A/N: Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to submit reviews for the story. They are greatly appreciated and keep the motivation for fast updates coming. Here's the next chapter, sorry it's so short but I'm sure you'll all understand. Thanks again, keep reading and reviewing, it makes my day to know you like the story.

Chapter 12: Cardiac Arrest

Abby rocked the baby all night holding her close, worried about what tomorrow was going to bring. The day of Eryn's surgery had finally reached them and she wasn't able to pull herself away from the NICU the night of.

The early predawn hours were the most peaceful in there, with the light dimmed down since most of the tiny babies were sleeping soundly. Occasionally one would, as they say decide to misbehave and there would be a flurry of activity but for the most part things were calm.

She had to put Eryn down long enough for them to give her that bath before surgery could take place. She held her once again after it was all done. She had this orange hue to her now that look that you got when you put the sunless tanner on wrong, not tan, definitely not the look that one would willingly sport.

"Oh baby." Abby said rocking her once more. She never knew how precious of a feeling that this was, until the fear that she might never do it again set into her mind. "You have a long road ahead of you." Her voice was so soft and gently as she spoke, "I always pictured this long beautiful future for you, seeing that first day of kindergarten, your first boyfriend, your first broken heart, seeing you graduate, get married all those things that we dream about." She kept rocking, Eryn fast asleep in her mother's arms.

"All those things you'll see," A voice from behind softly whispered to her.

Abby looked up to see Carter standing there behind her now. "I thought you were sleeping."

"I tried but it wasn't happening." He replied softly to her, "I dream those things for her too." He reached over kissing his fingers before touching the baby's small head, "we'll get to see them one day too, and we have to hold onto hope right now. Hope that she's the fighter that her mother is, has her father's stubborn streak, and your will."

"Hope is really all we have right now." Abby said her eyes back focused on the little one in her arms once more. There was nothing more that she would ever ask for again if her little one was kept safe right now.

"It is but the three of us are going to come through this." He said he had to have the faith inside that that was the way it was going to be. "I'm as scared as you are, don't get me wrong, but thinking about everything that could go wrong, that's not going to help anyone."

"I know," Abby said as Carter reached over and wiped a tear that had fallen from her eye. "I don't want… I don't want to… I just can't…"

"We won't lose her." Carter said knowing that right now he needed to push all the things that he was feeling aside and be strong for Abby and Eryn right now.

Abby nodded in response words were caught in her throat and she just couldn't get anything out.

Carter moved so that he could have one arm around Abby resting the other one near Eryn as if he was holding them both right now. They spent the next several hours together as a family.

6 am rolled around and the time had come for Eryn to be taken to the OR. Abby just didn't want to let go of Eryn. Putting her down was the hardest thing that she had every done and she couldn't help but let the tears fall as the small incubator that held her darling daughter rolled down the hallway and out of sight.

Carter held onto her letting her cry on his shoulder before he started to move her down the hallway. The surgery would be long and hard on all of them. The worst part of all of it was that he knew that they were going to be putting his daughter's heart into cardiac arrest to put her on bypass to perform the surgery. God willing when it was over and done it would start again.

He took Abby down to get something to eat, it was going to be a long day for both of them and even if she didn't want to he knew she needed something that resembled food. Then he took her up on the roof for a break from the inside, a pager tucked into his jacket just in case they needed to reach them, hopefully it didn't go off.

About 10:30 they headed back to the waiting room just outside the NICU. Abby sat down in a chair, very restless and very worried. The time seemed to be ticking away ever so slowly and with there being no word from the OR yet she didn't know if that meant that everything was going okay or if there were problems and they couldn't get away to update them.

Noon came and went and still nothing, no doctor no update. She was pacing now rather than sitting from the anxiety that was building up inside her. Carter watched and tried his best to comfort and reassure her, but right now that was the last thing that Abby wanted. What her heart wanted and needed was something letting her know that everything was okay. Anything to ease the chill, this uneasy feeling that she had.

Finally, seven hours later Dr. Winters appeared in the waiting room. Abby, who had finally managed to sit down about jumped out of the chair when she saw him. This had to be good news. Her patience had worn thin right now and her nerves were as raw as they could be as she bounced her knees waiting for him to get to her.

When he reached them Abby stood up, "how is she?"

"She's doing okay." He said, "we had some trouble when we got in there but things now are on the upswing, she's a fighter and is pulling through for us."

"Trouble?" Abby didn't know if she wanted an answer to that.

"We ran into something that we didn't expect that's all." He said, "so the surgery took a little longer than we expected. But Dr. Wright is closing now and we should have her back in the NICU in a half hour, so you should be able to see her within the hour."

Relief washed over Abby, they had made it through this. The first giant hurdle had been over come and they were on the road to the first recovery period and in a little bit Abby would be able to be with her baby girl again. She grabbed onto Carter hugging him close to her right now, "she made it John, and she really is a little fighter."

"That's our girl." He said as he shook the doctor's hand thanking him for bringing them the news and for taking care of their little girl as well as he had been.

While Abby was relieved that the surgery was over and that things had gone well she wouldn't be at ease until she was able to lay her eyes on Eryn once again and see for herself that all was well. The road ahead of them nipped at the back of her mind, everything that could go wrong in the next 24 hours was still ahead of them. Eryn had made it through a very difficult and trying surgery, could she make it through the next hours and days following it.

"It's going to be okay." Carter said hugging her softy as he realized just how quiet she had become, "why don't we go and grab a cup of coffee while we wait, we have at least another half hour before we can see her, that's enough time to run down get something and come back before she gets back."

Abby nodded, "yeah okay."

Carter took started walking with his arm still holding onto her; while the giant waiting game was over they still had to be patient. Soon enough his little family would be back together again.