DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fiction. If you are offended by 
sexually explicit material or are under the age of 18, stop reading 
now. This material cannot be reproduced for commercial purposes 
without the consent of the author.


John Carter
By
Lazlo Zalezak
Copyright (C) Lazlo Zalezak, 2003


Part 3: Robes of Acumen
Chapter 9

Ling lounged on the sofa in the informal living room using the 
remote control for the television to flip through channels. John 
watched, but she flipped so fast that he couldn't even tell what was 
on any individual channel. She'd pause occasionally to watch five 
seconds of some channel and then return to flipping at her original 
pace. Since John and Ed weren't particularly interested in the 
television, they weren't bothered by her actions. 

John got up and went to the mini-refrigerator to refill his iced-tea. 
Ed watched him for a minute. He noticed the small mannerisms 
that suggested John was bothered by something, but that he was 
trying to hide it. Ed finally asked, "What's the matter?"

John turned to Ed; about to answer that nothing was the matter 
when he saw that Ed would persist. He frowned, "I don't like that 
Beth went to Los Angeles for that medical conference."

Ed examined John carefully, "Why?"

John shook his head, "I have a feeling that something bad is going 
to happen there."

"So let's go there and join her," suggested Ling as she settled on a 
television station at last. She turned her attention to John for the 
moment.

John walked to the intercom and pressed the button connecting him 
to Cathy's office. When Cathy answered he stated, "Cathy, arrange 
a jet to take us to LA."

Cathy acknowledged the request. John turned to face the others in 
the room. He asked, "Who wants to go?"

Ling answered, "I'll go. Ed should stay here so that someone will 
be home when Kelly gets off work."

Ed argued, "Hold it, I'll watch his back for him."

Ling asked, "Who has the black belt? Whose job has been 
bodyguard? I should be the one that goes."

The two of them started to debate which one would be the better 
one to go. John had a sudden vision of the Gods and Goddesses 
looking at him with sadness in their eyes. As he realized the 
message they were conveying to him, John dropped to his knees 
screaming, "No!"

Both of the shut up immediately and looked to John. They didn't 
know if he was upset with them for their debate or if something 
else was the matter. John stated, "It's not fair. She was going to be 
a mother!"

Ed and Ling quickly moved to John's side. They helped him to the 
couch. Ed asked, "John, what happened?"

"She's dead. Beth is dead." John replied. Knowing that she was in a 
better place, the shock of the news quickly passed. Now he had to 
deal with the fact that he would never get a chance to talk to her 
again. He knew there would come times when he would 
experience something only to think to himself that she would love 
to hear about it. 

 Ed raced over to the intercom and buzzed the garage. Bob 
responded with a quick greeting. Ed got straight to the point. "Bob, 
get one of the cars and go to the hospital. We need you to pick up 
Kelly and drive her home. Just tell her that her presence at the 
house is needed."

Ed returned to sit by Ling. John's message began to sink in. Beth 
was dead. He would no longer be able to share his life with her. 
Suddenly, a huge hole opened in his heart. He looked up to see the 
tears streaming down Ling's face and knew he was not alone in 
this.

Official notification that Beth had been killed in Los Angeles came 
before Kelly returned home. Ed and Ling had gotten themselves 
under a little better control, but Kelly could tell as soon as she 
entered the house that something was wrong. She moved to the 
informal living room as a sense of dread settled upon her. She 
froze when she saw the looks on the faces of her husbands and 
wife. She asked, "What is it?"

The three of them got off the couch and move to Kelly. John and 
Ed put an arm around her as Ling moved in to hug her. John stated, 
"I'm sorry Kelly. Beth was killed in LA about an hour ago."

Kelly's legs collapsed out from under her. The two men carried her 
over to the couch and set her down. They joined her on the couch 
as Ling sat on the coffee table facing Kelly. Ling looked at John 
accusingly, "How can you accept this so calmly?"

John sighed, "It is simple, I have died and know that it is not a bad 
thing. I am sad because I will not get to share my love with her and 
she with me."

Ling and Kelly looked at each other realizing that John had stated 
exactly how they were feeling. They were feeling the loss for 
themselves and less about what Beth's death would mean to her. 
Kelly replied, "I feel so guilty because I'm thinking about myself."

John stated, "Don't feel that way. She is fine now. We are the ones 
left behind to continue without them. It is natural that we think of 
our loss."

