In my tv guide (the one that comes with the Sunday paper) there is an ad for er. It has a picture of Carol and Luca with "er" underneath them. Above them in big letters it says (and I quote): "Doctor and Nurse - More than friends?" Underneath that in smaller letters it says: "Two broken hearts find a way to heal." AAAHHHH! What are they trying to do? Carol obviously loves Doug, we know that's probably how they're going to write her out (move to Seattle to be with him), so why would they do this? I hope its just another misguided NBC preview attempt. Although in upcoming spoilers it did say carol and Luca have a fun day on the town, and then in the next epy it said he tries to come on to her or something. I'm just not sure about this whole story line, especially when everyone knows she's leaving. Why make the poor man more broken hearted than he already is? I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens.

-- Lindz (Sweetpea@conk.com), April 24, 2000

Answers

I saw this ad about a week ago and nearly had a nervous breakdown. It's (I HOPE!!) a misleading ad. I mean, really, a romance isn't the only way to heal a broken heart. Talking about their pasts, who they love, and why they STILL love the person (Doug for Carol, Luka's wife for him) can help to heal a broken heart. Realizing who and what you want (aka Carol & Doug) can also start the healing process. For Luka, maybe realizing that he enjoys spending time with Carol's children because it's therapeutic or something along those lines, or realizing that he's ready to move on but obviously Carol isn't the person he should pursue, could help to heal their broken hearts -- only problem is the *SPOILER* for the next week, "...a robust Dr. Kovac tries to court Nurse Hathaway..." Let's hear it for the word "tries"!!

-- Arianne (CarolRossSusanGreene@yahoo.com), April 24, 2000.

I also enjoyed the use of the word "tries" in reference to Luka's courting Carol. I will feel bad for him, but he should have known after her persistent "their last names are Ross" comment. Poor guy, but Carol belongs to Doug, and that's FINAL.

-- Elaine (mrsclooney78@hotmail.com), April 24, 2000.

I agree with Arianne, there are more ways to mend a broken heart than for those two to have a relationship. I really think that Luka will be supportive of CArol and try to get her to reconcile with Doug. He is so pro family and how many times has he said you never separate families? I love Luka's character and if the writers try to make him go after Carol too much I will be disappointed. He doesn't need another broken heart. I hope Carol and Luka just help each other. They both need someone to talk to and Mark is too preoccupied and Carol is the only one Luka has to talk to. Can't wait to see what happens!

-- amanda (amanda.rehm@home.com), April 25, 2000.

I too agree with Arianne. If Luka crowds Carol too much she'll simply have to reject him bluntly. Carol's obviously still in love with Doug, everyone can see it - even Mark, and look how screwed up he is - and Luka's not over his wife, will probly never over having his family killed so brutally. They can find much comfort and solace in each other because of the similarity of their siuations (though Luka's is far worse) but trying to start a relationship will simply wreck the friendship and understanding they have between them at the moment. The word 'courting' implies that Luka acts very chivalrously - I hope I am correct, because for him to act any other way would be against his sensitive personality. My guess is that they kiss and Carol realises that she knows she wants Luka just as a friend and hopefully tells him so gently, rather than playing around. If she told him he would respect her decision and probably support her if she decided to move to Seattle, because he knows the pain of being a father away from his family. I hope TBTB don't decide to ruin Luka's character by making him crowd Carol - I don't think he's the kind of person who would do that. However, Carol may have to break his heart if he won't accept her meaningful hints - "Ross. Their last name is Ross." I also think that when she's told him, he'll probably find he's not as upset as he thinks, maybe even, deep down, relieved that he won't be starting another relationship. Despite the way he's acting I think he sees her still as just a good friend and is deceiving himself into thinking he loves her.

-- Juliet (Vizzn@AOL.com), April 25, 2000.

I have the same opinion about Carol and Luka that I have about Carter and Kerry -- they need to be friends. Does Carol talk about Doug to anyone except Mark? Maybe Carol and Luka sharing their pain would help them both heal. Besides, it'd be great to see some more friendships on ER!

-- Cindy (tailchasers@earthlink.net), April 25, 2000.

I agree with everyone and yet I have to wonder...has Carol ever said to him straight on, "The girls' father is named Doug and he's wonderful but he lives in Seattle and I've had a very tough year trying to adjust to this"? She might have picked up some vibe from him which she tried to deflect with the "Their last name is Ross" statement, but what does that mean? That they do have a father she wants to acknowledge? True--but right now he's not technically in her life, or the girls', so is Luka really foolish for trying something? I don't really know about all of this. My hope is that 1)They don't actually kiss 2)He knows --and has known all along-- that he doesn't have any romantic feelings for Carol, she only makes him miss his real family.

And I definately agree with Lindz--I don't want to see a poor wounded Luka (in addition to Mark, Carter, etc) scraping himself off the floor for all of next season too.

