A/N: I'm not sure if anyone else is still thinking about this show, or will even visit this section to see this story, but for some reason the idea came into my head while I was driving around town the other day and wouldn't go away. So, I've decided to write it out and put in up here, just in case someone is still reading here.

A little background on the setting for this story - we pick up about a year after episode 5 (the one in which Richie finds out about Abby and Brody). This story will explore how Abby's relationship with Brody might have developed if Richie had turned his head a few seconds later and the relationship had remained a secret. Because we're picking up essentially a year and a half after they started seeing each other, there will be a lot of flashbacks to cover how we got to this point.

The first chapter is a bit shorter than the rest will be, and may raise some questions, but all will be addressed in due time. I hope you enjoy!

"Papa don't preach, I'm in trouble deep…"

Abby Kowalski paused and smiled to herself at the lyrics she was singing as she tossed her swimsuit into the duffel bag on her bed. In a way, she supposed Madonna was right - she was in trouble, and she was pretty certain her father would not be happy when he found out, but for the first time in her life, she just didn't care.

As she zipped up the bag, she was interrupted by a knock on the door. Shaking her head, she left the bag and hurried over, pulling it open without looking through the peephole.

"Did you forget your key a…" Abby's voice trailed off at the sight of her anxious-looking older brother instead of the man she'd been expecting. "Sorry, I was expecting Brody."

Donnie nodded. "We need to talk, Abby."

"Can it wait?" she asked, stepping back so that he could enter the apartment. "Brody will be here any minute, and we're going away for the weekend, so whatever it is, there's nothing I can do about it anyway."

"Abby…"

"Plus you've got that 'bad news' look on your face, and that scares me," Abby said. "This weekend is really important to me, I've got some big things to deal with, so whatever you've got going on, I can't deal with that too."

"It's not…"

"No, sorry, not doing it," Abby interrupted. "I'm not trying to be rude or blow you off or anything, but I mean it when I say this weekend is really important to me. Brody and I have some big things to handle, and I just can't be focused on anything else right now."

"Abby, you're not going away this weekend," Donnie said.

"Of course I am," Abby said, looking for the first time at his expression, a mix of concern and sympathy. "Oh God, what happened?"

"Abby, you're going to need to come to the hospital with me," Donnie said gently.

"Is it Dad again?" Abby asked nervously. "It was his heart, wasn't it? I knew they let him go too soon last time, I…"

"It isn't Dad," Donnie interrupted quietly, reaching out for his sister. "Abby, there was a shooting this morning at a convenience store. Richie and Brody responded, and…"

"No," Abby said, shaking her head as tears pricked at the corners of her eyes.

"Richie's wounds weren't serious," Donnie assured her. "A through-and-through in his shoulder and a couple of scrapes and bruises. They're keeping him overnight for observation, but that's just a precaution. He won't even need surgery."

"What about John?" Abby asked fearfully, knowing that the fact that her brother was the one breaking the news in person couldn't be a good sign.

"His condition is much more serious," Donnie said. "He was wearing his vest, but the angle of the bullets…he took a couple direct hits that they were pretty worried about. They took him straight into emergency surgery, but it looked bad, Abby. He lost consciousness at the scene, and I don't think he ever regained it before they took him to the OR. I tried to call you when it happened, but I couldn't get through."

Abby nodded numbly and pulled her phone from her pocket. "I, uh, I had it turned off," she said, pressing the power button. "I was out of the city, I don't get reception out there. I guess I…I forgot to turn it back on. John's…he's alive, right?"

"Yeah, he's still alive," Donnie said. "He's out of surgery, but they said it's going to be touch-and-go for a while here. They said…well, the doc went in to update Richie since Brody didn't have any family there, and he warned him that we should be preparing for the fact that he might not make it."

Donnie felt like his own heart was breaking as he watched Abby struggle to keep her composure and he instinctively reached out to pull her close, closing his eyes as her head came to rest on his shoulder and he felt the sobs start to shake her body.