A/N: The site is driving me nuts. Alerts don't go out, PM notices don't go out, very annoying. If any of you are dying to read new chapters and don't look at the site daily – or hourly – for updates, send me a PM with an email and I'll let you know when the new chapter comes out. I know what it's like to be dying for an update to a favorite story. I guess I'll have to get my DaniWilder (my penname should I publish an original story on the Kindle or some other electronic media) website up and running. Maybe the general demise of FanFiction's servers will spur me to get my site running ;-) There could be a silver lining here somewhere! Sorry for the rambling. You guys are awesome and I feel bad some of you don't know when new stuff has been published ;-(
Thanks for some lines, NurseKelly.
WARNING: There is enough fluff in here to rot your teeth. You have been warned ;-D
"Not bad for two days of painting and dragging in furniture," Will said as he set down the paint sprayer and grabbed a towel to wipe the paint that splattered on his hands.
"Blue is Aunt Abby's favorite color," Jess said. She handed him a bottle of water and picked up the sprayer to take outside and clean.
"Really?" Will was glad he picked the light blue color for her bedroom.
"And pink and light purple," Jess continued. "She likes soft pretty colors. I love red and black. Oh, and green."
"Black was my favorite color until I came to Terra Nova. Now I'd have to say green and lately… blue," Will said with a smile.
"Because Aunt Abby has blue eyes." Jess had a knowing smile on her face and, for a second, he thought she was older than her nine years.
"Well you and Jay have blue eyes too," he countered.
"But you're in love with Aunt Abby," Jess said, her smile wider than before.
"I never said that." Will suddenly felt self-conscious talking to Abigail's niece about love.
"You don't have to. We can see it." Jess's smile faded. "But you don't know if Aunt Abby loves you."
Will's eyes widened at the insight of this nine-year-old. He'd told Father Mike she was scary smart and now he believed it.
"You'll just have to make her fall in love with you then," Jess spoke matter-of-factually.
"How do I do that?" He crossed his arms and leaned against the door frame of Abigail's room. Maybe she'll think of something I haven't.
"Well, Jason and I love you because you are nice to us, you listen, buy us things, take us on cool adventures." Jess snapped her fingers and walked over to stare up at Will who towered over the little girl. "You need to spend time with her. With just her. Not all of us."
Will laughed. It was deep laugh from his gut. The type of laugh he hadn't had for a long time. He knelt down and crushed Jess into a bear hug. "You are a genius."
"Be sure to tell Jason you said that."
"This is a beautiful dress and you absolutely have to tell me what this stuff is I washed your hair with because I want some," Kathy said.
Abigail had learned that the nearly thirty-year-old nurse loved to talk and rarely stopped, which was actually fine with Abigail. She'd spoken enough lately to last a lifetime. "It's my one guilty pleasure from 2149."
"What is it?" Kathy held up a clear bottle of slightly pink liquid.
"Really, really expensive shampoo. I smuggled in 3 bottles. One in each of the kids' packs and my own." Abigail looked like she'd broken a law.
"Honey, you don't want to know what I smuggled in." Kathy winked and made Abigail turn red. "I bet they could synthesize this in the lab."
"What?"
"There's a synthesizer in the lab to make medicines and stuff. If we could reproduce this shampoo, which makes your hair soft and practically glow, we can make a fortune. Why there wouldn't be a woman in Terra Nova who wouldn't die to get their hands on this stuff. It's liquid gold."
Abigail chuckled. Kathy spoke in hyperbole almost as much as Will. As his name came to mind she felt anticipation and fear. Today she was going to her new house, which Jess said they were getting ready for her.
She had to admit that the idea of Will fixing up a house for her made her want to melt, but it was tempered by the fear of the unknown. Her relationship with Will was filled with uncertainty. Abigail was truly way out of her element when it came to what she should do next.
"Do you mind if I take a bit?" Kathy's voice came back and pulled her out of her musings.
"N-no. Help yourself. If they can create more, I expect a discount." Kathy laughed and it made Abigail smile. She couldn't remember making someone laugh besides Will and the kids.
"You're funny." Kathy got a container from her cart and poured some shampoo into it. "I'll get McCormick to do it. If I wear a short skirt and show some skin that poor lab rat won't know what hit him."
"Kathy!" Abigail gasped.
"You and Carter really do fulfill that whole opposites attract thing don't you." Kathy turned to look closely at Abigail. "Have you even done it with him yet?"
"I… What are… I do not kiss and tell," Abigail sputtered. "You can't ask that…"
"No way. I can't believe it, I guess my grandmother was on to something with the whole milk and cow thing." Kathy stood in disbelief. "Maybe I should wait the next time and I'll land a hunky piece of eye-candy that worships the ground I walk on." She licked her lips.
