Okay, I know I should probably work on my other fics, but this is what i wrote for the OCOH challenge this month. I don't really have an exact time period for this thing... sometime during late season 10, but it's pretty AU.


The Persistence of Memory

"You know I never stopped loving you."

"Stop it! We can never be together."

I shook my head. Lifetime movies are always so dramatic. Nobody actually says things like that in real life. Probably because real life sucks. I mean, it's not like I'm starving and living on the streets or anything, but… it's not like my life is that great either. I have no boyfriend, I drive all my friends away, and I'm broke. Left with nothing but my memories. Oh, and my family is crazy, too.

I am interrupted from my train of thought with a knock on the door. I put the TV on mute and go answer it, padding to the door in only an oversized tee shirt and my favorite slippers.

"Hey there," Carter said, stepping into my apartment as soon as I open the door, without even waiting for an invitation.

"Come on in," I joked. "Seeing as you're already in my kitchen, can you just wait a minute while I get dressed?"

"Sure."

"Help yourself to food or whatever," I called over my shoulder.

I tugged at the bottom of my shirt, because I thought it might be too short for our "just friends" situation. I could feel his eyes burning into me as I walked into my bedroom and closed the door. As I pulled on my favorite jeans, I started to think about my life. Maybe it's not so bad after all. I mean, having Carter… it's good. Really good.

And then I realize that I forgot about that part. I do have one good thing in my life, one friend - Carter. We've been doing practically everything together in these last few months. It seems like yesterday that he sent me that letter, only to follow it home the next day.

"Abby, please just talk to me."

"I don't want to talk to you. Maybe I'll write you a letter."

"Abby, I said I was sorry. I don't know what I was thinking. I didn't mean anything I said in that letter."

"Prove it."

"I came back, didn't I? I want to fix this."

"What's 'this', Carter?"

"You and me. Together. We should be together."

"I can't be with you like that. Maybe… we could be friends… maybe."

"All right." Carter's face lit up with a relieved grin, and then all of a sudden we were putting our friendship back together, bit by bit and piece by piece.

"Pizza?" Carter asked as I placed two glasses of water and a bowl of popcorn on the coffee table in front of the TV.

"Extra cheese and black olives," I said with a small smile. "But you can pick them off."

He just laughed. We settled down to watch a movie while we waited for dinner to arrive. I tried to concentrate on the plot, but I found my mind drifting to other places, back in time, when we were together….

"It's scary out," I said when a commercial break came on.

"You're just saying that because it's Friday the 13th."

"No, believe me, something weird is going to happen. Something really bad," I told him anxiously.

Carter laughed and turned the volume up on the TV. "Just relax. Don't worry. I'm here."

Twenty minutes later, we're interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Finally, I'm starving," I said.

Carter grabbed his wallet and walked to the door. "This one's on me," he informed me.

"You're too kind, Dr. Carter."

He rolled his eyes at me and opened the door. "That will be $13.95," said a boy who didn't look older than a teenager.

"That much?" Carter questioned. "The price of pizza has sure gone up since I was young."

"God, John, we ordered pizza last week and it was the same price!" I swatted him on the arm and reached into his wallet. "Excuse him, and keep the change," I told the delivery boy.

"You two have fun with that pizza," he said, making a weird face that he must have thought was suggestive, and then he turned to leave.

"Yeah," John said, waggling his eyebrows. "I hope we can think of something fun to do with this pizza."

I laughed hard at that one. I grabbed the pizza and set it on the counter. Then I opened the fridge and pulled out all the fruit that wasn't rotten, smelly, or covered in mold. I know, not exactly the picture of cleanliness. Anyway, I set them out and started cutting.

"What are you doing?" Carter asked and I could tell that he was trying really hard not to laugh.

I looked at him with mock disdain. "I'm making salad."

"Why?"

"I want you to live a full and healthy life."

"You do, do you?" Even though I had my back to him, I could tell that Carter had that arrogant smirk on his face.

"You're worried about me, huh, Abby?" Actually I was, it seemed like he never ate anything that wasn't fried or dripping in butter and grease.

"In your dreams," I scoffed.

He stood up from his perch on a stool and walked closer to me, standing behind me, and he was close enough to give me shivers down my spine.

"Wanna guess what else happens in my dreams?" Carter asked, actually he whispered, in my ear.

"FUCK!" Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit. I was so busy listening to him that I had forgotten I was still chopping.

All the color drained from his face. "Oh God, Abby, are you okay?" He grabbed my hand to take a look. I had inadvertently chopped the tip off of my finger. Only it was a lot more than the tip. Like half my finger.

"John," I said weakly. "Not County……" and then I was asleep.

I remember waking up, surprised that I wasn't still in my kitchen. Carter was asleep in a chair in the corner of the room. A room that reminded me of a surgery recovery room that I had seen quite a few times before.

"Carter," I managed to whisper. "Carter, wake up." Still no response. "Hey, John."

He blinked open his eyes and looked up at me. "Hey, you."

He got up and came to sit on the edge of my bed. "You had me pretty worried."

"What happened?" I asked.

"You don't remember?"

"Pizza. There was pizza," I recalled. Carter smiled at me.

"That's my girl," he said, leaning over to give me a little kiss on my forehead.

I smiled at him as I drifted back to sleep. It was a deep sleep, full of memories of us together in our past and dreams of our future together. Our own perfect utopia. And I knew it was possible, as long as we were together.

I hope everyone likes it! I will try to continue it. Props for anyone who knows where I got the title from.