-- nancy (ntc72@mailcity.com), April 25, 2000.

I believe that just as Luka's probably never said directly, "My wife and children were brutally killed in the war," that Carol has never said, "My daughters' father lives in Seattle, I love him but I don't know if I can trust him, and it's been difficult for me to adjust." Maybe they both open up about their pasts while shopping for a used car? It doesn't seem as if Carol's comfortable discussing Doug with anybody but Mark -- which is understandable, Mark's known them both for so long and hey, one of Doug's children was named after Mark's mother!!

Anyhow, to me it still seems as if "Ross. Their last name is Ross" was or was meant to be some sort-of a signal, that Carol is still somehow involved with their father and is apprehensive about somebody else getting so close. Knowing Carol as we do, she doesn't let people in easily, which makes this in-character. JMHO.

-- Arianne (CarolRossSusanGreene@yahoo.com), April 25, 2000.

I agree with everyone. Such passion! Thanks for the laughs (especially Juliet- Mark is screwed up a bit, isn't he?) Hopefully we'll see some confessions and friendship in the used car lot- where better :D? I also hope that Luka doesn't have to "scrape himself off the floor. He's vulneralbe of course and Carol is lovely and beautiful, who wouldnt love her? But you can do only so much with pity; it would be nice to see someone be well-adjusted instead of fall apart. He could earn respect, which I think is better than being pitied.

-- May (archerl@cadvision.com), April 26, 2000.

I think that Carol and Luka will perhaps kiss, or at least tentatively explore a relationship for a few minutes or days. But they will realize that it will not happen. I think Carol will realize that she would rather be with Doug. And I think Luka will realize that, while he's lonely and likes Carol a lot, she should be with the twins and their dad. Remember how adamant Luka was (I forget the episode's name) when the two brothers were split up? He said, "You don't split up families." I think that in the end, he will do the honorable thing and urge Carol to go back to Doug so that they can be a family.

I also don't think Luka's heart will be horribly broken over this. I think Luka is realizing that he's ready to move on and get involved in a relationship. He is realizing that he has grieved (and will always grieve) for his family, but now he is emotionally ready to get close to someone again. And he's lonely. He likes Carol a lot, and he likes being with her kids. I think she and the twins remind him of what he's lost. And he realizes that he'd like to have a family again. But I don't think he's overwhelmingly emotionally attached to her; he might like the idea of loving someone again, but he hasn't known Carol long enough to really love her. I think, although he is interested in her, he'll be very supportive of her decision to go back to Doug. He'll be disappointed, but not heart broken over her departure. Luka will miss her as a friend, and he'll regret a little what might have been. But, I think Luka will be happy in a way, because Carol showed him that he's ready to move on. No, I don't think Luka will be all sad over this, he'll be happy for his friend and even a little excited about what the future holds for him.

-- L (bearcatiscool@yahoo.com), April 26, 2000.

She's his transition person! I like that. :)

-- Diana (dilynne@juno.com), April 26, 2000.

Well put, L !

-- amanda (amanda.rehm@home.com), April 26, 2000.

I think L is right. Luka doesn't love Carol, he barely knows her. They serve a purpose in each other's lives. Luka is there to show Carol that nobody makes her as happy as Doug does, and that she could never see herself with anybody else. Carol is there to show Luka that, when he meets the right person, he is ready to get close to another romantically again.

-- Arianne (CarolRossSusanGreene@yahoo.com), April 26, 2000.

Carol should just tell Luka outright why they can't be together - it's not fair to give him these signals and expect him to know what's going on. She may think her hints are obvious (esp the Ross comment) but Luka probably knows little about her past and he's only known her for a little while (or so it seems). I also think that if she's honest with him he won't be hurt just vaguely disappointed. To drop him after seemingly leading him on would be far worse and though he won't be heartbroken because he doesn't really love her he may feel a little betrayed - though I don't think he'd ever let it show.

-- juliet (Vizzn@AOL.com), April 27, 2000.

It's so great to see Carol playful again, engaged with someone in a fairly flirty way. And I really like Luka and I do think they're good together (and good for each other). My BIG QUESTION is: why does it seem that everyone is so psyched about Carol and Doug (probably) reuniting? How can Carol trust Doug? He put her in such a hard position a year ago, saying he was leaving: "I've got nothing here..." and maybe I missed a bunch of episodes, but I do not have strong feelings for the Doug-Carol relationship. I just don't get/remember the great love most writers talk about between them...and I guess I have a pretty high distrust of Doug. He always seemed pretty selfish to me and I want Carol to have someone truly terrific. (I'm open to being reminded of reasons for thinking otherwise about their relationship, however!)

-- Julia (Julia.Rivellino@umit.maine.edu), April 27, 2000.