Post by larue on Aug 27, 2008 13:34:36 GMT 10
This was written for as a one shot for a fanfic challenge. I think I want to carry it further. I do not own the characters of Abby and Luka or the 'ER' scenario. Warner Bros and Crichton Television does...lucky ducks. I just borrow them on occasion for writing purposes.
The Lava Lounge. She came here when she was feeling sad...or wanted to feel sad. It was a dorky place with a dorky theme and dorky drinks and dorky employees. What other kind of people would wear the kind of clothes they wore in Chicago? Straw hats and luau garb...in Chicago in the last dregs of a cold winter. It was supposed to be spring. And unfortunately these people were beginning to know her name. To be familiar with her as well. And it made her sad. She had been coming here way too much. To be sad.
It was her history here that made her be sad. Susan had brought her here for the first time...after they found out that Mark Greene had died. It was the first time she had actually gotten drunk in a very, very long time. She had been fooling herself before that. She told Carter that she could handle the alcohol. That she could go out and have an occasional drink with her friends and not go overboard. But it had been too easy to slip over that line and into oblivion again. Because she had been sad. Mark Greene had died. That was her excuse that night.
But what was her excuse now? Loneliness? She hadn't heard from her mother or her brother in months. Maggie was just a phone call away but Abby resented the fact that she was the one who needed to make that call most of the time. Susan was gone. Just like that. Carter was gone. Off chasing Kem and some...thing...he was searching for in the African desert or jungle. He hadn't found it with her. But let's face it...she hadn't found it with him either. Neela was busy with her surgical rotation. They rarely saw one another any more. Passing each other at the hospital. Always with a word. A meaningful word really...but far too few and far too apart to keep her from being lonely. Luka was still around. More than around. They were friends. They were...
"Hey..." She looked up when she heard a familiar voice. "Shall I join you?" Her vision cleared in the dim light of the Lava Lounge and she saw him. He held a beer bottle in his hand and was smiling...kind of grimly.
"Can I sit here?" he asked indicating the empty spot in her corner booth. She'd chosen it because it gave her a clear view of the Lava Lounge and made it easy to keep unwanted attention from any of it's dorky patrons. How had she not seen him come in? She glanced at the big glass in front of her with it's remaining fruity froth and paper umbrella. Damn. Was she on her yellow drink all ready?
"Abby?" She looked up at him again and smiled. Luka slid into the booth, set his bottle down on the table and sighed. There was a smile on his face but his eyes were doing something else. He picked up his bottle and took a drink. He tipped the bottle toward her empty glass as he set it down again.
"What are you drinking?" She frowned and looked at the glass. She picked it up and took a sniff.
"You know..." she said. "I'm not really sure? I asked for something in yellow."
Luka frowned with a grin.
"What?" She just laughed and pushed the glass toward him.
"It's a primary color. I drink my way through all of them," she explained. "Something red? A strawberry daiquiri. That was good tonight...had two of those. Something green? I'm not sure but it had creme d'menthe in it...and this? This is something yellow. It was this or a Lemondrop and I wasn't into sour tonight." She sniffed the glass again and laughed as she poked herself in the eye with the end of the paper umbrella. A laugh that quickly escalated and then waned when she realized that he wasn't joining her. He was too serious. Too grim. She composed herself and gazed at him, trying to match his solemn demeanor.
"Come on, Dr. Kovac," she said as she leaned toward him like conspirators. "You really have to lighten up a bit. Can't be so serious in this place. Let's try something..." She studied the drink menu in front of her. "Maybe...blue! That's the color I forgot. Green isn't a primary color. Oops...my mistake." He lifted his bottle and took another sip as his eyes never left her face. She frowned.
"What's the matter Dr. ER Attending?" she asked as she looked around. "Surprised to find one of your residents here?"
"I think you need to go home now," he said as he set his empty beer bottle on the table.
"No...no...no...no...no..." she shook her head as he stood up. "I have to fix this. I have to drink something blue." Luka chuckled and picked up her hand. He tugged and she grimaced as she moved out of the booth and tried to stand up. She giggled as he helped her to his feet and guided...no...half carried her to the door. He nodded at the bar tender as she waved to him.
