A WELCOME VISIT
part 12
by Poet
Two weeks later Luka returned home to find that Roza had left a
message on his machine. "Luka, be sure and call me when you
get in. I'll be waiting up.
"
He quickly fed and watered Katica. Then he sat down to return her
phone call. "Hello, Roza," he said when she answered
the phone.
"Hello, Luka," she replied. "I got your
message."Luka, I wanted to let you know that I'm coming to
Chicago tomorrow. I need to check on the house. Also, we need to
discuss wedding plans," she told him.
"All right. I"m working until 7:00 but I'll try and get
off sooner. Anyway, stop by the hospital and I'll give you a key
to my place," Luka said.
"I'll have Little Luka with me. Marjorie will be watching
the other children since they have school. But during Spring
Break, we'll ALL be coming to Chicago."
"At least I'll get to play with the baby. When is 'Spring
Break'?"
"During the week after Easter. Jasaminka can't wait to see
her 'Dr. Luka' again," Roza answered and laughed.
"I'll bet she can't. She's my favorite little girl,"
Luka admitted. "I can't wait until I see you tomorrow."
"And I can't wait until I see you. It is lonely in St. Louis
with you in Chicago," she said.
"I feel the same way. I wish we were married already."
"Then you would have not only me but ALL the children living
with you. That's what you're longing for," Roza pointed out.
"I want the children but I also want you by my side when I
wake up in the morning. I want us to grow old together,"
Luka said quietly.
"Me too. Right now I have so much to to do to get ready for
tomorrow. We can talk when I get to Chicago. Goodnight, Luka. I
love you," Roza said sweetly.
"Goodnight, Roza. I love you," he said and hung up the
phone. He got to his feet and paced into the kitchen.
"Katica, we're going to have overnight
guests again."
Katica moved away from her empty dish and stared up at him,
meowing. *Are they going to be nice like your friend
Marjorie?*
"So, you'd better be on your best behavior," Luka
continued.
*I'm always on my BEST behavior!* she protested.
"Especially since one of them is a baby." He opened the
refrigerator door and started looking for something for supper.
*What's a baby?* Katica wanted to know.
Fifteen minutes later, Luka was sitting at the kitchen table
enjoying a salad from the night before, and a ham sandwich. He
had his newspaper but wasn't really reading it. His mind was on
what he had to do before Roza and Little Luka arrived.
After supper, Luka decided that he'd better do laundry. Quickly,
he sorted the hamper and located enough quarters. He loaded the
the laundry and detergent into the car and drove to the nearby
laundermat. "Got to vacuum the place, clean up and make it
all look nice," he told himself.
The laundermat was pretty much deserted that time of night. So,
he was lucky to find enough machines to get everything washed at
the same time and then dried.
After getting the laundry sorted and put away, Luka began picking
up stuff to get ready to vacuum. Katica watched him with interest
and meowed. *What's with all this rushing around? I thought
we could play awhile.* When he got out the vacuum, she hid
under a chair, loudly declaring. *I HATE that thing!*
Luka laughed as he watched her hide. He brought the vacuum close
to her chair and listened as she uttered what he assumed were
curse words in cat language.
*If I could, I'd show YOU what to do with that damn thing!*
she yowled and dashed for the bedroom.
"Don't hide under the bed--I'm vacuuming in there
next," Luka told her.
*I hate you!* Katica yowled. She decided that under the
kitchen table was a better place to be.
\
As soon as Luka finished with the bedroom, he put the vacuum
cleaner away. He looked under the kitchen table. "Okay.
Okay. I'm finished. You can come out now," he told Katica.
Luka bent down and picked her up. "You act like this every
time I vacuum. You should be used to it by now." He reached
into the cabinet for her box of kitten treats.
She licked his ear and meowed. *You're forgiven--for
now.*
After giving Katica her treats, Luka set to work cleaning the
kitchen. A glance at the clock showed that it was almost
11:00. "I'd better get some sleep," he told the
cat as he began to put away the cleaning supplies. He firmly shut
the bedroom door. "I don't need you waking me up in
the middle of the night."
*I only do that when I'm hungry or playful or thirsty or
lonely.* she pouted.
The next morning, Luka got up half an hour early. He
planned to do the rest of the housework before going to the ER.
