a cameo. Personality Doc is the paramedic supervisor at the firehouse and is in charge of everyone else. He's one of the best paramedics in the city, but often takes the job too seriously and lets his emotions get in the way. Doc will take the blame for many incidents, even if they were not directly his fault. Doc is quite possibly the most conflicted character in the entire series, dealing with many traumatic events and occurrences from his past as well as during the course of his time on the show. Background Monte 'Doc' Parker was born in 1962 in New York City, one of 5 sons of John and Mrs Parker. As a youngster, he accidentally killed his best friend over a girl, something that would come back and haunt him in the future. After high school, Monte spent four years at City College, studying business and administration. After graduating, he spent 2 years selling stereos before switching to office suppliers. Bored, Monte considered joining the Air Force, but was turned down due to poor eyesight. He ended up joining the FDNY in 1985 as a paramedic (an error, since the FDNY did not provide EMS until the merger of 1996), after seeing paramedics in the street and thinking the job looked good. He acquired the nickname 'Doc' and was partnered up with Jerry Markowitz; the two regarded themselves as brothers. Jerry helped Doc overcome the death of his wife Debra, who was killed in a boating accident in 1998. Doc and Debra's last words to each other had been an argument. He holds a Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do (World Tae Kwon Do Federation). In 1999 rookie Carlos Nieto joined the paramedics, and on this day Jerry was shot. Carlos became Doc's partner, but Doc considered him temporary until Jerry got back. When he found out that Jerry was taking permanent retirement on disability pay, Doc took the news hard. Carlos then became his permanent partner, but the two had very different styles and more than once, Carlos thought about getting a transfer. They also competed for the affections of ER doctor Sara Morales, eventually Doc "won" - she was the first woman since his wife died with whom he felt comfortable, and the two began a relationship. Doc's father John, a widower like his son, took an overdose of his medication and Doc and Sara