Abby Lockhart
| Abby Lockhart | |
|---|---|
 | |
| First appearance | 1999 |
| Portrayed by | Maura Tierney |
| In-universe information | |
| Occupation | Third year ER resident |
| Spouse | Richard Lockhart (ex-husband) Luka Kovac (husband) |
| Children | Joe (son, with Luka Kovac) |
Dr. Abby Lockhart (previously Nurse Abby Lockhart) is a fictional medical doctor on the television series ER. She is portrayed by Maura Tierney. Abby's full birth name is Abigail Marjorie Wyczenski.
Beginnings
The character of Abby Lockhart first appears in season 6 of ER in the episode "Great Expectations." Appearing as a recurring character of an obstetrics nurse, Abby helped Carol Hathaway through the complications of labor and went on to become the heart and soul of the show after Margulies's departure. After the November episode, three months later, Abby became a regular character as a third-year medical student beginning her ER rotation. She had taken a hiatus from medical school and become a full time obstetrics nurse to provide for her then-husband Richard Lockhart's law school education, but once they divorced, she resumed her medical training. Later on, at the start of Abby's final year of medical school, Kerry Weaver breaks the news to her that her registration for that quarter has been denied for lack of payment. Abby confronts her ex-husband to discover that he has stopped paying her tuition because he is bankrupt. She resumes her part-time OB nursing job, and soon Weaver offers her a full-time ER nursing position. Abby agrees to take the job.
In the 2000–2001 season, Abby is visited by her mother, Maggie (played by Sally Field), who suffers from bipolar disorder. Abby's childhood is revealed to be very difficult. During her childhood, she was forced to cope with her mother's erratic behavior when she was not taking her medicine. She also had to deal with her mother's long absences, and had to take care of her younger brother Eric (played by Tom Everett Scott).
The audience later meets Eric, who has been in the Air Force but has now left. He too is showing signs of bipolar disorder, but refuses to accept this.
Abby's father, Eddie, left the family when Abby was a child, due at least in part to Maggie's uncontrollable behavior. Abby reunited with her father (Fred Ward) in season 13, when he initially approached her under the disguise of being a patient named Eddie Jackson before finally revealing his true identity to her.
Throughout her stay at County General, Abby Lockhart was friendly and well-liked by most of the staff. She was open when it comes to talking and listening, yet she stays humble and cautious on subjects about her personal life. She has befriended many colleagues in the ER who have come and gone, particularly the female co-workers including Carol Hathaway and Susan Lewis, and later on Elizabeth Corday and Kerry Weaver. Currently she is the longest residing female doctor in the County ER and has become the senior female figure on the show.
Personal Life
Soon after taking the position in the ER, Abby begins a relationship with Dr. Luka Kovač. The beginning of their relationship is overshadowed when they are attacked by a mugger on their first date, whom Luka kills. However they stay together for about a year, but their relationship becomes more strained after the arrival of Abby's mother, and a heated argument leads to their breaking up at the beginning of the eighth season. Despite an initial period of awkwardness and jealousy after their romance ends, Luka and Abby become very close friends.
Abby's next relationship is with Dr. John Carter. Abby discovers Carter shooting up on painkillers. She tells the attending doctors about it, and at their urging and with their help, Carter enters a rehabilitation program. Once he returns, he sees Abby at an AA meeting. She tells him that she is a recovering alcoholic and had been sober for a few years. She agrees to become his AA sponsor. Abby and Carter develop a very strong friendship. This strains her relationship with Luka.
Several months later, Abby has a particularly horrible birthday and starts drinking again. When Carter catches her having a beer, he confronts her, and she tells him not to worry about her. When Dr. Mark Greene passes away, Carter seeks solace in Abby. She returns to her AA meetings, telling Carter she did it for him, and they become a couple. Abby continues drinking, and Carter compulsively tries to "fix" her. At one point, Carter is ready to propose to Abby at a special dinner he's arranged for her, but at the last minute, he ends up putting the ring back in his pocket and never mentions it again.
