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E.R.
"Union Station: What Should've Happened
Part Two

But Susan was sitting on the train thinking about what had happened at the station, instead of thinking forward to her new life. Mark had told her he loved her, and for Mark, who had only really loved one woman in his entire life, that really meant something. All that time he'd loved her? All that time and he'd never said a thing. Why hadn't she even realised? At the station she'd said all that crap about "sort of knowing", but that was just on the spur of the moment. She had had no idea that he had felt that way - she was in total shock. Mark Greene, "Mr Dependable", loved her? But looking back on it, she supposed there had been the signs. The way they'd danced together, the embarrassed way they'd dealt with her invitation to Maui, the way he'd sometimes looked at her. And she hadn't even picked up on it! And then at the station she'd blown him off, she'd left him there, having told him that they didn't belong together and that her life was headed in a different direction. And then she'd kissed him. And then she'd left. "It's for the best. You couldn't have stayed there, just because he'd said that he loved you! I mean, it's not as though you love him or anything is it?" she told herself, trying to convince herself that what she'd done was right. "Besides, Chloe and little Suzie need you. You've got a terrific job, and you can't keep living your life just to please other people. You've set the record straight, and you and Mark will be best friends, as always," she told herself, persuading herself that moving to Phoenix was the right decision. No, she couldn't have had it any other way.

***************

Three months later Mark still didn't feel any better. Rachel had come to stay, and he'd felt guilty that he couldn't even be cheerful for her. But life didn't just carry on as normal; you couldn't just stop loving someone. But Susan hadn't called, she hadn't written; he'd written tens of letters, he just hadn't had the courage to send them. God, what a fool he'd made of himself! He should have just kept quiet, and none of this would ever have happened. He wanted Susan so badly, it felt like something was pulling at his heart and wouldn't let go. In his wallet was the picture of him and Susan when they'd dumped their blind dates and gone off together; why hadn't he said something then? He realised just how great a part of his life she had become, and how his life was missing this part so much. Maybe he'd finally pick up the courage to call her...

Meanwhile Susan was sitting in her apartment in Phoenix staring out the window and thinking of what she'd left behind in Chicago. Sure, the job was good, and it certainly wasn't as hectic as at Cook County. But there wasn't the same camaraderie here that she'd had back home. Back home? Wasn't this her home now? Or was her heart still in Chicago? She knew that friendships took time to build, but everyone here was so self-absorbed and stand-offish that her attempts at making friendships were thrown back in her face. And she'd thought that Chloe would need her. Yes, Chloe liked having her around, but she too had her own life with Joe and although she loved seeing Suzie, she hardly had the time to spend much time with her. And Mark wasn't there. Why hadn't he called? Why hadn't he written? Just hearing from him would have made life in Phoenix that bit more bearable. She hadn't realised before she'd left just how much she'd depended on him, but now that they were apart she recognised how great a friend he was. And after a couple of lousy dates, she realised that good men were hard to find - and what exactly was she looking for anyway? She had to think of the future; she did want to settle down, and before too long as well. She wanted someone she could talk to, someone she could always depend on, someone who could make her laugh, someone she could trust. And there was only one man she knew who fitted that description - and she'd left him behind in Chicago. She'd thought that life in Phoenix would hold all the answers, but she'd been wrong. She decided that there was nothing there for her, and that the best thing to do would be to try and secure her residency back at Cook County, and head back to Chicago as soon as possible. Staying any longer would only make leaving harder.

Doug had decided that Mark was in a bad way, and so, in traditional Doug-style, he dragged Mark out to some bar straight after they finished their shifts. They sat down at the bar,

"Look Doug, this is really good of you, but I don't really feel like this. If it's OK with you I'll just head on home," said Mark desolately.

"Just stay for a couple of drinks, then see how you feel. Hey, I'll even buy you the first beer, seeing as what a nice guy I am," said Doug, in that beguiling way that made women putty in his hands.

"OK, fine, I'll have a few drinks, but that's it," said Mark firmly. But like that night when Susan had first left, those few drinks turned into many more, and it wasn't long before both men found themselves in the welcoming arms of two attractive women. Mark wasn't so drunk that he didn't realise what he was doing, but he figured that Susan had long forgotten about him, as she hadn't once called, and this woman was certainly good-looking, so what had he got to lose? He felt a pang of guilt for cheating on Susan, and was tempted to leave the girl and go back home, just as he had done on that night when he ran out of Finch's. No, he wasn't cheating on Susan; she had made her feelings pretty clear, so he tightened his arms around her, and rested his head on her shoulder as they continued to dance.

