Christmas In London, Part IV - December 22
By: Lori (SixteenOzs)

DISCLAIMER: "ER," the characters and situations depicted within are the property of Warner Bros. Television, Amblin Entertainment, Constant c Productions, NBC, etc. They are borrowed without permission, but without the intent of infringement. The story presented here is written solely for entertainment purposes, and the author is making no profit.

Please do not post or redistribute without the disclaimer above, or without the consent of the author.

Feedback is welcome. Please send all questions, comments or criticisms to SixteenOzs02@yahoo.com

SUMMARY: Follows Christmas In London, Part III.

RATING: PG

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: I would like to take this opportunity to thank Trigg for ALL of her help with information on London. I could NOT have done this without her. Thank you so much for putting up with my endless barrage of questions! I would also like to thank Farah and everyone else who has taken a look at the early versions and offered feedback. THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!

Part IV - Friday, December 22, 2000

"You told her to meet us here at seven, right?" Charles asked as he and Mark sat at the bar of the Savoy Grill the next evening.

"Yes," Mark nodded before taking a sip of his drink. "That's what we agreed on this morning, and I called her at Isabelle's this afternoon."

Charles looked at his watch. It was ten after seven. "I wonder what's keeping her. It's not like her to be this late without calling."

"Maybe they just started talking and lost track of time," Mark suggested. "I'm sure she's fine."

Charles nodded somewhat hesitantly.

A few moments passed before Mark saw Elizabeth enter the bar. "And here she is."

They stood up as she walked over to them.

"Hello," she said as she kissed them each on the cheek. "Sorry I'm late."

"Are you okay?" Mark asked carefully as he gently caressed her face. "Your face is red, and you're freezing."

"Mother had to go to the Dean's Christmas dinner. I took the train back to town, but still had some time on my hands, so I decided to go for a walk," she explained. "I suppose I didn't have quite as much time as I thought. I'm sorry I'm late."

"Well, all that matters is that you're here now," Charles smiled. "I'll see if we can get a table."

Mark studied her carefully for a moment. Something seemed amiss, but he couldn't pinpoint it exactly.

Throughout dinner, he noticed that she seemed distracted by something. She nodded politely as Charles and Mark discussed their day at the hospital, and told of how Mark gave the doctors in the Casualty Department a few tips for treating an attempted suicide by ingesting anti-freeze with bourbon. Occasionally, Elizabeth offered a few stories from her residency. But Mark could tell that her mind seemed to be a thousand miles away.

As they entered the flat later that night, Charles commented, "I think I'm going to have a nightcap. Would anyone care to join me?"

"That sounds like a good idea," Mark agreed.

Elizabeth smiled, but said, "Actually, I think I'll pass. I'm just going to go upstairs and take a bath."

"That's fine. Goodnight, Darling," Charles nodded as he kissed her on the forehead, then headed off towards the library.

Mark gently reached out for her arm as she turned towards the stairs. "Is something wrong?"

"I'm fine," she assured him. "Just tired."

"Are you sure that's all?" he inquired.

"Yeah," she nodded. "I'm okay. I'll see you later."

"'Night," he smiled as he watched her ascend the stairs.

Mark changed into a pair of pajama bottoms and a tee shirt after he entered the bedroom. Walking to the bathroom door, he tapped gently. He waited a few moments, but there was no answer. Turning the doorknob, he stepped inside and was surprised not to find Elizabeth in the tub.

Walking back into the bedroom, he picked up his robe from the bed and pulled it on. That was when he noticed that the door to the balcony was slightly ajar. He found her leaning against the rail.

Moving to stand next to her, he commented, "It's freezing out here. You're going to catch pneumonia."

She turned to him and smiled faintly, "I'll be fine."

He waited, but finally asked, "What's wrong?"

"What makes you think there's anything wrong?" she asked as she turned back to look over the darkened park below.

"I've known you too well for too long," he replied simply.

She gave a slightly guilty smile, but didn't say anything.

"Come on, Elizabeth," he prompted gently. "Something has been bothering you ever since you met us for dinner. What is it?"

