ER: Doug and Carol Series

Story #40 continued

Things Yet To Come

by: Courtney

Susan puts her stethoscope in her locker and closes it with a bang. She sighs, wondering what to do now. She's off work but she's not sure if she should go check on Mark or just go on home. He'll still be at work now. She knows County was as dead as they were today so she is aware that Mark had lied to her about them being busy. The fact that he's avoiding her really hurts her. It's been this way since the day of the wedding.

'Just go home,' she thinks to herself. 'Give him some space.' She starts for the door and practically collides with Ben Hendrix as he is coming into the lounge.

"Susan," he says in surprise, then he grins. "We seem to meet up in here a lot."

"Yes, we certainly do," Susan agrees, returning the smile.

"Are you heading out?"

"Yep," she replies.

"Okay, well have a good day off tomorrow. Are you planning to take in the fireworks at the park?"

"Fireworks? Oh, I hadn't even thought about it really," Susan replies. "I don't suppose I will, no."

"You don't like the Fourth of July?" Ben asks.

"No, it's not that . . . it's just, I think this year I won't be much in the mood for the festivities," she tells him.

Ben looks at her curiously. This woman seems to grow more mysterious by the minute, and it only serves to peak his interest in her. Since the first time he saw her, Susan Lewis has intrigued him. Not wanting to offend her, Ben asks no more questions. He simply wishes her a good night and watches her leave. His lips curl into a small smile as he thinks to himself that there is definitely a lot he has to learn about Dr. Lewis.

Carol and Doug have just gone back downstairs when they hear the knock at the front door. "Are we expecting someone?" Doug asks her.

She shakes her head. "Not that I know of." She rolls her eyes and says, "Lord help us if it's my mother."

Doug grins and nods, "Or mine." He walks over to answer the door and is surprised to find Mark waiting on the other side. "Mark, I thought you were on all day?" he says.

"I was . . . well, I still am . . . I just . . ." he starts but nothing seems like the right thing to say.

"What's going on, is everything all right?" Carol asks when she sees Mark. He looks very worried.

"No, everything's fine, really," he assures her. "I mean, I hope it is. I just . . . I realized what day it was and I wanted to be sure you were both okay," he finally says. He is still standing in the opened doorway with Doug and Carol both just inside the house looking back at him.

"Uh . . . I'm sorry, come in," Doug says finally. Mark walks in and Doug shuts the door behind him. "We, uh . . . thanks Mark. Thanks for thinking about us." Doug puts his arm around Carol's shoulders. He smiles slightly but it is a rather sad smile. "We're okay . . . we're going to be just fine," he tells his friend as they all move into the living room and sit down to talk.

Mark smiles back, "I'm glad to hear that. Well, I'm sorry to barge in. I just got to thinking and I realized that I've been so caught up in my own stupid problems . . ."

"Don't say that, your problems are not stupid," Carol says from her perch on the sofa beside Doug.

"I tend to bring things on myself though," he says sadly. "What happened with Nina . . . it was my fault."

"No, you can't blame yourself. You tried . . . it just wasn't meant to be," Carol says.

"Don't be so rough on yourself, bud," Doug says as he pats Mark lightly on the back.

Mark nods then looks back to them both. "Look at me, I come over here to see how you two are doing and I end up back in self pity mode. I'm sorry."

"Don't be," Carol says. "We can use the distraction."

"What do you plan to do tomorrow?" Mark asks softly.

Carol smiles a little and grasps Doug's hand. "We're going to take some flowers to the grave, then . . . well, then I'm not so sure," she admits.

"If you need anything, either of you, please don't hesitate to call me," Mark says sincerely.

"We won't," Doug says with a melancholy grin. "You're a good friend, Mark."

Just then, another knock sounds at the door. "Now that better not be our mothers," Carol says. Doug chuckles. "I'll get it," Carol says and gets up to answer the door. Doug and Mark stay behind in the living room to talk.

Carol opens the door to see Susan Lewis standing on the porch. "Susan . . . what are you doing here?" she says in a surprised but happy tone.

Susan smiles, "I just wanted to see how you were doing."

"That seems to be a trend," Carol remarks. "Mark just showed up, too."

"He's here? Maybe I should leave . . ." Susan starts to say.

"What? No, come in, please," Carol says and takes her arm to pull her into the house. She then leads the way back into the living room. Mark and Doug look up to see Susan coming in behind Carol. Doug smiles and gets up to greet Susan with a hug. Mark just watches her, giving her a nervous smile when she says hello to him.

"I think I could use a glass of tea. Anyone else want one?" Carol asks.

"Yeah, sure," Doug smiles. Mark nods.

"Susan, would you give me a hand please?" Carol asks. Susan nods and follows Carol into the kitchen.

