Serenity

Chapter One

A/N: Ok, so this is the sequel to 'The Lucky Ones'. It begins a couple of months after 'The Lucky Ones' ended.  Please review and let me know what you think!

May 14th

Graduation Day

Things had been going well for Lucy and Carter. It wasn't easy to work different shifts. There were weeks where they hardly ever saw each other. But they made the best of the situation they were in and reminded each other that it was only temporary. Despite the fact that they didn't see each other as much as they would like, their relationship had gotten stronger. Lucy had gotten over her fear of Anna trying to take Carter away from her, and they were starting to form a friendship. Carter's grandmother was acting as the wedding planner for their wedding, and was a big help to Lucy. They had gotten really close. Now Carter and Lucy were getting ready for Lucy's graduation ceremony. Her mom and grandfather were flying in for the graduation and to meet Carter. "My mom and grandpa should be here in about ten minutes." Lucy told Carter as she finished fixing her hair.

He walked over to where she was and wrapped his arms around her waist. "You excited about today?"

She laughed. "Excited, nervous, scared, and happy all rolled into one."

"Why scared and nervous?" He questioned, starting to kiss her neck.

"Well I'm nervous about you meeting my family because I really want you guys to get along. I guess scared isn't the right way to describe how I feel. Maybe apprehensive is the right word. Today is a big day. I officially become a doctor, you meet my family, and tonight is our engagement party."

"It's a good day though."

She turned around and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Oh it's definitely a good day. Of course every day that I spend with you is a good day."

He leaned down and gave her a toe-curling kiss. He reluctantly pulled away when there was a knock on the door.

"They're early." Lucy observed, grabbing Carter's hand and leading him to the front door. She opened it and smiled when she saw her mother and grandfather standing there. She squealed and gave them each a big hug. "I'm so glad that you guys could come."

"Well it's not everyday that my daughter becomes a doctor." Barbara gushed. "I'm proud of you honey."

"Thanks mom." Lucy blushed.

"Besides that, your mother was getting impatient about meeting your fiancé." George smiled warmly.

Lucy laughed. "Well then I won't keep you in suspense any longer. Mom, grandpa, this is John Carter." Lucy smiled, pointing to Carter.

"So you're the one who's stolen my grand-daughter's heart?" George, her grandpa, shook John's hand.

"That would be me." Carter smiled.

"Lucy's told us all about you." Barbara replied, giving her future son-in-law a hug.

"Well Lucy's told me a lot about both of you too. I'm very glad to finally meet you." John smiled.

Lucy looked at her watch. "Ooh! We better get going or else we might be late for the ceremony."

"Let's go then." Barbara suggested.

The graduation was a painfully long service, but Lucy didn't notice. She was too focused on reflecting about the life she was going to have with Carter and thinking about how proud she was of herself for becoming a doctor. She had been working for it for so long, and now her dreams were coming true. She was so happy that later on in the day, she was practically jumping up and down as she walked to her closet to pick out the perfect dress to wear for the engagement party. Carter meanwhile was shaking his head and smiling at her enthusiasm. She took out a silver dress and smiled even wider as she turned to show it to John. She saw him staring at her like she was alien. "What do you think about this?" she asked, expecting an honest opinion.

"You'll look gorgeous." He smiled.

She put the dress down and sat on the end of the bed with him. "I don't think I should listen to your advise about fashion anymore."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because last night you told me that I could wear a paper bag and I'd be gorgeous." She laughed, rolling her eyes.

"Well it's true." He replied, leaning over to give her a long, slow kiss. Normally, one of those kisses would end up with them making love, but not tonight.

Lucy reluctantly pulled away. "We really can't do this right now." She got back up and took the dress into the bathroom to change and put on her make-up since she had already done her hair.

"Yeah, we don't want to be late." Carter echoed her statement. He continued putting on his shoes. He was already dressed in his suit, but Lucy, in typical fashion, was running about ten minutes behind schedule. He walked over and watched her put on her make-up.

"I can't believe that I'm finally a real doctor!" she squealed. "I've been wanting this for so long, and now it's finally here."

"You deserve it Luce. You've been through a lot to become a doctor. I'm proud of you. A lot of people in your shoes would've given up, but not you." He wrapped his arms around her and she put her head on his chest.

"I probably would've given up too, if it hadn't been for you."

He shook his head. "You could've made it without me."

She shook her head and turned to face him. "No, I couldn't have..."

He didn't really want to dwell on the bad parts of life today. Today was all about celebrating. "Doesn't matter. The point is you made it." He smiled.

She turned around. "Yeah, and now your grandparents are throwing us an engagement party to celebrate."

Carter laughed. "Can you imagine everyone's reaction tonight when they find out that the party isn't only to celebrate the fact that you've become a doctor, but also to announce that we're getting married in about two and a half weeks?"

Lucy laughed. "I know. It will be priceless! I can't wait to see the look on Chuni's face!"

He laughed harder. "You never know, she might even faint!"

"Maybe."

"You almost ready?" he asked, looking at his watch. "We should get there before everyone arrives."

"Ok." She replied, fixing a small section of her hair. "I'm ready."

