Summary ~ When a fatal accident occurs, many lives are forever shifted. Elizabeth must take on the challenge of a new role, and Tess must learn how to adapt to her new life.

Genre ~ Mark/Elizabeth/Tess/Kate

Disclaimer ~ Every person you have heard of before are not of my creation. The characters you have not heard of before are mine, although I borrowed their names from Centreville High School.

Need to Know ~ This story takes place in 2015. The last episode that applies to this story is April Showers.

Feedback ~ Why would we write these if we didn’t want to hear from you? Do us a favor and tell us what you think! Send any and all negative or positive comments about this story, another story, or the site in general to greeneblob707@yahoo.com. If you could please put the title of the story you wish to comment on in the subject box that would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Elizabeth stood in a sea of black. Around her were dozens of people, all with the same solemn faces, and the same dreary attitude. It was a beautiful day. On any other day Elizabeth would have taken advantage of the Seattle weather. But today was not any other day.

In front of her were two caskets. Two caskets that held her friends. The casket of a doctor, and the casket of a nurse. The caskets of loving parents, the caskets of soul mates. It pained Elizabeth too look at them. It pained her even more to look across them and see their teenage daughters, both decked in black.

On top of the caskets were two envelopes. One labeled, “Mom” the other labeled, “Daddy.” Elizabeth glanced over at Mark, who was standing next to Michael. Julia was next to Elizabeth, her eyes wide in fear. The children had never known anyone who had died, and Elizabeth was so afraid they wouldn’t be able to handle it. They both considered Doug and Carol family. It would be the equivalent of loosing their favorite aunt and uncle. But they both handled it like pros, at least on the inside. But Elizabeth could tell that Julia was holding back.

When the service ended and everyone started to leave Mark and Elizabeth, along with Tess and Kate didn’t move. Tess and Kate were quiet, not knowing quite where to go. Elizabeth watched as Tess approached a casket, and placed a gentle kiss on it. She then turned and placed a kiss on the other one. She turned to face her sister, who was now crying rather hard. Tess walked over to her sister and led her to where their neighbor was waiting. They then got into the car and drove off.

Elizabeth and Mark drove back to the hotel in silence. Even the kids didn’t make a sound. Elizabeth looked out the window and watched the telephone polls and the trees rush by. They became blurry and morphed together. Elizabeth could no longer tell the difference.

They didn’t do anything, or even say anything that evening. No one was in the mood to have fun. Every one of them sat around waiting. They were waiting for the morning to come. Because the next morning they would be going home. And they would be taking Tess and Kate with them.

It pained Elizabeth to think about taking the girls away from their home; away from the only life they had ever known. There were times that she wished Doug and Carol had never asked them to take the girls. Sometimes she thought it would be better for the girls to stay with their neighbor. At least they wouldn’t have to change schools or part with their friends. But in her heart Elizabeth knew that Doug and Carol had chosen them for a reason. It was the same reason she and Mark chose Doug and Carol as Julia and Michael’s guardians. But no matter how much she reassured herself, she was still dreading boarding that plane.

“Now boarding flight 215 to Chicago. Flight 215 to Chicago is now boarding at gate 29” a woman’s voice announced.

Mark looked at Elizabeth, and Elizabeth rose from her seat. She looked over at Tess and Kate, who were saying a final goodbye to their friends. They were saying a final goodbye to their life in Seattle.

Elizabeth looked at Mark, and motioned for him to take Julia and Michael on the plane. Mark said as enthusiastically as he could, “Okay guys, who wants to take a ride on the big plane?” Michael jumped out of his seat and Julia rolled her eyes.

Elizabeth watched for several minutes as Tess and Kate hugged their friends and cried, and hugged and cried again. Finally, they gave one last round of hugs then turned around to face Elizabeth. Kate smiled politely through the tears as she walked by. But Tess didn’t even look at her. She brushed right by without saying a word. Elizabeth sighed as she followed them onto the plane. She knew that this was going to be a challenge.

“Look Tess, maybe this won’t be as bad as you think.” Kate said from her seat on the plane. She and Tess were in the row behind Mark and Elizabeth. Elizabeth thought they might feel more comfortable by themselves. “I mean, things could be a lot worse.”

