We Used To Be Friends

Chapter Thirty-Four

A/N: Thanks for all of the wonderful reviews! This story has already become longer than I originally planned it to be, but ideas keep flowing into my brain. So as long as the ideas keep coming, and people are interested, I will keep writing this story. Enjoy!

Carter hurried down the halls of the ER, impatiently checking his watch and searching for Dave. He soon found Dave coming out of exam room 2. "Hey, can you cover for me for a little while?"

"Why?" Dave asked. If it was for a good reason, he would do this favor for his friend.

"Lucy's got a doctor's appointment at 1 and I promised I'd be there." Carter explained.

Dave looked down at his watch. "It's 1:10."

"I know that." Carter replied impatiently. "I've been busy with a patient that wouldn't stop vomiting. I really need to get going. Will you please cover for me?"

"Yeah man, go. I'll make sure that no one even notices that you're gone. And say hi to Lucy for me." He called out as Carter started running down the hallway to the elevator.

Lucy laid on the bed and looked around the room at the posters hanging on the walls. She was bored out of her mind. The doctor was running late and Carter wasn't here yet either. She didn't mind that the doctor was running late, but she was a little concerned that Carter wasn't here yet. This was the first time that Carter had ever been late to one of her appointments. She checked her watch. 1:15. Thinking back to this morning, she tried to remember what time she told him the appointment was. She did tell him that it was at 1, right? Of course she did. He wouldn't have forgotten, so that meant that he was most likely stuck with a patient right now. She released a sigh and hoped that he got here before the doctor so that he could see the ultrasound.

After finding that taking the elevator was too time-consuming, Carter headed for the stairwell and ran up the four flights of stairs to get to the 4th floor. After checking with the receptionist, he made his way over to Lucy's room and tried to calm his heavy breathing. He knocked softly.

"Come in." Lucy said, hoping that the person on the other side was Carter.

"Hey." He opened the door and gave her a smile.

"Hey." She smiled back, relieved that he was there. Then she noticed his odd breathing. "What did you do? Run up here?"

He chuckled. "As a matter of fact, I did. I didn't want to be any later than I already was. And I'm sorry that I'm late. I was with a patient and then I had to track down Dave to get him to cover for me. And you know Dave…he's never where he's supposed to be."

"It's alright. I figured that your tardiness had to do with a patient."

"Dave says hi by the way." Carter announced, standing right next to Lucy's bed. "I didn't miss the ultrasound, did I?" He hoped he wasn't too late.

"No. The doctor's running late. You haven't missed anything." She reassured him. She could see the fear in his eyes that he had missed the ultrasound.

He let out a sigh. "Good."

There was a knock and then the door opened. Dr. Reynolds smiled as she entered the room and saw Lucy and Carter. It was always nice when the father comes to the mother's appointments. She knew that Carter has been to every single appointment and knew that he was taking on an active role in Lucy's pregnancy. It was a refreshing change from the single mothers that she encountered on an almost daily basis. "So Lucy, how are you feeling?"

"Ok I guess, considering…" She smiled and pointed to her expanding belly. "I am a little anxious to find out the sex of the baby. Will we be able to tell from the ultrasound today?"

"I don't see why not." Dr. Reynolds replied as she pulled the ultrasound machine closer to Lucy's bed. She then lifted the gown Lucy was wearing so that Lucy's protruding stomach was exposed. "And what about you Carter? How are you doing?"

"Oh I'm great." He replied with a huge smile.

"Are you making sure that Lucy is eating right and taking her prenatal vitamins?"

"Yes." Carter nodded.

Lucy snorted. "He's almost militaristic about it! Can you please tell him that a little bit of junk food is not bad for the baby?" She pleaded. They had gotten into an argument the other day about why she shouldn't eat chocolate. While she understood that he was just trying to be helpful and caring, she wanted chocolate!

Dr. Reynolds smiled at Lucy. "Of course." She then focused her attention on Carter. "Junk food, in moderation, is not going to hurt the baby's development."

Lucy gave Carter a smug smile. "See? I told you so!"

"Yeah yeah yeah." Carter shrugged.

Dr. Reynolds laughed at the couple's exchange as she spread the jelly-like substance over Lucy's belly. Then she turned on the ultrasound machine and picked up the controller. "Ready to see your baby?"

"Yes." Lucy and Carter replied in unison.

"Ok." Dr. Reynolds moved the controller along Lucy's stomach, finally settling on a spot. A smile formed on her face as she pointed to a small figure on the screen. "There is you baby. That's the head…there are the arms…and there are the legs."

"That's amazing." Carter whispered, grabbing a hold of Lucy's hand.

Lucy was speechless. This was the first ultrasound she had gotten, and seeing her baby on the screen was almost overwhelming. She had recently felt the baby moving around, but now she had a better understanding of the child growing inside her. She just stared at the image on the screen, memorizing every small movement and shape. At the beginning of her pregnancy she had briefly wondered if she was going to be able to love this baby the way if deserved to be loved since it was conceived from a violent act. But now she realized that it didn't matter. It didn't matter that this child was the product of a rape, it didn't matter that a baby was the last thing she had expected to come into her life, and it didn't matter that she doubted her own mothering abilities. What mattered was this tiny new life being shown on the screen. That new life was depending on her for survival, and she knew now that she shouldn't have doubted if she would love this child. This child was already a part of her and she loved it more than she ever thought it was possible. She felt tears starting to fall and wiped them away quickly with the hand that Carter wasn't holding.

