"Lizzie would you care to remind me why I have to find a temporary assistant chief for the next two months?" Robert asked after swinging the door to Elizabeth's office open.
Elizabeth looked up at him, already wishing she was gone. "I'm taking a sabbatical Robert." She replied tiredly.
"And if I were a religious man I would accept that Lizzie." Robert replied, taking the chart from in front of her. "I presume there's a real reason you're taking off and I can't help but be curious."
Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "Robert you approved my leave. If you wanted to know more you should have played your cards better." She held her hand out expectantly. "Can I please have the chart back Robert?"
Robert shook his head. "Why would you want it?" He asked, sounding angry. "It's for an elective case that you're handing off."
"Robert." Elizabeth replied sternly. "I have to get these charts filled out before I can leave."
"Maybe I shouldn't give them back then." Robert replied sarcastically.
"Technically I don't have to be here today Robert." Elizabeth reminded him. "My paperwork says I start leave today."
"Fine, fine!" Robert interrupted her, tossing the chart back onto her desk. "See you in August." He said angrily before slamming the door shut behind him.
Mark was finishing making dinner when Rachel came into the kitchen, obviously frustrated. "Hey slugabug." He greeted her with a smirk. "How's it going?"
Rachel sighed as she angrily sat down at the counter. "Why do I have to spend my summer on this stupid family trip?"
Mark rolled his eyes. "You do not get to bring another suitcase Rachel." He replied, knowing the actual reason behind her frustration.
"But Dad!" Rachel tried to protest.
"Mac and cheese?" Mark asked her, holding the pot out.
Rachel sighed. "I guess."
"Good." Mark replied, scooping out two bowls. "Can you go grab Ella? She's in the living room."
Rachel nodded, coming back a moment later with Ella in her arms. "Do you want her in the high chair?"
"Yup." Mark replied, scooping some of the macaroni onto the high chair tray, cutting it up into small pieces. "Here we go." He said, clicking the tray into place.
"You forgot a bib." Rachel pointed out, raising her eyebrows.
"Who cares?" Mark replied, grabbing his own bowl from the counter. "She has to take a bath after dinner anyway."
"Elizabeth does." Rachel pointed out as she jumped up onto the counter, grabbing her bowl.
Mark rolled his eyes. "What she doesn't know won't hurt her."
"What don't I know?" Elizabeth asked teasingly as she leaned on the door frame.
Mark turned around quickly. "Hello my lovely wife." He said quickly tossing a bib to Rachel before pulling Elizabeth into his arms and turning her around. "We were just discussing our amazing plans for tomorrow." He said, watching as Rachel quickly put the bib on Ella before moving back to her spot on the counter.
"Uh-huh?" Elizabeth replied suspiciously. "Did you save me anything?" She asked him, pulling out of his embrace.
"I thought you were going to eat at the hospital." Mark replied, surrendering his bowl to her. "I'll make more."
Elizabeth smiled as she took a seat at the counter. "Do we have any apple slices left?"
Mark smirked. "Only if you want ones Ella has already covered in peanut butter."
"Those will work." She replied with a smile as Mark handed her the Tupperware from the fridge. "How was your day?" She asked as Mark began a second box of macaroni.
"Well Rachel and I continue to fight the great suitcase war." Mark said with a pointed look toward his daughter.
"How am I supposed to pack two months worth of clothing into one bag?" Rachel replied, not looking up from her dinner.
"I have really good news for you Rachel." Mark said teasingly. "They actually do have washing machines in Seattle." Rachel rolled her eyes before Mark continued his report to Elizabeth. "Ella and I watched about four hours of something that involved a giant red dog…"
"Clifford." Rachel interrupted.
"Yep that's it." Mark confirmed.
"Mark I've told you not to just let Ella watch television all day." Elizabeth replied, her mouth full.
"Yes but I am very, very tired." Mark said, adding a yawn for effect.
"Mark." Elizabeth replied seriously. "Are you sure we should go to Seattle?"
Mark nodded. "I've already secured treatment at Northwestern. I'm going to do just as well there as I would do here." Elizabeth eyed him nervously. "I promise Elizabeth."
"When is your first treatment there?" Elizabeth asked, finally going back to eating.
"Monday." Mark replied, pulling the pot off the stove.
Elizabeth nodded. "We're going to have to tell them Mark." She said quietly after he sat next to her.
"Doug and Carol don't know?" Rachel asked, clearly surprised.
Mark nodded. "I want to tell them in person Rach." He said quietly as Rachel nodded in understanding. "I'll tell them before Monday, just let me have some time."
Elizabeth sighed, resting her head on his shoulder. "Of course Mark."
The family sat in silence while they ate their dinner. Eventually Rachel jumped off the counter and put her bowl in the sink. "Can I get Ella ready for bed?" She asked tentatively as she stood in front of Mark and Elizabeth.
