Author's Note: Hey guys! I'm back again with another chapter! Sorry it took me so long to post since Chapter 3. I had a little writer's block, but it turned out into a pretty nice, long chapter, the longest yet. There are references to Carter's brother, Bobby, in this chapter. I don't know how Bobby died, so I made it up. After all, this is an AU fic. I hope you like this chapter! Rated R parts in this chapter! Please read and review!

Disclaimer: Refer to Chapter 1

Rating: This chapter is pretty much rated R because there is a couple of R 'scenes' in the storyline. Rated R for sexual content.

Meant to Be - Chapter 4

It had been over a week since the mass casualty occurrence and because of conflicting shift schedules, Abby and Carter had not seen each other much outside of the hospital since then. However, they had found a little time to go out on a date or two, otherwise, they'd opted to eat in. The hot month of July had faded into August, temperatures not decreasing.

Abby had gotten off at six and Carter would be working until three in the morning. Abby lie in her warm bed, asleep, the breeze coming from the window failing to douse the heat swarming her bed and body. It was a wonder how she could sleep through the hot Chicago night, but she did. Her sheets were tangled from her frequent movements of tossing and turning, trying to get comfortable. She moaned and ran a hand over her bare stomach subconsciously in her slumber. Abby was dreaming of Carter and those dreams were overpowering her. She dreamed of them joining as one person, not being just two halves of a puzzle anymore. She wanted- no, needed him to take her, but he wasn't there. The times where they had worked together were tortuous for her. Smelling his cologne, his nearness to her, and the love shining in his eyes, it was all she could do to stop the urge to pull him into an exam room, lock the doors, and have him right there on a gurney. She knew she had told him that she wanted to wait, but she couldn't do that anymore, she needed to feel him inside her, making love to her. With him, it had never just been having sex, but making love. He was so gentle and tender with her that it would be called nothing but that.

A sound penetrated Abby's sleep, rousing her from the wonderful dream. She pulled back the covers and glanced at her clock, which read 4:11 am. She growled as she found her robe, wrapped it around herself, and stumbled sleepily to her apartment door, "I'm going to kill whoever is outside." She looked through her peephole, saw that it was Carter, and quickly opened the door to let him in. "I'm sorry I woke you, Abby. I just really needed to see you," he replied. He looked dejectedly at her and she noticed that his eyes were red and puffy, he'd obviously been crying. "John, what's wrong," she asked concernedly, her hand gently caressing his cheek.

He shrugged off his coat and sank heavily onto her couch. He ran both his hands through his hair and rested his elbows on his knees. "There- there was a little boy that came in around midnight, couldn't have been any older than nine or ten years. He had Bobby's disease. We must have worked on him for at least an hour, maybe more. We couldn't save him… I couldn't save him," he broke out into sobs and his whole body shook because of the intensity.

She sat beside him and held him in her arms as he cried. She knew the death of his brother, Bobby, still pained him to this day. "Shh, it's okay John. John, look at me," she waited until he raised his head, his watery gaze upon her, "You did everything you could to save him, used all the medicines to help him, right?" He nodded and she replied, "Then you did everything you were supposed to do, could do. Don't blame yourself because the boy died. He was probably too far affected by the disease to survive. You are a good doctor, John; you did everything remotely possible to save the boy. That's all a family can ask for. I know it won't bring their son back, but they'll grieve and work through the pain. Just like you have." By this time, he had quieted down a little and now responded almost in a whisper, "I still miss him so much." She kissed his cheek and reached out a hand to him as she got up from the couch, "I know you do. Come on, why don't you go take a warm shower and come to bed. You look like hell." He smiled a little, "Thanks, for everything. I didn't realize how much it still hurt me about Bobby until tonight. Thank you for being here for me." She hugged and kissed him again, this time on the lips, "It's alright, that's what I'm here for. I love you and I don't want you to be sad or hurting because it makes me worry and sad too." "I'll be fine. I just need a hot shower and a night with you, get in bed and I'll be there in a few minutes," he smiled reassuringly. "I will get you a towel and washcloth," she walked to the linen closet and pulled them out. He kissed her again more passionately then walked into the bathroom and shut the door. Abby went to lie in bed, her robe still on, to wait for his return. She remembered her dream and warm sensations began to filter throughout her body. She wasn't sure it was the right time for that though because of Carter. She didn't want to coerce him into doing something that he may not feel like doing after the night he'd had.