She chattered happily away as Luka buckled her into the front seat of his car and then headed through the darkened city streets toward her apartment building. She grew silent as he pulled the car to the curb and stopped. She looked out the window at the steps leading up to the apartment where she lived. It was too dark in there. Too lonely. Too sad. Luka opened his door and then stopped when she put her hand on his arm.
"I can't go in there," she said. "Not tonight." He studied her face in the light from the street lamps for a long moment and then nodded. He shut his door and then looked out the mirrors as he waited to pull the car into the sparse night time traffic. This time she was quiet during the drive. She studied him as he drove. He parked his car on the street and came around to her side and opened the door. He smiled and helped her up the steps, never taking his arm away as he maneuvered through the keys on his key ring to find his door key. He opened the door and turned on the switch for the lights in the livingroom. He guided her down the small set of steps and left her in the middle of the room. Abby stood wearily next to the couch as he disappeared for a moment and came back with a pillow, a blanket and one of his tee shirts. He handed the shirt to her and then spread the blanket on the couch. She had stood there stupidly with the tee shirt in her hands, watching him. Luka grimaced a bit when he saw her not moving. He slipped her jacket off her shoulders and then proceeded to unbutton the shirt she wore. Her eyes never left his face as he slipped the shirt from her shoulders and unfastened her bra. He pulled the tee shirt over her head, pulled the bra out from underneath and then carefully unfastened the clasp on her jeans.
"How did you know where I was?" she asked quietly. Luka shrugged as he sat her on the couch and slipped her shoes off.
"I saw the number on your cab and called the cab company," he said as he lined her shoes up together next to the couch and then slipped her jeans off. He tossed them into the pile of clothes on the coffee table. "I told them there was an emergency at the hospital and I needed to get a hold of you right away." He nodded toward the stairs.
"There's another bed up there but I don't think you want to climb any more stairs tonight," he said. "Sleep here and call out if you need anything." She nodded and watched him go up the stairs to his room. He stopped and smiled at her and then disappeared. Abby sighed and pulled the warm blanket over her as she settled back in the pillow on the couch. What in the world was she doing here? She closed her eyes and drifted into an exhausted sleep.
Luka stood in the door of his bedroom and took a deep breath. Just what in the world was he doing? He would have loved to have carried her up the stairs and deposited her in the middle of his big empty bed. He could have done that. He would have loved to just hold her close to him all night. Would have loved the feel of her skin against his again. Would have loved having his cheek resting on her silky hair spread across his pillow. And she probably would have let him, too, given the state she was in. And that's why he couldn't do it.
They were friends now...he and Abby. It had taken them a long time to get back to this place. They had both been with others. Both had been hurt. But they were friends and he just could not risk losing that again. Being able to talk to her...to tease her...to share problems with her...was just too damn important. She was too damn important. That's why he had watched her leave and called the cab company. He knew she was drinking again. Never on a night before she had a shift though. But he knew there were other nights. He just knew it.
Damn. The thought of her sleeping on his couch downstairs was going to keep him up all night long. He slammed his hands flat against the door jamb in frustration and then headed into his bathroom for a shower. A stone cold shower.
Her nose woke her up. She was warm and snug wrapped in the comforter and had pulled it up over her head during the night. Somewhere there was a coffee pot brewing...and bread toasting. It smelled so good...and then suddenly not so good. She opened her eyes slowly and took careful stock of her person. The feet and the legs were fine. No cramping there. Her shoulders and arms were a little stiff but seemed to be okay. It was her stomach...and her head. She kept her eyes squeezed shut and carefully peeled the comforter back from her head. The smells swept over her like a rolling tide and suddenly she very, very nauseous. She closed her eyes again and tried to still the rolling in her stomach. She knew she was at Luka's place and she knew the bathroom was at the top of a high flight of stairs. There was no possibility she would be able to navigate that without falling or without losing the contents of her stomach first. No. Her only chance was to lie still and wait for it to pass.
"Good morning..." She kind of...felt...him sitting on the coffee table near her head. Abby opened her eyes slowly and groaned quietly as the light screamed into her eyes and painfully pierced her brain. Luka nudged her again. She peered at the tablets he was holding out in one hand and barely made out the small glass of water in the other.
"What's this?" she asked as she pulled herself carefully up the pillow and reclined on the couch armrest.
