Luka groaned as he rolled over onto his back and was about to reach out and hit off his alarm clock when it stopped of its own accord. Frowning, he sat up and saw Sam sitting on the edge of the bed, wearing one of his shirts, holding two cups of steaming coffee.

She looked just as tired as he felt.

He grinned as he remembered his birthday present as he reached out to take the coffee from her grasp.

"Morning," he said, his voice croaking slightly.

He saw her smile and motion him to move over so she could crawl back in beside him.

After she had whispered those words into his ear, he had flipped their positions and revelled in his own exploration of her body - an adventure that had lasted for the best part of two hours - to show her how much he loved her. He couldn't believe how well he had managed to hold himself back from her begging, pleading and threats for him to take her, but he had and was glad as it meant that when they did join in a timeless melody, her highly sensitised body was more than ready.

He placed his coffee cup on the table at the side of the bed and shuffled so he was lying on his side, watching her. He could tell that there was something on her mind, her brow was furrowed and her top lip had been curled around the rim of her cup for over a minute. He reached his hand out and traced her hand bones with his index finger.

"Are you okay?" He asked gently as he shuffled closer to her.

She turned to him and smiled lazily, her eyes travelling over his body with a look that he would never tire of. She nodded and turned to place her own cup on her bedside cabinet.

She shuffled down so she was facing him and reached her hand - that was covered in his shirt because it was far too long for her arms - out and placed it on his hip as her thigh slid between the two of his. He tucked his head into his chest slightly and looked up at her through his eyelashes.

"Are you sure?" He asked again as his fingers traced over her thigh underneath the shirt.

"Muscles that I didn't even know I had are aching," they both smiled at the memory of how she had come to know of those muscles, "but I'm fine." She allowed her hand to travel up his side and comb through his hair. "What about you?"

"I ache... but I'm fine," he grinned at her. "Way more than fine."

They were silent for a few minutes and Luka could see that Sam wanted to say something but was holding back. He combed his hand through her hair and played with her eyebrow with his thumb for a second before pulling her head to his.

"What's wrong, Sam?"

She was silent for a second and wouldn't look at him.

"Last night was the last night I'll be able to stay here... for a while at least."

And, suddenly, he remembered that Steve was coming back and his own spirits dampened. He couldn't imagine coming home and not to have her with him.

He pulled her by the hip closer to his body and felt her thigh slide further between his legs and he licked his lips against the sensation.

"Then we had better make the best of the time we have left."

He attempted to kiss her but she pulled back and slid out of the bed, leaving him there confused.

"We have work in less than an hour, Luka. We better get ready to leave."

He watched her move around his room for a second in confusion, as she gathered up clothes to wear to work. Eventually he rolled out of bed when he saw her move into the bathroom and he followed her. He saw her leaning over the faucet with her toothbrush in hand and he moved behind her, placing his arms around her waist and watching her reflection in the mirror.

"What's wrong?" he asked and felt her head shake against his chest and he sighed. "I know you, Sam, what's wrong?" She shook her head again and met his eyes in the mirror and smiled slightly. "Fine," he said as he moved away and turned the water in the shower on.

He stepped under the water and it was only when the first droplet hit his head that he remembered something he had forgotten.

He turned and, through the frosted glass, he could see her shape leaving through the door.

"Sam?" He called and saw her stop.

"Yeah?" She said as she turned her head back towards him.

He smiled even though he couldn't see her.

"I love you, too."

There was a momentary pause and then he heard the door click shut and saw her silhouette move towards him. She stepped into the shower and he laughed when he saw her, fully dressed, pull his body to hers.

"Uuh... haven't seen him!" Sam shouted to Abby from exam two as Abby asked of Luka's whereabouts.

"Dammit," she muttered and then moved towards Sam. "Is Steve coming tonight?" Abby asked Sam and Sam nodded.

"Yeah, I let a message on his cell phone telling him where we would be." Sam smiled as she finished hanging an IV drip and Abby nodded.

"Good. It's about time that we met him. Susan and Chuck are coming too," Abby told Sam with a smile.

"I thought Susan couldn't get the night off?" Sam asked with a frown on her face as she patted the young boys arm. "Someone will be in to see you soon."

"Apparently she sweet talked Kerry."

Sam scoffed as her and Abby made their way to admit.

"Someone managed to sweet talk Weaver?"

Abby simply shrugged as she and Sam picked up charts and went in two different directions.

