The Man Who Holds Her Heart
Part I: The Message
Author: dougandcarol22 (gigglgrl26@hotmail.com )
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters used in this story. They belong to Michael Critchton, Warner Brothers, NBC, Amblin Productions and I'm sure a bunch more people who I forgot, sorry in advance. But just to tell you all Christmas is right around the corner… and you know that sure would make my day!
Spoilers: I guess up through Season 7… nothing big I can think of, but there may be some general references. The events in Rampage (i.e. the Carter/Abby "discussion") never took place. Basically… Where the Heart Is, is the last episode that applies.
Archive: Contact me, gigglgrl26@hotmail.com … odds are I'll say yes but I do want to know where this goes.
a memory will be enclosed in these bracket things
*~~~~~~~* Indicates some sort of scene change.
And now… ladies and gentlemen what we've all been waiting for….
___________________________________________________
A lone couple walked together, across the cemetery, snow swirling around their heads. They were both dressed for the weather, him in a long black coat with a brown knit scarf around his head, and thick leather gloves adorning his hands. She wore a black parka, with red fleece gloves, a black fleece hat, and a similar red fleece scarf. In her hand, she tightly clutched a small stuffed bear, its brown fur marred with white snow. The man had his arm wrapped protectively around her, and she leaned wholeheartedly into his embrace.
Upon closer inspection, one would observe the solemn empty looks the couple wore. Her face was bathed in the pasty whiteness that comes with the pain of losing someone close to you. And her eyes, red-rimmed from crying, were glued to the ground, minding where she stepped. The rosy color of his cheeks revealed that they'd been out in the cold long enough to be fully chilled to the bone. But while they both looked so saddened, there was an unspoken bond between them, a bond created by the love that they shared together. To observe their body language, which spoke volumes about who they were, and see the way their bodies melted together like pieces of a puzzle, it was enough to notice and admire their intense love for each other.
With the snow still falling fiercely around them, she leaned down and brushed the snow off of a headstone, setting the bear down at the base. For just a moment a look of peace and warmth came over her face and she spoke, her voice soft and shaky but filled with the cheery warmth of love, "Hello Luke."
*~~~~~*
Three Years Earlier…
"Hi You've reached Abby, I'm not home right now but if you leave your name, number, and a short message I'll get back to you as soon as I can. Thanks." "Beep."
At the door to the apartment, a key slid into a lock and it began to turn.
A tired voice, void of any emotion, came onto the machine, it's owner obviously of foreign origin.
Abby struggled into the room trying not to drop the grocery bags precariously balanced in her arms. She heard his voice on the machine and made a beeline for the phone, "Luka…wait, "she willed him.
"Hello." She picked up the phone and was greeted by the chirp of the dial tone followed by silence.
"Damn." Lifting the groceries from their fallen spot on the floor, Abby walked into the kitchen and hit the button on the answering machine.
"You have 3 new messages," the mechanical voice confirmed. A buzzing filled the room as the tape forwarded to the first message.
Beep. "Hey Abby, it's Eric. Just wondering how you're doing, uhhh… I'll call you later. Buh Bye." She smiled. Eric was so sweet, checking up on her like that. The machine finished that message telling her he'd called that morning around 10:00 a.m., when she'd been out doing laundry. The next message came on.
"Ms. Lockhart, this is your landlord, I'm calling to remind you that your rent is due in three days. I will be coming by your apartment around 11:30 a.m. that day. Please be home and if you are not, kindly leave the envelope in my mailbox before that time. Oh… and I was wondering if you'd like to go get some dinner later tonight, I'll pick you up around 8? "
Abby shook her head in disgust, Paul, her 55 year old, 250 Lb. landlord, had been hitting on her since she'd moved in. He couldn't seem to get the idea that she was in a relationship with Luka, though she'd told him on countless occasions. As the next message began she instantly recognized the voice as Luka's, though he sounded, well, off.
Beep. "Abby… I…I need to talk to you, I…I just …I can't see you …I can't watch the expression on your face. Abby…" a shuddering sob overtook his voice as struggled to continue, "I can't see you anymore, it's over, you and me, it's…over…I'm going away…don't try to find me, its too hard. Something has come up and… we can't be together…good luck, Abby… I'll always love you…Goodbye."
Her mouth stood open in shock. Leaving? Where? Her hands began to shake and she pushed the button again, hoping she'd heard wrong. As tears began to stream down her face she listened, confirming her worst fear. They were over. She knew they'd been having problems lately, but she hoped they could be worked out. Unable to stand on her own two feet any longer, she fell to the floor collapsing in a growing puddle of tears. She faintly heard the phone ringing and took a deep shaky breath before hitting the 'talk' button.
"Hello."
"Abby…it's Carter. I was wondering…," He paused as he heard her take another shuddering breath. "Hey …are you okay."
"Yeah," she whispered, "No…."
"What's wrong?"
"Luka…"she cried, her voice breaking mid-sentence.
"Abby … Abby…" the sound of her crying punctuated his sentence. "Abby, I'm coming over."
"No. I'll be okay."
"You're obviously not okay... I'll see you soon."
