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Post by megan on Jun 18, 2006 8:50:56 GMT 10
oh geez....update soon please...
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Post by Ergirl on Jun 18, 2006 23:53:22 GMT 10
Great update... Post soon
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Post by sammiejm on Jun 19, 2006 0:10:36 GMT 10
Oh, Larue you got me again!
I was just laughing at the Spartacus reference and then up comes the revelation that Luka's father has cancer. Talk about a rollercoaster of emotions!
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Post by Tannii on Jun 19, 2006 1:03:30 GMT 10
Great story Larue, please update soon again !
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Post by larue on Jun 19, 2006 1:05:39 GMT 10
“Well, now I know why he had to ‘surprise’ me,” Luka said quietly as he folded his arms behind his head on the pillow. “He knows I would have questioned his reasons for wanting to come now.”
“Well, I feel a wee bit used,” Abby frowned as she slipped under the bed covers next to him. “I got all caught up in his ‘surprise’ too.”
“Don’t blame yourself, Abby, My father can be quite an artsy man.”
“Crafty...” she corrected.
“Whatever...” Luka sighed. “What are we going to do now? Should we talk to him? Should I call my brothers?”
“What if they don’t know either” she interrupted him. Luka sighed.
“I am not sure that I really trust him to tell us the truth,” he said. “Not now.”
“Maybe we could get the information from Oncology,” she mused. Luka shook his head.
“Not if he’s told them not to tell us.” Abby propped herself up on one elbow and looked down at him.
“Then we’re going to have to talk to him,” she said whispered firmly. Luka turned his face to her’s. Her eyes sparkled with tears in the light coming through their window blinds. He nodded slowly and then realized that he’d been crying as well. He reached up and ran a finger down her cheek and then drew her carefully into his arms. He held onto her tightly as pent up sobs forced their way from his chest and were muffled in her soft hair. Abby’s arms sought their way around him and she held him close to her.
The next morning, Luka studied his father across the breakfast table from him. Laurentis was smiling as he looked over the gallery’s program once again. He tapped the photograph of himself and shrugged happily.
“That picture guy,” he grinned. “Made me look very handsome, eh?” Abby smiled as she set a plate of scrambled eggs and fruit in front of him. She kissed his cheek.
“You are very handsome, Tata,” she said as she sat at the table with them. She glanced at Luka. He set his coffee mug down and took a deep breath.
“Greg Pratt pila te na Onkologija pod,” he said. “Što je koje se zbivaju sa sa vašim?” Abby looked at Laurentis. She wasn’t sure what Luka had said but she caught the words ‘oncology floor’. It was a long moment before Laurentis looked up at them again. He shrugged.
“Što je koje se zbivaju sa sa vašim?” Luka repeated firmly and cocked his head as he waited for an answer.
“Umiješati... se za dva mjesec zatim,” Laurentis said quietly. Abby cast a glance toward Luka, wating for him to translate.
“Interferon,” he said without taking his eyes from his father. “For two months now. Why?” Laurentis’ shoulders sagged for a brief second and then he straightened.
“ Oštar Mijelitis Leukemija,” he said carefully. They were both silent and Abby looked from one to the other.
“Luka?” she asked softly.
“Acute Myeloid Leukemia,” he translated softly. Abby’s eyes flew to Laurentis and she frowned slightly.
“That’s treatable,” she said. “‘Interferon is usually used after chemotherapy to boost the immune system. Have you had chemotherapy? Why didn’t you tell us?”
“Because he isn’t getting treatment, Abby,” Luka said, his eyes still on his father. “The Interferon is just to provide some immunities while he waits to die.” Abby looked toward Luka and then back at her father in law with a questioning gaze.
“Imam je dobar ivot. ཉྭelim ici,” he said. Luka tore his napkin from his lap and threw it on the table.
“What did he say?” Abby asked quickly. Luka stood up from the table and turned away in anger. He pulled his hands threw his dark hair and then turned around.
“He said he has had a good life and he wants to go,” Luka spit. Abby sat back in her chair in shock. She looked at Laurentis and blinked back the tears that were welling in her eyes.
“JA motriteljica tvoj majka kocka borbeni opozvan,” Laurentis said. Luka threw his hands up.
“Mati had breast cancer, Tata! That’s something all together different. And the cure rate on that is even different than it was ten years ago!”
“You did not watch her die, Luka,” Laurentis said. “You were here...in America.” Luka face sagged in hurt. Abby thought. Ten years ago? Where had they been ten years ago? She had just started working in OB at County...as a nurse. They hadn’t known one another yet.
“I didn’t run away from her, Tata,” Luka said. “Mati is the one that told me to come. She knew I had to get away from everything there.” Laurentis looked down at his uneaten breakfast. Luka sat in his chair at the table again.
“ Ona je borio internet, Tata,” he said. “She fought it to the very end.” Laurentis sighed heavily and looked up at him and then at Abby. She wasn’t sure it was the right thing to do but she reached out for his hand.
“You’re the only father that I have ever had that meant anything to me,” she said as tears slipped down her face. “I’m not ready to lose you too. Not yet.” Laurentis squeezed her hand and then drew her closer. Abby stood up and moved into his arms and hugged him. Laurentis looked across the table sheepishly and shrugged.
“Does she always get what she wants?” he asked in Croatian.
“Pretty much,” Luka shrugged. Laurentis shook his head and rolled his eyes. Luka laughed and took a deep breath and closed his eyes in relief.
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Post by *Natalie* on Jun 19, 2006 2:31:12 GMT 10
Can't believe he hid it from them Hope everything gets sorted! natalie x
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Post by anna982 on Jun 19, 2006 2:58:25 GMT 10
[glow=red,2,300]Love it. Update again soon.[/glow]
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Post by megan on Jun 19, 2006 7:24:00 GMT 10
wow...freaking awesome...i love it!
