"Lizzie." Robert's voice sounded in her ears. "Lizzie wake up."
Elizabeth's eyes shot open. "What's wrong?" She asked forcefully.
"Come with me." Robert said softly, gesturing to Rachel and Ella who were still asleep.
Elizabeth nodded as she hoisted herself off from the bed with help from Robert before following him into the hallway. As soon as the door had closed behind them she questioned him again. "Robert what's wrong?"
"I cleared the bleeding." Robert said quickly. "The hemorrhage seems to have been caused by a blockage between Broca's and the brainstem. Mark's seizure this morning seemed to have broken the clot causing the bleeding."
"Is he okay?" Elizabeth asked him anxiously.
"He's in post-op." Robert replied as he nodded. "His vital signs were stable throughout the procedure, and there was no unusual brain activity. We'll have to keep monitoring him, but it looks very good."
Elizabeth sighed as she felt relief flood over her. "Thank God." She said softly as she sat down on the nearest bench.
"How are you feeling?" Robert asked, clearly concerned as he sat down next to her.
Elizabeth closed her eyes as she took in a deep breath. "I was so scared. Not that he wouldn't be okay, but that I wouldn't be okay without him."
Robert looked at his colleague sympathetically. "It's okay to be worried about yourself, and your kids Elizabeth." He assured her. "You might feel like you weren't scared that Mark wouldn't be okay, but every action you've taken since you brought him in this morning says something else entirely."
Elizabeth nodded slightly.
"What do you need?" Robert asked her softly.
Elizabeth sighed. "I need to go to the house, pick up some things for the girls, as well as Mark. I also have an appointment with Doctor McLucas this afternoon to check up on the baby."
"Write down a list of what you need. I'll send Doctor Lewis by your house to pick things up, you should go be with Mark in post-op." Robert said firmly.
Elizabeth nodded gratefully. "Thank you Robert."
Robert shook his head. "You tell anyone and I'll whale you."
Elizabeth sat in a chair next to Mark, one of her hands holding onto one of Mark's, the other resting gently on her stomach. She was nearly asleep when she felt him grip her hand tightly. "Mark?" She asked softly as she sat up in the chair. "Mark, can you hear me?"
Mark groaned as he tried to open his eyes.
Elizabeth quickly pressed the call button next to Mark's bed before moving so she was sitting on the bed next to him. "Mark if you can hear me squeeze my hand." She said firmly as she watched him move slightly. She sighed in relief when his hand gripped onto hers tightly.
Moments later Robert came into the room, Mark's chart in hand. "Is he awake?" He asked as he pulled his stethoscope from his neck.
Elizabeth nodded. "He hasn't said anything but he can hear us." She informed him quickly.
"Alright Mark I need you to open your eyes." Robert said as he pulled a safety pin from his pocket.
Mark moaned but opened them anyway. He winced as the light flooded into his eyes.
"It's too bright." Elizabeth said quickly as she watched his pupils contract quickly. "The tumor's made him much more sensitive to light."
Robert nodded as she flicked off the major overhead lights in the room before turning on a much dimmer lamp above Mark's bed. "Okay Mark, I'm going to test your pain response along your limbs. Just squeeze Elizabeth's hand if it's sharp."
Elizabeth kept a close watch on Robert and sighed with relief when Mark consistently squeezed her hand along with the pin-pricks. When Robert looked at her questioningly she nodded with a small smile.
Robert made a note on the chart before speaking again. "Alright Mark, I need you to try to talk to us. Can you start by counting to ten?"
Mark took several deep breaths before beginning to try to force out the words. "O-one." He said, sounding incredibly exhausted. "T-t-t-t…" He tried desperately before wincing slightly.
"Alright, let's try something easier." Robert stopped him gently. "Tell me your name." He requested as he wrote vigorously on his chart.
"Mark." He replied tiredly, closing his eyes tightly.
"Full name." Robert replied.
"Mark Greene." Mark said tiredly.
Robert nodded. "Your daughter's names are?"
"Rachel and Ella."
"Your wife's name?"
"Elizabeth."
"Where do you work?"
