Chapter 7
Disclaimer: I do not own ER or the characters in this story, with the exception of Headmistress Walden. No copyright infringement is intended.
"Susie, hurry up!" Susan Lewis-Greene shouted to her niece. A moment later, fourteen-year-old Susie Lewis ran down the stairs.
"How do I look?" she asked, turning around to model her new school uniform. Susie wore a blue plaid skirt, white shirt and blue sweater. Her blonde hair was down. Without waiting for her aunt to answer, Susie picked up her new book bag. "Let's go!"
"Wait, wait," Susan laughed. She picked up her digital camera and Susie rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on. I need a picture for the first day of school."
"Fine," Susie replied. She smiled and Susan snapped the picture. "Can we go now?"
"One second," Susan said.
Mark entered the hallway and smiled at them. "You both look terrific!" he said. He picked up Susan's camera and motioned to his wife. "I want to get a picture of the Lewis ladies together."
Susan stood next to her niece and put her arm around Susie. Both smiled for the camera and Mark took the picture. Abby approached, carrying baby Christopher.
"Thank you so much, Abby," Susan said. "We shouldn't be too long at Westfield."
"Take your time," Abby replied. "This little guy's too adorable to put down!"
"Our cell numbers are on the fridge - well you know mine my heart anyway!" Susan said as Mark opened the door and Susie hurried out the car.
"He'll be fine, Susan," Abby assured her friend. "Now, go before they leave without you!"
Susan quickly kissed Christopher's head. "I'll be back, little guy," she said. "Bye!" Abby closed and locked the door behind Susan and laughed.
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Westfield Academy. Mark, Susan and Susie sat in Headmistress Walden's office. It was customary for the headmistress to meet each new student and their parents - or in Susie's case, her aunt and uncle - on the first day of school.
Headmistress Walden looked through Susie's file and smiled at the family in front of her. "I'm very impressed with your grades, Susie," she commented.
"Thank you," Susie said shyly.
"You should be very proud of Susie," Headmistress Walden said to Mark and Susan.
Susan shook her head vigorously. "Oh, I am - we are, I mean."
"And how do you like Chicago so far?" Headmistress Walden asked them.
Mark and Susan exchanged curious glances. "Well, I've lived here for quite while now," Mark responded. "And Susan grew up here."
Headmistress Walden frowned, then put on her glasses and turned through some pages in Susie's file. "But the application was from San Francisco."
"That's where Susie lived before she moved to Chicago," Susan explained.
"I was under the impression that you had just moved to Chicago," Headmistress Walden stated.
"Headmistress Walden, Susie lived with my sister in San Francisco," Susan said.
"She was living with her aunt?" the headmistress questioned.
Susan frowned. "I'm her aunt," she said.
"But the application states that Susie's parents are Mark Greene and Susan Lewis-Greene," Headmistress Walden replied. "You may see for yourself." She passed the application to Mark and Susan and they read it. Their faces grew more curious as they looked at each other. "I'm assuming this is false information," the headmistress added.
"I'm so, so sorry," Susan said. "I don't know what my sister was thinking when she put our names on the application." Susan glanced at Susie. "Chloe - Susie's mother - said that she anticipated the family's moving to Chicago, but her husband received a promotion at his job in San Francisco and they decided to stay. However, Susie had heard about Westfield Academy and wanted to attend, so Mark and I agreed to let her live with us."
"This won't hurt Susie's being at Westfield, will it?" Mark asked anxiously.
"No, not at all," Headmistress Walden replied. "I'm glad we got to the bottom of this matter. I'll just change her file and list your relations as her aunt and uncle." She began to write on the file and looked up at them. "Are you both still employed as emergency room doctors at County General Hospital?"
"Yes, we are," Mark replied.
"And your current address is 476 Willow Way?"
"Yes, it is," Susan answered.
"All right, I think we're settled then," the headmistress said. She closed the file and smiled at Susie. "Welcome to Westfield. I'm sorry about the confusion."
"It's okay," Susie replied. She fidgeted with her sweater and Susan could see the sadness on her niece's face. Chloe's lies had hurt Susie more than she could know.
"I'll walk you over to the administration office. They'll give you your class schedule and locker assignment there," the headmistress said. She stood up and motioned for the Greenes and Susie to follow her.
Susie stood up and carried her book bag. Mark and Susan exchanged looks as they followed Susie and Headmistress Walden.
"Unbelievable," Susan muttered.
"What was Chloe thinking?" Mark asked quietly.
"She wasn't, as usual," Susan said sharply. She lowered her voice. "She only cares about herself. She doesn't give a damn about Susie or anyone else."
Mark put his hand on Susan's back to comfort her, and they followed Susie and the headmistress.
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That afternoon, Susan and Susie arrived home. Mark had gone into work for the afternoon shift. Susie slammed the door and tossed her book bag onto the floor.
