So, I was personally was a little disappointed with that last chapter. I
think there may be a thing as too much fluff and I think I made Luka
uncharacteristically stupid and mean (even for Luka), so I'm going to try
to be a little more realistic with this chapter. Also, I know so far this
fic has been angst-free, but angst is the basis of Carby. It's all about
how they push each other's buttons and stuff so I think I'm gonna put in
just a tiny little bit on angst. Nothing too depressing, but enough to get
these characters ticking again. Never fear though, I would never ruin
this wonderful relationship! Enjoy!
Abby woke with a start. She was sure she had heard someone or something banging around in her kitchen. After Brian had attacked her, she was always a little on edge when she was alone at night in her apartment. Abby remembered that John was there, though, and breathed a sigh of relief. He was probably just getting a glass of water or a snack. She looked at the clock at saw that it read 3 AM. Only three more hours of precious sleep. She settled back against the pillows and was waiting for John to come back to bed when she heard another bang and the clacking of glasses or bottles. What was he doing out there?! Curious and concerned, Abby slipped out of bed and padded along in her bare feet to the kitchen. There was one dim light on in the kitchen and she saw John crouching next to the cabinet under the sink, looking for something.
"What are you looking for?"
Startled at hearing Abby behind him, John quickly popped his head up, succeeding in banging it on the top of the cabinet as he did.
"Shit," he exclaimed in pain. Abby winced upon hearing how hard his head had knocked into the wood.
"Jesus, Abby!" he said, standing up. "You scared the crap out of me!"
"Sorry," she replied. "I though you heard me."
"No," John whined, rubbing his head.
"Do you need an ice pack?" Abby asked with genuine concern, walking towards the freezer.
"No, no, I'll be fine."
"Ok. So what was all that noise anyways?"
"Oh . . . um . . . I was just gonna get some milk," John stammered.
"Under the sink?"
"Uh . . . well . . ."
As John fumbled for words, Abby noticed that a bunch of her other cupboards were opened, and that all sorts of bottles were lined up on her counter.
"John, what's going on?" she asked, her voice becoming a little more agitated.
"Look, Abby, I don't want you getting mad . . ."
"I think it'll be a little late for that, if you don't tell me what you were doing searching through my cabinets at three o'clock in the morning," Abby said, furiously cutting him off.
"Ok, ok!" John said, holding his hand up in defense. "I was looking for . . ."
"For?"
"For beer," John finished quietly.
"What?" Abby asked, laughing bitterly.
"I-I had to be sure."
"Be sure of what?"
"That you were ok. That you weren't still drinking."
"You think I'm still drinking?!"
"No! I didn't say that!"
"It sure sounded that way to me."
"I just wanted to make sure you were ok."
"Well, I'm ok. Ok?" Abby said quickly, turning away as she did.
"Then why did I find a bottle of beer in the back of you refrigerator?" John asked softly.
"You did?"
"Don't play dumb with me, Abby."
"I'm NOT playing dumb. I actually did not know there was a bottle of beer in the fridge."
"You didn't?" John asked sarcastically.
"No."
"So it just magically appeared there?" John asked, holding the culprit bottle in his hands.
"I don't know."
"You don't know," John mocked her. "So it just mysteriously found its way to your refrigerator or – oh wait! I know! Luka must have left it in there! I know you two are buddies!"
"What the HELL is that supposed to mean?!"
Abby was above restraint now. She was yelling at John with full force now and he was yelling just as forcefully back.
"I don't know! Maybe he's trying to get you drunk enough that you'll sleep with him again!"
"Luka and I broke up months ago and-", Abby paused and regained her poise. "You know, I do not have to justify my relationship with him to you. I told you I didn't know that beer was in there. I probably forgot it. I shouldn't even have to explain that to you. I thought you trusted me. I thought I could trust you."
"You CAN trust me," John insisted.
"Then why are you snooping through my things?"
"Because I knew if I asked you, you'd get all defensive like you are now and you'd just completely close off."
"It's better than trying to sneak around behind my back."
"I'm sorry, Abby. It was wrong of me to do that, I realize, b-"
"Oh, I'm so glad you realize that," Abby spat back. "Ya know, this is just like something Luka would do. He was always trying to protect me. Well, you know what, John? I can take care of myself."
"I know that," John said quietly. "I know that and I know everything else about you."
"You don't know anything about me," Abby said bitterly.
"I know more than Luka did. And I want to know more," he said, approaching Abby. "I want to know more. Please, just tell me. I don't want to protect you, I just want to listen to you." He tried to take Abby in his arms, but she immediately tensed up and pushed him back.
"I think you should go now."
"Abby-"
"John – just go," Abby said, holding up a hand and indicating that the conversation was over.
"If that's what you want." John walked towards the bedroom. When he emerged again he had pulled on his jeans and jacket and grabbed his briefcase. He stopped by Abby again.
