Disclaimer: see part one
--
He stood outside in the ambulance bay, a completely befuddled expression
marring his features. Abby burst outside, ready to go home after a long
night into morning shift. She stopped in her tracks as she saw Luka, and
went up to him.
"Lost, are we?"
He looked down at her and shook his head, "No. Well yes, I'm trying to decide where to eat lunch. Is that place across the street any good?"
Abby snorted, "Doc Magoo's. Not really. Maybe if you are looking for a severe case of indigestion. The only thing decent is their coffee."
Luka frowned, "I really don't know where to eat."
"Did you forget your lunch?" Abby asked, making a teasing reference to the bagged lunch that Danijela always made for Luka.
He blushed slightly, "I overslept and left it on the corner."
Abby decided to take pity on him, and made a suggestion, "There's a Subway two blocks from here," she paused and then made a remark, "I can't believe that you've worked here a month and don't know the food places yet."
"I've never had any reason too," he shrugged as Abby began to lead him in the direction of the Subway.
She nodded, "I wish I had someone to make me good food like your wife does."
"I'd share if you said something," he said, slight concern edging into his voice.
Abby shook her head and smiled at him, "Luka. I'm not going to take your food. I was just joking with you."
"I know."
She shook her head again, and laughed. Luka had certainly proved himself as a kind soul, but he was still naïve about the people at the hospital. Mostly Abby it seemed. He got along with her the best, but her ability to run hot and cold at time confounded him.
"There it is," Abby said, gesturing towards the Subway, "Now you know where to go in case you ever forget your lunch again."
Luka smiled, 'I'll try and make sure that doesn't happen again. Thank you for showing me."
"Your welcome," Abby said and began to take her first steps away from him.
"Wait-" he called out, stopping her. Abby turned around and looked at him, waiting for him to speak.
"You were nice enough to make sure I didn't starve," Luka said, "I can at least buy you a lunch."
Abby took a moment to consider his offer. She was tired, and she really didn't know if she felt comfortable with the idea of being bought lunch by a guy-a nice guy-that was married. Oh, he was just being nice. And it was lunch, after all.
"Sure," she smiled, "That'd be nice."
--
"My kids love this place," Luka said after swallowing a bite of his BLT sub, "My boy especially."
Of course he had kids. She had assumed he had a wife, and had been right on that guess, but the issue of children never had entered her mind. With his character, he was the type to make a good father, she guessed.
"How old are they?" she asked, setting down her drink and looking at Luka with genuine curiosity.
"Marko's twelve and Jasna is fifteen," Luka said, sighing slightly. It was hard to believe they had grown up so fast. It seemed like just yesterday they had been babies. And now..
Abby's voice shook him from his thoughts, "Teenage girl, huh? They're a handful."
Luka chuckled, "How'd you guess?"
"I've been one myself," she laughed, and shook her head, "They get past it though." So she supposed. She'd never really had her mother around to tell her what she could and couldn't do. All Abby had to rebel against was herself.
"I hope she does," Luka replied, his eyes glazing slightly, "Up until about a year ago, she used to be my little girl, and now I barely recognize her. I don't even think she listens to anything we say anymore.."
Abby nodded sympathetically, "It gets better. They do listen, even if you think they don't."
Luka managed a small smile at Abby. He didn't want to tell her that maybe Jasna acted the way she did because she had figured out that the world around her was a fraud. That'd be enough to make him act the way she did, he supposed.
He bit into his sandwich. Abby was right. It was just typical.
--
"I heard you had lunch with the good doctor."
Abby handed the patient chart over to Susan, "Susan."
"That's just what I heard," Susan said, signing off on the chart with a flourish, "The gossip mill is rather rampant around here."
"I showed him where the Subway was, that's all," Abby shrugged, taking back the chart, "Is morphine alright? And aren't you a bit behind on your gossip?"
"Yeah," Susan said, sticking her pen back into her lab coat pocket, "And I'm not behind on my gossip.I just got to talk to you now."
Abby sighed deeply, "You know.if everyone here cared about half as much other things as they do about gossip, maybe we'd more effective."
