John gently pried the empty bottle from Abby's fingers, setting it on the coffee table next to him.
"Abby... Come on, Abby..." John sighed. It was no use. Slipping a blanket off the back of the couch, he wrapped it tightly around her and picked her up.
Once he had her safely in the car, John sped to the hospital. Parking his car in the ambulance bay, he rushed Abby inside.
"Kerry, I need a gurney!" John called.
Kerry rushed out from behind the admit desk. "What happened!" she asked, helping John put Abby on the gurney. "Trauma two!"
John watched as Kerry, Susan and Chuny went to work on Abby. He just stood there, helpless. He knew he should be in there, but he just couldn't. He could barely stand to watch. Just then, Kerry stepped out of trauma two, startling John out of his thoughts.
"You never answered me, John. What happened?"
Carter shook his head. "I - I don't know. I found her... on the couch. There were broken bottles and... glass everywhere. The entire apartment smelled like a distillery."
"Well, she's starting to wake up. I sent the tests up to the lab with a stat order, they should be back within an hour. Would you like to go in?" Kerry asked.
Without a word, John stepped inside. Abby was slowly coming to and he wasn't sure what her mood would be, if she'd be calm and reasonable or manic and out of control.
Abby started to sit up. "Abby? You need to lay back down, sweetheart," Chuny said, coming to the side of the gurney.
Abby's eyes were fixed on John. "Why?" she whispered, her eyes brimming with tears. "Why did you bring me here!" She hopped off the gurney, pulling wires and machines with her.
John quickly blocked her path. "What are you doing!" she wailed. John picked her up, trying to lie her back down, but Abby kicked and screamed with the force of a five year old.
"Chuny! Get me five of Haldol!" John said, finally getting her on the gurney, although holding her down wasn't easy.
"No!" Abby screamed. "NO!"
Just then, Kerry returned with Abby's test results. "What's going on?" she asked, alarmed. "John, what are you doing!"
"Giving her five of Haldol," he said, retracting the needle from her arm.
"Dr. Carter, may I speak to you outside, please?"
Carter sighed. "Sure, Kerry."
Once outside the trauma room, Kerry exploded. "What the hell were you doing in there!"
John looked from the trauma room to Kerry. "She's bipolar, Kerry."
"What?" she asked, taken aback.
"She was supposed to have an appointment with Dr. Phillips this afternoon. That's what the call was about... in the middle of the trauma... they called to tell me she hadn't shown up. So, I rushed home and found her like this," he said, looking through the window at Abby's now sleeping form.
"Oh, God," Kerry said, covering her face with her hand. "I'm so sorry, John. I'll call Psych, have them take her up... They can talk to her when she wakes up, okay?"
Carter nodded. "Yeah. Thanks, Kerry," he said, walking back into the trauma room and sitting next to Abby.
"Dr. Carter?"
John looked up to see Dr. DeRaad standing above him. "Yes?"
As he sat down next to him, John knew it wasn't good. "I talked to Abby," Dr. DeRaad said. "Judging from our conversation, her recent mood swings and family history, I'm afraid that we're looking at manic-depressive disorder."
John wiped his hands across his face. "God... she's bipolar."
"I'm afraid so," Dr. DeRaad said. "Would you like me to have someone come talk to you?"
John shook his head. "No, no. Thanks, though."
The older doctor rose from his chair. "Okay, well... I wrote her a scrip for lithium. Make sure she takes it on a set schedule, especially in the beginning."
John stood up and the two men shook hands. "I will," John said, nodding. "Thank you, so much."
1 week later John and Abby's apartment
"Time for your pills," John said, handing the dose and a glass of water to Abby.
"Thanks," she said, tossing back the pills with one gulp of water.
"I'm very proud of you," John said, taking a bite of his sandwich. He'd worked his schedule around so that he could eat lunch with Abby every day. She was off work for 10 days after her diagnosis, so she could relax and make sure she had adjusted to her meds.
"Thanks," she replied, giving him a smile. "I'm proud of me, too."