Just A Cold: Chapter 1
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters portrayed in this story (kinda wish I did, but I don't)
WARNING: Sappy romance involveled. Very clean though, only a few bad words.
Author's note: Let me know what you think. Enjoy!
Everyday in a county emergency room brought new surprises and cases that the staff liked to joke about behind closed doors. The fast paced hustle of the ER was Abby's drug, she knew it was wearing her out, but she just couldn't seem to get enough of its bittersweet offerings. Pushing past the chubby desk clerk, she grabbed the next chart on the rack and glanced over it before she was interrupted by a bout of sneezing.
"Hon you aren't sounding too good this afternoon," nurse Chuny Marquez said handing her a tissue from the box on top of the computer. "You getting that nasty bug too?"
"No, I just have a bit of a cold." Abby wiped her nose and pulled her shoulder-length hair back into a messy ponytail. "Besides, we can't afford to have any more staff go down, we are barely scraping by as it is."
In the last four days, six nurses and two doctors had come down with the latest virus to grace the halls of the ER. Chief of Staff, Dr. Kerry Weaver, had basically told everyone that unless they were on death's door, they had to report to work to matter what. "You can't run an ER with no staff," she had quipped when told that two of her best doctors were at home in bed with a cold.
"You are looking a little flush; let me take your temperature." Chuny motioned to an empty exam room.
"No, I'm ok thanks Chuny. I'm off in two hours anyway, I'll get a good sleep tonight."
Chuny gave her a sly smile, "You won't be doing too much sleeping if Luka gets off at ten too."
"Ha, ha, he doesn't get off until two-thirty anyway." Abby gave the young nurse a warm smile and wink as she went to go look for her next patient.
Her and Luka, a handsome Croatian doctor, had been seeing each other for over a year now and she had basically moved into his apartment. He was an attending physician at the hospital and she had just completed her last year of medical school. Abby's residency didn't start for another two months so she was taking a few nursing shifts to help pay the bills until then.
Glancing at the chart in her hands she saw that the kid in exam four was definitely going to need a tetnus shot. She went to the drug lock up to get the vaccine then went off in search of her patient and his mother.
Two and a half hours later, Abby hung her stethoscope and ID up in her locker and took out her winter jacket. Buttoning the coat all the way up she reached for a bottle of Tylenol she kept on the top shelf. Popping the lid, she took two and swallowed them down with a gulp from her water bottle.
Truth be told, Abby had been feeling increasingly rotten as the hours wore on, her head pounding and throat scratchy. "Yuck," she sighed as she caught a glimpse of herself in the magnetic mirror on her locker door. Her face was pale and the dark circles under her eyes stood out in the dim light of the lounge. She slammed the locker shut and pulling her mittens on left the lounge in search of Luka.
In the hustling admit area she scanned the white coats, looking for the familiar tall, dark man. After a few minutes, she gave up her search and decided to ask Frank if he had seen Luka.
"Hey Frank, have you seen Luka?"
The big desk clerk regarded her with his usual sarcasm, "What do I look like? Search and Rescue?"
"Thanks Frank" Abby decided she would just catch up with him later.
Abby carefully stepped around the ice on the stairs leading up to Luka's apartment building. Stamping her feet to keep them warm, she reached the front door and searched for the key in her large coat pocket.
"Shit," she muttered as she felt around the contents, her hand bumping against an unused tampon, a tube of lipstick and other mysterious, crumpled papers. "Ah, ha!" She said triumphantly, as she pulled the now located key out of her pocket and stuck it in the lock.
Quickly she let herself into the dark lobby and out of the cold. Shaking the snow out of her hair she muffled a sneeze in the crook of her elbow. Abby hated to admit it, but she was valiantly trying to stop the quivering in her sore muscles as a thin sheen of perspiration formed on her forehead. Despite the cold, she felt very warm underneath her coat.
After a quick elevator ride with a grubby looking man, who obviously was looking to just stay out of the cold, Abby let herself into Luka's apartment.
The warmth she was feeling only moments earlier quickly disintegrated as a cold wave of air hit her when she opened to door to Luka's silent apartment.
"Jeezus," Abby mumbled, taken aback by the drop in temperature. She hurried over to the gas fireplace and switched it on, hoping to put a dent in the frigid air. She pulled her mittens and coat off and dropping them on the bench by the door, she found her slippers and pulled them over her icy feet.
Fifteen minutes later, Abby was up to her neck in a warm bubble bath with a cup of hot herbal tea sitting beside her on the ledge. Slowly, she sank under the bubbles, letting the warm water soothe her aching body, relieving tensions and taking her to a place to total relaxation.
Much later that night, Abby was having a bad dream. She thrashed about in Luka's king size bed, the blankets forming invisible hands wrapping around her ankles, holding her down. She moaned in protest as the unconscious captor drove a knife through her throat and down her body.
Abby bolted straight up in bed, for a few minutes not knowing where in the world she was. As her conscious mind slowly came back to her, she realized she was in Luka's bed and that she was most notably alone in his bed. Her hand drifted to his pillow, smoothing away the invisible creases.
She shook the cobwebs out of her brain and squinted at the red numbers on the digital clock. She was shocked to see it read three-thirty-three AM. She had sinking feeling when she realized that Luka was not there.
