Make of Two Hearts

~*~

He stepped up behind Abby as she prepared their Sunday pancakes, placing his arms lightly on her hips.  She turned around and a smile spread across her face, the spatula in her hand dripping with pancake batter.

"Hey," he whispered his voice soft and sincere, his eyes filled with love. He lowered his head and touched his own lips lightly to hers.

"I don't know what's more delicious," he said as he pulled away, "the pancakes or the cook."

Abby chuckled softly and pushed her lips against his again before shooing him away playfully.

"Well, if you don't let me in peace, both the pancakes and the cook shall be on fire." His eyes sparkled with delight.

"I can deal with that," he said, laugh lines creasing into birds' feet around his eyes.  Abby shooed him away again, this time more forcefully, though she was chuckling softly to herself.

"Go wake up Lauren," she said softly, "I'll see if I can salvage breakfast."

Brian hurried out of the kitchen, looking over his shoulder once to blow his wife a kiss and a wink.

~

Abby smiled to herself as she remembered.  She took another sip of coffee from the near-empty cup and stared out the window at the hospital across the street.

She was pulling a shift and a half today and so, as things slowed down, she had taken a twenty minute break to run to Ike's and get a cup of much-needed coffee.

She continued to look across at the ambulance bay when she sensed someone's presence in the booth across from her.

She looked across the table and smiled.

"Hey," she greeted.

"Hey. It's pretty slow in there so I came to join you… if you don't mind, of course."

Abby nodded and smiled warmly again.

"Not at all."

"We never had that talk," Carter said, reminding her of the day in the lounge just over a week ago.

"I know. Time gets away from me," she looked at her watch, "We can talk now."

Carter nodded and took a sip of his own steaming coffee.

"What were you thinking about? Just now…?"

"Old times…. Brian…" she sighed and looked wistfully out the window again.

"I'm very sorry for your loss."

She nodded and turned to face him again.

"Thank you."

"He must have been quite the guy to domesticate you."

Abby smiled in memory.

"Yeah… he was.  He was quite the guy."

She turned to him sharply, remembering something.

"What did you want to talk about?"

Carter looked into the swirling steam of his cup.

"I just… well, it seems kind of stupid now, but when I saw you with your dau- with Lauren, I had the urge to clarify something with you. To set you straight. You know, I never did tell you what really happened all those years ago."

"Carter…"

"Please, Abby. Just let me tell you. Please. You can hate me afterward; you can ignore me for the rest of your life. You have the right to, and I would understand you completely if you did. I mean, I'd probably ignore me too if I were you. 

"When you walked into the lounge… that day… things weren't as they seemed. I'm not going to say that I wasn't at fault, because, in all honesty, to some extent, I was. I guess I thought it was kind of cute that she was so infatuated with me. I guess I was flattered that I still had that effect on you women."

He looked at Abby, who was listening intently before continuing.

"But, you have to believe me, Abby, that I would never do anything to deliberately hurt you."

Abby tried to interfere, but he held up a hand.

"You have to understand that I didn't mean to lead her on. I didn't mean for… that… for anything to happen. She came on to me, Abby. I tried to push her off, I swear. But she flung herself on me, proclaiming her love for me, listing all the reasons I should love her back. And I didn't want to hurt her, physically. I tried to push her away. I did. And, I guess I just wanted you to know that I didn't want it to end between us, Abby. I thought about you all the time that you were away. I… I guess I never really got over you… and, if it makes you feel any better, she got fired because of it. She's gone now. I just wanted you to know the truth."

Abby was staring at him, still. Waiting to see if he had anything else to say. He sensed in her a certain emotion in her that he couldn't quite put his finger on.

But Abby knew what it was, though she was scared to admit it. She felt tears well up in her eyes and she couldn't figure out exactly why.

"It's okay, Carter. That was then, this is now."

Carter nodded. Grateful. Then he looked down into his coffee mug before taking another swig.

Abby looked down into her own now empty cup. She looked at her watch and sighed.

"I have to go," she said quietly, "But thank you for telling me that. I… I needed to hear it. Sometimes I feel like everything is meant to go for wrong for me. Thank you."

She got up quietly, put on her jacket and threw out her cup before heading across the ambulance bay.

Little did she know, but Carter was staring after her hungrily, banging his head against the window pane, embarrassed.

His jealousy of Brian sickened him, but he couldn't help loving Abby.

Could he?

He couldn't control that emotion.  Then he smiled, remembering her face, remembering her quiet but forgiving eyes. He smiled remembering her.

And he knew then what she had been feeling. That unknown emotion. He knew then that she was in love with him, too.

