Eric came in the front door and he could hear John and Brandon laughing in the living room. He smiled, catching the older man tickling John. As soon as they noticed Eric, they pulled away from each other, finding their 'serious' faces.
"Uh, hi, Eric," John said, stifling a giggle. He fixed his T-shirt and walked towards the kitchen as casually as he could.
"This is Brandon," John introduced his friend. Brandon stood, sticking out his hand.
"I'm Eric, Abby's brother. Good to meet you." Eric shook hands with Brandon. "I just came back from seeing Abby and told her you got here." Eric said.
"How'd you know I was here?" Brandon questioned.
"I was in the bathroom when you came in. I, um, well, I came out when you two were still by the door. I decided to leave when you went into the bedroom." Eric explained.
Brandon laughed; knowing he and John had been caught.
"Abby told me about this 'special' relationship you and your wife have with them," Eric continued. "I guess you filled a void, huh?" Eric kidded, keeping his voice quiet.
"Well, we all worry about John. He's pretty special," Brandon said quietly. He could hear John searching for something in the refrigerator. "He told me you managed to con him into giving up the knife. Good job." Brandon complimented. "From what he told me, he would have used it."
"So, is he over it now? I mean, shouldn't we be in there with him?" Eric asked, uncomfortable because he couldn't see John.
"No, he's fine now. He's fine until something else sets him off but he's always better after he..." Brandon stopped, laughing to himself.
Eric smiled, knowing why he stopped.
John returned from the kitchen. "What are you two talking about?" He asked, handing Brandon a cup of coffee.
"You," Brandon said.
Eric chuckled to himself.
"I just saw Abby and I told her you were feeling better," Eric said, watching John move close to Brandon but step back slightly. "John, it's okay. Abby told me and I saw you guys. It doesn't bother me. Abby never told you about me?"
John looked up quickly at Eric, amusement playing on his face, "What about you?" He asked, subconsciously getting closer to Brandon.
Eric chuckled. "Abby and I were brought up to be, well, very open minded. I've played for both teams, it's okay, really." He said. John looked at him, still unsure. "In fact, I almost thought about asking you two if I could join you at the front door there but you seemed to have things under control," he laughed, watching John blush.
Figuring he didn't have anything to hide and the fact that he still had a physical need for closeness, John finally found himself leaning against the older man as Brandon touched his hips.
"I gather my big sister has been having some fun of her own," Eric commented.
John almost lost his coffee. "How much did she tell you?" He exclaimed. John had gathered that Abby and Eric were close but this would have been really close.
"Enough. All I'm trying to say is you two don't have to hide anything from me. I personally enjoy touching after sex." Eric kidded as he sat on the couch.
John blushed and Brandon pulled him close.
"Johnny likes to cuddle, too. Don't ya, Johnny?" Brandon teased, nuzzling John's neck.
"Stop it!" John laughed, pulling himself from Brandon's embrace and joining Eric, sitting on the other end of the couch. "How's your knee?" He asked, feeling a bit weird.
"Its fine, John," Eric assured.
"So, John, Are you going to take your two guests out for brunch or what? I'm starving!" Brandon laughed.
"Uh yeah, sure," he stammered momentarily forgetting his manners.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
"That was great." John said as he wiped his mouth, setting the napkin onto his plate. Immediately, a waiter appeared and cleaned away the debris.
"Yes, it was," Eric smiled, taking a drink from his tea. Brandon belched loudly.
"John, this was a wonderful choice," Brandon said, not even apologizing for his crassness. "So, Eric, how long are you in town for?"
"Only until tomorrow, my plane leaves at seven." Eric said, sitting back in the plush chair.
"Both Abby and I have to be at work at seven," John said. "How long you going to stay this time, Brandon?"
"Oh, just until I'm sure you're all right," Brandon said, placing his hand over John's. John blushed and pulled his hand away, running his fingers through his hair.
"I'm fine," he said quietly, not wanting to bring up his mental breakdown again. He was in a good mood, thanks to a bit of physical activity and he didn't want to go back down that path.
"So, John, how long have you and my sister been going out?" Eric asked innocently. John and Brandon looked at each other, thinking back over the last few weeks.
