AN: Hey there! hope you didn't wait too long for an update...also I want you to know that I'm aware that Mark died on the show but in my fic he's healthy and alive :) it's a fic, right? ^^
Ticket to Chicago (1)
"Who says it's always raining in Seattle? Chicago is much worse!" Tess complained as they got out of O'Hare Airport. The rain fell in sheets and their plane had trouble with landing but in the end, everyone came down safely. Carol on the other side was smiling satisfied. "We can't change the weather", she said and hoped that they would get a rental car soon. It felt good to be back in Chicago. She couldn't wait to have a talk with Mark, Elizabeth and Susan.
When they finally arrived at the rental car station, Doug went to the counter while the girls took a seat and waited. Emery was texting with her boyfriend and not paying attention to anything that happened around her and Tess was giving Travis a call that they landed safely. "Why didn't he come with you?" Carol then asked as Tess sat down again. "He has to work this weekend…and what's going on with my little sis? She's not with us, is she", Tess answered and looked at Emery with a furrowed brow. "Boyfriend", Carol formed with her mouth and Tess nodded knowing. "Now I'm really getting old", she murmured and Carol rolled her eyes. "What can I say?" she asked shaking her head smiling. "Oh mom…you're not old", Tess smiled and Carol nodded. "Yeah, sure", she answered and then turned around to see if Doug already rented a car.
Right then he appeared in front of her and held the key in the air. "Ready to go!" he smiled and the girls got up again. Finally Emery came back to her senses. "Where are we going first? Hotel or hospital?" she asked and put her cell phone back in her pocket. "Welcome, honey! I'm so glad you're with us too", Carol smiled and Emery rolled her eyes. "What's going on with you?" Doug asked, acting like he didn't know anything about Emery's boyfriend. "Nothing, dad!" Emery immediately said and he nodded grinning. Emery looked to Carol, asking without a sound if she told Doug. Carol looked away and smiled shaking her head. "I'd say we go to the hotel first so we can bring our suitcases to our room", she said instead and everybody nodded. They all could see that Carol was happy to be here.
Doug knew that she loved Seattle since the day she visited it for the first time. He still remembered how impressed she was with the city and with the house. It was her who convinced him to stay in Seattle instead of Chicago but he also knew that she missed being here. They lived here for such a long time and this city had so many memories for them. It was good to be back.
Tess and Emery decided to go to the swimming pool in the hotel while Carol and Doug unpacked some of their stuff in the suitcases. It finally stopped to rain but the skyscrapers disappeared in the fog. They had a beautiful sight from here. "Hey…wanna go for a walk? It finally stopped to rain", Doug suggested as he looked out of the window. "Yeah sure, that's a good idea after that flight…just let me put this to the bathroom", Carol answered and disappeared again. Doug smiled and of course followed her. He hugged her from behind and kissed her neck. Carol turned around smiling and put her hands around his neck. "I love you", she whispered and stroke over his cheek. "Love you too", Doug whispered back and kissed her passionately. "What do you think?" Carol asked then. Doug shrugged his shoulders. "That this is the city where I fell in love with you and that I'm more than happy that I took that job all those years ago", he said and smiled at her. Carol's heart started to beat faster as she heard his words. "I came from my break with Susan, right? You asked where to find Dr. Anspough", she said and Doug nodded. "That was when we met for the very first time", he smiled. "And I couldn't answer you because I was somehow blown away", Carol sighed and smiled. Doug kissed her shortly and chuckled then. "Liar", he said and Carol rolled her eyes. "I'm not lying", she said and smacked his arm. "Let's go for a walk now", she continued and escaped from his arms.
It was always entertaining when those two walked through the streets of Chicago. There were so many things they remembered; even if it were just restaurants they visited together. "Hey…isn't this the bar where Carter almost puked on the table?" Carol asked as they went past a famous bar in Chicago. "Oh yes, that's the one…that was one funny Christmas party", Doug answered laughing and Carol nodded. "He was a baby back then", Carol remembered and Doug nodded. "Who became a very good doctor", Doug added and then they went on.
About ten minutes later both were silent. It came all back to her senses. Tess and Kate as little kids; the rainy weather; the traffic light and the horn of the truck. Here she almost lost her life and her kids. Carol shivered as she thought about that day. "Still a little bit weird to be here, isn't it", Doug said and Carol nodded. "Oh, but I'm still so happy that we came out safely…that we two found back together", she answered and squeezed his hand. "Oh…don't cry now…that happened so many years ago", Doug said and hugged her immediately. "I know…I haven't been here forever; it just kicked in again", she chuckled through her tears and Doug stroke over her back. "I know…and I'm happy too…still. I'd say we head back now?" Doug suggested and Carol nodded. "Wait a moment", she said and he turned to her again. Carol smiled and kissed him passionately. "Wow, what was that for?" he asked as he took her hand in his again. "Because I love you and because you're always there for me when I need you", Carol answered and rested her head on his shoulders. "My pleasure", Doug answered and smiled. If only she knew how happy she made him…
Carol knocked on the girls' room. "Hey girls", she said as Emery opened the door and she went in. "Hey mom…where have you been?" Emery asked. "Just for a walk…visiting some places we know", Carol smiled and took a seat on the little couch that was standing in the room. "Where's Tess?"she asked. "Bathroom, on the phone with Travis", Emery answered smiling. "They miss each other already, huh?" Carol smiled and Em nodded. "You miss Ashley too?" she then asked and Emery shrugged her shoulders. "We talked already. Of course I'd like to see him, but I'll see him on Monday again. It's not that bad", she answered. Carol nodded and stroke over Emery's hair."Mom…did you tell dad about him?" Emery then asked and looked at her mother. Carol smirked. "I'm sorry…I didn't want to but it just came out", she apologized and Emery nodded. "Well yeah, I thought so", the teenager chuckled and snuggled closer to Carol. "He's still waiting for you to tell him", Carol said and Emery nodded. "Some day I will", she murmured smiling.
