Chapter 7
Abby awoke to the sound of the phone ringing. She groaned and glanced over at the clock. It was almost 9 pm and she wasn't on until 12 She hesitated before answering it, incase it was Weaver again, but answered anyway.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Babe." It was Chuck. "Sorry to wake you, but I thought you might want to get dinner before your shift tonight, my treat."
"Sure, I'd love to," Abby said, her sleep deprived brain unable to come up with an excuse not to go.
"Great, I'll pick you up in an hour?"
"See you then."
They said their goodbye's and Abby rolled out of bed. She had a nice long shower, with her eyes closed, and got dressed. She wasn't sure what kind of places Susan and Chuck went out for dinner, so she opted for a long skirt and simple blouse. She put on a small amount of make-up and pulled her hair back into a bun. She had to admit that it was nice being able to control her hair so easily. She glanced at the time as she was putting her watch on. Chuck would be there any minute. She put on her beeper, made sure her cell was in her purse and grabbed a jacket. There was a knock at the door.
Abby took a deep breath, willing herself to get through the evening. Chuck was a nice guy and she could pretend to be his girlfriend for an evening. She opened the door, a smile pasted on her face. She was not surprised to see Chuck standing there, but was surprised to see him in a suit, holding a dozen roses.
"Good evening," he said, handing her the flowers. "You look nice tonight."
"Thank-you, you look nice, too." There was an awkward pause. Chuck seemed nervous. "Come in," she said.
Chuck nodded and came through the door, placing a kiss on her cheek.
It only took Abby three guesses to find which cupboard Susan kept her vases in. Then they were on their way.
Chuck pulled into the parking lot of a small, upscale diner that Abby had never seen before. She pulled Susan's car in behind him. She wanted to comment on never knowing it was here, but was afraid that Susan had been here before. They were seated quickly, obviously Chuck had reservations. There was an ice bucket with a bottle of wine in the center of the table. Abby hesitated at the sight of it. She didn't want to drink any of it, but didn't know how she would explain that to him. A glass of wine to a normal adult shouldn't mean anything. She glanced at Chuck. He seemed nervous. Abby shrugged and sat down. Maybe he was always nervous on dates.
The waiter came over and poured them both a glass of wine.
"Cheers." Chuck said holding up his glass. Abby held hers up and clinked glasses with him. She hesitated as she brought the glass to her lips. She opted to simply pretend to take a sip and place the glass back down. Chuck, on the other hand, downed more than half of his glass in one gulp. To Abby's knowledge, he and Susan had been together for more than a year. He shouldn't be this nervous.
Chuck reached across the table and took her hand. "I love you," he said softly.
Abby allowed him to pull her hand towards him a few inches. She smiled. "You too."
Chuck smiled and looked down. He took a deep breath and looked up, right into her eyes. "I know things aren't always perfect, but…"
Abby froze, realization hitting her. He was going to propose. She recognized the symptoms from only a few months ago. She had to think fast. She was quickly preparing to simply jump up and run, when she got an idea. She jumped, letting go of Chuck's hand and grabbed at her waistband.
"Damn," she said, looking down at her blank beeper. "It's the hospital."
Chuck nodded, believing her excuse.
"Give me a minute." Abby grabbed her cell and stood near the door to have a quick, fake conversation with the hospital. She pretended to hang up and went back to the table. "I'm sorry, Chuck. They need me to go in."
Chuck nodded, looking both sad and relieved at the same time. "Call me when you're off?"
"Of course," Abby said, smiling. She placed a quick kiss on his cheek and headed out the door.
She parked the car and headed to the front door of the apartment complex. She typed in the familiar code and let herself in. She took the stairs two at a time and let herself in the door of her apartment. Susan and Carter looked up from the living room, surprised to see her.
"What's going on?"
"We have to tell Chuck."
"Why," Susan asked. "What happened?"
"N-nothing, we just have to tell him."
Neither looked convinced. "Carter, I need to talk to you," she said, grabbing Carter's hand and dragging him into the bathroom. She quickly locked to door and turned on the water so Susan couldn't hear.
"Chuck proposed," she blurted out.
"He what?"
"Well, he didn't actually propose. I jetted before he had a chance, but he was definitely going to."
"What, you just ran away?"
"No, I mean I was thinking about it, but I opted to pretend my beeper went off and that the hospital needed me."
Carter laughed. "Good thinking."
"Yeah, for now, but what do I do tomorrow?"
Carter shook his head. "We'll just have to figure out a way to tell him, or at least to keep away from him."
"This really sucks."
Carter laughed. "I know."
"At least you're in your own body."
Carter pulled her in for a hug. "I wish I could fix it."
"I know," Abby said, allowing Carter to comfort her. She felt like she hadn't been in his arms for weeks. Instinctively, she reached her head up for a kiss, but Carter stopped her.
"I'm sorry," he said. "I know that it's you, but still…"
Abby nodded. "I understand." She sighed and buried her head in his chest for a few moments. She felt him place a quick kiss on the top of her head. She knew how hard he was trying. She couldn't even imagine what it would be like if he looked like someone else. She pulled away. "So, when do you guys want to leave for work?"
Work that night was very interesting. They had many minor traumas come in and had to contend with avoiding the work crews that were in the hallway, replacing lights.
Abby yawned as she grabbed her umpteenth chart from the rack and glanced at her watch. It was just after 5 in the morning. She stepped around the worker on the ladder to see Susan standing on the other side, holding the bottom of the ladder. She gave her a questioning look.
"They were short handed. Not many workers will take a night shift," Susan said. "I watched him almost tip the ladder twice, so I thought that I would save us one more trauma tonight if I held the bottom until he was done. He said he wouldn't be much longer. Apparently a circuit is crossed or something."
Abby laughed. "Well, have fun, I'm off to do your job."
She headed in the door, expecting to see a young boy on the bed, but instead saw only his mother, asleep in the chair beside the bed. Abby approached the woman. "Excuse me," she said, waking to woman. "Were you here with your sun?"
The woman nodded and glanced at the bed next to her.
"Do you know where he is?" Abby asked, already knowing the answer.
The woman shook her head. "No," she said beginning to panic. "I couldn't have fallen asleep for long…"
Abby offered a small smile. "Don't worry, we'll find him. This happens all the time."
"Thanks, I'll check the waiting room, he may have gone to the vending machines." With that the woman hurried out the door.
Abby stepped out the door. "Did you see a little boy leave this room alone?"
"No, but I haven't been here long. Ask Mr. Fix-it up there," she said pointing up the ladder. "How long does it take to replace a light," she whispered to Abby. Abby laughed.
She stepped onto the bottom wring of the ladder and took a few steps up, until she was level with the man's feet. She felt the ladder sway slightly and was immediately glad for Susan below her, holding it steady.
"Excuse me, Sir," she said, tapping the man on the back of his calf. "You didn't happen to see a small boy leave that room, did you?"
"Hold on a second," the man said. "I've almost got-"
He didn't even have time to curse as he realized he had crossed the wrong wire and was zapped and found himself falling off the top of the ladder.
Neither Abby nor Susan, who were both holding the metal ladder, knew anything was wrong until they felt a familiar zap run through their body's. Both were thrown backwards.