AN: sorry about the delay - I kinda managed to find myself half a life. But here is the third and final chapter. Thank you to all those who have reviewed the previous ones and made me smile :)

DISCLAIMER: not mine, unfortunately

SUMMARY: much carbyfuzz

PART 3 - The After Party

He didn't know who had made the decision to stop, when it had happened, or how they had got there. It didn't really matter. They had got there, stopped, and he thought they'd been standing there for some time now. They were standing by the river, a different part to usual, their hands resting, entwined, on the parapet. They were both staring out at the streaky light reflected from the water, each occasionally stealing a glance at the other, and quickly looking away, neither wanting to address what they both knew had to be addressed.

"Valentine's Day," she whispered, still not looking at him.

"Five years ago today, I was stabbed." It seemed like a lifetime ago.

"Two years ago today..."

"...we were still together," he finished for her.

Again, they stood in silence as the river flowed slowly past. It might have been a few minutes, maybe longer. It was cold. He gently disengaged his hand from hers, and turned towards her. She edged a little closer, toying with the front of his jacket, so he could no longer see her eyes. He brought his hand up to the icy porcelain of her cheekbone, brushing along it and beyond to tuck her hair behind her ear, ducking his head down to look her in the eye, a slight shake of the head, questioning. Immediately she understood: she always did. They both knew what this was about. This was about the end of all the avoidance, the games, the hidden feelings. Still, he could see the hesitation, see her wavering, unsure. Slowly, carefully, he tipped up her chin, leaving a lingering kiss at the very corner of her mouth.

Drawing his head back, he gauged her reaction. A slight flicker of the eyelid, her eyes ever those unfathomable pools of shining darkness. A slight twitch of the mouth, that was all. She wasn't sure. He leaned in again, but this time she decisively turned her head away, simultaneously slipping her hands between his encircling arms and around his neck to curb his feelings of rejection. He felt them there gratefully, one still warm from being in his, the other icy cold from the bitter Chicago night. She was close now, close enough for him to feel her warm breath fluttering between the opening of his thick coat and through his thin jumper, and close enough to feel the slight pressure of her body against his.

Softly, "Abby," he said, "I need to know."

He felt her answer breathed back at him, "I know. I know. Just–" And she broke off. She needed more time.

He waited a few seconds, allowing her to continue if she wanted to. This was different to their passionate collision of a month ago. Did she know, he wondered, did she know how he had felt on waking, only moments after she had left, the bed still warm from her presence? Did she know how the single word on the piece of paper she had left behind her had rent his heart in two? He doubted it. 'Sorry'. Probably she thought it was better for him this way. That it was too soon after Kem. That She should never have gone home with him in the first place. But mostly she was just scared.

He looked down at where his fingers were now interlaced with her hair, a gently coaxing thumb rubbing up and down encouragingly.

"You want me to go first?"

A slight inclination of the head. He obliged.

"Abby," he began, "I can't tell you we're gonna be ok, because I don't know...but I know I want us to be. I want for us to be ok more than anything else right now.

"But I can't do this again, I can't deal with it, not after – well, after everything...I can't deal with all the guessing and all the hiding anymore. I won't go through it again, not now. So I need to know what this is, what we're doing here. Do you understand? Abby?

"I need to know where we are."

Again, the slight inclination of the head. Then she pulled back, her eyes reflecting the fear that was in his. And, just for a moment, he was so afraid. Afraid of what was coming next. Afraid that all his worst fears would be realised. So much was hanging in the balance. But, for once, he had misread her.

Yes, she was afraid. But her fears were different.

"John," she started abruptly, "I think– I think I love you."

It was so quiet, barely perceptible. But it was loud enough for him. Loud enough for him to breathe again, loud enough to send the blood pulsing through his veins, loud enough to spread a smile so wide across his face that he thought it would crack. The Tornado, definitely. A simple 'I missed you' would have sufficed. An 'I want you,' from Abby, would have been enough. And now he loved her more than ever for saying it when she didn't have to.

He could see the beginnings of a smile nipping at the corners of her mouth. He leaned in to kiss the proud smile, but as their lips connected he pulled back. With a carefully raised eyebrow, he slyly asked, "you only think?"

Her anxious eyes caught his tone, and she smiled slowly, widely.

"I think I know." As another eyebrow teasingly joined the first, she added, "and I think you know I know."

Beginning to feel like Joey in an episode of friends he had seen just the other day, and sensing that this could go on forever – although presumably they had the rest of their lives now, he didn't want to waste another second of it like this – he ended it.

Finally, the icy barrier of her lips parted under his, and he was allowed past into the warmth that was her mouth. It was a warmth that seemed to spread through him and radiate into the night from his very fingertips, as he pulled back and whispered, barely a centimetre from her face, "I know." He knew. And he couldn't believe how much he wanted to stand on the bench behind them and yell it at the rooftops, yell it at the river, yell it at the darkened windows of the sleeping occupants around him. The only thing stopping him was that Abby was right here and he didn't want to move even an inch.

But she was pulling away from him again, and, standing on tiptoes and pulling his head down a little lower, she whispered into his ear "I love you."

He grinned as he leaned down to her ear, and whispered, "don't tell anyone, but I love you too."

"I know. Abby Lockhart never would have believed you. But Doctor Lockhart does."

"At least your diagnostic skills have improved. Good thing I'm not dating this Abby person," he said, wrapping his arms more tightly around her. "You're shaking."

"Must be the cold," she beamed.

"You want to go home? I have no idea where the hell we are. But I guess we could try."

"There's an el station across the street. My car's at Susan's."

"We can get it in the morning. Or the day after. You're not working tomorrow, right?"

"I haven't pulled a sicky in a while." They turned to cross the road, his hand gripping her shoulder. "Carter, you're hurting me!"

He loosened his grip and kissed the top of her head by way of apology.

"At least Susan'll be pleased"

"You know about that too?" she asked, surprised.

"Sure. What?" he asked, as she looked at him sceptically. "You underestimated my powers of perception? Of course I know about it. How's it going, Peaches?"

"Well, reunited and it feels pretty damn good, and all that. I'm just a little shocked that my boyfriend's thinking of his hot ex-girlfriend at a time like this. Horrified, in fact."

"Hey, now. You were a hot ex-girlfriend until about an hour ago."

"But a really, really hot ex-girlfriend, right?"

"A really, really, really hot ex-girlfriend. Though she's now facing some pretty strong competition from my current girlfriend."

"Did I mention that I loved you?"

"I believe it may have come up."

"Shame it wasn't a few years earlier, right?"

"Well, we never were great on timing."

"Like now, when we're standing in a Chicago el station in the dead of night in the middle of February with nearly an hour until the next train comes."

"It's not an hour, it's forty minutes. And it could be worse. We could have missed the last one."

"But we didn't."

"No, we didn't."

Not that it would really have mattered anyway.

..............................................................................

FINIS :)

Review, please! It'll take you all of five seconds!