Disclaimer: Of course, all of the characters do not belong to me, I'm merely borrowing them from their rightful owners and returning them to their rightful owners. Well, enjoy!

Right Match

Carter just stared and frowned as he saw Lucy walk out of the ER with Dale. He didn't feel good about it. He didn't know if it was the fact that Dale was a womanizing slob or the fact he was straight out jealous. Finally. He finally admitted it to himself. He had a crush on Lucy. OK, so it wasn't just a crush. He thought they would be good together, the right match. He almost felt for her the same way he had for Anna. But of course, Anna was with Max. And he was here. With Roxanne. Yuck. He certainly didn't love Roxanne like he loved Anna-or Lucy even for that matter. He wasn't even sure what he was doing with her. Anyway, since Lucy was with Dale, Carter got to go out with Roxanne and her friends. Fun was not the operative word here.

"Carter? Dr. Carter??" Randi said, waving her hand in front of him.

"Hmm?" Carter said.

"I've been talking to you. Have you been listening?"

"What?"

Randi sighed. "Your shift's over. Roxanne's been here ten minutes. She's over in chairs. Oh yeah. Are you still going to help Lucy study tonight?"

"I'm not sure. Why?"

"She dropped these on her way out. I ran after her, but she was gone. Will you make sure she gets them? 'Cause I'm not gonna be responsible for them." Randi said to Carter, handing him a bright, yellow key ring with a few keys on it.

"Sure Randi. I'll make sure she gets them. Have a good night."

"Sure. You too Carter." Randi said smirking. Carter just gave her a *look*.

Carter dropped on his bed. He was exhausted. The clock read 10:21. He was somewhat glad Roxanne wasn't with him. She went with her friends somewhere and said she would call him tomorrow. He thought. He hadn't been listening that well. He hadn't really been listening to them all night. Carter stood up to empty out his pockets and get ready for bed. He pulled out his wallet, his keys, Lucy's keys...Lucy. He should probably call her to let her know he had her keys. He went over to the phone and dialed her number.

*Ring, ring*

"Uh, hi, Lucy?...It's Carter....Umm, you left your keys at the hospital and I have them....Okay thanks a lot...bye."

He had gotten the answering machine. She was still out. With Dale. Carter could feel the jealousy rising again. He laid down on the bed and fell into a deep sleep.

*Ring, ring*

Ugh, thought Carter. What time was it? The clock read 11:43.

"John Carter."

"Umm, Dr. Carter?"

"Lucy?"

"Yeah...it's Lucy. Did I wake you up?"

"Don't worry about it. Are you okay?"

"Umm...well, that's why I called...I'm okay, but Dale was caught drunk driving and well...he wouldn't listen to me...and, well...I'm at the police station and...um...they asked me to call someone to pick me up...and..."

"Oh my gosh! Are you all right? Of course I'll pick you up."

"I'm fine. You really will? Thanks...I don't have many phone numbers in my purse..."

"It's fine Lucy, really. Which police station are you at?"

"The one by the hospital..."

"I'll be there soon, okay? Just sit tight."

"Okay. And Dr. Carter?"

"Hmm?"

"Thanks...thanks a lot."

"Lucy, it's all right, really. See you soon."

"Okay, bye."

Carter walked into the Chicago Police Department. He saw Lucy sitting in a chair by a desk, talking to an officer.

"There he is!" Lucy said. She ran up to Carter and gave him a big hug.

"I wanted to make sure she got home okay. She was pretty shook up when she came in." the officer said.

"I'll be sure she does officer. Thanks again." Carter said.

They walked out to his Jeep (I can't have the Jeep die) and climbed in.

"I owe you one, Dr. Carter. Thank you so much!" Lucy said.

"Don't worry about it! Are you okay? You look kinda shook up. Can I buy you a cup of coffee somewhere?"

"That would be great, if you don't mind."

They pulled up to a small coffee shop. They went inside, sat down in a small booth, and ordered. Lucy still looked distressed.

"Do you want to talk about it Lucy?" Carter asked.

"Sure," Lucy sighed. "We were at this casino place, and Dale had had a little to drink. Okay, too much to drink. I told him that he was drunk and couldn't drive. He just laughed. I tried to get the keys from him, but I couldn't. He opened the door to the car and waited for me to get in. I said that I wasn't getting in the car with him. So, he pushed me in...and...." She paused to get a sip of coffee.

"Lucy? He didn't...you know..."

"No! We got pulled over before he got like that. Anyway, they pulled us over, had us do all of those tests, you know to see if either of us were drunk? Well, I wasn't, and he obviously was, and they brought us to the station. Dale's in jail until someone bails him out or something like that....Anyway, then I called you."

There was a silence.

"Lucy?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry."

"For what? I'm the one who should be saying sorry for messing up your night--"

"Trust me you didn't. I only wished you would have called earlier."

"Why?"

"I was out with Roxanne and some of her friends, and believe me, it was not fun. Anyway, I'm sorry because I didn't tell you that Dale was an idiot."

"Carter, it's all right. You didn't know--"

"Actually, I kinda did."

"Why?"

"We've worked together for quite some time, and trust me, he's just a jerk overall. He was always changing stuff around so he wouldn't get in trouble and..I don't know."

"Did he do something to you?"

"Another time, Lucy, another time. It's a long story..."

Another awkward pause.

"Dr. Carter? I just want to say thanks again."

"It's okay Lucy. Someone did it for me once."

"Really?" Lucy said smiling. "Well, you know you have to tell me the story now!"

"Excuse me folks, but we're closing now," the waitress said.

Carter left a five dollar bill on the table and said to Lucy, "Come on. I'll tell you about it in the car."

They got in the car. "Tell me!" Lucy said.

So he told her the whole story of when he got arrested, from when the cop handcuffed him in the ER until the point where "someone" bailed him out.

"Wow. That's some story!" Lucy said.

"Thanks," Carter said as he started to drive.

"Dr. Carter?" Lucy said

"Hmm?"

"So, if you don't mind me asking, who did bail you out?"

Carter sighed. "A doctor who used to work at County. Anna Del Amico." He sighed again.

"Oh...." Lucy had heard about Anna. Carol said that he was very much in love with her, but, Lucy guessed, that she didn't feel the same. Carol said that Anna only wanted to be friends. Then she went back to Philadelphia with her old boyfriend and broke his heart. Lucy felt a ping of jealousy. She had admitted to herself that Carter was very handsome-okay drop-dead gorgeous, but he was her teacher, and that was all. Even though she thought that they would be the right match...

"Do you want me to walk you up?" Carter said to Lucy.

Lucy snapped out of her daydream, realizing that they were at the dorms. "No, that's okay, let me just find my keys..."

Then Carter remembered. Randi had given them to him and he had put them on his dresser...where they still were.

"Aww, man..."

"What?"

"You don't have your keys."

"Hmm?"

"You dropped your keys in the ER and Randi asked me to give them to you. But they're at home, sitting on my dresser. I'm sorry..."

"No, that's okay!"

They drove back to Carter's in silence.

"So, this is what Weaver's place is like..."

"Shh! It's after one in the morning! If she wakes up, we'll both be in trouble!"

The went down to the basement and Carter handed her the bright, yellow keychain.

Lucy laughed. "Dr. Carter, these aren't my keys!"

"They aren't? But, Randi said that they were and..."

"Although my keys are missing, they aren't mine. I wonder whose keys those are then?"

"Randi?"

"Yeah, Jerry? Can't you see I'm busy?" Randi said as she looked up from a magazine.

"Here. I found these keys in the lounge. Will you put them in the lost and found?"

Randi wordlessly grabbed the keys and threw them in the lost and found box.

"By the way, have you seen my keys? I must have dropped them somewhere. They were on a big, yellow key ring..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Maybe my keys are in here," Lucy said looking through her purse. "Oh, great!"

"What?" Carter asked.

"I really can’t find my keys. They’re supposed to be in here…"

Lucy started to empty her purse in search of the missing keys. She pulled out a pack of gum, lipstick, a hairbrush, her hospital ID and her wallet. She sighed.

"They aren’t in here. How am I supposed to get to my dorm? Just my luck!" Lucy said. "Can I use your bathroom?"

"Sure," Carter said, pointing across the basement to the bathroom door.

"Thanks a lot. Oh, and Dr. Carter? Could you look in my wallet and see if I have an extra key in there?" Lucy asked as she entered the bathroom.

Carter nodded and picked up her wallet. It was a brown leather one. He opened it and looked inside in search of the key. He found an ATM card, her driver’s license, twenty bucks, a paper with a few names and numbers (including *his*), and some pictures. Well, he hadn’t found the key, so he decided to look at the pictures she had. There looked like there were three or four. He pulled them out of the little compartment. The first one was of Lucy and an older lady…maybe her mom? He turned it over to see if anything was written on the back. Sure enough, it said simply, "Me and Mom". The next one was of Lucy and some other people-they looked like college kids like her. In fact, was that that one student, Bernard? They seemed to be at some sort of party. He turned it over for any clues, but nothing was written. The last one was of Lucy and…was that him? Yes, sure enough, it was him. He wasn’t quite sure when it was taken. They were both in the lounge at the ER though. He looked on the back to see if she had written on that one, and on the back it said "Me and Carter" in blue ink. Hmmm….She had always called him Dr. Carter, she seemed almost afraid to call him just plain Carter. He looked more closely, and he saw that little hearts had been drawn on the back with a pencil. He blushed. Did she feel the same about his as he did for her? He heard the toilet flush and quickly put the pictures back in her wallet so he wouldn’t be caught in the act.

"Did you find one?" Lucy asked coming out of the bathroom.

