Since the festive season is almost upon us I thought I would write a little Christmas one shot. This is set in season 3. Enjoy!!

Rating- K

Disclaimer – I don't own them

Title – Christmas Wishes

Summary – Mark spends Christmas Eve feeling lonely and wondering where he went wrong.

Dr Mark Greene stood in the lounge staring out at the blanket of pure white snow that covered the ambulance bay. The snow had began to fall an hour ago and showed no sign of letting up. He sighed as he wondered what his chances of getting home were when his shift finally ended at midnight. Not that it really mattered because all he had to go home to was an empty apartment sparsely decorated with a pathetic looking Christmas tree and a microwavable turkey dinner. Truth be told he would probably have preferred to be snowed in at the hospital. At least at work he had company and would be able to keep himself busy. At home he would spend hours doing exactly what he was doing now, trying to figure out when he became such a sad lonely loser.

He used to have everything, a job he loved, a wife he loved and a daughter he loved more than anything in the whole world. True he still had his daughter but since the divorce he saw her less and less and she was spending Christmas with Jen and her family. He still enjoyed being a doctor but in the past few months he realised that something was missing. He no longer looked forward to his shifts in the er, to him it felt like the whole atmosphere had changed. There did not seem to be the same level of camaraderie and the practical jokes they all used to play on each other were a thing of the past. When did that happen he wondered? Was it because they were all getting older and more grown up? Or perhaps it was because he had hired the demon from hell that is Kerry Weaver. Mark suspected the reason she walked with a cane was because she was so rigid and uptight that without said cane to hold her up she would just topple over.

Mark chuckled to himself sadly. Deep down he knew neither of those explanations were the reason why he felt like this about work. The real cause of his despondency was the fact that she was gone. A lump began to rise in his throat as thought about the day she had left. Months had passed since that day and as much as he hated to think about it he could still remember every detail, every word they had said to each other and every opportunity he had squandered to tell her how he felt. He had waited too long, he knew that, he only had himself to blame for the fact that he had lost her.

He thought as the months passed that the pain would subside but the opposite seemed to be true. He still felt the ache inside. He felt as if part of him was missing, he knew that part was the piece of his heart that belonged to her. Now more than ever he was sure that she was 'the one'. She was his best friend, his partner in crime and his soul mate and he had let her walk right out of his life!

He pressed his forehead against the icy glass and sighed. He heard the lounge door swing open behind him. As he turned he saw Doug walk in.

"Hey Mark, aren't you supposed to be off already?" Doug questioned.

"Yeah but I couldn't face going home to an empty apartment."

"That's what I have always hated about the holidays; it magnifies your loneliness when you have nobody to share the festive cheer with."

"Tell me about it! I'm standing here trying to figure out how the hell I ended up in this situation."

Doug knew his best friend well enough to know exactly what was bothering him; he was pining for a certain Doctor who had moved to Phoenix a few months ago. As they stood there in comfortable silence Doug tried to remember the last time he had seen Mark so subdued. After thinking for a few minutes he came to the conclusion that he had not seen Mark genuinely happy since before Susan had left. He remembered the heartbroken look in his eyes the day he had returned to the ER after trying, unsuccessfully, to convince her to stay. That look had remained in his eyes ever since that day. It was almost as if when she left she had taken part of the old Mark with her. Doug knew that it was time to take action and help Mark to sort himself out.

"Listen buddy, I'm having a few people over after work for some drinks and a bit of holiday cheer, you should come."

"Thanks Doug but I think I'm just gonna hang around here and help out when it starts to get crazy."

"Okay I guess I didn't phrase that right. Let me try again. Mark I am having a party after work and you are coming whether you like it or not. There is no room for negotiation! Besides it's about time you enjoyed yourself and let your hair down.....so to speak." Doug said as he stifled a laugh.

"Very funny smart ass! Kick me while I'm down why don't you!" Mark replied with a smile on his face.

"Well are you coming?"

"Well it's not like I have anything better to do, so why not."

"Okay then, grab your stuff and let's go."

By the time they arrived at Doug's apartment the party was already in full swing. Carol and Carter had finished early and went straight to Doug's to set everything up. Everyone at the party was enjoying themselves. Most of them were already quite drunk and everyone was in the holiday mood, everyone that was except for Mark. He stood in the corner nursing his beer watching his friends and colleagues have fun.

Carol walked over to him with a sprig of mistletoe. She held it above their heads and gave him a quick peck on the lips. As she stepped back Mark smiled.

"Well if I had known all I had to do to get a smile out of you was give you a kiss I would have done it the minute you walked through the door."

"Do you think Doug would be mad if I left? I'm not really in the mood."

"He would definitely be mad. Come on Mark, its Christmas, hang out with us for a little while and have a few drinks. You never know you might even enjoy yourself!"

"Okay I'll try but I'm not promising anything."

"Here keep hold of this; you never know you might need it before the end of the night." Carol said with a smile as she handed him the mistletoe. As she was about to walk away she stopped and turned to him. "You know Mark some people believe that Christmas Eve is the most magical night of the year and if you make a wish tonight there is a chance it will come true."

"Thanks Carol but I stopped believing in Santa Clause and magic back in the days when I still had hair!"

"Hey you never know."

Mark laughed.

As the night wore on Mark felt himself begin to relax and enjoy the party atmosphere. As he finished his fifth beer he marvelled at the effects of alcohol. He walked into the kitchen to refresh his now empty glass. As he closed the refrigerator door he heard the doorbell chime and then a commotion in the living room. He put his drink down and headed back to the living room to see what the sudden excitement was about. As he walked in he could see everyone all crowded round talking excitedly. Before he could investigate any further Carol walked over to him with a huge grin on her face.

"I told you so. Now would be the perfect time to use what I gave you earlier."

He looked at her with a puzzled expression on his face. When he turned back to the crowd he saw what everyone was so excited about and Carol's words suddenly made sense. Standing there surrounded by everyone was Susan. Mark was speechless. He stood staring at her with his mouth hanging open slightly.

As if she could sense him staring at her she turned and their eyes met as she smiled. As soon as the connection was made the room began to grow quieter as everyone waited to see what happened next.

Without hesitation Mark quickly walked towards her gathered her up in his arms and kissed her with all the passion he could muster. As soon as their lips met everyone in the room began to cheer. When they finally parted Mark rested his forehead against hers and looked deep into her eyes. "I love you." He said breathlessly. "I love you too." Susan replied.

As dawn broke in Chicago on Christmas morning Dr Mark Greene lay contently in his warm bed with the woman he loved lying in his arms. She was finally here where she belonged, with him. They were together at last. As it turned out Susan had been equally as miserable without him as he had been without her. She had decided to come home when Doug had visited her on his way to see his mother and told her how miserable Mark was.

As Susan began to wake up she looked over at the man lying next to her. He opened his eyes and smiled.

"I was afraid it was all a dream." He whispered softly.

"Seems pretty real to me."

Mark pulled her closer and sighed happily. "I guess wishes do come true."

"What?" Susan asked.

"Ah, nothing, just something Carol said." He replied with a grin.

"Merry Christmas Mark."

"Merry Christmas Susan." He said before their lips met in a slow sweet kiss.

Finally Mark has everything he wanted and he no longer felt heartbroken and alone. What had started as his worst Christmas ever had turned into the most magical one he had ever experienced and deep down Mark knew it would be the first of many magical Christmases.

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