"Hi..." Luka called as he entered the door of the apartment and set his brief case on a table near the door. Abby was settled on the couch with her feet propped up on the coffee table in front of her. She was focused intently on the television screen in front of her.

"What are you watching...the food channel?" he asked as he dropped onto the couch next to her.

"Yeah..." Abby mused without looking away from the screen where a perky little chef was preparing a 30 minute meal. "I am trying to decide how I could have gotten this far in life without a good whisk in my kitchen."

"A whisk?"

"Yeah...they all use them," she said as she leaned forward for a kiss. "They whisk their eggs. They whisk their chocolate. They whisk their oils and spices. I think I need a good whisk."

"But you don't like to cook."

"I am definitely going to try to do it more. I mean, " she gestured seriously to the television. "...it looks way easier than I thought." Luka groaned and chuckled as he put his arm across her shoulders and pulled her back against him.

"You need to be back to work," he said.

"Ya think?" she snorted. "It's barely been a week and I am bored out of my skull."

"Do you want to go for a drive? Maybe stop somewhere for dinner?" Abby sat up and turned to look at him.

"You mean...out in public? Around actual real people?"

"We could even stop and get a ...whisk?" he grinned. Abby kissed him on the cheek.

"Come on..." she demanded. "Help me up. I need to change!"

Chicago was hot and busy...a typical midweek summer evening. But the fresh air from the open windows of the car felt so good. Abby leaned back and enjoyed people watching. Runners, skaters and parents with strollers walked along the sidewalks of the Lake Michigan shoreline.

"Do you feel like a hamburger? Maybe some banana cream pie?" Luka asked her. Abby looked at him.

"Ed DeBevic's okay?" She nodded happily. He drove to the out of the way tourist spot and parked. He helped her out of the car and took her hand. The 50's music was blaring from the juke box as they entered. He spoke to the poodle skirted waitress and they were led to the back dining area, right in the middle of a whole crowd of ER employees.

"Surprise!" they all shouted and Luka led her to a table in the middle of everything. Haleh stood up and hugged her.

"Aww...we miss you so much, girl!" she said.

"I'll say!" Clemente lifted a beer bottle in tribute. "Even bitchy Abby is better than no Abby." Dori hit him in the face with a thrown wadded napkin.

"What!" he frowned playfully. "She knows how much...fun...she was!" Abby shook her head as everyone laughed. People came and went through the evening as shifts at the hospital changed. It was sheer heaven to be catching up and chatting and sharing. There were gifts to open and an unlimited supply of banana cream pie that lasted well into the night.

Abby was quiet on the drive home. They carried the bags of gifts into the nursery and Luka studied her thoughtfully as they got ready for bed.

"Did you have fun tonight?" he asked her as he helped her into her favorite pajama pants and tee shirt. Abby nodded.

"Is everything okay?" She nodded again and then sighed.

"All this extra time you have been spending at the hospital has been to help...Sam...out?" Abby said finally. Luka looked at her.

"What else would you have me do?" he said. "She is the nurse manager, Abby."

" And she is skinny...and blonde...and you were still living with her barely a month before all this happened." She stopped shortly and sighed heavily. She dropped awkwardly onto the bed and folded her hands protectively over her stomach.

"We were having trouble for a long time," he replied quietly. 'You know that." She shrugged.

"Why is it that the entire rest of the world can see how I feel about you, but you can't?" Luka groaned. "What else can I say to you?" Abby lifted her eyes to his face.

"Nothing," she said quietly. "These are my demons and I have to deal with them." Luka shook his head and sat next to her. He picked up her hand and fingered the diamond ring on her left hand.

"You have this," he said quietly. He placed her hand on his chest over his heart. "And you have this." He kissed her softly.

"There are no...demons...to deal with." Abby nodded slowly and then struggled to get up from the bed again. Luka stood up and helped her. She was silent as she headed for the bathroom door. He watched the door shut and then dropped back on the bed. He feigned sleep when she came out of the bathroom. In the last moment before she turned out the bed side lamp he saw that she had been crying.

She was still subdued in the morning. He drove her to Coburn's downtown office for an early appointment and went into the exam room with her.

"Your blood pressure is a whole lot better," Dr. Coburn said approvingly as she looked over the stats a nurse had written for her. "Have you been getting lots of rest?" Abby nodded. Luka helped her lean back on the exam table and Dr. Coburn lifted the loose maternity top to exam her belly.

"The baby has turned," she said. "It's no longer in a breech postion."

"Breech?" Luka choked.

"It's fine, Dr. Kovac," Dr. Coburn said reassuringly. She pulled the top down and helped Abby sit up again.

"I think we need to get a delivery plan in place now," she said. "We'll get the papers filled out to preregister you at the hospital." Abby nodded.

"Have you given any thought to what we talked about last time? Epidural? Umm..."

"Yes," Abby interrupted. "I don't want anything."

"Wha...what?" Luka said. She looked at him.

" I can do this," Abby said firmly. Dr. Coburn's eyes went from one face to the other and she suppressed a smile.

"There no shame in an epi, Abby," she said. "Especially with a first baby."

"I can do this," Abby repeated determindedly and tossed her hands in the air.

"But we haven't done any classes...or anything..." Luka's voice trailed off. Abby looked at him. The color had drained from his face.

"I did this in OB for years," she said firmly. "I'll walk you through it. I don't want anything."

"Well, you sound pretty determined," Dr. Coburn said with a smile. "It doesn't have to be iron clad. You can always make a different decision later." She stood up and patted Abby's knee.

"Good for you," she winked. "I'll get that paperwork so you can fill it out and then set up an appointment for next week. But between you and I... I don't think that you will really be needing it." She smiled and was gone. Luka sat down on the stool and looked at her. Abby scoffed.

"'What is wrong with you?" she asked. Luka shook his head but he never took his eyes off her face.

"Luka, you are a doctor," she said. "You've delivered babies before."

"Yeah..." he said. "But that was for patients not...you." His hands were shaking as he reached to take one of her's in his grasp.

"You're so...petite," he said. "This could be bad." Abby shook her head.

"I am not having a huge baby," she said. "It'll be fine." He swallowed and she chuckled.

"It'll be fine," she said again. She smiled and drew his face close for a kiss. Luka sighed and hugged her.