A/N: As carbyfan so kindly reminded me, I did promise a happy ending for this story, and from the very beginning I had every intention of delivering one. Just stick around, folks. And LTDan, yes, I am in my right mind. At least the men in white coats said so…
Chapter 33
"Good night, Mommy."
"Good night, Jill. Good night, Riley," Abby said, bending over to kiss Jill on the forehead. Jill was finally home. That was all she had been hoping for for days. But now, Jill was here, and she couldn't enjoy it. Because Carter was gone.
He had given up his life for Jill. They had both known that it was fruitless pursuing this lead, that this man was a fraud. But Abby had been so persistent about it, he had agreed to do it, knowing he was wasting his time. And he had died in the process.
"Are the kids okay?"
Abby jumped. She had almost forgotten that Susan was still there, but there she was, standing in the doorway to the kitchen with a worried expression on her face. Abby nodded in response to Susan's question. "They don't know anything's wrong," she said quietly. Susan nodded.
"I shouldn't have made him go," Abby whispered. "We both knew it wasn't real, but I ignored that because I was so desperate to have Jill back. I guilted him into going. I told-" Abby paused for a moment, gathering herself. "I told him that he didn't love her, that all he cared about was protecting his money." Abby bowed her head in shame. "I can't believe I said that."
"You were worried about Jill; you weren't acting like yourself. You just wanted to do whatever you needed to to get her back. How could you have ignored that phone call, no matter what the cops said?" Susan motioned Abby over to the table, and they both sat down. "You did what you should have done; investigated the lead. It's not your fault the plane crashed."
"He shouldn't have been on the plane in the first place. I shouldn't have made him go."
"Abby, you didn't make him do anything. Carter is a grown man; the reason he went on that plane was because he loves Jill, and was willing to take risks to get her back."
"And now he's dead for it," Abby said, covering her face in her hands, unwilling to let Susan see her cry. "Carter died trying to save Jill. All I did was sit here and tell him what a terrible father he was. He was a great father, but now he's not anything."
"Stop it!" Susan yelled in a voice that startled Abby out of her tears. "Stop talking about him in the past tense. We don't know anything yet. For all we know, he could be picking up the phone right now to call and tell you that he's alright." They both stared at the phone for a moment, as if Susan's statement would make it ring.
"But this isn't your fault, Abby. Carter should've been on that plane, trying to save Jill. It was the right thing to do; the plane crash was just a freak accident." Seeing the look on Abby's face, she said, "But don't give up on him yet, Abby. He's not dead yet."
Abby closed her eyes. "I won't," she said quietly.
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Mario looked grimly at the men standing in from of him. "It's a bad one," he said. "Let's try and get out all the people in coach before we work on the bodies in first class."
Jeff gulped. "Bodies in first class?" he said, gazing at the crumpled front section of the plane. He knew being a firefighter was going to be exciting, but he had never imagined a plane crash on his very first day!
Mario nodded. "If there's anybody alive in first class, it'll be in the very back. Everyone in the front is dead. We need to make an opening in the luggage compartment, and from there we can crawl into coach. We have to hurry, because it looks like one of the fuel tanks might have been punctured."
Jeff nodded and climbed up the side of the plane as Mario turned to direct the rest of the crew. Jeff could see faces in the windows of the plane. How many of them were alive?
"Okay boss, we got it open!" yelled one of the men at the top. He heard grunting, then a gurney was lowered to the men closer to the bottom. Jeff braced himself as the first of the survivors emerged from the plane.
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Bruce hated his job.
Everyone hated his job, but someone had to do it. This time, it was Bruce's turn.
With a heavy hand, he switched the phone to his other ear. "Yes, Mrs. Gray, I understand. I'm very sorry about your loss."
"But Jamie and I just got married. We were supposed to go on our honeymoon as soon as he got home-" she was unable to go on, her body racked with sobs.
"I'm sorry, Mrs. Gray," he repeated mechanically. He had recited the instructions so many times, but he didn't think anyone actually listened to them. They were still too grief-stricken to make sense of them. He could still hear her crying as he hung up the phone.
