"Dr. Corday?" Carter poked his head into her office. He'd been back
at work for almost a month.
"Come in, groom-to-be." Elizabeth Corday went to put her daughter
into her playpen. Little Ella proceeded to make a quite lengthy but
unintelligible speech in her favorite "Uncle's" honor. John
immediately took her from her mother and sat down with Ella in his
lap.
"Dr. Corday, I need your help. I know it seemed the fates conspired
to do their best to ruin your wedding day, but nevertheless, it was
one of the nicest I've ever been to. Did you use a coordinator?"
Elizabeth Corday rolled her eyes. "Yes. Take my advice and save your
money. A half-witted paraplegic budgie bird could do the same job
with half the fuss."
"Watching your language, huh?" John grinned as Ella did her best to
repeat her mother's last statement.
"And then some. I gave birth to a mimic. When she's with me, she
gurgles with a British accent. With Mark, it's vintage Californian
with an overlay of regionless military brat. Every now and then we
recognize a few words, so we're both taking precautions." Elizabeth
explained, talking in counterpoint with Ella. "Seriously, you and
Luka pick one evening, sit down and fight it out like gentlemen.
Then, dump the whole thing in your grandmother's lap."
"I suppose she could help. It's just we want this to be special for
the both of us. I'm afraid Gamma may get carried away."
"Well, then the *three* of you fight it out. Actually, if I had it to
do all over again, I'd go with 'less is more'." Whatever you do,
someone is bound to be critical, so please yourselves and let
everyone else take a flying..."
"Figure eight? Fricassee? Frisbee?" John laughed as Dr. Corday
clapped her hand over her mouth, swallowing what had promised to be a
choice Anglo-Saxon oath.
"All of the above and a few more. When you two have made up your
minds, call me. I have some phone numbers of florists, limo services,
caterers, and what-not that you *shouldn't* use."
Laughing, John put Ella in the playpen and left to go back to the ER.
Kerry's surprise "coming out" gift had been a change in their
schedules. It had taken some juggling to achieve, but now John and
Luka had identical shifts at least 60% of the time. John took the
chart Randi offered and headed to the next patient.
Luka quietly called the time of death for an elderly victim of heart
failure. Since John's return, he'd regained most of the weight he
lost. He thanked the nurses for their assistance and went to break
the news to the family. The old man's daughter and grand-daughters
cried while their respective spouses held them. Luka left them to
comfort each other and went to find John.
"Dr. Carter?" Luka looked into Exam One. Both men, maintained proper
decorum at work. Inspite of this, John couldn't help smiling every
time Luka used his title and surname; remembering times when they'd
played "doctor".
"I'll be finished here, shortly." John removed the blood pressure
cuff from his patient while Lydia checked the thermometer. Luka
nodded and headed to the lounge. A few minutes later, John came
in. "What's up?"
"I think I've managed to find a date for the wedding that won't
inconvenience too many people. How does November 15th sound? It's the
middle of the month. God willing, things should be relatively slow
here. It's after the city elections, so Alderman Carlton's schedule
should be almost clear." Luka ticked off his reasons on John's
fingers then kissed his palm.
"Sounds good to me. Is the church available?"
"That's the first thing I looked into. Yes." The church they'd found
had been recently purchased by the Chicago Dignity congregations.
Formerly a parish church whose shrinking congregation had been merged
with another, St. Stanislaus was in pretty good shape. Although no
longer officially rostered with the diocese, the architectural
features were those Luka was used to.
"Let's do it then. The draft invitation should be delivered this
afternoon." John got up to go back to work. "Was there anything else?"
"Yes. I love you." Luka smiled.
"You two are a menace to single people everywhere." Jing-Mei had come
in just in time to hear Luka's declaration. "How's the wedding
coming?"
"Great. We just set the date. November 15th."
"Suppose I'm working?" Jing-Mei had been overjoyed to discover she
was wrong about Carter's whereabouts. She'd missed her friend very
much. His return almost made up for Malucci's smug I-told-you-so
attitude.
"Not to worry. My father is going to get enough temps to cover for
everyone who wants to go. Listen, I've got to get back, some lab
results I've been waiting on should be done." John kissed Luka's
cheek and ran out of the door.
