Chapter 2
Disclaimer: I do not own ER, or the characters introduced in this chapter except for Melanie Malucci.
Dr. Susan Lewis sat at a table in the doctors' lounge at County General Hospital, and tried to keep her eyes open. She looked at her watch.
"It's 10 a.m. and I'm this tired!" she moaned. Susan picked up her mug of coffee and sipped it. "Blech, it's as bad as it was before, and now it's cold. I hate cold coffee!" Susan put her mug down and looked around the empty lounge. "Great, Susan, you've lost it. You're talking to yourself."
Dr. Mark Greene, Susan's husband, entered the lounge. He leaned over to kiss his wife and noticed how tired she looked.
"Tough morning?" he joked. They had both been on for two hours and Susan appeared as though she'd pulled an all-nighter.
"Not funny," she snapped. "I'm dead tired." Mark began to pour himself some coffee. "And I'd avoid the coffee if I were you."
Mark looked into the coffee pot. "Why? It looks fine to me."
"It's not, it's really gross," Susan retorted.
"But Haleh made it, and she makes the best coffee around!" Mark said. "Why don't I make a fresh pot for us?"
"Do what you want, I don't care," Susan snapped. Mark sat across from his wife, who ran her fingers through her shoulder-length blond hair.
"Are you all right?" he asked gently.
"I'm fine!" Susan exclaimed. "I wish you'd leave this alone."
"Leave what alone?" Mark questioned. "I wanted to know if you were okay. You don't look well."
"Maybe I'm coming down with something," Susan sighed. She played with her pen and avoided her husband's gaze.
"Okay, then," he said and went to his locker. He took out two aspirin and swallowed them.
"Why are you taking those?" Susan asked. Mark closed his locker.
"I just have a headache," he said. "It's most likely got 'Kerry Weaver' written all over it," he added as a joke.
"A headache?" Susan asked worriedly.
"Yes, just a simple headache. I don't have a brain tumor," Mark joked. Susan stood up and appeared on the verge of tears. "Honey, what is it?"
"Don't EVER joke about that!" she screamed. Susan grabbed the chart she'd been working on and quickly exited the lounge. Mark followed her.
"Susan!" he called as he began to run after her. Susan ducked into the ladies' room and Luka called to Mark.
"Mark, we need your help in this trauma," he said. "Is Susan around?"
"She's not feeling well," Mark began. "She just went into the bathroom." Mark turned to the patient. "So, what do we have?" Luka gave him the information and they entered the trauma room.
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Susan stood against the stall door and wiped her eyes. She didn't get it: why was she so emotional lately? It seemed like anything and everything was making her cry. The door to the ladies' room opened and Abby poked her head in.
"Susan?" she called out. Susan wiped her red eyes and exited the stall.
"Yeah, I'm here," she answered. "Do they need me out there?"
"No, Mark mentioned you weren't feeling well and I wanted to see if you were all right," Abby replied.
"I don't know," Susan said softly. She leaned against the sink. "I'm tired, I'm crying at everything and I'm biting Mark's head off every time he says something. He made a joke about a brain tumor earlier and I ran in here and started bawling. That's not like me, Abby."
Abby smiled at her best friend. "I think we should run another blood test," she said happily.
"You think so?" Susan asked.
"Susan, you have all the classic symptoms of being pregnant!" Abby said happily. "Mood swings, fatigue. And were you avoiding Haleh's coffee again?"
"Guilty," Susan admitted. "It just tasted off the past couple of days."
"Let's go," Abby said as she opened the door. She ushered Susan into an exam room and quickly performed the blood test.
"Don't say anything to Mark, okay?" Susan requested. Abby nodded in response and put a band-aid on Susan's arm. "Thanks. He seemed to get his hopes up last time, and we were both really disappointed. I don't want to put him through that again."
"You should have the results back in an hour or so," Abby said as she labeled the vial.
Susan put her lab coat back on. "So I really haven't been myself lately?" she asked.
"You've been a major cranky ass," Abby retorted.
"Thanks a lot!" Susan replied.
"Hey, I'm your best friend. It's up to me to tell you this," Abby said.
Susan grinned in return and gave Abby a quick hug. "Thank you."
"Any time," she said. "And if it's a girl, you can name her after me."
"I'll run that by Mark," Susan said as she and Abby walked to the nurse's station. Mark approached Susan tentatively and she blushed. "Don't worry, I won't bite," she said.
"Are you sure?" he asked jokingly. Susan took his hand and led him to the lounge.
"If you're not out in ten minutes, I'll call security," Dave teased. Abby gently smacked him on the arm and they continued their work.
