Chapter Text
A Mingled Yarn
“The web of our life is of a mingled yarn, good and ill together.”-William Shakespeare
About Damn Time
May 3, 2007
The air was alive on the Near West Side of Chicago. It wasn’t because like most Chicago springs, it was too cold to be heading into summertime. No, the air was alive because in a converted warehouse, Luka Kovač and Abby Lockhart had finally, finally gotten married.
Anyone in the know (which meant anyone that had any connection with the staff of the Emergency Room at County General) knew it was way, way, way overdue.
The very point long-serving nurse Haleh Adams was making as she toasted the couple.
“I was actually there the day Luka and Abby met,” she said with a beaming smile. “Abby was starting her ER rotation. And Luka had been working full time at the ER for maybe three months. And every single woman—and some of the married ones—in the hospital had been gushing over the new, gorgeous ER Attending.”
A blush crept over Luka’s face which Abby noted with a wry grin.
“Abby was no different,” Haleh continued. “The first question she asked once Luka was out of earshot was, ‘is he single’. And now, well here we are.”
“Really?” Luka asked his bride who was now blushing at the memory.
“But in all seriousness,” Haleh said, a touch of emotion in her voice. “For as long as I've known them, I have never known two people who just stand by each other. When something is right, when something is wrong, you will find them next to each other, going to bat for the other, never willing to let the other fall, at least not without a fight. So, to me, this night is no surprise. It’s perfectly natural to see them standing up beside each other. From my point of view, beside each other is where they’ve always been. And may they always be. And may I just say, it’s about damn time. To the bride and groom. To Luka and Abby.”
“To Luka and Abby,” the crowd chimed out cheerily as they raised their glasses.
Abby quickly wiped away a tear, moved by Haleh’s touching words.
It was Haleh’s idea to make a surprise toast to ensure that Abby and Luka stayed away from the bar area where an unpleasant encounter between Tony Gates and Ray Barnett had broken out. That was not what they needed on their special night. And nothing was going to ruin their special night, not if Haleh had anything to say about it.
“And this is for Luka and Abby,” Haleh grinned before the lights dimmed and she quickly went into a soulful rendition of “Stand By Me”.
When the night has come, and the land is dark, and the moon is the only light we’ll see...
Luka and Abby got up to dance for the 50 th time that evening, not that they minded. Abby didn’t care if they never stopped dancing. She had a feeling that in a way, they never would.
“Just so you know,” she whispered up to her husband as Haleh continued to serenade them. “When people we don’t know ask about our wedding, I'm taking all the credit.”
Luka smiled broadly. “Take whatever you want. I already have everything.”
Abby returned his grin and leaned up to kiss him.
They broke apart just as Haleh finished singing and everyone applauded her.
Luka looked down at Abby pointedly. “You know, I have another surprise for you,” he told her.
She met his gaze with a questioning one of her own. “Luka...I don’t know if I can handle any more surprises.”
“You’ll like this one,” he told her before leading her away from the dance floor.
She rolled her eyes, what else could he have possibly done?
“Is this how our marriage is going to work?” she teased him as they sat back down at their table. “You just talking me into whatever you want?”
He wrapped an arm around her shoulder and leveled her with a clear, earnest gaze. “All I want is you.”
She smiled and shook her head. He was the only person who could knock her off her feet with a word, a look, a smile. When he did, she did the only thing she could do in response: kiss him as if her life depended on it. This time was no exception. She leaned in to press her lips to his, not caring if anybody saw.
It was getting harder to stop kissing him, but she did and sighed gently, pressing her forehead into his lips.
“So, what’s the surprise?” she asked before planting a kiss to one of Luka’s knuckles, unable to stop touching him for any extended length of time.
Luka smiled at her “Neela’s off work ‘til Sunday. She’s going to house-sit and watch Joe. Marnie’s going to help her out if she needs it.”
Abby looked up adoringly at him. “And where are we going to be until Sunday?”
Luka grinned a wicked grin. “That’s part of the surprise.”
He leaned in to kiss her again, their lips slowly folding into each other’s over and over.
They pried themselves apart again and stared into each other’s eyes.
They were surrounded by people they loved, and everyone was there to celebrate them, but it was becoming more and more obvious that the only thing they wanted was each other.
Luka cleared his throat. “Let’s get out of here.”
Abby smiled. “Couldn’t have said it better myself.”
~~~
And as the bride and groom prepared to slip away into the evening, the Best Man was hailing a cab.
Weddings were not Greg Pratt’s thing. He had never been married, never even considered it and as far as he was concerned, there was no such thing as playing the field too much. But looking at Luka and Abby, he couldn't help but wonder if there was something to the notion.
For a moment he thought of Bettina DeJesus, a doctor in the Radiology Department. He liked her, he knew that. He just wasn’t sure how much.
