A/N: Thank you for all feedback for the last chapter! It was really encouraging to hear what you all thought. You all seemed to think that it was a good idea to carry on … so here's the next one! BTW I'm not a medic and so I have no medical knowledge, I'm trying not to bring medical stuff into the story if I can help it. However, if anything medical does appear in the story it's best to presume it inaccurate…Okies!

Disclaimer: Keep on making me say it…but I don't own ER or the characters

Chapter 1: Three Hours Later

Susan watched through the blinds at the sleeping figure, still reeling from the night's events. They still didn't know what had happened, even though Susan had recalled the past three hours over and over in her mind for any indication of what had happened to her friend. She held onto her Polystyrene cup tightly, though the caffeinated liquid had long since gotten cold. Carter looked up at her from his seat beside Abby's bed, their gazes met, the concern she felt was reflected in his eyes. It was still a mystery to them what had happened to their friend but they had managed to take care of her tonight, tomorrow was going to be a different story.

….

Three hours earlier, Carter had rushed Abby straight into an empty exam room. Her body wracking sobs had ceased, but her body was still gripped by fearful shakes. A million questions had run through his mind, as to what could possibly have happened to her. Susan followed shortly having informed the ER that no-one except her and Carter was to enter the room under any circumstances. She knew Abby well enough to know that she would want maximum privacy and she ensured that by drawing the blinds closed from the numerous pairs of eyes that had charted their movements from inside the doors until they had reached the inside of the exam room.

"Abby, what happened?" Carter asked the question once more. She sat up on the edge of the gurney. She didn't answer the question and avoided the gazes of both Carter and Susan staring past them towards the door. Her eyes were wide, still glistening from the salty pools that spilled a stream across her cheek. "Abby?" he persisted gently. He touched her hand, hoping that the contact would provoke a reaction, any reaction other than the agonizing silence that had descended.

It was as if she had heard him for the first time, as her gaze flit between Carter and Susan. At this response Carter placed his hand on hers. She recoiled from his touch, scooting towards the head of the gurney. She tucked her knees towards her chest, resting her head on top of her muddied knees. She looked vulnerable curled up so tightly. It was as if she was trying to squeeze herself smaller, small enough so that she could disappear, disappear so that she could forget that tonight had ever happened or that it was continuing to happen now.

"Abby" he tried again to get her attention; he needed to find out something, or to check to see if she was okay. 'God' his mind kept focusing on all the blood, inwardly hoping that they would find that none of it belonged to her. He moved closer. She looked at him warily, in case she had to pounce away instantly. The trauma of the event had instigated her most feral instincts, but also caused her shame at letting him see her like this to arise. Her small bloodstained arms thrashed out wildly; however, the aggression behind her action was not quite able to be matched by her fatigued limbs. "Nothing…nothings wrong, I'm fine, I need to go. I've got to finish my shift…I've left…got hours left…" she cried as she began to fight Carter who was trying to keep her on the gurney.

"Go. Away!" She continued to flail, "I. Need. To. Go."

"Abby, Abby…shh, shh, it's okay" he reassured her, lifting her chin to meet her gaze. 'It's okay… you're safe here with me and Susan'

She began to calm down once more, regaining her curled up position and faraway stare.

Carter looked toward Susan, who stood numbly, visibly horrified by what she was seeing.

"Susan…Susan are you okay?"

Susan ignored his question; she had to concentrate on her friend right now. "She's in deep shock, have you started some fluids?"

"Yes of course…Susan?" He said pausing to carefully figure out how say his next words, "Do you think we need to sedate her?"

"Sedate her?" She had questioned his suggestion only on the premise that she knew Abby would hate to be sedated.

"Yes! Susan we need to check her out, she's covered in blood, and she's…I've never seen her like, like that" he hadn't realised that his voice had risen so loudly. He was frustrated that he couldn't help, that they didn't know anything, and angry because they didn't know why or how this had happened. The situation had caused unexplainable fury to boil within him and it needed an outlet before it fully exploded.

"I know that, Carter" She said gently, "Abby wouldn't want to be sedated, she's calm at the moment we'll try get her cleaned up, examine her if she'll let us and try and get her to tell us what has happened, if she gets distressed again we'll see…but I don't want to give her anything unless we have to"

"You're right" he replied "She wouldn't want that"

Susan moved across the room filling up a basin with water and getting a cloth. She handed it to Carter to hold whilst she approached the trembling figure before her, swallowing her own sporadic sob that stuck unexpectedly in her throat.

"Abby, I'm going to clean you up and get you into some clean scrubs, okay?" Susan received a compliant nod from the woman and she drew her knees away from her chest and let her heavy arms rest by her sides. Susan sat in front of her on the gurney and started with her hands. She held her tiny trembling hands in her own, wiping away the bloodstains whilst simultaneously checking for any injury. She reached her now clean wrists and saw the red patches of swelling, with matching purple marks mottling her skin, she softly examined this bruising. Abby reacted with a wince, a strangled yelp escaping from her throat.