"County General Hospital."
"Where?"
"Chicago."
"Good." Robert affirmed. "Everything looks good." He told Elizabeth quietly. "I'll be back in about an hour to check-in. Page me if you need anything."
Elizabeth nodded before he left the room. She watched as Mark adjusted in the bed for several minutes before he opened his eyes to look at her. He smiled slightly before he spoke. "Hey." He said slowly.
"Hey yourself." Elizabeth replied with a smile.
"I…I'm sorry." Mark tried to apologize.
Elizabeth shook her head softly. "You have nothing to be sorry for."
Mark opened his mouth to try to say something before he moaned in pain and curled into a ball. Elizabeth quickly moved so she could see his face. "Mark, what hurts?" She asked insistently. "Point if you can't talk." Mark winced as he pointed to his abdomen. Elizabeth sighed. "You're probably hungry." She said softly. "I'll get Robert to set up a feeding tube."
Mark shook his head. "No." He said tersely.
Elizabeth looked at him sympathetically. "It's been days since you've gotten any nutrients in at this point. You need food."
"No." Mark repeated.
"Alright, you've got twenty-four hours." Elizabeth told him gently. "If you haven't eaten something by then, I'm hooking you up myself." Mark nodded before closing his eyes tightly.
Elizabeth sat quietly for several moments before speaking again. "I should go check on the girls…"
Mark shook his head. "Don't go." He said softly.
Elizabeth looked at him, tears forming in her eyes in response to his vulnerability. "Mark…"
"Please." Mark said, opening his eyes to meet hers. "I need you."
Elizabeth nodded, gently pressing her lips against his cheek. "I'll stay, I'll be here as long as you need me."
"Rachel, can you please silence your phone?" Elizabeth asked her quietly from across the room.
Mark had been moved from post-op to oncology for observation, where Susan had arranged for two guest beds and a pedes bed to be moved into the room, allowing Elizabeth to balance being there for Mark as well as taking care of Rachel and Ella.
"Why?" Rachel asked tiredly. "It's not like it's going to wake him up. He hasn't been awake long enough to say a full sentence all day."
Elizabeth glared at her. "Turn the sound off, or I'll take it." She said as she worked to change Ella into her pajamas.
Rachel rolled her eyes but turned the sound off anyway. "Why can't we stay at home?"
Elizabeth sighed. "I need to be here for your Father, and you and Ella can't stay at home alone until the trial is over." She said, clearly frustrated.
Rachel sighed as she pulled the blanket on her bed around her tighter. "Right." She said softly, putting her phone down next to her.
"I'm sorry." Elizabeth said tiredly. "I didn't mean…"She was trying to apologize when Ella grabbed onto her arm forcefully. She looked down to see her toddler pointing toward the door. Elizabeth turned and was shocked to see her mother on the other side of the door. "Rachel come get me if you or Mark need anything." She said as she picked up Ella before making her way to the hallway.
"Elizabeth…" Her mother began before she cut her off.
"What are you doing here?" Elizabeth asked, her eyebrow furrowed in concern.
"I was at an Astronomy conference in New York, I wasn't planning on stopping by but my flight was cancelled. They offered to provide me with a free fight as well as the next flight to Heathrow International, so I decided to come see you." Isabelle explained quickly. "I got to your house and no one was there…"
Elizabeth sighed. "It's been a bit of a rough week." She said, looking behind her to see Mark shift slightly in his bed.
"I gathered." Isabelle replied quietly. "What's going on?"
"Mark had an intracerebral hemorrhage a couple of days ago." Elizabeth said, as if she were reciting it from a book. "He's doing well all things considered, but everything is a bit strained for the time being."
Isabelle looked at her daughter, her heart full of sympathy. "What can I do?" She asked her gently.
"I honestly don't know." Elizabeth replied just as quietly.
Isabelle nodded as she took her coat off. "How long have you been here?"
"I stopped by the house earlier today, but the girls have been here for almost two days now." Elizabeth said as she moved Ella so her weight wasn't pressing against her stomach.
"Let me take them back to the house, have them sleep in their own beds." Isabelle said firmly.
