Thank you all so much for those reviews! They mean so much to me.
To NaomiP: Regarding Gillian's reaction when Luka told her about Sam's pregnancy, I understand that she is a nurse, but when I wrote that scene, I wasn't planning to have her figure out the exact time frame that Sam had been pregnant for. Even though she was a nurse, I wanted her to be wrapped up in the conversation and be happy for Luka instead of thinking about the technicalities of the situation. That's why I had her ask him whether or not he knew what the sex of the baby was yet. Even if I was a nurse, I probably would have asked the same thing. :)
July 1
Sam glanced over her shoulder as she poured herself another cup of coffee. Her shift was over in about another two hours, and she had conned Alex into coming into work with her today, just so she wouldn't have to worry about him causing any problems at the apartment. Last week, he had ordered two pay-per-view skateboarding shows, adding a whole seventy-five dollars to Luka's satellite bill.
"Hey, there's part of a sub in the fridge. It's ham and provolone, so I know you'll eat it," Sam told him, watching Alex play his game boy out of the corner of her eye.
"Okay."
"Well I've got to get back out there, so I'll check on you in a little bit?"
"Sure."
"Don't leave this room. I mean it," she added sternly before passing through the lounge door and out into the hall. Jerry was pleasantly seated at admit, answering the phone. He greeted Sam with a smile, dropped his eyes towards her stomach, and gave her the thumbs up.
She smiled and hovered around the desk, sorting through charts and lab results. If everyone didn't know she was pregnant before, they certainly knew now. She had recently started showing enough through her nursing scrub top. Even though it wasn't immediately obvious, Sam's co- workers had picked up on it, considering they spent a good amount of time with her on the days she was working. After all, with the way gossip tended to spread through the ER, anything could be expected. Still, although most people knew or assumed it was Luka's baby, others were convinced it belonged to Steve, and that made her uncomfortable. Now that she knew Steve's true colors, Sam couldn't even imagine having a child with someone like that again. That was why she was so glad she had found Luka.
"Hey, Sam, whatever you do, don't name your kid Brutus."
Sam laughed and looked up at Jerry. "What are you doing?"
Jerry held up the book he was looking at, entitled "1001 Baby Names for the Expectant Parents". "That's actually listed in here. Brutus Kovac. I guess it's better then Igor. Unless your child is a boy and you and Luka decide to have him take up professional bodybuilding as a hobby."
"I really doubt that, Jerry," she smiled. "But thanks for the heads up."
"Anytime."
Sam crossed her arms over her chest and gave him a curious smile. "Hey, why are you looking at that anyway?"
"Oh," he blushed. "My girlfriend and I, we're expecting our first. So I figured that I'd make a list of my own to compare with hers and we'd sit down and cross things off. She's about six and a half months now."
"Why didn't you say anything to anyone sooner! Wow, that's really great. Congratulations. Boy or girl?"
He shrugged his shoulders. "We want to be surprised, so we're not going to find out. Are you and Luka going to?"
"I think so. Sometime towards the end of July. It makes things easier in a way, you know?" Sam pulled up a seat next to him and started looking at the book. "Like when I had Alex, I didn't find out what I was having, and ended up having to return a ton of girl clothes and things that couldn't be associated with a boy. But you'll probably get a lot of unisex clothes. You know, if you need any advice or anything, let me know. I can probably help you out. Maybe when Luka gets back, we can all go shopping together or something."
Jerry nodded. "Thanks Sam. That makes me feel somewhat better. The closer we get to the due date, the more I think about how clueless I am about everything. It's kind of overwhelming. I'm sure Christine would appreciate that."
"So how long have you two been together?"
"About two years now. She's really great...we met at a Chicago Cubs game. I accidentally knocked her soda into her lap and the next night we ended up going out on a date as a way of me apologizing to her. From there, it's been nothing but lots of laughs and good times. She moved in with me last Christmas."
"How come I haven't seen her around here?" Sam questioned.
"Well she usually is around here on my lunch break, everyone just hasn't paid much attention," Jerry laughed. She's an elementary school teacher for second graders. Loves her job. She's always bringing home artwork from her kids. For her twenty-eighth birthday last month I had them help me decorate a cake for her. She loved it."
"That's so sweet," Sam gushed. "I can't wait to meet her."
