In and Out of the ER's Journal
| Game re-opening | |||
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We're ready to start re-opening the game, please post to the OOC thread if you are interested in retaining your characters or if you've been watching the boards, now is your chance to submit an application. We will be re-setting play when we re-open, with the time period being based on the current season, past season and original characters will be considered on a case by case basis. JD | |||
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| Hiatus | |||
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The game is on hiatus until real-life settles down somewhat, meaning Mel returns from Hawaii, and I get my house/health issues sorted out. Thanks for your patience. JD | |||
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| Visting The Troops | |||
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Don glanced at his watch as the rickety lift rattled down its shaft towards the front lines in ER. Far too early for him to have to get up just to fill in for the three ill residents. Wouldn't have done it if Weaver hadn't offered to handle the next grant meeting, something she always managed to avoid participating in. The lift door opened, and he walked out, Turning to his right, he saw ER triage. Two bums were engaging in fisticuffs, and Malik had just been knocked down by a stray fist as he tried to seperate them. Don sighed. "Hey, you two! If you want treatment, stop fighting, or I'll have the cops dragging your asses through court for vagrancy! I mean, what's the deal with prize fights in my hospital?" Picking up a chart from admit and taking the lucky owner, a drunken businessman with what appeared to be fractured foot, to Exam 1, knowing it was a formality before the idiot was hospitalized, Don reflected...he had kinda missed this kind of work. Kinda. | |||
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| [RP Thread for Neela Rasgotra] | |||
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Lucien waits until Romano is well on his way down the hall to flip the other man the digitus impunicus , then turns on his heel and heads for the elevator bank. Once in the ER, he finds that he was correct in his assumption: paged prematurely to consult on a case that upon actual review did not meet trauma service criteria. After briefly lecturing the attending in the trauma, Lucien snapped off his gloves and pushed his way out of the room to search the ER for a more welcoming face. Ah, there she is, he smiles as he recognizes the petite resident studying the patient board. Walking up behind her and standing as close as he can without actually invading her personal space, Dubenko asks in a silky tone, “What are we doing, Dr. Rasgotra? Is the open lac in curtain two yours or do you perhaps have a moment?” | |||
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| It ain't over till the fat man wakes from anaesthetic... | |||
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The surgery was simple, though shifting the man was not. Now he knew how weightlifters must feel. The glands had come out easily enough after incision, almost like pus from a zit, swollen and almost runny. He had allowed his assisting nurse to remove them after he'd made the necessary cuts. He didn't think compulsive sweating was contagious, indeed was fairly certain it was not, but chose not to find out. Returning to admit, happily finding the duty nurse this time and thus not further risking an aneurism, he breathed out, looking forward to a quick shower in the staffroom. He glanced at the desk, and saw a surgery schedule - Dorsett's. Figures that Fast Eddie would forget to keep the Holy Grail of his career on him. He glared at the RN, who swiftly looked away. He then picked up the wad of paper, and began glancing through it. Appendectomy-Wallace, bone fragment removal-Clarke, hip replacement-Symonds, prostratectomy-Dubenko...Dubenko! Leafing to the carbon copy chart, he felt a smile spread across his face. Prostrate cancer, operable. Well, that assuaged the conscience. Carefully destapling the chart, he took a pen from his pocket and put a line through the Dubenko procedure. He had a feeling he'd look after the good Lucien better than Dorsett would. | |||
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| Rocket's Back [RP for Dubenko and Romano] | |||
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The alarm clock rang, an old fashioned affair, with a metal bell and hammer. Robert turned, and immediately sat up. Always best to just get going. He got dressed in silence, not even turning the radio on, as was his tradition. The only light was the streetlight outside his apartment. He had sold the house before going to Romania. Since his mother had moved in with an old friend two years back, he had felt lonely rattling around the palatial building in East Chicago. Now he lived full time in his old “bachelor’s pad”. Antonescu’s funeral had been a quiet affair, but everyone else seemed happy, celebrating his life in their own, Dacian way. Romano had felt empty, and had barely said a word to Antonescu’s daughter, who had, once upon a time, almost become Mrs Romano. And now he was back. And today he went back to County. And the white shirt hung a bit looser than it had a year ago, and the grey slacks needed a tighter belt, and his mind felt numb. But let it never be said Rocket Romano backed away from his duty. * Lucien Dubenko was sitting in his office staring longingly into his cup of morning coffee. The dark liquid, now with one cream and two sugars was just about the exact shade of the pigment that colored Dr. Neela Rasgotra’s skin. He smiled at the thought. Neela. Dr. Rasgotra. He was at County now; it was Dr. Rasgotra…only Neela when they were alone. Her sense of formality amused him. He was more casual with the staff, first name basis where possible. But she, like him, was a very private person and he was determined to respect her wishes to keep their relationship, if it could be called that, quiet. He continued to stare at the hot brown liquid, not really seeing the beverage in the foam cup, but thinking about the young ER doc. Thinking about that impromptu kiss they shared, dinner afterwards. She kissed him first…he closes his eyes as he recalls that afternoon in the hospital corridor. * The El was unusually quiet today. It was still fairly packed, but everyone seemed to be staring at their shoes, none of the usual chatter. Even the panhandlers seemed subdued, merely proffering their caps, not hollering. It was like a public funeral day. When it rattled to a halt down the street from County, Robert breathed in slightly, left the train and walked the final steps out onto the street. It was chilly, and a wind blew across his scalp. But no self-deprecating remark came to mind, not even in the quiet of his own thoughts. He walked that last stretch fully expecting to find an electric chair at the end. But instead he found the familiar ambulance bay, slightly damp with early morning frost newly melted, and the battered, slightly squeaky doors. He pushed one, felt a blast of warm air. Saw Frank at the desk. The ex-cop looked up. “Got an illness, Romano? Go to triage like the rest of the rubes!” Romano looked at him, silent, for a good half minute, his body tense, his face blank. Then, he relaxed, and bowed. “Of course, Almighty Gorilla of Reception! Meanwhile, I also want you to ring departments. Tell them that their Chief of Staff is back, and that for the next two hours you’re their personal assistant, and ANYTHING is allowed. And where’s that lovely lesbian, Weaver? She owes me holiday paychecks.” * Having opted to wait for the British doctor, Lucien is leaning against the wall opposite the classroom, studying, or so it seems, his shoes. Neela stops, startled when she sees Lucien outside of the room, "Dr. Dubenko, what are you doing here?" "Waiting for you?" He gives her a hopeful smile before continuing, " I ah, thought perhaps you'd like to join me for dinner?" Neela raises an eyebrow, "After the stunts you pulled in there?" She scoffs slightly and pulls her gloves on as she walks towards the doors. He follows her, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "I'm sorry if I offended you...I didn't mean to." He adds lamely. She sighs, "You were just rather obvious with your intentions infront of Dr. Kovac." He furrows his brow. "I was unaware of the fact that my intentions were some sort of great secret." He takes her comment to mean that she doesn't return his interest and sighs, disappointed as he had thought they had quite a bit in common after their conversation a few nights earlier. She shakes her head, "I just...I'd rather Dr. Kovac not know my business." "Oh? Well regardless, I won't waste any more of your time, Dr. Rasgotra, with my antics or otherwise. Have a pleasant evening. Or what's left of it." He gives her a small friendly smile and a nod of his head, ready to turn towards where he parked his car earlier. She grabs his arm, turning him back towards her, kissing him softly. When she pulls away she's surprised at herself, "I...I don't know what came over me. I'm sorry." When she first kisses him, he stiffens in surprise, caught off guard by her actions. Relaxing and letting himself enjoy what's left of the kiss, he licks his bottom lip when she pulls away, not sure what to say to her. "No need to apologize." He finally finds his voice and reaches up to cup the side of her face, thumb brushing across her lips briefly. "No need at all." He drops his hand quickly, realizing where they are and clears his throat. Neela's face is as red as can be, she's clearly flustered by her actions, "I don't know what came over me." He can't help but smile at her reddened appearance and lowers his voice to a conspiratorial tone, "Don't worry, I won't say anything to anyone about it, least of all Dr. Kovac." She brings a hand up to her cheeks, rubbing her hands over them, "It's not like me to do things like that." He nods, watching her closely. "I know." She runs a hand over her head, still flustered, "I just don't want to rush into anything. Least of all a relationship or the beginnings of a relationship." He smiles softly before pressing his lips together and looking at the ground. His voice quiet, "I understand. " He swallows a bit nervously, "I don't have any business pursuing a relationship currently myself...Perhaps sometime down the road..." He trails off as he looks at her again. She nods, looking down as well, shifting a foot against the tile, "Neither do I." He's puzzled by her comment, knowing his own reasons stem from his impending surgery and the possible ramifications of the procedure, but unable to think of any reason why the woman in front of him would feel she has no business engaging in a relationship with someone. "I see...no, actually I don't." He touches her chin, wanting her to look at him. "Why don't you have any business being in a relationship? I'm curious." She looks up at him, "I'm a resident. It makes no sense to jump into something that I'll have no time for. When I do have a relationship with someone, I want to be able to commit to them rather than just see them every fifteen minutes or for a shag and have that be all there is to the relationship. I want substance." He smirks at her reasoning and then gives her an apologetic look, "Then I'm afraid you don't ever really want to be involved with a surgeon...we tend to not be so good with the substance part of a relationship. Personal life somewhat suffers for the professional one." She gives him an honest look, "How did you find time for your family once? How do you find time for your little girl?" He leans against the wall, tucking his arms behind him as he considers her questions. "I wasn't very good at it to be honest. My wife knew what she was getting into when she married me, and she was more or less okay with the hectic and unpredictable schedule. We did work together, however, so it isn't as if we never saw each other." He frowns slightly and adds, "And before you ask, yes I do regret not spending more time with her. As for my daughter, I spend as much time with her as my schedule allows. I try to be home for her when she's out of school and I do rearrange my working hours as much as possible to accommodate her various activities." She nods, attempting to understand, "And she understands?" He chuckles and shakes his head. "She's ten. All she understands is that it's the perfect way to guilt trip me into letting her get her way about a great many things." She nods again, sighing, "Where did you want to get dinner?" He arches an eyebrow at her, "You don't have to...are you sure?" He doesn't want her to feel obligated to join him. "Where would you like to go?" She nods, "I don't care, after that dreadful seminar I need some kind of alcohol." "Tell me how it really made you feel, Dr. Rasgotra, and just what the proper actions should be to resolve those feelings." He teases as he stands up straight again and holds the door open for her. "Ike’s is nearby, or if you'd prefer something a little less crowded by colleagues, I've always liked the Mandarin." Neela nods in thanks as she exits, "Somewhere less crowded with coworkers would be nice." "The Mandarin it is then" He places a hand on the small of her back as he guides her towards his car in the staff parking lot, not really thinking about it as he does so. * The door flies open, and Dubenko is shaken from his reverie. “You war criminal assmonkey, when I stand downstairs for 30 minutes whilst that gorilla ex-cop at reception tries to ring you, I expect you to pick up the goddamn phone!” Lucien blinks, furrows his brow as he processes the other man’s words and calmly sets his coffee on his desk before getting to his feet. Lost in thought as he was, he’s completely forgotten that the chief of staff was returning today. He hadn’t even heard the phone ringing. He can’t resist a small smile at the realization that Neela, Dr. Rasgotra, has gotten to him that badly with a single kiss. “Good to see you too, Dr. Romano.” He arches an eyebrow, ”War criminal assmonkey?” | |||
