iA/N: Wow, that last chapter was a little bit depressing – oh well, here's a little happiness to lighten the mood. And you deserve more happiness, you good little people, you. Thanks for reviews, Rae10 ? and CarbyForever – YAY! Read, review and be happy! Love LJ xXx/i
*br
*br
*br
*br
*br
*br
*br
Luka smiled when he saw her in the Doctor's Lounge, sitting exactly as she had been before – head down and working, books piled up.
"Did you even go home at all?" he asked her, cheekily. This time, she didn't even look up.
"Hello Luka, you smartass." She greeted him, in a bored voice. He laughed and poured her a coffee as he made one for himself.
"Here you go," he put it in front of her. She looked at it for a while and smiled at him.
"Thanks, but no thanks," she said, sliding it back across the table. He raised his eyebrows.
"Are you sure? I would've thought you'd need the caffeine boost." He looked at her, genuinely surprised and confused. She smiled slightly but said nothing.
"Lots of work?" he asked, trying to start up a conversation.
"Yep." she answered, flicking through a thick textbook on renal failure. He watched her for a while.
"You thought right – Carter went back to the Congo," Luka told her, confronting the topic he had been trying unsuccessfully to ease into. She looked up, suddenly.
"How did you know?" she demanded. He stared, momentarily startled at the sudden defensive response and blinked.
"You asked me to call them up. Yesterday – remember?" he reminded her, slowly. "How did you know already?"
"Oh, he sent me a postcard from the plane, which was nice of him – wish you were here and all that." She smiled a faint smile and rubbed her tired eyes. He glanced at a patch on arm when her sleeve lifted slightly.
"You giving up smoking?" he nodded at the patch while he sipped his coffee. She lifted up her sleeve and looked at it, as if she herself had forgotten.
"Oh. Yeah, I am." She responded, slightly dazed.
"Why now? It can't help adding that to worry about, on top of all this work and everything," he gestured at the mountains of textbooks and she laughed slightly.
"Yeah, it doesn't help. Perfect timing, right?" she grinned and went quickly back to work.
* * *
"So what movies did you rent in the end?" Susan called from somewhere in the apartment as Abby wrung the water out of her hair she had been washing over the sink and wrapped it in a towel.
"I got Liar Liar, Pearl Harbour and Bridget Jones' Diary," Abby listed, rubbing her hair vigorously with the towel.
"What was the first one again?" Susan appeared with a black garbage bag, halfway through taking out the trash.
"Liar Liar. It's a brilliant film – really good casting." Abby told her, earnestly. "The actress in it is great."
"Okay then," Susan began to empty the bathroom bin. "I don't see why you can't take out the trash sometimes – you practically live here, anyway."
"I'll be gone soon, promise. And anyway, I don't do dirty work anymore – I'm a med student, now." Abby grinned with damp, ruffled hair.
"Right, how could I forget," Susan smiled. "You hardly ever take off your white jacket."
"Yeah well, it seems to give me more credibility. If I didn't wear it I'd still be your average slave in the ER. They'd still be asking me to sit around in triage and fetch them all sorts of crap." Abby turned to Susan, who had stopped listening and was just staring into the garbage bag. "Hey, are you ok?" Susan blinked and looked at her.
"Huh?" she looked blank. Abby raised her eyebrows and took the bag from her.
"Ok, fine. I'll take it out. Put one of the videos on," Abby called as she went outside. Susan shook herself and obediently picked out a movie.
* * *
"Want some coffee?" Susan offered, getting up from the sofa. Abby hesitated, shook her head and watched as Susan walked over to the kitchen.
"No thanks. Hey, don't you want to see what happens in the end?" Abby asked turning away from the final scene of Pearl Harbour. Susan shrugged.
"Why bother?" she answered as she put the kettle on. "Ben Affleck always seems survive in the end of all his movies by saving his own skin and then pretending he gives a damn about his friends. Which he doesn't." Abby turned back to the TV screen.
"Yeah, but he's nice to look at." She replied as the movie ended and credits rolled. She reached for the remote and flicked channels as Susan came in with a mug of coffee.
"Ooh, figure skating," Susan said with false enthusiasm as the remote switched to the World Figure Skating championships on some godforsaken channel. "Life doesn't get much sweeter than this." Abby chuckled at Susan's sarcastic remark.
"Pretty weird though," Abby began, with a slightly dreamy look. "I had this dream last night that I was ice skating down a frozen up river and Luka was chasing me on a skidoo."
"Ha! Skidoo." Susan snorted with laughter at the vision of Luka on a skidoo.
"Yeah, I know. And then I skated off a waterfall and was falling when Luka jumped after me with a parachute and saved my life." she remembered with a smile.
"What happened to the skidoo?" Susan asked, with a grin spreading across her face. Abby shrugged.
"Do you reckon it means anything?" she wondered out loud.
"What? Luka on a skidoo?"
"Ok, Suze. Get over it." Abby told her, sternly. "No, I was thinking more about Luka saving my life."
"God, I hope not," Susan said, a gravely serious expression replacing the smirk on her face. "Because I once had a dream that Romano saved my life with a parachute. I was skydiving with him when I couldn't reach the parachute cord and his arm flew off and pulled it for me." Abby looked at her and then burst out laughing.
Susan grinned, "Seriously, it happened."
But as she watched her friend laughing hysterically at the mental image, she couldn't help but think back to earlier as she took out the trash. She remembered Abby washing her hair in the sink. She remembered her talking about being a med student. And then she remembered her shock when she looked down at the contents of the bathroom trash can and saw a little white test stick with unmistakably blue lines, lying innocently at the top.
