A/N: Thanks to those who have reviewed, I'm working on this one as much as I can, please please read and review and let me know what you think. It's hard to keep going with a story when your uncertain of how well it's liked. But here's another short chapter for tiding those avid readers over. Enjoy!

Chapter 7: It haunts

Carter slept that night off and on, his mind busy with what lay before him in the morning hours. He wasn't sure if this was something that he really wanted to do. He hadn't technically seen Paul since the stabbing and to face the man who had done that to him after all this time was more than enough to send shivers up Carter's spine.

There were goose bumps on his arms and he knew that it wasn't from being cold it was from the thoughts that were running through his head. He had managed not to think about his own stabbing for so long, slowly pushing the bad memories to the back of his mind where he occasionally was reminded of everything that had happened. It wasn't that he had forgotten about what had been done, but that with a lot of hard work he had managed to get to a place where he could slowly begin to move on.

He was up before the sun and went into start a pot of coffee knowing that Susan would want some as well when she got there. She said she would be by at 8 that would give Carter plenty of time to get there for visiting hours.

A knock on the door pulled him from his thoughts as he glanced now at the clock. Time had managed to fly by increasingly fast. Bad thoughts and the thoughts of what he was about to do where right there in the front of his mind now. He was facing something that you wouldn't ever dream of facing, confronting their worst nightmare on his own turf. He walked over to the door and slowly opened it up coming face to face with Susan.

"Hey Carter." She said as she watched him move to let her in.

"Want some coffee?" He asked her closing the door as she crossed into the room.

"That'd be nice." Susan said as she started to take off her coat, "where's Abby?"

"She hasn't come out of the bedroom yet, I think she might have actually fallen into a real sleep." Carter replied as he headed into the kitchen getting Susan a cup of hot coffee which she happily took from him.

"She's not doing well is she?"

Carter shook his head no in response to her question as he sat back down at the table now, Susan sitting across from him.

"She's strong Carter," Susan said trying to reassure him right now, "this is something that she can and will overcome."

Carter wished right then and there that he had the faith that Susan had but there was this nagging in his gut that told him that they were in this for a very long ride now with what damaged had been done. It went deeper than just the surface now; it had cut them both deeply. And it would probably change the way that they would forever live their lives. "For her sake I hope that you are right."

"I know I am." Susan said as she reached across and patted his hand, "you'll see it's just going to take time and a whole lot of help from her friends, we will all help to make sure that she gets through this and able to live the way that she is supposed to. She's been through a lot but she has made it this far and I know that she can make it the rest of the way. You're here to help her and having you helps more than you may ever know."

Carter nodded again not saying anything. Susan noticed how her friend was silent this was just as hard on him as it was on everyone else. Even he didn't walk away unscathed from Paul's actions. Susan didn't know everything that had happened that fateful Valentine's Day but she knew enough to know that Paul had taken away a medical student that Carter was close to and now he had nearly taken his Abby.

"Where are you going Carter?" Susan asked.

"No where, I just have something that I need to do and I thought that Abby shouldn't be alone right now." He answered.

It was Susan's turn to nod. "Alright." She said, "I am more than happy to stay here with her Carter."

"I know you are." He got up from the table putting the coffee cup in the sink, "if she wakes up tell her that I will be back in a little while, that I love her."

That didn't sit well with Susan but she tried not to think about it, "I will Carter." She watched him; even he didn't look overly well right now.

Carter crossed the room and put on his coat and grabbed his keys. Knowing that Abby was with Susan made this a little easier but not much. He caught the EL and headed for the institution where Paul was being held right now.

As he rode the train the feelings inside him started to slowly eat away at him. By the time that he had arrived at his destination his face was white, his hands clammy and his stomach was turning inside out. He stopped to try to compose himself but composure was something that at the moment was more than fleeting.

He managed to get himself inside and as he waited to where he was supposed to be going after being heavily checked by the security people, he had to go into the men's restroom and throw up. Looking at himself in the mirror he saw what he expected to see, a man wore down more than the actually years he had lived, dark circles starting to form under his eyes from all the stress. It made sense that if he looked this horrible how Abby could look just as horrible if not worse.

He finally pulled it together enough to walk out; just what was he doing here? Did he think that Paul was actually going to give him the answers that he wanted so readily? Probably not and Carter was beginning to think that he had made a very bad decision in coming here but he needed to follow it through. This man was pretending to be insane and at one point in time had even convinced Carter that he was insane, but that wasn't the case anymore and Carter knew it. He wanted the answers to why, why this was happening and he wanted to make sure that Paul was never coming back to do this again. To him or to his Abby.