“A lot worse then having both your parents die and getting shipped off to a city you hate with two people you haven’t seen more then a dozen times in your life?” Tess snapped.

“I’m sure mom and dad knew what they were doing when they made Mark and Elizabeth our legal guardians. They were probably just doing what was in our best interest.” Kate said, trying to reassure her sister.

“If they really wanted to do what was in our best interests they would have let us stay in Seattle with the people who care about us.”

“People in Chicago care about us, we just don’t know who they are. Remember all those stories mom and dad told us?” Tess glared at her sister. Kate didn’t pay attention and continued, “Maybe you shouldn’t be so negative about this. I mean, look at it this way, we get a chance to live in a different place and meet new people. Maybe you should think about it as an adventure!” Kate smiled.

Tess stared at her sister for quite some time. Then she finally asked, “How the hell can you be so happy after everything that has happened?”

Kate’s smile faded and looked in her sister’s eyes. She didn’t answer right away, but she finally said, “Because crying, and complaining, and throwing a fit aren’t going to bring mom and dad back. And whining about moving to Chicago isn't going to stop us from going there.” She shrugged her shoulders and added, “I guess complaining is just a waste of energy.”

The girls were both quiet for a while. Kate fiddled with her necklace and Tess just looked strait ahead. After a few minutes Tess sighed and said, “I miss mom and dad, Kate.”

Kate looked at her sister and replied softly, “I know, I miss them too.”

Elizabeth pushed open the front door and turned on the lights. They had landed in Chicago a few hours prior and were just arriving home. Julia and Michael quickly flipped off their shoes and headed up to their bedroom to unpack, while Mark headed to the basement to turn on the water. Elizabeth was left standing in the foyer with Tess and Kate. They were both looking around nervously, not quite knowing what to say or do. Tess clung to her carry on bag, and Kate was twirling her hair with her finger. Elizabeth looked at the girls and said as cheerfully as she could, “So, why don’t we go up to your room!” Tess shrugged and Kate nodded her head. Elizabeth led them up the stairs to the room they would now call their own.

It was the room Rachel had used when she came to visit as a child. It already had a bed, dresser, bureau, and nightstand. Mark just took the old bed set from the basement and put it in that room. Tess and Kate would have to share a room since they didn’t have enough space for them to have their own.

Kate’s eyes were wide in curiosity and Tess scanned the room nervously. No one said anything for what seemed like the longest time. Finally Elizabeth broke the silence by saying, “Well, let’s go get your bags out of the van, shall we?” Tess shrugged, and Kate nodded her head. Elizabeth led the way down to the garage.

The girls spent the rest of the evening in their room. Elizabeth didn’t want to bother them, and she knew that it was best just to let them get settled in. But she barely heard a peep coming from their room all night. She had no idea if they were talking or crying.

“Ugh, Kate, this so totally sucks!” Tess almost yelled, throwing her bags on her bed. She plopped down on it with a thud and said, “Ugh, I am so screwed. My life is over!”

Kate sighed and folded her clothes, placing them neatly in her dresser drawers. She didn’t reply to her sisters comments because she knew whatever she said wouldn’t make a difference in Tess’ opinions about their predicament. Tess babbled on and on about the end of the world, and how much she missed her old life already. Kate nodded her head, quietly agreeing with her. Some of her sister’s complaints she heard, but mostly she was too tired to pay attention.

When Kate finished unpacking her clothes she began to take out her personal items. She put her jewelry box on her dresser and her magazines in her nightstand. Slowly she unpacked each individual item, being careful to place it in the prefect spot.

She had unpacked most of her belongings when she came across a rather large box. She took of the lid and smiled when she saw what was inside. Dozens upon dozens of snapshots filled the box up to its lid. Some in photo albums, others just cast about in no particular order. She grinned as she tacked several photos of her friends from Seattle around her bed. She even put a few framed ones on her dresser. But she stopped when she saw the photos at the bottom of the box. Most of them were framed, or covered in a protective sheet. They were pictures of her parents. Some of which she had never seen before.

