Author's Note: Thank you so much for the reviews I greatly appreciate them :)

Chapter 5

Carter's thoughts were interrupted by Abby's voice.

"Hey, coffee time?" she said smiling.

Carter looked up, "Hi, yeah sure."

Abby smiled and Carter smiled back, and the two began to walk. Once they had

gotten their coffees they continued walking. It was chilly out and Abby hugged her

jacket close as the wind whipped her hair around. An uneasy silence surrounded

them, for neither one wanted to be the first to speak, to break the walls that they

were clinging on to.

"So…" Abby began, "How was your first shift back?"

"It was pretty slow, not too many traumas." Carter said rather quickly.

"Yeah" Abby responded. "So how long are you back for?"

"Hopefully for good." Carter said looking for her reaction.

Abby said nothing, only nodding as if she hadn't just realized her whole world was

just turned upside down.

"What about Kem?" She said curiously.

"Kem's staying back in Africa." Carter said this with no emotion, he made it sound like it was nothing.

Abby nodded, "So you're not…?"

"No. We broke up. I don't think we were ready for all the distance that was going to be put between us, and in the end we just realized that there was nothing left either one of us could give."

Abby nodded once again, "I'm sorry." And she really meant it, because while Kem

had been the other woman, she knew that Carter had been in love with Kem, and

this had to have hurt him.

"It's tough, but I'm glad to be back here." Carter replied.

Abby looked up at him with a smile, "I'm glad you're back too."

Just then Abby's cell phone rang she went into her pocket to reach for it, "Hello?"

she answered. Carter couldn't help but notice her voice soften as she carried on,

"Oh hey, no I'm not home yet, I just grabbed a coffee with Carter, alright I'll see you at home, mm-kay love you too."

Those last three words rang back in Carter's head. Who exactly was Abby on the

phone with? Abby shoved her phone back into her pocket, not even realizing that

Carter probably had just heard her tell Luka that she loved him, not knowing that

she had just shattered any lasting hope in his heart.