The sheets and pillowcases were changed. After
getting ready for work, he had a quick breakfast and started
straightening up the kitchen.
Katica had jumped up on top of the refrigerator to be out of his
way. She sat watching him wiping up the counter.
Luka reached up to pull her off the refrigerator. "I
don't need paw prints on everything," he admonished.
She snuggled against him and meowed. *But they make
such a pretty pattern.*
"Go finish your breakfast," he said and set her on the
floor.
Kerry was in the lounge when Luka arrived and began opening his
locker. She noticed the big smile on his face so she
commented, "You're certainly looking cheerful this
morning."
Luka put away his jacket and pulled out his lab coat and
stethoscope. "That I am, Kerry. Roza called me
last night to say that she and the baby are coming to Chicago
today," he told her.
"I know you'll be glad to see them. If it turns out to
be slow this afternoon, I'll see about letting you off
early," Kerry said.
"We need to make plans for the wedding, including setting a
date." Luka pulled on his lab coat and headed for the
door.
Around 11:30, the ER began to receive food poisoning patients--a
number of them--hospital employees. Luka was examining one
of the ICU nurses. Suddenly, without warning, she was
violently ill all over herself and Luka.
He stepped away from his patient and grabbed a basin to hand her.
Moving to the door, he spotted Haleh in the corridor and
called out, "Could you please come in here?"
She bustled in, took one look at Luka, and said, "Grab some
scrubs and clean up. I'll take care of your patient."
"Thank you, Haleh," Luka said. "I'll be back
shortly, Ms. Harris. Meanwhile, the nurse will help you get
cleaned up and into a gown."
"Ms. Harris set the basin down and said, "I'm so
sorry."
"Also give her ten of compazine," Luka said to Haleh.
He headed for the supply room. There, he managed to
locate a set of extra large scrubs and a long sleeved black
shirt.
Kerry met him outside the supply room and asked, "Finding
out what everybody ate?"
"Yes, Kerry. As you can see--I'm doing THAT,"
Luka commented. He headed for the men's room and quickly
changed out of his soiled clothes, stuffing them into a plastic
bag. He unclipped his ID and emptied out his lab coat
pockets.
When Luka got back to his patient, he saw that Haleh had gotten
her into a clean gown and given the medicine. "I need
to know what you ate in the past 12 to 24 hours."
"Last night I fixed a homemade soup and this morning I had
the scrambled eggs and sausage in the cafeteria," she
replied.
"Thank you," Luka said and wrote that down.
"We'll observe you for awhile to make sure that your
symptoms are simple food poisoning, and the release you."
Kerry stuck her head in the door and said, "If you're
finished up here, then I've got another patient for you."
"Coming, Kerry," Luka replied. He picked up the
chart and turned to Ms. Harris. "Someone will be in
later to check on you."
Kerry stopped him in the corridor. "Luka, most of the
food poisoning cases are hospital employees. And the one
thing they've all eaten is the scrambled eggs and sausage in the
cafeteria. You didn't eat that, did you?" she asked.
"No--I ate breakfast at home. But that's exactly what
my last patient said she ate," he replied.
"At least none of the ER staff have gotten sick so
far."
"What do you plan to do?" Luka asked.
"Talk to Romano and possibly close the cafeteria until we
can find out the exact source. Your patient is in Exam
4," Kerry answered and handed him the chart.
"Another employee?" Luka asked as he glanced at the
name.
"I'm afraid so. Dr. Juanita Carson from
Neurosurgery," Kerry said. She headed off to check on
her own patient.
Luka briefly considered putting on a trauma gown to protect his
clothes. Chart in hand, he pushed open the door.
"How are you feeling, Dr. Carson?"
"Like Hell. I was just about to start a surgery when I
threw up in the scrub sink. Barely made it down here
without getting sick again," she answered. Suddenly
she grabbed a basin and began vomiting again.
Luka waited until she was finished. "We'll run a few
tests to make sure, but it looks like food poisoning. Did
you, by any chance, have something to eat in the cafeteria this
morning?" he asked.
"Scrambled eggs with sausage," Dr. Carson replied.
"Well, a number of hospital employees have eaten that
particular dish. They are all suffering the same
symptoms--stomach cramps, nausea and vomiting. I'll order
10 of compazine and a saline IV if you need rehydration,"
Luka said and quickly wrote his orders on the chart.