"I'm sorry" Susan apologised, as she briefly exchanged a concerned look with Carter.

"I'm going to examine you now" Again, Abby nodded, Susan put a gown in front of her as she began to lift up her top, Abby's arms blocked the garment from travelling over her head, "Can you lift them?" Susan asked. Abby did so and her face grimaced in pain, a lonely tear escaping her scrunched up features. After some time, Susan had managed to clean up and examine Abby. She was so far away at times, Susan felt she was examining a rag doll, pulling up Abby's arms when it was too painful for her to do so, and getting her into clean scrubs. Only once was Abby pulled out of her daze, her agitation resumed when Susan suggested that she might need to use a rape kit. Abby had become combative once more, insisting that it wasn't necessary. As Susan checked her out there was no sign of thigh contusion, and because Abby was getting increasingly distressed, Susan agreed with her. This caused Carter let out the breath he'd been holding since the subject came up.

Silence descended upon the room as Susan finished checking Abby out. Apart from some wrist bruises, grazed knees, some obviously painful muscles and scratches there wasn't anything major wrong with her. Except that there was… something. Her glazed expression had returned and she clutched her knees once more. Susan sat on the gurney and tried once more to figure out what had happened to Abby before she had run into her almost two and a half hours ago.

"Abby, can you tell me what happened tonight?"

As Abby looked up, her dark hair fell from off of her face, she had regained a little colour to her cheeks but dark circles hung from her eyes and she still trembled slightly. Her frightened eyes bore into Susan's own. She could see Abby trying to form words, her mouth moved as she struggled to spit them out. Just as she thought Abby was going to tell her something she watched the brunette blink heavily, and then inhale sharply. Firstly, Susan thought that she was in pain but instead she felt tears begin to slide down her face as a weary whimper escaped from her lips.

"I can't Susan…I just can't, not now"

Deciding not to press the issue she looked towards Carter for reassurance, he nodded although his expression was one of worry.

"It's okay, we don't have to tonight" she reassured her. Susan found her arm encircling Abby's shoulder. Just like earlier, her resistance completely disappeared. She rubbed her back, as her friend leaned completely on her once more. Susan pulled her dark hair which had begun to stick to the watery trails on her face, out of the way tucked it behind her ears. They stayed this way, Susan whispering quiet reassurances in her ears for half an hour. Eventually she felt Abby's shakes and sobs subside as the waves of exhaustion finally took their toll.

Carter took over, lifting Abby's sleeping frame to let Susan jump down from the gurney.

"Thanks Carter" she said quietly.

Both watched Abby, she was at the most peaceful they had seen her all night. Both however, knew that the peace that her deep slumber seemed to bring, would not last when she was awake once more.

"What's going to happen now?" His anxiety elevated his whisper above its normal pitch.

"I don't know" She said shaking her head sadly. "We can only be here for Abby. She is the only one who can to tell us what happened, that's if she will" she sighed "I guess we wait here with her until she wakes up, but I've got to…"

"It's okay, I'll stay" Carter said immediately.

"Hey" he said lightly, he had joined her outside the exam room, those three hours had passed quickly and traumatically, now they both looked in through the blinds on their friend. Susan felt him place his hand on her shoulder as he spoke, "You okay?"

"I don't really have a right not to be" she replied, unable to retract her glance from her friend. She looked up at him, the same concern etched into his features that she had seen when he was with Abby.

"She's going to be okay, you know" he said. The look in his eyes almost fooled her into believing his optimism, but his tone betrayed him, instead conveying his own worry and fear.

"Look, its gone cold…" He took the coffee cup from her hand, "I'll go and make a fresh pot"

"I hope so, Carter" Susan said answering his earlier statement, the corners of his mouth crept up in a smile, but it didn't meet his dark, brown eyes. She smiled grimly in return before casting her gaze back towards her friend.

"Susan." She turned back to look at him once more as he spoke again, "…It's not your fault you know" He left her side and headed to the lounge to raid the coffee supplies. He was in need of caffeine, and Susan definitely looked like she needed a coffee, looking tired and haunted by the events of the evening.

'It's not your fault' His words reverberated incessantly in her thoughts. Why the hell did it feel like that then? She was the one who had doubted Abby. She was the one who reviewed all of those charts. She was the one who Abby was mad at as she stormed away from the admit desk and into the ambulance bay. She was the one who should have been more concerned when Abby didn't return, or answer her calls. She was the one who should have realised that something was amiss when Neela returned to the ER, informing her that Abby was nowhere to be found.

As the Chief of the ER wasn't she supposed to protect her staff from these situations? With a sigh, she realised that all she could do for her friend now was to follow her own advice, she had to be there to help Abby through the aftermath of this, but there was one worry that plagued her thoughts: would she let her?

Susan pushed open the door silently and then sitting on the chair that sat beside Abby's gurney. Tonight, she was staying here at her friend's side, anxiously waiting for what tomorrow would bring.

Still want it to go on? Let me know.