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Disclaimer: I own no ER or ER characters.

Chapter 5: Neela's Troubles

"Andrea?" Luka asked

"No." I replied

"Amelia?"

"No."

"Andrew?"

"No."

"Cassidy?"

"No."

"Cameron?"

"No."

"Abby, I give up. What do you want to call them?"

I shrugged, "I don't know."

Luka sighed heavily, "Then why am I sitting here listening to you say no?"

I shrugged, "That's your decision."

I could see I was irritating him and I chuckled slightly as he left.

I grabbed some fresh clothes out of the laundry basket and changed quickly in our bedroom. Throwing a change of clothes and some snacks in a bag, I tossed it to the door and yelled, "Luka! We have to go!"

Ha appeared, still tying his tie. I laughed as he struggled to tie his tie and get into his coat at the same time.

By the time we left I felt sure we were late but we made it to the hospital in record time. Before we went in Luka asked, "You sure you're ready to go back?"

I looked at him for a moment, "Are you sure you want to ask that? Luka, I've been cooped up in your apartment for a month, hell yeah I'm ready to go back."

Luka laughed as we entered.

Sure enough, first thing I hear when we enter is Frank calling, "So Abby, I hear you're knocked up!"

I gave a sarcastic smile, "Yeah, thanks a lot Frank."

He shrugged, "It's not like anyone around here doesn't know."

I smiled again, "That's fantastic."

I threw my bag under the counter of the desk and pulled on my lab coat.

"So what do you have for me?" I murmured looking over the board.

Pratt came up behind me, "Abby, good to see you back."

I smiled, "Thanks Dr. Pratt."

He nodded, "There's a kid in curtain 1, something wrong with her ankle. You want it?"

I nodded, "Why not?" and took the chart he was holding out for me.

I skimmed through it then pulled open the curtain. I was sort of surprised to see the young girl, maybe sixteen, holding a baby. At least it looked like a baby…Upon further investigation I saw it was a doll.

The girl must have seen my confusion because she said, "It's an electronic baby, and I have to watch it for a week, school project."

I nodded, "Ah, that's pretty neat."

She nodded with a small smile as she looked at my own belly.

I smiled back, "Alright…Amanda?" At her nod I continued, "What am I seeing you for?"

She pointed at her ankle, which was a dark purple and swollen about three times the normal size.

I nodded, "Alrighty, what happened there?"

"I was walking home from school and I slipped on the ice."

I winced in sympathy.

Her mother was hovering over her shoulder, watching anxiously. "Amanda? Could you give the baby to your mom? I'll get you up and walking around to see what's going on."

She obliged and I slipped my hand around her waist, helping her out of bed. It became apparent very soon that she couldn't put any weight on it. I helped her sit back down and said,

"Alrighty, it doesn't look broken to me." As I pushed her foot around to judge the motion, "I think it's just a bad sprain. I'll go grab some wrap and bandage you up."

She nodded and I went to grab the supplies. On my way I was greeted by Ray and Sam, both of whom I acknowledged, and then returned to the room.

I bandaged Amanda's foot quickly then handed her a pair of crutches, "Use these until you can put weight on your foot again, then start going without them, Ok?"

Amanda nodded and I smiled, "Good, and good luck on your baby project."

She thanked me and I left, pulling the curtain closed behind me. I stretched, putting my hands on the small of my back and leaning backwards. After only one patient I could tell it was going to be along day.

I put the chart away and erased Amanda's name from the board. I greeted a few more people then went looking for Ray.

"Ray?" I asked when I found him.

He turned, "Yeah Abby?"

"Where's Neela? I haven't seen her yet, aren't surgeons usually running around down here?"

He shrugged, "From what I heard she took a few days off."

I nodded and left thanking him, but I was confused. It wasn't like Neela to take time of work.

I jumped as I felt someone's arms slip around my waist. I turned quickly and hit Luka on the shoulder, "Don't do that!"

He was grinning. "How are you doing?"

I shrugged, "Good I guess, a little tired."

"Guess who just called me?" He taunted.

"Who?"

"The real estate agent. We got the house."

