Title: Breaking up ain't hard to do - part 2
Author/pseudonym: ceindreadh
Email address: ceindreadh@eircom.net
Rating: PG-15
Last episode seen: On the beach
Last relevant episode: The Longer You Stay
Notes: When I wrote part one, I knew that it was going to piss off some of the Luby's. So in the interests of fairness, I decided that it was the Carby's turn
Disclaimer: "ER" and all its characters belong to Warner
Bros. No infringement of their copyright is intended. This story
was written for the enjoyment of "ER" fans everywhere, and
may be downloaded for your own pleasure
Breaking up ain't hard to do - part 2
Previously on ER.
Abby and Luka had a fight and split up (The longer you stay). Abby went to Luka's apartment, supposedly to try and patch things up, but in reality to drug him into unconsciousness and force a quantity of sleeping tablets down his throat. After waiting long enough to ensure their effectiveness, she called 911 and acted suitably distraught as Luka was rushed to County where Kerry was unable to save his life. A tearful Abby was comforted by Carter who brought her home. As Abby relaxed in Carter's arms, she reflected that her plan had worked like a charm.
------------------
"I deserve an Emmy for this," Abby thought to herself as she snuggled close to Carter. She would 'allow' him to help her with her grief...maybe a short mourning period before she made her move on him. Then once she had a wedding ring on her finger, all it would take would a sudden 'relapse' and accidental OD for her to become rich beyond her wildest dreams. "Yes," she thought. "Everything's worked out just the way I wanted."
-----------------
Part 2
Abby Carter jolted awake in her bed, a scream on her lips. "Luka!" Groping frantically around on the nightstand, she finally found the light switch. "It's just a dream...it's just a dream," she told herself as she rummaged around in the drawer for a packet of cigarettes. With shaking hands, she lit one and took a few unsteady puffs. John probably wasn't going to be happy about her smoking in their bedroom, but screw him. If he had been here instead of working another night shift, then she wouldn't *need* a cigarette. She had tried to persuade him to use his influence as an Attending to work less hours, but oh no, Dr. John Carter aka the center of the ER, had insisted that he work his share of night shifts, just like any lowly mortal.
Bastard, thought Abby, contemplating her husband of ten months. God, she could hardly wait until their first anniversary so she could kill him and get it over with.
Of course, things hadn't always been this bad. John had been much more attentive when he was courting her. Courting...it sounded such an old-fashioned term...something more suited to Luka. Abby cursed herself as an image of Luka floated into her mind. She wouldn't think of him...she wouldn't. After his death...okay, lets be honest here, she thought to herself. After she had killed him, she had allowed John to comfort her...to sit with her for hours on end and hold her while she cried on his shoulder. It had been a brilliant performance, no doubt about it. John of course had been worried about her having a relapse, and had spent as much time as possible with her. It had only been a matter of months before he had hesitantly kissed her for the first time.
He had proposed to her six months later. After pretending that she needed to think it over for a while, Abby had graciously allowed - or rather persuaded - John to buy her the biggest ring in the shop. True, it was a bitch to get gloves on over it, but hey, once she was married, she could give up work and devote herself to her *true* vocation...being a lady of leisure. Of course, John had been rather surprised at her suggestion that she stop work after their marriage. "I thought that you loved nursing...that you loved knowing that you were making a big difference to your patients?" he had said, with surprise in his voice. She had hastily back-pedaled, saying that with his income as an Attending that she wouldn't really *need* to work...and that it was unfair of her to be taking a job from someone who *did* need it. "Besides," she had smiled seductively at him, "I was going to stop working anyway, once we have our first child." That had distracted him sufficiently for one night, but a few days later, he had told her that he had the perfect solution...volunteer work at a free clinic that was run by the Carter foundation. Abby had been unable to think of a good enough excuse, so now she was stuck working in that cursed place...and not even having any money to show for it.
They had had a small wedding...John hadn't wanted a big production like most Carter family events. And since Abby was only in it for the money, she didn't see the big deal on wasting it on a big day. She hadn't even complained when he had suggested they buy a small apartment instead of the bigger one she had wanted. But hey, once she'd bumped him off, she'd be able to buy a dozen apartments...one for each month of the year. Things would have been working fine...if it hadn't been for two words...Trust Fund.
Abby cursed those words. Why the hell had nobody mentioned to her that all of John's money was tied up in a Trust? True, he had a substantial income from it...and sure, if he wanted anything big like an apartment, he just had to request that money be released to him, but that was no way to live...begging for every penny. And to make matters worse, as Abby had found out later, the Trust was irrevocable...even on John's death. Sure, as his widow, she'd have a settlement, and a small income...but that was it.
