Standard disclaimers applied.

Author's Note: Some of the events described are from the original TW series. I have taken the liberties to restructure to sequence of events. Here is my warning to fellow TW fans!

Also, I think that by the end of this chapter, you guys will begin to see the similarities between ER and TW and why I chose the characters that I did. Hence, the title for the chapter and so, enjoy!

Rating: K+

IX. Parallels

It has been a week that Carter came home to an empty house. The moment that he opened the door, he would imagine that Deb would be there. Physically, she may not be, but her very presence permeated the air. When Gamma died, she had left a hefty inheritance to her grandson, the one who decided to stray from the Carter business to become a doctor. The only thing that she couldn't buy him was happiness but Carter would argue that she would have loved Deb. He and Deb had decided to move into the house after their wedding and she sought to make it home. One of the prominent additions was of course, the piano that Carter himself, had picked out. It was one of the more extravagant things that Deb would allow her husband to pamper her with. There were some renovations, an extra bathroom here, different window trimmings there, more shelves for the kitchen. Yet, there were some subtle differences that made it distinctly Deb and John.

Pictures became a huge part of the household. The smiling faces of Deb and John, and their friends at County were objects of an array of snapshots. On the kitchen counter, was Deb's mug that she used every morning when she had her coffee with two milk. There was her lipstick and hair pins next to his razor and toothbrush in the master bathroom. She was a creature of habit, always putting a touch of perfume - Jasmine before leaving the house. Chinese scripts and painting adorned the hallways. She never minded his sports magazines that always seemed to bury the remote control during the rare times they could sit down to watch TV.

All this, Carter was reminded that Deb wasn't in Chicago but in NYC. He had received an email from her the day before, telling him that she was settled into her job. It was a standard note, nothing really endearing and nothing out of the ordinary. She had signed it at the end as "Yours, Deb." He couldn't help but into it, looking for something more.

Was she still his to claim and love? Could he write back and tell her that he missed her and loved her? Only a week had gone by, could he really say that he was a changed man? Then again, he had no idea how he was going to change or where to begin.

-o-o-

She came home to an empty apartment. Everything that she had known in a week had suddenly dissolved with a swing of a door. She found a note and then her knees went numb. She reread it once, but her vision was blurred by the tears in her eyes. Still, she couldn't change the inevitable.

She and Fred had been at odds for many years now: her job, his drinking problem, her absence, his heart problems. Emily and Charlie were in the middle of their parents almost-daily shouting matches. Fred blamed her for not being home for the kids and she shouted back that she needed to work to support the family. She insisted that she loved the children, but he countered that it was Bosco who was her top priority. "It is always Bosco this, Bosco that. Where have you been when the kids needed you, Faith? You are home when they are asleep and half the time, some phone call will walk you up at night and we don't see you for days."

"Don't bring Bosco into this. He is not part of this marriage, Fred!"

"What marriage, Faith? I do all the cooking and making kids lunches. I help them with their homework. When you come home, you are too tired for anything else except crash and sleep. I can't even talk to my wife anymore!"

"What do you want me to do, Fred? You know we can't live with just one paycheck. Being a police officer is just as part of me as being a mother and a wife."

"You could have passed the Sergeant's Exam a long time ago, instead of being a regular beat cop."

"I wasn't ready, Fred."

"That's bull, Faith! Your job is dangerous. How many times are you going to have a gun pointed at you? Can you honestly say that you will come home safe and sound when you walk out of this apartment? You could have a regular desk job and still be a cop instead of patrolling the streets."

Three days ago had been the critical turning point. In an attempt to spend some more time with her daughter, Faith had taken Emily shopping. Liked a typical teenager, she thought the exercise to be a waste of time and totally not cool. Talking had been an useless venture, and Faith would silently admit that she would much rather interrogate a suspect right now. She realized how little that she had missed Emily growing up. With resignation, she led them to a nearby bank.

It was a typical work day. Some were cashing out their checks, another was counting every penny from his change purse. A mother was pushing a baby stroller, while rummaging for her bank card in the other. Emily was just bored and Faith was becoming impatient. Just as suddenly, it all changed.