His smile broadened. He knew she was still mourning for her loss, but he was willing to wait.

He would wait.

~*~

The sun was already setting when Abby stepped out of the hospital.

Carter jogged up beside her, pulling on his gloves as he approached.

"Hey," he said briskly, "Are you off?"

She nodded and looked up into the sky.

"Yeah, I have to go pick Lauren up from Susan's place and then I am going to sleep." She stifled a yawn.

He grinned at her and she noticed how remarkably young he still looked. How his smiled hadn't changed. She grinned back.

"Care for any company?" he asked. It was a friendly request, not a romantic one and Abby shrugged and then nodded.

"That'd be great," she said happily, "Feel free to join me for dinner, too. I assume Lauren's eaten already, but maybe she'll want a snack. I don't have anything exciting planned, probably just spaghetti or a sandwich, but feel free nonetheless."

"Thanks," he said, "My car is parked around back. Let me just pull it up. You can wait here if you want."

"Still driving the jeep?"

"The one and only. I've grown rather attached to it." He winked at Abby who stood waiting patiently as he jogged off to the car.

~

"Thanks so much, Susan. You're a lifesaver."

"I wouldn't go as far as to say that, and I expect a favour from you when I need one," she said jokingly.

"Anytime. You know my number." Abby had her hand resting on Lauren's shoulder.

"Ready?" she asked the girl.

"Uh huh."

"What do you say to Susan?" Lauren looked at the blonde doctor and a smile creased across Susan's face.

"Thanks, Suz," the girl said happily. Abby felt her eyebrows slowly raise into her bangs as she looked at Susan.

"Suz?"

"Hey!" Susan said with a grin, "It's what Chuck calls me and she's so cute when she says it!" Abby smiled and looked down at Lauren, pulling the girl's hat down on her head so it covered her eyes completely.

"She's a cheeky one," she joked as Lauren pushed her hat up giggling.

"Well, thanks again, Susan. I've got to go."

Susan peered behind Abby.

"Is that Carter's jeep?" she said, her own brow rising steadily. Abby looked behind her, nonchalant.

"I believe it is," Susan winked at her, "Hey! He's giving a lift. Don't do that in front of my kid."

Abby took Lauren by the hand and headed toward the sidewalk. She looked over her shoulder once to wave goodbye to Susan.

"Thanks again!" she called.

Susan waved back.

"No problem and say hi to Carter for me!"

~*~

"That was delicious, Abby," Carter said with a sigh as he stood up to clear his plate. The three of them were situated around the table in Abby's kitchen.

"It was a sandwich, Carter," Abby said and Lauren giggled from her chair.

"The best sandwich I've eaten in a while. Tell me, where can I find the recipe?"

Abby gave Lauren an exasperated look.

"He thinks you can learn to make a sandwich like that," she said as if she was appalled he had asked, "That my friends, is a talent you have to be born with."

Carter grinned and took his seat at the table again.

And it was his seat.

Since that first time he had been to Abby's – the day of their talk – almost two weeks ago, he had made it almost a ritual.

Lauren even called it 'Carter's seat' and when she set the table at night with Abby, it had become a habit to set it for three again. Carter usually showed up just before he knew Abby and Lauren would begin dinner, and Abby had made it habitual to make three servings of everything again.

It was nice in a familial kind of way, though Abby and Carter's relationship was entirely friendly.

Lauren loved Carter. He played dolls with her and Abby, he had tea-parties with her and Abby, and he watched videos with her and Abby. In face, he was pretty much open to anything that Lauren wanted to do.

"You working tomorrow?" he asked as Abby stood to clear the rest of the table.

"Yeah. Half-shift though. Nine to three. You?"

"Six to six."

"I feel for you."

"Heh. Thanks."

"Can I leave the table now, Abby?" Lauren asked.  Abby nodded.

"Do you have any work tonight, Lauren?" The girl nodded her curly head.

"Yeah, I have to read another chapter in my reader."

"Okay, bring it here and we'll read it together."

Carter stood up.

"I should probably get going," he said, "I have a long day tomorrow." Abby followed him to the front door.

"Thanks for dinner. That really was the best sandwich I've ever eaten. Honest." He patted his stomach, satisfied and Abby chuckled to herself.

"You're incorrigible," she said with a grin. Carter pouted in mock hurt and Abby's smile just broadened.

He was, of course, playing around just to see that smile, so he felt much accomplished.

"Will you be over after your shift tomorrow?" she asked him.

"I don't know. I'll see how tired I am." She nodded.

"Well, I'll see you tomorrow."

~*~

A/N: totally fluffy chapter, but I guess it served some purpose.