"Clear!"
The patient lying on the gurney in front of Mark jumped as the paddles shocked his heart back into rhythm.
"Ok, that's it, I'm going home," Mark said, handing the paddles back to Haleh.
As he left the trauma room, he heard Kerry's voice call after him. He stopped and waited for her to catch up with him.
"Mark, we need to talk about the staff shortage," Kerry said, in her usual authoritative tone.
"Ok, but not now Kerry. I've just worked a double shift, all I want to do is go home, have a beer and watch the baseball game on TV," Mark sighed.
They walked over to the admit desk together.
"You on tonight?" Mark asked.
Kerry shook her head. "No. Just Carter and Susan."
"Susan?"
"Yeah, she called earlier to talk to you and I asked her to work tonight," Kerry answered.
"Why didn't anyone tell me?" Mark said, annoyed.
"You were busy with the GSW. She said she'd catch you before your shift finished. She's due in any time now," Kerry said.
"Hey, Kerry, I just wanted to say thanks for not kicking up a fuss about Susan taking a last minute holiday. I know she appreciated it," Mark said.
"I'm not completely insensitive Mark. Even I can see she's not coping with everything she's been through," Kerry said.
Mark nodded in agreement until he realised what Kerry was saying.
"You knew?" he said, incredulously.
"Mark, I'm Chief of Staff. I see everyone's records," Kerry said. "Well, goodnight."
"Goodnight."
Mark watched Kerry leave, shaking his head in wonder. It wasn't often people saw Kerry's compassionate side and it always took Mark by surprise when it surfaced.
"Jerry, any sign of Susan or Carter?" Mark asked.
"Carter's in the lounge. And Dr Lewis is right behind you," Jerry answered.
Mark turned around to see Susan stood behind him. She looked better than the last time he'd seen her – there was more colour to her cheeks and less bags under her eyes. More importantly there was a touch of the old sparkle in her eyes as she smiled at him.
"Hey, I heard you were back," Mark said.
"I got back this afternoon," Susan said. "I called you at home and Rachel told me you were working. I called here to speak to you and Kerry somehow persuaded me to work tonight. I figured I owed her for letting me take time off work at such short notice."
"So how are you doing?" Mark asked.
"Better," Susan answered. "I think it was what I needed. I spent time with Chloe and Little Susie, just doing regular things. Joe was working a lot so I was helping Chloe round the house. Susie 's learnt how to make apple pie so that's all she wanted to do! I helped her with her homework; she's such a clever kid. And I spent a lot of time at the cemetery. I, uh, I've decided to see a counsellor. I think talking about it, about Emily, helped."
"I'm glad," Mark said. "Did you see Dix?"
"Yeah. It took me a few a days to get the courage to call him, but I'm glad I did. We talked about everything and made our peace. We went to see Emily together this morning before I left," Susan said.
Mark felt a wave of jealousy wash over him, then berated himself for it.
"I meant what I said," Mark said sincerely. "I want to help you."
"You did," Susan said, smiling.
"Mark? Mark, are you going home?" came Elizabeth's voice, interrupting them. "Oh, Susan, hi."
Elizabeth had mixed feelings towards Susan. She had not been happy when she had found out that Susan had gone to Phoenix with Mark, and even more mad when she'd found out that they'd shared a hotel room. However, she felt sympathetic towards Susan since Mark had explained what had happened. Mark hadn't intended to tell her, but they had been having a very heated argument and Mark had mistakenly let it slip.
"Hi, Elizabeth. You're not still working are you?" Susan asked, surprised.
Elizabeth nodded. "I want to work as far up to my due date as possible," she answered, feeling uncomfortable about talking about her baby with Susan after what she had just been through.
"Well, I'd better get to work," Susan said, sensing Elizabeth's discomfort and wanting to make a quick exit.
Susan went into the lounge where she found Carter staring out of the window.
"Hey Carter," Susan said.
"Hey, you're back," Carter said. "How was Phoenix?"
"Ok," Susan answered. "You on tonight?"
"Yep. And do you know what tonight is?" Carter asked.
"Saturday night?" Susan guessed with a laugh.
Carter beckoned Susan over to the window and pointed up towards the sky. Susan followed his finger.
"Full moon, Saturday night," Carter said.
Susan rolled her eyes. "Great." A full moon, Saturday night was well known in the ER for bringing with it the strangest patients.