Cathy came into the room, "I'm sorry to interrupt, but Beth's father 
is on the telephone and he wants to talk to you."

John turned on the speakerphone. "Hello, Dr. Hayes. You're on the 
speakerphone here and the whole family is gathered."

"I'm so sorry. We were at lunch and a car lost control. I couldn't do 
anything," he said. His voice broke as the sound of him crying 
came across the telephone. He sobbed, "Oh, God, I'm so sorry."

John stated, "We understand there was nothing you could do. 
You've done nothing that requires an apology. Where are you?"

"I'm in the hospital in LA."

"Are you alright?" John looked over at Ed. Ed understood what 
John intended him to do. Ed stood and went to the door.

"I've got a broken leg and a fractured disk."

John asked, "Where's Mrs. Hayes?"

"She's at home. I called her and let her know."

Ed nodded and went to find Cathy. John stated, "Ed is arranging 
for a charter jet to be sent to the airport to pick her up. We'll be 
flying in as well."

Dr. Hayes sobbed, "I'm so sorry. I couldn't do a thing for her. The 
car came out of nowhere and that was it."

Kelly stated, "You know that you should just rest right now, Dr. 
Hayes. You'll be able to deal with things better after you've 
rested."

John added, "We will be there soon. Get some rest."

The conversation continued for another several minutes. Most of it 
was Dr. Hayes apologizing for his daughters death. He felt guilty 
because he lived rather than her. The father had watched the 
daughter die.

The Carter Clan arrived at the airport within an hour of the official 
telephone call. They waited to take off until they were sure that 
Beth's mother had boarded the jet they had arranged for her. They 
left in time to land within ten minutes of her arrival in LA. They 
made excellent time and the trip itself was uneventful.

At the LA airport, they waited for Mrs. Hayes to land. The four 
were very tense, as they had no idea of what state of mind she 
would be in when she landed. Ed stated that she was very upset on 
the telephone when he talked to her. When the jet taxied to the 
hanger, the four went out to greet her. The door of the jet opened 
and after a minute, she stepped out. She smiled at them, "I could 
get used to traveling like that!"

The ground crew swarmed around the jet removing her luggage 
and taking it to the limousine that waited for them. John laughed in 
relief that she wasn't upset. He stated, "Yes, ma'am. It's very easy 
to get used to flying all by yourself in a charter jet."

He helped her off the last step of the stairs down from the jet. As 
they walked, John told her, "We've reserved the penthouse suite of 
a hotel that is one block away from the hospital your husband is a 
patient. We want you to stay with us."

Beth's mother looked surprised, "You are too kind."

Ling looked at her, "Beth was our wife and that makes you 
family."

Kelly continued, "There is nothing more important than taking care 
of family. You will never need worry as long as any of us are 
alive."

Ed stated, "As soon as your husband is able to travel, we will 
transport him to our place. We have a doctor lined up and the best 
facilities in the entire state."

John added, "We can build a separate house for you if you don't 
feel comfortable in our home. Perhaps you and Dr. Hayes might 
want to retire there."

Beth's mother cried, "Beth loved you all so much and I know why. 
You really do take care of each other and those around you."

They got into the limousine. The drive to the hotel was filled with 
conversation and talk of future possibilities. Once there, John 
picked up the keys to the penthouse suite. They were immediately 
shown to their suite with the luggage being brought up by the 
bellhop in a separate elevator. The penthouse was huge, with four 
bedrooms, large living room, spa, dining room, an office, and a 
built-in bar. John stated, "Okay, everyone. Pick a room. I'm 
claiming the office."

Beth's mother looked shocked, "That's okay, I'll sleep on the 
couch."

Kelly laughed, "Putting John in a bedroom is a waste of a bed. He 
sleeps on his sleeping bag. The office is perfect for him."

Ling added, "The only time he sleeps in a bed is when he's 
sleeping with someone. More often than not, he still ends up on the 
floor."

Mrs. Hayes turned to John, "Do you mean you can afford all of 
this, but you sleep on floor?"

"Yes, ma'am."

She went into a room shaking her head in wonder. The more she 
learned about these people, the more she was amazed. They could 
walk into a suite like this and keep their heads. They continued to 
be themselves regardless of the situation. Her walk around the 
bedroom was interrupted by the bellhop bringing her luggage. She 
looked for some money to give him, but he told her that it had all 
been taken care of already. 

John stood at the door and stated, "You might want to take about 
fifteen minutes to freshen up. We'll go over to the hospital when 
everyone is ready."