"Aspirin...vitamin C...B-complex..." She squeezed her eyes shut again and then reached for the tablets. She let them sit on her hairy feeling tongue for a moment and then took the glass of water he gave her. She gulped it down quickly and washed the pills down with it. Big mistake. Her stomach rolled again. She slumped back onto the couch and tried to relax against the warm leather. Luka nudged her arm and she wrapped it around the plastic bucket he handed her. So thoughtful. Damn him. She tried to relax but the pounding in her head was getting more and more worrisome. She needed to go back to sleep. She needed to sleep this off...just like she always did. Somewhere in the apartment a blender whirred and it was like fingernails on a chalkboard. It scraped against her nerves and sent irritating waves pulsating through her entire being. Then it stopped. There he was again. She opened her eyes. This time he was holding a glass with some thick, putrid colored liquid. Not exactly one of the primary colors.
"Is this some creepy Croatian concoction?" she snapped. Luka snickered.
"No..." he scoffed. "Just a breakfast...smoothie. Drink it. You'll feel better." She finally managed to open her eyes and gazed at the glass in distrust. He peeled her weakened hand off the bucket in her lap and wrapped her fingers around the glass. She sniffed it and then took a sip. It wasn't bad.
"What's in this?" she asked as she swallowed more.
"A banana...strawberries... a little honey...orange juice...tomato juice...a little milk...things you nee..." he said. Abby suddenly turned a bit green and he grabbed the glass from her just as she vomited into the bucket. She waved him away as she gagged again and Luka couldn't help smiling as he went to the kitchen for a cold cloth and the ice pack he had filled. He refilled the glass from the blender and headed back to the couch. Her face was white and her eyes closed as he took the bucket from her. He put the cool cloth on her forehead and she startled a bit and then used it to wipe her mouth. He set the glass on the coffee table and carefully settled the ice pack on her head. Abby's eyes opened and she smiled up at him gratefully.
"I need to go back to sleep for a bit, Luka," she said. "Is that okay?"
"I'm going to take care of the bucket and then do some reading," he said. "Ill be right here if you need anything."
"No..." she murmured as she drifted off. "Leave the bucket. I'll take care of it." Luka chuckled and waited a moment until she was asleep. He bent down and pressed a gentle kiss to her cold forehead, adjusted the ice pack and then picked up the bucket.
It was late afternoon when she woke again. She could tell by the light coming in the blinds. She sat up on the couch and looked around. There was a stack of medical journals on the floor next to his chair. The table was set for two. She stood up and pulled her jeans on again and then stopped to press a hand to her aching forehead. Oh god...what had she done? She carefully folded the blanket and stacked in on top of the pillow. Taken advantage of his generosity again. Nice going.
"Hey...you're finally awake," he said as he came down the staircase. He was barefoot and there was a towel around his neck. His hair was damp. "Feel like something to eat?" He gestured toward the table. "I made a salad and there's left over steak or chicken to put on top." He had that irresistible cock eyed grin on his face. He thought for a moment and then nodded. He pulled a chair out from the table for her.
"I need to uh...um..." she pointed up the stairs. He nodded and tossed the towel to her.
"Take that up for me?" he asked. "You can take a shower if you like. Lots of hot water left." She nodded and then picked up the shirt and bra that were folded neatly on the coffee table. She watched him curiously as she went up the stair case.
He had sliced leftover steak into thin pieces and had them on a plate to add to their salad. She was glad he had already started when she came down from her shower. Didn't want this to be taken as any more than it was. She pulled a chair out and he filled her glass with juice from an icy carafe.
"All I have is apple juice," he said. "Sorry." She shrugged and sat down. The salad looked wonderful and she realized that she hadn't eaten since lunch the day before. Peanuts at the Lava Lounge didn't count.
"I should thank you for rescuing me last night," she said as she took some of the steak slivers from the dish he pushed toward her.
"You didn't need rescuing," he said quietly. "That bar tender said he has put you in a cab before." Abby's eyes widened.
"He told you that?" she gasped. "Remind me not to give him such a big tip next time."
"Naw..." Luka chuckled. "You should. He made me show him my ID when I said I was taking you home." They ate in companionable silence for a while and she just enjoyed the food.
"No lectures?" she said finally.
