Disclaimer : I own nothing, guys at WB and NBC do. I just borrow to have fun…
"Oh my God! What a day! I can't believe it." Haleh bit in her sandwich. "Nothing happened for weeks and suddenly everything is out of control. Can you believe it?"
"Haleh, no more sugar for you today. Just calm down and breathe!" Her excitement made Chuny laugh. She seemed on a sugar high since the morning.
"I can't believe Gallant and Neela are getting married." Frank shook his head. Out of all the people that had assembled, he seemed to be the only one with reservations.
"And I'll be the one to marry them. Oh, I need to leave early." Jerry seemed to be on Cloud 9. Frank looked at him as though he had lost his mind. "I have to check my ceremony apparel. I haven't married anyone in at least a year. Their day has to be perfect. I will meditate to align my karma. Wow! Who would have thought of that yesterday?"
"You're all nuts. You think this is exciting? Two young people rushing into marriage? They hardly know each other. I don't have a good feeling."
"Frank, you should be happy for them and not play the Angel of Doom." Haleh shunned him.
"Sorry if I don't feel elated by the event. It's just... I don't know, maybe I'm just overreacting."
"And have you seen what happened between Luka and Abby?" Haleh went on. Her smile was getting wider by the second. Chuny smirked and teasingly asked.
"No. Has something happened?"
"Well I'm not exactly sure. I just can tell you that, when I left to give this guy haldol, I had half a nerve to walk back in. As soon as I walked out of the room, Luka showed up. And I'm sure he was out there just waiting for me to leave." Frank and Chuny tried very hard not to laugh at her description of the events. "I tried to see what they were doing, but from I stood I just couldn't. But one thing is sure, they were damn close." She paused and nodded to stress out that fact. "When I came back in, Luka left all smiling, winked at me and Abby was all flushed. I'm telling you, today is like a catalyst. Everything is happening today."
"We have to get a temp." They all turned to look at Jerry. He had been completely oblivious to Haleh's story and was only thinking about the wedding ceremony. "I mean if Gallant and Neela are getting married, we will obviously all go. And I need to leave early, so someone has to cover for us."
"I'll take care of that Jerry. Don't worry." Frank assured him. The young clerk nodded in approval and seemed again lost in his thoughts.
"Did any of you listen to a word I just said?" A shocked Haleh asked.
"Haleh, don't blame us." Chuny gave her friend a slight smile. "But currently, we're more into real facts than some fantasy. There is a wedding today. How can you still concentrate on Abby and Luka? We can think about them when this is all over. Okay?"
"Okay." The older nurse gave in. "It's just, so much is happening. My head is just spinning. It's almost too much to take in at once. But you're right. Neela and Michael first. So who is going to be the bridesmaid and the best man?"
"Neela has chosen Abby and Michael has asked Pratt." Chuny answered her.
"Good choice."
"Do you think I can leave by 2 o'clock?" Jerry's question came surprisingly. "Or is it too early? Maybe I should wait until 3 pm."
"2 pm is okay, Jerry." Frank reassured his colleague and stood up. "I hate to leave you, but I need to go home and get a suit for the ceremony. Aren't you getting your stuff?"
"I'll go change before the ceremony. I need to be back on duty in 10 minutes. Eve is waiting for me for some training course." Haleh shuddered as she thought about the nurse manager. Two hours with her didn't sound like fun.
"I'll go later too." Chuny informed him. "You know girls. It's not only about getting dressed, you have to do your hair, have the best make-up, ..."
"You do realize that you have to let the bride be the prettiest today." Frank teased her.
"Very funny, Frank. I'm sure Neela is going to be beautiful."
"I wonder if Abby is going to the wedding with Luka."
"Haleh!" Chuny sounded at the same time shocked and amused.
"You can't prevent this old woman from wondering..." The nurse laughed soon followed by her friend.
"What a lovely wedding! Neela is just so beautiful." Haleh's voice wobbled as she was observing the newly-wed couple.
"Are you still crying? Oh Haleh!" Chuny took her in a warm embrace and happily rocked her. "You're such a romantic."
"I always cry at weddings. And this one was beautiful." The older nurse smiled and escaping the hug, reached for a handkerchief in her purse.
"You're not crying because Kovac didn't show up and you can't observe him with Abby." Frank hadn't been able to resist the temptation to tease her. She turned around and gave him a scolding look.
"Of course not." She shook her head vehemently and added sure of herself. "And he is coming, I know that."
"How can you possibly know that?" The older man wondered.
"Abby has been checking the door about 10 times in the last 15 minutes. As basically the only person missing is Luka, it's safe to assume that he'll show up." She wiped her eyes and defiantly looked at him.
"Well you can't know that for sure, maybe she is just waiting for Clemente." He comically pronounced the doctor's name and Chuny couldn't help laughing.
"Very funny, Frank!" Haleh answered and shrugged.
"What is funny?" Abby had come out of nowhere. The startled looks of her friends made her frown. What had they been talking about? In the last weeks, she had noticed more than once that their conversations stopped when she approached.
"Ohh, how life is full of surprises!" Chuny was the quickest to recover. "Who would have thought this morning, that there was going to be a wedding?"
"Yeah, certainly not me! And once again I'm the maid of honor." Abby relaxed. Maybe she was simply paranoid, surely they hadn't been talking about her! "At least this time I could wear what I wanted. I still remember this pale green taffetas dress Marcy Andrews forced us to wear on her wedding." She chuckled. "And I thought I was her friend. Believe me this particular shade of green isn't very flattering."
"Your turn will come." Haleh patted her arm.
"What?" Abby looked at her friend quizzically. Suddenly understanding downed upon her. She gave out a little laugh. "Oh! I certainly hope not. I've been down this road once and that was enough for a lifetime."
"Your first husband just wasn't the right guy for you." Haleh explained her. "Your One and Only One might still be out there, looking for you."
"Yeah, right! Poor guy!" The young doctor chuckled at the idea. "And when he finally finds me after all those years, he'll be up for one big disappointment! I wouldn't wish me on my worst enemy." She stopped laughing and became serious. "Ugh, this kind of didn't sound right." She held her glass up and giggled. "I swear this is only Club Soda." Her friends laughed at her little banter.
"I think some people are missing. What do you think, Chuny?" Haleh looked around, pretending to be checking the people present. "I don't see Sam, Clemente or Kovac."
"Sam said she couldn't make it." Chuny teasingly frowned at her friend. Was she fishing for information again? "She couldn't find a baby sitter at such short notice and Alex has an important test to write tomorrow..."
"Luka said he would come to the reception." Abby answered most to the older woman's satisfaction. "He had some stuff to finish. Whatever that was..."
"Oh... and Clemente?" Frank enquired.
"I don't know about Clemente." Abby sobered up and squinted at his little jest.
"So you're not chummy anymore?" The desk clerk wondered.
"We just went out once. Is this going to haunt me for the rest of my life?" She asked her friends. "He practically begged me to go out with him and I gave in." All three knowingly smiled. "And it wasn't a date."
"Hmm..." Haleh took a sip from her drink. She half-heartedly nodded, pretending she didn't believe her.
"I guess you were there, you must know that better than me." Chuny added.
"Yeah, damn right." Abby crossed her arms and resolutely nodded.