"Uh, we went dancing, what? Tuesday so I guess last night made two weeks." John realized. He looked surprised by the timeline himself. "Whew, I guess it has been only two weeks," He said aloud but more to himself.
"It's been a hellova two weeks," Brandon chuckled.
"Two WEEKS? Only two weeks? God, she sounded like it had been forever," Eric exclaimed.
"You have to know us, Eric, we've been really close for nearly three years and inseparable for most of that," he explained.
"But she was with some foreign guy the last I knew," Eric commented.
"Yeah, Kovac. He's a doctor at the hospital. She dated him for about a year but they broke up several months ago. Abby and I started out as friends, and then she became my best friend. Then things got a little weird. We went to Oklahoma, I broke up with a girl over Abby, her relationship with Luka began to fall apart because of me, I dated another doctor, Susan for several months but it wasn't real. Everyone knew I had a thing for Abby and had for some time. We've had our ups and downs but thanks to Brandon and his wife, we were finally honest with one another. We've lived together for a few months but it was strictly as friends. Brandon and Veronica helped us realize how stupid we'd been for wasting all that time when we just wanted each other." John shrugged, smiling. Brandon nodded in agreement. Eric looked confused.
"So, let me get this straight. She dated the foreign guy who is a doctor at the hospital and you dated another doctor? Do you guys all work together?" He questioned. John laughed.
"Every day," he nodded, raising his eyebrows.
"And you all get along?" Eric thought this sounded a bit like inbreeding but he didn't want to say anything. Didn't these people realize there was a world outside of the hospital? John coughed on his drink.
"Luka and I still have a ways to go but Susan and Abby get along fine. Susan is someone I knew a long time ago and our dating never led to much. She knew I was in love with Abby the whole time," he clarified.
Eric let out a deep breath and turned to Brandon.
"Do you work with your wife?" He asked.
Brandon laughed hard. "Hell no! We'd kill each other! We're both doctors but we have our own separate private practices. She's a therapist and I'm a cosmetic surgeon." Brandon said.
"I couldn't work with my partner. I mean, what is there left to say to each other at the end of a day?" Eric stated.
John played with the saltshaker, thinking about what Eric had said. He'd rarely dated anyone outside of the hospital in most of his adult life. Even the ones who didn't work there were related to his work in some way. Could he and Abby work out? What would they say to each other at the end of the day? For the past two weeks, most of their conversations had centered on his treatment and sex. What would happen when he no longer needed treatment? What did they have in common with each other besides their addictions and work? They didn't share the same likes in movies and John had all but talked Abby into the dancing so what was there? Anything?
"I say we all go out on a date tonight?" Brandon announced, seeing John go into his head. This young man just thought way too much.
"What?" John asked, not having heard Brandon.
"I say we all go out on a date tonight. Eric's last night in town and I know I could use a night on the town. How about it, John? Do you think Abby would be up to going out tonight?" Brandon said, trying to feed John some positive energy.
"I don't know. She's worked a long day," John said, his mind still off.
"Oh, come on. If I know my sister at all, she'll love to go out!" Eric decided for the group. "Brandon, would you be my date for the night?"
"Why, sir, I do believe I have to ask my daddy," Brandon kidded.
John didn't notice. His mind was still very occupied. "I don't know. We both have to work early tomorrow." John said, his mind in a different conversation.
Brandon made a face and snapped his fingers directly in front of John's face. "Hey!" Brandon said.
John refocused and finally met his eyes. "What?" He snapped, slightly annoyed.
"Here I am trying to be silly and you're doing it again. John, stay with us, okay? What did I say to set you off?" Brandon questioned.
Eric just watched.
"Huh? Set me off how? I've been listening." John shifted in his seat.
"Yeah? Then what were we talking about?" Brandon asked. He'd been watching John ever since they'd left the apartment and he could tell that something was still bothering him.
"You were, uh, you were," John smiled slightly and shrugged. "Sorry, I guess I wasn't listening," he admitted.
"Brandon just suggested we all go out tonight, you know, get drunk, party a bit," Eric joked.
John laughed, looking at Eric surprised. "None of us drink, Eric," he said, wondering how Abby had possibly kept her drinking from her brother all these years.
"Ah, come on, celebrate a bit. A few drinks aren't going to hurt you." Eric joked.
