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 Zalezac 
Copyright (C) Lazlo Zalezak, 2003


Part 1: Shield, Staff, and Compass
Chapter 4

Doug strode into the room with an undisguised sense of authority. 
He was a short man, with a neatly trimmed mustache that 
exaggerated his frown and short black hair that gave him a 
distinguished look. He looked around and noticed a man changing 
the sheets on the only bed in the room. He cleared his throat, 
"Where's John Carter?"

Nurse John turned and examined the intruder. He didn't know what 
to make of the man. He answered, "He's in the next room reading 
to the Wilson girl. She had an appendectomy yesterday."

Doug turned before Nurse John had even finished his answer. The 
nurse watched the guy's back as he left the room without further 
comment. He muttered, "That guy makes Dr. Simpson look like a 
great conversationalist."

A minute later John Carter entered the room followed by the other 
man. Doug pointed at the bed, "Get in bed, now!"

"Dougie, I've known you since you and my brother were caught 
playing doctor with the girls next door.  Now get off your high and 
mighty doctor pedestal you've put yourself on and say hello like 
the real person I know still lives inside you!"

Nurse John just chuckled quietly to himself. He glanced over at 
John and saw the twinkle in his eye. He knew that look too well. 
John got that same look when he would start to bait Dr. Simpson. 

"John Carter get in that bed. I saw your chart out there. You were 
shot and lost way too much blood. You're lucky to be alive. Now 
you get in that bed and stay there until I or your doctor say you can 
get out of it!"

John made a raspberry and retorted, "Make me. I can still whip 
your ass one armed!"

Doug chuckled, "Damn it John. I get a call from your mother that 
you got shot and died. Then she tells me that you are feeling better, 
but that I might come out here to apply for a job. Now you and I 
know that it was her way to get me here to check you out. So be a 
nice guy and cooperate."

John laughed, "Sorry Doug. Getting you out here was my idea. 
There's only one doctor in the whole area and he's over worked. I 
knew you wanted a practice in the country and this is mighty nice 
country."

Doug pointed to the bed and John finally got into it. Doug looked 
over his shoulder at the nurse and groused, "Get some bandages. 
I'm going to look at his shoulder and see how it's healing."

Nurse John shook his head, "Nope, you aren't the..."

Doug interrupted, "Nurse, do it now!"

Nurse John spun around and left the room. John nodded with a 
wise ass smile on his face, "Dougie, you did it now! Get prepared 
for the wrath of Dr. Simpson!"

Hardly had John finished his statement when a whirlwind in the 
form of Dr. Simpson entered the room. He shouted, "You! Who 
are you that you dare order my nurses around?"

"I'm Dr. Wilkins. Are you the hack that lets him walk around the 
hospital two days after getting shot?" shouted Doug back at the 
older man.

Nurse John discretely entered the room and moved over to the bed. 
As the doctors argued, John winked at Nurse John and stated, "I 
told you they would get along fine." 

Nurse John nodded, "Yeah, like gasoline and matches. I wonder 
which one of us is gonna get burnt."

John laughed, "So how long do you think I should let them argue?"

"You can stop them anytime now."

"Okay," replied John with a big smile. He took a deep breath and 
let out a great big groan. 

Like magic, both doctors stopped arguing and raced to the side of 
the patient. As one, they asked, "Where does it hurt?"

"My ears!"

Again as one, "Your ears?"

"Yeah, you two were shouting loud enough to wake the dead!"

"You are the most…" replied both doctors as one. They both 
glared at each other and then began again, "You are driving…"

John interrupted, "So Dr. Simpson, are you gonna offer Dougie 
here a job?"

"Looking?"

"Yes."

“Credentials?”

“Mayo Clinic.”

"Okay."

"Great."

"When?"

"One month."

"Good. Nurse, get some bandages."

As one, the two doctors turned to John. This time the groan that 
escaped from John was real. Alarmed the doctors asked, "What's 
the matter?"

"I think I've let two monsters loose on the world."

"John, I shouldn't have let your brother rescue you when you were 
drowning!"

"John, I should have let you die on that operating table!"

Nurse John returned with bandages. It took the doctors several 
minutes to remove the old dressing and examine the wound. It had 
healed at an unprecedented rate. The two doctors stared at the 
wound in wonder. Dr. Simpson stated, "Incredible. It looks like it 
has been healing for two weeks instead of two days."

"I can see that. The mobility of the arm is amazing. With a hole 
that big, he should have significant stiffness."

"Well, will I live?"

Doug replied, "Yes. Must be all the meanness in you."

Dr. Simpson added, "And people consider me cantankerous. A few 
of them ought to meet you! I’m thinking about keeping you in here 
forever."