Abigail gasped and swallowed audibly. Her eyes widening as she saw an older man at the door to her room. She recognized him from Ken Foster's funeral and the white collar against his black shirt. This was the base chaplain.
"I'm sorry to interrupt," he said in a kindly voice with a slight accent that Abigail couldn't place.
"Father Mike, it's good to see you and no, I ain't heading to the confessional any time soon. I think I might even embarrass you if I did that." Kathy smiled and patted the priest on his arm.
"Oh, I've been ministering to soldiers for over thirty years. I don't think even you could shock me, Miss Hansen." He winked at Abigail who was still standing next to her bed. "I have been very remiss in my duties to the civilians of late and I plan to change that. Miss Porter, I'm Father Mike. We've never been properly introduced."
In that instant she recognized him. Not as the base chaplain, but as someone who comforted her several nights ago. "You were here."
"Yes, William asked me to sit with you because he wanted to get Jessica some rest outside the hospital."
"I'm sorry."
"Nonsense. In addition to ministering to the spiritual needs of the people of Terra Nova, I'm also a psychologist." Father Mike smiled warmly. "Post traumatic stress can last for years. I would not be upset with yourself for still having nightmares a week after the event."
Abigail swayed at the realization that only a week passed by. How much has happened outside the infirmary? Her students must be upset. We need to start preparing for the play at the festival. Her mind raced through all the things that should have been happening if she and the kids hadn't almost died.
"Miss Porter," Father Mike said as his arms caught her before she hit the ground.
"Abby!"
"Aunt Abby!"
Will and Jess had arrived just as Abigail almost passed out from the onslaught of concern and anxiety.
Will reacted like he did after the meteor hit. He raced in and nearly pushed the priest aside to lift her into his arms. "Get Doctor Shannon."
"No, Will. No." Abigail squirmed as best as she could. "I am not staying here again."
"You're obviously too weak…"
"I want to go home," she said, her face reddened but she tried to ignore it and funnel her annoyance to the man holding her cradled in his arms.
"Did I miss the wedding ceremony?" Kathy said from the doorway.
"She fainted." Will turned to look at the nurse with panic on his face.
"Put her back on the bed." Kathy was all business as she came back into the room.
"No. I want to go home. Will can carry me there for all I care, but I don't want to stay here any longer," Abigail cried as she slipped her arm around Will's neck. If he wants to carry me around, he can at least bring me where I want to go.
Abigail regretted her words when they pulled up to her new house, which was two blocks from the old one and across the street from the Shannons. She had no idea that Will and Jess had gone to the trouble of having a small gathering to welcome her home. Most of her class and their parents were there, not to mention Wash, the Shannons and Malcolm.
When Will parked the rover, Jess hopped out and ran to see the Devlins. Will walked around the rover, announcing to everyone that Abby got tired often and shouldn't exert herself.
Abby found herself sucking in a soft, startled breath when Will simply reached into the rover and picked her up in his arms. Effortlessly, like the day they met at the portal when he carried her second backpack.
"Will!" Abby protested, twisting as he lifted her into the air and against his body in one fluid motion. "What are you doing?"
"Abby, stop squirming," he ordered, shifting her easily until she was cradled securely against him. He wasn't even breathing hard.
"Put me down, Will!" she shrieked, as she shoved against his chest.
Her irritation grew as she realized that not only did Will not even budge when she shoved at his chest, he didn't so much as acknowledge that she'd done it. It was like shoving at a warm, sleek, solid wall.
Most people thought it was very sweet. Abigail found it humiliating to be carried over the threshold of her new house.
As she sat on the couch talking with Josh about what had been going on since Brooke took over Abby's class, she felt content. The colors used on the walls made the house feel welcoming. Flowers were all over the inside of the house and covered the porch. The vibrant colors were soothing after the sterile colors of the hospital. The Devlins had also started a small garden in the back and showed Jess how to tend it. This place feels like a home.
"All right, missy," Kathy's voice rang out. "Time for you to get some rest. Everyone will clean up so don't worry your pretty little head."
Abigail couldn't help but smile at her new friend. The nurse was a force to be reckoned with. Nodding, Abigail started to get up only to find herself scooped off her feet.
Her calves and the back of her knees, slid over Will's muscular forearm, his other arm gently curved around her wounded shoulder, hooking underneath her arm and pulling her up against him. One huge hand molded against her ribs. Will's chest and abdomen were a support of solid muscle against her side.
"Not again," she muttered as she felt her face flame.
"I could get used to this," he mumbled with laughter in his voice. "At least I can make sure you go where I want you to go."