Their relationship is badly strained when Carter's grandmother (portrayed by Frances Sternhagen) dies, and Abby's brother, Eric, conclusively diagnosed with bipolar disorder, attends the funeral with them and falls into her grave. Soon after that, Carter flies to the Congo and joins Luka, who is volunteering with Doctors Without Borders. When Carter goes to Africa for the second time (presumably to recover the body of Luka, who, in a plot twist, has not actually died), he sends Abby a break-up letter, and their relationship finally ends. Just as with the end of Luka and Abby's relationship, Abby and Carter remain close friends.
Abby briefly dates a medical student named Jake for awhile in season 11, but their relationship eventually fizzles. She also began to grow close to Susan Lewis and Kerry Weaver.
In the first half of Season 12, Abby rekindles her relationship with Luka in the episode "The Human Shield." Initially, they decide to remain friends, but later begin dating. Three weeks into their relationship it is revealed that Abby is pregnant. She and Luka decide to keep the baby. Luka proposes to Abby while she is pregnant, but Abby was not comfortable with the idea and was discouraged because of her past problems, and later claims she 'doesn't need a white dress' to prove she loves him. Their baby, a son called Joe (short for Joseph or Josip, after Luka's father), is born by emergency C-section at the beginning of season 13. Abby also has to have an emergency hysterectomy. He is premature and spends several weeks in the hospital's NICU, requiring surgery during his stay. Abby and Luka's relationship becomes strained during this period, but 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, some activities like Mommy and Baby classes, 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 a former disgruntled patient who sued Luka due to loss of the use of his arm, Curtis Ames. Ames eventually breaks into Abby and Luka's apartment, and demands to see Luka. Abby tries to bargain with him, telling him that she used to be an alcoholic, and recounting an occasion where she felt as if she had hit 'rock bottom'. Luka is taken by Ames, but survives his ordeal. In the next episode, an emotional Abby asks Luka to propose to her again. She says if they got through the shooting incident and the Curtis Ames nightmare, they could get through anything. As they set a date, Abby is hesistant and stressed with all the long detailed planning of the ceremony. Therefore, Luka decides to prepare a surprise wedding for her. At first, she has her doubts and fears when she arrives but eventually, she agrees and asks one of her best friends, Neela Rasgotra to be her bride's maid.
Abby is quite dissapointed after Luka puts the honeymoon on hold and books a trip to Croatia to see his ailing father. Abby expressed interest in meeting him or bringing him here to see his new family. After Luka's departure, Abby along with the ER staff has a tough time with the stern and poised new ER Chief Kevin Moretti, who plans to mold the department into a more efficient and professional work environment.
Career as a doctor
In 2003, Abby starts her final year of medical school. Towards the end of the quarter, she is told that someone has anonymously paid off the balance on her tuition. She later discovers it was Carter. On graduation day, Abby finds out that Carter's girlfriend, Kem, has suffered a still birth. Abby offers to stay with Carter. He is grateful, but tells her that it's not necessary. Abby goes on to graduate from medical school and finally becomes Dr. Abby Lockhart. Currently in Season 13, Abby is a third year resident.
In "21 Guns," the 12th season finale, a shootout occurs in the ER between the police and several prisoners who are trying to escape custody. Abby immediately drops to the floor next to the admit desk, which is the center of the shootout, and apparently suffers a couple of minor cuts due to the glass shards. While rolling on the floor to get away from the glass, her stomach slams into a metal cart that has overturned in the small space. She leaps up and begins to tend to the more seriously injured Jerry, the admit worker. In the last scenes, it is revealed that her injuries are serious, and her pregnancy is affected. She notices blood on the bottom of her jeans and faints. She leaves a hand print of blood on the window as Luka watches helplessly in the next room. He had been incapacitated and tied to the gurney by the prisoners, who had injected him with vecuronium, a drug that was intended for a patient. He had to be intubated as the drug had seriously relaxed most of his body muscles, and he stopped breathing.