Never Too Late




5. Calling Your Name Again


"Ah...this is really short notice, ma'am," said the voice on the other end of the line, obviously flustered. "The expense could be -"

"Don't worry about it," Abby cut in, her voice rough. "Just...when does the next flight leave?"

"Well, we do have one leaving tomorrow at noon," she said doubtfully. "There are a few seats left in economy class. I could -"

"Thank you," Abby said quickly, putting back the receiver as her mind raced. She still had a passport - she kept it current, constantly afraid Maggie - and now, Eric - would get into trouble somewhere she couldn't reach them. A nurse's salary wasn't extravagant, but an economy ticket shouldn't be too much of a strain...and right now, she was about ready to swim across that ocean, if that was what it would take.

Throwing some of her things quickly in a carryall, she checked her watch - 9 PM - and shook her head. It was going to be another long night. She stretched out on her bed, unconsciously leaving just enough room for him to lay down next to her, and clicked off the light, willing her eyes to close. It was a skill she was adept at - working crazy hours at a hospital, falling asleep on command was vital - but not now.

*I wake up in the dark
Silence brings me to my senses
I wonder where you are
Then I feel a pain, a pain in my heart
Cause I'm living without your love
And I'm all alone for the first time
And it doesn't seem to be a dream
A dream that will be over*

"Hello? Hello?"

It was no use - a distinctive click told her the line had gone dead. With a shake of her head, Gordana Horvat replaced the phone, ducking back into the entrance of the dim hospital. Fighting the wave of nausea that always swept over her as she entered the place, she headed towards Luka's tiny room, still worrying.

What she had told Abby was true - strong as the virus was, he was struggling with it. She had barely dared hope that he would - when she had come to see him, only a few months ago, she had found him much changed from the man she knew. Danijela's death had hit him hard - she'd know it would, but knowing and seeing were very, very different. When she had first heard the diagnosis, she had been terrified that he would simply give up.

But he hadn't. And somehow, she rather thought that the nurse - Abby - had something to do with it. Remembering her face when they'd talked about Luka, her voice on the other end of the line just now...her name in his fever-dreams - for she'd not told Abby the truth in that. He hadn't asked her to call, and she had a feeling that he would have forbidden her to do it, if he'd known. But when his fever had spiked 104 that afternoon, Gordana had started searching for the scrap of paper with the hospital number on it. If she was right about Abby...Luka needed her.

*All the words you said
Weren't enough to fool this heartache
Memories in my head
Aren't enough to stop me falling apart
Cause I'm living without your love
And maybe it won't be the last time*

Abby was jolted awake by the loudspeaker, calling out in several different languages that they should replace their seatbelts and brace for landing. Hers was on, anyway - cramped as this seat was, she couldn't have moved much even with it off. Even so, the landing jolted her, her elbow acquiring a large bruise, courtesy of the armrest. The brief flash of pain quickly dulled, however, as she woke fully and realized where she was.

As soon as they were allowed, Abby rose from her seat, wincing as cramps hit her in the leg and back. A few crowded minutes in the jostling flow of passengers, and she was out, shading her eyes to look around the airport. Spotting a phone, she moved toward it as quickly as her legs would allow. The number of a taxi service was helpfully scrawled across the cover of the battered phone book, and she dialed it shakily.

*I don't know how much more I can take
Hope is wide awake and here I go

Calling your name again
Thinking of all that we two had before

There's got to be more this I know
Calling your name again
Remembering all the love you gave to me
And how we used to be*

A shadow passed behind the dingy curtain of his room, and Luka raised his head, startled at the amount of energy the small movement took. The doorknob began to turn, and he half-closed his eyes, waiting to see if it was the doctor or Gordana before he opened them. Through the screen of his lashes, he watched as a figure entered the room, too short to be the doctor...he squinted...or Gordana...who -

In the space of an instant, he knew, his eyes flying open as he struggled to sit up.

*I think of what's to come
Then I turn and see your picture
The tears begin to fall
And soon I can make sense of nothing at all
Cause I'm living without your love
Hoping that I'll make it this time*

Abby eased herself out of the cab, fumbling with the unfamiliar money for the driver. The speed at which he took off left her with little doubt that she'd given him an exceptionally large tip, but it didn't matter - she turned away from the cloud of dust he'd left in his wake to enter the squat hospital building, hope and fear flooding her at once. Her glance darted around the large room she found herself in, as if she expected him to come out to greet her.

Instead, her eyes fell on a large desk, and she hurried over. The woman behind it looked up at her with an unenthusiastic "Jambo."

"Do...do you speak English?"

A sigh. "Yes," replied the woman, and Abby focused on her, trying not to miss anything through her heavy accent.

"I'm looking for Luka Kovac?"

She was met with a slightly confused frown, and Abby tapped her finger on the register, repeating "Kovac".

She nearly sagged in relief as the woman nodded, pointing at a door near the back of the room. She crossed to it, holding the rough metal knob as if it were made of glass as she let herself in, her eyes instantly going to the figure in the single bed.

She knew even before he looked up that it was him, not dozing as it had seemed at first, but wide awake, looking as full of disbelief as she felt - surely, she wasn't really here, she was still back in her bed, dreaming...then, their eyes met, and she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that it was real.

*Something tells me this is not the end

Wish I could pretend but here I go*



Part 6
Fanfiction Home