Author's Note: Takes place one year after Carter left with Kem (approximately late season 12). Abby and Luka are not together and Abby is not pregnant.

DARFUR

It was just after noon when he pulled off his sunglasses and wiped the sweat off of his forehead, looking for a place out of the sweltering sun. It had been almost a year and he still half expected to wake up to the frigid winds seeping through the windows of his Chicago apartment. It was almost June now and John could not particularly say that he was looking forward to summer. Summer in Darfur was much like a predator than an opportunity to visit the beach. The more one tried to hide from the sun's broiling rays, the more they realized that it was impossible to escape the drastic temperatures. It was 123 degrees in the shade, and the arid desert parched the residents to which it surrounded within seconds after they took lengthy sips of water.

He entered a small, frail hut where fourteen patients lay waiting for him to assess their wounds. He swished a buzzing insect away from his ear and went over to the sink in the corner to splash water onto his face and hands. Here, cleanliness was the least of their worries. With the little supplies that they had and the constant intrusion of aggressive Janjaweed soldiers, they were expected to make the best of it and save who they could. The majority of the people that needed their help were bound to die within the next few months even after being treated, which was the hardest part for Carter. He saw people suffering with malaria, polio, and malnutrition- all of which would have been treatable if they had been in America. Rebels would come in and out with severed arms and legs and gun shot wounds to the chest and abdomen. Often families would come in need of a place to hide from the gun-possessing government that so violently ruled the nation. Sometimes the overwhelming amount of suffering people and war casualties seemed unbearable, and Carter felt it impossible to ever fully adjust to the sadness and hatred that surrounded the place.

"Debbie is insisting that you see her. She says you have received important news from Chicago. I'll take this," Dr. Dakarai told Carter, who was just about to assess a very ill-looking pregnant woman. Carter looked at him with curiosity and confusion. He hadn't gotten much news from back home since he left the place a year ago, and it was starting to worry him.

He caught up with Debbie after leaving the hut and told her what Dakarai had told him. She merely nodded in response.

"Yeah, apparently your father's trying to get in touch with you. Go to the information clinic and ask them for the number. And keep it short, this place can't afford to waste money on family phone calls," she said as nicely as possible. Carter, without saying another word, hurried off to the nearest phone.

CHICAGO

She wasn't completely alone. She'd found her lifelong companion and had grown quite fond of it. Although she saw it to be second best, she enjoyed its company nevertheless. Alcohol was her new best friend.

She didn't need it when he was in her life because he had saved her in so many ways. He had saved her from misery, from her fear of love, and most importantly, he had saved her from alcohol. She'd never forget the way he used to make her feel like she was actually worth something; like she was something worthy of holding on to, despite the amount of baggage that she carried.

When they were together, she knew she'd never need a drop of liquor to keep her happy. Now that he was gone, she had started to second guess the true effectiveness of AA meetings and had turned back to her old habit. Because alcohol, though it destroyed her as a person, would never leave her for a different life on a different continent like Carter had done.

Words could not fully explain the feelings that had overwhelmed her when he left. He had broken her heart and completely demolished every little bit of trust she had in him – and in anybody for that matter. She had opened up to him and he let her down, much like what everyone in Abby's life seemed to do. It was such a self-destructing feeling. When she finally was able to build up the confidence to trust and love, she was left alone and hurt.

But she wasn't alone anymore. She was drinking again. She was miserable, but at least she had something to take the edge off when she got home from work. She knew it was wrong and she knew it was hurting her even more – but at this point she figured she was bound to be immune to anything hurtful.

Even with all the pain he had brought her, she still missed him. She missed the way his open-heartedness would bring so much care into the ER, and it saddened her to know that the County General patients could no longer have the privilege of having him for a doctor.

She just missed his presence. She'd give anything to have him back in the ER – even if it meant they could be nothing more than colleagues.

DARFUR

"Dad? The reception is really bad here. Could you speak a little louder?" Carter practically yelled into the receiver. He leaned over the information desk. A dark African-American receptionist glared at him, waiting for him to hang up.

"Hi, John. They told you I called?"

"Yes, is everything alright?"

"Oh, yes, everything's fine. I just wanted to know how you were doing. Africa's keeping you busy I suppose?" Carter rolled his eyes at his father. He knew the purpose of the call wasn't just to find out what's up with him.

"Yeah, it is. There are very few doctors and an infinite number of patients. Every day more hectic than the previous."

"I still don't know why you don't come back to Chicago. If you were unhappy with County, you could have opened up your own practice or something. Or you could have taken a place in the family business." Carter didn't reply to this. Both he and his father knew how many times he had explained that he didn't want a private practice, nor did he want to become chairman of the Carter Foundation. He had left for Africa for a different life- one he had expected to have been going really well by now.

"Well, anyways, hopefully I can give you a reason to come back. Believe it or not, I'm getting remarried – and since I couldn't guarantee that an invitation would arrive safely in Darfur, I decided to call. I'm inviting you to the wedding on June 8," his father explained. Carter was too shocked to give himself a mental pat on the back for knowing his father had another reason for calling. Remarried?

"Well….uh, that's really soon and I haven't exactly checked my schedule recently. So I'd have to get back to you. As much as I'd like to be there for you, I can't guarantee a visit," he explained. Schedule? He hadn't had a schedule in a long time – not since he had worked at County. There were no shifts in Darfur, it was just constant working.

"John, if it is going to keep you from your obligations then by all means stay in Darfur. I just wanted to invite you and I thought that you should know in case you should ever decide to call me or visit. I have to go, I have a meeting with the advisory board. Get back to me when you can. I'd love for you to come."

"Alright, I'll call you soon. Bye." He hung up and handed the phone back to the receptionist.

"Everything okay?" Debbie asked from behind. He turned to face her and ran his fingers through his hair. She raised an eyebrow at him.

"Yeah, my father's getting remarried. I can't even think about him with another woman. It's so weird for me, even at this age. He invited me to attend the wedding and I'm not sure if I want to go," he sighed.

"John, don't take this the wrong way but you've been really forlorn lately. It may just be the heat, but I think you deserve a little break from this place. We all need one once in awhile. And it would do you good to go back and see all your friends." Carter contemplated Debbie's advice. As much as it would be weird for him to see his father at the altar with a strange woman, he felt that a trip back hope could possibly do him good. In fact, he had been thinking about it ever since Kem left.