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: February 12, 2004
Archive: Please ask first
Series: 39/?
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 39"
By MonaCK and Cathy Roberts
Jennifer Reynolds, or as she was known to her family and friends, Jenny, was pacing around the kitchen of the Carter mansion. She had no idea why she was back here -- her aunt Corrine had been strangely quiet when the older woman insisted on driving Jenny over here. And it had been years since she had set foot in her childhood home. She had not seen a member of the Carter family since...well, since that day she was fired.
And what was she fired for? She wasn't doing anything wrong, merely showing a young boy comfort when his mother had been unable to. It had never been anything more than that. At least that's what she kept telling herself in her mind...
But regardless, she still didn't quite know what she was doing there.
When Corrine came back to get her, the older woman's expression was stoic. "Okay. You can come in now."
"Aunt Corrine, I really wish you'd tell me what this is about..."
"You'll find out soon enough, Jenny," she quipped. The older woman was nearly seething in anger. When she had first heard about what Jenny was accused of doing, she didn't believe it. But as the pieces began to fall together...Corrine felt a certain degree of disgust for the woman who she had once loved like a daughter.
They walked towards the study, and Corrine entered first, announcing Jenny's arrival. And then, Jenny walked through the door. Her worried eyes darted around the room, noting those she recognized. Mr. Carter, Mrs. Carter, and the elder Mrs. Carter. She had no idea who the three other men were. What was going on?
Like an innocent child, she locked her eyes on Millicent's. "What...what is this all about, Mrs. Carter?"
"I'm going to cut through the chase, Jenny. It's about John and you, and what you did to him twenty years ago," Millicent replied. She gestured to an empty chair. "Sit down and make yourself comfortable because none of us are leaving until the truth is known."
Jack glared at the woman, wondering why he had ever been so stupid as to believe her when she had told him that what he had interrupted was a one-time thing. As much as he wanted to wrap his hands around her throat, he wanted to beat his own head against the wall for being a lousy father. "You might as well sit down, Jenny, they all know that you were sexually abusing John. What we want to know is just how long the abuse went on."
Jenny's expression never changed, but her eyes darted around the room, and eventually settled on her aunt, who was looking at Jenny with such a degree of disappointment, Jenny couldn't put it into words. "What...what are you talking about?"
Jenny's voice was strangely calm. If she denied everything, it would be the best way to go. Really, how were they going to prove anything? John likely didn't even remember...and...and all she was doing was comforting a boy in his time of need. "Sexual abuse? I mean, really, what kind of silly claim is that?"
Jack found himself getting to his feet, but instead of feeling hot rage, his rage was cold, and he remained calm as he stared at Jenny. "I walked in on the two of you, Jenny, or don't you remember that? I saw what you were doing, so quit trying to pretend to be the innocent one here," he evenly replied.
She looked over to Jack with innocent eyes. "*I* was doing nothing, Mr. Carter. Really. Just comforting the boy in his time of need, since neither of his parents were available at the time."
"I had just lost my oldest *son*, Ms. Reynolds, or did you forget that? That did *not* give you an excuse to have sex with my eleven year old son. Do you know what *you* have done to him? Do you realize what he has *been* through because of your...your...disgusting behavior?" Eleanor was standing as well, for once unified in her anger with her husband against Jenny. At least they were able to agree on something these days.
Jenny turned towards Mrs. Carter. "Again, I maintain, I have done *nothing* wrong here."
Dave sat in his chair, unable to believe that this woman would be so bold as to tell complete lies about this. And as he gripped the arms of his chair, he had to bite his lip to keep his temper in check, as he was getting more and more angry as the interrogation went on. And once more, Dave was glad that John was safely across the property at the cottage.
"Perhaps you could tell us just what you did do, Ms. Reynolds," Dr. DiLeo spoke up. "There might be a fine line between comfort and what Mr. Carter seems to think he saw, but we can't judge that unless we know what happened that day, now can we?" He smiled at her, trying to put her at ease, and hopefully let her guard down.
Jack bit his tongue when the doctor tried to make it sound as if he didn't know just what it was he had interrupted -- it was etched upon his memory forever. But he could see what the psychiatrist was trying to do and remained silent.
