"Mark have you seen my maternity scrubs?" Elizabeth called into the bathroom where her husband was showering.
They had flown back to Chicago the night before and Robert had decided to give Elizabeth the earliest shift he could, meaning everything was a bit rushed.
"I don't think we've pulled them from storage." Mark called back. "Do your normal scrubs not fit?" He asked sounding surprised.
Elizabeth sighed. "They're tight." She admitted as she pulled one of Mark's drawers open. "I'm borrowing some of yours."
"Oh Romano will love that." Mark replied with a laugh as he turned the water off. "You could pick up scrubs when you get there." He suggested.
"If I had the time." Elizabeth replied, pulling on his light green scrub pants. "Are you sure you don't want me to call in sick?"
Mark suck his head out of the bathroom. "Absolutely not." He assured her. "I feel much better than yesterday."
Elizabeth smirked before moving to kiss him gently. "I'll see you this afternoon for your admit meeting."
"You're really wearing my scrubs?" Mark asked, his eyebrow cocked in disbelief.
"I'll see you this afternoon."
"Good morning Lizzie." Romano greeted her as she stepped off the elevator. Elizabeth ignored him and headed into her office, hoping he wouldn't follow. Unfortunately he did, following her in and closing the door behind him. "You're on trauma call." He informed her, clearly trying to hit a nerve.
"Fine." She replied, unpacking things from her bag into her desk.
"You should fit in down there with those scrubs." He pointed out.
Elizabeth shrugged. "If you feel so passionate about it you can order me some maternity scrubs from distribution."
"I thought that's why we have secretaries." Robert quipped. "Do I need to fire them?"
Elizabeth ignored him and she put new batteries into her pager. "Is there something you need Robert?"
Robert sighed. "I'm just wondering when your husband is planning on being here for his admit meeting."
"Oncology could tell you that." She replied angrily. "What do you want?"
"I thought you should know the board is considering reassigning all chief positions." Robert finally replied. "They'll be doing interviews with everyone this week. If you want to keep your job get prepared."
Elizabeth's eyebrow furrowed, but she kept her temper. "Alright I'll be prepared then." She said evenly.
"Good." Robert replied skeptically before folding his arm. "Make sure to go down there when they page you. I don't want to get complaints."
"I always do." She replied curtly as he left the room. She sighed deeply before sitting down behind her desk. She looked down at her small bump before gently resting her hand on top of it as she began to go through the charts that were neatly piled on her desk by her substitute.
Nearly an hour and a half later her pager began to beep. She sighed before standing up to head down to the ER but was surprised when she saw that the page was from Mark. Call me. She sat back down, and quickly dialed her home number. After a couple of rings she began to tap her foot impatiently. Finally Mark's voice filled her ear. "Elizabeth?" He asked, clearly out of breath.
"Mark? What's wrong?" She replied anxiously.
"I… I need your help." He admitted quietly.
"What happened?" She asked again.
Mark clearly sounded like he was about to cry. "I… I think my port's infected."
Elizabeth's eyes widened but she bit her lip to keep him from hearing anything. "Okay. I'll send an ambulance to…"
"No Elizabeth. I can't come into County like this." He begged quietly. "Please."
"What do you want me to do Mark?" She asked anxiously.
"Get me to Mercy, or just come fix it…" He said quietly.
Elizabeth bit her lip angrily. "Is Ella okay?" She asked suddenly.
"She's fine." Mark replied quickly. "I don't know what happened Elizabeth."
"Don't worry. I'll figure something out." She finally assured him. "Don't do anything stupid." She said, waiting for a confirmation from her husband before quickly hanging up the phone. She was grabbing her keys from her desk when her pager went off once again. She swore quietly when she saw it was the ER before she shoved her keys into her pocket and ran down to the emergency department.
"What have we got?" She called out as soon as she reached the first floor.
"Multiple gunshot wounds to the abdomen of a twenty year old female." Abby briefed her quickly as she handed her a pair of gloves.
