Thank you, thank you, thank you for the reviews you have left – saved-by-grace, Susan (welcome!), PinkSparkle02, Melissa Larkin and RedheadedERfan88 (welcome also!).

I think I've paid my dues now for nearly killing off Susan earlier on in the story and there is too much "aw" going on! So enough with the fluff, I've reverted back to my old ways. There's more medical stuff in here, but since I'm in no way medically trained it might not be totally accurate. Oh, and I have no idea how long it would take to fly from Phoenix to Chicago, so I made it up!

If anyone is interested, I've just updated 'A Different Story' as well, please go and check it out. And, of course, reviews are always very welcome! :)

Random Acts

"So how's Chloe?" Mark asked down the phone, leaning against the kitchen counter.

"She's great. She's still sober, she's still got her job, she's still happy. So is Little Susie. She thinks the word for cactus is ouch, so every time we go for a walk she points everywhere and says "ouch, ouch"!" Susan laughed.

"Sounds like you're having a good time," Mark said.

"Yeah. It's so good to see them," Susan answered. "Thank you."

"Would you stop thanking me already," Mark laughed.

"I'm sorry, it's just it was the best present that you could have given me. And you know, when I get home, I'm going to have a lot of making up to do," Susan said, seductively.

Mark smiled. "Oh yeah?"

"Uh-huh!" Susan laughed again. "So how's the packing going?"

"Good," Mark said, unconvincingly.

"Liar," Susan said.

"But it's so boring," Mark moaned.

"Why don't you get Doug to help you?" Susan suggested.

"He hasn't been around much. He's keeping this new girlfriend of his very secret," Mark said. "I haven't seen Holda around for weeks."

"Wow, what's up with him?" Susan joked.

"I think he's fallen for this one pretty hard. He's – dare I say it – happy," Mark said.

"Good for him," Susan said, pleased. "Are you working today?"

"Yep, at twelve," Mark said, looking at his watch. "Damn it, which is only half an hour away. I'd better go."

"Ok. Have a good shift," Susan said, disappointed. She laughed at herself for missing him so much, she had only been in Phoenix for three days. "I'll speak to you tomorrow?"

"Definitely. I love you," Mark said.

"I love you. Bye," Susan said.

"Bye."

Mark's shift was not going well. Earlier, a patient's father had yelled at him for leaving his daughter's care to Maggie Doyle, a more than competent Resident, and now he was being screamed at by the brother of a gunshot victim, who had just received the bad news that his brother had died.

"I'm sorry for your loss," Mark sympathised.

"You killed him!" Chris Law cried at Mark.

"No," Mark said. "Blame the person who was holding the gun in his hand."

"He should have been treated sooner."

"Your brother was stable and there was another patient who needed more critical care," Mark defended.

"Yeah, a white man."

"This has nothing to do with skin colour," Mark argued.

"Yeah? Then why is my brother dead? Someone around here is going to pay for this!"

"We did everything we could for your brother, I promise you," Mark tried to appease him.

"Your promises don't mean nothing, man."

Chris Law came closer, putting his face in front of Mark's.

"I don't want to hear nothing else from this hospital except an apology. Don't even think about sending us a bill, or I'm gonna have to kick some ass. And I might just start with yours."

With that, Chris Law turned around and walked out of the hospital. Doug came up behind Mark.

"What was all that about?" he asked.

"His brother was Kenny Law, the gunshot victim," Mark explained. "He was just blowing off some steam."

"Yeah? Sounded to me like he was threatening you," Doug said.

Mark shook his head. "I screwed up. The gun shooting was drug-related, but it turned out Kenny was an innocent bystander. I jumped to the wrong conclusions and asked for Kenny to be searched for drugs and weapons."

"He was pretty angry, Mark," Doug contended. "Maybe you should report him to security, just in case."

"I don't think he'll be back," Mark said. He sighed. "Do you ever have one of those days where you think everyone is out to get you?"

"All the time, especially if Kerry's working," Doug laughed.

"So, are you going to tell me where you were last night?" Mark asked. He was growing more and more curious about Doug's mysterious woman.

