Bad Karma

Carby. Something happens to Abby. How does it affect her life and her relationship with Carter? Read on to find out! Please review!

A.N.: I'm not the original author of this story. The original author was carby luva 313. She's decided she doesn't have enough time to write, so she's giving me the honor of finishing it for her. Everything after chapter six is my own. I hope I'm doing a good job!

Disclaimer: I don't own ER, but then again you know that by now. I don't own the song In The House Of Stone And Light, either. That belongs to Martin Page.

Chapter 31: Just Another Day

It was a month after Abby and Carter's return from Florida. Abby was back on ER rotation. They hadn't heard from Lily for a while, and wondered what was going on. Neither of them had much time to brood on it, since both of them had to get ready for work. Carter had gotten out of the shower before Abby, so he decided to drop onto the bed and sleep for a few more minutes.

A few minutes later, Abby had rinsed all of the conditioner out of her hair, and so she stepped out of the shower. While she was putting on her makeup, Abby noted that the house was eerily silent. She finished up in the bathroom and walked out into the bedroom. Abby couldn't help laughing at the sight of Carter asleep on the bed on his stomach, mouth slightly open, and wearing only a towel. She walked over and grabbed one of the pillows. Abby proceeded to beat Carter over the back with the pillow untill he woke up and found the strength to retaliate.

Half an hour and one destructive pillow fight that left several antique lamps in shards later, Abby and Carter were on their way to work. Abby missed surgical rotation, but at least now she got to spend more time with Carter during her shifts. Besides, she still got to see the surgeons when they came down for a consult, or she went up with a trauma. Abby was straddling the fence between specializing as a trauma surgeon or an emergency room physician. She didn't have much time left to think about it before she graduated. If she chose one and later decided she'd rather be in the other, at least it wouldn't be overly difficult to change specialties. Most of the time in order to change specialties, one had to relocate. Abby would only be displaced four floors.

After a few more thoughts had time to drift aimlessly in and out of Abby's mind they had reached the hospital. The two of them got out of the car and headed for the ER. After dropping their things off in the lounge and gathering their lab coats, I.D.'s and stethoscopes, as well as some other paraphernalia that trauma staff seemed to be able to magic up out of nowhere in a crisis, Abby and Carter left the lounge to begin yet another day full of surprises. Ironically enough, neither of them knew of the surprise that awaited them a little later on in the day.

Elsewhere, at the airport, Lily Campos stepped off of her flight and looked around in bewilderment. After she had collected her luggage she walked outside to catch a taxi to her hotel. She would drop her things off and go visit Abby and Carter at work.

Abby slipped expertly into her well-practiced routine. Her transition between excitement and boredom was seamless. Every morning was the same. Every day was just another day in the ER. A bum with crabs, a child with a sore throat. Being a med student was supposed to be a learning experience to prepare her for the real, fast-paced world of medicine, but so far she was just doing everyone elses' scut and treating cases that anybody with the slightest bit of medical knowledge and common sense could take care of. A med student was more qualified than a nurse, yet Abby was still doing scut. The nurses barely listened to her. Maybe it was out of spite, or jealousy. Either way, it just wasn't what she had expected. Surgery once again won out over the ER. At least in surgery Abby got to try new procedures. She knew she was lucky. Most of those procedures she wouldn't have normally gotten a crack at up untill her second or third year of residency.

Carter was suturing a minor head lac on a little old lady that had an unfortunate encounter with a rogue garden hose. She was sopping wet and borderline hypothermic. He wished he could inject her with some haldol. Not that she was a danger to herself or others, but she just wouldn't shut up! Carter was concentrating on the stitches, but his mind was elsewhere. He desperately had to ask Abby something, but he didn't know how, or when. After a few more aggravating minutes with Mrs.Perkins, Carter was finished. He looked down at his watch. He and Abby had only been at work for a little over thirty minutes. No chance of taking a break for at least another two and a half hours.

Lily dropped her bags on the floor of her room. She dug through her handbag for her map of Chicago. She decided to take the el to get to County General. After grabbing her umbrella, Lily closed the door and walked to the el station. Though rain wasn't in the day's forecast, Lily knew Chicago weather could be unpredictable. She got on the el and headed for the hospital. After getting off the train, Lily followed the path she had highlighted for herself on her map to the derelict looking building that held one of the state's finest medical facilities. She put the map away and looked up. It didn't look much like a hospital. More like an outdated apartment building doomed to foreclosure. Lily shrugged and walked past the dusty ambulance bay sign and through the doors to Cook County General Hospital's ER. As soon as she walked in, Lily knew that she had nearly wrongly judged a book by it's cover. The hospital was clean, and had an atmosphere of efficiency. There were around forty patients waiting to be seen, sitting in the waiting room. Lily walked up to admit. A clerk sat behind the desk, reading a cosmo magazine and popping her gum. There was a formidable looking nurse standing beside her, filling out what looked like a patient chart.

