Bubble Bath
Part Three
By Miesque
miesque48@hotmail.com

RATING: PG-13 Mild language, sexual behavior, but no goats. ;)
SETTING: End of S7
CATEGORY: A Luka Kovac/Kerry Weaver Story (3/?) Humor/comfort/romance

DISCLAIMER: I don’t own Luka and Kerry. If I did, they would currently be married and expecting their first baby. ;) Warner Bros., Amblin Entertainment, NBC & several other guys in $uit$ do own them.

SONG: ‘Signed, Sealed, Delivered’, written by Stevie Wonder, et. al.

SYNOPSIS: Stevie Wonder. A bathtub tap. Vaseline. You’ll get it.

SPOILERS: Maybe a hint or two of stuff that happened in S6, and hints of stuff seen in spoilers for S7, about which I am severely in denial.

THANKS TO: My three wonderful friends (and editors) for constant and steady encouragement.



Luka could only drive with one hand, which annoyed him. His injured right palm was going to keep him out of commission for at least a week, according to Kerry, and thus he had nothing to do for the next seven days. Really annoying. There was nothing he hated more than being idle. When he was idle, he got bored, then frustrated, then irritable. Not a good combination, he knew. There’s nothing worse than a bored Kovac. Well...maybe a drunk Kovac, but that was a different story.

He looked at the small piece of paper again, which showed Kerry’s address and telephone number. He was fairly good with directions...well, he liked to think he was. Usually, he did all right. Driving in Chicago was no worse than driving in the medieval streets of Zagreb. He had wrecked his first car on the only bridge in town, way back when...way back. In fact, Chicago was a cinch compared to Zagreb after the war ended. Street signs weren’t exactly a common thing any more, once the fighting and bombings had ended. One could more easily find a haggis is Zagreb than someone’s home according to directions given.

He was ten minutes early, which he figured was a bad idea. Either be a little early, but not much, or right on time. But be late, and he sensed he might get in trouble. Of course, a little ‘trouble’ from Kerry Weaver could be very enjoyable. He was looking forward to this first date, even though his stomach was in knots and his hands were shaking. He hadn’t been this nervous when dating Abby Lockhart, but then again, it had only been physical with Abby. Looking back at it with a clinical eye, Luka supposed that maybe his brief ‘fling’ with Abby had been a means of him testing the waters, to see if he could still swim. He had nearly drowned with Carol, the experience with Abby had been ‘okay’, but not thrilling, with no passion. But with Kerry, there was something burning under the surface.

It wasn’t that he didn’t like Abby. It was that there was something not quite right about their relationship. Something wasn’t working. There had been no chemistry, no spark between them, and they hadn’t had much to offer each other. Her mother certainly had made matters worse! Besides, now she was seeing Carter, from what Luka could tell. Now they had chemistry, and Luka was glad to see both of them making steady progress together. They were good for each other, in many ways, and he was happy for them both. He liked Carter fairly well.

There was certainly a lot of chemistry between him and Kerry. Parking his car and sitting for a moment, thinking, Luka remembered the first time he’d met her. Romano was acting ER chief, she was just an attending then, along with Mark Greene. The three of them had sat in a conference room upstairs, staring at him, asking him questions about his training, his field of expertise, his education, experience, and so forth. Luka had noticed Kerry’s hands right off-long, slender fingers, pale, rose-touched skin. She was very professional, very businesslike, but with a softness beneath the surface that he liked. Mark...he hadn’t been impressed with Dr. Greene. He neither liked nor disliked him. Romano had been a jerk, asking snide little questions about how ‘up-to-date’ medical procedures were in Croatia and the rest of Europe. Luka had felt an urge to inform Romano that all medical procedures in Croatia were preceded by the sacrifice of a live chicken, but had opted against it. The man’s sense of humor wasn’t much to speak of, unless it was directed at others who couldn’t-or wouldn’t- defend themselves. Even better, Kerry had hired him on permanently. On the anniversary...

Suddenly, Luka’s cell phone tweeted and he nearly jumped out of his skin. “Hello?”

“Luka? Uh...this is Kerry.”

He looked at the phone for a moment, confused. “Aren’t you at home?” he asked.

“Yes, I am. But...uh...I’m...sort of...having a problem.”

“What?” he asked, alarmed. “Did you fall? Are you all right?”

“No. No, I...uh...” There was a long pause. “Listen, my back door is unlocked. Could you come in? I’m upstairs...in my bathroom.”

