Shared Misery, an ER fic - (5 Parts)

[musiclover90]

I'm back with another ER fic! You can read my first story here.

This story was practically begging to be written for over two weeks now, so I finally decided to sit down and start it. It is set in Season 8 (again), the only changes I'm making are that Mark married Susan instead of Elizabeth, hence baby Ella doesn't exist and Mark never had brain cancer.

For those who aren't familiar with the show, here are a few links to help you out:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ER_(TV_series)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Greene

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susan_Lewis

I don't own anything about ER or anything else that I did not come up with myself.

Shared Misery by musiclover90

Summary: Coming soon, I've only written two chapter so far! lol

Chapter 1

"Give me the bullet!" Dr. Mark Greene yelled as he pushed the doors of Trauma 1 open and walked inside.  

"34 year-old male. High-speed collision with a tree." a paramedic said. 

"Vitals?" he requested. 

"BP's 110/85, pulse 88." Nurse Lydia Wright-Grabarsky replied. 

"Responds to pain." Dr. Elizabeth Corday stated. 

"Pupils are equal, roud, and reactive to light. Let's get ad x-ray in here. We need a lateral c-spine." Mark said and sniffled. 

"Don't move him. Use the scissors." Lydia said. 

"How's his belly?" Mark questioned. 

Elizabeth looked up at him. "Not rigid, bowel sounds normal."

"Coma score's 9." Nurse Malik McGrath said. 

Mark sighed. "Borderline for brain dabage."

"Could be worse." Elizabeth said. 

"Oh yes, he's a contender." he quipped. "Stand by with Norcuron, Dilantin."

"Call for a CT and make sure no one's on the table. I thought Kerry sent you home?" Elizabeth asked. 

"She did. How's his pressure?"

"Holding." Lydia said. 

"Do we have a name?" Nurse Carol Hathaway asked. 

"Clothes are on the cart." Lydia pointed to them. 

"Anyone seen x-ray?" Elizabeth wondered. 

"I'll check." Malik said and walked out. 

Carol took out the patient's wallet and checked for any ID. "Name's Donald Costanza."

"How's his pressure?" Mark asked again. 

"Still holding at 100/75." Lydia answered.

 

Carol looked through Donald's belongings and found a folded piece of paper. "I have a letter here. It says 'Dear Amy...'"

"Single vehicle into a tree, could be a suicide. Let's hear it." Elizabeth said. 

Carol read, "I gave up everything because you were all that mattered. Without you, I'm already dead."

"Not if I cad help it." Mark said as he turned away from the gurney and coughed. 

Dr. Kerry Weaver came into the room. "Mark?"

"Solo MVA, apparedt suicide attempt. GCS, 9, nonfocal."

"Pulse ox down to 90." Lydia announced. 

"Tube him?" Elizabeth suggested. 

"I'b worried about the spine. Nasal airway's okay for now."

"A head this bad needs intubation." Kerry said. "I told you to go home an hour ago."

"I want to clear a c-spine firsd."

"That's the wrong choice. I'm tubing him now."

"I want to see ad x-ray!"

Kerry moved past Mark to intubate the patient. "I'm not going to argue with you. Versed, four migs. Then ten Norcuron. Elizabeth, hand me the laryngoscope please and a 7.5 ET tube. Come on. Call a replacement and go home Mark. Now." she demanded sternly.  

"Intubation tray." Lydia ordered. 

"In-line traction." Kerry requested.   

"Traction ready." Lydia stated.   

"Here's the Norcuron." Nurse Chuny Marquez said as she came in with the medicine. 

Mark stared at the scene for a moment before taking his gown and rubber gloves off and walking out of the room. He got to the Admitting desk before pausing to sneeze. "Huht'choo! Huht'CHOO!"

"Bless you Dr. Greene."

Desk clerk Jerry Markovic held out a box of Kleenex for him. "Thadks Jerry." He pulled a couple and blew his nose, hoping to find some relief for his congested sinuses. 

"Going home?"

"Yep, Weaver's makig me. Who's off today?" he asked as he went to an unused phone at the desk. 

"Um...Kovac, Malucci, Chen—"

"Got it." He dialed Dr. Luka Kovac's home number and waited for him to answer. "Hi Luka? It's Mark at work. Listen, I'b sick and Weaver's sending be home. Well, that was ad hour ago. Anyway, can you cobe in and cover the rest of my shift?"