"No," Carter said. "But you can stay here tonight if you want. Your keys are probably at the ER somewhere."

"Oh, Dr. Carter, I couldn’t impose-" Lucy said. She couldn’t believe what she was saying. Her drop-dead-gorgeous teacher had just invited her to spend the night and she had turned him down? Was she crazy?

"Lucy, I insist. It’s almost one-thirty in the morning. Let’s try and get some sleep okay? I’ll sleep on the floor and you can have the bed."

"Dr. Carter-"

"Lucy," he replied, mimicking her. "You have your tests tomorrow. You need a good night’s sleep. Don’t argue with me. Did you get to study at all?" Carter asked grabbing a pillow off the bed.

"Not much," Lucy said.

"Oh well, it’s not too hard, you’ll do fine. Now, if you don’t mind, I’m going to try and get some sleep," Carter said, getting an extra blanket from the closet and making himself comfortable on the floor.

Oh, great. He’s going to sleep on me, Lucy thought to herself. I guess I’ll just make myself comfortable too. She took off her coat and shoes and laid them on a chair with her purse. Oh, well, I guess I’ll have to sleep in this, Lucy thought, looking down at her shirt and pants. I can just pretend that I’m at the ER and they got new, larger, softer patient beds. She climbed into Carter’s bed and fell fast asleep.

*Ring, ring*

Carter and Lucy both woke up instantly and sat upright.

*Ring, ring*

Carter picked up the phone. "John Carter…oh, hi Roxanne…yeah, you did wake me up…what time is it?…eight already…wow…yeah…Roxanne, I was wondering if we could get breakfast somewhere and talk…okay…my shift starts at eleven…I’ll meet you at Doc Magoo’s at ten, okay?….thanks….see you then."

Carter turned to face Lucy. "Sorry about that."

"That’s okay. I needed to get up anyway."

"Did you sleep okay?"

"Yeah, fine," Lucy said. She had been sleeping fine. In fact, she was having a nice dream and Roxanne ruined it. It was about her and Carter…

What time do you have to take your exam?" Carter asked, before she could remember much more of her dream.

"It’s at eleven."

"If you want, I can drive you by the ER to search for your keys. I’m going by there in about an hour and a half…"

"That would be great! Dr. Carter? Thanks…for everything," Lucy said.

"No problem, Lucy. Now if you don’t mind, I’m going to get another hour of sleep before…." Carter trailed off.

"Before we leave?"

"Yeah. I was thinking about something else, but that’ll do."

"What were you thinking of?"

There was a pause.

"Before….before I break up with Roxanne."

"You’re breaking up with her?"

"Big time. Anyway, if you want me to take you by the ER, be ready at 9:30."

"Okay, sure Dr. Carter. Dr Carter?" He had already fallen asleep again. Oh, well. He was breaking up with Roxanne. She finally processed it. Maybe since she was out of the picture, she would actually have a chance. Now, come on, Lucy, she thought to herself. He’s your teacher and-ut oh. After today, she was going to have to get a new excuse, since she would move to her surgery rotation, thus making Dr. Carter NOT her teacher…she smiled, realizing that now there was no excuse…since he wouldn’t be her teacher…she yawned. Maybe another hour of sleep would do her good.

Carter was sitting in the lounge at the ER. Lucy walked in.

"So, how’d thing’s go, Lucy?"

"Great!" she said, sitting down next to him. "Thanks so much for all you help!" She then leaned over and kissed him

Carter kissed her back. They continued to kiss and Lucy started to unbutton Carter’s shirt. She nuzzled his neck and began kissing down his chest--

Carter suddenly woke up. Damn it. It had been a dream. Carter sat up and grabbed his watch from the dresser. Ten till nine. He stood up and began to fold the blanket he had been using. Oh, shit, he thought, looking down at the sweat pants he had been wearing. He had better change before Lucy got up! He grabbed some clothes from the dresser and went into the bathroom.

Carter shut the bathroom door a little too loud, waking Lucy up. She got out of bed and got her watch out of her purse. Almost nine. She put it on and pulled her brush out. She was in the middle of brushing her hair when Carter came out of the bathroom.

"Good morning!" Lucy said cheerfully.

"Good morning to you too. Are you hungry?" Carter replied.

"A little."

"Ah, well, now, you get to see Kerry’s kitchen! Just let me make sure she’s gone, because if she’s not, she’ll see you and jump to conclusions," Carter said. "’Carter, do you know the trouble you’re getting into? She’s your med. student! I run a hospital, not a dating service!’" Carter said, imitating Kerry.

They both laughed. "Aren’t you going to eat later wit Roxanne though?"

"Not really. I want to make that meal short and sweet. Be right back." Carter stepped out of the basement and a few seconds later he called down, "The coast’s clear!"

Lucy came up from the basement. "So, what’s in the fridge?"

"Not much. Kerry needs to go to the store. We have eggs though. But I can’t cook."

"I can make scrambled eggs. You want?"

"Sure, we just have to clean up."

"No problem!" Lucy said as she turned the stove on.

Carter got out the coffee and put some in the coffee maker. They fiddled around in silence for a few minutes. Then, they heard the coffee maker ding. Carter grabbed two coffee mugs out of the cupboard.

"Cream or sugar?" Carter asked.

"Please," Lucy replied. "Where can I find some plates?"

Carter walked to the cabinet again, and got out two plates. Lucy put the eggs on the plates and they ate.

"Wow, these are really good!" Carter said, breaking the silence.

"Thanks. My mom taught me how to make them."

When they were finished, Carter got the dishes together and washed them. "You cooked, I’ll clean!"

"It’s a deal!" Lucy replied. "But I insist on helping a little."

"Fine, I suppose. If you insist!" Carter told Lucy. "Here, I’ll wash them and you can put them in the dishwasher."

Carter began washing the few plates and glasses in the sink. He handed a plate to Lucy and their hands brushed. They looked at each other in silence for a brief moment. Lucy shook her head, as if to get out of her daydream, and put the dish in the dishwasher. Carter resumed washing.

When they were finished, Carter said, "Well, go get you things and I’ll drive you to County.

Lucy and Carter got their stuff together and got into Carter’s jeep. They drove to County in silence. Carter parked and they both walked into the ER lounge. They each went to their lockers. Lucy said, "My keys aren’t here. I’m going to check the lost and found."

"Okay Lucy. If I don’t see you, good luck on your test," Carter said. He put his stuff in his locker and said, "Well, here goes nothing." He shut his locker and walked over to Doc Magoo’s.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Saturday, 9:31 PM

ARGH! Carter just wanted to scream! He and Lucy were fighting just like before, like when she was his med. student. But this time it was over something a little bit different. To make matters worse, he had been trying to get up the nerve to break up with Roxanne for weeks. It wasn't coming along too well. He had never broken up with anyone. They had always broken up with him. Now that the shoe was on the other foot, he wasn’t quite sure what to do. He had gotten to Doc Magoo’s, all ready to tell her, when he realized that he didn’t want to hurt her feelings. He hated to hurt people’s feelings. So, he wasn’t single when this whole Lucy thing happened. Lucy wasn’t that single either. Dale had apologized and they were still going out. OK, so what if he was jealous?

He rolled over in his bed. He tried to thing of something else, but his thoughts drifted back to Lucy. It was the two days after his incident with Lucy. He was still thinking about her. How come when they always disagree with each other they start to yell? Last time Carter checked, they were both mature adults. OK, he couldn’t be that sure for Lucy, but he was. Anyway, she started it. Oh, yeah, talk about mature, Carter thought to himself. He really did like Lucy. He just always seemed to be fighting with her. Except for a few times…when they looked for that father…when Lucy and Dale went on their first date, and she sought him out for help…Carter, why didn’t you try and make a move then? Because you’re a nice guy, and she was at a vulnerable point that night, he told himself. He always let excuses get in the way of his emotions. This time, the excuse was his job. Well, he could get fired. He thought to himself, Doug didn’t get fired for that thing with Harper. OK, A, that was only a one time thing, and two, let’s change the subject?

Here it was, late-no, VERY late, considering how long it had been since he had slept, and he should be trying to get some sleep. He did try. His thoughts just kept drifting to…well, her. This just wasn’t a crush, like it was when she was still his med. student, it was more now. But, he wasn’t allowing it to happen. Why? He actually wasn’t quite sure. Kinda the job reason…kinda…other stuff. He didn’t get it. There were a lot of pros to going out with Lucy. He would be happy, she would be happy (he hoped), it would be easier to break up with Roxanne, and well...Dale. Dale would no doubt be jealous. He would kinda like that. Dale had been getting under his skin for five years and it would be nice to get him back.

What am I thinking, where was this coming from, Carter asked himself. I’ve been up too long. Luckily, I’m not on until tomorrow night. He had pulled a double shift because Doyle was sick. She was probably just avoiding Romano. ARGH! How was he going to get to sleep? Maybe a shower would help. He had been to tired earlier, but he certainly wasn’t now.

Saturday, 10:06 PM

"Lucy, your dinner okay?" Dale asked her. "You’ve barely touched it."

Lucy snapped out of her deep though. Where was she? She was at Doc Magoo’s with Dale, she finally realized. "Yeah! Fine, how’s yours?"

"Fine…you okay?"

"Yeah. I think I’ve just been up too long. Sorry if I’ve been a pain."

"No, of course not. I know the feeling. Let me just pay and then I’ll get you home so you can get a good night’s sleep," Dale said.

"Thanks."