"About what?"
"Um...drinking alone...drinking with friends...drinking with non-friends...just drinking?" Luka lined his fork neatly on the table with his spoon and knife. He took a drink from his glass of apple juice.
"I can't lecture anyone about something like that," he said finally. "You make your own choices." Abby gazed at him for a long moment and then shrugged.
"So what did you do today anyway?" she asked. "And what's with the tile in your shower?? You'd just gotten out and the floor was freezing!" Luka's face reddened a little.
"I got caught up on some medical journals..." he said. "Watched you sleep."
"Did I drool?" she asked with a laugh. He shook his head.
"Just snored."
"I do not snore!" she protested. Luka covered his head with his hands and laughed.
"Oh...yes, you do..." he said. Abby grinned and bent back to her salad as Luka folded his arms across his chest and watched her with a smile.
Later, after he'd driven her home, she opened the door to her apartment and rifled through the mail in her hand. She dropped it all on the table by the door and sighed heavily. She leaned back against the door and glanced around.
Choices. Her choice. Abby narrowed her eyes a bit and then swallowed. She sighed and adjusted the shoulder strap of her bag on her shoulder and opened the door again. She hadn't been in a long while but she knew where there was a meeting starting soon. She just might make it on time.
Luka was sorting through the things in his clothes hamper when he came across the damp towel she'd used to dry her hair. She'd chosen one of the shampoos Sam had left behind. He'd meant to put them in a bag and take them to her at work. Now he was glad he hadn't. He could smell the flowery scent on the damp towel. He grinned when he realized what he was doing and chuckled as he shook his head. He was behaving like a kid again...a randy teenager.
Somewhere, in another house a long way away, a little girl was curled up in a chair with a coloring book. She chose three crayons...a red one...a blue one...and a yellow one. Primary colors. She smiled as she used them to color the picture in front of her. She was blissfully unaware of how coming events in her young life would forever affect the lives of two others. She glanced up at the stuffed dog balanced on the back of the chair and turned her head when her mother came to her bedroom door.
"Come on, honey," her mother said. "Daddy and I need some help cleaning out the camper if we want to use it this summer." Sydney nodded and frowned as she dropped her crayons to the floor. She reached down to pick them up and tossed them onto her bed. She grabbed her dog and followed her mother.
The Lava Lounge. She came here when she was feeling sad...or wanted to feel sad. It was a dorky place with a dorky theme and dorky drinks and dorky employees. What other kind of people would wear the kind of clothes they wore in Chicago? Straw hats and luau garb...in Chicago in the last dregs of a cold winter. It was supposed to be spring. And unfortunately these people were beginning to know her name. To be familiar with her as well. And it made her sad. She had been coming here way too much. To be sad.
It was her history here that made her be sad. Susan had brought her here for the first time...after they found out that Mark Greene had died. It was the first time she had actually gotten drunk in a very, very long time. She had been fooling herself before that. She told Carter that she could handle the alcohol. That she could go out and have an occasional drink with her friends and not go overboard. But it had been too easy to slip over that line and into oblivion again. Because she had been sad. Mark Greene had died. That was her excuse that night.
But what was her excuse now? Loneliness? She hadn't heard from her mother or her brother in months. Maggie was just a phone call away but Abby resented the fact that she was the one who needed to make that call most of the time. Susan was gone. Just like that. Carter was gone. Off chasing Kem and some...thing...he was searching for in the African desert or jungle. He hadn't found it with her. But let's face it...she hadn't found it with him either. Neela was busy with her surgical rotation. They rarely saw one another any more. Passing each other at the hospital. Always with a word. A meaningful word really...but far too few and far too apart to keep her from being lonely. Luka was still around. More than around. They were friends. They were...
"Hey..." She looked up when she heard a familiar voice. "Shall I join you?" Her vision cleared in the dim light of the Lava Lounge and she saw him. He held a beer bottle in his hand and was smiling...kind of grimly.
"Can I sit here?" he asked indicating the empty spot in her corner booth. She'd chosen it because it gave her a clear view of the Lava Lounge and made it easy to keep unwanted attention from any of it's dorky patrons. How had she not seen him come in? She glanced at the big glass in front of her with it's remaining fruity froth and paper umbrella. Damn. Was she on her yellow drink all ready?
