A/N: Lesley, WolfLMB: Fear not, your comments have not gone unheard. There's not gonna be a WHOLE lot of the other characters, because after all this is a Carby story, but I will be working some more of Susan and the kids into upcoming chapters.
Pissed Off Poet: Don't worry, they're gonna get down to the nitty-gritty soon enough…
Chapter 11
"And as soon as this IV is finished, you should be ready to go," said the nurse. "The doctor should discharge you around one."
"Thank God," Abby said. "I can't stand much more of this place."
"Hey, Abby," Carter said, entering the room.
"Hey, Carter," Abby said, imitating his easy tone. He hoped that meant she was in a good mood.
"Can I talk to you for a minute?" Abby motioned to the chair sitting next to her bed.
Carter sat down and adjusted his jacket. He wasn't sure where to start, though he had rehearsed what he was going to say several times in his head. What was he supposed to start with? Was it an apology, or an explanation?
"Carter?" Abby said, looking at him curiously. He had sat down by her bed, then proceeded to stare off into space like she didn't exist. Was this what he had come here for?
Carter was jolted out of his reverie. He decided to just start talking. Hopefully, the right words would come to him.
"Abby, what I wanted to talk about was...what I did. Four years ago." Abby's face hardened, so he sped up. "I wanted to apologize. There was no excuse for what I did, but I want us to move on." No! That wasn't what he meant to say!
Abby nodded her head, and he could tell that she was mad. "Oh, I see. You want us to move on. I guess by 'move on', you mean 'I forget what you did and we all just pretend it never happened'."
"I'm, I'm sorry, that wasn't what I meant to say-"
"And I guess that wasn't what you meant to do, either? Somehow, you just ended up in a closet feeling up some woman, and it just wasn't what you intended to happen."
"No, it wasn't-"
"Well, I guess it's a shame that fate just worked against you, huh?" Abby said sarcastically.
"Abby, I don't think it was right-"
"No, it wasn't," Abby interrupted. "It was the worst thing that anyone's ever done to me, Carter. Ever. So don't think you can make it all go away with an apology." With that, Abby stormed out of the room, IV pole racing angrily behind her.
Carter sat by her bed, stunned. She was still furious about this, obviously. He wished he hadn't botched it up by saying something so stupid! He wondered if there were any words he could say that would make her forgive him.
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Abby sat on the park bench, shivering. She had forgotten how cold it was in Chicago. In Atlanta, November meant 65 degrees. Here in Chicago, it meant bitterly cold winds. She considered going back inside, but didn't want to run the risk of bumping into Carter again. So she sat outside.
What was she going to do? She couldn't believe Carter thought he could just apologize and make everything better. He had cheated on her, and nothing was going to change that. If she was living in his house, he would probably be trying to make up every second of the day. It would be unbearable.
Once again, Abby reviewed her options. Maybe she could stay with Susan. But she had only talked to Susan once in the past four years, and that was yesterday. Could she really ask Susan to not only let her and her children live in Susan's apartment, but also to feed them until she could get back on her feet? She didn't think she had that much nerve.
She tried to think of who else she could freeload off, but Susan was probably her closest friend who was still living in Chicago. And if she couldn't ask Susan, she couldn't ask anyone. So, unless she came up with a new plan in the next few hours, it looked like she would still be staying with Carter.
She heard footsteps approaching, and was not surprised when they stopped at the bench. A hand was extended, offering a jacket, but she ignored it. Finally, a voice said, "Are you gonna take this jacket before my arm falls off?"
Abby glanced up in surprise. "Susan? What are you doing out here?" She took the jacket and put it on. God, it felt good.
Susan sat down next to Abby on the bench. "I saw you running out of the ER, so I figured your talk with Carter probably hadn't gone all that well."
"He told you about it?" Abby asked, wondering just how close Carter and Susan were. Had they ever started dating again?
"Actually, I gave him the idea," Susan admitted.
Abby stared at her. "Why?" she asked, dumbfounded. She would have thought that Susan would be on her side on this one.
"Well, you guys have two kids together. Like it or not, you're gonna be spending a lot of time together for the next 14 1/2 years. So you might as well get along."
"I know," Abby conceded. "But how am I supposed to forgive him after what he did to me?"