Saturday, 11:42 PM

Lucy sat up and looked at the clock. Damn it. When was she going to get to sleep? She tried, but she kept thinking of Carter. She had been so damn close too! His job, his job. Lucy knew it was true, but she didn’t care. He’s too serious, she thought. All he ever thinks about is his job. That’s never good. As for Dale and Roxanne, they could get sent to Mars for all she cared. Hey, they’d have each other. And she’d have Carter. She smiled at the thought. She just wished she could take Carter to a secret hide-a-way and forget about jobs and everyone else. With that thought in mind, she finally fell fast asleep.

Sunday, 8:03 AM

He had finally got to sleep. He wasn’t quite sure how, but he had. Thank goodness. He had the whole day off too. He wasn’t on until six. Which was good, since he was going to go see Chase today. He hadn’t gone to see Chase in a while, which was very bad of him. He decided that he would get up, take a shower, go do a few errands-there was basically no food in the house, and with her under close watch by Anspaugh, he knew the only two things Kerry would be doing for the next few days was working and sleeping-and then go pick up lunch for him and Chase and make his way over there. He got up and grabbed a change of clothes.

Sunday, 12:57 PM

"Good lunch, Chase?" Carter asked. Carter had went and picked him up fries and a hamburger from McDonald’s-Chase’s favorite meal. Carter was the only one who would buy it for him though. He wasn’t sure the rest of his family even knew what McDonald’s was.

"Yummy," Chase said. Carter noticed that all of it was gone.

"Good, Chase! I’m glad you liked it."

"Wallet," Chase said. For some odd reason, Chase loved too look through Carter’s wallet. Carter assumed that it was the fact that he kept a few pictures in his wallet. Chase loved pictures. Carter handed it over.

Like always, Chase bypassed the cash and plastic cards, and went straight to the little compartment behind his ATM card where Carter kept pictures. If he could remember, he always put in a few different ones before he went to see Chase. This time, he put four in there. The first four on the top of a pile he had just got developed. One was with Gamma.

"Gamma?" Chase asked.

"Yep. Can you tell who’s in the next one?"

"Mom? Dad?"

Sure enough, it was a picture of Chase’s parents. The next one caused Chase a little bit of difficulty. It was one of Carter and everyone at the ER Christmas party.

"Those are the people I work with, Chase."

"Like Anna?"

"Yeah."

The next one was of him and…Lucy?!? Where did that come from? It was the same picture she had had in her wallet.

"Anna? No, no Anna," Chase said.

"No, not Anna. Anna went away, remember? That’s another friend, Lucy."

"Lucy? Lucy," Chase said. "Lucy pretty."

"You think so, Chase?"

"Lucy pretty," Chase repeated.

So, I’m not the only one, Carter thought to himself.

Monday, 11:34 PM

Carter was having the same problem again. He just couldn’t get to sleep. He was going to have to talk to Lucy about this. He would first thing in the morning, he decided. If he could ever get to sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

I love you, please say

You love me too, these three words

They could change our lives forever

And I promise you that we will always be together

Till the end of time

Carter was sitting at a booth at Doc Magoo’s. He was on in twenty minutes-no, nineteen, and he was just getting a quick breakfast. A bagel and coffee. He was sitting at a booth, all by his lonesome, when Lucy walked in. I do need to talk to her, Carter thought. Maybe then I’ll be able to get some sleep.

Lucy walked up to the booth. "This seat taken?"

"Nope."

The both started to talk at once. They realized it and laughed. "You first," Lucy said.

"OK. I’m really sorry about the way I acted the other day. I was kinda a jerk," Carter told her.

"Ditto for me. Sorry about blowing up on you."

"Friends?"

"Friends." Lucy replied. Friends. Nothing more, nothing less. "So, where’s Roxanne? Don’t you usually have breakfast with her?" Lucy asked, changing the subject.

"She had to go to some insurance conference in Boston. How about Dale? Why are you alone?"

"He went to his brother’s wedding. Why?"

"Well, since we’re both alone, how about getting dinner tonight? As *friends*. Or are you busy?"

"Friends can do that," Lucy said as she smiled. "No, I’m not on. I pulled my long shift over the weekend. Dinner sounds great!"

"No problem. My treat."

"Hey! Okay, then-where are you taking me?" Lucy said, grinning.

"Surprise. Wear something somewhat nice," Carter replied, grinning back. "What time are you off?"

"Eight."

"Okay, I’ll meet you out at the front of the ER around then? I have to go now though, I’m on. So, see you soon," Carter said.

"Parking lot at eight. Bye!"

Carter walked out of Doc Magoo’s. There. He asked her out. Although, she thought that they were only friends, he had still done it. Anyway, he did want to still be friends with Lucy. At least that wouldn’t get him fired.

I must be crazy now

Maybe I dream too much

But when I think of you

I long to feel your touch

To whisper in your ear

Words that are old as time

Words only you would hear

If only you were mine

Carter was only on until six, so he went home and took a shower. Kerry had told him that she wouldn’t be home until late. That was good. She wouldn’t wonder where he was. She knew that Roxanne was out of town. He thought.

Just friends. They were just friends. He had to keep telling himself that, for fear of what would happen if he didn’t. Because he wanted them to be more. So, they were just friends. Friends. Gosh, he thought, trying to change the subject, I had better get going or I’m going to be late.

Where is he, thought Lucy. Well, he’s only five minutes late. Damn it, why did they have to be "just friends"? It drove her nuts. Why? Why when she knew that they both wanted so much more? Even if he wouldn’t admit it, she knew from that kiss they had in the exam room. She could tell. Damn it! Before she could continue the conversation with herself, she realized that she had forgot she had left her keys in her locker. She didn’t want to have another fiasco with her keys again, so back she trudged, up to the surgical floor to get her keys.

Hmmm, despite the fact that he was ten minutes late, it seemed that Lucy was too. He picked up his car phone. He dialed the number to Zucarelli’s. Zucarelli’s was a nice little Italian restaurant that a family friend owned.

"Hey, Dan. It’s John. Yeah, I just wanted to check on the reservations I made earlier. Yep, eight-thirty. Okay thanks!" Whew. At least they would eat. What was keeping her? If Benton was making her stay late, he would have his head later on.

Lucy decided to go out the ER. It was quicker than any other route.

"Hey, Lucy, hot date?" Chuni asked. "I thought Dale was out of town." Chuni smiled, thinking that she knew where Lucy was going.

"I’m just going out to dinner with a friend, Chuni. Don’t get your hopes up!"

"Hey, the sooner you break up with Dale the better. I just think he’s a creep, no offense."

"None taken." Lucy was only still with Dale for one reason-it made Carter jealous. Heh. The more jealousy, the more likely for Carter to give in. She was going to break up with Dale sooner or later anyway. "Bye, Chuni," Lucy said. She had better get going or she would be late.

Where was she? Carter drove around the parking lot again. Then he saw her. She looked…like she wanted to be more than friends too. The words of his tenth grade health teacher were ringing in his ears, "You must learn how to resist temptations!" Carter recalled he must have been absent that day. She was wearing a flowered skirt and a white blouse. She looked very irresistible.

"Hey! You look nice. So, where are we going?" Lucy asked as she got in the car.

"Thanks. You look nice too. You like Italian food?"

"One of my favorites!"

"Good…."

I wish I could go back to the very first day I saw you

Should've made my move when you looked in my eyes

'Cause by now I know that you'd feel the way that I do

And I'd whisper these words as you'd lie here by my side

Carter had to admit he had had a good time. They had ate dinner, talked, and, well, been friends. Now they were just sitting and drinking coffee. It was almost ten.

"What time are you on tomorrow?" Carter asked.

"Not until the afternoon. You?"

"Same," Carter replied. He paid the bill and they walked out. The restaurant was on the pier.

"Hey, you want to take a walk? I don’t necessarily want to go back to my dorm now," Lucy said.

"I’m not in a hurry to get home either," Carter confessed.

So they walked around some more. Finally, Lucy said, "Carter, I have to tell you something."

"Hmm?"

"Okay….you know what we were talking about earlier, about the just friends thing? I don’t know if I can do that. I mean, that kiss we had, I felt something there, and I know that we could get in trouble-Carter? Carter, are you listening?"

Carter had been collecting his thoughts. He wasn’t quite sure what to do.

"Carter? Say something."

Carter just leaned over and drew Lucy towards him. Their lips met as they stood in silence. As they broke away, Lucy said, "But, hospital policy-"

"Screw hospital policy."

They kissed again. Carter sure hoped no one they knew was around. But that thought was soon pushed from his head.

"Is Kerry still at work?" Lucy whispered.

"Yes…I think that we better go back to her place…soon."

"I agree."

"I have a question Carter," Lucy asked when they got in the car. "Do friends do this?"

Carter just turned and smiled.

Carter couldn’t remember a time when he had driven so fast. He sure hoped that Kerry hadn’t gotten home early. That would present a problem.

Well maybe I, I need a little love yeah

And maybe I, I need a little care

And maybe I, maybe you, maybe you, maybe you

Oh you need somebody just to hold you

If you do, just reach out and I'll be there

Kerry came back bright and early in the morning. She was humming to herself as she walked in.

"Carter?" No answer. Probably still downstairs. Kerry wasn’t on all day and was thrilled to have it all to herself, no work. All of her charts were done.

She was in a great mood and decided to make some breakfast. She went to the fridge and got out some eggs. Ah ha! She could make her famous French toast. She had just enough eggs in case Carter wanted some. She decided that she would go down and ask him. She turned the oven on and walked down to the basement stairs.

She opened the door and saw not only Carter, but a blonde head of hair lying next to him in the bed. She quickly left. She could have sworn that Roxanne was out of town. Maybe she got back early. Oh, well, more French toast for her!