A few hours later, Susan had just treated a patient who thought he was from the planet Mars. She decided to take a break while it was reasonably quiet. Stepping outside the doors, she took a deep breath of the night air. It was hot, a sticky heat, and Susan was thankful that the hospital's air conditioning was working for once. She spotted Abby smoking a cigarette on one of the benches and wandered over to her.
"Mind if I join you?" Susan asked.
Abby looked up and shook her head. Susan sat down next to her and let out a long sigh.
"Crazy night, huh?" Abby said.
"Tell me about it," Susan said. "What is it about the full moon that makes all the crazies come out?"
It was a rhetorical question to which Abby didn't respond and they sat in a slightly awkward silence.
"How was your trip to Phoenix?" Abby asked. "That was where you lived before, right?"
"Yep, land of sun," Susan answered. "It was nice."
Susan knew that was a lame answer but she wasn't willing to talk about it to someone she hardly knew. Abby raised her eyebrows and continued to make conversation.
"And you decided to come back here?"
Susan smiled. The past few weeks of summer that Chicago was experiencing were likely to be all they would see until next year.
"Chicago's more like home to me than Phoenix ever was," Susan said.
"Do you have family here?" Abby asked.
"My mom and dad. I try and avoid visiting them as much as possible," Susan said. "What about you?"
Abby shook her head. "My brother's in the air force in Saudi Arabia and my mom lives in Minnesota. We haven't been in the same room for years."
"You don't get on?" Susan asked.
Abby laughed. "It's complicated. I didn't exactly have a normal childhood."
"Who did," Susan commented, a slight bitterness to her voice.
Abby looked at Susan, surprised. She didn't seem like the kind of person to have had anything but an idyllic childhood. She was unaware of how similar their childhood's had been – both had been forced to play mom to their siblings while their unreliable parents had been caught up in their own messy lives.
"So, what's going on between you and Carter?" Susan asked, deciding to change the subject before they got tangle up further in that conversation.
"Me and Carter? Nothing," Abby said, dismissively.
Susan smiled knowingly. The sexual tension between them was obvious to any bystander and Susan had been told by Lydia that Carter had been pursing Abby for months, even though she'd been in a relationship with Luka until recently. Plus, Abby was now looking uncomfortable and pretending to be distracted by a stain on her clothes.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to be nosy," Susan said.
"No, it's ok. There's just nothing to tell," Abby said unconvincingly. "What about you and Dr Greene?"
"Mark? Nothing," Susan said.
Now it was Abby's turn to smile. "So you two didn't stay in the same hotel room in Phoenix?"
Susan almost choked as she took in a sharp breath of air.
"Where did you hear that?" Susan asked, her eyes wide.
"Dr Weaver asked him why there wasn't another hotel room on the bill," Abby answered.
"In front of everyone?"
Abby nodded. "At the admit desk."
"Oh God," Susan cried, putting her head in her hands. "Oh God."
Abby tried not to laugh. Susan looked up at her.
"Nothing happened you know," Susan said. "We didn't sleep together. I mean, we slept together but we didn't sleep together."
"Ah, don't worry about it. You know what these rumours are like, they'll be forgotten just as quickly as they were made," Abby said. "And, you know, for what it's worth, everyone seemed kinda pleased."
Susan laughed, but she still felt guilty. They were interrupted by Susan's pager.
"Looks like I've been summoned," Susan said.
"Want a hand?" Abby asked.
"Nah, stay and finish your break. One of us should," Susan sighed, rolling her eyes. She went inside and found Chuni at the admit desk.
"Chuni, who paged me?" Susan asked.
"Me. Dr Corday's having her baby," Chuni said, handing Susan a chart.
"What? She can't be, she's still got another six weeks to go," Susan said.
"Well, she's having contractions. I'd say this baby's coming whether it's ready or not," Chuni said.
"Why isn't she upstairs?"
"There's no room for her," Chuni answered.
"Ok, call OB, call Mark and get Abby for me, she's outside," Susan ordered.
Susan stood by the desk reading over the chart. Abby came up to her.
"So much for having a break," she joked. "So, what kind of patient is it? Psychotic? Deranged? Or just plain weird?"
"It's Elizabeth," Susan said. Abby could tell by her expression that she was worried.
"But it's too early," Abby said.
"I know. Six weeks and her BP's high," Susan said. "You used to be an OB nurse, right?"
Abby nodded.
"Good. Stay close, I'm going to need you," Susan said. Abby followed Susan into a side room where Elizabeth was.
"Hi, Elizabeth, how're you feeling?" Susan asked.
"Susan, it's too early. I can't be having this baby now," Elizabeth said anxiously.
