Disclaimer: I do not own Strong Medicine or the characters. They belong to Whoopi Goldberg, and Tammy Ader, and Lifetime TV. Special thanks to my proofreaders and sounding boards! You know who you are :-) I couldn't do this without you guys!

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Several Seconds Later

Lu stood in stunned silence, her hand still covering her mouth.

"Will you do me the honor of being my wife?" Peter gazed up at her from where he stayed poised on one knee.

The waiters stopped, the customers looked up from their meals, and the other couples stopped dancing. All eyes were on Lu and Peter. The only sound was the music drifting across Chez Martinelli's dance floor.

"Peter... I... I..." Lu stuttered, finally finding her voice.

"I love you Lu, you're everything to me." Peter pulled the huge ring out of the box.

"Yes!" she smiled broadly, tears streaming down her face.

Applause broke out across the restaurant as Peter slipped the ring on Lu's finger. He stood up and pulled her close.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, "Peter, I..."

Peter gently brushed her tears away and leaned over, silencing her with a kiss. Wrapping his arms around her tiny waist, Peter lifted Lu off the floor and twirled her around. Then, gently lowering her back to her feet, he held her close and began to dance again.


A Few Days Later - The Day After Christmas

Silence blanketed the clinic. No patients in the lobby. The phone that never seemed to stop ringing was strangely quiet. Even Andy and Lu's pagers that constantly sounded were oddly silent. Enjoying the rare calm, Andy and Lana sat on Lu's office couch while the three women chatted.

"So, Peter spent Christmas with you? What did Marc think?" Lana smiled, "Give us details, all the juicy details."

"Marc enjoyed it and there ARE no juicy details." Lu laughed as she rolled her chair around the desk and came to a stop in front of her friends.

"Have you set a wedding date?" Andy asked as she picked up Lu's hand and looked at her engagement ring again.

"February second, " Lu smiled, "I need to talk to you guys though."

"Wow! That's not very far away! Talk to us? About what?" Andy looked up at her friend in surprise and raised an eyebrow.

Lu rolled her chair back a little ways and propped her feet up on the couch between her friends, "I was hoping that I could convince you both to be my maids-of-honor."

"Two maids-of-honor?" A smile played across Lana's face, "But what about bridesmaids?"

"Well, " Lu glanced at Andy, "I was thinking of asking Jessie and Lizzy. Do you think they would want to?"

"They would love it! They're both such girly girls." Andy smiled and looked up at the clock on Lu's office wall.

Following Andy's gaze, Lu was surprised to see that it was almost five o'clock, "Today was amazingly quiet, but I bet we pay the price for it on Monday."

"Most likely so." Andy agreed as she stood to leave.

"Wait," Lu put her hand on Andy's arm, "Can I ask one more favor?"

"Of course." Andy shrugged out of her white lab coat.

"I was wondering... well..." Lu searched for the right words, "You know my Mom died when I was ten... and I seriously doubt that Isabel will fly in from Puerto Rico..."

"You really think your grandmother will miss your wedding?" A puzzled look crossed Andy's face.

"Oh, I know she'll WANT to be here, but I don't think she'll be able to make the trip..." Lu looked down at her feet.

"But?" Lana gently prompted with growing concern in her voice.

"No buts..." Lu continued without looking up, "I just wondered if you guys could help me choose a dress and plan the wedding."

Placing her finger under Lu's chin, Lana raised her face, forcing Lu to look up at her. "Are you sure that's what you want?"

"Yes, you guys are my family, I couldn't have raised Marc without you." Lu quickly wiped away tears before they could spill down her cheeks.

"Well, when do you want to go dress shopping?" Andy sat back down facing Lu.

"How about tomorrow?" Lana suggested excitedly.

"Sounds good to me." Andy nodded in agreement.

"Tomorrow? Already? Isn't that kinda fast?" Lu questioned as she looked back and forth between her two best friends.

"February second is barely over a month away, baby girl. They'll probably need at least a month for alterations and additional fittings." Lana's motherly instincts suddenly kicked in full gear.

"Alright... tomorrow then." Lu smiled as excitement began to overtake her.