That evening, they took Dr. Corday's advice and finished the plans
for their ceremony. Trusting to Millicent Carter's excellent taste,
they left most of decorating decisions for her. John knew she was
deeply affected by her husband's perfidy. He'd introduced her to
Cyril and Charles, suggesting they work on the wedding together.
Cyril all by himself, would be welcome entertainment. The two of them
would be more than enough to keep Millicent from brooding too much.
"Well, that's it. Two Armani tuxedos for us. Generic ones for the
male attendants and something elegant for the women that can be worn
again without looking like a recycled bride's maid dress." John put
down the legal pad they'd used to record their ideas.
"You've been hanging around Cyril and Charles waay too much." Luka
held John as they sat in the living room. Two of the posters used in
Cyril's hospital room covered holes in the walls where the listening
devices had been removed. To John's overwhelming relief, no devices
had been planted in the bedroom.
"You don't know the half of it. If those two have their way, we'll
all be in period costumes." John grinned and shared Cyril's elaborate
suggestion for a "tribute to the great Hollywood fashion designers".
"And the food?" Luka licked John's ear enjoying his lover's
involuntary shiver.
"Croatian sausage?" John teased.
"Nope. It's in limited supply." Luka produced another shiver.
"Figured as much. How's about a blend of both our traditions? Over-
cooked veggies and boiled fowl to represent my watered down
Englishness and something piquant and spicy to represent your sexy
Croatian heritage."
"Piquant?"
"Yeah." John puckered up to repeat the word. He never got the chance.
Twenty minutes of making out on the sofa like teenagers resulted in
both men racing to the bedroom. John took off his caftan and flopped
onto the bed.
"No fair. As long as you wear that thing, you'll always be undressed
first." Luka's socks sailed into the hallway, followed by his briefs.
The hamper was out there somewhere.
"That's the whole point. I get to watch you strip almost every
night." John smiled bobbing both his heads.
"You're hopless. You know that, don't you?" Luka positioned himself
on top of John.
"Yep. The minute I first laid eyes on you, it was all over." Wrapping
his legs around Luka's waist, John kissed him. Afterwards, John's
loopy grin testified to the fact that he still became dizzy. Luka
softly stroked John's face and throat not wanting to rush things.
John had other ideas. "Take me, Luka. I want you inside me."
Luka reached for the lubricant and a condom. Since being reunited
they'd almost needed to buy them by the case. He applied the jelly to
John and opened the little packet.
"Let me." John took the circle of latex and slowly rolled it into
place. Then he softly stroked on more lubricant.
"Raise your hips, Janaskja." Luka's voice had deepened. He placed two
pillows underneath his lover and then moved into position. Without
any preliminaries, he entered John in one strong thrust. John caught
his breath.
"Are you alright?"
"Oh yeah. That feels magnificent. Fast and hard, Luka. Please?"
Luka grinned and quickly established an energetic rhythm. He did not
touch John's penis, wanting to see if he would be able to come
unaided. He smoothly made an adjustment, matching the pace of John's
reciprocal thrusts. The mattress protested at the abuse, but neither
man heard it. Luka's climax, when it came, was all-consuming.
Overlapping waves of pleasure raced over his entire body. When his
reason returned, he looked down and saw evidence of John's orgasm. He
withdrew carefully, then enveloped John in a gentle hug. He could
feel his beloved's heart as it slowed to a normal speed.
"Sascha?" John's voice was drowsy with satisfaction. "If sex was a
scientific discipline, we'd be spending our honeymoon in Stockholm."
"Why?"
"Because that's where they'll award you the Nobel Prize."
"We'd have to share it." Luka said modestly, remembering earlier that
morning when John had him shouting as he came. "And for his ceaseless
research into the field of psycho-sexual gratification, Dr. John
Truman Carter is hereby awarded this year's Nobel Prize in medicine."
Luka recited grinning.
"And for his creative and innovative approach to the applied physics
of kinetic energy, Dr. Luka Aleksandr Kovac is awarded the Nobel
Prize in Anything-but-Mechanical Engineering.", John laughed. "Sorry,
but I got this image of both of us, striding up the aisle in the
auditorium, buck naked, our cocks bouncing all over the place..."
