Chapter 1:

Dear ER gang:

It's John. Things haven't been going so well with me and Kem. I think we are breaking up…

Scratch that we broke up… its gonna take a while for me to pack everything up, I think I'm gonna come back to Chicago. I'll fill you in on the details when I get there… I missed Chicago and County and I'm happy to be coming back. See you when I'm done packing… I still have to go get my plane ticket, then I'm flying back to Chicago.

-John

The letter came about a week ago. Everyone was surprised, that is except for Abby. Deep inside she knew it would happen. She wanted John to be happy, but she knew that he would never be completely happy with Kem. She didn't want to admit it, but it was the truth. John hadn't come back yet, and everyone just assumed he had to deal with some unfinished business.

As John got on the plane, he knew he was doing the right thing. Kem had lied to him, and not just a little lie, but a big one. He knew that if she really loved him, she wouldn't have lied like that, she wouldn't have done what she had done, but she did, and it was over. John sat down in his seat. He thought about Chicago and County. He hoped that they got his letter he sent about 10 days ago. As he thought about County, his thoughts drifted over to Abby. He wondered if she was still going out with Jake.

Abby sat down at the front desk. The day was going by slowly, and hardly any traumas had come in. In fact, almost everyone was slacking off, even Susan. Abby thought about Jake, and how he was doing in California. Jake got offered a job there, a good one that he couldn't let down. He wanted to stay in Chicago, but Abby wouldn't let him. She didn't want him to put his career on hold because of her, she had told him, but the truth was that she secretly wished that somehow Carter would come back. Now that Carter was actually coming back, Abby didn't know what to think. Had she wished so much for Carter to come back that he broke up with Kem? Abby didn't know what to do, but she knew that if she secretly wished for Carter to come back, she must still have feelings for him.