A few days later, the two Serbs returned to the ER. Luka noticed them standing off in the corner even though all the chairs were empty. He got that sick feeling in the pit of his stomach again. They didn't look like they were there for treatment this time. His discomfort grew when he saw them watching Amira closely... with that same look they had in their eyes last time. One of the men had his hand in his coat pocket; Luka didn't like the looks of that either. After what had happened to Lucy and Carter, Luka decided he should alert Security. But before he could do that, the men realized Luka was watching them.

His former patient suddenly pulled a gun from his coat and pointed it at Amira, who froze, visibly shaken. Luka quickly assessed the situation: there was no one else at the Admit Desk and no one waiting in chairs. Careful to avoid any sudden movements, he calmly spoke to the gunman in Serbian "OK. Let her go and we can talk about whatever you want." As he spoke, he moved slowly but deliberately to his left, trying to move between Amira and the gun. If he could keep them talking long enough to position himself in front of Amira, he could keep her safe.

The gunman cursed in Serbian and almost spat out the words "Her kind has no right working in a hospital. We should not have to come in contact with her when we come here for help." Luka tried to keep them talking, to keep the situation calm "Well if you don't want her near you, then it makes sense to let her go, right?"

The gunman seemed to consider this for a moment but kept his weapon trained on Amira. Just then Mark emerged from the suture room, startling the gunman, who turned the gun toward him. Luka yelled "Mark, get down!" and Mark quickly backed into the suture room. The gunman turned again to Amira, who had missed her chance to run, paralyzed by fear. He raised the gun, aimed and ...

Amira screamed. Luka jumped between her and the gunman. A shot rang out, but Luka continued advancing on the gunman. He threw his full weight on the shooter, wrestled the gun from his hand and knocked it into the corner. Meanwhile, Mark came running from the suture room, maneuvered his way behind the second man and grabbed both arms - not waiting to find out if this guy had a gun too. Amira finally snapped out of her paralyzed state, ran to the desk, frantically dialed the phone and screamed "Security to the Admit Desk. Shots fired. Shots fired. Hurry! Please!"

Kerry, hearing the gunshot, rushed out from the lounge "What the hell's going on out here?" Three security guards arrived at the same time. One grabbed the man Mark was holding and slapped handcuffs on him. The other two tried to grab the gunman, but Luka had him in a tight chokehold and refused to let go. One of the guards said "Doc, Doc, we got him. You can let go now." But Luka held on. After the guards physically pulled him off the gunman, Luka fell to the floor. Mark and Kerry noticed that his scrubs were soaked in blood. Kerry screamed "Oh my God! Luka, is that your blood or his?" She and Mark ran to their colleague, lifted his scrub top and saw a gunshot wound to his right chest. Kerry pressed her hands against the wound to control the bleeding while Mark ran to get a gurney.

As the two men were hauled away by security, they cursed Luka in Serbian. The young doctor tried to get up off the floor, eyes flashing wildly, suddenly resisting Kerry's efforts to stop the bleeding. Reacting to the Serb curses, he began to shout in Croatian. Kerry begged "Luka, please... speak English" but he didn't seem to understand her. She realized he might be having a flashback and tried to jog him to the present, "Luka, it's me, Kerry Weaver. You're here at County General and you're safe. Mark Greene and I just want to help you." But Luka continued shouting in Croatian, seemingly oblivious to Kerry's pleas. Kerry barked at Amira "Find a translator - QUICK! If he doesn't snap out of this, we need someone who can get through to him in his own language. If there's no one on staff, call St. Jerome's Church and ask them to send someone over - they have a big Croatian community over there."

Kerry couldn't get close enough to treat Luka's wound. He kept pushing her away as if she were hurting him. It was obvious he didn't recognize her. Mark returned with the gurney, but Luka fought him off too. Concerned about the amount of blood loss, Mark told Amira to page security again. He needed help to get Luka under control. Just then, Malik and Peter came running to the desk. They'd heard about the shooting and wanted to know if anyone was hurt. Mark told them Luka had been shot but was resisting their help. Together, the three men managed to get Luka onto the gurney, where he continued to struggle so fiercely that they finally had to tie his arms and legs in restraints. This made Luka even MORE agitated.

Kerry tried to clean the wound and locate the bullet. But even though Luka's arms and legs were tied, he thrashed around violently on the gurney - trying to break the restraints. Kerry barked "Haleh, try to get his BP. Damn! I can't probe the wound if he won't stay still. And I can't sedate him if his pressure's too low."

Haleh managed to get the cuff on Luka's arm. He tried to resist, but couldn't pull his arm away because of the restraints. The veteran nurse was visibly upset to see Dr. Kovac like this, and her hands shook as she inflated the cuff. She assured the young doctor in a soft voice "It's gonna be OK sweetie. Haleh won't hurt you." Then turning to Kerry, she announced "His BP is 80 over 61." Satisfied that his body could handle the sedative, Kerry gave Luka a shot of Haldol and waited for it to take effect.

The interpreter arrived - it was a priest from St. Jerome's Church. Kerry explained "We think he's having some kind of flashback. He always speaks English here at work, but right now he's not responding to anything we say. Please tell him he's in Chicago and that Mark and Kerry are trying to help him." The interpreter conveyed this to Luka in Croatian, then Mark asked what Luka was saying. Although he was clearly upset by the words, the priest translated as Luka pleaded "Please leave them - take me instead. My wife will do you no harm, and the two little ones...they're just children. I am strong and can work hard. I am also a doctor and can care for your sick. No...no...don't take them, please. Take me, please take me .... They're just children. They've harmed no one. Please leave them alone. Please God, don't take them away. I beg you. Think of your own children. How can you do this to such little ones? Take me and do whatever you want to me. Just please let my wife and children live." Even with his arms in restraints, it was obvious that Luka was trying to grasp something , or someone, with his hands.

Mark was stunned. He didn't know Luka had a family. Haleh had tears in her eyes as she watched the fear and pain grow in Luka's eyes. Kerry was shocked. Although Luka had told her that his his wife and children were taken away and killed, he had not revealed any of the details. She gasped "Oh God, I had no idea he witnessed the whole thing."

Kerry and Mark waited anxiously for the sedative to take effect. Luka continued to struggle against the restraints, still screaming in Croatian "Shoot me again. I don't care. Do what you want with me. Cut my heart out. Anything but this. Leave my family alone! Please don't hurt them. They are innocent. Take me... I beg you...take me."

Kerry asked the interpreter to tell Luka in Croatian that he was safe in Chicago at County General and his family was NOT in danger anymore. "Tell him we 're only trying to help him because he's injured." The interpreter repeated this information over and over to Luka in a soft, gentle voice, but the young doctor continued shouting and pleading in Croatian. Suddenly, he stopped thrashing against the restraints. "Thank God the Haldol is finally working" Kerry sighed.

Now that Luka had stopped struggling, Mark began to treat the wound. Kerry stroked Luka's forehead reassuringly and asked the interpreter to tell him "everything will be alright, everything will be alright." She instructed Haleh "Give him two units of O-Neg. Type and crossmatch. And use a large-bore IV - he's lost a lot of blood." But Kerry's relief quickly turned to alarm when she realized Luka's breathing had become very labored. Suddenly he gasped, then made a hideous gurgling sound. Kerry quickly turned Luka's head sideways to keep him from choking as bright red blood spewed from his mouth.

Just then, Mark announced "I found the bullet. Damn... it punctured his right lung." Peter moved swiftly to Mark's side. "OK people. No time to take him up to surgery. We gotta do this right here."

End of PART 2 ... to be continued

To part 3

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