"She seems to be happy at Mercy," Doug comments when the women have left the room.

"Huh?" Mark says, not really paying attention.

"Susan, she seems to like her new job."

"That's good," Mark says.

"I really miss having her at County though. I wish she'd been able to get a job there."

"Yeah . . ."

"What's with you Mark?" Doug asks.

"What? What do you mean?" Mark asks, looking up at Doug.

"You act like it makes you nervous to be in the same room with her. What is it you're afraid of?"

"I'm not nervous . . . I just . . . I don't know," he says.

"Did you tell her about what you told Nina?" he asks.

"No," Mark replies.

"Don't you think you should?" Doug continues.

"No, I don't. I think what we could have had was over a long time ago. It's not fair to drag all that back up again," he says.

Doug looks at his friend and shakes his head. He really can't say this surprises him. It's just like Mark to hide his feelings, even from himself. But Doug knows that eventually he'll come around. He decides to drop the subject for now. They'll be plenty of time for it later.

"Where are the tea bags?" Susan asks as she looks in the cabinet while Carol gets the tea pitcher out.

"Second shelf," Carol responds. Susan finds them and grabs two to give to Carol. "He's acting very strange," Carol remarks as she fills the pitcher with water.

"He's still pretty upset I guess," Susan replies, quickly jumping to his defense.

Carol nods and sighs. "So," she turns to look at Susan, "is he still avoiding you then?"

"Like the plague," Susan frowns. "Why do you think that is?"

"Because he's afraid. He's afraid to be in love."

"He's not in love with me, not anymore."

"Well, that's debatable but even if he's not now I think even he knows that he could be. If he gave it half a chance he'd be head over heels for you in a second."

"You are nuts," Susan laughs.

"No, I'm just honest. Face it, you two are always going to have something."

"Maybe . . . I just don't think we'll ever have what we could have had if I'd stayed in Chicago. I think I threw away that chance when I got on the train that day." She looks sadly at the counter and runs her finger absently along the edge of the sugar canister.

"Don't give up yet, you never know what can happen," Carol says with a smile.

"I think you are way too optimistic lately, Carol," Susan says and laughs a little.

"Maybe, but I'm hoping optimism will pay off," she replies as she stirs the tea.

"Speaking of which, how'd the doctors appointment go yesterday?"

"I'll know soon enough. The results should come back tomorrow or Monday."

"Well, good luck, I'll keep my fingers crossed," Susan says.

"Thanks, I'll keep mine crossed for you, too," Carol says and grins at her.

Susan laughs, "You are just too much."

Charlie watches Josh approach. She takes the soda from his hand. "Thanks," she says as he sits down at the table with her. They are at the skating rink and Charlie has fallen so many times that she finally convinced Josh that they should sit down and rest for a while.

"You really aren't having fun, are you?" Josh asks.

"Well, I'm not exactly a world champion roller skater," she giggles. "But, I'm having fun with you. And Michelle and Bax seem to be having plenty of fun for all of us," she remarks. They both look out to the rink where Michelle and Bax are skating together. They are both giggling and holding hands. Michelle slips a little and almost falls but Bax catches her and they laugh again.

"They really do seem to be hitting it off," Josh agrees.

"I'm glad, I was worried about her after what that jerk Jeremy did. I know he's your friend and all Josh but I think what he did was really low." Charlie is still very angry about this whole situation.

"I know, I have to agree," Josh says. "He should have just broken things off with Michelle if he wasn't interested in her anymore."

"Well, I'm just glad she's over that."

Josh nods. "So, you think they'd mind if we get out of here?"

"What and miss all the fun? I thought you were enjoying watching me bust my butt every five minutes," she says sarcastically, then laughs.

"I was, but that sort of got old after about the hundredth time," he laughs.

"Hey, you better watch out!" she teases.

Josh laughs again. "Well, I'll just go tell them we're going to leave, okay?"

"Yeah, okay," Charlie responds and watches him skate away.

"Okay, bye," Doug says as he hangs up the phone.

"Who was that?" Carol asks as she walks in the bedroom.

"Charlie," he says. "She's on her way home."

"Did you ask her about tomorrow?" Carol asks as she sits down beside him. He puts his arm around her to pull her closer.

"Yeah, she said she wants to come."

"Good, I'm glad. She belongs there."

Yeah," Doug agrees. "Doesn't it seem strange that a few years ago we didn't even know her? I mean, I can't imagine her not being our daughter now."

"Yeah . . ." Carol says as she lays her head on his shoulder. "We're all lucky to have found each other."

"Speaking of which, when do you think Mark and Susan are going to stop dancing around each other?"

"Jeez, if only I knew. I think both of them are scared. They still have feelings for each other though. I know Susan does," Carol says.