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Who: Claire, open to Luka and Sam Where: Sam's apartment When: After her father called her ( Saving his life again.. ) | |||
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| Luka thinks going to work is a good thing and receives a surprise phone call | |||
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Luka couldn't know how much time had passed since Sam had last checked on him,and though his temperature continued to rise he awoke in his mind clear-headed. He needed to go to work. Pushing the weight of blankets aside he struggled to his feet before searching the room for his clothing. He couldn't be late, he found his mind warning him even as it registered that something wasn't quite right in the current situation. When his cell rang he instinctively reached for it and pulled it out. "Coming Kerry." The words were mumbled, his thoughts disoriented and distracted by illness. At the sound of the voice on the other end though a look of first confusion then irrational panic flood his face. "Tetak?" Even in his present state he knew that this man was important to him, know that he wouldn't call unless something had happened. All thoughts of dressing for work fled and he stood there holding the phone in one hand and his clothing in the other as he waited for a reply. | |||
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Claire walked into the empty apartment, ears still straining for sounds that weren't there. The place was as silent as the grave, as it had been for a while. She'd purposefully chosen shifts opposite Luka since she'd caught wind of his dating the new nurse; with her struggles over her father's care and all that family drama, she didn't want to take it out on him. Hopefully he was getting some of the affection he wanted. She was tired of picking at him, so she thought avoidance was the wiser choice. Truthfully, she knew that he'd be defensive about his seeing Nurse Taggart, and Claire would go mad if she got called pushy again. She checked the messages, which there were none. She'd taken to calling her father from her cell phone, but he'd been asking after Luka more and more. Well, he had Luka's number, she thought, irritably. And Natalija hadn't called either. Claire had already checked on her; she was happily settled at Carol's. Still, Claire couldn't change shifts forever. She had expected Luka to be off hours before, and when midnight came and went without him, she decided to call the hospital, against her inner warnings. Out sick, she was told. Sighing heavily, she hung up the phone. At Taggart's, then. Could have left me a message, dork. Her next shift was early in the morning. Silently, she went off to bed, to catch what sleep she could. | |||
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| Plot anvil..open to all | |||
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Throughout the day and into the night County will see a higher number of probable flu cases. While in itself that might not be remarkable among those appearing to suffer from the symptoms include, ER and Psych staff who had worked shifts in the early part of the day, and bounceback patients seen in the ER that morning. If someone were to run a check for outbreaks at any other hospitals there will appear isolated similar cases though not in the numbers that County seems to be seeing. Have fun.. | |||
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| Another day in the ER /Open storyline set-up/Joint play | |||
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It's setting around 8am on Monday morning...Luka's been on since 6, cleaning up the leftover night-shift messes as he carries a chart to the rack and drops it in the discharge pile. He offers Sam a smile as he sees her. "Hey, when did you get here?" Sam looks up from her chart, smiling at him brightly, "Hey you, just a few minutes ago." Neela sits at the admit desk, searching through the internet doing research for a patient. She frowns when she arrives at another dead end. "I'll bet money Morris was lead for the night, looks like nothing was finished." He frowns at a stack of charts that he's been left to sort through. Sam looks back down at her chart and nods, "Looks that way to me." Lucien is up in his office, shuffling stacks of paperwork from one side of his desk to the other, repeatedly checking his pager and hoping for an excuse to go down to the ER "I don't know why Weaver puts up with him..." He pulls the stack to him as he settles in the chair at the side desk. Sam shakes her head, "I don't know either, he doesn't bother me all that much...maybe he still has visions of me undressing at the bar in his head." With a self-amused grin Lucien sets off his pager himself and shrugs. "Hmm gee, Dr. Dubenko, maybe you should check out the ER to be on the safe side..." He chuckled to himself as he stood up from his desk and pulled on his lab coat over his dark blue scrubs Luka laughs, before speaking again. "Oh, before I forget, there's a guy in sutures who thinks zombies are after him..psych has been called but no sign of them yet. As an afterthought, Dubenko grabs a stack of charts off his desk and drops them in the hands of his chief resident before heading to the elevators. Sam scrunches her nose up, "I'll make a mental note to stay away from sutures then." "See to it that those are handled." He remarked as the woman just stared at him dully. Albright was obnoxious, but she knew better than to challenge her superiors "He seems to like it if we do a check under the bed every ten minutes or so, keeps him in the room and relatively quiet. Oh, you wouldn't have a spare pen light would you, I gave him mine and told him it was equipped with a zombie death ray." Dubenko bounced on his heels as he rode the elevator to the ground floor hoping that Dr. Rasgotra was on, maybe he could get her to agree to a cup of coffee... Sam laughs out loud, "You're not serious are you?" He shrugs and lets a smile deepen. "Couldn't find a zombie rifle anywhere." She shakes her head and looks down at her chart and then back up at him smiling flirtatiously, "Violence never got anyone anywhere Kovac." Dubenko came out of the elevator and made his way towards the admit area under the guise of asking about who sent the last page to his beeper. "If you have a better way of dealing with the zombies when they come have at it Nurse Taggart." He flips a chart open and scans it without interest before looking back her way. Spotting Kovac chatting up Sam he sighed softly and then shrugged off the feeling of petty jealousy. Blondes really weren't his type even if the petite nurse was charming and attractive. "Ah, well zombies really aren't my specialty anyway." "Hey, Dr. Kovac...Sam" He nodded by way of greeting "Ah....zombies?" "Morning Dr. Dubenko...yeah..guy in sutures says they're after him." Sam smiles at Lucien, "Hey Lucien, how are ya?" She nods towards Luka, "This one's hunting them." "I'll be staying out of the suture room then." "I'm fine, though I haven't had my morning quota of java, don't wish to be mistaken for the living dead" "Chicken..I hear they don't bite..much." "Neela..you're awful quiet..no zombie pointers from your side?" Sam rolls her eyes. Luka rolls his chair out so that he can see the board...checking to see if the chart in his hands is still on it. "Why is the guy in exam 3 still here? Wasn't he supposed to go upstairs twenty minutes ago?" The question seems posed to no one in particular as he asks it. Neela shakes her head, concentrating on her research, "Unless they've got a suggestion on how to treat recurring Mastoiditis, then I don't much rather care." Luka smiles..unable to stop himself. "They'll just eat it Neela, zombies will eat anything." Neela rolls her eyes, frustrated that he's not taking her research seriously. Sam smirks and rolls her eyes as well, looking down at her chart seriously. "Why don't you have Dr. Dubenko take a look, might have to resort to surgery to relieve it." Dubenko, arches his eyebrow at that "Since when do you give surgical consults Dr. Kovac?" Neela shakes her head, "The patient's mother would rather not move to surgery." He did, however, move over to where Neela was and peered over her shoulder. Neela looks back, obviously now overly conscious he's behind her after their kiss. "I just call for them..." He raises his hands in surrender... "Don't you have zombies to hunt or something? Let the rest of us concentrate on the research." Sam laughs at that. "I'm just insuring they stay in sutures." He placed a hand on the small of her back as he continues to look over her shoulder, reading Suddenly there is a loud crash from the direction of the room which has Luka on his feet immediately and charging down the hall toward the room. Sam's head snaps towards the room crash, jumping slightly. "Ah, When Zombies Attack, News at 11" Turning his attention back to Neela he asks, his voice lower, "How many times has this mastoiditis recurred? No sense in constantly doing repeated inner ear injections if it isn't working when surgery can solve the problem" Neela nods towards the chart, "This is the fourth time the child has had it." "Malik!" Kovac calls for help as he enters the room but ends up having to make a lunge for the guy as he threatens to throw a lamp toward the door. "Calm down Mr. Richards." Sam moves in with Luka towards the man, making a grab for the patient's arm in hopes of holding him back with her small body. Before she can manage it the man lands a blow with it striking Luka and they both go down as he wrenches it out of his hands. Dubenko steps around to lean against the counter, facing Neela, arms crossed over his chest. "Four times in how many months? What are the intervals between occurrences? And how old is said patient?" He knows he could have simply looked at the chart but he preferred talking to her instead, "Careful...ow..." He pulls his hand back as the man bites him in response and braces a knee on him. "Sam..get me 5 of Haldol, and somebody find out where the hell that pysch consult is." Sam nods and moves up running to the medicine cabinet. She grabs a syringe filling it with a bit more than five of the medication. She walks back over quickly, stabbing the guy with the needle in his neck. Neela pushes the chart towards Lucien, "He's six years old and it's been three times in six months, the last occurrence was a month and a half ago." Luka keeps his weight on the guy until he stops struggling then climbs off, shaking his head slightly before picking the man up and putting him on the bed. "Soft restraints." He shook his head. "And just why is the mother so opposed to the surgery that can permanently relieve the situation?" Sam raises an eyebrow, "You want those or that's what they had him on?" Dubenko flipped through the chart, frowning. "This is ridiculous to let a child continue on like this needlessly." "He wasn't violent..they didn't have anything on him." Neela shrugs, "I'm not sure, she said she'd rather not resort to surgery." Sam raises an eyebrow and situates the man with hard restraints, "He hit you with a lamp, Luka." He shook his hand and glanced down