Abigail Blume grew up living in the Amish community of Goshen, Indiana, with her parents, Max and Charlotte. Deaf due to a childhood accident, Abigail suffered from severe migraine headaches and was only able to communicate through a special sign language. This sign language was known only by her parents and special friends, including a woman named Rebecca, who was suffering from amnesia and staying with the Blume family. In 1995, when Rebecca, in reality Reva Shayne, regained her memory and set out to return to Springfield with Alan Spaulding, she convinced Abby to follow them, so that she could be treated for her migraines. After a successful operation and during her therapy, Abby lived at the Bauers and befriended Rick, whom she met earlier when he visited Goshen to help a tractor accident. Rick asked Charlotte to let Abby stay under his care, which Charlotte agreed to after Reva promised to look after Abby. In 1996, Abby learned American Sign Language and started working for Alan who sent her to a language school in New York. Abby returned with a whole new look and also a new ideology that the Amish community disapproved of and so they disowned Abby. However, before Charlotte returned to Goshen, she confessed her love for Abby, no matter what the community thought.

Though Rick took Abby under his wing after the operation, he was not in love with her. He was still pining for his ex-wife, Nurse Annie Dutton. One night, after being rejected by Annie, Rick got drunk and fell into bed with Blake Marler. Blake later discovered she was pregnant, but swore to Rick that the twin boys weren't his. By now, Rick finally realized that he wanted to start dating Abby, but she was sure she wasn't good enough for him. Rick took her on a romantic picnic one afternoon, and convinced her to give him a chance. When the new couple announced their plans to her Amish parents, they disowned her. Abby was upset, but decided her life was with Rick now. Blake later admitted that ONE of the twins was Rick's while the other belonged to her husband, Ross. Scared of losing Ross, Blake begged Rick to keep her secret and, in fear of losing Abby, Rick did so. After dating for a year, Rick proposed to Abby on the beach one evening in late January. She happily accepted and they made marriage plans. Ecstatic, Rick now had a life of his own and Blake threw Rick and Abby an engagement party on Valentine's Day. Rick was called away from the party and forced to operate on his own son in a medical emergency. Unable to keep it to himself any longer, Rick admitted to Abby that baby Kevin was his son, and begged her forgiveness. She declined. After three months of misery for both of them, Abby finally forgave Rick.

Their relationship continued and after a few months passed, Rick proposed to Abigail once again. Abby said she needed time to think, but before she could ever give Rick an answer, she was brutally attacked. Rick found an unconscious Abby lying in the arms of his sister's rugged boyfriend in a bad neighborhood and immediately pinned the blame on him. Rick and a medical team at the hospital brought Abby out of her coma, but Abby couldn't remember whether or not she had been raped. Tests showed she hadn't, but because of her sheltered life, Abby still felt violated. Her innocence had been taken from her, and instead of turning to Rick, she began pushing him away. After a short time, Abby slowly began her recovery and started to move on. Then Roy, her attacker, showed up and Abby decided to take him to court. During the trial, Rick presented Abby with two plane tickets to Hawaii and suggested they get married. Abby agreed, but only AFTER the trial. Then Roy got off free on a technicality. As Abby was leaving the courtroom, without thinking, she pulled a gun from the holster of a nearby cop and shot Roy. Rick tried to save him back at the emergency room, but Roy died. Later, when Abby was in jail, mourning over the reality of what she had done, the Bauers brought her Thanksgiving dinner in her cell and convinced her to come home on bail. Abby did. Knowing Abby would inevitably go to trial, Ross resigned as DA to represent Abby. Abby went to Roy's funeral to ask for forgiveness, but Roy's mother refused. Later Roy's buddies set Reva's house on fire!! Annie helped Abby escape, but it left Rick's sister, Michelle, blind. Later, Abby told Ross that Roy threatened her before she killed him and WSPR got it on tape since they were reporting on the attempted rape trial. Ross began searching for the tape, knowing it could clear Abby. District Attorney Ben Warren found it. Ben offered a plea bargain to Abby, telling her that she could accept it and serve a "short" time of three years, or eighteen months for good behavior. Against Rick's advice, Abby took the deal. Later, Abby asked Rick to make love to her because she wanted to make love before she went to jail. Rick said he couldn't do it until they did something else first and took her in the car to a local reverend's house, and asked her to marry him. Abby was reluctant at first, but eventually gave in. Rick presented her with a gorgeous white gown and they exchanged vows in front of the pastor and his wife. Afterwards, Abby was sentenced to eighteen months in prison.

In prison, Abby met Selena Davis, who showed her the ropes of living in jail and protected her from the scum bags that put the moves on her...one cop in particular. Both girls plotted to put him in his place, especially after he framed Abby for smoking marijuana. Meanwhile, Ben turned over the tape to Blake after they had a close "encounter" in Ben's apartment. Blake turned the tape over to Ross, and then left town for a while. Although Ross was suspicious of how she got the tape, he turned it over and Abby was permitted to leave jail- scot-free. Rick went to tell Abby the good news, and was shocked when she said she needed to stay in jail one more night. She and Selena were carrying out their plan to get the guard that night. Abby told the guard she wanted to meet him in a private room that night. He met her and was shocked when every woman he had used was in the room, threatening him. Scared, he confessed that he had abused his power as a cop to use them all. Unbeknownst to him, the head of the department was there, and she heard his confession, and fired him. Rick picked Abby up and was surprised to hear the real reason why she had wanted to stay. They went home and made love. Months later, during the Bauer barbecue, Rick and Abby discussed the possibility of having children as well as the thought of Rick going after custody of Kevin. After Blake was shot, Rick visited the boys one day when Holly was keeping them and discovered that Holly was drunk. Rick decided to fight for custody of the boys. Later Ben revealed that Rick was NOT Kevin's father!! Rick ordered a blood test and, indeed, he was not Kevin's father. Though Rick wanted to keep the revelation a secret, an incredulous Abby argued that he needed to tell Ross the truth, which Rick did.

In the fall of 1999, at the suggestion of Rick and her sister-in-law, Michelle, Abigail underwent surgery to have cochlear implants put in her ears. After a few touch-and-go moments thereafter, she was finally able to hear. Following a difficult adjustment period, Abigail traveled across the country giving lectures on her experience with cochlear implants. Her home life was turned somewhat upside down in around that year due in some part to Rick's desire to have a child with his wife. Still taking in all of the new things she is able to experience around her, Abby told Rick she wasn't ready to have kids and didn't know if she ever would be. Rick was not happy to say the least. Also putting a strain on their marriage was Michelle's marriage to mobster Danny Santos since Rick's determination at getting his sister out of the Santos family bordered on the obsessive. Concerned that Rick wasn't being rational when it came to his new brother-in-law, Abby had Danny kidnap her so that he and Rick could work out their differences. At about this time, Abby would learn a troubling secret: Rick wasn't legally a doctor since he didn't pass his medical boards. Though shocked, Abby stood by Rick and tried to convince him to do the right thing and tell everyone the truth.Though the Bauers tried to keep their marriage together, it was obvious that they both had different goals in life (he wanted children; she didn't) and when Abby was offered a job in Washington, DC she took it, divorcing Rick amicably.