"I can go out and get groceries, you know," Carter said, taking into consideration her present condition.
She pointed downward to her stomach. "He's not stopping me from doing anything."
He winked and sat back down on the couch. "If you insist."
"I do," she smiled as she went for the keys. "I'm taking the Jeep."
"Oh good God," Carter joked.
"Ha," she said. "I'll be back in an hour, give or take."
"'Kay," he called over the newspaper. "Love you."
She made her kissing noise as she left the apartment.
Someone so kind to him in every way. He wondered why she had to be so plagued by such a dark past. He knew sometimes she still cried at night. She would cuddle up against him, when she figured he was sleeping, and weep against his arm.
He would wrap his arms around her sometimes and just hold her. She would stop crying then. Only a few times had they actually talked about when she'd done it. Cried herself to sleep. She told him that her life was wonderful, and that she loved him so much, but she was still worried.
And every time she thanked him for letting her cry.
Every conversation of the sort would end with a hug. And a kiss, sometimes another. He loved her so much. He had everything he wanted when he held her. It was amazing. Sometimes he just wanted to stay in that position forever, no matter where they were.
It was odd. Their feelings for the other were still apparent, even at work. Their eyes still met across a trauma. He always called on her when he needed help. And, yes, they'd had their moments in the suture room, or in the lounge. He didn't mind if someone caught him in the respect that he loved her so much. However, the only reason he wished no one walked in was, well, they'd kill their mood.
Every day had been beautiful, whether it was them fighting or embracing. Words were spoken, sometimes shouted, and at the end of it all, hands were still held. She was more complex than anyone he had ever met, and he still knew her better than anyone he'd ever met. He knew every twisted corner, every capture of her soul, and every blinding pain in her heart.
She knew him equally well. She told him what he was feeling without speaking a single word. He felt like a person around her, like it was meaningful to live. After everything they had both been through, their future together was still the most important thing in their minds.
In the world of chaos, why had they, in spite of their travels through self-loathing and angst, had they been chosen to be together? They were perfect for each other. They'd lived the same life without realizing. Everything had been so understood, and he didn't know why he was so lucky.
Maybe it was just the way things had happened to work out. He knew in his heart that that wasn't true. Fate played that large part, but everything worked in there some other way.
He was loved by the only woman on earth that he wanted to love him.
Maggie had made her way into the living room and turned on the television. Maybe one day, her and her daughter would work things out. He wanted it to happen so bad. Couldn't they? He had no idea what their relationship was like. No idea. He knew it was rocky, it wasn't a smooth path. But she loved her, and Abby loved her mother.
It would happen one day. Everything had a weird way of working out, he guessed.
