Never Too Late




6. From This Moment On


Gordana Horvat paused once more outside Luka's room, hesitantly drawing back the stained curtain to see if he was asleep. No, he was sitting up...she squinted slightly through the spotted glass. Who was that, perched on the side of his bed? The dark haired figure seemed to know him well, brushing his bangs gently from his forehead as he smiled up at her. The woman turned her head slightly, and recognition struck - this was Abby. She'd come.

Gordana watched, her first smile in weeks creeping across her face as Luka reached up, laying a hand along her cheek. Then, so quickly she thought she'd imagined it, he stretched the hand higher, ruffling the woman's hair. Abby gaped at him for a moment in indignant surprise, then chuckled quietly, saying something about getting a pillow. Luka laughed, a full, rich sound, despite the ravages the disease had wreaked on his throat, and Gordana's heart swelled as she let the curtain fall back into place. How long it had been since she - since anyone - had seen this side of Luka. She had a feeling that the both of them would be just fine.

*I do swear that I'll always be there.
I'd give anything and everything and I will always care.
Through weakness and strength, happiness and sorrow,
For better for worse, I will love you...
With every beat of my heart.*

Abby smiled, leaning back against the headboard - though she moved forward quickly as the rickety metal creaked under them. Chuckling, he moved over, patting the board firmly. "It's all right. This thing hasn't collapsed under me yet."

As she hesitantly lowered her back once more, he stretched his arm across the metal bar. She layed her head down, smiling as she turned towards him. "I missed this," she said softly, her voice holding a sudden quaver.

"Me, too," he heard himself reply, wondering how his brain could have preformed a single task other than looking into her eyes. A sudden thought occurred to him, something that had been unconsciously bothering him since she'd arrived. "Abby...how did you know to come?"

She looked quickly at him, dark eyes confused. "You asked me to...your friend said you'd asked her to call - Dr..."

With a wry smile, he shook his head. "Dr. Horvat. I didn't tell her to call. I meant what I said in that letter..." he trailed off, looking around the cramped room. "I didn't want you to see this."

She nodded slowly. "It is different from County, isn't it," she remarked. "Still..." she met his eyes. "I'm glad I came."

He clasped his hand on her shoulder, as close to an embrace as he could offer in this tiny bed. "I am too."

*From this moment life has begun
From this moment you are the one
Right beside you is where I belong
From this moment on*

It was a week later that they emerged from the crowded hospital together. He was still weak from fighting the disease, and he carried a rough crutch in one hand that he complained made him feel like Weaver. She'd laughed, pretending to shrink from him in terror, but had stepped back to his side just as quickly when he nearly stumbled on the uneven floor.

He'd looked over at her, a rueful smile of gratitude on his face. She'd stayed nearly the whole week - he could remember perhaps two times when he'd woken up to find her gone - holding his hand when the fever worsened, sharing in his relief when it finally broke. That morning, the doctor had walked in with a smile in his face.

"Why are you two still here? These rooms are for sick people. Shoo," he'd admonished, smiling. In the weeks before the disease had struck him, Luka had become a favorite around the hospital, and her own vigil by his side had endeared them, as well. Doctors and nurses often popped into the small room, just to say hello.

One, however, had been notably absent. As they descended the hospital steps, Abby saw that very figure, watching them from around the side of the building.

"Luka? Could you wait here for a minute?" she asked, looking behind her. He gave her a surprised look as he settled into the back seat of the cab, but nodded.

Reaching the other woman, Abby smiled. "Dr. Horvat?"

"Gordana," she corrected firmly.

Abby nodded, taking a breath. "Gordana...I just wanted to thank you." here, she looked back over her shoulder at Luka, waiting in the taxi. When she turned back, it was to find the doctor with a soft, knowing smile on her face.

"Remember what I told you, that day at your hospital?"

She nodded easily - that conversation had replayed in her head more than a few times.

"Abby...I thank you. He truly is what he once was." Smiling, she too looked over at the waiting cab. "Being in love will do that to a man."

*From this moment I have been blessed
I live only for your happiness
And for your love I'd give my last breath
From this moment on*

Her eyes snapped up, unable for a moment to respond, but Gordana only nodded. "He never asked me to write you. I don't think he would have wanted you here." Much the same thing that he'd told her. "Once, I found him delirious from the fever," the woman continued. "He was asking for Abby. I didn't understand who he meant, at first, but then, I remembered meeting you."

"Oh..." she said softly, glancing down. "Still...thank you, again."

Gordana smiled. "You're welcome. Go on, now. He needs you." A pause. "I think you need him, too."

Abby didn't stop to debate this, only hugged the other woman quickly, a silent gesture of gratitude for the priceless gift she had given to them both.

*I give my hand to you with all my heart
Can't wait to live my life with you, can't wait to start
You and I will never be apart
My dreams came true because of you*

The flight was hardly smooth, but uneventful. They napped most of the way, talking quietly when the turbulence jolted them awake. Abby told him about her conversation with Gordana, and he chuckled. "She hasn't changed."

Looking at him, she thought, 'you did'. Twice. Once, after the bombing, he had become the kind but withdrawn man she'd first known him. And then again, barely two months ago, the night he'd held her so close. His smile needed less coaxing, now, though it was most often trained on her. Abby chuckled inwardly, unable to mind that very much.

*From this moment as long as I live
I will love you, I promise you this
There is nothing I wouldn't give
From this moment
I will love you as long as I live
From this moment on*

The next morning, and every morning from that moment on, they woke together once more.




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