Disclaimer: I don't own 'em or anything… Please don't sue me anybody
Author's note: I wasn't originally planning on doing any more than the two parts that I had, but then I decided to. So I hope you enjoy them, and please tell me what you think, good or bad. Thanks!
Carter Can Have You (Part III)
Abby pushed open the door to the lounge and collapsed into the first chair she saw. After another midnight shift that seemed years long, she was finally off, and was so tired she was afraid she'd fall asleep if her eyes closed for longer than a blink.
As her mind wandered into nowhere, she subconsciously heard the door open but didn't look up. When she heard his voice, it startled her into reality.
"Hey, Abby," she heard Carter say.
"Hi, Carter," Abby replied, looking up at him sleepily. She wasn't sure how to act. Since that night a few days back, she'd been unsure of how it would be between them. Surprisingly, she'd found that things hadn't changed much. After all, all they'd done at his apartment was kiss a little… then it kinda got stopped, and they'd both said they had to get to bed or something. She still didn't understand how that all had happened. But she did leave, he put her in a cab to go home, and that was that.
So now it was back to normal between them. Friends, but almost more. Friends, but one, or maybe both (she still didn't know how she truly felt), of them wanted to be more.
"I just got off," Carter said as he opened his locker. "You wanna get a coffee or something?" He hung up his white coat and took out his jacket.
"Sure," she replied. Thankfully, the weather was surprisingly warm. She pulled herself up and put on her coat before walking out of the hospital with Carter.
They, of course, walked across to Doc Magoo's and got two large black coffees to go. They began to walk around and soon Abby felt much more awake.
"So, did you talk to Luka today?" Carter asked her. "About the fish tank or anything?"
Abby laughed. "No, thank God. I barely saw him all day, and when I did, neither of us really talked."
Carter nodded in understanding. By this time in their walking, they'd come to a 24-hour gas station. In the big glass window, all that was visible was a giant slurpy machine.
Abby saw Carter's eyes light up. "Screw coffee!" he exclaimed, tossing his cup into a trash bin. "I want a slurpy!" He grabbed her by the arm and pulled her into the store.
Abby laughed and let herself be dragged through the automatic door. Carter grabbed a plastic cup and put it under the nozzle.
"Now, how do you suppose this thing works?" he asked her. His brow was furrowed and he was giving the slurpy machine a concentrated look.
"You know, Carter, I really wouldn't know," she said, smiling.
"Really?" he asked, surprised. "No experience with slurpy machines?"
"Nope." She shook her head.
"Wow. You don't know what you're missing! If only this thing would work…" he slapped it gently on the side. Suddenly the slurpy mixture started pouring out of the machine. "Great!" he said. "That's what I'm talking about!"
"Um, Carter," Abby began, "that's going a little fast, isn't it?"
"Nahhh, it's fine," he replied. But when the machine kept pouring out the drink and would not turn off after the cup was full, Carter got a little worried.
Abby could not stop laughing as Carter frantically tried everything to shut the machine off. The slurpy was now all over the floor and the clerk behind the counter was totally oblivious. With a hand over her mouth to stifle laughter, Abby, tiptoeing, pulled Carter by the arm away from the spurting machine and back out the door.
By the time they were far enough away from the store, they collapsed on a bench in laughter.
"That's the last time you get to decide what we eat," Abby said as soon as she had enough breath to speak.
"Okay, okay, you're right," he replied acquiescently. They both rose and started walking in the direction of Abby's apartment building as they chatted amicably.
"You working tomorrow?" Carter asked Abby.
She groaned. "Yeah, Weaver's got me on till midnight again tomorrow."
"Really? Me too," he informed her as they entered Abby's building. "We should… hang out after we're both done."
She sensed some embarrassment in his voice, but when she turned to face him, he looked back at her with the steady gaze that made her heart pound. "Yeah," she agreed. They'd reached her door and Abby stopped.
"You wanna come in? Have a cup of coffee?" she asked him, fumbling for her keys and trying to appear nonchalant.
"Well, I should get home, I gotta be back at work in seven hours," he said.
"Okay," she said, unable to repress the feeling of disappointment. "Right. Me too. Um… good night, then."
"Night, Abby," he said, and the next thing she could hear were his footsteps on the stairs.
