I sighed and lifted my head to look at the clock on the microwave. Great. 3:22 in the morning. Obviously, trying to sleep was futile.

Carter was still running through my head. Trying to pretend to be comfortable sleeping on my couch wasn't helping.

Frustrated, I sat up. I needed to actually talk to him. Brooding over his sort-of proposal wasn't getting me anywhere.

I looked at the clock again. Still 3:22. Longest minute ever, apparently.

As quietly as I could, I got up from the couch and dug around in my bag, hoping to find my phone. The last thing I needed to do was to wake my mother and try to explain all of…this. Whatever "this" is.

I had to refrain myself from a yell of triumph as I managed to find my cell phone with a minimal amount of fuss. The question remained, however; where to place this call?

If I only went to the hallway, I'd wake up my neighbors, which I'm sure would then wake up my mom. No good.

Making a decision, I grabbed my blanket and headed to the window that led to the fire escape. I took a deep breath, thinking that would somehow help the window open silently. The world was with me on that one because the window slid up easily. I quietly crept out on to the escape, then shut the window most of the way behind me. Below me, Chicago was mostly quiet, save a few late-nighters roaming the streets.

Before I could talk myself out of it, I flipped open my phone and speed-dialed Carter. No turning back.

The line rang once before I heard Carter answer.

"Hello?" Interesting; he definitely didn't sound as if he'd been woken out of a sound slumber. It was somewhat comforting to know that I wasn't the only one losing sleep tonight.

However, I was in no mood to beat around the bush. "Yes."

There was a pause on the other line as Carter tried to puzzle out what I was saying. "'Yes' what?"

"Earlier you said you wanted to marry me. I'm telling you yes."

Another pause. "You want to marry me?"

I couldn't help but smile. I loved being able to throw him for a loop. "That's what I'm saying."

His voice got a bit more excited. "Just to make sure I'm hearing you correctly; you're saying you WANT to marry me."

"Yes. I want to marry you."

A laugh erupted out of him, and I involuntarily answered with a laugh of my own. "We're going to get married?"

"I hope so."

"But…I didn't even get to ask you properly. There was a helicopter and we were yelling and—"

"Carter, I don't care."

"But I care. I want to this right."

I felt my smile grow. "There is no right or wrong way. All that matters is that you want to marry me."

"I want to marry you. So very much."

The line was silent for a while. I really wasn't sure where to go after that. I suppose part of me figured that since I'd accepted his proposal, the ball was now back in his court. What I really wanted to do was throw my arms around him and never let go. I felt giddy and anxious and excited.

Carter's voice broke through my thoughts. "Are you sure about this? I mean, you've had a lot going on the last few days and—"

I cut him off. "I'm tired, Carter."

"I'm sorry; it's 3:30 in the morning—"

I cut him off once more. "No, I mean, I'm tired of being unhappy, of letting myself find a reason to be unhappy. I'm tired of letting myself think that the world just happens to me. YOU make me happy. You have for a long time now. I just expect the worst out of life, so I keep trying to push you away and get you to leave me, and you keep coming back. I need to take the hint. You want to be with me; I want to be with you. I want to be legally bound to you. I WANT to be happy, and I want to be happy with you. I know there are a lot of things in my life that are screwed up right now, but I'm just so damn tired of using that as an excuse. Things will always be screwed up; nothing is perfect. But I'd much rather face imperfection with you at my side than try to deal with it on my own."

"Did you just propose to me?"

A loud laugh escaped from me before I could stifle it. I turned to look back into my apartment to see if I'd disturbed my mother; the place remained dark and silent.

"You're an ass, Carter."

"That may be true, but I'm soon to be your ass forever."

A dopey grin spread across my face as I leaned back against the brick wall of my building. "I can't wait."

"Look; I'm going to be over first thing in the morning to take you to work before taking your mom to the station."

"You don't have to do that."

"Does that mean I can't? You're my fiancée; I'd like to be able to see you as soon as possible to seal the deal."

"There will be no sealing of deals in front of my mother, thank you."

"A good morning kiss is off the table, then?"

I could practically hear him smiling on the other end of the line, and my grin grows in response. "I suppose that will be all right."

"Good. Now, get some sleep, Abby."

My eyes rolled as I snorted a bit. "Yeah, right. If I thought I was keyed up before, it's going to be even worse now."

"Try anyway. For me."

"Well, since it's for you…"

"I love you, Abby."

A sigh of utter contentment escaped from my lips. "I love you, too."

*Author's Notes: Holy shit, I just wrote a Carby! I haven't done that in years! Rewatching some old ER, and rereading some old fics of mine and suddenly, it occurred to me—AU! That's right, suckers—we're going AU after A Boy Falling Out Of The Sky. I'm hoping to remain inspired to get a few more fics out there.

Also, for you younin's …Carby was the best thing on ER. Ever. Luby was cute, but Carby was the shit. If you don't believe me, rewatch seasons 6-9 (well, 9 and three quarters).