Luka snorted, then gave into the moment. John might not have been
able to tell a joke to save his life, but he definitely possesed an
excellent sense of humor. That night they slept in peace. It was not
a typical occurence.
* * * * *
"Luka!" John's shouts reverberated through the bedroom startling his
partner awake. He was having another nightmare. Luka gently woke him
and held him close. "It's alright Janaskja. I'm here. You don't have
to be afraid anymore."
John hiccupped and sighed brokenly. "I'm sorry I woke you." John said
when he'd stopped shaking. He was beginning to think bad dreams would
be a part of his life from now on. There'd been nightmares about
Dennis and the events leading up to his death. Then, his failure with
his cousin Chase. Now, just when the Valentine's Day attack was
finally fading from his dreams; his abduction and emotional torture
supplied additional reasons to wake him screaming.
"Do you want to talk about it?"
"Not really, but I suppose I should. I've *been* talking about it.
With my therapist, with you, Father, Gamma, Cyril, the odd stranger
on the El'..." He smiled sadly. It was the usual... about the letter
they wanted me to send you." John shivered convulsively. "It was
horrible. They kept badgering me to tell you that I'd made a mistake,
that I didn't love you. I refused to cooperate every time." John
nearly gagged remembering the foulness they wanted him to copy and
send to Luka.
"In my dreams, the letter *has* been sent and somehow I can see you
as you read it and begin crying. I'm calling your name, trying to say
it's all lies, then I wake up. Please believe me, I would have died
in that place rather than do that to you." John was weeping now. "I
want the nightmares to stop. Just for once, I'd like to fall asleep
and not be worried about waking you up and half of Chicago. You know,
be normal."
"I know, beloved." Luka held John tenderly stroking the tears from
his face. "I want that too. In time, it will happen. Until then, try
not to worry too much about it. You... we are doing the best we can
under some pretty extraordinary circumstances. Frankly, I'd be more
worried if you showed no reaction at all. Look at the progress you've
made. Two years ago, the John I knew would have denied the existence
of the problem, insisting everything was OK. We're both seeing
someone regularly and coping the best way we can." Luka shifted his
position so that John could lie more comfortably in his arms. "Close
your eyes and think about our wedding. In less than a two days, we'll
be man and man."
"Oh man." John snuggled closer. "Thank you, Sascha. You're a pretty
wonderful guy. It's a shame you haven't settled down." John shivered
once more, then was still. "JA ljubav te."
* * * * *
Elizabeth Corday gave her nanny some final instructions then ran out
to the car. Chicago in November can be beautiful or it can be
horrendous. Usually, it's the latter. A cold wind was whipping a
torrential rain everywhere. As Mark Greene put the van in gear, he
grinned remembering. It rained the day of their wedding, too.
St. Stanislaus, re-dedicated as the Church of the Holy Comforter, had
recently been cleaned of a century's worth of grime and soot. The
warm brick seemed to glow, even in the rain. By the time Mark and
Elizabeth had turned their vehicle over to one of the parking valets,
they had only minutes to spare before the ceremony was scheduled to
start.
In the vestry, half of the twelve attendants were checking their
watches. Jing-Mei, Kerry, and Haleh were wearing simple two-piece
dresses: long skirts with a matching pearl grey long-sleeved tunics
and pearl grey low-heeled shoes. Since there would be no bouquet,
each woman wore a small corsage of pink rosebuds and Baby's Breath.
Dave, Malik, and Yoshi looked very handsome in their tuxedos, and
very nervous. Laurencia, resplendent in a peach-colored beaded gown
was laughing with Luka. As he had no family in the United States, she
had eagerly agreed to his request to act in loco parentis. Only half
joking, she referred to the gathered attendants as the "Rainbow
Coalition" in recognition of their ethnic diversity. Only Cyril had
the nerve to refer to her as the "Fairy Godmother."