And so, she had come up with Plan B. The Insurance policy. It hadn't been too difficult to persuade John that it would be only prudent to have a policy taken out on his life. After all, she had told him with a winning smile. "We have to think of the future...for us *and* our family."
So now it was just a case of waiting a few more months. If John died 'by his own hand' within a specified period, then the payout was only half as much. Granted, he technically *wouldn't* have died by his own hand, but she didn't think the Insurance company would be too interested in such niceties.
So, here she was, just marking time...and trying not to get too freaked out by her nightmares. They had started several months ago, and were the same each night. She was in the ER, watching Kerry trying to save Luka's life...and suddenly Luka woke up and accused her of killing him. "I should have stuck a stake through his heart," muttered Abby, stubbing out yet another cigarette. Slumping back in the bed, she looked at the ashes, knowing that she should clean them up before John returned home or else sit through another lecture on the evils of smoking. A wry smile flitted over Abby's face. Whatever lecture John would give her about her cigarettes, it was nothing to what he'd say to her if he knew she was taking sleeping pills to prevent her nightmares.
Oh she didn't take them *every* night...just the nights when she was alone in the apartment. It was almost a little ritual of hers...vitamins, her sleeping tablet, and her contraceptive pill. That was another thing that John didn't know about. She sure as hell didn't want to get stuck with a squalling brat on her hands after John was dead, no way. So she hid her pills and pretended to keep her ovulation charts and every month she pretended disappointment that they still weren't pregnant. Of course, the actual sex wasn't bad, and it was interesting to be finally in a position to *properly* compare Luka and John...at least in the things that mattered.
Abby rummaged around in the drawer until she found her stash of pills. Shaking two of them into her hand, she washed them down with a glass of water from the nightstand. Funny...the water made the pills taste much more bitter than usual. Abby blinked slightly as the room started to slide out of focus. This wasn't right...the pills usually took longer to take effect. Abby looked at the pill bottle...it was starting to blur, but she could still see that there were fewer pills there than there should have been. Surely she hadn't used up so many? Oh God, had she taken pills already tonight? Abby could feel her limbs get heavier. She tried to concentrate...she had to phone John...he'd take care of her.
With clumsy hands, she picked up the telephone and hit the speed dial button. It seemed to take forever for the connection to be made, but finally she was through. "John...John," she gasped. "Help...I need you..." The sound of a dial tone was the only response. Abby stared uselessly at the handset for what seemed like an eternity before finally trying to dial a number...any number. But it was too late. Her fingers stabbed uselessly at the buttons as the numbness swept over her entire body. Slumping to the floor, the phone was dragged down on top of her.
-------------------
Carter switched his phone off and replaced it in his pocket. "Sorry about that, Kerry," he said, with an apologetic look on his face. "I usually remember to switch it off."
"Well don't forget it in future," snapped Kerry. "Bad enough that we have to keep reminding patients not to use their mobiles, but as a doctor here, you should know better."
Carter stifled a smirk as he watched Kerry limp away. "Well I won't be a doctor here much longer," he thought. "Not once the insurance payment on my poor dead wife kicks in."
He had realized soon after he had proposed to Abby that she was more interested in the Carter money than she was in him. But he had persisted in the relationship, convinced that she would eventually love him for himself. And then he had heard her talking in her sleep about what she had done to Luka...and that had given him an idea. Bringing up the subject of mortality had been easy. Hell, working in the ER everyday gave him plenty of material on the subject. And it had been amusing watching Abby trying to maneuver the subject around to insurance policies and how *he* should have one. And he had allowed her to persuade him to take one out on his life and hadn't even noticed that it was a double policy that covered *her* life as well.
The discovery of her prescription for sleeping pills had even given him the perfect opportunity. It had been an easy matter to dissolve a quantity of them in the jug of water beside her bed...and it had been even easier to prepare a few clearly forged prescriptions for repeat doses. They would be evidence...if any was needed, that Abby had clearly planned to take her own life. And as for him, he had a perfect alibi. All he had to do was show up at home and discover his late wife, taking care to empty the water jug of its lethal contents. And then he would have a nice lump sum to do whatever he wanted with. True he would have more if waited for another few months for the suicide clause to kick in, but hey, he wasn't *that* greedy. And the best part was, that there would always be a pretty lady on hand to comfort a grieving widower.
Whistling happily to himself, Carter walked through the ER.