She answered, "Okay."

The telephone to the room rang. John answered it while everyone 
else was freshening up. The front desk told him that a Juan Ortiz 
was there to speak with him. Before John had a chance to respond 
the woman added that he claimed to have been a member of the 
John Carter Rescue Squad. John told her to send him up.

John opened the door and waved Juan into the room. Juan was 
dressed in a suit and tie. He looked very sharp. As Juan approached 
the room, John stated, "Juan, it is so good to see you."

Juan smiled broadly, "John Carter, you look magnificent."

John asked, "What are you doing here?"

Juan answered, "When I heard about Beth's accident, I knew that 
you would be coming to town. I had to come and give my 
condolences."

John returned a thankful smile and said, "Thank you, Juan. I 
appreciate it. Now tell, what's going on with you? You really look 
great."

Juan beamed as he answered, "After that day, I took a really good 
look at my life. When I looked into going into a medical related 
field, I found that my criminal record was a major problem. To 
make a long story short, I ended going to school and majoring in 
journalism. I now own a small English/Spanish newspaper. I run 
lots of articles on helping yourself to get out of poverty."

Beth's mother came out of the room. Juan saw her and approached 
her. He said, "Senora, you must be Beth's mother."

Mrs. Hayes looked at him in surprise as she replied, "Yes, I am."

Juan smiled. He said, "I'm Juan Ortiz. Your daughter was an angel. 
I only knew her one day and she changed my life completely. I am 
so sorry to hear about her death. If there is anything that I can do 
for you, please let me know."

"Oh, thank you." 

John called out, "Ed! Kelly! Come here, you'll never guess who's 
here."

Ed came out of his room and looked Juan. He shook hands with 
Juan, stating, "Juan, how are you doing?"

Kelly entered the room and rushed over to Juan giving him a hug. 
"Oh, Juan. You look so sharp."

Juan burst out in a smile. He was amazed that these wonderful 
people remembered him from one day that had happened years 
ago. Juan answered them, "I am doing well. I'm so sad to see you 
again under these circumstances."

Kelly hugged him tightly. "Thank you so much."

Juan blushed. "So, I have come from the hospital. Dr. Hayes is 
doing well. The staff told me that doctors make the worst patients 
and he's no exception."

Mrs. Hayes laughed on hearing that assessment. She knew that 
things were going to be okay. Juan fidgeted for a moment and then 
pulled an envelope out of his suit pocket. He handed it to Mrs. 
Hayes stating, "I have written an obituary for Beth.  I would like 
your permission to print it in my newspaper. I've made a deal with 
the larger newspapers to run it also, if you approve."

Mrs. Hayes sat down on a couch and read the contents of the 
envelope. As she read, tears started to stream down her cheeks. 
When she finished reading it, she looked up at Juan. With a catch 
in her throat, she stated, "It's so beautiful. You have my 
permission. You are a very talented and kind young man."

Juan frowned as he replied, "I do my best. It is hard to do less than 
that once your life has been touched by an angel."

John put an arm around Juan. "Juan, it is so great to see you. I hope 
that you will join us for dinner tonight."

Juan shook his head, "John, I won't join you for dinner tonight. 
You have traveled far today and will be tired. I don't want to 
intrude. I just wanted a chance to welcome you back to Los 
Angeles."

Ed stated, "Your consideration is really appreciated, but you 
wouldn't be intruding."

The telephone rang again. John answered it while Juan said his 
good-byes to everyone. The woman at the front desk explained that 
there was a Mrs. Dawn Ericson wanting to talk to Ed or Kelly. 
Before John had a chance to answer, she added that they had 
rescued her from a life of slavery. John looked over at Ed and 
Kelly before telling the woman to send her up. 

John turned back to everyone in time to tell Juan goodbye. After 
Juan left, he told Ed and Kelly that a Mrs. Dawn Ericson was on 
her way up to say hello to them. At their blank looks, he added that 
they had rescued her from slavery. It took them a minute to 
remember that she had been one of the adult women that had been 
rescued.

John opened the door and waited for the elevator to arrive. When it 
did, a very attractive woman stepped out. She saw John waving her 
over and headed in his direction. He stated, "Hello, I'm John 
Carter. You must be Mrs. Dawn Ericson."

She smiled at him, "It's an honor to finally meet you, John. They 
told me that you were the one that single-handedly brought down 
the whole gang. I didn't get a chance to meet you that day."