“Oh, God, you’ve hurt yourself!” Luka gasped.

“No, no, I’m all right. I’m just...sort of...stuck.”

“I just parked in front of your house. I’ll be up as soon as possible!”



It had all started with Stevie Wonder and a drip.

Kerry had settled herself down for a nice, long hot bath. One that would warm her bones and make her feel good, ease away the pain in her leg, and get her mind settled firmly on the evening ahead. A hot bath always did wonders to soothe away her day-to-day troubles. Today had been pretty rough. With Luka out due to his injured hand, the ER was short one attending. That, of course, meant Peter Benton was downstairs, acting as arrogant as usual. She had felt an urge, many times, to remove the screws from behind Peter’s ears to check and see if he had a little Robert Romano at the controls behind his eyes-the man obeyed the letter of the law of medicine but not one iota of it’s spirit.

Okay, so I like Luka, she thought as she drew her bath, putting the lavender-scented bath crystals and bubblebath in, watching the steam rise and breathing in the sweet scent. I like having him around. He’s quiet. He’s easy on the eyes. So sue me. Who’d want to spend ten to twelve hours a day looking at unattractive scenery? All she had to look at, all day, was Mark and his giggly fiancé, several cherubic medical students that were mainly underfoot, Carter, and Peter Benton. Carter was good- looking, if too boyish for her taste, but she kept looking up, expecting to see Luka across from her, maintaining calm and order during every rough trauma. Oh, she and Luka had had their fair share of battles in the past, and she was pretty sure they’d lock horns in the future. But reflecting, Kerry realized that in none of those battles had they exploded with rage at each other, seeking to wound with words. He made more than his fair share of mistakes, and so did she. But there was a rapport between them, and they worked very well together. It was as if she’d known him forever.

After removing her robe, Kerry slipped into the hot water, doing a Bugs Bunny ‘ooo...ouch...yikes!’ routine as she lowered herself in. Once she was settled and adjusted to the heat, she began washing, humming then singing throatily, enjoying the effect the acoustics had on her singing talents.


Like a fool I went and stayed too long
Now I’m wondering if your love’s still strong
Oo baby, here I am, signed, sealed, delivered, I’m yours

Then that time I went and said goodbye
Now I’m back and not ashamed to cry
Oo baby, here I am, signed, sealed, delivered, I’m yours

Here I am baby
Oh, you’ve got the future in your hand
(signed, sealed, delivered, I’m yours)
Here I am baby,
oh, you’ve got the future in your hand
(signed, sealed, delivered, I’m yours)
I’ve done alot of foolish things
that I really didn’t mean
Hey, hey, yea, yea, didn’t I, oh baby

Seen a lot of things in this old world
When I touched them they did nothing...uh...boy...


“Well, damn, that didn’t rhyme...” Kerry sighed, but continued, smiling, scrubbing her arms and body with a sponge.


Oo baby, here I am, signed, sealed delivered, I’m yours, oh I’m yours

Oo-wee babe you set my soul on fire
That’s why I know you are my only desire
Oo baby, here I am, signed, sealed, delivered, I’m yours...


The tap was dripping. Kerry observed it for a moment, making a mental note to call the plumber tomorrow to have it fixed. However, right now, she was interested in playing with the water. With her right big toe, she began trying to catch the drop of water and let it slide down her foot. She became more and more determined, her toe going further and further up into the tap, until...

“Uh-oh.”

She tried to pull her toe out, but it was stuck, and showed no signs of coming out. Oh, great, she thought. This is the second time I’ve been stuck. Only, this time I’m naked and there’s not a good-looking Croatian within miles.

Cell phone, cell phone, Kerry thought frantically. I know I brought it in here with me...I was talking to Mark on it just a minute ago...sometimes, I’m glad he’s so whiny, because otherwise I wouldn’t have been on the phone when I came in here. Sloshing water everywhere, but not caring, Kerry reached for her robe. She remembered-she had laid the cell phone on the little stool beside the bathtub. On top of the cell phone was her robe. She could see the glint of the chrome right now. Gingerly, praying she wouldn’t knock the phone off the stool, and out of reach, Kerry pulled, muttering all the while, reaching her other hand. She had it between her fingers in seconds, and grabbed it. For a moment, she sat there, wondering who to call. The fire department? Oh, God, no. What if I end up with the same guys who rescued me yesterday?

Kerry dialed the first number that came into her head, and the next moment, she heard Luka’s voice.



