EPILOGUE

Three months later...

"Hey," Luka said as he walked up to admit, his jacket on and a grin spread across his face.

Abby smiled and walked over to him, placing a chart in the rack beside his arm.

"I didn't know you were on today," she said and watched as he shook his head.

He was a lot happier now than she had ever seen him. He seemed to smile at everything, he lost his temper a lot less and when someone mentioned Sam's name, even if it was just in passing, he always ended up wearing the biggest shit-eating grin on his face that Abby had ever seen. She had to admit, she was jealous - he had never got that airy look on his face when someone talked about her, or the gentle smile when she walked into the room the same way he did with Sam. But she was happy for him and the green-eyed monster within her would disappear as quickly as it surfaced when she realised that he was happy.

"I'm not," he said vaguely and grinned a little more. "Sam got her cast off today; she's still upstairs with Doctor Gray." He nodded his head and smiled, his eyes dancing.

"That's great!" Carter said as he walked up, clearly over-hearing their conversation.

Abby turned to him and smiled as he placed a hand on her elbow. She turned back to Luka and saw him raise a curious, amused eyebrow but she shook her head and grinned some more.

"So... why I'm here. I was just wondering if you guys wanted to come over tonight when you finish your shifts?"

Carter moved back towards them and nodded his head.

"That'd be great but I don't get off till nine."

Luka nodded at him.

"That's fine." He turned back to Abby and raised another questioning eyebrow. "Abby?" She nodded. "And ask Susan, Neela, and Ray... you know."

Abby nodded and smiled, patting his forearm playfully.

"Okay, Luka, we'll pass the message on."

He smiled sheepishly and then grinned. Abby rolled her eyes at his glee.

"Eight?"

Abby turned and he grinned again and walked away sending a wave back towards them.

She and Carter watched him walk out and then turned to one another.

"He seems happy," John said quietly, happy for Luka.

"Yep," Abby smiled and nodded before moving past Carter and lifting another clipboard off the rack.

- -

Sam looked up when she heard the unfamiliar sound of the El pass over her head. She felt a shiver run down her spine as she remembered the accident.

It felt good to be standing on two legs with no crutches; she grinned and spun around in a slow circle. She really had to shave her leg, she remembered and grinned.

She turned full circle and looked back up towards the El station. It seemed so long ago since she had been in that awful day that caused so many their lives. She remembered waking up underneath Luka and thinking that he was dead - God how glad she was both now and then that he wasn't.

She felt an arm slide across her back and felt a hand grip onto her upper arm. She leaned into him slightly and pressed her head against the side of his chest.

"The station's opened up again," she told him and pointed in the direction of the stairs that led up to the El.

She felt him nod as he dropped his head onto hers and she smiled. He kept touching her. She wasn't used to being shown so much affection - even after seven months of being on the receiving end of it from him, even though four of those months were when they were supposed to not be touching one another.

"I know," he mumbled into her hair and she smiled again. "They re-opened it about three weeks ago. They have a plague up at all the stations commemorating all the casualties."

Sam laughed slightly and shook her head.

"A plaque, Luka. Not a plague."

He smiled sheepishly and she could just imagine the little blush that touched his cheeks, he always got it when he made a silly mistake like that.

"Do you... want to go up?" He asked as he moved in front of her slightly, so he could look at her face.

She looked at him, then up to the station and shook her head.

"No... have you been up yet?" She asked as she tugged at his waist and began walking him towards his truck.

He shook his head and pulled her closer into him.

"I like being able to walk beside you like this without the threat of your crutch squashing my toe," he joked and Sam playfully slapped his chest.

"Shut up," she laughed and pulled away from him but was swiftly pulled back towards him, his body turning to face hers and he wrapped his arms around her back, holding her tightly to his chest.

He watched her eyes as she smiled at him and he leaned his forehead against hers and smiled down to her.

