Notes: Ok folks, here it is! The last chapter of 'Where do we go from here'. It's been a long time coming, and it's been in the works for about a month or two now so I'm really pleased that it's actually done! Thanks to everyone who has stuck with this story until the end and thanks to Luka for all your help with the storylines! And a final note here to state that the lyrics used within this chapter are from the song 'Everybody Hurts' by REM. My choice to include these particular lyrics was three fold. One, I felt that the lyrics themselves summed up the emotion in that particular point in the story. Two, because I'm personally a fan of REM myself and that song never fails to bring me to tears, which kind of sucks because I had to listen to that track several times to get the scene in my head so I could write it down and finally, because I know that the song is a particular favourite of Luka's (you know who you are dude!).

Disclaimer: I don't own ER or the characters but you knew that!

Where do we go from here?

Chapter Twelve - Happy together

Abby answered her front door to find a very angry looking John Carter standing in the hallway. "When were you going to tell me"? He demanded angrily. His eyes flashed with rage and he was slightly red in the face, indicating he really meant it. "Uh, come in" Abby replied, opening the door further to give Carter access to the apartment. Carter strode in and stood in the middle of her living room, hands folded, the angry look staying steady on his face. "So, when were you going to tell me"? He repeated.

"I have no idea what you're talking about Carter" Abby said. This was true, she didn't have any idea why Carter was so angry or what it was that she hadn't told him, he couldn't possibly know about her pregnancy could he? No- one else but her and Luka knew and Luka certainly wouldn't tell Carter, not after promising to keep it a secret. "Of course you do Abby, so when were you going to tell me you were pregnant? Maybe after you'd got rid of the poor thing"? Carter asked. "How do you know about that"? Abby demanded, feeling her own anger take over. Had Luka told him?

"Does it really matter how I know"? Carter challenged. His stance remained defiant.

"As a matter of fact Carter, yes it does"! Abby shouted. She put her hands on her hips. She couldn't believe how mad she was right now. "You got a call from OB/GYN earlier today at work. I took a message on your behalf. I told them I was your boyfriend and anything they had to tell you, they could tell me"

"How dare you"! Abby interrupted. She felt so mad. She could slap Carter across his arrogant looking face.

"So I get this woman on the line, she tells me you missed an appointment for a scan and a discussion about having an abortion" Carter continued, ignoring Abby.

"They had no right to do that! That was confidential"!

"They have no right? You have no right keeping something like this from me Abby"! Carter yelled. He glared at Abby, still unable to understand why she would do something like this. "I have every right! It's my baby"! Abby argued.

"And it's my baby too"! Carter shot back. "I'm not stupid Abby, we didn't use protection that night when we got together, and I know that you haven't been with anyone else since"

"It's my body Carter! And I'll do what I like"!

"Even if it means ending a life and lying to your boyfriend, who, by the way, you claim to love"? Carter replied.

"You don't understand Carter, you couldn't possibly understand" Abby said, her voice returned to its normal volume. How could she ever explain her worries to Carter? "How the hell I am supposed to even try to understand if you won't even give me the damn chance"!

"Because Brian didn't understand" Abby said, fighting back tears. Carter looked at Abby, shock filling his eyes. "What do you mean"? He asked, his voice considerably calmer now.

"Carter, this has happened before" Abby replied. She took a seat on the sofa and cradled her head in her hands. "It's not the first time I've been pregnant" She continued. Carter walked over to the sofa and sat down beside his girlfriend. She looked at him, the tears in her eyes in serious danger of escaping. Carter felt all his anger melt away with that one look. "What happened"? He asked gently.

"Brian wanted children but I didn't, he couldn't understand why I wouldn't want to have kids, so when I got pregnant, I had an abortion. He never found out, he never understood, so how could I tell him"?

"What didn't he understand"? Carter questioned, looking into her eyes. The tears had already escaped and were flowing freely down both of Abby's cheeks. Abby herself was ashamed. She hated crying in front of people. "He didn't understand that I was scared" She whispered. She tucked an errant strand of hair behind her ear and wiped her eyes. "Scared of what"?

"That my baby would be...like my mother" Abby said quietly.

"Bi-polar"? Carter asked. Abby nodded, dissolving into more tears. Her shoulders shook and her face was a mixture of misery and pain. "Oh Abby" Carter said as he pulled her into a tight hug. He rubbed her back as she cried, deep, heart-wrenching sobs that could only come from a place deep inside.

