A/N: Sorry for wait! Hope you all had a nice Holiday!

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Mistakes We Knew We Were Making

Chicago, Illinois

October, 2009

"Trick or treat!"

"Well, what do we have here?" Cody swung open his door (nudging Buster away as he did so) and held out a big orange bowl of candy. The little ghost and Power Ranger on his doorstep both grabbed a handful in, dropping their treasures into pillow cases.

"Happy Halloween!" they shouted in thanks as they rejoined their fathers at the end of the driveway.

Cody smiled reminiscently and shut the door gently behind them. He had Billy Joel classics playing softly and the little house glowed warmly. Buster barked and sat up pretty, tail wagging furiously.

The intern smirked, feigning confusion as he looked at his dog. "What, boy?" he asked innocently. The Golden Retriever whined and gave him the infamous puppy dog look. Cody shook his head. "Not gonna work this time, Bus'," he said in mock seriousness. Buster rolled over on his back and preformed a trick he'd learned in obedience school, looking expectantly at his master.

A few moments later Cody caved and went to the kitchen to grab his dog a Milkbone. He'd no sooner tossed it to Buster when the doorbell rang again and he hurried into the foyer to answer it.

Holding the candy bowl out yet again he opened the door and prepared to act scared by the little kid's costumes. Before he could comment, however, he drew up short as he saw who stood behind his door.

"Allison!" he said in surprise.

She grinned up at him, long hair hidden underneath a black newsboy hat. "Boo!" she called out, reaching up to hug him.

He returned her embrace and led her inside the house. "I didn't know you were coming over,"

She shrugged as she stepped inside. "I set out a bowl with a sign that says "take one" and high-tailed it over here." She smiled as she bent down to greet Buster. "Thought I'd spend some time with you, if that's alright…?"

Cody grinned boyishly and closed the door. "Definitely is," he assured her, leading her into the kitchen. 'You want something to drink?"

Allison politely stood behind him. "Water's fine," she said.

Cody filled two glasses of tap water and the two of them sat down in his family room. Buster, overjoyed at the sudden company, lay at their feet.

"You on duty tomorrow?" asked Cody.

Allison nodded. "I'm observing my first C-section," he looked impressed and she nodded nervously. "And I'm terrified Dr. Wang is going to ask me to help."

Cody took a sip wisely. "Dr. Walker had me help with an emergency surgery about a month ago," he laughed reminiscently. "I was terrified."

Allison groaned and adjusted her cap. "I'm starting to think I may just want to be a nurse," she said, reaching down to stroke Buster's head.

Cody looked at her in surprise. "Seriously?" he asked her. Allison nodded. "That's a big change," he said in reaction.

"But I think it may be the smartest way to go," she said and he got the impression she was no longer talking directly to him, but more to herself. He sat back, though, and listened intently. "I'd like to start a family in the next few years," she looked at him carefully. "How about you?"

If there was any implicated hidden meaning to her question Cody completely missed it as he shrugged casually. "Some day, for sure," he said honestly.

She stared at him and he began thinking he'd missed something.

Buster whined, breaking the slightly awkward silence. A moment later the doorbell rang and Cody leapt to his feet.

Allison sighed from her position on the couch, and more candy was handed over to the pails of hungry children.

As Cody and his girlfriend continued talking (well into the third hour and past the curfew of the trick-or-treating), his cell phone rang almost constantly in the kitchen. He'd turned it on vibrate at work and had forgotten to adjust the ring tone.

It went unanswered and unacknowledged for hours and Cody would later find three unheard messages; one of which was from his mother, another from his brother, and yet another from his old friend Tapeworm.

"Hi, Cody, it's mom," said the first message. "You're probably busy with work, but I just wanted to talk to you. I was hoping maybe the three of us could get together for Thanksgiving and I wanted to find out your schedule. Not too busy for your old mom, are you? I haven't been able to get through to Zack. Have you talked to him recently? Anyway, just call me back when you get the chance, and have a Happy Halloween. Love you, baby."

"Hey, Code'. It's Zack." was the second message. "Look, man-I know I, uh, I know that we'd talked about you coming to New York, or whatever, soon, like, I think next week, was it? But see, the thing is I think I'm, uh, gonna be real busy with work and stuff, you know? And I mean, we're doing something with mom for Thanksgiving, right? So I'll see you then. Okay. Just wanted to let you know. How's the doctor thing going? Guess you're really busy, huh? Yeah. I mean, so am I, obviously. Right. Okay. Talk to you later, man."

"Cody, it's Tom. Tapeworm, remember?" started the third. "It's been awhile and I wanted to see what you were up to. Still an intern? Hey, you remember Melanie? We just had our first kid, her and me. A little girl; name's Sarah. We're getting married this Spring and I want you there, man. Call me back when you get the chance. Happy Halloween!"

All three messages remained unknown until late that night.

And even then, one was deleted accidentally.

Perhaps the one that meant the most.

Three weeks later, as November continued in full swing, Cody pulled Allison aside during a break at the hospital. Both wore scrubs, though Allison failed to see how the receptionists, lingering EMTs, and even a few knowledgeable patients were eagerly watching the two as they met.

"I have a question to ask you, Allison," said Cody quietly, reaching into his short lab coat and wrapping his fingers around a small square package.

Allison looked mildly curious, checking her watch briefly. "What is it?"

Judy the receptionist exchanged a smiling look with a fellow co-worker. Cody took a deep breath and crossed his fingers momentarily. Trembling slightly, he went down to one knee and took one of her hands in his own.

"Allison," he started, voice shaking and eyes glittering. She seemed to sense where it was all going and slowly her mouth formed a gentle "oh" shape. Cody gave her a nervous smile and took a sparkling ring out of the box in his pocket.

"Will you marry me?"

The onlookers cheered and the ER, usually so intense and serious, seemed to become a glowing world that centered around two young interns in love. Allison stared at the ring, and tears sprung to her eyes. She looked breathlessly at Cody who bit his lip anxiously.

"Yes," she said, laughing a little as she nodded. "Yes, Cody, I'll marry you."

And as he placed the ring on her finger, straightened, and kissed he passionately he felt a source of completion. He felt giddy and excited; and thought that if he was to go to the edge of Sears Tower he might even be able to fly.

To Be Continued

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