Three men drew up semi-automatics and proceeded with a full scale hostage and bank robbery. Shots were fired, a male banker and one of the perps were shot and bleeding profusely in amongst the shattered glass. Faith fingered her off duty backup weapon in her purse and tried to conjure a quick but effective way to get out of this mess. Yet with a gun pointed to her head and her daughter's, any plan had to be proceeded with caution. Faith's eyes caught the frightened look of her daughter's before nodding reassuringly. All the while, her deft fingers dialed the numbers for the police.

A wait ensued and Faith prayed that the station could hear the sounds from her cell phone. The gun in her purse was ready to be used, but that was for naught as the perpetrators demanded that everyone emptied all their purses and bags. The blonde thought fast and when the gun was pointed at her, she immediately drew out her cell phone and smashed it against the wall. "There!" she cried, while securing her purse in front of her. The perps seemed satisfied before his gaze settled on the teen next to her.

In the distance, she heard the familiar sounds of sirens. She would later found out that they had traced her phone call had been traced. Her surprise was evident when the perps agreed to allow two paramedics to come in and assess the wounded. She schooled her features to a neutral expression when she saw that Bosco was posing as a paramedic and tagged along with Paramedic Monte 'Doc' Parker. After being for partners for so long, she could read his eyes as he asked, 'You ok?'

Her eyes spoke back, 'Yes, but we need a plan,' as she guided him to look at the fallen debris on the bank floor. They both noted the fallen gun on the floor.

Chaos descended just as quickly, when the perps who had previously took note of Emily decided that he needed a leverage. All Faith saw was the potential that Emily may get hurt and made up a grab for the fallen gun on the floor. Three shots in the chest and the man was dead. She had killed somebody in front of her daughter.

The aftermath was slightly bittersweet. She and her daughter was brought closer by the tragedy and they talked long into the night. Fred had been outraged. "Faith, I had tried to accept the fact that your job is dangerous but then you drag our daughter into this! How close did she come to being shot, Faith?"

Bosco was brought into the conversation again, "And, Bosco? He is a liability and he is dragging everybody down with him."

That had been three days ago and now, Faith came home to an empty apartment and a note saying that Fred was filing for a divorce.

I can't live like this, Faith. You being in constant and now it's affecting the kids. I'm moving out and I'm taking the kids to my mom's. My lawyer is going to call yours in a couple of days. I'll try to arrange for the kids to see you later.

Fred

She laid upon her daughter's bed and cried. She loved her kids with all heart. They were everything to her. Fred dealt a heavy blow and she was scared that she may never see them again. Then, what else did she have left?

-o-o-

Everyday, she counted her blessings and was ever so thankful for the two bundles of joy that was sleeping blissfully in the crib next to her. Tentatively, she reached out to stroke their rosy cheeks. She had many turbulent years leading up to this point. She was now a proud mother to two twin daughters - Sophia Mae and Alexis Marie Kovac. She smiled as her eyes now strayed to the picture just above the baby's crib. A photograph taken shortly after the twin's birth - her husband Luka had his arms wrapped adoringly at the three most important women in his life.

Her husband, she would pinch herself just to make sure it was all a reality. They decided to forgo the traditional wedding and instead decided to elope one day. She never once regretted that. Her thoughts drifted to the wedding that of Carter and Jing-Mei. Theirs was not the stuff from the fairy tales but Abby Kovac nee Lockhart would say the chemistry between the two best friends was something to be envious about.

Carter and herself had a history that could be sold profitably for soap operas. However, she valued his steadfast friendship after their subsequent fallout and then his marriage to Chen. Jing-Mei's unannounced departure from County had raised a few eyebrows. There were a few speculation that there was trouble on the marital front. Others commented on the fact that there was a more lucrative offer available and Jing-Mei took it.

Abby thought that the true reason was both. If there was one thing that Abby could take away from her past, it would be the fact that everyone came with a lot of excess baggage. What failed before was trying to fix everything. Changes won't happen because one wanted it so but she was beginning to see the value of having somebody who was willing to stand on the same side as you without some predetermined purpose. A healthy relationship stemmed from having a mutual goal and purpose and Abby hoped that Carter and Chen would found that for themselves.

End of Part IX

AN: One of my reviewers had said that (s)he was interested in seeing more Luby scenes. This last part came out of the blue, so hopefully, any Luby fans reading this would be pleased. :)