John Carter watched from his place at the table as Sam, Neela and Ray Barnett entered the restaurant and made their way to the long table that had been set up for their dinner for Luka's birthday. The birthday boy was sitting diagonally across from John and John saw Luka's eyes travel up and down Sam's body, and John could feel his own doing the same.

She looked amazing. She wore a simple pair of dark blue jeans that cut off just above her waist, revealing a large expanse of skin and defined hip bones before they disappeared under her top. Her top, he noticed, was a light pink and white corset and pulled her already tiny waist into an even tinier one. Her hair was pulled back and flipped up into a clasp, showing off her defined jaw, her cheek bones and a very beautiful chain pendant. He tried not to allow his eyes to linger too long on her cleavage (which was difficult, the closer she got) and he closed his eyes slightly.

When he opened his eyes again, he saw her standing beside him, leaning over the table and allowing Luka to kiss her cheek before turning to him. He stood quickly and copied Luka's gesture, placing a hand on her arm and pulling himself back to look at her.

"You look... great."

Surely his voice wasn't always that high?

He saw her smile wanly and look around.

"So, where am I sitting?" She asked of Abby who was watching John with an amused eyebrow raised.

Abby motioned to one of the two seats beside John and Sam sat down next to him, placing her gift bag on the floor and John averted his eyes when he realised that he could almost see straight down her top. He felt himself flush slightly at the look Abby was sending him.

He was vaguely aware of Susan and Chuck arriving at the table, followed by Kerry Weaver and Sandy Lopez. John did a double take and dramatically turned to Luka, raising an eyebrow and saw Luka shrug his shoulders amused.

Neela, who was sitting next to Luka, directly across from John and diagonally from Sam, reached her hand out and grabbed onto Sam's wrist, causing Sam to yelp slightly. John and Luka looked down quickly to Neela's hand and John heard her excitedly tell Sam to turn around.

"Why?" Sam asked, laughing at Neela's behaviour.

"Cause there is a really hot guy checking you out," Neela told her and Sam raised her eyebrow and bit her lip to stop from laughing but turned around slightly and saw the 'really hot guy, while Susan and Abby squeaked when they too looked at him.

All the men at the table looked to one another and rolled their eyes to the ceiling, trying to ignore the fact that their women were checking out another guy.

"Yeah, well he should be, that's Steve," Sam told the group as she stood and John noticed that she was a couple of inches taller than normal and his eyes travelled to her feet and saw that she was wearing heels.

"That's Steve?" Abby squeaked and Luka turned to her with an eyebrow raised. "Why the hell didn't you tell us he was so hot?"

"Uh, hello, excuse me, other half sitting here!" Luka exclaimed waving his hand in front of Abby's face with a mock disgusted look on his face.

Sam moved away from the table and went over to Steve. John watched as he wrapped an arm around her waist and kissed her. He looked away. When she came back to the table, she was grinning from ear to ear but John noticed that she was avoiding Luka's eye. He tried not to reach too much into it.

"Guys this is Steve," Sam said as she motioned to the tall, sandy brown haired man standing at her side, with a protective arm around her waist. "Steve, this is, Kerry and her girlfriend Sandy, Luka and Abby, Neela and Ray, Susan and Chuck and John." As she said their names she pointed to them all and Steve either shook their hands or nodded in their direction.

He saw Neela, Abby and Susan staring at the handsome new comer and John and Luka caught each others attention and rolled their eyes. They were acting like teenagers. Ray put his hand on Neela's arm and Neela turned to him with an embarrassed smile.

"Are you ready to order?"

Hours and many drinks later, John Carter flopped back into his seat next to Luka and tried to regain his breath from his round of dancing with Sam and Neela. When eventually he did regain his breath, he continued to watch Sam (and Steve) and the others who were dancing on the dance floor in the restaurant turn bar turn dance hall. He felt Luka's eyes on him and he turned in his direction and smiled.

"You're attracted to her aren't you?" He heard Luka ask and he quickly looked away. "You do know that the man she is dancing with is her boyfriend of ten years?"

John nodded and turned back to Luka.

"Yep. Doesn't mean that I can't look at her though."

Luka raised his eyebrow at him and shook his head.

"I can see it in your eyes. It's not just an attraction is it?"

"You're one to talk," he retorted quickly.

"What?"

"I see the way you look at her, Luka."

"Come on, John, we've talked about this. There is nothing going on with Sam and I."

John turned to him then and stared at him hard.

"I didn't say that there was. I've never said that there was."