"I'm just really glad you're okay," he whispered to her and she broke out in a smile.

He saw her eyes drifting between his eyes and his lips and he smiled himself. Leaning forward, he parted his lips slightly and captured her bottom lip between the two of his. Feeling her tongue run over her lip he opened his mouth fully and allowed her entrance to his mouth.

Wrapping his arms further around her, he gently pulled his lips from hers and urged her head into his chest and stroked her hair gently, feeling her breaths on his chest through his shirt.

"Come on," he said eventually, regretfully pulling away from her. "We have some shopping to do."

She groaned and slid an arm around his waist and watched as he placed his sunglasses over his eyes, marvelling at how much more sexy they made him. She wasn't sure she'd be able to wait till they got home before she jumped him.

- -

Sam was still not impressed by Luka inviting everyone over when she opened her door and saw Abby and Susan standing there, with Neela and Ray behind them.

She smiled warmly, despite her annoyance and ushered them in, taking the proffered bottles and items of food and made her way to the kitchen listening to the chat in her home. Kerry Weaver had stopped by earlier with Sandy and their son Henry to check on Sam - she had been surprised as hell when she opened the door and saw her standing there. Apparently it showed as Weaver smiled and Sandy told her that Kerry had changed since Henry arrived.

Sam had simply nodded and ushered them in.

She opened the door of the fridge and frowned at the amount of beer bottles that rattled about and she wondered where she was going to put her and Susan's preferred alcohol - the wine. Deciding that it wasn't going to fit, she pulled out two glasses and took the bottle and the three tubs of ice cream into the lounge and plopped down next to Abby on the lounge and handed a glass to Susan who was sitting at her feet and passed a tub of ice-cream to Abby, Neela and kept one for herself.

"What, am I not getting one?" Susan complained as she poured a glass of wine.

"You can share mine," Abby placated her and flipped a dollop of ice cream at her from her spoon.

Screeching, Susan stood up and caught the dollop before it fell to the floor.

"You're gonna pay for that, Lockhart," she threatened but Abby simply raised her eyebrow and smiled.

"Where's Doctor Kovac?" Neela asked through a mouthful of Karamel Sutra and Sam laughed.

"You're in his house, I think you can call him Luka," Sam said and Neela nodded. "He's picking up Carter and then going to get some 'real' food."

- -

The night continued on and the group of friends got progressively more drunk - except Luka, Sam and Carter who simply couldn't stop laughing at Neela as she vented about how racist many of the ER's patients were.

Abby watched Luka absent mindedly lift Sam's legs and place them across his knee, his hand sliding up the bottom of her jeans and caressing her ankle. Luka never absent mindedly did anything like that with her, she remembered but smiled when she saw Sam turn her eyes to him and rub her thumb across Luka's elbow.

Glancing away, she looked back down at Susan who was sprawled across the floor, asleep and then to Carter who she noticed had been watching her. When their eyes met, she smiled and looked quickly away. Ray was watching Neela as she slurred her words and leaned tiredly against him. Turning back to Sam and Luka, she saw that Sam's eyes had closed and that Luka was watching her with a gentle smile crossing his lips.

She couldn't help but smile.

"I think it's time we all started heading out," Carter said from the corner and nodded to Sam and Luka and Abby nodded.

"Yeah."

- -

Luka placed Sam's body on the bed and pulled the covers over her. She was out cold.

Placing a kiss on her forehead, he turned and left the room to say final goodbyes to his guests.

Ray and Neela had already left and it was just Abby, John and Susan (who had eventually woken up). He sat down next to Susan on the sofa and smiled at her tired expression.

"How is she?" John asked as he nodded in the direction of the bedroom.

"Out like a lamp," Luka said gently and saw that John and Abby shared a look. "What?" He asked, realising he had made a mistake.

"Out like a light, Luka," Abby told him with a smile on her face and Luka felt his cheeks tingle slightly.

"Oh..."

