CHAPTER FIVE
A/N: Thanks so much for all the reviews! You guys are great. Keep it up.
There are spoilers in this chapter for early Season 11, just as a heads up. =]
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Thursday night came sooner than Sam had expected. Although she had enjoyed her much needed two days off, a part of her actually wanted to get back into working. One, there were only so many episodes of afternoon soap operas and talk shows a person could watch, and two, staying home hadn't kept her as occupied as she thought it would. Being able to fall back asleep once Alex's carpool had picked him up for school was something she couldn't do very often though.
Luka had come and gone over the past two days, although he had headed back into work that morning around five and was expected home soon. Their relationship had done a complete 180, and Sam found herself smiling more because of it.
Yawning, she carried the laundry basket full of her and Alex's dirty clothes towards the small room that contained her own washer and dryer. Tired of trekking out to the Laundromat, Sam bought the appliances last year before she moved to Chicago. It was definitely worth it, even though laundry was something she had always hated doing, even as a kid.
She set the laundry basket on top of the dryer and passed back into the living room, where she rummaged around in her stereo system. Every time she had to do any cleaning, Sam always made a habit of blasting some music throughout the apartment whenever she could. Since Alex was at another friend's house until eight, she figured she better take advantage of the opportunity. She rummaged around in her collection and pulled out her U2 cd, a favorite of hers. She turned up the volume as 'New Year's Day' started blasting out of her speakers.
Midway through loading up the washer, Sam distantly thought she heard the phone ring all the way from the kitchen. Groaning, she carelessly ran out into the living room and paused her stereo. However, she hadn't seen the sock that was lying in the middle of the hallway and she slipped on it. Protectively she prevented her lower body from any contact with the hard hallway floor—and her wrist paid the consequences.
"Fuck!' Sam shouted out, standing back up and cradling her right hand in her left one. "Shit." She winced as she bent it back and forth before picking up the phone on the fifth ring. "Hello?"
"Hi sweetheart! How are you? What took you so long to pick up the phone?"
"Hey Mom. I'm okay, I was just doing my laundry."
"Good. Did you get my message the other day?"
Sam glanced up at her answering machine. Sure enough, a number one was flashing back and forth on it. "No, I've been really busy. I haven't had time to check or anything."
"Busy working…or busy going out on dates?""
"Working," Sam laughed. "Definitely working."
"Oh. How's Alex?"
"He's great. Doesn't really like school, but you know how he is. Wants to spend more time at Mikey's and skateboarding."
"How's work?"
"Work is work." Sam hated the small talk she made with her mother sometimes. She opened the refrigerator door and pulled out the ice cube tray.
"Well, I won't keep you for long, but I'm going to be in Chicago the weekend of May fifteenth and I wanted to know if it was okay if I stopped by to see you and Alex?"
Sam checked the calendar. She probably could get a day off that weekend. "Sure. Are you flying here?"
"I'm certainly not driving from New Jersey."
"Okay, okay. Call me with the flight info. I'm really sorry but I have to go. I'll talk to you later."
"Sure honey. Give Alex a kiss from me. Love you."
"Love you too." Sam hung up the cordless phone and started examining her wrist. It didn't look to bad, but it hurt like hell. Hopefully it would be just bruised and not sprained. Grabbing the ice cubes she had wrapped in a towel, she pressed it against her wrist and headed back into the living room.
With the music playing loudly once again, she started up the wash and unloaded the clothes from the dryer. Singing along to herself, she pulled her hair back and slammed the dryer door.
"I didn't know I was coming home to a concert!"
Startled, Sam almost dropped the laundry basket she was holding. "Christ, you scared me," she laughed. "When did you get here?"
"I'm sorry." Luka took the basket from her and kissed her quickly. "Two minutes ago. I could hear the music all the way down the hall."
"I can't clean without it." Sam smiled and turned the stereo off.
"I bet your neighbors are thanking you right about now," Luka teased. He set the laundry basket on the couch and kissed her again, pulling her in for a hug. "What happened to your hand?"
"The phone rang, I wasn't watching where I was going, and I fell in the hall."
"You fell? How hard and what did you land on?" Concerned, his eyes landed on her stomach and Sam knew what he was thinking.
"Just my wrist. I caught myself. I'm okay," she smiled.
Luka started examining her wrist and Sam winced slightly when he tried to move it to the right and left. "I want you to ice it and—"
"One step ahead of you." She held up the ice and Luka grinned.
"Okay." He sat down on the couch and started taking off his shoes. "How do you feel?"
