know we never really got along, right?  Well, there was this...incident at work.  This woman, a dominatrix, came in with a client and she left her bag of toys behind in the trauma room.  Abby and Susan decided to see what was in it and the rest of us; Luka, Gallant, who is one of the med students, and me, well, we were too stupid to leave.  Weaver caught us and she put a letter of reprimand in each of our files and sent us to a sexual harassment seminar.  Anyway, the instructor was late and we all got to talking and I realized that Luka wasn't such a bad guy.  We had dinner together that night, and then later went to a basketball game.  It was after that when we started messing around with each other.  I just suddenly found him kissing me and the next thing I knew...but it was just sex between friends and we never did anything more than sucking or jerking each other off."  John said.

"Until we reached LA," John continued.  "And even then I don't think anything would have happened except Randi or Maggie, I can't remember which, now, suggested it."

Dave nodded slowly, still trying to justify the feelings of jealousy that were welling up inside of him.  He had *no* right to be jealous.

"Thanks for telling me," Dave finally said, as he continued to hold Carter close to him.  "I...John...I can't handle sharing you...I really don't think I can...the thought of you...the mere *thought* of it...drives me to the point of wanting to hurt the other person...I just can't help it..."

He sighed deeply as he planted a kiss on top of Carter's head.

"I...I guess it's all part and parcel with this love stuff.  I guess I hadn't expected you to stay alone when I left you...and actually, I'm glad to hear that you didn't.  But that doesn't mean I'm not jealous of it," Dave finished as he grinned sheepishly.

John didn't want Dave to be jealous or sad, and he sat up in the bed, looking down into Dave's eyes.  "I had that nightmare...the one I never can remember.  Luka was supposed to sleep on the pull-out bed but couldn't because we had messed it up since he, well, never mind why...but I said he could sleep with me.  Anyway, he was trying to comfort me, and I had also made Maggie wake up.  She went to get me some water and that woke Randi up and she decided that sex would be a good way to calm me enough so I could go back to sleep and...it wasn't love, Dave.   I don't think I would have let Luka do that any other time, but...I do like him and I care about him.  He's my friend now, and I need all the friends I can get.  But, understand this, David Malucci.  I don't cheat.  We're back together and I'm all yours now.  There won't be anything else with Maggie or Randi or Luka, and I know they'll understand.  Hell, Luka was telling me that I needed to talk with you; he knows I love you, I told him so. "

John leaned over and gave Dave a quick kiss on the mouth.  "You have no reason to be jealous because I only want you."

Were they really back together, though?  Dave couldn't help but hope so.  They had screwed around...they had kissed...they had told each other that they loved each other...but there seemed to be so much more to work out before just jumpin' back into a relationship.

"You know I only want you too, but...uh...John...I don't know how quickly I'm gonna be able to come back to Chicago...I've signed up for a six month cruise, and I'm only two months into it.  I don't know how easily I'm gonna be able to get out of my contract on here, but...God...John...you don't know how much I wanna go down there right now and tell them that I don't wanna work for them anymore...that I wanna go back home... "

He brought a hand up to Carter's cheek, and caressed it gently.  "I just don't wanna hurt you again..."

John turned his head and kissed the palm of Dave's hand.  "You won't.  And I promise to do my best to not hurt you, too.  As for your contract...well, I can fly here when you're off and it's just for a few months.  It's not that big a deal, Dave, and we can work around it.  I'll miss you when we're apart, but it will make those times when we're together just that much better."

John knew things would work out for them, despite Dave's job.  He had no intention of letting Dave go this time.

Dave looked at Carter intently, a smile twitching on his lips.  "We'll...we'll figure a way to work it out.  I'm not gonna let you go again..."

He put his arms fully around Carter, and pulled him close.  His eyes fluttering shut, he sat there for a moment, content to just *be* for a little while...forgetting about anything that he was supposed to be doing, and fully concentrating on what he wanted to be doing.

That was, until Dave's pager went off. 

Both doctors instinctively sat up, but Dave sighed, knowing that it could only be his that was blaring, like an intruding noise into an otherwise peaceful existence. "I haveta get back down there, but...I *will* see you later...that is if you'll have me...besides...I think you've got some stuff you need to take care of yourself."

With a twinge of regret, Dave slid off the side of the bed, heading to where his clothing had pooled on the floor.  Picking up his underwear, he began to slide them on, smiling as he did so. He was in a *good* mood.

And Dave tried not to think about what would happen if the powers that be ever caught on to the fact that he had slept with a passenger...even if that passenger was the person he loved more than anything...

"Of course I'll have you later," John replied with a smile that promised all kinds of delights.  John watched as Dave dressed, both admiring Dave's naked body and the parts that were quickly becoming clothed.  The man looked good either way.  John just wasn't sure what it was he needed to take care of, unless Dave meant him telling the others that they were back together.  His smile broadened as he thought those words -- 'back together', and, even though he knew that a long distance relationship would be difficult, he also knew he and Dave could handle it for the four months left on his contract.

He got out of bed and intercepted Dave as he opened the bedroom door.  "Just one kiss before you go?"


To be continued
Chapter Ten
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