Long time no see :D, this is the sequel to my first fan fiction, "Another Dawn, Another Day" and it starts when Luka is being discharged from the rehab clinic in Atlanta, and it will then continue from there, the trials and tribulations that he faces when he returns to work at Cook County General.
Disclaimer: I still don't own ER, but I have it out on loan for the duration of the fic.
Chapter 1 - "Welcome back Dr. Kovac"
The sound of footsteps could be heard resounding off the wooden-lined walls of the clinic. The sounds of scribbling pens; admitting and discharging forms both are filled put, some where only starting their journey and others were almost complete. Luka Kovac walked down the hall like he had done that day two months ago, the only difference this time was that he was walking in the opposite direction, making a huge step in his journey for recovery. He had put on a few pounds since he had first came to stay at the clinic but he was still very thin, his skin still pale yet he did not seem as depressed as he had done that day two months ago. He only had one bag with him containing only a few changes of clothes and the other necessities that he required during his stay; he was dressed in a pair of dark denim jeans, a black long sleeved shirt and a black jacket. He walked up to the desk and was handed a discharge form from Linda the head nurse at the clinic who showed the patients were to go when they arrived, just like she had done with him. Luka walked over to the chairs opposite the small window that hid the nurses' office from everyone. Luka pulled the pen off the top of the clipboard and started to fill in the form. His hand was shaking slightly from nerves; but excited ones at that. He was glad to be leaving the clinic, he hated the way he had to share his emotions in front of complete strangers and have to endure there pitying glares. Of course during these little meeting Luka never did really express his true feeling, knowing that no one would understand; and he certainly did not mention anything about his family, he knew he would be able to withstand the pity and fake 'sorry's that he would receive, and that was one of the reason's he did not tell anyone back at County, apart from the few such as Carter, Greene, Benton and Weaver. He had sat through the group therapy and the individual therapy, answering the questions and telling them exactly what they wanted to here so he could get out of this place; he had obviously succeeded he thought as he signed the bottom of the form and placed the pen back in its' holder at the top of the clipboard. He walked over to Linda and placed the clipboard back down and she took it off him with a smile. He pulled his bag onto his shoulder and walked towards the two oak doors that had confined him and his soul for the past two months. He pulled them open and walked out without a look back at another part of his life that he would rather forget, yet he knew that there would always be things everywhere to remind him of yet another mistake that he made.
Luka had got a cab from the clinic to the airport where he would board the 12:00 O'clock plane back to Chicago where either Greene or Benton would be there to pick him up. He was in the waiting room of the airport and had a few hours to wait for the plane so he decided that he would get himself a cup of coffee to keep him awake and warm himself up; Atlanta was very cold as it was winter and Luka only had a light jacket with him and it was not doing very much to keep the howling wind out form his tired and shivering frame. He paid for the cup of coffee and held it between his hands to warm them up while he walked back over to his seat. A while later a woman with a squeaky voice announced over the intercom that his plane was boarding and that passengers would go to gate 7. Luka walked over and handed the woman behind the desk his ticket and passport and when she handed them back and he thanked her then boarded the plane. He walked over to his seat and after putting his bag in the overhead compartment he sat down at the window seat and closed his eyes for a few moments while drawing in a few breaths, suddenly apprehensive of what the people back at County would think of him when he got back, would they treat him any different. He let out the breath slowly and opened his eyes to see that a rather large man who was wearing a rather expensive suit and many gold rings decorating his chubby hand sat down beside him; the strong smell of smoke and aftershave making Luka gag; he didn't have breakfast this morning apart from the cup of coffee in the waiting room as he was a little nervous and didn't trust himself not to be sick so he had just got a shot of compasine before he left the clinic yet the smell from the man was enough to overpower that and unsettle his stomach. The loud man settled into the airplane seat beside Luka and after a few minutes of twisting and turning so that he was in a comfortable position turned to Luka,
"So, are you from Atlanta or Chicago?" the man said and looked at Luka expectedly,
"Chicago" Luka said hoping that if he kept his answers short that maybe he could get a little rest before they got there,
"I'm from Atlanta, going on business. And from your accent I'm guessing your not actually ifrom/i Chicago" the man said and let out a thunderous laugh as if it was so funny that Luka had an accent. Luka just nodded his head slightly hoping that the man would get his point and stop bothering him,
"So where are you from? Now let me guess, Russia?" the man said as if this was a game. Luka just shook his head and wished that he hadn't as he could feel the start of a headache coming on,
"Neither. Croatia" Luka said and earned himself a funny look from the man,
"That's where that war was. Lots of people got killed, I sure am glad that I didn't live there" and shook his head from side to side slightly as if he could possibly imagine what Luka, or anyone that had lived through such a war had been through,
"Anyway it was nice to meet you, don't mind me or anything but I am gonna try and catch a little shut eye before I get to my big meeting" and then he pushed his chair back and closed his eyes not caring about the possible crushed legs of the young woman that was sitting behind him. Despite this Luka was glad that the man was going to sleep so that he could get some piece and quiet himself; he wasn't going to go to sleep though, he didn't trust that the nightmares would stay at bay long enough, even in the clinic they hadn't, in fact he could have swore they had gotton worse, but none of the nurses knew what they were about, the first few nights when he had a nurse staying outside him room they had just suspected it was from coming off of the drugs, and didn't question him, and he was completely fine with that.