Most of her parents belongings were given to her grandmother, sold, or kept in storage till Kate and Tess were old enough to claim them. But her mother had always made sure that if anything was to happen, that both the twins were given the photo albums and home movies right away. Kate had picked up the many albums before she left, but never got the chance to really look at them.

There were so many photos from so many years. Some where of just her mom, some of just her dad. Some were of houses or buildings, some even of lakes and amusement park rides. She and Tess were in many of the photos, as was her grandmother. Kate had no idea when the photos were taken, or even who some of the people were. But she knew her mother had written the year on the back, and usually who was in the photo. Kate silently thanked her mother for her neurotic habits.

Kate spent almost an hour looking at the pictures. Most of them were of her and her sister, or of her parents. She could tell right off the bat when most of them were taken. It was when she found an album at the bottom that she became completely stumped. She didn’t know who most of the people were. Kate guessed that most of the photos were taken in the mid nineties, simply because of the clothes that were worn in the pictures.

Kate then picked up a photo and began to study it. It was a picture of her and her parents with Mark and a woman Kate had never seen before. They were in a restaurant, all with big grins plastered on their faces. Kate turned the photo over and read what it said on the back, “Me, Mark, Doug, and Susan at Doc Magoos, 1995.” Kate looked up, a puzzled look plastered on her face. “Susan?” she questioned. She had never heard of anyone named Susan. She thought her parents had told her basically every story about their life at County possible. But from the looks of the photo, there was a big gap missing. She smiled as she looked at the photo again. They all looked so different, so carefree. There were probably a million stories that could be told about what happened around the time this photo was taken. Tears began to form in Kate’s eyes when she realized she never again would hear the stories of her mother’s adventures as a nurse in a busy urban ER. Or the weirdoes her dad would treat on Halloween. Of all the things that she would miss about her parents, it was the little things she would miss the most.

She found several more photos of her mother and the Susan lady. Kate assumed that they were very close friends. She finally decided to place her parent’s wedding picture, a picture of her mother and herself, a family photo, and a picture of her parents with her and her sister as babies on her nightstand and dresser. But before she put the box under her bed she got out the photo of her parents at that Doc Magoos place and put it on her mirror. She knew that it must have been important if her mother saved it. And Kate wanted to remember the little things.

Tess did not have an easy night. She tossed and turned, trying desperately to get to sleep. Kate had gone to sleep almost immediately after crawling in between the sheets. Tess didn’t understand how she could do it. Tess never thought she would get use to sleeping in a different bed. She loved the familiarity of her room in Seattle. She had slept in the same bed for ten years, and she had planned to sleep in it for another four. But here she was, in a different bed, in a different house, in a different city. Just thinking about the fact that this was where she was going to be for the next four years made her sick. She had only been in Chicago for a few hours, but she hated it already.

“Tess!” Elizabeth called up the stairs. “Tess, its time to get up! It’s almost ten o’clock!”

Tess rolled over and groaned. “Almost ten o’clock? Oh, God forbid.” Tess whispered, rolling back over in preparation to sleep another hour or so. But it seemed Elizabeth would have none of that. About five minutes later Elizabeth popped her head in the bedroom and said, “Tess, you really need to get up.” Tess sighed in frustration and anger. Her British accent was already becoming annoying

“Why?” Tess asked, obviously annoyed.

“Because you don’t need to sleep in till eleven. And I have to stop by work later, so you and you sister are coming with me.” Elizabeth said as nicely as she could.

“Why do I have to go to County with you. I’m a big girl, I can stay here by myself.” Tess huffed, sitting up in her bed.

“Yes, I know you can. But we have to get you registered for school and it would be nice if you stopped by County and said hello. There are a lot of people who have been wanting to see you and Kate.”

“Yeah well, there are a lot of people who I want to see, but I don’t get to. We don’t always get what we want.” Tess snapped.

Elizabeth said as nicely as she could, “The shower is open, towels are in the hall closet. Be ready by ten forty.” Elizabeth the shut the door and sighed. She didn’t want to be harsh on Tess. She didn’t want to make her do things she didn’t want to do. But Elizabeth knew that Tess couldn’t just lock herself in her room for the rest of her life. At some point she was going to have to come out. Elizabeth knew that the death of her parents was still very recent, and she didn’t want to push the girls to get back to school and start their lives over. But she knew if they stayed locked in their rooms they would probably get worse, not better. The sooner they started interacting with other people the sooner they could regain a sense of normality they lost when their parents died.

