Orion in the Sky
By Marie del a Meer
Summary: Mark and Susan say good-bye at the end of Orion in the Sky (Marsan).
Disclaimer: I own nothing, except my imagination.
Carter up until now had been unaware of the finality of this conversation. He asked if Mark was working tomorrow. Not tomorrow or ever again, Mark had thought.
"You set the tone Carter." Mark felt strangely proud. He was passing the torch and he knew that things would be okay. Life would go on.
"What?" Carter stood holding the flat basketball.
Mark turned on his heal and began to stroll up the ambulance bay. "You need to work on your jump shot."
"Mark," said a woman's voice. Even though it was a muffled cry, Mark recognised it as Susan.
He turned. Susan stood about 20 feet away from him. He was planning to leave with their parting look tattooed into his memory. The feeling of it too. He didn't think he could bear to acknowledge that this was the last time they were going to see each other.
"You're going to leave without saying good-bye?" Her beautiful green eyes sparkled with tears.
Mark began to walk back towards her. "I've been trying to figure out what to say to you all day, and I just don't think there are words."
Susan stifled a sob. Mark reached out his arms to rub her shoulders.
"My whole life, two marriages and two children later and I honestly think I have been closer to you than to anyone else." Mark said. He didn't feel particularly guilty about saying this, it simply was what it was, the truth. "I've never really thought much about soul mates, but if I had, you would definitely be mine."
Susan pulled him in close and hugged him. She felt the warmth from his body. She rubbed his back with her hands. Mark let his fingers touch her silky blonde hair. That was something he had wanted to do for a very long time. He was glad he hadn't put that on the list though.
"I love you Susan," Mark whispered into her ear, "Time didn't change that, a few thousand miles didn't change that."
He felt her body heaving as she began to cry silently.
"I just wish we had more time," She managed to choke out.
"Me too." Mark felt oddly calm and happy. I think we could have been really happy together." He pulled back and smiled at Susan.
They both leaned in and kissed. Years of missed opportunities and built up passion seemed to be poured into this one kiss. Such raw feeling. Mark felt like he was burning when they finally broke apart. That was one more thing he could cross of his list of things he wanted to do.
"Next life, maybe?" he shrugged.
Susan covered her mouth to prevent another sob. She didn't believe in next lives and she was pretty sure that Mark didn't either.
Mark didn't feel it needed to be said that she would never forget him, or that they both regretted choices they had made. It just was now, and there wasn't much point in bitching about it. He looked into her eyes, she wasn't ready for him to leave yet.
Mark suddenly remembered his last patient. "Susan do you know the constellation Orion."
Susan was confused by this, "You mean stars?"
"Yeah," Mark confirmed.
"I think I can pick Orion's belt, it's three stars..." She stared up at the sky.
"The scorpion was after Orion, so Artemis took him out of the sea and put him in the sky, where the scorpion would never be able to get him." Mark tried to recount the myth correctly, which he doubted he had done, but Susan got it anyway, he saw it in her eyes.
"Since when are you into astronomy," Susan managed to raise an eyebrow.
"I'm not." Smiled Mark, "I can't actually tell you which one Orion is, but if you ever wanna talk. I'll be watching, because Susan," He paused. His hands cupped her face, making her look him in the eyes, "because I want you to be happy."
They hugged again, and kissed briefly. Then she let him go. Mark walked away into the cold Chicago night. There was a huge relief knowing that he would never go through those doors again with all the stress and responsibility that went with it, but also sadness for the same reason.
Susan stood perfectly still watching Mark's receding figure grow smaller and disappear into the darkness.