All the reviews have been very nice, and I appreciate them.

Nicola and striker20 you may want to read the last few paragraphs of chapter three… I had some upload issues and uploaded the wrong document. There was a very minor change, but a change none the less thanks to some last minute inspiration from Bobbyboots.

Lillian… I really appreciate your enthusiasm! I'm in training down at Maxwell AFB, but have some free time a little bit everyday. If you want to send me your email address to my hotmail account check my profile. (I've tried to upload documents with URLs and email addresses in them, but it does not work.) I'll keep you updated on the updates : ), that way you don't have to keep checking everyday!

All that being said I apologize for small typos, I usually proof read the stories a little more… anyone interested in beta reading? I just don't have the time to really spend on proof reading like I usually do.

Enough of that, on to…

Part IV

John drove in silence to his house. He wanted to hear Abby if she made any noise at all. The good thing about the night shift was the lack of traffic back to the suburbs, but the trip felt like it would never end this night. He finally saw his exit and pulled off the interstate.

As the car slowed, Abby sensed the change. She was in a vehicle in motion, and tried to remember what was happening to her. She opened her eyes slowly, and saw the tops of buildings sliding past her line of sight. Her intake of breath was quiet, but John was hyper-aware of any sound or movement from the back seat, "Abby?"

"Please, I just want to go home… I won't tell anybody." They were still moving, she was still in the SUV, the hospital must have been a dream, and she was about to die.

Carter was confused, but sensed the fear in Abby's voice. He slowed, and pulled over to the side of the road. He got out of the jeep and moved around to the passenger side door.

Abby felt the weigh shift as her captor got out of the SUV. 'This is it.' She thought. She realized how insanely true it was that you never regret the things you've done, but you do regret the things you never did. She never spoke to John to apologize for not being there for him when his grandmother died, she could have helped her brother more, she hadn't—the door opened quickly, "No, please don't, don't shoot me." She begged with her eyes closed, waiting for him to grab her and drag her from the vehicle again. His touch was insanely gentle, breading a new fear, "Don't touch me." She whispered quietly trying to get away from his touch. She was certain now he was going to rape her and then shoot her.

Carter was at a lost for what had initiated the current flashback. He assumed she was having a nightmare. When she pulled away from him, he assumed that she was still caught in her dream. He moved to get into the backseat.

'He's getting in here,' she was close to having a full blown panic attack now. Her breathing was labored.

Carter gently pulled Abby into his arms, "Abby, calm down, you're safe. Breath."

She heard his voice but did not want to believe it was John. 'It's just a dream. You're dreaming again. John can't be here.' She was so confused. Why wasn't she dead, or worse?

"Open your eyes, look at me, it's John." He slowly turned her head so she could see his face once she opened her eyes. She wasn't listening to him though. Her panic attack was becoming dangerous, and he had no other choice. As much as he hated to do it, he placed slight pressure on her swollen wrist, hoping the pain would snap her out of her flashback.

She moaned as the dull ache she was feeling turned to a sharp pain. 'Stress fracture', she thought. The pain was real, and it felt like a stress fracture. It was possible that she hadn't dreamt her freedom. It was possible that she really was in John's arms, and not Loose's. She opened her eyes and gasped in relief. Not only was it physical relief as the much needed air filled her lungs, it was a mental relief to see John's concerned eyes looking into hers. "John?"

He nodded, "I'm here, you're safe." It was becoming a mantra. His plan was to remind her often that she was safe both verbally and through physical contact. "I'm sorry I had to hurt you."

At first she was confused, he hadn't hurt her, and then she realized he was gently rubbing her wrist, and put the pieces together. He snapped her back to reality. She collapsed in to his arms, still out of breath. "When I woke up, I thought… I thought I was still in the SUV, and that I had dreamt everything that happened at the hospital." The fear was disappearing the more she reminded herself John was protecting her with his embrace. "After CJ died, they pushed me into the back seat, and made me lay down…" It felt good to talk about it, but she didn't want to unload it all on Carter. Once again she reminded herself that they both had their own lives, and he wasn't going to be there every time she needed him.

He sensed the hesitation, "Go on, Abby, you'll feel better once you start to talk about it. I'll be here for you as long as you need me." He would always know her better than he knew himself. He knew what she was thinking, and at this moment in time he was willing to forget everything else to be there for her.

