Title: Hotter Than July
Rating: PG-13, but R later on...
Disclaimer: The ER characters do not belong to me, neither do any products, song lyrics or literary quotations mentioned.
Summary: Warm weather, flirtation and a few lessons to be learned. Luby. Sort of AU, sort of not.
Spoilers: Some season 9 and maybe early 10 I guess.
Reviews: Thankyou once again to all my readers, I appreciate you taking the time to read my work. Keep those reviews comin' :)
Sometimes, in a hedonistic manner, the world passes you by without a trace. Especially when the weather is spectacularly good, as it had been for what seemed like an eternity. The cold caress of cotton sheets against a burning hot body was a wondrous contrast which Luka relished until he finally dragged himself out of bed. He was going to be late but once again, indifference had got the better of the tug of war in his head. So he was in no rush. Send me to your stupid lectures all day, he thought, gazing out of his window, his pupils dilating with a bolt of tranquillity. Sunshine was like injections of optimism but the long days also left so much space for contemplation, which could lead anybody's thoughts off into a plethora of emotions. Gladly, he found a distraction in the day's current affairs as he scanned the newspaper while sipping casually from a can of Coke as it was far too hot for coffee.
"If it isn't the dead man sitting. Weaver is after you and she's taking it out on me, as usual." Susan joined him in the crowded Doc Magoo's which was bustling with people eager for their breakfast. Along with the general commotion, "Walking On Sunshine" by Katrina and the Waves blared from the sound system. Susan's tone had been neither angry nor frustrated but Luka took the opportunity to ask some questions, avoiding the general issue of his misbehaviour.
"You really don't get on with her, do you?" He asked plainly, finally gazing up from the broadsheet.
"Not really. It's a long story." Her mind cast back to those early years of rivalry and bitchiness.
"Indulge me. I have all the time in the world," Luka replied, radiating as much vivacity as the atmosphere itself. Susan laughed aloud, catching the glint of mischief in his eyes. "You're having one of those "I don't care" career moments, aren't you?"
"Is it that obvious?"
"To somebody who's been there, absolutely. It'll pass, they always do." He turned the page and drank again, his eyes darting rapidly as he scanned for anything that may be of interest.
"You see, that's why Weaver is so high-maintenance. She never has those lapses." This observation seemed tainted with a little sadness, perhaps even envy. Susan quickly reminded herself that she was not envious at all.
"She's not the bionic woman, she must do. Unless we're the strange ones."
Interested in where this was going, his attention wavered from the news.
"We must fall prey to the distractions of our social lives." Luka was unsure whether she was taking the piss or indicating that their boss had no social life. Or perhaps it was both. Who knows? Susan too felt a little bewildered as she realised that in many ways, Luka was still as elusive as the day she had met him, so she asked, "What do you do when you're not working?"
He momentarily shifted in his seat then let out a little smile. "My friends exploit me with their complicated board games, drink all my beer and use my apartment as a walk-in cinema."
She smiled enigmatically. "But you wouldn't want it to change, would you?"
"Maybe not," Luka replied, as wonderfully ambiguous as ever.
Eyeing the last drop of the caramel coloured liquid in the bottom of the can, he finished his drink and carefully folded the newspaper like a worn-out commuter. "I guess I'd better go and get my punishment."
"Good luck, I'll be thinking of you," Susan said amicably, knowing what it was like to be on the receiving end of Weaver's wrath.
With that, he made the short journey towards his castigation, just as a prisoner is lead down to the cells. When he arrived, Susan had been right, Weaver was after his blood.
"I'll get straight to the point. Your lateness is unacceptable. You're fully aware of the current penalty. If you're going to waste my time then I'll waste yours. And this time I want to see the notes as well. You can check the schedules for yourself." After facing the torrent, he nodded, feeling like a schoolboy being chastised by the headmistress. "Is that all?..Because I should..." Suddenly, mid-sentence, Luka wondered if he was being a little audacious and chose to keep his mouth shut. Not very much would be able to break up his strangely good mood. Not even if the sun disappeared from the sky and the heavens opened and it rained until December.
"No. You can take Abby with you as well. It's a shame you're not dating anymore, then you could kick each other out of the damned bed," Weaver said dryly, raising her voice even more, evidently angered as if she believed her staff were beginning to conspire against her. Luka was humoured by the image and bit on his thumbnail to hide his smile. In fact, he was tempted to add, "But she would never kick me out of bed." Wisely, he held his tongue. He was curious at his boss's slight, pained amusement. Perhaps the sun had shone on her too.
