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Post by Melimelo on Aug 10, 2006 6:34:10 GMT 10
This is so good! I know I am going to be hooked on this story..... please update soon
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Post by Lubyfanatic316 on Aug 10, 2006 7:34:28 GMT 10
Great update!
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Post by *Natalie* on Aug 10, 2006 8:09:00 GMT 10
Amazing start! Love your style of writing!
Natalie x
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Post by Tannii on Aug 10, 2006 9:49:21 GMT 10
omg.. AWESOME !! I love the way Luka is talking to the baby in Croatia. it's so cute. UPDATE!!
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Post by crazylubyfan on Aug 10, 2006 14:33:18 GMT 10
great update!!! hurry and update...stat!!!
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Post by rorygilmore on Aug 10, 2006 15:54:16 GMT 10
OMG! What can I say, your fic is great. I can actually picture all the scenes in my head...Great fic!
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Post by ladykatie on Aug 10, 2006 16:55:42 GMT 10
so good. so good. so good. Update soon!
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Post by larue on Aug 10, 2006 21:48:16 GMT 10
Abby slept deeply on the high hospital bed and her breaths were even and full. I leaned back in my chair and watched her.....waiting for her to stir. There was color in her face again. Her surgery had gone well after her uterus was removed and the bleeding controlled. It had been so close. So very close. I stood up quickly as her head began to toss and she frowned. I leaned over the bed and held her face in my hands.
“Abby,” I said quietly. Her eyes flew open and began to search mine. She was struggling to move and then caught her breath. I reached for the button of the pain meds dispenser and placed it in her hand.
“Push this when you need it,” I said. She nodded and then reached for my hand.
“Luka....the baby......”
“He’s holding on.” I smiled and took the polaroid photo out of my pocket. I held it up for her. “He’s as stubborn as his mother.” Tears bleared her brown eyes as she studied the picture of our son. I slipped it into her fingers.
“He needs a name,” I said. She took a deep breath and sighed.
“Joe.......” she whispered not taking her eyes from the picture. “Josef Kovac.....” I nodded. “It fits him.” She looked up at me and sniffed. There was the tiniest hint of a smile on her lips and I grinned. I leaned in to kiss her softly and her eyes closed.
“Go back to sleep, my love,” I whispered. “I’ll be back soon.” She nodded and held tightly to the picture as she drifted off to sleep again. I smoothed the hair from her face and then headed out of the room toward the NICU again.
This had been my world for the past 8 hours. Blipping monitors and measured breaths. I washed my hands and slipped into a gown at the desk before finding my way to the incubator that held my son. I smiled down at him. “Your mother is awake, Joe,” I said as I reached in a finger to touch a tiny foot. I looked around for the card they had given me earlier and grinned as I pulled a pen out of my pocket.
“Josef Kovac,” I wrote in careful letters. Underneath I printed the name ‘Joe’ in bigger letters. I peeled off the paper from the back and stuck the tag on the end of the incubator. I pulled the rocker closer to the incubator and gently traced my finger along his tiny leg.
“Josef?” I looked up and Kerry Weaver was standing there with a smile. “Nice name.” I nodded and sighed. She circled the incubator and peered inside.
“How much does he weigh?”
“Three pounds. But he’s a fighter.” Kerry nodded and looked at me.
“Any word about Sam?” I asked her. She shook her head grimly.
“Apparently her son is missing as well.” Damn. I dropped my head to my chest and then looked up at her.
“The police are on the case, Luka. They’ll find them.” She forced a smile.
“Jerry is out of surgery and in ICU so I am going to go check on him,” she said. “I’ll leave you to your beautiful son.” She looked at him once more.
“He’s going to make it, Luka.” She smiled and left. I sat back in the rocker and looked around me. There were others in the NICU nursery. Other incubators and other parents. My fingers caressed the fragile new skin of my son’s tiny knee and my eyes slipped shut against my will as I fell asleep in the rocker. “‘Dr. Kovac....Dr. Kovac?” Someone was shaking me as I slept in the rocker. I opened my eyes as one of the residents assigned to the NICU nursery spoke.
“They need you in.....Abby’s...room? Dr. Rasgotra just called.” I glanced at Joe and frowned a bit at the eye patches swallowing his face but stood up and headed out of the nursery toward Abby’s room at a run.
The door was open and I hurried inside. Neela was standing next to the bed holding a uresis basin as Abby was heaving into it. She looked at me worriedly.
“Dry heaves for the most part,” she said quietly. “I paged Dr. Coburn. She ordered Compazine.” I nodded and slipped to the other side of the bed. Abby leaned back against the raised bed and looked up at me. She was panting, her eyes wide. I took her hand.
“It’s okay,” I tried to reassure her. I put my hand on her forehead. She was burning up. “Does she have a fever?” I looked at Neela. She went outside and looked at the chart by the door. She shook her head as she came back in.
“Oh....god.....” Abby moaned again and struggled to pull herself up. She grabbed the basin and heaved into it again. I put my arm around her back to support her and held on till she stopped.