Several minutes later, Carter left the bathroom and found Abby curled on her side, eyes closed. He carefully slipped under the covers so as not to wake her, but she opened her eyes and smiled at him. She rubbed her hand across his chest, "Feel better?" "Much," he replied, entwining his fingers with hers. He then noticed that her robe had opened a little due to the strap loosening around her waist. It slightly exposed one of her round, supple breasts. He felt a tingling feeling spread through his body as his arousal heightened. He tried to control his urge to make love to her. He knew she wanted to wait, but he had been wanting to make love to her even before they had gotten back together. He gazed down lovingly at her, the moon illuminating her beautiful face, the lines and curves of her body. She kissed him deeply, slipping her tongue into his inviting mouth as she wrapped her arms around him. That simple act made him plunge into a downward spiral, failing to suppress his yearning and desire for this woman. He made a trail of kisses along her collarbone and licked her shoulder. Carter pulled away for a moment, looking into her eyes, "I love you Abby." She hugged him close to her and whispered in his ear, "I love you too. Make love to me John. I need you." He rolled onto his back, bringing him with her, so that she was lying on top of him.

He slowly undid the strap around her waist and pushed the robe off her shoulders, sliding it down her arms. She took the garment from him and scooted forward to place it on a chair beside her bed. In this new position, Abby's breasts were hovering over his face, easily accessible for his mouth. Carter lifted his head slightly and flicked his tongue against one of her nipples then the other. She gasped at the soft contact and moved back down along his body. Her wiggling only caused to raise the pleasure within him.

She turned them both onto their sides, arching her back and pulling his head towards her, pushing her breast to his waiting lips. He took her breast into his mouth, gently sucking the soft, fleshy tissue. Abby moaned in satisfaction and cupped her other breast, lightly kneading and rolling the nipple between her thumb and index finger. He pushed her hand away and began the same ministrations on the breast and did the same things Abby had done on the one that had already been tended by his mouth.

She moved her hands down and slipped them into his boxers, lightly grabbing his shaft in her warm hands. Abby softly stroked it, gently dragging her fingernails up his shaft. This time, Carter was the one who moaned. "Abby, I need you," he said hoarsely, feeling as if he would explode at any moment. She slid her hands around the waistband and pulled them down over his butt and down his legs, throwing them to the floor. He rolled on top of her and gazed into her eyes, finding love and desire in them. He then thrust into her and kissed her passionately on the lips, sealing their connection and joining them as one.

It never ceased to amaze her at how completely he filled her, like they were made for each other, meant to be soul mates. They began in a slow, rhythmic motion, and then moved at a faster pace as their arousal intensified. She felt him tense up inside her and finally release his warm liquids into her.

"Abby," he cried out in pleasure as he hit his climax. She went with him, her orgasm reaching its peak, crying out his name. He collapsed onto her, both breathing heavily. After their breaths had returned to a normal pace, Abby said, "That- that was… wow." He smiled and kissed her forehead, "Yeah. So much fore taking it slow, huh?" She chuckled low in her throat and snuggled close.

They rested awhile, basking in the glow of their lovemaking. Abby let out a small yawn and Carter asked, "Tired?" "No, not really," she replied, hugging him close and resting her head on his chest. She looked up into his eyes and found love in them and a seductive grin on his face. "What, you want to go again," she inquired. He nodded and kissed her.