"Sure. I'll be there in twenty minutes. Feel better."

"Thanks, I owe you. Bye."

"Bye."

Mark hung up the phone. "Jerry, let Weaver know thad Luka will be here in twenty minutes to cover my shifd."

"Will do."

Mark walked from there to the lounge get his coat and bag out of his locker.

Elizabeth came in as he was doing that. "Wow, you're actually listening to Weaver for once. I'm impressed."

"Yeah, yeah." He sniffled.  

"So Rachel's home sick too?"

"Mhmm. Same thing I've got. We'll be fine in a few days."

"Maybe you should take a couple of days off."

He shook his head. "Nah. They don't call be "St. Mark" for nothing."

"You know that macho stuff doesn't work with me. At least think about it." Elizabeth pressed gently.

"Fine. See ya."

"Great. Go get some sleep."

"I will, trust be. Huh'chuh! Huh'choo!" He groaned softly. 

"Bless you." 

"Thadks. Bye." Mark walked back out and headed for the doors. "Bye everyone, I'll see you toborrow if I live through the dight." He coughed.

After hearing a few well wishes from his colleagues, Mark walked out into the cold December air towards the subway entrance down the street. Once he got up the stairs to wait on the platform for the next train, his nose started to run. Chiding himself for not bringing any tissues, he wiped it with the back of his hand. "Huhchoo! Huhchoo!"

"Bless you." said the person who walked up next to him. 

He looked over at him. "Thanks."

"You're a doctor?" he asked noticing the green hospital scrubs that Mark wore.

"Mhmm. In the ER at County General."

"That's what I figured since it's right down the street."

Mark wasn't in the mood for a conversation at the moment, so he didn't respond at first. "Sorry, I really dod't feel well as you can probably tell. My boss actually sent be home." he said with a chuckle which caused him to cough. 

"Yeah, I got that. Didn't mean to bother you."

"You're fine."

"You got any kids?" he wondered. 

"One. A fourteen year-old daughter."

"That's an interesting age. A teenager but still can't drive or work legally."

"Yeah. What aboud you?" Mark asked. 

"I have three. Two daughters, ages ten and four and a son who's six. His birthday's next week."

"Well congratulations."

"He loves having it so close to Christmas."

"I bet. Here's my train." Mark said as it stopped and the doors came open. 

"Have a good one."

"You too."

Mark stepped inside and sat down. At least it was warmer in the train car instead of being outside. After about twenty-five minutes, Mark got off and started to walk the rest of the way home which usually took him ten minutes. He knew that his wife Susan's shift in the ER started at 9 AM that morning and according to his watch it was now 11:30, meaning that Rachel would be the only one home and he was perfectly fine with that.

---------

To be continued...

I hope you guys like it, feedback is welcome and appreciated!

[blackrose]

i like this a lot, i don't watch ER though. still it's well written.

[musiclover90]

Thank you, I'm glad you like it! You're the only person who's commented on it so far (obviously) but if I don't care enough to take the time to write it well, people aren't going to want to take the time to read it. So I must be doing something right since I've gotten almost 75 views. Plus, I'm a spelling/grammar freak (too much so sometimes lol) and I don't like to see mistakes in my work. So many stories can be better if people just take the time to proofread them/use spell-check, as a general statement.

Since someone has said they like this, I will definitely be continuing, there will be more soon!

[blackrose]

no problem, and i know what you mean, though i am not a terribly great speller i have some real hangups on basic grammar mistakes.

[musiclover90]

Happy Valentine's Day everyone, here's an update.

Chapter 2

Mark was on his cell phone leaving Susan a message on hers. "Hey, it's be. I caught Rachel's cold add Weaver sent be home. Dod't freak out, Luka's coverig the rest of by shift. Call be when you ged this. I love you, bye."  

Mark unlocked the front door of his house and stepped inside, closing it behind him. He tossed his keys on the table near the coat rack, hung his coat up, and slipped his shoes off. 

Rachel was in the living room, so she heard him come in. "Dad? What're you doig home?"

"Hey Rach." He walked over to the couch and sat down next to her. "I god sent home early add Luka's covering by shift for today." He coughed and relaxed against the cushions, putting his feet up on the coffee table. 

"Sorry dad, I didn't mean to ged you sick." Rachel said with twinge of guilt in her voice. "Hit'chew! ... Hit'chew! Ugh, by dose itches like crazy!" She groaned and fell back against the couch while blowing her nose.   

