Summary: Carby of course. Mainly set in the future. Spoiler wise as long as you have seen S10 up to ep10 you are ok.

AN: I apologise if anything in this story is English as opposed to American, words/phrases/spellings etc.

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters etc.

Rating: Not sure PG 13 (as this time I am writing the story as I go).

The Other Side Of Never by Rosa17

Prologue

June 04

Abby sat watching the water flow down the river, it was a hot day for June and the sun burned her face as she raised it to the sky. She let out a long sigh, frowned, pushed herself forward on the bench and stood up. Walking for the last time towards Cook County Hospital.

It was bustling as she entered the ER, people milling about in all directions. She headed for the lounge to prepare for her shift, her last shift as a nurse. Tomorrow she was leaving, to do her residency elsewhere.

Where John Carter would no longer startle her with his presence, where she could forget him, where she could start her life again without him, there as a constant reminder of what she had lost. Him, the only man she had truly loved, and never told. He, who was she guessed, happy in a relationship with another woman, one that didn't have all the crappy burdens she had, and always would have to carry around with her.

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12 hours later

'Hey! Abby! You just gonna leave, without saying goodbye to your best friend?' Susan asked, as Abby cleared the last things out of her locker.

She turned and faced Susan 'Thanks' she said 'For being my friend.....and everything'

Susan moved towards her and they hugged. 'Take care of yourself alright?' she told Abby

'You too' Abby answered 'No more quick marriages on weekend trips to Las Vegas'

Susan smiled 'No I guess I won't do that again in a hurry......stay in touch Abby'

Abby nodded as she headed out the door 'I'll try' was her only reply.

Susan sighed and sat down at the table wondering if her friend had done the right thing leaving, leaving because things were too hard for her to cope with. She heard a loud crash in the corridor outside and hurried off to see what all the commotion was.

'It's okay' said Malik to Susan 'Mr Mallery here just dropped his bedpan'

'Mmm' muttered Susan heading to the admit desk, where Luka, Jing-mei and Carter were. 'Hi'

They all looked up and acknowledged her.

'How busy is it?' Luka asked

'Fairly' Susan replied

'Fairly?' Jing_mei stated looking at Susan 'It's been really busy'

'Whatever' said Susan

'What's wrong with you?' asked Carter

'Me?' Susan said shaking her head 'I'm fine'

'You seem down' He continued.

Susan looked at them and thought she might as well tell them all together. She knew that Abby hadn't wanted them to know that she was leaving, but now that she had.

'I had to say goodbye to my friend today' she said

'Someone die?' asked Jing-mei

'No.' Susan continued 'left, for good'

'You've been here all day' said Malik 'How d'ya say goodbye to a friend'

'A friend who worked here, of course'

'I didn't know anyone was leaving' said Luka

'That's because my friend didn't tell anyone else'

They all looked at her exasperated, with 'Who' written on their faces. She watched them, then caved.

'Abby' she said 'Abby worked her last shift today'

'She's not doing her residency here, then where? which hospital?' asked Jing-Mei

'I don't know, not in Chicago anyway, she wouldn't tell me, said she'd email me sometime, let me know how things were going. I guess she thought I might tell or something'

'Why did she want to leave?' Luka asked

'Maybe she didn't match here, for her residency' suggested Jing-Mei.

'No' said Susan 'She wanted a fresh start'

'Well' said Carter 'Her problems will still be with her wherever she goes, she can't keep running away'

'She was actually only running away from one of her problems, she figured that it was for the best if she left'. Susan said not taking her eyes off Carter.

'She didn't even say goodbye' Cater said sadly

'Were you planning to say goodbye to her when you left for the Congo?' asked Susan

He bit his lip, then looked away.

'I've got a date, see you guys later' she said, heading towards the exit.

Carter watched her walk down the hall, before turning back to Jing-Mei and Luka, who were looking at him.

'What?' he asked

Jing-Mei and Luka raised their eyebrows as they glanced at each other, before leaving Carter standing there alone.

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