They made love four more times that night and slept until late in the morning because of their activities. Carter was the first to wake and he looked at the clock. He kissed her on the lips to wake Abby up. When her eyes fluttered open, he said, "Good morning." She replied and kissed him back, "It IS a good morning." "What time do you have to go in," he asked, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. "Noon, you?" "I'm on at ten. Since I have to leave in about an hour, I'm going to go hop in the shower and then I'll make us breakfast, sound good to you," Carter proposed. "Sounds wonderful," Abby replied as she stretched. He reluctantly climbed out of bed and headed to the bathroom.

A half hour later, the two of them sat at the kitchen table, eating breakfast. He had cooked eggs, bacon, and toast. "Mmm, this is delicious. I could get used to having a cook around here. All the take-out places in the vicinity of my apartment know me by face or phone number when I go to eat there or call in an order." He laughed loudly, "Really?" "You saw my fridge," she replied, "there's hardly anything in it." He took another bite of egg, "I guess we'll have to go grocery shopping then." "Yeah," she answered as she chewed on her toast. He looked at his watch and gulped down the rest of his coffee, "I have to go. I'll see you in a couple of hours." He kissed her goodbye and left. She cleaned up the kitchen after finishing eating and went back to bed to catch another two hours of sleep until she had to get ready for work.

Abby had not been in the hospital ten minutes when a trauma came rolling in. "Abby, we need you in here," Susan shouted as she raced the patient to Trauma Three. Abby quickly followed in their wake. Once she got in there, Susan said to her, "Abby, this is a good medical student case. I would like for you to present it to me." Abby grabbed the chart and scanned it for information. "Calvin Grand, thirty-eight year old male involved in a MVA. Scalp lac anterior to the head, possible wrist fracture of the right hand, and complained of abdominal pain. Minimal bleeding and given one meg of saline in the field." Abby checked his eyes and breathing, "Eyes are sluggish and dilated three centimeters, good breath sounds." Susan nodded in confirmation, "Okay, what tests do you want done?" "Let's order a CBC, chem7, lytes, blood alcohol, tox screen, x-ray for the wrist, and an ultrasound to rule out any abdominal injuries. Hang one meg of morphine for the pain." Susan nodded again, took the chart from Abby, and signed her name as attending then handed it over to one of the nurses. Abby left Trauma Three and Susan followed, "You did a great job in there. You're going to make a wonderful doctor. How long until you graduate?" Abby replied, "A little less than a year and a half." "That's great," Susan responded happily. "Abby! GSW in Trauma One, bring two liters of O neg and four megs of saline," Luka yelled. "Be right there," she shouted back. "See you later," Susan called out as Abby rushed down the hall.

Two hours later, Susan met up with Abby again. "Hey, are you okay?" Susan asked concernedly. "I'm fine, why?" "I was just wondering because I've noticed that you've been walking kind of funny the past couple of hours. Were you hurt by a patient?" Abby tried to hold back her snort of laughter, but it escaped. "What," Susan asked confusedly. "Well…" Abby trailed off, debating whether she should tell her or not. "Well, what? Come on, tell me. You can't just leave me hanging here!"

Abby pulled her into an empty suture room and sat on a gurney. Susan stood there, still waiting for an explanation. "Well, Carter came over after his shift last night and… we had sex." Susan shouted in astonishment, "What?!" Abby smiled and nodded. "Wow, so much for taking it slow," Susan smirked. "I know, Carter said the same thing. It just felt so… right though. It was amazing," her friend replied with a dreamy look in her eyes. "So you're walking funny because he rode you kind of hard, huh?" Susan tried to say it with a straight face, but failed to do so and burst out into hysterical laughter.

"Susan," Abby yelled as she blushed in embarrassment. After her friend had calmed down a bit, Abby responded in a softer tone, "No, it wasn't like that. He was so gentle and tender… it was more the number of times in the span of time we did it in." Abby blushed a fierce red. Susan raised an eyebrow as if to beg her to continue, "How many and how long?" Abby turned her head and bit her lip to hide her smile, "Five times in about three hours." Susan whistled and swooned in amazement, "No wonder you were walking that way. You must be sore." Abby gave her a small smile as she scooted further onto the gurney, "A little bit, but it's a good kind of sore."