Mark looked over to Elizabeth who took in a deep breath. "Go ahead." Elizabeth said eventually. "Don't fill the tub more than an inch or two and don't take your eyes off from her." She instructed.
"I'll come up and check on you in a bit." Mark tried to reassure Rachel, who looked incredibly nervous.
Rachel nodded before taking the high chair tray off the seat and placing it in the sink. "Are you ready for your bath Ella?" Rachel asked with a smile as she pulled her sister out of the chair.
"Bath!" Ella replied as she excitedly clapped her hands.
"Thanks Rach." Mark called after them as they headed up the stairs.
He began to move around the kitchen, cleaning up from dinner slowly.
"Mark?" Elizabeth asked after several moments of silence.
Mark turned around, wiping his damp hands on his shirt. "Yeah?"
"I'm sorry." Elizabeth said tiredly. "I shouldn't be criticizing the way you spend time with Ella. I know you're exhausted."
Mark shook his head, rounding the counter to pull Elizabeth into his arms. "We're both exhausted remember? That's why we're going to Seattle."
"Oh I had forgotten." Elizabeth teased with a smile. "But Mark…" She tried to apologize again.
"No Elizabeth." He stopped her quickly. "We've been over this, you do not need to apologize for this kind of stuff."
"Alright." Elizabeth said, finishing the last apple slice before taking the Tupperware over to the sink. "What time is our flight?" She asked tiredly.
"Noon." Mark replied, washing the last of the dishes before heading to the fridge. "Are Ella's clothes going in my bag?"
"Probably." Elizabeth replied with a smirk. "Rachel thinks she has it hard, I have to pack two months of maternity clothing."
Mark smiled. "How's our little one doing?" He asked, kneeling down in front of her and pulling her t-shirt up to rest his hands on her barely-there stomach.
"It's in there." Elizabeth replied with a laugh.
"Hello baby." Mark whispered quietly, kissing her stomach.
"Oh come on." Elizabeth teased him, pushing her shirt down. "Wait until I'm actually showing before you start this up again."
"I'm just so excited." Mark pouted.
"I'm just so tired." Elizabeth replied with a smirk. "Can we just go pack?"
Mark shook his head. "We have to clean out this fridge before we leave or we'll regret it."
"Let me regret it. That's almost two months away." Elizabeth said, watching as Mark crossed back to the fridge.
"Yes but two months is a very long time for this to get even moldier." Mark said, tossing a bag of shredded cheese in Elizabeth's general direction.
"Don't you dare!" Elizabeth challenged as she watched him pull a loaf of bread from the fridge.
"Maybe you should go pack, while I take care of this." Mark suggested.
Elizabeth nodded. "Fine!" She surrendered, her hands in the air. "I'll check on the girls and then get Ella's things packed."
"Sounds like a plan."
Mark finally made his way into the bedroom, having stopped on his way from the kitchen to check on Ella and Rachel, both of whom were sound asleep in their respective bedrooms.
"Hey." Elizabeth greeted him from the bed where she sat folding Ella's clothes.
"Wow you're up here having all the fun." He smirked, looking at the two open suitcases on the bed.
"Mark you need to pack your pain and nausea management medications somewhere we can get to them." She said, not paying much attention to anything but the task in front of her.
"I know."
"And we need to alert the airline that there is a possibility of you having oxygen deprivation." She continued.
"I know."
"Do you want me to pack you scrubs for during treatment? I know you're used to them…"
"Elizabeth." Mark finally cut her off. "I can pack my own things." He assured her. "I already separated out enough medications to keep in my backpack. I called the airline this afternoon, and I'm packing scrubs myself."
Elizabeth nodded, letting out a sigh. "Sorry. I don't mean to micromanage you."
"It's fine." Mark assured her, pressing his lips gently to hers. He looked down at the large pile of Ella's clothes Elizabeth was folding. "Does she really need this much?"
Elizabeth nodded. "That daughter of ours is growing like a plant. She'll outgrow almost all of this before we get back."
"Oh goody!" Mark feigned excitement. "We can go shopping!"
Elizabeth laughed. "I knew you would be extremely thrilled." She teased.
"I just love a good trip to the mall." He wiggled his eyebrows at her.
"Mark!" She smacked his arm lightly. "If you are so excited about it, you and Doug can do the shopping."
"Oh we'll have a grand time!" Mark continued his charade as he began to grab clothes from the dresser.
Finally after another hour of organizing both of their bags sat in the corner of the room packed.
"I'm going to take a shower." Elizabeth said quietly as she looked down at Mark who was practically asleep on the floor.
"I'm not." He said, earning a light kick in the shin from Elizabeth.
"You are going to hate yourself in the morning if you sleep there." She pointed out.
Mark groaned. "Help me." He said with a laugh.
Elizabeth rolled her eyes before holding out her arm to him. "Come on." She said, helping him flop onto the bed. "Goodnight Mark."
"Night 'Lizabeth." Mark said as he tiredly placed his glasses on the nightstand.
