The ambulance dropped the pair of them outside Abby's apartment. Mark had insisted they be taken home, as neither of them had a car at the hospital.
Abby was sitting in a wheelchair, Carter stood behind her at the handles.
They looked at the steps that led to Abby's apartment.
"I don't think we really thought this through…"
Abby began to chuckle, but stopped abruptly; it hurt too much.
"Can you walk at all?" Carter didn't want her to, but he didn't see any other way to get up there.
"Yeah, I think so."
Carter came around to the front of the wheelchair, and held out both his hands. She took them, and looked up at him.
"Ok. Ready?" he smiled, and braced himself.
She nodded.
Taking a deep breath, she pulled herself up, balancing against Carter's weight, resting on his hands.
From the moment she started to stand, Carter saw the pain on her face. She was breathing short and sharp, and biting her lip to stop herself screaming out.
He slid his arm around her waist, and placed her arm over his shoulder in one motion.
He took her weight, and she relaxed, the pain subsiding.
She breathed out.
"Thanks."
"Ready?"
"Yeah."
They took the steps slowly, one by one.
**********************************
He placed her gently on the couch.
Catching his breath, he said, "I'll just get the chair." and disappeared.
Abby sighed.
She softly placed her hand on her stomach, and winced.
Tentatively, she lifted the edge of her blood-stained T-Shirt high enough to reveal her bandaged torso. There were spots of blood seeping through the whiteness of the gauze.
"Damnit…" She whispered. She hadn't looked at it before. Lifting her T-shirt higher, she saw the purple-black markings that covered the middle of her abdomen. She traced the edges with her finger, wincing when she hit a bruise that had not shown itself yet.
"You'll be sore for a while." Carter tenderly said, knowing she had not seen him return.
She jumped a little, and pulled her T-Shirt back down, though not as fast as she might have done.
"I didn't hear you…What happened to the chair?"
Carter shrugged, half smiling.
"You lost it?"
The half smile turned into an angelic grin.
"Not lost, exactly. More…misplaced."
"You mean someone swiped it?"
"Or it rolled away."
Abby shook her head, almost in disbelief.
"I can't believe you lost the chair!"
"Me? I should think you had a hand in it too!"
"Ah, maybe, but you were driving…"
Carter made fish faces, his mouth opening and closing in mock outrage. He flopped down next to her.
She yawned, and let out a heavy sigh.
Carter gave her a sideways look. He watched her as her eyelids began to blink, and then close.
He stood up again, and turned to face her.
"Are you tired?"
"No, Nope, Nope." She shook her head sleepily, and tried to hide another yawn.
"Come on, I'll help you to bed."
She looked up at him through bleary eyes and nodded.
He pulled her up once more, and supported her into her bedroom, sat her on the big double bed.
"You'll be ok from here?"
"Yeah. The blankets should be by the couch."
He nodded and left.
He sought the blankets, and found them neatly folded beside the couch. He shook them out and spread them over the couch.
**********************************
"Carter…"
She hadn't wanted to call for him, but there was no way she could get out of this one.
"Carter!"
He appeared at the doorway, and looked in. His eyes registered Abby's shirt half-way over her head, and felt he shouldn't be looking. He turned around and called to her.
"What's up?"
"…I think I'm a little…it hurts to…I think I'm…Stuck."
"I don't think I should…" He shifted his weight uneasily.
"It's ok. Just…Help me get ready for bed." She stopped abruptly, and Carter thought he heard her words crack. There was the sound of a scuffle, almost as if she was fighting with the T-shirt. Her voice came back, shouting in frustration.
"I can't do anything!"
That did it.
Carter was sitting beside her in an instant.
"Ok. Just take it easy."
He took the bottom of the t-shirt in both hands, gently lifted it over her head and tossed it onto the bed behind him.
"There."
She was still tense, and sitting in her bra made her more so.
He let his sight wander across her skin, just for a second.
Something on her smooth back caught his eye. A scar, perhaps? It was about the size of his hand, and had ragged edges like it was running down her back.
Probably something he gave her to remember him by, Carter thought.
She saw the reflection of them in the mirror on her dresser. His eyes were looking at her bare back, a mixed look of puzzlement and sorrow on his features.
Confused, she tried to shake him out of it.
"My night-shirt is in the top drawer, over there."
Carter looked up, registered this as request, and walked to the chest. Pulling open the drawer, he saw, sure enough, the night-shirt neatly folded on the top.
He pulled it out, began to turn away, and then stopped.
**********************************
Carter spotted something else in the drawer.
A pile of men's clothes.
"…Abby"
She craned her neck to see what he had seen. Her face fell, not in embarrassment, but it had evoked previous emotions.
"I forgot about those." Then, seeing Carter's puzzled expression, she added:
"They're Luka's"
"Ah. Do you want me to take them into work tomorrow? Give them back?"
He wondered how he was going to do that - without getting another black eye.
She thought for a moment.
"That's probably for the best."
He returned to sitting behind her, night-shirt in hand.
The scar caught his eye again, but this time he reached out and touched it.
She pulled away, suddenly realising what he had been so fixated on earlier.
He mentally shook himself. What was he playing at?
"I'm sorry, Abby, I didn't mean to…"
"…You startled me, that's all."
She blushed.
He didn't look at her again as he helped her dress. They did not speak until Abby was fully dressed, and it was her who broke the silence.
"Parting gift." She simply stated, staring at her reflection in the mirror.
He looked over her shoulder, and met her gaze reflected in the glass.
She shook her head, trying to dispel the memories.
He watched her as she gently led herself down on the bed, wincing as her torso contacted the mattress. He climbed off the bed as gently as possible, and pulled the duvet up and over her. She smiled at him.
"You ok? In any pain? Mark gave me some Tylenol to give you if-"
She interrupted him.
"I'm fine."
Her eyes were softly closed, but she was still smiling.
Carter stood, silently, barely daring to breathe, watching her.
He watched as she fell deeper and deeper asleep, till he was satisfied she was completely gone.
