Hey everyone! Thanks so much for the reviews I really appreciate them! Sorry about the wait too, I'm just finishing up exams. I made some small adjustments in the last chapter, Luka's name and the heartbeat reading…did some research and you can't read that until the 15th week of pregnancy. Anyways, enjoy the new chap and I'll try to get the next chapter up soon. BTW can someone tell me where Abby grew up as a child?

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Chapter 2: Truth, Family and other lies.

I sat at the kitchen table toying with the final waffle on my plate. Sure I'd already had two, but what was one more? It was just a waffle. Letting my desire win over my common sense, I quickly downed the third waffle. I happened to glance up and saw Luka staring at me. I swallowed quickly before speaking,

"What Luka?"

He smiled, though it appeared to me he was trying to hide a smirk, "Nothing, just never thought I'd see you eat like that."

I glared at him but decided to ignore his comment. Then he decided he wasn't finished,

"Abby, when are you going to tell your mother?"

"When are you going to tell your mother?" I shot back at him.

He gave me a sideways glance, "Abby, we already discussed this. I told you I called them a few days ago, they were thrilled."

I sighed heavily, so much for ammunition.

"I don't know, she doesn't really need to know does she? It's not like I see her that often."

Luka shook his head. "Abby, you're her daughter."

I shrugged, "Fine if it means so much to you then I'll tell her later."

"When later?" was his quick reply.

"At her funeral?" I supplied hopefully.

He moaned, "Abby, you're as bad as a child!"

"Fine, I'll call her this week. Later this week." I replied, knowing full well that wasn't going to happen.

It wasn't necessarily that I didn't want to talk to her, it was just that every interaction I held with her reminded me of the fact that my child could inherit her "disorder". I felt a lump of fear rise in my throat and shoved it down with another bite of waffle, Luka didn't need to know, and he wasn't ready to know. Not yet.

I rose from the table and cleared my plate, leaving it in the sink. Luka seemed to sense something was wrong and he backed off, leaving me to my thoughts.

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I set out the suture kit beside the gurney. My patient, a five year old girl named Samantha, pouted when she saw the needle. Her lower lip trembled as I pulled on my gloves.

"Samantha, it's ok. It'll only be a little pinch then it will all be over."

I inserted the needle and she began to whimper. Her mother clasped her hand and I tried to put on a sing song voice.

"So Sammy, what's your favorite animal?" I asked gently.

"Ponies." She said quietly.

I tried to keep up a steady chit chat with her and soon, I had finished and she was laughing and talking again.

"When I grow up, I'm gonna be a doctor like you!" She said when I finished.

I smiled. "And when you're a doctor I'll come be your first patient."

She looked happy with the arrangement, "Ok now Samantha, I don't want to see any more cuts on you ok? No more playground accidents!"

She nodded solemnly and her mother thanked me, then they left.

I pulled off my gloves and smiled to myself, maybe having a girl wouldn't be so bad.

I turned as I heard Jerry call my name,

"Abby! Line two, it's your mother."

My heart stopped cold, my mother! Why on earth would my mother be calling! As I made my way to the desk I saw Luka standing close by in the reception area. If he had anything to do with this…Suddenly a thought hit me, he'd told her about the baby. I picked up the phone, my hands trembling.

"Hey Maggie, I was just going to call you." My voice came out shakier than I excepted but why avoid the truth now?

I went on slowly, "Maggie, I have some new…"

She interrupted me abruptly, "Abby, listen to me. I have some bad news."

Bad news, ok couldn't be the baby. I breathed a sigh of relief that lasted only a moment.

"Abby, it's Eric. He passed away this morning. He was hit by a drunk driver last night."

I felt as though someone had punched me in the stomach. I couldn't breathe, couldn't speak.

"Abby?" She questioned, her voice trembled, something I'd heard rarely from her.

"Mom, I'm here." A breathiness that I hadn't expected came out in my voice. Eric was dead, he was gone.

Luka was looking at me questioningly but I ignored him expertly.

"Abby, the funeral's in two days. I know you'll want to be there. Will you? Will you come up to see him?" I could hear the tears in her voice and the way she spoke made my throat burn.

"I'll be there." I responded mutely.

She sounded as though she was trying to pull herself together, "You said you had news Abby?"

"Yeah," I replied monotonously, "I'm pregnant."

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I hung up the phone and watched in wonder as my hand trembled, it had never done that before. I turned to face Luka, my face pale. The world was spinning dangerously and I stumbled, but he was there to catch me.