"Mark, we've got a young woman in anaphylactic shock pulling in," Lydia said, coming up to them and handing Mark a pair of surgical gloves.

Doug was glad of the interruption and started to walk away down the corridor.

"I'll get it out of you eventually!" Mark called after him.

Doug was wandering the halls of the hospital when he spotted Carol with a young doctor he didn't recognise.

'Pretty,' he thought, before berating himself. He walked over to them.

"Hey Carol," he said. He smiled at the stranger.

Carol gave him a funny stare. "Doug, this is Anna Del Amico, she's here doing an emergency paediatrics rotation. Anna, this is Doug Ross, our paediatrician. He'll be your paediatrics supervisor."

"Hi, nice to meet you," Anna said politely.

"You too. Have you seen Mark?" Doug asked Carol.

Carol shook her head. "No, we were just looking for him too. He'll be Anna's emergency medicine supervisor."

"Ah, what a team," Doug laughed. "Well, if you'll excuse me, I need to visit the little men's room."

He winked at Carol and left. Carol and Anna continued down the hall, until they heard a shout from Doug.

"What the…! Carol! Get here now!"

Carol turned and saw Doug on the floor, with a blood-soaked patient. She grabbed a gurney and, followed by Anna, rushed over to Doug. She gasped when she reached him.

"Oh my God! Mark?"

Mark was lying unconscious on the floor in front of Doug.

"We need to stabilise his neck. Let's get a c-collar," Doug ordered, holding Mark's head carefully. "Anna, would check his vitals?"

"Good breath sounds, good pulse," she answered. Carol came back with a neck collar and a back board. She was followed by Lydia and Malik, who were both shocked when they saw Mark.

"Malik, will you help me move him?" Doug said. Together, they rolled Mark onto the back board and lifted him onto the gurney. They rushed him into the trauma room.

"Let's get him on a monitor. We need a cross table c-spine, chest, CBC, type and hold, and let's dip a urine," Doug's voice was strained as he worked on his friend.

"Pulse 120. BP 100 over 60," Carol read out his vitals.

"Let's put him on a mask," Doug ordered.

"Pupils are round and sluggish, but reactive to light," Anna said. "He's got several cuts on his head, they're going to need stitches."

Doug was checking Mark's belly. "Guarding and tenderness, let's add an abdominal CT," he said.

"Radiology is on the way," Lydia said.

"We should call the police," Anna said.

Carol leaned in to Doug. "We should call Susan."

Nearly six hours later, a taxi pulled up outside the hospital, amongst the sea of ambulances. Susan got out and threw a handful of notes to the taxi driver.

"Keep the change," she said, rushing into the ER. She spotted Doug, dealing with a new arrival.

"Doug, where is he?" was her first question. "Is he ok?"

Doug pointed up the corridor. "Room 2. He's alright. Battered and bruised, but no serious damage."

"What's going on?" Susan questioned, gesturing towards the mass of patients that filled the ER.

"Fire at a school play. Go, before Kerry sees you," Doug said.

Susan nodded and smiled gratefully, following Doug's directions up the corridor. When she got to Mark's room she peered through the glass in the door. She could see him lying on the bed, still; sleeping, she guessed. Even from outside, she could see the purple bruises that covered his face and arms. His left hand was plastered. She crept in quietly, not wanting to disturb him. She approached the bed and leant down, kissing his forehead. Pulling up a chair, she sat down next to him and took his non-plastered hand in his, running her fingers over his bruised cheeks. Her eyes pricked with tears and she wiped them away. No; she had to be strong.

How did this happen? Why Mark? Who would want to do this to him?

A thousand questions buzzed in her head as she sat staring at his battered body lying peacefully in front of her. She got up and walked to the end of the bed, picking up his chart. His test results looked good. He was lucky – no pneumothorax, the x-rays were clear, no serious head trauma. Just a good beating.

Behind her, the door opened.

"Excuse me, can I help you?" a young doctor asked Susan.

Susan didn't here her, as she examined the chart in detail.

"You shouldn't be looking at that," the doctor walked across the room towards Susan. "Are you a relative?"

Susan finally noticed that she was being spoken to and she looked up at the young woman in front of her, a vacant look in her eyes. She didn't reply to the question.