In the ornate narthex, John was also laughing watching Mark as he
struggled into his cummerbund, helped by David Carlton. Married life
was definitely having an affect on his waistline. Lydia and Chuny
were using a couple of towels to blot the rain drops from Elizabeth's
dress. The door opened again and Peter Benton came in with his son on
his shoulders; Reese holding a raincoat over both of them. He had
been absent from County on loan to a hospital in Pennsylvania during
the months of Carter's absence. Nevertheless, he'd stayed in touch by
phone. John's sister, wearing a more elaborate version of the grey
ensemble, took Reese. She was the chief female attendant. Peter gave
Carter a hug.
"We'd about given you up." John said to his chief male attendant,
signing for Reese. There was no best man, he'd explained to Peter
since that title could only be applied to the man he was marrying.
"Bad traffic!" Reese replied.
"It's awful." Elizabeth agreed pinning on her corsage. "Carter, you
look like a billion pounds sterling." She approved of the Armani tux.
In deference to Charles's demands for color, both grooms wore scarlet
Windsor ties.
"Thanks..." John replied. The organ began the voluntary.
"OK, girls and boys, that's your cue." Cyril was dressed in an
elegant dark grey tuxedo which set off his ash blond hair and green
eyes. After one meeting with Millicent Carter, it was a case of
mutual admiration. They had worked well together to bring this event
to fruition. Andrew Carlton and the other five attendants lined up
behind Honoria and Peter Benton. Cyril gave the signal and they
walked sedately down the long aisle. They were met before the
elaborate chancel by the remaining attendants, led by Laurencia and
Father Thomas.
The organist began the processional and half of the guests craned
their necks to watch as John Truman Carter entered the sanctuary. No
one knows who started it, but a thunderous applause brought a flush
to the groom's cheeks. As the final measures of the music began, Luka
stepped from the vestry and joined John at the transept. They arrived
at the altar together just as echoes of the last triumphant bars rose
to the vaulted ceiling.
Roland and Millicent Carter gave John away while Laurencia did the
same for Luka. In light of the fact that the Catholic Church could
not officially sanctify their union, John and Luka had ommitted the
Eucharist from their ceremony. Instead, both men had attended Mass
earlier that morning. Now, as they knelt before Father Thomas, he
used a rosary to join their hands instead of his stole. Luka had
insisted on this, saying that prayers had brought them together,
preserved them both during John's abduction, and would keep them
together.
Although John and Luka had exchanged rings early in their
relationship, Roland Carter provided new ones for the wedding. Father
Thomas proceeded to bless the two simple bands made of surgical steel
that neither man would ever remove again. When Roland had offered to
purchase gold or platinum, John refused, preferring the simpler, less
expensive metal. "Nothing is stronger than steel.", he'd
explained. "Except our love for each other." Luka quietly finished
his lover's thought making John smile and bringing tears to
Millicent's eyes.
The sight of the two handsome men as they solemnly knelt in the light
of the numerous candles was very moving. Their voices making the
Latin responses were clearly heard even by those in the farthest
pews. Just before Father Thomas handed them the rings, both men stood
and were given lit tapers by the nearest attendant. John and Luka
walked over to a small table containing six candles and six
photographs.
Elizabeth wept openly when she heard each man call the names of those
who were absent. John lit candles before the images of Marije, Anja,
and Solje, praying that Luka's family would understand he was not a
replacement for them but rather, another beneficiary of Luka's
abundant capacity to love. Luka, in turn, lit candles before the
pictures of Bobby Carter, Dennis Gant, and Lucy Knight.
All Soul's Day had occurred two weeks ago and John had wanted part of
their ceremony to honor their dead. When he'd suggested it, Luka had
been pleased that John wished to pay tribute to his late family and
agreed at once. The rings were put on, the final blessings given,
then Father Thomas's strong voice said, "In token of this marriage,
you may kiss your partner."
Luka bent his head slightly and pressed his lips to John's
cheek. "No, really kiss him, otherwise, you won't be married!"
Someone called out. John put his arms around Luka and kissed him
deeply. "That's better!" The same guest called out. The ER staff
assumed Malik had done it again. The recessional music began and hand-
in-hand, John and Luka walked back up the aisle.