Jenny blinked, and looked over towards whoever this man was that was questioning her. What to say? "I really don't know what Mr. Carter is talking about. All I was doing was comforting Johnny. Nothing sexual occurred, I can assure you of that. He was only eleven years old. What interest would a twenty five year old have with an eleven year old? I mean...I'm not an unattractive woman...I surely had my share of boyfriends. I think that it's absolutely disgusting that I would even be accused of such a thing. Perhaps Mr. Carter is trying to hide something himself. Maybe *he* was the one who abused Johnny, and is trying to pin it on me..."
"I hardly think so," Jack coldly replied. "And I know that comforting a person, no matter their age, doesn't involve both people being naked and on a bed, with one of them performing oral sex on the other. You were certainly quick enough to admit that you had made a mistake that day, Jenny, begging me not to fire you or tell your aunt what had happened. So why are you now denying it all?"
Jenny looked around the room at the people occupying the room with her, but was unable to gauge their reactions to what had been said so far. Then she focused her attention back on the person who was throwing fire at her. "What an interesting imagination you have, Mr. Carter! Are you sure you're not living out some of your own fantasies? I did *no* such thing!"
Luka meanwhile, had been looking at the scene, his hands nervously clenched together at the drama unfolding around them. At Mr. Carter, and then Jenny's words, he turned to look towards Dave and caught his eye. Both Dave and Luka knew that Jenny was lying through her teeth. What reason would John have to make up any of it? It was actually more than just her word against Mr. Carter's, after all.
"You perverted little bitch," Jack snarled as his cool demeanor quickly faded. "How dare you accuse me of harming my son? What I saw that day is something I'll never forget. Not that scene, or you begging me to not fire you or John crying that he was sorry for what had happened. I don't know what sick ideas you put in his head, but they were more than enough to make him believe that he was the one at fault that day and not you. You were twenty-five years old and had no business even thinking about a child in that way," Jack's voice was just below a yell and his rage was barely held in check. If left alone, he'd gladly kill the woman across the room from him and never feel any quilt about it.
Dave could not take it anymore, not her denying it, not Mr. Carter fighting to be understood. "And I'll never forget the time John broke down in my friggen arms, afraid I was gonna rape him...or him tellin' me exactly how he got his skills as a perfectionist in oral sex because *you* demanded it of him time and time again...how *you* told him that he was a good boy for doin' it all. What the hell else was he gonna THINK? He was *eleven* for God's sake. ELEVEN! You don't *do* that with an eleven year old!" The fact that Dave had basically just outted himself, and John, was not even on his mind at the moment. He was beyond angry. He was beyond enraged. And he was no longer capable of censuring anything that came out of his mouth.
Jenny turned her eyes on the man in the room who had just spoken. "I really don't know who the Hell *you* are," she said, her eyes wild. "But I can assure you that nothing sexual happened between Johnny and myself. Not then, not now, not *ever*. Please. I am not a child abuser! I'm a pillar of the community. I sit on the board of the PTA at my eldest child's school. I am happily married with children of my own. Do you think I could *ever* do that to a *child*? Please, all of you are living in a fantasy world. I did not have sex with John Carter. I did not perform oral sex on John Carter, and furthermore, he did not perform oral sex on me."
As the morning passed, John found himself wishing he had eaten more breakfast. Finally, at about 10:30, he couldn't take it any more -- he needed food. He carefully made his way into the kitchen and found the remaining strawberries, which he then sat down to eat. He was tempted to look around for more food, for something he could easily prepare, but he didn't want to be full when Dave arrived, especially since he hoped to experience some strenuous physical activity along with lunch.
After finishing off the fruit, John slowly made his way to the sink to rinse out the bowl. The kitchen window of the cottage looked out toward the house, toward the kitchen area there. As John was looking out, he saw a car pull up -- Corrine's car - but she wasn't alone and John thought that his heart would stop as he saw the woman who got out of the car. From that distance, it looked to be his mother, but his mother wasn't that short - straining his eyes, John was able to determine just who it was with Corrine -- Jenny.
What in the Hell was she doing at the house? And then John remembered that his grandmother knew about Jenny...and now Jenny was there.
