Abby's head throbbed and the skin on her face felt tight where the blood had dried. The room was dimly lit and abnormally warm, yet somewhat comforting to Abby... though that may have just been the company she kept, rather than her surroundings. She stared down at the white bed sheets, which wrinkled beneath the weight of her body, as Carter performed the initial assessment. She avoided looking him in the eye for fear of what his expression may reveal about his thoughts. Humiliation began to set in as she could slowly feel the swelling in her face becoming worse. There was a light tap at the door as it opened slowly to reveal Susan.

"Hey, can I come in?" she asked, not really waiting for an answer but rather shocked at what she saw upon poking her head in.

Susan stepped gradually towards the bed, finding it unfeasible to remove her eyes from Abby's distended facial wounds.

Abby suddenly became very aware of Carter's gentle touch as he examined her abrasions.

"How long were you unconscious for?" he asked in comforting tone.

"I don't know," she replied after a slight hesitation.

"Abby, how- what happened?" Susan asked, finally finding words for this display of abuse lying helplessly in front of her.

Abby brought her small, cold hand to her forehead, aspiring for the intense pain to decline.

"I- my neighbor assaulted me because I helped his wife get into a battered women's shelter and refused to tell him where she is" Abby rushed through her explanation, making it as short as possible, not wanting to remember what had happened.

Carter's expression merged from surprise to concern at this newly-gained knowledge that Brian is Abby's neighbor.

"Could you lie back... I- um need to examine your face" Carter requested in a strange voice, implying that he was not only concerned but also uncomfortable with the situation.

Abby seemed, to some extent, uncomfortable with Carter's tender touch as he massaged her face in search of any structural damage. Susan's hands carefully manipulated Abby's abdomen in search of any internal injuries. When Carter reached the perceptive spot around her nose, where Brian's fist had struck her, Abby recoiled in pain. Abruptly coming to the realization that she's still wearing her front- opening bathrobe, Abby feels exposed and uneasy.

"Could I- could I get a gown?" she requested to the room in general. Connie quickly returned with one in hand, wanting to be of as much help as possible.

Carter unhesitantly turned his back toward Abby, giving her privacy while she changed out of her blood-soaked robe.

"Could I get her a head CT and some morphine for the pain..." Carter began.

"Um... no- no narcotics... could I just have some Tylenol?" Abby chimed in, pulling the gown up around her shoulders.

"Um, Abby... you have a six-centimeter contusion on your inner thigh..." Susan began but then stopped for a moment in awkward hesitation, "Is there a- um chance you could have been raped?"

Carter, his back still turned to Abby and Susan, froze in shock at the mention word.

"Um... I wasn't raped..."

Susan's front teeth gradually appeared, enveloping her bottom lip, "Are you absolutely sure...?"

Wavering, Abby reluctantly admitted that it was, in fact, possible that she could have been raped.

Carter nervously ran a hand through his hair as Susan called for a rape kit.

"I was unconscious, not in a coma!" Abby protested at the sound of the words "rape kit".

Carter still stood with his back turned to Abby, listening, an angry and concerned expression swept over his face. The silence is chilling as nobody can quite find words to speak what's on their minds. Connie strolled back into the room in only a few short minutes, rape kit in hand. At the sight of the kit, Carter could no longer feel his legs. He felt nauseous and grew angrier by the second. Trying to clear his mind of any violent thoughts he may have had towards Brian, Carter made his way to the hallway to await the results of this exam, attempting to prevent his internal fury from taking over.

Inside the exam room, Abby continued to stare down at those white bed sheets as Susan performed the exam. Abby could feel the sting in her eyes, fighting back the tears.

Carter paced back and forth in the hallway, looking heartbroken as images of the brutality that Abby had endured flooded his mind. He couldn't help but imagine Brian raping Abby, taking such a loving act and turning it into ferocity.

Seated at the foot-end of the white-sheeted bed, Susan was relieved and extensively happy to report to Abby that there was no sign of rape.

"You might wanna think about finding a new place to live..." Susan began.

"I'm not moving!" Abby interrupted, "HE'S moving".

Susan released a deep sign into the still and silent room, "You have a non-displaced nasal fracture, but everything else is okay... it could have been a lot worse," she added, attempting to be somewhat of a comfort.

"You should really be careful about getting in the middle of these things".

"I was trying to help her, somebody needed to do SOMETHING" Abby replied, becoming slightly annoyed.

Again trying to lessen the tension, Susan changed the subject, "Is there anyone we can call? You're mom, maybe?"

Abby allowed a small snicker to escape her lips, "I'll be fine".

"Okay, well... you can't go home, not until they catch that guy" Susan replied to this obvious ridicule of her family life. "You're welcome to stay with me if-" Susan started but was again interrupted by a very stubborn Abby.

"-No, thanks though. I'm fine".

Taking a hint that Abby would rather be overly-independent, Susan rose from her chair and started for the door,

"I'll be back in a while with some scrubs for you to change into".

"Susan?" Abby stopped her in the midst of exiting the room, "Thank you... for everything".

*****

Carter stood, still pacing, in the hallway outside of Abby's room when Susan finally emerged.

"The- um- the radiologist cleared her head CT..." he stated, clearly anxiously awaiting some other news. "So, was she...?"

"Oh, no!" Susan quickly replied, forgetting that he had been waiting for the results.

A great wave of relief swept over his face.

"I offered her a safe place to stay until she can find a new apartment but she flat-out refused".

Carter was quiet, contemplating whether or not he should even bother with it...

"Huh... maybe I'll try" he replied as a disputed expression eased its way onto his face.

"Good luck".

"I'll- um- see you later... thanks"

"Yup" Susan responded, not even glancing back at him due to her rush to escape the dismal walls of the ER.

*****

Abby still rested on the bed, now dressed in scrubs which Connie had brought her. Her head rested on the fluffed pillow behind her. Her arms folded across her stomach, almost looking as if she were protecting herself.

Carter knocked gently on the door, not waiting to be told he could enter.

"Hey, are y- how're you feelin'?" he managed to stammer.

"How do I LOOK?" Abby retorted, forging a slight grin.

"Look, I- uh... I was talking to Susan and she mentioned that you declined her offer for a safe place to stay?"

Abby's eyes rolled up toward the ceiling as her head fell back onto the pillow.

"Carter, I just don't-"

"Abby, the guy assaulted you. You can't possibly be considering going back to that building..."

"Well, what do you WANT me to do?! I don't want to impo-" she began, exasperated and growing increasingly irritated with his persistence.

"I WANT you to be safe!" he barked back at her, initiating another awkward silence. "You can stay with me..." he commenced.

Abby allowed another small snicker to escape her lips, "Carter, I- that just wouldn't-"

"Abby, please, I just wanna see you get better without getting the crap beat out of you again by some..." he stopped, realizing the increase in volume. He was beginning to let his anger with Brian take over.

Neither Abby nor Carter would look at the other one. This was a strange situation... Carter had never really shown his feelings towards Abby before.

I- fine... but ONLY until I'm sure that Brian's gone".