Chapter Two

Susan Lewis glanced at the clock again. By this point Abby had been missing for nearly five hours and Susan was officially worried. She had left numerous telephone messages, both to Abby's cell phone and home phone. She had tried paging her. She was so desperate that she had even sent Neela over to the house to see if Abby was in the shower or something.

Now she was standing behind the main desk. Both of her eyes were focused on the phone directly in front of her. Anticipation filled her body as she waited for it to ring. It had to ring, she told herself.

Much to the woman's surprise, the phone did ring. Susan jumped before collecting herself and answering it. "County Emergency, this is Susan," she said in a hurried voice.

"Dr. Lewis?" came the very quiet reply.

Susan could tell it was a female on the other line, but she could not identify any accent. The only thing she could gather was that the caller was a woman who worked at the hospital. "Abby?" she asked in hope.

"It's Neela," the caller corrected. "I'm at home, but she's not here. And from the looks of the place, she hadn't been," Neela informed her boss. "There's still laundry around and she hadn't opened the pack of cigarettes on the counter," she added for evidence.

"Damn it," Susan yelled loudly. "Sorry," she added.

"It's fine," Neela said. "Nothing personal. I'll be back in a few," she promised before hanging up the phone.

Susan slammed the small, black phone down with frustration. Frustration in the fact that she still did not know where the woman in question was.

"Anything?" Jerry Markovic asked curiously as he looked over at Susan from his position behind the computer.

Susan groaned as she shook her head back and forth. "Nothing. Neela said there's no evidence that Abby went home. I have absolutely no idea where she is."

"But she's alive right?" Urbanus asked in fear of Abby's safety.

"I hope so," Susan answered as she sat down behind the desk. Using her hands, she propped up her head on the desk. This whole thing was getting too frustrating for her. The thought that Abby might not even be alive had only briefly crossed her mind in the past. She had tried to ignore it by telling herself the woman was just getting some cigarettes, or she wanted to go to the movies.

"I know so," Carter added as he walked over to the desk. His left arm was wrapped across Abby's shoulders and his right hand was clutched tightly within her two hands.

"Oh good god, she's alive!" Urbanus shouted happily. "I was so worried, and I kept telling myself that you could defend yourself, but still--"

"Back to work," Susan interrupted as she hurried over to Carter and Abby. She immediately took notice to Abby's bloodied wardrobe and how unkempt the woman's hair was. That never meant good news. "What happened?" she asked as she and Carter eased Abby into a chair along the wall.

Abby shook her head as she picked one spot on the floor and focused on it. Her face was slightly flushed due to both embarrassment and the previous cold she had been in. "I-I don't want to talk about it," she whispered. "I just want to get changed and have some hot chocolate."

"Of course," Susan told her. "But medically speaking, you're fine, right?" she asked. The concern in her voice was unmistakable.

Abby nodded slightly. "It's not my blood," she whispered. "I'm not hurt."

"Thank goodness," Susan said as she extended her right hand to Abby. "Come on, let's get you in something cleaner."

"And I'll get the hot chocolate ready," Carter added. "You want it with cream or anything?" he asked. "I can run across the street and buy those little marshmallows," he offered.

Abby smiled slightly. "That'd be nice."

"Then off I go," he promised as he rushed through the doors.

"And we'll get you changed," Susan commented. "By the time he's back and with hot chocolate, you'll be freshly clothed and cleaned," she promised.

Abby smiled at Susan. "Thank you," she said softly.

"So I know you weren't at a movie or just getting a smoke," Susan began, "but are you going to tell me what happened?"

"Later," Abby promised.