Merry Christmas, Dr. Kovac
Part Two
By Carolina
super_carolina1@yahoo.com

Disclaimer: None of the ER characters belong to me.

Author's notes: This was written for a challenge set by Shannon, the rules being:

It has to be set around or on Christmas. You can use as many ER cast members as you'd like. The more the merrier! It can be set at County, someone's home or another place. You must include these items in your fic: # 1 - mistletoe, # 2 - a Christmas stocking, # 3 - a Christmas tree, # 4 - Christmas cookies and the most important item of all, # 5- SNOW!!!!!!!!!!!

This is my first response to a challenge, so be gentle with me. Watch out for bad characterization. Bad characterization meaning the characters on this story actually smile and laugh.

Rated: N for Not likely to happen on the show.

Set after "The Dance We Do"



"Is it steady?" Abby asked after they put the tree in the stand.

"I think so," Luka said. Abby gave him some scissors and he cut the net, the tree immediately expanded, filling the apartment even more with pine scent.

"Wow," Abby exclaimed.

Luka put his hands on his hips and looked at the tree proudly. He turned to Abby, eager to start decorating. "Do you have an extension?" he asked.

"Yeah, I think so, there's an outlet right behind the tree, thought," she said as she untangled some lights.

"Are you sure that's safe?" Luka asked.

Abby gave him an alarming look, but then dropped it, "Nah, what are the odds," she said and gave him some lights. "Ok, you're tall, so, um, just start at the top, on the left side and then I'll be on the right and we can wrap them to the bottom," she said.

"Ok," Luka said and grabbed the end of the light extension. "At the very top?" he asked.

"Yup," Abby said, looking up at him. They wrapped the tree in Christmas lights and put all the ornaments on. Abby walked to the couch and took out the beautiful angel. "Wanna put it on?"

Luka looked at her and smiled, "Nah, you do it," he said.

Abby flinched her face, "I can't reach."

Luka looked at the top of the tree and then turned to her, "Well, I'll lift you."

Abby looked dubious, "What if I fall down and break my neck?"

"Then I can steal the angel and run away to another state," he joked.

Abby tilted her head, "You think you're so funny, don't you?"

"Ok, just climb my back," he said and bent down.

"Alright," Abby said as she grabbed the angel and climbed Luka's back. He stood up, and she tried to reach the top of the tree. "Can you get closer?" she asked.

Luka took a few steps, but walked into the tree and it made him sneeze, which made him want to cover his nose, which caused Abby to fall back.

"Ow!" she protested as she hit the floor.

Luka turned around, "Ow, I'm so sorry, are you ok?" he asked as he helped her up.

"Yeah," Abby said as she rubbed the back of her head. "I think I'll just use a chair."

"Ok," Luka said and brought one for her. "Do you have a headache?"

"No, no, it's just a bump," Abby said as Luka tried to check her head. "It's ok," she protested and stood in the chair. She put the angel on top of the tree and plugged it to the end of the first light extension. "Ok, let's turn it on," she said and got off the chair to stand back.

"You ready?" Luka asked, kneeling next to the outlet.

"Yup," Abby said with a big smile, waiting for the tree to be lit.

"Ok, one, two, three," Luka said and plugged the lights, but nothing happened. "What's wrong?" he asked.

Abby frowned, "I don't know," she said. "Is everything plugged in?"

"Yeah, I checked," Luka said. All of a sudden, the lights lit. "Ah!" Luka jumped back with a smile.

"Looks great!" Abby exclaimed. They stood back and watched it for a moment. "We're missing one Al Rocker."

Luka looked at it, "I still think it needs more decorations."

Abby thought for a while, and then raised her eyebrows. "Wanna make pop corn strands?"

Luka looked confused, "To watch a movie?"

"No," Abby laughed, "To put on the tree," she said and walked into the kitchen.

"What?" Luka asked. "You put pop corn on the tree?"

"Yeah," Abby said, "I think my mom left threads and needles around here."

Luka still looked confused, "Why do you put pop corn on a Christmas tree?"