"You can just tell me it was innocent, and I'll leave you alone."
Abby rolled her eyes, and sighed again. She loved Susan dearly; she was the best friend that Abby had. Often though, her incessant need to get into other people's business drove her crazy, "Susan. Think about it. He forgot his lunch. Needed a place to eat. I showed him where to find a Subway and saved his stomach from the gastronomical pleasures of Doc Magoo's. He bought me a lunch to be nice."
"And then?"
"And then I had sex with him right there, in front of all the employees. What do you think happened Susan? I said thank you and went home."
Susan smiled, following Abby as she headed towards the drug lockup, "That's what I thought. Anyway.are you going to his house for that dinner?"
Abby looked at her in confusion, "Dinner? What dinner?"
"Dinner, you know? His wife's making.he invited me and Carter.." Susan explained, and then her eyes opened wide in embarrassment as Abby shook her head, "Oh my, he didn't invite you?"
Abby shook her head, "Nope, I haven't heard a word about it."
"Oh," Susan frowned, "Well, I'm sure you will be. I only really got invited because I seem to come in a package with Carter."
"I wonder why," Abby teased as she handed Susan the small vial of medication.
"We aren't together that much, are we?"
"Enough that if I were Luka, yeah, I'd think you two would come together as a pair," Abby said, looking at her friend. It was true. Susan and Carter were a couple, even if they seemed to refuse to acknowledge it for reasons beyond Abby's ability to comprehend them.
"We're not-"
Abby cut her off, "Susan. Say, hypothetically, I were to tell you that Carter was seeing someone else. What would you do?"
"Nothing," Susan said, standing up a little straighter, "I'm not the jealous type."
"Rigggght.."
"What's that riggght supposed to mean?" Susan squinted up her eyes and looked at her friend, "Is he seeing somebody?"
"I thought you weren't the jealous type," Abby said, "And anyway, I never said he was seeing anybody, did I? I just wanted your reaction.which is.."
"I'm not upset!" Susan snapped, answering Abby's unspoken question.
"Okay, I'm going to go over and start up an IV on the patient in exam 2 before you take my head off," Abby said, dashing towards it as quickly as she could.
She had to keep herself from laughing when she found Carter working on a patient in the same room. She composed herself and walked over towards the patient she was assigned to and explained the procedure to him before looking over at Carter, "Hey Carter? If I were you, I'd avoid Susan for awhile."
"Why?" Carter asked with curiosity.
"Nothing, she's just a little upset." Abby looked at Carter with sympathy, "She might just kill you."
"Okay." Carter looked at her with wide eyes and walked out of the exam room. Abby watched through the blinds as Susan appeared from around the corner, spoke a few heated words that only left Carter more confused, and then dragged him off in the other direction towards the lounge.
She chuckled to herself, and put the IV in the patient's arm. She was turning around, and nearly smacked right into a large, tall body. She looked up in surprise and smiled to see Luka.
"Luka..you should be glad I no longer have a needle in my hand," she chastised, "I probably would have poked you with it."
He laughed, his deep warm laugh, "Well, I suppose that's better than screaming."
She shook her head walking with him out of the room, "Luka, the women who scream at everything are big-breasted bimbos from horror movies. I'd like to think that us in the real world can survive by using our wits and deadly weapons at our disposal."
Luka nodded, "I believe it. I think I just saw Susan throttle Carter."
Abby snorted. Luka looked down at her, confused, "Should I ask?"
Abby shook her head, "No. Hey, I thought you weren't working today."
"I got called in for a bit," Luka said, sighing, "I was enjoying my day off."
"Dr. Weaver is known for her evilness," she smiled at him sympathetically.
Luka laughed again, and stopped in his tracks. Abby faced him, her head tilted upwards to look at him, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," Luka said, shaking his head, "I just wanted to ask you. Sunday, my wife is making me a dinner, and she wants me to invite some people from work. I just haven't seen you that much lately, so that's why it's such short notice."
"Are you asking me if I'm interested?"
Luka put his hands in his pockets, "Yeah.."
"Well," Abby pretended to give it some thought, "If her dinners are half as good as those lunches she makes you, yeah, count me in."
