August 31, 2001

Week 22 of pregnancy

Happiness is something that comes into our lives through doors we don't even remember leaving open. ~Rose Lane

Abby whimpered loudly in the dark. The pain was so intense. She took a deep breath in as Luka massaged her leg thoroughly.

"It's okay, Abby." Luka mumbled, "Flex your ankle around."

"It hurts." Abby whimpered as she flexed her ankle. Luka rubbed her leg down.

"It's a leg cramp of course it hurts." Lukas aid, "how is it getting?"

"It's little better." Abby said lying down on the bed.

"Good." Luka yawned; "you need to drink more milk."

"I know. I know." Abby mumbled. "It's gone."

"Good." Luka yawned crawling back beside her. "Gotta get up in a few hours."

"Sleep tight." Abby said and kissed his cheek. She cuddled him and soon fell asleep.

* * *

The feeling of having her bladder sat upon woke Abby up. She glanced at the clock. It was ten o'clock. Luka had already been at work for four hours. She could get used to this maternity leave thing. Abby quickly went to the bathroom before she exploded.

"Ahhhh." Abby smiled as she washed her hands, "Now Momma feels better." She slowly walked downstairs and to the kitchen. "We want food. We want food. Tr la la la. We want food."

Abby chuckled softly as she started to cut some fruit for a fruit salad. She was starved and needed a lot of food. She was sure she could finish this whole bowl today. She put it in the refrigerator to chill. She grabbed a few eggs and started to scramble them. As Abby ate, she moaned with pleasure.

"This is orgasmicly good." Abby chuckled softly as she finished off her large meal. She glanced around the kitchen. I need to clean this house. It's filthy. I can't live in filth.

Abby slowly got up. Her back hurt slightly. She pressed the dishwasher's button to start the dishes already in it. She walked out into the hallway and stubbed her toe on a paint can.

"God damn it!" She cursed. Abby grabbed the three stacked paint cans in frustration. "Ohh heavy." She mumbled carrying the heavy cans to the garage. Luka had left the garage door open and a cool breeze washed over Abby. She smiled softly. She hasn't been getting many hot flashes, but the Late August heat was getting to her. She put two of the paint cans down and put one on the shelf. She picked up the other two and placed them side by side. A small pain shot through her abdomen. It made her stop slightly until she noticed the garage was filthy.

"We haven't even lived here a year and already our house is a mess." Abby mumbled to herself. She walked over to a pile of boxes and started to sort through them. Another pain shot through her stomach. "Shit." She dropped a box and leaned against the wall. The pain was very intense. She took in a deep breath through her nose and exhaled heavily. The pain subsided.

"Abby?" She looked over to the Garage door. She sighed heavily and stood up.

"Do you have some kind of sonar, Richard?" She asked walking up to he ex-husband, "How did you find my house?"

"I asked around." He glanced down at her stomach. "You're pregnant...Very pregnant."

"Twenty-two weeks with twins." She said crossing her arms.

"Hummm.... You said you never wanted kids." Richard said.

"Not with you. I wasn't about to bring a child into that kind of life." Abby said. Richard chuckled slightly.

"All right. Now the babies just have to deal with a recovering alcohol for a mother and a bipolar grandmother." Richard said, "God knows what's on their father's side." Abby shook her head in disbelief.

"Did you come here to fight Richard?" She asked.

"Actually no." Richard said. "I know I don't have to pay alimony anymore-"

"Like you ever did." Richard chuckled softly.

"Like I ever did, but I was thinking...If you want to go back to school...I'll finish paying for it like we agreed." He said. Abby stared at him.

"Why?" Abby asked.

"To say sorry for that time at the hospital." Richard said, "I was drinking and I was out of line."

"You were extremely out of line and if Luka finds you here...You'll be in trouble." Abby said rubbing her back. Richard smiled.

"I know." Richard said, "But he's at work and I'm just going to stay for a few minutes. Can I come in?" Abby hesitated for a moment. This was the guy who screwed with her life.

"Only for a few minutes." She said walking into the kitchen. Richard followed behind her.

"This is a nice house." He said.

"Thank you." Abby said, "It took us awhile to find the perfect one but when we saw this one it just called out to us." Richard chuckled softly.

"It's very beautiful." He sat down at the kitchen table. "Pregnancy looks good on you." Abby narrowed her eyes slightly.

