Disclaimer: I do not own ER or any of its characters. They are the property of NBC, Michael Crighton, etc.
Author's Note: This chapter is a little more serious than the other ones have been so far, but I tried not to make it depressing, just dramatic. Plus, there is somewhat of an interesting twist!
"It's Saturday night, and there is absolutely nothing on TV," I pouted, clicking the television set off with the remote. Carter kissed my neck softly as we laid there on the couch, sending chills down my spine.
"And I suppose just laying here with me without a movie on would be just horrible," he whispered teasingly.
"Yep. I'd never be able to take that. Several hours just laying here with my boyfriend- wow, that would be almost unbearable," I said sarcastically.
"Well, personally," Carter began, "I think it's kind of nice being up here with just the two of us. It's so much quieter than how I remember it."
"Really?" I asked, snuggling up closer to him. "What was it like, coming down here as a kid?" I had never really had any trips or vacations as a child that hadn't been somehow ruined by Maggie. Unintentionally ruined, usually, but ruined nonetheless. I wished I could "fondly remember" childhood trips like that. But, at the very least, I wanted to hear about Carter's experiences- maybe then I'd at least have some memories by association. And, I thought to myself suddenly, Carter's memories were special to me, because…well, just because it's Carter, and I hoped that someday a lot of his memories would have me in them too.
"Well," he said suddenly, "Every summer, usually in mid to late June, after school got out, the whole family would come down here. And I do mean the whole family- Gamma, my mom and dad, and every other Carter within a 50-mile radius. Once we got down here, all of us kids would rush into the house and try to get what we thought were the 'best' bedrooms. Of course, within a few minutes, the adults would come in, and even if we had all settled on rooms, they'd reassign them anyway. There were so many of us that we all had to share a room with at least one other person…what?" he asked as I started laughing.
"Reassign," I said. "You sound like you were at boot camp or something."
"Oh, thanks, Abby. That makes me feel so good about my summers here."
"No, it sounds fun. More fun than any of my childhood summer experiences," I replied.
"Fine," he mock sighed. "After we unpacked- Gamma always made us do that first- the adults would kick us out of the house, and we'd go play outside. The guys would all play 'Indians and Cowboys' or something like that, and the girls would…I don't know, hold their secret 'Girls Club' meetings or whatever."
"Hey, I take offense to that," I said.
"Yeah, whatever," he replied back, then added, "You know, it was actually kind of nice having all those kids here. Crazy, but nice."
I smiled. "Yeah, this does seem like a really nice place to bring kids to," I said, leaning my head on his shoulder.
"Our kids?" he asked. I lifted my head up off his shoulder quickly, turning around to look at him. "Not that we're necessarily going to have kids or anything, it was just a thought…" he trailed off. It was now or never, I told myself.
* * *
"Carter, there's something I have to tell you," Abby said soberly. Oh my gosh, I thought to myself. I've really blown it now. She's going to break up with me, or something like that.
"When I was married to Richard, I was never really happy. And when it was getting closer to the end of our marriage, I knew I didn't want to have kids with him. So, when I found out I was pregnant, I…I had an abortion." I must have had a really shocked look on my face, because she continued on quickly, "Not that I'd want to have one if I was pregnant now. I just…well, before we started talking about having kids, I thought you should know. Actually, I probably should have told you sooner, it's just that…"
"Abby," I said, taking her hands in mine, "I love you. That's never going to change- you know that, right?"
"I guess so," she said shakily. "It's just that this is a really big thing, you know, and I'm just never sure how you, or anyone I might tell, will react."
"Nothing you can tell me will ever make me not want to be with you. I love you more than I've ever loved anyone else, and I don't ever want to lose you," I told her emphatically.
"I know that now. It just took me awhile to realize it," she said back.
"So, who have you told, other than me?" I asked curiously.
"Just Maggie and Susan," she replied.
"Susan knows?"
"Of course. Girlfriends tell each other everything, haven't you learned that yet?"
"Unfortunately, no," I replied. "And it probably would have saved me a lot of trouble in high school and college." At that moment, I reached over and kissed Abby passionately.
"What was that for?" she asked, surprised.
"Everything," I responded. "C'mon, let's go to bed," I said softly, pulling Abby up from the couch. "It's been a long day, and we've still got tomorrow to look forward to." She smiled genuinely at me, and followed me into the bedroom. It was the perfect end to a perfect day.
