Title: Mirrored Here

Disclaimer: I own nothing of great value, and that includes Abby, Carter and the other cohorts of ER. Those belong to The Powers That Be and the kind folks at Warner Brothers. No copyright infringement is ever intended. I write because I like to write, and I share because I want to.

Notes: Ok, so I've got it on good authority that the next few weeks are going to be heavy for Abby, which means I'll probably be writing a post-ep after each episode for awhile. Yippee for you, more work for Lanie. ;o) I'm also back in class now, so bear with me if the chapters are not as long or as spectacular as they have been.

Your feedback and support have been encouraging. This series is as much mine as it is yours.

Spoilers for "One Can Only Hope". It's still Abby's PoV, but I've strayed from the internal monologue for this one. Don't worry, it'll be back next time! I wanted to have some fun with this.

There they are. The two most important men in my life. Some women aren't fortunate enough to have even one, and here I am taking more than my fair share. I'm lucky.

Greedy, but lucky.

"Hey, you know what we should do?"

Eric turns around to face us, stepping out in front of Jodie as he does. She stops suddenly, swaying forward into him, and giggles.

I glance up at Carter and roll my eyes as we come to a stop beside them. He notices my expression and smiles, squeezing my hand.

Eric looks at us. "You know what we should do?"

I raise my eyebrows. "What?"

"The Ferris Wheel."

I groan. Carter laughs.

"Come on. It'll be fun." Eric looks at Jodie. "Right?" She nods, and he kisses her nose.

I look up at Carter. He gives me his 'whatever-you-want' face, and shrugs. I sigh.

"Do you mind if I skip out?"

Eric raises an eyebrow in surprise. "Really?"

I nod. "Yeah."

"But you love rides."

"I do?"

"You used to. What's the matter?" He grins devilishly. "Chicken?"

I glare at my baby brother. "No. Just… Tired."

Jodie pipes up. "It's not a very fast ride. It's actually kind of romantic." She gazes up at Eric, smiling sweetly. He mouths something to her and winks. They laugh.

Carter clears his throat. "I think I'll sit this one out, too."

Eric glances up, and the two men in my life exchange a look. Carter raises his eyebrows as if to indicate some underlying reason for backing out. Eric smiles and nods his head knowingly.

"Ah. I get it. Sure. Sure…" He looks back at Jodie. "Come on, let's go. The line's not that long."

Eric pulls her towards the ride. She throws us a glance over her shoulder. "See you guys later!"

I watch them walk away, bumping off each other like kids on a playground. I shake my head and exhale loudly, looking up at the man still standing beside me. I frown. "What was that?"

He's smiling. "You've got to admit, it is cute."

"What?"

He looks down at me. "Them. They're cute."

I make a face and shrug, looking back at my brother and his girlfriend standing in line, arms wrapped around each other.

"They're drunk."

"They had one beer."

"Each." I look back up at him. "She's not even twenty-one, yet."

He ticks his head from side to side. "True."

I turn my head again and watch Eric and Jodie board a gondola. "Did you want to go on the ride? Because if you do… "

"You don't want to."

"I know. But if you do, I would go." I smile at him. "Jodie did say it was romantic."

"Anything I do with you is romantic."

I laugh. "Laying it on thick tonight, are we?"

"I try."

My giggles subside, but I take a moment to reach up and plant a small kiss on his lips. He looks down at me as I pull back, eyebrows raised.

"What was that for?"

I shrug. "Love makes you do crazy things."

"Crazy?"

"Maybe."

He nods smiling, and looks around. I follow his gaze, trying to figure out what he's searching for. I open my mouth to ask him just that, when I suddenly feel him pull away, tugging me along with him. I try not to stumble over my feet as I skip to keep up with him.

"Where are we going?"

He pulls my hand closer to his body. "You'll see."

"Carter…"

"Trust me."

"I do."