The two of them walked swiftly into the trauma room, finding Kerry Weaver and John Carter working on the patient. "I can do the consult but you'll need a different surgeon." She informed them quickly.
"No one else is on trauma." Carter replied immediately. "Who are we supposed to call?"
"I don't care I have to go." Elizabeth replied as she gently pressed along the patient's abdomen.
"Is everything alright?" Kerry asked, her eyes showing obvious concern.
"I have a family emergency." She replied, giving Kerry more than enough information.
Kerry nodded. "Go." She said quickly. "We'll get this patient up to the OR and get Robert to do the surgery."
John raised an eyebrow but didn't question when the surgeon ripped her gloves off and ran out the door.
Elizabeth opened the door and heard her daughter crying angrily from the living room. She quickly tossed her keys on the ledge by the door before going to pick up Ella. As soon as her daughter was in her arms she began to try to console her while she called out for her husband. "Mark?" She asked before heading up the stairs. "Mark?"
"I'm in here." She heard him reply quietly from his study.
She took a deep breath before pushing the door open to find Mark on the floor leaning against his desk, wincing in pain. "Mark…" She said quietly, kneeling down next to him. She gently placed Ella in his lap so she could check his port.
The normally small circle near his collarbone was bright red and swollen. Elizabeth gently pressed against the angry welt only to receive a yelp from Mark in response. "Sorry." She apologized quickly before standing up. "Come on." She said as she took Ella from him and helped him to his feet. "You have to come to County." She said quietly.
Mark shook his head. "I don't want everyone to find out like this."
"We'll go in the front and go straight to Oncology." Elizabeth said sympathetically. "This could be from the Amyunx and County has your chart."
Mark gritted his teeth angrily before nodding in agreement. "Okay."
Mark was lying on an exam table in oncology, biting his lips to keep from screaming as a nurse pressed against his inflamed port.
"There's a buildup of bacteria." Elizabeth informed the nurse tiredly. "I don't know what's causing it but Robert Romano has a file about the trial medication he is currently taking."
"Our port specialist isn't here." She replied timidly. "I have to admit you to emergency not oncology."
Mark shook his head. "I'm not going downstairs."
Elizabeth sighed as she put Ella down in Mark's lap once again. "I'll go get Kerry."
"We can't have an emergency doctor treating a patient up here." The nurse tried to protest.
Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "How long have you been working here?"
"A year." She replied timidly.
"Your patient has been working here for twelve. I've been here for five. We know almost everyone in this hospital, I promise you there won't be any issues." Elizabeth replied. "I will be right back with Doctor Weaver." She informed the dumbfounded nurse before quickly heading to the elevators.
As soon as the doors opened on the first floor she was confronted with an angry looking Robert Romano. "Where the hell did you go?" He asked her angrily before beginning to follow her toward the admit desk.
"I'm dealing with a family situation Robert." She replied evenly.
"I thought that's what sabbaticals are for." Robert replied. "And if I remember correctly you just took one for two months."
"It's emergent." She said quickly. "I'm sorry but I'll need today off."
"You can't have it." Robert replied.
"Then switch my shift. I'll work tonight." She said turning to him, obviously angry. "I'm sorry that my ability to commit my life fully to you right now isn't where you'd like it to be, but I have to find Doctor Weaver."
"She's over there." He practically spat, pointing toward the doctor. "You're on the overnight." He said before heading back to the elevators.
Elizabeth shook her head quickly before calling out to Doctor Weaver. "Kerry!" She called, causing the shorter doctor to quickly move over to her.
"Is everything alright?" She asked her seriously. She had suspected that Elizabeth's departure earlier had to do with Mark's health.
"Can you come with me?" She asked, trying to keep things discreet. "There's an issue I'd like your assistance with."
Kerry nodded before following her to the elevator. Once the doors slid closed behind them she turned to Elizabeth in concern. "It's Mark?"
Elizabeth nodded. "His port is infected, fairly badly."
"Is Doctor Edmonds here?" She asked immediately.
Elizabeth shook her head. "They want him to transfer to emergency, but Mark's insistent he's not going down."
