A/N: This is a completely AU story, set a month after Kisangani. No
spoilers, though.
Chapter 1
"Your brother's here." Those were the words that greeted Abby as she walked into the ER.
She looked behind her, sure Frank was addressing someone else. When she saw no one, she pointed to herself and said, "Me?"
Frank rolled his eyes. "Who else?" he asked. He turned away from her to answer the phone.
Abby was in shock. What the heck saw Eric doing in Chicago? Ever since he ran away from the psych ward of the hospital, Abby had been wondering where he was, and praying that he was alright. Her shock immediately faded into relief. Eric was alright! She looked around, eager to verify this fact for herself.
"Abby! It's so good to see you!" Eric had approached her from behind. He picked her and twirled her around.
Her face automatically broke into a grin at the sight of her little brother. "Eric! I was so worried about you! Where have you been?" She turned to look at him.
He smiled at her. "Oh, I've been everywhere. The world's a big place, Abby. I brought another plane and I've been traveling around the world. I even took these rich people on a tour in Sydney and they paid me like two hundred bucks for half a hour's flying..."
As Abby listened to him ramble, the smile slid off her face. She could tell that he wasn't on his medication. She watched as her brother smiled, laughed, and gestured wildly, and she felt like crying. She had had such high hopes, that maybe he would stay on his medication and have some chance at a normal life. But he was throwing it all away. She knew that he didn't want to admit he had a problem, but he couldn't live the rest of his life like this!
Abby wanted to ask him about his medication, but she didn't have the heart to. He looked so happy. She decided that she would ask him later.
Eric's pager beeped, and he checked it and said, "Oops, I gotta go. I'll come by and see you, okay? You still live at the same place?" Abby nodded. "Okay, I'll be there whenever I'm done. See you later!" Eric kissed Abby on the cheek then walked out the door, whistling.
Susan walked by, a chart in her hand. "Was that your brother?" she asked. Abby nodded. "He looked well."
Abby nodded again and quickly walked away from Susan. She didn't want to have to tell her just how unwell Eric was.
_________________________________________________________________________
Carter got his jacket out of his locker in the lounge. "You ready to go?" he asked, turning to face Abby.
Abby pasted a fake smile on her face. "Actually, I have some paperwork to do. I'm just gonna hang around here for a while."
Carter frowned. He could tell something was wrong with Abby. "What's wrong?" he asked, sitting across from her at the small employee table.
Abby laughed. "There has to be something wrong for me to do paperwork?" she joked. Carter didn't laugh. "Nothing's wrong, Carter. I just have to do this paperwork. I'll see you later, okay?"
Carter sighed and got up from the table. He could see that she wasn't going to tell him. It didn't surprise him. Ever since he had gotten back from Africa, their relationship had been somewhat strained. It seemed like it wasn't as easy for them to talk to each other anymore. Now, every conversation had to be planned. They had lost so much of the casual comfort with each other that they used to have.
He considered pressing the issue, but decided that she would tell him when she was ready. "Well, I guess I'll see you later," he said stiffly. He walked quickly out the door of the lounge.
Abby watched his retreating figure. Things are so messed up between us, she thought. She felt like he had abandoned her, he felt like she had abandoned him, and they were both still mad. Abby knew that an inevitable talk was coming, but they had been putting it off because neither of them really wanted to have it. So they existed in this mutual discomfort. Abby put her head down on the table and groaned.
She didn't want to tell Carter that Eric was back. She didn't want his help, and she SURE didn't want his advice, so she decided to keep Eric's arrival to herself. Hopefully, she would somehow be able to convince Eric to go into treatment again. But that didn't seem very likely, considering how happy he looked. Still, she had to try.
Once she was sure Carter was gone, she headed home. Eric had said that he would swing by her place, so hopefully he would show up sometime soon. As frustrating as he was, she had missed him.
When Abby got to her building, she saw someone sitting on the steps. Immediately, she knew who it was. "Hi, Eric," she said, fishing out her keys.
"Hey Abby."
"You been waiting out here long?"
"No, not that long. About ten minutes, tops." The two of them walked into her apartment.
"You want some coffee, or something to eat?" she asked him. Eric shook his head.
"No, I'm fine." He stood in the middle of her living room, jiggling his leg. Abby had noticed that whenever he was manic he was always very fidgety. She sat down and gestured for him to do the same.
Eric flopped down on the sofa next to her. "It's really nice to see you again, Abby. I'm sorry that I didn't call or anything."