"Um, excuse me." Lily said.

"Patient sign in is over there." The nurse replied, pointing to triage without looking up.

"No, I'm here to-" Lily was cut off by a trauma bursting in through the door.

"Chuni, we need you over here." Susan shouted.

The nurse ran out from behind the desk and joined the entourage charging down the hall toward and empty room. Lily sighed and decided to wait in chairs untill she caught sight of either Carter or Abby. She would have called, but she wanted to surprise them. She only hoped that at least one of them worked that day.

Abby sat in the lounge, sipping coffee and reading through a medical journal. She had cleared all of the scut, and her patients were all waiting for lab results so she had some free time. Actually, there was never any 'free time' for a med student. When she wasn't with a patient, Abby was studying. She continued to sip her coffee untill she was needed.

Carter was walking toward the admit desk in search of something to do. When he wanted to relax, there was always something to do, but when he wanted a challenge the hospital was desolate and devoid of any decent cases. It was a waste of his talent, Carter thought. As he walked up to admit, a call came in. The paramedics were bringing in a gangster with gunshot wounds to the chest, abdomen, shoulder, and thigh. Carter smiled. It was an answer to his prayers. He ran into the lounge to get Abby. He decided he would let her lead the trauma. After all, it was a great and necessary experience, Carter knew. The two of them donned trauma gear and ran out to the ambulance bay to meet the ambulance. They were in such a hurry, they didn't even notice Lily, who had her face hidden behind a pocket mirror, applying lip gloss.

Lily hadn't noticed them, either. At least, not untill she heard the door to the ER crash open and Abby barking staccato orders. Lily's head snapped up and she jolted out of her seat. She noticed how Carter presented himself with the cool countenance of a stoic doctor. The teenager on the gurney was thrashing violently, and he managed to strike Lily square in the solar plexus as they rolled him by. She stumbled backward and was knocked off her feet by the unexpected blow. Carter saw what had happened and rushed around to the other side to help. What he didn't know was that it was Lily. He shouted that he would catch up before kneeling down beside her. Lily had her hand on her stomach as she caught her breath. She looked up and her gaze met Carter's concerned and wary chocolate brown eyes. He smiled when he recognized her.

"Lily! What are you doing here? Are you alright?" Carter asked concernedly.

"I'm fine." Lily breathed.

"Come on, let's get you into an empty room." Carter suggested.

Lily nodded and grabbed Carter's outstretched hand. He helped her up and led her to curtain area three. As they walked Carter put his arm around Lily's waist to steady her. Lily smiled inwardly. She had to admit, Carter was handsome. However, Lily respected his relationship with Abby and decided she would admire from afar. Carter shouted to another doctor as he walked with Lily.

"Luka, can you go help with the GSW victim in trauma two?" Carter shouted.

Luka nodded and walked toward the trauma room.

"Lydia, can you please mark curtain three as occupied? Thanks." Carter said.

He turned back to face ahead of them. Carter pulled back the curtain for Lily to enter the cubicle before following her and pulling it closed. He motioned for her to sit on the gurney as he pulled a chair over to the bed. Suddenly, Lily felt inadequately dressed, even though she was wearing capri pants and a long sleeved blouse. She knew it was Carter's proximity making her nervous, and if he felt her pulse, she knew he would know, too. Lily took a deep breath before looking up at Carter.

"How badly did he hit you?" Carter asked sympathetically.

"Not too hard, I just wasn't expecting it." Lily lied.

"You might have some serious internal damage, so be honest with me. I'm only trying to help. It's my turn to save your life." Carter laughed.

"It really wasn't that hard." Lily said, more firmly this time.

"Okay. How's your breathing?" Carter asked.

"Fine. He knocked the wind out of me, but I'm okay now." Lily admitted.

"Did you hit your head when you fell?" Carter asked.

"I bumped it on the edge of a chair." Lily replied.

"Where'd you hit it?" Carter inquired.

"Back here." Lily said, running a hand over the spot where there was a bump forming.

"Alright, I just want you to look at me. I'm going to make sure you didn't concuss when you hit your head." Carter explained.

