We Used To Be Friends

Chapter Twenty-Four

A/N: I haven't been receiving as many reviews lately. Now that either means that people just aren't reviewing anymore or they have stopped reading this story. I sincerely hope that it just means that people aren't reviewing anymore. Enjoy!

Lucy woke up late the next morning since she didn't have to work. Yawning, she walked into the kitchen and saw a note from Carter.

Lucy,

I had to go to work, but I wanted to tell you that I'm serious about the offer I made last night. Just think about it ok?

Carter

After she read the note, she crumpled up the paper and threw it in the trash. Was he really serious about the offer he made last night? Should she seriously consider it? As she made breakfast she thought about their conversation last night.

"I have the perfect lie that will solve all of your problems." Carter grinned.

She chuckled, deciding to humor him this one time. "Oh yeah? Well ok then. What is this perfect lie that will magically solve all of my problems?"

He looked her straight in the eyes. "Let me be the father of your baby."

Lucy looked at him with her mouth hanging open. She couldn't believe that he just said that. Did he really just say that he wanted to be the father of her baby? No, this had to be some kind of joke. She chuckled at the absurdity of his statement. "You know I appreciate it that you feel this constant need to make me laugh, but it's not necessary."

The smile that had been on his face quickly turned into a frown. "It wasn't a joke. I was being serious."

She rolled her eyes. "Sure you were, and I am the Queen of England!"

"Luce, I really was being serious." He assured her.

She stood up from the couch, confused by what he was saying. "You want to be the father of this baby?"

"Yes, if you'll let me." Carter nodded. He could see that she still wasn't convinced so he decided to explain his proposal in a little more detail. "Just hear me out about this?"

She sat back down and nodded, unable to do anything else. "Ok, go ahead."

"Ok here's what I'm thinking. You want to raise this child alone and you're ready to make sacrifices in order to do that, but you don't have to. Why not let me help you raise this child? I could not only help out financially, but I could help you raise this child. Granted I don't know how to change a diaper but I'm a fast learner. I'm sure it can't be too hard." He paused, making sure the she was still listening to him. "I know that you don't want to tell everyone what happened to you. This way, if you make me the father, you'll be…"

"I'll be someone who had one-night stand with a guy who already had a girlfriend." She interrupted. "Abby and everyone else is going to do the math on this pregnancy and they'll realize that in order for you to be the father you had to have cheated on Abby. I'm not going to soil your good name and reputation."

"I don't care about my name and reputation!" Carter exclaimed. "I care about you Luce. You're my best friend and I want to help you. Let me help you. Please? C'mon! It'll be fun."

She sat there, letting his words sink in. Sitting in front of her was a man who was willing to raise a child that wasn't his. "I could never ask you to do this for me."

"I know. But you're not asking." He grinned. "I'm volunteering."

"Still, this isn't a small favor like going to the store to get ice cream." She pointed out. "This is a long-term commitment."

"I realize that."

"Do you? Really?" She sighed. "Because this isn't a decision that you can make all of a sudden. How much have you actually thought this through?"

"Trust me, I've thought this through."

"Ok, so say I agree to your offer. What happens if two years from now you get tired of playing father to a child that isn't yours? You can't just walk away."

"I'm not going to get tired of playing father. Trust me."

She stood up and started walking around to clear her head. "Look Carter, I appreciate what you're offering but I can't do this. I think it's a horrible idea."

He stood up and walked over to her. "Why? Why is it such a bad idea? Are you worried that I can't be a good father?"

"It's not that. I think you're going to be a wonderful father…to your own kids. But there is no reason for you to get dragged down raising mine. This is my problem, not yours. You're sweet to offer this, but I can't accept your offer." She kissed him on the cheek. "Goodnight."

Lucy took her bowl of cereal and sat down at the table. As she ate spoonful after spoonful of the cereal, she kept thinking about Carter's offer. She couldn't possibly accept it, right? It wouldn't be fair for her to saddle him with a child that wasn't his. Of course she wasn't the one who brought the idea up, so could she accept his offer since he was volunteering? But that question brought up another in her mind. Why was he volunteering to raise her child with her? Was he consciously trying to insinuate himself into a permanent place in her life? Could it be possible that Shelby and Dave had been right about it from the start and Carter was actually in love with her? Or was she just trying to read too much into a polite gesture? Her mind flashbacked to when he was putting the stitches in her arm and they almost kissed. Looking back on that, she realized that he had looked slightly disappointed that they hadn't kissed. So maybe he did have feelings for her. She closed her eyes, trying to think about what was worsethe fact that he might have feelings for her or the fact that he might not. She wasn't ready to deal with any kind of relationship right now; however, if she was wrong and he didn't have any feelings for her, then she would be beyond embarrassed. It was entirely possible that he just pitied her because of the situation she was in and wanted to help. She realized that she had eaten all of the cereal and went to rinse the bowl out in the sink. Maybe what she needed was a couple of days away from this situation. Maybe then she could figure out what to do. She went back out to the living room and picked up the phone, dialing a very familiar number.

"Hello?" A cheery voice answered.

