A/N: Sorry for the wait for this chapter, but I hope you guys are still with me. I know it's kind of short, but I'll make up for that with the next chapter. Thanks for those reviews!

Abby awoke the following morning to the pitter-patter of raindrops falling heavily on the roof of the Carter mansion. Blinking slightly, she felt a small amount of pressure on her lower back and realized somewhere in her half-awake state that Carter had tightened his grip around her lower body with a comfortable sigh. She smiled and stretched out onto her back, just listening to the rain while John stirred next to her.

The night before had been unexpected, to say the least. What had started out as a simple date had led to the bedroom sooner than Abby would have liked. She didn't know if they were making up for lost time or 'jumping the gun' altogether. No matter how much thought Abby could put into everything, she and Carter did have sex last night—several times. Three times, and she had enjoyed it. Apparently so had Carter, judging from his near comatose state right now.

A sudden chill ran down her spine and caused her to shiver. The alarm clock read off eight-thirty, and Abby clutched the tangled sheets closer around her naked body. Listening to the rain was starting to get boring.

"Good morning," Carter mumbled with a yawn, rolling over onto his side to face her. He kissed her gently, brushing a strand of hair off her forehead. "How are you?"

She rested her head against his collarbone and intertwined her fingers with his. "Sore."

He laughed and ran his free hand through his hair. "Last night…"

"Was a little—"

"Unexpected?"

Abby nodded. "Yeah."

He sighed. "I'm sorry."

She glanced at him curiously. "For what? You were fine last night."

"I know you didn't want this to happen like it did. We agreed on taking things slowly, and apparently that didn't happen."

"Meaning our libidos got the best of us," she snorted. "Which seems to happen a lot when we're together. At least last time it did."

"I know."

Abby sat up and pulled her hair up loosely, the sheets slipping down slightly, revealing more of her cleavage. "I don't regret it at all, if that's what you're thinking."

"Neither do I. It's just…where the hell do we go from here? We've been jumping all over the place since we got back from the Congo."

"Dating is nice," she suggested. "We could do some more of that. You know, when we're not busy."

"We'll make time," Carter answered. "Don't worry."

"I know that. We've tried picking up the pieces and I guess last night, we pretty much cemented them back together. We're adults, and I'm tired of tiptoeing around the issue of us being together or not being together. We need to make a choice and stick to it. Call it, whatever."

"Time of death, eighty-thirty-four," he smirked, kissing her once again. She reciprocated and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Let's start over. I really want this, Abby. I want the second chance to make things better than they were the first time around. I want to be with you, and…I hope you feel the same."

"With a night like last night, who wouldn't feel the same?" Abby cracked as Carter tickled her sides. "Cut that out!"

"What, not up for another round of playing doctor and nurse?" he whispered huskily in her ear.

"I want a shower."

"Rain check?"

Abby groaned and pointed to the window. "Literally."

"It's supposed to downpour all day today," Carter groaned. He sat up and pulled his shirt from the night before over his head and pulled on his boxers while Abby quickly pulled on the sweatpants and tee shirt he had laid out for her. "We'll get a handful of MVAs."

"Lucky us. What time does your shift start?"

He stretched his arms over his head with another yawn. "Eleven. Yours?"

"Noon. I better call the landlord and see if they fixed the air conditioning yet."

"You're always welcome here," Carter remarked, picking up his watch from the nightstand.

"I know," she smiled. "But I'm not paying rent for an apartment that's not going to cooperate in the middle of summer."

"So you guys slept together last night? I knew it!"

Abby picked at her salad, glancing at Susan from across the lounge table. "How'd you know? Oh god, he didn't tell you did he?"

Susan laughed. "No. I've known Carter since he was a med student. He had that look, that morning after 'I just got laid and I'm damn proud of it' look on his face."

Abby cracked a smile as she sipped her ice tea. "Okay."

"So, come on, how was it?"

"It was…" she blushed slightly. "It was better than I can remember it ever being."

"God, you two are terrible," Susan teased her. "You're only meant to be together but somehow make your relationship more complicated than it has to be."

"What can I say? We're both stubborn," Abby chided her. "But at least I'm not screwing my ex husband on the side."

"Okay, you've got me there."

Susan casually played with a piece of her blonde hair. "Luka's coming back to work next week."

"Really? Did Gillian leave?"

"That Canadian girl? I'm not sure. I think so. She went home, or something."

Abby smirked. "I never really pictured Luka as the long distance relationship type."

Susan let out another laugh as she stood up out of the chair. "Just the one night stand type."

"That's horrible," she giggled. "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all."

"Abby, you know I love Luka. He's tall, dark, and handsome. What more could a girl want, really?" Susan teased. "But I also know how he is."

Chuny popped her head into the lounge and smiled at Abby and Susan. "Dr. Lewis, we need you in exam one."

"Duty calls," Susan winked. "Call me. Let me know how the whole 'morning-after' thing went with you and Carter."

"I will," Abby grinned. She made her way over to her locker and opened it quickly, shoving her now empty lunch container into it. She busied herself with adjusting her hair, but jumped slightly when she felt a hand on the small of her back.

Thankfully, it was only Carter. "Hey," he greeted, kissing her on cheek gently.

"Jesus," Abby muttered. "Don't do that."

"Sorry," he apologized tactfully. "We've got a triple MVA coming in."

"A triple? How bad is it?"

"Two major, one minor," Carter answered. "What did I tell you about this rain?"

Abby smiled and crossed her arms over her chest. "What time are you off?"

"In two hours, yourself?"

"Three," she answered with a yawn. "Meet me at my place? I feel like lounging around in bed all night eating takeout and watching movies."

Carter smirked and kissed her forehead gently. "Sounds good to me."

"They finally fixed the air conditioning," she added. "But now it'll probably be freezing instead of stifling."

"Either way, you can't win." He tossed her a gown, pulling his own on.

The lounge door swung open and Frank poked his head in. "I shouldn't have to track you people down, for cryin' out loud. Abby, you've got a phone call on line two. Weaver said to make it snappy because you've got that quadruple MVA coming in."

"Triple," Carter corrected him.

"No, quadruple. Who works at the front desk, smart ass?" Frank sassed.

"Shut up, Frank," Abby warned. She followed the older man out into the hall, Carter lagging at her side. Picking up the phone, she turned around and raised her eyebrows. "Who is it?"

"I'm not your secretary."

"Fine," she grumbled. Carter leaned against the counter and gave her a reassuring smile. "Hello?"

"Abby? Oh God Abby, is that you? I couldn't reach you at home, I, I…Abby, oh honey…"

Abby gripped the phone cord in between her fingers. "Mom? Calm down, what's wrong?"

She heard Maggie's muffled sobs on the other end of the line. "Abby, they tried everything. It didn't work. Nothing worked!"

"What didn't work? What happened?"

A concerned expression crossed Carter's face as he watched Abby carry out the mysterious conversation with her mother.

"He's dead, Abby. Eric's dead."