Dave and Abby exited the theater, hand in hand. "That was pretty cool, Abby. Thanks for taking me."
"Dave, I wasn't doing you a favor. Geesh." She grinned at him anyway and held his hand a little tighter.
"You know what I mean. I had fun with you tonight."
"Me too. What did you think of it...besides that it was cool."
"The music was great, a little depressing though."
"Yeah, but it has a happy ending." She smiled contently until he stopped and turned to her.
"What? You call that happy, Abby?"
"Dave, she woke up!"
"Abby, they're dying. I mean, you're a nurse, a med student...a super-nurse. You know you can't beat AIDS."
"Fine, squash my happy ending." She jokingly put her hands on her hips, then took them away to hold his hand again.
"Sorry, force of habit." He mumbled. At her questioning look, he quickly changed the subject. "Want some ice cream, coffee, dessert? I know a good cafe near here..."
"Sure Dave. Lead the way!" She sensed his obvious discomfort and followed him around the corner and three blocks to the cozy outdoor cafe. They sat together and ordered coffees and ice cream. Despite the cold weather they'd been having lately, the night was comparably warm. And a little warmth in the early spring called for a celebration with ice cream. At least in Chicago it did.
They scanned the neighboring tables quickly. There were a few other couples there, many around their ages, one older, as well as a large group of teenagers laughing in a corner. But they were both immediately drawn to the happy family sitting to their left. They had an infant who was asleep in a carrier, a girl who looked around 5, and a boy who might have been anywhere between 7 and 10. It was hard to tell. The mother and father were sitting on one side of the table with the infant's carrier resting on an empty chair, and the other kids were each tackling mounds of ice cream too big for them to even finish one if they shared it. Abby sighed and turned away from them, looking towards Dave, who had sat next to her instead of across the table.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing, it's just...sorta hurts to look at them. I don't want to get into it, but..."
"We don't exactly have model families, do we." Dave smiled, but as the memories came flooding back, his grin faded quickly.
"I know *I* don't. What about you?"
"Not a happy family, no. Your mom, right?"
"That was most of it...the cause of it. My dad leaving didn't help things, nor did my having to take care of Eric and Mom. But...we just weren't happy. We didn't have 2.5 kids and a dog, living in the suburbs with a mom and dad. We were..dysfunctional at best. So, no perfect family with you? What was it?"
"My dad, but I...don't talk about it a lot." He looked down at his hands, which he had folded nervously on his lap.
"I noticed. I take it you don't care to? I mean, you never answered my question. At lunch. About the abuse."
"I kinda hoped you wouldn't notice." He had brushed aside all questions about his past during their shortened lunch. Before that stupid biker...He sighed and looked at her.
Abby placed an arm on Dave's shoulder. "But I did, didn't I? Come on, you know all about Maggie...I won't tell."
"I..." Dave stopped speaking when the waitress arrived with the coffee and ice cream, and refused to speak until she left. He looked at Abby for a moment before deciding to continue. He saw a look on her face of understanding, the look that only some kind of abuse could cause. Abuse made kids grow up too fast. In Abby's case, it was neglect. In Dave's...it was much different. "My dad hit me a little, but that wasn't so bad, really. It was just a smack across the face for talking back, or a spanking for a bad grade school report card. Nothing major. Not like what everyone must think."
"Dave, no one knows what to think. You never say anything. But I won't tell them if you want to keep it private."
"I'd rather you didn't tell. But anyway...my dad yelled at me. He insulted me, called me worthless and all that. He drank a little, but not all the time, there were good weeks and bad. On the good, he was the best dad anyone could ask for. But those were few and far between. My mom was scared, of course. He never hit her, but he was rude when he drank, he would scream and curse...in a way, it was worse than the hitting. He only beat me up once. And I know everyone says once is one time too many and all those crap mottoes. But I just...I talked back, I started it. And that doesn't mean he was right, but I knew better. I worried after that about Mom, but he never hit her. Ever. And I didn't tell my mom about the real beating, I lied to her like I lied to the doctors. I don't know why I protected the SOB, but I did. And now...I guess I'm fine. I just hate abuse, and I think of all the kids who get hit like I did that once...all the time. Just makes me mad is all." He leaned back in his chair a little, sighing with relief that he had finally said something to someone. He hadn't meant for it all to come out, but once he started talking, he couldn't stop himself. He looked at Abby, wondering what was going through her mind. She only stared back at him, wondering what had made him tell her everything.
