Chapter Two

"This is your Pilot Jack Burns and I'd like to welcome all passengers on board this flight 735 from Chicago O'Hare to Paris Charles De Gaulle departing at 13:45. We will be flying at 36,000 feet and travel time is an estimated 10 hours. Due to poor ground weather in the mid-Atlantic we may experience some turbulence and cabin crew are more than prepared for such an eventuality. Please pay attention to your in flight monitor for a brief safety demonstration. Thank you."

"Man I hate flying" said Chuck somewhat frantically

"We've not even taxied out yet, would you calm down!" replied a frustrated Susan Lewis holding a squirming Cosmo on her lap.

"I don't think I can handle 10 hours of this" she said to Abby who was sitting in the seat next to her, across the isle.
"You can't handle Chuck, or Cosmo?" asked Abby

"Both of them!" she laughed.

"Urgh…I feel old" said a bored Abby

"Hey! I'm older than you" Replied Susan

"Does that make me the youngest?" chirped a happy Sam who received only 'death glares' from Susan and Abby. She laughed

"Ok Abby, why do you feel old?" Asked Susan who was now sitting in between Abby and Sam after everyone had switched seats.
"Because, look" she nodded her head towards Jake who was sitting next to 10 year old Alex, battling him on some Gameboy game. "Is it wrong that I'm going to end up married to someone who would rather sit and play pokemon with a 10 year old than have an adult conversation with Chuck and Luka" Abby joked.

"Oh…I can assure you, Luka and Chuck are not having an 'adult' conversation" Sam said straining her ear to listen in on their conversation

"LeCrose is a crap shooter!"
"He is better than that Leroy kid"

"Is that all they talk about?" Asked Sam. "What is it with guys and sports?"

"Yeah, I don't get it, Chuck couldn't play a sport if you paid him, yet he will sit all day and criticize people who get paid mini-mints to play" Susan joked.

"The only sport Luka plays is soccer, with Alex, and badly" remarked Sam.

"And Jake plays pokemon…excellent" Abby added sarcastically. "I remember I tried to teach Luka to play Baseball once…it didn't go well" Abby laughed

"Do you realise we are all either married to, or engaged to someone who works with us, or at least in the same profession?" said Susan

"I never realised that…that's disturbing. What's wrong with us?" Abby smirked

"Us? All you ever date is doctors!" Added Susan

"That's not true…" Abby thought for a moment "Jake WAS a med-student…" She laughed

Sam and Susan laughed

"How many doctors have you dated?" Asked Sam

"Umm…Three"

"…and her ex-husband" Added Susan

"Thank you Susan…" Abby sang through a smile

"Your welcome" Susan smiled back.

"Who was the third? I mean, Jake, Luka and who?" Sam enquired.

"Are you serious?" Shrieked Susan. "You must be the only person in the hospital, hell in Chicago who doesn't know about Carter and Abby"

"I always heard that, I never knew if it was true" Sad added

"Luka not talk about it?" Asked Abby

"No, at least I don't think so. I don't really listen when he talks" Sam laughed

The conversation between the three woman fizzled out after this point and they began to watch their in-flight entertainment.

Hours past and they were still in the same seating situation – Susan sat in between Sam and a now sleeping Abby.

"So what is the whole Carter/Abby thing?" Sam asked Susan as she looked over towards Abby who was sound asleep.

"Ha! Where do you want me to start? Carter was obsessed with her. He practically made her break up with Luka, and then they spent a year going round in circles until there was an incident in the hospital and they were stuck together for two weeks…"

"Two weeks! What happened?" Sam interrupted

"Did you ever hear about the suspected Smallpox break-out?"
"That was at County? Wow, everyone at my last hospital talked about that for months."
"Yeah, well Carter and Abby were working on the kids and at the end they had to be quarantined for two weeks. When they came out they were all over each other like a rash" Susan started lucidly.

"Ohh wow, then what happened?"
"They were happy, like too happy. I had never seen either of them smile as much as they did then. Then slowly everything went wrong. Abby had some major family problems, and personal problems, so did Carter, then both seemed to come up to a climax and it was like there was an explosion and at the end the relationship was left in pieces"
"Then Carter left for Africa?" Sam asked

"Yeah…and Abby was heart-broken and pissed off" Susan laughed. "Then he came back, they argued, and then he left again for Luka. He didn't come back until that day you first met him with Kem!" Susan said solemnly

"Wow, poor Abby. She must have been so pissed. If I were her I don't think I'd be able to go to his wedding!"
"She says she's over him, but I don't know…"

Susan and Sam both smiled gently at one another.

"But she's with Jake" Sam stated.

"Yeah, just like Carter is with Kem…"

"Do you think Carter still…" Sam began to ask

"Of course he does" Susan interrupted "They will always love each other. I guess its just the way it's going to be with them and neither one of them would dare say a thing to the other"

Sam just nodded her head and thought about what Susan was saying. A thought that she kept in her mind for the rest of the flight. Susan looked at Abby who sat sleeping next to her. Once she turned her gaze away from Abby, the brunette moved her hand and wiped her eyes which were welled up with tears after having heard every word of Susan and Sam's conversation.