"So... any news on Steve?" Abby asked but Luka shook his head.

"Haven't heard anything, it's like he vanished into thin air - Sam's kind of freaked out but..."

"Yeah..."

They fell into silence again.

"Car's here," John said, eventually when his vibrator went off in his pocket, and he stood and moved to Susan to help her stand.

Luka laughed at her drunken state: it really hadn't taken much for her to end up in the state she was in.

"Bye," Luka said a few minutes later and closed the door.

He trudged up the steps of his apartment towards his bedroom, unbuttoning his shirt as he did so.

By the time he reached his bed, he was clad only in his boxers but before sliding in beside Sam, he watched her. She looked beautiful. Her hair spiralled across the pillow, her back turned to him. Sighing and wondering how he had been so lucky as to find her, he pulled the covers up at the side and slid in beside Sam, moving his body close to hers.

When he reached his hand out, he was surprised to feel skin beneath his fingertips and his breath hitched slightly in his throat but when she turned to him - her eyes still closed, her breathing even - he felt his lungs cease all function as she slid her cool hand across his naked hip and pull herself closer to him, her naked breasts pressing into his chest.

Slowly, he exhaled a breath and wrapped his arms around Sam, his hand dipping to the base of her spine and then lower, still feeling only skin. He squeaked quietly when he felt her slide her thigh between his, her soft skin gliding easily across his skin and he tilted his head upwards trying to kill the groan in his throat.

He dropped his chin onto her head when she settled and let out a sigh. Fourteen weeks without making love to Sam had left him wanting her and it was taking all his will power not to wake her up and show her how much. It was at the point where, when her fingers brushed his as she passed him the remote, he would begin hyperventilating. And so, he realised, attempting to get to sleep with naked Sam wrapped around him was going to be no easy task.

Asleep naked Sam who was beginning to trace her fingers in circles over his hips bone. He bit down onto his lip and rolled his eyes at the sensation.

Sam tried to control her own breathing at feeling his thigh pressed against hers, his slowly awakening arousal pressing her thigh, at his fingers clutching her back as he attempted to keep his passion under control.

Fourteen weeks with no sex with Luka had left her wanting him. Sure, he had relieved some of her sexual frustration with his hands - and, boy, what good hands they were - but it was simply not the same as having him inside of her.

She dragged her nails over his hips and then lightly across the base of his spine, across the waistband of his boxers - Calvin Klein ones if she remembered correctly from when he had leaned forward to grab something off the table and the waistband had peeked over the waistband of his jeans, teasing her.

She heard him groan and she grinned against his chest.

"I thought you were asleep," he complained as he pulled back slightly to look at her but she kept her eyes closed.

"I am," she muttered seductively and ran the edge of her tongue over her lips and pressed her hand flat against his back, pushing him closer to her.

"So what are you doing?" He asked as he trickled his finger up the side of her ribcage and then over the front, just under her breast.

"Sleep touching," she mumbled airily as her eyes involuntarily opened.

"So that's what they're calling it now," he laughed as he ran his thumbs around the edges of her nipples, causing them to harden under his touch and he smiled when she arched her back into his touch.

She pulled herself up the front of his body, her thigh rubbing against him and he groaned, turning his head into his pillow at the colours that flooded his brain at her touch. He opened his eyes and saw her deep, dark eyes staring back at him.

"I'll let you in on a secret," she muttered as she moved her lips closer to his ear.

"What's that?" He uttered against her throat and darted his tongue against her clavicle.

She licked her lips and the tip of her tongue brushed against the skin just below his ear lobe and he groaned against her skin.

"I want you," she whispered.

These walls keep a secret
that only we knew
but how long can they keep it
because we're two lovers who lose control
we're two shadows chasing rainbows

Luka slid his body over hers and she fell onto her back, her hair floating out beneath her head. He stared deep into her eyes, his breath washing over her lips causing them to part of their own accord. He saw her eyes dart down to his lips and back up to his eyes. He kept her stare for a moment and then slowly dropped his eyes to her lips, stared at them for a long while then drew his eyes back up to her eyes which were closed.

