Moments Like This, Part I
By: Lori (SixteenOzs)
DISCLAIMER: "ER," the characters, and situations depicted within are the property of Warner Brothers 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 not making a profit.
Please do not post or redistribute without the disclaimer above, or without the consent of the author.
Feedback is always welcome. I'd love to know what you think. Please send any questions, comments, or criticisms to SixteenOzs02@yahoo.com
SUMMARY: Susan faces uncertainties about her health, which causes her to reevaluate her relationship with Mark.
BACKGROUND: This story takes place about two weeks after
"Working Together." Mark and Susan are still dating,
but taking things slowly.
Stories In This Series:
1. Long Way Back
2. Working Together
3. Moments Like This
"How long have you been on?" John Carter asked in an amused tone.
Mark Greene looked up from the computer at the admit desk and tried to stifle another yawn. Glancing at his watch, he replied, "About thirty-five hours. Only one more to go."
"I thought they only made us interns keep hours like that," Carter laughed.
"Yeah, that's what I thought, too."
"So, how'd you luck out?" Carter asked.
"Linda Martins' little boy is sick and she couldn't make it in last night. I called around, but no other attendings were available. Only Susan and I were left. We both worked twelve hours yesterday and were scheduled for the same today. So, one of us had to pull a thirty-six hour shift. She'd already gone home when I found out Linda couldn't make it in. I didn't think it would be fair to call her back," Mark explained.
"And that had nothing to do with the fact that you two are currently dating?" Carter asked with a laugh.
"Of course not," Mark grinned.
"At least you're off tomorrow, right?"
"Yeah," Mark nodded. "Actually, we're both off.
"Any big plans?" Carter inquired.
"Susan suggested a picnic then going rollerblading. I think she just wants to see me back in a cast," he said, referring to the cast he had removed the previous week from the hand that was broken during the attack.
"What do you mean?" Carter asked, sounding somewhat confused.
"She's seen me on ice skates. She has to know this is NOT a good idea," he deadpanned.
"Good luck," Carter laughed. "I've got to get back to a patient. See you later."
"See ya, Carter."
Mark sighed heavily as he waited for the elevator to reach his floor. At the moment, he was debating between finding something to eat or heading straight to bed. Yawning, he realized that sleep was definitely the stronger alternative.
Stepping off the elevator, he started down the hall towards his apartment. He stopped before he reached the door as he saw Susan sitting outside. Her hair was damp, as if she just got out of the shower, and she was hugging her knees to her chest. Kneeling beside her, he gently touched her shoulder as he asked, "Susan, what's wrong?"
She looked up quickly, almost as if she was surprised to see him. It took a moment for everything to come back into focus.
"Mark, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have come. You just got off a long shift, you need to get some sleep. We can talk about this later. I'll just go home," she said hastily.
"You're not going anywhere until you tell me what's wrong," he informed her. At the first sight of her tear-stained face, he'd immediately forgotten how tired he was.
"Are you sure?" she asked hesitantly, searching his eyes for an answer. "I can come back later."
"I'm positive," he said as he stood up and extended his hand to her. Still wondering what had her so upset, he said, "Let's go inside."
She nodded and took his hand.
He unlocked the door and they entered the apartment. After they were seated on the sofa, he asked again, "Susan, what's wrong?"
There was no easy way to say this, so she figured it would be best to just come right out with it. Taking a deep breath, she looked in his eyes before she said, "I may have breast cancer."
"What?" he asked quietly.
"I found a lump tonight, and two of my aunts died of it before they were forty," she said as her voice wavered.
A million questions rushed through his mind, but as he looked at her, he only said one thing. "Come here," he whispered, wrapping his arms around her.
After several minutes, he pulled back so he could look at her. Wiping the tears from her face, he said, "No matter what, we're going to get through this together. Okay?"
She nodded and gave a weak smile.
"Have you set up a doctor's appointment?" he asked.
"No," she said, shaking her head. "I found it about an hour ago. I guess I just sort of panicked. Carol was out with Doug. I didn't know what else to do, so I came here."
"I'm glad you did," he said as he gently caressed her cheek. He thought for a minute before he asked, "Do you know Emily Westmore?"
She shook her head.
"We went to med. school together. I helped her get through her ER rotation. She's in oncology at County now. She's one of the best. Do you want me to give her a call, or would you rather go somewhere else?"
She hadn't really thought that far ahead. After considering this for a moment, she finally said, "If this is cancer, I want to stay at County. It's home. I just don't want to mention it to anyone in the ER. At least not until I know if there's something to mention. Could you give her a call?"
"Sure," he nodded. "I'll see if she can fit you in tomorrow."
"The sooner, the better," she commented.
"I know we're both off tomorrow, but it will probably be a couple of days before we know anything definite. I'll call Kerry to see if they can make do without us for the rest of the week."
"You're going with me?" she asked, slightly surprised.
That was what he was planning, but what if she didn't want him there? Hesitantly, he replied, "Only if you want me to."
"Of course I want you to," she smiled weakly, "I just wasn't sure you'd want to do it."
