Summary: Mark Sloan helps a young widow.

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters from the CBS television series "Diagnosis Murder." Tovah and Gleb Deningkov, the Kaminskys, Cara Fairchild, and any other name you do not recognize from the show were most likely made up by me for the purpose of this story.

Oh, yeah,

P.S.: The title of this story, as with many of the episodes, subtly ties in with the story. Tovah and Gleb are both from Russia.

A/N: I started writing this in May 2002, just after "Without Warning" aired. I felt that the story left too many things unfinished, but so did I: this story. Now I am getting my behind in gear and submitting this. I hope you enjoy.

Russian Blues

Chapter 1- A Routine Checkup

Tovah Deningkov sat in the waiting room of Community General Hospital. Her husband, Gleb, was at her side, and they were huddling over a pad of paper, drafting names for their baby. Tovah was eight months pregnant. Three years before Gleb had moved to Los Angeles from a little village near Moscow. He met Tovah Kaminsky, who had lived in California since she was a young child, when he started attending collage classes for computer design. They fell in love and got married, and the rest, as they say, was history.

A nurse entered the room carrying a chart.

"Mrs. Deningkov," she asked, reading off Tovah's name. "The doctor will see you now."

"Thank you," Tovah said, putting her things back in her bag. Gleb helped her to her feet, and put his arm over her shoulder, leading her down the hall. Halfway to the room where the nurse had sent them to, Tovah passed a poster detailing the importance of treating and controlling diabetes. She didn't need to read it though. Gleb had had diabetes since he was a teenager. He stopped short when he saw the notice, glancing at his wristwatch.

"What is it?" Tovah asked.

"I forgot my insulin. You go ahead; I'll run home and grab it. Be right back in fifteen minutes," he explained.

"Okay Sweetie," Tovah said, letting him have a kiss. "Love you."

Tovah continued on to the examination room. She seated herself on the cold hard table and pulled her novel out of her purse. She was halfway through Mary Higgins Clark's Weep No More, My Lady, when her doctor came in.

Alex Martin had been the one to run Tovah's pregnancy test eight long months ago. Now as it was nearing the time for the baby's birth, he was the one talking the nerves out of her.

"Hello, Mrs. Deningkov. And how are we today?" he asked with a smile.

"We are just fine," Tovah said with a cheerful smile. "This baby is going to kick amazing field-goals though."

"Good, good. This will just be a routine check up then. One of your lasts," Alex said as a nurse prepped the ultrasound. "So, where is your husband? He hasn't missed a checkup yet."

"Oh, Gleb. He does have a tendency to overdo things. He's diabetic and he forgot his insulin this morning, he was so worked up about the baby. Anyways, he practically hyperventilates if he takes it too late."

"You know, in a couple of days I'll be Mrs. Steve Sloan," Ellen Sharp said. Steve and his fiancé were sitting on the porch of the beach house, watching the waves crash against the shore.

"Well at least it's not 'Stone,'" Steve said.

"It could be," Ellen retorted.

"Mmm-hmm," Steve sighed, looking out across the horizon. As he kissed his soon-to-be bride, his cell phone began trilling. On the third ring, Ellen broke away.

"Don't you want to answer that?" she asked.

"Not really," Steve confessed, brushing a strand of Ellen's blond hair away from his face. Reluctantly he reached into his pocket and pulled out the phone. "Sloan here." Just as he had known, and dreaded, it was the chief, assigning him a new case. "Alright, I'm on my way."

"What is it?" Ellen asked.

"There was another homicide. Imagine that in Los Angeles."

"High profile?" Ellen asked.

"Don't even think about it. 'The Scoop' is not going to get a story today. Not from me. It was just a regular civilian," Steve said.

"Oh," Ellen said, almost dejectedly.

"Will you be here when I get back?" he asked.

"No," Ellen replied, smiling at his rejected look. "I have more packing to do. It's not easy to move my entire house into yours by myself. Not to mention the yard sale you didn't help me with last Saturday."

"Oops," Steve said. "So I'll see you tonight." They shared a kiss before Steve started for his car. Ellen sat back in her chair, falling in love with the view, and sipping the last of her coffee.

"I wonder what is keeping Gleb," Tovah said, 'He should be back by now." As she finished speaking, her mobile phone rang. "That's probably him....Hello?"

Alex turned his back and made a few notes in Tovah's chart. He heard a clunk and spun around on the rolling stool. Tovah's phone was on the floor, and she was pressing her hands into her eyes. Alex reached down and snatched up the cell phone.

"Hello, hello?" he said frantically. Alex did not know who he expected to hear, but it certainly wasn't the person who answered him.

"Steve?"