John smiled and winked at Nurse John. He suddenly leaned up and 
kissed Dr. Simpson on the lips. Leaning back, he smiled, "I'm all 
yours until you check me out of here!"

"Damn it, stop doing that! If my colleague concurs, you are leaving 
first thing in the morning!"

"John, there are times when I'm sorry I ever knew your brother. 
Every one of those times, you've been involved. Next time you do 
something like that to a doctor, I'm going to recommend they send 
you to a vet for treatment! You're leaving in the morning. If I know 
you, you'll corrupt all of the nurses here. I wouldn't want that, 
particularly since I'll be working here soon."

"Nurse John, do you want to tell them?"

"Leave me out of it. They'll discover in good time what kind of 
influence you've had here on the staff!"

Both doctors left the room shaking their heads. John watched them 
leave with an amused smile. He turned to Nurse John and stated, 
"They get along well, don't they?"

"He's the first doctor I've seen come in here that has a chance of 
outlasting Dr. Simpson," replied the black man. He shook his head 
at the exchange between the two doctors; an interview of one-word 
statements that lasted twenty seconds. 

John got out of the bed stating, "Well, I'm gonna go finish Treasure 
Island with Cindy Wilson."

He left the room leaving an amused nurse behind. Nurse John 
heard him say with an exaggerated pirate accent, "Avast, prepare 
to be boarded, me pretty!"

That was followed by an embarrassed giggle from Lucy. Nurse 
John shook his head in wonder. Some patients made the job 
worthwhile. Even the doctor had said that about John. That guy 
had brought more than one smile to this place. 

John woke up in the middle of the night thinking he was having an 
erotic dream. It took him several minutes to realize that it wasn't a 
dream, but someone was sucking his cock. Keeping his eyes closed 
he whispered, "If that's you, Nurse John, I'm gonna be real 
disappointed!"

He smiled at the giggle and opened his eyes. She was a shadow 
against the dull illumination that seeped from under the door. As 
she moved up his body, Nurse Lucy stated, "Avast, me hearty, 
prepare to be boarded!"

With that, she lowered herself onto his erection. He sighed in 
pleasure as the warm, moist sheath of her sex enveloped his cock. 
He moved his hand to her body and ran it up her torso. It was with 
a little disappointment that he encountered her nurses uniform. As 
he ran his hand down her body, he felt where she had lifted her 
skirt to allow her to straddle him. She undulated by moving her 
hips, rising gently, as she worked his hard cock within her. She 
sighed, "Oh, it's so big."

He sighed, "Oh, it's so tight."

He could feel his excitement building quickly. If he didn't slow 
things down, he would come soon. She stopped moving and started 
milking his cock with her cunt. He had to fight off having an 
orgasm. Then he realized that she was breathing hard and was 
building to one of her own. The contractions along his cock got 
stronger. He grunted, "Oh, I'm going to come."

As he started lifting his hips to increase the sensation, she started 
thrashing above him in orgasm. He let loose right after her. She 
collapsed on him in the exhaustion that follows orgasm and held 
him tight. He put his arms around her and drifted off to sleep.

Morning came and he examined his meager possessions. His pack 
and walking stick were there. He checked his watch and pockets. 
Everything was there. Satisfied, he settled into the wheelchair 
stating, "Homeward, James!"

Nurse John chuckled, "Your departure has created quite a stir."

"Oh?"

Nurse John wheeled him into the hallway. Every female in the 
hospital was spaced along the corridor. This included the 
accountant, the day and night nurses, the secretary, the lab 
technician, and the sixty-year-old cleaning lady. Each was wearing 
a blond wig, short white skirt, a top that was unbuttoned one button 
too many, garter belt and white stockings, and brandishing a 
thermometer. The grins were infectious. John burst out laughing, 
"Oh ladies, you are great. I'm gonna miss all of you!"

Even Dr. Simpson, while trying to look stern, was smiling, "You 
degenerate. Look at what you did to my staff!"

As they passed the cleaning lady, John stated in a stage whisper, 
"Myrtle, you better watch out for that old geezer. He'll be chasing 
you around the halls in a minute!"

Myrtle actually blushed, but retorted, "Chase? Who said I was 
gonna run?"

Dr. Simpson was left stuttering. It was at that moment that he 
realized John Carter knew the name of everyone in the hospital. He 
couldn't believe that even the night nurse was participating. She 
had the reputation of being a prudish old hen.

As they passed the door to the room next to his, he called inside, 
"Good bye, Cindy. Remember what I told you. If mean old Dr. 
Simpson gives you a hard time, you just kiss him on the lips."