"If she's here later today I'll track you down."
Sam nodded and eyed Kerry passing through the ER and grabbed a nearby chart. "I better get back to work."
"Hey, Luka gets back on Saturday, doesn't he?"
She nodded. "Yup. Can't wait."
Jerry answered the ringing phone and waved goodbye quickly while Sam headed to curtain one.
"Hey, Sam."
Sam turned around and froze in her tracks, dropping the chart down in front of her stomach casually. Steve was standing off to the side, hands shoved into his pockets. He had grown a goatee over the time he had been gone. Sam hadn't seen him since early March, before she found out she was pregnant and before she moved in with Luka.
"What are you doing here?"
"I came back. I told you I'd come back."
Sam rolled her eyes and continued down the hall. Steve trailed after her. "You wrote a note and took off. Way to get started on the right foot with me."
"I got a construction job in Santa Monica. It pays well, and I have a nice place close to the pier. Two bedrooms, two baths. You'd like it, Sam. You've always loved the ocean."
"Yeah, when I was sixteen years old. I liked a lot of things before I had Alex."
Steve grabbed onto her elbow gently. "I want you and Alex to come live with me, Sammy. I want us to be a real family, like I said. You could get a job out in one of the hospitals there, and Alex could go to school and hang out at the beach. We could have fun out there."
Sam jerked her elbow away and stepped back, dropping the chart she had been holding in the process. "Get off of me."
"Sam, come on—"
She left the chart lying on the floor and looked away as Steve's eyes rested over the lower portion of her body. "I said no. We're staying here. Alex and I, we're happy here. I like my job here, and Alex likes his friends. I'm in a serious relationship with someone that I love, who treats me with more respect and kindness than you ever did. Whatever we had was over a long time ago. I can't believe you came all the way here and expected me to drop everything and move away again. You're pathetic."
Steve smirked at her. "Well Sammy, it seems that you've gained some weight while I was away, or you've got another little surprise coming along in a few months. How far along are you? Three, four months now?"
"Shut the fuck up."
"Now, if only your boss heard you talking to patients like that. I'm sure I could file a complaint—"
Carter turned the corner quickly and eyed the tense scene. "Do we have a problem here?" He looked over to Sam, and when she didn't respond, he put himself between Steve and Sam. "Sam?"
"It's nothing," she said quickly.
"I'd say it's something to get knocked up by some foreigner when we still had something together," Steve spat back. "What, hotshot doc can make all your dreams come true and I can't? I think it would just be better if Alex lived with me."
"Get out of here before I call security," Carter warned. "This is harassment."
"I'd like to see you try to stop me, doc," Steve threatened.
"Mom?"
Carter, Sam, and Steve all turned around and looked at Alex, who had just entered the hallway.
"Hey, buddy," Steve smiled. "How are you?"
"Alex, come here," Sam hissed under her breath. Without protest, Alex brushed past Steve and bent down to pick up the chart his mother had dropped before standing slightly behind her, partially hidden from Steve's view.
"I asked how you were, Alex," Steve repeated, his voice rising slightly. "What do you think about coming to live with me? I live right on the beach in Santa Monica. You know where that is, Alex?"
Alex shook his head. "No."
"Steve, just get out of here." Sam shot a warning glare in his direction. Carter inconspicuously walked into trauma one, and over her shoulder, she could see him dialing security on the phone.
Steve, however, hadn't noticed this and was trying to win Alex over. "Hey buddy, what do you think about us going to that skate park you're always telling me about today? Since I'm in town for a few days, we can catch up and you can think about coming back to California with me."
"Mom, I don't want to," Alex whispered. "Do I have to?"
"No. Absolutely not," Sam answered.
Just then, Chuny walked down the hall in a hurry. "Oh, Sam! I have those baby clothes from my sister I was telling you about. She finally dropped them off at my place last night. Let me know when you want them, okay? See you later," she smiled.
Steve scowled. "So you really are pregnant again."
Security turned the corner and the two guards quickly intercepted the conversation. "Sir, we're going to have to ask you to live the premises now."
"Sure thing," Steve obliged with a smirk. "My business is done here." With that said, he walked away with both of the guards.
Kerry headed towards Sam with a concerned look on her face, having eyed the scene from admit. "Everything all right, Sam?"
