Author's Notes: Okay Chapter three is up and running :-) I feel so special because everyone's rewiewing and that just motivates me to update!! I'm just so happy. Those few words make my day so great! Thank you to everyone who updated. I'll put everyone individually, but not today. Tomorrow I promise. I have so much work to do, but I thought I would update because I love you guys!! Thanks for the reviews. I'm sorry this is dragging out for a bit. I'm trying to set up the plot a bit better. But if you don't like this one, then I promse the next chapter will get better. The reviews are great. If you ever want anything or you want to give me advice or whatever drop me a line: ellaspyrka@yahoo.com Okay enough babbling, on to the story!!
~*~
She reached the white doors just as the sun was going up. She had really wanted to be there to drop the twins off at their first day of school, but her shift started at seven. They were supposed to come to the ER after school, and she would find out how everything went. She needed to find a friend, or a babysitter, or something. She hated saying babysitter or nanny, since they weren't little babies anymore. They just couldn't be alone yet. Maybe a few more years. But they were just too young still. Erik had gotten on the last flight out yesterday, after staying a week more than he had expected. He was going back to Minnesota, a job was waiting for him there. And he could keep an eye on Maggie. At least she knew he would be okay. She dropped her stuff off at her locker, and headed to the front desk with her morning cup of coffee. Her shift didn't start for another 7 minutes, and she wanted to catch up on the lastest news. She saw Michele in a solidary little corner of the desk and headed over.
"Morning Michele, I just wanted to say thank you for letting the kids come by after school..."
She really was thankful. She would have to figure out something soon, but there was no rush.
"No problem. They seem like great kids. Like I said before, take your time figuring out what to do, its not always easy..."
It definately was not, she thought to herself.
"Thanks. So who's on today?"
She saw the woman smile.
"You. And defintely not me."
She laughed, the night shift was always the worst.
"Anyone else?"
She had gotten to know the staff pretty well, even though she couldn't always put a name to a face. She had only seen a few familliar faces, but they hadn't recognized her, so she didn't bother to say anything. Sometimes a fresh start was what everyone needed right?
"Hmm... Susan's on call, but she said if anyone calls her, it will be the last call they ever make..."
The two women shared a genuine laugh. Yeah. Normal Susan had been bad. Susan on excessive horomone overload and two children at home was about ten times worse. She reminded herself to thank Chuck for that one. Knocking her up and driving her crazy. Yet they were so cute together. From what she had heard, he was a great father to her two kids, and they were in love. She wished she had kept in touch with Susan while she had been in Boston, but she was scared she might find out, or something might slip. She wanted to get away from her past, not have it follow her everywhere she went.
"Umm, oh aren't you the lucky one.... Our Chief of Staff is on tonight. Along with our favorite Attending.."
She gave her the questioning look, but all she saw was Michele's smile getting bigger and bigger.
"Michele?"
She kept on smiling.
"You know, you'd make a great couple with one of them. He's single, handsome, sweet..."
She began to shake her head.
"No. No. No. I have enough on my plate. I'm happy. No thanks. So who are they, and why weren't they here before?"
Great. More faces to put names to. More questions to answer, more trust to win. Chief of Staff and Attending. Great. She had hit the motherload.
"They were at a medical conference in Egypt, something to do with funding for Doctors Without Borders."
Doctors Without Borders was still around? She had heard it was shut down for a while in that part of the country due to health and safety concerns.
"They should be here shortly. If they come before my shift ends, I'll introduce you. If not, you're on your own."
She gave her the questioning look again.
"Go. See patients. I'll find you. Your shift started almost 8 minutes ago."
She was tempted to throw the metal chart at her, but that wouldn't be a good idea since it was her boss after all. And she needed the next Attending position that became available.
She grabbed a few charts and obliged to Michele's orders, but she didn't get far. At the end of the hallway, she herd one of the nurse's scream about a Trauma coming in. Multiple victims, DUI. She felt her natural high coming on. Even when she was working as a nurse, there was something exhilirating about a Trauam. It was ten times better now that she was the one running it. She grasped a steady pace as she headed for the door.
"How many?"
She heard Michele's scream of 5, maybe 6.
