Authors note, as always.
First off, I will finish "Boys' Club". But I'm a bit stuck and frustrated with it right now, so I'm starting something new. Something more my style ... you know ... angst ... misery ... pain ...
Second, despite what it may appear in the first paragraphs, this is not particularly a Carby ... so all you hopeful All-Carby-All-the-Time fans can stop reading now and go home. Carter and Abby are a couple, because the fic is set in S9, and the show had them a couple. (And yeah, their couple-ness is relevent to the story.) The setting is late S9, early spring. It's set in pretty much the same version of the ER universe in which "What Child is This" and "Ice" dwell. (But a different one from my either of my Congo fics, since Luka would be unlikely to go off to Africa.)
And a general warning: the fic is a bit rough and edgy in spots. Not enough, IMO, to put it at an R rating (you don't actually see the roughest stuff happen), but be aware, and read or not accordingly).
And I don't own ER or Abby Lockhart or Luka Kovac or John Carter, or anyone else who appears here. I do own this particular story, and you need my permission before you do anything but read it or print it out for your own enjoyment.]
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"Ok, Ed. You're all set to go." Abby watched her patient shuffle off towards chairs and looked at the clock. Only 5 minutes left in her shift. Usually she'd be glad about that. As much as Abby liked her job, (and most days Abby really did like her job) she was usually glad when the day was over and she could go home. Home to an evening with Carter, or just to a hot bath and the tv.
But not today. Today, she dreaded going home.
She headed for the desk, just as Carter came out of the lounge. She hadn't seen him come in. "Have a good day?" he asked.
"Same as always."
"Exciting plans for the evening?"
"As long as you're on nights and I'm on days, my social life isn't going to be exactly scintillating."
"Would that be social life or sex life?" Carter asked with a teasing smile.
"Either one." Abby put the chart on top of the pile. "I'll bet if you bribed Kerry enough, she'd put you back on days."
"Or you on nights?"
"Oh no. I've done enough nights for a while. I like seeing daylight." She looked around for a minute. "It's pretty quiet so far, John. You could see me home ... Kerry won't miss you for half an hour." She heard the anxiety in her voice.
"You need to relax," Carter said, sounding more than a little irritable. "There is no one there! I walked you home three times last week, and there's no-one there."
"Someone is following me." The anxiety increased.
"Have you seen him?" Carter was calm, reasonable.
"No," Abby admitted. "But I can ... feel him."
"Or maybe you've just got the jitters. Look, it's not really dark yet. If you hurry home, you'll be there before it gets dark, and safe in your apartment. And I'll call you in a few hours to check in, make sure everything's ok."
He smiled and pulled her into his arms. "I do miss seeing you, you know," he said. "I'd walk you home if I could ... just for the pleasant company."
"I miss you too. Feels like we've just been ships passing in the night for the past couple of weeks."
"Well, we're both off tomorrow. We can make up for lost time."
"Tie up to the same dock?" Abby joked. She already felt a little better with Carter's arms around her.
"Or slip into the same berth?"
"Probably." She sighed. "Well, I should go if I'm to make it before dark."
Carter was right, of course. She just had the jitters. Last week there had been two 'incidents' in the ER. (So much for the metal detectors keeping things safe!) Lydia had needed 4 stitches in her leg after being knocked down by a coked up junkie. And one of the med students had ended up with a concussion after getting caught in the middle of a scuffle between two 12 year old gang bangers.
So of course she'd be jittery and nervous. But still....
Going into the lounge for her coat, Abby bumped into Luka coming out. She couldn't help noticing that he didn't have his coat on. "I thought you were off at 7," she said.
"I am. But I have a few patients to finish up."
"So hand them off to Carter."
"No, it's ok. It would take me longer to explain to him what's going on than to do it myself. Another half hour or so and I should be on my way. I'm just waiting on some labs."
"Ok. Have a nice evening, then."
"You too." He smiled at her for a moment, then headed back towards the exam rooms.
Abby watched him go. He would walk her home if she asked, she knew. But she couldn't ask. He wouldn't understand. Men didn't tend to understand things like this. Men weren't taught, from childhood, to be afraid of shadows and the things that lurked in them. Carter obviously didn't understand. But then, even she didn't really understand this one, so she couldn't exactly blame him. Or maybe Luka was the one? Could have been following her? Stalking her? 'Come on, don't be ridiculous, Abby! Why would he be following you? And he isn't the sort to exactly fade into the shadows anyway. 6 foot 4 inch guys tend to stand out, or at least stand over their surroundings ....