"You can't push the people who care about you away every time something difficult comes up. We have to talk about this."
"Please, just leave," Abby said, on the verge of tears. John shook his head. He opened the door and walked out with out looking back, slamming the door behind him.
"Do not cry, do not cry, do not cry, do not cry . . . ." Abby repeated over and over again in her head. She wrapped her arms around her body and slowly sunk to the floor. Her body shook with sobs and, finally, the tears began to fall. First one big drop slid down her cheek, followed by another and another until she was just sitting on the white tile floor of her kitchen, crying, all alone in her dark apartment.
The next day at work, everybody seemed to notice that John and Abby were unusually quite. Next to the Fourth of July cheer that enveloped the rest of the staff, it was hard not to notice how sullen John and Abby were.
"What do you think happened?" Yosh asked Jerry.
"Oh they probably just had a fight. It's been two months and this is the first day that have seemed anything less than overjoyed to be around each other."
"Yeah that must be some kind of record," Chuny said.
As Abby walked by the desk en route to see a patient, all eyes followed her. She looked terrible. Her eyes were evidently swollen from crying and she just looked generally down trodden. As soon as she passed by the desk, Carter walked up. He didn't even greet the rest of the staff as he erased a patient's name from the board and picked up a new chart. He had dark circles under his eyes from lack of sleep and looked like he had a terrible weight bearing down on his whole body. He walked away just a silently as he came. As soon as he left, all the nurses went back to gossiping. Susan, who had been listening to all of their musings, stood staring after her friends for a minute. This had obviously been more than a minor disagreement. In all the years she had known Carter, she had never seen looking so defeated. She knew Abby had her fair share of troubles, but she usually lit up around Carter and today she was doing everything possible. Something was definitely wrong and Susan was determined to talk to one of them. She found Abby first, a couple hours later, getting coffee in the lounge.
"What a day, huh?" Susan asked, walking over to the coffeepot. Abby handed her the pot and she poured herself a cup. "You lose a patient?"
"Not today. Why?" Abby asked.
"Oh, you just look really upset over something. I thought maybe you had lost a patient," Susan lied, trying not to be blatantly nosey.
"I think I would have preferred to have lost a patient," Abby said.
"Everything ok?" Susan asked, seating herself at the table. Abby shook her head and turned around to face Susan, leaning on the counter.
"John and I had a fight."
"Evidently."
"Everybody's noticed I guess."
"You could say that. What happened?"
"I don't really want to get into it."
"Fair enough, but Abby, I'm here if you want to talk."
"Thanks, Susan." Susan got up and dumped the rest of her coffee down the drain. She turned to Abby,
"You know what would cheer you up?"
"What?"
"A good old softball game against the paramedics."
"I don't think so," Abby said, retreating towards the door.
"Oh come on. I heard you were the star last year."
"Thanks, Susan, but I think I'll pass."
"You worried Carter's gonna be there?"
Abby sighed,
"Yeah," she admitted.
"Don't worry. I asked him to cover for me so I could play. So, please come and keep me company."
"I don't know . . ."
"Oh come on Abby. A little fresh air will do you good."
"Ok, ok," Abby said laughing. "I'll come for a little bit."
"Good. See you later," Susan said as she walked out the door. Just as she did, she ran into John who came stalking down the hall.
"Oh, Carter. Just the person I was looking for!"
"What's going on, Susan?" John asked impatiently.
"I need a favor."
"Susan, I'm really not in the good Samaritan mood today."
"Look, I know you and Abby are having a rough time at the moment, but I promise this is an easy favor that I'm sure you can handle."
"Ok, what?"
"I need you to take my place at the Fourth of July softball game tonight."
"No thanks," Carter replied as he set off down the hall.
"Please, Carter," Susan said, following him down the hall. "I've already asked everybody else who wasn't playing. I even asked Abby."
John stopped at hearing Abby's name.
"What'd she say?" he demanded.
"She said she'd rather spend the evening feeling sorry for herself with a tub of ice cream and a box of tissues."
"Seriously, Susan."
"I don't know. She said she didn't want to play." This wasn't exactly a lie. Abby had said that she didn't want to play before Susan had convinced her otherwise.
"Why can't you play?"
"I have a date."
"Oh, really?"
"Yeah. He's cute. I'll introduce you sometime. Maybe we can double date with you and Abby," Susan teased, knowing that this would get Carter mad. Hopefully it would get him mad enough to want to take his anger out in a soft ball game. Carter just grumbled.
"Is that a yes? Will you play?"
"Yes, yes, I'll play!"
"Great!" Susan said, walking off in the opposite direction.
"No, I think you'll be the one owing me," she yelled over her shoulder.
"What?" John asked.