~*~

"I love you Luka" Were the first words out of Dave's mouth. He hadn't meant them to be. He wanted to say some big speech that would incorporate everything, all his feelings for Luka. Instead, all that came out was those four little words. Luka let go of Dave's chin and sank backwards on the sofa. Dave looked at the floor. He was too scared to see what Luka's facial expression was, he found that with Luka, his face often said more than his words. Dave felt tears prick in his eyes, he cursed, he couldn't cry now, he just couldn't. He felt a hand on his shoulder, a strong hand, a warm hand, a hand from a friend. "Dave, I don't know what to say" Luka said gently. "I do have one question though"

"What's that"? Dave asked, unsure of whether he wanted to hear what was about to come. "When you kissed me, did you feel the chemistry, that spark, the one you probably felt with Julia"?

"Yes, I swear on it Luka, I did" Dave replied honestly. "Oh Dave, I'm so sorry" Luka said sadly. "That will make this even harder"

"What do you mean"? Dave asked, looking Luka in the eyes, trying to read any hint of what Luka was about to say. "Dave, I can't be with you. It's not anything to do with you, I enjoyed that kiss. It's the fact I still carry so much emotional baggage. I know deep down that I am still in love with my wife and I don't think I'll ever feel differently. Then there's Abby, I'm still not over our break up. I know she's with Carter now, but it hurts to think of her, how I'll never have her in that way again. It wouldn't be fair on you" Luka replied.

"Right, I understand" Dave said shortly, immediately looking away.

"No you don't"

"No, I don't. It sounds to me like you're just using your wife and Abby as an excuse. If you really did enjoy that kiss, you'd want to be with me, you'd love me, and you'd love me as much as I love you" Dave replied, standing up. He put a hand to his face, trying hard not to cry.

"You're very special to me Dave. I'm not doubting that I love you. I just don't love you in the way you want me to"

"Fine" Dave said. His voice choked up with emotion.

"I just want you to be happy Dave, and I don't think you'd be happy with me" Luka continued. "I would be happy with you Luka, that's just it, being with you would make me the happiest man on earth"

"We've grown very close Dave. I don't want to lose you. I treasure our relationship. I care about you a lot"

"I care about you a lot too Luka. That's why I want to be with you. You're a special guy Luka. You're so kind, so gentle, so giving. That's why I want to wake up on a morning with you beside me. I want to be able to tell you I love you whenever I can. I want to hold you in my arms and know that I'm with the most wonderful man I've ever met. I want to be able to come home to you, knowing that you love me and you'll go on loving me forever. I want to kiss you, to touch you, to get to know every inch of you, to love every inch of you. I want to feel your warmth as you hold me. I want to love your body as much as I love your soul, your personality. I want to be able to lose myself in those eyes of yours. I want to be able to feel safe to trust you with my life. I us to have everything Luka, I want us to be in love, mentally, emotionally, physically, sexually, I want it all Luka, every bit, every part of you. I don't want to have sex with you Luka. I want to make love to you. I don't want to just chat. I want to talk, to really talk. To explore every bit of your soul and I want to give you everything I have". Dave explained, tears racing down his cheeks as he did so. Luka stared at the broken man in front of him. He had tears in his own eyes. He had never heard Dave say anything that honest or that adult before. "Dave.." Luka started. He swallowed, his words failing him. "Oh Dave." He tried again. Dave just stood in front of his friend, crying his heart out. The pain and hurt reflected in his usually bright brown eyes. The tears were slowly making their way from those very eyes, down his cheeks and to his chin, where they dropped onto his already wet grey sweater. Dave didn't feel ashamed, normally he would've done. He hated people seeing him cry. Only Luka wasn't people, he was special, he was his love. That was the one thing he was sure of at this moment. "Dave I'm so sorry" Luka finally managed to say. Dave bit his lip and nodded sadly. "Will you dance with me?" He asked hoarsely.

"Pardon" Luka said quizzically, staring at Dave. He thought it was a pretty strange request for him to make. "Please, I know you've got a broken leg but you made it over here, and it would mean so much to me, if we could just...dance" Dave pleaded, looking at Luka with those soulful brown eyes which Luka couldn't resist even if he tried. "Alright" Dave nodded and walked over to the CD player. He selected a CD and slipped it in. The music burst out of the speakers and Luka recognised it as 'Everybody hurts' by REM a song he'd heard Abby play before. Luka frowned, this definitely wasn't Dave's usual taste in music and he was pretty surprised that Dave even owned a CD like that. Nevertheless, this is the CD that Dave deemed appropriate so Luka went along with it. Dave approached Luka and gently put his arms around his friend's neck. Luka responded by placed his hands awkwardly on Dave's waist. Using the beat of the music as a starting point, the two men began to move, if somewhat uncomfortably on Luka's part, to the music.