He pulled out a penlight and shone it in Lily's eyes. She found it hard to look at him without making him aware that she nervous and excited around him. She also appreciated his explaining everything to her. She had never much liked being examined. Perhaps that was the reason behind her choosing medicine as a career. Either way it didn't matter. The only thing that mattered at the moment was that she was with Carter, and that he was helping her feel more comfortable with her situation. After a couple of seconds, Carter was satisfied that Lily didn't have a concussion. Her pupils were dialating normally. She blinked the light out of her eyes as he put away the penlight.

"Good, no signs of a concussion. I just want to feel the bump on your head, to make sure you didn't fracture your skull when you hit the chair." Carter explained.

Lily nodded. Carter's hands circled to the back of her neck and felt their way into her scalp, his probing fingers firm, but gentle.

"Do you feel any tenderness here?" Carter asked.

His expression was one of total concentration as he gazed at a blank wall to his right. Lily realized she was staring at the slight cleft in his chin and averted her eyes.

"Uh, no." She replied.

"What about here?" Carter queried.

"No. I'm fine. Really." Lily sighed.

Carter ceased the exploration of her scalp. There was definitely a bump forming, and it would hurt the following day, but it was nothing serious.

"I'm going to check your pulse and blood pressure now. Just relax." Carter smiled.

Lily gazed to her left at the curtain as Carter gently took her wrist and placed a finger on her radial pulse. His eyes focused oh his wristwatch. Her pulse was strong. Carter wanted to be sure that it was equally strong in her carotid artery, as well. He laid one hand on her right shoulder and the other on the left side of her neck over her pulse point, groping for the beat beneath her flesh. Lily noted the cool of Carter's hands against her warm flesh. It was a comforting sensation in accompaniment to his soft, delicate touch. After counting her pulse, Carter moved on to take her B.P. Lily hadn't even noticed the blood pressure cuff circling her left arm untill Carter had inflated it. She took deep breaths to prevent a false positive. After a few seconds, Carter took the stethoscope out of his ears and hung it around his neck before ripping the cuff off and replacing it in it's proper spot.

"Your diastolic pressure is perfect at seventy, but your systolic pressure is a little high at one forty three. Are you nervous?" Carter asked.

"No, why?" Lily denied.

"Becuase if you were nervous and you told me, it would shorten the list of tests I feel it is necessary to perform." Carter explained.

"I'm not nervous, I'm just still getting over the shock of what happened in the waiting room." Lily lied, not wanting to extend the examination beyond the basic formalities.

"It's okay, I understand. I want to check your breath sounds before examining your abdomen." Carter said.

Lily smiled and blinked in agreement. At that same moment, Abby entered the cubicle. She had been looking for Carter and Lydia told her that she had last seen him entering curtain area three. Abby looked at the person on the gurney and smiled from ear to ear when she saw it was Lily.

"Oh my gosh!" Abby exclaimed.

"Hey Abby." Lily laughed.

"You're the one who got dropped by that banger in the waiting room? That's insane!" Abby said incredulously.

"The one and only." Lily deadpanned.

Carter sat, looking back and forth between the two girls with the earpieces of his stethoscope in his ears and the listening end in his hand, resting in the air near Lily's shoulder. He exchanged glances with Abby. She stopped talking and stood aside silently as the realization dawned on her that Carter was still in the middle of his examination. He stood up and gave Lily another reassuring smile before snaking his hand around to her back to lift her shirt before he laid the disk of his stethoscope against her skin. Abby laughed as she noticed Lily shiver. She knew that Lily had a crush on Carter.

After a couple of seconds Carter had finished listening to Lily's breath sounds. He took the stethoscope out of his ears and hung it around his neck.

"Your breath sounds are clear. I want you to lie down now so I can listen to your heart sounds and palpate your abdomen." Carter instructed.

Lily pulled her feet up onto the bed and laid her back, shoulders, and head back against the gurney. She stared up at the ceiling. Lily didn't think she could handle the situation and keep her cool if she looked Carter in the eyes. Carter stood up and hovered over her. When he positioned the listening end of the stethoscope in his ears, Lily knew what was coming. Even so, she gave a small start when he slipped the circular disk beneath the V-neck of her blouse. Carter showed no sign that he noticed, but Abby smiled at her in sympathy.

"Cold, isn't it?" Abby cooed.

Thankful Abby had helped Carter along in misinterpreting her respone, Lily gratefully returned the smile. After listening to what was going on inside her from several different spots, Carter hung his stethoscope around his neck for the last time.

