Disclaimer: I don't own ER, or its characters

Chapter Eight: What Kind Of Sister Are You?

Sitting on the uncomfortable wooden bench Susan shifted her weight. Her view of the precinct led her to believe that they all must be the same. The smell, the sound of the police radio echoing the goings of cops, the sound of angry men and women in handcuffs, yes it was alarming similar to the station in New York. Shutting her eyes she tried to push the nausea that followed the memories of those days. Almost afraid to open her eyes for fear of seeing Officer Boscorelli come around the corner with that look on his face.

"They need you to identify a little girl." He said emotionally as he stared into her eyes. "She's at the morgue."

The memories were almost worse than actually living through it, even knowing the outcome didn't take away that feeling.

"Dr. Lewis." A voice kindly stated. Susan opened her eyes to see a man in his mid-thirties wearing a middle class suit and holding a manila folder. "I'm detective Brooks."

"Nice to meet you." She said with a calmness that surprised the both of them. "I'm not sure how all of this works." She admitted with a face that gave her true emotions away.

"We have your sister in an interrogation room. There are two ways we can do this, your safety is absolutely the same in both scenarios. I can go into the room with you if you like, or you can go in alone and I will be right next door watching through the mirror. I can be in there with you within two second if I need to be." He explained.

"I want to go in alone." She said with certainty, although she immediately doubted her choice.

"Okay then, follow me. Your sister will be handcuffed, so we can leave the door unlocked so you can leave if you feel like you need to." He continued as they walked down the hallway.

The blank and expressionless cream walls gave Susan a chill up her spine as she closely followed Detective Brooks. Without an idea what she would say, feel, or do once she was face to face with Chloe only furthered her uneasiness. She knew this moment would eventually have to happen, she just now realized there was no way to prepare for it.

"Here we are." Brooks said with a hint of compassion and understanding that was sealed with a small smile.

"Thank you." She replied.

"I can hear everything you say, if you want me to come in or you want out just say so and leave."

She smiled. "Okay then." He said as he headed to the door that was two feet away from the one Susan was standing in front of.

As he disappeared into the room Susan stood outside the door and tried to muster whatever it would take to do this. God how she wanted Chuck, he was on his way but she knew he wouldn't be here in time. At that moment she began to rethink telling John that she was fine and thanks for riding with her. It wasn't his place to be here, this wasn't his problem to deal with. It was hers. She hated this. Inhaling deeply she wrapped her trembling hand around the doorknob and slowly turned.

Her first impression of Chloe was how worn she looked. Surviving on the street was apparently not her second nature, despite what they all would assume. Looking at her face in that instant before words or thoughts could intervene Susan's heart broke. This was the sister she had grown up with, she had told her about life and boys. This was her role model for so many years. This was Chloe.

"Susan." Chloe said with a mixture of surprise and comfort.

"Chloe." Susan replied in a tone that said she wasn't ready to give anything. "What the hell were you thinking?" She said forcefully.

"Susan I just wanted…" Chloe stammered.

"You shot Abby. She is lying in a hospital bed unconscious because of a bullet that you meant for me, and you're just sitting there like you always are, the damn victim." She yelled.

"I just wanted my daughter." Chloe yelled back. "Susie is all I have and you took her away Susan. I just…I just wanted her back. I didn't want to shoot you." She emotionally tried to explain.

"That was a hell of a way to get her back. Why wouldn't you just stick with a program and get off the drugs? It's a disease Chloe, why couldn't you just let me help you?"

"I am not sick." Chloe snapped back. "How many times do I have to tell you that I'm not sick."

"So you just shot Abby because you were pissed?" She quipped.

Dropping her head into her hands Chloe didn't reply. Susan could hear her breathing, but was at a loss as to where to pick the conversation, if you could call it that, back up.

"Susan." She said slowly and almost at a whisper.

"Talk to me Chloe." Susan said in a moment of compassion as she looked at her older sister, broken.

"This wasn't my fault." She said as she picked her head up. "I just…I needed to see Susie, and so I went there to the hospital. I swear it isn't my fault." her voice cracked and dripped with her emotions. "I can't go to prison, I can't do it."

"Chloe," Susan said softly, torn by the situation, "you're going to prison."

"Sus, you can testify for me. Tell them that it wasn't my fault." She continued.

"I'm going to be testifying against you." Susan said without emotion as she looked Chloe in the eye.

"What?" Chloe yelled. "You're sending me to prison so you can have Susie. You've wanted her since she was born, and that's how you're going to get her! You just want me out of the way. How could you do this to me?" She said angrily as she lunged, trying to stand, only to be jerked back down by the handcuffs. Susan raised her hand to signal that everything was fine.

"Chloe, you have a disease and the only way you can have a chance at beating it is prison. And as for Susie," Susan could feel herself loosing her control and beginning to open up all that she had been holding inside, "you lost Susie along time ago. You chose to loose her to every crack house and corner you've been on. I've bailed you out for years, and I did it because I love you and I HATE to see what you're doing to yourself, but I can't help you anymore. I'm going to help Susie. I'm going to give her a life and love and safety. I'm going to give her what you chose not to. And as for me betraying you by sending you to prison, damn it Chloe look around. You've been setting yourself up for this for years, and I hate that the way you finally self destructed had to tear apart so many lives. My best friend who is more like a sister to me at this point is lying unconscious in a room and I can't do a thing about it. Your daughter is at my house trying to deal with the emotional mess you've left her with. And me, I'm trying to hold it all together, and all I can think is how the hell did we all end up this way? What happened to you? Look at what we're in. This isn't how it's suppose to be." She finally took breath and let her words fade into silence.

Susan just stared at Chloe. Neither had anything to say after Susan finally laid it out. "Chloe." She said softly, "I…" She moved her gaze down with a look of surprise, picking up her pager that she had placed on vibrate she read the number she knew to be the hospitals. Waving her arms in the air Detective Brooks was in the room within two seconds as he had promised.

"I need your cell phone." She said hastily as she reached for it and began to dial numbers.

"Susan." Chloe said with a tone that bordered on brokenness.

"Yes, this is Doctor Lewis." Susan stood and walked over to the wall as she listened to the voice on the other end. "When? Page Doctor Kovac and Doctor Carter. Yes, I'll be there soon." She hung up and met Chloe's gaze.

"Is everything okay Dr. Lewis?" The detective asked.

"Uh…" She managed to verbalize as she sat there shocked. "Abby woke up." She said. "I…I…I have to go. I have to get there. I have to see her." She said, statement after statement without a break.

"I can drive you." The detective offered, seeing as how she was in now shape to navigate a vehicle herself.

"Susan? You can't leave, I need you here. I can't do this alone."

"God, Chloe." She said, suddenly realizing where she was. "I'm sorry I can't stay. I have to go to the hospital."

"You're going to leave your own sister?" Chloe demanded, her voice once again raising.

"I'm sorry." Susan stood up.

"Get the hell out." Chloe yelled.

"I'm sorry." Susan apologized again, only furthering Chloe's rage.

"What the hell kind of sister are you?"

Susan stopped and turned back around to face her sister as her words slapped her in the face. "What the hell kind of sister am I? God, Chloe I've done everything to try to help you, and I'm through."

"Susan wait." Chloe yelled, this time with a tone of remorse. Susan was already out the door and walking with the detective towards his car.

"Larry," He yelled, "Can you take care of the suspect in three."

"Sure thing."

Author's note: I think this just might be my favorite chapter yet. Not that you needed to know that, but I like to offer useless information.