Disclaimer: I once had a life. It was filled with many dreams. Now it is only filled with ideas for a show called ER, which scares me since I don't own the characters and never will.
Rating: PG-14
Summary: As the wedding approaches our two favorite doctors start to learn more about themselves and each other.
In Any Direction.
Carter's lying on the couch trying to read the newspaper while Noah is attacking the corners. Susan's sitting at the table flipping through a wedding magazine along with a phone book, when there's a knock at the door. Since he looks so comfortable on the couch, Susan offers to get the door. Lydia and Abby come in chatting happily, obviously excited about something. Carter peers over his paper briefly and then decides he can only get himself into trouble by asking anything, so goes back to the paper. Abby, Lydia and Susan gather at the table around all the wedding stuff and start chatting.
"So, have you decided on a wedding coordinator?" Lydia asked.
"I'm not sure yet. Who's good?" Susan asked. Carter suddenly picks up on the conversation and immediately sits up on the couch, turning toward the table, and knocking poor Noah to the floor.
"Wedding coordinator?" He interjects before the conversation can go any farther.
"Yeah, you know, one of those people who help coordinate weddings," Abby retorts.
"I know what a wedding coordinator is, but why?" He asked as he walked into the kitchen, with Noah attacking his stocking feet.
"To help coordinate the wedding," Lydia replied innocently. Carter just shot a glare at her as he took a seat between her and Susan.
"Hasn't the hospital paged you or something?" Susan asked Carter sweetly.
"I turned off my pager, this proves to be more interesting," Carter answered with a smile.
"So you want to help plan the wedding after I start thinking about getting a wedding coordinator?" Susan asked as she turned to look at him.
"Of course. It's one thing not to do my job, but it's another to let someone else do it for me. So now I have to help to make sure I get my say in too. Besides I don't want a wedding full of all the big, poofy, cutsy flower patterns, smothering the guests," Carter said, his smile getting bigger. Susan smacks him on his arm and glares with Abby and Lydia giggling in the background.
"Two points for Carter, for once," Lydia commented, making Carter preen all the more as he started flipping through the wedding magazine in front of Susan.
"Against what? 5,000 for Susan?" Abby continued, getting a laugh from Susan and wiping the smile from Carter's face.
"Ok, stop picking on John for once. I like the idea of him helping," Susan said, still suppressing giggles.
"Hmm, what do you think about this dress?" Carter asked Susan, pushing the magazine toward her as he pointed out a rather unflattering dress.
"Then again, on second thought," Susan muttered.
"Carter, maybe you should stick with other aspects of the wedding and let the bride decide on her own, personal, options," Abby said sweetly.
"Fine, what are we looking at first?" Carter asked cheerfully.
"Invitation patterns," Lydia answered as Susan spread out at least twenty different ones in front of him.
"Um, they all look the same," Carter said as he looked down at all of the choices.
"Oh come now. This one has a different flower pattern, this one has a different writing style," Susan began.
"What was the number of that wedding coordinator you were talking about?" Carter asked hurriedly.
"You're right it did work Lydia," Susan said with a smirk as Carter sat next to her looking rather confused. Abby picked up the phone and began dialing the number of a highly recommended coordinator.
"Who is Abby calling?" Carter asked.
.
"My friend recommended this coordinator, he is expensive but one of the best," Lydia said. Susan noticed the scared look in Carter's eye.
"John, if you don't want to have a coordinator we won't," Susan said. Carter just looked at her and smiled.
"Susan, it's fine I'm not worried about the money," Carter replied.
"Claudio Tamorro, will be here today at 3:00. He had a cancellation this afternoon, so we got lucky," Abby said as she hung up the phone.
"Claudio?" Carter asked in an unimpressed tone. Lydia just stared at him.
"What is wrong with Claudio, you haven't even met him, so how can you judge him?" Lydia asked.
"I think the name Claudio explains everything," Carter replied. Susan couldn't help but giggle.
"I just had an interesting thought," Susan said after a few seconds.
"What?" Abby asked.