Brandon shook his head. "No, I don't drink but that doesn't mean we can't all go out." Brandon added. "I think a night out will do all of us some good."
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Abby had been watching the clock, waiting for it to finally tell her it was time to go home and check up on her 'boys'. Luckily, most of her shift had been relatively routine however, John's emotional state weighed heavily on her mind. She knew he was safe with both Brandon and Eric watching him but Abby, being the person she was, simply needed to check on him herself.
"You okay?" Luka asked quietly. He'd been watching her looking at the clock every few minutes for hours.
"What? Oh, yeah. I'm okay. You need something?" She asked. Luka gently touched the side of her face.
"No, I don't need anything. I was worried about you. You seem… well…like you're thinking of something else." He said warmly, making Abby blush.
"I'm okay," she pulled away from his touch.
"Is Carter okay?" He asked, still concerned.
"Since when do you care about John?" Abby laughed
"Since you stopped smiling," Luka said, meeting her eyes. Abby only wished he had been this compassionate and caring when they were still together.
"He's fine," she finally said. "Uh, my brother is in town and I just want to go home and spend some time with him, that's all."
"If you need to talk, Abby, I'll listen," Luka offered, certain that the concerned look in her eyes were not for her brother.
"Thanks, Luka, but everything is fine."
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Finally, it was time for Abby to clock out. "See you tomorrow." She called back toward the oncoming shift. She wondered if she could stop someplace quickly on her way home and have a drink. The past few weeks had done a number on her nerves and she figured just one or two might help her get through the night. Then she saw him standing there.
"Uh, hi," she said, slowly walking up to him.
"Hi, yourself. Want a ride?" He offered.
"What I want is a drink," she admitted.
"We can do that, too," Luka smiled.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Okay, thanks, Jerry," John said as he hung up the phone. He smiled nervously at Brandon and Eric. "Jerry says she got out on time. She always comes straight home unless something happened on the El." He paced as he had been doing for the last hour.
"John, sit down. I'm sure she's fine," Brandon suggested.
"No, she's not. Something happened. I know it did. Something's wrong. You don't think what happened this morning made her decide she didn't want to come home, do you?" He asked.
"She seemed fine this morning," Eric tried to reassure John but John just kept shaking his head.
"No, no, something's wrong, I know it," he insisted.
"John!" Brandon yelled, standing up and startling John. Brandon pointed to the couch. "Sit!" He said in an authorative tone.
"John, my sister is a big girl. Maybe she went out to dinner with some friends or something." Eric tried.
Brandon knelt in front of John his hands on John's knees. "Abby is fine. She'll be home soon and Eric and I are going to stay here until she does, all right?" He said softly. John nodded.
"Okay." He said quietly. "You're right, I mean, it's not like I own her or she's committed to me or anything, right? She's probably just out with friends and she'll call later." John declared, acting quite calm.
"Now that sounds better." Brandon replied keeping a watchful eye on John. There was something in his voice that he didn't trust. "We'll all just sit here and wait for Abby." Brandon said, picking up a medical journal.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Just before midnight, John's head popped up at the sound from the doorway. Both he and Brandon sat silently in the living room as Abby snuck inside, obviously trying to be quiet. That is, until she realized she had an audience.
"Oh, hi guys. Didn't mean to keep you up so late." She smiled. She was obviously nervous and John could tell something by her face.
"How many?" John asked, not moving a muscle. His voice was so calmly restrained, it was scary. Brandon glanced up towards Abby. Eric had gone to bed over an hour before.
"Come to bed, John. It's late." She said, casually walking towards the bedroom, removing her shoes while walking. She stumbled a bit.
"Who were you with?" John asked.
"Luka. He brought me home." She motioned to the door. "Come to bed. I'm tired." She went into the bedroom. John took a deep breath.
"Hey," Brandon touched his hand as John got up. "You okay?"
John nodded. "I'm fine." He said as he followed Abby and shut the door behind them. Brandon sighed loudly.
To be continued…………
Copyright Footer', 'This site is not affiliated in any way with "ER", its writers or production company, or NBC, and makes no profit from the show. The ERROS skin is by Brihana. The script is eFiction version 3.4.2© Tammy Keefer, http://efiction.org\r\n