"What did you do that for?" Luka asked Sam as he pulled her into an isolated corner of the ER, the anger burning up inside him.
"What are you talking about?" Sam retorted snapping her arm out of Luka's grasp. All she knew was that one minute she was talking to a patient and the next he was dragging her off. She had no idea what had made him so angry.
"Telling that girl to have an abortion," Luka couldn't believe she had done that, told the girl all about it like it meant nothing, "You had no right to tell her that."
"I did not tell her that she should have an abortion; I just talked to her about her options. She's only sixteen, and she's scared."
"And what about the baby she's carrying? I guess it doesn't matter to you whether it lives or dies?" Luka yelled.
"I'm more concerned about my patient, the girl right now."
"You can't just go around throwing lives away so casually!" Part of him knew that this fight was not with Sam, he wasn't really angry with her. Instead, all of the anger he felt towards Abby and the abortion was coming out. Sam was just unfortunate to be caught in the cross fire.
"Don't you dare talk to me like that; I'm just doing my job." Sam was angry now too, she couldn't believe Luka. His anger seemed to have come out of nowhere.
"So killing innocent babies is in your job description now?" The words were out of his mouth before he had time to stop himself. The anger he felt was blinding his good judgement.
"You know that's not what I meant. Sometimes a girl can't cope with what's happening. Abortion might just seem the only way out for her." She knew that she had considered it when she was pregnant with Alex; she even went so far as going to the clinic. She just couldn't go through with it.
"Wellshe should have thought of that before she got herself pregnant." He spoke through gritted teeth.
"I guess it's her fault then? She's the only one to blame for the pregnancy, because she went out and did it all by herself right?" The argument was no longer about the patient, Sam was trying to defend herself and Luka was venting the anger he felt at Abby. And yet they couldn't seem to stop themselves.
"I didn't say that."
"The poor girl is scared Luka. Her boyfriend doesn't want to know, she's all alone and she doesn't know what to do. Do you have any idea what that feels like?" Sam herself knew to well what the girl was going through.
"It's still a life, a life which she will kill." Luka was too blinded by anger to see Sam's point of view, to see anyone else's point of view.
"And I'm not saying that it's okay, I'm just saying that I can understand how she feels."
Luka didn't answer; his fists were clenched at his sides. They had both yelled so much they were out of breath. Sam's eyes focused in on Luka's hands and then up to his eyes. The anger was burning in them. Her heart was pounding in her chest; she still didn't understand what had started the whole thing.
The anger and frustration kept building up inside Luka. Sam wasn't backing down on her argument, wasn't even attempting an apology. Through his hazed thinking he couldn't see that she had nothing to apologise for. It was too much for him. In the end he just pounded his fist against the wall and walked off down the corridor. Carter had come over just in time to see Luka storming off leaving a slightly shaken Sam behind.
"What was that all about?" He asked going over to her.
"I really have no idea."
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine." Sam answered her attention on the space that Luka had left behind. That guy confused her more than any other man ever had. There was something about him, something that she couldn't put her finger on but something that had attracted her to him the day before. His recent outburst just might have been the thing to kill her attraction.
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Luka rubbed his hands against his thighs to dry them off before knocking on the door. He was nervous, very nervous. Earlier at the hospital he had over-reacted and should never have yelled at Sam like that. Carter had questioned him about it, he was concerned for her, wanted to know why Luka had taken his anger out on her. Luka explained the whole thing to him, and Carter explained that Sam had gotten pregnant at fifteen. It made Luka feel like a complete bastard. She was only concerned about the girl, and he had yelled at her unnecessarily.
"Luka? What are you doing here?" Sam asked when she opened the door, surprised to find the Croatian beauty standing on the other side.
"I . . . I came to apologise, I was out of line earlier." He replied nervously. "Can I come in?"
"Sure," Sam stepped back to allow him to pass through into the apartment, closing the door behind him. Taking a deep breath she turned around to face him. The last thing she had expected was to find him outside her door. After avoiding him all day, she didn't know what to say to him.
"These are for you," Luka went to hand her a small bunch of yellow roses, "They're a kind of peace offering, an attempt at a peace offering." His nerves were getting the best of him; he still found it hard to be around her knowing he couldn't have her. And since she was all dressed up, wearing tight jeans and a very low cut top, it really didn't make the situation better.
"You really didn't have to do that." Sam didn't move to talk the flowers from him; she just stood in front of him, staring at his broad chest. He had really surprised her by apologising, not many men who weren't sleeping with you would do that. He was beginning to look attractive again.
"I feel really bad about earlier. The argument wasn't with you; I want you to know that. I was angry with my girlfriend over the termination and I had no right to take it all out on you." He took a step towards Sam, the flowers held out towards her.
