"I'm moving back to Elgin," she said as she watched his eyebrows crease together and he pursed his lips.

"I don't want to move back..." Steve began but trailed off as realisation hit him. He pursed his lips together and closed his eyes. "You don't want me to go back with you." It was more of a statement than a question.

There was a beat of silence and then Sam nodded her head and rubbed her sweaty palms over her linen clad legs. Outside, the rain had ceased but the clouds were still dark and heavy and she knew that it would only be a few minutes before the next fat drops plummeted to the ground. The air in the apartment was musty, thick and heavy and she could tell that none of the windows had been opened in the place for the whole time she had been away. Cigarette smoke clung tightly to every length of fabric that was in the apartment.

She tried to breathe through her mouth.

Steve was sitting in the armchair opposite her, his legs spread wide, his elbows resting on his knees and his head resting on his fists. His stubbly chin looked ginger and his eyes were dark with lack of sleep.

"I don't understand, Sam. Why?" He asked eventually and Sam stared at him.

"I just... things haven't been good between us since we moved here... since before we moved here. I just think it's time that we were apart. We're holding each other back, I have a job waiting for me in Elgin - at the hospital there. You can stay here, or you can move again. I just... I need to get out of here."

There was silence again and they stared at each.

"At least let me help you carry your stuff out, when you go. You don't have to leave now do you?"

Sam shook her head and smiled at his generosity and his never ending charm. It was one of the reasons that she had fallen in 'love' with him when she was nought but a naive teenager.

"I have to go to the hospital, hand in my resignation. It'll be a couple of hours at least," she told him as she shuffled about on the sofa.

It was his turn to nod and he slapped his thighs.

"I have to do a couple of hours down at the yard anyway... Don't leave before I get back?" He pleaded and Sam smiled again, sadly this time, at him and nodded.

"I'll be here when you get back. Then you can help me carry my stuff out to the car."

He nodded his head and stood up moving to her and kneeling in front of her. He drew his thumbs across her cheeks and looked into her eyes, his blue stare making her shiver.

"I love you," he whispered. "I always loved you. Remember that."

He brushed his lips against Sam's and turned and left.

Sam meanwhile, sat stunned at his words, and felt her mind fly back to the night Luka had muttered those exact words to her. She shivered at the memory and felt the familiar ache in her chest.

Moving to her bedroom, she saw her suitcases already packed and waiting for her to have them carried out to her car that was out front.

Sighing, she left the room and made her way to the hospital.

Susan and Abby stood at admit, reading over some charts and sharing the occasional word. The ER was almost empty, unlike the previous seven days, and the two females were enjoying the time they had to catch their breaths.

"Luka should be here soon," Susan said as she turned and leaned her hip against the edge of the wood and looked at Abby.

Abby simply nodded and kept writing.

"I wonder if Sam will be in," she muttered eventually and Susan frowned at her in confusion. Abby caught the look and shook her head. "Oh come on... don't tell me you don't find it strange that they both just happen to have disappeared at the same time?"

They were in silence after Abby's little outburst and Susan pursed her lips.

"I still haven't heard from Sam, have you?"

Abby sighed and shook her head. She hadn't meant to burst like that but there was a worry nagging deep within her that there was something going on with Sam and Luka and she really didn't want to think about it.

"I'm really worried about her, Susan. It's not like her to not show up without calling... it's like she's disappeared off the face of the Earth," Abby said and sighed again as she flicked a lock of hair from her eyes.

"Who has?"

Abby jumped at the sound of his voice and she turned to him and smiled but the smile faded when she took in his appearance. His normally sallow skin was pale and looked drawn tight around his eyes. Said eyes were dark rimmed and tired looking. He had lost a lot of weight in the nine days that she hadn't seen him. His chin and cheeks were covered in a layer of stubble and he kept biting his lip nervously.

This was not the Luka Kovac that she knew.

"Uh... Sam..." she said eventually and saw him frown at the shaky voice that she had used and then she saw a deep emptiness creep into his eyes.

She didn't want to see that look.

"Still haven't heard from her?" He asked casually as he reached behind her to grab a chart, his eyes not meeting hers.

"No-"

"Hey," Jerry called from the other end of admit as he held the phone to his chest. "Weaver called," he said as he placed the receiver down on the cradle and the medical personnel turned to him and raised their eyebrows. "Said to tell you that Sam was here and she just handed in her resignation."

"What?"

Abby turned to Luka as he almost shouted that single word and saw how his face had lost even more colour – something that she hadn't thought possible - and saw him reach to the side and grab onto the worktop.

"She's moving back upstate." He shrugged and turned back to the computer screen.

There was a tense silence in the trio and Susan looked to Abby who was standing in shock, her hands gripping her hips, her eyebrows raised as she stared at Luka. Susan then turned to Luka to see that he was frozen, his jaw hanging loose, his eyes blazing with... fear. His knuckles around the metal clipboard were white and the clipboard shook in his grip.

"Luka?" She asked eventually, reaching her hand out to him and turning to Abby quickly, asking for help.

"Here," was the only word he said as he thumped the clipboard into Susan's chest and walked out of admit, towards the lounge and, two minutes later, Susan and Abby saw him leave the hospital with his keys gripped in his hand.

Abby tried not to notice the look that Susan was sending her.

TBC