Bruce replaced the handset and closed his eyes for a moment, trying to forget the horror of the day. After a moment, he opened them, and crossed the name James Gray off the list. It was so sad. All these young kids who had died in the plane crash, and now he had to deliver the horrible news.
At first, things had looked normal. There were many who had not made it, but there were also plenty of survivors. In the beginning, they had actually thought that they might be able to save most of the passengers.
That was before the fuel tank exploded.
They had only gotten about twenty people out when the blast knocked them to their feet. Several firefighters had died in the blaze, because it had come on so suddenly. All the passengers in first class had died, and so had many in coach.
Bruce's hands gripped the list, the list of lives that had been snuffed out way too soon. He didn't want to do this. He didn't want to deliver any more pain, to dash the hopes of any more families. But it was his job.
Bruce looked at the next name on the list. Jonathan Carter. Sighing wearily, he dialed the next number.
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Abby slowly replaced the phone. She stood there for a minute, her eyes squeezed shut. This couldn't be happening.
Despondent, she walked up the stairway. Her feet felt like they were anchored to cement blocks, and the stairway seemed endless.
She stopped in the doorway of Jill and Riley's room. They were sitting on the floor, playing with their toys. They were happy to be back together. They thought their lives were perfect now.
She wanted to take them in her arms, to comfort them. But they didn't even know anything was wrong; why worry them unnecessarily? And if she went in their room like this, she herself frantic with worry, she would only make them panic.
So she stood in the doorway, watching them play.
Did they know? Did they have any idea that they might not see their father again, the father they had just discovered they had? Did they have the slightest inkling that the new lives they had just gotten used to might be snatched away?
Carter. He had died trying to save Jill. She herself had stayed home and complained about how little he was doing. She wished she had gotten a chance to thank him.
She had never told him what a great dad he was, how good he was with the kids. She had never told him how important he was to the kids. She had never told him how important he was to her.
She thought of the fun times they had had together. Playing with the kids, dancing at Chen's party. In Atlanta, she hadn't had any friends like him. Even though in four years she had never allowed herself to admit it, she had missed him. And it was nice to see him again.
But it was over now. No more running away from each other, no more not speaking to each other, no more fighting and making up. No more anything. He was gone, and he was gone because of her.
"Abby?"
Abby was snapped out of her reverie by Susan's voice. She looked up, and realized that this wasn't the first time she had called her name. "What?"
"What are you doing?" Susan asked curiously.
"Um, just watching the kids," she said quietly.
Susan studied Abby for a moment, almost as intently as Abby was studying the kids. Something was wrong here.
"Are you okay?" Susan asked, concerned. Abby looked tired, worried.
"Not really," Abby admitted, leaning against the doorframe. "Thinking about Carter."
Susan shook her head. "Don't torture yourself, Abby. Don't give up hope until you have a reason to."
Susan meant for her words to be encouraging, but they had the exact opposite effect. Abby's eyes closed, and her hands went to her face. A half-hearted whimper escaped from her lips, then she was silent.
"What's wrong?" Susan asked, panicked. She hadn't expected that response. "Abby, what's the matter?"
"The plane- blew- up," Abby mumbled, gulping quickly, trying to keep her emotions in check.
Susan's eyes widened. "What?" she exclaimed, then remembered that the kids were right there, and might be able to hear them. In a quieter voice, she asked, "Wha-what do you mean? How do you know?"
"They called me. They said only a few people got out before it blew up, and they haven't been able to identify them yet."
"Oh my God. Do they- do they know? If he was...one of them?"
Abby shook her head. "They don't. They said they'd call me when they found out. But only a few people survived-"
"How many people?" she asked.
"Twenty-six."
Susan appeared to be thinking. "Well, maybe the airline can't identify him, but we can. The survivors must be in the hospital, right? And if we go to the hospital, we can settle this. We can see for ourselves if Carter is...okay." She changed the end of the sentence just in time. Why not put a positive spin on things?
Abby's head snapped up. Susan was right! What was her problem? She was sitting here moping instead of actually trying to find out if Carter was okay!
For the first time in days, Abby felt a glimmer of hope. It was unwarranted, because just going to the site of the plane crash couldn't bring him back from the dead. But it was something. It was better than sitting here wondering.
With a sudden burst of energy, she said, "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go to Arizona!"