Letting Your Guard Down

There's no such thing as a calm day in the ER, John Carter realized, looking around at the crowded rooms and overflowing board. Only two hours till he was off, but at least he wouldn't be bored. Sighing, he picked up the chart he needed and made his way to Exam 1. "Hey Abby, could you give me a hand here?" he called across the room.

Abby glanced up from where she was hanging some IV fluids and nodded. "Sit tight, Mrs. Norris. I'll be back later to check on you." Her patient nodded weakly, then reached up and took her hand, the look in her eyes thanking her for all she had done. Abby smiled back and left to go find Carter.

She joined Carter in the exam room and picked up the chart of their patient. "How are you gonna handle this?" she asked him in a low voice.

"I don't know," Carter whispered back. A young kid with a terminal disease was not something he enjoyed handling.

There was no way Susan Lewis was going to take crap from anyone, especially from an idiotic patient who was drunk beyond his means. She slapped his hand away from her butt and gave him a look.

"Get me some hard restraints, and watch your back- he can't keep his hands to himself," Susan told Chuny. Pulling off her gloves and tossing them into the nearest trashcan, Susan sighed and ran a hand through her hair. There was nothing like a thirty-six hour shift to bring out her inner beauty. Ha. She looked like crap and she knew it. Oh well…

Susan was yanked out of her daydreams by Kerry Weaver. "Susan, I need a word when you're free."

"Okay, I'm off in fifteen. I'll page you," Susan said, and then Weaver was on her way, the clacking of her crutch on the floor rapping holes in Susan's head.

"Great," Susan muttered to herself. She still hadn't forgiven Kerry for making them go to that stupid seminar. Maybe if she were lucky, she'd get fired and could get a better job. It was probably only wishful thinking, however.

"Abby!" Carter yelled as he chased her out of the ER. She stopped and turned around to see what he wanted. "Wanna get some coffee?"

Abby smiled. "Well… I was just gonna go home and watch some TV and eat takeout…the weather's not really too nice today."That was the understatement of the year. The sky was black, almost ominous, and already the snow was punding down hard.

"Can I join you?" Carter asked, using that look that he knew she couldn't resist.

Laughing, Abby said, "I guess I can't talk you out of this, huh?"

"Nope"

"Okay, let's go." Abby took the arm he held out and they walked to the L. Some people thought it was weird that her best friend was a man, but hey, when did Abby ever care what other people thought. At least she'd have someone to spend Christmas with.

"So how was your day?" Carter asked.

"The usual..."

"Oh," he answered, not wanting to push the subject. Abby noticed him visibly stiffen, so she took it upon herself to cheer him up.

"I think I still have some pie left in my fridge from the restaurant we went to last night," she told him.

Carter's eyes lit up with joy. It was amazing how such a little thing she could say to him could make him feel good. "Do you have the apple or cherry?" he inquired, though he would have been perfectly happy with either.

"Both."

He laughed and grinned, a huge smile that took up his whole face and rubbed his tummy. "I can't wait."

Sitting on the bench waiting for the metro, Carter started into a long talk about the history of the metro system, not noticing that Abby wasn't listening at all.

"…Did you know that Chicago's metro is know as the 'L' because most of its network is elevated? I think that's the strangest thing I've ever heard"

"Hmm," Abby mumbled, her mind was on a patient at the moment.

"Oh my god," Carter whispered in a low voice all of a sudden.

Abby turned to face him, the tone of his voice clearly indicating that something was wrong.

Carter had a split second to react, and he did the only thing he could. He kissed Abby.

He quickly moved so that he was covering most of Abby's body, making her practically invisible as they sat on the bench. Now they were both enjoying the kiss. Their tongues intertwined, and with the ease that they made out with, one would never imagine that this was the first time they were kissing.

Finally, minutes later, they broke apart, gasping for breath. "Carter…" Abby whispered throatily. "W-What…?"

Carter still hadn't moved, and his face was mere inches away from hers. "Is he gone?" he asked quietly. The look of bewilderment that crossed Abby's face indicated that she had no idea what he was talking about.

Abby was out of breath, but she asked him with her eyes what was wrong. Carter slowly pulled himself up and sat down next to her on the bench again.

"I saw someone," Carter started to explain. "I didn't want them to see you."

Abby felt numb inside. So Carter didn't want to kiss her, he was just hiding? But it had felt so… right. And when their lips connected…. Abby could swear that he was enjoying it, too.

She turned her head away so that Carter didn't see the look on her face. So much for never letting her guard down.

A/N I hope you guys like this one. Your opinions are important, so please review! Story or not? Most likely I will continue this, and I will try to post more on my other fics soon.