"Sort it out, Luka, I don't want to have to fire you."
He nodded again, then said sincerely, "I appreciate it." Yet sincerity escaped him as he left the lounge with a wide grin. He was ready for whatever was about to be thrown at him. Deciding to pass on the bad news before it had any sort of a chance to eat away at him he spotted his co-conspirator in lateness.
Abby's interest was instantly piqued by his bright, unassuming disposition, a very welcome tangent from her very unwelcoming paperwork.
"It looks as if you enjoyed getting your butt smacked. I always thought you were a bit of a masochist." He laughed, then shook his head dismissively. "It's the weather."
"Not the sex, drugs and rock and roll?" She continued, enjoying this game.
"If only I had the time," Luka said, slightly caught in a frail reverie. "Which reminds me, we have to go to those lectures again. It seems as if once again, I'm not the only one who can't be bothered."
She frowned, then smiled. "I spent half of yesterday morning swearing at my VCR after it chewed up three tapes. It was my own emergency, which seemed a little more important than anybody else's at the time. God, that's selfish," she said aloud, meaning to keep it to herself. Thoughts raced through her head, then she turned toward him with a smile, and spoke quietly. "Luka, if you're in such a good mood, then why didn't you tell Weaver to poke it up her ass?"
Luka smiled, "I don't think it's any good for me to be that eloquent in English."
"Fair enough," Abby shrugged, eventually returning to the array of pages stretched in front of her eyes. "You'll call me to let me know when we're going?" She asked seriously, suspecting that despite their outward disregard, somewhere inside they were both eager to atone for their mistakes.
"Sure." I'd better look like I'm doing something, he thought. Deciding to chance his luck, he took a chart at random and examined only the room number and patient's name. Life would be boring without a few surprises.
"I wouldn't if I were you. That kid has a set square lodged in one of his nostrils. Math has never been so dangerous." In issuing her warning, Abby had conceded that the world was genuinely crazy today. But in a positive, stirring way. "It could be worse." Luka spoke while searching for his pen which had eluded him as well as pessimism had.
"You're right. He could have a compass stuck up his..."
She did not need to finish the sentence.
After locating his pen and finding that the child, Chad, did in fact have a mathematical instrument firmly stuck inside his nose, Luka wondered how the hell it was ever going to come out again and more worryingly, how it got there in the first place.
Rating: PG-13, but R later on...
Disclaimer: The ER characters do not belong to me, neither do any products, song lyrics or literary quotations mentioned.
Summary: Warm weather, flirtation and a few lessons to be learned. Luby. Sort of AU, sort of not.
Spoilers: Some season 9 and maybe early 10 I guess.
Reviews: Thankyou once again to all my readers, I appreciate you taking the time to read my work. Keep those reviews comin' :)
Sometimes, in a hedonistic manner, the world passes you by without a trace. Especially when the weather is spectacularly good, as it had been for what seemed like an eternity. The cold caress of cotton sheets against a burning hot body was a wondrous contrast which Luka relished until he finally dragged himself out of bed. He was going to be late but once again, indifference had got the better of the tug of war in his head. So he was in no rush. Send me to your stupid lectures all day, he thought, gazing out of his window, his pupils dilating with a bolt of tranquillity. Sunshine was like injections of optimism but the long days also left so much space for contemplation, which could lead anybody's thoughts off into a plethora of emotions. Gladly, he found a distraction in the day's current affairs as he scanned the newspaper while sipping casually from a can of Coke as it was far too hot for coffee.
"If it isn't the dead man sitting. Weaver is after you and she's taking it out on me, as usual." Susan joined him in the crowded Doc Magoo's which was bustling with people eager for their breakfast. Along with the general commotion, "Walking On Sunshine" by Katrina and the Waves blared from the sound system. Susan's tone had been neither angry nor frustrated but Luka took the opportunity to ask some questions, avoiding the general issue of his misbehaviour.
"You really don't get on with her, do you?" He asked plainly, finally gazing up from the broadsheet.
"Not really. It's a long story." Her mind cast back to those early years of rivalry and bitchiness.
"Indulge me. I have all the time in the world," Luka replied, radiating as much vivacity as the atmosphere itself. Susan laughed aloud, catching the glint of mischief in his eyes. "You're having one of those "I don't care" career moments, aren't you?"
"Is it that obvious?"
"To somebody who's been there, absolutely. It'll pass, they always do." He turned the page and drank again, his eyes darting rapidly as he scanned for anything that may be of interest.
"You see, that's why Weaver is so high-maintenance. She never has those lapses." This observation seemed tainted with a little sadness, perhaps even envy. Susan quickly reminded herself that she was not envious at all.
