Disclaimer:I don't own ER or any of its character; WB does.
Summary: AU, what if Joshua didn't die? What would Carter's life be like? A different kind of fanfic with a couple of twists.
Author's Note: I wrote this last year, and been sitting on it for a while revising it. Bear with me through this first chapters, it gets better. This is my first fic, so hope you enjoy.
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"You Never Know"
He lied there, staring up at the ceiling as the sun slowly begin to creep into the dark room. He pulled up the covers over his head, trying to fall back to sleep, but sleep wouldn't find him. Carter pulled the covers back down and quietly rolled to his left to find that was still sleeping. He sighed as he rolled back over and silently kicked off the covers, not wanting to wake Kem. She was leaving later that day for Paris to be with her ailing mother, but refuse to let Carter and Josh go with her.
"Joshua is only nine months old; if we took him with us, anything to happen either to him or us and I will not leave him here without a mother or a father." Kem exclaimed with sadness.
Carter sat up at the edge of the bed and grabbed his wedding band off the nightstand and slipped it on. The digital clock read 7:54 am; Kem's plane left at two that afternoon. A cry came from down the hall as Carter made his way through the luggage scatter about the room. He gave Kem and kissed her on the cheek and made his way down to Josh's nursery.
"Daddy!" Josh cried as Carter picked him up.
"Hey." he exclaimed softly as snot ran down Josh's nose, "Why the tears little man?" He took a tissue and wiped up his little nose. He held him in his arms until he calm down and turned for the door when he saw Kem standing in the doorway. A wave of sadness overpowered him as she made her way toward them. John embraced her with his free arm and kissed her lightly on the forehead, as lone tear fell from her eye.
"Oh John," she whispered as she ruffled Josh's long hair. "I'm going to miss you guys so much."
Carter wiped the tear off her face and kissed her again.
"Me too," he replied softly. "Me too."
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Later that afternoon, Carter and Josh saw Kem off at the airport. They embraced and Kem starting crying softly. She took little Josh into her arms and kissed him on the forehead.
"Be good for Daddy for me okay?" she whispered softly to him.
Josh nodded, his little brown curls bouncing up and down in his face.
"Kem," Carter whispered, taking Josh back into his arms. He tried to think of something so say, something to do, but nothing came to him. He gently touched her face and then kissed her tenderly. His voice chocked up as he whispered into her ear. "I love you." and kissed her again on the cheek.
Kem looked up with tears in her eyes, "I love you too." She let go off his hand and kissed little Josh again. Carter watched as she turned away from them, wiping the tears from her eyes. They watched her disappear into the plane tunnel before they began to walk back toward the jeep.
"Let's go get something to eat." Carter exclaimed as he put Josh into his car seat. Josh started to babble something as Carter put a little ball cap on him, buckled him up, and handed him his 'Babby', his favorite stuff bear.
"But first," Carter laughed, "We have to swing by the hospital."
After a while of driving, Carter looked into the rear view window to find that Josh had fallen asleep. Fond memories of his own brother, Bobby, resurfaced as he watched Josh. He sometimes wonders what if life would be like if Bobby didn't die; if he would have chosen to become a doctor or not. His named lives in the form of Josh now, Joshua Robert Carter. His attention refocus on to his driving as he pulled into County's parking lot. He picked Josh up and put him on his sling without waking him. With both of his hands free, he grabbed his bag and locked the door when a familiar voice caught his attention.
"I didn't know you were on today."
Carter turned around smiling, recognizing the voice. "No, I'm not; I was just dropping by to grab some charts to work on at home."
"Being like the average super dad." exclaimed Abby
Carter laughed, "You're going to be a super mom soon too." He watched as Abby rubbed her own belly. She was about eight months pregnant with Luka's baby. Carter wonder how far their own relationship would have gone if they would have stayed together.
"Are you just getting on?" he asked.
"Yeah." she replied, "But my back is killing me and I feel like I need to pee every fifteen minutes."
Carter laughed as they made their way toward the ER. As they were talking, Abby stopped suddenly.
"Abby?" Carter asked worryingly. "Are you alright?"
She shook her head, "I just got really dizzy…" She didn't finish her sentence as she collapsed.
"Abby!" Carter cried reaching out instinctively catching her before she hit the ground. His sudden movements rocked Josh awake on his back, and his cries began to fill the air.
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