"No but you implied it." Luka stared him down and John eventually looked away. "Look, I'm your friend and I'm glad that you're getting yourself back together and taking an interest in the opposite sex again-"

"I never lost interest in the opposite sex." He laughed slightly. "I just had a difficult time after I came back from Africa, forgetting about Kem." (John came back early, around the time Luka did in the show. In this, Luka never went.)

"You were in love with her?"

John nodded then smiled.

"So much but she didn't want to come back, it crushed me. She obviously didn't feel the same way about me as I did about her." They were silent for a minute then he raised his eyes to the dance floor and saw Sam dancing with Abby and Susan while Steve was nowhere in sight. "I am attracted to her. But I can see that she is in love," he turned to Luka. "And I would never interfere with that."

He saw Luka's eyes drift away from his face and flitter to the three women laughing and gripping onto each other for support as their heeled feet became a hassle.

Luka saw Sam's eyes drift to him and she smiled gently at him before turning away and throwing her arms around Susan to help her off of the floor.

Eventually, they were back at the table and Sam flopped into her seat - that was now ridiculously close to John's - and fell against his side as she laughed. He automatically put his arm around her shoulder and laughed at her drunken state.

"I think it's time for Luka to open his gifts!" Abby cheered as she bobbed in her seat slightly. John found it amazing how someone could get drunk on Coke alone.

He saw Luka roll his eyes and felt Sam move out of his grip as Steve came back to the table.

"I feel like a ten year old," Luka complained as they all placed their wrapped/bagged boxes in front of him.

"Yes, well, add twenty three years onto that and you're about right," Weaver laughed from her position at the end of the table as she and Sandy placed a rather large box on the table.

Luka grinned sarcastically at her and reached for her gift. It was a new stethoscope with his name inscribed on it.

"Wow," he said genuinely pleased and surprised. "This is great. Thank you."

He made his way through the bags and when he got to the second last one, he looked to Sam with a smile on his lips.

"I didn't know what to get you," she smiled at him and John saw him bite his lip as he reached into the bag and pulled out a small envelope.

He watched as Luka slowly opened it. He laughed at the shocked expression on his face and he leaned over the table to see what the envelope held.

"You bought him tickets to the NBA finals?" He said shocked and glanced to Abby who had her eyebrows raised, like him.

Sam shrugged her shoulders and looked around the table, then her eyes settled on Luka.

"Like I said, I didn't know what to get you. I thought you and Abby could go, or you and John."

Luka nodded and placed the envelope in his shirt pocket.

"Your gift was great, Sam."

John looked to Sam in time to see her roll her eyes and blush slightly as she looked away and tuck herself closer to Steve.

John Carter looked away.

As the night drew to a close, they all meandered outside. John's car was waiting for him so he offered lifts to them all but they all politely declined.

Eventually, it was just Sam and Steve and Luka and Abby.

Sam and Abby were talking animatedly about one of the bouncers who, according to them, was quite 'spunky'. Luka tried to keep his eyes from ravishing Sam's body but it was a hard task. The silence between Luka and Steve was palpable and Luka kept looking at the man, who was freely watching Sam.

He sighed and rolled his shoulders, hugging himself against the cold air. Sam and Abby must be absolutely freezing as both were wearing dressy and minimalistic tops and neither had a jacket.

Luka was finding it increasingly difficult to keep his hands off of Sam as the night progressed and they both became drunker and drunker. He kept finding himself reaching out to touch her every time she looked at him - which was quite often. He had been absolutely stunned by Carter telling him that he was attracted to Sam and he hadn't known how to react. A possessiveness had instantly threaded its way into him and he had tried to crush it.

He was acutely aware of the insane jealousy he felt whenever Steve touched Sam and he could see the same jealousy reflecting in Sam's eyes sometimes when he was with Abby. He sighed.

This was so much harder than it should have been.

"Taxi's here," Steve called out to Sam who managed to pry her way away from Abby.

As Steve put his arm around Sam's shoulders, another taxi pulled up and Luka and Abby moved towards it.

"See you tomorrow, bright and early, Sam," Luka jested as he put his arm around Abby's waist.

When they reached the door to their respective cars, Sam and Luka turned and stared back at the other.

This was the most difficult part of the night: he wasn't taking her home with him.

For the first time in three weeks, he wasn't going home to (or with) Sam.

He smiled and he saw the same sadness reflect in her smile that he knew would be in his and she disappeared into her cab.

He leaned his body against the door frame and then went in, sitting next to Abby and told the driver Abby's address.

TBC