Kathy often fantasized about being by herself at night, with nothing to do but read. And now she can, because she figures she's a hateful daydreaming bitch who brought this on herself by watching too much inspirational programming that encouraged her to make her dreams come true. Damn you, Pax Network! Sam listens patiently to her needless guilt as we hear Gus wonder why he got to be the lucky one: "Why should I be spared?" "No one knows," says Luka. "You have to believe there's a reason you're still here." Again, I feel like Luka could go there a little bit further, since he almost went through this himself last year. Then Kathy tells a story about Ethan's wanting ice cream that morning, and how nutty that was, but for some reason that day she thought it was just crazy enough to work. Under this sound, we see Carter, King Of The Nooner Cone, getting stopped by Security. "Can you imagine? Ice cream in winter?" Kathy says, aggrieved awe in her tone. Carter starts to cry, thinking he's missed Kem, just as Ethan dies.

Suddenly, Abby brings Kathy her daughter. Sam looks nauseated and green as Kathy scoops up her child and carries her outside, sobbing with joy and sorrow. Abby watches Sam with concern; Sam tries to hide behind the monitor, but she clearly wants to weep for the little children, or something.

Kem shouts Carter's name. He jerks his head up, and they lose themselves in each other for one last hug. We fade to black on what was one of the more interesting and well-handled Accident Of The Week plots, but wishing that Carter and Kem's non-tragic non-misfortune wasn't juxtaposed with things that are actually poignant.

Later, Abby drifts into NotMagoo's and orders up a bunch of food, plus two plain hamburgers and three plain yogurts. Sam overhears this with a laugh. "Susan can only eat two things without throwing up," Abby laughs. Sam commiserates that pregnancy does suck. Abby perches beside her and they make small talk about Abby's tiring schedule and her med-school dream. "The last thing I remember wanting to be was an international spy," Sam grins ruefully. "I was fifteen. Then I got pregnant." Abby has the tact to whistle, "Fifteen!" Charming. Sam recalls how she was in total denial when she found out, and had to work double shifts at Baskin-Robbins to scrape together the cash Alex's father was supposed to provide to help with the abortion. "Did he go with you?" Abby asks. "He was at a gig," Sam says, self-mockingly. Abby nods with amused recognition. "The first time I went, I sat in the waiting room and they called my name...Never got up," Sam says. "The second time, I was too late. Now I look at Alex, and I...." She shakes her head, as if she can't imagine that she came so close to aborting someone she loves so much. Abby digests this, and then blurts, "The place I went to had this calendar on the wall. With a picture of Strawberry Shortcake." A child's toy? That's awfully tactless. Abby laughs mirthlessly. "I just stared at it the whole time," she says. She and Sam swap silent looks, and Abby shakes her head with tangible what-could-have-been regret. It's a really nice scene for them -- two people who've been at the same place and took different roads for different reasons.