Susan went and sat beside her, "God, I need a boyfriend, or I'll just have to keep living vicariously through you and Carter." "I hear Mark's available. You should date him, you two have been dancing around each other for years. You both like each other, I say go for it," Abby goaded. Susan shook her head, "I don't think I could do that. If we broke up, our friendship would be crushed. I don't want that to happen." "Yeah, but if you got together with Mark, it could be so much greater, Susan. Look at me and Carter, we risked our friendship time and again for a relationship. Look at where we are now; in love, happy beyond belief. You could have that with Mark. I felt the same way you did, but I took the plunge into the unknown. Now I wouldn't have it any other way," Abby explained as she reflected over her past. "Aww, that's so sweet," Susan replied.

Just then, Carter came in, "Hey Abby, hi Susan. What are you two doing in here?" "Oh nothing," Susan replied, glancing secretively at Abby. She rose from the gurney and started to walk out of the room. "See you later Abby, I'm going to go have a little talk with Mark," as Susan passed by Carter, she patted his butt and winked at him, "way to go, stud." Abby burst into a fit of giggles and Carter must have turned six different shades of red. He stared at his girlfriend incredulously, "You didn't-" She smiled sheepishly, "She made me tell her. You know Susan has her own conniving ways to get information out of people. She beat it out of me." "I don't see any bruising or bleeding, she must not have beat you too hard," he responded dryly. His expression was unreadable; she didn't know what he was feeling.

Abby slid from the gurney and wrapped her arms around him, "I'm sorry. Are you mad?" He hadn't pulled away when she hugged him so that was a good sign. "No," he replied, hugging her tighter, "I just don't understand why you tell Susan, the Gossip Queen, about us and our sex life and I have to keep my mouth shut. I love you so much and I am very happy that we're together again, I just want to shout it from the rooftops." "So tell them," Abby said. "Really? Are you sure," Carter asked, excitement bubbling within him. "If it makes you happy then yes, you can tell everyone. Besides, Susan would never disclose our personal information to someone else, not unless we allowed her to, no matter how much of a gossip queen she is. And because of our little talk, I think I finally convinced Susan to go out with Mark," Abby smiled. "That's great. My girlfriend, the matchmaker," he chuckled.

"Abby," Jing Mei Chen questioned as she opened the door. "Hey Deb," Carter greeted his friend. "Hi John. Abby, can you get this up to surgery; these are Mr. Turner's belongings," she requested. "Sure," Abby responded as she took the bag from her. Jing Mei looked from one to the other, who were still in a loving embrace and smiled, "Congratulations you two." "Thanks Deb," Carter responded happily. "Thank you," Abby smiled back. Dr. Chen nodded and left. She groaned and buried her face in his chest, "It's gonna be all over the ER in like three minutes flat. "Come on, I'll go up to surgery with you," he said, taking her hand then shuddering. She looked at him with confusion on her face. "I don't ever want to say that to you again. I never want you to get hurt and need surgery. I wouldn't be able to handle it. I don't even know how you dealt with it when I went into surgery after the stabbing." Tears sprang to his eyes at the memory. She wiped the tears away and kissed him. "Let's go. It's not good to dwell on things like that," she responded, taking his hand and pulling him towards the door.

They entered the elevator and pushed the button for the seventh floor. It reached the floor for surgery and the two left the bag with a nurse. They reentered the elevator once more for their trip down to the ER. Unlike last time, it was completely empty. As soon as the doors closed, Carter turned to her, a seductive grin playing on his features. "I've missed you so much. I haven't seen you all day," he said between kisses on her neck and along her shoulder. He cupped both her breasts in his hands and gently squeezed them. Abby let a little moan escape then replied with a coy smile, "If I didn't know any better, I would think that my boobs are starting to become your favorite play toy."

