"Of course Elizabeth." Mark was saying into the phone balanced between his shoulder and his ear. "Ella's already eaten dinner and I'm getting ready to go to bed. I promise we're fine."
"I'm just nervous." Elizabeth replied softly. "I haven't done a procedure this long since everything happened. I'll be unavailable for hours are you sure you'll be fine."
"Yes." Mark assured her gently. "Ella and I will sleep through the whole thing."
Elizabeth sighed. "Okay then I'll talk to you in the morning." She affirmed before hanging up the phone in her office and heading into the operating room.
Mark was sitting on the couch when the front door opened. He looked back to see Elizabeth stare at in him disbelief.
"I thought you were going to bed?" She asked quietly as she put her purse down by the door.
Mark smiled as he motioned for her to join him. "I tried. I just couldn't fall asleep." He admitted as she settled into his side.
"Mark you need your rest." She reminded him quietly.
Mark nodded. "I'll get it as soon as I can." He replied tiredly.
"You sound exhausted." She pointed out.
"So do you." He retorted.
Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "I just performed a five hour procedure, of course I am."
"Go to bed." Mark said quietly. When she shook her head in response he looked at her in confusion. "What's wrong?"
"You will never guess who called." She said after a moment of silence.
"I am missing part of my brain, you're probably right." Mark replied with a smirk.
Elizabeth rolled her eyes before deciding it would be easier just to tell him. "My mother."
"Your mother?" Mark deadpanned. "When did she call?"
"Just before I went into surgery last night." Elizabeth replied as she began to play with his fingers as his hands joined hers. "Apparently she has an astronomy conference in New York starting Monday and she'd like to stop in to see her granddaughter."
Mark sighed. "We have to tell your parents." He told her softly.
"What if we just don't?" Elizabeth suggested. "As far as my parents are concerned right now you're fine and we have one and only one child."
Mark laughed. "I have bad news." He said trying to take her seriously. "If your mom shows up… in this house, both of those things are going to be clearly incorrect."
"Are you saying the IV pole in the bedroom is a giveaway?" Elizabeth teased him with a smirk.
"Well that and the fact that our second child is now clearly making an appearance." He said as he brought one of his hands up to rest on her bump that had seemed to grow overnight. "We should call them both before she comes."
She sighed. "I know." She admitted. "It's nearly time for Daddy to be getting up." She noted as she looked at the clock on the wall. "We could just do it."
Mark nodded, reaching behind himself to grab the phone. "There's no time like the present." He said with a sympathetic smile as he handed it to her. Elizabeth hesitated for a moment before dialing the number to her father's flat. She waited anxiously as it rang, inwardly hoping that he wouldn't answer.
"Hello?" Her father's voice sounded in her ear.
She took a deep breath before responding. "Hello Daddy." She said so quietly she wasn't sure it hadn't been in her head.
"Elizabeth! What a pleasant surprise! You never call this early, what's going on?" He asked suddenly.
"Uh…" Elizabeth replied before finding herself unable to speak. Mark could feel her clenching against him as he reached down to put the phone on speaker.
"Hello Charles!" Mark greeted his father-in-law.
"What's wrong?" He replied immediately.
Mark sighed. "There's a bit going on over here that we thought you should know about." He said when he was sure Elizabeth wasn't going to tell him herself. "Do you want the good or the not as good first?"
"As I just asked, what's wrong?" Charles replied insistently.
"I'm no longer in remission." Mark said flatly. "My tumor came back about three months ago. It's currently inoperable but I'm on a trial that we're incredibly hopeful may indefinitely extend my life."
Silence replied to them for several moments before Charles finally spoke. "What can I do to help?" He asked immediately.
Elizabeth immediately sighed in relief. Mark gently rubbed her arms as he replied. "Right now I think we're fine." He assured him. "A bit stressed, but there's nothing anyone can do to help that."
"Let me know if there is anything I can do." He requested genuinely before finally readdressing his daughter. "Elizabeth?" He asked softly.
"Yes?" She replied quietly.
"I'm here for you. No matter what you or Mark, or Ella may need, one phone call and you'll have it." He told her gently. "You understand that?"
Elizabeth looked up at the ceiling willing herself to gain the courage to tell her father about the baby. "I… I… I'm pregnant." She finally blurted out. She clasped her hand over her eyes as she realized how ridiculous she must have sounded, like she was an unmarried teenager, not a married, veteran mother.