John made his usual self-depreciating gesture. "There were a lot of 
people involved. I was just one of many."

"Well, thank you anyway."

"Come in. Kelly and Ed are waiting for you."

Dawn stepped into the room and spotted Kelly first. She ran to her 
and hugged her tightly. "Oh, it's so good to see you."

She turned and saw Ed. She ran to him saying, "Ed, you are still as 
handsome as ever."

Kelly smiled and stated, "Keep saying things like that to him and 
he's liable to believe you."

Dawn stepped away. "I'm so sorry about Beth. When I heard, I 
knew you would be coming here. I called every hotel looking for 
you. I just had to give you my condolences."

Mrs. Hayes asked, "How did you know my daughter?"

Dawn answered, "Several years ago I was abducted. They were 
going to turn me into a sex slave and sell me to some sick pervert. 
When I was rescued, Ed came into the room and untied all of us. 
Kelly came in and checked us out to make sure that we were 
uninjured. Beth was working feverishly to tend to the wounded. 
She was amazing and I'll never forget any of them for their heroic 
action."

"I never knew that."

Ed stated, "John was seriously wounded in that raid. Beth had him 
stabilized, but she couldn't do much in the middle of nowhere. 
John died in the hospital. He was dead for four minutes before he 
came back to life."

Kelly added, "Ed was shot in the leg, Beth patched it up very 
nicely."

"I didn't know he had died saving us," Dawn said with a surprised 
expression. She looked at John. "You really are some kind of 
hero."

Nobody had noticed that Ling had been standing there hearing all 
of this. She knew that they had done some dangerous things, but 
they very seldom talked about it. She had always been bothered by 
their scars. To her, there was something scary and dangerous about 
people with scars. She realized that each of them had faced death 
several times while she had always been protected from it. In a 
way, it made her feel insignificant to them all. 

Dawn noticed Ling for the first time. She turned to her and said, 
"Hello, I'm Dawn."

John stated, "Please excuse my manners. Dawn, this is our newest 
wife Ling. Ling, this is Dawn. I guess you heard her story already."

Dawn smiled at Ling. She stated, "You are one lucky woman to get 
these three. I'm so sorry about your loss."

Ling answered, "I know I'm the luckiest woman in the world."

Dawn turned around. She said, "Well, I had better get going. 
Please, call me if you need anything. I'm a great baby-sitter if you 
need one."

John laughed and replied, "Thank you very much for your offer. 
Take care of yourself."

Dawn breezed out of the room and to the elevator. John closed the 
door after her and turned to his family. He suggested, "We had 
better get out of here now, before someone else shows up."

The whole group nodded their agreement. In just a couple of 
minutes they had gathered their gear and left the penthouse. The 
elevator took another minute to arrive. While they were waiting, 
John stated, "It's hard to maintain a low profile around here, isn't 
it?"

The elevator arrived and they got on it. As everyone got in, they 
went into elevator mode where each person looked in a different 
direction, Ed looked around with a mischievous grin. He fondled 
Ling on the bottom. She spun around and was about to call him a 
pervert when she realized who had done it. Kelly had noticed the 
action and burst out laughing. She stated, "You should know better 
than to get on an elevator with strange men, Ling."

Ling giggled, "I had no choice. They followed me on."

Mrs. Hayes was laughing at the childish behavior. It was hard to 
believe at times that they had been together as long as they had. 
They kept making her think they were newlyweds with their 
frequent teasing and touching. She wondered what had happened 
in her marriage that they had forgotten how to do that.

When the elevator reached the lobby, the group exited. They were 
met by the manager, "Excuse me, John Carter. I didn't realize who 
you were. Is there anything we can do to make your stay more 
comfortable?"

John smiled, "Well, you can make sure that there is always a 
pitcher of iced tea ready for us. We go through a lot of that."

The manager was surprised by the simple request. He had expected 
John to ask for exercise equipment or some other major thing. He 
smoothly answered, "Of course. I'll see that is taken care of right 
now. Can I do anything else for you?"

John looked around at the others. They all shrugged their 
shoulders. He turned back to the manager and answered, "I guess 
not."

"Excellent sir." For a very wealthy group, they made very little 
demand on the staff of the hotel.