"Twice as good," Luka grinned.
"I'll be there," Abby smiled back.
[end part 2]
"Lost, are we?"
He looked down at her and shook his head, "No. Well yes, I'm trying to decide where to eat lunch. Is that place across the street any good?"
Abby snorted, "Doc Magoo's. Not really. Maybe if you are looking for a severe case of indigestion. The only thing decent is their coffee."
Luka frowned, "I really don't know where to eat."
"Did you forget your lunch?" Abby asked, making a teasing reference to the bagged lunch that Danijela always made for Luka.
He blushed slightly, "I overslept and left it on the corner."
Abby decided to take pity on him, and made a suggestion, "There's a Subway two blocks from here," she paused and then made a remark, "I can't believe that you've worked here a month and don't know the food places yet."
"I've never had any reason too," he shrugged as Abby began to lead him in the direction of the Subway.
She nodded, "I wish I had someone to make me good food like your wife does."
"I'd share if you said something," he said, slight concern edging into his voice.
Abby shook her head and smiled at him, "Luka. I'm not going to take your food. I was just joking with you."
"I know."
She shook her head again, and laughed. Luka had certainly proved himself as a kind soul, but he was still naïve about the people at the hospital. Mostly Abby it seemed. He got along with her the best, but her ability to run hot and cold at time confounded him.
"There it is," Abby said, gesturing towards the Subway, "Now you know where to go in case you ever forget your lunch again."
Luka smiled, 'I'll try and make sure that doesn't happen again. Thank you for showing me."
"Your welcome," Abby said and began to take her first steps away from him.
"Wait-" he called out, stopping her. Abby turned around and looked at him, waiting for him to speak.
"You were nice enough to make sure I didn't starve," Luka said, "I can at least buy you a lunch."
Abby took a moment to consider his offer. She was tired, and she really didn't know if she felt comfortable with the idea of being bought lunch by a guy-a nice guy-that was married. Oh, he was just being nice. And it was lunch, after all.
"Sure," she smiled, "That'd be nice."
--
"My kids love this place," Luka said after swallowing a bite of his BLT sub, "My boy especially."
Of course he had kids. She had assumed he had a wife, and had been right on that guess, but the issue of children never had entered her mind. With his character, he was the type to make a good father, she guessed.
"How old are they?" she asked, setting down her drink and looking at Luka with genuine curiosity.
"Marko's twelve and Jasna is fifteen," Luka said, sighing slightly. It was hard to believe they had grown up so fast. It seemed like just yesterday they had been babies. And now..
Abby's voice shook him from his thoughts, "Teenage girl, huh? They're a handful."
Luka chuckled, "How'd you guess?"
"I've been one myself," she laughed, and shook her head, "They get past it though." So she supposed. She'd never really had her mother around to tell her what she could and couldn't do. All Abby had to rebel against was herself.
"I hope she does," Luka replied, his eyes glazing slightly, "Up until about a year ago, she used to be my little girl, and now I barely recognize her. I don't even think she listens to anything we say anymore.."
Abby nodded sympathetically, "It gets better. They do listen, even if you think they don't."
Luka managed a small smile at Abby. He didn't want to tell her that maybe Jasna acted the way she did because she had figured out that the world around her was a fraud. That'd be enough to make him act the way she did, he supposed.
He bit into his sandwich. Abby was right. It was just typical.
--
"I heard you had lunch with the good doctor."
Abby handed the patient chart over to Susan, "Susan."
"That's just what I heard," Susan said, signing off on the chart with a flourish, "The gossip mill is rather rampant around here."
"I showed him where the Subway was, that's all," Abby shrugged, taking back the chart, "Is morphine alright? And aren't you a bit behind on your gossip?"
"Yeah," Susan said, sticking her pen back into her lab coat pocket, "And I'm not behind on my gossip.I just got to talk to you now."
Abby sighed deeply, "You know.if everyone here cared about half as much other things as they do about gossip, maybe we'd more effective."
"You can just tell me it was innocent, and I'll leave you alone."