Mark reached over and felt his daughter's forehead. "Hm, you've still god a fever kid. Feeling any bedder?"

"How cad you tell? Your hand's warb."

"Jusd call it the doctor/dad intuition. Now answer the question." he said gently. 

She shook her head and coughed a few times. "Hodestly, no. I feel like death."

"I'm not surprised, you look like it too." he joked.

"Well, you dod't exactly look amazing righd now either." she countered with a huff. 

"Touché." Mark sat up. "Want anything to drink? I'b goig to the kitchen."

"Some ginger ale? Please?"

"Sure, be right back." He went to the refrigerator, took out two cans of Canada Dry ginger ale, and grabbed a plastic shopping bag. He came back to the living room and started to pick up some of the garbage that had accumulated, used tissues and the like. 

Rachel laughed as she cracked open her can. "OCD much?"

"No, just tryig to keep it somewhat clean. We're still cabable of cleaning ub after ourselves. We're not bedridden yet." he added. 

Mark sat down and opened his can. He took the TV remote and began flipping through the channels. "Man, there is nothing on."

"I know, I gave up like ad hour ago."

Mark settled on watching The Crocodile Hunter. "This Steve Irwin guy is nuts! He's gonna get his arm ripped off by one of those thigs!"

"I know right? His accent's kinda hot though..."

Mark almost spit out his drink at that statement. "Rachel, he's like forty!" he exclaimed. 

"Well excuse me, I didn't know that."

"Well, now you do." Mark said a bit flustered. 

A few moments of silence, Rachel spoke again. "Isn't his wife American or somethig?"

"I thik so. She's frob Washington or somewhere near there."

"Oh. Whoa! Check out thad snake! It's huge!"

"I cad see thad. Huht'choo! 'CHUH! Can you pass be the tissue box?" Mark asked with his hands still covering his nose and mouth. 

Rachel picked it up and set it between them. "There's no point in beig sanitary dad. You add I are both already sick—" She paused to cough. 

"True, but the last thig we need is for Susan to catch it too and you know how crabby she gets when she's sick." He took a couple of tissues and blew his nose as hard as he could. 

Rachel rolled her eyes at her dad's unnecessary noise. She really liked Susan, anyone was better than her mom Jenn in her opinion. Ever since her mom had twins with her creepy step-dad Craig a couple of years ago, Rachel felt that she had definitely been put on the backburner. Some time after they were born, she somehow got lost in the shuffle. All they cared about was "the twins this" and "the twins that", so she started acting out at home and at school. Mark knew that wasn't like her so he tried to talk to Jenn about the situation many times. All Mark got were phone calls on Saturdays and Rachel spent a couple of weeks with him in the summer, he would have given anything to have as much time with her as Jenn did. She was convinced that Rachel was just a bad kid, but he knew better. Things finally came to a head in July and Rachel was kicked out of her house in St. Louis just before school started. She moved back to Chicago to live with Mark and here she was about five months later, much happier than she had ever been with her mom. She'd had enough of her to last a lifetime. 

Rachel was happy that her dad had gotten remarried back in 1996. Susan was great and had accepted her with open arms in July. They had a pretty good relationship to start with so that helped things when her dad proposed to her. She didn't feel like a step-daughter in their house, she felt like she belonged which was a welcome change for her. Even though Mark and Susan both had hectic schedules at County five or six days a week, Saturday or Sunday was usually their "family day" depending on when they both had the same day off. The three of them would usually go out to eat and then go do something that they could do together, like bowling or go to Dave & Buster's. Her life had turned a complete 180 for which she was grateful.

"I'b gonna go change out of these scrubs." He sniffled. 

"Okay."

Mark got up and went upstairs to his bedroom and changed into some sweatpants and a t-shirt. He decided to go into the bathroom and take some ibuprofen for his growing headache, he was pretty sure he had a fever too. He noticed the cherry NyQuil in the medicine cabinet behind the mirror and took it as well. Once he did that, he took his own temperature which was 100.6 degrees. 'Yep, just a cold.' he thought, but it did not bring him much comfort. He went back downstairs and brought the ibuprofen, NyQuil, and ear thermometer with him.

"Hit'chew! ... Hit'chew!" 

"Bless you." he offered. 

"Thadks—Hit'CHEW! Ugh! Make id stop!"