"What something to drink? Tea? Water? Juice?" She asked.

"I can get myself water." Richard said, "Where are the cups?"

"In the cupboard above the sink. If you'll excuse me, Mother Nature makes frequent stops here." She chuckled and walked to the bathroom. Abby couldn't believe Richard was in her kitchen. She closed her eyes and leaned back as she sat down. There was still a dull pain in her abdomen. She took in a slow breath and grabbed some toilet paper when she noticed the blood. Her underwear had spots of blood on them. "God." She mumbled and stood up; there was blood in the toilet. "Oh god." She shook slightly with fear. She opened the door and stood in the doorway. "R-Richard?"

"Yeah?" He walked out into the hallway. Abby clutched her stomach protectively.

"C-Can you bring me to the hospital?" She asked, "Something is wrong with the twins." Richard stared at her.

"Yeah...sure. Come on." He said.

* * *

"Lydia, make sure the guy in five stays in restraints." Luka said, "He's broken out of three sets already so we have two on him."

"Um...Thanks." Lydia said.

"No problem." Luka chuckled going to the admit desk. Randi looked up.

"Dr. Kovac, you have a message." She said blowing a bubble.

"And what would my message be?" He asked.

"Ah...Dr. Coburn wanted you upstairs because Abby's there." Luka's head shot up.

"Abby's there?? IS she okay??" Luka jumped up.

"I don't know. She didn't say." Randi said. Luka bolted out of the Er and up to the fifth floor. His heart pounded the whole time. He panted as he made his way to the Maternity desk. "Pat...Abby...Where is she?"

"She's in three." Pat said. Luka ran quickly to three and burst through the door. Abby laid in the hospital bed, looking cold and scared.

"Abby, what happened??" Abby immediately sighed with relief when she saw him.

"I-I don't know. I w-was cramping and there was blood." Abby said, "Janet just left the room." He kissed her forehead.

"It'll be all right." Luka said taking her head. "How did you get here?"

"I drove her." Luka turned around to see Richard. He narrowed his eyes. "I'm just going to wait outside." Richard quickly left. Luka turned back to Abby.

"Richard was there?" He asked. Abby sighed.

"He wanted to talk to me about my tuition." She said rubbing her belly. Luka nodded not caring about Richard. Janet walked into the room.

"Glad you're here, Dr. Kovac."

"What's going on?" He asked.

"It appears Abby went into pre-term labor." Janet said.

"She's only twenty-two weeks!"

"Yes I know. It happens with high-risk pregnancy. So, we're giving her some magnesium to stop the contractions." Janet said, "The thing that concerns me is Abby's blood pressure is elevated. We caught it in time, but if we didn't it could have developed into pre-eclampsia."

"B-But the babies are all right, right?" Abby asked not liking to word pre-eclampsia.

"For now they are." Janet said, "You're in a high-risk pregnancy Abby. You have to take care of yourself. I thought that after the accident you would be doing that."

"I am taking care of myself." Abby muttered.

"Why did this happen?" Luka asked. Janet cleared her thraot.

"It could have been caused by a number of things, stress, over working herself; a lot of things could have done it."

"Oh god." Abby started to cry. Luka ran his hand through her hair.

"What's wrong?"

"It's my entire fault." She sniffed.

"Why? No...No It's not." Luka said trying to sooth her.

"Yes it is Luka. I was cleaning. I was lifting Paint cans and boxes even though I was in pain. I-I just wanted to clean the house because it was messy." Abby sniffed. Luka sighed heavily.

"You should have waited until I got home." He said, "I could do those things."

"Abby, listen to me." Janet said, "I'm putting you on full bed rest. You're having a high-risk pregnancy. Your changes of miscarrying are greater than a singleton pregnancy. I want you and the babies healthy. So promise me you'll stay in bed and drink plenty of water. I don't want to se another emergency until you're getting ready to have these babies. Do you understand me?" Abby nodded slowly.

"All I want is for the twins to stay healthy." Abby said, "I'd do anything for them."

"Good." Janet said. It scared Abby that she could have lost the twins. She knew she had to take care of herself. She wanted to give birth to two healthy babies. I can do this. I can stay in bed for another couple of months and keep myself healthy. For them. Anything for them.