In any event, he was happy for Abby and Luka and as the Best Man, he was going to ensure nothing screwed up their special night.
Which was why he was currently hailing a cab for the very drunk, very heartsick Ray Barnett.
“Look man, there’s no need for this,” Ray slurred as he leaned up against a railing. “I can make my way home.”
“Yeah, sure you can,” Pratt spat in utter dismissal. He frankly had had it with Gates and Ray. This rivalry over Neela Rasgostra had gotten way out of hand and as far as he was concerned, she was better off without either one of their immature-as-hell asses.
“Taxi,” Pratt called again, motioning to what he thought was a cab.
“Look, let me go back in,” Ray tried. “I just want to apologize.”
“Yeah, you can apologize when you’re sober. Taxi!”
“Pratt.”
“Don’t ‘Pratt’ me, all right, man? That shit the two of you pulled was ridiculous. You need to get your head screwed on straight.”
Pratt finally managed to hail a cab. “Come on, get your ass in here,” he told Ray.
After, more or less, shoving Ray into the cab, he pulled out two fifties from his wallet and walked over to the driver’s window.
“900 W. Roscoe. Take him straight there and ignore him if he asks to be dropped off anywhere else,” Pratt told the driver. “And here’s an extra 50 for listening to everything he has to say on the way. My sincerest apologies.”
“You got it, man,” the cabbie said with a dry chuckle. Nothing he hadn’t seen or heard before, being a cab driver in Chicago.
Pratt sighed and made his way back to the party. Fucking Gates. Ever since he had arrived, he’d been cocky, arrogant and conceited. Pratt had been pretty much the same when he arrived at County, so maybe he ought to have given Gates the benefit of the doubt.
But there was something about Gates’ absolute unapologetic nature about it that rubbed everyone the wrong way.
If Pratt was less about minding his own business, he might have thought that Neela’s interest in Gates was an insult to her late husband’s memory. But Pratt was very much about minding his own business. Plus, he also had a feeling that whatever Neela thought she might’ve felt for Gates, she probably was less than thrilled about his behavior this evening.
With a dismissive eyeroll, he wondered if County would be able to keep doctors on shift if the “no fraternization” policy was actually enforced. Considering how many of his colleagues were involved in some type of personal capacity, he didn’t think so.
Change was in the air. Soon, there would be a new ER chief, hopefully he or she would be more bearable than the last new hires the ER had seen.
Watching the cab drive away, Pratt shook his head. He was still surrounded by knuckleheads. He made his way back inside the reception, hoping it would be calmer than when he’d left it and praying that Abby and Luka hadn’t found out what had happened. Kovac was an understanding dude, but ruining his wedding reception was a bridge too far for almost anybody.
As he headed back to the bar for another much-needed drink, he walked past Lily Jarvik, a nurse who never paid him any attention and who was rushing off to somewhere in the opposite direction.
Lily was in fact heading off to see the bride who had sent her out on a mission.
Archie Morris had announced that the happy couple would soon be taking off for the night and everyone was busy gathering around the exit of the building, waiting.
Everyone except Lily who was heading back to the bridal suite, where Abby was readying herself to go.
“Lily, there you are,” Abby said when the nurse entered the room. “Did you find it okay?”
“I did,” Lily told her. “I asked the valet where the bride and groom’s car was and I put it in your suitcase. At least, I'm assuming the purple and gray one is yours.”
“You assume correctly,” Abby told her with a large smile.
“Here are your keys. I'm so happy for you, Abby,”
“Thanks Lily. I just can’t believe it.”
“Oh, trust me, everyone else can. I’d wish you good luck, but as crazy as you two are about each other, I doubt you need it.”
“Hey, I'll take it anyway. Thanks again, Lily.”
Lily gave her a quick hug. “Anytime.”
“Abby,” Luka called, peeking his head into the door. “You ready? Hi, Lily,” he added when he noticed her.
“Luka,” she said with a smile. Luka stepped into the room, and Lily smilingly took her leave.
He turned an adoring glance over at Abby. “Is my bride ready?” he asked as he stepped closer to her, gently pulling her into his arms.
Abby looked up at him and smiled. “I think I am.”
Luka, unable to help himself, placed a soft kiss on her forehead and another to her neck, before he took her hand in his and led them out the door. Married at last. He couldn’t wait for them to meet someone new, just so he could introduce her as his wife and not have it only be the way he thought of her.
They made their way out of the room and near the entrance where everyone was waiting.
Abby had given last-minute instructions to Neela about watching Joe even before Lily came in, so there was nothing to do but go.
They stepped out the entrance and into a sea of white rice which seemed even more striking in the lukewarm night. Everyone was clapping and cheering and whooping as Luka led Abby to the white town car that awaited them.