Author's Note:

DRAMATIC GASP!

Yes, Not Like This is finally being updated. I apologize for the extremely long wait, but real life comes before fanfiction, unfortunately, despite the fact I wish it were the other way around! I am student teaching in January, but I will try to update again before then.

Thank you all for patiently waiting and all of the wonderful and encouraging reviews. I hope this was worth it.

Please provide feedback, positive or negative. I won't beg, though. It's not in my character!

The phone rang, the entire room jumping at the shrill sound in the quiet room. Josh Henderson, however, looked at the phone as if the noise was the most annoying thing possible.

The phone continued ringing, and Susan couldn't help but wonder if he was even thinking of answering it. The ringing stopped, and Susan let out a slow breath. Her daughter was kicking once again. It's gonna be okay, baby girl, she thought to herself, running a hand slowly over her stomach.

She glanced at Chuck, giving him a small smile as his eyes asked the question his mouth dare not speak. She nodded, answering his unasked question of whether she was okay. Chuck squeezed her hand in support, refusing to let go of the grip that they had locked together as soon as Josh had began pacing about an hour ago.

The blonde doctor glanced around the room, looking at each of her colleagues. Abby was sitting next to Kerry, looking worried as she watched Josh. The older doctor was leaning against the cabinet, her metal crutch lying abandoned a few feet away. The leg she favored with the crutch was out in front of her, and Susan couldn't help but wonder if her leg was bothering her. Sitting in that position could not be good for Kerry, but her face was set in a hard glare as she shot angry looks at Josh, who was sitting at the counter with his feet propped up. A bruise was forming on her temple where the gunman had pressed the gun against her head only an hour ago, the dark mark already visible against her fair skin.

Pratt was also glaring at Josh, though he did not dare say a word or make a sudden move. His unprovoked attack on Chuck had certainly shut the brash young doctor's mouth, at least for the moment. She glanced from Pratt to Josh. She wanted desperately to glance at Sam and Luka, but they were out of her line of vision, and unless she wanted to risk being shot, she wasn't about to turn her head to look at the pair. She only hoped that they were both okay, albeit scared.

The shrill ringing of the phone once again caused everyone to jump. Josh, however, simply glared at the phone. The phone continued ringing, the only sound in the room until Luka spoke up.

"They're gonna keep calling, you know," he said quietly, not wanting to startle the gunman anymore than he already was.

"So?"

"So, unless you want them to come bursting in here with stun guns and tear gas and Lord only knows what else, then I'd answer that phone. Let them know what you want, and see if you can make a deal," Luka suggested.

The phone stopped ringing as Josh stared at Luka. "What I want," he said slowly, advancing on Luka, "Is for each one of you to shut the fuck up and let me think. If you can't do that, then I'll blow each one of your brains out, starting with the pregnant one and her smart mouthed husband over there. Got it?"

Luka nodded as Susan swallowed. Josh was aimlessly waving his gun around, obviously not caring if it went off and struck someone. Susan felt Chuck squeeze her hand once again, attempting to reassure her despite the grave situation.

The phone rang once again, this time not startling anyone outright. Josh, however, let out a growl of rage, aiming his gun at the phone and shattering it into pieces. "God damn it!" he swore. He pointed the gun upward, shooting at the ceiling. A light fixture broke, sending tiny shards down on Abby and Kerry. They covered their heads in instinct, jumping when Josh yelled at them not to move.

The room was slightly darker, but Susan could still see the anger in Josh's eyes. She wondered why in the world he was doing this, but seeing his short temper, she hesitated to ask. When the time came and he wanted to talk, he would.

Susan tensed as Lilian shifted positions. She did not tense from pain, though. It was to where her daughter shifted that made Susan want to groan loudly.

She already had to go to the bathroom before this ordeal started, and her daughter was now pressed directly against her bladder.

John Carter walked toward the ER, whistling a tune softly. It was about time he was returning to the ER. After his and Kem's baby had died, Weaver had told him to take an involuntary month of leave at least, if not more. John and Kem had traveled to Africa, providing their help where they could in the foreign country to aid injured and sick people.

