We Used To Be Friends

Chapter Thirty-Two

A/N: Thanks for the reviews! Enjoy!

…Carter is the father of my child." Lucy looked at her friends, who were speechless, and then over at Carter.

After a few moments of silence, Dave grinned. "Congratulations to both of you! This is great news." He was so happy. Perhaps since they are having a child together they will finally realize how much they love each other.

Shelby was speechless by Lucy's announcement. Something about it wasn't right. First of all, for Lucy to be pregnant with Carter's child that would have to mean that Carter and Lucy had slept together. Lucy had never mentioned that to her, and she was her best friend. Well, one of her best friends. The fact that Lucy hadn't told her that she had slept with Carter was just another painful reminder that maybe Shelby wasn't Lucy's best friend anymore. Second, for Lucy to be pregnant with Carter's child would mean that Carter had cheated on Abby. Carter wouldn't cheat on his now ex-girlfriend though, right? Carter didn't seem like the type of person who would cheat, although there was also a time when she hadn't thought that Carter was the type of person who would completely abandon his friends for shallow popularity. She was wrong then; maybe she was wrong now. Third, Lucy had been depressed for weeks and she still didn't know the reason for the depression. She conceded that it was possible Lucy was so depressed because she thought that Carter didn't care about her, but something in her gut told her that wasn't the reason for her friends' sadness. There were so many holes in this story.

Lucy was glad that Dave seemed so eager to believe the lie about her child's paternity, but was worried about the fact that Shelby had yet to say anything. Taking a look at her friend, she could tell that the wheels inside Shelby's head were spinning a mile a minute. "Shelby? Are you going to say something?"

Shelby looked directly into her friends' eyes. "Can I see you in the kitchen for a moment please?" She was determined to get some answers.

Without a word to anyone else at the table, Lucy followed Shelby into the kitchen. "What?" Lucy asked once they had reached the kitchen.

"I can't figure it out!" Shelby exclaimed.

"Can't figure what out?" Lucy asked, looking at Shelby like she had grown a second head.

"Did you really sleep with Carter? Or are you lying?" A part of her hoped that Lucy had slept with Carter because then maybe her two friends would finally stumble into a relationship that she knew they both wanted. But another part of her hoped that Lucy was lying. If Lucy was lying, then she could get rid of this insecure feeling she had about their friendship.

Lucy took a closer look at her friend and realized what the problem was. Shelby felt slightly betrayed that she hadn't confided in her about her supposed "one night stand" with Carter. She briefly contemplated whether or not to tell Shelby the whole truth about her pregnancy, yet something held her back. She wasn't ready for everyone to know about that. It was bad enough that Carter knew about it; she wasn't strong enough to deal with everyone she cared about knowing the truth. She took a deep breath before another lie passed through her lips. "I did sleep with Carter. It was a one-time thing that happened weeks ago, and I'm sorry that I didn't tell you about it."

"Why didn't you tell me? I thought I was your best friend." Shelby asked sadly.

Lucy shrugged. "I don't know. I guess I just didn't know how to tell you. I was embarrassed."

Shelby knew that it was probably a little petty to be jealous of Lucy's friendship with Carter and the closeness they seemed to share, but she couldn't help it. Even when they were kids she felt like a third wheel around them. Now that they were adults, the third wheel feeling had only intensified. "Are you hiding anything else from me?"

"No." Lucy lied, shaking her head. "I'm sorry Shelby. I didn't mean to keep this from you." She paused and then a small smile formed on her face. "Still best friends?"

Shelby still wasn't convinced that she knew everything about this situation. Something still didn't seem to add up for her, but she knew that she had to be happy for her friends. "Of course." She pulled Lucy into a hug. "I'm happy for you both."

"Thanks." Lucy replied.

"So how did this happen?" Shelby asked, determined to get all of the details concerning Carter and Lucy's tryst. Something still didn't feel right with this whole situation, but she figured it was possible that she was just being too suspicious. She would have to work on getting rid of her suspicions about this whole situation another time. Now it was time to celebrate the fact that her two best friends were having a baby together.

"What do you think they're talking about in there?" Dave asked Carter as they sat at the table, waiting for the girls to come back.

"I don't know." Carter replied. "My guess is that Shelby's probably grilling Lucy about the details of how this happened."

Dave laughed. "Yeah that sounds like a very Shelby thing to do." He was quiet for a moment. "I don't mean to be noisy or anything, but how did it happen? I mean you don't have to go into specifics, but what happened?"

Carter was very glad that he had sat down with Lucy and created a cover story to tell everyone. They had decided on a very basic story. They had gotten drunk and then they ended up in bed. It was a simple story that had happened to millions of other people, so it would work for this situation. "Well, one night we started drinking and then ended up sleeping together."

"So it was a drunken one-night stand?"

"Yeah." Carter nodded.