"Abby?" She looked up at him again and smiled. Luka slid into the booth, set his bottle down on the table and sighed. There was a smile on his face but his eyes were doing something else. He picked up his bottle and took a drink. He tipped the bottle toward her empty glass as he set it down again.
"What are you drinking?" She frowned and looked at the glass. She picked it up and took a sniff.
"You know..." she said. "I'm not really sure? I asked for something in yellow."
Luka frowned with a grin.
"What?" She just laughed and pushed the glass toward him.
"It's a primary color. I drink my way through all of them," she explained. "Something red? A strawberry daiquiri. That was good tonight...had two of those. Something green? I'm not sure but it had creme d'menthe in it...and this? This is something yellow. It was this or a Lemondrop and I wasn't into sour tonight." She sniffed the glass again and laughed as she poked herself in the eye with the end of the paper umbrella. A laugh that quickly escalated and then waned when she realized that he wasn't joining her. He was too serious. Too grim. She composed herself and gazed at him, trying to match his solemn demeanor.
"Come on, Dr. Kovac," she said as she leaned toward him like conspirators. "You really have to lighten up a bit. Can't be so serious in this place. Let's try something..." She studied the drink menu in front of her. "Maybe...blue! That's the color I forgot. Green isn't a primary color. Oops...my mistake." He lifted his bottle and took another sip as his eyes never left her face. She frowned.
"What's the matter Dr. ER Attending?" she asked as she looked around. "Surprised to find one of your residents here?"
"I think you need to go home now," he said as he set his empty beer bottle on the table.
"No...no...no...no...no..." she shook her head as he stood up. "I have to fix this. I have to drink something blue." Luka chuckled and picked up her hand. He tugged and she grimaced as she moved out of the booth and tried to stand up. She giggled as he helped her to his feet and guided...no...half carried her to the door. He nodded at the bar tender as she waved to him.
She chattered happily away as Luka buckled her into the front seat of his car and then headed through the darkened city streets toward her apartment building. She grew silent as he pulled the car to the curb and stopped. She looked out the window at the steps leading up to the apartment where she lived. It was too dark in there. Too lonely. Too sad. Luka opened his door and then stopped when she put her hand on his arm.
"I can't go in there," she said. "Not tonight." He studied her face in the light from the street lamps for a long moment and then nodded. He shut his door and then looked out the mirrors as he waited to pull the car into the sparse night time traffic. This time she was quiet during the drive. She studied him as he drove. He parked his car on the street and came around to her side and opened the door. He smiled and helped her up the steps, never taking his arm away as he maneuvered through the keys on his key ring to find his door key. He opened the door and turned on the switch for the lights in the livingroom. He guided her down the small set of steps and left her in the middle of the room. Abby stood wearily next to the couch as he disappeared for a moment and came back with a pillow, a blanket and one of his tee shirts. He handed the shirt to her and then spread the blanket on the couch. She had stood there stupidly with the tee shirt in her hands, watching him. Luka grimaced a bit when he saw her not moving. He slipped her jacket off her shoulders and then proceeded to unbutton the shirt she wore. Her eyes never left his face as he slipped the shirt from her shoulders and unfastened her bra. He pulled the tee shirt over her head, pulled the bra out from underneath and then carefully unfastened the clasp on her jeans.
"How did you know where I was?" she asked quietly. Luka shrugged as he sat her on the couch and slipped her shoes off.
"I saw the number on your cab and called the cab company," he said as he lined her shoes up together next to the couch and then slipped her jeans off. He tossed them into the pile of clothes on the coffee table. "I told them there was an emergency at the hospital and I needed to get a hold of you right away." He nodded toward the stairs.
"There's another bed up there but I don't think you want to climb any more stairs tonight," he said. "Sleep here and call out if you need anything." She nodded and watched him go up the stairs to his room. He stopped and smiled at her and then disappeared. Abby sighed and pulled the warm blanket over her as she settled back in the pillow on the couch. What in the world was she doing here? She closed her eyes and drifted into an exhausted sleep.