"Good! Dr. Campbell, I'll pick you up at 7:45 in the morning," Lana smiled broadly and looked at Lu, "then we'll be at your apartment no later than 8:00"


The Next Day Around Noon

"Come on Lana... We've been shopping for hours. We've been in every bridal shop in Philly. Let's give it up for the day and go get some lunch." Lu suggested from the passenger seat of Lana's car.

"There's a lot of places we haven't been to yet. Let's check this one before we eat." Lana turned into the parking lot of a small bridal shop.

"Alright." Lu agreed as Lana parked.

"This looks nice." Andy opened the back door and got out.

"This is where Jen, in radiology, got her wedding gown last month... and it was absolutely beautiful. Come on, let's go in. I bet you'll find your dress in here, Lu." When she didn't receive an answer, Lana stopped and looked to her right, "Lu?"

"It's perfect." Lu whispered as she stood staring at a wedding gown in the bridal shop's display window.

"Is that the one you want?" Andy stepped up beside Lu.

"Yes." Lu responded without taking her eyes off of the gown.

"Well then, let's go try it on." Andy led Lu inside.

Upon entering the store, they were instantly greeted by a middle-aged lady with glasses and shoulder-length strawberry blonde hair. "Hello! Which one of you lovely ladies is the bride?"

"I am." Lu looked around, surprised at the large number of dresses that the small shop held.

"I'm Joanne." the saleswoman stepped forward.

"I'm Lu... Andy and Lana." Lu pointed to both of her friends as she spoke.

A radiant smile lit up Joanne's face, "How may I help you, Dear?"

"I'm really interested in the dress in your display window." Lu couldn't help but return Joanne's contagious smile.

"Ah, one of our most popular styles. Right this way, Honey." Joanne's gently grandmotherly manner took over as she led Lu to a sales rack.

Looking through the dresses, Lu found the gown in her size and pulled it off the rack.

"Would you like me to hang that in a dressing room while you continue to look? " Joanne offered with a twinkle in her eye.

"No thank you. I'm gonna go try it on now." Lu turned and looked for her friend, "Andy?"

"Here I am." Andy walked over and followed Lu into a dressing room.

Whispers and soft laughter drifted from behind the closed dressing room door as Andy helped Lu into the wedding gown. "Oh Lu... that's gorgeous!" Andy's voice floated over the door.

"Well come on out and let Lana see." Lana called from outside the dressing room.

The door slowly swung open, revealing Lu in a floor-length, white satin, sleeveless wedding gown. Lu stepped out of the dressing room.

"Turn around." Andy instructed as she picked up the train.

Turning sideways, Lu watched Andy emerge from the dressing room and spread the long white satin train out behind her.

"It's soooo pretty!" Lana exclaimed as she help spread the train out, unbunching the lace center.

Lu looked in the three-way mirror and ran her hand down the fitted bodice to the full skirt, "Lots of tulle to make it puff out... I love it."

Lana placed a flowered headpiece and veil on Lu's head. Andy reached up and tugged the veil, centering it to where it fell just below Lu's chin in the front and to her waist in the back.

"No veil," Lu gently pulled the headpiece and veil off, "I'm gonna wear my hair up in a french twist with baby's breath. Besides... I don't want to cover the buttons up."

"I didn't think about that." Lana smiled as she looked at the small pearl buttons running down the back of Lu's dress from the scooped neckline to the fitted waist.

Lu looked back at Andy and Lana with tears in her eyes.

Reading the thoughts as they danced across Lu's face, Andy wrapped her in a hug and spoke softly in her ear, "Your Mom would love it, she'd be so proud of you... Isabel will too"

Lu returned Andy's hug, "Thank you," her voice barely audible, "I really needed to hear that." Then, pulling away from Andy's embrace, Lu smiled and wiped away the tears as they spilled down her cheeks. "This is it, this is the one I want"

"Wonderful! Wonderful Dear! You look absolutely stunning!" Joanne's bubbling personality made them all laugh as she rushed forward and began fussing over Lu's dress. "We'll tuck this in a little here, and raise the hem a little here... Don't you worry, Honey. We'll get this all fixed up!"

"Hussle, hussle!" Lana clapped her hands, "We're just getting started. We've got a LOT of work to do!"