Chapter 5

Stuck In A Storm

"Carter…" Susan called out to him again. "Wake up." She was checking him out, and saw that he didn't have any injuries, but he felt cold.

"Does anybody have a blanket or something that we can use?" she asked. A few of the customers came up with their jacket. She nodded. "Thanks," she said, as she put a jacket on Carter.

"Chuck, I need you to call an ambulance, and tell them we have a man that has fainted, and it seems like he could have hypothermia." Susan said, as she walked up to him.

"Help Abby..." said a voice quietly. Susan ran back to Carter, and saw that he was trying to stand. "John, don't move, you just fainted, we don't know what is wrong with you."

"I'm not the one that you should be worrying about. It's Abby that's hurt." Carter said. "We need to get her help now."

"You need to sit down, we'll get Abby some help, just tell us where your car is." Susan explained, as she got Carter to sit down. He told Susan and Chuck where his car was.

"She's in really bad shape, Susan."

Susan sat down next to Carter "We'll get her some help. Chuck is calling 911 right now."

"I don't understand, how was Abby in your car anyway?" Susan replied. Carter smiled. "I was giving her ride home because her car broke down and then we got into an accident, she seemed okay at first, it's entirely my fault, I should have got help sooner."

Susan saw that Chuck was off the phone. She walked up to him. "Are they on their way?" she asked. Chuck nodded. "Yes, but I'm going to go where he said his car was, just in case they can't find it for some reason."

"I want to go too, I need to." Carter said, as he stood up. Susan shook her head. "There is no way I am letting you out in that weather, you just fainted a few minutes ago, you need to rest."

"I can rest, when Abby is safe." Carter responded. Susan could tell that he wasn't going to listen to anything she had to say. "Fine. But you have to take my scarf."

"I'm not wearing a scarf."

"Take it," she said, as she put it on him. "Now be careful out there, you don't look that good, John. Make sure that he's okay, Chuck."

Chuck nodded. "I will." he said, as they left the diner.

Susan sat down next to Cosmo. "I hope your dad and Uncle Carter are going to be okay," she said, as she looked out the window, as it was starting to snow more.

((

Abby started to wake up and she saw that Carter was gone. The last thing she could remember was Carter telling her that he still had feelings for her.

There was no way that he really meant that, he got over her a long time ago. "Quicker than I did", she thought to herself. She remembered the time that he got drunk and he told her those exact same words, and he only said that because he was either afraid for their lives or drunk.

'Why can't you just stop thinking about him, Abby?' she thought to herself. She was sort of happy being stuck in the car with Carter, as it started to seem like old times again, but she couldn't get back into feeling that way again, it took her a long time, but she finally got over him.

Or did she, she thought to herself.

She opened the door, and walked out into the cold weather, she had to find Carter; She couldn't let him get hurt because he wanted to help her.

((

During the entirety of the car ride, Carter couldn't stop thinking about Abby. 'I can't lose her, I just can't, I have to tell her exactly how I feel about her,' he thought to himself.

"We'll get there in time." Chuck replied.

"I hope so, I can't lose her." Carter said, sadly.

"You really love her." Chuck responded. Carter didn't know how to reply to that. "She's my best friend; I don't want anything to happen to her."

Chuck nodded. "Your best friend?"

Carter grinned. "Okay, we were more than friends once, but not anymore."

Chuck looked at Carter. "I can tell that you want to be more than friends with her, there is just a look you have, and you only look like that when someone you love is in danger."

"We're at the spot," Carter replied; glad to be able to change the subject. Carter and Chuck got out of the car, and saw that the ambulance wasn't there yet. Carter walked up to the car, and saw that Abby wasn't there.

"No..." he screamed.

Chuck ran to Carter's side. "What's the problem?" Carter turned around. "She's gone."

"What are you talking about?" Carter opened the door, and showed to Chuck that Abby was gone.

Carter was shocked, he couldn't believe that Abby would leave; she was unconscious when he left her. He knew because of the condition she was in that she needed medical attention right away.

"Where would she go?" Chuck questioned Carter. Carter shook his head. "I don't know, the only thing I can think about is that she would be going to find me."

"Damn it, she's not well enough to go out in this weather." Carter yelled. "We need to find her now."

Both Carter and Chuck went in different directions, hoping and praying that she didn't get far.

A week earlier,

"So what are your plans for tonight?" Carter asked Abby.

"Just me and my TV."

Carter grinned. "How about we go out for some coffee and pie, just like old times."

Abby nodded. "That sounds great, I'll just grab my jacket," she said, as she opened her locker.

((

Ike's

"I just wanted to thank you for helping me last week. I'm sorry you had to see me like that, I just keep on thinking about my son, and everything that I planned to do with him, and now I'm never going to be able to do that."

"I'm sorry, John, I know it is hard for you. I'm your friend, I'm always be here for you."

"I never known of an ex-girlfriend to care so much about their ex."

"Well I'm not normal, am I?"

((

Carter remembered her saying that. Now thinking about it, that was the moment that he realized that, he was starting to have feelings for her again; he just didn't know how real those feelings were until now.

"I need you, Abby, don't leave me." he yelled out to himself. He then walked a little more, and he saw Abby lying on the curb. "Abby…" he said. " Can you hear me?" He grabbed a hold of her and carried her back to the car. "Don't die on me, I can't lose you, you are everything to me."

Chuck walked up to Carter. "You found her." Carter nodded. "She's cold, but I don't think she has been out in the cold too long, I'm thinking 5 to 10 minutes at the most. But she needs to get to the hospital now. Where's the ambulance?"

"I don't know." Chuck said.

"She needs help now." Carter yelled. He then looked up and saw that the ambulance was coming down the street.

The ambulance stopped, and in a few seconds the paramedics came racing out.

"Where's the patient?" one of the paramedics asked.

"She's here," Carter said. "She's has a possible head injury, and probably a broken rib."

The other paramedic came with the gurney and they put Abby on it, then started to take her vitals. Carter walked up to Abby and touched her face, as the paramedics were working on her. "You are going to be just fine, I promise."

They put her into the ambulance "Can I ride with her?" Carter asked. The paramedic nodded. "Of course you can." Carter climbed inside. Chuck looked at Carter. "We'll meet you at the hospital."

((

Chuck drove back to the diner, where Susan was waiting patiently for word on Abby.

"She's in the ambulance now, Carter's with her. I told him we'd meet him at the hospital. I'm sure she's going to be just fine, Susan." he said, as he hugged her.

Susan sighed. She hoped that Abby was going to be okay, she didn't know what she would do if anything happened to her, and most importantly, Susan didn't know what Carter would do if anything happened to her.

"Carter really loves her." Chuck said. "I could see how afraid he was for her, and it wasn't just being afraid for a friend, it was like what I would feel if something happened to you."

Susan nodded. "Let's go to the hospital," she said, as she, Cosmo and Chuck left the diner.

'I hope that Abby makes it, and just maybe both Carter and Abby will get a second try at their relationship,' Susan thought to herself.

To be continued