"Hey…how was your walk?" Tess asked as she came out of the bathroom. "It was good…we visited a lot of places we know", Carol answered and smiled at her oldest daughter. "I see…so you have been at the kindergarten too, huh?" Tess asked again and Carol nodded. "Aww…I wish I could go there too", Tess frowned and took a seat on the bed. "Well, we're here for three days; I bet you'll have plenty of time to go to that place", Carol answered and Tess nodded.
Of course all of her kids knew that they almost lost their mother there and that Tess and Kate were injured. They talked about that accident and the time afterwards very often. "Aww mom…we're all glad that you survived this", Tess said and went to her mother to hug her. Carol sighed. "Thank you, Sugar…I'm glad you came out safely too", she smiled at using Doug's nickname for their daughter and stroke over Tess' back. "Yeah, would be pretty boring without me, huh?" Tess chuckled and both Carol and Emery rolled their eyes laughing.
After they had dinner at the hotel Tess and Emery went to their room again. They both were pretty tired from flying and swimming. Emery sat up in her bed and looked at Tess. "Do you remember anything from the accident?" she asked and Tess looked at her. "Kate remembers more than I do. I was unconscious when it happened, but Kate was awake. I only remember waking up after surgery and seeing dad for the first time", Tess smiled a little and leaned back again. "I was so scared that our mom would die…she…I won't get that picture out of my head, seeing her on that hospital bed attached to the heart-lung machine, bruises on her face and casted hands and legs…and dad, he was so worried. He didn't show it to us, but we knew that he loved mom and that he was afraid to lose her", she continued and Emery nodded. "Still I don't get why he was away for four years", she answered and Tess smiled. "That was stupid…but I guess it's not only dad's fault…he's a good dad though…I wouldn't want to have another daddy", she smiled again and looked at Emery. "Sure he is…but he's so overprotective sometimes", Emery sighed. Tess chuckled. "Oh come on, Em. You're his little girl…of course he's overprotective! He's your dad…he loves you. I guess it's not easy to give your daughter away to another man", she said and thought about the time she introduced Travis to her parents. "Was he overprotective with you too when you went out with Travis?" Emery asked. "Of course. He bugged him with stupid questions…it was really embarrassing for both of us", Tess chuckled again as she thought about that event. "Ah yeah, I guess I'll never introduce Ashley to him", Emery chuckled and leaned back too. "Come on, that's not fair", Tess answered and looked to her sister again. Emery chuckled. "I know, Tess…I'm just kidding! Ashley will go to prom night with me, so he'll meet dad too", she said and Tess nodded. "Good girl", she answered and closed her eyes. "Ugh…I wish I could be your age already…would be much easier", Emery murmured and Tess opened her eyes again. "Em…enjoy it as long as you can. Being an adult isn't as funny as you think…I'd give anything to be a kid again", Tess murmured and Emery nodded. "Yeah, sure…I always see how hard your life is", she said and turned around to sleep. "Keep dreaming…good night sis", Tess chuckled. "Good night, sis", Emery answered and finally they found a peaceful sleep.
"Hey…what are you thinking about?" Doug asked as he found Carol in bed, staring at the ceiling. "I miss her…it's still weird coming to Chicago and not visiting her", Carol sighed and looked at she often had her differences with Helen, she was missed. He nodded, knowing exactly what she meant. "I know…I miss my mom too. We're both no kids anymore" he answered and crawled under the blanket. "What do you mean?" Carol asked, not knowing what he meant with that. "Well, as long as we have parents, we're their kids. We lost both of our parents, so we're no kids anymore", Doug tried to explain. "Wow, I never thought about that before", she answered and sighed. "Me neither…it was a young patient who told me that", Doug smiled and turned to her. "Yeah, sometimes the kids are smarter than we are", Carol smiled and kissed him shortly. "So, County tomorrow, huh? Are you excited?" she asked and Doug chuckled. "As always…well, I can't wait to meet Mark and Elizabeth again, it's been way too long", he answered and Carol nodded. "Not to forget Susan and Carter…oh, and Rachel", she smiled. "Sure…wow, amazing how much changed there", Doug said. "Yeah…sometimes I wonder what would've been if we didn't have breakfast at the cafeteria that day", Carol said and looked at Doug. "You mean if we wouldn't have met Joi?" he asked and she nodded. "Well, we'd probably still work there…that's for sure", he chuckled. "But maybe we wouldn't have our twins", Carol answered smiling. "Or the triplets", Doug added. "We'd still live in my house…" Carol said and looked up again. Now another family lived in that house since Carol sold it three years ago. Three years ago her mother died and it didn't only break her heart to lose her, but also that house. It was hers for such a long time; she lived there with Doug and the twins. "Do you think it would've been better if you or even I stayed in Chicago? I mean…we don't know what could've been", Doug asked her. Carol smiled. "Doug…we had the most romantic, challenging, adventurous, maddening, fearful and wonderful story in my opinion. I wouldn't chance anything of it…except the one thing I always say", Carol said and stroke over his cheek. "Coming to Seattle with me right away…" Doug said and she nodded smiling. "I love you", she whispered then and kissed him passionately. "I love you", Doug answered and disappeared with her in the chilly Chicago night…