I jumped out of his grasp, "Seriously?"

He nodded and I let out a little squeal of excitement, "Oh that's so…"

I was cut off when Sam ran by, "Abby we need you! Seven year old cancer patient presenting with shortness of breath."

I kissed Luka quickly, "See you later." and ran after Sam.

I stood in the loading zone with Sam, my arms wrapped around my chest, bouncing on my heels to keep warm. Sam chatted quietly with me as we waited, though I could sense a feeling of hesitation in her. She was still upset with Luka.

I didn't bring it up but let her keep talking until the ambulance pulled up. When it did, a coupled of paramedics swung open the door and pulled out the gurney.

I felt my heart lurch as I saw the little girl, she couldn't have weighed very much, she had dark blue circles under her eyes and her head was completely bald. She wore a little pink toque but it didn't hide the bare skin. Her eyes were bleary but they were the most magnificent blue I'd ever seen.

What upset me the most was that this was someone's child, someone's baby. If either of mine got sick…

I cut off the thought abruptly and grabbed one side of the gurney. The girl's mother and father followed behind us into the surgical room.

Luka and Dr. Pratt followed Sam and I into the room, ready to assist. A second nurse stood with the parents and spoke to them, trying to get a history.

I removed the temporary breathing mask and intubated her immediately, giving the hand pump to Sam. The young girl was drowsy but conscious. I asked the parents her name and they replied,

"It's Laura."

"Hey Laura," I murmured quietly, "Not feeling so good huh?"

She shook her head slightly.

"Ok sweetie, we had to put a tube down your throat to help you breath. It may be a little uncomfortable but we have to leave it there."

She nodded as Pratt and Luka worked behind me to stabilize her.

I took her little hand in mine and rubbed it with my thumb, all of a sudden I felt the strangest movement under my ribs, it was like a tiny butterfly. The fluttering motion came again and I felt a bubble of excitement in my chest. My baby boy was moving.

I turned my attention back to Laura who was gradually becoming more stable. When they had finished I sat the gurney up so she could see.

"Laura, we're going to take you up to see your doctor now, ok? He's up on a different floor."

She nodded and then turned to look at me, her bright blue eyes gleaming, and then she smiled, a huge, front teeth missing smile.

I felt a lump in my throat as I smiled back at her. How could someone so sick be so happy?

I helped put her into a wheelchair and pushed her alongside her parents to an elevator. When we arrived on the third floor I followed them down the corridor to the children's unit of the oncology floor. A doctor greeted us in the hallway, talking first to Laura then to her parents.

I slipped away silently after they had thanked me and as I turned I saw that Laura was looking at me. I gave her a small smile, which she returned, then climbed into the elevator.

When I got back to the ER Luka met me there,

"Abby, you ok? That was a bit of a heavy case."

I nodded, then breaking into a grin I told him, "Luka, Our baby boy started to move."

He looked stunned, "What?"

"I felt him, he was kicking."

Luka put both of his hands on my stomach and kissed me, "Abby…"

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When I finished my shift I couldn't have been happier. Though I loved being back at work and seeing everyone I was exhausted. Still, I couldn't get Neela off my mind.

When we got home I changed out of my work clothes and said, "Luka, I'm going to see Neela ok?"

He nodded and I grabbed the keys and headed out to the car.

I pulled up in front of Neela's apartment a few minutes later and slammed the car door. When I made my way up to her apartment and knocked on the door no one answered. I tried again to no avail. The third time I grabbed the handle, the door was unlocked.

I pushed the door open gently, "Neela?"

The air smelled faintly of alcohol and I could hear music playing in the background. I found her in her bedroom, sitting on the bed and staring out the window, "The music was his favorite."

I saw an open bottle of wine sitting beside her; it looked as though she had drunk the entire bottle. I pushed it aside and sat down next to her. Her cheeks were flushed and when I touched her forehead it was warm.

"Neela? What's going on?"

She didn't look at me, but stared out the window, "He didn't even say goodbye. Got up and left…didn't even tell me."

I sat quietly beside her for a while, jiggling my foot against the side if the bed.

"So something happened today." I said quietly, "Actually two things happened."