Abby looked at him, "Actually, I don't really know why people do it, but it's fun to sew them. I'll make some hot chocolate," she said and began to work.

Luka frowned, Americans are so weird.



Half an hour later, they sat at Abby's couch. They had taken their shoes off and cups of hot chocolate were on the table. Luka having a little problems with the needle.

"You ok there?" Abby asked.

"I still don't understand the pop corn thing," Luka protested.

"Well, I think it's the best way to sit down and have a nice bonding moment," Abby said, looking down at her strand.

Luka decided to let it go, and just humor her for a while.

"So, how were the Christmases at your house?" Abby asked.

Luka smiled, "Very nice, actually. My mom would make a huge meal, and then my entire family would come over, all of my cousins," he smiled at the memory. "Then we'd go to bed and wake up very early, I mean, we couldn't even sleep. And the next day my brother and I would spend all day playing with our new toys. They weren't, um, great toys, but our parents would hide them around the house and give us clues, and then we'd look for them, like a... what do you call it?"

"A scavenger hunt," Abby said.

"Right," Luka said and smiled. "I did the same thing with my kids, they just loved it." He grew pensive, "I think what I liked the most about Christmas was their little faces when they saw their presents, it was great."

"I bet," Abby said with a smile, not wanting to push the subject too much.

Luka looked at her, "How about you?" He took another pop corn and tried to sew it.

Abby cleared her throat, "Oh, yeah, they were, well interesting." She chuckled, "I mean, when my dad was around, it was great, because he was always trying to make sure we were happy. And when he was around, my mom would, you know, try to behave."

Luka looked at her, "Where's your dad now?"

"Still in Minnesota," she said. "But, um, after he left, I mean, he still would come around every once in a while, but my mom always loved Christmas and she just went crazy with decorations, our house always looked like Who-Ville," she joked with a chuckle.

Luka looked confused.

"You know, like in How the Grinch Stole Christmas? Dr. Seuss?" she asked and shook her head. "Anyway, she'd have to be off her meds to be creative, and so, you know what comes along with that."

Luka nodded, "Yeah."

"So," Abby continued, "My brother and I would go caroling all night just to stay away from the house. We'd visit each house at least 5 times a night. The neighbors knew about it, so they'd humor us, but I don't think they liked it very much." She grew pensive and looked at Luka, "I mean, I don't blame her, because she tried to make Christmas special... it worked sometimes," she finished with a smile.

Luka thought for a moment, not wanting to make her feel uncomfortable, but not wanting her to follow his path. "Where is she now?" he asked.

Abby inhaled, "I don't know," she sighed. "She disappears like that, and then suddenly shows up again. I, uh, called my brother in case she goes back to Florida. When she's not after me, she's after him," she said and paused. "So don't worry, you'll see her again some day," she added.

Luka let out a chuckle, "She's one of a kind," he said.

"She certainly is," Abby added with a mirthless smile.

Luka sniffed and picked up some more pop corn. "So, what kind of songs did you sing with your brother?"

Abby smiled, "Oh, nearly all of them, we knew them all by heart. Like, um, we would sing the 'Twelve Days of Christmas' as fast as we could and then try to beat our own record. Sometimes people would give us food and cookies. But my favorites were 'Winter Wonderland' and 'Sleigh Ride'," she said.

"Which one's 'Winter Wonderland'?" Luka asked with a smile.

"Um, well, it goes like, um. Sleigh bells ring, are you listening. In the lane, snow is glistening. A beautiful sight, we're happy tonight, walking in a winter wonderland," she sang.

Luka shook his head, "I think I've heard that before, how does it keep going?" he asked, knowing well the song but wanting to make her sing.

"Gone away, is the blue bird. Here to stay, is a new bird. He sings a love song, as we go along, walking in a winter wonderland," she sang.

"In the meadow we can built a snow man," Luka joined in.

"Hey," Abby protested. "You do know the lyrics," she said as she sewed the pop corn and Luka laughed. "What's yours?"

"Oh, I don't know, I like the one about the night..." he tried to explain.

"'Silent Night'?" Abby asked.

