subsequently sleeping together. Initially, they decide to remain friends, but soon become lovers, noting that they always seem to find their way back to each other. Three weeks into their relationship, it is revealed that Abby is pregnant. Despite clearly wanting another child, his own having perished in Croatia, Luka states that he will support whatever choice she makes, as long as they can still remain together. After a week or so of uncertainty, Abby decides to keep the baby. Luka proposes to Abby while she is pregnant, but Abby is not comfortable with the idea because of her past problems, and later claims she 'doesn't need a white dress' to prove she loves him. Their baby, a son named Josip (after Luka's father), or Joe for short (after Joe Frazier, the boxer whom Abby's long-disappeared father was a fan of) is born prematurely by emergency C-section at the beginning of season 13. Abby has to have an emergency hysterectomy. Joe spends several weeks in the hospital's NICU, requiring surgery during his stay. Abby and Luka's relationship becomes strained during this period, but they appear much happier in later episodes, caring for their now healthy baby boy. Throughout season 13, Abby is shown growing into her role as Joe's mother, first by taking time off to be with her seriously ill baby, then by participating in activities like Mommy and Baby classes and walks in the park, and then later by gradually reintroducing herself into the ER world. Mid-season, tension develops between Abby and Luka, partly as the result of Luka's apparently paranoid behavior regarding Curtis Ames (Forest Whitaker), a disgruntled former patient who has sued Luka due to a stroke he suffered that cost him the use of his arm. Not realizing that Ames approached her and Joe in the park posing as a friendly stranger, and has been stalking both her and Luka for some time after he lost the case, Abby brushes off Luka's concerns. However, Ames breaks into Abby and Luka's apartment with a gun, and demands to see Luka. Abby tries to bargain with him, telling him that she is a recovering alcoholic, and recounting an occasion where she felt she had hit 'rock bottom'. Luka is taken hostage, threatened and has his hand crushed by Ames, but survives when Ames commits suicide. In the next episode, an emotional Abby asks Luka to propose to