"Are you ok?" He asked, noticing the tears.

"I'm fine." Lucy replied, finally taking her eyes off of the screen and looking at him. "It's just…that's our baby."

He nodded and smiled, understanding some of the emotions that she was feeling. He was beyond happy when he noticed that she had said 'our baby'. Up until now, he had almost felt like he wasn't really a part of this pregnancy. Sure he was attending her doctor's appointments with her and he was trying to help her by monitoring her diet and making sure she was staying healthy, but he always felt like just a friend. With those simple words, 'our baby', he was finally beginning to think that Lucy was opening up to him even more. Now there was no doubt in his mind that Lucy considered him a part of this pregnancy.

"Do you want to know the sex of the baby?" Dr. Reynolds asked.

"Yes." Lucy answered. "We would."

Dr. Reynolds moved the controller around for a moment and then looked at the young couple. "It looks like you're going to have a girl. Congratulations."

"A girl." Carter whispered.

Lucy looked over at him nervously. "Did you want a boy?" She hoped he would be happy with a girl. They hadn't really discussed whether they wanted a boy or a girl.

"Well someday I might want a boy, but right now I can't wait to have a girl." Carter assured her, giving her one of his wide grins.

Lucy groaned. "You're going to be one of those fathers who completely spoils their daughter, aren't you?"

"Maybe." He laughed. "But what's so wrong with that?"

"Nothing if you want the girl to be a spoiled brat. Personally, I don't want that." Lucy told him.

He was still holding on to her hand and brought it up to his lips for a soft kiss. "How about this, then? I won't spoil her completely. But I can't promise anything other than that. Besides, you're going to be spoiling her too."

She looked down at the floor, knowing that she was caught. "Yeah, maybe. Just promise me that she won't turn out to be a complete and total spoiled brat?"

"I promise." He grinned.

Dr. Reynolds watched the young couple with interest as she finished up her work. They seemed to be so in love with each other, so why weren't they married? She knew it wasn't her place to intrude upon her patients' lives with irrelevant questions, but she was still curious. She almost hated to interrupt their conversation, but needed to. "Would you like some still photos from the ultrasound?"

Lucy turned and looked at the doctor. She had almost forgotten that they were still at the doctor's office during her conversation with Carter. "I'd like some pictures."

"So would I." Carter nodded.

"Ok." Dr. Reynolds typed some words into the computer and soon pictures were coming out of the printer. She handed them to Carter and Lucy. "Do you have any questions about anything?"

"I don't." Carter answered. "What about you Luce?"

"No, I think I'm fine." Lucy replied.

"Ok. Then, Lucy, you can get dressed now. Also, don't forget to make an appointment with the receptionist on your way. If you come up with any questions, remember that you can call my service."

"Thank you Dr. Reynolds." Lucy smiled, watching the doctor leave the room. "Wow."

"I know." Carter nodded as they each stared at the picture in their hands. "It's a girl."

"We better start thinking of names." Lucy suggested.

"And we can start decorating the nursery now." Carter added.

Lucy nodded, taking her eyes off of the picture and instead staring at Carter. His enthusiasm and excitement about this pregnancy still amazed her. His eyes glittered with happiness every time she watched him talk about her child. This wasn't his child, yet to the rest of the world he looked like the typical expectant father. Having Carter in her life made her quite possibly the luckiest woman in the world.

He looked over and saw Lucy staring at him. "What?"

"Nothing." She shook her head and went back to looking at the picture.

He knew it wasn't nothing. "No, why were you looking at me like that?"

She knew that he wouldn't leave the subject alone until she answered him so she gave in. "I was just thinking about how lucky I am to have you here."

He thought about her statement for a moment before shaking his head. "You're not the lucky one."

She looked at him strangely. "And just what exactly do you mean by that?"

"I'm the lucky one. You're giving me the chance to help you raise your child. You trust me enough to let me be the father of your child. You're giving me the chance to experience this with you. I'm definitely the lucky one in this situation."

"It just amazes me that you can be this excited about a child that isn't yours." Lucy confessed.

"So what if it isn't mine?" He shrugged. "This baby is yours, and that's all that matters in my book. I have a feeling that she's going to be just as smart, beautiful, funny, and wonderful as her mother."

Lucy smiled, touched by his words. She reached up and gave him a quick kiss, only intending to kiss his cheek. But he had moved his head and she ended up kissing him on the lips. She was surprised at first, then closed the small distance between them again to give him another, longer kiss on the lips.

He was surprised when Lucy gave him the first kiss, but became utterly shocked when Lucy kissed him a second time. This kiss was definitely different than the first one. This one was more passionate and more involved. He was enjoying the kiss, but after a couple of seconds he pulled away. He couldn't be sure that Lucy was ready for this kind of thing and didn't want to hurt her.

Honestly, she didn't know what had gotten into her. She hadn't meant to kiss him on the lips either time. It just sort of happened and she couldn't stop herself. After he pulled away from her kiss, there was an awkward silence. Perhaps she could blame this on her pregnancy hormones.

"I have to get back to work. How about I bring home pizza for dinner?"

"Sounds good." Lucy replied slowly. Apparently he wanted to forget about the kiss and pretend it never happened. So she decided to do the same. "I should get dressed."

He took the hint to leave and gave her a small smile. "I'll see you later then."

"Bye." She replied as she watched him leave. Why did I have to go and kiss him? Because you wanted to. So why did he pull away like that? Well, at least she could hold onto the memory of that kiss. It definitely was a good kiss.