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E.R.
Union Station: Coming Home
By: Emma Day
Part Three
Union Station was busy, crowded and full of noise. Susan
pulled her heavy suitcase through the crush of people, heading
for the taxi rank. COUNTY GENERAL, OR RADISON HOTEL? she
thought to herself. PERHAPS I SHOULD CHECK-IN AT THE HOTEL
FIRST - DROP OFF MY LUGGAGE AND TAKE A SHOWER. YEAH, I'LL
DO THAT.
"Susan!" she heard someone yell. "Susan!"
Turning, she saw Ruth-Ann waving at her from the top of the
stairs. The elderly lady beckoned her over.
"Susan," she said, "I'd like you to meet my son Paul."
Paul was a tall, earnest looking young man who nodded a
greeting to Susan, but was obviously impatient to leave.
Ruth-Ann smiled. "It's been really nice to talk to you,
Susan," she said. "I do hope you have a good time while
you're here."
"So do I," she replied, with perhaps rather more feeling that
she would have liked. To cover, she turned to Will. "See,"
she said, "we're all in one piece. I told you everything
would be fine."
He winked at her. "You just make sure you go see your doctor
friend."
Susan felt her cheeks get hot. "I will," was all she said.
***
The hotel room was pretty much the same as any hotel room.
Susan paid it little attention. I'M HERE, she kept thinking
as she unpacked her clothes. I'M BACK IN CHICAGO.
After she had showered and changed, she looked at her watch.
Eight o'clock. Her stomach fluttered and twisted as she sat
on the edge of the bed. PERHAPS I SHOULD WAIT UNTIL TOMORROW.
I COULD JUST HAVE AN EARLY NIGHT. AND TOSS AND TURN, AND
NEVER SLEEP. NO. GET IT OVER WITH. GET IT OVER WITH? IT'S
MARK. WHAT ARE YOU AFRAID OF?
Taking a deep breath she stood up. "Get on with it, Susan
Lewis. Once you see him everything will be fine. It'll all
be fine. It's just nerves." She pictured his face smiling at
her. YEAH, IT'LL BE FINE.
***
It was just as she remembered it. The noise, the barely
controlled chaos. It was all so familiar. Even the smell
brought back a host of memories. She stood outside the door
to the ER, leaning against the wall, and took a deep breath.
JUST GO IN. But her knees had turned to water, and her
stomach was not much better.
"Comin' through," a paramedic crew pushed passed, rushing some
unfortunate victim through the double doors.
Almost out of habit, she trailed along behind them. Inside it
was the same as ever. Some faces were familiar, others not.
With her heart racing, she made her way up to the reception
desk, and looked about.
"Oh my God!" someone called from behind. She turned to see
Carol Hathaway grinning at her. "What are you doing here?!"
Susan grinned back, and her nerves dissolved. "Just
visiting," she replied, giving Carol a hug. "I had to stop
by."
"So, how are you?"
"Good. I'm really good. You?"
"Yeah, good. For the most part. You know."
Another paramedic team burst through the doors. "Look, I'm
afraid you've come at a bad time," Carol told her, "But can
you hang around? I get off in a couple of hours. We'll go
for a drink."
"That'd be great."
Carol turned to go. "Carol," Susan called.
"Yeah?"
"Umm, is Mark...?"
"Yeah, he's around. Go see him."
Susan grinned, and laughed sheepishly. "Of course."
***
Just as Mark took the first bite of his sandwich, his pager
bleeped at him. The ER. Of course. Standing up, he stuffed
as much sandwich as he could into his mouth, and headed
upstairs. It hadn't been a bad day, just a long one. One
more hour, and he could go home and sleep. Bliss.
He took the stairs two at a time, and when he rounded the
corner at the top he stopped so fast he nearly choked on his
sandwich. Not more that ten feet away, with her back to him,
stood Susan Lewis. He had no doubt. She was talking to
Randi, and he would recognise her laugh anywhere. Turning
around he fled back down the stairs, his heart thudding and
his mouth so dry he could hardly swallow his sandwich.
OH MY GOD, WHAT'S SHE DOING HERE? he thought. OH GOD, OH
GOD. I'M NOT READY FOR THIS. His mind instantly rushed back
to that awful day when he had last seen her. That terrible
look of pity on her face when she's said, I'M SORRY MARK.
"God, I why did I ever listen to Doug's advice?"
His pager bleeped again. I HAVE TO GO UP THERE. The
realisation sent a cold shudder through him. OK, YOU CAN DO
THIS, he told himself. JUST ACT NATURALLY. IT'S NOT LIKE YOU
HAVEN'T SPOKEN TO HER SINCE IT HAPPENED. JUST BE COOL. He
grimaced to himself. SOME CHANCE. The phone was one thing.
Real life...just seeing her had sent him into a flat spin. He
shook his head. JUST DO IT.
He peered warily around the wall at the top of the stairs.
She was still there, chatting to Randi. Straightening his
shoulders, he walked towards her. Passed her. She hadn't
noticed!
"Mark!"
He stopped. OH GOD, OH GOD. Slowly he turned around, and
there she was, grinning up at him.
"Surprise!"
"Hello Susan," was all he managed to say.
"I'm here for a medical conference, and I thought I'd surprise
you all, so here...."
She was babbling and embarrassed. He was so embarrassed he
couldn't meet her eyes, and didn't hear a word that she was
saying. All he could think of was the last time they had met.
WHY DID I DO IT? WHY?
His pager beeped again, and broke the spell. "I have to go,"
he blurted, interrupting her, "I'm sorry."
He could feel her eyes boring into the back of his head as he
walked away.
"You all right Mark?" Doug asked, as Mark rushed into the
trauma room.
"Fine," he replied, hearing the tension in his own voice.
"What have we got?"
Doug explained the details of the case, and Mark concentrated
as hard as he ever had. Anything, to keep his mind from that
last, painfully embarrassed conversation.