From inside the room, Cindy answered, "Goodbye, Mister John. 
I'll remember."

John smiled as they went further down the hall. When they passed 
the accountant, he again used the stage whisper, "Louisa, 
remember it goes, one for you, one for me, one for you, two for 
me, and so on."

"Se Senior, I remember. Dr. Simpson be poor real soon," she 
replied with a smile. She glanced up at the doctor meaningfully as 
he made a face.

As they went down the hall, he made similar comments to every 
one. A personal joke to each. When they got to Lucy, he signaled 
her to come close. He was about to say something to her when she 
beat him to the punch, "Avast, me hearty, prepare to be boarded."

When she wiggled her hips suggestively, he laughed, "Shiver me 
timbers!"

Finally, they reached the end of the hall where the two doctors 
were standing. He turned to Dr. Simpson and stated in mock 
seriousness, "It's been fun working on your bedside manner with 
you."

There was a snort of laughter from the waiting room. Dr. Simpson 
answered, "It has been a real pleasure having you here, John. Don't 
you know that country doctors are supposed to be cantankerous 
and ill tempered? If I don't live up to expectations, no one around 
here will get cured."

John sat back in surprise, "Huh?"

"Now if you don't get out of here, I'll take Dr. Wilkins' advice and 
send you to the nearest veterinarian. I hear he's meaner than hell."

"Yes sir!"

Doug took over the wheelchair from Nurse John. Nurse John 
stepped around the wheel chair and knelt next to the patient. John 
looked at the black man. He extended his hand, "Thanks, Nurse 
John. May the Gods and Goddesses bless you."

Nurse John interrupted, "I know what you're gonna say next. If 
either doc gets too big for his britches, I'm supposed to give them a 
big kiss on the lips!"

There was another snort from the waiting room. A comment 
floated out from inside, "Damn Doc is gonna get kissed a lot from 
now on!"

Doug screamed in mock horror, "My God, we had better get him 
out of here before he corrupts all of the patients too!"

As Doug wheeled him out of the hospital, John shouted, "Goodbye 
everyone."

A chorus of good-byes followed them out of the building. As Doug 
pushed the wheelchair towards his rental car, he asked, "How do 
you do it?"

"Do what?"

"What you did in there."

"I really don't understand what you are talking about."

"You really don't, do you?" replied Doug. He shook his head in 
amazement. He added, "You get shot. You die. You recover. You 
heal in record time. You walk around a hospital and learn 
everyone's name. You have private jokes with them. They all know 
you and like you. They get dressed up in ridiculous garb to say 
goodbye. No one was upset to see you leave, but everyone felt 
better knowing you. You did all of that in three days. How do you 
do it?"

"It wasn't me. I didn't do anything. Everyone in there is a nice 
person and they were nice with me."

"You believe that, don't you?"

"It's the truth."

Doug walked in silence for a few steps. He finally stated, "I have 
to take you by the Sheriff's office. They want to talk to you before 
you leave town. His daughter is going to be there. A little later a 
reporter from the local papers will come. Can you handle it all?"

"Sure Dougie."

They put his gear in the back of the car that Doug had rented. John 
sprang out of the chair and got behind it to push it back to the door. 
Doug ran up to him and wrestled the chair from him. It wasn't 
tough since John could still use only one arm. He growled, 
"Hospital rules state that you have to ride to the car in a 
wheelchair. You then get in the car while an authorized employee 
of the hospital returns the chair. At that point, you can do anything 
you want."

"You mean I can strip and dance naked on top of the car if I 
want?"

"Sure, you can. We're going to the Sheriff's office anyway. It 
doesn't matter to me if you get there in handcuffs or not."

John seated himself in the car and waited for Doug to return. 
Before long, they were pulling out of the hospital. John was silent 
for a minute and then spoke up, "You're gonna like it here. I know 
it. The people are nice; good people if you know what I mean."

"Yes, I will like it here." 

"Good. I've worried about you since my brother died," replied 
John. He thought about how Doug had reacted when Eric died. He 
had locked himself in his room for a month; inconsolable from the 
loss of his best friend. 

Doug pulled off the road and turned to face John. "You don't have 
to worry about me any more."

John stated, "I know that. Take care of the people here. Find love 
and new friends. You deserve to enjoy life a little bit."

"I'll try," Doug replied. He was quiet for a moment and then 
suggested, "Let's get to the Sheriff's office before they get 
worried."

