Safety Within His Arms

Disclaimer: A disclaimer should be self-explanatory.

Abby Lockhart let out a huge sigh of relief as the black car containing her kidnappers sped off down the street. She was finally free. She smiled slightly then wrapped her arms around herself as a form of protection against the harsh winter cold. She took a few steps closer towards the hospital before running. Hospital meant heat and heat was something she definitely needed at the moment.

Crap,­ she thought as she continued running. Hospital also meant Susan. Susan who without a doubt would be pissed at her for leaving during her shift. She sighed. She could explain it to Susan later. Later as in when she was not at the risk of hypothermia.

In her desire to get inside, Abby failed to notice co-worker John Carter exiting the hospital. Officially, Carter was getting a breath of air. Unofficially, he was seeing if there were any clues that would lead him to where Abby was. This behavior was unlike her and it was worrying him. He had to be sure that she was safe.

The two of them collided, heads bumping against one another's. "Sorry," Carter said in a distracted tone of voice before he noticed who he had bumped in to. "Abby? Oh my god, Abigail!" he exclaimed as he threw his arms around her thin body. He did not notice that the woman held within his arms had no coat whatsoever, neither her black winter coat nor her white doctor one. He also did not realize that blood covered a good portion of her scrubs. All that he realized was that she was there, safe in his arms. He pulled her close, her head right below his. "I was so worried," he whispered as he kept his hold on her strong.

"Why?" Abby asked as she kept her gaze solely on the ground. She did not want to admit to where she had been. By admitting, she would know it really had happened. It was not just some nightmare of hers. She was not yet ready to face the truth of the night. "How long was I gone?"

"Too long," Carter murmured into her dirty blond hair. "Far too long," he continued as he gently stroked his hand over her hair. He could feel her shivering within his grasp. "Oh god. I'm sorry," he said as he pulled away from her. He began unzipping the zipper to his own coat. The zipper was nearly three-quarters unzipped before Carter got a good look at Abby.

Abby was still staring at the ground, Carter noted. Her hair was messy, but that did not worry him. The part that made him fear for her safety was the numerous blood stains soaked through her normally green scrubs. "Oh god," Carter whispered. "What happened?" he asked as he wrapped his coat around her thin shoulders.

Abby said nothing, only kept her focus on the ground.

"Come on," Carter insisted as he grabbed her hand. "We need to get you inside. Surely someone can fix whatever's wrong."

"No," Abby whispered. "That's not necessary. It's nothing."

"It's not nothing," Carter rebutted. "You're covered in blood," he pointed out gently. "Now what happened?" he demanded.

Abby's resolve broke. Tears filled her eyes as she moved closer to Carter. Her co-worker wrapped his arms around her once again and began rubbing soothing circles on her back. "Shh, it's ok. I'm here. It's ok," he whispered.

"The-they c-came out of now-where," Abby sobbed. "They h-had a g-gun," she continued. The fear in her voice was unmistakable. Just recalling the experience put a stammer in the resident's speech and made her shake with fear.

"Who?" Carter asked. His voice was filled with concern. Whoever this 'they' were, they had caused his Abby a frightening experience. Carter tightened his grip on the woman he still cared for as he waited for her response.

"T-two guys…Big, b-b-black…Had g-gun," Abby noted. She tried to recall their names but found she could not. Anything about them would only frighten her more at this point. The only means of safety she had right now were Carter's strong arms around her body, shielding her from the harsh world of Chicago. "They w-wanted me t-to fix their f-friend…T-took me away…Drove fast…Had gun," she explained between tears.

Just trying to imagine what Abby had gone through was enough to make Carter feel sick to his stomach. He held her tightly with his right arm. Using his left arm, he picked up her head. He wiped the tears away from her face then looked firmly into her wide, brown eyes. "I won't let these jerks, or any other jerks like them, hurt you ever again," he promised. "Trust me."

He then wrapped his arm around Abby's shoulders and began heading for the hospital entrance. "Come on. Let's get you cleaned up and with a nice cup of hot chocolate. What do you say?"

"Susan," Abby whispered. Her speech pattern was no longer labored. She knew she was safe now. Now she had to deal with the consequences. She dabbed at her eye with her blood-free sleeve.

"Susan is worried sick about you," Carter noted. "We all are by this point. We'd all really like- and need- to see you. So what do you say?"

Abby smiled slightly for the first time that horrific evening. "Hot chocolate sounds nice," she said as she joined hands with Carter and began walking inside the nice, warm room. "Thank you."

"Of course," Carter promised as he gently kissed her forehead. "Anytime."