"Your heart sounds are good. I'm going to feel your abdomen now. Just tell me if it hurts." Carter said.

Lily nodded her consent. Carter pulled Lily's blouse up and exposed her diaphragm. There was a large haematoma forming. However, Carter doubted there was any internal bleeding. The bruising was most likely just superficial. Abby fought the urge to shout when she saw the bruise. It reminded her of the bruises that covered her own body a while back. Carter gently and carefully pressed down on Lily's lower abdomen, then higher up toward her diaphragm. The higher he got the more it hurt. Finally, Lily couldn't handle the pain anymore and she gasped. Carter immediately stopped his examination and pulled her blouse down. The pain was radiating from the centre of the bruise.

"You're lucky, Lily. There's a bruise and it's going to hurt for a few days, but there are no signs of broken ribs or internal bleeding. Come on, I think it's time for a break. Let's go to Doc's and grab some coffee." Carter smiled.

"Great." Lily said, relieved.

Carter offered her his hand and pulled her into a sitting position. Lily swung her legs over the edge of the gurney, thanking God that the examination was over. She hopped off of the bed lightly and followed Abby out of the curtain area, with Carter in tow. Abby led her into the lounge where she dropped off her lab coat and got her sweater while Carter cleared the box for curtain area three again. He came to get his jacket and the trio walked across the street to Doc Magoo's. Once they got there, they sat down in one of the booths and ordered coffee and pie. They chatted amicably while they waited.

"So Lily, we haven't heard from you in a while. What brings you to Chicago?" Carter asked.

"Oh, I've been busy organizing things. I'm here for the weekend to find a place to live. I'm moving here to start med school at Northwestern University in the fall." Lily said, grinning.

"That's great!" Abby and Carter exclaimed simutaneously.

"Yeah, and I was hoping to do my rotation at County." Lily said.

"I don't see why not." Abby smiled.

"Great!" Lily laughed.

"What were you thinking of specializing in?" Carter asked.

"Either cardiovascular or cardiothoracic surgery. However, I was also remotely considering pediatrics, neurology, emergency room physician and trauma surgery." Lily explained.

"How about I take you up to surgery so you can meet Drs.Dorset, Corday, and Romano, a few of our cardivascular, cardiothoracic, and trauma surgeons, when we get back to the hospital?" Abby suggested.

"That would be great!" Lily said excitedly.

"Where are you staying for the weekend?" Carter inquired.

"At the Fairmont hotel." Lily replied.

"Nonsense. Why don't you come stay with us?" Carter suggested.

"Oh, no, I couldn't do that. I don't want to impose." Lily blushed.

"Really, it's no trouble. There's plenty of room." Abby insisted.

"If you're sure." Lily said.

"Definitely." Carter and Abby chorused.

"Thanks so much." Lily smiled.

"No problem. How about you go back to the hotel and pick up your things, then you can come back to the hospital. You'll come home with us after our shifts." Carter implied.

"Good idea." Lily agreed.

"If that's how you're going to do it, then how about you go now and I'll take you up to meet the surgeons after. Besides, if I take too long of a break Weaver will murder me." Abby laughed.

"Sure. I'll head out now, then. See you both later." Lily smiled.

"Bye." They chorused.

Lily stood from the table and left Doc Magoo's. Abby and Carter finished their coffees quickly and headed back to the hospital. The labs on all of Abby's patients had come back, so she had something to do. Carter grabbed a chart from the rack and headed for chairs. The patient had presented with a query strep throat. Nothing some antibiotics couldn't fix.

Elsewhere, Lily had reached the hotel. She took the elevator up to her room and re-packed all of her things. After grabbing all her bags and making sure she hadn't forgotten anything, Lily rode the elevator back down to the main floor. She straightened the details of her stay out with the host behind the desk and went to catch a taxi back to County.

Abby had finished her rounds and sat in the lounge, studying. She stared unblinkingly at the clock for a few minutes. Her shift was over in three hours. Lily would be back soon, and then Abby could get away from the ER for at least a little while again. Usually the quiet was a welcome change from the usual screaming and chaos of the ER, but today was just too quiet. Until that day, Abby hadn't thought 'too quiet' was possible. It was like being in the twilight zone.

Lily paid the cabbie and gathered her luggage from the trunk. Luckily the suitcase had wheels, so it didn't require much effort to roll it down the sidewalk. Once she had entered the ER, she spotted Carter sitting at the admit desk, filling out a chart. She walked up and laid her hand down on the desk.

"Hey Carter." Lily said.

