Coming Home




Chapter 2: You Have to Talk to Her

"Abby, can I talk to you for a sec?" Susan peaked into Exam 2, where Abby was taking a history on a young girl with asthma.

"Sure, one minute…" Abby responded. "Malik, check her stats in five minutes and page me if her breathing gets any worse. Sara, I'll be right back, sweetie. Malik will stay with you until your mom comes." Abby joined Susan outside the door.

"Have you seen him yet?" Susan whispered to Abby.

"Who? And why are we whispering?" Abby sounded confused.

"So you haven't? Good. I wanted to let you know so you won't be surprised."

"Susan, what are you talking about?"

"Carter's back. He's here. I just talked to him." Abby's eyes grew wide. She had to search to find the right words to respond.

"What? Where… Is he still here? Oh, God…" Abby looked around frantically.

"Abby, he might have left. I don't know, but he did say he's back for good. You need to talk to him."

"How? What will I say?"

"How about, 'Gee, Carter, nice to see you. Thought you ought to know that I'm-'"

"Okay!" Abby cut Susan off before she told the whole ER her secret. "I guess I'm just a little nervous-and still a little angry."

"I know, but you're going to have to face him sometime, and waiting isn't going to make it any easier."

"Yeah, I know."

**********

"So we'll look forward to your starting back a week from Monday," Dr. Weaver said as she gathered up the things into Carter's file on her desk.

"Thank you so much, Dr. Weaver. I'm sorry for leaving like I did," Carter apologized.

"John, it's no problem if you need some time off, just let us know in advance next time. We didn't know what happened to you, or if you were even coming back. Luckily, our chief resident position is still open."

"Thanks again, Dr. Weaver," Carter said as he shook her hand.

He walked out the door to her office and almost collided with Abby. They just stared at each other for a few seconds. Neither knew what to say. "What are you doing here?" Carter finally blurted out.

"I work here," Abby stated emphatically, somewhat annoyed with his tone. "What are you doing here?"

"Sorry. I am just surprised to see you. I was just talking to Dr. Weaver about coming back to work. I start back a week from Monday."

"Well that's wonderful," Abby said, a little sarcastically. "I'll see you around I guess."

"Yeah, I guess," Carter replied as Abby went around him and into Dr. Weaver's office. He didn't move for a minute. Well, that couldn't have gone worse, he thought.

**********


"She's just still a little angry with you for leaving the way you did. Can you blame her?" Susan spoke to Carter between sips of coffee in a new restaurant that had opened at Doc Magoo's old location.

"No, I can't, I guess. But I wish I could talk to her and get her to understand how I was feeling at that time. My grandmother had just died. I felt like Abby was the only person that I had left in the whole world, and then she wasn't there for me when I needed her. I know her brother needed her too, but when you're scared and alone, you can't think straight. I felt like she had abandoned me, and I was angry with her. I needed to get away. I needed to go somewhere where I didn't have to deal with anything, especially all that money that I was about to inherit. It was making me sick; I couldn't handle it, so I went to Africa. People needed me there, and I didn't have time to think about myself. So I stayed. It felt good for a while. But I can't keep running away forever."

"So, why don't you just explain all that to her-and it wouldn't hurt to insert a few 'I'm sorrys' in there," Susan smirked.

"I just don't know where to start. Should I call her? I certainly can't write her another letter… It is probably best to talk to her face to face, but I don't want to confront her at work, and I'm afraid if I go to her apartment she'll slam the door in my face."

"I'd say, call her. Leave her a message, and let her make the next move. If she doesn't contact you within a few days, then try to talk to her in person."

"It's worth a try, I guess."

"Just make sure you start off the message with 'I'm sorry I was such a jackass,'" Susan smirked again.

"I'll be sure too."



Part 3
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