“Okay, I’m in your house, Kerry. Where’s your bathroom?”

“Upstairs! Uh...the door’s not locked, but I’m...uh...stuck in the tub.”

“In the tub? Must be a small tub.”

“Dammit, Luka...”

Luka froze at the top of the stairs, confused. “Then get out of the tub, Kerry. You said you were stuck.”

“I am stuck!” she snapped. “My toe is stuck!”

“In the tub? Must be a very, very small tub.”

“No! In the...in the tap!”

“The tap?” She heard Luka’s voice outside the bathroom door now, and switched the cell phone off. For a moment, the image of Kerry tap-dancing, naked, in the tub flashed through his mind and he wondered if he’d been getting enough sleep lately. Not that it wasn’t a pleasant image to have going through his mind. In fact, he paused to relish it for a moment.

“Very funny!” she shrieked. “My toe. Is caught. In the tap!” Oh, God, this is so embarrassing, she thought. I feel like Laura Petrie. Didn’t Laura Petrie do this in an episode of ‘The Dick Van Dyke Show’? Next thing you know, I’ll be opening inflatable rafts in closets and grinding family heirlooms up in the garbage disposal.

“Wow. So you’re...uh...naked in there?” She could have sworn she heard an eagerness in his voice.

“Yes. And I’m getting pruny,” she whined.

“Do you want me to come in?”

“Well, there are still plenty of bubbles. I just want my toe out of this thing!”

Luka opened the door slowly and poked his head in. She had her arms crossed over her chest and was eyeing him nervously, chewing her lower lip.

“We have got to stop meeting like this, Kerry,” Luka said, stepping inside. “How did this happen?”

“I was playing with the drip...” she began, relieved he wasn’t laughing at her. Yet.

“What’s Mark Greene doing here?” Luka scowled.

Kerry covered her mouth with her soapy hand, giggling, but accidentally exposing her breast. She could have sworn she saw Luka’s mouth twitch, but he politely averted his eyes. She covered her breasts up again and got even redder.

“So you got your toe stuck in the tap?” Luka said, peering down at her foot. Her toe was definitely in there. He touched her it briefly, then his finger moved gently to her heel. Kerry blushed even brighter when he didn’t stop there. His hand briefly caressed her ankle, and he turned to look at her. She has a smashing pair of legs, he thought. Funny, I never really thought about...

“Yes,” she said dreamily. “I mean...uh...yes. I was...playing with the water that...uh...was dripping...and...” Oh, God, she thought. If I tell him what I was thinking at the time...!

“Ah.” He rubbed his jaw for a moment, fighting a powerful urge to laugh. “Sounds perfectly reasonable.”

“I feel like an idiot,” she said. “Look where playing with a drip can get you...and I look like a drowned rat.”

“You look beautiful,” he smiled.

“I’m wet.”

“I should hope so.”

Her eyes widened with surprise, and she turned scarlet. My God, I’m being...I’m being seduced! she thought.

“And hot,” Luka continued. “The water is very hot.” There was a gleam in his eyes that made her heart pound and her mouth water.

“It’s cooled down considerably, I can assure you,” Kerry said, barely able to get her mind working. “I’m...uh...the...uh...water, that is...is very cool now.”

Luka’s gaze had moved back to her breasts, though, and Kerry covered herself with her arms. To have him looking at her that way...it sent an erotic shiver up her spine and spread warmth through her entire body.

“We should drain the water out,” Luka said matter-of-factly. “It’s not healthy to lie in... ‘cool’ water,” he explained. She nodded in agreement. He pulled the plug and the water began draining away. Kerry wished she had four arms so she could cover everything, but there was nothing now to protect her from Luka’s gaze.

Luka was definitely looking. She was gorgeous. Luscious, actually. Full, ripe breasts, nice flat, round, belly, gently curving hips, long slim legs. And to sweeten everything, a beautiful, delicate little face and lips that were made for kissing. But he made no move yet-but he did want her now. There was no denying that. Instead, after the water was gone, he grabbed a towel and turned away so she could dry off. Sometimes, he hated being a gentleman, but anything less would have been against his nature.

He let her have her bathrobe. She pulled it snugly over her body and cleared her throat.

“Now, what do we do about my toe?” she asked.

“Your toe?” He paused, momentarily confused. He’d been staring at her lovely face, memorizing her. “Oh, yes. Your toe. Hmmm...I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?!”

“Do I look like a plumber to you?” he asked mildly. “Though, if you’d like, I could have my pants hang too far down when I bend over...”