Kerry nodded. "I'll see what I can do." She affirmed as they arrived on the floor of the oncology department. She followed Elizabeth to his exam room and winced when she saw the angry red port on her friend's collarbone. He was clearly trying to ignore the pain as he and Ella played with an inflated plastic glove. "Welcome back Mark." She said softly, gaining the attention of everyone in the room.
"I wish it weren't like this." Mark said honestly as Elizabeth took Ella back from her husband.
"Me too." Kerry replied as she put on a pair of gloves. "When did you first notice the infection?" She asked as she gently examined the port.
Mark shrugged. "My last round of chemo was about a week ago and a few days ago it started to burn a bit, but I didn't think it was anything." He admitted, cringing away from his friend's touch.
"You should have gone to the ER then Mark." Kerry admonished him before shaking her head. "We have to extract the bacterial buildup." She said apologetically. "Then we should have an antibacterial saline rinse go through it."
Mark sighed. "Alright."
"I'm gonna need help with this Mark." Kerry finally admitted. "Can I ask Abby?"
Mark shook his head. "The only other person who knows is Susan."
"Mark we can't have two residents up here personally working on another one. They're already short-handed without me down there." Kerry pointed out. "Abby will be the most discreet and I'm sure that she won't tell anybody."
Mark sighed. "I know." He admitted. "Go ahead." He gave his permission before Kerry went back into the hallway to call down to the ER.
Elizabeth looked at her husband sympathetically. "I'm going to go take Ella to daycare." She said softly. "And go get your chart from Romano's office so Kerry can reference it."
Mark nodded before she gently pressed her lips against his. "Go ahead."
Elizabeth stood outside Robert's office, trying to decide if she was actually going to knock. She ended up not having to decide when the door swung open in front of her.
"Oh are you here to change your shift again?" Robert asked her crossly.
"Can I speak to you… privately?" She asked him, rolling her eyes.
"You have three minutes." Robert said before turning back into his office.
Elizabeth followed him and closed the door behind him. "I'm sorry for leaving abruptly earlier." She said immediately. "Mark's experiencing some potentially severe side effects. I need to take his chart over to oncology."
Robert's eyes softened but he remained stoic as he grabbed the chart from his desk. "Side effects?"
"His port seems to have a severe infection." Elizabeth allowed as she reached her hand out for the chart.
"Doctor Edmonds isn't here today, why is he in oncology?" Robert asked as he handed her the chart.
"Mark wants privacy." She replied simply. "Thank you for this." She said before heading to the door.
"Elizabeth!" Robert stopped her. "Don't worry about the shift tonight."
Elizabeth sighed deeply. "Thank you."
Abby came into Mark's room with several bags of supplies from the ER. "I thought you'd like to know I stole all of this for you." Abby said with a smirk as she set them down on the counter.
"Hey Abby." Mark greeted her.
"You know you can tell us things without running away for two months." Abby said as she began to set up a scalpel for Kerry. "And you don't have to sneak into the hospital when you're sick to avoid us."
Mark shrugged with one shoulder. "I guess I just wanted to make a grand entrance."
"Alright Mark I'm going to start with the extraction." Kerry said gently before beginning to work on his port.
Elizabeth came back with his chart mid-extraction and quickly moved to his side, letting him cling onto her hand. "It's alright." She comforted him softly. His sharp intake of breath in response clearly indicated he felt otherwise.
Nearly half an hour later Abby was mixing a bag of antibiotic saline to run through Mark's port. "We've got the bacteria extracted for the most part, but Mark you have to pay attention to this." Kerry was admonishing him. "You knew days ago this was happening and this could have been deadly."
Mark sighed. "I know I'm sorry." He said, apologizing to his wife more than anyone else. "It won't happen again."
"Good." Kerry affirmed. "I'm going to head back down to the ER, but Abby's going to stay up here with you for your admit meeting."
Mark nodded before Kerry left and then shot a grin at Abby. "Guess you're stuck up here."