He had to find out why. John's shoes were upstairs, and he didn't see any at all in the living room, so he had no choice but to climb the stairs for his since he didn't feel like being chewed out by Dave over walking barefooted to the house. The walk up the steps hurt, but it was a necessary evil, John thought. Finally he made it to Dave's bedroom, and he pulled on a clean pair of socks, taking the liberty of borrowing Dave's, and then his shoes. The trip downstairs was easier, much easier, but it still hurt, and by the time John had reached the kitchen door of the main house, his feet really hurt. But he had to keep on his feet until he found Jenny and the reason for her visit.
John slipped into the kitchen, thinking it odd that Corrine wasn't there preparing lunch. He could hear voices, loud voices, and he followed the sound until he stood outside of the study. Cocking his head to one side, John listened for a bit, not quite believing what he was hearing.
And Jenny was -- lying, denying that anything had ever happened between the two of them. What had happened to the times she had said she, and she alone, loved him, and cared for him? How could she deny all of that now?
Confused, John stepped into the room, his eyes immediately singling out Jenny. "That's not true," he softly said. "You know it's not. You said that since my mother didn't love me that you would...that you did...you said that as long as I loved you back, then everything would be fine and nobody would ever have to know. And I did that, Jenny, even when I didn't want to, because I didn't want to be sent away for being bad." John was unable to keep his memories at bay -- all he could see in his head were what they had done. All he could hear were Jenny's promises and warnings of what was going to happen to him if he was a bad boy.
He looked at her through pain-filled eyes. "I trusted you. I believed you when you said you loved me and would take care of me. Why are you lying?"
Dave wanted to get up and cradle John in his arms, but he knew that wasn't possible. He couldn't believe that John was there, when he was supposed to be at the house. This wasn't good. This wasn't good at all. And he cast a worried glance over towards Dr. DiLeo.
Jenny turned to face John, a soft smile coming over her lips. "Johnny...Johnny...it's been so long, and I've missed you. Of course I loved you, I loved you like I'd love...my little brother, or my son. But I never, never did anything to hurt you, you know that, right?" Her voice was strangely calm as she spoke, but inwardly, she was shaking like a leaf. She would never let it show, though. If she just kept on the track she was going, she'd do just fine.
Jenny was right, John thought. She had never hurt him. She had scared him plenty of times when she told him what his parents would do if they ever found out what he did, but she never hurt him. "No, you never hurt me," he admitted, looking down at the floor. "But you wouldn't leave me alone. Even when I was tired and wanted to be alone, you wouldn't. You'd just say that you knew what was best for me and that I was being bad for arguing with you. That you'd tell my Daddy and he'd sent me away for being bad. But, no, it never hurt." Maybe if it had hurt then his body would have never reacted to the way Jenny had touched him. Maybe.
Jack was seething with anger as he listened to his son confirm that the abuse had been a more than a one time incident and a little bit of his heart was dying as he heard that bitch continually deny what she had done. In two quick steps he was over to her, her arm in his hand, his grip tight. "I've had about enough of your little games, Jennifer. Eleanor and I trusted you to watch our children. We trusted you to work in our home on a daily basis, privy to all that went on there. We trusted you with John and Barbara and you took advantage of that trust. John trusted you. I should have killed you that day, but I can easily correct that mistake right now and there's not a single person in this room who would stop me, either."
"Daddy, no," John's head jerked up and he beseechingly looked over at his father. "Please, no. It wasn't her fault, it was mine. All mine. I...I came on to her. If anyone deserves to be punished for what happened, it's me, not her. Please?"
Dr. DiLeo slowly got to his feet, not liking the situation at all. "John, why don't you come with me? We can talk in another room while everyone else is in here. Your father won't hurt Jenny, I promise you."
John looked from his father to the stranger, then to Jenny. "I loved you and wanted to please you and you said I did. You kept telling me that I was born knowing how to please a woman...were you wrong? Were you lying to me?"
Jenny knew at that moment that she was sunk. So after giving John a sad look, she cast her eyes downward. Why not cast a little bit more guilt in his direction while she had the chance? It was him that was ruining her life, not the other way around.
Luka twitched in his seat. What he wanted to do was assist Mr. Carter in pummeling Jenny into a pulp, but Luka knew that that wasn't an option. So with another glance over to Dave, who was looking just as upset and uncomfortable with the situation as Luka was, he focused his attention on a picture across the room. Luka felt extremely uncomfortable, like an outside player on a very private affair that he had the misfortune of being involved with because of affairs of the heart.