This was his first day back, and John couldn't help but be a little excited. As obnoxious as the patients were at times, and despite the fights he sometimes had with fellow doctors, this was still the place he had grown up in.

Carter frowned as he approached. The numerous flashing lights caught his attention. Granted, this was the ER, and patients were brought in constantly. However, the red and blue lights flashing on the walls gave him a feeling of dread in the pit of his stomach. There were way too many lights and the crime scene tape and police barriers only made the feeling in his stomach worse.

"Excuse me," John called, approaching the barrier, his ID out in his palm. "I'm a doctor here. Can you tell me what's going on?"

An officer glanced at his badge, then said gruffly, "Some wacko with a gun took the place over about an hour and a half ago. A nurse or a doctor or someone mouthed the word 'gunman' to a paramedic, who radioed for police. We've tried calling, but he won't answer the phone. We think he just shot the phone, though, because we heard two gunshots and the line is now busy."

"Is anyone hurt?"

"We don't know. We have no means of communication. The fiber optic team is working on drilling a small hole so we can at least hear what is going on in there," the officer answered apologetically. "Is there any way you can tell us who is in there?"

Carter thought for a minute, then said, "I believe that Kerry Weaver, Greg Pratt, Susan Lewis, Luka Kovac, Abby Lockhart, and Sam Taggart were all scheduled to work. Other than them, I don't know. This is my first day back."

"Does anyone have any medical problems we should be aware of?"

"Uh, Kerry uses a crutch to walk. We don't know why, but she can't walk without it… and Susan is eight months pregnant," Carter replied, ignoring the tug in his stomach as he mentioned his friend's pregnancy.

"Okay, thank you," the officer said, rushing off to share this information with his boss. Carter sighed, folding his arms in front of his chest, staring at the hospital.

"Crazy, isn't it?" A soft voice broke John out of his thoughts. He looked over, and saw Haleh Adams looking up at him.

"Yeah, crazy," Carter replied, sighing as he glanced back at the hospital. "I just wish we could do something."

"We can pray," Haleh suggested softly, taking John's hand in his own. The doctor nodded, closing his eyes as Haleh began praying softly.

Susan winced, gritting her teeth as her daughter pressed up against her bladder. She sighed softly, wondering if she was about to get herself killed by doing what she was thinking of doing.

"Excuse me," she called softly, startling everyone in the room, including Josh.

"What?" the gunman asked roughly, glaring at Susan.

"I hate to be a pain in the ass, but I really have to go to the bathroom. The baby is pressing against my bladder, and I feel as if I am about to explode," Susan pleaded softly, not wanting to annoy Josh but also trying to let him hear the desperation in her voice. That was almost as painful as the pressure on her bladder; having to ask a man to go to the bathroom really hurt Susan's pride.

Josh stared at Susan hard, then finally growled, "Go." Susan was surprised he agreed, and hesitated standing up. "Go, I said," Josh yelled, causing the blonde to jump. She struggled to stand, glancing helplessly at Chuck.

"Oh, for fuck's sake. You help her," he said gesturing to Sam.

Sam jumped as the gunman pointed to her. Not wanting to anger him even more than he already was, Sam got up quickly, walking over to Susan. She stuck her hand down, helping the older woman to stand then steady herself. "You okay?" Sam whispered, seeing the exhaustion in Susan's eyes.

"Yeah. I knew I should have gone on leave at eight months," Susan said softly. Sam fought back a smile. Despite the grave situation, Susan still had her sarcastic sense of humor.

"Are you going to go today, or do I have to shoot you?" Josh asked lazily.

Susan glanced back at him, then murmured, "I'm going, I'm going. Sam squeezed her shoulder before moving to sit again next to Luka. He smiled gently at her, reaching over to touch the young nurse's hand briefly before folding his hands in his lap once again.

She began the slow trek to the bathroom, rolling her eyes as Josh called behind her, "If you're not back in five minutes, I'm gonna kill someone. Don't even think of doing anything funny!"

She was annoyed, but unfortunately, she knew he probably would kill someone. The man was unstable, and there was nothing she could do about it.

End Part 3