Luka stood in the door of his bedroom and took a deep breath. Just what in the world was he doing? He would have loved to have carried her up the stairs and deposited her in the middle of his big empty bed. He could have done that. He would have loved to just hold her close to him all night. Would have loved the feel of her skin against his again. Would have loved having his cheek resting on her silky hair spread across his pillow. And she probably would have let him, too, given the state she was in. And that's why he couldn't do it.
They were friends now...he and Abby. It had taken them a long time to get back to this place. They had both been with others. Both had been hurt. But they were friends and he just could not risk losing that again. Being able to talk to her...to tease her...to share problems with her...was just too damn important. She was too damn important. That's why he had watched her leave and called the cab company. He knew she was drinking again. Never on a night before she had a shift though. But he knew there were other nights. He just knew it.
Damn. The thought of her sleeping on his couch downstairs was going to keep him up all night long. He slammed his hands flat against the door jamb in frustration and then headed into his bathroom for a shower. A stone cold shower.
Her nose woke her up. She was warm and snug wrapped in the comforter and had pulled it up over her head during the night. Somewhere there was a coffee pot brewing...and bread toasting. It smelled so good...and then suddenly not so good. She opened her eyes slowly and took careful stock of her person. The feet and the legs were fine. No cramping there. Her shoulders and arms were a little stiff but seemed to be okay. It was her stomach...and her head. She kept her eyes squeezed shut and carefully peeled the comforter back from her head. The smells swept over her like a rolling tide and suddenly she very, very nauseous. She closed her eyes again and tried to still the rolling in her stomach. She knew she was at Luka's place and she knew the bathroom was at the top of a high flight of stairs. There was no possibility she would be able to navigate that without falling or without losing the contents of her stomach first. No. Her only chance was to lie still and wait for it to pass.
"Good morning..." She kind of...felt...him sitting on the coffee table near her head. Abby opened her eyes slowly and groaned quietly as the light screamed into her eyes and painfully pierced her brain. Luka nudged her again. She peered at the tablets he was holding out in one hand and barely made out the small glass of water in the other.
"What's this?" she asked as she pulled herself carefully up the pillow and reclined on the couch armrest.
"Aspirin...vitamin C...B-complex..." She squeezed her eyes shut again and then reached for the tablets. She let them sit on her hairy feeling tongue for a moment and then took the glass of water he gave her. She gulped it down quickly and washed the pills down with it. Big mistake. Her stomach rolled again. She slumped back onto the couch and tried to relax against the warm leather. Luka nudged her arm and she wrapped it around the plastic bucket he handed her. So thoughtful. Damn him. She tried to relax but the pounding in her head was getting more and more worrisome. She needed to go back to sleep. She needed to sleep this off...just like she always did. Somewhere in the apartment a blender whirred and it was like fingernails on a chalkboard. It scraped against her nerves and sent irritating waves pulsating through her entire being. Then it stopped. There he was again. She opened her eyes. This time he was holding a glass with some thick, putrid colored liquid. Not exactly one of the primary colors.
"Is this some creepy Croatian concoction?" she snapped. Luka snickered.
"No..." he scoffed. "Just a breakfast...smoothie. Drink it. You'll feel better." She finally managed to open her eyes and gazed at the glass in distrust. He peeled her weakened hand off the bucket in her lap and wrapped her fingers around the glass. She sniffed it and then took a sip. It wasn't bad.
"What's in this?" she asked as she swallowed more.
"A banana...strawberries... a little honey...orange juice...tomato juice...a little milk...things you nee..." he said. Abby suddenly turned a bit green and he grabbed the glass from her just as she vomited into the bucket. She waved him away as she gagged again and Luka couldn't help smiling as he went to the kitchen for a cold cloth and the ice pack he had filled. He refilled the glass from the blender and headed back to the couch. Her face was white and her eyes closed as he took the bucket from her. He put the cool cloth on her forehead and she startled a bit and then used it to wipe her mouth. He set the glass on the coffee table and carefully settled the ice pack on her head. Abby's eyes opened and she smiled up at him gratefully.
"I need to go back to sleep for a bit, Luka," she said. "Is that okay?"
"I'm going to take care of the bucket and then do some reading," he said. "Ill be right here if you need anything."
"No..." she murmured as she drifted off. "Leave the bucket. I'll take care of it." Luka chuckled and waited a moment until she was asleep. He bent down and pressed a gentle kiss to her cold forehead, adjusted the ice pack and then picked up the bucket.
