Chapter 4: Marrying Him
Abby awoke to find herself in Luka's arms. He held her in every nice way: lovingly, protectively, innocently, sexily. He slept with a slight smile on his face, dreaming nice dreams. His hair was tousled to perfection. His 5 o'clock shadow, barely visible, eluded sexiness. Abby examined his face for a moment, and then concluded that he was beautiful. Okay, so everyone knew that Luka was hot, handsome, sexy, a real looker. But the only suitable description for this man in this moment was 'beautiful'. What in the world was she doing with him? She was marrying him. She was marrying him? She was marrying him!
Unable to disturb this wonderful sight, Abby dragged herself out of the room silently to take a shower. Both had to work today, though she wished she could spend the day in bed with Luka.
Standing in the hot water, Abby realized that she felt different. She was calmly ecstatic, if that was possible. She felt like she had conquered the world! She was engaged to Luka, a delight by itself, but she had surpassed her fear, her fear of commitment, of rejection, of whatever it was that hadn't to get married before. Abby's thoughts were interrupted by a rush of cool air. She turned around, but the problem was already fixed, and there was Luka.
"How about some company?" he purred.
"That would be lovely," she smiled.
"Lovely? Since when do you say 'lovely'?" Luka chuckled, massaging shampoo into her hair.
"Why? What's wrong with 'lovely'? I happen to think it's a very nice word." She replied defensively.
"You're getting soft aren't you? You've been dreaming of white dresses and roses, haven't you?" he kidded, rinsing out his own shampoo.
Abby gave him a look, but didn't deny anything.
Long after the two were dried off, they sat waiting for the EL.
"Uh, Luka, um, do you think we could keep our news just between us for a while? I just think I want to…enjoy this, together," Abby asked tentatively. "I mean, if you want to-".
"You're right," Luka agreed, wrapping his arm around her. "Let's not say anything just yet."
"But that doesn't mean we can't start…planning? A wedding?"
Luka grinned.
"Sure. But I don't want anything…overdone? You know? Just our family and close friends, Joe. What do you think?"
"Yeah, that's fine," Abby nodded. She opened her mouth to say something else, but the arrival of the train made her abandon her train of thought.
All day at work, Abby and Luka flashed each other smirks, or raised their eyebrows suggestively. They enjoyed playing this little game with everyone else at the hospital. Although the hospital was too busy for anyone to pay much attention to Abby and Luka's little flirtations, they were still curious as to why they were behaving so peculiarly.
"Mr Fredricks, I'm Dr. Lockhart. It says here you've been having shortness of breath."
"Yes, I've had asthma for years."
While treating her patient, Abby couldn't help thinking of the last time she'd treated someone with a similar case. It had been her father.
"Abby, your guy in curtain 3 is crashing!" called Chuny.
"Coming!"
Hours later, when their shifts were finished, Abby and Luka walked out of the ER holding hands, giggling. Abby rested her head on Luka's shoulder. She sighed.
"I'm exhausted! Let's get take-out tonight," she suggested.
"Good idea. I think I'll call my father later tonight. Tell him our good news. Do you mind?"
"No, tell your father." The word echoed in her mind.
"Luka, do you think-. Should I try to talk to my father again?"
Silence.
"Do you want to see him again?"
"I don't know. I mean, he's never had anything to do with my life. He's never made any effort to be a parent to me until now. He just showed up and just expected me to accept him."
Luka nodded.
"But he is my father. And I never really gave him a chance to explain…"
"Abby, it's your decision. If talking to him is just going to upset you, then don't do it. But if you think that there's a chance that you might be able to forgive him, to make him apart of your life, then maybe you should talk to him."
"Yeah," Abby said absently.