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!

It was the happiest day of her life. Elizabeth was overcome with joy at the site of her. She had never felt before the feeling she felt that day. It was so hard for her to get to that point. So many things had gone wrong and it felt like that day would never come. But when it did, she knew that it was well worth the wait. That day was May 10, 2001. It was the day her daughter was born.

Now it was May 10, 2007, six years after that wonderful event. The five years prior to that year, May 10th had been a rather large event. The day before, Elizabeth would bake a cake. Usually it was angel food because that was Maura’s preference. A couple of the neighbors would come over and Mark would grill burgers and hot dogs. And if they were lucky, Rachel would fly in for the day, always bringing a rather large gift with her.

That day seemed almost like any other day. She got up, got a shower, made Matthew breakfast, then drove to work. It was seven in the morning and Mark had gone in an hour earlier that day. So Elizabeth woke up alone and drove to work by herself. She tried to keep her mind off everything that was bugging her, but she failed miserably. There was no way she was going to forget what day it was; and she really didn’t want to.

She dropped Matthew off at day care and proceeded to her office. She must have sat at her desk for an hour going over a chart. What usually took her 30 minutes, took her a good 60. She just couldn’t seem to focus that day. She sighed, for she knew it was going to be a long day.

It was about nine o’clock when she got the page. She hurried down to the ER where a gunshot wound to the chest had arrived. She worked on the patient for a good 20 minutes with Kerry and Kovac, before sending him up to the OR with Benton. She sighed as the gurney left the room. She pulled of her gloves and walked out of the room towards the admitt desk. It was then that she heard double doors smash open.

A young woman, probably about 25, was being hurriedly wheeled to the trauma room. She was in active labor. She could hear her cries of pain and her husband’s voice trying to sooth her. Normally the site of a woman in labor wouldn’t faze her. In fact, she hadn’t even flinched when she witnessed several births in the ER the past 2 weeks. But seeing that woman that day made her stomach tie into a knot. That was her exactly six years prior.

~*~Flashback~*~

Elizabeth sat on a bed in Labor and Delivery. Beads of sweat ran down her forehead. She winced in pain as another contraction shot through her body. She had been in labor for 12 hours, and at last check she was nine centimeters dilated. She didn’t know how much more she could take. She wanted drugs badly, but the doctor said the baby’s heartbeat was irregular, and she couldn’t be given drugs. She wasn’t prepared for that. She never intended for natural childbirth.

“Okay Elizabeth, you are doing great. Now I want you to give me one really big push okay!” Dr McLucas said trying to comfort her.

“I can’t. I can’t do it!” she said panting.

“Yes you can, one big push!” Dr McLucas coached.

“You can do this Elizabeth, it’s almost over. Squeeze my hand and push, you can do this, okay?” Mark said trying desperately to reassure her.

Elizabeth nodded and pushed once more. It hurt more then she ever imagined. She started to cry in pain as she pushed. “That’s it Elizabeth, good girl. Okay, she’s crowning.” Elizabeth sighed heavily. Finally, this baby was crowning. Elizabeth gave another slight push at their orders.

Her mind ran wild. She couldn’t think anymore, it hurt so badly. She could hear Mark coaching her, telling her that it was almost over and that she was doing great. She cried out in pain once more. She faintly heard Dr. McLucas say that the shoulders were out, then the stomach.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, she heard a faint cry. “You have a daughter!” Dr. McLucas said smiling. Elizabeth looked up at the tiny baby in the doctor’s arms. She began to cry as the tiny little girl was placed in her arms. Mark’s head was right next to hers, and she could see a tear run down his face as he looked at the baby.

Elizabeth kissed her on her forehead and smiling said, “Hello, oh, hi.” She looked over at Mark who was smiling at her. She kissed him then kissed her daughter again. The nurse came over and picked up the tiny baby, saying they had to give her a bath and weigh her. From what the doctors could tell, she was a very healthy little girl. Elizabeth smiled and began to cry again.

Mark kissed her on her hand smiled at her again. “You did it Mom.” He grinned. “Now, was that really so hard?” he said teasingly.

“Yes! It was!” Elizabeth laughed; Mark smiled. She whipped the tears from her face and sighed.

“What are you going to name her?” the nurse asked smiling.

Elizabeth looked at Mark and asked, “Are we going to use the name?” Mark nodded in approval. Elizabeth then looked up at the nurse and said, “Maura.”

The nurse smiled at that, saying, “That’s a wonderful name!” Elizabeth nodded and looked at Mark. She then put her head back against her pillow and watched as they took Maura out of the room to give her a bath. She couldn’t believe that she was a mother. When she woke up that morning she wasn’t a mother. But now, for the rest of her life, she was going to be somebody’s mother.