"Eric, do you know how worried I was about you? I didn't even know if you were alive!" Abby tried not to raise her voice, but failed. She didn't want to sound like she was preaching at him.
Eric tried to look sorry. "I'm really sorry about that. And I'm sorry about ruining John's grandma's funeral. I shouldn't have acted like that."
Abby realized this was the best opening she was going to get. "The only reason you acted like that was because you weren't on your medication." Eric didn't respond. "Are you on your medication now?"
Eric sighed. "Look, Abby, I really appreciate you worrying about me and everything, but I'm fine, really."
"You're not, are you?" Abby dreaded his respond.
Eric threw his hands up in the air. "God, is that all you think about? Maybe you haven't realized this yet, but life is about more than medication. How about 'Hi Eric nice to see you how've ya been'?"
Abby sighed. She knew he would respond like this. "It's just that I'm worried about you-"
"Oh great, now the old 'worried about you' line. When all else fails, Abby can always bring that one out." Eric acted like he was talking to an audience, and Abby realized that she had never seen him this manic before. The disease was at its peak. She had underestimated his symptoms at the hospital, because he had seemed calmer when he was happy.
"Eric, I don't want you to be like Maggie. She was crazy-"
"And I'm not like her," Eric interrupted. "I'll never be like her, cause I'll never let myself get that out of control."
"It's not about control, Eric," Abby said wearily. She felt like she had said these words so many times, and they always fell on deaf ears.
"Another oldie but goodie!" Eric shouted to the imaginary crowd. "And now, Abby's going to tell me that I have a DISEASE, and if I ever want to be like all the normal people of the world, I have to be medicated like an animal for the rest of my life." Eric turned away from his invisible audience to face his sister. "Sorry, Abby, but no deal."
Abby bit her lip. She hated to see her brother like this. Couldn't he see how out of control he was? "Eric, you know that this is too big for you to handle alone-"
"Oh, save it, Abby. If you don't mind, just spare me the canned speeches. I've heard them all before, and they don't sound any better this time." Eric walked towards the door. "I don't know why I came here. You're never gonna change. I guess I should have figured that out by now."
"Oh, like you are? You're becoming just like Maggie, Eric."
Eric slowly turned around to face her. There was an angry glint in his eye. "I am NOTHING like Maggie," he yelled angrily.
Normally, Abby would have realized that things were getting out of control, and backed down. But she was so desperate to make Eric see what he was really like that she pressed forward. "You are becoming JUST LIKE HER. You're gonna BE just like her if you don't get some help."
Eric was mad now. "Who do you think you are, a psychic? You don't know what I'm going to be. What you need to do is mind your own business," he yelled at her.
"And watch you die?"
"Oh give me a break. You think you know everything! Well, you don't. So just stay out of my business!"
"No, Eric. I'm your sister. I can't just stand by and watch you kill yourself!"
Eric scowled. "I am so sick of you," he growled. He was furious at Abby for interfering like this. He was a grown man, and he didn't need Abby telling him how to run his life. "What I do is absolutely none of your business."
"Eric, you need help," Abby said, fighting back tears. Here was the brother she had practically raised, glaring at her like she was his arch nemesis. Didn't he see what the disease was doing to him?
"SHUT UP!" Eric yelled. He was so sick of her acting like she knew everything. Well, he knew how to put her in her place. His hand jammed into his pocket and it flew back out, but this time, it wasn't empty. Abby gasped.
"Eric, put the knife away," she said quietly, eyeing him with fear.
Eric smirked at her. "What, no more cutesy sayings? Aren't you supposed to tell me now how we can work through this?"
Abby took a step towards him. "Eric, please-"
"Don't come near me!" he screamed.
In all fairness, Eric didn't mean to cut her. But she came too close, and it seemed like the knife flew out of his hands. Next thing he knew, Abby was laying on the floor, bleeding.
"Oh, my God," Eric said, looking in horror at his sister. What had happened? What had he done? Pocketing the knife, he ran out the door.
____________________________________________________________________________ _
Carter lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling. He thought about his encounter with Abby in the lounge. We're going to have to talk about this at some point, he realized. We can't go on like this, living in awkward silence.
But Carter didn't want to talk about it. He loved Abby, and he didn't want to lose her because he said something stupid. Which was why he hadn't said anything yet.
But is what we have right now much better than not having anything? Carter thought about it for a while, and realized that it wasn't. So they had to talk. Even if it didn't solve anything, they needed to clear the air.
