Breaking up ain't hard to do
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Warning, this fic is rated for
death of a character.
Abby fans probably won't like this fic. Neither will Luka fans.
And as for Lubbies, well, you'd better not read this either,
okay?
Set immediately after the events of 'The longer you stay', and
contains spoilers for that episode.
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"This can't be happening," said Kerry as she stood
anxiously in the ambulance bay. "Are you sure you got the
name right?"
Haleh nodded. "There's no mistake," she said hoarsely.
"I can't believe it's happening again."
Their conversation was cut short by the arrival of the ambulance.
Doris jumped out and started hauling on the gurney.
"Forty year old male, found unconscious, possible booze and
pills...had to tube him at the scene."
As the gurney was pulled onto the ground, a tear stained Abby
climbed out, bagging the patient.
"Oh God," gasped Kerry, as Luka's pale face came into
view. She hesitated only momentarily before grabbing the gurney
and starting to push it towards the ER. "Abby, what
happened? What did he take?"
"I...I don't know," said Abby, tears running down her
cheeks. "We...we'd had a fight...I...I went to his apartment...I
didn't want to leave things the way they were. He...he didn't
answer the door...when I got in, he was there...and...and there
were pillboxes all over the place...and...and a bottle of vodka.
I...I called 911 and started CPR...I didn't know what else to do."
By now they had reached trauma one. "On three," called
Kerry as they lifted Luka's unconscious body onto the bed. "Do
you have the boxes?"
In answer Doris pulled a bag from her pocket. "Looks like he
took a whole range of stuff," she said, handing it to Kerry.
Kerry looked at the pills and groaned. Bad enough dealing with an
OD of a single drug...but this much...in combination with alcohol...this
wasn't going to be easy. Her brain switched to automatic as she
reeled off a list of orders to Haleh and Lydia.
"What can I do?" asked Abby, once Yosh had taken over
bagging Luka. Sniffling, she wiped tears away.
"I think you should wait outside," said Kerry gently.
"No...no...I want to be here..."
Kerry noticed Carter hovering outside and called to him. "John...I
don't think Abby should be here...take her to the Lounge."
Carter looked uncertainly at the table and then back to Kerry.
"I've got this covered," she said wearily, with a small
shake of her head.
"Um, okay," said Carter, putting his arm around Abby
and guiding her out of the trauma room. She glanced back over her
shoulder at Luka, who was now attached to various monitors and I.V.'s,
but didn't resist.
"He's going to make it...isn't he?" she asked, looking
up at Carter hopefully.
"I'm sure he will...if anyone can save him, Kerry can,"
said Carter with an almost imperceptible shake of his head. He'd
seen the readings on the monitor and he'd heard from Zadro just
how much Kovac had taken. Even if he did survive, he was unlikely
to wake up...but Abby didn't need to hear that...not now.
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Carter watched as Abby paced nervously up and down the lounge.
She had refused his offer of coffee, and was now chewing on an
unlit cigarette. Carter was seriously considering getting her
something to calm her down a bit, but had decided to wait and see
what the outcome of Luka's treatment was.
"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked gently.
Abby shook her head and continued pacing for a few seconds before
stopping and looking at Carter. "We had a fight...a...a bad
one...oh God, Carter...I never realized he was so upset...I...I
said some terrible things to him...this is all my fault..."
She burst into tears again, and Carter instinctively moved
towards her, putting his arms around her.
"Shh...Dr. Weaver's doing her best...she'll do everything
possible."
"But what if she can't save him? What if I didn't get him
here in time?"
Carter's reply went unheard as the door swung open and they both
instinctively glanced at it.
"Excuse me," said Yosh, sticking his head into the room.
"Oh God," said Abby, pushing Carter away. "Is...is..."
"They're still working on him," said Yosh, "But
there's a police officer outside who wants to talk to you...about
what happened."
"Can't they wait?" asked Carter, a trace of annoyance
in his voice. "Abby's in no condition to make a statement."
"It...it's okay John," said Abby, wiping the tears away
from her eyes. "I...I'll have to do it sooner or later...better
to get it over with." She took a deep breath before saying
to Yosh, "You...you can tell him I'll see him now."
Yosh nodded and disappeared, returning a few minutes later with a
uniformed police officer who he introduced as Officer Pembroke,
before leaving.
"Ms Lockhart, I'm sorry to have to do this now, but we need
to establish what happened," said the officer.
Abby nodded dully from her seat on the couch. Carter put an arm
protectively around her.
"Can you tell me what happened?"
"I...I went to Luka...Dr. Kovac's apartment. We...we'd had a
bit of a fight, and...and I went there to clear the air...and to
apologize as well...I'd said some things I'd regretted..."