------------------
The End
Author/pseudonym: ceindreadh
Email address: ceindreadh@eircom.net
Rating: PG-15
Last episode seen: On the beach
Last relevant episode: The Longer You Stay
Notes: When I wrote part one, I knew that it was going to piss off some of the Luby's. So in the interests of fairness, I decided that it was the Carby's turn
Disclaimer: "ER" and all its characters belong to Warner
Bros. No infringement of their copyright is intended. This story
was written for the enjoyment of "ER" fans everywhere, and
may be downloaded for your own pleasure
Breaking up ain't hard to do - part 2
Previously on ER.
Abby and Luka had a fight and split up (The longer you stay). Abby went to Luka's apartment, supposedly to try and patch things up, but in reality to drug him into unconsciousness and force a quantity of sleeping tablets down his throat. After waiting long enough to ensure their effectiveness, she called 911 and acted suitably distraught as Luka was rushed to County where Kerry was unable to save his life. A tearful Abby was comforted by Carter who brought her home. As Abby relaxed in Carter's arms, she reflected that her plan had worked like a charm.
------------------
"I deserve an Emmy for this," Abby thought to herself as she snuggled close to Carter. She would 'allow' him to help her with her grief...maybe a short mourning period before she made her move on him. Then once she had a wedding ring on her finger, all it would take would a sudden 'relapse' and accidental OD for her to become rich beyond her wildest dreams. "Yes," she thought. "Everything's worked out just the way I wanted."
-----------------
Part 2
Abby Carter jolted awake in her bed, a scream on her lips. "Luka!" Groping frantically around on the nightstand, she finally found the light switch. "It's just a dream...it's just a dream," she told herself as she rummaged around in the drawer for a packet of cigarettes. With shaking hands, she lit one and took a few unsteady puffs. John probably wasn't going to be happy about her smoking in their bedroom, but screw him. If he had been here instead of working another night shift, then she wouldn't *need* a cigarette. She had tried to persuade him to use his influence as an Attending to work less hours, but oh no, Dr. John Carter aka the center of the ER, had insisted that he work his share of night shifts, just like any lowly mortal.
Bastard, thought Abby, contemplating her husband of ten months. God, she could hardly wait until their first anniversary so she could kill him and get it over with.
Of course, things hadn't always been this bad. John had been much more attentive when he was courting her. Courting...it sounded such an old-fashioned term...something more suited to Luka. Abby cursed herself as an image of Luka floated into her mind. She wouldn't think of him...she wouldn't. After his death...okay, lets be honest here, she thought to herself. After she had killed him, she had allowed John to comfort her...to sit with her for hours on end and hold her while she cried on his shoulder. It had been a brilliant performance, no doubt about it. John of course had been worried about her having a relapse, and had spent as much time as possible with her. It had only been a matter of months before he had hesitantly kissed her for the first time.
He had proposed to her six months later. After pretending that she needed to think it over for a while, Abby had graciously allowed - or rather persuaded - John to buy her the biggest ring in the shop. True, it was a bitch to get gloves on over it, but hey, once she was married, she could give up work and devote herself to her *true* vocation...being a lady of leisure. Of course, John had been rather surprised at her suggestion that she stop work after their marriage. "I thought that you loved nursing...that you loved knowing that you were making a big difference to your patients?" he had said, with surprise in his voice. She had hastily back-pedaled, saying that with his income as an Attending that she wouldn't really *need* to work...and that it was unfair of her to be taking a job from someone who *did* need it. "Besides," she had smiled seductively at him, "I was going to stop working anyway, once we have our first child." That had distracted him sufficiently for one night, but a few days later, he had told her that he had the perfect solution...volunteer work at a free clinic that was run by the Carter foundation. Abby had been unable to think of a good enough excuse, so now she was stuck working in that cursed place...and not even having any money to show for it.
They had had a small wedding...John hadn't wanted a big production like most Carter family events. And since Abby was only in it for the money, she didn't see the big deal on wasting it on a big day. She hadn't even complained when he had suggested they buy a small apartment instead of the bigger one she had wanted. But hey, once she'd bumped him off, she'd be able to buy a dozen apartments...one for each month of the year. Things would have been working fine...if it hadn't been for two words...Trust Fund.
Abby cursed those words. Why the hell had nobody mentioned to her that all of John's money was tied up in a Trust? True, he had a substantial income from it...and sure, if he wanted anything big like an apartment, he just had to request that money be released to him, but that was no way to live...begging for every penny. And to make matters worse, as Abby had found out later, the Trust was irrevocable...even on John's death. Sure, as his widow, she'd have a settlement, and a small income...but that was it.