It was only five minutes later that they arrived at the Sheriff's 
office. John stepped out of the car and looked around taking in his 
surroundings. It was a nice little community. Next to the Sheriff's 
office was the feed store. He had been right, it was one street over 
from main street. He could smell the feed grain in the air and took 
pleasure in the slightly sweet odor. He entered the Sheriff's office 
and shouted, "Hey, Sheriff. I heard there was a warrant out for my 
arrest and I've come to give myself up!"

The Sheriff looked up and saw John. His neighbor Myrtle worked 
at the hospital. She had told him all about a wonderful person that 
was a patient there. She had related that he took a real interest in 
her and her life. She said this kid actually helped her as much as he 
could although he could only use one arm. He had seen her leave 
for work this morning all dolled up like a nurse hooker. She had 
blushed and told him that all the women in the hospital were doing 
it. He replied, "Sorry, all the cells are booked up. You'll have to 
come back tomorrow!"

"Drat, I even combed my hair for my mug shot!"

The sheriff laughed, "Doesn't help. Don't you know that we law 
types rough up the suspect so that they look guilty before we take 
the picture?"

Doug shook his head, "Sheriff, I think you'd be doing the whole 
world a favor by locking this guy up."

John smiled, "My manners are horrible. Sheriff, this is Dr. Doug 
Wilkins. Doug, this is the Sheriff."

The Sheriff nodded, "I hear you're the new doctor in town."

"How did you know that?"

"My neighbor, Myrtle, told me."

John interjected, "Doug, you're gonna love Myrtle. She has a son 
in the army; he's a guard at the Egyptian Embassy. Her daughter is 
married to an accountant and is a nurse in Denver. She has a major 
crush on Dr. Simpson. She makes sure that he gets lots of rest and 
eats regularly. You're gonna have to work on that when you get 
here."

The Sheriff stared at John in amazement. He had known Myrtle for 
years and didn't know she liked the doctor. He turned back to 
Doug, "When will you be starting?"

"I'll be starting in a month."

"Great. We can use another doctor. Dr. Simpson hasn't had a day 
off in a decade. We're taking up a collection to send him to Hawaii 
for a week."

John whipped out his wallet and pulled out a twenty. He handed 
the money over to the Sheriff and stated, "Here's my contribution."

The Sheriff took the money and set it on his desk. It didn't surprise 
him at how fast John had reacted, not after what he had learned 
about him over the past few days. He cleared his throat, "Now to a 
little business. The reward is $20,000. Are you sure that you want 
it distributed as you said in the hospital?"

"Sure, why would I change my mind?"

"No reason, I just wanted to double check," replied the Sheriff. He 
still had a hard time believing the guy would give away the reward. 
He picked up his notebook, "I talked to your father. He's agreed to 
forward any messages to you about the trial. You can expect to get 
a query from the district attorney shortly."

"Okay. Anything I can do to help."

 The Sheriff was quiet for a minute. There was a rather pained 
expression on his face as he wrestled with how to make a request. 
With a frown he stated, "John, I have to ask you for a personal 
favor."

"Ask away."

"My daughter is coming here in about 10 minutes."

"Great. I'd like to meet her. She seemed like a nice girl. You must 
be very proud of her."

The Sheriff's frown deepened, "Well, not exactly."

"Oh? Tell me about it." John turned to look directly at the Sheriff, 
giving him his total attention. For the Sheriff it was like finding 
himself in a spotlight. 

"She has the morals of an alley cat. She's going to come here and 
want to thank you personally. I won't tell you not to, but I would 
appreciate it if you turned her down. It's not that I don't like you, 
it's just that I can't condone her behavior."

John nodded and thought about it for a half a minute. He spoke, "I 
understand. It must be very hard for you."

The Sheriff just nodded. He hated having this conversation. 

"Is she going to school?"

"No."

"I take it that she has no future plans."

"Right."

"Okay. Don't worry about it. Everything's going to be all right." 
The tone of John's voice brooked no argument. There was an eerie 
sense of power behind those words.

The Sheriff shook his head. Doug had seen John do some very 
weird things in the past. He knew by the tone in his voice that he 
was going to make everything all right. Doug interrupted, "Sheriff, 
can I talk to you privately for a minute?"

The two men stepped into a back room. John sat in the office 
looking around at the décor on the walls. There were pictures of 
the Sheriff in military uniform, hunting, and a much younger 
version standing proudly by a car. On one of the shelves was a 
football trophy that stated he had been an All State player. There 
was a picture on the desk of his family showing an attractive 
woman, a much younger daughter, and him in a suit.  There was an 
Irish Setter sitting in front of the family. 