"I was thinking how John and I are going to tell our parents that we have a guy named Claudio planning our wedding," Susan said with a smile.
"It's bad enough we're not having them help us, but now we're having a 'Claudio' help instead. Yeah, they'll love that," Carter said with a grin.
"Well at least I don't need to worry about him flirting with you," Carter said to Susan.
"No, but I might need to worry about him flirting with you," Susan replied.
"Well actually, you both need to worry," Lydia said. Carter and Susan looked at her.
"Please don't tell me he is—" Carter began.
"Yup, why do you think he likes working with couples?" Lydia asked with a smile
"Well this is going to be an interesting afternoon," Carter answered. Susan smiled, leaned over and gave him a kiss.
"We'll work through it," Susan said.
"Are you sure he is our best option?" Carter asked Lydia.
"Of course, he knows how to please both people," Lydia said with a smirk, causing Abby to collapse on the table laughing.
"Let's go out for coffee or something please, I think I need time to absorb all of this," Carter said sounding a little downtrodden. Abby and Lydia continued giggling as they followed Carter and Susan out of the apartment.
2:30pm: Back at the apartment.
Back from the coffee trip, Carter, Susan, Abby and Lydia crowd back into the apartment. Abby and Lydia gather back at the table while Susan and Carter cuddle up on the couch. Before everyone can get comfortable, there comes a knock at the door. Carter takes a look at his watch as he heads for the door.
"He's a little early," Carter muttered as he unlocked the door.
"Why hello, I'm Claudio. So good to see you, Carter is it?" The wedding coordinator said in a strongly accented voice as he sidled into the apartment with folders and bags full of examples, with his assistant right behind him bringing in more of the collection. As Carter watched everything enter his apartment he began dreading the upcoming situation. Susan led Claudio and his assistant to the table, so they could join Abby and Lydia. Everyone immediately started chattering about everything, leaving Carter completely clueless and very worried.
"No wonder he gets along with women so well. He talks more than they do," Carter murmured as he began walking over to the table. Before he even had the chance to sit down, much less start translating what Claudio was saying, there came another knock at the door. Susan, Lydia and Abby remained clueless to the new visitor, so Carter took it upon himself to find out who it was. He opened the door, to Susan's mother, who happened to be looking very cheery.
"Hello. So sorry to just pop up on you like this, but since Susan mentioned that you both had today off and you have a spectacular wedding to get planned, I thought I should come on over and start helping," Cookie said as she stepped in to the apartment and took a notice at Susan at the table. Hearing the conversation, Susan turned around, fearing that she recognized that cheery voice.
"Mom, what brings you here?" Susan asked, completely taken away from Claudio for the moment.
"Well you do have a wedding coming up my dear, you need to start planning and who better to help you than your own mother?" She replied as she walked over to the table.
"Oh you be the mother of the bride? I'm Claudio, the wedding coordinator," he said as he quickly stood up to kiss Cookie's hand, not noticing the suddenly sour expression forming on her face. Before Cookie could get a chance to say anything, another familiar figure steps through the still open door.
"John, how's the wedding planning going?" Eleanor said causing Carter and Susan to turn toward her.
"I hope you're not planning on getting a wedding coordinator, I can take care of everythi–" Eleanor began to say until she noticed Claudio at the table with all of his books and supplies laid out.
"So you two were planning on coordinating the wedding without involving your own mothers, is that it?" Cookie said, abruptly stepping away from a distraught Claudio and in front of Susan.
"Would you care to explain this, John?" Eleanor asked stepping in front of Carter. Carter and Susan already fearful of the situation started stepping together in the middle of the room just as both mothers began going off on a tirade. Carter pulled Susan next to him.
"You sure you don't just want to elope?" Carter said to Susan, trying to be quiet enough to not be overheard.
"Oh, so that's it, you just don't want your in-laws around," Cookie demanded of Carter, after overhearing his remark.
"I brought you up better than that young man," Eleanor said, coming to Cookie's defense.
"ENOUGH!" Susan yelled, immediately silencing the apartment, and probably everyone else within a three block radius.
