A/N: Thanks to everyone who took the time to review the story for me, glad that you have liked it so far. Here's the update that I know you have been waiting for.

Chapter Nine.

Abby had laid her head on Luka's shoulder and fallen asleep as they waited for Carter to wake up from his drunken state. They both wanted answers from him. To find out just what was going on in his head. Something wasn't right with him and they were going to make sure that they got to the bottom of it. Carter's phone rang. Luka reached over to answer it before it woke Abby or Carter.

"Hello." Luka said answering it.

"Luka it's Susan." Susan said, "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah. Abby and I are here with him. He's sleeping off what he drank. I'm sure that when he wakes up he's going to have one hell of a hang over." Luka told her.

"Oh man. I was just worried about him. Have you and Abby been able to get anything out of him." She asked.

Luka wasn't sure how much he should tell her. He knew that at one time Susan had cared for Carter and that they were friend. He decided against it. "No nothing yet. I'm sure that he'll talk to us when he wakes up. I'll tell him you called."

"Thanks Luka." Susan said.

This was going to be rough when Carter woke up. It was just him and Abby there to try to get to the bottom of it. He silently wished Benton was here. Although he didn't like the surgeon he had gotten Carter to crack last time. He knew that the young doctor looked up to Benton for what reason he couldn't understand. Kerry wouldn't be happy when she found out about this, but then maybe she didn't have to. It would all depend on what Carter had to say when he awoke.

Luka closed his eyes and fell asleep he was certain that Carter would be sleeping for quite some time. He pulled Abby closer to him in his sleep out of old habit.

Carter awoke to a pounding headache. He didn't remember getting into bed. He had no recollection of how he got home. Oh god, he remembered going to the bar and sitting with Luka. He couldn't remember how much he drank but he knew that he had to have been way to much. He stumbled to the bathroom to find the aspirin, his head was killing him. He opened up the medicine cabinet and reached for it. Taking two of them he headed into the kitchen. He saw Luka sleeping on the couch, but what he couldn't believe was that Abby was curled up sleeping in his lap. Carter just stood there in disbelief.

Abby awoke to a noise in the kitchen. How long had she been asleep? She opened her eyes. She realized that she was curled up on Luka's lap. She sat up and saw Carter standing there in the kitchen staring at her.

"Good morning." She said.

"Yeah." Was all Carter could say? He turned a tried to find a glass to get some water.

Abby walked over to where he was standing, "how do you feel?"

"Like shit Abby." He aimed his words to hurt, "I don't know how you could do this."

Abby let that one go. She knew that Carter was trying to provoke her on purpose. "Would you like me to make coffee?"

"Not on my account," He said.

"Carter, we need to talk," She said. "Luka and I have been here all night worried sick about you. What's going on?"

"I don't want to talk about it Abby. Not with you, not with Luka hell I won't even talk with Weaver for that matter." He said.

"Carter, don't you understand anything I've been trying to tell you." She asked.

"I got the picture Abby, and I think that you've spelled things out quite clear now." Carter was hurt, angry and damn his head hurt something awful.

"No, I don't think you do." She said softly. "We can't end like this Carter. I don't want things to end with you."

"You have an odd way of showing that Abby." Carter said. "I know what I saw this morning."

"You know what you saw this morning. Two people who care about you Carter, spending the night on your couch to make sure that you didn't drown in your own vomit. You made sure that you got home from the bar where you were completely drunk. I was worried sick about you Carter. Your threats at the hospital. Never coming back again. You had us all scared shitless. And then I bring you here after finding you drinking at a bar and find this." She threw the bottle at him, "what are you thinking? What are you doing to yourself?"

"What am I doing to myself? You're crazy Abby. I'm not doing anything to myself yet. I haven't touched these. Do you have so little faith in me that you would think I'd turned back? No, instead I call you, I try to talk to you, to let you know that I needed you, and you tell me that things can't be the same as they were before. I was turning to you for help Abby and you shut me out!"

Carter yelling woke Luka up. He saw the two of them standing in the kitchen facing off. "What's going on?"

"Nothing is going on." Carter yelled. "You two have gotten it in your heads that I am nothing but a weak recovering addict who has slipped. That is so far from what has happened."

"Carter, then tell us what has happened." Abby said, "Let me in. Show me that we can talk."

"I don't have to show you anything. I don't have to prove anything to anyone." Carter said defensively.

"No you don't have to prove anything to me Carter. Just explain to me why the hell you have a bottle of Soma here. Come on you and I both know you are a recovering addict. Why the hell would anyone prescribe you soma? It's a highly addictive drug. Shit of course you know that but then you won't tell me what the hell is going on NOW WILL YOU!" Abby let him have it. She didn't care if Luka was standing there with his mouth hanging wide open listening to Abby lay into John. She was lit. He had pissed her off. "God Carter get it thru your think head, I love you, but right now you are making it awfully difficult."

Carter didn't say anything. He didn't know what to say. He didn't want to get into it right now and he thought that he was doing a pretty good job avoiding getting into it with her, but she had called him on the Soma.

"What do you want me to say Abby?"

"The truth Carter. Tell me what is wrong. Let me help you."

"I don't want your help Abby." He said.

"Carter we have been thru to much together to end it like this. I am not going to walk out on you. I can't do that. Don't ask me to do it." She said.

He was breaking and he knew it. He could feel the room closing in on him. "What are you going to go running to Kerry again? Mark's not here for you to go running to this time." He spat.

"If I have to do that I will. But don't make me. Luka is here to Carter don't put him between a rock and a hard place with all this. I am not going to let you just wash your hands of everything you have worked for that easily." She said to him.

"You want me to spill the truth to tell you everything. FINE!" Carter said, "You broke my heart Abigail Lockhart. I loved you, but you wouldn't let me in, you wouldn't let me be a part of your life. You would only let me look in from the outside. You kept everything to yourself, all the pain and hurt you wouldn't let me help you carry any of that burden. I cried that night that I left your apartment. It hurt, and it hurt badly. Now I find myself unable to sleep you are all I think about day in and day out. The fact that I can't have you the way that I want you. I don't want you to change; I just want you to trust me enough to lean on me when things get rough. But no you didn't want to do that. It was as if you were slapping me in the face. God damn it Abby I love you!" John's voice was rising, tears were starting to fall. "The nightmares are back. The pain is back and I can't handle it on my own. And I know damn well that the only reason it is back is cause I can't handle living with out you in my life. I need you so bad it makes my heartache when you are not here."

"I'm not going anywhere John, we had a fight and what I was telling you the other night was that I needed a little more time to think about what you had told me. I was trying to work my way up to be being more open an honest with you. It's not that I don't want to be with you, god help me I do. I love you more than I have ever loved anyone else. You mean the world to me. Please believe me when I say that."

John pulled her close to him. "We have to work this out Abby."

"I know we do, and we will." She said letting herself go to him.

Abby put her arms around his neck and held him so close that could barely breathe. They both knew that this is where they belonged. With each other no matter what came their way.