Author's Notes: Sorry this took so long. I had a bad case of writers block coupled with me not having much time at home to write. So here is chapter four, five shouldnt be too far away.
Summary: Carter tells Susan about Abby
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chapter 4 - Woke Up This Morning
****
December 2001
****
Carter continued running down the corridors of the hospital searching frantically. He felt hot and tired, and had no idea why he was still going. He had been running for what felt like hours down long, empty corridors. There were no side-doors, stairs or lifts. The walkway seemed to stretch on forever. Still he kept on running, hoping that he would find what he was looking for.
Suddenly a small opening appeared to his left, revealing another long corridor. This one was different from the rest. The walls were a light green colour and one side had windows running all the way down. Long shards of sunlight were lying across the floor and walls making the temperature rise considerably. He turned and picked up his pace, the sunlight causing the sweat to run down into his eyes, stinging them momentarily. He could see a door a little further up ahead and, not knowing if it was the right way, sprinted for it. As he approached the door he could see the outline of a person through the small, round window at the top. When he got closer he could make out the form of a nurse. He tried desperately to open the door and catch up with her, but the door wouldn't open. He tried pulling harder but it held fast. Carter saw the nurse walk further and further away from him, she then turned quickly and walked through a side corridor. He heard a click and tried pushing through the door once again, it opened. He sprinted down the hall with everything he had left in him and turned as he got to the point the nurse disappeared from view. He was met with a short hall with a large metal door at the end. The door looked as though it wouldn't be moved by anything but when he approached it all it took was a soft push and the door swung wide open.
He walked through apprehensively, going into a large room with a door on each of its four walls, which were painted a different colour. First he tried the door on the side of the room painted blue. He opened it and was immediately met with a strong gust of wind, almost knocking him off his feet. Moving quickly, he pushed the door shut and leant heavily against it, catching his breath. He walked up to the door on the side of the room painted pink and flinched slightly as he opened it. This time all he could see was a reflection of himself staring back at him.
With a sigh, he made for the last door, on the side of the room painted red. When he opened it he was met with the sight of another corridor, although this one had a more promising feel to it. The walls were a deep red colour, and there were seats against the wall all the way up. Walking quickly to the end he was met with the sight of a large window, looking into a room with no obvious way of entering. As he approached the window he caught sight of the nurse again, this time standing over a cot. He tried to look for a way inside but couldn't find anyway through. Looking around frantically he saw a small vent to his left and darted for it. Crawling through he could see the nurse's feet in the gap up ahead. When he made it to the end she had vanished, but the cot remained in the centre of the room. He walked over to it, and slowly turned it to face him...
"Gah!"
Carter awoke with a shock and sat up in his bed, breathing heavily, his whole body covered in sweat. Looking up at his clock he noticed that he had only been asleep for about two hours, and he felt the ache's and pains that been with him since he got home return slowly. He flopped back down on the bed and closed his eyes, it was impossible to sleep with something so huge weighing on your mind. Abby was pregnant, he was going to be a father, what was going to happen?
He crawled out from under his bed sheets and made his way to the living room. Noticing a message on his machine, he clicked play and slumped against the wall.
"Hey Carter it's Susan. I hope you got a good sleep because I've booked us a table at Luigi's for nine o'clock. Think of it as making up for last night. Listen, no buts Carter, I'll meet you there."
****
Walking up to the restaurant Susan was meeting him at Carter stopped in front of a large shop window briefly. He could faintly make out his reflection, he looked a mess, his hair was greasy and messy, his face was unshaven and he had large bags under his eyes. This was hardly the look to go for when going on a date with your girlfriend, but he had tried his best.
He walked into Luigi's and looked around for Susan, he saw her sitting at a table staring out into space. He approached her and attempted to look awake.
"Hi," Susan looked up at him and he saw her hold back a grimace. A smile played on her lips.
"Hi handsome," she mocked, "what the hell happened to you?"
Carter shook his head, "never mind,"
"You look a mess Carter," John could tell she was a little angry, "couldn't you even iron yourself a shirt?" Carter looked down and was met with a maze of creases, Susan smiled again, "what was the matter, all the servants were busy?"
"I'm sorry I look like hell. In fact I'm sorry I feel like hell too. Ever think to ask me that?"
Susan's smile faded and she looked down at the table, "Sorry Carter, it's just that I think you look good when you make the effort to look good. It looks like you've just thrown those clothes on."
"Well that pretty much sums it all up," Carter said as he slumped into his chair.
"So what's up?"
"What? Oh nothing it's just that I had a lot of trouble sleeping."
