"No! Thats not good enough!" Carter threw his hands up in defeat and paced around the room.

"Dr. Carter, will you please sit down?" Romano did his best to calm the irate doctor.

Carter knew he was getting worked up but he couldnt help it. He knew screaming and shouting like a little kid proberbly wasnt doing much good but he didnt know what else he could do to get his point across.

"I dont want to hear your excuses, OK? You owe it to us to keep the department safe."

This time Weaver spoke up. "I realise what happened yesterday was aweful, but we really are doing everything we can to improve security."

Carter let out an involuntary laugh in disbelief and shook his head. "It's not just yesterday, its everyday. Everyday we have nurses harassed, doctors threatened. We dont deserve it. We should be allowed to carry out our jobs in a safe environment."

"Listen Carter. Romano seemed keen to get this over with. We will sort out security. But surely patient care is more important."

"What, and our safety isn't?"

"Thats not what I meant, but I have another meeting to go to, so if youll excuse me..."

All Carters anger and frustration suddenly burst out in one go and his rage exploded into the room. "OK, go! If you dont care about your staff, then fine, but Im going to get things sorted, with or without your help."

"The situation isnt as bad as you say..."

"Chen had a gun to her head! Whats it going to take for you to see the problem?"

"I really think you should calm down..."

Carter ignored Kerry's words and carried on. "Is it going to take someone to be killed before you take action?" Carter pointedly glared at his two superiors across the table from him and they slowly realised where his feelings were coming from.

Romano was the first to speak up and seemed to soften slightly. "This is about what happened before."

"Yes, its about before! I was stabbed! Lucy was murdered! On duty! Where were security then when that nutter was running around with a knife and we were lying, bleeding on the floor?!"

Everyone in the room fell silent. Carter could feel tears well up in his eyes but he wasnt going to give Weaver and Romano the satisfaction of seeing him upset.

"John, I dont know what to say." Kerry calmed down and tried to rectify the tension.

"No! Dont say anything, just get those damn security guards!"

Carter banged his fists down angrily on the desk and made them jump. He stormed out of the room and slammed the door behind him, leaving a bewildered Kerry and Romano behind.

* * *

"Hey, Carter." Abby stood anxiously in the corridor waiting for the meeting to finish and saw a tearful Carter run past, seemingly oblivious to her standing there. "John!"

Carter didnt turn round, but carried on to the end of the corridor and into the bathroom, with Abby following on close behind.

"Hey, what's up?" Abby slowly and carefully entered the men's room and looked at the reflection of his tear stained face in the mirror. He splashed some cold water on his face and turned silently towards her. His eyes called out to her for comfort and she could almost see the feelings swirling in turmoil around his head.

She slowly walked towards him, her loving gaze full of sympathy and understanding. They embraced in a hug, Abby enjoying the closeness as much as Carter did. The whole situation had got to her too but she struggled to imagine exactly what he must have been feeling.

She hated not knowing. She wanted to be able to read his every thought and decipher his every feeling so she could do the best that she could to help him. That was a lot to ask she knew, but she loved him so much. Abby just wanted to take all his pain away and make everything all right.

He was the one to finally break the hug. He pulled away slowly and looked into her eyes, offering a half-hearted smile that let Abby know that her just being there was enough. It was genuine, too. She could tell a mile off when Carter was just putting on a brave face but this time, he really was better.

Abby smiled back and rested her head on his chest. "Do you want to get a coffee?"

Carter frowned in confusion. "Arent you still working?"

"No, I finished half an hour ago, I was just sticking round to see how everything went."

Carter dropped his head again and sighed. Abby immediately regretted saying what she said. Even worse than seeing him upset, was being the one who caused it.

Carter sensed her apologetic look and kissed the top of her head reassuringly, letting her know in one simple action that he didnt blame her. And at the same time, thanking her.

So many emotions conveyed in one simple movement. One wonderful movement that they had both waited so long to feel.

"So, how about that coffee?" Carter broke the silence and smiled at her again, more broadly this time, making his whole face light up and reminding Abby in an instant why she loved this man as much as she did.

They looked longingly into each others eyes, and Abby was the first to voice what they were quite obviously both thinking.

"Why dont we just go home?"

He kissed her again, on the lips this time, and took her hand, leading her out of the door. "Sounds like a plan."

* * *

Carter pulled off his shirt and climbed into bed, switching off the light. He rolled his head over on the soft pillow, appreciating the comfort that it gave. He smiled at the woman lying peacefully next to him.

The moonlight streamed gracefully through the curtains and illuminated her face, making Carter realise just how beautiful she was.

She slowly opened her eyes at the comforting realisation that he was lying next to her and smiled back.

Carter reached out and brushed her hair out of her lovely brown eyes and she blushed slightly, embarrassed in a strange sort of way that he cared so much for her, the way no one ever had before. "Sorry, did I wake you?"

Abby relaxed. "No, just resting my eyes. Are you feeling better now?"

Carter nodded reluctantly but felt the long forgotten tears once again threaten to fall. This time it was Abby's turn to reach out. She cupped his face lovingly in one hand and rubbed his cheek, pulling him closer until their foreheads touched.

Carter spoke up, finally letting his feelings flood out. He was totally relaxed around Abby, he supposed he of showing his inner most thoughts to the woman he so loved in always had been and he was no longer afraid to let is guard down. He was not scared the familiarity of his own home.

"Today, everything thats happened, just brought back memories, you know?" It was such a relief to get these feelings out in the open, knowing that Abby understood and was fully prepared to listen.

She nodded and gently stroked his face. "About Lucy?"

Carter didnt say anything but she could sense what he was thinking. "Everyone thinks I over reacted for no reason. I mean, nothing even happen to Chen."

"Anything could've happened, Carter. And nobody thinks that. You were just looking out for everybodys safety. Thats what I love about you. Youre sweet, and caring, and..." Abby trailed off, getting lost in his touch and lovingly kissing his neck.

Carter sighed and the salty tears at last started to fall. He pushed her away gently but still did not turn away. "Yeah, well. It didnt help Lucy though, did it?"

Abby inwardly cringed as his true emotions came to the surface. She felt ashamed that at her actions. He was mourning the loss of a close friend, while she was coming on to him. She knew he wouldnt think the way she imagined he would but she didn't want Carter to think for one moment that she didn't understand.

"I didn't do anything before to improve security measures. There had been loads of incidents before, but I never thought that something as serious as that would ever happen to us." Carter carried on, not thinking for one minute that Abby wouldn't want to listen. They felt completely at ease with one another and both knew that the other would always be there to listen.

"Hey." Abby soothingly hugged him once more and softly told him, without words, that everything was going to be ok, Just like he had done once before. "It wasn't your fault. How could youve known what was going to happen? You couldn't have prevented what happened to you and Lucy as much as I could."

Carter listened to Abbys words. They both knew it was a lie, they both knew fully that Carter was partly to blame and, deep down, Carter could sense that Abby was lying to make him feel better.

She had him completely under her spell. Her voice was beautiful and her words so soothing that she had a way of making Carter believe anything. He could not explain. She was so intoxicating to him that every conceivable hint of rational thought vanished. When she spoke, it was like Carter had no ability to form coherent thoughts of his own. And he loved her for it.

"Thank you" he whispered, at last reciprocating her touch and he nuzzled his head in her long, flowing hair. "I knew you'd understand."

Carter's lips traveled slowly along her soft warm skin and he paused, looking her straight in the eye and smiling. "What is it with you? How come you can make all problems disappear by simply being around?"

Abby blushed again, a loving energy crackling between them and intense feelings rising steadily to the surface as they embraced.

"Magic."