A/N: A few days have passed since the last chapter, but you should be able to still follow it easily, so with out further ado, please read and review.
GIRL TALK:
Anna had been discharged from the hospital and was no staying at Carter's place until they could get a flight to Seattle. Carter said that she should be flying to the coast tomorrow around 8 am. She was both nervous and excited at the same time. She was leaving one life behind to start another, she'd never seen her family again, which broke her heart, but she knew that it was better than having Max kill her. If that happened she'd never seen them again anyway and all that Carter had done for her would have been for not.
Abby came down the stairs, she was taking Anna shopping this morning to get her some clothes to take to Seattle since she had nothing of her own now. "You ready to get out of here and go do some damage on Carter's credit card." Abby said smiling at Anna.
"That does sound like fun. You and Carter don't have to do all of this for me." Anna said feeling a bit guilty that Carter was doing all of this for her.
"Nonsense," Abby said still smiling, "Carter wants to do this. We can't send you to Doug with nothing but the clothes on you back and expect you to either sink or swim on your own. It's okay trust me let him do this cause I don't want to have to deal with a cranky Carter."
"Okay, okay," Anna said laughing, "I couldn't leave you with a cranky Carter. Especially after everything that you have both done for me."
"Good," Abby said as they headed out the front door and for the stores. "Let's get you some clothes, you're a doctor and we might as well have you dressed like one again. You look like you're a gap girl."
"Yeah I am." Anna said smiling at her, "well I can't say that I have always been a gap girl but it's what I've worn ever since I started practicing, comfortable yet stylish."
Abby climbed into the jeep, "all right then, let's go find you some clothes." Abby burned a little rubber as they tore out of the mansion parking strip.
They spent the day looking at different clothes and picking stuff out for Anna to have, a couple of suitcases to shove everything in to get it to Seattle. Abby had a good time spending the day with her, she could see why Carter liked her. She was friendly and open with those she was around, but Abby could also see why she was a good doctor too. Anna was a very compassionate and caring person about those who were around her. Careful not to step on toes, but not afraid to say what was on her mind.
They now sat crossed legged in front of the fire, Abby with a bottle of water in her hand and Anna with a beer bottle in hers. Pizza box open, the two women happily munching away, and giggling between themselves.
"I first met Carter 6 years ago when I came to Chicago out of the blue to do a summer ER elective. He was so cute and naive back then, a good doctor in the making." Anna laughed a little. "Did you know that he's terrified of cockroaches?"
"Cockroaches, Carter is scared of bugs?" Abby laughed now looking at her.
Anna took a drink from the beer bottle trying not to spit it out as she laughed, nodding her head, "Oh yeah, you should have seen the look on his face. I wasn't making much and I was living in this really bad apartment building, they were everywhere and one crawled up the cabinet, I just grabbed a newspaper and killed it, but," she was laughing pretty hard now, "Carter had this look of total terror on it."
"Oh god," Abby was rolling now too, just picturing that one.
"But we had some good times too." She said, "Although nothing can top that one. You know Carter and I have been nothing more than friends. I think that he had a tiny crush on me when I was here, but I had just broken up with Max for the umpteenth time and wasn't ready for another relationship. Well, that was until Max came back again and we decided to give it another go around. He was quite the charmer, who always knew how to get to my heart no matter how hard I tried to protect if from him."
"I know all about that." Abby said as she tried to curb her laughter now, "I was married before, Richard and I had a love to hate relationship. It was doomed from the start, and his girlfriends didn't help any."
"I'm sorry." Anna said before taking another drink from her beer bottle, "bad marriages are one more thing that we have in common I guess."
"That we do, so tell me some more about Carter. I didn't meet him until about a year after you had left for Philadelphia."
"Well I helped Carter detox his cousin Chase." She said, "I had experience with doing that, with Max. I felt so bad when I pulled him in when Chase came in OD'd on some nasty heroin, in full cardiac arrest. But we got him back, Chase was never the same after that. I did some stuff at County that I have not done since and stuff that we would have never done at CHOP. There was a runaway that Doug was taking care of, who left the hospital and I went with him to chase her down." Anna started to laugh again, "we were in this really bad part of town and Doug," Anna laughed harder now, "he turned on his car alarm and I remember looking at him wondering what the hell he was doing cause there was no way that his car alarm was going to stop someone from stealing that jeep."
Abby was laughing now right along with her, "Doug left before I got the chance to meet him, but I did get the chance to help deliver his fiancé's twin girls before she left to join him in Seattle. Those two were so meant to be together."
"Doug was a character, my first day there," Anna said, "he was intimidated by me and passed me off to another doctor. We got along but not with out several bumps in the road. He was good with kids and all but, he was one who liked to break the rules. We butted heads several time over patient care."
"Sounds like someone that really cared about kids." Abby said, "but someday I might actually get to meet him."
Anna was silent now as she munched on the pizza until she was pulled from her thoughts by the sound of someone knocking on the door, "Abby were you expecting someone?" Anna said as fear of being found filled her body.
"No, not that I know of," Abby said as she got up from her place on the floor. Abby watched as Anna uncrossed her legs and stood up as well. She could tell that Anna was getting scared if she wasn't already there. "It's okay Anna nothing is going to happen to you." Abby kept her head clear and calm, "go upstairs and into any bedroom," she peaked out the curtain.
Anna was moving as Abby talked to her and she about died when she watched Abby pull the curtain back just enough to see who was out there. "Max." She gasped terror now gripping her full strength.