He glances down at me and smiles. "Good." Looking away briefly, he inhales a breath before swinging out in front of me. I'm startled to a halt, bracing my hand on his chest to keep myself from falling forward.

"Okay."

I frown. "Okay what?"

He smirks a little, staring at something beyond me. "Looks like you're the one who won the lottery."

I make a face, shaking my head slowly. "You're not making any sense."

"Turn around."

I raise my eyebrows and give him a questioning look before I comply, twisting around to face the other direction. We're standing in front of one of those carnival fun houses. Lights and music greet my senses as I try my best to figure out the clue.

"What…?"

He drops my hand and wraps his arms around me, leaning down to whisper in my ear.

"It's your mansion."

I snort. "My mansion?"

He tightens his grip around me, swaying our bodies from side to side. "Yeah…"

I bite my lip and turn my head towards his. The peaceful, content demeanor is certainly contagious. Looking back at the fun house, I laugh. "Looks like a fixer-upper."

He kisses my cheek and straightens, taking my hand again. "Let's go inside."

I sigh. I really don't want to go, but he's so excited and sweet, and… Oh hell. Love makes you do crazy things, right?

"We don't have any tickets."

I watch as he reaches into his pocket and pulls out two strips of tickets. "On the contrary."

I shake my head. "You're full of surprises, John Carter."

He grins at me playfully. "You just wait."

He hands the tickets to the attendant at the entrance and proceeds to lead me inside the house by way of a black-curtained passage. Upon entry, all the noises and the lights disappear, and we're drawn further into quiet darkness. I reach out with my free hand to grope the wall beside me. It feels so close, and yet I have to extend my arm almost completely to make contact. I blink a few times to try and adjust my eyes to the darkness, but it doesn't seem to help.

"John?"

"I'm right here." He pulls me towards him, and I can make out his form in front of me. "Are you okay? We can go back, if you want."

"Yeah. I mean, no. I'm fine. It's just… The whole thing isn't like this, is it?"

"Nah. Just this first part."

"You've been here before?"

"Every summer when I was a kid."

"Oh." I continue to let him lead me through the hallway, looking back towards where we came from. "It feels like we've been in here forever." Suddenly, I sense him coming to a stop. Yep. My shoulder bounces off of his back. "What is it?"

"There should be a corner around here, somewhere."

"A corner?"

"Yeah. I remember that…" He pauses and I can hear him searching the wall. "Ah. Here we go."

I follow him around a corner and through another heavy, black curtain. A shower of dim light meets my eyes as we emerge. He stops and spins into me. I must look upset, because his face turns to concern just then, and he cups my cheek.

"Are you okay?"

I smile at his touch. "I'm fine. I just wasn't expecting that."

"I'm sorry."

"For what?" I smile. "Come on, there must be more to this place, right?"

He softens, returning my smile. "Right this way."

He guides me through another doorway and into another room. At first I think that we're not alone, but I quickly realize that it's a maze made up of mirrors and glass panels, and our images are being reflected several times over.

"This is… Interesting."

He laughs and we make our way through the narrow passages. There's not enough room to stand side-by-side, so we disentangle our fingers from each other. He goes first, holding his hands out in front of him. I follow, my own hands resting on his hips.

We spend the next few minutes navigating our way through the maze. I try and call out instructions to him on which way to go, but I'm not much help. Instead, we end up bumping into dead ends, smacking into mirrors and glass panes, and dissolving into fits of laughter each time we make a wrong turn.

"I think we go this way…"

*THUD*

"Oww."

"Maybe not…"

"Have we been here before?"

"What happens if we don't make it out?"

"I think they send out the search and rescue dogs."

"Lovely."

He turns around in his tracks, facing me. "I could think of worse things than being trapped in here with you."

"Oh, really…" I respond by sliding my hands up his arms and wrapping them around his neck. "And Jodie said the Ferris Wheel was romantic."

He smiles a sly grin. "I think romance has less to do with the activity you're doing and more to do with the person you're doing it with."