Carter woke up and heard Kerry clamoring around in the kitchen upstairs. He hoped that she hadn’t come down there.

He leaned over and kissed Lucy gently on the cheek.

"Hey, good morning," she responded.

"Good morning to you too," Carter said. He smiled. "I’ll be right back. I hear Kerry up there and I don’t want her to walk in."

"Good morning Carter! How are you this morning?"

"Great. Yourself?"

"Couldn’t be better! Did Roxanne come home early?"

"Hmm?"

Kerry turned to him and gave him a sheepish look. "I, um, walked in earlier and saw the two of you asleep. I just assumed that she was back."

"Oh…yeah, she got in last night. She got in late, so she’s still asleep. You got anything left?"

"Sorry. I used the last of it. Actually, I think I have two or three eggs left, but you can’t cook anything anyway, if I recall."

Carter laughed. "Yeah, you’re right. Are you off all day?"

"Yep! I’ll try and stop by the store later and pick some stuff up. When do you get on?"

"Six tonight."

"Okay, well, I’ll do the dishes later too. I’m off. I have to do a few errands. See you later. Take Roxanne out for breakfast," Kerry said.

"I will," Carter replied. He watched her leave and waited a few moments to make sure she hadn’t forgotten anything.

He walked down to the basement. "The coast is clear. She left."

"Ah. C’mere," Lucy said as she grabbed his shirt and pulled him down on the bed. "How about a double take of last night?"

"I could go for that…."

"Hey, what can you do with three eggs?"

"You’d be amazed. Let me use the bathroom and I’ll meet you upstairs in the kitchen."

Carter walked upstairs. He was getting the three eggs out of the fridge, when the doorbell rang. He opened the door to find none other than Roxanne.

"Hey, you! Surprise! I came back early! You’re not on till tonight, right?"

"Uh, yeah, Roxanne we have to talk…."

"What is it?"

"Hey, Carter, where do you keep the-" Lucy trailed off when she saw Roxanne.

"Lucy? Is that you? John, you have some explaining to do. I’d do it pretty fast too."

"Um, like I said Roxanne we need to talk."

I love you, please say

You love me too, these three words

They could change our lives forever

And I promise you that we will always be together

Till the end of time

~~~~~~~~~

John? What’s going on?" Roxanne asked impatiently.

"C’mon, Roxanne, let’s step outside a moment . . ." Carter said, noticing that he couldn’t ask Lucy to step out of the room, since she was only wearing one of his old shirts.

They walked out the front door. "So, John, is this what I think it is?"

"Umm . . . well, what do you think it is?"

"John, you are fully capable of figuring out what I’m thinking of."

"Well . . . kinda . . . let’s take a walk," Carter said. He couldn’t just break up with her. He was going to have to go about this carefully.

That little bitch! He was so worried about hurting her feelings, and then he had found this out! It turned out that there was no conference, she was just off having a little fun with someone she had been . . . well, "having a little fun" with for the past two weeks. He was ancient history. He certainly didn’t feel bad about what he and Lucy did now. Hey, at least they’re both happy, Carter thought as he walked back to the apartment. And at least she’s gone.

Lucy nervously waited back at Kerry’s. What was he telling her? Was he finally going to tell her the truth that he really wanted to be with Lucy? Or was that just what Lucy thought? Maybe last night meant nothing to Carter . . . she hoped not. It had meant something to her. Oh, god, what was Lucy going to do? She turned the stove on. She was going to make herself some breakfast even if Carter might not want any anymore. She was just confused.

"Lucy?" It was Carter. Was this good or bad?

"Hmm?"

"Hey," Carter said, walking up behind her.

"Hey. So, where’s Roxanne?"

"Gone."

"You . . . umm . . ."

"Break up with her? I’m not sure if I broke up with her or she broke up with me . . . but the point is, she’s gone."

"Good . . .no offense."

"None taken."

"You still want eggs?"

"Sure," Carter said. He smiled. Lucy smiled back. There was an awkward silence. Both were trying to figure out what should happen next. Lucy walked over to the cupboard and got out two plates.

"Here you go," Lucy said, putting the eggs on the two plates. She turned the oven off. "So . . ."

"So . . . what now?"

"You read my mind," Lucy said. "Well . . . I was hoping for a relationship of some sort . . . but if you want something else," Lucy said quickly, seeing the look on his face.

"No! That’s what I was hoping for too . . ."

"But what about the rules?"

"Well, you know what they say, Luc, rules are made to be broken." They both laughed. "We’ll just have to be really careful, if that’s alright with you," Carter said, smiling.

"We can be careful . . . you want the rest of the eggs?" Lucy asked.

"Nah, you have them."

Lucy reached from her chair for the pan with the eggs and dropped it. The pan landed right in Lucy’s lap. "Owww!" Lucy yelped.

Carter grabbed the scalding pan from Lucy and ran to the refrigerator and got out an ice pack. "Here, put this on where it burned. You going to be alright?"

Lucy winced as Carter put the ice on her upper right thigh. "Yeah, I’ll be alright."

"You better have me take a look at that."

"Yes, doctor," Lucy said as she smiled. Carter smiled back and leaned over to place a kiss on her cheek.

"Let me see . . ." Carter said, examining her leg. "Wow, that looks pretty bad. Keep the ice on it. When are you on?"

"Two hours . . . you?"

"One and a half. Your psych rotation going okay?"

"Yeah. Did you hear about the kid I saw?"

"Yes, Miss Psychiatrist you! Good job. You coming back to the ER soon?"

"Yeah. I only have two more days in psych. Then I’m back with you guys."

"Good. We missed you down there." There was a pause.

"So . . . " Lucy said. "I guess ‘careful’ will just have to be my middle name."

"Mine too." Carter smiled at Lucy. "You on long?"

"Only ‘til eight . . . why?"

"Well, I’m off at eight thirty and if you aren’t doing anything, I was kinda hoping we could get together."

"And what did you have in mind for us to do?" Lucy asked with a smile.

"Well . . . I’m sure we could figure something out . . ."

Lucy had been back in the ER for a week now. The two of them had kept their relationship under wraps so far. Carter hadn’t told Kerry of his breakup with Roxanne, so Kerry didn’t suspect anything. Jerry did though. They hadn’t given any signals to prove him right, he just thought something was going on between them ever since the incident in the ER. It was about one AM and they were both on. They hadn’t seen much of each other all night though.

"Jerry?" Carter asked.

"Hmm?"

"What exam room is open? I’m going to try to get a little sleep."

"Uh, two is, I think."

"Thanks," Carter said walking off. A few moments later, Lucy came up.

"Lucy, you look a little tired. You can try and get some sleep. We’ll let you know if we need ya," Mark said.

"Thanks. I think I’ll take you up on that offer. What room’s open, Jerry?"

Jerry smiled. "I think two is Lucy."

Lucy gave him an odd look and then proceeded to two. She opened the door only to find none other than Carter. She was very tempted to hop in that small patient bed with him, but she remembered where she was. She pulled herself together and walked out. "Jerry, Carter’s in exam two. What else is open?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"So, Kerry knows?"

"Yep, but she's not going to tell anyone. She's a lot nicer than you would think! Are you cold?" Carter asked Lucy. It was later that night and the two were just lying in bed talking.

Lucy smiled. "A little."

"I'm going to get another blanket then." Carter walked over to the closet.

"Carter?"

"Hmm?" he said, getting the blanket out of the closet and walking back to the bed.

"What . . . what happens if we get caught?"

Carter settled back down on the bed. He paused for a moment. "Well, I'm not quite sure. Let's not worry about that now, all right?" He smiled at Lucy.

"Fine by me," Lucy said, returning the smile.

"Good morning, Carter. Sleep well?" Kerry asked as he came upstairs.

Carter shook his head as if to wake himself up a little more. "Mm-hmm. You?"

"Fine. I'll be out of your hair soon, let me just get my coffee. Are you on tonight?"

"Nope. I'm off at six. Why?"

"I'm just not going to be here tonight. I'm off today and going to see an old friend. So, I'll talk to you tomorrow, okay?"

"Yep. Have a nice time."

"Thanks!"

As Kerry walked out the door, Carter took two coffee mugs from the cabinet and filled them with coffee. He took them downstairs where he saw Lucy still asleep. "Sleeping Beauty, wake up!" Carter whispered in her ear. He kissed her cheek. "We're on in an hour!"

"Hmmm?" Lucy said. "Oh. Work. Hour."

"Coffee?"

"Coffee," Lucy said, grabbing a mug and taking a sip. "Mmm. It's good."

"Thanks. I poured it all by myself!"

Lucy hit him gently with a pillow. "I guess I'll have to tell Kerry she makes good coffee too. Is she here?"

"Nope. She went somewhere, had the day off. Something about meeting an old friend. She won't be home tonight which means we have the place all to ourselves. You busy tonight?"

"Nope. Why? What did you have in mind? Do I even want to know?" Lucy said, laughing a little.

"Well, first of all, I was going to make us a wonderful gourmet dinner-"

"John, you can't cook!" Lucy said, now laughing harder.

"I was going to make us gourmet pizza. It's quite simple. You just pick up the phone and call 411 and get the number for a pizza place-hey!" Carter looked over at Lucy, who was now laughing even harder. "You think I'm funny?" Carter said, pretending to look hurt.

"Aww, did I hurt your feelings? I suppose I'll have to try and get you to forgive me."

"How would you go about doing that?"

"I can think of a way," Lucy said, leaning over and giving him a kiss.

When they broke away, Carter whispered in Lucy's ear, "I suppose I'll forgive you. Do you have to run by your place before we go to work?"

"Nope. I have a change of clothes in my bag. Why do you ask?" Lucy asked, smiling.

"Just trying to figure out how much time we have before we're on."

"Oh, about fifty minutes."

"More than enough time. C'mere."

Carter was walking around the apartment tidying things up. Lucy had to go to a quick meeting after their shifts and was due there any minute. All of the sudden, there was a knock on the door. Carter walked over and found Lucy on the other side. "Hey," he said. "How was your meeting?" he asked, letting Lucy in.

"Hey. It was okay. Dr. Greene was just saying how I would be a good candidate for the ER sub-I next year. He wanted to know if I was thinking about a career in emergency medicine and I told him that I was thinking about it. He just went through a few things. So, are we still having gourmet pizza?" Lucy asked, smiling.

"Either that, or gourmet Chinese food. Which would you prefer?"

"Oh, Chinese sounds good. Where's the number?"

Carter figured that it would be quicker for him to pick the food up. He got out of his car and walked up the steps. He was trying to open the door with the big box of Chinese in his hand, when he heard a familiar voice call out, "John Carter?"

He turned and saw the man on the sidewalk. "Hello, Dr. Anspaugh. How are you?"

Don smiled. "Just fine. What are you doing at Kerry's place?"

"I'm renting her basement from her as a room. Are you looking for Dr. Weaver? She's not here tonight. She went out with an old friend. Can I give her a message for you?"

"I just have to give her these charts," he said, holding up a pile of charts.

"Here, I'll take them and put them inside for you," Carter said. *Please don't come in, please don't come in.*

"Nonsense! You've got your hands full. I'll carry them in."

"All right," Carter said slowly. "Hold on one sec." He opened the door and said somewhat loudly, "Come on in Dr. Anspaugh. You can put them right here," hoping Lucy would hear and disappear from sight.

"Thanks, Carter."

"Is there anything you want me to tell her?"

"Nope, she'll know what they're for. That's an awful lot of food for one person. Are you having company?"

"Yes, my girlfriend is coming over in a little bit."

"I won't hold you up then. Have a nice night!"

"You too, Dr. Anspaugh!" Carter said closing the door behind him. "Okay, Lucy. He's gone."

"Thank goodness," Lucy said, peeking out from under the table.

"That's where you hid?"

"Yeah! What was that all about?"

"He just showed up when I was coming in. Left some charts. Is it nice under that table?"

"Yeah. Want to join me?"

"Sure."

Two and a half months had passed and Carter and Lucy had kept their secret a secret. Lucy was sitting in the lounge. Suddenly, when their luck was going so well, it had taken a turn for the worst. What was she going to do?

Kerry burst in the lounge, smiling. "G'morning, Lucy! Beautiful day, isn't it?"

"I suppose," Lucy said in her melancholy tone.

"Something wrong?"

"Everything."

"You and Carter get in a fight?"

"Not yet."

Kerry sat down next to Lucy on the sofa. "Hon, what's wrong? Why do you think you and Carter are going to get in a fight?"

Lucy shrugged.

"Well, it must be something to get you all upset like this."

She shrugged again.

"Well, if you ever want to talk, just let me know." Kerry got up and went about making her coffee.

Lucy had learned to like and trust Kerry Weaver in the last few weeks. She really needed to talk to someone, someone besides Carter first. "I'm pregnant," she whispered.

"What, hon?" Kerry said, sitting down next to Lucy again.

Lucy cleared her throat. "I think I'm pregnant."

"Oh, dear. Have you told Carter yet?"

"Nope."

"You should, you know?"

"I'm going to. We're both on break soon, so I will then."

"Any ideas on what you're going to do with the situation?"

"Talk to Carter."

"Hi, Lucy," Carter said, reading over a chart.

"Hi. Um, Carter? Are you on a break soon?"

"Yep. Why?"

"We need to talk."

Carter looked up from the chart for a moment and smiled at Lucy. He then saw her serious face. "Um, yeah. Everything okay?"

"Um, can we meet up on the roof in ten minutes?" Lucy said, avoiding eye contact with him by looking at the floor.

Carter gave Lucy a puzzled look. "Yeah. Let me just get this guy some Tylenol and discharge him, and I'll be right up, okay?"

Lucy just nodded and walked off.

"Hey Carter, have you seen that chart for the patient in four?" Kerry asked.

"Yeah, it's over here," Carter said pointing to the chart on the desk. When Kerry walked over, he asked, "Kerry, do you know what's up with Lucy? She's acting kind of weird."

"Why don't you ask Lucy that?"

"I'm meeting with her to talk as soon as I get this guy some meds and discharge him."

"I'll do that for you."

"So, are you sure?" Carter asked.

"Pretty sure. I haven't gotten tested yet, but I'm a week late and I'm never late," Lucy replied.

"But we've been really careful . . . when . . ."

"The table," Lucy said, smiling mischievously.

"Oh yeah," he said, returning the smile.

"Oh, John, what are we going to do?" Lucy said, exasperated.

"I don't know, Luc. Come here," he said, giving her a hug. "We'll figure something out."

"I know," Lucy whispered as she placed a kiss on Carter's lips.

A few minutes had passed, Lucy and Carter still kissing, when they heard a voice say, "Ahem."

The two of them broke away and turned around, startled. They found Dr. Greene standing there.

"Uh, Dr. Greene, um-" Lucy stuttered.

"There's a trauma coming from a nearby hospital by helicopter, but I want to talk to the two of you when I get done with it. I'll meet you two in the lounge, okay? Why don't you two go down there now?"

"Don't you need help with the trauma?" Carter asked.

"We've got this one," Mark said as Carol and Haleh came out to help with the trauma. Carter and Lucy walked inside, wondering what would happen now that they were finally caught.

