Summary ~ Elizabeth deals with the sudden disappearance of her young daughter.

Genre ~ Mark/Elizabeth

Disclaimer ~ The characters portrayed in this story are in no way mine, and I will return them to their original positions once I am done messing with their lives. The characters of Maura, Matthew, or anyone else you have not seen waltz across your TV on a Thursday night are purely of my own imagination.

Need to Know ~ The last episode that applies to this story is April Showers. Everything up to that point happened, but nothing after it did. Which includes the return of Susan Lewis. Mark has had no recurrences of his brain tumor and is going to be fine. Also, Abby and Luka broke up some time around July of 2001.

Feedback ~ As always, feedback is more then welcomed. Please feel free to email me, or Bridget, with comments (good or bad) on this story, another story, or just the site in general to greeneblob707@yahoo.com. If you could please put the title of the story you wish to make comments on in the subject box that would be greatly appreciated. Thanks and enjoy!

Maura was beautiful. She had the most beautiful red curls that accented her gorgeous hazel eyes. A big smile was plastered on her face day in and day out. Elizabeth swore she was an angel in disguise. From the moment she was born Elizabeth thought she was the most breathtaking creature she had ever laid eyes on. She had a cute little nose and a pouty mouth. Her features were unmistakable.

She was a good girl too. Never whinny, not too greedy, and not the slightest bit spoiled. She was perfectly content to sit and color or look at a book. You never had to entertain her with electronic gadgets and gizmos of sorts. And that, to Elizabeth, was a relief. It made buying her gifts a snap, which in turn made her life a little less stressful.

She was her mother’s daughter if anything. With the same gorgeous eyes and fiery red hair. The same determination and charisma. Even the same smile. She was her mother’s angel and nothing less. Every night before bed Maura would crawl into her mother’s lap and her mother would softly stroke her hair. Gently running her soft fingers through the delicate curls. Brushing it and playing with it, Maura loved it. And some nights, if Maura wasn’t to tired, Elizabeth would let her brush her hair as well. Maura would giggle as she haphazardly ran the comb through her mother’s mess of curls. And when they finished Maura would crawl on Elizabeth’s back and Elizabeth would give her a piggyback ride to her bedroom. She would tuck Maura in, then read her a story. Little House on the Prairie was, by far, Maura’s favorite. They must have read it a thousand times. And if Maura was naughty, which is rarely was, but if Maura was naughty and wouldn’t settle down, Elizabeth would threaten to get out one of her books on surgery and read it to Maura. That alone was enough of a threat to get Maura to sleep.

Elizabeth couldn’t believe how lucky she was. In every aspect of her life she was extremely lucky. Ten years prior a good position in the surgery department would have been enough to satisfy her beyond her wildest dreams. For the first 30 years of her life being a doctor was the only thing that mattered. It slowly became apparent to Elizabeth soon after she moved to Chicago that something was missing, but she chose to ignore that feeling then. But now she wondered how she ever survived back then, without a family and without the love of her husband. It seemed so odd how everything had changed. She was associate chief of surgery, madly in love with her husband more so then the day she married him, and not only the mother of one gorgeous child, but two. Everything was perfect in her life and she never wanted to go back to the way it was before.

Matthew was born when Maura was three. He had beautiful brown hair and sparkling blue eyes. Maura just adored him. She loved to tickle his feet when he was a baby and play patty cake and sing songs to him. And as soon as he learned to talk she insisted on teaching him practically every word she knew. Elizabeth couldn’t believe how much she was blessed.

It was a spring day when it happened. Maura was in kindergarten and was off for her very first spring break. The sun was shinning brightly and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. Spring was there in full force. The bees were out and about, flying from flower to flower. The buds on the tree were just about to bloom, and there was a slight breeze in the air that carried the sensual smell of daisies and tulips through the air. The flowers in Elizabeth’s garden seemed to dance when a gust came by. She was sitting in her family room reading a magazine, on which a rainbow was formed from the sunlight that flowed through the lace curtains. Maura sat at the table coloring in a book her grandmother gave her. Matthew slept soundly in his room. It was the perfect afternoon.

Maura must have gotten bored because she popped in front of Elizabeth’s face suddenly. She had the “I want something badly” look on her face that she was famous for. Elizabeth smiled at the little girl, and Maura grinned back. “And what would you like Miss Maura?”

Maura pondered the question for a moment, trying to select her words carefully. After a moment she quietly replied “Sugar cookies”

Elizabeth grinned when she said that. Maura had always been a rather big fan of Elizabeth’s sugar cookies. She politely replied “Well, I think we can whip up some sugar cookies today, since nothing else seems to be on the agenda.” Maura grinned and Elizabeth rose from her seat and walked into the kitchen. She opened the refrigerator and took out a carton of milk. The she sorted through the pantry picking out various items that would be necessary for cooking the snack. She then looked in the butter section of the refrigerator and noticed nothing was there. She pointed out the empty shelf and Maura immediately got a look of disapproval on her face. Elizabeth shrugged as if to say “Oh well.” Maura then walked into the foyer and after a few moments sauntered back into the kitchen, Elizabeth’s purse in her hands, and keys out ready to go. Elizabeth laughed at the sight of the 6-year-old. Maura didn’t take too kindly to that. She then walked over to Elizabeth, opened her hand, and placed the keys in it. That made Elizabeth laugh even harder. After a few moments Elizabeth looked at Maura’s pleading face and finally said, “Okay, we can go pick up some butter. But not till your brother wakes up” Maura grinned and ran into the family room. Elizabeth smiled when she left the room. She couldn’t help but laugh as she put the milk back in the fridge.