All he did to respond was hoist her up onto the arm railing and take one breast in his mouth. He lightly sucked and licked her nipple through her purple scrub top then changed to the other breast. This continued on for another two minutes until the ding of reaching floor two sounded. He backed up and let her down. She looked down at her scrub top, "John, look at what you did to my shirt! I can't go out there and face everyone like this!" Her shirt had two dark spots right where her mounds protruded from the shirt. "Just come with me," he grabbed her hand just as the elevator rang for the ER floor. They quickly made a mad dash for the nearest empty exam room as soon as the doors opened.

"Wait here, I'll be back in a minute," he said as he kissed her and left the room. He reappeared a few moments later with a new scrub shirt in hand. "I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me. I guess after last night…" he apologized, giving her the shirt. "Yeah," she responded, grinning at the memory and her cheeks becoming a little warm. "I'll uh, let you change and get back to work," he said. "Alright, I will probably see you at home, I get off at six." "Lucky, I have to work until ten," Carter replied. Abby smiled and hugged him, "I am lucky, in more ways than one. Use the spare key in the hiding place to unlock the door." "I'll see you at home. I'll try not to wake you when I get in," he said and kissed her on the nose then left. Abby quickly changed and disposed of the shirt in one of the hampers.

Just as she exited the exam room, Susan sidled up beside her. "Hmm, your hair is a little messy, your cheeks are flushed, and you have a big grin on your face. Did Carter want a little mid-afternoon booty call?" Abby bit back a choke of laughter. "Don't tell me you two did it on one of those tiny little gurneys. However did you manage," Susan asked jokingly, and then said seriously, "you didn't, did you?" Abby blushed and said, "No we didn't do anything on a gurney. We just had a little make-out session in the elevator on our way down from surgery."

"Oh, okay. Do you want to go do something tonight," Susan asked. "Sure, what do you want to do," Abby answered. "I don't know, movie night in, shopping, or something. I just…" Susan said, suddenly finding the floor more interesting. "What," Abby asked concernedly, placing her hand on her friend's shoulder. "I know it's only been about a week and all… and I know you guys need time to- reconnect and stuff like that, but I've been feeling kind of… left out. We haven't done anything together for a while and I guess I just miss hanging out with you. Now you've been spending almost all your time with Carter and-" Susan confessed, but was interrupted.

"Susan, you are my best friend. I am so sorry that I made you feel that way. My relationship with John should not get in the way of my other friendships, especially yours. John and I both love you very much. You are my friend, my confidant, and so much more. I don't want to make you feel left out. If you ever feel that way or any way, tell me. I'm here for you, like you are for me," Abby said, grasping both of Susan's hands in hers then cocking her head to the side a little, "now that I think about it, you are right, we haven't spent a lot of time together recently. We'll go out tonight, my treat. Forgive me?"

"Yes," Susan smiled and hugged her, "so, pizza and movies at my place?" Abby nodded, "I get off at six." "So do I, want to go together?" "Yeah, let me go tell John what's going on so he won't wait up for me," her friend replied. "Oh, did you guys have something planned for tonight? I hope I didn't disrupt anything," Susan said uncertainly. "No, of course not. He was going to come sleep at the apartment, that's all. Just SLEEP," Abby emphasized the last word as Susan raised an eyebrow in suggestion of something more. "Alright, if you say so," Susan responded. "I do. Now let me go find John," Abby said as she started to walk off, "come find me when it's time to go."

"John, do you have a minute," Abby asked as she entered the lounge, where he was busy filling out charts. "Yeah, what's up?" Abby explained what Susan had told her and said, "So I might not be home tonight okay?" "No problem. Say sorry to Susan for me too. Oh, thanks for reminding me. My mother called a little bit ago and she wants me to attend some party of hers. I don't know whether it's a family function or a charity benefit. I would like for you to go with me, but you don't have to if you don't want to. I won't subject you to my family and all the snobby rich people that are probably going to be there. Believe me, I don't want to be there any more than you do. We'll just go through my little routine for these things and then go get dinner afterwards." "What is this little routine of yours," Abby questioned. "Meet, greet, and bail. I say hello to my parents and Gamma, meet and butter up the guests and business partners or future business partners, and then leave. I've done it many a time and have perfected it almost to a tee."