It was late afternoon when she woke again. She could tell by the light coming in the blinds. She sat up on the couch and looked around. There was a stack of medical journals on the floor next to his chair. The table was set for two. She stood up and pulled her jeans on again and then stopped to press a hand to her aching forehead. Oh god...what had she done? She carefully folded the blanket and stacked in on top of the pillow. Taken advantage of his generosity again. Nice going.
"Hey...you're finally awake," he said as he came down the staircase. He was barefoot and there was a towel around his neck. His hair was damp. "Feel like something to eat?" He gestured toward the table. "I made a salad and there's left over steak or chicken to put on top." He had that irresistible cock eyed grin on his face. He thought for a moment and then nodded. He pulled a chair out from the table for her.
"I need to uh...um..." she pointed up the stairs. He nodded and tossed the towel to her.
"Take that up for me?" he asked. "You can take a shower if you like. Lots of hot water left." She nodded and then picked up the shirt and bra that were folded neatly on the coffee table. She watched him curiously as she went up the stair case.
He had sliced leftover steak into thin pieces and had them on a plate to add to their salad. She was glad he had already started when she came down from her shower. Didn't want this to be taken as any more than it was. She pulled a chair out and he filled her glass with juice from an icy carafe.
"All I have is apple juice," he said. "Sorry." She shrugged and sat down. The salad looked wonderful and she realized that she hadn't eaten since lunch the day before. Peanuts at the Lava Lounge didn't count.
"I should thank you for rescuing me last night," she said as she took some of the steak slivers from the dish he pushed toward her.
"You didn't need rescuing," he said quietly. "That bar tender said he has put you in a cab before." Abby's eyes widened.
"He told you that?" she gasped. "Remind me not to give him such a big tip next time."
"Naw..." Luka chuckled. "You should. He made me show him my ID when I said I was taking you home." They ate in companionable silence for a while and she just enjoyed the food.
"No lectures?" she said finally.
"About what?"
"Um...drinking alone...drinking with friends...drinking with non-friends...just drinking?" Luka lined his fork neatly on the table with his spoon and knife. He took a drink from his glass of apple juice.
"I can't lecture anyone about something like that," he said finally. "You make your own choices." Abby gazed at him for a long moment and then shrugged.
"So what did you do today anyway?" she asked. "And what's with the tile in your shower?? You'd just gotten out and the floor was freezing!" Luka's face reddened a little.
"I got caught up on some medical journals..." he said. "Watched you sleep."
"Did I drool?" she asked with a laugh. He shook his head.
"Just snored."
"I do not snore!" she protested. Luka covered his head with his hands and laughed.
"Oh...yes, you do..." he said. Abby grinned and bent back to her salad as Luka folded his arms across his chest and watched her with a smile.
Later, after he'd driven her home, she opened the door to her apartment and rifled through the mail in her hand. She dropped it all on the table by the door and sighed heavily. She leaned back against the door and glanced around.
Choices. Her choice. Abby narrowed her eyes a bit and then swallowed. She sighed and adjusted the shoulder strap of her bag on her shoulder and opened the door again. She hadn't been in a long while but she knew where there was a meeting starting soon. She just might make it on time.
Luka was sorting through the things in his clothes hamper when he came across the damp towel she'd used to dry her hair. She'd chosen one of the shampoos Sam had left behind. He'd meant to put them in a bag and take them to her at work. Now he was glad he hadn't. He could smell the flowery scent on the damp towel. He grinned when he realized what he was doing and chuckled as he shook his head. He was behaving like a kid again...a randy teenager.
Somewhere, in another house a long way away, a little girl was curled up in a chair with a coloring book. She chose three crayons...a red one...a blue one...and a yellow one. Primary colors. She smiled as she used them to color the picture in front of her. She was blissfully unaware of how coming events in her young life would forever affect the lives of two others. She glanced up at the stuffed dog balanced on the back of the chair and turned her head when her mother came to her bedroom door.
"Come on, honey," her mother said. "Daddy and I need some help cleaning out the camper if we want to use it this summer." Sydney nodded and frowned as she dropped her crayons to the floor. She reached down to pick them up and tossed them onto her bed. She grabbed her dog and followed her mother.