Both Tess and Kate sat in the back seat of Mark and Elizabeth’s van. Elizabeth was parking the car in the County parking lot and the twins were waiting patiently to get out. Julia and Michael were both in school that day, and Mark had gone into work at seven. Elizabeth had been assigned a shorter shift that day, but would return to a full shift the next day.

Tess and Kate had registered at Lincoln High School, which was right across the street from Mark and Elizabeth’s house. They would start school a week from Monday. Kate said that she couldn’t wait to go back to school. She wanted more then anything to meet new people. Tess on the other hand was dreading it. She had never been the new kid in school. She wasn’t use to the differences in her world now. She didn’t want to have to sit in a classroom and pretend that her life was wonderful. She didn’t want to have to answer dozens of questions. She just wanted to go home.

When they walked in to County General’s emergency room, Tess felt like she was stepping into one of her mother’s old photographs. She recognized many parts of the ER. They had been to Chicago several times during her life, but Tess and Kate had never once visited County’s ER. And for the longest time, Tess could never figure out why.

When Elizabeth walked through the double doors and into the ER she began to doubt whether bringing the girls there was a good idea. Especially so soon after Doug and Carol’s deaths. She could see the girls’ eyes widen as they looked around the ER. Elizabeth hoped that they could just sneak into the lounge without being noticed.

“Elizabeth!” Kerry Weaver said cheerfully. Elizabeth swung around. Tess and Kate looked at the doctor curiously.

“Kerry, hi.” Elizabeth said as cheerfully as she could. “I didn’t think you had a shift today.”

“Yeah, I didn’t. I’m covering for Luka.” She smiled. Kerry eyes then moved over to where Tess and Kate were standing. She smiled and said, “Oh my God, you can’t possibly be Tess and Kate Ross.”

Kate smiled and Tess forced a grin. “Yes, uh, Kerry I believe you remember Kate,” Elizabeth said motioning towards Kate, “And Tess. Girls, I believe you have heard of Kerry Weaver.” Both the girls smiled politely and shook Kerry’s extended hand.

“Oh, the last time I saw you girls you were screaming about getting the wrong kind of juice!” Kerry laughed.

“Oh, that must have been Tess!” Kate laughed, trying to lighten the mood. Elizabeth chuckled, and Tess once again forced a polite smile.

“Well you sure have grown up beautifully.” Kerry added.

“They had wonderful parents.” Elizabeth said sincerely.

“Yes they did, they most certainly did.” Kerry said. Both Tess and Kate didn’t know how to react. So neither of them said anything. Kate felt as if she had stumbled upon a gold mine. The people around her and the things she was looking at were all the people and things her parents had told her about. It was like she was meeting the characters from her childhood bedtime stories. She couldn’t wait to walk around and see all the rooms and meet all the doctors and nurses her parents worked with every day of their lives during what they considered the best time of their lives. She was bursting to explore the area around her. At that moment Kate didn’t feel like her world had ended. She felt like a whole new one had begun. The tears formed in her eyes as she looked at the faces of the two doctors in front of her. One of her mothers best friends and her fathers worst enemies, or so he joked. For just that split second, Kate didn’t feel so terrible anymore.

Tess, on the other hand, felt very different. She looked around the room in which she was standing at saw it as a prison. In her eyes it was some sort of punishment for some horrible sin she had committed. She didn’t want to be in a place that was just going to make her feel worse. She wanted nothing more than to run away. She just wanted to run forever and never stop. Being in that hospital did nothing but deepen her sadness.

Elizabeth felt overwhelmed. When she looked in Kate’s eyes she saw hope. She knew that Kate would be alright. But when she looked in Tess’ eyes she saw nothing but sadness and anger; sadness and anger that had every right to be there. But she also saw sadness and anger that wasn’t going to go away. Elizabeth didn’t know what to do.

Part 1 Part 3