She grabbed the first ambulance that came in, it was usually the most critical. She didn't hesitate for a moment, putting in IV's, pushing fluids, ordering tests. She never noticed how she had gotten into the Trauma Room but she was there. Machinery beeped, nurses called out questions, blood poured. A moment like no other. She was in total control. After what seemed like a few seconds to her, the patient was stable enough to go up to surgery. She had nicked her liver, and maybe had some internal bleeding, but an exploratory laparotomy would probably be all she would need. It could have been quite worse. She signed off on the chart as the bed was wheeled off through the swinging doors.
"Nice job."
She looked up and saw a smiling Michele looking back at her.
"You were great."
She loved praise. It felt great. Definite self-esteem booster.
"Thanks. All in a day's work."
She loved what she did, although sometimes she wished she could spend more time with some patients, like she did as a nurse, but being a doctor was more rewarding. You get all the credit in the good times, and you get all the blame in the bad. But she wouldn't trade it in for anything.
"Yeah. You were amazing."
She heard the distinct male voice boom through the doors, although she wasn't exactly sure what her mind was telling her to think. She couldn't look up just yet, the initial shock going through her body, and registering itself in her head.
"Dr. Abigail Wyczenski, this is Dr. Luka Kovac, our other Attending."
She shut her eyes, she knew she was going to do her initial eye roll. Well hello, dear, I dated the guy. I slept with him. You would think I'd know his name.
"Doctor?"
She managed to look at him. He hadn't changed alot since the last time she had seen him. He was still tall, although that trait can't exactly change. Extremely tall. His face showed signs of age, but not painful age. Light and happy. He had gotten that spark back in his eyes. His hair began to show the first few signs of grey strewn along the front, but he looked exactly the way she remembered him. And he looked her, the one eyebrow raised in question, but she saw the delicate smile she loved playing against his lips.
"What did you expect? Professor? President? Queen?"
They both laughed. She saw Michele was growing uncomfortable for she probably realized that they knew each other already. She saw the woman heading towards the door, a smile also forming on her lips. Oh no you don't. She would have to sit that woman down and have a nice, long chat with her about how Luka and her were just friends. She turned her attention back to Luka for the moment.
"You look fantastic."
Why did guys always come out with the stupidest remarks when they were in an akward moment? Althought Luka was sweet, he wasn't an exception to the rule.
"Thanks. You don't look so bad yourself."
She saw him smile again. She knew he was a bit self conscious about the grey hair since that's the first thing he did was go and run his hand through his hair. Typical male behavior. She wished someone would analyze them and start a miniseries on their behaviors. It would be a hit. It was also very cute. She was growing uncomfortable in the silence.
"How's your wife?"
Shot into the dark. She didn't know if he had gotten married or not. Whether he had kids or not. Anything about him except for the fact that he was looking at her and the spark between them was rekindled. The friendship kind.
"She's great. Wonderful... I love her..."
She saw the spark in his eyes when he spoke of her. She felt a bit of sorrow that she hadn't been there to see it all happen. She loved Luka as a friend, and he deserved anything good that came his way. He finally looked at peace with himself. Happy.
"That's wonderful."
She watched him nodd his head. She felt him keep looking at her, as if she would disappear if he looked away. She was in shock that he still worked here, and he, well, was probably more shocked to see her in the trauma room than anything else.
"You should come over for dinner... You could meet Andzej, Alex, and Dijana."
She knew he was talking about his kids. How old were they? Would they be about the same age as Nette and John? She highly doubted it since when Luka fell, he fell long and hard. He was a great guy. She never regretted anything that happened between them.
"That would be nice. And your wife? You never mentioned who it was..."
He hid a small laugh. She thought it amuzing.
"The one person I never saw myself with. But somehow it just happened. And it was perfect. Like a fairy tale, you know? It was so weird. She showed up right when I needed her and she never left... You remember Gordana don't you?"
She nodded her head. She remembered the woman who had come into the ER. Short, curly dark blonde hair. She seemed very upbeat and friendly. She had been one of Luka's best friends, hadn't she? She put a bit of Luka's character into perspective for her. She liked her from the beginning. Gordana was the type of person she saw him with since the beginning.
"I'd better be getting back to work. It's only my second week, and I really don't want Michele getting a bad impression."
He looked at her understandingly. She shifted towards the door, and he shifted towards her. They walked into a short embrace, and he gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.
"I'm glad you came back."
Those words had never been spoken more sincerely to her.
"So am I. So am I."
