Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters. If I did, I'd be in my penthouse right now, writing an episode which brings Doug back ;)
The rating is for some sexual content.
A/N: This is basically a Susan / Mark / Doug / Carol story.
I might be the only person in the world who wanted to see Doug and Susan together, but I'm famed for liking uncommon pairings anyway. I'm not quite sure if this story will actually turn into a Doug/Susan romance, but what I do know is that neither Doug and Carol nor Mark and Susan will be together in this fic.
Please give it a try... it's something new and something rather unique. To my best knowledge, I'm the first person to publish a Doug/Susan story on here. Please read and review. Things Will Never Be The Same Again is my first fanfic ever and I would really like to know what you think of it. I'm not a native speaker, so please excuse it if there are any grammatical errors ;)
The
story is set in Season 2. It's not really AU, but I've changed a few
"facts" from the series:
For instance, Mark is still
married to Jennifer. He moved to Milwaukee to live with her and
Rachel. Although Mark is still in touch with his friends in Chicago,
he couldn't make it to Susan's birthday party. Susan's celebrating
her 30th birthday but she's not feeling so well...
Read and find out what happens when Doug tries to comfort her...
TEARS
When Susan Lewis exited the elevator on the roof, she was greeted by a cool January breeze. Slightly shivering, she wrapped her thin lab coat around her body and walked over to her favorite spot on the roof, from where you had a beautiful view over the illuminated city of Chicago.
She looked up to brightly shining stars, recalling the day her niece Susie was born. As Susan remembered how she showed Susie the stars that night, her eyes filled with tears.
Although it was her 30th birthday today, but she was everything but happy that night. She had just left from her own birthday party down in the lounge because she didn't feel like partying anymore. Big, salty tears trickled down her cheeks, but she didn't make the effort to wipe them away. She was going through a rough time ever since her sister Chloe got the custody for Susie and moved away with her. Susan missed that little girl more than she ever imagined she would.
Loosing Susie really broke Susan's heart, as she had been like a daughter to her. During the last few months, Susan had dedicated her entire life to Susie. She wanted to adopt her and legally become her mother. But then, Chloe had crossed all of Susan's plans when she'd come to the decision that she wanted her daughter back. Two weeks ago, Chloe, her husband Joe and little Susie had moved away, leaving Susan alone and devastated. In the meantime, Susan had managed to pack up all the things that reminded her of the baby. She had stored them in the attic, but she still hadn't gotten over the loss yet.
Susan was still engaged in her crying and sobbing that she didn't even notice that the elevator doors had opened again. Someone had approached and was now watching her. She didn't realize that she wasn't alone anymore until that someone gently lay his hand on her shoulder.
"Hey Birthday Girl, what's wrong?" She heard a familiar voice ask.
Susan wiped away her tears with the back of her hand and looked up. Even though she still had a blurred vision from crying, she could recognize Doug. She glared at him and didn't know what to say. Although she had known him for years, Susan couldn't think of a time when she'd cried in front of him. She was not much of a crier, at least not in public. All of a sudden, she felt odd and stupid. "I'm OK." "Just go back inside," Susan said quietly without looking at Doug.
Doug hesitated for some seconds, then he put his arm around her."No, I'll stay with you."
"It's OK, Doug. I'm fine. You don't need to stay with me," Susan said, but her words didn't impress him at all.
"Do you really think I could go back downstairs and have fun with the others, now that I've seen you like this? I won't go anywhere unless you tell me what's wrong." Doug pulled her a little closer, "so, why did you leave the party?" He wanted to know.
Susan glanced shyly at him. She couldn't remember the last time she had been so embarrassed. On the one hand, she didn't want to tell anyone what was on her mind right now, but on the other hand she was glad that someone seemed to care about her. But she couldn't talk to Doug out of all people, or could she?
"I'm fine," she insisted in a sad and shaky voice.
"What are you doing out here then? It's your birthday today, Susan, you should be happy."
Susan sighed. He was right. She wouldn't spend one of her most monumental birthdays on her own at the roof of County General Hospital if everything was alright. She eyed up the dark-haired pediatrician. He was a big gossiper and the one person who spread all the rumors that were circulating at County. In other words, he was probably the last person she'd give anything in secret trust.
However, Susan did trust him tonight. Somehow she knew that he wouldn't talk to anybody about the whole incident, and besides, she really needed to get this off of her chest.
"It's just that I'm 30 now...and I have nothing. Nothing but my work," Susan said, still sobbing. "That's not the life I wanted to live." "Remember when Kerry offered me the Chief Resident position? I turned her down, 'cause I always thought there should be more to life than just work," Susan tried to explain.
Doug didn't reply, he just nodded understandingly and let her continue with her story.
"Things would be different if I'd gotten the custody for Susie..." "But now she's with Chloe... " "I miss her so much! But you know, it's not only about Susie. For as long as I can remember, I wanted to be married and have kids by the time I would turn thirty..." "Now look at me: 30. No kids. No husband. I don't even have a boyfriend." Susan finished up.
Doug reached out for Susan's hand and stroke her. "That's OK, Susan. Things don't usually go as planned. But you should definitely stop pressuring yourself. You're 30, not yet a mother and currently single – so what?" "You're a beautiful woman. You're nice and kind...Any man would be lucky to have you." "You have years and years to find the one, get married and have kids..."
"Come on, be serious, Doug. I don't have years anymore. I had years when I was twenty. But not anymore. Thirty-somethings don't go well on the wedding market," she said in a sarcastic tone.
"Aww, that's not true."
"It is, believe me Doug, it is." "Just look at yourself, or do you actually date women your age?"
"Well," he began, but cut himself off again, as he didn't know quite what to say. After all, Susan was right. The med-student he'd shared his bed with for the past few days had been barely over 21, and so were most of the other girls he dated.
"See? I was right," Susan pointed out.
"Yes, but then again, I'd never considering marrying one of those girls."
Susan chuckled a little. "I know." "I can't really imagine you being married anyway."
"Me either," Doug admitted. "At least not anytime soon," he said, giving her his typical Doug smile. Susan couldn't help laughing. Although Doug had tried to be as serious as possible, he had still managed to cheer her up and Susan was really glad that he hadn't left when she'd told him to go.
As their laughter died down, Susan finally felt the coldness that crept into her body. Doug, too, was freezing. "Let's go back inside, " he suggested, but Susan shook her head.
"Go ahead, but I'm not going back to the party."
"But you don't turn thirty everyday, Susie, you should definitely celebrate your birthday"
"Wine at home will do for me, too." Susan chuckled.
"Probably. Should I take you home? I came by car today," Doug offered.
"If you don't mind..."
"Not at all. Come on, let's go!" Doug grabbed Susan's hand and the two of them descended the elevator.
During the car ride, Doug and Susan didn't talk as they were both lost in their thoughts, thinking about their lives. When Doug's car pulled up in front of Susan's apartment, she didn't feel like climbing out of the car. Upstairs in her apartment, where she would be on her own again, all her fears and sorrow would come back. She'd think about Susie and all the things that had gone wrong in her life.
Susan looked at Doug, wondering if she should ask him in. He smiled, but he didn't say anything, so they just sat there in silence for some minutes.
"Want to come upstairs with me and join me for a couple of drinks?" Susan finally suggested.
"Sure," he said...
...TBC...
Please review!
Thanks.
Sunny