Thanks to those that are still patiently reading and reviewing.

I had a lot of fun writing this chapter so I hope you enjoy it as well. Small note-I did try to accurately incorporate a slight bit of Croatian ethnicity in it. I hope I succeeded, or at least faked well. If any of you know better...sorry:-)

Luka threw himself into this newfound nonchalance with the same reckless abandon he'd thrown himself into all the other quick fixes-the Viper, serial sex, MSF, Sam and Alex-that had seemed like the ticket out of unhappiness, confusion, and lack of fulfillment. If he couldn't figure out how all the puzzle pieces fit then maybe it didn't matter. If he couldn't find happiness then damn it he'd fake it until it felt real.

He waited a couple weeks, long enough not to seem desperate or impulsive, and enough so that he could tell that he'd convinced Abby that he was enough ok that she stopped shooting him concerned searching looks. Then he asked her out. And Abby, not wanting to admit to himthat the idea scared her shitless, accepted.

Dinner and a movie, it was agreed, so a couple evenings later they joined up after work.

"Hey!" Luka caught up to Abby in the lounge as she was getting ready to go.

"Hey." Abby smiled nervously as they walked out together.

"You look nice." Luka smiled back at her, trying to seem cool.

"Thanks, you too." Abby laughed awkwardly and glanced away. "So is it still 'dinner and a movie'?"

"Uh, honestly, I was hoping maybe something a little quieter. I think I've had all the humanity I can take for one day."

"Your day went that well too, huh?" Abby smiled knowingly. "So what did you have in mind then?"

"I thought maybe we could pick up some food, rent something, and take it to my place instead of going out."

Abby looked at Luka with mild amusement and suspicion. "So, take out and a video, then?"

"What?" Luka demanded with mock-innocence. "I've got the big screen TV. My place is closer. It's quiet. And," he winked at her, "you haven't seen my fish in awhile."

Abby relented with a shrug and a laugh as she climbed into Luka's SUV.

They fell into an awkward silence as Luka navigated onto the road. After a minute or so he spoke. "I have something in mind for dinner, so I was thinking to be fair I'd let you pick the movie."

"Oh, no," Abby groaned teasingly, "Are you cooking?"

"Hey, be nice." Luka's attempt at indignation fell flat, as he couldn't help grinning at her. They both began to relax.

They soon found themselves in a neighborhood unfamiliar to Abby, and where Luka finally pulled off. Getting out, she looked around. Small businesses lined the street on both sides, many of them now dark but a few alive with light and activity. It was one of those inner city neighborhoods that gave off-in its shops, sounds, smells, and humanity- a distinctive feeling of community and life. She liked it.

Then she saw the grocery Luka was headed for. It was definitely ethnic, most likely Eastern European, judging from the signs on the windows. Her stomach churned at the memory of the few previous ethnic meals Luka had treated her to. She looked up at him pitifully and let out a plaintive, "be gentle."

Luka smiled. "Trust me." Then he pointed out a nearby video store, leaving her with the same appeal to "be gentle" and receiving the same "trust me" in return.

Ten minutes later they met up at the SUV again, Luka with a brown grocery bag and Abby with a DVD. Abby reached toward the bag to inspect the contents but Luka pulled away. "You'll see soon enough." Abby made a face at him and hid the DVD protectively under her arm in reply.

On the ride to Luka's they idly went over the days events-the cases, patients, and stresses-until Abby realized that Luka was smiling to himself and demanded, "What's so funny?"

"Nothing." He glanced at her, still smiling. "It's just nice to be talking to you, doctor to doctor. It suits you." Abby fell silent, uncertain what to say in response, and looked out the window until they arrived.

Topping the stairs to his apartment, Luka flung open his door, set the grocery bag on the coffee table in front of the TV, tossed his keys and their coats on an end table, plopped down on his couch, motioning for Abby to join him, and began pulling things out of the bag.

Abby watched dubiously. "It's all safe, I promise," he assured her good-humoredly. "Nothing fancy. I thought we could have a sort of picnic."

He laid out bread and rolls, cheese, sausages and ham, biscuits and little cakes, some fruit and vegetables, pickles, olives. He was right. Most of it looked safe. Chilled bottles of root beer and Diet Coke rounded out the meal.

His task completed Luka turned to Abby expectantly. "So, what'd you get?" He sounded like a kid on Christmas. Abby laughed and held up her choice.

Now it was Luka's turn to look dubious. He made a face. "That's what they say…a 'chick flick'?"

"Hey. It's about a really tall guy trying to find his way in a foreign country. What's not to love?"

Luka laughed. "Ah, now you're mocking me."

"No, it's cute."

"The movie or me?"

Abby smirked and left it at that.

"I suppose there's a girl in it."

"There's always a girl."

"You realize that next time I'm getting Jean-Claude Van Damme." Luka warned her teasingly, as he got the DVD ready to play.

"Ohh…no. Not fair." Abby rolled her eyes and giggled.

Luka dimmed the lights and they quietly settled their attentions to the dinner and movie. Abby was pleased to find that Luka's food was indeed not bad at all; Luka appreciative that the movie's director was thoughtful enough to include the scene in the titty bar, undoubtedly put there to help break the monotony for all those hapless men like himself who were forced to see the movie with their lady friends.

After the movie finished they both sat in quiet contemplation for a few moments before Abby broke the silence. "Well?"

Luka shrugged helplessly. He was cornered. "I didn't get it."

"What's not to get?"