Abby took a deep breath before continuing.
"He...the light was on when I got there, but he didn't
answer the door. I thought at first that he just didn't want to
talk to me...but...but I couldn't just leave things the way they
were...so...so I let myself in...and he...he was there...on the
floor...oh God..."
Abby's lip trembled and she looked away.
"And what did you do then?" asked Pembroke.
Abby composed herself and continued. "I...I'm not sure...I...I
remember seeing the pills...and I knew what he'd done...what he'd
tried to do...that's when I called 911."
Pembroke made some notes. "Do you know where he got the
pills?"
Abby shook her head.
"He's a doctor," said Carter. "He could have
easily obtained them. Either from here...or he could have written
prescriptions...it's not difficult," he said with a trace of
irony.
Abby squeezed his hand gently, knowing he was speaking from
experience.
"Do you have any more questions Officer?" asked Carter,
seeing that Abby was close to tears again.
"Not for now...the detectives will have a look round his
place. You didn't find a note or anything?"
Abby shook her head.
"Pity," said Pembroke. "Makes it easier when they
leave a note. Thank you for your time." He left the room.
"It'll be all right," said Carter soothingly. "I'm
sure..." His voice died away as the door opened again and
Kerry limped in. Her face was drawn, and she was moving slowly.
"Abby," began Kerry, her voice tired. "I'm so
sorry Abby..."
"No," said Abby, pushing herself up from the couch.
"No..."
"I'm afraid that there was nothing we could do...Luka
suffered a cardiac arrest...we...we did all we could to revive
him, but..." Kerry swallowed hard. "Luka died a few
minutes ago. I'm so sorry."
"NO!!" screamed Abby, as she collapsed sobbing into
John's arms. "He can't be gone...we were going to move in
together...it was just a silly fight...he...he can't be gone..."
Carter hugged her close as she sobbed.
Kerry watched unhappily. She had kept shocking Luka long after
she had known there was no hope...finally she had been forced to
admit defeat. Tears sprung to her eyes at the thought of never
seeing his face again, and she brushed them away hurriedly.
"C'mon Abby," said Carter finally. "I'll take you
home." He looked at Kerry, as if daring her to stop him, but
she didn't.
Carter drove Abby back to her apartment and escorted her inside.
She sat pathetically on the couch, staring numbly at the floor.
"It's not your fault," said Carter, sitting beside her
and putting his arm around her. "Whatever reason he had for
taking those pills...it was *his* decision...it's not your fault
if he was too weak to continue living."
Abby leaned in against him as he continued to hold her and
reassure her that it wasn't her fault.
Finally Carter looked at his watch.
"Don't go," said Abby.
"Abby," Carter started to say, but she cut him off with
a finger on his lips.
"Please...stay with me...I...I don't want to be alone..."
"Of course I'll stay," said Carter.
"Thank you," whispered Abby. She was silent for a
moment before asking in a small voice, "Do you think I'm
pretty?"
"I think you're beautiful," said Carter, gently
stroking her hair.
Abby smiled inwardly. She had known that Luka had just said that
to be hurtful to her...just like he had said all those other
things to her. Carter would never have said such things to her...she
should have asked him out last year instead of Luka. But then,
better late than never. Once she had seen the size of his
family's house, she had kicked herself for wasting so much time
on the 'Eurodoc' when 'Richie Rich' had been carrying a torch for
her all along. It had taken a while to maneuver Luka into a fight
with her...but she had succeeded admirably. It hadn't been
difficult to persuade Luka to let her into the apartment. She had
just turned up with tears streaming down her face and a hundred
fake apologies on her lips. He had obviously been drinking before
her arrival...and it was a simple matter to slip a fast acting
sedative into his drink. Once unconscious, she had forced an NG
tube down his nose and poured a mixture of pills and booze down
it. One of the compensations of having a bipolar mother, she
thought with a smug smile. Always plenty of pills lying round.
Then it was just a case of scattering the boxes around his
unconscious body - being careful to smear them with his fingers,
just in case a detective got suspicious - removing the tube and
hiding it in her purse, and then waiting.
She had thought about just leaving him there, but had decided
that someone may have noticed her visit, so after waiting long
enough, she had dialed 911 and faked hysteria.
"I deserve an Emmy for this," she thought to herself as
she snuggled close to Carter. She would 'allow' him to help her
with her grief...maybe a short mourning period before she made
her move on him. Then once she had a wedding ring on her finger,
all it would take would a sudden 'relapse' and accidental OD for
her to become rich beyond her wildest dreams. "Yes,"
she thought. "Everything's worked out just the way I wanted."
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The End