Dave turned towards John. "John, ya...ya probably should go with Dr. DiLeo. I promise none of us will hurt Jenny while you're gone. Would...would you feel better if either Luka or I went with you?" Dave wasn't sure if he wanted to leave Jenny alone here, but there were plenty of people around who would stop her if she tried to escape.
"No, I don't want to go with you or Luka or anyone else," John firmly replied, his eyes still on Jenny. "Were you? Lying to me, I mean? I did everything you wanted, I tried my best to be your good boy, but was it all for a lie, Jenny? Was it?" John's heart was pounding loudly in his ears and he was surprised that no one else in the room could hear it, but he had to know the truth.
Jenny lifted her eyes to look at John. "I...John, you were a good boy...and I was only trying to take care of you...make you happy when no one else in your life was. And I did make you happy, didn't I? I...I was the only one who loved you, John..."
Eleanor Carter had heard quite enough. And like she had done to her husband earlier, Eleanor walked up to Jenny and slapped the woman hard across the face. "You hurt my little boy, and for that, I will *never* forgive you. I want this woman arrested, and I want her out of here. I don't want her to ever have contact with John again..."
With tears in her eyes, Eleanor turned towards her son. "I...John...I'm so, so sorry, John..."
John was nearly livid with anger as he watched his mother hit Jenny. As Eleanor turned to him, he grabbed her by the upper arms. "Don't you ever touch her again, do you hear me? She loved me and you never did. You were never there, Mom. Never," he screamed at her. "How dare you hurt her?"
"John, let your mother go this instant," Jack said, taking a step toward his son. He was worried about John, and for good reason, if he could judge by the looks on the faces of those around him.
John glared at his father, but his grip on his mother's arms tightened. "You were never there either, and when you were, I couldn't do anything right for you. I still can't. I've spent my whole life trying to please you the normal ways, but it's never worked, never. Not for either one of you. All you did was send me away from you, desert me, and I'm not going to just stand by now while you hurt the only person who loved me back then."
"John, no one is going to hurt Jenny," Dr. DiLeo began, but John rounded on him, too, abruptly letting go of Eleanor.
"Are you blind? Didn't you see my mother attack her for no reason? Didn't you hear what Jenny said? She was the *only* one who loved me, and I knew it. I've always known it, I just didn't know before that she was fired." He took a step toward Jenny, tears in his eyes. "I'm sorry I doubted you. I thought you had left because you wanted to, because you really didn't love me, that you were just like them. I'm so sorry."
Jenny's expression softened. "Of course I loved you, Johnny. I loved you like no one else will ever be capable of loving you. No one loves you like I do, Johnny, and don't you ever forget that." Her eyes were cold, even though her overall expression was soft. She had John right where she wanted him again, and as long as John was still on her side, there was no way that the others would touch her. And for that, she'd tell the guy that she loved him as many times as he wanted to hear.
She was about to reach out to touch John when Luka was instantly up out of his chair. "Don't you *touch* him," he bellowed, his voice laced with anger, concern, and fear. "You cannot touch him, not without going through me. You hurt him, do you not see what you've done to him? Do you not see how he's regressed before our eyes because of what *you* did to him?" Luka was rapidly advancing across the room, determined to put the woman's head through a wall.
Dr. DiLeo leaned over to his partner. "We need to get John out of here, and now."
Dr. Meyers nodded, but he didn't really see how they were going to accomplish that without John's cooperation, and, so far, John wasn't being very cooperative about leaving. "Any ideas?" he whispered back.
"Not yet. Well, nothing that doesn't involve sedation, and I'd like to avoid that," DiLeo whispered back as he watched John turn to face Luka.
"No," John shouted as he moved to put his body between Luka and Jenny, ignoring the pain in his feet as he was determined to keep her safe from all harm. "Stay away from her, do you hear me? If you're going to be angry, then be angry with me. All Jenny did was love me. *I* was the one who let things get out of control, so be angry with me, but never with her."
Luka turned towards John, his expression softening. "I'm not angry with you...and this is *not* your fault! Damn it, John, we're trying to help you here...can you not see how this woman hurt you? Can you not see that she *abused* you? You were only eleven years old when all of this happened! You were not responsible for your actions. She is, she was the adult!"