~~~~~~~~~~~

"Oh my god, Carter, what are we going to do?" Lucy asked, walking into the lounge.

"I don't know, I don't know. Do you think he heard our conversation too, or just saw us kissing?"

"He just saw us kissing, I hope. Oh my god, what if he heard us? This day couldn't get any worse!"

"Calm down Luc. Everything will work out. Come here, sit down," Carter said, patting the seat next to him.

Lucy looked at him for a second. "One minute, I need a drink. Be right back."

Lucy walked out the door. She was trying to remember where she put her purse. She had been out of sorts all day. *Think, Lucy, think!* she thought to herself. She had it at the admit desk because Yosh wanted to see something on her medical dictionary. *It must still be there,* she thought. She walked up to the admit desk and heard some of the nurses talking. She stopped to listen for a minute.

"And then they just ran in like two little school kids that had been scolded!" Haleh announced. The nurses standing around her, Carol, Lydia, Chuni and Lily, as well as Jerry, laughed.

"So, what were they doing?" Lydia asked.

"We don't know. Come on guys, we don't know the whole story and I'm sure they would appreciate us not talking about them!" Carol said.

"Oh, come on Carol! You saw Dr. Greene's face! He was pretty mad. They must have done something wrong," Jerry said.

"FYI, Jerry, Mark and his ex-wife got into a fight over when Rachel's going to come and see him and he's been cranky ever since," Carol said.

"Oh, come on Carol, isn't it fun to try and figure out what they were doing?" Jerry said.

"Not when you're the one being speculated about. I've been there a few times to many, and it's not fun."

"Thank you, Carol," Lucy said, walking past them and grabbing her purse. "Excuse me," she said as she walked to the soda machine, ignoring their gaping faces. She got her soda and walked back to the lounge, where she found Carter pacing back and forth.

"Hey."

"Hey. They're already talking about us."

"Who cares? Come here and sit down with me. You okay? You don't look too good."

"I'm fine. I just have a stomach ache. I'll be fine."

Lucy came and sat down next to Carter on the couch. She took a sip of her soda. Carter placed an arm around her shoulders. The two were extremely quiet. Carter suddenly heard a sniff, sniff.

"Lucy? Are you crying?"

She turned to face him, her face stained with tears. "I was just thinking about how much trouble we're going to be in. Our careers could be gone. All that schooling, all those tests, everything, for nothing. And you have more going for you than I do, and I just hate thinking that I ruined it for you-"

"Shh, shh. You didn't ruin anything for anyone. We were in this together, right?"

Lucy smiled through her tears. "Yeah. Don't get me wrong, John, I love you. I love you with all my heart and I've never loved anyone like this, but, oh god, what if he heard?"

"Wait, what did you say?" Carter whispered.

Lucy looked puzzled. "Oh god, what if he heard?"

"Before that."

Lucy smiled. "I love you, John."

Carter returned the smile. "I love you too, Luc. We'll talk about everything later, okay? I'd hate someone walking in on us. Everything will be okay, don't worry."

All of the sudden, Dr. Greene walked in. "Sorry it took me so long. So, you guys want to explain?"

Lucy smiled to herself. He seemed like he was in a better mood now. "Um, well, what do you want to know?" Lucy asked. She still wasn't sure if he had heard their conversation.

"How about if that kiss was just a friendly one or something more? It looked like something more."

"Um, yeah it was," Carter said.

"All right then. Was this a one time thing or not?"

"Dr. Carter and I have been dating for almost three months. At the time we started, I was in my psych rotation and was not aware that I would be coming back to the ER," Lucy said. She sure didn't feel well.

"Oh. Well, I might have to let the board know about this."

"Oh, I'm going to be sick," Lucy said.

"It won't be too bad, Lucy, since you've been dating since your psych rotation-"

"No, literally, I'm going to be sick. Excuse me," Lucy said, running out of the lounge.

"Is she going to be okay?" Dr. Green asked with concern.

"Yeah, I think so. She just had a stomach ache earlier. So, you're really going to tell the board?"