“Need some more of this?” I asked and put the medication dispenser button in her hand. Abby let it fall from her fingers and shook her head.
“Abby, you have had major abdominal surgery. You can’t get through that without some pain meds” She shook her head stubbornly. Neela’s eyes met mine.
“Do you want me to page Coburn again? Maybe she would order some Ketrolac? It’s a non-narcotic. It might work for her.” I nodded and Neela picked up the phone from the bedside table. I just concentrated on settling Abby back against the bed and held her hand as she closed her eyes. Pain. That was the reason behind the feverish high color in her face. I’d forgotten. She was trying to get through it all without using the narcotics that were part of standard surgical care. I pulled a chair closer to her bed and sat down. I took her hands in mine and just held on for dear life.
She slept uneasily for the next few hours....never once letting go of my hand. Just as I had slipped off to sleep next to the incubator, I closed my eyes next to her and slept in the chair. But it was also a fitful sleep. Every time she shifted - or moaned - my eyes flew open. At least she wasn’t vomiting.
It was morning again when we woke together. I felt her hand squeeze mine and opened my eyes. She was watching me and smiled a bit. “You were snoring,” she whispered.
“I don’t snore,” I scoffed as I leaned forward toward the bed. She cocked a beautifully shaped eye brow at me and frowned.
“And who told you that particular fairy tale?” she sighed. I chuckled and reached up to smooth the dark tendrils of hair away from her face.
“Are you hurting?” I asked. She nodded slowly and then shrugged.
“I’m okay,” she said as she took a deep breath. She winced as the breath caught in her chest. I reached for the meds dispenser and she shook her head. My own chest grew even tighter with worry.
“Abby....” She turned her head to look at me.
“I want to go see him.”
“I don’t know if you can just yet.”
“Please, Luka,” she said quietly as her eyes filled with tears. “Please make it happen.” I gazed at her for a moment and then shook my head as I leaned in to kiss her softly.
“I’ll see what I can do.” I kissed her again, squeezed her hand and then strode out of her room and back to NICU.
Neela was sitting in the rocker by Joe’s incubator and watching him intently through the glass. She looked up as I was going through the required hand washing and gowning process just inside NICU’s entrance.
“How’s Abby?” she asked as I approached. “Awake.”
“Has she taken any meds?” I shook my head. Neela looked back at Joe and sighed.
“I would be sucking it in as fast as they dispensed it,” she said. She was silent for a long moment as I studied her slight form curled over in the chair. It was hard to believe that barely a day ago, she had been at her husband’s military funeral.
“Do you think that it’s occurred to her yet that if I hadn’t asked you not to come to Michael’s funeral....that you wouldn’t be in this mess now?” She lifted her dark eyes to mine.
“You were his friends, after all,” she said. “Knew him longer than me actually.” She turned back to the baby. “She should hate me for this.”
“No one hates you, Neela. Everything happens for a reason.”
“Do you really believe that?” she said, not taking her eyes off my son.
“Yes,” I said firmly. “I do.” She frowned a bit and looked up at me again. I shrugged and she shook her head and smiled.
“I need your help now,” I said. “Abby wants to come here to see him.”
“How can anyone possibly say no to that?” She stood up from the rocker and there was a fire in her eyes.
“I’ll take care of it,” she said as she strode off. I turned to the incubator and supressed a smile as I studied the tiny little body inside. He was spread eagled inside with tubes and monitors everywhere. There was a little bag over his minuscule penis. His face was nearly covered by the mask that shielded his eyes from the light in the incubator.
“Did you hear that, Joe?” I said softly as I reached a finger in to his tiny hand. “Your Aunt Neela is ready to do battle for you.” I glanced up at the blipping screens on the wall near his incubator.
“I think we are all ready to fight for you.” I sighed and smiled at him.
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Post by zelda on Aug 10, 2006 22:16:28 GMT 10
Larue, I was glued to my computer reading your fic. Baby Joe's birth is so realistic, I had the feeling you were in the OB with all of them, and were explaining to us what YOU were doing AS A DOC. I don't think TPTB can write it better. And I loved the first moments between Father and Son. They were so sweet.
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Post by strizzy on Aug 10, 2006 22:23:00 GMT 10
Great update!!
Completely addicted!
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Post by Maryna on Aug 10, 2006 22:26:57 GMT 10
your story it'so real and so great!please you must update it very very soon!
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Andie
Duchess of Luby
Posts: 325
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Post by Andie on Aug 10, 2006 22:46:27 GMT 10
If Bloodline and The Graduation Day are going to be as great as this, then I think I'll have to be ready to cry so much, caz this fic really brought tears to my eyes. The way you described Luka's wory about Abby and the baby made it sound so real. It was also so touching Neela feeling guilty over the whole thing...sad! Can't wait for an UPDATE!!!
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Post by lubyfan on Aug 11, 2006 3:06:09 GMT 10
WOW it's really well written I love it Can't wait for the next part
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Post by <3 LubyII <3 on Aug 11, 2006 4:31:44 GMT 10
Awesome!!!! Update soon.