"Bless you Rach! Now I want you to take your temperature, then take two of these to brig your fever down. If your head's hurding like mine is, you'll need theb." He sat down and set all three objects down on the coffee table. 

"Ugh, you're actually making be move?" She sniffled and coughed.

Mark chuckled. "Here." He turned the thermometer back on and put a new disposable tip on it and gently put it in her ear. "Fourteed years-old and you still squirm like you're five." he smirked. She just stuck her tongue out at him as it beeped and he read the result. "101.2. Time for some meds." He put that down and opened the bottle of ibuprofen, shaking out two pills and handing them to Rachel. She swallowed both along with some ginger ale.

"Did you take ady NyQuil this mornig before I left?" he wondered before coughing into a fist.  

"No." she said quietly. 

Mark opened it and poured her a dose, handing her the small cup. "Drink up." 

She did and gave it back to him before settling back against the couch and sighing tiredly.  

"Are you comfortable? Do you want your pillow add blanket?"

"No, thad's okay. I'll get theb." Rachel stood up but quickly sat back down as a wave of dizziness hit her. "Or not." she decided as she shut her eyes tightly and put her head in her hands. 

"Dizzy?"

She nodded with her eyes still closed. 

"I got it."

Rachel's bedroom was next to the staircase. He went inside it and took her extra blue blanket and two pillows off the bed and brought them to her. "Here Rach, you cad take the couch." He set the pillows down on the end and moved the box of tissues to the small table between the couch and the recliner. "Lay down." She did and he covered her with the blanket. "Try and sleep." He kissed her forehead. "Love you sweetheart."

"You too dad, thanks." she said as she closed her eyes. 

This was Rachel's first illness since moving to Chicago, so he wanted to make sure that she was well-taken care of. 'Who knows what Jenn did, if anything, when she was sick? Probably just banished her to her room...bitch.' Mark thought in disgust at his ex-wife. "Just doing by job." he chirped. Mark turned the TV off, walked over to the closet under the stairs, grabbed a spare blanket and pillow for himself, and laid back in the recliner. He almost fell asleep around five minutes later, but his stuffy nose had other ideas. He groaned as it tickled and reached over for a tissue, catching the second sneeze into it. "'Choo! Huht'chish!"

"Bless you..." he heard Rachel murmur drowsily. 

"Thadks." He wiped his nose and kept the tissue close in case he needed it again. 

'This is way better than suffering at work...' Mark thought before falling into a medicated slumber.

------------          

To be continued...

[blackrose]

good work! i am really enjoying this!

[elements]

this is great! ER is my all time favorite show! I would LOOOVEEE to see anything w Carter..preferably w/ Abby too if you are so inclined

[musiclover90]

ER is my favorite show too! So far I have Seasons 1-3 on DVD. Mark Greene is my favorite character, but I also love Luka, Abby, and Neela. Carter is always great too! There will be more coming within a few days!

[musiclover90]

Sorry about not updating! Here it is:

Chapter 3

A few hours later, Mark was awakened by the ringing of his cell phone. He coughed softly and answered it quickly. Rachel stirred, but did not wake. 

"Hello?" he asked, his voice still thick with sleep. 

"It's me, I got your message. How're you feeling?" Susan wondered. 

He cleared his throat. "Well, I've defiditely felt bedder, but I dod't feel too bad. Hngxchh! Hngchish! Huh..." He sighed as felt another coming, but it quickly subsided.  

"Bless you! Mark, you shouldn't stifle those. As a doctor you should know better." she reminded him. 

"I dod't wanna wake Rachel ub."

Susan frowned. "How is she?"

"Eh, she's feelig pretty lousy. No school for her toborrow." Mark said. 

"I bet, she was up half the night coughing. What've you two been doing?" 

"We watched a few binutes of TV, but we took sobe meds add napped. Rachel's still sleebing."

"Poor kid." Susan murmured. 

"Yeah. Well, I'll let you back to work. When do you ged off?" He looked at the clock on the VCR and it was almost two in the afternoon. 

"Around 6. See you when I get home."

"Alrighd. I love you."

"I love you too. Bye."

"Bye."

Mark hung up and pulled a tissue from the box beside him. He wiped his nose gingerly but felt the tickle return with full force. "'Chish! Huht'chuh! CHHH!"

Mark saw his daughter stir once more and went upstairs into the bathroom to blow his nose. He did several times to eleviate the pressure in his sinuses before returning to the recliner to rest before dozing off again, snoring lightly. 

