A/N: A Post 'Skin' fic. Yep, another one! Just my little retaliation against all of the things we were cheated out on by the writers, the way they left that episode was really frustrating, oh the potential…

Anyway, this is the first of my stories that I have decided to inflict upon the world, so consider this a ready made excuse in case it's terrible… but any feedback would be most appreciated!

Summary: 'Skin' aftermath. This one is going in the glorious direction of A/U ness, ah! The freedom of fanfiction!

Friendships are tested as Abby struggles to cope with the repercussions of her kidnapping. Will she be able to deal with the ordeal? Or will it resurrect some of her more destructive tendencies? Suby friendship; Carby interaction…possible romance ;)

Disclaimer: I don't own ER, or any of the characters used in this story…but if anyone wants to give me a really nice gift…

Title: A Friend Indeed.

Prologue

Abby gazed numbly at the entrance to the ambulance bay. The SUV had long since disappeared, camouflaged by the blackness of the night. Waves of nausea cascaded over her body as her mind could only process a replay of their dark eyes, menace manifested itself where youthful innocence should have resided and the empty gratitude of Lil' C "thanks anyway" echoed in her ears.

She hadn't dared look behind her as they had driven off. Looking down the barrel of a gun wasn't something that she would want to experience twice in one night. Even now she expected to hear a shot ring out, aimed towards her. Scared. This was the only adjective that summed up the surge of emotions that she felt. She hated it. It denoted weakness, vulnerability, something she always thought so hard to avoid. Her bravado - so notoriously hard to crack, had proved unbreakable for so many, like they had been for Luka and especially for her best friend Susan. After last year Carter, Maggie and Eric had joined them, banished to the outer side of her walls of self-protection. Outside them where there was no chance that they could hurt her.

Now they were shattered into pieces, small ones at that. They had been broken. By two boys and a gun, and what she feared most is that she would never get them back again.

She wanted to run. Run, to feel safety and warmth once more. To see the faces of friends and colleagues as reassurance that she was still here. The other part of her burned with humiliation. She was scared but she didn't want to be seen as weak. This part wanted to run in a completely different direction, away, far away. It wanted to forget, to pretend, to deny and carry on – preserving her bravado, keeping her carefully crafted facade of strength and be the Abby she knew so well, the Abby that others knew.

She didn't know if this would still be the case. The possibility caused fear to permeate right through to her core.

She felt a shiver escape her body; her tarnished scrubs providing the only protection against the hostile Chicago temperatures. This shook her out of her numb stillness, her thoughts and it gave way to an impulsive flighty movement. Instinct regained its control, winning victory in her inward battle and kicked in. Safety beckoned, she ran to it at a full run, ignoring the screaming fatigue that coursed through every part of her body.

Angry her sloppy staff, the incompetence of med students and the stress of being in charge of a busy ER was only the start of the list of Susan's distractions. The icing on that annoyingly metaphorical cake was the disappearance of Abby, or rather her 'walkout' during the middle of the shift. At first Susan was pissed at the immaturity of her intern and friend, but hours had now passed. Not even Abby was stubborn enough to not answer her phone, but no-one had been able to contact her, at home or on her cell. Susan also doubted that Abby would be as un-professional as to abandon her shift and the many patients that she had had under her care. Obviously she had been wrong.

As the night passed, anger had dissipated and had been replaced by anxiety. She had sent Neela home to her and Abby's apartment to see if she was there. Susan was worried, guilty and annoyed all at the same time and it had showed. Most of the ER staff were avoiding her like the plague. The residents were presenting their cases to Luka and Carter and she only communicated to her staff during the trauma cases which had steadily arrived throughout the evening.

'Abby is your friend.' She bitterly berated herself for her earlier actions as she contemplated calling Abby's apartment once more. 'God, reviewing all her charts, some confidence you have got in your residents.' Although these thoughts overwhelmed her, a stubborn part of herself defended the reprimand she had subjected Abby to. It was this part that made Susan feel slightly sick. Suddenly in need of some air, she got up off of her chair and headed towards the doors.

"Dr Lewis?" A questioning voice called from behind her.

"Frank! I'm taking my break!" She shouted over her shoulder, "Page me if I'm needed, but if it's within the next fifteen minutes, my pager is going to end up in a place where nobody is going to want to retrieve it" She said, looking back towards him.

Frank tossed her a disdainful look, muttering quietly to a nearby Morris, "I'm starting to miss the Weaver era already" Susan, however, caught it all rolled her eyes, but the words carried a definite sting.

"Shut up Frank and Morris, shouldn't you be seeing some of those people that we refer to as patients?"

Susan turned on her heel, tossing her blonde hair behind her shoulder heading at a quick pace towards the ambulance bay, in dire need of a coffee or a punch bag.