"Look, if we needed your help, we would ask for it. This is our wedding and we want to plan it the way we want it. We don't even know if we're keeping Claudio as our wedding coordinator, but right now he's certainly being a much bigger help than either of you," Susan said still heated. Feeling insulted Eleanor sharply turns and exits the apartment without another word, with Cookie mumbling apologies following right behind her.
"Ok, well Claudio, should we all sit down and continue while one of you explains to me what he's talking about," Carter said, heading toward the table. Susan followed behind him and took her seat in between him and Claudio.
"Maybe we should just elope, so we don't have to deal with our wonderful families," Susan muttered as she sat.
"Oh no, you couldn't do that, no you'd miss so much," Claudio immediately began arguing, causing everyone to start laughing.
"Ok, ok, we see your point Claudio, please continue," Lydia said.
"Oh good, good, very good," Claudio said immediately bright as he hopped out of his seat.
"Let's start with the groom here, come on up, up, up now," Claudio said as he began coaxing a very startled Carter to stand up. As Claudio started running his hands along Carter's shoulders and down his waist, Carter shot Susan a panicked look.
"Don't worry John, he's just getting an idea for tux size," Susan said, trying to be reassuring as Abby and Lydia were doing everything they could to keep from giggling.
"Uh-huh, yeah sure," Carter said, in a less than believable tone.
"Plus you not be my type," Claudio said as he finished, finishing off Lydia and Abby in the process who couldn't hold back their laughter any longer. Carter shook his head and sat down as Claudio started flipping through one of his magazines.
"For you I have a fabulous design for your masculine figure and the most scrumptious tailor," Claudio began, immediately intriguing the females again as Carter resigned himself to a very long afternoon.
Later that evening:
Susan showed Abby and Lydia out, while Carter collapsed on the couch, thankful that Claudio had left a little over an hour before.
"He just freaks me out. Are you sure you want him?" Carter asked Susan pleadingly.
"Oh come on, he's absolutely fabulous," Susan said mockingly, walking close to couch, where Carter immediately pulled her into his lap.
"Don't ever say that again. I'll never think of the word 'fabulous' in the same way," Carter said burying his head on Susan's shoulder.
"Oh but seriously John, he's doing a wonderful job and he's making it so easy on us," Susan said, as she ran her fingers through Carter's hair.
"Will you be mad if he mysteriously disappears half way through this?" Carter mumbled into her shoulder.
"John," Susan gently rebuked him.
"Oh fine," Carter grumbled as he lifted his head from Susan's shoulder and kissed her.
"We should call our parent's tomorrow and apologize for our behavior today," Susan said after breaking the kiss.
"Our behavior?" Carter questioned, with a mildly accusing tone.
"I told them off, but you know you would have done the same thing. Besides you certainly didn't try to stop me," Susan replied. Carter smiled as he lay down on the couch. Susan lay down beside him as her head found a place on his chest.
"Susan you awake?" Carter asked after several minutes. Susan didn't respond. He looks down and noticed Susan fast asleep.
"I can't promise what will happen during the wedding, but I can promise you this much. I will be right by your side no matter how bad things get," Carter said. He looked at Susan once more before falling asleep.
"And I will be by yours," Susan replied after he fell asleep. A smile grew on Carter's lips as the two of them fell asleep peacefully in each other's embrace.
Later the next week:
Carter's walking through the ER, flipping through his charts, thinking about how much better Susan and he felt after calling their parents and apologizing. Although, he certainly wished that they hadn't bombarded them with extensive guest lists for the wedding. Well, at least he didn't have to work with Claudio any longer; he left that up to females.
After his ponderings, Carter finds himself in the lounge, where he sees Susan sitting, enjoying a cappuccino. He walks over to her and leans down to give her a kiss.
"Mmm, tastes good. Think I'm in the mood for a cappuccino," Carter said with a smile after breaking the kiss. Susan smiled up at him.
"Get your own," she said smiling, as she pulled her drink away from Carter.
"Didn't your parents teach you how to share?" Carter asked.
"Yeah, but it wasn't my strong point. So back off," Susan said with a playful growl.