"Mother." Elizabeth said tiredly. "Ella won't sleep without Mark or I there, and Rachel's not going to want to be home without us."
"We'll be fine. I can take care of your children for twelve hours." Isabelle insisted, holding her arms out for Ella. Ella looked at her skeptically as Elizabeth graciously handed her to her grandmother.
Elizabeth sighed in relief when Ella didn't immediately panic. "Thank you." She said sincerely.
"Please Elizabeth, I'm happy to help." Isabelle said as she smiled at her granddaughter.
Elizabeth nodded before going back into the room, Isabelle following her with Ella in her arms. "Rachel, my Mother is going to take you and Ella home for the night." She said softly as she began to put Ella's things into the diaper bag.
Rachel sat up in her bed, looking at her with the eyebrow furrowed. "I'm not going with her." She said quietly.
Elizabeth looked at her in concern. "Rachel." She said softly. "You'll be fine. You're just going to go with my Mother to the house, and come back in the morning."
Rachel looked at her with her eyes narrowed. "I want to stay here with you."
"Rachel, let's go into the hallway to talk. I don't want to wake your father." Elizabeth said quietly.
Rachel shook her head. "I'm not going."
Mark turned over and opened his eyes. "Hey." He said tiredly. "Where are you going?"
Elizabeth smiled as she moved so he could see her. "Hey." She greeted him back. "I need to finish talking to my Mother and then I'll be back."
"Your Mother?" Mark asked, clearly confused.
Elizabeth smirked. "Yeah. I'll be back." She said before ushering Rachel and Isabelle into the hallway. "Rachel I need you to go with my Mother. I know you're nervous about being away from your Father and I, but I promise you'll be fine."
Rachel shook her head. "I'm not going."
"What's going on?" Isabelle asked, clearly confused.
"Uh…" Elizabeth began awkwardly, not knowing how to explain the situation without violating Rachel's privacy. "Rachel was in an altercation with someone her Mother knows. The situation got very… intense, and Rachel's been with Mark or I since it happened."
Rachel looked down at her shoes, not wanting to make eye contact with either of the women in front of her.
"Rachel, I'm sorry that someone hurt you." Isabelle said gently. "I promise you that we're going to just go home so you can sleep in your own bed, and come back here in the morning."
Rachel didn't look up, but she nodded slightly. "Okay." She whispered so quietly she wasn't sure anyone heard her.
"Thank you." Elizabeth said softly. "You can call or page me if you need anything." She told both Rachel and her mother seriously. "Rachel knows Ella's bedtime routine, and can help you find anything you need. The bed in the office is currently covered in paperwork, feel free to stay in our room." She continued her instructions.
"We'll be fine." Isabelle assured her.
"Okay." Elizabeth nodded. "Rachel, come get your things." She instructed her quietly as she opened the door.
Elizabeth gave Rachel the diaper bag after she had finished packing her own bag. "Call if you need anything." She said once more.
Rachel nodded. "Okay."
"You'll be fine." Mark's voice joined the conversation. "I'll see you… I'll see… I'll see you in the morning."
"Okay Daddy." Rachel said quietly. "I'll see you tomorrow." She replied before leaving with Isabelle and Ella.
Elizabeth sighed as she sat down next to Mark. "How are you feeling?"
"I'm fine." He replied, clearly strained.
"Mark." Elizabeth replied anxiously. "You had an intracerebral hemorrhage."
"I know."
"So how are you feeling?" Elizabeth asked again.
Mark groaned as he tried to sit up. "I don't know." He replied honestly.
"Okay." Elizabeth affirmed gently. "Do you want something to eat or drink?"
Mark shook his head. "I would… I wouldn't… I wouldn't keep it down."
"You've got fourteen more hours." Elizabeth reminded him softly.
Mark nodded. "So your mom?" He asked with a half-smile.
Elizabeth shook her head. "Not now. I don't want to even think about that right now." She said tensely. "I need to get some sleep, and so do you."
"Okay…but we're talking later." Mark said with a smile.
Elizabeth nodded before pressing her lips against his. "Get some rest.