"It's ok, Anna," came Carol's voice, as she walked into the room. "I'll deal with this, Carter needs some help in trauma one."

Anna nodded, accepting Carol's instructions, and left the room.

"Carol, what happened? Who did this?" Susan asked.

"We don't know. Doug found him beaten up in the men's toilets. The police are looking into it, but so far they've got no idea who would want to do this," Carol answered gently.

"Look at him," Susan said, tears brimming in her eyes again. "I just don't understand."

Carol put her arm around Susan's shoulders. "It could have been a lot worse."

Susan nodded, wiping the tears from her face.

"Look, I've got to get back to work, we're getting slammed out there," Carol said. "Are you going to be alright here?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine," Susan resolved.

Carol left and Susan sat back down next to Mark's bed. She didn't know how long she sat there, watching him rest, until her back began to ache. She stood up and stretched. Lydia came into the room to check on Mark's vitals. She smiled kindly at Susan.

"How's it going out there?" Susan asked.

"We've got it under control, finally," Lydia said. "What about in here?"

"He hasn't stirred," Susan answered. "Lydia, would you stay with him while I go get a cup of coffee? I could do with stretching my legs."

"Sure," Lydia agreed.

"Thanks."

Susan placed a kiss on Mark's forehead and left, walking up to the admit desk. Doug was sending his last patient up to surgery when he spotted Susan.

"How's he doing?" he asked.

Susan shrugged.

"You look exhausted. Why don't you go home, have a shower and get some rest. I'll stay here until you get back," Doug offered.

"Thanks, but I want to be there when he wakes up. Besides, I imagine you need more rest than me, you've just worked a full shift," Susan said.

"Make that two shifts," Carol interjected when they were at the admit desk.

"You worked a double?" Susan said.

"Yeah, we got a little busy down here," Doug said.

"Dr Ross, can you look at my patient? He's a six year old with a dog bite," the young doctor from earlier asked.

"Sure. Anna, this is Susan Lewis. Susan, this is Anna, our newest recruit," Doug introduced them.

"It's ok, we've met," Anna said, offering her hand to Susan. Susan shook it. "I'm sorry about earlier, I didn't know who you were."

Susan shook her head. "No problem."

A shout from Lydia interrupted them.

"Susan! Susan, he's coming around!"

Susan, Doug and Carol raced down the corridor and into Mark's room. Susan rushed to one side of the bed, with Doug and Carol on the other side. Mark slowly opened his eyes.

"Hey," Susan said. She smiled at him. "How are you feeling?"

"Sore," Mark answered, a little groggily. "What happened?"

"You got beat up," Doug answered. "But you're ok. A little concussed, some bruised ribs and a mid-shaft fracture of two metacarpels. I signed you up for a double shift on Saturday."

Mark smiled at his joke, before turning back to Susan.

"What are you doing here? You're supposed to be in Phoenix?"

"Well, that's nice. I flew back here especially to see you; you could at least be pleased to see me," Susan laughed.

"You flew?" Mark asked.

"Yeah. The things I do for you, eh?" Susan said softly, leaning over to kiss his cheek.

Mark closed his eyes and sighed, clearly still exhausted.

"We should let you get some rest," Carol said, gesturing to Doug to leave.

"We'll see you later, Mark," Doug said, resting his hand reassuringly on Mark's shoulder.

Mark nodded. He turned to Susan.

"Are you staying?" he asked.

Susan nodded. "I'm not going anywhere."

Doug and Carol left, leaving Mark and Susan alone.

"I'm sorry for ruining your holiday," Mark said.

"Don't be. I want to be here. And Chloe's fine, she doesn't need me," Susan said, a hint of regret in her voice.

"I need you," Mark said, blinking back tears.

"I know," Susan said. She kissed his lips lightly. "I know."

She watched as Mark drifted back to sleep. She didn't leave his bedside again, curled up in a chair, her head dropping from time to time as her exhausted body tried to sleep. Around midnight, Kerry came in and tried to persuade Susan to leave.

"Susan, he's going to be asleep until the morning. There's no point in you wearing yourself out, Mark needs to you to be strong," Kerry reasoned with her. "Go home, get some rest, pick up some things for Mark and come back in the morning. I'll keep my eye on him."