at the bite for the first time, surprised to find blood was already running down his fingers, ignoring it for the moment as he tended to the man with the offered straps. "Would she rather her child suffer permanent hearing loss or facial paralysis instead? Has she been made aware of the seriousness of such a recurring infection? This isn't a simple earache." "I know, he bit me.. too, but he didn't seem violent before. " He rubbed his eyes with his other hand before moving aside. "Great start to the day." Lucien shook his head and gave her an apologetic look for his tone, "I'm sorry...I didn't mean to bite your head off here, Rasgotra." Neela turned to look at him, slightly perturbed that she'd been spoken too in such a manner, "I'm not sure Dr. Dubenko, however, she's my patient and it's my duty to inform her the best route of medication and then let her make the decision she deems most appropriate for her son." He grabbed a couple of 4x4s and applied pressure to his hand before starting out of the room. "Could you call psych again and tell them to get down here now, then maybe grab me a couple ibuprofen?" Sam nods and places a hand on her arm, "Luka..." She steps out with him and then nods into the empty room next to them, "Come on, let me get you cleaned up, okay?" He arched an eyebrow at that. "I'm well aware of what your job description entails, and as a senior attending and someone qualified to give an opinion on the course of treatment I believe the woman should be encouraged to reexamine her treatment options and encouraged to consider surgery. Or at least encourage her to see an ENT, who will tell her the same things I have just reiterated here" He glances down the hall before nodding, which he immediately regrets as his head pounds. "Okay." Neela shoves the chart into his hands, "Then you speak with her." He gives her a surprised look as he takes the chart." Neela..." Sam takes his arm and leads him into the room next door and sits him down on a gurney before moving a tray over in between them. He rubs the side of his head as he enters the room. "Headache is going to be a good one I think." She walks over to the cabinet and grabs what she needs before walking over and turning over his wrist. Dropping the already soaked 4x4's on the floor, she irrigates the wound and nods, "We'll fix you up no problem." Neela raises an eyebrow, "Oh so you do know my first name." "Ow.." he winces as the astringent hits. She frowns, "I'm sorry. He got you pretty good." She finishes and presses some gauze to it before placing a large bandage over it, "There you go, good as new." She runs a finger over the bandage before looking up at his head, wincing, "So..maybe I should spend the night so you can make sure I don't change into a zombie from this." " She smirks and chuckles, "You think so, huh?" "Couldn't hurt." He tries to smile then lifts his hand to his head again. "I don't think he broke the skin." She nods, "Yeah, but you're gonna have a nasty bump." "Won't be my first but I could use something for the headache." She nods, "What do you want? Vicodin, morphine, tylenol, or ibuprofen? Or something else?" "Ibuprofen should be fine..still have to work." He frowns at Neela. "Of course I know what your name is..."He trails off looking at the chart and then towards the patient area. "Lead on, Dr. Rasgotra. I'll gladly speak to your patient and his mother if you'd like" He rubbed his head again before dropping his hand. "And a cold pack." She nods, leaning in to kiss his forehead. When she pulls away she turns red, unsure as to if that was an okay move, "I'll be right back." Luka smiles revealing his dimples at her action. "I take it I'll be staying here until you get back." Neela nods and walks toward the mother, "Mrs. Wilson, this is our Surgical attending, he wanted to speak to you about your options for handling Justin's infections." Lucien nodded, giving the woman a small smile and then a wink to the boy. " Dr. Rasgotra has pointed out the severity and frequency of Justin's mastoiditis, which is far more serious than a common earache. He isn't responding to the antibiotics as well as we would like and if this continues the lasting effects could be severe." He sits the chart down on the bed and pushes his glasses up on his nose Sam smirks and nods, "Right here, or else." She points to where he's sitting before leaving. She returns a few moments later with the ibuprofen, "All right, big guy, how many do you want?" "Half a dozen sound good about now. " He squeezes his eyes shut and reopens them... She reaches with her free hand to touch his cheek, "I don't want to alarm you or Justin, however left to continue in this state he could risk serious hearing loss even deafness or facial paralysis. A simple surgical procedure can eliminate that eventuality. I think it would be in your son's best interest to reconsider you options" "You sure you're okay?" "Other then feeling like my head is going to explode any minute..fine. Did you bring a cold pack with you too?" Lucien looks to Neela as he waits for the woman's response Mrs. Wilson stands stiffly, "I'd like to have our family physician look at Justin." He nods. "Very well. I was going to offer to refer you to an ENT for a second opinion as it stands. I'd be happy to speak with your family practitioner if you like" Sam frowns, "I know, I'm sorry." She hands him the ibuprofen and grabs him a cup of water before reaching into her pocket and taking out the cold pack, "Here." "Thanks..and it was my fault..should have had him restrained instead of humoring him." He swallows the tablets then breaks the pack and lays it to the side of his head even as it elicits a wince from him. She frowns, "Do you need anything else?" Mrs. Wilson shakes her head, "No, I'd just like Justin to be seen by him and for him to advise me." "Not right now...but maybe I'll think of something later." He offers a slight smile "Okay,back to work..." She rolls her eyes, "Are you sure?" He stands. "Yeah..let's go see how long I can go without something else happening." He motions her to the door. She nods and moves for the door, opening it, "Back to the grind I guess." "Sure..." He holds the pack to the side of his head as they make their way back to the nurse's station. "How long did psych say they'd be?" Sam shrugs, "They said they'd get here when they have time." "Nice to see them so committed to their work." He takes a seat back at the desk when they reach the nurse's station again and leans forward, dropping his head into his hands as he supports the pack to the lump. Lucien nods and picks the chart up, making a few notes. "Well then, have a good morning Mrs. Wilson, Justin, feel better soon, young man" Sam sits back in her seat and scoots forward towards him, running a hand over his head and then retreats it, not wanting to be open about whatever their relationship was at work, "Maybe you should lay down for a while?" "Can't sleep in case it's a concussion." Mrs. Wilson smiles at Dr. Dubenko, glad to have had her way and nods, "Thank you." Sam shakes her head, "I didn't say sleep, I just said lay down." Lucien nods again and as he turns his back to leave, rolls his eyes in mild disgust. Neela purses her lips and nods to the woman and her son before heading off towards the lounge at a brisk walk. Kovac shakes his head slightly and then regrets it as a surge of nausea hits. "Okay..not doing that again." Lucien watches Neela take off and frowns, checking his watch and then deciding to follow her into the room. "Is there a problem, Dr. Rasgotra?" "How bad is the board?" He asks the question without lifting his head to look. Sam looks up and frowns, "Bad enough to not tell you where Morris lives so he doesn't get murdered." Neela turns around and raises an eyebrow, "I don't understand you." He lowers the pack and lifts his head to look at her. "I need to get back to work." He doesn't sound overly convincing that he's quite up for that. Sam places a hand on his knee, "Just go sit down in the lounge for a few, take it easy. There are more than enough of us here. Maybe ask Lucien to help out for a bit?" "What's there to not understand?" He puts his hands in his pockets He squints slightly, start to rise only to sit again. "How about if I just sit here and you see if Dr. Dubenko would mind until I'm not seeing double?" He clamps the pack against his head as he drops it in his palms again and closes his eyes. Neela raises an eyebrow, "Everything!" Sam nods and squeezes his knee, "Of course." He doesn't seem aware that blood from the bite has already soaked through the layers of bandage on his wrist. He looks stunned "Everything? Neela..." Sam moves to stand and catches his wrist, "Luka, I'm going to need to re-bandage that. I really think you should just go home." He lifts his head. "Not going home, I'll be fine..just need for the meds to kick in." Neela nods, "Yes. Everything! I don't understand how one second I'm Dr. Rasgotra and the next I'm Neela. Pick one and stick with it." Sam shakes her head, "Please." "I'll take it easy but I'm staying..besides..better I'm here then home alone if something happened, right?" He moves towards her, placing a hand on her shoulder, "Which would you prefer?" He let his head drop as he closed his eyes again. She rolls her eyes, "Luka, I'm taking you home." Neela shrugs so his hand falls, "I don't know. Dr. Rasgotra at work perhaps?" "Not going home..." He doesn't move. "Don't you have patients to check up on?" She fixes him with a look, "I'm not taking no for an answer, Luka."' He lowers the pack and lifts his head again to look at her only to squint and then rub his eyes before saying anything. "I'm not leaving Sam...I'm the only attending on." Catching the rebuke for what it was he nods and takes a step back. "Fine, Dr. Rasgotra. " He sighs, "About Justin, do you happen to know his primary care physician's name?' She places a hand on her hips and nudges him with a foot, "How man fingers am I holding up." She steps farther away from him and holds up three fingers. Neela nods to the chart, "It's all there in the medical history." He nods, feeling foolish for asking the question "Of course, thank you." He turns to walk out of the lounge not sure where he stands with her He closes one eye and concentrates on her hand a moment, tilting his head slightly. "Less then five." He smiles and finally says, "Three?" Not fully sure. She sighs, frustrated. She leans against her locker, not a clue as to what's going on. Sam scoffs slightly, "Lucky guess." She looks over to where she sees Lucien leaving the lounge, "Dr. Dubenko, could you do me a favor?" He looks up at Sam,distracted. "Um, yes?" When Sam turns her attention elsewhere he drops his head back into his hands and replaces the cold-pack to the knot. She nods towards Luka, gesturing towards him with a hand as well, "Can you examine this one for me? He's stubborn as hell. Bleeding with a possible concussion. I think he should go home, he believes otherwise." "I don't need to go home." He doesn't alter positions with the protest. Lucien groans "I don't treat zombies...or the Jolly Green Giant" He walks over to where Luka is and pulls out his penlight "Are you going to cooperate or do we need to call Weaver?" He lifts his head and squints up at the surgeon. "You wouldn't?" Sam stands back, "Oh, he would." He lets the cold-pack drop as he sits up straighter, allowing a glimpse of the blood soaked bandage on his wrist as he does so. "Okay, okay." She raises an eyebrow, "Okay, okay...what?" "If you're asking if I'm going home I can't, I'm the only attending on." She nods towards the phone, "I'll call someone in, like I did when I called you in on my first day." "Um, hello, I'm an attending." Lucien waves his hands at Luka "Sam..I'll be fine once the headache fades...I don't need to leave." He does shift his attention to Dubenko at the offer. "Like you want to cover the ER." He frowns, thinking about the shift spend with Neela, Dr. Rasgotra he corrects himself. "Not really, no. But I will so that you can go home instead of trying to treat patients while concussed "I don't have a concussion..I have a headache." He wasn't completely sure that was the case but he tried to sound convincing at his argument. Sam rolls her eyes, "You just said two minutes ago that you might have a concussion." He rubbed at his eyes again not remembering it if he did. Lucien gives him a skeptical look and motions for Luka to roll his chair in closer. "Are you seriously going to make me give you a neuro exam?: "You don't need to.." He lifts his gaze to Sam but does as the surgeon asks to avoid further argument. Lucien frowns as he picks up the other man's forearm, looking