Taking a deep breath, Abby headed out into the ambulance bay. Lots of people around, and still not quite dark yet. She got to the el platform just as the train pulled in.
Abby grabbed the last available seat on the train.(Screw the other riders she thought, a bit irritably. She'd been on her feet all day!) She made herself relax as she thought about her evening. A hot bath. Maybe pizza ... or maybe she'd try the new Indian place up the block. Her downstairs neighbor said they were good. If there wasn't anything good on tv tonight, she'd watch a video ... maybe "Butch Cassidy." A nice quiet evening at home. She did miss Carter, but there was something to be said for a nice quiet evening at home.
Two other people got off at her stop, a 20-something looking man; large, well muscled, in gang-style clothing, and a somewhat younger woman. Abby hesitated for a moment on the platform, then relaxed again as they walked off together, hand in hand, laughing together.
Head down, Abby started walking quickly for home. What was wrong with her? She'd been living in Chicago for years. She'd long since gotten past the "small-town-girl-in-the-big-city nerves. It's something you have to do, or else you end up hiding in your apartment every night. How many times had she walked from the el to her apartment, alone? Often when it was far darker outside, and the hour was much later.
Abby made it to her front door. She already had her keys in hand, and she quickly unlocked the door and stepped the lobby. And found herself taking a deep breath. This was crazy. Or maybe she was crazy. All that alcohol fried a few brain cells along the way, Lockhart? Just junk mail in the box. She started for the stairs, then remembered her dinner plans. She didn't have a menu.
Ralene answered her knock. "Hi, Abby. Just get off work?"
"Yeah. Do you have a delivery menu for that new Indian place you were telling me about?"
"Sure. Come on in. It's on my fridge."
Abby waited in the living room while Ralene got the menu for her. "Can I borrow it?" she asked.
"Yeah, take it. I'm actually cooking tonight. Can you believe it? Bring it back when you're done, or just slide it under my door if I'm not home. Or you can just keep it if you like the food. I'll pick up another."
"Thanks," Abby said, taking it from her. "Have a good evening."
Abby browsed the menu as she slowly climbed the stairs. Vindaloo sounded good. Some hot Indian food .. then some hot Redford ...
Ralene had said they do a mean Vindaloo.
First off, I will finish "Boys' Club". But I'm a bit stuck and frustrated with it right now, so I'm starting something new. Something more my style ... you know ... angst ... misery ... pain ...
Second, despite what it may appear in the first paragraphs, this is not particularly a Carby ... so all you hopeful All-Carby-All-the-Time fans can stop reading now and go home. Carter and Abby are a couple, because the fic is set in S9, and the show had them a couple. (And yeah, their couple-ness is relevent to the story.) The setting is late S9, early spring. It's set in pretty much the same version of the ER universe in which "What Child is This" and "Ice" dwell. (But a different one from my either of my Congo fics, since Luka would be unlikely to go off to Africa.)
And a general warning: the fic is a bit rough and edgy in spots. Not enough, IMO, to put it at an R rating (you don't actually see the roughest stuff happen), but be aware, and read or not accordingly).
And I don't own ER or Abby Lockhart or Luka Kovac or John Carter, or anyone else who appears here. I do own this particular story, and you need my permission before you do anything but read it or print it out for your own enjoyment.]
---------------------------
"Ok, Ed. You're all set to go." Abby watched her patient shuffle off towards chairs and looked at the clock. Only 5 minutes left in her shift. Usually she'd be glad about that. As much as Abby liked her job, (and most days Abby really did like her job) she was usually glad when the day was over and she could go home. Home to an evening with Carter, or just to a hot bath and the tv.
But not today. Today, she dreaded going home.
She headed for the desk, just as Carter came out of the lounge. She hadn't seen him come in. "Have a good day?" he asked.
"Same as always."
"Exciting plans for the evening?"
"As long as you're on nights and I'm on days, my social life isn't going to be exactly scintillating."
"Would that be social life or sex life?" Carter asked with a teasing smile.
"Either one." Abby put the chart on top of the pile. "I'll bet if you bribed Kerry enough, she'd put you back on days."
"Or you on nights?"
"Oh no. I've done enough nights for a while. I like seeing daylight." She looked around for a minute. "It's pretty quiet so far, John. You could see me home ... Kerry won't miss you for half an hour." She heard the anxiety in her voice.
"You need to relax," Carter said, sounding more than a little irritable. "There is no one there! I walked you home three times last week, and there's no-one there."
