The morning sun beat down like a shaft of radiation to the brain. In some sense of the word, it was. The young doctor sucked his cigarette like it was his only constant. Nothing but he and his nicotine. Lately, the world, like the fumes, was a haze of defilement. Flicking his constant companion, his other confidante walked up.
" Looks like the patient fairy brought you a present, Carter" said Susan.
" You just totally ruined my perfect cigarette." he replied annoyed
" Ah yes, well give the Marlboro Man my regrets." she responded cleverly
" I'll do that. Now, what about my present?"
" Open pus wound in curtain three, projectile vomiting in curtain one, and Viagra man is back in curtain four." she explained handing him the three charts.
" What happened this time?"
" Sutures. Cocoa hit him with her whip."
" Great. Anything else?"
In the midst of their witty banter, he heard the slight ring of his cell phone. His mind recollected who might be calling and who had his number? Susan was here. Luka was right inside. Abby was...Abby.
" Hello?" he answered
" Hey."
" Abby?"
" Does this tell you something, Carter?" Abby inquired.
Susan chuckled. Broken up or married. Those two couldn't go twelve hours without hearing the others' voice.
" What are you doing later?"
" Probably killing myself." she dead-panned
" Excellent," he flicked his cigarette " what time does that finish?"
" Coffee and pie later?" she suggested
" Always. My break's at 7:30?"
" Perfect. See you then. I have to go. I have a meeting in an hour."
" Good. Let me know if you need a sponsor."
" That's the funniest joke I've heard all day, but thanks. By the way, what's a seven-letter word for jerk?"
" Bastard. You're doing the crossword puzzle?"
" Yeah. Little trick I learned from a friend."
" You're welcome."
They hung up.
Susan rolled her eyes. " You're hopeless."
" What?" he said naively
" You just broke up with her and you're already going out on dates!"
" Susan, you should know by now that it is not a date. Secondly, she broke up with me."
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The nervous man stood at the platform to say the usual words. The crowd knew what was going to be spat out, but they patiently waited for the victim to meet his greatest fear: admitting he was a drunk. Sob stories were a given in Alcoholics Anonymous. Vini Vendi Vici. They Came, they saw, they conquered. They overcame what was predestined to be the impossible. Some, although, were not that fortunate.
Abby looked down at her crossword puzzle. She had been trying to figure out this word for twenty minutes. If only Carter was here, she had previously thought, he's a walking dictionary.
A young woman was sitting down next to her. She looked twenty-one, maybe two and was already in AA. She's has a long rode before her, Abby thought.
" Physician." the woman whispered matter-of-factly
" What?" replied Abby
" Physician. It's a nine-letter word for MD, right? Medical Doctor? Physician."
" Yeah. Thanks."
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
All the lonely drunks got up from their meeting. Some were probably going to end up in a bar that very same night. Abby noticed the hung-strung speaker from earlier. She decided she would speak to him. Besides, he was kind of cute.
" It gets easier you know." she replied to him.
" Was it that obvious?" he asked
" Oh yeah."
He chuckled lightly.
" How long have you been sober?"
" 6 months, but my all-time high is five and a half years."
" Wow. You're not exactly new at this are you?"
" No. Faithful member since 1995!"
" You're very pretty." he said bluntly
She blushed " Are you sure you're not drunk, now?"
" No way! Just telling the truth. Are you seeing anyone? I noticed you didn't have a wedding ring."
" No, not as of this moment, and yes, I would love to go with you. By the way, I'm Abby Lockhart."
" I'm Clark Harrison, and I didn't ask." he replied with a smirk.
" Just thought I would help you reach your goal."
" How's dinner tonight sound? 7:30?"
" Perfect."
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
I know you hate me. Abby standing Carter up and all. It'll get better I promise. I owe the title of this chapter to REM's fabulous song 'Losing My Religion', of course. If you listen to the words, it has wonderful symbolism. The chat between Abby and Clark on being sober is taken from a similar convo between Abby and Carter at Doc Magoo's in the season 7 epp. 'Sand and Water'. The 'reaching your goal' comment was taken from a classic Doug and Carol scene in the season 6 epp. 'Such Sweet Sorrow'. The familiar, cell phone call was taken from the season 8 epp. 'The Longer You Stay' between, you guessed it, Carter and Abby. The crossword puzzle reference was from the season 7 epp. 'Homecoming'. Again, the 'killing myself/ what time does that finish/ line came from another familiar scene between Mulder and Scully on the X-Files. Ah, Mulder and Scully, the epitome of unrequited love. The 'Marlboro Man' comment was something Carter said to Abby by the river in the season 8 epp. 'Blood, Sugar, Sex, and Magic'. I think that's about all of the stolen lines in this chapter. Thanks for reading. I still love your reviews! Kudos, not-so-dumb-blonde