The group moved to the lobby doors. The limousine was waiting 
for them. They climbed into it and watched the scenery as it drove 
the one block to the hospital. Their arrival brought more attention. 
One of the doctors came out and met them as they entered the 
hospital. He stated, "I'm Dr. Edwards. I was on staff the day of the 
earthquake. I never got a chance to thank you and your group for 
the terrific assistance that you provided that day. Dr. Beth Hayes 
literally saved at least fifty lives that day with her excellent 
medical skills and prioritizing the patients for arrival here. I'm so 
sorry to hear about her death."

John pushed Ling up to the front to deal with the doctor. Ling 
glanced at the others and stated, "Thank you very much for your 
praise of Beth and for your condolences. I fear we are here to see 
Dr. Hayes, the elder."

Dr. Edwards grimaced, "Oh, he's doing fine."

Mrs. Hayes spoke up for the first time, "As his wife, I have a 
suggestion. You might have a couple of the staff talk about Beth in 
front of him. Let him know what she did and how she would have 
acted as a patient. I'm sure that he'll do his best to set a good 
example."

Dr. Edwards looked at her out of the corner of his eye with a smile, 
"May I ask why you recommend this particular action?"

"He's my patient when he gets out of here. I want him used to 
being good before I get him." She was used to dealing with her 
husband when he was sick. It was not fun.

Dr. Edwards laughed aloud. "I'd tell my wife this story, but I'm 
afraid she'll use it on me next time I'm sick."

The whole group laughed and headed towards the room where Dr. 
Hayes was a patient. As they neared the room, they could hear the 
buzzer at the nurses station. Kelly rolled her eyes. She said, "What 
do you want to bet that it is coming from his room? Doctors learn 
how to use that buzzer so fast, it makes the head spin."

John stopped Ling for a minute and whispered something in her 
ear. She smiled and walked over to the nurses station. She was 
going to arrange for some back up for them, but she needed some 
information first and the nurses would be able to provide it.

She stayed there while the rest of the group went into Dr. Hayes' 
room. Dr. Hayes was ready to explode at the nurse until he realized 
that it was the Carter Clan and his wife. Kelly walked directly to 
him and took his pulse. She looked at him, "You look like shit. 
You aren't getting enough sleep. Didn't I tell you to get some rest?"

He looked at her in shock. Ed laughed as he said, "Oh no! It's the 
dreaded Nurse Kelly. Watch out Dr. Hayes."

Dr. Hayes stuttered, "I can't sleep in this room."

"Bullshit. You can't sleep because you're too busy acting like an 
ass. Leave those nurses alone and let them do their jobs."

"I can't believe that my daughter was married to you. You're 
mean."

Kelly laughed aloud. "I was the one with the nice bedside manner. 
She'd have ordered a couple of dozen blood tests a day for a patient 
that acted like you."

Mrs. Hayes giggled. Dr. Hayes noticed, "Come on, dear. Are you 
going to let her talk to me like that?"

"You bet. We heard about what a sweet and wonderful patient you 
were before we even got in the hospital."

Dr. Hayes snorted, "Oh come on!"

Ed stated, "It's true."

Dr. Hayes looked at Ed and remembered the time he had 
challenged Ed's truth sense. He quieted down very quickly. Ling 
entered the room with a smile. "Everything is arranged."

John nodded. "Good. When will the nurse get here?"

Ling smiled as she said, "She's already here."

A very large woman entered the room behind Ling and looked 
around. To say that she was physically ugly would be an 
understatement. She was at least three hundred and twenty pounds 
with a mole on her face with hair growing out of it. She looked 
over at Dr. Hayes and snorted, "This is the patient?"

Ling stated, "yes, it is, Nurse Emma."

Nurse Emma patted her new patient on the cheek. Her smile scared 
him. He knew this kind of nurse, usually using one for his more 
obnoxious patients.  His terror increased when she stated, "We'll 
get along perfectly, won't we?"

Kelly said, "If you're real good, maybe we'll find someone nice 
who'll give you your sponge baths."

Kelly grabbed Mrs. Hayes by the arm and led her out of the room. 
John watched her leave, realizing that Kelly was about to give her 
a lesson in bathing a man in the hospital. Dr. Hayes was about to 
learn something about healthcare that he probably didn't know 
existed.

After staying with Dr. Hayes for several hours, the group decided 
it was time to leave. As John headed towards the door, Ling asked, 
"Do you mind if I stay here for a little while?"

John looked at Ling curiously for a minute. He smiled, "Go ahead. 
We'll send the limousine back for you."

Ling winked, "Great. I'll be there in about thirty minutes."