"Nothing," Susan said as the she continued down the hall. She smiled to herself. She had never been planning to play softball anyway. She hoped that this intricate planning of her paid off. Well, she'd know when her phone rang and it was either both John and Abby screaming at her or thanking her. She hoped it would be the latter, as she began to hum "Take me out to the ball game."
Stay tuned for the important events of the baseball game!!
Abby woke with a start. She was sure she had heard someone or something banging around in her kitchen. After Brian had attacked her, she was always a little on edge when she was alone at night in her apartment. Abby remembered that John was there, though, and breathed a sigh of relief. He was probably just getting a glass of water or a snack. She looked at the clock at saw that it read 3 AM. Only three more hours of precious sleep. She settled back against the pillows and was waiting for John to come back to bed when she heard another bang and the clacking of glasses or bottles. What was he doing out there?! Curious and concerned, Abby slipped out of bed and padded along in her bare feet to the kitchen. There was one dim light on in the kitchen and she saw John crouching next to the cabinet under the sink, looking for something.
"What are you looking for?"
Startled at hearing Abby behind him, John quickly popped his head up, succeeding in banging it on the top of the cabinet as he did.
"Shit," he exclaimed in pain. Abby winced upon hearing how hard his head had knocked into the wood.
"Jesus, Abby!" he said, standing up. "You scared the crap out of me!"
"Sorry," she replied. "I though you heard me."
"No," John whined, rubbing his head.
"Do you need an ice pack?" Abby asked with genuine concern, walking towards the freezer.
"No, no, I'll be fine."
"Ok. So what was all that noise anyways?"
"Oh . . . um . . . I was just gonna get some milk," John stammered.
"Under the sink?"
"Uh . . . well . . ."
As John fumbled for words, Abby noticed that a bunch of her other cupboards were opened, and that all sorts of bottles were lined up on her counter.
"John, what's going on?" she asked, her voice becoming a little more agitated.
"Look, Abby, I don't want you getting mad . . ."
"I think it'll be a little late for that, if you don't tell me what you were doing searching through my cabinets at three o'clock in the morning," Abby said, furiously cutting him off.
"Ok, ok!" John said, holding his hand up in defense. "I was looking for . . ."
"For?"
"For beer," John finished quietly.
"What?" Abby asked, laughing bitterly.
"I-I had to be sure."
"Be sure of what?"
"That you were ok. That you weren't still drinking."
"You think I'm still drinking?!"
"No! I didn't say that!"
"It sure sounded that way to me."
"I just wanted to make sure you were ok."
"Well, I'm ok. Ok?" Abby said quickly, turning away as she did.
"Then why did I find a bottle of beer in the back of you refrigerator?" John asked softly.
"You did?"
"Don't play dumb with me, Abby."
"I'm NOT playing dumb. I actually did not know there was a bottle of beer in the fridge."
"You didn't?" John asked sarcastically.
"No."
"So it just magically appeared there?" John asked, holding the culprit bottle in his hands.
"I don't know."
"You don't know," John mocked her. "So it just mysteriously found its way to your refrigerator or – oh wait! I know! Luka must have left it in there! I know you two are buddies!"
"What the HELL is that supposed to mean?!"
Abby was above restraint now. She was yelling at John with full force now and he was yelling just as forcefully back.
"I don't know! Maybe he's trying to get you drunk enough that you'll sleep with him again!"
"Luka and I broke up months ago and-", Abby paused and regained her poise. "You know, I do not have to justify my relationship with him to you. I told you I didn't know that beer was in there. I probably forgot it. I shouldn't even have to explain that to you. I thought you trusted me. I thought I could trust you."
"You CAN trust me," John insisted.
"Then why are you snooping through my things?"
"Because I knew if I asked you, you'd get all defensive like you are now and you'd just completely close off."
"It's better than trying to sneak around behind my back."
"I'm sorry, Abby. It was wrong of me to do that, I realize, b-"
"Oh, I'm so glad you realize that," Abby spat back. "Ya know, this is just like something Luka would do. He was always trying to protect me. Well, you know what, John? I can take care of myself."
"I know that," John said quietly. "I know that and I know everything else about you."
"You don't know anything about me," Abby said bitterly.
"I know more than Luka did. And I want to know more," he said, approaching Abby. "I want to know more. Please, just tell me. I don't want to protect you, I just want to listen to you." He tried to take Abby in his arms, but she immediately tensed up and pushed him back.
"I think you should go now."
"Abby-"
"John – just go," Abby said, holding up a hand and indicating that the conversation was over.
"If that's what you want." John walked towards the bedroom. When he emerged again he had pulled on his jeans and jacket and grabbed his briefcase. He stopped by Abby again.
"You can't push the people who care about you away every time something difficult comes up. We have to talk about this."
"Please, just leave," Abby said, on the verge of tears. John shook his head. He opened the door and walked out with out looking back, slamming the door behind him.