"Yeah, same with Mark. He wants to give in to what he feels for her but he's afraid. I guess after what just happened with Nina I can understand. He just needs time. I just hope that while he gets ready to start over Susan doesn't get sick of waiting," Doug says.

"Well, if what they have it meant to be then things will work out. Just look at us," she smiles.

"Yeah, look at us," he replies and bends down to kiss her sweetly.

It's almost 4am on the morning of July 4th when Carol wakes with a start. Doug is woken by her jolting up in bed and he sits up to see what's wrong. "Carol? Honey, are you alright?" he asks softly as he wraps his arms around her.

She buries her head in his chest and cries. He doesn't really need an answer anyway. He knows why she is upset. It was almost exactly a year ago at this moment.

Carol cries for a little longer, then finally manages to compose herself. "I'm okay," she whispers as she wipes her eyes.

"It's okay, I understand," Doug assures her.

"God, I'm glad I have you," Carol says and wraps her arms around his neck to hug him tight. He hugs back and they lay there comforting each other in blissful silence.

"Ready?" Doug asks as he, Carol, and Charlie sit in the car just outside the cemetery.

"Yes," Carol whispers as she tries to hold herself together. Doug nods and gets out of the car to come around and open her door. Charlie gets out and waits as Doug helps Carol from the car and takes her hand. He walks over and takes Charlie's hand in his as well and they all walk together towards Sarah's grave.

When they have reached the familiar site, Doug places the roses they have brought with them in front of the headstone. Carol kneels down and touches the stone, which is cold despite the sweltering heat Chicago is experiencing. The family sits together in silence, drawing strength from one another and all knowing that their healing has already begun.

"How are you feeling?" Doug asks as he walks out onto the back porch. Carol is sitting alone in the porch swing.

"I'm . . . I don't know. I'm okay."

Doug nods, knowing what she means. It's hard to put into words what he feels right now, too. He walks over and sits with her on the swing. He puts his arm around her and she lays her head on his shoulder. They sit there for a while in silence.

They both hear the phone ringing but neither makes a move to go and get it. Charlie is home and it's probably for her anyway. Only seconds after the ringing has stopped, though, the back door flies open. Charlie has the cordless phone in her hand and she looks excited and terrified all at once. Doug and Carol look at her, wondering what's going on.

"It's Dr. Stillwell's office," she says in explanation.

Carol looks at Doug. They both know this could be the best news in the world, or it could be totally devastating. They have to wonder if they are ready for this, today of all days. A silent conversation seems to take place between Doug and Carol as they look at each other. Finally, Doug breathes, "Go on," and nods towards the phone.

Carol takes the phone from Charlie and raises it slowly to her ear. "H . . . hello?" she says nervously. "Yes Dr. Perkins, I remember you." Dr. Perkins is one of the other doctors that practice with Dr. Stillwell. "Yes . . . you have the results?" she looks at Doug. "Yes, I'd like to know . . ." There is a long silence as Carol listens and Doug and Charlie sit by and wait, both on pins and needles. Finally, Carol says, "Thank you, I really appreciate that. Goodbye doctor." She hangs up the phone and stares down at the receiver in her hands.

Doug watches her but he can't quite gage her reaction. He's not sure of the news was good or bad. Finally he says, "Well?"

Carol looks up with tears brimming in her eyes. "She said . . ." she starts but loses her voice.

"Oh no . . ." Doug says softly as he begins to realize what the conversation must have been about. "Carol, I'm sorry . . ." he starts to wrap his arms around her. Charlie starts to cry softly as she kneels down in front of them.

Carol pulls away from Doug and looks at them both. Tears spill onto her cheeks. "No, you don't understand . . ." she begins.

"Carol, honey, I know it's hard to hear but . . ." Doug starts.

"No, wait. You really don't understand, Doug," she says. Her face suddenly breaks into a huge grin as more tears spring forth. "I'm pregnant," she says softly.

Doug's mouth drops open and he looks quickly from Carol to Charlie and back. His expression goes from shock and disbelief to one of pure joy. "Pregnant?" he says softly.

Carol nods happily. Charlie smiles widely and Carol takes both Charlie and Doug's hands in hers and places them on her stomach. "Wow," Charlie says as she looks at them both.

"Carol, this is . . . this is . . . wow," Doug says as he looks into her eyes.

"I know . . . wow," she replies with a smile. They all sit together for a while as the good news starts to sink in. When they woke up this morning, this family had expected to end this day as sad as they had started it. They never expected this. Carol looks at Charlie and Doug and says softly, "Our guardian angel was watching over us today." They both nod at this. Yes, she certainly was.

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Created by Courtney Stovall © 1998

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