Wrapping a wool blanket around her shoulders, Abby started to rise and see if Luka had fallen asleep on the couch again after he returned home from his shift. But before she could stand up, a wave of dizziness floated through her body and she almost lost her balance.
She sat back down on the edge of the mattress and waited until the blood came back into her head. As she was sitting there, she noticed that her blue nightgown was completely soaked in sweat. She turned the bedside light on and placed a shaky hand on her forehead. It was wet with perspiration.
As she began to wake up further, Abby could feel that her body ached and her throat was very sore.
Abby stood up again very carefully and on rubbery legs stumbled out into the hallway. As she descended the small staircase leading into the living room, she saw that her coat and shoes were the only set of outdoor wear by the door. Luka hadn't returned home from work yet.
She went into the downstairs bathroom and opened the medicine cabinet. Abby studied the various bottles lined up on the shelf and seeing a box of Cold and Flu lemon tea, she grabbed the box and flicked off the bathroom light.
In the small kitchen, Abby plugged the kettle into the wall and took a clean mug out of the cupboard. As she waited for the water to boil, she picked up the phone and dialled Luka's cell phone number. She wondered if there had been a major trauma come in and he was tied up at the hospital.
Just as his phone began ringing, Abby heard the sound of a key being pushed into the lock in the foyer. She hung up the phone just as a tired looking Luka came into the apartment, stamping the muddy snow from his boots. He hadn't seen her yet and Abby admired the view of his backside as he bent over to untie and remove his wet boots.
Afraid that she would startle him if he saw her standing there, she quickly said, "Hey, did you get tied up at the hospital?"
Despite her good intentions, Luka jumped at the sound of her voice, quickly stood up and turned around with a smile on his face.
"Hi. Yeah, a trauma came in just as I was leaving and Jing-Mei had to go home. Her dad got sick and the night nurse had to leave for some reason. So I had to wait around until Pratt could come in an take over for her." His voice trailed off as it dawned on him that Abby was standing in the foyer at four in the morning in her nightgown.
"Hey, what are you doing up? Its really late," he glanced at his watch, "or really early."
Abby sighed as the kettle began to whistle in the kitchen and talked as she rushed to unplug the offending device. Her voice trailed back behind her as she walked.
"I just had a bad dream and decided to have some tea." She unplugged the kettle and filled her mug with boiling water and the Cold and Flu crystals she had found in the bathroom.
Luka followed her and frowned when he saw that the back of her nightgown was wet and her hand shook slightly when she poured the water.
"Hey Abby, are you ok?" He walked up to her and placed a weathered hand on her forehead. That answered his question. "You are burning up!" He exclaimed as he felt the heat on her forehead and saw her face was very flushed. "What's the matter? Do you feel sick?"
Abby cringed at his concern, she didn't want him to worry about her. "I just have a sore throat."
Luka rolled his eyes as she turned her back to him, dumping the excess water in the kettle down the drain. She could be so damn stubborn at times. "Abby, you have a fever. I think you have the flu. Come here," he pulled a chair out from the kitchen table, "here, sit." He took her hand and forced her to sit down in the chair.
"Luka, I'm fine really! Its just a cold."
He ignored her protests, knowing she was just being stubborn, and took her wrist. He frowned when he felt that her pulse was quick.
"Abby, you have a high fever. Hang on a second." He disappeared for a minute and when he returned he was carrying his medical bag.
"Luka, honestly! Don't worry about me, IM FINE." Despite her insistence, her voice faltered as a dizzy spell came over her. She gripped the chair's arms and mentally kicked herself when she realized Luka had noticed. He placed a steadying hand on her neck. Abby decided to let him check her over, if anything, it would make him feel better.
Luka grimaced as he took her temperature. It was nearly a hundred and three degrees. He felt Abby stiffen in pain as he placed his hands on each side of her neck, her glands were quite swollen. "Sorry," he murmured and removed his hands. Placing the stethoscope in his ears, he leaned downed and listened to her lungs.
"Your chest sounds okay right now, but your glands are very swollen and you have a fever." He looked in her ears with his scope and at her throat. "Also, your throat is quite red." He thought carefully for a second, "If it doesn't get much better in the next twelve hours, I think we should go to the hospital to get it cultured. It is presenting like strep but could just be the beginning of the flu."
Abby just nodded, she was feeling increasingly worse as she was sitting there. "Ok, but can we just go to bed right now, I'm really tired." She looked up with hazy eyes at Luka who was putting his stethoscope back in his bag.
"Sure." He leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on her sweaty forehead.
Abby wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him into a warm embrace, being careful to not breathe on him too much.
Before she really knew what was happening, he had gently lifted her off the chair and was carrying her upstairs to their bedroom. Abby tucked her head into the crook of his neck and allowed herself to be carried away with his masculine scent.
When they reached the bedroom, Luka tenderly placed her in the bed and straightened the sheets and duvet so they covered her up warmly. He got undressed and as Abby was drifting off to sleep, she felt him climb into bed behind her and wrap his strong arm around her middle. She felt a soft kiss placed on the back of her head as she fell asleep safe in his arms.