"You had trouble sleeping? Last time I saw you it looked like you were ready to pass out." Carter's expression fell, a sudden wave of realisation hit him. He was going to have to tell her... tonight. The thought made him go cold. How was he going to do this?
****
As the waiter placed two plates of spaghetti onto the table thoughts continued running through Carter's mind. How was he going to tell her? What was it going to mean for them? What was she going to say? He could faintly hear Susan talking to him about a patient she had seen who had insomnia.
"He looked a lot like you do now actually, he was complaining about his parents always giving him a hard time about his education. They were putting so much pressure on him they didn't realise that he had started to feel downhearted. He said all he needed from them was a little encouragement. It had been going on for four months and he's hardly slept at all since. He was such a mess. It's such a shame when parents push their kids so hard they forget about important things don't you think? ...Carter? ...Carter are you listening to me?"
Resting his head on the palm of his hand John was staring at Susan but his mind was in a completely different place. "Wha?...Yeah of course I'm listening."
"So what do you think?"
"About what?"
"See you're not listening. I was talking about the insomniac I saw today. His parents came in eventually, I could see what he was talking about. They bombarded me with questions about whether he was going to be ok, if treatment was necessary and whether the treatment was going to affect his studies. You know they never once asked him if he was ok..." Again Carter slipped away, his eyes focusing on the napkin inside its chrome holder. The distorted reflection of his two-day-old stubble, his bed hair, his absent eyes, he couldn't remember ever looking or feeling so tired. "Carter!" He snapped back to reality again. "You're not listening to me!"
"What? Yeah sure I am."
"No you're not. Carter, you either tell me what's on your mind or we leave. There's no point in having dinner together if we can't have a conversation with each other.
"It's nothing really."
"No. Don't lie to me. Carter you look terrible, please, just tell me what's wrong." Her face wore a concerned look. He couldn't resist any longer.
"It's... It's about Abby."
"Abby? What about Abby?"
"It's... well she called me last..."
"You know I worry about you. You always seem to be so caught up with what she's doing. Whenever she's working you can't take your eyes off her. You always look so... strange whenever she's around."
"Well you know..."
"I tried to ignore it. I did. Because when you were with me you seemed to forget all about it. We laughed, enjoyed ourselves, then we would go back to work and it would be exactly the same thing. It's getting a little annoying Carter."
"Yeah I know. It's just..."
"I know you had something going on with her before I came back but you're with me now. You shouldn't be so caught up about it. You never even went out did you?" Carter was beginning to grow angry, he was trying to tell Susan the truth about why he had been acting so strange around Abby but he couldn't find a way in.
"Susan."
"I think whatever happened between you two you need to talk it over and straighten it out..."
"SUSAN, SHE'S PREGNANT!" He stood up as he shouted at her and she sat straight in her chair, staring at him in shock. He looked up at the rest of the tables and saw everyone looking at the two of them. His face turning red, he lent down and said softly, "can we go somewhere and talk?"
****
"I don't understand," Susan said as they walked through a small park, "You told me it was undefined."
Carter shrugged, "well it was, back then."
Susan quickly understood what he was saying and nodded, "how far along is she?"
"Eight weeks."
"What happened?"
"We had a stupid argument, it was all my fault. Now she hardly speaks to me."
"When did she tell you?"
"Yesterday."
"What are you going to do?"
"She told me to think about it. I don't know what's going to happen though."
"What about us?"
Carter looked up at Susan, he took hold of her hand, stroking it tenderly with his thumb he replied, "I'm not sure."
Susan pulled him into a hug and closed her eyes. "I don't think it will work."
John sniffed, "why?"
"Because you will always be thinking about her and the baby, every moment you spend with me you will thinking about your baby. Every moment you spend at work you will be thinking about your baby. Every day and every night, you will be thinking about your child." She stepped out of the hug and took hold of his shoulders, "I won't be the most important thing to you, and it will never work out because of that."
Carter nodded, "So... Do you want to call it?"
They both smiled before Susan nodded, "I'm dumping you John Carter." She smiled and they both laughed.
"I think it's for the best."
"Yeah... Yeah it is."
"I had a good time though."
"Me too."
They parted and started to walk their separate ways when Susan called out, "Carter!" He turned and she walked up to him, taking hold of his hand she said, "If you ever need to talk... I'm here."
Carter smiled, "Thankyou." He looked down at the floor before adding, "so... what should I do?"
Susan let go of his hand and started to walk away, she called out over her shoulder, "You need to think long and hard about that. Whatever happens, make sure you do the right thing." John began to walk when Susan called him, "Carter!"
