Please review.

Also note, a little bit more to come!

Nearly three months to the day since it had all started, they had finally agreed to discharge her. Certain conditions still applied though, but she was going home! Susan, Luka and Hernandez had all gone to look over the paperwork, sign off on papers, all the bureaucratic shit that needed to be done. Abby was sitting there, on her bed, waiting for them to come back, more then ready to get the hell out of there. There had been no sighting of Stenton in Chicago, reports of him however had been all over the country, somehow it reassured Abby that Hernandez was right, he might not come back. She was still lost in thought, when a knock came at the door and someone walked in.

"And you are?"

"Jason," he said quickly. "You ready to go? Dr. Lewis went to go and get the car, asked me to come down, help you upstairs,"

"Um, I..." Abby shook her head, this wasn't right. "I've never seen you before,"

"I'm here to escort you out."

"I don't know, I thought Susan was…" but then the aspect of going home came full front, and the cops wouldn't have let anyone near her who hadn't been cleared. "Okay" she stood up and walked over.

"Wheelchair. Sit." She nodded and sat down scared that they might keep her longer if she didn't comply. They headed down the hall, she didn't know the hospital well, but it didn't somehow seem like the right hall.

"You know, I um, I think I forgot something in my room," her heart was racing, the hallway was empty, not a single doctor, nurse or patient had been seen.

"Someone can be sent to get it."

"Please," she said and leaned forward trying to get on her feet, but a rough hand grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her back.

"Stay seated, Dr. Lockhart."

"No.." she knew now exactly what was going on. They had stopped at two double doors, and the person behind her reached in front, opening them. This was not where she was supposed to be meeting Susan, she wasn't supposed to be here at all.

"Yes, Dr. Lockhart. Just calm down."

She turned her head and looked at him, she knew him, it was the second guy, her second attacker, now not only did she have a face to the voice, she had a name. "Kerry's sectary," she shook and once again tried to push herself away from him. Well, Kerry's ex secretary... "Get away. Just go away. You can go, no one will catch you."

"I can't do that Dr. Lockhart," he suddenly reached down and grabbed her by the arm, hauling her out of the wheelchair and outside into the freezing cold weather. "You have a date with someone," he made sure the door was locked and then dragged her to the far corner. She struggled against him, but couldn't seem to break free. The bastard was stronger than he looked.

"Don't do this please," she begged of him as he threw her down into the snow, trapping her against a wall.

"Why shouldn't I?"

"I didn't do anything to you, I didn't even remember who you were.."

"So?"

"Please.. Just," she shook her head, she couldn't believe this was happening. She would not go down without a fight though, she suddenly jumped up and tried to push past him, but he laughed as he grabbed her around the waist. She hammered at him with her fist, but it did no good, kicked at him, screamed and bit.

"Abby, shh," he said and sat down in the snow, bringing her down with him, and began stroking her hair. "It will all be over soon, it will all be okay," he brought her closer to his own body.

"No it won't," she grunted and kneed him in the groin.

"Bitch!" he screamed but released her, and she took her opportunity. She took off, but at one point she looked behind her, wanting to know how far behind he was. And then she hit another figure full force.

"No," she whispered as Stenton grabbed her arms and yanked her towards him

"Hi Abby," he smiled down at her, making her skin crawl. "How have you been?" he pulled her close to him, then lifted her before walking back over to Mearl. "Got a little reunion going on don't we now?" he laughed seeing how scared Abby was. He handed her over to Mearl and then pressed his fingers to her neck. "What happened there baby doll, I know I didn't do that?"

"Like hell it matters, now let me go."

"You ordered us to do that last time, did it work?"

"Fuck if I'm going to let you do it again without a fight."

"You can try all you want, you were stronger and healthier last time and we still won, what the hell are you going to be able to do now?" he reached his hand into his pocket.

"We'll see," she kicked him in the knee.

"You like to fight Abby," Mearl laughed as Stenton easily regained his composure. "To bad you won't be doing much of that anymore,"

"Screw you."

