AN: Ok, this is the part where I reiterate that I am not a doctor. *cringes*

__________

"What have we got?" Elizabeth asked as paramedics pushed in a stretcher. Susan was straddling the boy's midsection, giving compressions.

"Seventeen year-old male," the paramedic said as Susan climbed off the stretcher and they transferred him to the bed already in the room, "Crushing trauma to the chest. His car hit an El support, and his chest hit the steering wheel on the way through the windshield. Wasn't wearing a seatbelt. We lost him en route a couple times, but we got him back."

"Any others?"

"Nope, he was alone in the car," one of the paramedics called as they left. Elizabeth swiftly checked for vital signs, "Pulse is tachy at 140, pupils are equal and non-reactive." There was a sudden blare from the monitor, and Susan called out, "He's in v-fib!" Carter came running in and Susan filled him in as Elizabeth called for the paddles, "Charge to 150. Clear!" The boy's body jolted, but there was no change in his rhythm. Susan started compressions again as Elizabeth said, "Push an amp of epi."

"He's probably got a pneumothorax," Carter said, "I need a chest tube tray." When one of the nurses handed it to him, he tore it open and went to work. Elizabeth said, "Charge to 200, clear!" When there was again no response, Susan resumed compressions. Carter got the chest tube in and bright red blood began oozing out. He looked at Elizabeth questioningly.

She said, "He probably tore his aorta. How long has he been down?"

Susan glanced at the clock, "30 minutes."

"That's it," Elizabeth said, snapping off her gloves, and glancing at the clock, "Time of death: 7:45. What a waste. Is there any I.D. on him?" Carter fished through the boy's pockets and pulled out a wallet. He flipped it open and pulled out the driver's license. His face drained of color as he whispered, "Oh no."

"What is it, Carter?" Susan asked.

"His name's Ben Romano."

"Well, that doesn't mean they're related does it?" Elizabeth asked, hoping that they didn't have to bring Romano into it.

"No, but this probably does," he said, handing the wallet to Elizabeth. It was flipped open to a picture. It showed Ben in a baseball uniform, bat slung over one shoulder. Romano was standing next to him, clearly proud. Carter said quietly, "I'll go get him."

As Carter left, Susan said, "Do you think it was his son?" Elizabeth shook her head, "I don't think so, Robert has never mentioned having any children, but who knows. He's not exactly the talkative type." Suddenly, Luka pushed the door open and said, "Susan, we need you!" Susan looked at Elizabeth questioningly and Elizabeth said, "Go on, there's nothing more to do here." As Susan followed Luka out, Elizabeth retrieved a basin of water and towels, and started to clean the blood from the boy's face.

Romano came running into the room and stopped dead in his tracks at the sight of the body on the stretcher. In a shaking voice, he asked, "What happened?"

"Car accident. He was thrown from the vehicle. We did everything we could, Robert . . ."

Romano interrupted her as he came to stand on the other side of the stretcher, "Please, spare me the platitudes, Lizzie. I know the drill." He took one of the towels and started helping. He worked in silence for a moment before he spoke quietly, "He was my nephew. We were close. More like best friends than relatives. Lately, I noticed that he seemed to be falling in with a bad crowd at school. I'd talked to his parents about it, but I hadn't spoken to him."

He paused, and gave a mirthless bark of a laugh, "I didn't want it to come between us. I didn't want him to be one of those kids who can't stand their family. I was selfish, and now I'll never get the chance." He looked up, his eyes hollow, "Don't wait for something to happen in life, Elizabeth. Seize the moment. Seize the day, because you never know when it'll be too late." He turned and walked out.

__________

Elizabeth's ears rang with his words even after he had gone. Seize the moment, he had said. Don't wait. Yet, that was exactly what she was doing, wasn't it? Mark had died over a year ago, and she was still grieving. A nurse came in to take over, and Elizabeth left the trauma room, not paying much attention to where she was going, her mind awhirl. She found herself in the ER lounge and sank down on the sofa with a sigh.

'What do I want?' The question had been nagging at the back of her mind ever since Romano's declaration, and she had been unable to come up with an answer. Susan came into the room and noticed Elizabeth. She poured herself a cup of coffee and asked, "Did Romano come down?"

Elizabeth nodded, "Yes. The boy was his nephew."

"I never would have thought. He always just seemed like the kind of person who would be alone."

"I think that's what he wants us to think."

Susan shook her head, "No one deserves to be alone. Not even him."

She left and Elizabeth was left in the empty lounge once more, Susan's words echoing in her mind. 'No one deserves to be alone.' Suddenly, in a single moment of clarity, she realized exactly what she wanted. She wanted Romano.

Not the man who used sarcasm as a shield to keep people at bay, but the man beneath. The man he had allowed her a glimpse of that night at her house and innumerable other times. The man he kept carefully hidden behind a caustic façade. The sudden insight hit her with a force that frightened her, but also, she felt calmer than she had in a long time. She knew what to do.

__________