She walked out the door, maybe she still had a few old friends, and a few new ones. This wasn't turning out to be as bad as she had initially thought. But how would she explain Nette and John to Luka. Maybe she wouldn't have to. Luka probably somehow would come to the conclusion. He could read minds sometimes. A nice surprize to start out the day, no doubt. But she really didn't need any more suprizes...
~*~
She reached the white doors just as the sun was going up. She had really wanted to be there to drop the twins off at their first day of school, but her shift started at seven. They were supposed to come to the ER after school, and she would find out how everything went. She needed to find a friend, or a babysitter, or something. She hated saying babysitter or nanny, since they weren't little babies anymore. They just couldn't be alone yet. Maybe a few more years. But they were just too young still. Erik had gotten on the last flight out yesterday, after staying a week more than he had expected. He was going back to Minnesota, a job was waiting for him there. And he could keep an eye on Maggie. At least she knew he would be okay. She dropped her stuff off at her locker, and headed to the front desk with her morning cup of coffee. Her shift didn't start for another 7 minutes, and she wanted to catch up on the lastest news. She saw Michele in a solidary little corner of the desk and headed over.
"Morning Michele, I just wanted to say thank you for letting the kids come by after school..."
She really was thankful. She would have to figure out something soon, but there was no rush.
"No problem. They seem like great kids. Like I said before, take your time figuring out what to do, its not always easy..."
It definately was not, she thought to herself.
"Thanks. So who's on today?"
She saw the woman smile.
"You. And defintely not me."
She laughed, the night shift was always the worst.
"Anyone else?"
She had gotten to know the staff pretty well, even though she couldn't always put a name to a face. She had only seen a few familliar faces, but they hadn't recognized her, so she didn't bother to say anything. Sometimes a fresh start was what everyone needed right?
"Hmm... Susan's on call, but she said if anyone calls her, it will be the last call they ever make..."
The two women shared a genuine laugh. Yeah. Normal Susan had been bad. Susan on excessive horomone overload and two children at home was about ten times worse. She reminded herself to thank Chuck for that one. Knocking her up and driving her crazy. Yet they were so cute together. From what she had heard, he was a great father to her two kids, and they were in love. She wished she had kept in touch with Susan while she had been in Boston, but she was scared she might find out, or something might slip. She wanted to get away from her past, not have it follow her everywhere she went.
"Umm, oh aren't you the lucky one.... Our Chief of Staff is on tonight. Along with our favorite Attending.."
She gave her the questioning look, but all she saw was Michele's smile getting bigger and bigger.
"Michele?"
She kept on smiling.
"You know, you'd make a great couple with one of them. He's single, handsome, sweet..."
She began to shake her head.
"No. No. No. I have enough on my plate. I'm happy. No thanks. So who are they, and why weren't they here before?"
Great. More faces to put names to. More questions to answer, more trust to win. Chief of Staff and Attending. Great. She had hit the motherload.
"They were at a medical conference in Egypt, something to do with funding for Doctors Without Borders."
Doctors Without Borders was still around? She had heard it was shut down for a while in that part of the country due to health and safety concerns.
"They should be here shortly. If they come before my shift ends, I'll introduce you. If not, you're on your own."
She gave her the questioning look again.
"Go. See patients. I'll find you. Your shift started almost 8 minutes ago."
She was tempted to throw the metal chart at her, but that wouldn't be a good idea since it was her boss after all. And she needed the next Attending position that became available.
She grabbed a few charts and obliged to Michele's orders, but she didn't get far. At the end of the hallway, she herd one of the nurse's scream about a Trauma coming in. Multiple victims, DUI. She felt her natural high coming on. Even when she was working as a nurse, there was something exhilirating about a Trauam. It was ten times better now that she was the one running it. She grasped a steady pace as she headed for the door.
"How many?"
She heard Michele's scream of 5, maybe 6.
She grabbed the first ambulance that came in, it was usually the most critical. She didn't hesitate for a moment, putting in IV's, pushing fluids, ordering tests. She never noticed how she had gotten into the Trauma Room but she was there. Machinery beeped, nurses called out questions, blood poured. A moment like no other. She was in total control. After what seemed like a few seconds to her, the patient was stable enough to go up to surgery. She had nicked her liver, and maybe had some internal bleeding, but an exploratory laparotomy would probably be all she would need. It could have been quite worse. She signed off on the chart as the bed was wheeled off through the swinging doors.