"Did you regret it the next day?" Dave asked, suddenly very curious. He briefly wondered where this curiosity was coming from. He had never been this curious about other people's lives. Perhaps some of Shelby's personality characteristics were rubbing off on him.

He was expecting this question too. "I regretted hurting Lucy and I regretted cheating on Abby. I'd never cheated on anyone before. But even though I was drunk at the time, I did know what I was doing. I just couldn't stop; I love Lucy."

"Does she know?" Dave asked, silently praising Carter for finally waking up and realizing his feelings for Lucy. Now if only Lucy would do the same.

"No," Carter shook his head, "and you can't tell her either. This pregnancy is overwhelming enough for her right now. I don't want to add to it by proclaiming my love. Besides, she it's not likely she would believe me right now anyway."

"I think she would believe you." Dave told him. She'd probably tell you she loves you too.

"Just don't tell her, ok?"

"Ok." Dave nodded. "You've got my word that she will never find out from me."

"Thanks." Carter smiled. He knew that he could trust Dave not to say anything since Dave had given him his word.

Lucy and Carter sat silently on the couch after Dave and Shelby left. Carter looked over at her and smiled. "That went well."

Lucy nodded. "Yeah. I guess."

"You don't sound convinced of that." He noted her less than enthusiastic reply.

Lucy looked over at him. "I just feel like there is this gap forming between Shelby and me. She's still suspicious about us."

Us. There really wasn't a 'us'. He wanted there to be a 'us', but there wasn't. He gave her a small smile. "I wouldn't worry too much about it. Everything will be ok."

She was silent for a few moments before responding. "Do you ever think that maybe we won't be able to fool everyone? I mean, telling everyone that you're the father of this baby is basically a big prank that we're trying to pull off. I was never good with even small pranks, remember?"

A huge smile formed on his face as he recalled several failed April fools pranks that Lucy had attempted when they were growing up. He never actually fell for one of her pranks, but that was only because her pranks were never planned out well enough. He would never tell her that though. "Does it really matter if people are suspicious about us? Honestly, what does it matter? We're going to be able to fool most of the people we tell, so don't worry about the few that are suspicious. You worry too much."

"I do not!" Lucy protested, lightly slapping his arm.

"Yes you do." He grinned. "That's why I need to find you a hobby."

She laughed. "Oh not this conversation again! I don't need a hobby!"

"Yes you do. Worrying is not good for the baby, so I suggest you stop immediately." He put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer to him. "Let me do the worrying for all of us, ok?"

Lucy smiled when he said 'all of us' because he was including the baby. With his arm around her, she couldn't help but feel safe and suddenly all worries she had seemed to be muted. She rested her head on his shoulder and yawned. "You sure you want to do all of the worrying?"

"I'm sure. You need to stop worrying."

She yawned again. "Is that an order Dr. Carter?"

"Yes. It's doctor's orders." He replied with a chuckle and kissing the top of her head. He loved having her this close to him, yet it was also hard for him at the same time. He would give anything to be able to kiss her right now, but it wasn't the right time. So he focused his attention elsewhere. "So do you want to tell everyone at work on your first day back or do you want to wait?" He waited for her reply but it never came. He glanced down at her and saw that her eyes were closed. She had fallen asleep in his arms again. He tightened the grasp that he had around her and felt her instinctively curl up closer to him. After they laid there in that position for awhile, he started whispering. "You do worry too much Luce, but I'm gonna find a way to get you to quit." He waited a few moments before continuing. "I love you Lucy. Maybe someday I'll have the courage to say that to you while you're awake, but for now I guess it will be my little secret. If I'm lucky, maybe someday you'll love me the way I love you. But even if you don't, at least I'll be able to help you raise your son or daughter."

A few minutes after Carter finished speaking, Lucy heard the faint sounds of him snoring. She opened her eyes, letting a tear escape. She hadn't been in a state of deep sleep, she was only dozing on and off. His voice had brought her back from her sleepy state and she had heard every word he said. Did he really love her? He didn't know that she was listening, so he wasn't saying it because he thought she wanted to hear it. He had no reason to lie. So that must mean that he was telling the truth and really did love her. It shouldn't be this surprising to her; she had suspected he had romantic feelings for her. But hearing him quantify those feelings into love was surprising to her. Her first instinct was to shake him awake and tell him that she loved him back, but she quelled that urge. She wasn't ready for any type of relationship, even with Carter. But she desperately wanted to tell him that she loved him, especially now that she knew he loved her. She finally decided it would be pointless to continue having this inner debate with her mind right now, and besides, she was under strict orders from Dr. Carter not to worry so much. She reached up and lightly kissed his cheek, lingering close to his face for a moment, before curling up next to him again and going back to sleep. Just the information that he loved her was enough to make her settle into a nice, peaceful sleep.