Once they arrived in Abigail's bedroom, she had to admit she was very sleepy. Kathy had taken out the blue nightgown and set it on the bed.
"So, Carter, what do you know about dislocated shoulders?" The red-headed nurse stood before them.
Will gently set her feet on the floor and kept an arm around her waist to make sure she didn't fall. His attention to her every move was both unsettling and heartwarming. Because she had nothing to compare it too, it unsettled her; at the same time he made her want to do nothing more than curl up in his arms and never leave.
"I've had 'em and I've given 'em," he replied with a smirk.
"Since you've had one I bet you remember how much it hurts when you move it." Kathy said as she raised an eyebrow.
"Oh yeah. I had to carry about one-hundred-and-seventy pounds on my back with one," Will explained.
"What?" Abigail asked, concern once again for Will taking control. "Who were you carrying?"
"A buddy and I were the only ones to survive a blast that took out our caravan. I had to carry him about twenty clicks in Somalia over ten years ago. He took a piece of shrapnel in the gut." Will spoke matter-of-factly as he looked down at her.
"That's incredibly heroic," Kathy replied.
"Did your buddy make it?" Abby asked, fearful of the response.
"Yup. He left the military after that, married a woman I introduced him to and I imagine they are living the good life in a dome in California."
"A dome?" Kathy asked.
"His girlfriend was in medical school," Will explained. "I'm sure they've got two kids and doing the best they can in 2149."
"That was very heroic," Abigail replied. Pride in Will's accomplishments making her smile.
"Thanks. I guess it takes a hero to know one." Will couldn't help but smile back.
"I am seriously going to toss my dinner," Kathy said. "Now, back to Abigail's injury."
Will got serious as he looked at the white sling that immobilized Abby's arm to her side. It made him feel like he'd been punched in the gut every time he noticed how pale she was, saw the faint bruises on her face and, of course, looked at that sling. "It keeps her arm immobile and she should wear it all the time for the next two weeks before we try to take it off."
"I'm glad you paid attention." Kathy turned and took something off the counter. "Here are some pain meds that she should take every six hours."
"No," Abby's stated.
"Honey, I don't care if you don't like them. They're going to make you feel better once the medicine we'd had in your IV runs out." Kathy shook the container in front of Abby.
Will knew how she felt. He doubted he'd ever be able to take pills again after what happened with the last ones. "I'll make sure she takes them when she needs them."
"No."
Will looked at her and noted the rigid posture and how her eyes were tearing up. "Abby, what's…" He stopped talking when her big eyes looked up at him, pleading for him to understand. "That bastard. He drugged you didn't he?"
She only nodded and closed her eyes, letting a tear trickle out.
Will pulled her against him. His eyes connected with Kathy's, noticing a murderous rage pass over the nurse's face.
"You're going to kill that son-of-a-bitch. Right? Not capture and imprison?"
Before Will could respond, Abby scolded Kathy.
"I'm not the one harming him so I'm not violating my code of ethics," Kathy replied. "I seriously wish I'd stabbed the bastard when he grabbed my ass."
"What?" Abby cried.
"No big deal. It happens a lot in my profession. I did get my usual revenge. Sending annoying as hell patients his way. Of course Doctor Shannon seemed to keep him from seeing hardly anybody, but I felt good nonetheless." Kathy turned to pick up the nightgown.
Will looked at Abby, so small in his arms, and pressed a quick kiss to her forehead. He was dying inside to kiss her like he did just a week ago, but something held him back. Stealing that first kiss after only knowing her a few days wasn't the right thing to do. Will knew it then and he definitely knew it now. We need to go slow this time. Passionate kissing is gonna have to wait even if that means I beat the crap out of everyone to get rid of my tension.
"I'll help get Abigail dressed for bed tonight, so you can see how I hold her arm to keep it immobile," Kathy said nonchalantly.
"What?" Will and Abby said at the same time. He felt a shiver run through the woman in his arms and his body responded by drawing blood from his brain and sending it south.
"Come on. I'm not going to be here day in and day out to cater to you. Will is going to be around a lot more than me," Kathy continued. "Besides I'm sure he knows how to undress a woman. I just need to show him how to hold your arm while he does it to you."
"No! Absolutely not," Abby stammered, her face white as a sheet.
Will couldn't help but smile. When Abby noticed it she stepped out of his hold on her. Laughter came next and it seemed to be the wrong thing. Abby hit him… hard on the arm. "No need to get violent." He really tried not to laugh but couldn't stop.
Abby continued to back away until she encountered her bed. Her eyes were suddenly filling up with tears. "I don't want anyone to help me. I am not helpless. I'm sick of being weak and helpless!"
