Chapter 6
Disclaimer: I do not own ER or the characters in this story, with the exception of Christopher Greene. I have aged the character of Susie Lewis to fourteen years old, whereas she would normally be around eleven.
No copyright infringement is intended.
On a slightly warm October night, Susan-Lewis Greene tucked her six-week-old son, Christopher, into his crib. She smiled at the little boy, her heart more filled with love for this baby than she ever thought possible.
"Sweet dreams, baby boy," she whispered. Susan turned on the mobile over Christopher's crib and quietly left the room. She and Mark had just moved Chris's crib into the nursery and he was sleeping soundly each night. Susan walked into her bedroom and found her husband, Mark, putting some clothes away in the closet.
"He's out already?" Mark asked. Susan nodded and stretched out onto the bed. "Then we have some time alone."
"That we do," Susan grinned as Mark climbed onto the bed next to her. They kissed and Susan removed Mark's glasses and placed them onto the nearby nightstand. "I've missed you."
The couple kissed fervently and Susan removed Mark's shirt. He began to take hers off when Susan sat up. "What is it?" Mark inquired.
"Do we have any condoms?" Susan asked.
"I think so…somewhere," Mark said as he looked around.
"I can't take the pill because I'm breast-feeding, and we're certainly not having sex without any birth control," Susan reminded her husband. She laughed and added, "Unless you want another baby right away."
"I do," Mark began, "but not what, ten months apart?" He began to rummage through a dresser drawer and triumphantly held up a box. "Aha! Found 'em!"
"Good job," Susan congratulated him. She sauntered over to her husband and wrapped her arms around him. "Now, where were we?"
"I think we were right here," Mark replied, and kissed Susan. She deepened the kiss and the couple fell onto the bed.
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A few days later, Susan was on the phone with her sister, Chloe. Mark walked into the room and a look of concern crossed his face as he listened to Susan's end of the conversation.
"Chloe, I wish you'd told me sooner," Susan began. "No, I definitely want to see Susie. I've missed her so much…yes, I'm very proud of her…I'll have to talk to Mark about this…you can't be so positive that he'll say yes. We did just have a baby, you know." Susan sighed and noticed Mark standing in the doorway. "Listen, I have to go…yes, I promise to call you back later…tell Susie I love her. Okay, bye." Susan hung up the phone and stood up. "How much did you hear?"
"Not too much," Mark said. "I put Chris down for his nap and wanted to let you know. So what's up with Chloe and Susie?"
Susan walked around the room, straightening pillows and putting books and magazines away. "Well, Chloe said Joe got a job transfer to the Chicago office. And she's been talking about putting Susie in private school, so they applied to Westfield Academy." Susan stopped and looked at Mark. "Susie was accepted."
"That's great!" Mark replied. "I'm sure you're thrilled that Susie's moving back to Chicago."
"Oh, but I haven't gotten to the good part yet," Susan said. "Joe's company decided not to transfer him to Chicago, but to give him a promotion at the San Francisco office. So they're not moving."
"Honey, I'm sorry," Mark stated as he hugged Susan. "I know you would've been really happy to have Susie so close again."
"Well, that's what I wanted to talk to you about," Susan began. "Susie was ecstatic to learn she might be living in Chicago and she really loved the idea of going to Westfield. Chloe told her all about it and they're flying in this weekend to see the school in person. And Chloe wanted to know if we'd be okay with Susie living with us." Susan stepped back and looked into Mark's eyes. "Mark, please say yes on this. She's the reason I left years ago. I knew that you loved me, but Susie was like my own daughter. I had to know that she was all right. I had to be with her."
Mark pushed Susan's hair back and gazed into her eyes. A smile broke out onto his face and he replied, "Will you help me turn the guest room into Susie's bedroom?"
"Yes!" Susan shouted. She jumped into Mark's arms, nearly knocking him to the ground. "Thank you, honey. You have no idea how happy this makes me!"
"I think I do," Mark said as Susan tightly wrapped her arms around him. "I love you, and I'd do anything for you."