"Nice job."
She looked up and saw a smiling Michele looking back at her.
"You were great."
She loved praise. It felt great. Definite self-esteem booster.
"Thanks. All in a day's work."
She loved what she did, although sometimes she wished she could spend more time with some patients, like she did as a nurse, but being a doctor was more rewarding. You get all the credit in the good times, and you get all the blame in the bad. But she wouldn't trade it in for anything.
"Yeah. You were amazing."
She heard the distinct male voice boom through the doors, although she wasn't exactly sure what her mind was telling her to think. She couldn't look up just yet, the initial shock going through her body, and registering itself in her head.
"Dr. Abigail Wyczenski, this is Dr. Luka Kovac, our other Attending."
She shut her eyes, she knew she was going to do her initial eye roll. Well hello, dear, I dated the guy. I slept with him. You would think I'd know his name.
"Doctor?"
She managed to look at him. He hadn't changed alot since the last time she had seen him. He was still tall, although that trait can't exactly change. Extremely tall. His face showed signs of age, but not painful age. Light and happy. He had gotten that spark back in his eyes. His hair began to show the first few signs of grey strewn along the front, but he looked exactly the way she remembered him. And he looked her, the one eyebrow raised in question, but she saw the delicate smile she loved playing against his lips.
"What did you expect? Professor? President? Queen?"
They both laughed. She saw Michele was growing uncomfortable for she probably realized that they knew each other already. She saw the woman heading towards the door, a smile also forming on her lips. Oh no you don't. She would have to sit that woman down and have a nice, long chat with her about how Luka and her were just friends. She turned her attention back to Luka for the moment.
"You look fantastic."
Why did guys always come out with the stupidest remarks when they were in an akward moment? Althought Luka was sweet, he wasn't an exception to the rule.
"Thanks. You don't look so bad yourself."
She saw him smile again. She knew he was a bit self conscious about the grey hair since that's the first thing he did was go and run his hand through his hair. Typical male behavior. She wished someone would analyze them and start a miniseries on their behaviors. It would be a hit. It was also very cute. She was growing uncomfortable in the silence.
"How's your wife?"
Shot into the dark. She didn't know if he had gotten married or not. Whether he had kids or not. Anything about him except for the fact that he was looking at her and the spark between them was rekindled. The friendship kind.
"She's great. Wonderful... I love her..."
She saw the spark in his eyes when he spoke of her. She felt a bit of sorrow that she hadn't been there to see it all happen. She loved Luka as a friend, and he deserved anything good that came his way. He finally looked at peace with himself. Happy.
"That's wonderful."
She watched him nodd his head. She felt him keep looking at her, as if she would disappear if he looked away. She was in shock that he still worked here, and he, well, was probably more shocked to see her in the trauma room than anything else.
"You should come over for dinner... You could meet Andzej, Alex, and Dijana."
She knew he was talking about his kids. How old were they? Would they be about the same age as Nette and John? She highly doubted it since when Luka fell, he fell long and hard. He was a great guy. She never regretted anything that happened between them.
"That would be nice. And your wife? You never mentioned who it was..."
He hid a small laugh. She thought it amuzing.
"The one person I never saw myself with. But somehow it just happened. And it was perfect. Like a fairy tale, you know? It was so weird. She showed up right when I needed her and she never left... You remember Gordana don't you?"
She nodded her head. She remembered the woman who had come into the ER. Short, curly dark blonde hair. She seemed very upbeat and friendly. She had been one of Luka's best friends, hadn't she? She put a bit of Luka's character into perspective for her. She liked her from the beginning. Gordana was the type of person she saw him with since the beginning.
"I'd better be getting back to work. It's only my second week, and I really don't want Michele getting a bad impression."
He looked at her understandingly. She shifted towards the door, and he shifted towards her. They walked into a short embrace, and he gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.
"I'm glad you came back."
Those words had never been spoken more sincerely to her.
"So am I. So am I."
She walked out the door, maybe she still had a few old friends, and a few new ones. This wasn't turning out to be as bad as she had initially thought. But how would she explain Nette and John to Luka. Maybe she wouldn't have to. Luka probably somehow would come to the conclusion. He could read minds sometimes. A nice surprize to start out the day, no doubt. But she really didn't need any more suprizes...