Chapter 7

Author's Note: Thank you again for all the nice reviews. Here is chapter 7 and I promise, there will be Luby in this one.

6:57am

Abby stared at the bright lights on the ceiling above her in the trauma bay as she waited to be taken upstairs to her hospital room. The forty minutes Susan had predicted until she got a room had not surprisingly been stretched to nearly three hours. Apparently the only housekeeping staff that had shown up last night was a young trainee and she wasn't overly enthused about working the night shift.

Abby didn't mind the delay though; it gave her time to sleep off the Tylenol 3. There had been no major traumas last night so she stayed in the deserted trauma bay with only the hum of the heart monitor keeping her company. When the nursing shift switched over at seven, Haleh came in and started another bag of penicillin.

"Hi honey," I heard you weren't feeling too good. Haleh felt her forehead and frowned, "Still pretty warm but from what I've heard, it looks like you are improving. How do you feel right now?"

"Okay," Abby croaked, "I still have a headache." She closed her eyes again at the bright overhead lights; she wished someone could turn them off.

Haleh nodded and looked at the thermometer. "Your temperature is still over 102F, that explains the headache." She looked at the chart, "The nasal swab also indicates the streptococcus bacteria infected your sinuses, and that will cause facial pain as well. Dr. Lewis gave a standing order for Tylenol 3's and I've got one here for you."

Haleh helped Abby sit up and swallow the pill, fluffing the pillow behind her as she washed the Tylenol down with a glass of cool water.

"Thanks Haleh," Abby smiled at the older nurse gratefully. "I guess Susan is off shift now?"

"Yeah, she was going to come in and see you but you were sleeping and she had to get home to Cosmo; Chuck is working the day shift today." Haleh looked at her watch, "I'll see where they are with your room." She looked down at Abby, about to say she would be right back, but the young woman's eyes were closed and she was snoring lightly. Haleh smiled and tucked the blanket around Abby's body and quietly left the room, turning off the lights as she left.

8:03am

The loud crash of a sutures tray hitting the floor with astronomical force jolted Luka awake and off the bed even before his eyes were open. He groaned and sat back on the gurney, trying to get his wits about him as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. "Where was he?" Luka tried to remember where he was but all he could comprehend was his neck hurt, like he had slept on a………. hospital gurney. The memories of last night flooded back to his consciousness and he looked at his watch in shock. It was already eight o'clock in the morning! "Crap," he muttered and pushed himself off the bed and out the call room door, immediately propelling himself into a sea of hurried bodies, pushing to and from the elevators.

He half walked, half staggered towards the front desk and began to sort through the charts on the rack, searching for Abby's.

"Looking for this?" Dr. Ray Barnett waved a chart in front of him and came up beside Luka, leaning on the desk with his muscular forearms. "Abby's file," he said, pushing the chart towards Luka. "She gave me permission to share it with you." Ray leaned back and looked at Luka critically, "Man, you look tired."

"Thanks Ray," Luka said sarcastically, "she let you look at her file?" Luka eyed the younger doctor cynically, he didn't seem to be the type Abby would want looking at her medical history.

Ray didn't seem offended by the remark in the least, "Yeah she had a choice between me and Morris; she chose wisely." Ray smirked and nodded across the ER to Morris who was dancing around, trying to get himself untangled from an IV line.

Luka shook his head, "Point taken. So, how is she doing?" Luka felt horrible that he had slept for so long while Abby was burning up and unconscious.

"Not bad. Her temp is down to 101.9F, BP 120/80 and the swelling around her face is receding. I think the antibiotics are starting to work but we won't know for at least another twelve hours until a repeat pharyngeal swab can be done." Ray looked at the clock, "I also talked with my good friend Shelly Rican up on 4-West and she said they have an opening there and she booked Abby in. Someone should be down in the next ten minutes to take her up."

"She's still down here!" Luka asked incredulously, "I thought that being here for six hours and not to mention she is a med student and nurse, would help speed the process along a little."

"I hear ya' Dr. Kovac, but they are just as busy up there as we are down here." Ray smiled sympathetically and handed Luka the chart, "I hope she feels better soon because someone is going to have to keep your ass in line." He hurried off as an ambulance pulled up to the back doors of the ER.

Shaking his head in amusement, Luka started to push through the crowed ER towards the trauma room to see Abby. Before he got there, Ray and the trauma team pushed past with a young man who had a knife stuck in his chest and was screaming hysterically. Just before they reached the trauma room, Haleh and an orderly were pushing a gurney out, making room for the stabbing patient.

Haleh saw Luka approaching and called out, "Hey Luka, we are just taking Abby up to 4-West now. You coming with us?"

"Yep!" Luka shouted above the din of the screaming patient, "I'll meet you at the elevators." Luka made his way back into the heart of the ER and toward the bank of elevators, pushing the up button.

Haleh and the orderly caught up with him, expertly navigating the gurney through the mass of bustling people. "Can you take her from here?" Haleh looked down at her pager, "There is a four car MVA with numerous victims coming in and they are due to pull up in four minutes."

"Sure, no problem." Luka shooed her off and looked down at Abby who was smiling weakly at him.

"Hey sleepyhead, I heard you got a good sleep last night." Abby grasped his hand, "I'm glad."

Luka sighed and kissed her forehead, "I'm so sorry Abby. I wanted to stay with you but there wasn't really anything I could do and Susan was kicking me out."

"Its okay Luka. You were right, there wasn't anything you could do then and I'm happy you got some rest. You have been so wonderful in the last few days." Abby kissed his hand entwined in hers, "I'm sorry I puked on your sofa."

Luka laughed, "Don't worry about it; it'll wipe right up."

The elevator doors dinged and opened revealing a full load of medical students who were following their surgical resident like little lost puppy dogs. Once they had all filed off, Luka pushed Abby's gurney into the car and pressed the number four. The doors closed and they were suddenly in a silent retreat, away from the chaos of the ER.

Abby yawned and looked at the heart monitors she was hooked up to, "Well, it looks like I'm not dead yet," she joked half-heartedly. "Although I kind of wish I was right about now." She licked her dry lips gently and wiped the sweat off her brow.

"Don't say that Abby," Luka scolded lightly, "I actually thought you were going to die on me last night when your temperature reached 105F. I thought you had a major systemic infection and I was too late getting you to the hospital."

Abby frowned sheepishly, "I'm sorry Luka. I didn't mean to worry you like that. I'm fine now." She wished she hadn't of said that, after all, Luka had lost his entire family years ago and she knew he would never be completely over that devastating loss.

"Its okay Abby, it certainly wasn't your fault. I'm just glad you seem to be getting better and that they are admitting you for the day."

Abby scowled, "I don't need to stay, I just need some sleep."

"Ya, just like when you said you had the flu," Luka scoffed, shaking his head at her stubbornness.

"Okay you win, but when we get up there, can you see if you can rustle me up some ice-cream? I bet it would feel great on my throat." Abby smiled at him playfully, "But just make sure it is Cookies and Cream flavoured, I'm not much for the plain old vanilla."

"I think you should just stick to the liquid diet right now Abby," Luka said, "maybe if you are good, I'll find you some warm ginger ale later." He laid his cool hand on her forehead soothingly, "Lets just get you settled in a comfortable room and you can get some more sleep."

Abby closed her eyes at his touch and sighed, "Okay Luka, whatever you say." Her breathing slowed marginally as she drifted back to sleep.