at the bandage on his wrist. "Seeing as this has bled through, Sam, this needs redressing, I'm not going to suture a bite wound." He shines his pen light in Luka's eyes, watching for the pupils to react Luka squints to the brightness without intending to. Sam nods and moves off to grab some more dressings for the wound and the irrigation tool. Tucking the light back in his pocket, Lucien feels the bump on Luka's head. "You've managed to score yourself a pretty good goose egg there, Zombie Hunter." "Ow.."He winces and pulls away slightly from the touch. "Could have told you that myself." He lowers his voice and levels his gaze with the other man, "Honest medical assessment here? You have a mild concussion. My personal opinion? Suck it up and don't make me cover the ER." "I tried to tell her that...just waiting for the meds to kick in and I'll be fine." Sam moves in after their conversation and starts to pull the dressings free so she can irrigate the wound again. He doesn't resist Sam's efforts and merely bites his lip as the astringent again sears the wound. Lucien looks at Sam "He's fine,just a bump on that rock hard Croatian head of his." He glances to Dubenko. "Thanks." He smiles back, knowing he has one over on the other man for the moment. "Anytime" Sam rolls her eyes, pressing the gauze and new bandage to the still oozing wound, "Whatever." "I think I'm done here..."He looks at Luka and Sam questioningly. "Yeah, I owe you one" He tosses the words to Dubenko before the man walks away. Sam finishes dressing the wound and walks away over to admit, grabbing another chart to work on. Angry at both men for not following what she believes is the right course of action. "And that board isn't going to clear itself." Luka stands as Sam walks away and after steadying himself on the desk goes to take a chart. He walks over behind the small woman and leans down to her before speaking quietly to her. "Sam, if I start to feel worse I'll leave..okay?" Sam shakes her head, "It's fine, I don't care anymore." "He smiles despite himself. "You're mad." She shrugs, "I'm working is what I am." "And I should be too..." He reluctantly walks away and goes to take care of the patient whose chart he is carrying. | |||
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| After the class...Joint Posting | |||
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By the time Luka actually got away from the hospital it was close to 6 and he wondered if he should call Sam again. She had said it was her night with her son and maybe he'd rather spend it alone with her. He'd finally decided to go by anyway and after stopping at a convenience store where he had filled a bag with snacks suitable for a child and sure to anger any dentist he arrived on the doorstep bag in hand. He rang the buzzer and waited. Alex was running around the apartment when the buzzer sounded. Sam stops chasing after him and clicks the buzzer to answer, "Hello? ALEX SLOW DOWN!" "Hi." "Luka? Alex, seriously, stop it!" "Yeah..bad timing?" "No, he's just...he's a kid, and he's a bit crazy sometimes. Come on up." She pressed the button to unlock the door for him. "Ok." He pulled the door as it clicked open and made his way up to the apartment, shifting the bag in his arms as he reached their door and knocked. Sam caught Alex in her grip and faced him towards her, "I've got a friend coming over okay, we'll watch the movie, but please. Behave." Alex rolls his eyes and shrugs his shoulders away from her, "Whatever, *Sam*." He pulls away from her as she moves to the door to open it, smiling, "Hey there." "Hey yourself." The bag he holds is decent sized and is obviously full, tortilla chips are visible above the top. She looks at the bag, impressed. She moves to the side,and reaches to take it, "Come on in." "Wait..I have to explain what I brought..." He lifts the bag out of her reach before she can grab it. She shuts the door behind him and nods, "All right then, show us. Alex say hello." Alex looks up at Luka, "El President of Lamenation. Welcome. Have you been cured of Lamentia yet?" He carries it to the table and sets it down before starting to pull the contents out. "I'm not the one to judge...doctors don't do very well at treating themselves." He pulls two bags of chips out..a nacho and salsa'd style then two jars of cheese dip and salsa. Next comes out a bright green slurpee... "This is for you..." He slides it Alex's way before pulling a six pack of cokes and then beer out. He smiles as he burrows in the bag again pulling out a bag of gummied body parts and another of sour worms. In the bag again he grabs something but holds back as he looks at Alex. "This isn't food but I thought you might appreciate it." He withdraws something which he hands to Alex hidden from Sam's view. The last bag he pulls out is assorted chocolate mini hersheys. Alex's eyes light up at the chips and then he pouts visibly at the candy. Sam cringes and looks at the boy, apologetic, "You can have some chips kiddo." Alex's eyes lighten up at the gift, having forgotten about not being able to eat the sugary stuff. Sam smiles at his face as he walks off, squeezing a rubbery nose and smiling when green goo comes out the nostrils. Luka looks between the two. "What'd I do?" Sam shakes her head, "Nothing, you didn't know. It's just that Alex is diabetic." "Oh..I'm sorry..maybe a couple of eyeballs?" He smirks at her. "No slurpee either then?" "I'm afraid not." "Sorry Alex." He looks to the kids and drops the candy back in the bag out of sight. Sam shakes her head, "That doesn't mean we can't eat it." "I wouldn't feel right eating it in front of him." "He's fine. He can eat the chips. He loves salsa. He'll be fine." "Still..I'll settle for the chips alone too, you can have the candy though. Should I put these in the frig?" He picks up the two six packs with the question. She nods, "Yeah, grab me a beer though? I've got a few cold ones left in there." "Sure." He carries them to the frig and finds room for them before grabbing two beers and bringing them back. Setting them on the table he pulls his peacoat off, revealing the jeans and long-sleeved tee he's wearing underneath. "So, what are we watching?" Alex walks over and grabs the chips and salsa, setting them on the coffee table in front of the couch, "Kill Bill Volume 1!" Sam eyes Luka for a moment before turning to Alex, "You ready for the movie?" Alex nods, "DUH." "I haven't seen that." He picks up the other bag and cheese before taking one of the beers and going over to the couch as well. He sets them next to the others before taking a seat himself. Sam moves to sit in between the two boys as she opens her beer and takes a sip, setting in front of her, "Neither have I, but Alex has been raving about it for the past few weeks." Luka leans forward to grab the jar of cheese and open it, leaving the salsa to Alex. "Which bag of chips do you want?" Alex studies the two, "Is there a difference?" "Luka points to the ones closet to Alex.."Spicy salsa" then to the other, "Extra cheese." Alex reaches for the salsa, "I'll take the spicy." Sam smirks at Alex, shaking her head, "He gets that from his father." Alex perks up at the mention of Steve, "My dad's in a band!" "Okay." Luka reaches for the other and opens the bag, setting it between he and Sam as he rests the cheese on his thigh. "Really, what does he play?" He carefully leans forward enough to snag his own beer before finally leaning back as he opens it. Alex opens the chips bag and dips one into the salsa, "Guitar, he's really good too!" "That's good." He looked to Sam, not sure this was a conversation she would appreciate. Alex turns to Sam, "When are we gonna see Dad again Mom?" Sam shakes her head and shrugs, taking a chip, disinterested in the topic, "I don't know kiddo." "Alex..going to start the movie?" Luka interrupts hoping it'll change the topic. Alex nods and hops from his spot on the other side of Sam and grabs the DVD putting it into the DVD player of their small television. He hops back onto the couch and leans against the arm of the couch to press "play" on the remote. Sam takes the moment to scoot slightly closer to Luka. Luka reaches for the cheese jar before it tips as Sam moves closer then tucks it between his legs where his beer is also resting. He slides his free arm around her shoulder when he sees that she seems comfortable with it around Alex. "No chick flicks around here huh?" He leans close to her to whisper. She shakes her head, leaning into him slightly, letting out a small sigh when she realizes Alex is glued to the movie. "You okay?"he rubs her upper arm as he holds her, then lifts his beer to his lips with the other hand. She nods, "Yeah." He tucks the beer away and grows quiet as the movie plays Sam watches the movie half interested as she nurses her beer. Alex, on the other hand, is riveted by the scenes on the screen. Luka, not too eager to renew the intimacy in front of Alex simply holds her, sipping his beer and watching the movie. Sam isn't eager to be anymore intimate than his arm around her with Alex in the room either. Alex, is oblivious to them, of course. His little eyes bright with glee at the violence of the movie, his mother grimaces. Luka finds himself drawn into the movie without intending to be and soon is watching it intently. Sam rolls her eyes as she can tell both boys are into the movie. She finishes her beer and curls up her knees to her chest, placing a hand on Luka's thigh, her knees hiding her hand. At the touch to his leg Luka pulls away from the movie long enough to look at Sam and smile before rubbing his hand down her arm. Then it's back to the film for him. Sam smiles when he acknowledges her and keeps her hand there throughout the remainder of the movie. She pays attention, even though she's bored out of her mind. Even as he watches the film Luka's fingers stroke Sam's arm under them, the action lazy and unhurried. Sam relaxes under his touch, her fingers padding against the inside of his thigh. It doesn't take long for Luka to abandon his bear and lay his hand over Sam's to still it. She smirks when he stills her hand. She wiggles her fingers slowly under his before ceasing completely. He glances her way and after making sure Alex isn't going to notice he offers a quick kiss to compensate for denying her the act. She kisses him back quickly, not upset that he'd stopped her at all. | |||
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| Anger Management 101 Joint posting | |||
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Luka and Dubenko got early morning phone messages saying this class was mandatory if they wanted to work their next shifts. Class is at the hospital and the class consists of two maintenance guys sporting cuts and bruises from an on-site altercation and a janitor who was caught sniping at some dumpster divers. Having gone back to the apartment Luka arrives with the Jumbo sized coffee cup and a paper and sports blue jeans and a long-sleeved tee, his eyes hidden behind sunglasses...it's been a long weekend. He pushes the door open and enters not in the least excited about being called in and finds a seat at the back before shedding his peacoat. Luka has invested in the 64 oz refillable coffee tankard for the event. Lucien Dubenko, the perpetual morning person, showed up in a pleasant mood despite the slight ringing in his ears from the slight hangover he was still nursing Luka glances up as the door opens and nods to the surgeon..the shades still in place. Lucien quirks a smile at the doctor and arches an eyebrow at the shades but says nothing as he finds a seat near the door. One of the maintenance guys is in his late 40's and looks like he could kill anyone on a whim, the other slightly younger and less dangerous..the janitor just looks bored. Neela trots across the street, newspaper underneath her arm and a Burberry scarf wrapped around her neck. She walks into the building and then into the room, gliding past both docs and other people. She sits in the front of the room in the middle and takes out a note book and a pen. She uncaps the pen and places it on the pad before unwrapping the scarf from her neck. The quiet surgeon eyes the other men in the classroom warily and tugs at his sweatshirt with nervous energy, a warm smile crossing his features as Neela walks into the room. He leans over and whispers quietly to her, a teasing quality to his voice, "Taking things a little to the extreme are we Dr. Rasgotra?" Laying his own paper aside he takes a healthy drink of his coffee before sitting it down and slouching in his chair as he folds his arms across his chest, looking very much like he could easily go to