Chapter Eleven

Luka felt weird strolling into the E.R. again after his time away. It hadn't changed much at all. Things for him had completely transformed since he'd come back. Abby. A baby. He spotted Abby rushing from patient to patient as he headed to the doctors' lounge. She was due in late December; he liked the idea of a Christmas baby. The thought made him smile. He was shrugging on a lab coat when she walked in. A pair of arms slid around his waist.

"Hi."

"Hey. How's my favorite nurse?" He asked, turning around to face her.

"Good." She responded, kissing him softly.

"Morning sickness?" He murmured. Abby shrugged in his arms.

"Eh, not too bad, all things considered." She was still warming up to the idea, of being a mom.

"I'm scared shitless sometimes, when I think about it. I have the potential to screw this kid's life up." She confessed to him. It was the morning following her appointment with Cobourn and they were in bed, talking.

"You won't." He assured her, rubbing a hand against her thigh.

"How do you know? You don't, no one does." She looked up at him, uncertainty and distress clouding her eyes.

"That's life, Abby. You'll do fine; you just need to have a little faith in yourself."

"That approach… hasn't gotten me very far in recent history."

"Just trust me on this one." She smiled, the expression in her eyes changing to something akin to… hope.

"I do."

"It'll be over soon."

"Not soon enough." Luka chuckled, releasing her from his hold.

"Secretly I think you enjoy it all." It was her turn to laugh, albeit sarcastically.

"I don't enjoy seeing my food again- especially apples. They come up like really chunky applesauce." Abby made face.

"I really didn't want to know that." Luka grimaced.

"I'm serious. The big bits get stuck too."

"That's more than a little revolting." She shrugged.

"You asked."

"I know. I'll remember not to next time." She grinned.

"Ready for your first shift back?"

"Not really." She grabbed his hand, tugging him towards the door.

"Come on, it won't be that bad." He raised his eyebrows skeptically. "Oh, and by the way, everyone knows." Abby said as they emerged from the lounge.

"They know?" He whispered behind her. She turned around, nodding slightly and dropping his hand.

"Not my fault. I blame Susan… and Jerry. Anyway, I've got patients to attend to. See you later." Great, he thought sarcastically. Everyone knew about their relationship and the baby. He glanced around, observing the knowing looks on the faces of the hospital workers. Just great. He hated the grapevine knowing what was going on in his personal life. The fact that they probably knew before he did annoyed him even further.

He could feel the beginnings of a headache already working its way up his neck. With a sigh he started working up his first patient.

The day went by amazingly fast. It was nothing special really; a few traumas, not very busy at all. He was still glad to be home. Luka felt incredibly drained. He opened the door to his apartment. It felt stuffy inside, the heat suddenly too much for him. The headache he'd been struggling with all day intensified as he found himself losing his food. Not that he'd eaten much at all in the last few days.

Abby found him collapsed on his bed a few hours later. She could tell something was wrong just by looking at him. He was strangely pale under his tanned skin. She put a hand to his forehead, immediately pulling away. He was burning up. She was alarmed when she checked his pulse.

"Luka." She called softly, resting a hand on his shoulder. He shook her off, mumbling incoherently in Croatian. "Luka." This time his eyes opened a little.

"Hmm?"

"I need to get you to the hospital. You have a very high fever." She helped him to sit up. Things were a bit fuzzy for Luka. He wasn't even really sure what was going on. He just wanted to sleep. "Do you have a headache?"

"Yeah." He replied groggily as she led him from the apartment.

"Vomiting?" He nodded. "Wonderful. It sounds like the flu. I'm taking you to County so we can be sure, okay?" She said, helping him into the car. He just put his head back, closing his eyes in response. She raced to County, every now and than an expletive escaping her lips.