Another Marsan story from me. I'm going to finish A Different Story but I've lost my motivation since it's a bit long-winded. This one gets straight to the point!

Disclaimer: I don't own ER or any of its characters, etc.

Summary: This is set after episode 2 of season 3, Let the Games Begin, when Mark and Susan bumped into each other whilst out on separate blind dates. There have been lots of lingering looks and we, the audience, all know that they belong together, even if they don't!

The First Date

Mark and Susan were laughing as they climbed out of the photo booth.

"I think my back's seized up," Mark said, rubbing his back.

"Want me to take you home, old man?" Susan laughed.

"No. I mean, unless you want to go?" Mark said.

"No," Susan said smiling.

They started to walk through the fair ground. Neither one of them spoke, both feeling shy all of a sudden.

"So, want me to win you a stuffed teddy?" Mark asked, breaking the silence.

Susan laughed. "Sure."

They spent the evening playing on the fair ground games, Mark failing to win a prize on all of them. It was a matter of male pride that made him keep trying. Susan watched on in amusement, attempting every now and again to persuade him that he could give up. It took Mark several attempts to finally win Susan a giant stuffed frog. Susan laughed at the sight of it.

They walked through the fair, until Mark spotted a tall ferris wheel. He grabbed Susan's arm and pulled her towards the entrance.

"Oh no," Susan said, trying to pull her arm back.

"Come on, you're not scared are you?" Mark jibed.

"Yes," Susan answered matter-of-factly. It was no secret that she had a fear of flying, and while a ferris wheel wasn't anything like an aeroplane or helicopter, she was still going to be a couple of hundred feet in the air.

"It'll be fun," Mark promised. Susan looked sceptical but followed him into one of the carriages. It was small and they were squashed closely together.

The ferris wheel began to spin and they were lifted up into the air. Susan took a deep breath, but as they were lifted higher and higher she squeezed her eyes shut.

"Wow, Susan, you should look at this view," Mark said. "Susan? Susan, what are you doing?"

"I'm hyperventilating, leave me alone," Susan said.

Mark laughed and reached out to hold her hand. Susan looked at him and smiled, comforted.

"So where did this fear of flying come from anyway?" Mark asked.

"When I was little, my dad took us to an air show. They did this huge parade of all the planes at the end and one of them started spiralling down towards us, like it was going to crash. Turned out it was all part of the show, but it petrified me."

"What are you going to do when you have to do your helicopter ride along? It's a requirement of the residency you know," Mark said.

Susan looked unimpressed. "Self-medication is my only hope," she said.

They sat in a comfortable silence as their carriage reached the very top, Susan keeping a tight grip of Mark's hand. Slowly, they began to come back down.

"See, that wasn't so bad was it?" Mark said.

"Want to go again?" the ride supervisor asked them.

"Sure," Mark said, handing him another token.

"Hey," Susan tried to protest but it was too late and they began their ascent again.

"That's not fair," Susan said, trying to sound grumpy. She couldn't hide her smile though when Mark tried to look innocent. Despite feeling nervous, she was having a good time and enjoying Mark's company. The ferris wheel was taking them higher, only this time Susan kept her eyes open. The view was amazing and she felt a tingle go down her spine at the beauty of the city. She was also very aware of how close her body was to Mark's.

All of a sudden there was a loud clunk and the wheel stopped turning, causing the carriages to swing.

"What was that?" Susan asked, the fear creeping back in.

Mark looked down over the edge. Susan tightened her grip of his hand again, somehow believing that if he fell off she would be able to hold onto him. A voice yelled up from below.

"Um, ladies and gentlemen, we appear to be having some technical difficulties. Please don't worry, we'll have it fixed soon."

Susan rolled her eyes. "Great."

"Are you ok?" Mark asked.

Susan sighed. "Yeah," she answered unconvincingly. She started to fidget in her seat.

"Hey, it's ok," Mark said gently.

Below them a young girl, aged about 7, started to cry. They listened as the girl's mother attempted to soothe her.

"You know I'm never going to forgive you for this, don't you?" Susan said.

"How come it's my fault?" Mark asked indignantly, but with a smile.