Susan finally reached Union Station, and all the memories of what happened the last time she was here came flooding back to mind. But the first thing she had to do was to find Mark. She had rung her apartment, his apartment, but there was no answer. She assumed he was at work, so she made straight for the hospital. She arrived there to hear a shrill cry of "Susan!" from Randi. Carol, hearing this, came running round the corner and screeched,

"Oh my God! Susan it's you! When did you get back? How long are you here for? Why didn't you tell us you were coming?"

"It was kind of a split-second decision. Well, actually, I guess I'd thought about it for a while, but I only just decided to really leave Phoenix for good," replied Susan.

"For good? What's happened?" cried Carol.

"Phoenix wasn't what I'd thought it was going to be; it's a long story, I'll tell you about it all later. Listen, where's Mark? I kind of really need to find him," asked Susan, somewhat impatiently.

"He went out with Doug. He's been really down recently, pretty depressed, so Doug thought he'd take him out and try and cheer him up. I think he said they were going to some new bar, Jack's I think it was called. It's on Prince Street I think," said Carol.

"Thanks! I'll see you later!" gasped Susan breathlessly, as she started running down the hallway, and headed out the hospital; no doubt making for Jack's.

Mark was still dancing with the girl, as they slowly moved together to the music. Just as she slid her arms around his neck and kissed him squarely on the mouth, there was a crash as the door was slammed open and Susan suddenly burst in.

"Mark!" she exclaimed.

"Susan! What are you doing here?" he said.

"Well it's pretty obvious what you're doing here, isn't it? All this time I thought you were pining away, and you were out making up for lost time!" she yelled. With a jolt Mark realised that he had some woman, whose name he didn't even know, attached to his neck, and that Susan was here in Chicago.

"Susan! This isn't what it looks like!" he shouted.

"Sure it isn't! I'm sorry, I shouldn't have come," she said, as she ran back out the door. Mark ran out, hot on her heels. It was raining and she was soaking. The rain dripped off her face, her hair hung in sodden strings, her shirt stuck to her but she still looked beautiful to him.

"Susan, she's just a girl who just happened to be dancing with me while I just happened to be getting rather drunk!" he said, pleadingly.

"Of course! Look, you don't have to apologise! You can dance with who you like, you're a free man; why the hell should I care that your kissing some girl!" she retorted.

"Susan, she means nothing to me! I was out getting drunk because I've been really down, because I've been lonely, because the woman I loved left to go and live in Phoenix!" said Mark.

"Well you never called! You never even wrote me one single letter!"

"Neither did you! Don't you think I tried! Don't you think it was hard for me to write to you after I'd just told you all that stuff about loving you and after you'd told me that we had no future together!"

"Life in Phoenix wasn't easy either! Not when your co-workers are hostile to you, when your own sister doesn't really need you around and when all the men you go out with are creeps. Especially when you think you've lost your best friend because you can't pluck up the courage to call him in case you let it slip that you think you love him!"

"In case you what?" said Mark, astounded.

"OK, I said it. Mark, I did a lot of thinking in Phoenix, and I realised that I love you. It's not easy for me either, you know, I thought I'd lost you forever - especially when I saw you kissing her!" she said.

"I was not kissing her! She just, you know, seized the moment. Anyway, did I hear you right? Did you say that you thought you loved me?" said Mark.

"Yes, I came to realise that I couldn't get along without you, and that there wasn't anything left in Phoenix for me now. God, this sounds so corny!" said Susan.

"Susan," he said.

"What?" she said, puzzled.

"Shut up!" he said, placing his hands around the back of her neck and kissing her. She responded, drew closer, and slipped her arms around his waist. Then she pulled away.

"Mark, this is great, kinda nice and all, but we're drenched. Do you think we could maybe go and get dry somewhere?" she said, smiling.

"I think that can be arranged!" he replied, grinning too. He hailed a cab and before he and Susan knew what was happening they were outside his, their apartment, and they were kissing outside the door, and he was fumbling with his keys, and then they were inside. And then he shut the door firmly behind him.

THE END

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