Whereas the wedding had been a relatively sedate affair; the
reception was a bona fide blow-out. The parish multi-purpose room had
been transformed by Charles into a cross between a medieval banquet
hall and a high-tech dance palace. There was no band, only three
state-of-the art sound systems with stacks of custom-burned CDs. The
wedding party was seated on a dais surrounded by candle-lit tables
decorated with small bunches of rosebuds. When John remarked on their
beauty, Luka finally told him their most personal significance.* John
almost choked on his sparkling grape juice. He'd just managed to
recover his composure when the first course was served. It was
cucumber salad, his contribution to their menu. Months later, many of
the guests were still wondering why both grooms had laughed
themselves into hysterics.
At the end of the meal, Roland Carter stood, clinking his knife
against a glass. Between the music and the dull roar of conversation,
he was wasting his time. Randi solved his problem. Standing on her
chair she put two fingers in her mouth and blew a piercing whistle.
Silence fell in time for everyone to hear her omni-present wad of gum
pop like a champagne cork.
"Thank you all for joining us in this celebration. I know John and
Luka consider many of the people in this room to be family.
Nevertheless, owing to the weather, some family members were
delayed..." his eyes on the doors, he nodded to the usher who flung
them open. Shouts went up as Doug and Carol with the twins came in
followed by Susan Lewis, Jeannie Boulet, and her family. The ER staff
rushed to greet the late-comers. A few minutes later, they looked up
startled to see John, tipped off by his father, streaking for the
door. The guests watched as he hugged a frail-looking woman who'd
entered shyly. He'd unhappily resigned himself to his mother's
absence understanding that her health would not allow her to travel.
Roland had not mentioned the possibility of her making the trip
afraid that at the last minute her physician would veto it.
Laura Carter slowly walked back to the high table with her son. Many
of John's friends noticed her uncanny resemblence to Anna del Amico.
John presented her to Luka who rose and kissed her hand. She smiled
more warmly this time and gave him a quick hug. Suddenly the most
unearthly music rang out from the speakers. It had taken Luka some
time to track down recordings of the traditional Yugoslavian women's
choirs. As the vibrant, somewhat dissonant harmonies swirled through
the air, Luka led John to the center of the empty dance floor.
Placing his hands on his husband's shoulders he began the intricate
steps of a centuries-old wedding dance. **
They'd practiced for hours, so their footwork matched perfectly as
the two men wove the elaborate circular pattern. First, dancing
together, then apart, then finally coming together again. Halfway
through, the guests began to clap in time cheering them on. Their
accompaniement ended on a triumphant shout and a waltz began,
signalling for the guests to join the couple on the dance floor.
Roland, Millicent, and Laura Carter left shortly after each had
danced in turn with the grooms. Cyril and Charles nudged each other
grinning appreciatively at the sight of Roland Clairmont Carter
dancing with his son and then Luka. "It's a shame it's anatomically
impossible for John and Luka to have kids. They'd be drop-dead-to-die-
for gorgeous." The party lasted for nearly six hours. There would
definitely be a shortage of ice-packs in the ER tomorrow.
Finally, it was all over. Luka and John bid farewell to their guests
and got into the limo' that would take them to the airport. If their
chauffeur had once turned around, he would have probably driven onto
a sidewalk. John and Luka's kisses lasted until the long car pulled
up to the entrance for the VIP transit lounge. Twenty minutes later,
the Carter's jet took off for San Francisco.
Author's Notes:
* Luka's private nickname for John's anus. I couldn't resist. KP
** You've got to hear this music to believe sounds such as these
can be produced by human voices. Five- and seven-part harmonies, plus
unusual time signatures... all in all a most strange and quite
compelling music. KP
This chapter is humbly dedicated to Ceindreadh, the Daughter of
Erin. Although my story was completed weeks ago, I read her
delightful "Interlewd" parts 1 and 2 in which ... well,
you'll have to read it for yourself. I will not spoil her lovely
work by dropping too many hints. Thank you Ceindreadh for your
marvellous "Waiting" series starring my second favorite
couple: Dr. Dave "Delicious" Malucci and Dr. Luka
"Luscious" Kovac. Readers, if you want to read a Mistress of
the genre, check it out!
Copyright Footer', 'This site is not affiliated in any way with "ER", its writers or production company, or NBC, and makes no profit from the show. The ERROS skin is by Brihana. The script is eFiction version 3.4.2© Tammy Keefer, http://efiction.org\r\n