Grabbing his keys, Carter headed for the Jeep.
Chapter 1
"Your brother's here." Those were the words that greeted Abby as she walked into the ER.
She looked behind her, sure Frank was addressing someone else. When she saw no one, she pointed to herself and said, "Me?"
Frank rolled his eyes. "Who else?" he asked. He turned away from her to answer the phone.
Abby was in shock. What the heck saw Eric doing in Chicago? Ever since he ran away from the psych ward of the hospital, Abby had been wondering where he was, and praying that he was alright. Her shock immediately faded into relief. Eric was alright! She looked around, eager to verify this fact for herself.
"Abby! It's so good to see you!" Eric had approached her from behind. He picked her and twirled her around.
Her face automatically broke into a grin at the sight of her little brother. "Eric! I was so worried about you! Where have you been?" She turned to look at him.
He smiled at her. "Oh, I've been everywhere. The world's a big place, Abby. I brought another plane and I've been traveling around the world. I even took these rich people on a tour in Sydney and they paid me like two hundred bucks for half a hour's flying..."
As Abby listened to him ramble, the smile slid off her face. She could tell that he wasn't on his medication. She watched as her brother smiled, laughed, and gestured wildly, and she felt like crying. She had had such high hopes, that maybe he would stay on his medication and have some chance at a normal life. But he was throwing it all away. She knew that he didn't want to admit he had a problem, but he couldn't live the rest of his life like this!
Abby wanted to ask him about his medication, but she didn't have the heart to. He looked so happy. She decided that she would ask him later.
Eric's pager beeped, and he checked it and said, "Oops, I gotta go. I'll come by and see you, okay? You still live at the same place?" Abby nodded. "Okay, I'll be there whenever I'm done. See you later!" Eric kissed Abby on the cheek then walked out the door, whistling.
Susan walked by, a chart in her hand. "Was that your brother?" she asked. Abby nodded. "He looked well."
Abby nodded again and quickly walked away from Susan. She didn't want to have to tell her just how unwell Eric was.
_________________________________________________________________________
Carter got his jacket out of his locker in the lounge. "You ready to go?" he asked, turning to face Abby.
Abby pasted a fake smile on her face. "Actually, I have some paperwork to do. I'm just gonna hang around here for a while."
Carter frowned. He could tell something was wrong with Abby. "What's wrong?" he asked, sitting across from her at the small employee table.
Abby laughed. "There has to be something wrong for me to do paperwork?" she joked. Carter didn't laugh. "Nothing's wrong, Carter. I just have to do this paperwork. I'll see you later, okay?"
Carter sighed and got up from the table. He could see that she wasn't going to tell him. It didn't surprise him. Ever since he had gotten back from Africa, their relationship had been somewhat strained. It seemed like it wasn't as easy for them to talk to each other anymore. Now, every conversation had to be planned. They had lost so much of the casual comfort with each other that they used to have.
He considered pressing the issue, but decided that she would tell him when she was ready. "Well, I guess I'll see you later," he said stiffly. He walked quickly out the door of the lounge.
Abby watched his retreating figure. Things are so messed up between us, she thought. She felt like he had abandoned her, he felt like she had abandoned him, and they were both still mad. Abby knew that an inevitable talk was coming, but they had been putting it off because neither of them really wanted to have it. So they existed in this mutual discomfort. Abby put her head down on the table and groaned.
She didn't want to tell Carter that Eric was back. She didn't want his help, and she SURE didn't want his advice, so she decided to keep Eric's arrival to herself. Hopefully, she would somehow be able to convince Eric to go into treatment again. But that didn't seem very likely, considering how happy he looked. Still, she had to try.
Once she was sure Carter was gone, she headed home. Eric had said that he would swing by her place, so hopefully he would show up sometime soon. As frustrating as he was, she had missed him.
When Abby got to her building, she saw someone sitting on the steps. Immediately, she knew who it was. "Hi, Eric," she said, fishing out her keys.
"Hey Abby."
"You been waiting out here long?"
"No, not that long. About ten minutes, tops." The two of them walked into her apartment.
"You want some coffee, or something to eat?" she asked him. Eric shook his head.
"No, I'm fine." He stood in the middle of her living room, jiggling his leg. Abby had noticed that whenever he was manic he was always very fidgety. She sat down and gestured for him to do the same.
Eric flopped down on the sofa next to her. "It's really nice to see you again, Abby. I'm sorry that I didn't call or anything."