sleep right there. Neela shrugs, "Perhaps I want to get as much as I can out of the class for next time I feel the urge to slap someone when they call me a bitch, Dr. Dubenko." "Where is this guy..I got better things to do then waste my time here." Maintenance man Ralph grumbles with a glare to his work companion. "This is your fault..if you had just paid up we wouldn't even have to be doing this." He looks suitably abashed by her comment and sits back in his seat, crossing his arms over his chest with a murmured "I did apologize for that..." Luka looks at Neela.. "You got pulled in for the thing in the bar?" His position doesn't change. Neela turns her head towards the maintenance man and rolls her eyes at him. She's incredibly annoyed at being surrounded by this much testosterone. She nodded, "Apparently it was bad public representation for the hospital and I should learn how to better hone my impulses." "Weaver needs a hobby..." The words are out louder then the Croat might have liked. "I'd say she has one" "Yeah..well, a different one thing." "Don't know who this Weaver is, but people need to just let us do our jobs." Grumbles the janitor He snorts and gives the Croat a smirk, "I think she enjoys her current 'make the staff miserable' hobby a little too much for that to happen." Neela turns to look at Luka, quirking an eyebrow at the sunglasses, "Is it too bright in here for you Dr. Kovac?" "That or he's simply too hip for the rest of us" Dubenko mutters as he clicks his pen repeatedly. He takes a sip from the tankard and sets it down. "Wasn't planning on being out this early..no.." Neela looks at her watch, "This early? It's nearly ten o'clock. I wager you were out late last night?" He looks at Dubenko and smirks but has yet to shed the glasses. "That must be it." He turns his head to look toward Neela. "Uh..no...wasn't out late..." He lifts the coffee and drinks again. She nods before beginning a doodle her paper. One of the maintenance guys produces a deck of cards and deals a hand of poker to his friend as they wait. Still clicking his pen, Dubenko reaches over and takes Neela's wrist in hand, turning her arm to look at her watch himself "Where is our intrepid instructor? " He smiles as he releases her arm. "Some of us do have other things to do this morning" "Maybe they're testing us..see if we go at each other with our uncontrollable rages." He shrugs, "Not feeling particularly feisty this morning, sorry to disappoint." "Feisty? " The janitor moves to the card players. "Deal me in..long as we have to wait." Neela looks at Lucien, surprised when he takes her arm. "Does this person have a Ph.D? "Doing this today mean our suspensions are lifted you think?" He shakes his head at Neela's question. "No idea on that." Dubenko gives Neela a dubious look and shakes his head. "I'm guessing no...this is County after all." Neela nods, "If they do we only have to wait fifteen minutes before getting up and leaving, at least in university that's how it works." "This isn't University...and wouldn't put it past Weaver to have us sit here all day." Dubenko chuckles at her remark "Ah well, in that case Dr. Rasgotra, perhaps you'd care to join me for a bit of a study date some time?" He takes another long drink of coffee and finally pulls his glasses off, looks a little tired but his eyes are clear and no sign of being blood-shot. Neela shoots Lucien a look that clearly says not here, not now before looking back at her paper, clearly flustered as she doodles. He pulls his cell out and flips it open, keying through his games until he finds one he wants to play. Catching the meaning behind the woman's look, he opts to say nothing else, though he does study her with amusement while she scribbles on her paper "You're going to take notes?" He glances up and to Neela for a moment. Neela nods, "Yes, Dr. Kovac. When one takes a class it usually requires notes." He snorts..."This isn't really a class like that and I doubt you're going to be tested." Lucien can't help but shake his head at her. With a toss of his head, he flips his curly hair out of his face and looks around the room, clearly bored and becoming irritated at having his time wasted. "Multiple choice on when it's okay to punch someone.." He smirks slightly.. Her voice is short and clipped when she speaks, frustrated at being heckled by the boys, "Excuse me if I take things like this seriously. I'd rather get as much as I can out of it and not have to come again." "It's okay if someone reneges on a bet." One of the maintenance guys chimes in. "Is not or we wouldn't be here dumbshit." Clearing his throat, Lucien looks at Neela again, "May I borrow a sheet of paper, Dr. Rasgotra?" Neela nods, and rips out a sheet of paper holding it out to him as she flips her page back to continue to doodle. Luka hides his need to laugh behind the mug as he lifts it for another drink. "You always this serious about things?" He takes the paper and nods his thanks as he lays it flat on the desk in front of him, studying the sheet for a moment before he begins folding it with crisp movements She takes a moment to clench her jaw as to not snap at the doctor, "When something jeopardizes my job, I'm very serious about it Dr. Kovac." "They aren't going to fire you for this Neela..she's just trying to scare you." Lucien looks up, pausing in his activity to look at Kovac "Let her be..." He says quietly. "You weren't even on duty...or at the hospital." He shifts his attention to Dubenko. "I'm just making conversation." "You're aggravating her is what you are doing." He comments blandly, once more turning his attention to the paper he is folding "How is that aggravating her..nevermind..." He waves the reply off and drops his attention to his game again. Neela lets out a frustrated breath, "No matter what they are doing Dr. Kovac, I plan on taking this seriously. Perhaps you should do the same." Lucien studies the paper closely, unfolds a few steps and carefully tears off an extraneous bit of paper before refolding it again. Lifting his eyes from the game he notes Neela's response before going back to his phone and pausing his game he punches in a series of numbers...before the text message. "This is fun..you should definitely go hit someone so you can join us." He looks across the room and types again. "Want some suggestions on who?" Neela continues to doodle and Sam looks at her cell phone as it vibrates on the table next to her. She pauses her movie and picks it up looking at it, chuckling before texting back, "Haha. No thanks. I've been to enough of those." He smiles and types...Not even for me? Hey, is there something between Dubenko and Neela?" Neela finishes her doodle of her strangling Dr. Weaver as Sam text messages back, "Not for anyone. I don't know, I haven't been around either of them. Lucien had a thing for me though at the bar, remember?" With a small smile, Dubenko sets his handiwork on his desk and bites his bottom lip as he gleefully presses his index finger on the beck end of the origami frog causing it to hop forward on the desktop "He did?" He frowns slightly before resuming his typing. "She's here too..apparently I am aggravating her in his opinion." Neela adds horns to her Weaver and turns around her seat to place it on Lucien's desk, "Is that accurate?" Sam types back, "Yeah, remember? He was really obvious about wanting in my pants. Well, you probably are. You're bossy." "We can talk about bossiness later if you want...I don't think you were minding it too much though...what did you do after I left?" Dubenko raises an eyebrow as he looks at the drawing and then chuckles silently, his shoulders shaking as he looks at her. He nods and gives her a small wink before speaking quietly, "The horns could stand to be a little sharper and I believe you forgot to leave a trail of dismembered interns in her wake" "You're into me for $5 now...no welching this time." The game in the corner grows more serious. "I didn't welch the first time...and don't start or you'll get more than a split lip the next time." Lucien taps the frog once more, sending it hoping over the edge of the desk. "oops" Neela nods and flips the paper around adding a tail. She scrutinizes her drawing and nods, "Perhaps." She takes it back and adds the suggestions before turning back around with it, dismembered body parts trailing behind Weaver, "That better?" She bends and grabs the frog off the floor, looking at it smirking, "Did you make this?" "Much better..." He gives her a lopsided smile and tosses his hair out of his face once more. "I did, yes...I don't suppose you'll let me borrow another sheet of paper" Neela nods and turns around to rip out another piece of paper and places it on his desk, "What else can you make?" He shrugs and turns the paper around on the desk a few times, briefly glancing at the poker players before meeting her gaze again. "Cranes, flowers...nothing all that exceptional." Sam smirks, "Shut up. You know losing your control was a turn on last night. After you left? I cried;) No, I showered and cleaned up the apartment a bit." Neela glances towards the card players and furrows her brow, "I can't make anything so I'd say that's all exceptional." "Is Alex back?" He glanced toward Dubenko and Neela before his cell again. "Any plans for later?" He folds and tears the paper as he's talking to her, not paying much attention to what his hands are doing, having long ago memorized the folds necessary "I ah, had a Japanese roommate in college. He used to make these things by the dozen, after watching him for a while...let's just say that I spent many a boring lecture amusing myself" "Yes, he's playing video games. Do I?" Sam typed in reply. He holds up a paper rose and hands it to her. Neela smiles at the rose and takes it from him, "Thank you." "Depends what plans Alex has I think." He smiles as he types forgetting himself for a moment. "Welcome." He presses his lips together in a thin line for a moment before adding quietly, "You look lovely this morning." Sam frowns, "Sorry, tiger. The kiddo's got me all day and I promised him I'd watch Kill Bill Vol 1 tonight. You can come watch too if you want? Maybe stay afterwards?" Neela flushes quickly and then shoots him another look, "Not here, Lucien." She warns him quietly. He only arches his eyebrow at her, his gaze not leaving her face. She looks around, uneasy that he won't take his eyes off of her, "Stop." He places his elbows on the desk and rests his chin in his hands, still looking at her, a soft smile on his lips now. She furrows her brow and glares at him before turning around, "Impossible." He sniggers as she turns around, enjoying the fact that he can get to her so easily. She runs a hand through her jet black hair before resting her arms on the desk followed by her head. "KIll Bill huh? How would he feel about company? He sighs and looks around the room again, noting that no one is paying them any attention before he leans over and taps her shoulder gently. She lifts up a hand and swats his away. He frowns as she slaps at his hand. "Luka glances up at the movement from Neela and smiles..."Careful, that'll cost you to repeat class." "He'd be ok. You should come. You'll be cured of Lamentia. hehe." Neela uses the same hand she'd swatted Lucien's away with to flip Luka off. As he settles back in his seat again he studies her, brow furrowed as he wonders just how to best let her know that while he is interested in her, he was merely playing and not trying to start anything here with an audience. He laughs aloud when she gives the other doctor the bird. "So ladylike, Rasgotra." Neela rotates her hand towards Lee, flipping him off as well. He lowers his voice to a quiet murmur and leans towards her, "Not here, my dear." Neela's jaw drops and she turns around to look at him, furious that he'd even uttered that. "Not. Ever. Dr. Dubenko." "Suit yourself." "Tsk tsk." Luka smiles and goes back to his phone. "Lot's of that here..." Neela groans out loud and returns her head to the desk, banging it gently. Sam texts back, "Lamentia? "Yeah...instructor is late..Neela just fingered me and Dubenko...there's poker going on in the corner...you really should be here." "She what?!": Dubenko rests his chin in his hand and rolls his eyes. "You read it right." He types back while trying not to smile. "If I knew our keeper was going to be a no show I'd have brought some work with me. This is an utter waste of time." He comments to no one in particular. "I think you and I have different definitions of fingered." Sam types back. About that time the door opens and a mid 50's woman enters, glasses perched on her nose. "Good morning..." Neela picks her head up quickly, her