The next morning Mark and Elizabeth were standing at the check-in counter by their gate at the airport while Rachel sat playing with Ella.
"It's not likely there will be any need for the oxygen, and if there is it will be minimal." Mark was explaining calmly.
"It's policy that if a patron asks for oxygen supplementation due to medical circumstances that the patron use the oxygen the entire flight." The desk clerk explained.
Mark nodded. "I understand that but I don't need the oxygen unless I have problems."
"I'm sorry." She interrupted him again. "It's either the whole way or you go without."
Mark rolled his eyes. "Fine. When do they hook me up?" He asked angrily. Elizabeth gave him a sympathetic glance while the desk clerk spoke.
"They'll ask you to board the plane twenty minutes prior to standard boarding." The desk clerk said, sounding incredibly bored.
"Alright so we just wait until then?" Mark said tiredly. When he received a nod he sighed and took Elizabeth's hand, leading her back to the chairs they had been seated in.
"This is such a ridiculous policy Mark." Elizabeth tried to sympathize.
Mark shook his head. "They're just covering their asses. We would do the same if we ran an airline. It's dangerous to have flight attendants in charge of medical treatment."
"I guess you're right." Elizabeth conceded. "But we are both doctors." She pointed out.
"We've got to pick our battles." Mark replied shaking his head. "This is not worth our time."
"Mama!" Ella exclaimed excitedly from the floor.
Elizabeth smiled as she looked down to see her daughter smiling and pointing at her. "Hello Ella." She waved gently, stopping down to pick up her daughter. "How are you?" She asked her seriously.
Ella thought for a moment. "Hungry." She finally replied.
Mark pulled his wallet from his pocket. "Rach can you go pick up a banana for Ella?"
"Sure." Rachel replied, taking the bills from Mark's hands.
"Feel free to grab yourself something." He called after her.
"Daddy!" Ella exclaimed excitedly as she reached out to him from Elizabeth's lap.
"Oh playing favorites are we?" Mark asked teasingly as he took her from Elizabeth.
"Just as well. I have to go to the bathroom." Elizabeth excused herself quickly, leaving Mark with Ella.
"What should we do Elle?" He asked her with a kiss to her cheek.
"Puzzle!" She replied excitedly.
Mark laughed. "We don't have any puzzles here sweetie." He reminded her, grabbing the diaper bag from several feet in front of him and pulling out a stack of books. "Should we read one of these?" He asked. Ella nodded excitedly, pointing to the book in the back. "Good choice." He said with a smile before beginning to read.
Nearly an hour later Mark was reading the last book in the stack while Elizabeth fed Ella the last piece of the banana. Rachel sat across from them, headphones in her ears.
"…The End." Mark finished, slightly out of breath. Ella clapped happily while Elizabeth quickly wiped the banana remnants from her face.
The airport had become significantly more crowded and it was clearly almost time for them to be boarding.
"We should put all of this back." Mark remarked to the various toys and books on the floor around them.
"I've got it." Elizabeth said tiredly, handing Ella over to Mark. Elizabeth had just zipped the bag closed when an airline attendant approached them with a wheelchair.
"Mark Greene?" They asked expectantly.
Mark sighed. "Guilty as charged." He replied.
"We need to take you onto the plane now to hook you up to the oxygen. Your wife and kids are welcome to come with you but we need you to board in the chair." She said sympathetically.
"Is this really necessary?" Elizabeth asked, taking Ella from Mark.
Mark shook his head. "Not worth it Elizabeth." He reminded her before looking over to Rachel. "Rach, we're boarding." Rachel grabbed her duffel bag from the floor in front of her and quickly moved to grab Mark's suitcase.
"Thank you." Elizabeth said quietly as they got on the plane, trying to ignore the whispers of everyone else about what was wrong with Mark.
Their bags were stowed and Mark was hooked up to the oxygen.
"It's important not to mess too much with the cannula." The flight attendant began to explain.
"I'm a doctor." Mark cut him off impatiently.
"Sorry." He said, before heading to the back of the plane.
Elizabeth smirked as she watched Mark wiggle his nose against the cannula. "Having fun yet?" She asked him teasingly.
"Oh yeah." He replied, reaching over to tickle Ella who had begun to giggle uncontrollably. "What is so funny?" He asked his daughter, wiggling his eyebrows.
"Daddy!" Ella replied, climbing over so she sat in his lap. She sat for a few minutes just staring at his face before she finally reached up and grabbed onto the tube.
"No Ella." Elizabeth said gently while Mark laughed, watching as his wife untangled his daughter from the tubes. "This is going to be a long flight isn't it?" Elizabeth asked, already sounding exhausted.
"It's going to be fine." Mark replied, gently kissing her cheek. "In five hours we'll be in Seattle and we can move on from all of this ridiculous bureaucracy."
Elizabeth laughed. "Oh you wish. We still have to fly back."
"Don't remind me."