His arms wrapped around my waist as he pulled me back to my feet. I heard him say something to Jerry about going home and then he was leading me out of the ER. I was silent as we drove home and Luka didn't bother me. He pulled into the driveway and escorted me out of the car into the house.

As soon as we made it into the house I broke down. I cried like a child, tears pouring down my face, choking sobs tearing at my throat. Luka held me tightly, rubbing my back as I drowned his shirt in my tears. He murmured softly in my ear and I realized he was humming softly. I quieted my sobs so I could hear but he was humming so quietly even that didn't help.

He sat with me and waited for me to finish. When finally my cries had subsided, he kissed my cheek,

"Abby?"

I licked my lips, wiping away the salty taste of tears before beginning.

"Luka, compared to what I know, you know nothing about my family."

He looked confused but didn't comment.

"My mother and my brother are both bipolar. My mother has been ever since I can remember but Eric developed it after he came back from the Air Force. Inevitably it was in his genes.

Luka, you have no idea what it's like to live with a bipolar mother. I had to take care of Eric when she was locked in her room, she wasn't his mother. I was. Then when he developed it…I couldn't believe it. He'd always been so happy, so loving. Even with Maggie.

He died this morning. Hit by a drunk driver, they couldn't do anything for him."

Luka let out a soft noise and I felt the tears rise again.

"You know, in some ways I'm glad he went this way. I'm glad he didn't…"

Luka pulled me in tighter "I know, I know."

I looked up at him, my eyes marked with fear, "Luka, what if the baby… what if the baby gets it?"

He smoother my hair back with his fingers, "It's ok. We'll love it just the same; we'll love it even harder."

He let his hand move down to my belly and wiggled his fingers over it as if he were waving at the baby. I let out a strangled laugh and put my hand over his, pressing it into my belly.

"How's your mom?" He asked gently.

"She sounds like she's ok, but I'm praying someone's with her."

He smiled, "How'd she take our news?"

I gave a weak smile, "Oh she's happy, thrilled more like it."

Luka hugged me again, "Good, that's good."

I turned solemn again. "Luka, I'm going to the funeral. I want to leave soon. It's the day after tomorrow."

He nodded, "I'm coming with you."

Somehow I had expected that. I just gripped his hand and nodded, "What were you humming?" I asked quietly.

He was quiet for a long time, but finally murmured, "Gorecki, I used to sing it to Danijela when she was upset. It calmed her and I thought maybe it would help you.

I kissed the squared edge of his jaw but didn't know what to say, so I stayed quiet. I knew, however, that there was a lot more to his story than what he was telling me.

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Fighting against one of my two black dresses I heaved a sigh and fell onto the bed.

"I give up." I said wearily, throwing the dress to the corner of the room.

Luka wandered in, but stopped as he saw me lying in only a bra on the bed, reading what to expect when you're expecting. "Abby?" he questioned gently.

I turned, "What Luka?"

He sat down next to me, "Are you packed yet?"

I dropped the book, "Did you know that at eleven weeks, that's us, the baby's 4 cm long? We can see if it's a boy or girl in a few weeks."

He wrapped his arms around me and kissed the top of my head. "Abby, I know it's hard but we need to go soon if we want to get to the hotel on time."

I chewed the inside of my cheek, "No, I don't fit in any of my clothes."

I saw the edge of his mouth turn up in a smile and felt a strong urge to smack it right off, but restrained myself.

He stood up and walked into the closet, pulling out several black or dark dresses. After trying them on I successfully fit into one dress. It was decent, knee length with a slightly plunging neckline but it wasn't too revealing. The only thing that bothered me was the slight bulge at the waistline. I turned and stood in front of the mirror, rubbing my belly with my right hand. Luka came up behind me and slipped his hands around my waist.

"That's our baby, Abby." He murmured rubbing his hand over mine.

I couldn't help but smile slightly as I thought about the baby, though it was frustrating not to be able to fit into my old clothes I couldn't forget the excitement I felt about the coming child.

Shedding the dress, I folded it and put it into the suitcase with my other clothes. Luka was already packed so he loaded our things into his car while I made a trip to the bathroom, lately I'd had to pee all the time.

I came out a few minutes later, locked the door and climbed into the car beside Luka. He smiled and reached over for my hand. I gave it to him and he squeezed gently. "It'll be ok."

I managed to smile back and silently prayed that he was right.

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TBC…