'When the day is long, and the night, the night is yours alone, When you're sure you've had enough of this life, well hang on, Don't let yourself go, everybody cries and everybody hurts sometimes, Sometimes everything is wrong. Now it's time to sing along.'

Luka noticed that as they moved, Dave closed his eyes and began to quietly sing along with the track.

"When your day is night alone If you feel like letting go When you think you've had too much of this life, well hang on Everybody hurts. Take comfort in your friends Everybody hurts. Don't throw your hand. Oh no. Don't throw your hand"

Eventually Luka got into the music and began to move more comfortably. Luka ignored the pain that was shooting up his leg, nothing was more important that Dave. He pulled the younger man closer, Dave didn't respond. He merely kept his eyes closed and continued to sing softly.

"If you feel like you're alone, no, no, no, you are not alone If you're on your own in this life, the days and nights are long When you think you've had too much of this life to hang on, Well, everybody hurts sometimes Everybody cries and everybody hurts sometimes And everybody hurts sometimes. So hold on, hold on. Hold on, hold on. Hold on, hold on. Hold on, hold on.

Everybody hurts, you are not alone"

"Dave, why don't you open your eyes"? Luka asked as the music stopped.

"Because I want to remember this moment" Dave said quietly. He leaned against Luka and stayed there. "Dave"? Luka said gently.

"Yeah" Dave replied, looking up. Luka smiled for a second before leaning in and kissing his friend.

~*~

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you Carter, I was just so shocked and confused and upset. I didn't know what to do" Abby admitted, wiping her eyes with a tissue that Carter had provided. "You could've talked to me Abby, if you'd be honest from the start I would've understood" Carter replied, gently caressing Abby's free hand.

"Do you want a child right now"? Abby asked, looking straight at Carter.

"To be honest, I haven't really given it much thought" Carter admitted.

"It's not just the fact the child might be bi-polar Carter. Think about it, we're not ready for a child. We've only just started dating. Our lives are too hectic, too busy. We wouldn't be able to provide a child with the stability it would need. That's why I can't keep this baby Carter, can you possibly understand"?

"Abby" Carter replied, looking deep down into his girlfriend's eyes. "I love you. I love you so much, of course I understand. I also understand that one day in the future, you'll want children. If that day is months away or years away I will wait. I love you Abigail Lockhart"

"And I love you too John" Abby smiled as she drew Carter close to her. The couple wrapped their arms around each other and shared a long, deep kiss. Their past argument forgotten, all they concentrated on was each other.

~*~

Dave pulled away slightly. Was he imagining things or did Luka just kiss him? Dave stared at his friend. "Luka"? He asked questioningly.

"Just as I remembered" Luka said with a broad smile. Dave returned the smile, but remained confused. What exactly did Luka mean by the kiss? "Luka, are you alright"? He asked.

"No Dave, I'm not alright. I'm more than alright, in fact, I'm very happy" Luka replied, staring at Dave intensely.

"What do you mean"?

"Do you want me Dave? If you do I suggest you shut that mouth of yours and give me another kiss" Luka smirked.

"Does this mean"? Dave asked, a smile tugging at his lips.

"Let's give it a try Dave, I think you're going to make me a very happy man" Luka said honestly. Despite his past gripes about Abby and his wife, Luka had never thought that Dave could be so open and frank about his feelings as he had been when he'd made his confession of love. Luka had never seen that side of Dave before, and it was a side that Luka felt he could fall in love with. And if he could fall in love with that side of Dave, he was sure the other parts would follow shortly afterwards. Luka knew deep in his heart that his wife wanted him to be happy and Dave appeared to be his chance at true happiness. A man who could make him feel so loved, so wanted. Dave began to kiss Luka, his tongue exploring the Croatian Attending's mouth. Luka kissed back, not just feeling the sexual urges run through his body, but the emotional ones too. The feeling he hadn't felt since his wife. Luka stroked Dave's soft hair and Dave gently broke the kiss. "So" Dave asked. "Where do we go from here"?

THE END

***I can't believe my story has actually come to an end now! Don't worry though. I won't be leaving things like that. I do have a sequel planned so you can see just how Luka and Dave and Carter and Abby's relationships develop. Until then, that was 'Where do we go from here', hope you enjoyed it and thanks for reading!

***'Where do we go from here' is dedicated to Luka, who as well as helping me with plot ideas supported the idea of this from the very start. Thank you for being you dude, I'll always love you!