"We can do that to," Stenton said and they both laughed. Mearl held her tighter as Stenton got face to face with her. "If you play nice, it might not hurt as bad this time."

"Won't matter when you kill me."

"You're right, it won't." he pulled his hand out of his pocket, holding a syringe. "You ready for your medicine, Dr. Lockhart?" he laughed again and began taping the bubbles out of it. She knocked at him, but he didn't drop the needle.

"Shh, now," Mearl grabbed her arms and pulled them tightly behind her, as Stenton uncapped the needle and grabbed her left ankle.

"Abby.. Abby," he laughed and slowly reached over, and touched the tip of the needle to her thigh. The fear in her eyes, just helped to excite him. "Just to help you calm down" he explained and then pressed the needle in her skin, depressing the plunger and injecting the new drug into her system. It burned badly and immediately she felt the affects of the chemical. A moment after he injected her, she could swear she was back at County.

"Kerry?" she immediately called out, knowing exactly where she was.

"She's tending to the girlfriend and kid," someone familiar, male and snitty said disdainfully, "but I can get her to get her ass back here if need be, Dr. Nurse."

"Dr. Romano?" she looked around and more and more people began appearing. "Mark,"

"Abby, made it through med school, congratulations," Dr. Greene said, his tone a good deal more conversational than Robert's had been.

"Mark..." she was scared, she had finally starting to get her life back. "Did he... Am I?" she couldn't stop the tears, and soon she found herself in Mark's arms.

"You're still alive," Mark reassured.

Romano picked up for him, less compassionately, "Just drugged out of your skull."

"Are they hurting me?"

"Not badly," it was a blonde med student, and Abby could hear the unspoken 'yet'.

"I don't like how that sounded..." not badly, meant yes. Just not excessively., not yet. She felt Mark hug her tighter as she continued to cry. She heard the PA she'd seen last time whisper about getting Kerry. "Are they going to kill me Mark?" she whispered into his scrubs.

"I don't know."

Abby felt herself shaking, she couldn't feel the pain that was apparently being inflicted, but still she was scared. She knew they would come back and they had.

"Lockhart," Romano barked to get her attention, "don't get too worried just yet."

"Does... Do they even know yet, Susan and Luka, do they know I'm missing?" the cops, Hernandez, all those who had sworn to protect her.

"That's not entirely relevant. If she's doing what I think she's doing, which, by the way, is against just about every rule we go by, you'll get out in one piece."

"Where's Kerry?" she had yet to move from Mark's arms.

"Taking a detour."

"Mark, don't let me die," she pleaded to him, just as she had told Kerry three months ago.

"You keep changing your story on that."

"I'm sorry okay, I'm sorry," she continued to sob. "if he's going to kill me…" couldn't finish the sentence.

"I don't think she'll let him kill you."

"He has to be close..."

Jeanie spoke up, "Nowhere near. She just hit him over the head with... I shouldn't be telling you this."

"What?" Abby spoke up.

"Interference is frowned upon," Jeanie said to Mark, "Are they likely to come down on this?"

"I think it was justified."

"What the hell is everyone talking about!"

"Nothing you're ready to know about, Abby," Romano said decisively, "not yet at least."

"Someone please, give me an idea of what is going on down there! Should I even think about going back?"

"Yes. You can't just yet, but do plan on it. She's winning."

Abby shook her head, "please, everyone is hiding things from me, don't you start also,"

"We can't tell you, Abby. Just that someone's fighting on your side."

"Then how the hell do I know it's worth going back? What did they do to me before whoever was did what ever they did!" she screamed at them.

"She started on them before they could do more than give you a few bruises."

"But by the time she finished?" bruises she could deal with, broken bones she could, as long as they didn't rape her, or stab her again.

"She's not done yet, but one's fleeing, and the other... Oh, crap, she didn't just..."

"SOMEONE TELL ME WHAT IS GOING ON!"

"Stenton just went down a flight of stairs, backwards. Cracked his neck on the way down."

"He's dead?"