"Pretty good. I've only had about twenty hours of sleep since Tuesday night," Sam smiled, sitting down next to him.
"Only twenty? Don't rub it in." Luka yawned and Sam rested her head against his chest. "I have a double shift tomorrow."
"Oh," Sam's face fell slightly. "I was kind of hoping we could do something tomorrow night."
"What about Saturday night? I'm on from five AM tomorrow morning to five AM Saturday morning. Then I'm off Sunday."
"Yeah, but you'll be tired."
Luka shrugged. "Did you eat?"
"Soup and crackers about an hour ago."
"You want anything else?"
Sam shook her head. "No, but I need a shower." She pulled her hair out of the tie and ran her fingers through it. "Are you going back to your place later?"
"Probably. I have to leave early tomorrow. I don't want to wake you."
She stood up and started putting back the several cds she had pulled out before into the metal rack against the wall. "You didn't wake me this morning."
"I need to get clothes."
Sam shrugged and headed towards the kitchen. "Whatever." She pressed the answering machine button and her mother's message from earlier in the week played.
"Your mother's visiting?"
Sam nodded. "Weekend of the fifteenth."
"Do I get to meet her?" Luka grinned, leaning up against the refrigerator.
"Depends if you'll still be around then." Sam emptied the ice she had used for her hand into the sink and stalked out of the kitchen.
"Why are you giving me a hard time about this? We were okay this morning and last night. I thought our talk helped. I thought we were working this out."
"We are."
"Then what's the problem?"
Sam shrugged. "I don't know. I guess there isn't one."
Luka followed her down the hall. "Sam."
"What?"
"Forget it. I better go."
"It won't matter to me if you don't show up tomorrow. I did it once before and I can do it again."
"I'll be there." Luka glanced at Sam. "I'll see you tomorrow."
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Friday, April 3010 AM
Sam shut her locker and headed back to the coffee pot, which was finally done brewing the third pot of the day since she had come in around eight thirty. Finally. God, did she need another cup of coffee right about now.
The day had started off on a bad note. First, she had woken up at three thirty, completely nauseous and regretting last night's dinner of hot dogs and macaroni and cheese. Sam had spent the next hour in the bathroom before she finally won the battle against her stomach. By that time, it was heading towards five, so she had showered quickly and woken up Alex, who had woken up in a bad mood. By six, she had made him breakfast and had gotten changed for work. At seven, they caught the El. Sam had seen Alex off at Mikey's, promising to pick him up Saturday afternoon. Once again, Alex was spending the night as he usually did on the weekends, but this time, it was for Mikey's tenth birthday.
It had been insanity since the moment she had walked in. A little girl in curtain two had dumped orange juice all over Sam in shock after she had set the girl's dislocated elbow back into place with Pratt's help. Since then, two minor MVA's had come in, one Tylenol overdose—where the man had promptly thrown the charcoal back up without warning, causing Sam to change her scrubs one more—and a woman in labor who had almost ripped out Sam's hair on a painful contraction.
The bad thing was, it was only ten in the morning. Sam still had to go until eight.
Thankful that it was finally her break, she took her coffee and headed outside, willing to escape the hospital for a minute or two. Sam sat down on the wooden bench off to the side of the ambulance bay, bringing her knees up to her chest and starting to drink her coffee.
She looked up a minute later and saw Luka passing through the doors, hands in his pockets. "Hey." He looked at her, and then looked down and back up one more time.
Sam nodded her head. "Hey." She immediately felt guilty about the attitude she had given him the night before.
"Rough day?"
"That's putting it lightly. It's not even lunch yet and it's been the day from hell," she added sarcastically.
"Are you on a coffee break?"
Sam laughed and shook her head. "Nah, I put vodka in here on special days."
Luka smiled and sat down next to her. "I just…I wasn't trying to be a hero when I asked you and Alex to move in with me. I don't want you to think that. I care a lot about you—the both of you."
Sam said nothing and instead moved the warm cup around in her hands.
Luka sighed and ran his fingers through his hair and then looked over at her. "I asked you to move in because…"
Sam glanced up at him, trying to figure out where Luka was going with this all.
He continued. "…Because I love you. I'm in love with you, and maybe…I don't know, maybe you feel the same."
Sam gaped at Luka, practically opened mouth. Holy shit. "I…did you just say that?" She let out a small skeptical laugh. She was completely blown away by it. If she thought him offering for her and Alex to move in was strange, this certainly came out of left field.
Luka nodded, gauging Sam's reaction with his eyes. "I've spent too much time wasting time. So whenever you're ready, let me know."