Again he turned around, "yeah?"
"Talk to her."
Summary: Carter tells Susan about Abby
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chapter 4 - Woke Up This Morning
****
December 2001
****
Carter continued running down the corridors of the hospital searching frantically. He felt hot and tired, and had no idea why he was still going. He had been running for what felt like hours down long, empty corridors. There were no side-doors, stairs or lifts. The walkway seemed to stretch on forever. Still he kept on running, hoping that he would find what he was looking for.
Suddenly a small opening appeared to his left, revealing another long corridor. This one was different from the rest. The walls were a light green colour and one side had windows running all the way down. Long shards of sunlight were lying across the floor and walls making the temperature rise considerably. He turned and picked up his pace, the sunlight causing the sweat to run down into his eyes, stinging them momentarily. He could see a door a little further up ahead and, not knowing if it was the right way, sprinted for it. As he approached the door he could see the outline of a person through the small, round window at the top. When he got closer he could make out the form of a nurse. He tried desperately to open the door and catch up with her, but the door wouldn't open. He tried pulling harder but it held fast. Carter saw the nurse walk further and further away from him, she then turned quickly and walked through a side corridor. He heard a click and tried pushing through the door once again, it opened. He sprinted down the hall with everything he had left in him and turned as he got to the point the nurse disappeared from view. He was met with a short hall with a large metal door at the end. The door looked as though it wouldn't be moved by anything but when he approached it all it took was a soft push and the door swung wide open.
He walked through apprehensively, going into a large room with a door on each of its four walls, which were painted a different colour. First he tried the door on the side of the room painted blue. He opened it and was immediately met with a strong gust of wind, almost knocking him off his feet. Moving quickly, he pushed the door shut and leant heavily against it, catching his breath. He walked up to the door on the side of the room painted pink and flinched slightly as he opened it. This time all he could see was a reflection of himself staring back at him.
With a sigh, he made for the last door, on the side of the room painted red. When he opened it he was met with the sight of another corridor, although this one had a more promising feel to it. The walls were a deep red colour, and there were seats against the wall all the way up. Walking quickly to the end he was met with the sight of a large window, looking into a room with no obvious way of entering. As he approached the window he caught sight of the nurse again, this time standing over a cot. He tried to look for a way inside but couldn't find anyway through. Looking around frantically he saw a small vent to his left and darted for it. Crawling through he could see the nurse's feet in the gap up ahead. When he made it to the end she had vanished, but the cot remained in the centre of the room. He walked over to it, and slowly turned it to face him...
"Gah!"
Carter awoke with a shock and sat up in his bed, breathing heavily, his whole body covered in sweat. Looking up at his clock he noticed that he had only been asleep for about two hours, and he felt the ache's and pains that been with him since he got home return slowly. He flopped back down on the bed and closed his eyes, it was impossible to sleep with something so huge weighing on your mind. Abby was pregnant, he was going to be a father, what was going to happen?
He crawled out from under his bed sheets and made his way to the living room. Noticing a message on his machine, he clicked play and slumped against the wall.
"Hey Carter it's Susan. I hope you got a good sleep because I've booked us a table at Luigi's for nine o'clock. Think of it as making up for last night. Listen, no buts Carter, I'll meet you there."
****
Walking up to the restaurant Susan was meeting him at Carter stopped in front of a large shop window briefly. He could faintly make out his reflection, he looked a mess, his hair was greasy and messy, his face was unshaven and he had large bags under his eyes. This was hardly the look to go for when going on a date with your girlfriend, but he had tried his best.
He walked into Luigi's and looked around for Susan, he saw her sitting at a table staring out into space. He approached her and attempted to look awake.
"Hi," Susan looked up at him and he saw her hold back a grimace. A smile played on her lips.
"Hi handsome," she mocked, "what the hell happened to you?"
Carter shook his head, "never mind,"
"You look a mess Carter," John could tell she was a little angry, "couldn't you even iron yourself a shirt?" Carter looked down and was met with a maze of creases, Susan smiled again, "what was the matter, all the servants were busy?"
"I'm sorry I look like hell. In fact I'm sorry I feel like hell too. Ever think to ask me that?"
Susan's smile faded and she looked down at the table, "Sorry Carter, it's just that I think you look good when you make the effort to look good. It looks like you've just thrown those clothes on."
"Well that pretty much sums it all up," Carter said as he slumped into his chair.
"So what's up?"
"What? Oh nothing it's just that I had a lot of trouble sleeping."