Will moved quickly and pulled her back into his arms. This was about a lot more than just him undressing her. "Shhh. It's okay, sweetheart. You are not weak and helpless. It's okay to have friends help you. It's what they do for each other."
Abigail cried into Will's shirt for some time, clutching him tightly with her good arm. He got them seated on the bed and pulled her onto his lap. Stress from the trauma was going to be taking its toll on her for a long time and Will was going to have to tread lightly so as not to add to it.
As he hugged her, spoke soothing words into her ear and kissed her head softly, his resolve to take their relationship slow cemented itself in his mind. His sweet Abigail didn't even feel confident with having a friend help her. How long could it be before she accepts something more than friendship from me? He sincerely prayed that his love would some day be returned, but he was in for life even if it never was.
Abigail was in the forest alone this time. Weaver and Kyle were chasing her toward the huge dinosaur that nearly tore her rover apart. The jungle flashed by her. The roar of the dinosaur was in front of her and their voices called after her.
She burst into a clearing and saw the dinosaur with something in its hands, Will Carter's body. A scream burst from her chest and echoed through the forest.
"Will!"
"I'm here. Abby, it's okay. I'm here," he said as his arms engulfed her.
Abigail sobbed and slid her arm around him. Something was different and she opened her eyes quickly. Her hand, face and body were pressed against naked flesh. Will didn't have a shirt on.
Her room was dimly lit and her bedside clock showed it being 2:30am. She had slept for at least four hours. I never sleep more than four hours.
"I barely sleep that long anymore myself," Will replied.
"D-did I… I didn't know I s-said it," Abby stammered. Her face pressed against his warm chest, wet from her tears.
"You do need your rest. That's the only way you'll get better." Will rubbed soothing circles on her back.
The silky material of the nightgown felt incredibly soft on her back. His touch was soothing. Her eyes fluttered closed and the sound of his heartbeat, strong and steady under her ear, provided a constant reminder that Will was alive and with her.
A tear trickled out of her eye as she realized this is where she wanted to be. To sleep in Will Carter's arms every night would probably scare all my bad dreams away.
"Don't cry sweetheart," Will mumbled against the top of her head.
"I'm sorry. I can't sleep on my back. I always sleep on my side," Abigail explained. It was only part of the truth. The rest was that she was assaulted by nightmarish images when she closed her eyes.
"And you've got no support for your shoulder if you sleep on your side," Will completed.
Kathy had bowed to Abigail's pleas and let Will leave before she helped her change. Maybe tomorrow Will has to help me, but I don't want to think about it tonight.
"You were eavesdropping," she mumbled as sleep beckoned her. Cocooned in Will's arms nothing haunted her sleep.
"I like to sleep on my side too and I've had several dislocated shoulders," his voice scolded, but there was humor underlying his tone.
"Mhm," she muttered, realizing that his voice also had a soothing quality.
"Let's try something." Will shifted and Abigail found herself being moved away from his warmth.
"No," she moaned.
"I'm not leaving," he said, his dopey grin evident in his tone of voice.
"Good," she muttered as she let his strong and capable hands position her on her left side. A hiss of pain escaped her lips as her right shoulder started to move.
"I've got you," Will's voice was close to her ear and her bed sagged as he slid in behind her. "I'm sorry it hurt for a second, sweetheart."
"Will," she gasped as her entire back was pressed against the wide expanse of his chest. Her bare legs brushed against his, which were as warm as the rest of him and covered with a dusting of hair.
"Just lean against me. I'll hold your shoulder up."
His arms slid around her waist. Will Carter dominated her senses: touch, sound and smell. Her sleepy mind wished that taste and sight could be filled with Will Carter as well.
"Just relax. I'm not going to hurt you," he continued to speak in that low, soothing voice that calmed her during her first encounters with dinosaurs in Terra Nova. "You're safe. Close your eyes and concentrate on my voice. The sound of my breathing." He inhaled and exhaled near her ear. Just as on that first day when he held her as she found courage not to scream at the site of the brachiosaurus outside her porch, her heartbeat and breathing fell into rhythm with his.
As Abigail fell off into sleep she imagined that Will told her he loved her, that he kissed her gently just to the right of her lips. A smile spread over her face and she snuggled closer. A hiss like pain came from Will, but Abigail finally fell into a deep sleep that she wouldn't wake from for at least ten hours.
TBC
A/N: Be sure to check out Confessions are Good for the Soul by NurseKelly. It's a 'missing scene' from an earlier chapter of this story. I think this is the greatest compliment I could get. My own fan fiction story of my OC characters! I seriously don't know why some authors are so uptight about people using their characters. While a Will/Mark Slash would never appeal to me. I would get a helluva laugh out of it ;-) Thank you, NurseKelly, for making me feel like a real author!