"Someone is following me." The anxiety increased.
"Have you seen him?" Carter was calm, reasonable.
"No," Abby admitted. "But I can ... feel him."
"Or maybe you've just got the jitters. Look, it's not really dark yet. If you hurry home, you'll be there before it gets dark, and safe in your apartment. And I'll call you in a few hours to check in, make sure everything's ok."
He smiled and pulled her into his arms. "I do miss seeing you, you know," he said. "I'd walk you home if I could ... just for the pleasant company."
"I miss you too. Feels like we've just been ships passing in the night for the past couple of weeks."
"Well, we're both off tomorrow. We can make up for lost time."
"Tie up to the same dock?" Abby joked. She already felt a little better with Carter's arms around her.
"Or slip into the same berth?"
"Probably." She sighed. "Well, I should go if I'm to make it before dark."
Carter was right, of course. She just had the jitters. Last week there had been two 'incidents' in the ER. (So much for the metal detectors keeping things safe!) Lydia had needed 4 stitches in her leg after being knocked down by a coked up junkie. And one of the med students had ended up with a concussion after getting caught in the middle of a scuffle between two 12 year old gang bangers.
So of course she'd be jittery and nervous. But still....
Going into the lounge for her coat, Abby bumped into Luka coming out. She couldn't help noticing that he didn't have his coat on. "I thought you were off at 7," she said.
"I am. But I have a few patients to finish up."
"So hand them off to Carter."
"No, it's ok. It would take me longer to explain to him what's going on than to do it myself. Another half hour or so and I should be on my way. I'm just waiting on some labs."
"Ok. Have a nice evening, then."
"You too." He smiled at her for a moment, then headed back towards the exam rooms.
Abby watched him go. He would walk her home if she asked, she knew. But she couldn't ask. He wouldn't understand. Men didn't tend to understand things like this. Men weren't taught, from childhood, to be afraid of shadows and the things that lurked in them. Carter obviously didn't understand. But then, even she didn't really understand this one, so she couldn't exactly blame him. Or maybe Luka was the one? Could have been following her? Stalking her? 'Come on, don't be ridiculous, Abby! Why would he be following you? And he isn't the sort to exactly fade into the shadows anyway. 6 foot 4 inch guys tend to stand out, or at least stand over their surroundings ....
Taking a deep breath, Abby headed out into the ambulance bay. Lots of people around, and still not quite dark yet. She got to the el platform just as the train pulled in.
Abby grabbed the last available seat on the train.(Screw the other riders she thought, a bit irritably. She'd been on her feet all day!) She made herself relax as she thought about her evening. A hot bath. Maybe pizza ... or maybe she'd try the new Indian place up the block. Her downstairs neighbor said they were good. If there wasn't anything good on tv tonight, she'd watch a video ... maybe "Butch Cassidy." A nice quiet evening at home. She did miss Carter, but there was something to be said for a nice quiet evening at home.
Two other people got off at her stop, a 20-something looking man; large, well muscled, in gang-style clothing, and a somewhat younger woman. Abby hesitated for a moment on the platform, then relaxed again as they walked off together, hand in hand, laughing together.
Head down, Abby started walking quickly for home. What was wrong with her? She'd been living in Chicago for years. She'd long since gotten past the "small-town-girl-in-the-big-city nerves. It's something you have to do, or else you end up hiding in your apartment every night. How many times had she walked from the el to her apartment, alone? Often when it was far darker outside, and the hour was much later.
Abby made it to her front door. She already had her keys in hand, and she quickly unlocked the door and stepped the lobby. And found herself taking a deep breath. This was crazy. Or maybe she was crazy. All that alcohol fried a few brain cells along the way, Lockhart? Just junk mail in the box. She started for the stairs, then remembered her dinner plans. She didn't have a menu.
Ralene answered her knock. "Hi, Abby. Just get off work?"
"Yeah. Do you have a delivery menu for that new Indian place you were telling me about?"
"Sure. Come on in. It's on my fridge."
Abby waited in the living room while Ralene got the menu for her. "Can I borrow it?" she asked.
"Yeah, take it. I'm actually cooking tonight. Can you believe it? Bring it back when you're done, or just slide it under my door if I'm not home. Or you can just keep it if you like the food. I'll pick up another."
"Thanks," Abby said, taking it from her. "Have a good evening."
Abby browsed the menu as she slowly climbed the stairs. Vindaloo sounded good. Some hot Indian food .. then some hot Redford ...
Ralene had said they do a mean Vindaloo.