"No, it's another one, a divine night," he continued.

"Oh, 'O Holy Night'," she said.

"Yeah," Luka said. "Can you sing that one?"

Abby chuckled, "Not after 10 years of smoking," she said. "It's hard song, but it's very beautiful."

"Yeah," Luka said. "I like the ‘12 Days of Christmas too'."

"Yeah, that one's a classic," she said and looked at her strand. "Ok, I think I'm done here," she said and stood up. "How's yours?"

Luka looked at his strand, which had around 15 pop corns. "I might need a few more days," he joked.

Abby walked over and put her strand around the tree, Luka followed, but put his on the top to make it look like he had made enough. "So, did you get Christmas off?" he asked.

"I'm working on the 24th during the day and at night on the 25th," she said.

"What do you wanna do?" Luka asked.

Abby flinched her face, "I don't know, maybe just stay home and watch a movie? I don't like making a big deal out of Christmas."

"Ok, we can do that," Luka said, thinking that sounded kinda lame, but there really wasn't anything else to do, although Dave's party was beginning to seem more appealing.



Luka stood outside of the ER, shoveling snow to the side so that people could walk in and the ambulances could be parked in front of the hospital.

"I hope you're getting paid for that," Jing Mei said as she approached him.

"Hey," Luka said. "I thought you were on leave. You look huge," he exclaimed as he looked at her from head to toes.

"I am, just came over to bring some Christmas cookies, want one?" she said and opened a container with cookies.

"Thanks," Luka said as he took one and popped it in his mouth, "Um, ginger."

Jing Mei smiled, "I'll be inside, make sure you throw some salt out here," she said and disappeared.

Luka smiled and went back to work, feeling his bones tremble from the cold.

"Hey," Abby said as she approached him, "I brought you some coffee," she said and gave him a cup.

"Thanks," Luka said and put the shovel down.

"Weaver?" Abby asked.

"It was either this or going over the budget with her and Romano," he said.

"Aren't you cold?" she asked.

"I think warm thoughts," Luka said.

"Ah, like?" she asked.

"Like this," he said and tangled his arm around her waist to pull her closer and kiss her, letting the cup of coffee fall on the ground.

Abby pulled back when his lips warmed up again, "Um, ginger," she said.

Luka smiled and bent down to grab the cup, and got a hold of a handful of snow, which he hid on his back. "You wanna help me with the snow?" he asked her.

"No thanks, you seem to be having a lot of fun with it," Abby said.

"I could have more fun, though," Luka said and pulled her coat to drop the snowball down her back.

Abby jumped back, "Ew, Chicago snow, that's gonna give me a rash," she said as she bent down to get some snow and throw it at him, but he had run away.

"Come on, Abby, you can beat me at Foosball, but let's see you throws better," Luka said as he dodged a snowball. "You'd think you could do better growing up in a country which created the world series," he teased and threw a snow ball at her.

"Ok, that's it, no more mercy," Abby said and began to chase him, but he was too quick for her. Finally, Luka slipped on the ice and fell down, and she jumped up on him. "Long legs are hard to manage," Abby said as she took his hat off, filled it with snow and put it on his head again.

"Oh, not the hair," Luka said between laughs.

"Who can kick your butt anytime?" Abby asked, pinning him to the ground.

"My mom," Luka shouted.

"Try again!" Abby scolded.

"Ok, ok, you can, You're my, uh, daddy," Luka said.

"That's right, who's your daddy," Abby laughed as she let him go.

Luka took his hat off the brushed the snow out of his hair. "Oh, I'll get you back," he warned.

"Bring it on," Abby said.

"Luka, we have a trauma coming in, get off the snow," Kerry said as she walked out and then walked back in again.

"This isn't over," Luka said as he stood on his feet and helped her up.

"Name a date," Abby said as they walked back.

"Dave's backyard, on his party," Luka said.

"What?" Abby asked seriously and followed him in.



"Hey, welcome to la casa de Dave!" Dave said as he greeted Luka and Abby at his front porch.