By 3:00, Luka had needed to change clothes again and took a
shower. Dressed in a set of dark blue scrubs and a long
sleeved black shirt, he placed a chart in the rack and erased the
patient's name off the board. Turning to Amira, he
announced, "That is the LAST of the food poisoning cases.
If anybody needs me, I'll be accross the street."
"okay, I'll tell Dr. Weaver where you're at," she told
him.
"Thank you, Amira," Luka said. He headed for the
lounge to grab his jacket.
Ten minutes later, Roza parked her van beside the ER. She
climbed out to open the door to unstrap Little Luka. Then
with diaper bag over her arm, and the baby carrier in hand, she
headed for the doors. Inside, she stopped at the admit desk
to ask, "Can you tell me where Dr. Luka Kovac is?
Amira looked up and replied, "He just went somewhere to get
something to eat. I can have him paged if you'd like."
"No, that's all right. 'Across the street', you
said?"
"Yeah. Big sign that says 'DOC MAGOOS'. You
can't miss it," the desk clerk
said.
Kerry approached the admit desk and asked, "May I help
you?"
"I was just looking for Luka," Roza answered.
"Oh, then you must be Rozalija. We met briefly the
night your husband was killed. I'm Dr. Kerry Weaver.
I just want to say 'Congratulations' on your engagement to
Luka. You've made him a VERY happy man," Kerry said.
"He makes me happy when I'm with him. And he loves my
children--all of them," Roza said softly and smiled.
"Meet the baby. I named him Luka Alen but we all
just call him 'Little Luka'. Viktor and I had discussed
surprising Luka by naming this child after him. So when
Viktor died, I just decided to go ahead and do that."
"I bet Luka likes that," Kerry commented.
"He's across the street, getting something to
eat. We've had a problem with our cafeteria and it's shut
down--except for patient meals. Go tell Luka you're
here--he'll like that."
Luka was sitting alone in a booth, the menu in front of him as
well as a hot cup of coffee. He was trying to decide what
to order since nothing really appealed to him. Seeing the
waitress standing impatiently nearby, he looked up and said,
"I'll have a grilled cheese sandwich and a bowl of
soup."
"What kind of cheese? Swiss? American? Chedder?
Provolone?" she asked.
"Provolone," Luka answered. He handed her the
menu and took a sip of coffee.
He heard the door open and footsteps approaching.
"Hello, Luka," Roza said as she stopped in front
of him.
He'd been so lost in thought that it took him a moment to
respond. "Hello, Roza," he said happily and got
to his feet to take Little Luka. "He's gotten to be
such a big boy."
"Yes, he has," Roza agreed as she sat down beside Luka.
"And he's getting heavy to carry."
"Did you just get here? I'm about to have a late
lunch. Do you want something to eat?" Luka asked.
"I stopped at the hospital and both Dr. Weaver and the desk
clerk told me where you were," she answered.
"What are you having?"
"The soup and a grilled cheese sandwich," Luka replied.
He replaced the baby in the carrier.
"That sounds good. I had a sandwich on the road but I
wanted to see you as soon as I could."
Luka leaned over and softly kissed her. "I'm so glad
you're here," he said quietly.
The waitress arrived with the soup and sandwich. As she set
them on the table, she asked, "Need anything else, Dr.
Kovac?"
"Not right now, Mandy. I want you to meet my
fiancee--Rozalija.She and her youngest son just arrived from St.
Louis," Luka said.
"Oh, isn't he adorable," Mandy commented as she looked
down at Little Luka.
"He certainly is. Mandy, could you please get Roza a
bowl of soup and a grilled cheese sandwich? Just add it to
my ticket," Luka told her.
"Oh, sure. I'll do that right away," the waitress
said and hurried off.
Luka reached into his lab coat pocket and pulled out a key.
"Go ahead and make yourselves at home. If Katica
gives you any trouble, just shut her in the bathroom and I'll
deal with her later."
"I'm sure she'll be okay. Marjorie told me how good
she got along with the cat," Roza said as she took the key
and slipped it in her purse.
Mandy returned with the soup and sandwich and set them in front
of Roza. "What can I get you to drink?"