"Dad? ... Dad?" 

Mark felt someone shaking him awake. "What is it Rach?"

"I'b gonna go back to my bed 'kay?" She sniffled thickly. 

"That's fide, I thik I'll go upstairs. Do you deed any help?"

"No."

"Okay. Try add sleep sobe more if you're able to. Do you need more bedicine?" he asked again. 

"I'm good."

"Alrighd." Mark watched as she took her things to her room and shut the door. He heard her cough harshly and sighed. He hated to see her feeling so bad.

Mark got up from the recliner and put the cans of ginger ale in the refrigerator and marked them with the correct initial so Susan wouldn't drink either by accident. The last thing they needed was a third sick person, it was bad enough with the two of them hacking and sneezing constantly. He went back into the living room and put his pillow and blanket away before ascending the stairs to his bedroom. Mark practically collapsed on the bed and had to force himself to use the blankets so he wouldn't get chilled. He fell back asleep within minutes. 

---------------

Susan opened the front door and stepped inside. She noticed that the living room was empty, so she dropped off the bag of groceries she had on the kitchen counter and decided to check on her husband and step-daughter. 

She went to Rachel's room and opened the door slightly to find her sprawled across the bed with the blankets off. Her face was flushed and she shivered and moaned softly in her sleep. Susan walked over and covered her up before brushing some hair out her face and checked for a fever. She saw Rachel visibly relax as her breathing slowed. 'She doesn't feel too warm, but she looks exhausted.' Susan thought sympathetically.  

She quietly exited and headed upstairs. Mark was snoring with his mouth wide open, his pink nostrils twitching ever so slightly. Susan heard his breath start to hitch and he was jerked awake with a "Hetchuh!" into his pillow. He scrubbed hard at his nose with his knuckles and sighed. 

"Hey." he breathed as he opened his eyes a little. 

"Bless you."

"Thadks. How was your shifd?" He sat up and put his glasses on. 

"Oh, the usual. Drunks, skunks, and punks."

Mark chuckled. "That sounds about right."

"Feeling any better?" Susan asked. 

"Nod really, but I dod't feel worse."

"Maybe you won't get it as bad as Rachel, this is a pretty nasty bug."

"Yeah, she's beed sleeping all day. So whad's for dinner?" Mark wondered.

"I thought I'd make some chicken soup, something nice and light. I picked up the ingredients on my way home." 

"Thad sounds great." He paused to cough. 

"Plus, it's Rachel's favorite "sick" food. It might cheer her up or maybe she'll eat at the very least."

"Yeah."

They both went downstairs into the kitchen and Susan started on the soup using Mark's mother Ruth's family recipe. 

"Id was one of her specialties, cabe out perfectly every tibe." Mark mused, the nostalgia washing over him like a tidal wave.

"It's a shame that I never got to meet your parents." Susan said a bit sadly. Mark's mother along with his ex-Navy father David died in a car accident in 1994.  

"They would've liked you. Your spit and fire, your humor." He chuckled. "My mom was like thad."

"Do you think it's true that we pick spouses similar to our parents?"

"I dod't know, I mean—Hutchoo! Huhchoo!"

Susan cut him off. "Bless you. 'Cause you're nothing like Cookie or Henry. You're hard-working, gentle, big-hearted, and caring. A lot of things that they aren't or weren't."

"Thadks. Yeah, I jusd try to be the best person I cad be. Do by job to the besd of my ability. Be a lovig add attentive husband and father."

"And you are my love." She kissed his cheek and continued to chop the carrots and celery. 

----------------

About an hour and a half later, the soup was done and ready to eat. 

Susan looked at the clock on the wall. "Well, Rach isn't up. She can eat whenever—well look what the cat dragged in."

Rachel shuffled into the kitchen with her blue blanket draped around her shoulders, face flushed, nose red and chapped, and hair in a messy pony tail with a tissue in hand, looking the very picture of misery. She sat down in the last avaliable chair at the small table. "Hitschhew!" She blew her nose which set off another tickle. "Hit...CHEW!" She groaned and grabbed two more tissues and blew into them. 

"Oh sweedheart...how ya feelin'?" Mark reached over to feel her forehead. 

Her voice was grave. "Shoot be. Please." She coughed into her blanket. 

"You don't have to sit in here, you can go to couch if you want." Susan suggested. 

"No, id's okay. I deed a change of scenery adyway." she reasoned. 