I tip my head to the side. "Wise words."

He shrugs. "I'm a wise man."

I laugh and drop my arms. "Well, if you're so wise, let's see you get us out of here."

He places his hands on my shoulders and turns me around "I would, but you keep distracting me with the way you're clinging to my waist like that."

"You know I can't bear to be separated from you." I throw him a seductive grin over my shoulder, winking.

Guiding me forward, he leans in to whisper. "That will never happen." His breath is warm against my neck. Hey now. Who's distracting who? I fight the urge to turn around and pin him to the nearest mirror.

"Promise?"

"Promise."

We're quiet as he leads me around a few more corners until we finally reach another doorway.

"This better be the exit."

He laughs. "And if it isn't?"

"Then… Bad things will happen."

"Well, lucky for me…" He takes my hand and pulls me through the doorway and into another room.

Another room?

"I thought this was over." I look around. "More mirrors?"

"Crazy mirrors."

"Ahh…" I turn around and take in my reflection in the first one. It's wavy and distorts the image. I scowl. Behind me, he laughs. I spin around. "What?"

He shakes his head and steps up beside me. "Try the next one."

I oblige, stepping to my right. The next mirror is bowed inwards. Makes me look as if I've got a short waist. I stare at it for a moment before moving on. I'm short enough as it is. It doesn't need to be emphasized.

The mirror beside it bulges out, flaunting a part of the body that most women are self-conscious about. I laugh as soon as I see my reflection. He notices my guffaw, looking over with interest.

I turn around and look over my shoulder at him.

"Does this mirror make my butt look big?"

He steps closer and takes a few moments to study my reflection. He pulls the back of my coat away and stares a little longer. "Actually, I think it's the jeans."

"Hey!" I whack him hard on the arm.

"Oww!" He cringes and rubs his arm, pouting.

I wag a finger at him. "Careful now."

I weave my way past the next two mirrors, stopping briefly to check out their effects, and pause longer in front of the last mirror.

I frown.

I don't see anything different.

Reaching out, I brush a hand down the surface. It's perfectly straight.

It's just… A mirror.

He comes up from behind me and wraps his arms around my waist, resting his chin on my shoulder. He gazes at our image being reflected.

"Ah… Now this has to be my favorite one. See how good we look?"

I smile. "Yes."

We stand there for several seconds, watching each other in the mirror. His smile. My head resting against his. My hands stroking him. The slight movement of our bodies together.

The reflection.

It's us.

"Mmmm."

"What?"

"Nothing."

He sighs.

"What?"

"Nothing."

He straightens and I turn around in his arms. My hands find their usual resting spot behind his head.

"So… Do you like your mansion?"

I shrug. "I could do without all the mirrors, and that dark hallway at the front definitely has to go. But it's got potential."

He laughs and leans his forehead against mine. "Yeah. Potential."

I press my palm against the back of his neck and reach up to kiss him. He meets me halfway. The kiss is soft, tender. Romantic.

I pull away and look into his eyes. Our heads are still touching. My hands continue to caress the back of his neck, my voice is barely a whisper.

"Do you think Eric and Jodie can find their own way home?"

"You mean, would it be rude if we just left right now?"

"Well… Yeah."

A smile plays on his lips. "Somehow I don't think they'd notice."

I roll my eyes playfully. "Yeah."

He brings his hands up and unwraps me from his neck, lacing his fingers with mine.

"How do we get out of here?"

"Good question. If my memory serves me, there's a quick exit just though here…"

We walk towards the nearest doorway, which undoubtedly leads to yet another fun house adventure.

But as we step through, the fresh night air and the midway greet us. He descends the few steps first, turns around and holds my hands as I follow.

"You were right."

"I was."

I lean in and place a small kiss on his nose before I hop off the last step. He pulls my hand close to him, smiles, and we begin to make our way home in quiet, happy silence.

Happy. That's what we are.

Because, mirrored here, in our eyes, it's love.

***