"I'll have an iced tea," Roza told her.
"I'll fix something for supper as soon as I get home.
I need to stop at the store and pick up a few things.
Anything you want me to get? Diapers?" Luka
asked.
"No, I"I've got plenty in the van," Roza said.
She took a spoonful of soup.
Luka quickly ate his lunch and said, "I need to get back to
the ER. I'll be home as soon as I can." He got
to his feet and kissed her.
She returned the kiss and smiled. "I'll be waiting for
you."
Kerry was standing by the admit desk when Luka returned.
The doors suddenly opened and a police officer rushed in
carrying a blood soaked little girl. "Somebody
help!" he called out.
"Get a gurney!" Kerry yelled at Yosh as both she and
Luka hurried forward to help.
"What happened?" Luka asked as he took the child from
the officer.
"I found her lying among some trash inside an abandoned
building. Got her here as soon as I could," the
officer explained. He sank down on the floor, looking like
he was about to be sick.
Yosh returned with the gurney and Abby. Luka gently laid
the girl on it, ordering, "Trauma One! Four units
O-neg on the rapid infuser!"
Inside the trauma room, Abby set up the rapid infuser and then
began removing the girl's blood soaked clothing.
"Those look like stab wounds," she said softly as
the extent of the child's injuries were revealed.
Luka silently counted eight stab wounds. "Who would do
such a thing to a child?" he wondered aloud as he placed his
stethoscope on her chest. He blinked when he got a good
look at the girl: she looked exactly like his own daughter
had, and for a moment, he thought he was seeing things.
"Are you okay?" Abby asked as she saw him pause.
He ignored her question. "Get a pulse ox and call
Surgery!"
Abby quickly slipped the pulse ox monitor on the girl's finger.
"Pulse ox is 85," she reported.
"I need to intubate. Number 4 E.T. tube. Fifteen
of etomidate and a hundred of sux!" Luka told her. As
soon as the medications were given, he inserted the tube.
No sooner had the tube been inserted, than Abby, eyes on the
heart monitor, announced, "She's in V-fib!"
"Give one half amp of epi and charge paddles to 200!"
Luka ordered as he began compressions. Each time he pressed
on the girl's chest, fresh blood welled up from her wounds.
Cleo entered and immediately took the paddles.
"Clear!" she ordered.
Thirty minutes later, Luka had ordered every life saving drug
that he could think of and the girl's heart had been shocked a
dozen times. He knew that they were fighting a losing
battle but he didn't want to let the girl go without trying
everything possible to save her.
Abby glanced at the heart monitor and said, "Assytole."
Luka had been preparing to shock the girl's heart one last time.
He let the paddles drop and said, "That's it.
Stop compressions."
Cleo stepped away from the girl. She looked at Luka's pale
face and asked, "You want me to call it?"
He shook his head and sighed. "No. I will do
it." He looked at his watch. "Time of
death: 16:08." Pulling off his bloody gloves, he
hurled them into the hamper and strode out of the trauma room,
passing the waiting officers without saying a word. He
wanted--and needed--to get as far away as possible from the
trauma room and the little girl.
Cleo picked up the chart and scribbled down the 'time of death'.
"Abby, as soon as you get her cleaned up some, please
get the death kit," she instructed as she pulled off
her gloves and gown and headed after Luka.
The older of the two officers stopped her to ask, "Did she
die?"
Just a minute," Cleo said. She caught sight of Kerry,
pointed to Luka and mouthed the words 'Go after him' and turned
back to the officer. "I'm sorry, but she died a few
minutes ago."
"Damn!" the officer swore quietly. He looked at
Cleo. "I need to know--would she have lived if Jamie
had called 911 and waited for the paramedics?"
"I think that it wouldn't have made ANY difference.
She was bleeding out when he got her here," Cleo
replied.
"Jamie is a VERY new rookie and his first thought was to get
her to the hospital as soon as possible," the officer
explained.
Kerry found Luka in the lounge. He was sitting on the couch
with his head in his hands. She sat down beside him and
gently touched his shoulder. When he didn't respond, she
quietly asked, "Luka? Luka, are you okay?"
He slowly raised his head and she could tell that he'd been
crying. "I-I'm sorry, Kerry," he stammered.
"B-but she looked so much like Jasna."
