Thanks for the positive encouragement to continue this story! I hope you
like it. Sorry for the Mark/Susan stuff - I'm finding it hard to write
them, but I hope to get better!
This chapter is a bit too emotional for my liking, but it's necessary for the story. Things will lighten up later, I promise!
Enjoy
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mark sat in his lounge room, musing over what had just happened. Elizabeth had told him it was over - he should be devastated. Yeah, he was upset that it was finally over, but truth be told, he had known it was coming. He knew Elizabeth's heart hadn't been in it since they got back together. To be fair, she had tried, but there just wasn't really anything there. He even felt a bit relieved because he knew he wouldn't have had the guts to break it off himself.
He wondered what would happen now - back to the single life, I guess. He'd have to get back in to things. Maybe he'd go to that party Friday night after all. It sounded like it would be a good night out. He'd have to remember to ask Susan about it tomorrow.
He smiled wryly at his thoughts. Clearly he wasn't that broken hearted since he was happily able to imagine getting on with his life.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Robert had heard someone pull up outside his house, and looked out curiously. He wasn't expecting anyone, so he assumed it was someone who was lost and had accidentally come to the wrong house. He was shocked to see that his visitor was Lizzie Corday. What on earth was she doing here? He couldn't imagine what would bring her to his house out of the blue like this.
He remembered the last time she was at his house. How they had come in to the house full of passion and excitement, but the next morning, things had changed. They had been awkward and cold, and he had vowed from the moment she walked out that he would never let her in to his heart again.
From that day, he resolved that Elizabeth Corday was simply a colleague and he would treat her as such. It was so hard for him to be around her and act like she didn't matter, but he was getting used to it. He noticed that even now, he wasn't getting his hopes up at the fact that she was at his door. He was surprised she was there, but he wasn't expecting anything from her.
He went to the door, feeling strong as he opened it.
"Dr Corday, what brings y-", but he stopped short with his curt greeting when he saw her face. She looked terrible; she was on the verge of tears as she stood there.
"Lizzie, what's wrong? Come in." He said in concern, leading her in to the lounge to sit down. *Yeah, well done with the lack of caring!* he thought to himself.
The tears had started to spill down her face, and he simple sat next to her awkwardly trying to comfort her, but not interrupting. When she got hold of herself again, he went to get her a glass of water, and gently asked her what was wrong.
"I'm so sorry, Robert." She said. "I didn't mean to arrive at your door like this - things just caught up with me suddenly".
"What is it - what's the matter?" He sounded so concerned.
"I have to tell you something" she started hesitantly. When she saw she had his attention, she continued.
"I'm pregnant".
Robert pulled away from her at that. What was going on? She'd told Mark and he wasn't happy so she came to cry in his arms? Well he wasn't going to be here for her - not any more.
"I see you and Dr Greene didn't waste any time then" he said bitterly, regaining some of his earlier distance from her.
"I'm 8 weeks pregnant, Robert" she said.
"And why have you come here so late at night to tell me this, Lizzie?" he asked. She looked at him, willing him to figure out what she was saying.
"Mark and I only got back together 5 weeks ago" she said pointedly.
Suddenly his face changed as he began to understand what she might be telling him.
"So are you - am I - are we---?" he trailed off, unable to put the conclusion in to words.
Elizabeth nodded. "It's yours" she said, keeping her gaze locked to his as she waited for his reaction.
"How can you be sure?" he asked.
"There wasn't anyone else" she told him. He knew her well enough to know she wouldn't tell him this if she wasn't sure. He was just trying to buy some time so he could work out how he felt about this.
"How did this happen?" he asked
"Robert, you are a doctor - do I really need to explain it to you?" she said, unable to resist teasing him, despite the situation. He had the good grace to smile nervously at her joke.
"But we used protection - didn't we?" he said, trying to remember all the details of that night. He generally didn't allow himself to think about it - it was too painful.
"I don't think we did that first time.." Her voice trailed off as she gestured towards the stairs, and then blushed furiously at the memory, unable to meet his eyes.