"Those kids should be in bed anyway, it's late." She shifted nervously.
"What the...oh, them. Yeah. Sure." He looked away and moved out from under her arm.
"Dave, I'm sorry, I just...I don't know what to say to you. I don't discuss my emotions, remember? I'm not exactly miss communication over here. It's why Luka and I broke up. I just...I'm sorry."
"Yeah, yeah...sure. I just...nevermind."
"Dave..."
"Forget it, Abby. I shouldn't have...forget it."
"Dave, I'm sorry! I just can't...I can't believe this is happening to me again. First Luka, now you...this is too damn much."
"What are you talking about, Abby?"
"I never should have tried this. I was stupid to think that I could act like a normal girlfriend. I just thought maybe it would be different with you."
Dave stared at her as she got up and placed her napkin on the table. He had been upset, yes, but he still wanted her. He had wanted her for a while, but it was different now. Couldn't she see that he was in love with her? If she walked out...Dave could never let himself fall in love again. It hurt too much. *Well Davey, I was right. All love ends in pain.* His father's voice echoed inside his head and he tried desperately to fight it, knowing that if he thought like his father...he would never get her back.
"Abby. Don't go."
"I think I have to. I can't fool myself anymore, and I can't try to fool you. I'm no good at this stuff."
"That's what I thought too, but just look! I mean..."
"I have to, Dave. I'm sorry. I...goodbye, Dave. I love you." She walked away, knowing she shouldn't have added that, knowing she had hurt him more than she could imagine. She felt trapped, scared, the way love and emotions had a way of making her feel. It was all Maggie's fault, her dad's fault. It was her fault for not getting help, but asking for help would have meant talking. And she couldn't do that. The night had seemed warm, but it was getting colder, and she wasn't dressed for the cold. She wrapped her arms around her body as she walked to her apartment, dreading the feeling she knew would come when she opened the door and saw the empty apartment.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Abby sat on the couch, too exhausted to move but too anxious to sleep. She'd just thrown away the best thing she had going for her in a long time. And she had no idea exactly why she felt like she had to.
~*~*~*~*~
Dave sat at the little table, unable to move or speak. The family had left, the kids nodding off as they sleepily piled into a minivan, despite the amount of sugar they had just consumed. The waitress had asked him repeatedly if he wanted anything else, and had called over the manager when he didn't speak. When asked if he was ok, he nodded and pointed to his coffee cup, which they quickly refilled and left him alone to drink. The manager came over and told him they were closing, and that he'd have to leave. He nodded and placed a twenty on the table, ignoring the waitress' remarks that the bill was only $8.40. He was too numb to care as he walked in the suddenly freezing night air to his apartment.
~*~*~*~*~
Abby's eyes fell on the yellow rose in her favorite glass vase. She ran her fingers over the stem and tears came to her eyes. *What did I do?* She shook her head and hesitantly picked up the phone, dialing the unfamiliar number. He wasn't home, which led her to wonder where he'd gone. Her worries were cut short by the loud beep of his answering machine.
"Dave, it's Abby. We need to talk..."
~~~~~<~~~~~~~<~~~~~@
Thanks to The She Devil, for R/R and the rose, of course, Ash for R/R and helping, Mandi of course, Liz(luka lover) for R/R, and everyone else who reviewed, they were just the most frequent. My friends, this has been a fun fic to write, and I hope it's been fun to read, please review this last chapter. Thanks for taking the time to R/R!~~~Athena