They arrived at the Carter mansion and greeted everyone as they entered the ballroom. So far, no one had seemed to notice that Lucy was wearing her engagement ring. Although people were curious about why Millicent Carter would throw a party for Lucy celebrating the fact that she had just become a doctor. About an hour into the party, they decided that it was time to make the big announcement. John grabbed her hand as they walked over to the band and motioned for them to stop. This got everyone's attention as they looked at the two doctors. "Excuse me...Can we have everyone's attention for a moment?" Once he was sure everyone was paying attention to them, he continued. "First of all, thank you for coming to celebrate the fact that Lucy Knight has finally achieved her goal of becoming a doctor." This drew a huge amount of applause from the group. "Second, a big thank you goes out to my grandparents for hosting this party." Applause was also garnered from that statement. "Lastly, there's another reason why my grandparents hosted this party tonight. It is a party to celebrate Lucy and her accomplishments, but it is also a party to celebrate something else. Lucy and I are getting married on the first of June." He smiled, expecting applause, but it was almost deadly silent. "Did you hear me? Lucy and I are getting married."

Everyone, except the few people who knew about their relationship, looked at each other with shocked faces. Chuni was the first one to speak. "How is it that I didn't know this? I usually know everything!"

"Hey Jerry! Pay up! You lost the pool man!" Dave shouted, happy that he no longer had to keep Carter and Lucy's relationship a secret. "Oh, and congratulations you guys."

Soon everyone was crowding around Lucy and Carter, gawking at the ring or asking when this had all happened. This went on for almost an entire hour, as they accepted congratulations from all of their friends. Finally, the party had gone back to normal, with people dancing, drinking, eating, and not bombarding them with endless questions. They snuck off to a balcony together and shut the door. "Wow, that was...tiring." Lucy smiled.

"Yeah. I didn't know that they'd ask so many questions. I guess we hid it from them pretty well." He replied.

"Yeah, but now we don't have to hide it from them anymore, and it feels great not to have any more secrets!"

"I know. There were so many times I just wanted to kiss you right in the middle of the hospital and just proclaim my love for you."

"And there were so many times when I wanted you to do that!" Lucy laughed.

He gently kissed her. "I hear a slow dance starting back in there. Will you dance with me?" he whispered in her ear.

"Absolutely." She smiled, taking his hand and following him back into the party. All of the other people in the room seemed to melt away as she wrapped her arms around him.

He wrapped his arms around her waist and they began to sway to the beat of the music. "I love you Luce."

"I love you too John." She told him.

Dave and Anna, who were dancing near Carter and Lucy, looked at them. "They look really happy together." Dave noted.

"Yeah they do." Anna replied with a smile. Publicly, she would smile about Carter and Lucy's relationship. But inwardly, she was furious. Lucy wasn't supposed to be the one marrying Carter. She was! How dare Lucy steal Carter from her. As she danced there with Dave and watched the happy couple dance next to them, she vowed to do everything in her power to break them up. She didn't care how long it took, what she had to do, or who she had to hurt. One way or another, Carter was going to be hers again.

Chuni was off to the side of the dance floor, talking with Jerry. "How is it that we didn't know about them getting married?" she asked.

Jerry laughed. "Chuni, get over it! So what? You let the most juicy bit of gossip the ER's ever seen completely slip past you. It's not the end of the world."

"It feels like it." She scowled.

"Well at least you didn't lose money to Malucci." Jerry reminded her.

Chuni laughed. "Yeah, but it was your fault for betting that Carter would get together with Anna."

Jerry lowered his head in defeat. "I know. It was a horrible bet to place."

After they were finished dancing, Carter and Lucy walked over to where Millicent and John Carter were sitting. "Thank you so much for this party." Lucy smiled as they sat down next to them.

"Yes, thank you." Carter echoed.

"It's our pleasure." Millicent replied.

"Yeah, and besides, we have ulterior motives. We can't wait for Lucy to become an official member of the Carter family. Ever since she's been in your life, you've come and visited us more often." John Carter smiled.

Lucy and Carter exchanged smiles. "Well I can't wait for Lucy to become an official member of our family either." Carter replied. "But would you both be terribly disappointed if we left soon? It's been a busy day with Lucy's graduation and then the party."

"Of course not! We understand." Millicent replied with a smile.

"Thanks." Lucy smiled.

"Goodbye, and thank you again." Carter replied, giving his grandparents a hug.

"You're welcome." John Carter Sr. replied.

"Be sure to call me later this week. We still have some wedding details to iron out." Millicent reminded Lucy.

"Ok. I won't forget." She smiled as she took John's hand. They then walked over to where her mom and grandpa were sitting. "Hey. Enjoying the party?"

"Yes. Carter, you grandmother planned a very nice party." Barbara complimented.

"It's one of her specialties." Carter smiled.

"We are getting a little tired now though. I think we're going to call a cab and go back to the hotel soon." George replied.

"Well John and I were leaving now too. Why don't you let us take you back to the hotel?" Lucy suggested. She looked over at Carter, hoping that was ok with him. The smile on his face told her that he was fine with her offer.

"Are you sure? We don't want to intrude." Barbara asked.

"It's no problem. We'd be happy to drop you off." Carter spoke up.

"Ok." George nodded.

"Thank you." Barbara smiled.

After dropping off Lucy's family at their hotel, they headed home. Lucy entered the apartment first, flipping on the light switch and throwing her purse on the couch. "I am so glad that today is over." She sighed.

"I think it went pretty well though." He threw his keys onto the coffee table and wrapped his arms around her waist, giving her a kiss.

"I agree. This day was amazing." Lucy smiled. "But it was also tiring. All I want to do now is go to bed, curl up with you, and get some sleep."

"You're wish is my command." He replied, following her back into the bedroom.