Author Notes: We're on Abby's POV this time. I think each chapter will be alternating from now on…Okay, R/R unless you want me to hunt you down and strangle you in your sleep…the usual threat…yadda yadda yadda…

Lurve and hugz to m'Beta, Kate, and to Jen because…well, ya know why ::wooks:: Lurve ya!

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Eight hours since he left.

As I slide the key into the door of my apartment, I dread being there without him. It's not that I don't know how to get through a day - or even several days - without him. It's just that this is the first of at least fourteen days to come. The last time I remember caring so much about a block of fourteen days was almost a year ago - exactly a year ago, five days from tomorrow, actually - and those fourteen days were days spent with him. Constantly with him. Not without him. Not worrying about him. Not like now.

I enter the apartment and drop my keys on the table beside me, surveying the scene. It looks exactly as I left it. Exactly as he left it. Somehow I expected it to look different without him here. Oh well.

I drop my purse on the couch and move through the these empty spaces. I should clean up the mess I left this morning. After he left, I couldn't stand to be here alone. So I quickly grabbed my necessities and headed for work. An hour early. What can I say, it was too quiet in here with only his goodbye reverberating in my ear. It was either get out or crawl onto the couch and cry myself into a pathetic state.

Damn him and his ability to draw me out of my anti-emotional shell.

I find my way into my - our - bedroom and I have to smile when I see the state that he left it in. His frantic packing has left me with various shirts, socks, and towels to put away in his absence. Or maybe I'll leave it how it is, at least for tonight. It's comforting. And maybe I'll just wear that black T-shirt of his to bed.

Bed. Damn I'm tired. I could definitely sleep right now. It's been a draining day, that's for sure. Grabbing the shirt I had my eye on before, I remove my scrubs and slip it over my head. Smells just like him. I'll definitely sleep well tonight.

That bed is calling my name. I'd better oblige. I move to his side of the bed and pull back the covers, choosing to sleep in his territory for the next two weeks. I always do when he's gone. As I climb onto the mattress, content to bury my face in his pillow and sleep forever, I remember suddenly to check my messages and reach across the bed to my own side. That's when I see it.

What the hell? The breath catches in my chest and I swear my heart just skipped five beats. I'm paralyzed, as my mind is overloaded with memories from just two months ago. I'd know that satin blue box anywhere. Inside that box is a platinum band with a rock the size of Gibraltar on it. The ring. A ring I wasn't sure I'd ever see again. A ring that I was never supposed to see in the first place. A ring that he had made clear he wasn't ready to give.

"I didn't do it because, in that moment it just felt…it didn't feel right."

Exactly. Point taken. Which brings me back to: why the hell is it on my bedside table? Curiosity gets the best of me, if only because I want to look at that rock again, and I reach for the box. There's an envelope underneath it. It has my name on it. Now, this is becoming far too interesting. I open the ring box, setting it on the bed beside me so that I can glance at it repeatedly as I read the contents of this mysterious envelope. Ripping it open, I find a card inside. Nothing fancy, just one of those cards with an overly-adorable little boy and girl holding hands. I smile. Carter's such a sucker for mushy stuff. But then, so am I when it's coming from him. Opening the card, I find a note written in his unmistakable doctor scribble.

Abby,

I was hoping you could hold onto this for me while I'm gone. As far as I'm concerned, it already belongs to you. I know I said it didn't feel right. I know I've never brought up the subject since then. But I want you to know that I do want to be with you. Forever. I don't know what might happen over the next two weeks, and I couldn't bear it if I left this world without you knowing my true intentions. I want to marry you. I want to call you my wife and hear you call me husband. I want us to wake up in each other's arms every morning. And I want to know that we're legally required to do so. I want to spend the rest of my life telling you that I love you, because I can never say it enough. I love you. I love you. I love you…That just sounds so inadequate, considering that what I feel for you is so much more. But there are no words for this feeling. You're ingrained on my heart. No matter what circumstances I find myself in these next fourteen days, I need you to know and believe that. Forever. Take care of the ring for me. Hopefully I can make it official one of these days. But incase fate has other plans, know that marrying you is what I wanted. You and me. Forever. And because there are no other words…

I love you,

John

As I finish reading, tears are threatening to escape from my eyes and I'm positive that I've stopped breathing. This man is incredible. I have no idea what he sees in me. But I'm damn glad that he sees it. I place the card back into the envelope and let my eyes fall again to the ring. A keepsake, more or less. The letter said he would make it official another time. If there is another time. So this is pretty much something for me to hold onto if I lose him. How incredibly…bitter sweet.

Sighing heavily, I wipe the tears from my eyes, determined not to let myself dwell on the nightmare that could very possibly be in my near future. No. He promised he would be right back. I won't lose him. I can't. I pick up the ring box and stare at that sparkling boulder set in platinum for another minute or so. Then I quickly close the case and place it back on the bedside table, along with the letter, where I originally found them. I'm sure I'll be returning frequently to both in the next two weeks. For right now, I can think of nothing better to fall asleep to. His words. His promises. His dreams. For us.

I find my way back to his side of the bed and crawl beneath the covers, taking in the scent of his pillow and letting my mind wander to him, wondering if he's thinking of me as much as I am him.

Something deep within me tells me that he is. And suddenly I feel myself drifting into the reverie of sleep and sweet dreams.