"I'm complied to. I really don't have a choice, Carter."

"You didn't when Doug slept with Harper."

"How do you know about that?"

"Harper was my girlfriend at the time."

"Damn, I knew I would regret doing that. Well, that was different."

"How so? Lucy and I are in a mutual, caring relationship, not some one night fling. We were aware of the rules at all times, but were willing to risk that to be together."

Mark sighed and paused for a moment. "I suppose, since you two really care about each other so much, that I won't tell. We'll switch her over to Doyle for a teacher, because I certainly don't want you as her teacher since you two are going out. Any questions?"

"Nope. Thanks a lot, Dr. Greene. I owe you one."

"No problem, Carter. I'll let you know when you can return the favor. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to discharge a patient. You might want to check on Lucy."

"Will do."

*Where is Kerry, where is Kerry,* Carter thought to himself while he searched for her. Lucy was in the ladies' room and he was trying to get Kerry to go in and make sure she was okay. He certainly wasn't going to go and check. He turned the corner and almost bumped into Carol.

"Sorry 'bout that," Carol said.

"No, no problem! Hey Carol," Carter said, "do you know where Kerry is?"

"She went up to the OR to check on a patient. Why?"

"I needed someone to check on something for me."

"What? I can help you if you need me to."

Carter thought for a moment. This was the best bet he would probably get. "Okay. Lucy wasn't feeling well and ran to the bathroom. Could you just check in there and make sure she's all right?"

Carol could see the concern in his eyes. "Sure. Let me just put this chart at the desk and I'll go see what's up."

His face showed her that he was eternally grateful. "I'm going to take a quick break in the lounge, then. We're kinda slow now. Thanks again, Carol."

"No problem." Carol walked up to the admit desk and put the chart in its rightful spot. Then she headed for the ladies' room.

"Lucy? You in here?"

No answer. Carol heard some sniffling coming from the last stall. She walked over and opened the door a little. Carol saw Lucy sitting on the floor of the stall. She was leaning over her knees.

"Lucy?"

The sound of her name brought her head up. Carol noticed her face was tearstained and her eyes were red. Carol knew something was wrong. "Hey, Lucy. Everything all right?"

Lucy shook her head. "I'm having the worst day of my life," she whispered.

"What's wrong, Lucy?"

"I threw up. And I hate throwing up."

"You decided to become a doctor?"

"I can handle it when others do."

"That's all? That's what you're all worked up over?"

"No."

"Do you need me to get someone to look at you? See what's wrong?"

"No!" Lucy exclaimed. Carol could see in her eyes that she did not want that happening. "I mean, no, I'm okay. It was probably just something I ate. I'm fine."

There was a pause. Carol could see that Lucy probably wasn't going to tell her what was really wrong.

"Carter was looking for you. He seemed worried about you. He wanted me to report back to him."

Lucy nodded. "You can tell him I'll be out in a minute. Tell him I'm okay."

Carol stood up and started to walk towards the door. "Okay, I will Lucy. And," she said, "if you ever want to talk or anything, as friends, I'll be willing to listen."

Lucy smiled. "I'll think about it. And Carol?" she said. Carol tuned around to face her again. "Thanks. For defending me and Carter out there. You guys didn't know what was going on, and it was really nice of you to stand up and say so."

Carol smiled. "No problem, Lucy. I've been the brunt of hospital gossip a few times too many. I was just doing what I thought was right," she said. "I'm going to go get Carter for you, okay?"

"Thanks." Lucy stood up and walked over to the sinks. *Come on, Lucy. You have to pull yourself together before you go out there. You're only on for another hour,* she told herself. She quickly splashed some cool water on her face. Ick. She needed to get something to eat or drink to get that horrible taste out of her mouth. But first she had to find Carter. She walked out of the bathroom and almost ran smack into Dr. Greene.

"Sorry," Lucy said, apologetically.

"That's fine," Dr. Greene said. "Did Carter tell you? He persuaded me not to tell the board. You're going to be working under Doyle starting next shift, is that fine?"

"Oh, yes. Thanks Dr. Greene."

"Yeah, Carter just owes me one. You don't look so great. Are you feeling okay?"

"Yeah, fine, I just think I ate something that didn't agree with my stomach."

"Oh. It's kind of slow, if you want to go get something in the cafeteria. Carter's with a patient, I don't think he would mind."

"Thanks, Dr. Greene. That's where I'll be then."

"Just the coffee, thanks," Lucy said as she handed the cafeteria cashier a dollar bill. "Keep the change."

She saw Kerry sitting at a table by herself. She walked over to her. "Hi," Kerry said.

"Hi. Mind if I sit down?"

"Not at all," Kerry said, moving her dinner out of Lucy's way. "Did you talk to Carter yet?"

"Yeah. We were in the middle of discussing it when Dr. Greene came up to the roof to get that trauma patient that was flown here."

"Oh, dear. Did he hear what you were taking about?" Kerry asked before taking another bite of her salad.

"No, thank goodness. But it happens we were kissing when he came up. We had a nice long talk with him."

"Is he going to tell the board?"

"No, I don't think so. I got sick in the middle of him talking and had to run to the bathroom. Carter persuaded him not to somehow. Go figure," Lucy said taking a sip of coffee.

"You fine now?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'll be fine. Carter was worried sick."

"Well, speaking of Carter, there he is now," Kerry said. Carter was walking over to their table.

"Hey there. Do you mind if I steal Lucy from you for a moment?" Carter asked.

"No, not at all. In fact, I need to get back to the ER, if you want to steal my seat," Kerry said as she stood up.

"Thanks," Carter said, sitting down. "You okay?"

"Yes, yes, I'm fine. You're the fourth person to ask me that," Lucy said, taking another sip of coffee. "Hey, do you think we could go somewhere else and talk? You know, there's just people here . . ."

"No problem. Come on," Carter said.

"Where are we going?"

"Not quite sure. Just come on."

They walked around to various places, but their coworkers were everywhere. They didn't want to risk going up to the roof again. They finally found themselves back in the ER.

"Hold on. Stay right here," Carter said.

He walked over to the admit desk. Lucy could see him saying something to Kerry. She was nodding her head about something. Then Carter proceeded to walk back to Lucy.

"Come on."

"What's going on?"

"I told Kerry that you still didn't feel well, so I was taking you home. We're only on for another half an hour. So, let's go."

The two had been driving in silence for a while. Finally, Carter broke the silence by asking, "Um, Luc? Where should I be going?"

"We have to talk about this sometime, John."

"Do you want to go back to my place then?"

"Sure."

The two walked into the apartment. "I'll be right back, I'm going to use the bathroom really quick."

"Can I use yours? I just want to brush my teeth really quick."

"No problem. I'll use the one up here."

When Carter came out, he saw Lucy sitting on the couch. She was reading the back of a small box. "Hey. What are you reading?"

Lucy held up the box better so Carter could see. Pregnancy test. "You know, we're not one hundred percent sure, so there's a little ray of hope . . ."

"Where'd you get it?"

"I stole it from the supply cabinet."

Carter couldn't help but smile at that. "I'm going to see if we have any food for dinner, okay? Let me know if you need anything," he said.

Carter was rummaging around in the kitchen when he heard Lucy say, "I'll be right back." Then she disappeared down the stairs. Carter closed the refrigerator door and followed her. When he got to his room, he saw the bathroom door was closed. A few moments later, the door opened and Lucy emerged.

"We're supposed to wait three minutes. Did you find anything for dinner?"

"Not really. You look tired," Carter commented.

"Yeah, I am. I think I'm just going to take a shower and go to bed. I'm not that hungry."

"You wanna stay here?"

"John, I think I've slept at my house maybe once over the last month. I basically live here."

"Lucy?"

"Hmm?"

Carter paused for a moment. "Why . . . why don't you move in? You're right, you basically live here. Kerry wouldn't mind."

Lucy smiled. "Sure. I like the sound of that."

They were interrupted by a ding coming from the bathroom. "Oh. John, I don't want to go look. Will you?"

Carter got up and went to the bathroom. Lucy could see him pick up the test and then look at the box. When he turned around, she didn't even need Carter to tell her the answer.

"You know, these things aren't always right," Carter said, coming to sit next to Lucy.

"No, it's right. I knew it all along, I was just hoping I guess. John, what are we going to do?" Lucy asked, burying her face in Carter's chest.

"I don't know. It's been a long day. Why don't you go take a nice, warm bath and we'll talk about it in the morning?"

Lucy leaned back so she could see Carter's face. "Okay. Want to join me?" she said, smiling.

"I'd be glad to."

Later that night, Lucy lay in bed next to Carter. She was just thinking over the events of the day. Considering, just about everything had worked out okay. There was the bit about her being pregnant, but they would talk about that in the morning. With those thoughts in mind, Lucy drifted off to sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A huge thanks to my editors, Christina, Kathy, and Zelia. You know the routine, I don't own anything that doesn't belong to me, namely the ER characters.

"Hey, Carter, Doyle. Good morning!" Dr. Greene said as he saw the two walk into the ER for their shifts.

"Good morning to you too, Dr. Greene," Carter said.

"Morning," Doyle said.

"Oh, Dr. Doyle, Lucy called in sick today. Something about the flu," Jerry said.

"Thanks for letting me know. Hope she's alright."

"Me too," Carter said, trying to act like he didn't know anything. He was fully aware of what was going on, but he didn't want to let on too much. He could remember his conversation with Lucy this morning . . .

"John, I will be fine! Go to work. Kerry has the day off, she's already looking after me, I don't need you too," Lucy said.

"I don't know . . . maybe I should take off work."