"Looks like you don't have any choice," Susan said as she examined her.
"Why aren't I upstairs?" Elizabeth asked.
"No room at the inn, we're taking all the extras," Susan said.
Elizabeth looked at her. "Susan, I am NOT having my child in the ER."
"Looks like you don't have a choice about that either," Susan said apologetically.
Elizabeth laid back down on the gurney. "Where's Mark?"
"Chuni's calling him. He'll be here soon," Susan said.
"Susan," Abby said, directing Susan's attention to a print out of the baby's heartbeat.
"Let's page OB again. And someone find the portable ultrasound ASAP," Susan ordered.
"Is something wrong?" Elizabeth asked, scared by their expressions.
"Elizabeth, the baby's heart beat is a little lower than I'd like," Susan started.
"Oh my God. Oh my God," Elizabeth repeated. "Where's Mark? I want Mark."
"Elizabeth? Elizabeth, I need you to calm down," Susan said. "Your BP's high enough already."
"Susan, I'm scared," Elizabeth admitted.
Susan took her hand. "I know. It'll be ok. I'll get you through this."
Elizabeth looked fearfully at Susan. The last time Elizabeth heard those words she had spoken them to Lucy, and she hadn't been able to save her. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
"I'm going to chase OB, alright?" Susan said. She walked out the room and over to the admit desk.
"Did you page OB?" she asked Jerry.
"Yeah, they said they're getting slammed up there and they'll get someone down here as soon as possible," Jerry said.
Susan sighed. "Get them on the phone for me. Chuni, have you got hold of Mark?"
"He's on his way," she answered.
"Dr Lewis, Dr Coburn's on the phone," Jerry said, handing Susan the phone.
"Janet? It's Susan Lewis. Look, I know you're busy but I really need someone down here," Susan said. She nodded her head a couple of times as she listened to Coburn on the other end of the phone.
"Uh huh. I know that, but the baby's heartbeat keeps dropping below 120 and Elizabeth's blood pressure is up to 160/100," Susan said.
Abby came out of Elizabeth's room and hurried over to Susan.
"Susan, you need to get in there quick. She's bleeding," Abby said.
"Did you hear that?" Susan said down the phone. "Get someone here now!"
Susan followed Abby into Elizabeth's room.
"Did we get the portable ultrasound yet?" Susan asked.
"Right here," Abby said.
"Susan, something's wrong," Elizabeth said, panicked.
"Let's do this ultrasound before we start panicking, ok?" Susan said as calmly as she could.
Susan studied the image that appeared on the screen and a frown appeared on her face. She looked at Abby, who moved across to see for herself.
"What? What is it?" Elizabeth asked.
"Elizabeth, your placenta is starting to tear away from the womb," Susan said. "Someone from OB is on their way. Now, it hasn't completely separated from the womb yet and the baby's heartbeat has steadied to 128, so I'm not going to do anything until OB gets here."
Tears started to fall from Elizabeth's eyes.
"Hey," Susan said, taking her hand. "I know it's hard, but I need you stay calm. And I need you to stay as still as possible, ok?"
Elizabeth nodded. "Why isn't Mark here yet?" she whispered.
"He's on his way, I promise. I'll go see if I can get him on his cellphone," Susan said.
Susan walked out of the room and let out a big sigh. Carter came up to her.
"How's she doing?" he asked.
Susan shook her head. "I don't like this. She needs to be upstairs. Any sign of OB?"
Carter shook his head.
"What about Mark?"
"No."
"Look, I need to stay with Elizabeth. Can you handle things in the ER for a while?" Susan said.
"Sure, no problem. Keep me posted," Carter said.
Carter walked away and Susan saw Mark rush through the front doors.
"Mark," Susan called and walked across to him.
"Susan, what's going on? Where's Elizabeth?" Mark said, alarmed.
"She's in premature labour," Susan said. She held up her arms as he tried to rush past her into Elizabeth's room. "Mark, hold on. It's more complicated than that."
Mark stopped and looked at Susan. "What's wrong?"
"She's suffering from placental abruption," Susan said. "Now, I don't know how serious it is yet, I'm waiting for OB to come down and look at the ultrasound."
"Why isn't she upstairs?" Mark asked.
"They can't take her, there's no room," Susan said.
Mark looked panicked.
"Listen, Elizabeth's stressed enough. Her blood pressure's too high already, I need you to stay calm for her, ok?" Susan said.
Mark nodded. "Susan, she needs to be upstairs."
"I know," Susan said, sighing.