"Go upstairs Anna, now." Abby said putting a little more force behind her voice. "Don't come back out until I come and get you, go now go." Abby was worried about what he was doing here. How he might have come to know she was hiding his wife in their home. Abby waited and watched Anna run up the stairs to find a safe place to hide.
Anna did not stop until she was as far from the door as she could get hidden away back in a closet, she pulled the door shut and moved to the very back of the closet. She pulled her knees up to her chest and said a silent prayer that he would not find her. She was so close to getting away and now everything was being threatened. If he could find her here, he could find her anywhere that she went. She would be living the rest of her life in fear.
Abby stood at the bottom of the stairs as she waited to see he would just go away, but the knocking continued. She waved everyone away from the door, not wanting anyone to open it right now. There was a man who was hell bent on getting his wife back on the other side and Abby didn't want to get Anna into any danger if he managed to get someone to open the door he could get inside the house and Abby wouldn't be able to stop him from getting to Anna then.
Abby walked over to the door not opening it, "I don't know who you are but you need to leave right now."
"I want to see my wife." He yelled back at her, "I know she's here."
"I don't know who you are talking about, but I think you had better leave. You are on private property and you are trespassing," Abby called out, "I won't hesitate to call the police if you don't get off my front porch."
"You go right ahead my wife is in there and I am not leaving until I get to see her and talk to her." Max yelled back defiantly.
Abby lied now, "I don't know your wife. I have no idea who you are talking about so I suggest you leave."
Max continued to bang on the door, "Anna get your ass down here."
"There's no one here by that name." Abby called out as she flipped open her cell phone and dialed 9-1-1. She was not going to take any chances that he could get inside and he was determined not to leave. Abby spoke quickly to the 9-1-1 operator letting her know that there was a man at her house that refused to leave and that they were in danger, that he was intent on taking one of the people in her house against her will. She hung up the phone and tried to keep Max at the front door so that he would not wander around and find another door to come into the house thru.
"Anna come on get out here. I'm not leaving until you talk to me." Max yelled again.
"Anna's not here, Max get that thru your head." Abby called out again.
"The hell she's not." Max was yelling louder now, "I saw her with you earlier today, I want to talk to my wife damn it."
"I don't know what you think you saw, but it wasn't what you thought you did. She's not here, I don't know Anna and I don't know you, so why don't you just get back in your car and leave me alone."
Max just stood there now waiting with his arms crossed over his chest. Abby wondered how long it was going to take the cops to get there. He was making her nervous and she was sure that wherever Anna was hiding she was probably scared to death by now with all this noise and yelling coming from the front door.
Abby watched Max walk from the front door back to his car. She could not take her eyes off him. She about died when she watched him pull a gun from his car. Abby knew her and Anna were in trouble, deep trouble now. Abby felt the fear creeping into her body. She had to get Anna out of the house and away from Max but she did not know how she could do that. She backed away from the door a few steps and hit Carter's number on her speed dial, "damn it Carter pick up." Abby said as she listened to it ring.
"John Carter." He said answering the phone.
"Carter, Max is here." Abby said not keeping the panic from her voice. "He's at the front door now with a gun. She's hidden," Abby did not want to say names in case Max could hear her.
"Abby you guys have to get out of the house. Get Anna and you out of the house, now." Carter was worried now as he started to pace.
Abby took a couple more steps back from the door as she heard him outside again. "Carter where, how do I get out with out him seeing me?"
"Go out thru the garage. Take the keys to any of the cars and you drive, Abby do you hear me you grab a car and you drive as fast as you can and don't stop until you get in front of a police station." Carter wished now that he hadn't left them alone today.
"I hear you." Abby said. She looked around not sure where Anna had hidden herself at, then the gun sounded. She felt a hot sensation burning thru her arm now where the bullet had torn thru her skin.
"Abby, Abby!" Carter yelled into the phone unsure of what he had just heard.
"Son of a bitch." Abby said biting her lip, "Carter I got to go." She said pulling herself together as she slammed the phone shut. Her arm was killing her now as she tried to put pressure on it. She looked at the door again; if he fired that gun, there was nothing that was going to keep him outside. Anna was upstairs and Abby needed to keep him from her.
"Anna I'm coming in." Abby heard Max call out. "If you won't come to me I am coming to you."
'Anna', where was she hiding Abby needed to get them out of the house now and fast cause she had no idea where Anna was hiding or even now how to get to her before Max got to them. She looked up to see Anna standing at the top of the stairs now, she bolted to Abby's side seeing that her crazed husband had shot her best's friends girlfriend.
"Abby," Anna said in a low voice, "you okay?" Anna took a good look at Abby's arm.
"Yeah it just grazed me; we have to get you out of here before he comes in." Abby said looking at Anna there was fear in her eyes.
"Don't worry." Anna was amazingly calm right now. "We'll get out of here."
Abby nodded at Anna not sure, if they really could make it. "Let's go."
Anna got ready to run with Abby as the gun went off again. They had just started for the garage as they heard the report from the gun. Out of habit, they both went down to the floor, neither of them knowing if the other one was hit. Abby tried to scramble back to her feet now as she heard sirens in the yard she pulled on Anna now who was not moving. "Come on Anna, come on." She pulled again. She pulled Anna's lifeless body towards the kitchen so that they could get out into the garage. She had to stop when she got to the kitchen hiding them around the bar, she could see Max almost in the house when he stopped and turned and ran for his car hearing the cops taking off like a bat out of hell from the vicinity. Abby breathed a small sigh of relieve seeing him leave but her mind never left the person she was with.
Carter paced for a few more minutes after the line went dead and he could not hear Abby's voice just the report of the gun going off. He told Kerry what had happened and then took off for the mansion not sure if they were both still alive.