posture straightening, "Good morning." "It's nearly noon" Dubenko remarks instead of greeting the woman. He laughs aloud before he can stop himself then types..."We are going to finish this later and you can show me what you mean..the teacher just came in. Have to go, will call you when this is done." Neela shoots the surgeon a nasty look, disgusted he's not being respectful. "So you can tell time, good, now, let's all begin with what feelings my tardiness has stirred in you.." Sam smirks and then types back, "I look forward to both." Lucien raises his eyebrows and gives Neela a bland look before shooting a look of disbelief at the woman in the front of the room. Neela raises an eyebrow and looks at the woman skeptically. "I can't wait." He flips the phone closed and pockets it. "Why don't you go first since it has upset you so much." She looks straight at Dubenko, unfazed by his mood. "I'm not upset." He says calmly. "Sure you are, I can see it in you body language and hear it in the tone of your voice." Luka takes a drink of his coffee and settles back to watch Dubenko deal with the woman's attention. He furrows his brow, more puzzled than anything at the moment, "If you are trying to provoke me, you are wasting your time." She opens her folder and looks around the room. "You would be?" She waits for a reply before continuing. Her attention is fully on Dubenko again. Neela's smirking slightly at the attention Lucien's getting. He gives Neela a sidelong glance before answering the woman "Dr. Dubenko. You?" "Ms Krenshaw...so..my tardiness has caused you to feel what Dr. Dubinko?" The maintenance guys laugh as she mangles his name. Neela can't help but chuckle as well as the teacher mispronounces his name. "Dubenko." He corrects. "All it has caused me to feel...Ms Krenshaw, is that this 'class' is being conducted by someone who is rather unprofessional and inconsiderate of the fact that as doctors in the hospital our time is rather valuable." Luka refrains from chiming in only because he is so used to it himself. "Well, since you are currently under suspension I would think your time is mine right now to do with as I please." The woman responds dryly. "Hardly." "Your supervisor believes it is." He merely arches an eyebrow at the woman. "Your reaction does enlighten me however with what brings you here." She looks to Neela...and you, your feelings?" Neela straightens immediately, "On what?" "The delay and your feelings to it." Neela shrugs, "I was more frustrated with being surrounded by imbecilic men than your delay." Lucien looks at his desk when Neela speaks, sure she's meaning him and his antics from earlier more than anything else. "Hey...I think I resent that." One of the maintenance guys bites on that. Luka chuckles to himself more than openly. "It is unusual to have women in the class, I admit that, most women seem to have a firmer grasp of their tempers." The woman offers. Neela shrugs again, agreeing with the woman. "What about you?" She looks to Luka. "Kovac...Luka." He shrugs.."I didn't really notice the time to be honest." "You're here for what reason?" She keeps her focus on him. Lucien refrains from commenting but mentally rolls his eyes at the woman's turn of phrase. "For punching Dr. Dubenko." He points to the surgeon and prompts laughter from the poker gang. "Long night and short tempers I'm afraid." "I see." Lucien shoots the other doctor a look that says "Thanks so much" as the other men laugh. Luka catches Dubenko's look and returns the "what did I say?" look as the woman moves to her next victim. Lucien just shakes his head. The next several hours are a 101 class on psycho-babble of ways to correctly channel negative energies from deep breathing to counting to ten and everything in between...in other words most find it an utter waste of their time before it is over. "I have a brief quiz and when you are finished leave them on your tabletop and you can go..be sure and write your name on the paper." The instructor passes them around as she speaks and it is several essay questions on reactions to various anger generating circumstances. Lucien has been ignoring most of what the woman has been rambling about and is instead going over various equations and chemical make-ups to entertain himself Neela takes copious notes on the entire lecture, smiling when the teacher says that there'll be a quiz, feeling prepared to do well on it. Luka pats his pockets looking for a pen. Studying the questions for a moment, Dubenko smirks and begins writing in nearly illegible doctor's scrawl, carefully answering the questions with vague psychobabble answers he is sure the idiot woman would find appropriate. "You have pencils?" The janitor asks as the maintenance men nod in agreement. Neela writes her name on the top of the paper and begins to scrawl her answers out neatly in straight lines. Finding one Luka quickly and briefly buzzes through the questions his answers suffering only for the translation from English to Croatian and back again to English and he finishes almost too quickly before rising. "It's been a pleasure." He waves a farewell before making his way out the door. Having run out of room on the sheet of paper, Lucien shrugs to himself and clicks his pen one last time and stands up, pausing only to rap his knuckles on Neela's desk before leaving the room, not bothering to address the instructor at all. Luka opens his phone as he heads out the door and texts. "Hey..it's me...I'm finally done, will call once outside." Neela gives him a look as she continues to write her lengthy answers. Sam smirks when her phone vibrates again, and writes, "I was wondering who "Luka" was. Sounds good." Once out of the room, Lucien exhales slowly and checks his watch. He wonders how much longer Neela will be and debates waiting for her. The maintenance guys finish together and leave trailed only 5 minutes later by the janitor and leaving Neela alone with the teacher It takes Neela fifteen more minutes to finish her quiz. She stands, gathering her things and wrapping the scarf around her neck again. She takes the quiz down to the front of the room, placing it gingerly on top of all of the others. She smiles warmly at the teacher before turning around and exiting. Having opted to wait for the British doctor, Lucien is leaning against the wall opposite the classroom, studying, or so it seems, his shoes. Neela stops, startled when she sees Lucien outside of the room, "Dr. Dubenko, what are you doing here?" "Waiting for you?" He gives her a hopeful smile before continuing, " I ah, thought perhaps you'd like to join me for dinner?" Neela raises an eyebrow, "After the stunts you pulled in there?" She scoffs slightly and pulls her gloves on as she walks towards the doors. He follows her, stuffing his hands in his pockets. Once outside the hospital Luka dials Sam's number and listens to it ring as he walks to his car. Sam jumps slightly when the phone vibrates in her hands and clicks "send" to answer, "Hey there." "Hey yourself....that was a nightmare...remind me not to punch Dubenko when I'm on duty again." | |||
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| And he calls | |||
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He had slept until after noon and after a shower and a change of clothes had found himself settled in front of the television with little else to keep him occupied. Ok, not true..the stack of journals beside the couch were screaming for his attention but that wasn't where his thoughts were. Without really thinking about it he reached for his cell from where it sat beside the couch. Claire was working, which meant dinner alone...or did it? He keyed the number in before he could change his mind then listened as it rang. Sam had just gotten out of the shower when heard her phone ringing. She slung a towel around her body and walked, dripping water, out of the bathroom and into the bedroom. She furrowed her brow at the unfamiliar number before flipping it open and pressing it to her ear, moving hair out of the way, "Hello?" "Hi...did I catch you in the middle of something?" His voice was still deep, coffee not yet having drawn the effects of sleep from it. The sound of an auto race drifts in from the television in front of him. She furrowed her brow further not recognizing the voice, "Who is this?" "Luka...from the hospital." He thought better then opting for the more intimate reminder in case she might have someone close enough to hear. A large smile broke out on her face and in her voice, "Hey you. You caught me at a perfect time, I just got out of the shower." "My loss." His smile carried into the words as he voiced them. She bit her lip for a moment and then shrugged, "Another time, maybe." "I'd like that. Can you talk?" His voice remains quiet. She nodded, sitting on her bed, water wetting her sheets, "Sure, what's up?" "I was wondering if you had plans for this evening...I thought maybe I could make good on the dinner I owe you and...maybe get to know you better?" The end of his words rose in a question leaving it open in what ways he might mean. She smiled wider and nodded again, although he couldn't see her, "I'd like that, Luka. A lot." "I know it's late notice...so I don't mind if Alex joins us." She stands, securing the towel around her chest before sitting down again, "Are you sure? "Yes...of course, if you want to get someone to watch him I could pay for it, I know it's kind of expensive, but either way is okay with me." She shook her head, "No, it's fine. You don't have to do that. I just need to figure out what to do." "I know I don't have to, I'm offering, you just started work and it isn't like I can't afford it." He paused to lower the volume on the television as the sounds of a rather loud crash broke into the conversation. "Sorry about that, where would you like to go?" She jumped slightly at the loud sound on the other end before sighing, "It's okay." She considered his question, "Depends on if Alex is coming." "Do you want to call me back?" She pursed her lips before nodding, "Yeah, let me make a few phone calls and then I'll call you back." "I'll be here..you have the number?" She pulled her cell phone away from her ear to make sure it caught his number, "Yeah, is this your cell phone?" "Yeah it is, and if you need to pay extra I told you it is on me." She shook her head, "I couldn't make you pay for a babysitter. I'll figure something out." "You're not making me, Sam..I offered, don't worry about it." His tone remained calm even as he argued his point. She rolled her eyes at his persistence, "I'll call you back in a few after I've figured out what I'm going to do?" "Alright..I'll be here...reading journals...lots of journals." He shook his head at the thought before continuing. "Talk to you soon." He clicked the phone off as he finished talking and reached for one of the magazines on the floor before turning the television back up and flipping it open on his lap. She chuckled, "I'll be sure to take my time then." She hung up after saying good bye. After storing his number she flipped through her cell phone before remembering the old lady upstairs who had offered to watch the boy whenever Sam needed. She snapped her phone shut and dressed before leaving the apartment and going upstairs to ask the friendly neighbor. Once back in her own apartment after talking with the woman she opened her cell phone once again, found his number, and clicked send, patiently waiting for him on the other end. The phone picked up almost as soon as it rang. "Kovac." The sound of the race continued in the background. "It's me." It was out before she realized he would probably have no clue who "me" was, "Sam." She added, feeling stupid. "You've called to save me from eschemic bowels?" His voice held a chuckle behind it. She scrunches her nose, "I had mercy on your soul." "Thank you...this is not my idea of fun." He tossed the magazine aside before lowering the sound on the set again. "So...have you found a sitter?" She smiled when she could hear the sound lessen on the other side, glad that he'd had the courtesy, "When we moved in the lady up stairs had offered to watch him. Apparently Alex is the same age as her grandkids who live in California so she's taken a liking to him. She said she'd take him over night if I wanted." She left his option open. "That's good, have you thought about where you'd like to go?" She shook her head, "I don't know the city that well. I just know where the market, McDonald's, Pizza Hut, Ikes, and work is." "Ok...well, we could go down on the pier..maybe get something there and see some of the city. Unless you'd like to go somewhere more fancy then that?" "Whatever you want to do. Surprise me, just tell me what to wear." "How about something comfortable?" He paused a moment before adding. "We'll be on the water so it might get cool." "Comfortable it is. How much time do I get to get ready?" "How much time would you like? I can go back to my bowels while I wait.." It might be hard to tell if he was joking as he managed to deadpan the offer. She scrunched up her nose again, "Depends on whether or not you're picking me up or if I'm meeting you somewhere." There was a moment of silence before he answered. "I can pick you up unless you're more comfortable meeting me somewhere." He left unsaid that she might not want him to return to her apt by the evening's end. "Do you want directions to my house?" She smirked, answering his question. His laugh drifted through the phone. "I think I can find my way back. What time would you like me to pick you up?" "Come on over whenever you're ready, I've just got to blow dry my hair and attempt to make it somewhat presentable." "I don't think that's a problem for you, I'll see you soon." He held the phone a moment more then flicked it closed. | |||