"I don't know. I have to admit, if a guy I was dating cheated on me, I'd probably hire a hit man," Susan said nonchalantly. Abby laughed. "I'll be the first one to say, Carter was a real idiot. But it's been four years. He's spent four years regretting what he did." Seeing the skeptical look on Abby's face, she continued, "You haven't been here, Abby. You haven't seen how much he's cried for you, or when he told me it was the worst day of his life. Do you know that, in four years, he hasn't been on a single date?" Abby bit her lip. She appeared to be thinking. "He still loves you. He was so excited when he saw you here, because he thought you came here to say you forgave him. He has been living with the guilt of what he did for years. Yes, he made a mistake- a HUGE mistake- but don't we all? He's paid for what he did, Abby. He's been a father for four years without even knowing it. Isn't that punishment enough? Don't you owe it to yourself to give him another chance? Don't you owe it you your kids?"
Abby looked up at Susan. "You're right," she said. "You're absolutely right. Jill and Riley deserve a father. They deserve to live in a nice house, to not have to worry about being put out on the street, or about what they're going to eat." Abby was looking down now, biting her lip.
Susan wrapped her arms around her. "You've done a good job with them, Abby. But you've had a run of bad luck, and you need Carter's help. Why not give him another chance?"
Abby thought for a moment, then lifted her head so that she was at Susan's eye level. "You know, maybe I will."
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Carter paced around Abby's hospital bed. The doctor had discharged her thirty minutes ago. Where was she? She wouldn't have just left, would she? He didn't see anything of hers around the room, but he honestly couldn't remember what had been here. His heart twisted in his chest. What if he didn't get to make things right with her? What if he didn't get to see Jill and Riley again?
He almost fainted from relief when Abby walked in the door. "Oh, thank God, I thought you were gone," he said, walking towards her as if he was going to hug her, and stopping himself just in time. In his excitement, he had forgotten himself. "Where were you?"
"I was talking to Susan, if that's alright, Dad," Abby said jokingly.
Carter realized how his question must have sounded. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"
"It's okay Carter, I was just joking."
"Oh." Carter ran his fingers through his hair. " Look Abby, I just wanted to say I didn't mean to make you mad. I had a speech prepared, but I was so nervous I guess I forgot it." He gulped and looked at Abby. Well, at least she didn't look mad. That was always a good sign. "I just wanted to say- I shouldn't have done what I did. It was absolutely, completely unacceptable. I really didn't mean to hurt you, Abby, but I just got caught up in the moment. I've spent the past four years wishing I could take back what I did.
"You have every right to be mad, and I know that. I was the idiot, I threw our relationship away. But I want us to be friends again. I don't want you to hate me anymore." He looked at Abby, an almost desperate look on his face.
When Abby looked at him, saw the sadness and regret in his eyes, she almost felt sorry for him. Had he really been living in torment all these years, wishing for her forgiveness? She hoped not. Even Carter didn't deserve that kind of punishment.
"I don't know if things can ever be the way they were before," Abby said softly. "I just, I don't know if I can trust you anymore."
Carter looked crushed. She wanted to give him a big hug and tell him the everything was going to be okay, but was it, really? How would this end?
"Okay, I...I understand," Carter said in a shaky voice. "We should probably go now."
His face was etched with heartbreak, and it was more than Abby could take. She walked over to him and wrapped her arms around him. "I'm sorry about this," she said, though she didn't know what she was apologizing about. After all, SHE hadn't done anything. But she was sorry that he felt this badly.
Carter was stunned by her actions. Could this be real? Had Abby actually hugged him out of her own free will? He lifted his arms and placed his hands on her back, and he realized that it was, indeed, real. Abby was hugging him. Did that mean she wasn't mad at him?
He wanted to ask, but he didn't dare to break the spell of the moment. He felt tears coming to his eyes. This was what he had been dreaming of for years. "I'm sorry, Abby," he said in a husky voice. "I'm so sorry."
At the sound of his voice, Abby felt her anger at him slowly melting away. How could she stay mad at this guilt-ridden man? She saw that he had, indeed, paid the price for his mistake.
"It's okay, Carter. I'm not mad anymore." After a moment's hesitation, she said, "I forgive you."
Carter felt like he was in a dream. He had been waiting to hear those words for so long. Had Abby really forgiven him? It seemed too wonderful to imagine.
But it had happened. "Thank you. You have no idea how much that means to me," Carter said. He tightened his arms around her.
He was right. Abby had no idea that it had bothered him that much that she was still mad at him. She hadn't realized until that moment that he was really, truly sorry for what he had done. Maybe they could have some semblance of friendship after this.
Carter and Abby stayed in that position, locked in each other's arms, until a nurse came and asked them to clear the room. Then, and only then, they reluctantly parted, and headed to Carter's car.