Inhaling deeply she continued, "They said they had business to do, but they didn't have a shovel… I was sure they meant to kill me; they just needed to find the right place to dump my body… I waited in the backseat while they drove around. When I woke up, I thought I was still in the SUV. I thought you were Loose…"

Carter was beginning to hate the sound of her captor's names. The more she talked, and the more he realized just how scared she had been for such a prolonged period made him angry. He was angry at himself for not looking for her, at Susan for driving her out into the ambulance bay, and at the gang war that started the whole episode.

She sensed him becoming tense and was sure she had shared too much. He was getting uncomfortable. She tried to push away from him, but cried out in pain. "Sorry, I… you can just take me home. I'll be ok."

"Abby, please don't so this," he spoke, the anger still lingered mixed with frustration. He stopped himself before he scared her. "Abby, I'm not mad at you, I'm angry about the situation and the men that took you."

"Boys," she corrected.

"What?"

"Boys, they were just kids." She was being stupid. She was misreading everything, and was over emotional. "I don't know what my problem is, they didn't hurt me. They were just kids."

He gently squeezed her, trying to get her attention, "Shhh, let me help you. You have every right to feel afraid, your life was threatened, they had a gun and obviously were not afraid to use it. You'll need help tonight dealing with your injuries…" he paused. There was so much more to it than that, "…and I need to know you're safe."

His words touched her, and she let me sink in. She was too exhausted to argue, and in truth wanted nothing more than to feel protected and secure. She nodded her agreement, "Can I move to the front seat?"

"I think we can do that," he smiled down at her. "We're only about five minutes from home. Do you want me to call ahead and have anything made for you to eat or drink?"

Shaking her head, Abby moved awkwardly as she tried to get out of the seat without leaning on her arms. Carter watched her struggle, and finally grabbed her around the waste and lifted her out with ease. Once he had her settled in the passenger seat he buckled her in and closed the door.

Abby watch him run to the driver side. She decided to just let him take care of her that night. She didn't have the energy to worry about what the following days would hold for her. Tonight he was there for her, and she was very thankful.

Once he settled into the driver's seat, he put the jeep into drive and continued on down the road. Before they got far, he took her hand in his and rubbed comforting circles with his thumb over the back of her hand. Abby leaned her forehead against her window and let herself relax.

They soon were pulling through the security gates of the Carter Family mansion. It was always an impressive sight, but Abby was more occupied on the thought of sleep. Only once the jeep was parked in the circle drive did John release her hand. He got out and met her as she tried to open the door. "Please, let me help you."

She nodded her consent, as he helped her through the doors and up the stairs to the guest quarters. She sat heavily on the bed, and he looked her over with concern. "I'll be right back."

She took the brief moment of solitude to take in the fact that she was safe, and in the protection of the man she once trusted more than anyone in the world. He was being so kind to her, she felt like no time had past between them. Somehow she needed to get through with this without letting her love for him become confused.

He returned with a pair of his pajama pants. She looked down at her scrub pants, and saw the dried blood. She sprung to her feet, almost loosing her balance, "Carter I'm sorry. Did I get any bl—anything on the bed?"

"Don't worry about any of it. I just wanted to help you get ready for bed." He was unsure of how to proceed. Based on her reactions at the hospital, he didn't want her to feel uncomfortable.

She looked down and tried to undo the tie, but her hands were shaking too badly. She sighed in frustration and brought her hand up to brush her hair out of her face. "This is so stupid," she whispered.

Carter moved closer, holding his hands out, "Can I help you?"

She was ready to cry now out of frustration. "Please." She closed her eyes and let him loosen her pants. They fell to the ground and he gently helped her sit back down on the bed. Once the soiled uniform was pushed aside he put the new pants on her legs, and helped her to stand again. While he pulled them up, she thought how oddly romantic the situation was. He was standing so close to her she could smell his aftershave that had been applied many hours before. She leaned against him, and he instantly wrapped his arms around her. He rocked her back and forth, rubbing comforting circles on her back.

Pulling back slightly, she was unsure how to approach the subject that she needed to deal with. "John, can you… would you be willing to…"

"You want me to sleep in here tonight?" He was relieved she had tried to ask him. He wanted to stay with her to watch over her for the night, but didn't want her to feel uncomfortable.

"If that's ok, I just want to… I don't know how the night is going to go…" He was being so good; she didn't want him to feel uncomfortable.

He kissed her forehead, "I wasn't going anywhere." He led her to the bed, and helped her get under the covers. He sat on top the covers against the headboard, and wrapped his arms around her.

Abby relaxed in his arms, allowing the exhaustion to finally overtake her.

TBC…