A/N: I finally somewhat decided what I wanted to do with this and that it needed some more added to it. So here's the second chapter of split second. Please if you read give it a review, tell me if you like it or you don't like it. It's the only way I can improve as a writer.

Wait and See

Carter hadn't left the SICU now for hours. Doug was still unconscious from the surgery. Still unaware as far as they knew that Carol had been killed in the accident. He felt that he should be the one to tell him. Something told him inside that it would be better coming from a friend, someone that Doug knew rather than a stranger in the SICU.

The hours slowly passed by nothing changing. Carter had periodically walked down putting his head into the room where Doug was still lying unaware of the world around him. As much as he wanted Doug to wake up, he didn't know yet just how to tell him the news. He thought that it might just be best to come straight out and tell him depending on just what Doug remembered about what had happened.

"Carter?" He heard a voice behind him and turned to see Abby standing there.

"Hey Abby." Carter replied back, his voice flat, lacking emotion and showing just how tired he really was.

Abby put her hand on his shoulder trying to be there for him. "How's he doing?"

"The same," Carter said, "he is still unconscious and hasn't woke up yet from the surgery."

"You should get some sleep John." Abby said looking at him. She was worried about him, the black circles were starting to form under his eyes and she could tell that exhaustion and worry were starting to take its toll on him.

"Maybe later." Carter said as his eyes drifted down the hallway back towards Doug's room as if someone was going to come walking out of there and tell them that this was nothing more than a nightmare. But he knew that this was more than a nightmare. Doug was going to wake up into a living hell, "I want to be the one that tells him," his voice was shaky as he spoke, "he deserves to hear it from a friend."

Abby nodded understanding what he was saying, but it didn't ease her worries, "I understand, but you won't do anyone any good if you drop from exhaustion, it's been a long hard day."

Carter rolled his eyes at her now, "he'll wake up soon and I know that he will."

Abby had to admire the strength that Carter was exhibiting and the faith that he seemed to have right now, "I'm sure that if you lay down for a few minutes that someone will come and get you if he wakes up." She had to look at this from a stand point outside the realm of it being a friend that was lying in that bed right now.

Carter had to admire her persistence about this. She seemed to be genuinely concerned about him. But she was his friend and that was probably the only reason that she was. "I'll be okay Abby."

"I know you will." Her voice was softer with him than it had been in a long time, granted they were just friends, and shaky friends at that. But it didn't change the way that she had always felt about him. She cared in her own way about him and it was times like these when you needed all the friends that you could get.

Carter was stubborn and Abby after knowing him for so long knew that. He had shown it on more than one occasion and she knew that it was going to take some brain power and muscle to get him to budge from his SICU vigil. She just stood there for a minute silent as she tried to figure out how she was going to accomplish at least getting him to sit down for a few minutes.

"John, why don't we get a cup of coffee, sit down for a few minutes over here?" She pointed towards the waiting room chairs. "I will make sure that they come and get us if anything changes, it's just some coffee."

Carter's face shows that he is thinking about it but that he's just not convinced that he should go anywhere even if it is just over there. He wouldn't be able to see Doug's room, he might have been being overly protective in a way right now and extremely stubborn but he couldn't help it. What had happened today had gotten to him, shaken him more than he thought that it would.

"Why Abby?" Carter asked her, "why them?"

"No one will ever know the answer to that one Carter." Abby said back giving him a soft gentle glance she could see the stress written all over his face.

"We think that we are safe here, that nothing happens inside the bays, we fix other people when they come in from accidents." Carter said softly looking down at the ground.

"I know John, but it doesn't just happen to other people, the fact is that it happens to all of us whether we want it to or not." She is very worried about him now and knows that she needs to get him to sit down before he falls down.

Abby puts her hand against the small of Carter's back and just unrelenting guides him over to the chairs before getting them both cups of hot coffee. She sat down next to Carter handing one over to him. "Here this will help some." She said.

Abby knew that he probably needed to eat too, but right now she really didn't feel like pushing her luck with him. She'd go down to the cafeteria or across the street in a little bit and bring him back something to eat. For now just the fact that he was sitting down at not wearing a hole in the SICU carpeting was a good sign.

The staff new that Carter was waiting for Doug to wake up and that he needed to be the one to tell him, Abby made sure that the nurse at the SICU desk new that. She watched Carter's eyes start to flutter back and forth nearly going shut more than once. She stood up walking behind the chair that he was sitting in and started to rub his shoulders. His head dropped once, she just kept rubbing, and she knew that she was lulling the doctor to sleep. Then his head dropped a second time, this time it didn't move and she could hear the gentle sounds of Carter sleeping. Mission accomplished now it was just a matter of the wait and see game. They had to wait to see if Doug was going to come out of the coma he was in and see if they could all recover from the loss of their friend.