Disclaimer: They're not mine and I'm not profiting…well, Maureen is technically mine, but I'm still not profiting!

A/N: Thank you to Spykid18, Lysie, Lexi, and anyone else who may still be reading. Once again, I'm sorry for being sporadic, but I'm a college student and life is a little crazy!

Chapter Three

"How are you?" Luka asked the moment he saw Abby in the ER.

"Fine," she lied, walking into the lounge.

"Really?"

"Yes," she opened her locker.

"How's your sister?" he asked, dropping the previous subject.

"In Pedes with viral pneumonia," she sighed, "Maureen will be fine."

"That's good. What about your mother?"

"She left."

"For where? Florida?"

"Beats me," Abby grabbed her jacket from the locker, "I gave her money for a bus ticket back to Tampa. She wouldn't take it and just stormed off."

"What about Maureen?"

"She'll stay with me once she gets out of the hospital."

"For how long?"

"As long as she wants to," she slammed the locker closed, "Is that going to be a problem for you?"

"Of course not."

"I'm sorry for snapping at you," she sighed, rubbing her neck, "Today's just been so--"

"Stressful?" he offered, taking over to massage her neck.

"I would have said crazy," Abby glanced over her shoulder at him, "But yeah."

"You should go home and take a hot bath."

"I have to check in on Maureen."

"Well, after that you should relax."

"I wish you weren't working now," she turned around to face him.

"I'll call you in the morning, okay?"

"Yeah," she headed to the door of the lounge, "Thanks, Luka."

Abby walked through the pediatric wing annoyed by all the bright colors adorning the walls because they directly contrasted her current mood. She was angry; angry that Maggie left without talking to Maureen. If there was one thing that she hated the most about Maggie being bipolar was the explaining. Abby had been doing it for twenty years, but explaining their mother's absence to her siblings never got any easier. The situation could never be easy. She finally reached room 2192, took a deep breath, and walked in.

"How are you feeling?" she began, completely avoiding the Maggie issue.

"Eh," Maureen shrugged.

"Is the medicine helping?"

"I think so," she could tell exactly what Abby was hiding, she always could, "So."

"So."

"Mom left didn't she?" it was more of a statement than a question.

"Yeah."

"Figured," there was a brief silence, not awkward, just quite, "What set her off?"

"I gave her the bus fare back to Florida and told her to go home," Abby admitted almost sheepishly.

"Did she take the money?"

"Um, no, she left it."

"Good, she didn't have any money so she couldn't have gotten far," Maureen concluded and Abby just looked at her, "You are going to look for her, aren't you?"

"Yeah."

"I just don't want her to be alone in the cold tonight," she tried to lighten the mood, "She's not really dressed for it."

"True," Abby smirked.

"So, you'll go?"

"Yeah, I just don't want to be doing this again," she sighed, "Which is totally unfair to you because all the time I'm not dealing with it you are."

"Yeah, but you've already served your time, it's my turn," Maureen looked up at the ceiling, "Except I'm shirking my responsibility."

"Well, you could always stay with me and we'll make Eric be mature."

"Like that'll happen," she snorted and then coughed.

"Are you mocking our brother?" Abby handed her sister a cup of water.

"Maybe," she took a sip, "But it's all in good fun...and true."

"Whatever," Abby took back the cup and set it on the table.

"So."

"So."

"Why aren't you leaving?"

"Oh, that."

"Yeah, that," Maureen smirked, "Off you go now."

"Fin, fine, fine," she stood up, "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Will you call me when you find her?"

"No, you need sleep," Abby glanced around the room, "Besides, you're in ICU, no phones."

"Fine," she made a face, "Can you leave a message with the nurses in case I wake up in the middle of the night and happen to see one?"

"Yes, but no staying up for that specific purpose."

"Yes'm."

"Nightie-night," she mocked, rolling her eyes.

"Night," Maureen called as her sister closed the door.

A/N: Well, what do you think? I haven't decided if this will be Carby or Luby, so let me know with the help of that beautiful purplish button!