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Post by larue on Jun 19, 2006 8:03:38 GMT 10
Thank you for your reviews. I absolutley love writing for Tata, Abby and Luka!!! I will need to suspend updates on my fan fictions for a few days as I will be traveling to Florida (from Michigan!) to help take care of - and maybe move - my parents. Don't worry however. All that drive time should give me lots of time to think about where I want this to go.
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Post by Lubyfanatic316 on Jun 19, 2006 12:33:56 GMT 10
Great update!
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Post by <3 LubyII <3 on Jun 19, 2006 12:36:54 GMT 10
Loved the update! It was awesome.
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Post by zelda on Jun 20, 2006 21:31:00 GMT 10
Still going on with the catching up! Hopping from " The Camper' s Guide...." to " Heartache"... What a rollercoaster! Hey, honey, not too much drama, please! I'm in love with Tata...You know that, it's this thing with the Kovac males , I can't help it! So,s'il te plait, Larue, let Tata overcome this new health problem!
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Post by Noora on Jun 21, 2006 23:47:16 GMT 10
Aww, this made me smile widely : ) I love this fic, this always amazes me!
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Post by lubyfan on Jun 23, 2006 1:41:32 GMT 10
Please update!
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Post by larue on Jun 24, 2006 13:22:11 GMT 10
Laurentis shifted to his side on the exam table and pulled his knees to his chest as he’d been instructed. He felt the hospital gown moved aside and a warm blanket placed over his legs and lower hip. He tried to still the panic in his chest as he listened to the exchange of English words around him. It was a bit bewildering.
“Halo, Tata,” she said gently as she moved a stool to the spot in front of him and sat down. Laurentis glanced up into Abby’s warm brown eyes as she picked up his hand and he squeezed her’s gratefully.
“Luka is stuck with a patient,” she said. He nodded and flinched as he felt the prick of a needle in his hip.
“How do you like this exam table, Tata?” she asked. “It goes up and down. Did Luka ever tell you the story about the baby I helped deliver on one of these?” Laurentis shook his head. Abby glanced over his head at the doctor working to retrieve a marrow sample from her father in law’s pelvic bone and then back at Laurentis’ face.
“Well,” she said brightly. “It happened when I was still a nurse but I was working in the ER. We had a pregnant patient whose water broke and shorted out this….pedal….that raises the table. It kept going up and up!” Laurentis kept his eyes on his daughter in law and couldn’t help smiling. He couldn’t keep up with half of what she was saying. He would have to ask Luka about the story later. But he loved her so much for telling it to him…for being there with him. He grimaced at the sudden sharp discomfort of the biopsy needle. Abby frowned as she squeezed his hand tighter and kept on with her story until the procedure was finished.
She waited until he was dressed again and they walked down to the ER together. He nixed the idea of waiting in Luka’s office and chose to sit in a chair in the admit area. He enjoyed watching the people there. He exchanged smiles and nods with their co-workers he’d met on earlier visits and with the patients who were waiting for care. His son was in charge here. His eldest son was the ER Chief. Laurentis shook his head. There was a time when Luka actually slept with his soccer ball and was constantly being chastised in school for being a prankster. Who would have thought that he would end up here? Laurentis smiled to himself as he was lost in remembering when his sons were small. He looked up as Luka approached. He eased himself carefully up from the chair and stood tall.
“Are you ready to go home now, Tata?” Luka asked. Laurentis thought for a moment and then shook his head.
“I think I would like to walk with you a bit,” he said. “Do you have a park nearby?” Luka nodded and they headed out of the ambulance bay doors. He hailed a cab at the sidewalk and the two of them headed for Grant Park.
Luka paid the cab driver and turned to his father. Laurentis had already started down the sidewalk toward the massive Buckingham Fountain. Luka watched him limp gingerly for a long moment and then sauntered down the path to catch up to him. Laurentis stopped in front of the fountain and looked up to study it.
“I’ve never tried sculpting in granite,” he said when Luka stood beside him. The familiar Croatian words spilled out. “I never thought I could capture the heart of something in stone. But now, I wonder…” Luka looked up at the still fountain and was silent.
“This is a beautiful city, Luka,” Laurentis said finally. “I can see why you love it. You would miss it if you left.”
“I miss Croatia too, Tata,” Luka replied. “My family is there.” Laurentis nodded.
“You have a good life here though. Your mother was right to tell you to come. I can see that now.”
“You’ve been angry at me….all these years?”
“Not angry,” Laurentis shook his head. “Maybe….disappointed. I knew how much she loved you. I thought having you near would have made her happier. But, she was happy knowing that you were forging a new life for yourself. That gave her peace.” He turned to look at his eldest son.
“I should have come sooner,” he said. “I’m sorry.” Luka smiled.
“I’m glad that you’re here now.” Laurentis nodded and clasped his gloved hands behind his back and looked up at the gray sky.
“Seeing you and your beautiful Abby together….” Laurentis sighed. “I miss her a great deal, Luka. I never got to share this success with her. I never got to buy her nice things with the money that I have now.”
“Mati didn’t want for a single thing,” Luka insisted. “We always had enough.” Laurentis shook his head.
“You boys never knew how much we struggled to keep food on the table and clothes on your backs,” he scoffed. “But what child ever does?”
“We were happy, “ Luka shrugged. “And proud of you. We still are.” Laurentis smiled softly and turned toward the Lake Michigan shoreline.
“This….is what you exchanged the Adriatic Sea for?” he chuckled in disbelief. Luka laughed and shook his head.
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