"You had trouble sleeping? Last time I saw you it looked like you were ready to pass out." Carter's expression fell, a sudden wave of realisation hit him. He was going to have to tell her... tonight. The thought made him go cold. How was he going to do this?
****
As the waiter placed two plates of spaghetti onto the table thoughts continued running through Carter's mind. How was he going to tell her? What was it going to mean for them? What was she going to say? He could faintly hear Susan talking to him about a patient she had seen who had insomnia.
"He looked a lot like you do now actually, he was complaining about his parents always giving him a hard time about his education. They were putting so much pressure on him they didn't realise that he had started to feel downhearted. He said all he needed from them was a little encouragement. It had been going on for four months and he's hardly slept at all since. He was such a mess. It's such a shame when parents push their kids so hard they forget about important things don't you think? ...Carter? ...Carter are you listening to me?"
Resting his head on the palm of his hand John was staring at Susan but his mind was in a completely different place. "Wha?...Yeah of course I'm listening."
"So what do you think?"
"About what?"
"See you're not listening. I was talking about the insomniac I saw today. His parents came in eventually, I could see what he was talking about. They bombarded me with questions about whether he was going to be ok, if treatment was necessary and whether the treatment was going to affect his studies. You know they never once asked him if he was ok..." Again Carter slipped away, his eyes focusing on the napkin inside its chrome holder. The distorted reflection of his two-day-old stubble, his bed hair, his absent eyes, he couldn't remember ever looking or feeling so tired. "Carter!" He snapped back to reality again. "You're not listening to me!"
"What? Yeah sure I am."
"No you're not. Carter, you either tell me what's on your mind or we leave. There's no point in having dinner together if we can't have a conversation with each other.
"It's nothing really."
"No. Don't lie to me. Carter you look terrible, please, just tell me what's wrong." Her face wore a concerned look. He couldn't resist any longer.
"It's... It's about Abby."
"Abby? What about Abby?"
"It's... well she called me last..."
"You know I worry about you. You always seem to be so caught up with what she's doing. Whenever she's working you can't take your eyes off her. You always look so... strange whenever she's around."
"Well you know..."
"I tried to ignore it. I did. Because when you were with me you seemed to forget all about it. We laughed, enjoyed ourselves, then we would go back to work and it would be exactly the same thing. It's getting a little annoying Carter."
"Yeah I know. It's just..."
"I know you had something going on with her before I came back but you're with me now. You shouldn't be so caught up about it. You never even went out did you?" Carter was beginning to grow angry, he was trying to tell Susan the truth about why he had been acting so strange around Abby but he couldn't find a way in.
"Susan."
"I think whatever happened between you two you need to talk it over and straighten it out..."
"SUSAN, SHE'S PREGNANT!" He stood up as he shouted at her and she sat straight in her chair, staring at him in shock. He looked up at the rest of the tables and saw everyone looking at the two of them. His face turning red, he lent down and said softly, "can we go somewhere and talk?"
****
"I don't understand," Susan said as they walked through a small park, "You told me it was undefined."
Carter shrugged, "well it was, back then."
Susan quickly understood what he was saying and nodded, "how far along is she?"
"Eight weeks."
"What happened?"
"We had a stupid argument, it was all my fault. Now she hardly speaks to me."
"When did she tell you?"
"Yesterday."
"What are you going to do?"
"She told me to think about it. I don't know what's going to happen though."
"What about us?"
Carter looked up at Susan, he took hold of her hand, stroking it tenderly with his thumb he replied, "I'm not sure."
Susan pulled him into a hug and closed her eyes. "I don't think it will work."
John sniffed, "why?"
"Because you will always be thinking about her and the baby, every moment you spend with me you will thinking about your baby. Every moment you spend at work you will be thinking about your baby. Every day and every night, you will be thinking about your child." She stepped out of the hug and took hold of his shoulders, "I won't be the most important thing to you, and it will never work out because of that."
Carter nodded, "So... Do you want to call it?"
They both smiled before Susan nodded, "I'm dumping you John Carter." She smiled and they both laughed.
"I think it's for the best."
"Yeah... Yeah it is."
"I had a good time though."
"Me too."
They parted and started to walk their separate ways when Susan called out, "Carter!" He turned and she walked up to him, taking hold of his hand she said, "If you ever need to talk... I'm here."
Carter smiled, "Thankyou." He looked down at the floor before adding, "so... what should I do?"
Susan let go of his hand and started to walk away, she called out over her shoulder, "You need to think long and hard about that. Whatever happens, make sure you do the right thing." John began to walk when Susan called him, "Carter!"
Again he turned around, "yeah?"
"Talk to her."