"Eric, do you know how worried I was about you? I didn't even know if you were alive!" Abby tried not to raise her voice, but failed. She didn't want to sound like she was preaching at him.
Eric tried to look sorry. "I'm really sorry about that. And I'm sorry about ruining John's grandma's funeral. I shouldn't have acted like that."
Abby realized this was the best opening she was going to get. "The only reason you acted like that was because you weren't on your medication." Eric didn't respond. "Are you on your medication now?"
Eric sighed. "Look, Abby, I really appreciate you worrying about me and everything, but I'm fine, really."
"You're not, are you?" Abby dreaded his respond.
Eric threw his hands up in the air. "God, is that all you think about? Maybe you haven't realized this yet, but life is about more than medication. How about 'Hi Eric nice to see you how've ya been'?"
Abby sighed. She knew he would respond like this. "It's just that I'm worried about you-"
"Oh great, now the old 'worried about you' line. When all else fails, Abby can always bring that one out." Eric acted like he was talking to an audience, and Abby realized that she had never seen him this manic before. The disease was at its peak. She had underestimated his symptoms at the hospital, because he had seemed calmer when he was happy.
"Eric, I don't want you to be like Maggie. She was crazy-"
"And I'm not like her," Eric interrupted. "I'll never be like her, cause I'll never let myself get that out of control."
"It's not about control, Eric," Abby said wearily. She felt like she had said these words so many times, and they always fell on deaf ears.
"Another oldie but goodie!" Eric shouted to the imaginary crowd. "And now, Abby's going to tell me that I have a DISEASE, and if I ever want to be like all the normal people of the world, I have to be medicated like an animal for the rest of my life." Eric turned away from his invisible audience to face his sister. "Sorry, Abby, but no deal."
Abby bit her lip. She hated to see her brother like this. Couldn't he see how out of control he was? "Eric, you know that this is too big for you to handle alone-"
"Oh, save it, Abby. If you don't mind, just spare me the canned speeches. I've heard them all before, and they don't sound any better this time." Eric walked towards the door. "I don't know why I came here. You're never gonna change. I guess I should have figured that out by now."
"Oh, like you are? You're becoming just like Maggie, Eric."
Eric slowly turned around to face her. There was an angry glint in his eye. "I am NOTHING like Maggie," he yelled angrily.
Normally, Abby would have realized that things were getting out of control, and backed down. But she was so desperate to make Eric see what he was really like that she pressed forward. "You are becoming JUST LIKE HER. You're gonna BE just like her if you don't get some help."
Eric was mad now. "Who do you think you are, a psychic? You don't know what I'm going to be. What you need to do is mind your own business," he yelled at her.
"And watch you die?"
"Oh give me a break. You think you know everything! Well, you don't. So just stay out of my business!"
"No, Eric. I'm your sister. I can't just stand by and watch you kill yourself!"
Eric scowled. "I am so sick of you," he growled. He was furious at Abby for interfering like this. He was a grown man, and he didn't need Abby telling him how to run his life. "What I do is absolutely none of your business."
"Eric, you need help," Abby said, fighting back tears. Here was the brother she had practically raised, glaring at her like she was his arch nemesis. Didn't he see what the disease was doing to him?
"SHUT UP!" Eric yelled. He was so sick of her acting like she knew everything. Well, he knew how to put her in her place. His hand jammed into his pocket and it flew back out, but this time, it wasn't empty. Abby gasped.
"Eric, put the knife away," she said quietly, eyeing him with fear.
Eric smirked at her. "What, no more cutesy sayings? Aren't you supposed to tell me now how we can work through this?"
Abby took a step towards him. "Eric, please-"
"Don't come near me!" he screamed.
In all fairness, Eric didn't mean to cut her. But she came too close, and it seemed like the knife flew out of his hands. Next thing he knew, Abby was laying on the floor, bleeding.
"Oh, my God," Eric said, looking in horror at his sister. What had happened? What had he done? Pocketing the knife, he ran out the door.
____________________________________________________________________________ _
Carter lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling. He thought about his encounter with Abby in the lounge. We're going to have to talk about this at some point, he realized. We can't go on like this, living in awkward silence.
But Carter didn't want to talk about it. He loved Abby, and he didn't want to lose her because he said something stupid. Which was why he hadn't said anything yet.
But is what we have right now much better than not having anything? Carter thought about it for a while, and realized that it wasn't. So they had to talk. Even if it didn't solve anything, they needed to clear the air.
Grabbing his keys, Carter headed for the Jeep.