"Oh, hey Lily. Sorry, I didn't see you there." Carter laughed.

"It's okay. Where's Abby?" Lily inquired.

"She's in the lounge, studying. Come on, I'll show you where. You can drop your bags off in there until we're done our shifts." Carter said.

Lily nodded and she followed Carter as he came out from behind the desk, still clutching the chart. She fell into step beside him as he turned the corner and entered the lounge. Once they got inside and closed the door, Abby looked up at them.

"Hey again." She smiled.

"Hi." Lily replied.

"Here, I'll put your bags in my locker." Carter said.

Lily handed the suitcase over to Carter and slipped her carry-on off her shoulder. He went to put them away while Abby stood up and stretched. She stepped over to Lily.

"I've got to get back to work, but I'll see you both back here in a little bit. Our shifts end in an hour and a half." Carter said.

"See you then." Abby and Lily chorused.

Carter gave them one last quick smile before exiting the lounge. Abby turned to face Lily before speaking.

"Come on. We can go upstairs to see the surgeons now. Weaver's off shift, so even if I take a bit of an extended break there's not much anyone can do. Luka's in charge and he's just too sweet for his own good." Abby said suggestively.

"Is he cute? You have to point him out." Lily smiled.

"Come on." Abby laughed.

She grabbed Lily by the arm and led her out of the lounge. On their way to the elevator, they passed Luka. Lily looked at him appraisingly. He was pretty handsome, she had to admit. He had a sincere smile, anyway. Once they reached the elevator, Abby pushed the button for the fourth floor. The elevator came and the girls stepped into it. Once they reached the surgical floor, they strode past the desk and headed down the corridor toward the surgeons' offices. At the end of the hall, they heard loud laughter coming from Elizabeth's office. Edward's voice resonated from behind the closed door. Abby and Lily stepped over to the door and Abby knocked. They heard Robert shout and they entered. The three surgeons looked up at their visitors.

"Hey guys." Abby greeted.

"Hey." The three surgeons chorused.

"We've missed you up here." Elizabeth smiled.

"I've missed being up here." Abby replied.

"To what do we owe the pleasure of this visit?" Eddie inquired.

"Everyone, I'd like you to meet a friend of mine, Lily Campos. She's the one who saved Carter's life in California." Abby introduced.

"Hello." The surgeons said in unison.

"Hi." Lily said shyly.

"Lily, these are Drs. Elizabeth Corday, Edward Dorset, and Robert Romano. Three of the finest surgeons in the country." Abby smiled.

"It's nice to finally meet you. Abby's told me all about all of you." Lily smiled as she shook each surgeon's hand in turn.

"What brings you to Chicago, Lily?" Dr.Dorset inquired.

"I'm here for the weekend to look for an apartment. I've been accepted into Northwestern University, into the faculty of medicine." Lily explained.

"That's wonderful. What do you plan to specialize in?" Dr.Romano asked.

"I'm stuck between cardiovascular and cardiothoracic surgery. A few other, more remote, possibilities are emergency room physician, neurologist, pediatrician, and trauma surgeon." Lily elaborated.

"That's excellent. Do you plan on doing your residency here at County?" queried.

"I was hoping to, yes." Lily said.

The split-second silence was interrupted by the sound of two pagers going off. It was for Drs.Romano and Dorset. They each looked down at theirs and turned it off.

"Sorry, they need me in recovery. It was nice meeting you, Lily, and I'm looking forward to seeing you around more often." Robert said.

"They need me down in the ER. It was a pleasure and I'll see you around." Eddie said.

"You too. Bye." Lily said, waving them off.

The remaining trio sat around for another few minutes, chatting animatedly, before Abby decided she had better get back to work. There was only a little over an hour left of her shift, anyway. Before standing up she had a great idea.

"Elizabeth, do you have any elective procedures scheduled within the next hour?" Abby inquired.

"I have to remove an insulinoma in ten minutes, why?" Elizabeth asked.

"Would you mind if Lily scrubbed in and watched for a while before mine and John's shifts are over?" Abby queried.

"That's a great idea." Elizabeth assented.

"Do you think you're up for it, Lily?" Abby asked.

"Definitely." Lily said confidently.

"Great. I have to get back to work, but you go with She'll show you how to scrub in and then I'll meet you down in the ER in an hour." Abby explained.

"Sure thing. Thanks, Abby." Lily smiled.

"You're welcome." Abby replied.