"Do not cry, do not cry, do not cry, do not cry . . . ." Abby repeated over and over again in her head. She wrapped her arms around her body and slowly sunk to the floor. Her body shook with sobs and, finally, the tears began to fall. First one big drop slid down her cheek, followed by another and another until she was just sitting on the white tile floor of her kitchen, crying, all alone in her dark apartment.
The next day at work, everybody seemed to notice that John and Abby were unusually quite. Next to the Fourth of July cheer that enveloped the rest of the staff, it was hard not to notice how sullen John and Abby were.
"What do you think happened?" Yosh asked Jerry.
"Oh they probably just had a fight. It's been two months and this is the first day that have seemed anything less than overjoyed to be around each other."
"Yeah that must be some kind of record," Chuny said.
As Abby walked by the desk en route to see a patient, all eyes followed her. She looked terrible. Her eyes were evidently swollen from crying and she just looked generally down trodden. As soon as she passed by the desk, Carter walked up. He didn't even greet the rest of the staff as he erased a patient's name from the board and picked up a new chart. He had dark circles under his eyes from lack of sleep and looked like he had a terrible weight bearing down on his whole body. He walked away just a silently as he came. As soon as he left, all the nurses went back to gossiping. Susan, who had been listening to all of their musings, stood staring after her friends for a minute. This had obviously been more than a minor disagreement. In all the years she had known Carter, she had never seen looking so defeated. She knew Abby had her fair share of troubles, but she usually lit up around Carter and today she was doing everything possible. Something was definitely wrong and Susan was determined to talk to one of them. She found Abby first, a couple hours later, getting coffee in the lounge.
"What a day, huh?" Susan asked, walking over to the coffeepot. Abby handed her the pot and she poured herself a cup. "You lose a patient?"
"Not today. Why?" Abby asked.
"Oh, you just look really upset over something. I thought maybe you had lost a patient," Susan lied, trying not to be blatantly nosey.
"I think I would have preferred to have lost a patient," Abby said.
"Everything ok?" Susan asked, seating herself at the table. Abby shook her head and turned around to face Susan, leaning on the counter.
"John and I had a fight."
"Evidently."
"Everybody's noticed I guess."
"You could say that. What happened?"
"I don't really want to get into it."
"Fair enough, but Abby, I'm here if you want to talk."
"Thanks, Susan." Susan got up and dumped the rest of her coffee down the drain. She turned to Abby,
"You know what would cheer you up?"
"What?"
"A good old softball game against the paramedics."
"I don't think so," Abby said, retreating towards the door.
"Oh come on. I heard you were the star last year."
"Thanks, Susan, but I think I'll pass."
"You worried Carter's gonna be there?"
Abby sighed,
"Yeah," she admitted.
"Don't worry. I asked him to cover for me so I could play. So, please come and keep me company."
"I don't know . . ."
"Oh come on Abby. A little fresh air will do you good."
"Ok, ok," Abby said laughing. "I'll come for a little bit."
"Good. See you later," Susan said as she walked out the door. Just as she did, she ran into John who came stalking down the hall.
"Oh, Carter. Just the person I was looking for!"
"What's going on, Susan?" John asked impatiently.
"I need a favor."
"Susan, I'm really not in the good Samaritan mood today."
"Look, I know you and Abby are having a rough time at the moment, but I promise this is an easy favor that I'm sure you can handle."
"Ok, what?"
"I need you to take my place at the Fourth of July softball game tonight."
"No thanks," Carter replied as he set off down the hall.
"Please, Carter," Susan said, following him down the hall. "I've already asked everybody else who wasn't playing. I even asked Abby."
John stopped at hearing Abby's name.
"What'd she say?" he demanded.
"She said she'd rather spend the evening feeling sorry for herself with a tub of ice cream and a box of tissues."
"Seriously, Susan."
"I don't know. She said she didn't want to play." This wasn't exactly a lie. Abby had said that she didn't want to play before Susan had convinced her otherwise.
"Why can't you play?"
"I have a date."
"Oh, really?"
"Yeah. He's cute. I'll introduce you sometime. Maybe we can double date with you and Abby," Susan teased, knowing that this would get Carter mad. Hopefully it would get him mad enough to want to take his anger out in a soft ball game. Carter just grumbled.
"Is that a yes? Will you play?"
"Yes, yes, I'll play!"
"Great!" Susan said, walking off in the opposite direction.
"No, I think you'll be the one owing me," she yelled over her shoulder.
"What?" John asked.
"Nothing," Susan said as the she continued down the hall. She smiled to herself. She had never been planning to play softball anyway. She hoped that this intricate planning of her paid off. Well, she'd know when her phone rang and it was either both John and Abby screaming at her or thanking her. She hoped it would be the latter, as she began to hum "Take me out to the ball game."
Stay tuned for the important events of the baseball game!!