"Why not? These are my favorite pants." Alex said looking at himself in the mirror which stood by the door.
Sam picked out a clean and ironed pair of pants and a clean ironed shirt from the ironing pile she had yet to put away. "Here go change." She threw the clothes at him and pointed in the direction of his room. Alex gave an over dramatic sigh before taking his clothes to get changed. "And hurry up about it too. I have to leave in ten minutes."
Sam had dropped Alex off at his friend Rory's then headed off to work. Parking her car she got out and preceded into the ER, greeted by Kerry.
"Nice to see you here on time for once Sam." Weaver smiled handing Sam a couple of charts, before hobbling off.
"Typical." Sam muttered heading towards the lounge. She threw her stuff into her locker and left the lounge to see to her two patients, not even noticing Carter sitting in the shadows.
He sat there with his thoughts, his thoughts about Abby. Abby had been on his mind all night, he was worried about her and Emily. He wished that he'd took five minutes yesterday before he started his shift to go and see how she was doing. At least then he'd know her state of mind. Sighing he stood up and entered the ER, greeted by Weaver.
"John have you heard from Abby? I bumped into her yesterday, but I haven't seen her since, I tried calling her earlier but there was no reply." Weaver asked. Carter didn't know what to say; he also didn't understand why people kept asking him about Abby. I mean why would he know where she was?
"I…umm…umm... I think she went to stay with a friend of hers in Minnesota for a while." He lied.
"Okay well if you hear from her, get her to give me a call."
"Come on eat up." Abby instructed her six-year-old daughter who was knelt up looking out of the window, watching a few flakes of snow falling from the sky.
Emily turned back round and started to eat her pancakes. "Mommy do you think that there will be enough snow to make a snowman?"
Abby smile over at her daughter, sometimes her daughter acted all grown up and that scared her at times but then there were the times where Emily acted like the little girl she was. "I don't know honey, maybe when we get to New York."
"Mom why is snow called snow?
"Because when it falls from the sky it makes like a sound, and it sounds like the word snow." Abby had no idea when she just said or even if it made any sense, but it kind of answered her daughters question.
"Why are snowmen called snowmen and not snow ladies?" Emily said taking a mouthful of her pancakes.
Abby laughed under her breath at her daughter's question. "I don't know honey."
Abby turned round as she heard someone laughing to themselves. "What's so funny?" Abby asked the guy behind her who was sat staring at her.
"Nothing. Just the inquisitive young minds of our future generation." The guy said. "I'm Ben, by the way."
"I'm Abby." She grinned back.
"And who's this lovely young lady your with?" Ben said getting up from his seat and standing by their table looking at Emily, who immediately froze.
"That's my daughter." Abby said getting up from her seat, she could see how scared Emily was and lifted her from her seat and into her mothers arms. "She's a little cautious around strangers." Abby apologized; Emily clung tightly onto her mother.
"That's how she should be too." Ben laughed. "Would you care to join me?"
"Sure why not." Abby sat Emily down at Ben's booth and sat down next to her.
"So are you from around here?" Ben asked.
"Would I be eating here if I was?" Abby replied laughing.
"WHERE IS SHE?" A voice boomed through the ER. "Oi you! Where's my wife and kid?" Richard yelled pointing to Sam.
"I…umm…who are you looking for sir?" Sam asked hesitantly. Sam recognized the man but wasn't too sure who it was.
"My wife Abby Lockhart, where is she?" Richard banged his fists in the glass separating him and Sam.
Sam jumped back and got up from her seat. "Sir if you just calm down I'll go and find somebody who'll be able to help you." Sam went to find Carter who was taking a break in the lounge. "Carter, Abby's husband is out in chairs demanding to know where she is."
Carter nodded his head. "Thanks Sam, I'll handle it from here." He said leaving the lounge.
"YOU!" Richard yelled when he saw Carter. "Where's my wife and kid? I know you've always had a thing for Abby. SO where is she? Are you hiding her?" Richard continued yelling waiting for a reaction from Carter, but he got nothing. "WHERE'S MY GOD DAMMED WIFE?"
"Are you quite finished sir?" Carter said calmly. "Only I think you're scaring the patients." In all honesty Carter was scared but there was bulletproof glass separating them and he knew that Richard wouldn't harm any of the other patients. Carter opened the doors and signaled for Richard to follow him outside, as Carter walked past him he could smell the alcohol on him. Carter walked over to the bench in the ambulance bay and sat down.
"Well?" Richard asked standing over Carter. "Where's my wife?"
"Why do you even care? You beat her, put her in a critical condition then left. And you come in and want to see her after disappearing for ten days. So don't even try to act like you care."
"Who the hell do you think you are? Of course I care, and I never left MY wife in a critical condition. I should know I am a doctor too you know."
Carter couldn't believe what he was hearing. This guy was delusional, he was ready to get up and punch the guy but refrained himself from doing so, he would only be as bad as him if he did.
"Look I don't know where Abby is, and even if I did I wouldn't tell you." Carter got up and started to make his way inside. "And to be perfectly honest, wherever she is has got to be better than anywhere with you. If not for her sake then for that little girls."