He grinned, somewhat evilly, and pulled his body away from her causing her to screech in complaint and sit up.

He grinned open mouthed at her from the base of the bed.

"Where are you going?" She complained and pouted, her heart beating in her chest painfully, her body already entirely aroused by him.

"To put the light out," he replied innocently and moved towards the light switch and flipped it off, casting the room into relative darkness.

Sam waited impatiently for his silhouette to appear in the darkness but as the minutes past, he remained stubbornly elusive. Then, she heard a grating sound and then a click and then she saw a yellow flame appear in the corner of the room, then Luka's outline as he lit a candle on the dresser in the corner.

She couldn't help it - she smiled happily, her eyes emanating how much she loved this man.

He continued around the room, until he had lit thirteen candles and then moved back towards the bed and lit two more, one on either bedside cabinet.

Sam watched as he placed the small tea-light into a glass holder and watched as the orange glow flickered across his face, lighting his azure eyes. He slowly turned towards her and Sam was awe-struck at how beautiful he looked with half of his face cast in shadow, the other half tanned and flickering in the romantic light. His eyes bore into hers and she couldn't breathe when she felt the bed dip as he crawled across it towards her. She felt him slide a leg across her hips as his hands urged her thighs apart. She complied easily and felt him place his - rather lovely - bottom between her thighs, his legs wrapping around her waist as his hands covered hers as they lay on the bed. She shivered as his hand slowly slid up her arms, over her shoulders, tracing her neck bones and then cupping her face.

What he did to her...

She saw him cock his head on his neck and she smiled at the contented look that washed over his face as he looked at her. She saw him bite his lip and his eyes dropped from hers. She shuddered when his index fingers stroked underneath her ears and she closed her eyes.

"Sam..."

She opened her eyes and stared back into his eyes and wondered why he looked so torn apart.

"I love you."

He'd said it to her before but this time... she felt her heart ache slightly and she realised that it wasn't from heartbreak - it was from love for this man before her. His pained words dug deep into her and she shuddered as she felt their wonderfully painful effect on her insides.

If walls could talk - oh
They would say 'I want you more'
They would say 'Hey - never felt like this before'
And that you would always be
The one for me

She was about to reply when she felt his lips on hers. The soft touch took her breath away and when his tongue pushed into her mouth she took it in willingly. She felt her heart flutter but when his arms slid around her body she felt something more profound, something deeper than anything she had ever felt before. It erupted in the pit of her stomach and spread out through her body, flooding her in its warmth and she pulled him down with her and felt his body cover hers entirely, she groaned, basking in the feeling of safety she had when she was trapped under his giant size.

She pushed one hand into his hair and the other down his back to his - now naked - butt and she traced the back of her nails down the side and felt his legs shake slightly under her touch. She felt his gentle, powerful hand on her breast massaging gently, urging her nipple into towering peaks and she groaned as his tongue traced down her jaw, over her neck and shoulder, leaving behind a wet, fiery trail. His hand in her hair trailed forward over her cheek and she turned her head slightly and grabbed his thumb with her teeth. She felt him groan against her breast and she felt her already painfully aroused core pulse more.

Just two people making memories
Too good to tell
and these arms are never empty
When we're lying where we fall

He felt her teeth on his thumb, her tongue stroking it, gently sucking on it and he groaned. Sliding his thigh between her legs and felt the heat emanating from within her. He dragged his hand from it's happy place on her breast, down the side of her body, over her bumcheek (I'm sorry, but that word makes me laugh so much!) and across the top of her thigh and finally he stroked her. His lips on her breast parted and he gasped at how easily his finger slid finger slid into her. Withdrawing it quickly, he crawled back up her body and he pulled her jaw open so he could have his thumb back. His tongue met hers, mouths open wide and he groaned when he felt her hand slide down his chest and to his arousal, her thumb stroking him in circles.

