John held the container of lithium so tight that he thought it might break. A thousand things were going through his mind. What was she thinking? Was it an accident? Was it intentional? He didn't have an answer for any of them, but the question that bothered him the most was... What am I going to do with her?

He quickly made his way over to Chairs, where Abby still sat, motionless. Carter noticed that she looked practically oblivious to everyone and everything around her, which seemed like an unimaginable feat to him, considering the ER seemed to be at its breaking point - extremely crowded and very noisy. Carter tried to keep his cool as he sat down next to her. She turned to face him and seemed almost startled by either the expression on his face or his very presence - which one it was, he couldn't tell.

"When was the last time you took these?" he asked, holding up the bottle of pills.

Abby stared at the container blankly. Her blank expression gave way to a confused one. After a pause, she slowly said, "Those? I don't... need 'em anymore."

She began looking around at the chaos of the ER. Carter shook his head and tried his best to get her attention focused on him. "A-Abby... Abby? Abby, listen to me," he said, resting his hands on her shoulders and turning her to face him, forcing her to at least try to pay attention. Carter glanced around, then back at Abby. "Let's... let's go in the lounge," he said, taking her hand.

"NO!" She forcefully shoved him away from her, startling him and the several doctors, nurses and patients in the halls. "You don't own me, John Carter! Just leave me alone! I never ask anything of you, but now I am! Just leave me alone!" John grabbed her around the waist and tried to force her into the lounge, but with no success. Abby was screaming, crying and kicking, trying her best to get away from Carter. Finally she succeeded and made a beeline for the ladies' room, but to her surprise, Luka caught and held her. Abby fought again with all her might as Luka carried her to Exam Four, lying her on the bed as gently as he could - which wasn't easy, considering she was still kicking and screaming.

"Do you want Haldol?" Luka asked Carter, who had followed them into the room and was now standing by the door.

John just nodded. He wasn't sure how much more he could take. He didn't like living his life waiting for the other shoe to drop. But then again, he didn't like living his life without Abby. He snapped out of his thoughts and sank into a chair Chuny had brought him. He just sat and stared at Abby, who was now calming down and falling asleep, no doubt a result of the drugs Luka had given her.

Kerry had seen Abby's manic episode earlier that day, and she wasn't happy about the decision that had to be made.

She stepped into the lounge and nearly ran straight into John. "Oh, John. I'm sorry. Um... are you busy? There's... there's something that I need to discuss with you. Privately. Um... do you mind if we go back into the lounge?" she asked, fidgeting.

John was studying her intently. Kerry never appeared nervous around him. He had a hunch as to what she wanted to discuss. "Sure, Kerry," he said, sighing and walking back into the lounge.

Once safely inside and out of earshot of the rest of the hospital, Kerry poured herself a cup of coffee and sat across from John at the table. For a moment, Kerry almost backed out and considered rethinking her decision. But as she studied her coffee mug and looked up at John, she knew she was doing the right thing.

She took a deep breath and began to speak. "John... aside from this morning, how has Abby been... adjusting?"

"Very well, all things considered. I mean, there have been some ups and downs, but she's been working through it." After a pause, he asked the dreaded question. "Why?"

"Given her family's medical history, her recent working habits, her episode this morning and the overall uncertainty of her illness..." Kerry forced her eyes to meet Carter's. "...I'm afraid we're going to have to let her go, John. I'm sorry." Kerry's voice was hardly a whisper. She hated doing this to her. To both of them.

John just sat there, stunned. Kerry waited for him to speak, and when he didn't she continued, resting her hand on her forehead and shaking her head. "I'm so sorry, John. It's not that she's not a good nurse or that I want to do this to her... it's just that I have to. I... I'll try to help in any way I can. It's just that... with her illness, we can't be certain of her on and off times and I don't want to... put our patients in danger." She hated herself for saying the words, but deep down, they all knew it was true. "I could get her a job in another part of the hospital, but as of right now, working in the ER just doesn't seem to be the best situation. She missed two doses of her meds, John. The reason she missed them was because of two traumas that were brought in. We can't time every car accident, every shooting."

John nodded. He knew she was right, but what was this going to do to Abby? She could go into massive depression for weeks. John rose from his chair, shoving his hands in his pockets and heading for the door. "Okay. Thanks, Kerry."

"John?"

Carter turned to face Kerry. "Yeah?"

"Do you want me to talk to her?"

John opened the door as he said, "No, I'll do it."