"Susad made your favorite, Grandma's chicken soup."

Rachel looked up and cracked a fraction of a smile. "Really?"

"Just for you kid. Want some?"

"A little bit, I'b not very hugry."

"Alright." Susan got up and poured two small ladles of soup into Rachel's bowl and set it down in front of her. "Just eat until you're full, you don't want an upset stomach on top of everything else. Careful, it's hot."     

Rachel swallowed a spoonful and sighed as it went down her throat. "Mmmm, good job."

"I'm glad that you approve." Susan said.  

After they ate, they all went into the living room to lounge on the couch. Rachel sat next to Mark and rested her head on his shoulder. 

Susan picked up the ear thermometer. "Can I take your temperature Rachel? You can have some more ibuprofen after." 

"Sure." she said tiredly.

Rachel didn't fight it this time and Susan read the result. "100.8."

"It was over 101 earlier today." Mark said.

"That's an improvement at least. You're next." she said as she put a clean tip on the device and put it in his ear. "100.5."

"It's stayed about the sabe." 

"Good, we don't need you getting worse."

The pair of them took some more medicine and watched TV before going to bed about an hour later. They were just too tired to stay awake, Susan included. Besides, they both had to go to work in the morning and needed some sleep, which wasn't hard to do with the help of some NyQuil.   

--------------

To be continued...

[blackrose]

[musiclover90]

Here's another update.

Chapter 4

"Good mornig." Mark said as Susan walked into the kitchen. 

"Hey." She kissed his cheek and sat down next to him. "You sleep okay?"

"Yeah, I dod't feel much bedder though." He sighed.  

"I still think that you should stay home. Someone can cover for you." Susan suggested. 

"I'll be fide. I've felt worse you know." He took his last bite of toast and finished his orange juice before standing and putting his dishes in the sink. "You should eat somethig, I'll be upstairs id the shower." 

The hot water felt relaxing as Mark breathed in the steam to relieve the congestion in his sinuses. He settled under the shower head for a few minutes before washing what little hair he had on his head and his body. He turned off the water and got out, drying himself off with a towel and putting his glasses back on. He went into his bedroom to get dressed, pausing to sneeze just as he was about to put his shirt on. "Huhchoo! Huht'chish!" After catching both in the crook of his elbow, he took a tissue from the box on the nightstand and blew his nose a few times before tossing it in the trash can next to the bed. He continued to get dressed with no further interruptions before going back downstairs toward the kitchen. 

Mark took the small pad of paper next to the phone and tore a page from it and grabbed a pen to write Rachel a note before he and Susan left for work:

Rach—

No school again for you. Rest, fluids, you know the drill. Leftover soup's in the fridge. Check your fever and take some meds if necessary. We'll be home around 6. Call if you need anything or if there's a problem. 

                                 Love you, 

                                 Dad and Susan

Mark took the note to Rachel's room and set it on her nightstand where she would see it. He noticed that she had kicked her blankets off some time during the night, so he covered her back up and left. 

"You ready to go?" Susan asked. 

"Yeah, let be get by shoes on." He sniffled. 

The two of them left and went to work, Susan drove. Once they got to the hospital, they both went from the parking garage to the ER where Mark put some scrubs on and Susan stayed in the doctor's lounge. 

"Good morning Dr. Greene, Dr. Lewis." greeted Nurse Abby Lockhart as she came in and went to her locker. 

"Morning." they both said. "How was last night?" Susan wondered, knowing that Abby had just worked the graveyard shift.

"I don't wanna talk about it. I'm just glad it's over." she answered. 

"The freaks came out huh?"

"I thought thad was only when there's a full boon?" He coughed a little. 

"Nah, I think that's just when they're extra special. A guy came in high as a kite on PCP, it took—"

"Ha'chish! 'CHish!"

Abby walked over to the coffee pot and tossed Mark the box of Kleenex. "Bless you. Caught yourself a cold Dr. Greene?"

He cleared his throat. "A liddle one. I'b fine."

"Well, feel better. I'm outta here, bed here I come." she said in anticipation to getting some sleep. 

"Thadks."

She shut her locker and walked to the door. "Bye."

"See ya Abby." Susan said. 

She left and the two of them were alone. "We're nod on for another twenty binutes, did you eat breakfasd?"

Susan nodded. "I had some cereal, I'm good. Do you think you can make it through your shift?"