"Oh darn." She replied with a smirk. "I don't know how I'll survive."
"Fortunately you're not the one who's risking their life over a bit of pride." Mark said with a wince as Abby began the saline drip.
"What were you thinking?" Abby asked him seriously as she sat down next to Elizabeth. "You've seen this before, it's not like you didn't know what was happening."
Mark sighed. "Ever since I started the trial I wanted to prove it would work, so every side effect has taken the backseat." He admitted quietly. "I didn't want you to think I couldn't handle this."
Elizabeth's eyes softened as she looked at her clearly uncomfortable husband. "Don't let it happen again." She said with a small smile, indicating that she did forgive him.
Mark nodded. "I won't."
Mark had been transferred to an inpatient room in Oncology and he was currently surrounded by members of the board, Doctor Romano, and Doctor Leighson the oncology chief. Elizabeth sat across the room from him as his once colleagues discussed his condition.
"He should be an inpatient for at least a week after a complication this serious." Leighson was arguing.
Abby shook her head. "He wants to go home." She reminded them. "He's a doctor, he knows what the risks are of both options and he knows what he wants."
"If he knows the risks why didn't he come in when the complication first presented itself?" One of the board members questioned.
"Because he knows the risks." Abby argued pointedly. "He knew what was wrong and didn't believe it was emergent."
"It was."
"He didn't know that."
"So why should we trust his judgement now?"
"Because he's the best damn emergency doctor in this hospital." Abby finally ended exasperatedly. "He deserves our respect, and the best treatment we can give him."
Elizabeth sighed in relief as everyone seemed to nod in agreement. She was considering heading down to the cafeteria to get Mark something to eat when Robert approached her. "Lizzie can I talk to you?" He asked her carefully.
She nodded before following him into the hall. "What's wrong?"
"What do you think?" Robert asked her flatly.
She raised an eyebrow. "I don't know." She admitted softly. "If he wants to come home I don't see any reason to…"
"Is Rachel staying at home with him?" Robert cut her off.
Elizabeth shook her head. "She's in St. Louis."
"Then he needs to stay here for observation. At least for a couple of days." Robert replied. "I know it's not what he wants, but it will be much safer if he does."
Elizabeth nodded. "I just don't know how to tell him…"
"We'll take care of that." Robert stopped her. "I just wanted to be sure you felt the same way." She nodded once again, indicating her gratitude before heading back into the room behind Robert.
"Alright can we all agree that Doctor Greene needs to stay for observation correct?" Robert said abruptly, interrupting the argument that was still happening. When he heard murmurs of agreement he continued. "But as previously mentioned on several occasions throughout this discussion Doctor Greene does not wish to be inpatient long-term. So we keep him for observation until he's stabilized and then we send him home." When everyone in the room murmured in agreement, Robert made a few notes in Mark's chart before handing it to the oncology chief. "It looks like my work is done here." He excused himself.
Elizabeth sat down next to her husband as everyone else filed from the room. "How are you feeling?" She asked him quietly as Abby closed the door behind everyone.
"It's stinging a bit but that's to be expected." Mark admitted quietly.
Elizabeth nodded, gently pressing her lips against the side of his head. "Don't ever to this to me again." She whispered quietly.
"I won't." He replied just as softly.
"I'll come back up to check on you in an hour or so." Abby said as she adjusted Mark's IV. "Call the ER if you need anything." She insisted before heading out the door.
Mark and Elizabeth sat quietly for several moments before Mark spoke up. "I'm so sorry."
Elizabeth sighed deeply before getting up. "How could you be so stupid?" She asked him, clearly frustrated. "I have to be able to work Mark. We've been without an income for months, and we have another kid on the way."
"I know Elizabeth." He stopped her, clearly sounding guilty. "I should have told you when I first figured out what was going on. I don't deserve your trust right now, so I understand if you can't give it to me."
Elizabeth shook her head. "It's not that." She sighed. "I want to trust you, and I care about you, but I don't know what to do."
"It's okay." Mark assured her softly. "We'll figure it out. I promise."