A little while after Abby talked to Luka, she met Carter for lunch.
"So?" Carter asked.
"So what?"
"You know what I’m talking about."
Abby sighed. "It went...fine. He was actually really understanding." She paused. "I think everything’s going to be okay."
"It will be." Carter said, grabbing Abby’s hand. "No matter what."
"I know, but, I’m just glad there’s no hard feelings."
Carter smiled. "I’m just psyched that I’m finally with you. And I just want you to be happy."
"I am. Now that I’m with you." Abby said and leaned across the table to give Carter a peck on the cheek.
Carter leaned back in his seat and sighed, looking over at Abby longingly. "I don’t want to go back to work."
"Neither do I."
"When are you off?" He questioned.
"Nine o clock." Abby answered.
"Your place or mine?"
"Uh...yours?" Abby smiled. "What do you have in mind?" She asked innocently.
"Wouldn’t you like to know?"
Abby thought for a minute. "Mmmm, keep it a surprise."
"Will do." Carter responded. "Listen, I need to get back to the hospital. I’ll see you tonight, okay?"
"Wouldn’t miss it for the world." Abby replied.
Carter stood, walked over to Abby and kissed her before leaving the restaurant.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Abby rolled on top of Carter and ran her hands through his damp hair. "I love you..." She murmured in his ear. His look said it back.
"You’re so beautiful." He commented, reaching up and cupping her face in his hands. "Everything about you."
They made love again. Abby rocked back and forth on top of him, feeling the overwhelming pleasure she always felt when she was making love to him. No one could ever touch her like he could. No one could ever come close. He was completely perfect.
Her breath caught as the feeling inside her exploded and she collapsed on his chest with a soft moan.
"That was amazing." Abby exclaimed, reaching up to kiss Carter. "I think I saw stars."
"Me too." Carter replied, grabbing her hand and stroking it softly. "Abby?"
Abby was cuddled up against him, with her eyes closed and a dreamy smiled painted on her face. "Yes?"
"Marry me."
Abby shot up and clapped a hand over her mouth. "What?"
"Marry me."
"Oh God..."
"Is it too soon?"
"No! It’s just...what if I cursed myself the first time? With Luka? Maybe it’ll happen every time I try to get married..."
"You’re thinking that you will be getting married to other people in the future after me?!" Carter laughed.
"No...I just..." Abby mumbled.
"Don’t tell me you weren’t expecting this. I want to be as close to you as possible as soon as possible."
Abby struggled to put her feelings into words. "I didn’t think you loved me that much. I mean, no, that’s not what I thought. I don’t know what I thought. I knew that we’d be together for a long time, but with you, this marriage thing is so scary. If we got married, then I’d know that we’d be together forever. Don’t get me wrong, that’s a great thought but, doesn’t that scare you a bit? What if something happens?"
Carter was silent for a moment, contemplating. "Well, yeah, it does. But sometimes, you just got to take a risk. I don’t know whether it’s better to love and get hurt instead of not loving at all, but you’re worth it."
"But it would hurt so much if I lost you. After spending day after day with you and falling more and more in love with you." Abby replied.
"You just got to believe that it will get less scary as time goes on. And it will. You can‘t stay closed off and miss out on the things you want just because you‘re scared that they might go away someday. You can’t live your life like that Abby." Carter looked into her eyes. "Just say yes." Carter said, looking into her eyes. "Just say it."
A beautiful smile came over Abby’s face. "Yes."
Carter smiled back at her. "Great." He crawled out of bed from beside Abby and pulled a small box out of his pants that were laying nearby on the floor. He laid back in the bed and handed the box to Abby. Abby grinned in anticipation and opened the lid. Sure enough, a beautiful ring was sparkling in the box.
"Oh John, it’s beautiful." Her voice caught. "I’m going to cry."
John rubbed her shoulder. "Don’t cry."
"I can’t help it." Abby said, tears running down her face. "How could I not get emotional about something like this? You can’t possibly conceive how happy I am right now."
"I’m glad you’re happy." Carter’s lips touched hers and he pulled her to him. "So, last check, are you sure you don’t want to go profess your undying love to Luka?"
Abby grinned through her tears. "You’re right! I do love Luka! I better go right now and tell him the truth!" She left the bed and began to run to the doorway.
Carter got out of the bed faster than Abby had and scooped her up and carried her back to the bed. "You didn’t honestly think you’d get away from me that easily, did you?"
Abby giggled and punched her fists against his chest. "Let me go! I have to go declare my abiding love for Luka!"
Carter threw her on the bed and climbed on top of her. "Too bad." He kissed her passionately and wrapped his arms around her bare waist. "You’re mine eternally now."
Abby reached up, draped her arms around his shoulders, and simply said, "Good. Now make love to me."