Note: This chapter focuses on Carter and Abby's honeymoon, and while it is pretty clean as far as "bedroom" scenes go, some readers may consider it a teensy bit on the smutty side. I don't think it's anything beyond PG-13, but I just wanted to give everyone fair warning.

Disclaimer: I haven't done this yet, so I figured I'd better acknowledge the fact that Carter and Abby don't belong to me. They belong to each other...as well as the good people at NBC.

Carter and Abby arrived at their destination around 9 o'clock that night–a resort on the edge of Lake Michigan. Their busy schedules and new-parent fear of leaving Eve for too long limited the length of their honeymoon to a weekend, and instead of spending precious hours traveling, they preferred to spend their time...well, doing other things. Plus, it put their minds at ease knowing that if Eve were to need them for some reason, they weren't too far away. Although with two sets of doting relatives taking turns looking after her, it was pretty certain that Eve wouldn't want for anything this weekend. Jack, Eleanor, Maggie, and Eric were all practically salivating at the chance to look after the precious little girl.

After checking in, Carter and Abby made their way to their beautiful room. Abby gasped upon first glance–Carter had arranged for the room to be filled with vases of fresh flowers, and their brightness burst forth from every corner, enhancing the beauty of the already lovely room. The french doors to their balcony were slightly open, and dinner was awaiting them on the balcony. Abby looked at Carter questioningly, and he said,

"I arranged for dinner to be waiting for us when we arrived. I figured you'd be pretty wiped out. Is this okay? You didn't want to go out to eat, did you?" Abby grinned and made a mental note to stop teasing her husband for being such a planner. She really appreciated this attention to detail.

"This is perfect, John. You have no idea. I'm starving, but I'm too tired to go anywhere."

The bellhop arrived with their luggage, and Abby looked longingly at her suitcase, which held even more comfortable clothes than the ones she was wearing. Carter saw that wistful look and suggested,

"Why don't we change into sweats? It's a little chilly tonight, and there's a pretty strong breeze out there on the balcony." Abby wrapped her arms around him looked up at him adoringly.

"You're sure you don't mind spending our first meal as a married couple with me in my ratty Northwestern sweatshirt?"

"Of course not," he replied, and kissed the top of her head fondly. They pawed through their luggage to find their most comfortable clothes and changed quickly.

Now comfortably clad in cozy sweatshirts and baggy sweat pants, Carter and Abby walked hand in hand out on the balcony to enjoy their late dinner.

"So, what are we going to do during our fabulous two-day honeymoon?" Carter asked between bites.

"Why don't we raid the mini-bar?" Abby asked, the picture of wide-eyed innocence. She immediately burst into hearty laughter when she saw the shocked expression on Carter's face. His expression of shock turned into a deep scowl, which caused Abby to laugh even harder.

"That is NOT funny, Abby. Not in the least bit," he chastised.

"I'm sorry," she answered, gasping for breath after her fit of laughter. "But you should have seen the look on your face...God, it was priceless!" Abby's laughter was infectious, and Carter couldn't control his lips no matter how hard he tried–they curved slowly upward into a wide grin.
"Besides, mini-bars aren't just for alcohol, you know," Abby continued. "They usually have sodas and stuff...ooh, candy bars! I wonder if they have a Milky Way in there?" Carter laughed and shook his head.

"Let's try and get through our dinner first before hitting the junk food. Now, seriously, what would you like to do for the next couple of days? Maybe rent some jet-skis, do some sunbathing..."

"That sounds great. We can get up first thing tomorrow morning and spend the whole day outside on the beach. So, after we eat, we better get to sleep, don't you think? I mean, if we want to pack as much as we can into just two days, we'll need to get an early start."

"Um...yeah, we'll need to get some rest. But you know, it's not really that late...we could stay up a little later and still get a good night's sleep," Carter said, trying desperately to mask his disappointment.

"Are you kidding? I'm exhausted. After we finish eating, I just want to crash. You don't mind, do you?" Abby pleaded. Carter was crushed that his wedding night was going to be without the standard "celebration", but he was willing to sacrifice anything for Abby.

"That's fine with me. I guess I'm a little tired, too," he said in his best attempt at a nonchalant tone. Abby was unable to hold back her giggles any longer. Her laughter bubbled over, and Carter blinked, confused.

"I'm kidding, John! Again, you really should have seen the look on your face. It's our wedding night...of course I'm not going to sleep right after dinner!" Carter groaned.

"You're a barrel of laughs tonight, you know that?" he said, and playfully threw his napkin at her.

"What can I say? Getting married must bring out the comedian in me." They ate a few bites of their dinner in silence, before Abby spoke in a soft voice.

"John?"

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry I've been acting so goofy," she offered timidly. "I didn't mean to...you know...suck all the romance out of our dinner. Everything is really beautiful. Thank you for arranging it."

"Abby...sweetie, you don't have to apologize for anything. I wouldn't want to spend this dinner any other way. I love you for you, and that includes your incredibly lame sense of humor," Carter answered with a grin.

"Hey," Abby protested. "Okay, I deserved that." They laughed and enjoyed the rest of their delicious meal. After they were done eating, Abby sauntered over to Carter's side of the table and leaned in close.

"I may have to change for you again," Abby whispered seductively, a sly twinkle in her deep brown eyes. She made her way to the bathroom and a few minutes later emerged and took Carter's breath away.

Her tanned skin was glowing in contrast to the silky, pale pink nightgown she wore. It was simple, with spaghetti straps so delicate they seemed they could give way at any moment, causing the gown to spill off of her body into a fluid pool of silk at her feet. The thought made him dizzy. Her hair was twisted onto the top of her head, held by a pearly clip. The neckline of her nightgown plunged, offering him a tantalizing view. She glided over to the bed where he was laying in anticipation.

"Are you ready?" she asked huskily, giving him a mischievous wink. He gulped and caught his breath, nodding vigorously. Abby laughed softly, a dark, breathy sound that made Carter's blood pound even harder in his ears. As she arrived at the bedside, standing over him, he slid his hands down her sides and onto her hips, and gently pulled her on top of him, her tanned legs straddling his lap.

He gently coaxed her mouth open with soft kisses, each one causing her lips to part a little more, until their tongues slid to mesh with one another, causing the pace of their kissing to quicken. Carter reached up and softly tugged the clip from her hair, releasing it's thick waves onto her shoulders. Carter held her closer, tighter, burying his head in her dark tresses and inhaling the intoxicating scent, what seemed to be a mixture of flowers and hair spray and night air.

"God, I love you," he whispered passionately, fiercely, the sound of his voice muffled against her hair. She pulled back to look at him, both hands caressed his cheeks softly, and staring deep into his eyes she whispered back,

"You can't even begin to imagine how much I love you."

--Thank you so much for reading and reviewing! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! More to come soon!