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| About Last Night... | |||
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 contemplative[music] I'll Cover You - Rent After seeing her son off to the carpool Sam walked back into her apartment and leaned against the door, a small smile spreading across her face. It’d been a long time since she’d had sex last and even longer since she’d been held after. Sleeping with him was the last thing on her mind when she had walked over to the two men at the bar, but as the alcohol began to take effect and the men began to give her attention and flirt it had become more and more of a possibility. She sighed and pushed herself off the door and padded to her bedroom, pulling her jacket around her tighter. She bent down and picked up the condom wrapper off the floor, placing it in the trash and covering the used condom and its wrapper with tissue. Leaning forward she began to make her bed, smiling as she does so and remembering how she’d moved with him inside of her hours ago. She wasn’t sure whether it’d happen again, she knew she wanted it to, but the ball was in his court. She’d told him that she wasn’t looking for anything exclusive and they’d decided to keep it between them. Of course, she did have leverage in the dinner she’d made him promise her. She inwardly rolled her eyes at herself, a girlish hope seeping into her veins and warming her body. Shaking her head, she flopped onto her made bed and closed her eyes. Maybe he’d call. He wouldn’t be the first to not call after she’d given them her phone number and she figured he wouldn’t be the last. She wouldn’t let it get to her if he didn’t…maybe. She took a deep breath before pushing herself off the bed and smoothing the wrinkles she’d created out. She ran a hand through her unruly blonde curls, stop thinking about him, Sam, she thought, the more you think about him, the more you’re going to be disappointed when he doesn’t call. Even her own self-warning couldn’t stop it. “Fuck me,” she muttered, her mind unwilling to wander from the topic of Luka Kovac. | |||
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| The Morning After | |||
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Luka winced as the lock seemed to click a little too loudly in release before opening the door to the apartment. He didn't know if Claire was there or if she were working but the last thing he needed to do was wake her if she was asleep. Once inside he locked the door behind him. Three days without work, three days to sit here with nothing to do but mull over in his thoughts how he'd once more let his temper take control of him and the end result. But it hadn't been all bad. A smile came to his lips as he thought back over the night's events and how the morning had begun. True, they had both been drunk and under other circumstances it would never have happened, but it had and that wouldn't change. Moving over to the couch he sat and after pulling off his shoes stretched out on it. He was still tired, but it was that kind of tired that he hadn't felt in sometime. Rolling onto his side he curled one arm under his head and closed his eyes, her face was there in an instant. They both knew the night was one of desire, nothing more. Two strangers needing comfort they'd not been able to find alone. There were no strings and likely it wouldn't be repeated...or would it? He sighed as his mind replayed what he could remember of the events, little more then bits and pieces, scents and sensations that left him feeling at peace. How long had it been since he had felt that? The thought lingered as he found himself drifting to sleep, his final memories being the comfort he'd felt as he'd laid against her chest listening to her heart beating under him. | |||
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| Luka takes Sam home | |||
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"So..." He pulled her glass to her before picking his bottle up. "All alone now." He took a pull on the bottle. "You need to go home to Alex?" She smirked and took a sip out of her glass and nodded, "All alone indeed." She nodded again, "Yeah, at some point tonight I should go home to him. The baby sitter left about an hour ago." "Maybe I should see you home then..shouldn't be there alone." She smirked up at him and nodded, "No, definitely not." He downed his beer and stood...and seemed remarkably steady for the number of empties. She finished her drink in turn and moved to stand, swaying slightly and grabbing onto him for support "You're not driving right?" The bartender calls to them from behind the bar as they prepare to leave. "No, not driving." Luka shakes his head as he realizes he's more drunk then he'd thought. "Okay then, stay safe." The man smiles before turning back to help other customers. Luka slipped his arm around her waist as she stood. "We catching the El or a taxi?" She leaned into him and shrugged, "I've got my card for the El and I'm now out of cash for a taxi, whichever you'd prefer." "I'm sure I could swing for the taxi...your choice." He walked her to the door as he spoke, his arm still around her. She wrapped her own arm around his waist, clutching at the fabric, "Whichever is faster in these parts." "Taxi I think." He held the door open for her as they reached it. Sam smiled and let go of him as she stepped out into the night air. Once he had followed her out he waited to see if she'd move back to him before going any further. She looked back to see where he is, reaching back for him, linking her fingers with his as she looked for a taxi. He took her hand with a small smile. "So..no work tomorrow?" She shook her head, "Nope, none." "What were you planning to do?" She shrugged, "Stay in bed all day, be lazy." She turned to look at him slightly, "You?" He shrugged. "No bed...using the couch right now." She tipped her head up toward him, "Why don't you get a place of your own?" "I was staying in a hotel...long story. Just wasn't sure I'd be here long enough to get an apartment." She nodded, "Fair enough, but now you are?" "I don't know..maybe...hadn't really thought about it much I guess." She nodded and gasped when she saw the taxi, waving it down. "You been here long? In Chicago I mean." She shakes her head, "Just a few days...almost a week." "You like it?" He moved over to open the door for her as the cab pulled to the curb. Sam nodded, "It's nice enough, you know?" "Yeah...can take Alex to see the Cubs." He waited for her to get in then crawled in behind her. She nodded and crawled into the cab, putting her seatbelt on, "Yeah." He waited for her to give directions to her apt to the cab driver before saying anything else and when he did his voice was quiet. "If you want to say goodnight at the door when we get to your apartment it's okay..I know we're both little drunk." She gives the driver directions before settling back down next to him. She shakes her head, "No, it's fine." He slips his arm around her shoulder and fingers a lock of her hair before questioning her quietly. "You're sure?" She nodded again, firmly, "I'm sure. Very sure." | |||
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| Dubenko leaves and runs into Neela | |||
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Dubenko is joined by Neela Dubenko walked a short distance back toward the hospital before stopping to lean against the side of the brick building, closing his eyes and letting out a long breath. "Strike three doc...give it up already." Neela walks down the sidewalk toward Ikes, her brow furrowing when she sees the curly haired doctor outside. She contemplates turning around but she can smell the alcohol and feels badly for him, "Dr. Dubenko?" As he stood outside in the cool air, Dubenko startled slightly as he heard the accented voice of one of the ER's residents. "Ah, Dr. Rasgotra...I'm not in the mood to have my lip split this evening..." Neela furrowed her brow, "You're sloshed, aren't you?" He gave her a lopsided smile and a brief head nod. "One could say that, yes. A bit" Neela sighed and decided to do some good will, "You need a ride home?" He looked at her serious for a moment, "Thank you but no, I don't want to impose on your evening, doctor." Neela shook her head and moved to wrap an arm around him, pulling him up to stand straight, "Come on, I'll take you home." She shook her head at herself, wondering what on earth would even compel her to do this. He stiffened as Neela wrapped an arm around him "Taking pity on me, Rasgotra?" Neela shakes her head, "You're not imposing. I'm due for some charity work anyhow." Dubenko chewed his bottom lip as he gazed at Neela, not sure how to take her comment, but being fairly sure she was insulting him. "I see. I suppose I can be your good deed for the week, then. Keep me from loitering on the streets of our fair city, at any rate." Neela nodded and motioned to her car across the street, "Come on, let's get you in there." He shrugged and walked with her to the car, feeling more than a little sorry for himself and rather defeated. "Thank you, Dr. Rasgotra." Neela rolled her eyes, "Remember this next time you're thinking of derogatory things to call me." She opened the passenger side door for him. He wasn't too drunk to feel appropriately chastised and he ducked his head in embarrassment as he got into the car and fastened his seat belt. "I..." Neela shut the door and rounded the car, getting in and starting it, "Are you sober enough to get yourself home?" He nodded and gave her brief, but accurate, directions to his house. He turned to look at her, reaching up to brush his curly hair out of his face, "Dr. Rasgotra, Neela, I am aware of the fact that I owe you an apology" "Several in fact." He looked out the window and sighed, "You didn't catch me at my best, or even at my usual level of ineptness the other night, I was beyond abhorrent in my behavior. I'm sorry." Neela nodded accepting is apology, "Apology accepted, Dr. Dubenko." He nodded again and looked around the interior of her car as he tried to think of something to say, coming up with nothing banal enough for casual conversation. | |||
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| Hanging Out at Ikes (joint play) | ||