"This is the good news I take it?" Her father responded, his voice giving away his grin.
"Yes." Mark confirmed as he took Elizabeth's hand in his to give it a reassuring squeeze.
"How far along are you?" He asked curiously.
When Elizabeth stayed silent Mark spoke up. "Just hit twenty weeks."
"Have you done the ultrasound?" He asked hopefully.
"Not yet." Mark replied. "We will soon, and as soon as we know we'll call with the news."
"I'd appreciate that." Charles assured him. "Take care of my little girl Mark." He said after a moment. "She won't ask for help but I can tell you she needs it."
"Of course." Mark assured. "We'll talk to you soon." He said before waiting for a response and hanging up the phone. He looked down at his wife curiously. "You alright?" He asked quietly.
Elizabeth shook her head. "I don't know… I don't know what happened." She admitted quietly. "I just… I can't seem to form a complete thought right now…"
Mark gently kissed the top of her head. "Don't panic." He tried to calm her, feeling the anxiety radiating off her skin. "You're fine, I'm fine, Ella's fine, this baby's fine."
Elizabeth snapped her eyes shut as she tried to absorb the soft words in her ear but nothing seemed to be helping. "I can't do this." She whimpered quietly. "I can't…"
"What?" Mark asked her softly. "What can't you do?"
"I don't know." She admitted before crumbling into Mark.
He rubbed his hand across her back, trying to calm her, with little to no success. "Elizabeth… Elizabeth please…" He tried over an over for nearly forty minutes before Elizabeth laid in his arms, clearly exhausted, but much calmer.
"I'm sorry." She apologized quietly.
Mark shook his head. "You don't have to apologize for that." He tried to assure her.
"No." She cut him off. "I can't be putting my stress on top of your own stress. You're not going to get better if…"
"Elizabeth, you can't go on like this." Mark stopped her. "When we got married I vowed to support you just as much as you vowed to support me. I know you think I have it so much worse than you right now so you don't want to ask me for anything, but honestly I feel the other way around."
"What?" Elizabeth replied, clearly confused.
"I may be the one with cancer, but you're the one who has to deal with what that could mean in the long run for not only our amazing daughter, but this baby as well." Mark continued. "You have to be at least five times stronger than I am every single day and then you try to hold all of that by yourself. I can't do that to you anymore."
"Then what am I supposed to do?" Elizabeth responded, clearly exasperated.
"Talk to me."
Elizabeth woke up to the sound of her daughter crying angrily. She quickly shot out of bed before running down the hall to find Ella in Mark's arms, fighting against him as he tried to give her a bottle.
"Give her to me." Elizabeth said gently, reaching her arms out for her daughter.
Mark sighed as he handed Ella to her. "I'm sorry I was trying to take care of her before you woke up." He explained. "She's just not taking the formula."
Elizabeth nodded as she sat down in the rocking chair in the corner of the room. "It's alright." She assured him.
"You look exhausted." Mark noted as his wife began to nurse their daughter.
"I am exhausted." Elizabeth affirmed.
Mark sighed before sitting down on the floor next to her. He sat quietly for several moments, resting his head against her still knees. "I'm sorry." He finally said softly.
"For what?"
"Everything." Mark replied, obviously upset. "Me being sick, you having to be a mother for both Ella and this baby without the support you deserve, you having to work full time." He listed off. "None of this should be happening. You don't deserve what you've been given."
"Hey." Elizabeth stopped him quietly. "I deserved you didn't I?" She asked with a smile.
"But at what cost?"
Elizabeth shrugged. "It doesn't matter." She assured him. "I would pay anything to have you and Ella with me forever."
Mark smirked before nodding. "Alright." He conceded. "But you're going back to bed after Ella's eaten and is asleep."
Elizabeth nodded, smiling when Mark stood up and pressed his lips against hers. "Thank you." She whispered before watching Mark head out of the room.
An hour later Elizabeth went back into her bedroom, Ella balanced on her hip.
Mark looked up from the book in his hands. "I thought you were…"
"Did you give her coffee or something?" Elizabeth asked him exasperatedly as Ella gummed on her chin. "She's not going to fall asleep anytime soon."