"She's such a bitch!" Susie exclaimed. She flung herself onto the sofa and folded her arms. Susan walked downstairs after putting Chris down for his nap. She sat next to Susie and put her arms around her niece. "I'm sorry, baby."
"She never wanted me," Susie said. Her eyes filled with tears.
"Honey, she loves you," Susan assured her niece. Susie glared at Susan. "Yeah? Then why did she lie on the application? And why did she lie to you and Uncle Mark?"
"What did she lie to us about?" Susan asked.
"There was never a chance of our moving to Chicago for Joe's job," Susie said. "I heard Chloe talking about it on the phone and she said she couldn't wait for me to be out of her hair."
"Are you sure you heard her correctly?" Susan inquired, praying Susie was wrong.
"No, I think I understand English pretty well," Susie snapped. "Chloe was talking to one of her crack head friends and said that her 'sucker sister' was going to be stuck with me."
"Oh, Chloe," Susan said. She put her head in her hands.
"And I know everything, Aunt Susan," Susie confessed. "I know that she abandoned me when I was a baby and that you raised me for a while."
Susan looked up at her niece. "She told you?"
"Yeah, during one of her drunken tirades," Susie replied. "She said that you wanted to adopt me and she wasn't going to let it happen. Over her dead body, as she put it."
"Then why did she want you to live with me now?" Susan asked.
"Because I'm a burden to her," Susie said. "Her own words, right out of her mouth. She said she's stuck with a kid. I'm apparently cramping her style." Tears rolled down Susie's cheeks. "It's all true, isn't it?"
"Yes," Susan answered. She wrapped her arms around Susie, who began to sob. "I never wanted to let you go, Susie. I fought hard to keep you, but Chloe won." Susan stroked Susie's hair. "It's why I moved to Phoenix, to be with you. My heart broke when you were taken away."
"I don't know why Chloe didn't let you adopt me years ago," Susie sniffled. She looked up at Susan. "She asked me not to call her Mom. She said it wasn't cool."
"She's unbelievable. I can't wait for Chris to call me Mommy," Susan admitted.
"And Chloe said something else to her friend, about terminating something," Susie added. "Some kind of rights. I didn't catch all of the conversation."
"Parental rights?" Susan asked.
"I think so," Susie said as she wiped her eyes. "Does that mean she wouldn't be my mother anymore?"
"Well, yes," Susan replied.
"Would you and Uncle Mark adopt me?" Susie asked hopefully. Susan kissed Susie's head and wiped her eyes some more. "In a heartbeat," she said. "I'd love for you to be my daughter." Susan hugged Susie again. "What about Joe? What does he say about all of this?"
"Joe doesn't live with Chloe anymore," Susie replied. "He only came to Chicago so you'd believe we were one big happy family. I wanted to tell you the truth, but Chloe said she'd make me regret it."
"Has she ever hurt you physically?" Susan asked. She dreaded hearing the answer.
"She's hit me a few times," Susie confessed. "Mostly when she was drunk, but sometimes when she was sober too." Susie closed her eyes, took a deep breath and looked at Susan. "I was good. I tried not to get in her way. I took care of her when she'd come home drunk." She pushed her blonde hair back. "I guess I wasn't good enough."
"Don't you ever say that again!" Susan said firmly. "You, Susie Lewis, are a wonderful gift from God. I wanted to be your mother years ago, and I'm certainly going to be your mother now. I know that Mark will agree with me on this." Susan hugged Susie tightly. "This is your home, sweet girl. And you never have to worry about anything. There's plenty of love here."
"I love you," Susie said. She buried her head in Susan's shoulder and cried. Susan knew it was a release of all the tension, hurt, anger and sadness that her niece had been dealing with for many years. She soothed Susie and rubbed her back.
"It's okay, baby," she said. "It's okay." Susan continued to comfort Susie as she waited for Mark to arrive home.
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That night, Mark and Susan sat on their bed and talked. Susie had fallen asleep a couple of hours earlier.
"Susan, you have nothing to worry about. We'll adopt Susie," Mark said. He took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. "Man, what that kid's been through."
Susan shook her head. "My sister didn't deserve an amazing kid like Susie. She doesn't deserve to be a mother at all."
"I'll call an attorney in the morning and we can work on making Susie our daughter," Mark said. He hugged Susan. "Your dream is coming true at last."
"I'll be Susie's mother," she said. A huge grin broke out onto her face. "I'll finally have my little girl back, right where she belongs." She laughed and hugged Mark in return. "Pinch me, and if it's a dream, I don't want to wake up!"
"It's not a dream," Mark answered. "It's very real."
"It is," Susan said softly. "It's all I've ever wanted."
Mark reclined back on the pillows and Susan rested in his arms. They sat like that for a long time, enjoying being together.