"I mean, what was the point: the Japanese are short and have a weird obsession with Karaoke? Men and women aren't meant to be friends? Nothing happened."

"No martial arts, no bombs…is that what you mean?"

Luka gave her a look of mock-sternness, trying to defend his apparent ignorance. "I'm not that unsophisticated. I just didn't see the plot. They wandered around the city. They never actually got together. We couldn't even hear what he said to her at the end."

"But that's the fun," Abby insisted, "the mystery, not knowing how it all ends, being able to imagine the words he spoke to her, to take some ownership of the relationship and it's possibilities. It's a great movie," she insisted.

Luka listened to Abby's analysis with amusement. "If you say so." He started cleaning up the table.

Abby joined him but was quiet, distracted by a thought. "So, you think men and women can't be friends?"

Luka froze. He sensed she was looking at him, waiting for an answer. Damn. So this was his choice? This was the way it was going to be? He looked at her, trying to look cool, trying to think of something to say, and partly trying not to look really pissed that after Carter she could still be this clueless about men.

Abby was taken aback by his expression. What had she said wrong? Suddenly it hit her; he thought she was referring to the two of them. Not sure whether she should be touched, amused, or annoyed that he thought she was toying with him, she clarified, "I mean, Carter and I have been friends for a long time. I'd like us to be able to stay that way."

Luka looked at her with a mixture of surprise and relief. Carter. Was she actually asking his permission to be friends with Carter?

Oh, God. It sounded like she was asking him for permission to be friends with Carter. Abby quickly tried again. "I just want you to know up front how it is, and Ineed you to be ok with it. I won't make the same mistakes I did before."

"Ok," Luka responded simply. What else could he say? Things had changed and he knew he didn't have to worry about Carter any more. And as for Abby, the very fact that she was bringing this up to him was a good sign. It also seemed to clearly indicate she was giving him the green light; that the date was a success, the beginnings of something.

He slid closer to her and casually put his arm across the back of the sofa behind her. Giving her a teasing intent look he asked, "but you aren't spending evenings watching chick flicks with him, are you?"

"No, nothing like that." Looking into his beguiling eyes, Abby began to feel a panic take hold in the pit of her stomach. She desperately wanted to leave and just as desperately wanted to stay. Luka reached up and gently caressed the side of her face with his thumb, tucking the hair behind her ear as he moved his hand down her jaw line. Ready or not, this was happening. Abby closed her eyes and tried to let go as he slid close enough that she could begin to feel the warmth of his breath on her face. He pulled her mouth toward his and into a soft lingering kiss; the initial unfamiliar feel quickly melting into a slightly intoxicating heat that diffused through her body.

All too soon the kiss ended, pulling her back into reality. Luka, face still so close to hers they were almost touching, was looking intently at her, trying to read in her eyes what his next move should be. Abby tried to lighten the almost suffocating mood by teasing him. "You know, I'm still not entirely convinced I'm not just your rebound girl."

"Abby, every girl I've been with since you and I broke up has been my rebound girl."

Abby snickered and rolled her eyes, replying sarcastically, "Oh, nice. You're good."

Luka laughed too, with a mock-offended, "What?" Then he grew serious and, leaning in until their foreheads were touching, cradled her face between his hands and whispered, "I've missed you."

This time it was Abby who bridged the remaining gap between them, reaching her hand around his neck and pulling him into another kiss. From that point, any innocent intentions they may have started with were quickly tossed aside as their kisses deepened and familiarity began to take over their actions. Whatever had lacked in their former relationship sexual chemistry hadn't been one of them and they fervently began to physically reconnect, memories awakening in every nerve ending in their bodies, every move anticipated like a well-practiced dance.

Abby slid a hand up Luka's leg, to his thigh, and finally to his waist, where she tugged at a corner of his shirt until she was able to slip a hand inside. Her touch, feeling eagerly at his side, his back, his chest, sent an adrenaline-charged jolt through Luka. His thoughts automatically began to fast forward to their logical end-having Abby again, touching her, filling her.

Suddenly, unexpectedly, Luka's thoughts-the electricity-turned into a static snow, filling his head, distracting him. More images-unwanted ones-intruded. Not just Abby, but all the women he'd had, all the sex he'd comforted himself with, meaningless mindless actions. Even with Abby, and Sam, the first connection had been through sex.

Luka reluctantly pulled away, his body cursing him for it, and caught his breath. Abby waited expectantly. He avoided her eyes, whispering, "I can't."

Abby looked surprised and vaguely amused. "Really?"

Luka looked at her helplessly. "I shouldn't."

"'Shouldn't'?" Abby pulled her hand out of his shirt.

"This is a mistake. We shouldn't be doing this."

"You don't want to be with me?"

"Yes! Just, not like this. I care about you too much to be so casual, to mess up again."

Abby slid away from Luka and tried to regain her composure and sort out her wildly spinning emotions. The only thing that made sense at that moment was leaving. She stood up. "I should go."

Luka stood up too. "You don't have to run off," he responded quietly. "We could talk."

Abby's head was beginning to hurt. Talking, thinking, was the last thing shefelt like doingright now. All she wanted was go home and have a cigarette. "No, really. It's…I had a nice time. But…."

"Ok." He stood in front of her and awkwardly chucked her chin and smiled. "We'll talk soon, though, right?"

"Yeah, sure." Abby nodded and returned his awkward smile before breaking away to gather her coat to leave. With Luka slowly following suit, they left the apartment silently, the only sound the door clicking closed behind them.