"Paging Dr. Cohen! Paging Dr. Cohen! Please report to the emergency room immediately!"

The voice crackled over the intercom as Dr. Mark Cohen ran down the hospital corridor and into the emergency room, where a pregnant woman was brought in after having a nasty fall which suddenly sent her into labour. Mark tried his best to calm her down as the poor woman panicked about the condition of her baby. Mark and the two nurses got down to work and ended up delivering a healthy baby girl by Caesarean.

"Congratulations, Mrs. Green. She's as fit as a fiddle," said Mark, smiling as he handed the bundle over the woman, who was beaming tenfold as she cradled her little bundle of joy close to her heart. The young blond smiled proudly. Another job well done, he thought to himself. Leaving the nurses to take care of the lady, he walked up two floors and into his office. He removed the stethoscope from around his neck and flopped down on the revolving chair at his desk, and while he rested, he admired the plaques that graced his office walls. Mark Jeremiah Cohen, D.M.Sc. Mark Jeremiah Cohen, M.D. He smiled to himself. He felt very proud of his education at Brown University, where he studied hard and earned himself a Masters' Degree and then a Doctorate in medical science. He couldn't believe how close he came to dropping out and pursuing a career in filmmaking. More like a hobby though, since all he had was an old camera, an even older, dilapidated projector and a pipe dream. But thanks to all the encouragement from his huge, Jewish family, who wanted him to become either a successful doctor or a lawyer, he was able to accomplish that wish, thus making them and himself happy. He removed his glasses, ran a hand through his spiky, blond hair and rubbed his eyes. Just then, a knock was heard on the door.

"Mark? Hey Mark? You wanna go home now? It's getting kinda late."

Mark spun the chair around to face the voice. "Oh, hi James," he said, smiling sleepily. "Had a long day today?" He yawned after that last sentence.

James smiled back. "Oh yeah. Had this old guy today who took one too many laxatives and so he started panicking thinking he was gonna poop his guts out." The two of them shared a giggle.

"So did Dr. James Walter the Great cure him?" asked Mark teasingly.

James nodded. "Yeah. He just needed to stay off the laxatives once he was…..well, done." He nodded towards the clock. "Hey, why don't you head home now? It's late."

"It is?" Mark blinked and squinted at the digital watch on his desk, which read 2.47am. "Holy shit, it is late," he said, fighting off another yawn.

"Yeah, I thought you might wanna close up and head home," said James, taking a cigarette out of his pocket.

Mark nodded. "Yeah, I think I will soon." He glanced at the cigarette and shook his head. "I can't believe you smoke, James. I mean, come on! You're a doctor, for Christ's sake!"

The brunette doctor with a slight goatee grinned and shrugged his shoulders. "I get to tell other people they can't smoke. But that doesn't mean I can't smoke, now does it?" he grinned cheekily and raised an eyebrow.

Mark sighed and grinned back. "Okay I'm gonna pack up now. Seeya tomorrow?"

"Yup. Seeya!" said James, who disappeared down the hallway.

Mark yawned, blinked, and got up from his chair. After cleaning up his office, he removed his white coat, packed up his briefcase and any important documents, locked the office door behind him and left. He bid goodnight to the receptionist, then got into his blue Volkswagen and drove home to his flash apartment on the Upper West Side.

"Hey! I'm home!" he called out into the darkness as he entered the apartment and tossed his keys and briefcase on the coffee table. A quit rustling sound could he heard in the room.

"MMMM, 'bout time you got home boy," said a deep voice from the brown leather couch. Mark grinned and plopped himself down on the matching leather loveseat.

"Hey Collins, sorry I'm so late today. Had a sudden emergency with a pregnant woman who went into labour after she had a nasty fall. You didn't have to wait up for me." The sleeping figure on the couch stirred slightly and then got up.

"Nah man, it's cool. I gotta make sure my boy makes it home in one piece, right?" said the black man as he chuckled at his friend. Mark chuckled back and nodded.

"Yeah. Big strong Tom Collins, philosophy teacher and bodyguard. What would I do without you?" said the young doctor.

Collins grinned. "Getting beaten up probably." Mark threw a cushion at his head in mock anger. "Now hurry up and get to bed. It's already 3.00 in the morning."

"Yes mother," said Mark. "And you better do the same too." The two roommates and friends bid each other goodnight and went to their respective rooms to sleep. Mark was off in dreamland as soon as his head hit the pillow.

The next morning, after Collins left at 9 am for an early class, the phone rang. Mark picked it up, while sipping his tea. "Hello?" said he into the receiver.

"Dr. Cohen? Good morning, it's Annabel." Mark perked up, recognising the voice of one of his nurses. "Can you please get down here as soon as you can? We have a male in his mid-twenties who brought here due to sudden sickness after eating Indian food last night, he says. His name is Davis or something like that. But he's in pretty bad shape."

"Thank you, Annabel. I'll be right there," said Mark. He gulped down the rest of his tea, grabbed his briefcase and car keys, and sped off to the hospital to attend to this new patient.

Ok I'm sure you folks must have guessed by now that this is an AU. In other words: what if Mark stayed in Browns and finished his studies instead of dropping out? What if he was never a Bohemian? What if he never met Roger until much later? What if he was professionally successful and rich enough to afford a nice house with food and heat instead of starving and freezing in the loft? Well, let us find out……