Sam would have said something, but at that moment, a white pickup truck with the words "Nemo's Tank Maintenance" squealed to a halt right in front of them. Two men got out, and motioned frantically to Luka and Sam. One man headed straight to the back of the truck, and the other approached them.
"Hey, my friend needs some help! I'm a marine biologist. We had a little accident during a tank cleaning."
Sam peeked into the back of the truck around Luka and grimaced. There was a four-foot shark clamped around a man's leg, and the man was bleeding profusely from puncture wounds.
"We need to get this shark off now! It's an endangered species!"
"Screw the shark, I'm bleeding to death. This is the last time I help you out Al! I swear to God—ow!"
"I'll get a wheelchair," Sam motioned to Luka, and he nodded, going over to calm the man the best he could.
It was really going to be a long day.
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At a quarter to two, Sam was sitting in the waiting room on the obstetrics and gynecology floor. Kerry had let her off until three once Sam had explained where she was going.
She tapped her foot impatiently against the carpeted floor and glanced up at the television. CNN was broadcasting, another special on the war in Iraq. She just wished Luka would get up here soon. She hadn't seen him much after the shark incident, and hadn't had a chance to remind him. Would he forget? Or get too distracted down in the ER?
At five to two, Sam heard heavy footsteps, and then Luka appeared in the waiting room. She smiled at him nervously and he sat down next to her.
"Hey. Sorry, I had to sign off on something for Abby."
"That's okay." Sam glanced up at the television and bit her lip.
Luka took her hand and squeezed it gently. "Nervous?"
She nodded. "It's been a long time."
"I know what you mean."
"What?" Sam glanced up at him curiously.
"Never mind. I'll tell you later."
"Miss Taggart?" A petite OB nurse was waiting in the doorway, clipboard in hand. "I'll just need you to sign off on these insurance and medical history forms."
"Oh. Sure." Sam dropped Luka's hand and walked over, quickly reading over and signing off in the appropriate places before handing the clipboard back to the nurse.
"Dr. Coburn will be with you in a minute."
"Thanks."
Not even a minute later, Dr. Coburn stuck her head in the waiting room door. "Hi Sam, come on back and we'll get you set up…Luka, what a surprise, I don't usually see you around here."
"It's my baby too. I wouldn't want to miss the first appointment." Luka grinned at Sam as she said this. The look on Coburn's face was one of shock, but she quickly got over it.
"I had no idea. Congratulations."
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Sam's exam went pretty smoothly, and Luka sat by her side the entire time, just holding her hand and answering questions when he had to. Both of their medical family histories had been taken, and Sam's first pregnancy with Alex nine years ago was discussed, as well as her past health over the years.
The only uncomfortable part was the pelvic exam—it was a little awkward for Sam, but she quickly got over it. Coburn confirmed what Sam already knew—she estimated her to be almost seven weeks pregnant. More blood had been drawn and sent off to the lab, and Sam's next appointment had been set for the end of May.
Once Coburn had informed Luka and Sam of the mid-December due date of the baby, Sam realized that Luka couldn't get the grin he was wearing off of his face.
"What are you still smiling about?" she laughed.
"I don't know. I think it's great. Right before Christmas. I never used to look forward to the holidays before. Now I have a reason to." He wrapped his arm around Sam as they headed towards the elevator that would take them back down to the ER.
"Yeah. Pretty crazy, isn't it? I wonder what Alex will say."
"You haven't told him?"
"Nope. Not yet. Waiting for a good time I guess." Sam stepped onto the elevator and Luka followed.
"Okay."
"Hey…I was thinking about what you said to me before, outside."
"Yeah?"
"And I wanted you to know I didn't think you were trying to be a hero. I believe you, Luka. I just have a really hard time trusting anybody, but I trust you now. I never doubted you or anything stupid like that."
Luka smiled and linked his hand through hers. "Good."
The doors opened, but Sam held Luka back. "Wait, let me get this out. I'm ready now, okay? I love you, and I want to move in with you. Alex and I, we'll move in as soon as you want us to."
Luka tilted his head and kissed her deeply, then pulled her in for a tight hug. "We'll be okay through this. Don't worry."
Sam held onto his hand as Luka headed towards admit. She didn't care that everyone was staring. It didn't matter anymore. Her pregnancy had already come out, and soon enough, her relationship with Luka would to.
Luka picked up a chart and grinned at her. "I'll see you." He stole another kiss from her before heading off to curtain three.
Sam blushed and almost ran straight into Haleh. "Sorry," she apologized, laughing.
"Looks like Dr. Kovac planted a good one on you there, girl!"
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