Luka and Abby looked less than thrilled to be there, and they didn't hide it. "Merry Christmas, Dave," Luka said.

"Thanks, come in, come in," he said and ushered them in.

"Where is everyone?" Abby asked.

"Well," Dave started, "My DJ bailed on me, so my buddies left when they found out the beer didn't make it either," he said.

"Some friends," Abby said as she analyzed the place.

"So, we're the only ones who are going to be here?" Luka asked.

"No, I think Carter might come," Dave said as he sat on the couch.

"Might?" Abby said. "I thought this was going to be a wild party, how wild can you get with 4 people?"

"You'd be surprised," Dave said with a wink. Both Luka and Abby threw him a look. "What? You've never been on a quadrangle? This should thrill you, Abby, 3 men for yourself."

"No, thanks," Abby said. "Do you at least have some food?" she asked.

"Yup, in the kitchen," Dave said. "I made bologna sandwiches."

"A real Christmas fest," Abby said sarcastically.

"Knock, knock," a voice came from the outside.

"Aha! I knew he'd come," Dave said as he stood up. He opened the door, but stopped in his tracks when he looked who was behind Carter.

"Hi, Dave," Kerry said.

Dave scratched his head in disappointment, "Hey, Chief," he said.

"Can we come in?" Carter asked. "We brought food."

"Oh, in that case, my house is yours," Dave said and let them in. He was about to close the door, when it was pushed, "Hey,"

Randi, Chuny, and Lydia stood there. "Where are the hot guys?" they asked.

"Well," Dave started, "You've got me... Carter's around."

"Oh, come on, let's go," Chuny said.

"No, no, stay they'll be here," he said and let them in. He turned around to face his guests, "So, who wants to play suck and blow?"



"Dave, I think this egg nog is stale," Lydia said as she smelled something on a cup.

"Probably, it's been there since I was a kid," Dave said.

"Ew, gross," everyone protested.

"Dave, I thought you were a bad employee, but you're an even worse host," Kerry said from her chair.

"Thanks, chief, that means a lot," he said sarcastically and turned to Carter. "Hey, can I talk to you for a sec?" he said and dragged him out of the room and into the kitchen. "What the hell is Weaver doing here?"

Carter smiled, "Come on, Dave, she said something about spending Christmas alone, and I was on the same path, so I convinced her to come."

"You convinced her to come?" Dave asked incredulously. "Are you insane?"

"Yeah, well, if it wasn't for her we'd be all eating stale bologna sandwiches," Carter said.

"She's gonna ruin the party," Dave said.

"You have no party!" Carter exclaimed. "Ok, if you want her gone, that's ok, but I'm taking everyone else with me," he warned.

Dave exhaled in defeat. "Fine, but you make her behave," he said and they walked back.

"Dave, no offense, but I've had more fun at my gynecologist's office," Chuny said.

"Ok, what do you wanna do?" Dave asked.

"How about we play a game or something?" Lydia said.

"Like what?" Abby asked.

"Ok," Kerry said and grabbed a Christmas stocking from the fireplace. "I'm gonna write everyone's name on a piece of paper and then throw them in this stocking, and each one will pull out a name, and then say what you like the most about that person and what you would get them for Christmas."

Dave rolled his eyes, "Or I can find my dad's gun and shoot my brains out," he mumbled.

"What's that, Malucci?" Kerry asked.

"I said do you need some help writing the names down," he lied.

"No, that's ok, I got it," Kerry said and began to work.

10 minutes later...

"Chuny," Carter said as he took a piece of paper out. "Ok, I like how she's always in a good mood, she's very positive, helpful, a good nurse, caring, funny, and I would get her a blow up doll of Antonio Banderas," he finished and sat back down on the floor.

"Thanks, Carter," Chuny said, touched. "Ok, my turn," she said as she looked through the stocking. "Dr. Kovac," she exclaimed.

Luka looked at Abby and sat back in amusement.

"Ok," Chuny started, turning red. "He's caring, and a good doctor, has a nice smile, he's quiet, as every man should be, and has a nice butt," she said and sat down, giggling. "For Christmas I would get him some tight pants."