Mark smirked as his wife practically tossed his daughter to him. "Are you giving momma a hard time?" Mark asked her as she sat in his lap, happily playing with his shirt. "I'll take care of her while you get some sleep." He assured Elizabeth.
She shook her head. "My pager went off, I have to go."
Mark looked at her sympathetically. "You can't."
Elizabeth shrugged as she began to change for work. "We've got bills Mark, one of us has to."
"I'll start working part-time somewhere." Mark offered eagerly.
Elizabeth shook her head. "You are working on getting better and taking care of our daughter." She reminded him. "Speaking of which you have chemotherapy this afternoon."
"I know, Abby's watching Ella." Mark replied with a smile. "I'll find you while I'm there." He assured her.
"Good." Elizabeth said before gently kissing him. "I'll see you this afternoon." She said before leaning down to kiss her daughter's forehead. "I'll see you tonight sweetheart." She assured her daughter before heading out the door.
Mark headed through the ambulance bay doors with Ella on his left hip and a large diaper bag on his right shoulder. "Hey Abby!" He called across the ER as he saw the nurse head for exam three.
"Five minutes Mark!" Abby replied before slipping into the room.
Mark nodded before heading to the lounge where he put the diaper bag on the couch before taking the milk out of it to put in the fridge. He was closing the door to the fridge when the door to the lounge opened.
"Doctor Greene!" John Carter exclaimed in surprise. "I thought you weren't coming back to work?"
Mark looked at him, giving him a look reminiscent of a deer in headlights. "Hey John." He greeted him awkwardly.
"What have you been up to?" Carter asked curiously as he poured himself a cup of coffee. "I never thought I'd see the day where you got too much of the ER."
Mark bit his lip awkwardly. "I just had to take some time off to…" He was trying to come up with something when the door opened again, this time Susan Lewis came in.
"Mark!" She greeted him, obviously surprised. "How are you doing?" She asked him earnestly as she took Ella from him.
"Uh…" Mark replied awkwardly as he glanced toward Carter.
Susan nodded in realization. "Are you here to see Elizabeth?" She asked quickly, trying to cover her slip.
"Actually Abby's going to watch Ella for me this afternoon." Mark replied.
"I feel like I'm missing something…" Carter began clearly confused as the door swung open once again.
"Mark oncology called to see if you're down here, they want you up ASAP." Abby said before she looked around the room. As soon as she saw John she clamped her fist against her mouth.
Mark sighed. "Thanks for watching her." He said quickly before making for the door.
Carter looked at Susan and Abby, clearly dumbfounded. "He's… what?" He asked finally.
Susan sighed. "His tumor's back." She admitted.
"Since when?" Carter asked angrily.
"April." Abby replied.
"How long have you known?" John asked, with increased force.
"April." Susan admitted while Abby replied with "August."
"Does everyone know?" He asked, clearly upset.
"No." Susan said immediately. "So don't go spreading this around." She said sternly. "Mark will tell everyone when he's ready."
Carter threw his hands into the air. "It's been five months, how much more time does he have!?"
"He's on a trial drug and it seems to be helping." Abby said gently. "We just have to wait and see what happens."
Carter rolled his eyes. "I can't just wait and see what happens. What can we do now?"
"Respect Mark and Elizabeth's privacy." Susan said harshly. "You will not go spreading this around the hospital unless you want to be looking for a job."
"You aren't in charge of me." Carter replied, still looking angry.
"You're right but your boss and the Chief of Staff will have your ass kicked out of here faster than you can imagine if you start spreading this around." Susan replied evenly before handing Ella to Abby. "Don't be stupid." She concluded before heading back into the ER.
"What?" Carter finally asked Abby in confusion.
Abby shook her head. "Don't do anything you'll regret over this John." She warned him as she sat down on the couch with Ella.
"I already had to deal with the idea that Mark was quitting to take care of his kids, and now you tell me in addition to that he's dying?" Carter replied angrily. "And I'm not supposed to do anything about that?"
"That would be correct." Abby replied tiredly.
John was about to protest once again when his pager went off. "Damn." He swore before reading the page and heading for the door. "I'm not done talking to you about this!" He yelled as the door swung shut behind him.
"Hey stranger." Elizabeth's voice filled Mark's ears causing him to smile as he opened his eyes.
"Hey." He replied tiredly as he took the hand that was outstretched toward him.
Elizabeth smiled weakly. "How are you feeling?"