Robert didn't really notice - his mind was spinning. This was life changing stuff. Elizabeth Corday was going to have a baby and he was the father. Wait! Was she going to have it?
"Are you going to - um - have the baby?" he asked tentatively - not sure if this was the sort of thing he should be asking
"I don't know, Robert. I only just found out myself. I don't know what I'm going to do." She sighed. "Anyway, it's your baby too - I wouldn't make the decision without consulting you."
He was relieved to hear she was including him in this. Then he suddenly remembered Mark.
"What about Mark? Does he know?" he asked
"No, I haven't told him about the baby. Actually, we broke up tonight." Robert looked shocked so she continued. "Not because of this - I was going to end it anyway. This just sort of put the final nail in the coffin".
She seemed so distraught - he wanted to comfort her, but he could barely deal with this himself - he couldn't reach out to help her right now.
They sat in silence next to each other for quite a while, both lost in their thoughts.
Finally, he said "I'll support you in whatever you decide, Lizzie. You don't have to do this alone."
She gave him a watery smile of gratitude. "Thanks. I need some time to think - I guess you do too. I just wanted to tell you as soon as I knew"
"Thanks" he said absently. This was all so surreal. He was sitting in his house with Elizabeth, and she was telling him she was carrying his baby. It didn't seem real. It couldn't be real. It must be one of those dreams he often had. And while they often involved him on this very couch with Lizzie, they were generally a lot closer, and wearing fewer clothes in his dreams!
He smiled briefly at this image, and then came back to the present with a bang when he realised Elizabeth was crying again.
"I think it must be the hormones" she said apologetically. "I should probably get going - give you a chance to figure this out." She felt exhausted - all she wanted to do was sleep.
"Are you sure you're ok to drive? You look shattered."
"I'll be fine - I just need to get some sleep" and with that, she got up to leave.
She turned to him as she walked out. "Thanks Robert - you've been very good about this. I don't deserve it"
"Well, don't get too comfortable - I'm still in shock!" he said in return, regaining a bit of his usual sniping.
Elizabeth sighed - she should be happy he had taken it as well has he had. She certainly didn't deserve it.
She managed to get home safely, and fell thankfully in to bed, drifting in to an exhausted sleep almost immediately. She woke up with a start some time later, momentarily not remembering everything that was going on in her life, but then it all came crashing back.
She broke up with Mark and she was pregnant with Robert Romano's baby. How the hell did her life get so complicated?
She looked at the time - it was just gone 5am. She suddenly realised she was starving - she hasn't had dinner the previous night with all the fuss. She smiled wryly, knowing she would give a pregnant patient hell for skipping meals.
'If I'm going to do this, I better start behaving better' she thought.
That of course led her to the inevitable question of whether or not she going to have the baby? Robert certainly took the news pretty well - a lot better than she expected. He made it clear he would be supportive, which was good. But having this baby would mean having Robert Romano in her life forever, and that was a very strange thought. A couple of months ago, they were colleagues sharing a tentative friendship, then there was THAT night that changed things - and not in a good way. They had been barely civil to each other lately. The worst part was that she knew it was her fault - she deserved the way he treated her. She had walked out the following morning and refused to talk to him about what had happened between them. He'd made a few attempts, but soon gave up, and reverted to treating her like a virtual stranger. He got even colder when she started seeing Mark again.
She got up and looked for something to eat, but all she could find was some left-over Chinese food, and a very dodgy looking slice of pizza. Great! She really needed to get her act together now that she was expecting a baby.
Expecting a baby - Robert's baby. And the whole circle of confusion started all over again.
Elizabeth found some bread and absently made some toast. Thankfully she wasn't feeling sick this morning - she didn't think she could have coped with that on top of everything else. She cleaned up, and then tried to cover the signs of her stress with copious amounts of makeup before leaving for work.
Work! The place where she would have to face Mark and the entire ER, probably already gossiping about their break-up. The place where she would have to face Robert. She really had to make some decisions today.