She hesitated. "Do you remember the day last winter when my mother left Chicago?"

He thought for a few moments. "Wasn't she supposed to meet you for dinner, or something, but took an earlier flight instead?"

"Coffee, but yeah, that's basically what happened," she nodded. She sighed. "Today, I found out why she moved up her flight."

"Why?" he wondered.

"She stopped by your apartment, to say goodbye to your father. He, um, he told her about the cancer, but asked her not to say anything to me. She said it would have been too difficult to see me, knowing that, but not be able to tell me. So, she left," she explained softly.

"You're feeling hurt, huh?" he questioned.

"Yeah," she nodded. "It would have really been nice if she'd been there that day. A long time ago, I convinced myself that I didn't need her, that I could get by own my own. And I was able to do that for a long time. But those weeks while she was staying with me, it was strange. It felt like we actually started getting closer." She smiled self-consciously, "We spent more than a few nights talking about you."

"Oh, really?" he questioned with a grin. "Anything I should know about?"

"If you're good, you might find out one day," she teased. She turned serious and sighed. "But that night, the night she left, I really wished she'd been there. That was the first time I actually had to consider the possibility that you and I might not make it."

"What do you mean?" he asked in confusion.

"That was the day you were running the ER, Kerry and Luka weren't on until later," she reminded him. "You and I got into a shouting match in the trauma room over that kid. I was trying to find his parents, so they could consent him as a donor. Then, later that day, your father came in and he wanted me to be his doctor."

He nodded. "I remember."

"Our first fight," she commented quietly. "On some level, I suppose I knew it wasn't that serious, but I still didn't get any sleep that night. I just laid awake in bed, wanting to call you, but too stubborn and too afraid to actually pick up the phone."

"I know," he nodded with a weak smile. "I did the same thing."

"You did?" she questioned as she looked up at him.

"Yeah. I hated the way we left things at the hospital. I didn't want to admit it, in fact I didn't for quite a while, but I knew you were right about needing to respect Dad's decision not to pursue treatment." He didn't say anything for a moment, that was still hard for him to accept. "I also hoped that you could see why I sighed the DNR for that kid. It wasn't that I didn't respect your judgment, or admire that you were trying to bring some good out of an otherwise awful situation. I guess I was just, I don't know, trying to be more reasonable about it."

"I know," she nodded. "I knew you were right. IF we'd been able to locate the AND obtain consent, the organs probably would no longer have been viable." She sighed. "I think what truly worried me was that I wasn't sure you would be able to forgive me for choosing doctor over girlfriend."

"My father's doctor or my girlfriend?" he questioned.

She nodded.

He gave a half-hearted laugh. "Well, I'd be lying if I said I liked it. But, in the end, I think it worked out for the best. I wasn't objective when it came to my father's care. And you're a doctor first. It's who you are. I've known that since we first started dating. It's a large part of why I love, respect and admire you the way I do. You can't turn that off, not even for me, and I could never ask you to. Besides, it brought you and my father closer. I can't regret that."

"Thank you," she whispered. After a few minutes, she added, "I know you're a doctor first, too, and I understand."

He gave a guilty smile, then asked. "Ever think we're too much alike?"

"All the time," she said with a grin.

He chuckled softly.

"You know, this is the first time we talked about that. The fight, I mean," she said quietly.

"Yeah," he nodded, "I guess things just got kinda crazy after that. I was taking care of Dad, trying to pull my weight at work. You got pushed down on the list. I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize," she insisted. "I knew what you were going through, and I didn't want to push. I just wanted you to know that I was there for you. And will always be."

"I know," he smiled. In a whisper, he added, "Thank you."

"You're welcome," she whispered back. Grinning, she said, "You were right."

"Of course," he confirmed. A moment passed. "About what?"

She laughed. "It is freezing out here."

"We could always go back inside," he suggested. "I've got a few suggestions as to how you could get warm."

"Oh, really?" she questioned with a grin.

He slipped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer. After kissing her gently, he confirmed, "Really."

TO BE CONTINUED...

Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed it! Please let me know what you think: SixteenOzs02@yahoo.com LLP

July 22, 2000

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