Disclaimer: I don't own them.

Suddenly they were brought back to reality by the sound of a trauma bursting through the doors. Mark made Susan promise to wait in the lounge for him.

As he walked out of the trauma room he suddenly became nervous. Those few minutes they had shared in the middle of the ER had been heavenly but he was all too aware of the things of a serious nature they were going to have to talk about now the initial reunion was over.

Endless questions tumbled through his mind as he approached the lounge. Why was she here? Was she back for good? What did she want their relationship to be? He realised that for all he knew she could be married with kids by now. If this was the case then he hoped her husband knew that he was the luckiest guy in the world. Although he knew he was getting way too ahead of himself one question was constantly running through his brain. Was she still in love with him? He did not dare get his hopes up about that one, because God knows he could not bear it if she broke his heart again.

Unbeknown to him Susan was on the other side of the door trying to deal with similar inner turmoil. Although he had responded very well to seeing her she was still very much aware of the fact that when she had left she had broken his heart. After arriving in Phoenix she had endured many sleepless nights as her mind replayed the events of the day she left Chicago, her old life, the day she left him. On more than one occasion she had almost booked a train ticket back but she was too afraid of how he would react. She had spoken to him once or twice but the pain she heard in his voice had discouraged her from calling him again. She thought of the strained conversations on the phone which had led to her realising that she had destroyed the entire relationship they had shared. Not only had she lost her soul mate but she had lost her best friend too. Many times she questioned her decision to leave, but she always came to the same conclusion, yes she was in love with Mark but she loved Susie like she was her own child so her priority had to be her.

She was interrupted from her train of thought as the lounge door swung open and he entered slowly. She stood up and again he wrapped his strong arms around her. As they separated she smiled up at him.

"So how long are you in town for?" He asked, silently hoping she would say "forever".

"Well that kind of depends"

"Depends on what" he asked expectantly.

"On you" As she said it a whole rainbow of emotions passed over his face and she worried that perhaps she had said the wrong thing.

"I... I uh mean, uh well I mean on whether or not you are looking for a new attending?"

As soon as she corrected herself he felt his hopes being dashed. He knew it was too much to wish for, that after all this time she would still want him, that perhaps maybe, just maybe she had come back to be with him.

"Hey you know what this place is like, we are always looking for good docs and if memory serves me right you are one of the best" He replied with a smile.

"Well what can I say, I learned from the best"

He smiled softly.

"In that case when can you start?"

"You're serious? You are gonna give me a job just like that?" She questioned.

"Well it's not exactly a difficult decision to make. You know that as far as I am concerned you will always have a place here." He desperately wanted to add "with me" but decided against it in case he scared her off.

She flung her arms around him and kissed his cheek.

"Thank you so much for this Mark, you are the best. "

He blushed slightly and felt his heart rate quicken as her soft lips brushed his cheek. He could feel his skin tingle where she had kissed him.

He tried desperately to regain his composure. As he was about to speak the lounge door opened and Carter and Abby walked. Judging by the tension between them they had obviously been having some sort of disagreement.

They stopped suddenly as they saw Mark embracing someone.

"Uh sorry Dr Greene, we didn't realise anyone was in here". Carter stammered.

As he spoke Susan stepped back from Mark. As soon as Carter saw her he smiled.

"Dr Lewis, what are you doing here? Uh I mean it's great to see you."

"Well don't just stand there Carter. It's been almost 5 years; don't I even get a hug?"

He quickly walked over to her and they embraced.

"You look great Dr Lewis"

"Thanks Carter, and by the way you can call me Susan now that you are a grown up proper doctor!"

He laughed.

"I guess old habits die hard. So how have you been? What brings you back to town?"

"Really good thanks. I decided it was time to revisit my misspent youth and anyway you know what this place is like, you never really leave."

Mark stood back watching the easy interaction between Susan and Carter and felt a small pang of jealousy. Although things between them had been easy so far there was still some slight tension between them. He also noted that while he was slightly jealous Abby looked just about ready to explode. She stood rigidly behind Carter pouting. As if on cue Carter turned to her.

"Oh Abby, sorry, this is Susan Lewis. Susan this is Abby Lockhart. Susan was a resident here when I was a med student." He explained. "She was an amazing teacher."

Abby could tell from the look in Carter's eyes that there was perhaps more to the relationship than it just being a student teacher thing. Though Susan was not displaying any signs to indicate there had been something more between them. Still Abby felt herself bristling at the thought of this woman being another obstacle in the path of their relationship.

"It's nice to meet you Abby" Susan said as she stepped forward to shake Abby's hand.

"You too" Abby returned the gesture.

"If he ever gives you a hard time let me know because I have got plenty of dirt on him that you can use" Susan said to break the mounting tension.

Abby laughed.

"Well I will certainly keep that in mind."

Mark laughed inwardly at the scene in front of him. He remembered the very obvious crush that Carter had on Susan when he was a med student. As he cast his mind back he felt his jealousy subside as he recalled how Susan had never, at any point, shown any interest in Carter.

"So are you back for good then?" Carter enquired.

"Well it sure looks that way. Mark offered me an attending's position so I'm here to stay"

"Well in that case we should celebrate. Are you free tonight?"

"Uh, sure, I guess so. What did you have in mind?"

"We could all go to dinner. Abby, Dr Greene, what do you think?

"Yeah, sounds good to me" Mark replied. He was pleased to have the chance to spend some time with Susan though he could have done without an audience.

"Ok" Abby replied in a slightly strained tone.

"Excellent. I will make the arrangements and let you guys know the plans"

Just then Carter's pager began to beep, as did Abby's.

"Gotta go, see you guys later"

Carter exited the lounge closely followed by Abby.

"So...alone again" Susan said.

"Yeah" He laughed nervously. "I was kinda hoping we could have spent some time together, you know, just us."

"Me too" She looked at him. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" She smiled mischievously.

"Ditch them?"

"Ditch them" She confirmed.

"Ok I will deal with Carter. Are you staying with your parents?"

She nodded "It's only temporary though thank god. I forgot how stressful living with Henry and Cookie can be. Honestly if I have to listen to them argue over the remote control for the TV one more time I'm gonna scream! I feel like I'm fifteen again.

Mark laughed. "How about you come over to my place and I will order pizza. Extra pepperoni, right?"

"I can't believe you still remember"

"How could I ever forget anything about you?"

At that moment they both looked into each other's eyes, both willing the other to make the first move. The spell was broken by a nurse entering the lounge to tell Mark he was needed in the trauma room.

"I guess I better go"

"Yeah. I'll see you tonight then"

"Sure. See you then" He practically had to force his feet to move.

As she watched him walk to the door her head was buzzing. What the hell almost happened there? She thought to herself. Already the anticipation of the night to come was getting to her. She could hardly wait.