Neela looked up and I saw a faint smile on her face, "What?"

I grinned in remembrance, "Our baby boy started kicking."

I saw a light in the back of Neela's eyes as she spoke, "Really! When?"

"We were at the hospital when it started; he's been moving a little this evening but not too much."

"So what's the other thing?" She questioned.

I gave her a sly smile, "That, you have to come with me to see."

I winced as she stumbled when she stood up, and I steadied her before getting up myself. As we both got our spring jackets on, I spoke quietly,

"Not to imply anything but really, Neela, drinking's not going to help."

She was silent until we were out walking down the street,

"I know, and usually I don't. It's just so hard to be alone after finally being married. I though he was done with it, I thought we could live together and have kids, be a real family."

I slipped my arm around her shoulder and squeezed, "I know Neela, but he still needs you. He needs to know you're here for him…waiting for him to come home. It'll be different but we're still all here for you, me and Ray. Everyone."

Neela suddenly looked upset again, "Abby, I have something to confess."

I looked up at her, "What?"

"Honestly, I hate working surgical."

I had to laugh then said, "Then come back, come work in the ER with us."

She was nodding, "You know, I think I will."

We walked for about a half hour when I stopped. Neela looked up and saw a house. "Wow, that's a gorgeous house." She said.

I grinned, "It's ours."

She looked at me, in shock.

"We bought it, Luka and I are moving in together."

I took her hand and led her into the front door, I showed her around listing the renovations I was going to do and how I was going to decorate the babies rooms. Just as I was telling her was shade of green the paint would be she burst out laughing,

"Abby, I don't know how Luka puts up with you."

I smiled, "You know, sometimes I don't think he does…"

I showed her the rest of the house before leaving and walking back to her apartment. When we arrived I gave her a hug and said, "Neela, anytime you need anything…call me, please."

She assured me she would then I took the car and went home.

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That night I lay in bed beside Luka, thinking. He was sleeping soundly but I couldn't manage to get myself to do the same. I shifted anxiously and turned on my side, so my face was near Luka's ear.

"Luka?" I whispered. He didn't wake,

"Luka!" I called.

He jumped about a foot, "What the he…Abby? What are you doing!"

"Luka, the baby's kicking." I said quietly.

Taking his hand I placed it under my t shirt and pulled it to where the small fluttering motion was. He looked concerned for a moment

"Sorry Abby, I don't feel anything. It's too early."

I frowned slightly; disappointed I couldn't share my excitement with someone else. Luka looked slightly disappointed as well. I sighed slightly before remembering why I had woken him up.

"Luka?" I whispered again.

He looked up, "Yeah?"

I hid my smile, "I'm hungry."

He looked puzzled, "Hungry? Abby it's just past midnight."

I pouted, "I want kraft dinner with ketchup…and olives. Mixed together, with pickles too."

My mouth was watering and I'm sure I saw Luka gag at the thought, but he got up anyways and went to the kitchen, putting on a pot of boiling water. I followed him, carrying the color wheel to the table,

"So I was thinking we could do our baby girl's room like an ocean theme, like underwater? Or maybe an island theme, like a beach. Then for baby boy's room we could do like a jungle. We could paint animals on the wall and in baby girl's we could do sea creatures and mermaids."

Luka sat down next to me and took my hands in his, "Abby…neither of us can paint."

I was stumped for a moment then said, "Ok, we'll hire someone. I need to go shopping."

Luka was smiling, "Ok, you're off tomorrow, so am I. We'll go look at the house, plan the rooms and go shopping ok?"

I nodded, grinning. "Ok."

"And Abby? I think we should call the babies something else, instead of baby girl and baby boy. How about BG and BB?"

I tried them out, "Bee bee and Bee gee?"

He nodded then got up to finish my snack. He brought it over and I ate ravenously, savoring the mixed flavors. Now I was sure Luka had gagged,

"Abby, I can't watch you eat that. That's disgusting."

I grinned, "Fine, go to bed. I'm fine here."

He left, stumbling back to the bedroom and I caressed my belly, "Hear that guys? We're going shopping!"

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