Abby's face scrunched up, "Your mother hates me." He got up and stood beside her, "Don't worry about that. It doesn't matter, as long as I love you and you love me, I'm the happiest man in the world. I will say for certain that I will never stop loving you. My mother will have to start liking you- or at least be civil to you- because I intend to keep you around. Besides, it's not like the last time you went with me. Now you're going not only as my friend but my girlfriend. I don't care what my mother thinks of you, just as long as we're together. I'm a rebel, what can I say. Instead of working in the family business, I become a doctor. Instead of marrying or dating another rich, stuck up girl of a well known family friend, I am dating the most beautiful, smart, and wonderful woman in the world." Abby's face felt like her face would crack from the wide genuine smile on her face at his words. He gave her a searing kiss and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"So, is this party really formal or semi-formal?" John answered, "Knowing my mother, it's probably going to be pretty formal. Why don't you go buy yourself a pretty new dress just for the occasion? Here, let me go get my credit card-" "John, you don't need-" Abby objected. "Please, I insist. Buy anything you want," he said, moving to his locker and fishing out his credit card then handing it to her, "now go buy a beautiful dress for that beautiful body of yours." He squeezed her butt then patted it playfully. She smiled and kissed him. "I love you," she said, then tilted her head in thought, "you know, I haven't had anyone congratulate me about us yet. I was sure it would be all over the ER by now." "Well I haven't told anyone yet, been too busy with patients and charts." Abby replied, "Dr. Chen saw us together, she could have told someone. I haven't told Susan yet, I'll tell her tonight." "Nah, Deb is like Susan, she won't tell anyone. At least I think she wouldn't. Anyway, the party is on Saturday so you have tonight, tomorrow, and Friday to get a dress. Why don't you go with Susan and have her help you pick one out," Carter suggested. "What, you don't trust my taste," Abby replied, giving him a sardonic smile. "That isn't what I meant. It would give you and Susan some more girly bonding time and to talk." "Okay, so I will see you tomorrow?" "Yeah," they shared another long kiss before departing.

When time reached 6:00, Abby and Susan collected their belongings and left together. As they entered Susan's car, the doctor asked, "So, first the movie rental place then the grocery store for popcorn and junk food?" "No, we have to go do a little shopping at the mall first. I have to find a dress," Abby responded. At Susan's questioning expression, she explained about the party. "Okay, let's go shopping," Susan said enthusiastically. Then they set out for the mall.

Four stores and seventeen dresses later, Abby finally found the one. "It's perfect, that's the one, Abby," Susan said in awe as her friend came out of the dressing room. It was a simple, yet elegant dress made of dark emerald green satin silk. It had spaghetti straps and a v-neck crossover that overlapped between her breasts. "Really? You think so," Abby asked uncertainly as she ran her hands, smoothing the dress over her body, "green has never really been my color." "Well this green compliments you very well, you look beautiful," Susan responded, "Carter is going to need his jaw wired shut to keep it from falling on the floor." Abby giggled and blushed, "Alright, let me go change out of this. Susan, would you get the shoes that match this dress?" "I'm on it," Susan replied as she stood and went to search for them. After collecting the dress and shoes, they went to pay for them at the register then left.

Later on that night, Abby and Susan watched a couple of chick flicks and comedies while munching on popcorn and candy. They talked about anything and everything, both happy that they were spending some much needed time together again after not hanging out for a few weeks.

Author's Note: The party will be the next chapter! I can't wait to write the lines for Carter's mother. I am going to have fun writing that. So far, I hope the people aren't too out of character, but hey, it's alternative universe so I can shake up their personalities a little. Thanks for reading and please review!