"I've got to blame someone. And since there's no-one else up here except you…"

"Oh, that's really nice. I saved you from what you described as the most boring date of your life, I buy you dinner, I win you a stuffed animal and that's all the thanks I get," Mark said, pretending to be hurt.

"A hot dog and a stuffed frog does not make the best date," Susan joked.

"Oh, so this is a date now?" Mark asked, bemused.

"Not a very good one," Susan laughed.

"What do you mean? The stars are out, the band is playing. It's very romantic," Mark argued.

Susan smiled. "Yeah, I guess it is," she said.

Mark looked across at her, watching her as she stared out across the city. They had been friends for a long time now and no matter what people had thought, they had always maintained a platonic friendship. But his feelings were different now. He had fallen in love with her.

Susan turned round and caught him watching her.

"What?"

Mark impulsively leant across and kissed her. Susan was taken aback. She didn't respond, but she didn't pull away either. When their lips broke apart, they looked at each other, both at a loss for words. Mark was confused, unable to read what Susan was thinking. He was about to stumble over an apology when Susan leant in again and kissed him. It was light and awkward, gradually becoming deeper and more sensual. Susan was surprised by her feelings; surprised that she wanted this so badly.

The wheel started to turn again, interrupting them.

"Wow," Susan whispered.

"Yeah," Mark said.

They sat in silence as the ferris wheel slowly turned, stopping to drop of the passengers of each carriage. When they finally reached the bottom they clambered out, both feeling awkward. They both smiled embarrassed smiles at each other.

"Shall we…" Mark started.

"…talk?" Susan finished. She nodded and they made their way out of the fair in silence. They walked down the road and found a quiet little bar. Mark bought them drinks and they sat down on a sofa seat.

"So, who goes first?" Susan said.

"I think you know how I feel about you," Mark said softly. "But I don't about you. Tell me what you're thinking."

"We're friends, Mark. I don't want to lose that," Susan said.

"Me neither. But it's not enough any more, not for me," Mark answered. "But maybe it is for you."

Susan shook her head disagreeing.

"When I lost Little Susie, it broke my heart. I ached for her every second of every minute I was awake, and sometimes even when I was asleep. And those nights when you would come over and we would have dinner or just watch TV, it helped. You made it easier somehow, just being there. And then you stopped coming over, because I was doing better, and the aching came back. Only this time, I was aching for you."

Mark had been nursing his drink and looked up at this, slightly surprised. Susan smiled at him and raised her eyebrows questioningly, waiting for him to say something. Mark sat staring at her and Susan, holding back a laugh, leant across and kissed him. Mark kissed her back and they wrapped each other up in their arms like a pair of teenagers. They only broke apart when they heard someone coughing. They looked up to find their 'dates' looking down at them.

"Uh, hi," Mark said.

"Hi," his date, Julie, said.

Susan smiled up at her date, Brent, who smiled back. She noticed that he had his arm wrapped around Julie's shoulders.

"We were worried, in case there was some bad feelings," Julie continued. "Looks like we needn't have bothered!"

"One to tell the grandchildren, eh?" Brent joked.

Mark and Susan looked at each other, biting their lips to keep them from laughing.

"Definitely," Mark said, trying to keep a straight face.

"Well, there are no bad feelings on our part," Susan said.

"Good. Well, enjoy your evening," Julie said.

"You too," Mark said.

As Brent and Julie walked away, Mark and Susan collapsed into laughter. Mark looked at his watch.

"I have to work in the morning," he said, apologetically.

Susan nodded. "Let's go."

They walked slowly hand in hand back to Susan's. Mark stood at her door as she dug through her bag to find her key and opened the door.

"Thanks for walking me home," Susan said.

"No problem," Mark said.

He bent down and kissed her. Susan felt a tingle go down her back again. She wanted him to stay, but she knew it wasn't going to happen that night. They both needed some time to adjust to their new relationship.

"Good night, Mark."

"Good night, Susan."

Susan walked into her apartment, but before she closed the door she turned to Mark and smiled.

"Maybe this date wasn't so bad after all," she said, with a twinkle in her eyes. "For the first."