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Chapter 8: Michael

I hung up the phone, letting it fall heavily into the cradle. Sinking to the floor beside the phone I rested my head in my hands, Damn it Michael!

I pushed myself off of the floor slowly and tip toed back into our room. I poked Luka gently in the side until he woke up. He looked up at me with sleep-bleared eyes,

"Abby? What is it?"

I hesitated, "Luka, it's Michael. He had an accident. Neela said he was fighting and his leg was shot, they had to amputate."

Luka was up out of bed in an instant. "Where is he?"

I followed closely behind him as he threw on clothes, "He's being flown into county tonight, he's been stabilized but they can't maintain his condition down there. One thing's for sure, he's never going back to war."

I suddenly stopped as Luka threw on a shirt, "Luka, where the hell do you think you're going?"

"I'm going to the hospital, that's one of us in there."

I shook my head, "No, Neela told me she didn't want to see anyone yet. She wants to see Michael first and make sure he's going to pull through."

He hesitated, finally letting the shirt fall to the floor, "Fine, we'll go tomorrow."

I nodded, shifting so I could sit down on our bed, "We'll go tomorrow."

Luka came and sat next to me. I gently took his hand, pressing it into the lower side of my rounded belly.

"Feel that?" I asked quietly.

He held still, his hand pushing gently into my side. Finally he nodded,

"It's strong."

I laughed, "Yeah."

He let go and I gently pushed my belly. The baby kicked back, hard.

"I don't think it likes that." I said, laughing as it continued.

Luka gave me a half hearted smile, "Abby, did Neela say anything else?"

I shook my head, "She said he's flying in and he's been stabilized. They're not sure they've been able to stop an infection though."

He nodded; he looked like he was thinking. I lay on my back, sighing deeply.

"Luka, don't ever go anywhere ok? Don't leave us."

He curled up beside me, "Do you think I would do that?"

I shrugged, "I know you wanted to go help John."

He shook his head, "Abby, you and these babies are the most important things to me in the world."

I chewed my lip, smiling thoughtfully. I pushed my body closer to his and sighed deeply before sliding my body into his,

"I love you."

He kissed my hair, breathing in the citrus scented shampoo, "I love you too."

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I shifted, stretching my aching legs. I cracked open an eye and found myself back underneath our covers, Luka's warm body pressed up against mine, his hand draped over my stomach.

I kissed his fingers and lay back down; it had been a while since I'd gotten to sleep at all. I sucked in a sharp breath as a sudden pain tightened in my stomach. I pushed Luka's hand off and got out of bed, pacing, shaking my hands in front of me.

"Ow ow ow." I muttered, sucking in quick breaths.

Luka woke up and saw me pacing, seconds later he was up in front of me, "What is it Abby?"

I winced, "Contraction…Braxton Hicks."

He looked somewhat stunned and stood in silence as I waited for the pain to pass. It did eventually and I let out a shuddering breath.

"Wow that was painful." I murmured.

Luka still looked a little stunned, "What was that?"

I tried to regulate my breathing, "Oh, it's fine. We saw it all the time in maternity. It's just Braxton Hicks, nothing major."

Luka offered a weak smile, "You're sure?"

I nodded, "I can tell, it's not the real thing."

He nodded, "Ok, as long as you're sure."

I sank into my pillows and murmured sarcastically, "Wow, that made me look forward to the real thing."

Luka laughed awkwardly and I tossed his pillow at him, "Really, Luka I'm fine. You have to trust me on this one."

He nodded, "I know, it's just…stressful."

I snorted, "Wow, I can't wait to see you in a labor and delivery room."

He shrugged, "I've never been in one before."

I cocked an eyebrow, "What about with Danijela?"

He shook his head, "In Croatia we decided I wouldn't be there. Danijela thought it was a woman's job. She didn't want me in there."

I nodded, "Yeah, well you better know that I expect you to be there…the…whole…time."

He held up his hands, "You got it Abby."

I grinned, "Good, because I need someone to take my pain out on."

Luka grinned again.

"Abby, when do you want to go into the hospital?"

I glanced at the clock, it told me it was noon, "I guess now would be ok."

He nodded and proceeded to get ready, preparing himself for seeing Neela and Michael.

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As we walked up into the ICU I held Luka's hand tightly. He glanced at me,

"You sure you want to do this?"

I nodded, "I need to see Neela."

We asked for Michael's room, put on the mandatory yellow scrubs and followed a nurse down the hall. As we closed the distance I saw Neela standing outside his room, the frumpy yellow scrubs shrinking her beaten figure.