Kerry patted his shoulder and said, "Go home, Luka.
We'll be okay until Mark gets here."
"But-," he started to protest.
"Go home," she repeated. "I know you've got
company waiting there. I'll see you in the morning."
Luka nodded and silently got to his feet. He opened his
locker and removed his jacket and soiled clothes. Then,
still wearing his blood soaked scrubs and lab coat, he headed for
the door.
Roza had just finished changing the baby when she heard the door
open. "Luka?" she asked, surprised to find him
home so early. She turned to see him in his bloody
clothing. "Luka, are you all right?"
"I need to take a shower," he said as he dropped his
jacket on the couch and headed for the bathroom, still carrying
his soiled clothes.
"Luka, what happened?" Roza asked as she followed him.
He shut the door to the bathroom and stripped off his clothing,
leaving it in a pile on the floor. Stepping into the
shower, he turned the water up as hot as he could stand it,
trying to wash away the blood and the memory of the little girl.
Suddenly he felt very nauseous. He stumbled to the
toilet stool, kneeling over it as he became violently ill.
Roza listened to the water running as she stood outside the door,
waiting for Luka. She knew that something HAD upset him and
that she needed to get him to talk about it.
The bathroom door opened and Luka stepped out, wrapped in a towel
and looking even paler. He silently headed for the bedroom
and shut the door. Inside, he quickly put on boxer shorts
and a t-shirt before beginning to look for something to wear.
Roza waited a few minutes and then knocked on the door, quietly
asking, "Luka, can I come in?"
He had just pulled on a long sleeved loose fitting shirt and was
reaching for a pair of jeans. "Just a minute," he
told her.
"All right."
As soon as he pulled on the jeans, he opened the bedroom door and
motioned her inside. Taking a seat on the bed, he said,
"I'm sorry that I did not stop at the store. But I
couldn't go in, looking like I did."
"Roza sat down beside him. "It's okay, Luka.
You keep an eye on Little LUka while I go get something to
fix for supper," she said softly.
"But you are my guest-," he began.
She touched his hand. "I need to get used to cooking
for you and finding out what you like," she said and smiled.
"Anything special you want me to fix?"
Luka shook his head. "Whatever you fix will be
okay," he said.
"Then I'll be right back," Roza said as she got to her
feet.
"By the way, where's Katica?" Luka suddenly asked.
"Under the chair. "I think she's trying to
decide whether she likes us," Roza said with a laugh.
"She'll get used to you," Luka said. He pulled on
a pair of shoes and followed her out to the living room, sitting
down on the couch.
Katica crept out from under the chair and jumped up beside him,
meowing. *There you are. Did she HAVE to bring
something so noisy?*
Luka sat absently stroking the cat while Roza gathered up her
purse. She reached to brush a lock of hair off his
forehead. "I'll be back soon, I promise."
Roza drove to the nearby grocery store, her thoughts on Luka.
She was beginning to realize that being married to him
would probably be VERY different from her marriage to Viktor.
Quickly, she made her purchases, deciding on fixing a
couple of cans of soup since Luka didn't look very well.
And, as an after thought,she grabbed a big bottle of
Sprite.
When she returned to the house, she found Luka still sitting on
the couch. He was playing with Little Luka's tiny hands.
Luka glanced at her and smiled slightly. "He
loves to grab my fingers."
"Want to help me with the groceries?" Roza asked.
She was glad to see that he was looking a little better.
"Sure," Luka replieed. He set Little Luka in the
carrier and got to his feet to follow her out to the van.
"What did you get for supper?"
"Some soup and crackers. You look like you don't feel
well and it's been a long day for me," she replied as she
handed him the grocery sack.
"I'm okay. It's just been a busy day," Luka tried
to assure her.
"It's okay, Luka. I need to get used to seeing you
after a bad day at work," Roza said softly. "Then
I can help you try to feel better and the children can distract
you from your troubles." She began putting away the
groceries.
Katica was staring at her food dish and loudly meowing. *I
want fed? NOW!*
Roza laughed and said, "I think your cat wants something to
eat."
"okay, okay!" Luka told Katica as he went to get her
food.
About 7:00, Roza decided that she'd go ahead and fix the soup.
"As soon as I get the dishes done, I need to give
Little Luka a bath. Want to help?" she asked.