She thought about calling in sick, but she figured she would probably need her sick days later, so she braved the outside world and headed in to work.
This chapter is a bit too emotional for my liking, but it's necessary for the story. Things will lighten up later, I promise!
Enjoy
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mark sat in his lounge room, musing over what had just happened. Elizabeth had told him it was over - he should be devastated. Yeah, he was upset that it was finally over, but truth be told, he had known it was coming. He knew Elizabeth's heart hadn't been in it since they got back together. To be fair, she had tried, but there just wasn't really anything there. He even felt a bit relieved because he knew he wouldn't have had the guts to break it off himself.
He wondered what would happen now - back to the single life, I guess. He'd have to get back in to things. Maybe he'd go to that party Friday night after all. It sounded like it would be a good night out. He'd have to remember to ask Susan about it tomorrow.
He smiled wryly at his thoughts. Clearly he wasn't that broken hearted since he was happily able to imagine getting on with his life.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Robert had heard someone pull up outside his house, and looked out curiously. He wasn't expecting anyone, so he assumed it was someone who was lost and had accidentally come to the wrong house. He was shocked to see that his visitor was Lizzie Corday. What on earth was she doing here? He couldn't imagine what would bring her to his house out of the blue like this.
He remembered the last time she was at his house. How they had come in to the house full of passion and excitement, but the next morning, things had changed. They had been awkward and cold, and he had vowed from the moment she walked out that he would never let her in to his heart again.
From that day, he resolved that Elizabeth Corday was simply a colleague and he would treat her as such. It was so hard for him to be around her and act like she didn't matter, but he was getting used to it. He noticed that even now, he wasn't getting his hopes up at the fact that she was at his door. He was surprised she was there, but he wasn't expecting anything from her.
He went to the door, feeling strong as he opened it.
"Dr Corday, what brings y-", but he stopped short with his curt greeting when he saw her face. She looked terrible; she was on the verge of tears as she stood there.
"Lizzie, what's wrong? Come in." He said in concern, leading her in to the lounge to sit down. *Yeah, well done with the lack of caring!* he thought to himself.
The tears had started to spill down her face, and he simple sat next to her awkwardly trying to comfort her, but not interrupting. When she got hold of herself again, he went to get her a glass of water, and gently asked her what was wrong.
"I'm so sorry, Robert." She said. "I didn't mean to arrive at your door like this - things just caught up with me suddenly".
"What is it - what's the matter?" He sounded so concerned.
"I have to tell you something" she started hesitantly. When she saw she had his attention, she continued.
"I'm pregnant".
Robert pulled away from her at that. What was going on? She'd told Mark and he wasn't happy so she came to cry in his arms? Well he wasn't going to be here for her - not any more.
"I see you and Dr Greene didn't waste any time then" he said bitterly, regaining some of his earlier distance from her.
"I'm 8 weeks pregnant, Robert" she said.
"And why have you come here so late at night to tell me this, Lizzie?" he asked. She looked at him, willing him to figure out what she was saying.
"Mark and I only got back together 5 weeks ago" she said pointedly.
Suddenly his face changed as he began to understand what she might be telling him.
"So are you - am I - are we---?" he trailed off, unable to put the conclusion in to words.
Elizabeth nodded. "It's yours" she said, keeping her gaze locked to his as she waited for his reaction.
"How can you be sure?" he asked.
"There wasn't anyone else" she told him. He knew her well enough to know she wouldn't tell him this if she wasn't sure. He was just trying to buy some time so he could work out how he felt about this.
"How did this happen?" he asked
"Robert, you are a doctor - do I really need to explain it to you?" she said, unable to resist teasing him, despite the situation. He had the good grace to smile nervously at her joke.
"But we used protection - didn't we?" he said, trying to remember all the details of that night. He generally didn't allow himself to think about it - it was too painful.
"I don't think we did that first time.." Her voice trailed off as she gestured towards the stairs, and then blushed furiously at the memory, unable to meet his eyes.
