"Getting Through the Night"

AU: Carter and Abby are dating at the time of "A Simple Twist of Fate"

Disclaimer: I don't own them, but I wish I did.

Chapter 1:

When Abby came to on the living room floor she could barely move. Everything hurt. She felt totally disconnected with her body. It took her a moment, but when she remembered what had just happened to her she went right into panic mode. Was Brian still in the apartment just waiting for her to regain consciousness so he could continue beating her? She quickly, and painfully, got up, hobbled to the door and tried to lock it, but the chain had been broken. She grabbed the phone and headed to the only room in the apartment with a lock, the bathroom. She peered around every corner of her dark apartment on the way to the bathroom and securely locked the door when she got in.

She was standing in her pristinely white bathroom watching bright red blood pour out of her nose. When she caught sight of herself in the mirror she did a double take. That couldn't be her. That broken, shaking, hurt woman staring back at her in the mirror couldn't possibly be her. But it was. She had been beaten up. Badly. Her face was an assortment of blues, purples and yellows. Her nose looked crooked and there was blood all over her satin green robe. She sat down on the edge of the cold porcelain tub, her head in her hands, and tried to figure out what to do. The rational part of her knew she should call 911, but she didn't want all the attention. She dialed the phone and put it up to her ear.

"ER," Frank said curtly into the receiver.

His gruffness startled Abby and she paused for a moment, "Dr. Carter please," she said without even identifying herself.

"Uh he's busy at the moment can I help you?"

"I really need to talk to him," her voice involuntarily shook.

"I'm sorry he's in a trauma right now, can I interest you in another doctor or can I take a message?"
Abby paused, she just wanted Carter but she knew she needed help, "Ok how about Dr. Lewis then?"

"Yeah she's right here, hang on."
While Abby was waiting for Susan to pick up she thought about how stupid Frank was for not recognizing her voice, although she was kind of glad that he didn't.

"This is Dr. Lewis." Susan said absently into the receiver.
"Susan…" Abby trailed off trying not to crack.

"Abby? What's wrong?"
"I need Carter can you get him?"

"He's in a pretty bad trauma, are you OK? You don't sound good."
Abby was getting frustrated; all she wanted was to talk to Carter. She wanted him to come over and take care of her. She was scared and alone.

"Abby?" Susan said, jolting Abby back to the present.

She sighed, she would find out eventually anyway, "No Susan I'm not OK. You remember my neighbor who came in whose husband was hitting her? Well I got her into a shelter so the husband attacked me."

"Oh my God Abby are you OK?"
"No Susan, he attacked me, I'm not OK I'm bleeding, bruised…I need Carter."
"Abby call an ambulance. You need paramedics and the police you know that."

"Please Susan just get Carter."
"Ok ok hang on don't hang up!"

Abby sat silently waiting for Susan to get Carter, wondering what she was going to say to him.

Susan rushed down the hall to Trauma One where Carter was doing CPR on a gunshot wound. The patient was heart rate was flat line. Susan walked into the room,

"Carter I need you, now."
Carter gave a puzzled look, glanced at his patient who was certainly dead, (he had been doing CPR for 40min with no signs of life). He called the time of death and exited the trauma room behind Susan.

"What's up?"

Susan didn't know how to break to him. "It's Abby, she's been assaulted."
"What?! Where is she? What room?"

Carter went tearing through the ER before Susan could answer. She was hot on his heels.

"She's still at her apartment, I told her to call 911 but she just wants to talk to you. She's on line 1."
"Oh my God."
Carter ran to the nearest phone and picked it up.

"Abby what happened?!"
"It was Brian," Abby said softly.

"Are you hurt?"
"Yeah…"
Carter saw the paramedics who had brought the gunshot wound going towards the ambulance bay and yelled to them,

"Hey Morales wait up!"

He then went back to his phone conversation, "Ok I'll be there soon with the paramedics ok, Abby?...OK?!"

"Yeah, I'm in the bathroom…hurry Carter."

Carter ran to the ambulance bay and jumped into the rig before even explaining to the paramedics what was going on. He shouted the address to them and told them to step on it. Once he told them it was about Abby they completely understood.