He almost came undone at her touch.

He continued to massage her breast with one hand as he slid his hand back down her body to her hip bone, which he kneaded with his fingers. Feeling her hand encompass him, he flipped their positions so she was astride him, his mouth never leaving hers, her unoccupied hand trapped behind his head, urging him further and further into her.

He felt it from deep within, so profound, so painful but yet so beautiful. He loved her. He loved her. So much that it hurt.

He kept his knee crooked to keep pressure applied to her core and he felt her move up and down on his hip bone slightly as she felt the same arousal he did. He hooked both of his arms under her shoulders and pushed his hands into her hair, pulling her head further into his. He couldn't get enough of her. The way she smelt, the way she felt, the way she kissed him... he wanted it all, forever. Sliding one hand down her back, her cupped her butt and then straightened his leg and heard her whimper into his mouth. He drew his hand further down her butt, in between her thighs and found her throbbing bud with his thumb and forefinger, massaged gently until he felt her body begin to shake.

We're painting pictures, making magic,
Taking chances,
Making love

He pulled his fingers away from her and flipped their positions, pulling her hands away from him and pushing them to the side of her head, fingers intertwined together beside her ears, he stared into her dark eyes and leaned forward and kissed the tip of her nose. Seeing her smile slightly, he lowered himself into her and saw her part her lips and close her eyes, a smile crossing over her lips and then her teeth clench together as he began thrusting, slowly, agonisingly. He gripped tighter onto her fingers and she did the same to him. His eyes closed of their own accord and he dropped his forehead onto hers and thrust faster, harder, revelling in being inside of her, where he belonged.

He heard her call his name into the charged air around them , felt her muscles contract around him and he crushed his lips to hers, their tongues matching the actions of their lower bodies, stroking, teasing, loving. He groaned into her mouth and felt both his and her bodies shuddering, her legs tightening around him. Their bodies jerked as their orgasms surged through them and Luka pulled his lips away from her to breathe.

If the walls had eyes - my
They would see the love inside
They would see - me
In your arms in ecstasy
And with every move they'd know
I love you so

Minutes passed and still he couldn't fill his lungs with the necessary amounts of oxygen required. Lifting his head from her neck, he saw her in the same state as him, her thighs still shaking around his butt.

He separated a hand from hers and pushed it to her face, sliding the sweaty hairs off of her sweat soaked head, stroking her eyebrow and staring down at her. He had never seen her look more beautiful.

He felt her shaky fingers at his temple, stroking gently and he turned his head and kissed her palm tiredly. His arms began to shake as his muscles became fatigued and he dropped onto her again, his head finding the crook of her neck and kissing it gently.

More minutes passed in silence and Luka's thumb stroked her rib cage softly. Eventually, he managed to pull his head up again and he looked at her with a smile.

"You know, we never use protection," he told her simply and felt her shrug slightly.

"We don't need it," she replied with the same tone he had used and he raised his eyebrow.

"We don't?"

She shook her head.

"A little LukaSam baby wouldn't be totally unwelcomed, I don't think."

He simply smiled and nodded, dropping his head once more to her neck.

"I better put these candles out," he said after another long while had passed and he regretfully pulled out of her arms.

Standing, he turned his back to the bed and took a few steps away when he heard her call his name.

"Luka."

He turned and saw a blur fly towards him, then felt the impact of her body hitting his and he laughed as he caught thighs as she wrapped her legs around his waist.

"I love you," she told him and leaned down and kissed him.

Luka began moving back towards the bed again, forgetting about the candles.

When I'm feeling weak
You give me wings
When the fire has no heat
You light it up again
When I hear no violins
You play my every string
So stop the press
Hold the news
The secret's safe between me and you

The Very End. (Until the sequel, at least)