“You don’t have to be a plumber to get my toe out of a bathtub tap!” she snapped, frustrated.

“Do you have any Vaseline or lubricant? Or maybe...uh...peanut butter? Or just plain butter?”

“There’s some Vaseline in the cabinet...over there...” She pointed at a row of low cabinets above the sink. “The one closest to the window.”

Luka opened it and withdrew a bottle of the famous lubricant. “You know,” he said, as he moved back to her side, sitting on the edge of the tub. “My daughter got into a jar of Vaseline when she was about eighteen months old. I dozed off for about...oh, ten seconds or so and woke up to see her covered with the stuff. In her hair, all over her nightgown, on the sheets...everywhere. It took about six washes to get it out of her hair.”

Kerry smiled vaguely. He was keeping his eyes downcast as he told the story, working to pry the jar open, reliving a bittersweet memory.

For a moment, the lid wouldn’t budge. “Amazing...a jar of Vaseline that...can’t...be...opened! I need a jar of Vaseline to open...” He banged it angrily against the side of the tub, then stood up and started running hot water in the sink, holding the jar under the tap. Kerry sighed, rolling her eyes. Delays, delays.

After a brief battle, with lots of what Kerry assumed was Croatian profanity of the most horrifying kind, Luka finally managed to open the jar and began applying the lubricant to her toe, doing his best to get it up inside the tap and around her digit. She pulled hopefully, and was surprised when her toe popped right out of the tap.

“There ya go!” Luka said, smiling triumphantly. He examined the toe for any damage, saw none, and released her foot. He stood up slowly, held his hand out, and waited.

“Come on, Kerry, up we go.”

She took his hand, gripping the bathrobe firmly to her chest, and let him practically pull her out of the tub and onto her feet. She was soon leaning against him, and she was surprised when he kissed her deeply, his tongue sweeping her mouth in a way that made her knees buckle. Without thinking, she wrapped her arms around his neck, and she felt his arms slip around her waist. Her naked waist. He was squeezing her, and she blushed and pulled back. The bathrobe dropped to the floor, and she saw a smile spread across his face.

“Shall we forego Greek cuisine?” he asked quietly, his eyebrow raised ever so slightly.

“Uh...this is only our first date,” she said, swallowing.

He studied her for a moment, finding quite a few holes in that argument. He hadn’t felt so ready to bed a woman in quite a while. Before, he had had his fair share of offers, but none of those women had been right. Besides that, he was still so emotionally wracked that he doubted he could have performed very well under that kind of pressure. But with Kerry, all the lights were green-there were no warning sirens going off in his head, no ghosts crowding around him. She wasn’t putting pressure on him, but he knew desire when he saw it, and she certainly seemed ready for it, too. She felt good in his arms. She smelled sweet, like lavender and roses, and she was so soft, so beautiful...so right.

“We’ll go on a date tomorrow. Tonight...” He paused, looking down at her body again. She was still blushing, which surprised him. He had no doubt she had more experience than him. So why would she be blushing and acting coy? “Tonight, I just want...you.”

“I have to admit, you were already at third base yesterday,” she whispered, smiling up at him.

“Third base?” he asked, opening the bathroom door. He glanced down the hall and saw what he assumed was her bedroom.

“Yes...it’s an American term for...uh...not quite...”

“Oh.” He grinned. “Yes. So we’ve already cleared those hurdles, haven’t we?”

He took her crutch from her, hauling her up to his chest. Kerry sighed happily and kissed him, then allowed him to carry her into the bedroom and lay her on the bed. She felt his weight on her and closed her eyes, suddenly so calm, so relaxed, she wondered if maybe she was dreaming. Maybe she had fallen asleep in the tub. She felt so warm, so safe and completely content. She was about to take a lover that she was hell-bent on keeping. Not as a kept man-Luka Kovac would certainly never be that!-but as a friend, a confidant. An ally. A man she could love.

“Luka,” she said softly, stroking his hair, the warmth inside her rising several degrees.

He lifted his head from his examination of her breasts. “Yes?”

“Would you go check and see if I’m asleep in the tub?”



TO BE CONTINUED...

--
Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys.
~P.J. O'Rourke, "Parlaiment of Whores"
You can't have everything. Where would you put it?
~Stephen Wright

Eclipse, all nags compared to thee
Excite contempt and laughter
There never was a horse, I do believe
So much run after.
~18th century English doggerel