The neon light hurt eyes that had been accustomed to darkness over the last few hours. However, the same light that burned to look at, causing headache to throb around her temples, promised safety. Her run was bringing her closer, instinct taking her to where she knew her ordeal could end, fearing the aftermath that the end could bring, and fearing that the end was only just the beginning.

Susan looked at her feet, not needing to look towards the well known route to her destination, The Jumbo Mart and looking forward to drowning or at least postponing her bad day in a steaming, caffeine filled beverage. Absorbed in her coffee filled reverie, she didn't see the small figure dashing toward her. Unaware, Susan stepped into the path of the figure and both collided in the ambulance bay.

Susan managed to stay upright. Shaken out of her daydream she grasped the figure, preventing her from falling to the floor. A pain shot through the side that had collided with this woman but her doctor mode took over straightaway.

"Are you..." Her intended question went unfinished as the figure turned to face her. "Abby?"

Fear rushed through Susan as her friend didn't respond. Abby looked down at the floor away from her own gaze. Susan removed her hand from Abby's arm as she steadied, regaining her footing. Susan noticed that her hand had gained a new, orange tinge. It was then that she looked at Abby properly, her stomach sunk and her breath caught at the sight.

Her hair was still in its twist, bedraggled chunks fell matted together around her face. Its dark colour emphasised her deathly pallor, ghost white apart from tear stains that drew lines in the dirt on her skin. Susan's eyes travelled downwards, regaining her nausea at the sight of Abby scrubs. Their green colour was saturated with red. The creases of her hands were encrusted with a tangerine stain that completely covered her lower arms until it gradually faded to spatters further on up. Her upper legs were covered by the stain too, and her knees were caked in mud.

Susan swallowed anxiously before she spoke again, "Abby?" Her friend began to shake softly, still avoiding her gaze.

"Abby, what happened?" Susan removed her coat and placed it around her shoulders, surprised that Abby willingly complied. Concern and fear shot thorough her; many situations ran through her mind, along with the hope that such fears were irrational and unfounded.

It didn't last long. Abby tried to shake the coat off of her shoulders, finding her voice again.

"No...need...need to finish, need to finish shift" Her speech was rapid and disjointed. She tried to push past the blonde woman in front of her.

"Abby..." Susan attempted, holding her arm gently to try and keep her there.

"Inside...Shift, got to change...change scrubs" She muttered wildly, Susan sensed her distress; she moved her hand from her arm, instead placing both gently on her shoulders, forcing the brunette to look at her. The sudden eye contact calmed her movements, and she became still and quiet once again.

"Abby, what happened?" Susan probed again. This time, Abby began shake uncontrollably, fresh tears escaped from her brown eyes, running along her already stained cheeks. Susan embraced her immediately, and it was just in time as Abby's legs began give way underneath her. Unable to keep them both upright, Susan slid them both gently to the floor.

"Can you please go inside and ask for a doctor, quickly!" Susan shouted to a passer-by who soon raced through the doors of County.

They sat in the ambulance bay, Abby leaning on her, with her head buried in her shoulder as sobs caused her body to convulse rapidly.

It was disconcerting to see Abby like this. She was strong, even when she didn't feel like it. Shortly after she met her, Abby had even coped with being assaulted by her neighbour, fairly well. Through all the things she had been through, her mother and brother's illness and her break-up with Carter she had never known Abby to be anything other than stoic. She usually dealt with her problems by throwing herself into work, ignoring the problem, whilst unwilling to accept someone to talk to or lean on. Although the two women were now close friends, she had found that Abby was willing to confide in her, on her terms, but she had never seen anything affect her this way. It was this that deepened her fear and worries the most.

"Susan?" Carter said breathlessly, having run out of the ambulance bay towards her. "Oh god" he said as he took in the sight of the two women. Abby was cradled like a baby in Susan's arms, sobbing uncontrollably against her shoulders. He saw that her green scrubs were stained with something that looked like blood and his stomach churned.

"What happened? Is she?" he asked in a tone of deep concern. He too was disconcerted at seeing her this way, knowing this woman as well as, and probably better than Susan did.

"I don't know yet, we just need to get her inside" Susan replied as Carter extricated Abby from her and easily scooped her up into his arms. One arm supported under her knees the other was wrapped around her shoulders. Carter also noticed her lack of fight, he exchanged a look of concern with Susan before he turned around and began to carry her towards and then through the doors.

Abby continued to cry in his arms. As she followed behind, Susan fought back her own silent tears of worry, guilt and the vision of her friend leaned up against her in pain and upset, not knowing how or why or what had caused her to feel this way.

So you made it to the end! Hope you enjoyed it… Want it to stop? to carry on?...Let me know :)