"After everything it's taken to get here, I'm definitely planning to stick around for a while," he assured her with a smile. "Is it okay if I tell Kerry what's going on?"
"Yeah," she nodded, "there's no way she'd give us a week off without a good reason."
"Are you going to tell Carol?" he wondered.
"I don't know," she sighed. "She's my friend and I'm living with her, but I don't want to worry her if it's nothing. And she'd probably tell Doug and it wouldn't be long before it was all over the hospital."
"You could stay here for a while. You can have my room, and I'll take the sofa," he suggested.
"Are you sure?" she asked. "I wouldn't want to be a burden."
"You wouldn't be," he told her with a smile. "Besides, this way, I can keep an eye on you."
"Mark, thank you," she said quietly.
"You're welcome," he replied. "I'll go leave messages for Emily and Kerry so they can get back to us first thing in the morning."
"Okay," she said absently as she rested her head against the back of the sofa and closed her eyes.
He watched her for a moment before asking, "Is there anything I can get you?"
"No, I'm okay, but thanks for the offer."
"No problem," he said as he stood up and kissed her forehead before going to get the phone.
He returned about ten minutes later. She was still leaning back on the sofa. "How are you doing?" he asked softly.
She opened her eyes and raised her head. She considered his question a moment before responding. "I'm scared to death right now," she admitted.
"I know," he nodded sympathetically.
"I keep thinking about what I would do if I saw someone like this in the ER. What would I tell her?"
"What did you come up with?" he asked.
"I'd probably say that four out of five lumps are benign. More that likely, this is just a cyst that can be drained and taken care of in one day. And even for the ones that aren't, the five-year survival rate for Stage One is eighty-five percent," she said.
"But that's not what you want to hear right now, is it?"
She shook her head, "No. I want answers. I want to know what this is. I don't want to sit around here and wait to find out, because the more time I have to wait, the more time I have to worry. Right now, I can't stop thinking about the twenty percent that are NOT benign. And if it's cancer, what about the fifteen percent who don't make it five years? Did I catch this early enough? It wasn't there last month." She stopped and thought for a moment. "At least I don't THINK it was there last month. I'm not even sure anymore," she said in frustration, running her hand through her hair, then staring at a spot on the floor.
He wasn't sure what to say. He didn't have any more answers than she did. "I wish there was something more I could do," he said quietly.
Looking at him, she smiled and reminded him, "You're here. That means a lot."
He gave a slight smile in return. That was when she noticed how tired he looked. "How much sleep did you get last night?" she asked.
"A couple hours," he shrugged.
She gave him a pointed look, which said she wanted a more specific answer.
"Two or three," he said after a moment.
"You were probably planning to be asleep by now, weren't you?" she asked with an apologetic look.
"Maybe," he said with another shrug.
As she watched him, she couldn't help but smile, "You're lying."
He smiled back, "Maybe."
She laughed, "Mark, go to bed."
"Are you going to be okay?" he asking in a caring tone.
"Maybe," she said with a hint of a smile.
"You're lying," he pointed out.
"Maybe," she repeated before they both started laughing.
"Let me get the stuff for the sofa," he said as he stood up.
"Mark, why don't you stay in your room? You need the sleep more than I do," she suggested.
"I'll be fine out here," he assured her.
"I am not going to kick you out of your room," she said firmly.
"You're not kicking me out, I'm volunteering."
She sighed. He could be so incredibly stubborn at times. "This sofa is about five, five and a half, feet long. You're what? Six-two? If you sleep out here, you're going to be in pain all day tomorrow. I don't want that to be on my conscious." She stopped before saying, "What would you say to a compromise?"
He stared at her curiously. "What did you have in mind?"
She hesitated a moment before asking, "What if we shared the bed? I'd love it if you'd just hold me right now."
"I think that might work," he smiled. "You look pretty tired yourself."
"Yeah, I guess I am," she admitted.
"I've been at the hospital for over thirty-six hours, so I think I'm going to do us both a favor and take a shower. If you want, you can help yourself to anything in my closet and go on to bed," he suggested.
"Thanks," she said with a weak smile.
He extended his hand and helped her up from the sofa. "You okay?" he asked.
"Yeah," she nodded, but she didn't succeed in convincing either of them that she really was.
About twenty minutes later, he came out of the bathroom, having showered and changed into a tee shirt and boxers. Walking into the bedroom, he found her curled up on the far side of the bed with her back to him. She was wearing one of his sweatshirts and a pair of running shorts.
Hearing him enter the room, she turned towards him and smiled. "I didn't take your side of the bed, did I?"
"No, you're fine," he smiled back before taking off his glasses, cutting off the light and lying down beside her.
They were laying spoon-style and he had his arm wrapped around her waist. Quietly, he asked, "How's that?"
"Perfect," she said softly, as she slowly allowed herself to relax.
They were quiet for a few minutes before she sighed and said, "I always thought the first time I fell asleep in your arms would be under better circumstances."
"So did I," he admitted as he found her hand under the comforter and laced his fingers with hers.
TO BE CONTINUED...
I'd love to know what you think. Please send all feedback to SixteenOzs02@yahoo.com