PART ONE-

"Tell me we're going to be okay."

He looked into the eyes of the woman in front of him, and lowered his lips onto hers, kissing her gently. He pulled away, and gazed at her. Yes, she was what he wanted, who he wanted. He'd been a fool to not realise it before.

"We're going to be okay. We are going to be okay."

She looked up into the eyes of the man before her, replaying in her mind the kiss. She wanted more, she wanted to feel his lips against hers again. She didn't want to be his friend, she realised, she wanted everyone to know what she felt for him. And she wished that her lips were still pressed against his, that she could still feel his hands cradling the sides of her face. And then it dawned on her. This man she was fantasising about was standing in front of her, so close to her. She didn't have to dream about kissing him, she could.

Should he kiss her again? Or should he pull away and pretend nothing had happened? He looked over her beautiful face, so sure of what he wanted, and wishing he could read her mind and find out her own feelings. He knew the answer when he again felt her lips against his, this time more passionate than before. This was right, and he knew that nothing would ever separate them again.

*** "Carter!" Doctor John Carter stopped in his tracks, and turned slowly. Kerry Weaver: his eternal nightmare. She had soon caught up, and was standing next to him in the corridor. "Susan just called in- she's not going to be able to make it today. I need you to cover."

"Oh no," he raised his hands up in protest. "I'm off in fifteen minutes, and I'm not staying any longer than that."

"Carter, if you want to keep your job at County, you'll pull a double shift," her eyes bored into him, daring him to refuse.

"What about Kovac? Kovac can do a double."

"Doctor Kovac is visiting friends today. He took the time off weeks ago."

"It's not Doctor Kovac's anniversary though, is it?" He stared at the woman before him. Just let me go home to my girlfriend, you.no, it's not her fault, I shouldn't think that about her.

"I'm sorry John, I wouldn't have asked you if I didn't have to."

"There's been an RTA on the freeway, ETA five minutes," Chuny said, interrupting them. "We've got two major, seven minor."

"We'll be right there," Carter told her, before turning back to Kerry. "I'll stay, but you can explain to Abby why I wasn't home on the evening of our first anniversary."

"There will be other anniversaries."

"Not first anniversaries." He turned and walked away from her, making his way towards the ambulance bay to pick up the first patient to arrive.

*** "Where is he?" Abby mumbled to herself, getting up and walking over to the mirror to check her make up. They were supposed to be going out for their anniversary. Their first anniversary. It was one whole year since the lockdown, and things had gone from good to unimaginable. She smiled to herself, remembering all the things that had happened in the last year.

"And what are you looking so pleased about?" Abby turned at the voice of Millicent, John's Gamma.

"I was just thinking about John." She'd grown quite close to Millicent, and she was obviously approved of. "And wondering where the hell he is."

"He'll be here, dear. You know he will- he always turns up in the end, everything always turns out fine." Abby nodded her head. It was true. He could never do anything simply, but it always turned out right in the end. "And that's what you love him for, isn't it dear?" Abby smiled- Millicent always seemed to be able to tell what she was thinking or feeling.

Just then a butler entered with the phone. "It's for you miss," he said, handing it to her. She quickly took it and put it to her ear.

"John?"

"Abby, it's Haleh."

"Oh my goodness, what's happened? Is he alright?" She could feel tears beginning to well up in her eyes. He had to be okay, she couldn't lose him, not now.

"He's fine." She slowly let out the breath she hadn't known she'd been holding. "There's been a major RTA, we need you down here now."

"Now?!" she exclaimed. So much for a quiet meal with her boyfriend.

"Just get down here Abby." With the Haleh hung the phone up, not allowing Abby to refuse to come down.

"I have to go to the hospital," she explained, turning to Millicent. "There's been a major RTA, and they're understaffed."

"I'll get the butler to drive you."

"Oh no, I'll make my own way." This was the one thing she couldn't stand about living in the Carter house, all the people to do everything for you. And the insistence of the eldest Carter that you use what was provided. Sometimes it was nice to have a break from the life of the rich. She realised now that that must have been one of the reasons that Carter had become a doctor, to allow himself to get away from this house, and way of life, for even a part of each day.

*** "Wow, Abby, you look nice. You going somewhere posh, or is it just tradition to dress for dinner at the Carter house?" Chuny laughed as Abby walked into trauma room one. She ignored the comment, and grabbed some gloves, glancing at Carter as she did so.

"What have we got?" she asked him.

"Adult male, mid thirties, penetrating wound to the left chest, we think it might have penetrated his heart. We're attempting to stabilise him, before sending him up to the OR. And we may still get away in time for dinner."

*** Carter sighed as he watched Abby leave the trauma room next door, throwing her gloves down on the floor. Losing patients was the part of the job that you never got used to. He stepped back from his own patient, as Romano and a nurse took the gurney from the room, ready to operate. That was it for tonight. At least he hoped it was. What had originally been a relatively small RTA with two cars had turned into a full blown disaster, created by people on cell phones driving into the already crashed cars, and drivers on the other side of the road rubber-necking. Nothing was ever simple in Chicago.

He left the room, and after seeing that Abby wasn't around the admit desk, made his way to the stairs. He knew exactly where she'd be.

*** "Hard evening?" Carter asked, emerging onto the roof. It was a stupid question, he knew, but one that would hopefully start a conversation.

"I guess you could say that." She didn't turn around to see him, but continued to look out over Chicago. "It seems so unfair, that some people get to be happy, and others have their whole lives torn away from them." A tear trickled down her cheek, and John stepped closer, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"That's how life goes Abby, someone has to draw the short straw."

"And then people lose more because of losing one person. Families are pulled apart because of illness, people die without being able to let their loved ones know exactly what they feel for them." She wiped away the tear from her cheek, and turned to face him. "John, promise we we'll never let that happen to us. No matter what happens, don't let us be like those people who lose everything because of one thing."

"I promise. Didn't I tell you a year ago, we're going to be okay?" He leant down, brushing his lips against hers, remembering the moment that this was echoing, which seemed so long ago.

"I love you John."

*** Abby and Carter walked through the ER, hand in hand, both ready to get out of the place as quickly as possible.

"Some anniversary," Abby said, sighing.

"Hey, at least we got to spend some of it together."

"In the ER? Wasn't exactly what I had planned." He laughed as they walked through the front doors of the hospital, and out into the taxi rank.

"Well, according to my watch we still have an hour and a half of it left, so I say we make the most of it." He pulled her close to him as they stood waiting for a taxi, and they stood in companionable silence for a while, before John spoke again. "Abby."

"Hmm?"

"You know what you were talking about on the roof?"

"Yeah?" she turned slightly in his arms so that she could see his face.

"There is one way we could show how much we mean to each other."

"John, I know it's our anniversary, but I'm too tired right now."

"I didn't mean that," he cut her off, laughing. "I meant.umm.well, I hadn't planned this so I don't have a ring or anything, but.we could always get married?" Abby pulled away from him now, turning so that she was stood facing him.

"Is this you proposing?" she asked, and from the solemn look on her face he worried that he'd done the wrong thing.

"I guess so." Her solemn face broke out into a smile, and she couldn't help but throw herself into his arms, laughing. "Is this you saying yes?"

"I guess so."

***