Dave left his chair, unsure of where to go, and what to do. He cast a helpless glance over towards the elder Mrs. Carter, and then to the two doctors, his eyes pleading that they intercede somehow, and make John see reason.
"Johnny," Jenny said, turning towards the young man whose life she had had such influence over. "Why don't we go, just the two of us? You can tell me all about what you've been doing since we last saw each other, and we can get away from this noise for a while."
"Like HELL you will," Dave finally said, wanting to somehow control the situation. "You are not leaving this room..."
John was staring at Luka, trying to find an argument for what the man had said -- he never really heard Jenny or Dave speaking as his attention was on the man before him. "It *was* my fault, Luka. I...I was the one who got excited first, not her. All she did was help me with my bath, that's all. *I'm* the one who got hard from her innocent touches. I was the bad person, not Jenny. Why can't you see that? I was bad then, and I'm bad now. Who's the person hurting you and Dave? Me, that's who. I'm a lousy friend, lousy doctor, lousy teacher and a lousy lover. If I had been a good person then my parents would have loved me, so I wasn't even good back then." John shook his head.
Dr. DiLeo carefully reached for his bag, ready to use the sedative he had earlier prepared, although at the time, it had been in case he'd need it for a later meeting with John. He didn't want to use it, but it was beginning to look as if he didn't have a choice in the matter.
"Don't you understand that a lot of the reasons why Dave and I are hurting so much is because of the ideas that this woman tried to plant in your head? I...I do agree that your parents were at fault for leaving you along with Jenny so much...but the majority of the blame I place on Jenny, simply because she should have known better. John, she should have known not to take advantage of it, even if you were...aroused by your bath..." Luka looked over to Dave, and sadly shook his head. What a horrible, horrible situation.
"John," Dave said, his voice very soft. "Luka...Luka's right, you are *not* the bad person here, not for any of it, and I wish that we could make you believe that."
"Listen to them, son," Jack softly urged. "You never did anything wrong. I thought I told you that that day, and I should have made sure that you understood it. I didn't send you to boarding school to punish you. I sent you there to keep you safe, to get you away from Jenny in the off-chance that she might come around here or the house. I never knew that she had done other things with you, and I should have known. I'm the one who's sorry, John, for not being the father you needed." He took a few steps toward John, wanting to hold his son tightly and never let him go.
John backed away from his father, suddenly feeling surrounded. Dave was in one direction, his father in another and Luka in yet another one. Dr. Meyers and the other man were in another direction and his mother was still standing there, also blocking him in. "I tried to explain things to you but you kept telling me to shut up, that you didn't want to hear it. All you cared about was going after Jenny. Why? Were you jealous? Would you have let her stay if I had pleased you, too? Is that what you want now? All of you? Well, I won't do it. I just won't, so stay away from me."
Dave was panicked. They were all chasing John away again, making him close off. This was what had happened the day before, but this time it was the confrontation with Jenny that was too much. And as John spoke, the words spun around in Dave's head, until they suddenly clicked. "John...no! None of us want that. We're...we're not lookin' to have sex with you, I promise..." Dear God, it was happening again, and there was nothing that they could do to stop it. Dave could only hope that one of the doctors had some sort of sedative that they could give John, so they could calm him down. Because this was not helping matters at all.
John turned to look at Dave. "You said that before, but it keeps happening, doesn't it? Every time Jenny would leave my room, she'd say that she couldn't come back again, but she did. Over and over and over again. And you come back and Luka comes back and Alex came back and it's all I'm good for, anyway. You won't even leave me alone when I ask, you just push your way in. I wasn't asking for much, was I?" John asked, his eyes pleading. "All I wanted was to be left alone to think, but all of you just barged into my room anyway."
Dr. DiLeo had the misfortune of being seated near where Dave was standing, and there was no way he could sneak up on John, not with the young man facing Dave. He looked over to Luka, who was now slightly behind John, and he nodded slightly, hoping that Luka would take that as a sign to say or do something to get John to turn around. The only possible good thing about the situation in trying to get John sedated was that there were several of them there who could keep John still.
"I apologized to ya for that," Dave said, true pain in his voice. "I...you told me you didn't wanna ever see me again. I got scared, okay? I'm sorry. I'm sorry again. I'll always be sorry for it..."