"Susan, we've been here before," Mark said. Memories of Jodi O'Brien came flooding back to him.
"I know. I've spoken to Coburn and she's up-to-date with what's going on. I don't like this any more than you do, but you're going to have to trust me. I'm not going to take any risks."
Mark looked up at Susan and nodded. "I trust you."
He went into Elizabeth's room and Abby came out.
"How's she doing?" Susan asked.
"She's stable for now," Abby answered. "You look exhausted."
"I'm alright," Susan said wearily. "I'm more worried about Elizabeth."
All of a sudden Chuni came running out of the room.
"Susan! She's completely abrupted," she yelled.
"Damn it," Susan cursed. "Jerry, tell Coburn we need her down here right now."
Susan and Abby rushed into the room.
"She's in shock," Susan said. She pushed Mark out of the way, who was standing still with shock by the bed. "She needs a transfusion. Lets get 4 of O-neg stat. She's going to need an emergency caesarean. Let's get her to trauma one."
Susan, Abby and Chuni pushed the gurney out the door and along the corridors to the trauma room. Mark followed in a daze. As they arrived, so did Dr Coburn and an OB team.
"What happened?" Coburn asked.
"She's abrupted," Susan said.
"Ok, I'll take over from here," Coburn said, taking control. Susan backed off and gratefully let her take over. She bumped into Mark who was stood at the door, staring blindly into the room.
"Mark? Hey, Mark, come on. Let's wait outside while Coburn does her job," Susan said gently, pulling Mark back by the arm. Mark let Susan lead him out the room.
"You ok?" Susan asked.
Mark didn't respond.
"Mark, it'll be ok," Susan said, trying to reassure him.
"Will it?" Mark whispered. Susan didn't know what to say.
They sat down on the seats outside and Susan reached across to take Mark's hand in hers. They didn't speak as they listened to Coburn bark orders inside.
Susan didn't know how long they had been sat there, when they heard the sound of a baby crying. They both stood up quickly and moved towards the doors to the trauma room. As they got there, the doors swung open and Janet Coburn walked out. She smiled at Mark.
"Congratulations, Mark. You have a baby daughter," she said.
A huge grin spread across Mark's face. "She's ok?" he asked.
"She's fine," Coburn said.
"And Elizabeth?"
"She's doing ok. She lost a lot of blood, but she'll be fine," Coburn answered. "We're going to move them upstairs now."
Mark followed as Elizabeth was pushed out the doors, followed by a small incubator. Susan stood and watched as they walked away. Abby and Carter came up behind her.
"Is everything ok?" Abby asked.
"Yeah, mother and baby doing fine," Susan said. "Thanks for your help tonight."
"No problem," Abby said.
"How's it going in the ER?" Susan asked.
"We've got a trauma coming in, a single MVA. Guy ran his car into a wall, possible attempted suicide," Carter said. "I could do with your help."
They were caught up in the trauma for over an hour trying to save the driver. Carter eventually called time of death at 04.17. Susan made a quick exit and made her way upstairs to OB where a nurse pointed her in the right direction to find Mark and Elizabeth. Susan looked through the door. Elizabeth was asleep in bed while Mark was stood at the window with the baby in his arms. She tapped lightly on the door. Mark looked up and beckoned her in, smiling. Susan slipped quietly through the door and walked across to Mark.
"Hey, how is she?" Susan whispered.
"Perfect," Mark whispered proudly. "Do you want to hold her?"
Susan hesitated, unsure of whether she was ready. She looked at the baby who was fast asleep and her heart melted. "I'd love to."
Mark passed her the baby.
"Oh, Mark, she's beautiful," Susan whispered. "You're so lucky."
"I know," Mark said. He watched as Susan gently rocked the baby in her arms.
"Have you thought of a name?" Susan asked.
"Ella," Mark answered.
Susan smiled. "Ella. I like that."
"Susan, thank you so much for what you did tonight," Mark said.
"I was just doing my job," Susan said.
"I know how hard it must have been for you," Mark said.
Susan shook her head. "You know what? It wasn't," she said. "Maybe it's the doctor instinct in me."
"Whatever it was, I owe you," Mark said.
"I think we're even now," Susan said, handing Ella back to Mark. "I'd better get back downstairs, I've left Carter alone enough tonight. I'll come by tomorrow to see how Elizabeth's doing."
"Thank you," Mark said again.
Susan smiled. "My pleasure."
Susan went out the door, leaving Mark with his new daughter. He held her in his arms, knowing how close he had been to losing her. As he watched the sun rise, he thanked God that he hadn't.