"John, then they'll get *really* suspicious. And we aren't letting anyone else know I'm pregnant for another three weeks. Just go to work, I'll be here when you get home. It is just a little morning sickness, I will be *fine*."

"Good morning you two," Kerry said, interrupting their argument in the living room.

"Kerry, will you explain to John that you will be here if anything happens and he should go to work!" Lucy said, exasperated.

"Carter, get out of here. Lucy'll be fine. Go to work before you get your ass fired," Kerry said, pushing Carter towards the door.

"Well . . . okay, but if anything happens, page me or call the ER, alright?"

"We will, John. Now get out of here, before you're late!"

"I'm going, I'm going," Carter said, leaning over to kiss Lucy.

"Carter. CARTER!"

Carter snapped out of his day dream to see Doyle waving a chart in front of his face. "What?"

"There's a weak and dizzy all over in three. Can you handle it?" Doyle said sarcastically.

"Sure," he said, grabbing the chart. He walked to exam room three and saw a girl, looked about sixteen, sitting on the bed. "Hi Miss," pause to look at the chart, "Lakewood, how are you doing?"

"Horrible. I was at basketball practice when I just fainted. Now I feel all dizzy. My coach made me come in. She's outside."

"Do you faint a lot?"

"No. Never."

"Okay, then, we're just going to run a few tests to make sure everything's okay." Carter turned to Lily and rattled off tests. "I'll come back in a few and check on you, okay?"

The girl nodded and Carter walked out the door. Just in time. Haleh ran up to him and threw a yellow plastic gown at him.

"Trauma coming in. MVA, auto versus pedestrian. ETA two minutes."

They ran to the ambulance bay, where they found Carol, Connie, Lydia, and Mark waiting.

"Two coming in. You take the first one, I'll get the next one, okay?" Mark said.

"You got it. Here they come now," Carter said as the ambulance pulled up.

"Hey, good job, Carter."

"You too, Dr. Greene." Mark's patient, who was the passenger in the car who wasn't wearing a seatbelt, suffered some head injuries. Something was wrong with his arm too, but Carter didn't quite catch on what it was He was sent up to surgery, along with the other accident victim, Carter's patient, who had some internal bleeding. Carter walked up to the admit desk. "Are those labs back on the girl in three yet?" he asked Lily.

"Nope, not yet."

"Okay then, I'm going to make a quick phone call. Be right back. Page me if you need me," Carter said. He walked out of the ER and over to the phone by Doc Magoo's. He'd get a little bit more privacy over there. He reached the phone and dialed the familiar number. Kerry answered the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hi," Carter said.

"Yes, she's fine. Hold on a sec, I'll put her on."

Carter could hear some talking in the background and then Lucy's voice over the phone. "Checking up on me, eh?"

Carter laughed. "I guess you could say that. You okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine. Busy today?"

"Not too bad. One trauma so far."

"Ahh. I guess I'm not missing out on much then."

"Nope. Just an MVA, some kids with the flu, et cetera."

"Was Doyle mad that I wasn't there?"

"No, concerned actually."

"Okay, well, I'm going to let you go back to work now."

"You don't have to . . ."

"Okay, let me rephrase that. John, go back to work now."

Carter laughed. "Okay, okay. Talk to you later."

"Okay. Bye," Lucy said, hanging up the phone. She put the portable back on the charger. "So, how often do you think he'll check up on me?"

"Knowing Carter? Every chance he gets, at least," Kerry responded. The two laughed.

"You're almost as bad, waiting on me hand and foot, not letting me get off the couch," Lucy said to Kerry.

"So, I'm allowed to pamper you. Can I get you anything? Food, drink? It's twelve, do you want any lunch?"

"No, I'm okay. I think I'm going to take a nap though."

"Okay, then, I'll leave you alone. Let me know if you need anything."

"I will, I will," she said, as Kerry walked into the kitchen. She then drifted off to sleep.

Carter glanced at his watch. Five thirty. He was off in half an hour. All of his patients were discharged, except for the old man in exam five who was waiting on labs. He decided to walk up to the admit desk to see if they came in.

"Oh, Dr. Carter, Dr. Weaver called twice while you were in that trauma. She said to call back on this number," Jerry said, handing him a piece of paper.

"Jerry, that trauma was over two hours ago!"

"Yeah, well, I couldn't find you!"

Carter sighed. He wasn't going to get anywhere with Jerry. "Where's a free phone?" Jerry pointed to one by the computers. Carter sat down and dialed the number. It looked vaguely familiar, possibly Kerry's cell phone. "Hi," he said when Kerry answered the phone. "Yeah, I don't know what we pay Jerry for either, he just told me now. Is everything okay . . . oh my god, what happened . . . aw, man . . . is she okay . . . yeah . . . yeah, I know . . . wow . . . okay, I'll be right there. Tell her I'll be right there. Bye," Carter said, hanging up the phone. Carter just sat there staring into space for a moment. He didn't even notice that a few people had been standing around, listening to his conversation.

"Hey, everything okay?" Dr. Greene asked, since Carter had just been sitting there, motionless for three minutes.

Carter stared into space for a moment longer, before shaking his head as if to shake thoughts from his head. "I don't know, I don't know," he said standing up. "Listen, I have to go. Family . . . family emergency. I'm only on for another half an hour. I gotta . . . I gotta go," he said as he walked to the lounge.

"Okay, Carter. Hope everything turns out okay," Dr. Greene said.

"Thanks," Carter said as he walked through the doors of the ER.

~~~~~~~~~~

Carter drove his Jeep as fast as he could to Mercy Hospital. He almost ran two red lights and *did* run one. He was going to kill Jerry later for not telling him about Kerry's call. He finally got there, parked, and ran into the ER. He saw Kerry sitting in chairs waiting for him. She stood up when she saw him walking towards her.

"Hey. How are you?" Kerry asked with concern.

"I'm okay. Where is she?" Carter replied.

"She's in that room right there. I think she's sleeping though. Let me go find the doctor so she can tell you what happened. She knows better than I do," Kerry said, walking off.

Carter walked up to the room and looked in the window. There she was, sleeping peacefully. He smiled for a second seeing that she was alright.

"Carter?"

He turned around to see Kerry standing there with a doctor. "Carter, this is Dr. Rachel Wacks, she took care of Lucy when I brought her in."

"Hi, John Carter, nice to meet you," Carter said, extending a hand.

"Same here. You look familiar."

"I'm a resident in the ER over at County . . ."

She smiled. "That must be it then. Were you the father of Miss Knight's baby?"

"Just a good friend." Mercy wasn't that far from County, and he didn't want anything getting over there.

"Alright then. Lucy miscarried, and it's one of those that we're not sure of the reason of. Guess it was just meant to be. We ran some tests and we're waiting on those. But if all looks well, she won't have to be admitted and she can get out of here in a few hours."

"Thanks."

"You can go see her if you want. I have to go check on another patient now, but if you need anything, let me know," she said before walking off.

"I better get going too, my shift starts in forty-five minutes, and I have to go home first. If anything happens, page me, okay? Don't trust Jerry any more," Kerry said.

"Sure will. And Kerry? Thanks for everything. It was smart of you to bring her to Mercy."

"No problem. I wasn't stupid enough to bring her to County, don't worry. Talk to you later then," Kerry said as she walked off.

Carter stared in the window for a moment before walking in. When he got in, he saw that there were two beds, but Lucy was the only patient in there. Carter sat down in a chair that was sitting by Lucy's bed. He had been sitting there for a few minutes in silence when her eyes opened.

"Hey, sleepyhead," Carter said, smiling.

"Hey," Lucy said, sitting up. "They're running about a billion tests on me. CBC, Chem. 7, Crit-I even have an IV of saline," she said, holding up her hand and laughing.

"They just want to make sure you're alright." They sat there in silence for a moment. "Are you alright?"

Lucy sighed. "Yeah. It's better this way, right?"

"Yeah. They asked me if it was mine and I told them 'no'."

"Good. I was hoping you'd have the sense to do that. Did Kerry leave?"

"Yeah. She had to get to work."

"You okay?"

"Yeah, yeah. I'll be okay. It was a surprise, but I'll be fine."

"How did you get them to let you leave early?"

"I told them that I had a family emergency."

"Well, I suppose it is!" Lucy said. They laughed. All of a sudden, Dr. Wacks came back in the room.

"I see you woke up," she said to Lucy.

"Yeah. Are my labs back yet?"

"Yep. That's why I'm here. Everything looks okay. No problems. We'll just get that IV out and then you can go. If you have any problems or questions, just come back, okay?"

"Sure. Thanks again."

"No problem."

They finally arrived home after a whole bunch of paperwork that had to be filled out. Carter got out and opened the door for Lucy.

"Thanks," she said, smiling.

"No problem."

They walked into the house and found themselves alone. Kerry was still at work. "Are you hungry? I could fix us something to eat."

"John, you know you can't cook," Lucy said, smiling.

"Yeah, well I could make sandwiches. Turkey or something. Let's see," he said walking over to the refrigerator. "We have turkey or roast beef from the deli. Which do you want?"

"Turkey's fine," Lucy said, smiling.

"Okay. You want anything on it? Mayo, mustard, ketchup, anything?"

"I didn't know you could handle that too. Just the turkey and the bread will do," she said as her smile grew wider and she tried not to laugh.

He asked her further questions on what bread she wanted and if she wanted half of the sandwich or all of it. Lucy never knew so much was involved in making a sandwich. He finally put it on a plate and gave it to her. She took a bite and then said, "Mmm. You're a very good cook."

"Quit it. I see that smirk. I'm glad you like it though." The two sat at the table and ate their sandwiches.

When they were finished, Carter decided to wash the dishes. Lucy walked over to the sink and hoped up on the counter next to it. "Hey," he said.

"Hey. Did you know I'm a very lucky person?"

"Why is that?"

"Most guys wouldn't have gone through all this and still be with me."

"Yeah, well, I'm not 'most guys,'" Carter said, smiling.

"I know. But I'm still very lucky to be here with you."

Carter dried his hands and walked over to Lucy. "I'm lucky too," he whispered. He leaned over closer to her to give her a light kiss.

"Well, you're not going to be lucky tonight!" Lucy said. They laughed.

"I know, we're not supposed to right after a miscarriage."

"Yeah. John? What would you think if I took the psychiatry sub-I?"

"You know I wish you would be in the ER closer to me, but I'll support you in whatever you do."

"Good. Because I think I'm going to take it. And psych isn't too far from the ER. I'll still see you."

"I know. I'll still see you at home too, I hope."

"Of course."

"You know, we have been through a lot together."

"Yeah. Hiding our secret, the whole pregnancy bit, Roxanne, Dale, exam six, rumors. Everything. But you know what?"

"What?"

"I still love you."

"Good. Because I still love you too."