The girl from the convenience store bounced into the office 
interrupting his examination of the room. She was wearing 'fuck-
me' clothes. The shirt was excessively short, the blouse was 
transparent without a bra underneath, and her shoes had five-inch 
heels. Her makeup was applied just a little too thickly. She slid 
easily onto his lap, cooing, "My hero!"

Expecting a much different response, she shrank back when he 
coldly answered, "I saved your life. It is mine to decide what to do 
with it."

"Huh?"

He took his index finger and placed it squarely upon her forehead. 
He intoned, "You shall enter school. You shall get a degree in a 
subject that interests you. You shall control your sexual desires 
with a toy until you meet the man you will marry. You shall marry 
a nice and decent man that shares your sexual energy. You and he 
shall make mutually satisfying accommodations for your sexual 
urges. You shall get a job that is a career and you shall excel in it. 
So it has been said, so shall it be!"

The power that had been building in the room suddenly collapsed 
and flowed into John. A huge shock of electricity flowed from him 
to her. Eyes wide, she shook her head as though to clear it. She 
demurely stood up and sat in a chair across the room from her. 
John looked up to see the Sheriff and Doug staring at him. Doug 
had a small smile; he remembered when John had done the same 
thing to him. Now he was a doctor and a very good one. She was 
going to be all right now.

John looked at the Sheriff, seeing a tear roll down his cheek. He 
guessed that Doug had told him about his experience. John smiled 
at the girl and in a very gentle tone of voice asked, "I'm afraid that 
we haven't been introduced yet. In fact, nobody has told me your 
name. I'm John Carter and you are?"

"I'm Amy."

"Amy, that's a very nice name. I am so happy to see that you're all 
right. I didn't know what happened to you after I lost 
consciousness. I was worried that I had been too late."

She smiled, "I know. My dad told me that the first thing you did in 
the hospital was to ask about me. I really thought you were dead. 
There was just so much blood. Dad wouldn't let me go to the 
hospital because he said that you weren't allowed visitors."

"Well, I'm happy that things worked out so well."

The Sheriff hesitantly interrupted, "Ah, Amy. I hate to say this, but 
the newspaper guy is going to be here in a few minutes. I imagine 
there will be pictures. Would you mind changing clothes?"

Amy's immediate reaction was to bristle in defiance, but her 
reaction was immediately muted. Puzzled, she answered, "You 
might be right. Something a little more conservative might be 
appropriate."

She stood and nodded to the occupants of the room, "Excuse me, 
I'll be right back."

After she left, John turned to the Sheriff, "She seems like a very 
nice girl; lots of potential. I expect to hear great things about her in 
the future."

"Thanks."

The three men chatted about the area while waiting for Amy to 
return and the newspaper reporter to arrive. The time was spent 
talking about hiking trails, good sights to see nearby and good 
places to live. Doug was beginning to get enthusiastic about 
moving into the area. 

Everyone arrived and the newspaper reporter took down the details 
of the attempted robbery. Amy told her story. She explained how 
John had rescued her from certain death. The Sheriff told about the 
history of the suspect. He described how many people the boy had 
killed over the past two months. Finally, the reporter turned to 
John and asked, "How's it feel to be a hero?"

"Oh, I'm not a hero. I just tried to diffuse the situation by getting 
between the robber and the girl. I knocked him out quite by 
accident when I got shot."

"Not a hero?"

"Nope. The hero is Dr. Simpson who was able to save my life. You 
guys have a great hospital here. Speaking of which, I'd like to 
introduce Dr. Doug Wilkins. He's joining the staff at the hospital in 
a month. You might want to talk to him."

The reporter turned his attention to the doctor, feeling rather 
fortunate in getting two stories out of one trip. The rest of his visit 
was spent discussing the doctor's background and qualifications. 
John sat back and watched with a satisfied look on his face as 
Doug became ever more animated.

Once the interviews were over, the reporter asked them to pose for 
a picture. First he took a picture of Amy and John and then he took 
a picture of Doug. Satisfied, he left. It wasn't until he left that he 
realized that he had only asked one question of John. 

John and Doug followed him out of the Sheriff's office after saying 
their good-byes to Amy and her father. As they walked down the 
street to where Doug had parked the rental, a young boy raced in 
front of them. John reached out and grabbed the boy before he 
stepped in the street. It was fortunate because a car came around 
the corner and would have hit the kid. He didn't notice the flash of 
the camera behind him. John knelt down, "Hey, you've got to look 
both directions before crossing the street." 

The newspaper article told the story of a hero who saved the life of 
Amy and noted that his heroism didn't end there. He had also saved 
the life of Jimmy Jones who had almost been run over by a car. 
The article described how the modest and disarming John had 
made friends in the hospital and helped bring a new doctor in the 
area. 