"Thanks, Chuny," Luka said.

"Ok, my turn," Dave said. He reached into the stocking and cursed to himself. "Dr. Weaver," he mumbled. Everyone tried to hold back laughs, and Dave gave them all threatening looks. "Ok, well, she's painfully honest, a good leader..." he tried to think but couldn't come up with anything else, "Nice hair color, g-good doctor..."

"That's ok, Dave," Kerry said as she held her hand up.

"No, come on, I can do this," Dave insisted. "She puts up with me all the time, so that means she has a lot of patience, she's resilient, tenacious, smart, caring, and she hasn't fired me, so that makes her a good person," he finished proudly.

"Wow, thanks Dave," Kerry said.

"Where did you learn the words resilient and tenacious?" Carter mocked.

"Ok, I don't know about the rest of you, but we have plans," Luka said as he stood up.

"What's you're leaving so soon?" Dave exclaimed.

"Yeah, we have to go too," Randi said. "By the way, next time you say there are going to be hot guys here, I expect big, burley guys who aren't well read," she said to Dave.

"I'm here," Dave said.

"Good night, Dave," Luka said as he walked out with Abby.

"Nice house," Abby called out.

"Ok, we have to go too," Carter said.

"It's 8:30!" Dave exclaimed.

"Isn't that past your bedtime?" Lydia said as she grabbed her coat.

"Ok, fine, go. Just remember who was the one who gave you shelter when you were homeless on the holidays, the lord is looking down at all of you and spitting on his bedpan," he said.

"Merry Christmas, Dave," Chuny called out.

"Ok, chief, thanks for the food," Dave said.

"No problem," Kerry said with a smile as she stood by the door.

Dave smiled slyly, and leaned down to give her a kiss.

Kerry jumped back and looked confused and shocked.

Dave pointed up, "Mistletoe," he grinned.

Kerry shook her head, "Merry Christmas, Dave," she said and walked out.

"See you tomorrow," Carter said.

"Bye," Dave said and closed the door. He leaned on it, "Kiss the chief, what were you thinking," he scolded himself and walked upstairs.



Luka looked at the movie on the television with disinterest as Abby cleaned the kitchen. He looked around the apartment, and reached into his bag for a moment.

"Do you want something to drink?" Abby asked as she came out of the kitchen.

"No," Luka said and looked up at her. "How did you say that mistletoe thing works?"

"You know how it works, Luka," Abby said as she sat on the couch.

Luka sat next to her, and showed her a mistletoe. "Cause I was thinking, if we hung this on your bedroom ceiling, it would still count, right?" he said mischievously.

"Where did you get that?" Abby asked with a smile.

"Oh, you know, I found it somewhere," he said casually and turned to her. "Christmas rule."

Abby chuckled, but didn't hesitate to move forward and peck him on the lips, only Luka pulled her close and deepened the kiss. He somehow managed to reach under her and scooped her up.

"I think you owed me one for putting snow on my hat," Luke said as he carried her into the bedroom.

"Oh, you want me to kick your ass?" Abby asked mischievously.

"Something like that," Luka said and put Abby and the mistletoe on the bed. He took the Santa Claus hat they had bought earlier and put it on. "How about a reenactment of 'I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus?" he asked seductively and began to kiss her neck and take her shirt off.

"What did Haleh said?" Abby suddenly asked.

"What?" Luka asked without stopping what he was doing.

"You said Haleh made you want to change," she said.

"She said I don't smile enough, but who cares about that now," he said and continued to kiss her.

"Well, I don't think you should change for someone who couldn't give a damn, you should change because you want to," Abby said.

Luka stopped and looked at her, "She also said I look pathetic when I smile," he said to convince her.

"So, you're not faking it?" Abby asked.

"I don't like to fake it," Luka said with a smile.

Abby smiled, "I'm that good, huh?"

"Oh yeah," Luka sighed. "Merry Christmas," he said with a kiss.

Abby smiled, "Let's unwrap some presents."

Luka raised his eyebrows and smiled devilishly, "My favorite part."



The End...