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Luka pushes through the door of Ikes and heads straight for the bar looking like he could eat nails he's so pissed. "Beer." He pulls his coat off and takes a seat after pulling his wallet out and laying several bills down. At least for the moment his thoughts are nowhere except on thinking how he would like to wring Weaver's neck if he were the sort to do that of course. Sam sits at the opposite end of the bar, nursing a beer in solitude. She's thinking about how her son has behaved and she shudders slightly, grateful the babysitter had been able to watch him for a few hours. Morris was already sitting at the bar, drowsily regarding a longneck. Dubenko made his way to Ikes after gathering his personal belongings from his office. Spotting the Croat at the end of the bar, he made a beeline for him. "So if we strangle her, think we could concievably hide the body somewhere it'd never be found?" He asked sarcastically He reaches for his beer as it arrives and takes a pull that empties almost half of it before he sits it down again. Luka turns an eye to Dubenko at the sound of his voice. "I was thinking maybe an accident under the EL. I got 3 days and their class...what about you?" "Long weekend myself and I guess I'll be seeing you in class." He caught the bartender's eye and pointed at Kovac's beer and held up two fingers indicating what he wanted as he pulled out his own wallet Sam rolls her eyes as the other bartender hits on her and trades him her empty beer bottle for a full one. "Yeah...of course I also got her standard threat to pull my greencard...that one's getting pretty tired." As he finished he reached for his bottle and upended it, emptying it in the single drink. She spotted the foreign doc from across the bar from earlier in the day. Placing her beer in her hand she walked over to the other side of him, "Kovac, right?" "Kovach..." He corrected her pronunciation...with the casualness of one who'd done it too many times for it to bother him anymore. "yeah..that would be me." Morris took a pull from his beer and noticed Sam, the new nurse, heading over to join what looked like a powwow between Kovac and Dubenko. He held up the bottle in greeting as she passed. "You might want to avoid us..we're not exactly in favor right now and you're new so .." He lifted his hands letting her take it the next step. Dubenko arched his brows at the redheaded doctor approaching them. "This one mine?" Luka looked to Dubenko as the bartender sat the two fresh beers down. Lucien did, however lean across the bar and introduce himself to the petite blonde. "Dr. Dubenko, and you are" Noting the look Dubenko was giving him from down the bar, Morris frowned and looked down at his beer. Dubenko nodded at Kovac She nodded, "Kovach. Sorry." She furrows her brow at Morris for a moment before motioning to the seat next to Luka, "Mind if I join you two?" "And another of whatever the lady is drinking" She shook her head at Luka's warning, "I think I can fend for myself." She looks towards Dubenko, giving him her attention for a moment, extending her hand over Luka, "Sam Taggart, new nurse." Lucien took her hand in his, shaking it firmly. "Ah, then you've doubtlessly had dealings with Weaver yourself. My condolences, starting at County." Morris decided that joining the three probably wouldn't be a wise move, and signaled for a fresh beer. He wasn't in any mood for the derisive attitudes he would most likely get if he tried to talk to them. "Thanks." Luka picked one up and took a swallow. "Sure..we're having a party...why not." He glanced to Morris and feeling just a tad reckless he calls across to him. "Might as well move closer, save straining your hearing trying to listen in from over there." Dubenko hid his smile as he picked up his own beer and took a long pull on the bottle "Little kiss ass will probably rat us out to her you know" he muttered to Kovac under his breath "Just a warning though Morris...I'm already on suspension so no loss to me if I have to punch you out for ruuning to Weaver over what you hear." He winked at Dubenko as he finished. Sam shook his hand back before moving it back to her beer, taking a long sip, finishing it. She shrugged, "Ah, she's the one with the crutch?" Dubenko looks at the resident" You don't really want to be on the other end of this guy's fist" The surgeon turned his attention back to Sam "Hip displasia, and yes, she uses a cane though the hip ailment may just be an excuse to batter people with an unregistered weapon" Luka's nod came a moment behind his. "That would be her..." He had taken a swallow and almost choked on it at Dubenko's warning. Morris sighed, rolled his eyes, and got up to join the threesome. "What makes you think I'd want to listen in on you, anyway?" he asked sullenly. "Morris..we're not blind..it's what you do...snatch...no..." He looks to Dubenko.."What do I want?" Sam made a face moving to the new beer the bartender brought. She tipped it towards Lucien in thanks, "Ah, rough. Sounds like a bitch to me." He nodded his agreement. "To put it mildly" "That's a good name for her." Luka agreed. "She can be a good doctor when she wants but watch your back." Taking another pull on his beer he leaned forward on the bar, resting his elbows on the hard wood surface. "Fuck you very much," Morris replied to Luka, and saluted him sarcastically with his beer bottle. "You're not my type..." He downed the rest of his beer. Dubenko looked at Morris "Don't even think about it...I prefer brunettes" He winked at Sam, "Though blondes are rumored to have more fun, is that true?" Morris looked disgustedly at the two older doctors. "Likewise, Kovac." "So you're not worried about being seen with us?" Luka motioned for a fresh round as he turned to Sam. Sam nodded at Luka's advice, "I'll keep that in mind." She smirked at Lucien and chuckled, "I'm actually a natural brunette, blondes get a bit more attention though." She shook her head at Luka, "Not at all, I can fend for myself." "Hey..what happened to my shadow?" Dubenko laughed at Sam's response and finished his beer, signaling for another "Shadow?" "Short kid who was following me around..he is yours, right?" Dubenko looked at Sam for confirmation, "You have children? Married?" Sam screws up her face and nods, "Alex, yeah. The terrorist belongs to me...sorry about that. He can get out of hand sometimes," She paused, "All of the time." Morris watched the others as they chatted amicably and wondered if he just gave off vibes that screamed 'untrustworthy moron'. She shook her head quickly at Dubenko's question, "No, no, no, no. Definitely not." "He didn't seem that bad..just bored." Luka spoke up in the boy's defense. She raised an eyebrow, "We must have been seeing different children. Alex tends to poke his nose where it doesn't belong." "Just being a kid...not much to do there and he wasn't really hurting anything, he just needs to be careful what he says to the patients." Dubenko chuckled as he listened to her describe her son "Perhaps he could give my daughter some lessons in being an extrovert." Sam shook her head, embarrassed by her son's actions, "I've already talked to him. It won't happen again." "I don't mind.." He reached for the fresh beer as the bartender sat three down. Having aso ordered a round, Dubenko grabbed one of the bottles and sent it sliding down the bar towards Morris. Surprised, Morris barely caught the beer before it slid past him and nodded hesitantly at Dubenko. "Uh, thanks, man." "So, Morris..." Luka took a swallow of his own beer in mid sentence." This is your test...see which side you're going to be on." He gave Dubenko a sideways glance to see if he wanted to add to his words. "Um. Right." Morris raised his eyebrows at Luka. "Which side of what?" Sam continued to sip her fourth beer and shook her head again, "Well, I'm sorry anyhow. Alex Taggart: Reason Number One to Use Birth Control." "You don't mean that." His response was quieter and clearly serious despite the way the rest of his conversations were going. Dubenko shook his head at Sam and then looked at Morris with interest for the first time "Not very fast on the uptake, are you Morris?" "Us." Luka motioned with his hands, or Weaver...gonna get pretty lonely there." He looked at Kovac "How did he end up with the chief resident position?" Sam pursed her lips at Luka's comment and nodded, taing another sip of her beer. Her eyes raised, "The red head is Chief?" "Course you may want to get to be friends with Dubenko here...might need him if you're too close to her." Luka shrugged. "I have no idea...maybe no one else wanted to take it." Beautiful, they were insulting him to his face. Why had he come over again?"Yes, I'm the chief resident," he said tiredly to Sam. Dubenko nodded at Sam "Of the ER, my people have a little more sense than that" Sam shook her head, "Damn." She tilted her head to the side at Dubenko's comment, "Your people?" Morris decided to ignore Dubenko's jabs and replied, "What, is this about that little smackdown you two had? Dude, I don't even know what you were fighting about." At Morris's question Luka brought his attention to the surgeon.."Was kind of a bunch of things all together wasn't it...I don't even remember. Wasn't worth a 3 day is all I know..." Dubenko shrugged "Surgeons." He said simply not wanting to rehash the old fight "I'm the Chief of Surgery" He sighed "At least I'll have some time to actually spend with Kitty." Sam nodded and brightened slightly, "I used to be a surgi-tech, actually." Luka's attention settled on his beer as the conversation seemed to drift back to children again. At the nurse's words Dubenko looked interested "Really? Should you decide you need a more stable environment, come see me...we're always looking for capable hands upstairs" "Whatever gets you guys off," Morris shrugged, and took a pull from his beer. "Weaver hates me. No way would I side with her on anything. She probably wouldn't let me anyway." Sam smiled, "Thanks for the offer. I think I'll stick to the ER though, more action." "Like your two cents ever amount to anything cohesive or comprehensible anyway, Morris" "Weaver hates everyone unless she needs you to climb over." He seemed intent on the bottle before him as he offered the comment. "Thanks so much," Morris muttered, giving Dubenko the stinkeye. "Any time, Carrot Top" He turned his attention back to the nurse "Tell me you still feel that way in six months and maybe I'll believe you" Morris closed his eyes briefly and mentally debated the pros and cons of lobbing his beer bottle at the surgeon's head. Sam reached back and took her jacket off, chuckling at Dubenko's chide. Her low cut t-shirt lower than it was at first, she pulls it up and shook her head, "I'm an ER gal, but thanks." Morris eyed Sam briefly, then turned his attention back to his beer. Like she'd ever give him the time of day. Dubenko caught Morris's glance at Sam and made a disgusted noise "And people say I have no tact" Luka finished the third beer and pushed it to the far side of the bar before snagging one of the remaining full ones. Sam rolled her eyes at Morris before she moved to take another sip of her beer she nodded at the bartender, "Rum and coke, please." The surgeon moved from his place next to Kovac to stand between Morris and Sam As Dubenko rose Luka looked between them. "I miss something?" Morris had to resist the urge to let his head bang down on the bar. It was like he could be Mother Teresa and they'd all still hate him. "Jesus, I wasn't ogling her for Chrissakes," he muttered. "Grow up." "Red here, is eyeballing the lady in a rather rude manner. Just thought I'd obstruct the view." "Really?" Luka's look darkened for a moment as he turned his attention to Morris. "Think you might want to apologize just in case?" He smiled at Sam as he finished off his beer. "Pass me another one of these, huh, Kovac?" Sam nodded at the bartender as he handed her the drink. She took a sip and ran a hand through her curls. She shook her head at the two men, "Boys, boys, boys. It's okay. Morris smiled tightly at Luka and then nodded at Sam. "Sorry for glancing at you for all of five fucking seconds." "Sure.." Without shifting his attention from Morris, he grabbed the remaining full bottle and passed it the surgeon's way. "You've all been guilty of doing that more than once. No harm no foul." At Sam's chiding of Kovac and Dubenko, Morris smiled hesitantly at her. "Just watch yourself Morris..be kind of hard to do with two black eyes." "Oooh, you're scaring me," he shot back sarcastically. "You don't have reason to be scared yet..but keep pushing me." There was a hint of danger in the Croat's words that time. Dubenko looked at Sam questioningly "I have not ogled you...yet" He gave her a lopsided smile "May I?" "Chill, dude," Morris muttered, eyeballing Luka. "I didn't drool down her shirt, I didn't try to cop a feel, I didn't do shit." Sam rolled her eyes at Dubenko and nudged Luka with her shoulder, "Hey, Kovac, it's okay. It doesn't bother me." Morris was faintly heartened by Sam's words. Dubenko quirked his brows at Sam and then turned his attention to his own beer, finding her attitude amusing "Maybe not with her..yet, but you have and do with others...just warning you to watch yourself." Turning to Sam he offered her the smile that had been almost absent that day. "Luka." She tipped her head and nodded, "Luka, it is then."Sam chuckled softly at Luka's reaction, "Quite the chivalrous one you are, aren't you. If he'd bothered me I would have decked him or snarked." "The hell?" Morris exclaimed, thoroughly insulted. "What the hell gives you the right to say that? You don't even know me. None of you do." He shrugged and the smile deepened for a moment. "It's inbred..comes with the culture." "By the by, it's Lucien..."He offered lamely after the Croat gave her his given name SophiaDubenko: He looked at Kovac "Excuse me? Which culture would you be refering to?" "Archie," Morris | ||