*br
*br
*br
*br
*br
*br
*br
Luka smiled when he saw her in the Doctor's Lounge, sitting exactly as she had been before – head down and working, books piled up.
"Did you even go home at all?" he asked her, cheekily. This time, she didn't even look up.
"Hello Luka, you smartass." She greeted him, in a bored voice. He laughed and poured her a coffee as he made one for himself.
"Here you go," he put it in front of her. She looked at it for a while and smiled at him.
"Thanks, but no thanks," she said, sliding it back across the table. He raised his eyebrows.
"Are you sure? I would've thought you'd need the caffeine boost." He looked at her, genuinely surprised and confused. She smiled slightly but said nothing.
"Lots of work?" he asked, trying to start up a conversation.
"Yep." she answered, flicking through a thick textbook on renal failure. He watched her for a while.
"You thought right – Carter went back to the Congo," Luka told her, confronting the topic he had been trying unsuccessfully to ease into. She looked up, suddenly.
"How did you know?" she demanded. He stared, momentarily startled at the sudden defensive response and blinked.
"You asked me to call them up. Yesterday – remember?" he reminded her, slowly. "How did you know already?"
"Oh, he sent me a postcard from the plane, which was nice of him – wish you were here and all that." She smiled a faint smile and rubbed her tired eyes. He glanced at a patch on arm when her sleeve lifted slightly.
"You giving up smoking?" he nodded at the patch while he sipped his coffee. She lifted up her sleeve and looked at it, as if she herself had forgotten.
"Oh. Yeah, I am." She responded, slightly dazed.
"Why now? It can't help adding that to worry about, on top of all this work and everything," he gestured at the mountains of textbooks and she laughed slightly.
"Yeah, it doesn't help. Perfect timing, right?" she grinned and went quickly back to work.
* * *
"So what movies did you rent in the end?" Susan called from somewhere in the apartment as Abby wrung the water out of her hair she had been washing over the sink and wrapped it in a towel.
"I got Liar Liar, Pearl Harbour and Bridget Jones' Diary," Abby listed, rubbing her hair vigorously with the towel.
"What was the first one again?" Susan appeared with a black garbage bag, halfway through taking out the trash.
"Liar Liar. It's a brilliant film – really good casting." Abby told her, earnestly. "The actress in it is great."
"Okay then," Susan began to empty the bathroom bin. "I don't see why you can't take out the trash sometimes – you practically live here, anyway."
"I'll be gone soon, promise. And anyway, I don't do dirty work anymore – I'm a med student, now." Abby grinned with damp, ruffled hair.
"Right, how could I forget," Susan smiled. "You hardly ever take off your white jacket."
"Yeah well, it seems to give me more credibility. If I didn't wear it I'd still be your average slave in the ER. They'd still be asking me to sit around in triage and fetch them all sorts of crap." Abby turned to Susan, who had stopped listening and was just staring into the garbage bag. "Hey, are you ok?" Susan blinked and looked at her.
"Huh?" she looked blank. Abby raised her eyebrows and took the bag from her.
"Ok, fine. I'll take it out. Put one of the videos on," Abby called as she went outside. Susan shook herself and obediently picked out a movie.
* * *
"Want some coffee?" Susan offered, getting up from the sofa. Abby hesitated, shook her head and watched as Susan walked over to the kitchen.
"No thanks. Hey, don't you want to see what happens in the end?" Abby asked turning away from the final scene of Pearl Harbour. Susan shrugged.
"Why bother?" she answered as she put the kettle on. "Ben Affleck always seems survive in the end of all his movies by saving his own skin and then pretending he gives a damn about his friends. Which he doesn't." Abby turned back to the TV screen.
"Yeah, but he's nice to look at." She replied as the movie ended and credits rolled. She reached for the remote and flicked channels as Susan came in with a mug of coffee.
"Ooh, figure skating," Susan said with false enthusiasm as the remote switched to the World Figure Skating championships on some godforsaken channel. "Life doesn't get much sweeter than this." Abby chuckled at Susan's sarcastic remark.
"Pretty weird though," Abby began, with a slightly dreamy look. "I had this dream last night that I was ice skating down a frozen up river and Luka was chasing me on a skidoo."
"Ha! Skidoo." Susan snorted with laughter at the vision of Luka on a skidoo.
"Yeah, I know. And then I skated off a waterfall and was falling when Luka jumped after me with a parachute and saved my life." she remembered with a smile.
"What happened to the skidoo?" Susan asked, with a grin spreading across her face. Abby shrugged.
"Do you reckon it means anything?" she wondered out loud.
"What? Luka on a skidoo?"
"Ok, Suze. Get over it." Abby told her, sternly. "No, I was thinking more about Luka saving my life."
"God, I hope not," Susan said, a gravely serious expression replacing the smirk on her face. "Because I once had a dream that Romano saved my life with a parachute. I was skydiving with him when I couldn't reach the parachute cord and his arm flew off and pulled it for me." Abby looked at her and then burst out laughing.
Susan grinned, "Seriously, it happened."
But as she watched her friend laughing hysterically at the mental image, she couldn't help but think back to earlier as she took out the trash. She remembered Abby washing her hair in the sink. She remembered her talking about being a med student. And then she remembered her shock when she looked down at the contents of the bathroom trash can and saw a little white test stick with unmistakably blue lines, lying innocently at the top.