"John no..." But he'd already hung up. With a defeated sigh she too hung up, pressing the off button on the phone.
As she set the phone down on the floor a memory came to her of a conversation she'd had with Luka only about a week ago. ….
*~~~~~~~~~~~*
A soft knock on the door brought her out of her memory.
"Abby… are you in there?" called Carter. He heard a thump and then footsteps pad softly across the room. A short fumbling and the door creaked open. Afraid to speak so soon after her breakdown, Abby motioned him into the apartment.
"Hey, "he said putting an arm around her shoulders and leading her to the couch to sit down. "What happened?"
"Oh…." She took a deep breath to compose herself before continuing, "I … I came home after my shift at the hospital. I was really tired, because I'd just pulled a double. I didn't want to, but Lydia called in sick and we were already short on nurses. Weaver asked me…no more like told me to take another shift. Luka was supposed to be here when I got home. I … we'd been on the night shift together the night before, and were on our way home when Weaver told me to stay. See, Luka and I had planned to have an early breakfast at my place, he was gonna cook and then…" Abby shot John a look that said, "you know what we planned on next." While John grinned momentarily, she continued. "I told Luka that I needed to cover an extra shift, he seemed upset but not angry at me. Anyway, I told him to go to my place and sleep there, that I'd see him later that afternoon when my shift ended, which was supposed to be around 2:00. Kerry had found someone else to cover the rest of Lydia's shift. He agreed, we kissed and he left. When I got home from work finally about an hour ago, I checked my messages and there was one from Luka. He said that he was leaving Chicago and we were over."
"Oh Abby, I'm sorry."
"Yeah." Tears streamed down her checks like a slow rain shower, the type that's not too heavy but lasts for hours and hours. Embarrassed, she frantically tried to wipe them away, as more and more steadily fell.
"I hate crying, " Abby declared, her voice breaking. John looked at her sympathetically and took her into his arms to calm down.
"I'm so sorry, Carter, you shouldn't have to see me like this. It's just that, I never expected this. I mean, it didn't take a fool to see that we were having problems but I thought we'd work them out and everything was gonna be okay. Now it's over and I have yet another item to add to my list of failures."
"Everything is gonna be okay, Abby. I'm gonna help you through this. It's gonna be okay."
Violently, she shook her head, and spoke, her voice bitter and sarcastic, "It most certainly is not okay, I…I … I think I'm pregnant with his child, John."
*~~~~~~~~~~*
The End of Part One
What do you think, should I continue? You tell me, send feedback, comments/suggestions, flames, encouragement, flowers, tombstone messages, etc… to gigglgrl26@hotmail.com.
Part I: The Message
Author: dougandcarol22 (gigglgrl26@hotmail.com )
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters used in this story. They belong to Michael Critchton, Warner Brothers, NBC, Amblin Productions and I'm sure a bunch more people who I forgot, sorry in advance. But just to tell you all Christmas is right around the corner… and you know that sure would make my day!
Spoilers: I guess up through Season 7… nothing big I can think of, but there may be some general references. The events in Rampage (i.e. the Carter/Abby "discussion") never took place. Basically… Where the Heart Is, is the last episode that applies.
Archive: Contact me, gigglgrl26@hotmail.com … odds are I'll say yes but I do want to know where this goes.
a memory will be enclosed in these bracket things
*~~~~~~~* Indicates some sort of scene change.
And now… ladies and gentlemen what we've all been waiting for….
___________________________________________________
A lone couple walked together, across the cemetery, snow swirling around their heads. They were both dressed for the weather, him in a long black coat with a brown knit scarf around his head, and thick leather gloves adorning his hands. She wore a black parka, with red fleece gloves, a black fleece hat, and a similar red fleece scarf. In her hand, she tightly clutched a small stuffed bear, its brown fur marred with white snow. The man had his arm wrapped protectively around her, and she leaned wholeheartedly into his embrace.
Upon closer inspection, one would observe the solemn empty looks the couple wore. Her face was bathed in the pasty whiteness that comes with the pain of losing someone close to you. And her eyes, red-rimmed from crying, were glued to the ground, minding where she stepped. The rosy color of his cheeks revealed that they'd been out in the cold long enough to be fully chilled to the bone. But while they both looked so saddened, there was an unspoken bond between them, a bond created by the love that they shared together. To observe their body language, which spoke volumes about who they were, and see the way their bodies melted together like pieces of a puzzle, it was enough to notice and admire their intense love for each other.
With the snow still falling fiercely around them, she leaned down and brushed the snow off of a headstone, setting the bear down at the base. For just a moment a look of peace and warmth came over her face and she spoke, her voice soft and shaky but filled with the cheery warmth of love, "Hello Luke."
*~~~~~*
Three Years Earlier…
"Hi You've reached Abby, I'm not home right now but if you leave your name, number, and a short message I'll get back to you as soon as I can. Thanks." "Beep."
At the door to the apartment, a key slid into a lock and it began to turn.
A tired voice, void of any emotion, came onto the machine, it's owner obviously of foreign origin.
Abby struggled into the room trying not to drop the grocery bags precariously balanced in her arms. She heard his voice on the machine and made a beeline for the phone, "Luka…wait, "she willed him.