"He's a quad in desperate need of ventilation," Mark said. Just then, Kerry came in through the ambulance port, looking decidedly pissed off and a bit upset.

"Where am I?" she asked Mark, not having yet seen Kerry.

"You're on a gurney, on your way to the ER to be checked out. No significant injuries though," Kerry said from behind her.

She didn't say anything, her knees gave way and Mark caught her. "It's okay Abby. It's okay," he whispered to her.

"You're going to be fine, Abby. When the drugs wear off, you'll wake up back at Mercy. This mess will be over."

"What about Mearl?"

"He was just shot attempting to flee."

She didn't say anything for a while. "Who found me?"

"Susan."

"How long was I on the roof?"

"Couple minutes, not too long."

"Are they both dead?" she would refuse to go back if they was even a chance of them surviving, she would not deal with this again.

"No."

"I'm not going back," she shook her head, let her die.

"Why not this time?"

"I can't live through this again, I can't, they came back, they…"

"They're dead. They didn't do any worse than black your eye and kick you in the ribs."

"You just told me that they were alive."

"Stenton's heart hadn't stopped yet."

"Kerry, the first time I came here, you promised that if I came back, you wouldn't argue with me on my choice to stay. I still have a choice?"

"Hypothetically, yeah, you still do. You've got no life threatening injuries, and you weren't raped again. They didn't even get your top off. You've got no reason to stay, but if it's what you want to do, then fine."

"I want to..."

"Fine. Lucy, what's the ETA?"

"He can't hurt me here Kerry, they can't touch me here!" Abby said, knowing what Kerry was up to.

"That's right, he can't. But you might have to treat him. Or work with him."

"I don't have to do anything,"

"I hope you don't," Kerry said, then looked down at her pager, which had started ringing at her.

"Abby," it was Mark. "Don't choose to stay here, they're both dead, they cannot hurt you anymore, don't leave Susan and Luka, don't do this to them. Luka is having to restrain Susan from getting into the trauma room."

"I was going to go home, I was about to leave..." she cried. "And then they come back, and drug me with God knows what! How did I not realize it. I thought I might have gotten away, I saw the door but didn't seen Stenton.." once again Mark pulled her towards him.

"It wasn't your fault, and wasn't your doing. They shouldn't have been able to get into the hospital, and that doesn't matter. They're dead now, gone. Can't hurt you. And you can still go home."

"When?"

"They'll want you to stay for at least a few hours for observation, but you don't even have to do that."

Abby looked at them skeptically. Still unsure. "Abby, do you want to go to the trauma room? Just to see..." Mark offered, knowing that would probably help, once she saw how concerned everyone was. She didn't have time to answer, Mark and Kerry were at her side and soon they were back at Mercy.

"Look, they haven't even changed you into a gown. Black eye, some nice bruises, looks like you could use maybe three stitches to your brow."

"The drug?" the last time he had injected her, it had killed her kidney.

"Haldol."

"Nothing else?" she watched as Hernandez put her hand on Susan's shoulder and went to the gurney. She took out her penlight and shined it in Abby's eyes. Reaction made Abby turn her head, bring up her hands to move the light out of the way, and to her surprise her body did the same thing.

"You want to see the chart?"

"Okay," she agreed slightly less nervous now.

"Today's injuries were, 'minor contusions to the left eye, right side, and right arm, a two centimeter laceration to the eyebrow,'" Mark read off of it and pointed to the spots on the paperwork. Kerry, it seemed, was the only poltergeist.

"Abby," she heard Susan suddenly say, "Hon, choose where you want to be, what will make you happy," she tried to hide the tears. She had never felt so guilty in her life.

"They want you to go back, Abby. We can't make you, but we'd like you to as well."

She looked at her body for a while, a good half an hour weighing both sides. "Okay," she finally agreed.

"Going back?"

"Yes, why I have yet to figure out,"

"Good for you."

"Kick his ass for me when you get him? I never got the chance," she watched as it looked as though Hernandez was trying to calm Susan down, Susan who about to mangle one or two cops.