~*~End Flashback~*~

“Dr. Corday? Dr. Corday?” Abby said standing in front of her. Elizabeth’s head snapped up.

“Oh, sorry Abby.”

“Dr. Malucci needs you in trauma two. Some kid got hit on his bike by a truck.” She said walking off.

“Yeah, okay.” She then followed Abby to the trauma room.

Elizabeth patiently waited for the elevator. She was starving and she couldn’t wait to get something to eat. She didn’t care what it was, just as long as it was food. She hardly ate dinner the previous night, and she didn’t have any breakfast that morning. And now she was paying for it, dearly.

“Come on, come on.” She mumbled in frustration. She didn’t even notice that Abby was standing next to her.

“It might be faster to take the stairs.” Abby joked.

Elizabeth jumped slightly. After a moment she sighed and said, “I don’t have the energy to take the stairs.”

Abby laughed and replied, “Totally understandable, I have days like that too.” After about an eternity the doors opened and the two women stepped inside. Elizabeth pushed the button for the floor the cafeteria was on. Abby stepped back and said, “Same floor as me.” Elizabeth smiled. “Cafeteria?” Abby inquired. Elizabeth nodded her head. She was quiet for a long time, not quite knowing what to say.

Finally Abby spoke up, “Dr. Corday, are you okay?” Elizabeth looked at her with a quizzical look on her face. “Well, it’s just that you don’t seem to be as energized as you usually are. I was just worried that you might not be feeling okay.”

“Oh, no, I feel fine, really.” She said trying her best to convince her. Abby nodded, giving in. Just then the elevator doors opened and the two women stepped out. They both began walking in the same direction. Elizabeth smiled and chuckled a bit.

“I’m starving.” Abby said with a slight laugh.

“Me too.” Elizabeth replied. They both got in line. Elizabeth helped herself to a salad while Abby picked up a chicken sandwich. After they paid both women turned around to find themselves a seat, only to realize that there was hardly anything left.

“Wow.” Abby mumbled.

“There’s a conference today, I forgot. We came at the wrong time!” Elizabeth sighed in frustration.

“I’ll say!” they scanned the room looking for an empty table. Finally Abby spotted a small one in the back. She pointed it out and began to walk towards it. Elizabeth didn’t move. Instead she stayed and still scanned the crowd for a table. Abby stared at her for a moment then said, “Elizabeth?” Elizabeth looked up. “You know, you can come sit with me. There’s two chairs at the table.”

Elizabeth smiled and said politely, “Thanks.” She walked behind Abby to the table and sat down. She began eating her lunch, thankful for every bite. They were quiet for a while, neither one knowing what to say. Finally Elizabeth spoke up. “So how are the wedding plans coming?” Abby sighed in frustration. “That bad, huh?” Elizabeth joked.

Abby shook her head and sighed again. “It’s a nightmare. The drummer for the band has mono, the caterers’ double booked, the Limousine Company decided to charge us twice the amount we originally agreed on, and the bridesmaid dresses all got delivered a size smaller then I had ordered them. I swear, if his family wasn’t flying in from all over the country, I would just go find a justice of the peace and be done with it.” She said in taking another bite of her sandwich in frustration.

Elizabeth chuckled, remembering the problems she had with her own wedding. “That does sound like a nightmare.”

“I’m beginning to realize why more and more people are getting married in Vegas!” she said with a laugh. Elizabeth laughed along with her. They talked more about the wedding, her dress and their family. Elizabeth laughed as Abby described the ordeals she went through with the Carter family. Elizabeth shared her own wedding disaster and the trouble she had getting down the aisle. They talked and laughed for a while. And for a moment, Elizabeth forgot what day it was.

Elizabeth entered the ER that afternoon in a much better mood then she was in when she entered it that morning. She was called down for a consult so she made her way to admit.

Carter stood by the board, scribbling on a chart. He looked up for a moment and asked, “Hey, what’s the date?”

Randi took the lollypop out of her mouth and replied, “May 10th” Carter thanked her and noted that on his chart. After a moment Randi asked, “Hey, isn’t today the day Dr. Corday had one of her kids?”

“Yeah I think so, don’t ask me which one though.” Carter answered.

“Wasn’t it Maura? I think it was Maura.” Randi said typing something on the computer.

“How do you ever remember that?” he asked

“I’ve got a good memory. I take note of important events, unlike some.” she said sarcastically.

Weaver piped in by saying, “Okay people, lets be a little sensitive about that subject today, okay?”

“Yeah, sure, fine.” Randi replied. She then turned around only to notice that Elizabeth was standing by admits entrance. She gasped a bit when she saw her. “Oh God, Dr. Corday, I’m sorry.”