"She's not the bionic woman, she must do. Unless we're the strange ones."
Interested in where this was going, his attention wavered from the news.
"We must fall prey to the distractions of our social lives." Luka was unsure whether she was taking the piss or indicating that their boss had no social life. Or perhaps it was both. Who knows? Susan too felt a little bewildered as she realised that in many ways, Luka was still as elusive as the day she had met him, so she asked, "What do you do when you're not working?"
He momentarily shifted in his seat then let out a little smile. "My friends exploit me with their complicated board games, drink all my beer and use my apartment as a walk-in cinema."
She smiled enigmatically. "But you wouldn't want it to change, would you?"
"Maybe not," Luka replied, as wonderfully ambiguous as ever.
Eyeing the last drop of the caramel coloured liquid in the bottom of the can, he finished his drink and carefully folded the newspaper like a worn-out commuter. "I guess I'd better go and get my punishment."
"Good luck, I'll be thinking of you," Susan said amicably, knowing what it was like to be on the receiving end of Weaver's wrath.
With that, he made the short journey towards his castigation, just as a prisoner is lead down to the cells. When he arrived, Susan had been right, Weaver was after his blood.
"I'll get straight to the point. Your lateness is unacceptable. You're fully aware of the current penalty. If you're going to waste my time then I'll waste yours. And this time I want to see the notes as well. You can check the schedules for yourself." After facing the torrent, he nodded, feeling like a schoolboy being chastised by the headmistress. "Is that all?..Because I should..." Suddenly, mid-sentence, Luka wondered if he was being a little audacious and chose to keep his mouth shut. Not very much would be able to break up his strangely good mood. Not even if the sun disappeared from the sky and the heavens opened and it rained until December.
"No. You can take Abby with you as well. It's a shame you're not dating anymore, then you could kick each other out of the damned bed," Weaver said dryly, raising her voice even more, evidently angered as if she believed her staff were beginning to conspire against her. Luka was humoured by the image and bit on his thumbnail to hide his smile. In fact, he was tempted to add, "But she would never kick me out of bed." Wisely, he held his tongue. He was curious at his boss's slight, pained amusement. Perhaps the sun had shone on her too.
"Sort it out, Luka, I don't want to have to fire you."
He nodded again, then said sincerely, "I appreciate it." Yet sincerity escaped him as he left the lounge with a wide grin. He was ready for whatever was about to be thrown at him. Deciding to pass on the bad news before it had any sort of a chance to eat away at him he spotted his co-conspirator in lateness.
Abby's interest was instantly piqued by his bright, unassuming disposition, a very welcome tangent from her very unwelcoming paperwork.
"It looks as if you enjoyed getting your butt smacked. I always thought you were a bit of a masochist." He laughed, then shook his head dismissively. "It's the weather."
"Not the sex, drugs and rock and roll?" She continued, enjoying this game.
"If only I had the time," Luka said, slightly caught in a frail reverie. "Which reminds me, we have to go to those lectures again. It seems as if once again, I'm not the only one who can't be bothered."
She frowned, then smiled. "I spent half of yesterday morning swearing at my VCR after it chewed up three tapes. It was my own emergency, which seemed a little more important than anybody else's at the time. God, that's selfish," she said aloud, meaning to keep it to herself. Thoughts raced through her head, then she turned toward him with a smile, and spoke quietly. "Luka, if you're in such a good mood, then why didn't you tell Weaver to poke it up her ass?"
Luka smiled, "I don't think it's any good for me to be that eloquent in English."
"Fair enough," Abby shrugged, eventually returning to the array of pages stretched in front of her eyes. "You'll call me to let me know when we're going?" She asked seriously, suspecting that despite their outward disregard, somewhere inside they were both eager to atone for their mistakes.
"Sure." I'd better look like I'm doing something, he thought. Deciding to chance his luck, he took a chart at random and examined only the room number and patient's name. Life would be boring without a few surprises.
"I wouldn't if I were you. That kid has a set square lodged in one of his nostrils. Math has never been so dangerous." In issuing her warning, Abby had conceded that the world was genuinely crazy today. But in a positive, stirring way. "It could be worse." Luka spoke while searching for his pen which had eluded him as well as pessimism had.
"You're right. He could have a compass stuck up his..."
She did not need to finish the sentence.
After locating his pen and finding that the child, Chad, did in fact have a mathematical instrument firmly stuck inside his nose, Luka wondered how the hell it was ever going to come out again and more worryingly, how it got there in the first place.