Susan knew that Kerry was talking sense, but a part of her didn't want to leave Mark alone.

"You'll call me, if he wakes, or if anything changes?" Susan asked.

"Yes, of course," Kerry said gently, steering Susan out of the room.

Susan nodded. "Thanks Kerry," she said, gratefully.

Exhausted, Susan went home and collapsed into bed. She fell asleep the second her head hit the pillow and didn't wake until the telephone rang the next morning.

"Hello? Kerry?" Susan panicked.

"Suse, it's me, Chloe. Are you ok? How's Mark?" came Chloe's voice. Susan sighed.

"He's ok. He was badly beaten but there's no serious damage. A broken hand and some bruised ribs," Susan said. She looked at the clock. It read 8.44am. "Damn it, Chloe, I need to get back to the hospital."

"Oh, ok. Call me later, ok?" Chloe said. "And pass on our best wishes to Mark."

"I will. Thanks, Chloe. Bye."

Susan jumped into the shower to freshen herself up. She hadn't meant to sleep so late and was desperate to get back to the hospital. Once she was dressed, she stopped off at Mark and Doug's apartment to pick up some things for Mark. There was no answer when she knocked on the door, so she let herself in with a spare key that Mark had given her. She rushed around the apartment, collecting some of Mark's belongings. As she stood by the telephone, leaving a note for Doug, she heard voices as Doug emerged from his bedroom, his arms wrapped round the woman following him. It was Carol. They stopped when they saw Susan, whose mouth had fallen open.

"Uh, Susan, what are you doing here?" Doug asked.

Susan bit her lip to stop herself from laughing out loud.

"I came to pick up some things for Mark," she replied, looking back and forth from Doug and Carol.

"How is Mark?" Carol asked.

"Still sleeping it off. I should get back to the hospital," Susan said, making her way to the door.

"Uh, Susan," Doug stopped her.

"Yeah, I know," Susan interjected. "Absolute secrecy, I swear."

"Thanks," Doug smiled.

Susan made her way as quickly as possible to the hospital, feeling guilty that she had left Mark alone for so long. Kerry was stood at the admit desk when Susan arrived.

"Kerry, any change?" Susan asked immediately.

"No, he's still sleeping," Kerry said. "We'll check his concussion when he wakes, and if it all looks good he can probably go home tomorrow."

"Great, thanks Kerry," Susan said. She made her way to Mark's room and sat down beside his bed.

Mark stirred.

"Hi," Susan said softly.

"Hi," Mark said.

"Feeling any better?" Susan asked, taking his good hand.

"No," Mark said, as light-hearted as he could.

Susan frowned. "Do you want more pain meds?"

"No, I'm ok."

"Mark, if it hurts…" Susan started to argue.

"I'm alright," Mark stressed.

"Ok. Ok," Susan pacified him. "Kerry says you might be able to come home tomorrow."

"Good. I've heard the hospital food is awful," Mark joked.

"And they do say that doctors make the worst patients," Susan laughed, glad that he could still be cheerful. "Hey, I went to your apartment earlier to get some things for you and you'll never guess what I saw. Do you want to know who Doug's new girlfriend is?"

"Who?"

"None other than our Nurse Manager," Susan answered, laughing.

"Carol? Really?" Mark said.

"Yep. See, I told you all they needed was time," Susan said.

"You're a very wise woman," Mark said. His mood changed suddenly and tears sprang up in his eyes. "Tell me why this happened."

Susan shook her head. "I can't. I don't know why," Susan answered, trying to hold back her own tears.

Mark began to cry and Susan leant into him, wrapping her arm across his chest.

"It's ok, Mark, it's ok," she whispered into his ear. "It's ok."

"No, it's not," Mark cried. "This isn't supposed to happen here. It's not supposed to happen to us."

Susan held him while he cried, feeling helpless. They dealt with the repercussions of this kind of violence every day at work, but this was different. Susan remembered telling Mark once that bad things happen all the time, and that you couldn't stop them from happening to you. She had been right. It was in their own lives now and there was no escaping it.