As she turned and saw us I could see the haunted glimmer of pain in her eyes. She fled towards me and I caught her in a tight hug,

"Neel? Are you ok?"

She pulled away and nodded swiftly, "I'm good, well, I'm trying to be good."

I gave a half smile, "How's Michael?"

She motioned for us to follow her and we slipped into the ICU room behind her. Michael lay still under the blue hospital sheet. Neela stepped closer.

"Michael?" she whispered, "Abby and Luka are here to see you, baby."

He shifted, turning his misty eyes towards us. Neela looked pained and apologetic at the same time, "They've got him on a lot of drugs right now. He was in a lot of pain."

She rested her hand carefully on his shoulder as he closed his eyes again.

"How's he doing?" Luka asked.

"He's ok. They found a minor infection, nothing serious. He's on a round of antibiotics to help fight it."

I stepped closer and gently brushed Neela's shoulder, "How are you?"

Instantaneously the tears reappeared, "I'm ok I guess. I mean, I know it sounds bad but in some ways…I mean, he's never going back to war. I feel like such a horrible person for thinking it but…"

I interjected, "You can't help it."

She nodded, "Still."

I rubbed her shoulder, "Well, we're here for you. Everyone else in the ER is too. Are you off work?"

She nodded, "For the next week or so. Until he's stabilized for sure."

I gave another half smile, "Ok, well we have to get going but we'll come back. Let him know we were here."

She nodded, "Thank you for coming."

"It's what friends are for."

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That night Luka and I took a walk together, around our new neighborhood. As we walked Luka began to speak,

"Are you scared?" I was puzzled until he clarified, "About the babies?"

I laughed, "Hell yes, Luka. I've never had kids. I didn't exactly plan on having kids."

He laughed with me, "But you're ok with it?"

I nodded, "Yeah, I'm more than ok with it. I'm happy about it. Excited? Yeah, Scared? You bet."

I touched my belly and smiled, "I wouldn't have it any other way."

He slipped his arm around my shoulder, "I'm glad."

"How did you do with your previous kids?" I pushed gently.

He shrugged, "Ok I guess, I mean of course I made mistakes but they were great. They were really great kids."

I squeezed in closer to him, "I'm sure you'll be a great dad."

He smiled, "Thank you Abby."

"So, you've never been a delivery room, huh?"

He shook his head, "Never."

"Have you ever delivered a baby?"

"A few times, when I was first starting but that was years ago. I can't quite remember."

I gave a laugh, almost a cackle, "You're going to be fun."

He looked a little shocked, "What?"

"Ah, being a nurse in OB we saw lots of different cases. In all of them, however, one thing was the same. The husbands caught it, and they suffered…"

I let out another snicker at Luka's expression, "You wouldn't do that would to me would you?"

I laughed, "Yeah Luka, right."

He kissed the top of my head, "I trust you."

I smiled quietly tucking my head in against his shoulder.

"How're you feeling?" He asked gently.

I shrugged, "Heavy, tired…like I have two bouncy balls inside my uterus."

Luka laughed at my comparison. "It's not that bad is it?"

I nodded, "Yeah, yeah it is. I think they're beating each other up."

He bent down, "Noah, leave your sister alone." He warned.

I chuckled at his effort and pushed him away, "Let's go home. My stomach hurts and I'm tired. I need to sleep."

He nodded, changing direction and proceeding down our street.

"So what should we call BG, it's not really fair to leave her nameless."

Luka shrugged, "I don't know, is there anything you like?"

I shook my head, "Not really, although whenever I was little I called all of my baby dolls Orma…"

Luka's face contorted, he was trying to hide a look that screamed, No way in Hell!

I laughed, "Kidding Luka, kidding."

He let out a breath, "You know you're mean when you're pregnant."

"Get used to it." I chuckled.

We walked in silence as we made our way home, strolling slowly and waving to new neighbors as we passed.

When we arrived home Luka helped me upstairs, got changed, then we both went downstairs to watch a movie. Luka had picked it, Hide and Seek

I curled up next to him, covering myself with a thick blanket. I set my head on his shoulder and sighed contentedly, within twenty minutes I was asleep…but hey, that's what pregnancy does to you.

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I went into work the following evening, stopping quickly by Michael's room. He was doing alright, still very drugged and very out of it but the infection was receding.

When I made my way down to ER I got a huge surprise, Neela was down there.

"Neela? What are you doing here?" I questioned immediately.