And so, she had come up with Plan B. The Insurance policy. It hadn't been too difficult to persuade John that it would be only prudent to have a policy taken out on his life. After all, she had told him with a winning smile. "We have to think of the future...for us *and* our family."
So now it was just a case of waiting a few more months. If John died 'by his own hand' within a specified period, then the payout was only half as much. Granted, he technically *wouldn't* have died by his own hand, but she didn't think the Insurance company would be too interested in such niceties.
So, here she was, just marking time...and trying not to get too freaked out by her nightmares. They had started several months ago, and were the same each night. She was in the ER, watching Kerry trying to save Luka's life...and suddenly Luka woke up and accused her of killing him. "I should have stuck a stake through his heart," muttered Abby, stubbing out yet another cigarette. Slumping back in the bed, she looked at the ashes, knowing that she should clean them up before John returned home or else sit through another lecture on the evils of smoking. A wry smile flitted over Abby's face. Whatever lecture John would give her about her cigarettes, it was nothing to what he'd say to her if he knew she was taking sleeping pills to prevent her nightmares.
Oh she didn't take them *every* night...just the nights when she was alone in the apartment. It was almost a little ritual of hers...vitamins, her sleeping tablet, and her contraceptive pill. That was another thing that John didn't know about. She sure as hell didn't want to get stuck with a squalling brat on her hands after John was dead, no way. So she hid her pills and pretended to keep her ovulation charts and every month she pretended disappointment that they still weren't pregnant. Of course, the actual sex wasn't bad, and it was interesting to be finally in a position to *properly* compare Luka and John...at least in the things that mattered.
Abby rummaged around in the drawer until she found her stash of pills. Shaking two of them into her hand, she washed them down with a glass of water from the nightstand. Funny...the water made the pills taste much more bitter than usual. Abby blinked slightly as the room started to slide out of focus. This wasn't right...the pills usually took longer to take effect. Abby looked at the pill bottle...it was starting to blur, but she could still see that there were fewer pills there than there should have been. Surely she hadn't used up so many? Oh God, had she taken pills already tonight? Abby could feel her limbs get heavier. She tried to concentrate...she had to phone John...he'd take care of her.
With clumsy hands, she picked up the telephone and hit the speed dial button. It seemed to take forever for the connection to be made, but finally she was through. "John...John," she gasped. "Help...I need you..." The sound of a dial tone was the only response. Abby stared uselessly at the handset for what seemed like an eternity before finally trying to dial a number...any number. But it was too late. Her fingers stabbed uselessly at the buttons as the numbness swept over her entire body. Slumping to the floor, the phone was dragged down on top of her.
-------------------
Carter switched his phone off and replaced it in his pocket. "Sorry about that, Kerry," he said, with an apologetic look on his face. "I usually remember to switch it off."
"Well don't forget it in future," snapped Kerry. "Bad enough that we have to keep reminding patients not to use their mobiles, but as a doctor here, you should know better."
Carter stifled a smirk as he watched Kerry limp away. "Well I won't be a doctor here much longer," he thought. "Not once the insurance payment on my poor dead wife kicks in."
He had realized soon after he had proposed to Abby that she was more interested in the Carter money than she was in him. But he had persisted in the relationship, convinced that she would eventually love him for himself. And then he had heard her talking in her sleep about what she had done to Luka...and that had given him an idea. Bringing up the subject of mortality had been easy. Hell, working in the ER everyday gave him plenty of material on the subject. And it had been amusing watching Abby trying to maneuver the subject around to insurance policies and how *he* should have one. And he had allowed her to persuade him to take one out on his life and hadn't even noticed that it was a double policy that covered *her* life as well.
The discovery of her prescription for sleeping pills had even given him the perfect opportunity. It had been an easy matter to dissolve a quantity of them in the jug of water beside her bed...and it had been even easier to prepare a few clearly forged prescriptions for repeat doses. They would be evidence...if any was needed, that Abby had clearly planned to take her own life. And as for him, he had a perfect alibi. All he had to do was show up at home and discover his late wife, taking care to empty the water jug of its lethal contents. And then he would have a nice lump sum to do whatever he wanted with. True he would have more if waited for another few months for the suicide clause to kick in, but hey, he wasn't *that* greedy. And the best part was, that there would always be a pretty lady on hand to comfort a grieving widower.
Whistling happily to himself, Carter walked through the ER.
------------------
The End