"Only if you agree to be nice to Susan, keep her from doing anything stupid, and make sure Leslie gets my son into little league for at least one season."

She nodded and smiled at them, and closed her eyes. Soon she aware of Leslie and Susan's voices.

"Abby!" Susan pounced when she noticed her eyelids flickering. She wanted to yell at Susan that she was not deaf, that she could hear her, but didn't have the energy, so instead she forced her eyes open. "Abby, thank God! You had me scared there."

"You were scared?" she said rolling her eyes. "Okay, I have a head ache and I'm freezing, can someone please take care of any of these two problems and I promise I will be cooperative,"

"Sure, um... I shouldn't do this, but..." Susan pulled a bottle of Motrin out of her purse and shook two into her palm, then handed them to Abby.

"Thank you," she took them praying they would work fast. "How did you find me?"

"A hunch."

"Please tell me you didn't go up there by yourself,"

"Doesn't really matter."

"It does to me," she said as the door swung open and Luka and Hernandez walked in.

"I might have."

"Susan, they could have hurt you,"

"But they didn't. Call me crazy, but I knew they wouldn't."

"Stenton was already at the... Stairs. And..." she seemed to be babbling about what had happened, but the three doctors looked at each other, how the hell had she known.

"Abby, calm down."

"They're dead, they drugged me on the roof," she kept going.

"Enough, Abby."

"Excuse me?"

"We know what happened."

"Do you, do you know how the hell they got to me then?"

"One of them, Stenton's accomplice, managed to find out where you are, stole an ID badge."

"But how did Stenton get in?"

"The police aren't releasing that information."

"No!" She suddenly sat up. "Fuck the police, this is their fault! They promised to protect me, and somehow Stenton go to the roof and almost killed me again!"

"How did you fight him off, Abby?"

She looked at them puzzled. "I didn't, I tried, but they held me down and drugged me," she looked at her thigh where Stenton had stuck the needle, not surprised to see a large bruise forming.

"Then he must have panicked. He was found halfway between the roof and top floor, looks like he fell down the stairs."

"Why would he have panicked? He was intent on killing me," she remembered hearing his words.

"I don't know. He had a couple of weird marks, like he got hit by a pole or something."

"I kicked him once, but not with a pole, what about the other one?"

"The cops had him cornered, he got aggressive, they had to shoot him."

"Was he with me, when you found me?"

"No, he'd already gotten down the fire escape."

"Guess I faired a little better this time huh?"

"Yeah, I'd say so."

"And I guess you probably already know what my next question is going to be?"

"Can you go home?"

"Yes."

"Only if you're under physician observation. Do you want to be babysat by me or Luka?"

"Nooo," she sat back into her pillows. "by myself in my apartment in my own bed.."

"You can have your bed, one of us can stay on the couch. We won't bug you. We'll leave after a couple of hours."

"Ugh, why?"

"You were drugged. They want you to stay for observation."

"It was Haldol, and I couldn't have been out for that long,"

"Try seven hours."

"No, it couldn't have been that long I mean... I" had it really been seven hours? Robert had said that she was drugged out of her skull...

"What? Didn't it feel like that long?"

"Not at all, good lord, they've observed me for seven hours then. Please, get me out of here."

"Only if one of us can couch surf."

"Fine!"

"Okay. Now let's get you checked out of here." Susan patted her on the arm. They had known that the first thing Abby would want when she woke up was to leave, and during her seven hour nap, the three physicians already devised a plan to allow just that, to allow Abby to go home.

"No wheelchair okay Susan?"

"Fine."

Abby slid off the gurney and slowly her and Susan walked out the door. Cops, media, doctors and nurses were everywhere. "And someone get the flashbulbs out of my face."

"Hey, we even splurged, you don't even have to take a taxi, the cops agreed to giving you an escort home..." Susan paused. "only after I threatened to sue their assess."

"Oh, joy. Susan. You're going to stroke out one of these days, and we're all going to point and laugh."