Abby left the room and returned to the ER. In the meanwhile, Lily and Elizabeth scrubbed in and Lily observed as Elizabeth explained the procedure. Down in the ER, Carter was examining a fifteen year old girl who had fallen awkwardly off her skateboard and injured her shoulder. It wasn't very exciting, but at least the girl was intelligent, and they carried on a good conversation. It felt good to connect with a patient on a personal level.

After another hour that seemed to last an eternity, Carter and Abby had finished their shifts. They had grabbed their things and Carter carried Lily's bags out to the car as Abby went upstairs to fetch her out of the O.R. Once she reached the surgical floor, she found Lily scrubbing out in the scrub room adjacent to O.R. four. Abby smiled as she saw the look on Lily's face. It was a look that could only be interpreted as sheer excitement. Lily finished discarding her surgical gear and ran out to meet Abby in the hall. She ran up to Abby and threw her arms around the other woman's neck. Abby pulled up her arm and patted Lily on the back. After Lily pulled away she grinned and spoke.

"Oh my God that was amazing! Thanks so much for getting to agree to let me stand in on the procedure. It was the coolest thing ever!" Lily exclaimed.

"No problem. Come on, let's go home." Abby laughed.

Lily quickly headed into the women's surgical lockers and changed into her day clothes before the two women headed out to the parking lot. They met Carter by his Jeep. He gave Abby a quizzical look after noticing the bright eyed expression on Lily's face. Her cheeks were red from smiling, and her face hurt, but she didn't care.

"What happened to you? You look like you just won the lottery." Carter said confusedly.

"I got to sit in on an insulinoma removal. It was brilliant!" Lily shouted joyously.

"Like a kid in a candystore." Abby said, rolling her eyes.

"Right. Come on, let's get going." Carter laughed.

They piled into the car and headed for the Carter mansion. Once they got there, Lily stared up at the house in incredulity. She got out of the car and admired the structure.

"Oh. My. God. You live here?!" Lily exclaimed.

"Yes indeed." Carter announced.

"Scale of one to ten, how much trouble will I have finding any one specific room in that labyrinth?" Lily deadpanned.

"Seventeen. Seriously, I still have trouble, and I've been around a while." Abby joked.

Lily shook her head. She went around to the back of the car to grab her bags, only to find Carter had beat her to it. After a few seconds of squabbling he let her carry one of the bags. Lily smiled in satisfaction. She never lost an arguement. Once they got inside the house, Carter showed Lily where she would be staying and where the bathrooms were. After they all got changed they met at the top of the staircase for dinner. Carter introduced Lily to Trudy and Millicent. They both seemed pleased with their newest guest.

After dinner they went down to the recreation room to play ping pong and listen to some music. It was Lily and Abby against Carter. So far, he wasn't doing too badly, considering he was on his own. A few songs later, Lily's favourite tune came on. She started singing along to it.

"In the house of stone and light..." Lily chanted.

Abby and Carter laughed. She wasn't the greatest singer in the world. After about another hour of laughing and playing they decided to go upstairs and watch a movie. Lily fell asleep in the large, cushy armchair halfway through the film. Abby went ahead upstairs to change into her pajamas. Carter turned off the television and walked over to where Lily was curled up. He didn't want to disturb her, she looked far too comfortable. He decided just to carry her up to her bedroom. Carefully, Carter gathered Lily into his arms and carried her up to her sleeping quarters. He put her down on the bed and pulled the covers up around her. After making sure she was comfortable he looked at her one last time and smiled before turning off the lights and leaving the room.

Lily opened her eyes a few seconds after Carter had turned off the lights. She had feighned sleep in hopes that he would carry her to her bed, and he did. Lily could still smell his clean, strong cologne. His arms were so strong and comfortable. Abby was the luckiest woman on earth. Maybe one day Lily would find the perfect guy, too. Lily got up out of bed and quickly changed into her pajamas. Once she had put away her other clothes she got back into bed and layed down. She smiled to herself as she closed her eyes and let sleep wash over her. At least she could have the perfect guy in her dreams.

In the adjacent room, Carter and Abby lay awake in bed. Abby was nuzzled into Carter's shoulder, her hand on his chest. Carter's arm was around Abby's neck. They both laughed, thinking about how much Lily reminded them of themselves. She was really something. They both vowed to help her through med school as much as they could. Not long after they both drifted off to sleep. Carter dreamt of how he would one day make it official that he was going to spend the rest of his life with Abby.

A.N.: What do you think? Thanks to Kim, hyperpiper91, and carbylover for reviewing the last chapter. Tell me what you think, just click the review button! –Julia-