About an hour later Elizabeth poked her head into Matthew’s bedroom. She smiled at the little boy playing on the floor. She snuck over behind him and quietly said “Boo” into his left ear. The little boy laughed and turned around to face his mother. He had a piece of paper in his hands and Elizabeth inquired about what it was. Matthew held up the paper. It was colored in scribbles of red and purple crayon. Elizabeth laughed and asked “And what is that suppose to be?”

Matthew laughed and replied “Mommy it’s an airplane see!”

Elizabeth laughed and said “Oh I see, its very good Matthew” Matthew smiled and went back to his coloring. Elizabeth said a few moments later, “Matthew we have to go to the store. So why don’t we get your shoes on now!” Matthew looked up at her with his big blue eyes and asked, “Why do we have to go to the store?”

Elizabeth quickly replied, “We have to get butter so your sister and I can make sugar cookies!” His face lit up at the mention of sugar cookies and he immediately began searching around him for his shoes. He found them a short while later and Elizabeth helped him get them on. She then gathered up Maura, who was very eager to go, and loaded them into the mini van they had purchased a year earlier.

When the arrived at the super market Elizabeth held Maura and Matthew’s hands as they walked down the aisles. She picked up a few sticks of butter, as well as a few other items for dinner. They went to the check out and Elizabeth realized she didn’t have enough cash. This meant that she would have to pay with a check, which she hated to do. She began to write the check when Maura decided to pull on her sleeve. Elizabeth quickly answered her pleases and the child asked quietly asked, “Mommy may I have a quarter so I could get some gum?”

Elizabeth pulled a quarter out of her wallet and handed it to Maura. Maura hopped off to go get her bubble gum. Elizabeth finished writing the check and handed it to the cashier. He gave her the bags and Elizabeth thanked him. She then turned to where she assumed Maura would be standing. Instead Maura wasn’t there. Elizabeth scanned the surrounding area, and not seeing her daughter, she began to worry. She paced the front of the super market, looking for her daughter. She couldn’t find her anywhere. She checked all the aisles but she was no where to be found. She began to panic. Her daughter was missing. She ran up to the front of the store, Matthew in her arms. She approached who she assumed was the manager and began frantically telling him what happened. “Sir, I can not find my daughter!” she said, the panic rising in her voice. The man’s eyebrows raised when Elizabeth said that.

“What happened ma’am?” he asked trying to stay calm.

“I was paying for my groceries and I turned my back for just a second, and when I looked back she was gone! I can’t find her anywhere! I’ve looked all over the place!” her voice was shaky as she talked.

The man’s face fell and he began to walk quickly towards the doors. He yelled out for them to “Secure the building!” Elizabeth’s heart was pounding in her chest. She followed the manager wherever he went. Her mind was frantic and she couldn’t think. All she could think about was how this shouldn’t have happened to her. She loved her daughter too much for this to happen. She tried to reassure herself as she paced around the super market, but nothing seemed to work. She needed her daughter there now. She needed to know that she was alright. “How could this happen!?” she questioned “I only turned my back for a second! It was just a second!”

She couldn’t call Mark. She couldn’t find the words to tell him what happened. Or the strength to tell him it was her fault. She knew she wouldn’t be able to hold it together on the phone. She had one of the police officers do it for her. She listened as he talked to Mark, the conversation was short and the officer didn’t say too much, but it was the worst thing Elizabeth had ever had to listen too.

Mark would be arriving soon. She couldn’t wait for him to get there, and yet she was dreading seeing him. He was the person she wanted most right now, and yet the person she needed to talk to least. She wanted nothing more then for him to take her into his arms and tell her that he loved her and that everything would be okay. She needed that desperately, and yet she just couldn’t face him. She couldn’t find the strength to look into his eyes and tell him what happened. She knew he wouldn’t be mad at her, she knew he would never blame her, but yet she couldn’t shake the underlying feeling of doubt.

About an hour and a half had passed since Maura disappeared when Mark arrived. He had his scrubs on and his ID badge clipped to his pocket when he entered. Elizabeth’s heart leapt when she saw him. She could feel the lump in her throat growing as he approached her. The tears began to form in her eyes. He quietly walked over to her and knelt down next to her. He ran his fingers through her hair then pulled her in for a hug. She began to cry as he held her. He quietly assured her that everything would be alright, just as Elizabeth had wanted. He then pulled backed and looked deep into her eyes. He gently wiped the tears away from her face. Elizabeth couldn’t help but notice that tears were forming in his eyes too. She couldn’t believe that this was happening, and by the look on his face, he couldn’t either.

“Are you okay?” he asked her quietly.

“No,” she replied without hesitation. “I miss my baby, Mark.” she said, her voice shaking. “She’s only been gone for 2 hours, but I have never missed anyone more then I miss her now.”

“I know. I miss her too, but you have to believe that she will be okay. And she will be okay! She’s exactly like you, and you are the strongest person I know.” he said, trying desperately to reassure her.

“That’s a small comfort right now. But I just…I just feel...” she stopped for a moment and looked in Mark’s eyes. She let the tears flow freely now. After a moment she added through sobs, “I’m so sorry Mark. I am so very very sorry.” As she fell into his arms.

Mark acted just as Elizabeth thought he would. He stroked her hair and tried to calm her down. Quietly saying “No, Elizabeth, no” in her ear. After a second he looked into her eyes and said, “You have nothing to be sorry for. You did nothing wrong Elizabeth. You did what every other mother in America does. This is not your fault. Please don’t blame yourself. Maura will be okay and she will be back here with us very shortly. Then we can just move on and everything will be the way it was.” He stopped for a moment before adding, “Please don’t say you are sorry Elizabeth. You have nothing to apologize for.”

Elizabeth was quiet for a moment. She kissed Matthew, who was still sound asleep, on the forehead. She then looked into Mark’s eyes and said, “I only turned by back for a second, it was just a second.”

Part 2