"Did you get the final head count?" Carter asked after a moment.
"Well, including everyone from the ER, my family, your family, family friends, our other friends and then extended family of course, well …" Susan began, trying to stall.
"What about three hundred?" Carter asked hopefully.
"Not quite," Susan replied.
"Less?" Carter asked brightly.
"Higher," Susan coughed into her cappuccino.
"How much higher?" Carter asked tentatively.
"Well, not that much higher, I mean considering," Susan said, innocently, staring pointedly at her cappuccino as Lydia walks into the lounge.
"Susan, how many people?" Carter asked sternly.
"Oh it's only 625, not that bad," Lydia said for Susan before immediately exiting the lounge. Susan slowly looked up at Carter from her cappuccino.
"S-i-x h-u-n-d-r-e-d t-w-e-n-t-y f-i-v-e?" Carter stammered on the verge of anger.
"Something wrong?" Susan asked innocently.
"I think I'll go back to surgery now, it's much easier to deal with," Carter said just before leaving the lounge. Abby walked in just as Carter was walking out.
"What's wrong with him?" Abby asked, as she grabbed a cup of water.
"Oh, he was just informed of the expected head count," Susan said as Abby sat next to her.
"It can't be that bad. I mean come on, how many are there?" Abby asked just before taking a sip of water.
"Oh, try 625," Susan said calmly, causing Abby's sip of water to spray across the table.
"Glad you were sitting next to me and not across from me," Susan said before taking a sip of her cappuccino.
"How's that possible?" Abby stammers.
"Carter's side has a lot of family and friends," Susan said matter-of-factly as Lydia slipped back into the lounge.
In the meantime Carter's slowly ambling toward the admit desk with his charts still firmly in hand, when Jerry stops him.
"Hey Carter, a call came for you from someone named Claudio. He said to tell you that it would be…" Jerry began.
"Tell me it's a nice tiny number," Carter asked nervously.
"Well it is only in the three digits," Jerry said trying to sound optimistic.
"So, what, $150 a head?" Carter asked, nervously hopeful.
"Double it and you're good," Jerry said with a smile as Carter's charts drop to the floor. Jerry handed him a slip of paper with the figure on it as he watched Carter's jaw slowly close. Carter picked up the charts in a very methodical matter as he slowly headed back to the lounge. Looking as if he's on the verge of tears, he stumbles into the lounge and collapses in a chair as his charts slide on the table in front of him, with the slip of paper on top of the stack.
"What's wrong John?" Susan asked concerned, but Carter just stared at the wall. Abby notices the slip of paper and picks it up.
"$300 a head?" Abby questioned aloud as she read the paper. With that announcement, Carter's blank look turned to a glare as he faced the three perpetrators.
"This is all your fault, all three of you. You and your fancy wedding coordinator," Carter said, in something just short of a growl. Lydia, Abby and Susan sat there, trying to look as innocent as possible.
"Lydia, Abby, could you excuse us for a second?" Susan asked them quietly.
"Not a problem, we have work to do, patients to check, you know," Abby began as she hurriedly stepped to the door.
"Yeah, there's probably a sick patient I need to tend to or something," Lydia said, following right behind Abby.
"I'm sorry?" Susan remarked since Carter wasn't saying anything else.
"You just had to get a wedding coordinator," Carter said quietly.
"Well, I suppose we could cancel the coordinator, call our mothers and let them work together," Susan said, still feigning the innocent act. Carter sat there a moment, thinking about that possibility as his eyes widened and a panicked expression overtook his face.
"Ok, nevermind, you win, the wedding coordinator was a good idea," Carter said hurriedly.
"We can always knock the guest list down," Susan said as she leaned toward Carter, taking one of his hands in hers.
"Good idea, smaller guest list, very good," Carter said, barely able to get past single syllable words now.
"Everything will be ok, John," Susan said with a quiet reassurance.
"I guess so. Besides if all else fails we can always elope," Carter said after a moment, with a small smile coming to his face again. Susan smiled in returned as she sat looking at her future husband.
To be continued in the next series…