"Hi mom! How are you?" Lucy asked, matching her mother's cheery tone.

"Lucy! It's great to hear from you. Are you ok?" Barbara Knight asked.

"I'm fine." Lucy lied. "Are you going to be really busy the next couple of days?"

"No, not really. I have a couple of client meetings, but nothing too important. Why?"

"I have a couple of days off and I thought I might come down for a visit. Is that ok?" Lucy asked hesitantly.

"Lucy, you know that you never need to ask permission to come home! You're always welcome here and I would love it if you came for a visit. But is everything ok?" Barbara knew her daughter well, and could tell that there was definitely something bothering her.

"Everything's fine mom." Lucy lied.

"Ok." She didn't believe her daughter, but figured that she could prod the truth from her when she showed up. "So when are you coming down?"

"Well I have a couple of things I need to do today so I figured I'd come by sometime tomorrow afternoon. Is that ok?"

"That's perfect. My client meeting is in the morning and then I can just clear the rest of my day so that I can spend it with my baby girl."

Lucy smiled when her mom called her baby girl. It had always been her mother's nickname for her, and always made her feel loved and protected. "Ok then. I'll see you tomorrow. Love you mom."

"Love you too Lucy."

Lucy hung up the phone and sighed. She knew that she had to tell her mother about his pregnancy sooner or later, and maybe she should just get it over with now. Feeling a little better about the whole situation, she smiled and went to go shower and change.

Carter sat at a desk, going over a few charts Dr. Greene had given him earlier. His mind struggled to focus on the charts but every few seconds he felt his mind wander over to the topic of Lucy. He wondered if she would ever agree to let him help raise her child. He wanted to; he was certain of that. This wasn't a decision that he was going to regret making in the future. Lucy was his soul mate; he was sure of that now, and he didn't intend on letting her go without a fight.

"Earth to Carter?" Dave laughed, moving his hand in front of Carter's face. "Hey man, you in there?"

"Huh?" Carter asked, coming back from his thoughts. "Sorry. What did you say?"

"Nothing important. You ok?" Dave asked.

"Yeah, sure." Carter nodded half-heartedly.

"Anything you want to talk about? 'Cause I'm assuming that it has to do with Lucy, right?"

Carter smiled. "How'd you guess?"

"Almost everything with you involves Lucy in some way. So what happened?"

He thought about telling Dave about the whole situation, but then stopped. It wasn't his story to tell. It was Lucy's, and he would respect her wishes. "It's nothing serious."

"Does it have to do with Lucy's delicate condition?" Dave whispered, trying to keep the nurses from finding out what they were talking about. He knew that Lucy wouldn't want this spreading around the ER gossip mill when she got back.

Carter's eye got wide. "Shelby told you?"

"Yeah, of course she did." Dave nodded. "So does it have to do with that?"

"Yeah, in a way." Carter nodded. "I better get back to my charts."

"Ok. I can take the hint. You don't want to talk about it. That's fine." Dave nodded, going off to check on a patient.

Lucy waited in the diner booth, nervously playing with the wrapper of her straw. She quickly discarded the straw wrapper when the person she was waiting for sat across from her. "You came." She smiled hesitantly.

"Well, you did offer to pay and I can't seem to resist free food." Shelby reasoned. "You know that's one of my weaknesses."

Lucy chuckled. "I know."

"So what did you want to talk about?"

"I was wondering if you would forgive me?" Lucy asked, sending a sad smile to her friend.

"For what?" Shelby asked.

"I shouldn't have yelled at you like that. You didn't do anything wrong. You were just curious and I shouldn't have bitten your head off about it. I've just been under a lot of stress lately and I took it out on you. I'm sorry."

"Apology accepted." Shelby replied. "But you know, truthfully, I wasn't really mad at you. Hurt, yes, but not mad."

"Why hurt?" Lucy asked.

Shelby chuckled. "Do you really need to ask? For weeks now you've been avoiding me, and when we have talked, you barely talk to me. If I hadn't figured out that you were pregnant, were you ever going to tell me?"

"Of course I was…eventually. I'm really sorry Shelby." Lucy apologized, meaning every word. "I've just had a lot going on lately and I know it's no excuse, but it was easier for me to just shut myself off from everything."

"But you don't need to. You have friends who want to help you." Shelby reminded her.

"I'm beginning to realize that." Lucy smiled. "I'm sorry I haven't been around much lately. I intend on changing that."

"Are you going to tell me what's been bothering you?" Shelby asked.

She stayed quiet for a moment. "I…I can't…not right now. I need to sort out some things first."

"Ok." Shelby relented, even though she was tempted to interrogate Lucy until she spilled everything.

"Oh, and just so you know, I'm going home to visit my mom for a couple of days."

"Why?" Shelby asked. "Is she ok?"

"She's fine. I just thought a little change of scenery would do me some good." Lucy explained.

"Are you going to tell her about the baby?"

Lucy nodded. "Yeah. I should let her know about it."

"She won't be mad at you." Shelby stated. "She's your mom and she loves you. I have a feeling she will understand."

"Thanks. I hope so."