"It is now." Sam loosely wrapped her free arm around Alex's shoulders. "Thanks, Carter."
"No problem. Why don't you and Alex take off?" he suggested. "Things are slow around here anyway." He walked Sam and Alex back to admit, dropping the chart off on the rack. "Better yet, why don't I walk you guys to the parking deck?"
"I agree," Kerry stated. "Enjoy the rest of your day, Sam."
8 PM
Sam slumped down on the couch next to Alex and set the large bowl of popcorn between them. "So, what are we watching?"
"Pirates of the Caribbean. It's really good," he remarked, pressing the play button on Luka's DVD remote.
"I didn't know Luka had that movie. Never seen it," Sam smiled. She lifted her feet onto the coffee table before settling back into a comfortable position.
She had to admit that this was the perfect ending to a pretty rough day. After the brief run in with Steve at the hospital, Carter had walked her and Alex to Luka's SUV and made sure it was all clear before allowing her to drive off. Sam knew that he was just concerned that Steve might have been waiting in the parking deck, but that wasn't the case. He seemed to have taken off, but Sam knew that wouldn't be the last she'd see of him. She knew Steve better than that.
Once they had gotten closer to Luka's apartment, Sam had taken Alex to Burger King for a late lunch, and then together they had gone to the skate park so Alex could show his mom some of his latest skateboarding trips. Around three, the temperature seemed to have reached almost ninety, so before going home, they stopped for smoothies.
Once Sam had arrived back at the apartment, the first thing she did was lock and chain the door as a precaution. It made her feel safer anyway, and although Sam knew that Steve had no idea what part of town Luka lived in, she knew that there was the possibility that he could have followed her home, and that was creepy.
Alex hadn't said much about Steve returning. In fact, he was keeping pretty quiet since they had left the hospital. Sam half expected him to willingly agree to live with Steve after all the attitude and crap he had been giving her about Luka, moving, and the baby, but lately Alex had seemed to calm down and really start to adjust to the idea and situation of everything.
"Popcorn?" Alex handed her the bowl about five minutes into the movie. Gladly, Sam took a handful and munched on it before tossing a kernel playfully at Alex.
He laughed and protested, taking the whole handful of popcorn that had been in his hand and dumping it over Sam's head. She leaned over and shook the popcorn out of her hair onto him and laughed loudly. Alex paused the movie and stood up, grabbed the leather pillow off of the couch, and flung it at his mother, who grabbed it before it hit her with a smirk.
"Nice try," Sam giggled, moving out of the way with the popcorn bowl. She set it on the coffee table and Alex automatically planned a counterattack. He grabbed two fistfuls of the popcorn and flung it at her, making sure to get a decent amount in her hair.
"Ha!" he bellowed out. He ducked as Sam picked up the popcorn bowl, but laughed when she dumped a portion of it down the back of his shirt. "This is war!"
"Oh yeah? Bring it on, kid," Sam laughed, running down the hall as Alex chased after her with a cup of the water he had been drinking. "Alex, no! Don't!" she laughed again. It was too late, and he dumped the water over her head. Most of it ended up on Sam, and only a few drops on Luka's beige carpet. The top of her hair was plastered to her forehead before she could pull it back.
By now, the entire room was a mess of popcorn kernels and pillows. The movie had long since been forgotten about as the popcorn war raged on. Sam shrieked as Alex returned to the living room with a tray full of ice cubes, putting two straight down the back of her shirt. She collapsed to the floor in hysterics, attempting to get them out. Alex was doubled over in laughter, until she took the initiative to dump the rest of the popcorn bowl over his head.
A knock came at the apartment door, and Sam heard the key turn in the door.
"Sam, Alex, did you lock me out?"
"Luka!" Alex yelled out.
"Alex, the place is a mess," Sam laughed, not bothering to get off the floor. She sat up, still tossing popcorn at Alex who stuck out his tongue and dropped another ice cube down her shirt. "Ah!"
Alex bowed and grinned broadly before unlocking the front door and undoing the chain on the door. "Hey, Luka! You're home early!"
Luka closed the door and took one look at his messy apartment and smirked. He dropped his duffel bag by the door and laughed when he saw Sam sitting in the middle of the living room. "I guess this is the last time I leave you two in charge of my apartment," he laughed.
Reviews are great. =]