When the plane landed Luka could not have been more glad nor nervous; one of those bittersweet moments, glad to get away from that awful clinic and that annoying man, yet nervous about what lay ahead for him, his whole future depending on these next few days. Luka walked out into the waiting area of the airport and looked around for a moment before he spotted Mark Greene standing near the doors looking around; Luka let out the breath that he did not realise he had been holding and walked over to where Greene was standing, and when he was halfway there Greene spotted him and waved over, a small smile forming on his lips. When Luka reached him Greene pulled him into a hug before pulling back and coughing slightly to cover the fact that he was slightly embarrassed,
"Sorry, it's just good to see you Luka; you look so much better than when we last saw you. It's good to have you back" Greene said the smile increasing on his lips. They walked out to the car only talking about trivial things, and how the ER had changed since he had last been there, not that it had changed much. When they got into Greene van Luka asked the question that had been annoying him for quite a while now,
"Do they know why I left…people at work I mean?" Luka asked while looking at Greene, the worry clearly evident in his dark blue eyes.
"No. When people started asking where you had gone and why Weaver took care of them, told them it was a family matter and wasn't sure when you would be back" and Greene gave Luka's shoulder a comforting squeeze after saying this, noticing that the worry decreased by a fraction. They had to go to County first and they would decide there what would be done about Luka and his career in the hospital. Luka was anxious but he also knew that there was nothing that he could do about the outcome in the end so he decided that he would just enjoy the 'scenery' of the Chicago rain creating patterns along the window. By the time they made it to County Luka was exhausted from not having had that much sleep, the past few days especially. Greene parked in the hospital parking spaces and got out of the car followed by Luka. They walked along the corridor to the conference room and Luka felt self-conscience. He hated it when he was the centre of attention; sure it was fine when it was a trauma or something like that but anything other than that he hated. He stuffed his hands into the pockets of his dark denim jeans to hide the fact that they were shaking slightly. He was waiting outside the room with Greene waiting for Kerry and Benton to come, and wasn't sure if he was glad when he saw them approaching him from down the corridor, wishing that this whole ordeal would just be over. Kerry walked over to him and gave his arm a squeeze and smiled up at him before walking into the room with him following after like an obedient puppy following his master. When he walked in he sat down in the chair indicated; it was facing the four chairs that Kerry, Greene and Benton would be sitting in and was wondering who the fourth was for when Robert Romano came into the office and Luka wished that the earth would somehow open up and swallow him.
"So, our foreign friend is back from his little vacation in the Atlanta rehab clinic I see" Romano said with the smirk plastered onto his smug little face.
"Robert, there is no need for that, lets just get this thing sorted out" Kerry said trying to keep his voice calm while speaking to the annoying little man.
"Shot," Romano said and reclined back into his chair, "and make this snappy, I have surgery after this and I ido not/i intend on being late"
"Luka, as you know the hospital has a very serious policy on abusing narcotics and other grade II drugs…." And Kerry started to tell Luka about how the situation should be handled. Luka listened but was finding it hard due to his lack of sleep yet was woken up when Greene started to speak,
"These are the conditions that you will have to abide by until further notice.
1.No administering Grade II drugs unless you are under the supervision of any of the panel here.
2.You will not be taking on any trauma cases, only minor cases for the first week.
3.And finally; you will have to take these everyday, and have random blood and urine tests."
Kerry pushed a form across the table with a pen on the top ready for Luka to sign, and he picked up the pen and hesitated for a moment before signing the space at the bottom of the contract and let out the breath he did not realise he had been holding, and pushed the form back to Kerry, now nervously awaiting what was going to be said next,
"Well Kovac, looks like I'll be seeing you around yet. Hopefully for a patient consult and not this again thank you very much" and Romano pushed his chair away from the desk and swiftly left the room. Luka stood up also along with Benton, Greene and Weaver and shook hands with each of them,
"We can start you back as soon as you want, or you can have another few days off if you would like?" Kerry said,
"I would rather start as soon as I can, I'm a few payments back on my rent and need the money" Luka said trying to convince Kerry to let him start as soon as he could,
"Okay. We can start you tomorrow, 8:00am to 8:00pm, and I will give you the rest of your rota tomorrow." Kerry said with a smile on her face, glad that things seemed to be looking up for Luka. Benton walked over to Luka and shook his hand again with a small smirk on his face,
"Welcome back Dr. Kovac".