"Yeah, well get in," she opened the door to a waiting car. "Luka is just taking care of the last of the paper week. Hernandez wants to see you once a week for then next God knows how long, everything else can be taken care of at County."

"Who's the new chief going to be?"

"Abby, I haven't been to the hospital since you..." she stopped not wanting to say since you tried to off yourself. "I don't know." she shielded her face from the cameras at the car window and turned her body so that Abby couldn't be seen.

"I take it Ansphaugh doesn't know yet. Sorry about that, by the way," she said, remembering the scolding she'd gotten from Mark and Kerry.

"About what hon? Here comes Luka, scoot over,"

"You'd think they'd make the backs of squad cars bigger. I swear, when Carter and I got arrested for breaking into Luka's apartment, it was roomier than this."

"Yeah well it was this or a taxi, or the L, figured this was safer." the door opened and Luka wedged himself in and immediately reached over to Abby and pulled her into a hug.

"I swear you…" he didn't finish the sentence, just sat there.

"Luka, let go..." Abby tried to push him off as the car began to drive away from Mercy. He didn't though, he just held her, refused to let go, soon she gave in, and actually let him do so. "God Abby," she heard him say once more, and she knew right then that Luka would not let her go for a long time, that those two would be at her apartment for more then a few hours. And she didn't mind one bit.

She punched in, wondering why they hadn't upgraded to a computerized time card system, and went to the lounge to put her purse down. Didn't have a lab coat yet. "Abby" she heard Sam's voice. "Welcome back," she hugged the doctor as Abby tried to open her locker.

"Nice to see you again," she hugged back briefly with one arm, then tried to shrug out of it.

"Lockhart!" she heard the annoying screech to the right of her, Morris. And finally the locker opened. And when it opened, she made sure it flew. Straight into his forehead actually...

"Oooh ouch," she heard Sam say and stat to laugh as Morris fell to the floor, clutching his nose.

"Oh, gosh, didn't see you there," Abby said sarcastically.

"Morris, your nose is bleeding," Sam laughed as she and Abby walked out of the lounge.

"So, what have I missed?"

"Oh lets see, four months worth of County happiness," Pratt stepped forward and smiled at her. "Welcome back."

"Hey Pratt," she grinned back, "Seriously, Sam, specifics."

"We've missed you, we can't handle Morris, but you've just taken care of about two months worth of annoyances in one shot,"

"That's a good thing, I guess. But I mean gossip. The rumor mill. Who's new? Who left? Who had a nasty breakup with whom? The grit"

"Believe me there is," Pratt reached over and grabbed a chart. "here, get your ass back to work, no more slacking Lockhart, I don't want to hear any excuses."

"I will. I just don't want to be horribly uninformed of the private lives of the staffers here."

"I will inform you of everything at lunch okay?" Sam promised and ran off.

"I'm going to hold you to that," she called after the retreating nurse, "So, Pratt, talk to me."

"Abby, honestly, it's been you. You are the only one being talked about here. All good things." he turned to leave but stopped and came back to her. "And apparently there is a nasty rumor going around that I like to buy stuffed animals from gift shops? Any ideas as to who may have started that Dr. Lockhart?"

"I swear, it wasn't me!"

"Yeah." he said sarcastically. "Puking kid in three have fun," he threw her a chart.

"Delightful. Thanks. Like I never left."

"You never did Lockhart, wait!" he stopped again and reached under the counter. "here," he threw her a new white lab coat.

"Thanks, Pratt," she said as she put the thing on. He probably had no idea exactly how much it meant to her.

"Yeah, just don't go around telling anyone that I've gone soft."

"I won't, don't worry."

"Yeah don't worry about you Lockhart, shit when was the last time that happened?" he mumbled to himself as he walked down the hallway.

"Smartass."

"I heard that Lockhart, don't think you're going to be getting any special treatment around here just because," she tuned out the rest of whatever he was saying.

"Hey," she turned to see Susan follow her into a patients room "So how does it feel to be back?"

Abby was about to answer, when she saw the kid turn green, and before she could move away, he puked all over her new coat. "Like I never left."