Abby rolled her eyes, and sighed again. She loved Susan dearly; she was the best friend that Abby had. Often though, her incessant need to get into other people's business drove her crazy, "Susan. Think about it. He forgot his lunch. Needed a place to eat. I showed him where to find a Subway and saved his stomach from the gastronomical pleasures of Doc Magoo's. He bought me a lunch to be nice."
"And then?"
"And then I had sex with him right there, in front of all the employees. What do you think happened Susan? I said thank you and went home."
Susan smiled, following Abby as she headed towards the drug lockup, "That's what I thought. Anyway.are you going to his house for that dinner?"
Abby looked at her in confusion, "Dinner? What dinner?"
"Dinner, you know? His wife's making.he invited me and Carter.." Susan explained, and then her eyes opened wide in embarrassment as Abby shook her head, "Oh my, he didn't invite you?"
Abby shook her head, "Nope, I haven't heard a word about it."
"Oh," Susan frowned, "Well, I'm sure you will be. I only really got invited because I seem to come in a package with Carter."
"I wonder why," Abby teased as she handed Susan the small vial of medication.
"We aren't together that much, are we?"
"Enough that if I were Luka, yeah, I'd think you two would come together as a pair," Abby said, looking at her friend. It was true. Susan and Carter were a couple, even if they seemed to refuse to acknowledge it for reasons beyond Abby's ability to comprehend them.
"We're not-"
Abby cut her off, "Susan. Say, hypothetically, I were to tell you that Carter was seeing someone else. What would you do?"
"Nothing," Susan said, standing up a little straighter, "I'm not the jealous type."
"Rigggght.."
"What's that riggght supposed to mean?" Susan squinted up her eyes and looked at her friend, "Is he seeing somebody?"
"I thought you weren't the jealous type," Abby said, "And anyway, I never said he was seeing anybody, did I? I just wanted your reaction.which is.."
"I'm not upset!" Susan snapped, answering Abby's unspoken question.
"Okay, I'm going to go over and start up an IV on the patient in exam 2 before you take my head off," Abby said, dashing towards it as quickly as she could.
She had to keep herself from laughing when she found Carter working on a patient in the same room. She composed herself and walked over towards the patient she was assigned to and explained the procedure to him before looking over at Carter, "Hey Carter? If I were you, I'd avoid Susan for awhile."
"Why?" Carter asked with curiosity.
"Nothing, she's just a little upset." Abby looked at Carter with sympathy, "She might just kill you."
"Okay." Carter looked at her with wide eyes and walked out of the exam room. Abby watched through the blinds as Susan appeared from around the corner, spoke a few heated words that only left Carter more confused, and then dragged him off in the other direction towards the lounge.
She chuckled to herself, and put the IV in the patient's arm. She was turning around, and nearly smacked right into a large, tall body. She looked up in surprise and smiled to see Luka.
"Luka..you should be glad I no longer have a needle in my hand," she chastised, "I probably would have poked you with it."
He laughed, his deep warm laugh, "Well, I suppose that's better than screaming."
She shook her head walking with him out of the room, "Luka, the women who scream at everything are big-breasted bimbos from horror movies. I'd like to think that us in the real world can survive by using our wits and deadly weapons at our disposal."
Luka nodded, "I believe it. I think I just saw Susan throttle Carter."
Abby snorted. Luka looked down at her, confused, "Should I ask?"
Abby shook her head, "No. Hey, I thought you weren't working today."
"I got called in for a bit," Luka said, sighing, "I was enjoying my day off."
"Dr. Weaver is known for her evilness," she smiled at him sympathetically.
Luka laughed again, and stopped in his tracks. Abby faced him, her head tilted upwards to look at him, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," Luka said, shaking his head, "I just wanted to ask you. Sunday, my wife is making me a dinner, and she wants me to invite some people from work. I just haven't seen you that much lately, so that's why it's such short notice."
"Are you asking me if I'm interested?"
Luka put his hands in his pockets, "Yeah.."
"Well," Abby pretended to give it some thought, "If her dinners are half as good as those lunches she makes you, yeah, count me in."
"Twice as good," Luka grinned.
"I'll be there," Abby smiled back.
[end part 2]