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Susan led Mark to the sofa and they sat down. "I'm really sorry," she said.
Mark smiled and leaned in to kiss Susan. The kiss quickly turned passionate and they stretched out on the sofa, Susan on top of Mark. She rested in his arms and he ran his fingers through her hair.
"You seem to be feeling better," he said lightly. Susan looked up at her husband and kissed him again. "Yep, much better. And I'm sorry about that stupid brain tumor comment. I didn't think it would upset you so much."
"I was surprised that I had the reaction I did," Susan admitted. "Just don't ever say it again, okay? If I ever lost you, I don't know what I'd do."
"Deal," Mark said. "I won't say that again. It's not as if I'd ever want to deal with anything like that anyway."
Susan and Mark rested in total silence for a few moments, and Susan glanced at the door. "I wonder if Dave's ready to call security," she joked.
"We should go," Mark said. At that moment, both of their pagers went off. The couple groaned. "Yep, we have to get up." The Greenes exited the lounge and greeted an incoming trauma.
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A few hours later, Abby quietly approached Susan at the nurses' station. "This fax just came in for you," she said. Susan looked around and then unfolded the paper. A huge grin broke out across her face. "I know you want to tell Mark first," Abby joked.
"I can't believe it!" Susan gasped. She hugged Abby again. "Thank you!" With a quick glance at the clock, Susan saw that her shift was over. She ran to the lounge and emerged with her coat and purse. "I can't wait to tell Mark!" Susan ran out of the ER, and Dave came up to Abby.
"I've had days like that," he said. "My shift's over and I'm outta here!"
"Aww, you don't love us, Dave?" Abby kidded.
"I do," Dave said, "but I also have a gorgeous wife at home!" He turned serious and lowered his voice. "Is Susan okay? She's not only my friend but we're family now that I've married her cousin Melanie, and I care about her."
"She's more than fine," Abby grinned.
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At the Lewis-Greene home, Susan had changed into a sweater and skirt and had lit a fire in the fireplace. Mark had stayed late at work to catch up on some patient files and Susan was happy that she had extra time to prepare a special homecoming for him. She heard his car pull up and looked out the window. A smile broke out onto her face as she saw him walk up to the door.
"Here's show time," she said to herself. Susan glanced quickly in the mirror and the door opened. "Hey."
"Hi," Mark said. He walked over to Susan and they kissed. "You look beautiful. Are we going out to dinner or something?"
"No," Susan answered and took his hand. "I thought we'd have an evening in." Mark took off his coat and hung it on the nearby rack.
"That sounds perfect," he said. They walked into the living room. "And you started a fire? It's the right night for it."
"I have something to tell you," Susan said. They sat amongst some large, comfortable pillows in front of the fireplace. She took Mark's hand and rubbed it.
"What?" Mark asked as he grinned.
Susan placed his hand on her stomach. "What do you think of September?" she asked softly.
"Really!" Mark exclaimed happily. "We're - you're - pregnant!" Susan nodded in response, tears of happiness in her eyes. "This is incredible!" Mark passionately kissed Susan and they embraced in a hug. "I'm going to be a dad again!"
"Yes, you are," Susan said as she wiped her eyes.
"How - when did you find out?" Mark asked as he stroked Susan's face.
"Abby and I had a talk today, and she said I had the classic pregnancy symptoms. She took a blood test and I just found out before I left work today," Susan replied. "Technically, she doesn't know, since I wanted to tell you first, but I think my response was a total giveaway," she joked.
"A baby," Mark stated. He lifted Susan's sweater and kissed her stomach. "Hi, little one, I'm Daddy." Susan snuggled into his arms and Mark kissed her head. "I can't wait to tell this little boy or girl how his mom and dad fell in love."
"It's quite a story," Susan said. "You told me that you loved me and I got on a train to Phoenix."
"But you came back," Mark reminded her. "And we resumed our friendship."
"And then I finally admitted to you that I loved you," Susan added.
"And that night was the first time we made love," Mark said.
"We can leave that part out," Susan replied. "And a week later you proposed."
"It took me a week to find the perfect engagement ring for you," Mark said. "You deserved the best." Mark wrapped his arms around Susan and began to rub her stomach. "And two months later you made me the happiest man in the world when you married me."
"So by the time we celebrate our first anniversary in June, I'll be six months pregnant," Susan figured. She laughed. "I won't be able to fit into my clothes much longer."
"You're going to be an incredibly sexy pregnant woman," Mark said in a seductive tone. Susan turned around and they kissed, and enjoyed a romantic evening together.