"Thank you," She smiled meekly and took the flowers. Feeling slightly uncomfortable standing so close to the man who seemed to have such a great effect on her, she moved away stepping towards the kitchen
Going to the cupboard she took out an old vase, filled it with water and placed the roses in it. Setting them down on the table she braved another look at him. He was standing, watching her, a smile on his face. He looked so totally different from how he had earlier; it was almost as if it was a different man. She was able to drag her thoughts back to the present moment enough to remember her manners. Telling him he could sit down, she watched him take off his coat and sit down on her couch. He looked slightly uncomfortable; like he wasn't sure he was really welcome. In a way, Sam found it endearing, he wasn't assuming that flowers were all it would take for her to forgive him. She offered him a drink, and when he said no, came over to join him by sitting on the chair opposite him.
Luka had been watching her the whole time, sure that she must have been able to feel his eyes burning into her. He just couldn't help himself. Sitting down he took in his surroundings. The place was small, not a lot to it, and the furnishings were modest. It wasn't the tidiest of places either, but he guessed that most of the mess was probably made by her son.
His gaze followed her as she sat down opposite him. They didn't say anything for a while, for which he was grateful. He wasn't sure he would be able to say much. His eyes kept drifting back to her exposed cleavage, he was hypnotised by the slight rise and fall of her chest with each breath she took. In his mind he imagined what it would be like kissing her neck, his hands caressing her breasts, her groaning in pleasure. It all seemed almost too much, his hands were shaking and his pulse had quickened. He could almost feel her soft skin against his; almost feel the beat of her pulse against his lips as they touched her neck. His senses went into overload when she leaned slightly towards him in her seat, giving him a full view.
"Thanks again for the roses," Sam said suddenly, more to distract herself and get her mind away from imagining ripping the shirt off him to reveal his broad chest, which she explored with her tongue. The whole situation was uncomfortable, he was Carter's best friend and she doubted he'd be too happy if he knew what she was thinking.
"I'm glad you like them." Luka raised his eyes to meet hers for a moment. He could only hope she hadn't seen where they had settled only a moment before. "You've got a nice place."
"It's not exactly a palace, but it's the best I could afford. I've tried to make it as homely as I could for Alex's sake." Bringing Alex into the conversation helped Sam quench the growing lust she had for the doctor sitting only three feet away.
"Alex is your son, right?" Luka was happy she brought that up, nothing to kill your libido like talking about children.
"Yeah, he's ten next month and a right demon at times. Fancies himself as becoming a doctor, they suspended him from his last school because he was dissecting a dead rat in the school yard. But, I suppose he could be a lot worse." She was in full mom mode now, talking about her son and the joys of motherhood. Her lust was diminishing with every word she uttered.
"Wow, I was a wild child but never that bad. It must be tough raising him on your own and all." He felt a lot more comfortable now, he was distracted enough to stop thinking of other things.
"I do the best I can, I just wonder sometimes if it's enough. Alex's dad isn't really around much." Sam's body tensed just thinking about the man who fathered her son.
"Does he play much of a part at all in Alex's life?"
"No, I think he thought his job was pretty much finished after knocking me up. He wasn't there for the birth either."
"I'm sorry, you deserve better. Someone who cares, who makes you happy." As the words left Luka's mouth he couldn't help but think that he could be that way, but in the same minute he realised that Carter was probably that guy. Carter loved her, would do anything for her, he could sense that. And who was he to even think about taking that away from her?
"Does Carter make you happy?"
"He does," Sam smiled thinking of the man she was dating. "I think we make each other happy, you know?"
"That's good, and I'd definitely say you make him happy. He's enchanted with you, and I can't say I'm surprised. I don't know how any guy could not be enthralled by you." Luka whispered the few words, resisting the strong urge he felt to touch her.
Sam felt herself move in closer to him, she didn't know if it was his accent or something else, but the words he uttered nearly took her breath away. She had never been taken so easily by a few words before. But this was different, it didn't feel like he was feeding her a line, and maybe that's what was attracting her closer to him.
She was so close, all it would take would be a quick movement and he'd be touching her. Moving his leg, his knee brushed against hers. They both raised their eyes to meet each others. Both caught in the moment, to them the rest of the world seemed far away. Sam was glad that Carter knocked on her door at that very moment; she couldn't be sure what she would have done if he hadn't. She was sure she would have ended up regretting it though.
Sam let Carter in, and the three talked for a few minutes before Luka excused himself to let them get on with the evening they had planned. With Alex at a sleepover, they were grabbing the time to spend it together. Carter went to the bathroom and Sam walked Luka to the door. He stopped outside, turning to face Sam.
"I'll see you tomorrow. And once again, sorry about this morning." He was relieved that Carter came when he did, he would have ended up doing something that would have ruined the friendship he had with the man otherwise.
"I forgive you; just don't think I'll let you do it all the time."
"I wouldn't dream of it."
"I really hope we can be friends." Sam smiled.
"Yeah," Luka nodded, "friends."
The two hugged goodbye, both holding onto the other for the brief moment that the rules allowed. The small amount of contact was the most that they could have, and they both held on for as long as was possible before going back to their real lives.