Richard grabbed Carter's shoulder and swung up round punching him in the face. Carter fell to the floor, putting his hand up to his nose to feel the warm blood trickling down his face. He stood himself back up and brushed himself off.
"Well at least your picking on someone your own size." Retorted Carter.
Richard lunched forward, but Carter blocked his fist and tackled him to the ground. "Is that your answer to everything? Violence? Has that ever solved anything in this world? Richard just lay there with Carter on his back. "Well has it?" Carter yelled at Richard.
"No! NO!" Richard answered. He was usually the one in control but this time it was the other way round, now he was the victim. Carter gripped tighter into Richard's arms and stood him up, leading him into the ER.
"Whoa man, where are you taking me?" Richard said as he staggered along with Carter.
"I'm taking you to sober up."
Carter took Richard in and found him a room and a gurney to lay on, using restraints to stop him wandering and causing more grief. No sooner had he left Richard he was flat out.
"Hey Neela would you do me a favor?" Carter said making his way over to admin." Call the cops for me, tell then we have a domestic violence suspect here."
"Who's that?" Neela asked picking up the phone.
"Richard Lockhart."
Neela didn't say a word; she just dialed the number and did as Carter had asked her
Abby placed her glass on the counter and stood up. "Thank you for letting us join you for breakfast…or lunch or whatever it is." Abby laughed glancing at her watch, which said twelve thirty five.
"We'll call it brunch. And it was my pleasure Abby." Ben said standing up too. "And it was nice to meet you too Miss Emily." Ben said stroking Emily's hair Emily giggled and stood next to her mother, they had been sat with Ben for almost an hour and a half and Emily had just begun to feel safe in his company.
"Well we'd better get going Em." Abby said taking Emily's hand. Abby smiled over at Ben before leaving the restaurant.
"He reminds me of Uncle John." Emily said to her mother as they got into the car.
Abby just smiled over at her daughter. But the fact was she actually missed Carter, and Ben did remind her of him, he had that same cheeky smile even the soothing tone of his voice was the same.
Abby began to regret not answering Carter's phone call now, what if he doesn't call again. That could have been her last chance to hear his voice and she'd just ignored it. Her one last chance of happiness.
Abby started the car and began to make her way back to the motel. She switched on the radio;
'I want arms that know how to rock me safe in the arms of love,
I wanna fall and know that love has caught me safe in the arms of love.'
"I wish!" Abby muttered to herself.
"What do you wish Mommy?" Emily enquired looking over at Abby.
"I wish that we were at Sally's!" Abby lied. "Then I can show you all over New York, how about that Em? You'll love it there."
"Mom are we going to live there?"
"Umm… I don't know honey. Why do you ask? Don't you want to live in New York?
"I dot know if I want to live there, Travis in my class said he saw a movie once that was in New York, and everybody was getting shot."
Abby laughed. "Honey that was just a movie, it wasn't real. I promise you where Sally lives is nothing like that."
Abby spent the rest of the journey back to the motel singing along to the radio.
When they got back Abby opened the door, and Emily ran under her arms and switched on the TV and took her place on the rug in front of it. Abby chucked her bag onto the table and flopped onto the bed. She winced slightly, she kept forgetting about her ribs. They weren't broken anymore but they were extremely bruised, Abby sat up and scrubbed her hand through her hair watching it fall in front of her face. It had been nearly two weeks since she'd properly washed her hair. So she took Emily into the bathroom with her so she could help her wash her hair, well kind of anyway Emily mainly stood there splashing in the water.
Sam your kids school on line three." Jerry called out to Sam.
Sam sighed, picking up the phone in the hallway. "Sam Taggart speaking."
"Good afternoon Miss Taggart." A familiar voice replied on the other end.
"What's he done now?" San knew Alex had been up to no good, that was usually the only reason Principle McChristie called her.
"Well nothing medical this week." A voice chuckled on the other end. "Alex was involved in a fight, he's not injured in anyway but I thought that you should know. Would you like me to put him on?"
"Yes please." Sam answered.
"Mom?" Alex said cautiously into the receiver.
"Before you say another word, listen to me VERY carefully. You had better not be the cause of this fight, and if you are you are in serious trouble and I mean it. You'll be banned from watching the TV for like a year and I'm taking your P.S 2 away too." Sam stopped to take a breath.
"Honest Mom, I never started it. I hadn't even said anything to Mad Max."
"Mad Max?" Sam questioned.
"Yeah Mad Max, he's the meanest kid ever. Anyway he came over to me at recess and said I'd been looking at him, So I said I hadn't then he punched me, so I hit him back."
"We'll talk about his later." Sam said flatly.
Alex handed the phone back over to Principle McChristie. "We Just thought that you should know. And both Alex and Max have been suspended for three days."
Sam looked down at her watch; one twenty five. "I'll umm…I'll see if I can pick him up, if its not me then someone will be there before two."
"Thank you Miss Taggart."
With that Sam hung up the phone with a sigh.