Luka had caught Dr. DiLeo's eye, and then turned to focus on John once more. "You're good for a lot more than that," he said, his voice soft. "And you know that. You're one of my best friends, John. I enjoy spending time with you, doing things with you. You weren't asking for much at all, and we're sorry for not giving you your privacy when you asked for it...we'll never do that to you again, I promise. Now, John, please come, let's sit down. Your feet must be hurting you..."
John was about to assure Dave that he had nothing to apologize for when Luka's voice caught his attention. He turned around, his anger building as Luka spoke. Why was it that whenever he wanted to talk with Dave, Luka would be there to interrupt him and vice versa? "No, my feet don't hurt, and I don't want to sit down right now. I was talking to Dave, Luka, when you interrupted me. Why do the two of you keep doing that? Can't I have a conversation with the other one without always having to feel that I'm going to offend one or the other of you?"
As John spoke, DiLeo slowly advanced on him, motioning for Dave to be ready to grab John at his signal. He hoped that Luka would have enough sense to grab John at the same time. "Now," he said, the syringe ready as he grabbed John's left arm, trusting that Dave and Luka and maybe even Jack Carter were doing their parts to hold John steady because he wasn't going to blindly stab the needle into a flailing body.
John felt a hand on his arm and he started to turn, to protest to whoever it was that was touching him, but he found himself unable to move since his father was holding onto his right arm, keeping him in place.
"Please, John, don't fight us," Jack said, his heart breaking even more from all he had witnessed. The company could go to Hell, but Jack had no intention of leaving Chicago until he knew that John was okay, really and truly okay.
Dave and Luka each moved into position -- Dave in the back, Luka in the front, keeping John still. They both just wanted to make sure that John didn't get hurt if he tried to bolt from being sedated. They both hated that John had to go through this, and in their own ways they would take on the burden of the pain themselves if they could. Dave was so upset by the situation that he was close to breaking down himself, but he knew he couldn't, because he had to be strong for John.
Jenny, realizing that the focus of the room was no longer on her, decided that this would be the perfect opportunity to try to leave the premises. But as she retreated to the door, she felt an icy hand on her arm. "Where the *Hell* do you think you're going?" Eleanor Carter's cold voice exclaimed. "The only place you are going to is the police station."
"No, don't...no drugs...I'll be good, I promise you. I won't argue any more, just don't do that," John begged, but to no avail. He began to cry as he felt the needle pierce his skin, the sensation reminding him all too much of the sweet numbness that he had so often sought before. "Please?"
"It's going to be okay, John. It's just enough to calm you and not to knock you out," Dr. DiLeo replied as he handed the used syringe off to Dr. Meyers to handle. "Why don't we find a room where you can rest for a while?"
Jack held tightly onto his son, and he nodded. "We can go up to your room, John. I promise you that I won't leave you alone."
"Doesn't matter now, does it?" John replied. He could already feel the numbness settling in, but so much more than what he had experienced after the stabbing. At least his feet were going to stop hurting, so that was good. His eyes sought out Jenny, and he saw her beside his mother, looking scared. "Let her go, Mom. None of it matters now."
Even though she heard John speak, Eleanor quickly shook her head. "I'm sorry, son. I can't do that..." Her voice trailed off as she looked at the woman she had once trusted with her babies. And Eleanor realized that for the rest of her life she would live with the regret of not taking care of her children the way that she should have. Jenny would pay for this...Jenny would pay. Somehow, Eleanor would fix it.
"I...Mr. Carter, would it be alright if I came up with you, made sure John was settled alright? I...I wanna check the bandages on his feet,- they're probably all messed up again, and I wanna put some more antiseptic on it and rebandage them before they get infected..." Dave would use any excuse to try to spend time with John, and it was often in situations like these that he could get the man to talk to him. Dave was hoping that today would be no different.
Dr. Malucci's question reminded Jack of the admissions he had heard. Now that the crisis appeared to be over, he could concentrate on the importance of the fact that his son was not just involved with a man, but with two men. Two men who obviously cared very much about him. Jack nodded. "Of course. Dr. Kovac? You're more than welcome to come, also."
Luka nodded. "Yes, I would like that very much," Luka said, casting both Dave and John another glance. These scenes seemed all to familiar to the man at this point. And Luka honestly wasn't sure how much he could take.
To be continued