"Of course, I do," Luka replied. "What are
you going to bathe him in?"
"I thought the kitchen sink would be perfect. It has
the sprayer attachment and there's plenty of room to lay out what
I need," she answered as she set a bowl of soup and some
crackers in front of Luka.
He ate a little of the soup and then pushed the bowl aside.
"I'm sorry, but I just don't feel like eating,"
he apologized.
"It's okay. I'll put it up and maybe you'll feel like
it later," she said and sat down to eat her supper.
"You're still not feeling well?"
"I'm okay," he said, and took a sip of the sprite.
As soon as she'd washed the dishes and put them away. She
set the drainboard on the stove and laid out a thick bath towel
by the sink. "Why don't you bring me the diaper bag
and Little Luka?" she suggested as she began to fill the
sink with water, making sure it was the right temperature.
Luka returned with the diaper bag and the baby. "I
think he definitely needs a bath and a clean diaper," he
commented as he set the baby down on the towel. "We'll
get you all nice and clean."
"Good thing I brought plenty of diapers," Roza said and
smiled as she watched Luka making faces at Little Luka.
"Sometime I'll have to tell you about the time Danijela,
Jasna and I spent a month one summer at my grandparents' farm.
I was the only one around, turned my back for just a minute
and Jasna fell into the manure pile. Needless to say, after
I picked her up, we were both quite a MESS," Luka said as he
began undressing the baby.
Roza set Little Luka in the tub and squeezed soap into her hand
while he laughed and tried to splash the water.
"Fortunately, none of the kids have ever gotten that
on them," she commented.
"Yeah. Kids can get messy enough," Luka said as
he watched her.
After Little Luka had been bathed, Roza drained the water out of
the sink and went to get a clean towel. "Watch him for
a moment," she told Luka.
Katica had been watching the bathing from her perch on top of the
refrigerator. She jumped down to the sink, eyed the baby
and extended a paw to touch his face. Little Luka laughed
and tried to grab her paw.
Luka saw her by the sink and yelled, "Katica! Get
down!" He hurried over to grab her.
Roza had the cat's extended paw and asked, "Did she scratch
him?" She hurried to her son.
"Katica! Bad kitty!" Luka said sharply as he
picked her up to carry her to the bathroom.
Katica meowed and held up her paw. *What did I DO
wrong? I only wanted to see what it felt like. I
didn't have my claws out.*
Roza carefuly looked over Little Luka. "Thank
goodness, she didn't scratch him," she sid with relief.
Luka was still holding onto Katica. "If I ever find
out you've clawed one of the children," he warned. He
looked over at Roza. "I'll put her in the bathroom and
bring you a towel."
After Little Luka was in a clean diaper and sleeper, Roza placed
him in the carrier. "I think I'm about ready to go to
bed myself," she said as she placed him in the carrier.
"I made up the bed for you," Luka told her.
"Are you planning to stay up later? Because when you
go to bed, I don't mind you waking me up," she said.
"I thought I'd sleep on the couch," he replied.
"Luka, I can't let you give up your bed for me. But I
will sleep with you," she said and touched his hand.
"I thought that we were going to wait until our wedding
night-," he began.
"We will wait until then to make love as husband and wife.
But for now, we'll just lie beside each other, knowing
we're together and reaching out to each other in the night,"
she said softly. She took his hand. "Come to bed
with me now."
"All right," Luka said. He picked up the carrier.
"If we leave the door open, we'll have Katica waking
us up in the morning."
"Is she spending the night in the bathroom?" Roza
asked.
"No. I'll let her out when I get ready for bed,"
Luka said. He set the carrier down by the bed and the
rumanged in his dresser for a clean pair of sweats.
"You can change clothes in here."
"We can dicuss wedding plans tomorrow night," Roza said
and reached for her suitcase.
When Luka returned to the bedroom, he found Roza sitting on the
bed, unpinning her hair. She let it fall down around her
shoulders and he took her in his arms to kiss her.
"Good night, Roza. I love you," he said
softly as he pulled her down beside him.
"I love you, Luka," she whipered and rested her head
against his shoulder.
He pulled the blankets up over them and switched off the lamp.
Placing his arm around her, they slowly drifted off to
sleep.
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