"Hello." She picked up the phone and was greeted by the chirp of the dial tone followed by silence.
"Damn." Lifting the groceries from their fallen spot on the floor, Abby walked into the kitchen and hit the button on the answering machine.
"You have 3 new messages," the mechanical voice confirmed. A buzzing filled the room as the tape forwarded to the first message.
Beep. "Hey Abby, it's Eric. Just wondering how you're doing, uhhh… I'll call you later. Buh Bye." She smiled. Eric was so sweet, checking up on her like that. The machine finished that message telling her he'd called that morning around 10:00 a.m., when she'd been out doing laundry. The next message came on.
"Ms. Lockhart, this is your landlord, I'm calling to remind you that your rent is due in three days. I will be coming by your apartment around 11:30 a.m. that day. Please be home and if you are not, kindly leave the envelope in my mailbox before that time. Oh… and I was wondering if you'd like to go get some dinner later tonight, I'll pick you up around 8? "
Abby shook her head in disgust, Paul, her 55 year old, 250 Lb. landlord, had been hitting on her since she'd moved in. He couldn't seem to get the idea that she was in a relationship with Luka, though she'd told him on countless occasions. As the next message began she instantly recognized the voice as Luka's, though he sounded, well, off.
Beep. "Abby… I…I need to talk to you, I…I just …I can't see you …I can't watch the expression on your face. Abby…" a shuddering sob overtook his voice as struggled to continue, "I can't see you anymore, it's over, you and me, it's…over…I'm going away…don't try to find me, its too hard. Something has come up and… we can't be together…good luck, Abby… I'll always love you…Goodbye."
Her mouth stood open in shock. Leaving? Where? Her hands began to shake and she pushed the button again, hoping she'd heard wrong. As tears began to stream down her face she listened, confirming her worst fear. They were over. She knew they'd been having problems lately, but she hoped they could be worked out. Unable to stand on her own two feet any longer, she fell to the floor collapsing in a growing puddle of tears. She faintly heard the phone ringing and took a deep shaky breath before hitting the 'talk' button.
"Hello."
"Abby…it's Carter. I was wondering…," He paused as he heard her take another shuddering breath. "Hey …are you okay."
"Yeah," she whispered, "No…."
"What's wrong?"
"Luka…"she cried, her voice breaking mid-sentence.
"Abby … Abby…" the sound of her crying punctuated his sentence. "Abby, I'm coming over."
"No. I'll be okay."
"You're obviously not okay... I'll see you soon."
"John no..." But he'd already hung up. With a defeated sigh she too hung up, pressing the off button on the phone.
As she set the phone down on the floor a memory came to her of a conversation she'd had with Luka only about a week ago. ….
*~~~~~~~~~~~*
A soft knock on the door brought her out of her memory.
"Abby… are you in there?" called Carter. He heard a thump and then footsteps pad softly across the room. A short fumbling and the door creaked open. Afraid to speak so soon after her breakdown, Abby motioned him into the apartment.
"Hey, "he said putting an arm around her shoulders and leading her to the couch to sit down. "What happened?"
"Oh…." She took a deep breath to compose herself before continuing, "I … I came home after my shift at the hospital. I was really tired, because I'd just pulled a double. I didn't want to, but Lydia called in sick and we were already short on nurses. Weaver asked me…no more like told me to take another shift. Luka was supposed to be here when I got home. I … we'd been on the night shift together the night before, and were on our way home when Weaver told me to stay. See, Luka and I had planned to have an early breakfast at my place, he was gonna cook and then…" Abby shot John a look that said, "you know what we planned on next." While John grinned momentarily, she continued. "I told Luka that I needed to cover an extra shift, he seemed upset but not angry at me. Anyway, I told him to go to my place and sleep there, that I'd see him later that afternoon when my shift ended, which was supposed to be around 2:00. Kerry had found someone else to cover the rest of Lydia's shift. He agreed, we kissed and he left. When I got home from work finally about an hour ago, I checked my messages and there was one from Luka. He said that he was leaving Chicago and we were over."
"Oh Abby, I'm sorry."
"Yeah." Tears streamed down her checks like a slow rain shower, the type that's not too heavy but lasts for hours and hours. Embarrassed, she frantically tried to wipe them away, as more and more steadily fell.
"I hate crying, " Abby declared, her voice breaking. John looked at her sympathetically and took her into his arms to calm down.
"I'm so sorry, Carter, you shouldn't have to see me like this. It's just that, I never expected this. I mean, it didn't take a fool to see that we were having problems but I thought we'd work them out and everything was gonna be okay. Now it's over and I have yet another item to add to my list of failures."
"Everything is gonna be okay, Abby. I'm gonna help you through this. It's gonna be okay."
Violently, she shook her head, and spoke, her voice bitter and sarcastic, "It most certainly is not okay, I…I … I think I'm pregnant with his child, John."
*~~~~~~~~~~*
The End of Part One
What do you think, should I continue? You tell me, send feedback, comments/suggestions, flames, encouragement, flowers, tombstone messages, etc… to gigglgrl26@hotmail.com.