~~~~~~~~~~~

*Beep! Beep! Beep!*

A hand reached over to hit the alarm clock to turn it off. "You up? You're on in an hour."

"Thanks for sharing. Did you know it's cold down here?"

"It's Christmas Eve and snowing like crazy. What do you expect? Kerry's not here, I'll go turn up the heat." Carter got out of bed and tried to make it up the stairs without freezing to death. He was glad Kerry had taken five days off work to go see her brother. He liked Kerry plenty, but this meant that he had five days alone with Lucy. He turned the heat up and made his way down the stairs. When he got back to the room, he heard the water running in the shower. Guess Lucy was up. He decided to get dressed since he had to pick up Lucy's Christmas present before going to work. As he was getting dressed, Lucy came out with her hair still wet and only a towel wrapped around her.

"Aren't you cold?"

"Freezing. *Someone* left the hair dryer out here though."

"Sorry. Is cereal and toast okay for breakfast?"

"Yep. I'll be right up," she said, pausing to give Carter a kiss.

"I'm so glad we both aren't working tomorrow."

"Me too. Now I'm going to dry my hair before I freeze!"

Carter finished getting dressed and walked upstairs. He started making coffee, put bread in the toaster, and got out bowls, corn flakes, and milk. Just as everything was ready, Lucy came upstairs.

"You look nice today," Carter said, commenting on Lucy's black suit. "What's the occasion?"

"I have that big interview today with the guy from the private practice," Lucy said, sitting down to have a bowl of corn flakes.

"Oh yeah, Mr. Big Shot Psychiatrist or whatever," Carter said, smiling.

"Hey! You know as much as I love the hospital, I don't want to stay there forever. Unlike you."

"Emergency medicine is different. When psychiatrists go off to private practices, they keep doing the same thing. Last time I checked it's not the same for ER docs. Even Kerry says so." Kerry had gone to a private practice two years ago.

"I know, I'm just kidding you. I'm very proud of my attending physician. Why are you up? You're not on for an hour and a half."

"I have some errands to run," Carter said, smiling.

"Fine, don't tell me. We're still on for dinner, right?"

"Yep. Just come on by the ER after your interview okay?"

"Sure thing."

"You want to use the Jeep today since you have your interview?"

"Yeah, that would be good. Thanks a lot."

"Okay. I'll drop you off at work and then I just need to use it for an hour."

"Oh, for a *surprise* or something?"

"Yep. And you don't get to find out. What kind of person makes interviews on Christmas Eve?"

"I was the last person and he wanted to fit me in before he went on vacation."

"Oh. I guess that makes sense. You ready?" Carter said, putting his empty bowl in the sink.

"Yep."

Carter walked into the lounge. He would have to put Lucy's present in his locker for now. He needed to wrap it when he had extra time. He stuck it in his locker just in time too.

"Dr. Carter?" a nurse called from the door of the lounge.

"Yes, Jessica?"

"Trauma coming in. GSW. ETA three minutes."

"Thanks. Who's on?"

"You, Mark, Jeanie, Erin, Michael, and Rene." Michael Brooks was a second year resident, Rene Benz was his third year med-student, and Erin Narkier was an intern.

"Okay, get Michael and Rene. Tell them to meet me at the ambulance bay," Carter told Jessica. He sure hoped that this wouldn't be a long day.

Surprisingly, at the end of the day, the whole ER had quieted down. There were only two patients, one being sent up to surgery and one waiting on some labs to return. It wasn't Carter's patient though, so he didn't mind. Carter was off, he was just waiting for Lucy to come back with the car. Carter, Michael, Mark, Haleh, Jeanie, Chuni, Jerry and Rene were all sitting around the admit desk. There was a basketball game on TV and some of the people were watching it. Some player was about to try and make a free throw.

"Hey, Dr. Carter! I bet you ten bucks he won't make it in." Michael said.

"Sure thing."

Everyone turned to watch the TV to see who would win the bet. The player threw the ball and it hit the backboard. It started spinning around on the rim and finally did *not* fall in the basket. "Aww," a few people said.

"Alright!" Michael said.

"Okay, okay. Here's your ten bucks," Carter said, pulling out his wallet. He didn't notice that he knocked a small, black velvet box out of his pocket too.

"Hey, Carter, did you know you got gypped? This was a pre-taped game. Dr. Brooks probably saw it before," Jerry said.

"Hey! Jerry!"

Suddenly, Chuni noticed the box on the floor. "Hey, Carter, what's this?"

Carter turned, a surprised look on his face when he saw what Chuni had in her hands. "Nothing. Give it back."

Chuni opened the box to look. "Oh my gosh, it's beautiful! I'm assuming it's for Lucy."

"*Yes*, it's for Lucy. Give it back," Carter said, almost loosing his patience.

No one was listening to Carter. Everyone was crowded around Chuni, looking at Lucy's engagement ring.

"Wow. Who's the lucky woman?" Rene asked.

"Lucy Knight," Carter responded, blushing a little. The only thing that would make John Carter blush like a med student again was talk of Lucy Knight.

"Third-year psych resident," Mark added.

"How long have you two been going out?" Jeanie asked. "A long time, right?"

"Five years this March," he replied. Remembering that two of those years were supposed to be kept a secret, he quickly said, "I mean three-"

A few people laughed. "Oh, come on. We all know that you and Lucy were together since the exam six fiasco."

"What exam six fiasco?" Erin asked.

"Please, tell them *after* I leave. And it wasn't right after that . . . well, I guess it was. A few weeks after that. Now give me that! Lucy is coming to pick me up soon, and if she sees that, I swear to-"

"Hi guys!" Lucy said, walking in the ER doors. Carter quickly grabbed the box from Chuni and shoved it in his pocket.

"Hey," Carter said, walking around to greet her. After a quick kiss, he asked, "How was your interview?"

"Good. I think. Not quite sure. We'll hear back after the first of the year. You ready?"

"Yeah, let me just get my stuff. Michael, come here," Carter said. Then he whispered, "You might be able to get your ten bucks if she doesn't find out about that ring in the three seconds I'm in the lounge. And if she does find out, I'll kill *both* you and the person who tells her, got it?"

Michael nodded, somewhat frightened of Carter, and walked back over to the group. Carter walked into the lounge, hearing Lucy talking to the others in the background. He grabbed his coat out of his locker and walked back out the door. "Ready?"

"Mhmm. Bye all, have a great holiday," Lucy said to the gang at the admit desk.

"Yeah, bye guys, Merry Christmas," Carter said as he and Lucy walked out the door. When they were out, he said, "We still have time to go home before dinner, right?"

"Yes," Lucy said, smiling. "Why?"

"*Surprise*."

"You and your surprises . . ."

It was later that night, after dinner. The two were walking around the pier near the little Italian restaurant they had eaten at. It had stopped snowing and it wasn't as cold. At least it seemed that way to Lucy and Carter.

"Do you remember the first time we came here?"

"Yeah. Our first date," Lucy said, smiling. "We ate at the same restaurant and walked around the pier. Then we went back to your place . . ."

"I remember that part well too," Carter said. They laughed. "Do you want to sit down for a minute?" Carter said, pointing to a bench.

"Sure."

They sat down. They sat in silence for a moment and then Carter turned to face Lucy. "You know what, Luce? I love you."

"I love you too, John."

He smiled. "You know what? On Christmas Eve at the Carter residence, each person was allowed to open one present."

"All of your presents are at home."

"Not all of yours are," Carter said, smiling.

"Is this my surprise?" Lucy asked, trying to sound uninterested, but failing miserably.

"Yep. Here you go," he said, pulling out a small, wrapped box. "Your surprise."

Lucy took the box, but gave Carter a puzzled look. She took the wrapping paper off and opened the box. "Wow," she whispered when she saw what was inside.

"Lucy Knight, will you marry me?" Carter whispered in her ear.

"Yes, John Carter," she whispered back. "Yes, I will."

That night ended a lot like their first date too. A little different, since Kerry wasn't home, but all in all the same. It was late that night, actually very early the next morning. "I am *so* glad we don't have to go to work tomorrow," Lucy said, laying her head on Carter's chest.

"Me too," he replied. "You know what, Luce?"

"Hmm?"

"When we first met, I said that we were the right match. I was wrong, though."

Lucy looked at him like he was crazy. "How so?"

"I think we're the perfect match, Luce."

"I agree, John," Lucy said. "I definitely agree."

The End.