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Post by larue on Aug 11, 2006 21:03:26 GMT 10
Abby had dozed off again but opened her eyes immediately when I opened the door to her room. Neela was right behind me with a wheelchair. Wordlessly I unfastened the catheter bag from the bed rail and laid it gently in her lap. I frowned when Abby picked it up and checked the out put.
“Stop treating yourself.....” I scolded and she grinned. I contemplated how to do it without hurting her for a second and then she lifted her arms to my neck. She didn’t make a sound as I lifted her carefully from the bed and settled her gently in the wheel chair. Neela slipped the catheter bag out of sight and then tucked the bed sheet blanket around Abby in the chair. She walked beside us as I pushed the wheelchair toward NICU. Abby’s face was white and her eyes huge as we pushed the chair into the NICU ‘box’ and rolled the chair to the sink. I turned the water on an soaped up my hands and turned to her. I carefully rubbed her hands with soap, rinsed and dried them with paper towels. Neela helped her into a disposable gown and tucked it around her in the chair.
“Go and meet your son,” she said quietly and stepped back. Abby nodded gratefully and waited while I put on a fresh gown and then wheeled her toward the incubator that held Josef. Dr. Raab was waiting for us there.
“Hello, Abby,” she said with a smile. “I understand that there is a patient that you wanted to see?” I pushed her chair close to the incubator and then sat down in the rocker next to her. I gripped her hand and watched her as she studied our son for the very first time.
“He’s so small.....” she said finally.
“He’s perfect,” I said and kissed forehead. She drew her hand from mine and folded her arms across her chest and leaned in closer to the glass. I put a hand inside and rubbed the bottom of a tiny foot. Josef responded by curling his miniscule toes. I smiled and leaned my forehead against the glass. Abby listened wordlessly as Dr. Raab gave her a run down of Joe’s condition. She asked a few questions and then leaned back in the chair carefully. Dr. Rabb studied Abby’s face for a moment and then sighed.
"Well, I will leave you two alone with Joe for a while.” And then she was gone. Abby glanced around NICU at the other babies and families and then back at me.
“He’s too small, Luka,” she said finally. I shook my head.
“He has everything,” I said softly. “Ten fingers...ten toes....ears...nose...eyes....”
“A possible heart murmur....jaundice.....a chance of cerebral palsy.....apnea.....if he lives.” she added.
“He has a fighting chance.” I said. “He has two parents who love him and will know how to take care of him. Right?” Her eyes met mine and she nodded slowly. We turned back to the incubator and she hugged her arms closer to her chest for a moment.
“I think I need to go back to my room now,” she said quietly.
“Okay.” I stood up and turned the wheelchair away. I glanced back at the incubator and leaned down to the opening and whispered to the baby inside.
“I know it’s a bit early son,” I said in soft Croatian. “But I am glad you are here.” I rubbed the glass of the incubator and then wheeled Abby out of NICU and back to her room. She was silent as I smoothed the sheets and then carefully lifted her back into her bed. She watched me as I straightened the bed sheets around her and fastened the foley bag back on the bed rail.
“What happened to me, Luka?” she asked quietly. It was the question I was afraid of. The question that I had thought about how to answer and wasn’t really prepared to. I took a deep breath and picked up her hand.
“You went into DIC......you were right about that,” I said. She nodded slowly, her huge eyes never leaving my face. She looked so small...vulnerable....in that bed. I wasn’t used to seeing her like that.
“Janet had trouble getting the bleeding under control so she....uh.....had to do a hysterectomy,” I said finally. She frowned and her hand clenched mine tighter. “She had to remove your uterus but everything else is still in place. You will still be able to nurse him.” Abby’s eyes closed and she turned her face away from me. She pulled her hand carefully from mine and slipped it under the sheets to feel the dressing that covered her belly. I put my hands on the sides of her face and turned it toward me. I kissed her closed eyes and her nose.
“I almost lost you again, Abby,” I said softly as the realization suddenly set in for me. “This time it would have been forever. I almost lost you.” She hesitated and then nodded slowly. Her eyes opened and she looked into mine. Her lips quivered and then she reached up and caressed my cheek. I buried my face against the curve of her neck and began to cry. I wrapped my arms around her and held her as all the pent up feelings began to overwhelm me. All the feelings and fears and frustrations from the past hours....the sense of loss...the joy of seeing our son..... frightened as he struggled to breathe and to live....seeing her blood flowing everywhere ....white faced and in pain......trapped on that gurney myself as I knew what was happening....feeling like I was going to lose them both....knowing that I would want my own life to be over if that happened.....again.
“It’s okay, Luka,” she whispered in my ear. “It’s really okay.” I pulled back and was lost in the brown eyes that held mine. Beautiful eyes that I loved so very much. She smiled slightly and kissed me softly.
“I think I want to go back to sleep for a little while,” she said as her fingers gently wiped away the tears on my face. I nodded and leaned in to kiss her.
“I need to go check on things in the ER,” I said. “But I will be back soon.” She nodded and sighed as she closed her eyes and relaxed. I watched as she slipped back into an exhausted sleep. I reached up to switch off the glaring light over the bed and left the room.
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