Weaver and Carter both looked up, along with several nurses. “Uh, Elizabeth,” Weaver began to say while making her way towards her.

“No, it’s okay, none of you have to apologize, you didn’t do anything wrong.” She said as she walked over to the board. They stared at her, unsure of what she meant. “You don’t have to be extra sensitive today. I am well aware of what the date is. It’s not a bad day you know.” They stared back at her once more. She finished by saying, “It’s a happy day, right?”

“Yeah, I uh, I guess it is.” Weaver said with a smile.

“Right.” Elizabeth said, trying to sound as happy as she could. It was a happy day. Just because Maura wasn’t with there didn’t mean that Elizabeth had to forget about her birthday. She smiled as she made her way to the exam room. She felt as if she had had an epiphany.

That night was spent in the kitchen. Elizabeth got off at five and on her way home she decided to stop by the grocery store and pick up some cake mix. She was going to make a cake.

The prospect of cake excited Matthew. It had been months since Elizabeth had baked a cake. If she recalled, the last time they all had cake was for Matthew’s birthday in March. Elizabeth joked to Matthew that, “that is way too long to go without cake!” Matthew giggled in excitement.

Matthew spent the evening in the family room, watching a video and playing with his assorted toys. Elizabeth spent that time cooking. She made a quick dinner of stir-fry, and whipped together the cake mix. When Mark returned home that night the dinner was done and the cake in the oven.

“Daddy!!!” Matthew called as he ran towards his father who had just entered the house. He threw himself against his legs and Mark fell a bit back from the force of the 3-year-old.

“Hey there big guy!” he said picking the toddler up. “Did you have a good day?”

“Yes!” Matthew said enthusiastically.

“Really? Well what was so good about it?” Mark asked

“I learned a new song thingy.” He said with a smile

“Who taught it to you?”

“Caleb” he said, expecting Mark to know who that was.

“And what song did Caleb teach you?”

Matthew took a deep breath in, preparing to sing his song. He then belted out, “I know a song that gets on everybody’s nerves, everybody’s nerves, everybody’s nerves. I know a song that gets on everybody’s nerves. And this is how it goes..”

Mark took a deep breath in, knowing this had the potential to be a long night. He remembered when Rachel learned that song at girl scouts. She had spent the whole drive home from vacation singing it. Mark developed a severe headache that day. He had hoped he could avoid any of his children learning that song. “Okay, okay Matthew, why don’t you sing that song to your stuffed animals, okay?”

“Okay!” Matthew squealed.

“Hey,” Mark said abruptly, “What’s that smell?”

“Oh, mommy’s baking a cake!” he laughed.

“A cake?” Mark said curiously. He never thought she would bake a cake.

“Yeah, for Maura’s birthday!”

“Maura’s birthday.”

“Yeah! Mommy said, just cause Maura isn’t here, doesn’t mean we can’t be happy it’s her birthday!” Matthew said before running off to his bedroom to sing his song. Mark hung up his coat and walked into the kitchen to find Elizabeth setting the table.

“Hey.” Mark said trying to get her attention.

Elizabeth looked up and smiled. “Hey!” she said before giving him a kiss. “Did he sing you his song?” she asked with a chuckle.

“Yes, and I have a feeling we will be hearing an encore presentation.” He laughed

“Oh God. He sang that the whole bloody drive home.”

“Smells delicious. What is it?”

“Oh, some sort of boxed stir-fry thing, I didn’t feel like cooking a big meal,” She replied with a sigh.

“Well, I’m sure it will be good anyway.”

“Yeah right, it looks kinda gross if you ask me,” she said with a laugh.

“Well I didn’t ask you!” he teased

“Oh, you’re horrible!” she laughed, playfully hitting him with the place mat she had in her hand.

“The cake smells good too. Is it angel food?”

“Yep, just like always,” she said not even looking up from what she was doing.

“Right, just like always,” he repeated, doubt was mixed in with his words

“Mark, I don’t see what the big deal is about me baking a cake,” she declared, looking into his eyes.

“I didn’t say it was a big deal.” She said in defense of herself.

“No, but your attitude says it.” She paused for a moment. Then she continued. “Look, I spent all of today trying to avoid thinking of this. When I got up this morning I had no intention of baking a cake. However, I realized that there is no logical reason for us to pretend that today isn’t May 10th. There is nothing sad about this day. This is a wonderful day, and we should recognize it for what it is. And just because she isn't here doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.”

Mark was quiet for a moment; she did have a point. Eventually he said, “You’re absolutely right.”

“I know!” she smiled. She got out the plates and placed a small serving of the dinner on the plates. Mark got Matthew, who was still singing his song, and they all sat down and ate. And when they finished, they all ate angel food cake. Just like the years before.

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