Robert didn't really notice - his mind was spinning. This was life changing stuff. Elizabeth Corday was going to have a baby and he was the father. Wait! Was she going to have it?
"Are you going to - um - have the baby?" he asked tentatively - not sure if this was the sort of thing he should be asking
"I don't know, Robert. I only just found out myself. I don't know what I'm going to do." She sighed. "Anyway, it's your baby too - I wouldn't make the decision without consulting you."
He was relieved to hear she was including him in this. Then he suddenly remembered Mark.
"What about Mark? Does he know?" he asked
"No, I haven't told him about the baby. Actually, we broke up tonight." Robert looked shocked so she continued. "Not because of this - I was going to end it anyway. This just sort of put the final nail in the coffin".
She seemed so distraught - he wanted to comfort her, but he could barely deal with this himself - he couldn't reach out to help her right now.
They sat in silence next to each other for quite a while, both lost in their thoughts.
Finally, he said "I'll support you in whatever you decide, Lizzie. You don't have to do this alone."
She gave him a watery smile of gratitude. "Thanks. I need some time to think - I guess you do too. I just wanted to tell you as soon as I knew"
"Thanks" he said absently. This was all so surreal. He was sitting in his house with Elizabeth, and she was telling him she was carrying his baby. It didn't seem real. It couldn't be real. It must be one of those dreams he often had. And while they often involved him on this very couch with Lizzie, they were generally a lot closer, and wearing fewer clothes in his dreams!
He smiled briefly at this image, and then came back to the present with a bang when he realised Elizabeth was crying again.
"I think it must be the hormones" she said apologetically. "I should probably get going - give you a chance to figure this out." She felt exhausted - all she wanted to do was sleep.
"Are you sure you're ok to drive? You look shattered."
"I'll be fine - I just need to get some sleep" and with that, she got up to leave.
She turned to him as she walked out. "Thanks Robert - you've been very good about this. I don't deserve it"
"Well, don't get too comfortable - I'm still in shock!" he said in return, regaining a bit of his usual sniping.
Elizabeth sighed - she should be happy he had taken it as well has he had. She certainly didn't deserve it.
She managed to get home safely, and fell thankfully in to bed, drifting in to an exhausted sleep almost immediately. She woke up with a start some time later, momentarily not remembering everything that was going on in her life, but then it all came crashing back.
She broke up with Mark and she was pregnant with Robert Romano's baby. How the hell did her life get so complicated?
She looked at the time - it was just gone 5am. She suddenly realised she was starving - she hasn't had dinner the previous night with all the fuss. She smiled wryly, knowing she would give a pregnant patient hell for skipping meals.
'If I'm going to do this, I better start behaving better' she thought.
That of course led her to the inevitable question of whether or not she going to have the baby? Robert certainly took the news pretty well - a lot better than she expected. He made it clear he would be supportive, which was good. But having this baby would mean having Robert Romano in her life forever, and that was a very strange thought. A couple of months ago, they were colleagues sharing a tentative friendship, then there was THAT night that changed things - and not in a good way. They had been barely civil to each other lately. The worst part was that she knew it was her fault - she deserved the way he treated her. She had walked out the following morning and refused to talk to him about what had happened between them. He'd made a few attempts, but soon gave up, and reverted to treating her like a virtual stranger. He got even colder when she started seeing Mark again.
She got up and looked for something to eat, but all she could find was some left-over Chinese food, and a very dodgy looking slice of pizza. Great! She really needed to get her act together now that she was expecting a baby.
Expecting a baby - Robert's baby. And the whole circle of confusion started all over again.
Elizabeth found some bread and absently made some toast. Thankfully she wasn't feeling sick this morning - she didn't think she could have coped with that on top of everything else. She cleaned up, and then tried to cover the signs of her stress with copious amounts of makeup before leaving for work.
Work! The place where she would have to face Mark and the entire ER, probably already gossiping about their break-up. The place where she would have to face Robert. She really had to make some decisions today.
She thought about calling in sick, but she figured she would probably need her sick days later, so she braved the outside world and headed in to work.