She grinned, "I figured what better way to be close to Michael that to be here. Besides, it gives me a bit of time when he's sleeping and I can go when he needs me."

I smiled, "Good, it's good to see you back again."

I slipped away, grabbing some paperwork and settling down at a desk, it seemed like all of the cases today were contagious or dangerous to her or the babies. Hunched over, I moaned softly as my belly pushed against the table. Frank wandered by and just had to make some smart ass comment.

"Shut the hell up Frank." I spat angrily, trying to reach the desk.

Sam looked up, barely fighting back a laugh, "How're you feeling Abby?"

I shot her a deadly look, "Right now? Right now I feel like murdering someone named Frank."

She gave me a lopsided smile, "I felt that way with Alex, how long do you have left?"

I took a few minutes, "I'm twenty five weeks now so anywhere from ten to fifteen weeks."

"You're taking maternity leave?"

I shrugged, "Luka thinks I should, I think it's easier if I'm here when I go into labor anyways."

She laughed, "Whatever floats your boat."

I grinned and turned as Haleh came up behind me, "Abby? There's a little girl who just came in, she's in curtain one. She's having difficulty breathing, looks like she shoved something up her nose. I know you've had a lack of cases, you want this one?"

Struggling out of the chair I grinned, "Hell yes."

I took the file and proceeded to the small curtained room, smoothing my belly slowly as a kick shot through my bladder.

I pushed the curtain open and grinned at the little girl on the gurney. She was tiny, maybe three. She had wispy brown hair tied back in pigtails and she wore a cute overall set, swinging her legs over the side of the bed. Her mother sat beside her, anxiously holding her hand.

As I walked in the girl's face lit up, "Look mommy, her's having a baby!"

I grinned, "Hey there, can you tell me your name?"

She smiled, "Jorja."

I sat down on the bed next to her, "Well Jorja, how can I help you?"

She looked up at her mother who shrugged, "We got a call from daycare; we went to pick her up. They said she shoved something up her nose so we brought her here."

The mother smoothed her hand over her daughter's hair, kissing her gently.

I smiled at the kind gesture, "So Jorja are you going to tell me what's up there?"

She gave me a toothy smile, "Beads."

I suppressed a laugh, "How many beads?"

She thought a minute, "Three."

I chewed my lip. "Ok Jorja, you know what I have to do now?"

She shook her head, "I have to take those beads out."

She frowned, "But…I like beads."

I nodded, "I like beads too, but they can't go up noses ok?"

She nodded solemnly.

"Ok, good Jorja. I'm going to get my special nurse to come and help me get those beads out."

I left quickly, chuckling as I went to find Sam. I did so quickly, "Hey Sam, want to help me fish beads out of a three year old's nose?"

She looked up, "Seriously?"

I nodded, "Can you hold her?"

She nodded back, following me into Jorja's room.

"Alright Jorja, this is my special nurse Sam. She's going to hold you in her lap while your mommy sits next to you."

She nodded, hopping into Sam's lap. I took the tweezers and flashlight, looking carefully before gently wrapping the tweezers around the bead, removing it carefully. I did so with the next two, Sam holding Jorja as she squirmed, crying gently.

As I finished I set the tools down and asked Sam to let her go. As Jorja hopped down she stopped crying immediately, looking at the three beads.

"Can I keep 'em?"

I laughed, "Yes, but mommy better watch them for you."

I stuck them in a bag and handed them to her mother, wishing them well and sending them on their way.

As Sam and I finished cleaning I felt the weirdest sensation. My stomach in its entirety jerked, hard. It happened again seconds later. I paused for a moment then turned to Sam.

"Sam?" I asked gently.

She turned, "Yeah?"

I pointed at my stomach, "What is that!"

She touched my stomach carefully, waited for the jerk and smiled, "Baby Hiccups. One of your baby's is hiccupping."

I sighed in relief, "Thanks."

She grinned, "No problem."

She exited and I followed, quickly hunting down Luka. When I found him I grabbed his hand and placed it on my stomach, "Here, feel this."

I paused and he looked up at me, "What is that?"

"Baby hiccups. I asked Sam."

He laughed, "That's…that's a little weird I have to say."

I enveloped my belly, rubbing gently.

Suddenly invigorated and playful, I trailed my finger across Luka's chest, "What say you we go home…and…have...some…fun."

Luka bent over, kissing my neck, caressing the tender skin and driving me wild. "I say…yes, definitely yes."

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TBC….

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