"I know," Susan answered. "I love you, too."
"It'll be fun to have Susie around," Mark said. "And when Rachel visits from college, I bet they'd hang out."
"Like they did years ago," Susan reminisced. "Remember taking them skating?"
Mark laughed. "Yeah, and I bet I'm still a lousy skater!"
Susan looked at her husband, her eyes full of love for him. "Yes, but you're so much better at other things," she remarked. "Being a husband, father, doctor, and friend. You're the best at those." Mark hugged Susan and they stood together in silence, reveling at being together.
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That weekend, the Greene home was filled with three special guests: Chloe, her husband Joe Randall, and Susie. Susan hadn't been prepared for how big her niece had gotten. At fourteen years of age, Susie was beautiful, well-mannered, and still a bit shy. Just like I was, Susan thought to herself. The physical resemblance was obvious too: Susie looked more like Susan than Chloe. Both Lewis sisters had blonde hair, but Susie had inherited Susan's bright green eyes instead of Chloe's brown.
The Greenes and Randalls had toured Westfield Academy, and Susie had been overly excited. She said the school looked much better in person than on the website she'd viewed multiple times. Though she'd be starting her freshman year one month later than all of the other Westfield students, Susie was confident she'd be able to catch up.
Susan and Susie sat outside drinking hot cocoa. Susan faced her niece.
"Are you nervous?" she asked. Susie wrapped her hands around the mug and stared forward. A moment later, she quietly answered, "A little bit." She turned to Susan and grinned. "But the uniforms are pretty cool!"
"I liked them," Susan said. "And you look great in blue."
Susie snuggled closer to Susan and put her head on her aunt's shoulder. "Thank you for letting me live with you," she said softly. "I missed you."
"I missed you, too," Susan replied as she kissed her niece's head. "More than you can know."
"I really didn't like San Francisco," Susie admitted. "And school…it was a major pain."
"Your mom said the classes were too easy for you," Susan said.
Susie nodded her head. "And the principal wanted me to skip a grade, but mom and Joe didn't think it was a good idea. I took the Honors classes and they were easy, too. And I didn't have many friends. I was always called a dork because I actually liked to read and learn about things."
"I've been there, kiddo," Susan said wryly. "High school wasn't that great for me."
"Forget 'em," Susie laughed. "When I'm a doctor I can look back on the kids who made fun of me and laugh at them."
"You want to be a doctor?" Susan asked, surprised.
"Maybe," Susie said. "Or a writer, or a teacher, or maybe a photographer. I think it'd be fun to travel the world and see things I've only read about so far."
"You're going to do everything you set your heart to," Susan replied as she hugged Susie around her shoulders. "I'm so proud of you."
"Thanks," Susie answered. She turned around to make sure Chloe wasn't within earshot. "And I can really talk to you, Aunt Susan. I can't do that with my mom."
"Why not?" Susan inquired.
"I know about her past, with drugs," Susie began quietly. "And I figured I'd only tell her things that weren't too important so I didn't cause her any stress. I was afraid if she was worried she might turn back to using drugs again." Susie looked at her aunt. "It's stupid, right?"
Susan shook her head. "Not at all. And you can tell me anything, Susie. I won't tell anyone."
"So what's told here stays here?" Susie asked with a smile as she motioned between Susan and herself.
"Yes," Susan laughed. "Pinky swear."
Susie linked pinkies with Susan. "Pinky swear." Susie sat back and looked at the stars. "I love it here," she said. "And in a week I'll officially be home!"
"All you have to do is pack your stuff and fly out here," Susan said. She felt the need to pinch herself, to prove she wasn't dreaming. The same little girl who had been taken away years earlier was going to live under the same roof as Susan, her husband and son. Dreams so have a way of coming true, Susan thought to herself, as Susie rested her head on Susan's shoulder once again, and they stared at the stars. Susan pointed out the constellations to her niece, as she had done when Susie was a baby, and they talked and laughed into the night.