Mark shrugged on the side opposite his port. "I ran into Carter downstairs when I dropped Ella off. I…"
"He knows." Elizabeth affirmed. "It's okay Mark." She tried to comfort him.
Mark shook his head. "I can't keep telling everyone one at a time on accident." He said tiredly. "I should just…"
"You don't have to." Elizabeth tried to stop him.
"I just need to tell everyone else at once. On purpose." Mark said, sounding sure of himself.
Elizabeth nodded. "If that's what you want."
"It is." Mark assured, squeezing her hand gently. After several moments of silence Mark spoke again. "Can you stay?" He asked quietly.
Elizabeth looked at him sympathetically. "I have a colonoscopy in twenty."
Mark nodded. "It's alright." He confirmed. "I shouldn't have asked."
"I'm clocking out an hour in at the latest." Elizabeth assured him. "I can come meet you and go home with you and Ella."
Mark nodded. "Okay." He said, clearly wanting to say something else, but he paled significantly. "I'm sorry." He apologized before reaching for the emesis basin to the side of his chair.
"Don't apologize." Elizabeth said gently as she helped him clean up after he finished emptying the contents of his stomach. "I love you and I'll see you in two hours." She promised him quietly before heading back to the surgical department.
"Mark how are you feeling?" Kerry Weaver asked him as he came into the lounge in the ER.
Mark smiled when he saw his daughter asleep on Abby's lap in the corner. "I'm… alright…" He allowed before sitting down on the couch.
"I've heard what happened with John and I've made it clear to him that…" Kerry began before Mark shook his head.
"Can you call whoever's available in here?" He asked tiredly. "I want to tell everyone at once. Not accidentally."
Kerry nodded. "I can call a staff meeting for fifteen minutes from now." She said softly.
"Thank you." Mark allowed before lying down and closing his eyes.
Before he knew it people were piling into the room. He sat up slowly, forcing himself to smile and greet everyone as they began to talk to him. Somehow none of it felt real though until Kerry whistled to get everyone's attention.
"I'm sorry to take all of you away from your work for an extra break today." Kerry began quickly. "As I'm sure you've all noticed our presence is graced by Mark Greene."
The room broke out into cheers and whistles.
"Alright, alright." Kerry calmed everyone down. "Mark you had something you wanted to share."
Mark nodded but didn't stand. "Hey everyone." Mark said tiredly, as he began to question his decision. "I would stand, but… I just don't have the energy since I just had a chemo treatment." He laid it out quickly. He ignored the various voices around the room and looked across the room at Abby, Ella, Susan, and Carter all huddled in the corner. "Some of you know this already, but for those of you who don't. I discovered the GBM recurrence in April. Unfortunately the tumor is inoperable. I began with gamma knife in April which wasn't successful. I've been doing chemotherapy since a few days after the gamma procedure, the initial predicted lifespan on the chemo was five months. Elizabeth and I went to Seattle to visit Doug and Carol where I discovered a trial drug that is working incredibly well on patients with similar GBMs. I've been on the drug for a month and a half and it seems to be helping with both tumor reduction and life longevity. If you have any questions I'd be willing to answer them if I weren't about to fall asleep. I'm sorry I didn't tell you all earlier I just didn't know how. Please know that I'm working hard to be able to come back to work, but my health and my family have to come first right now." He finished, clearly out of breath.
Kerry waited a few moments before regaining everyone's attention. "I know you all want to talk to Mark, but now is not the time, I'm sorry." She said quickly, causing the majority of the individuals in the room to go back into the ER.
Mark felt a soft hand against his forehead and smirked. "How long have you been here?" He asked quietly as he opened his eyes to see his wife.
"Long enough to hear you throw yourself a pity party." She joked quietly as she took Ella from Abby. "Do you want to go home?"
Mark groaned as he curled into the couch. "I can't move." He moaned quietly.
"Are you nauseated?" Elizabeth asked him gently. When he nodded in response she looked up to find Susan watching expectantly. "Can you please get him some Zofran?" She asked her quietly.
Susan nodded before leaving quickly.
"It's alright Mark. I'm right here." She assured him gently, watching as he tried to curl further into the couch. "What can I do?" She asked him quietly.
"Stay with me?" He asked so quietly she wasn't sure he had actually said it.
"Of course Mark." She assured him. "I'll be right here as long as you need me."