"Uh huh. I'll be fide. You worry too buch." he said, brushing it off. 

"I just don't want you getting as bad as Rachel is all."

"I know, it's jusd a cold."

Susan rolled her eyes. "Yeah, a cold that's got your daughter missing two days of school this week."

"I'll—"

Just then, Lydia came in. "We've got a live one coming in. GSW (gun shot wound) to the neck and leg."

"We're not on 'til 7." Susan interjected. 

"Too bad, we need both of you." She tossed them each a sterile gown and rubber gloves. 

"ETA (estimated time of arrival)?" Mark asked. 

"Now."

The two of them quickly gowned and gloved up as they heard the ambulance pull into the bay. They met with the paramedics and the gurney as the ER doors flew open. 

"It's a beautiful day id the neighborhood boys add girls." Mark quipped, which earned a muted chuckle from Susan. "What've we got?" he asked. "Randi, what's open?"

"Morning Dr. Greene. Trauma 1." Desk clerk Miranda "Randi" Fronczak said. 

They wheeled the patient down the hall in order to assess his injuries.   

----------------------

Mark coughed as he walked over to front desk to get a new patient chart. "The ear infectiod in 3 has beed discharged." He cleared his throat. 

"There's an LOL ("little old lady") over in 1 if you wanna take it." Chuny suggested.

"Fide. Huht'chish!" He sniffled and took a tissue from the box on the desk and blew into it. 

Randi answered a ringing phone. "ER." She listened to the person on the other end for a moment. "Dr. Greene, it's for you." 

"Who is id?"

"It's Rachel."

He took the phone from her. "Whad's up Rach?"

"Dad, I god your note. I cad't stay hobe."

"And why dot?" he wondered suspiciously. 

"I've god three tests today, I'b gonna be eved more behind if I dod't take theb." she explained. 

"You're not goig to school."

"Why? You're at work add you're sick, it's not fair!" Her little outburst caused her to cough some.  

"That's nod the sabe thing and you know it Rachel. I cad't just take days off because I habe a cold. I have a respodsibility to the hospital, I'b an Attending add you know there has to be ad least two of us on ebery shift."

"Exactly, id's just a cold dad."

"One thad gives you a fever of 101 and causes you to cough all night." he retorted. 

"C'mon dad! Please? I'll stay hobe all weekend okay?"

"No. You cad go back to school on Monday." he said firmly.   

"Whatever." Rachel scoffed.  

"You'll thank me for this later." 

Mark heard a click. "I love you too." he said into the receiver and hung up. "Whad planet is my child from? She's hobe sick and actually wants to go to school."

"Sounds like she's a trip." Randi commented. 

"For sure." 

Mark walked over to the patient's bed at Exam 1 and picked up her chart. "Malik?" he called. "Mrs. Votey, you're having weakness in your right arm?" He took a penlight out of his lab coat pocket and shined it in her eyes.

"Yesterday and again today. Everything's sort of out of focus." she answered, her voice a bit shaky. 

"Follow my finger." He made her follow his finger with her eyes in various directions.

"At one point yesterday she couldn't even speak." Mrs. Votey's daughter added. 

 

"Scared my students half to death." she said with a nervous chuckle. 

"My mother teaches self-defense."

"To seniors." Mrs. Votey finished. 

"Squeeze."

She squeezed his hand.

"Maybe I could just wait here for my regular doctor." 

"Dr. Randall. Jack Randall." her daughter said. 

"I know him. Mrs. Votey, you might be experiencing what we call TIAs, transient ischemic attacks. They cad be a warning sign of impending stroke. I'll call Dr. Randall but in the beantime I'm going to admit you upstairs where they can work you up."

Mark walked away to talk with Malik. "Start her od heparin, 800 an hour, Call Randall add get her admitted to Medicine."

"You want a CT first?" Malik asked. 

"Let them do id, we need the room."

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To be continued...

[musiclover90]

I didn't get any feedback this time, but whatever. I know someone's reading this.

Chapter 5

Mailk came into the suture room. "Excuse me Dr. Greene. Mrs. Votey, the karate lady had another TIA."  

Mark looked up from his work on the patient he was with. "Right, she's supposed to be adbitted to Medicine."

"Yeah, but Dr. Randall said to discharge her." he countered. 

"Discharge her? Whad is he, nuts? Page him 911 and tell him to get id here now." 

----------

Dr. Randall came where Mark was still stitching up a patient's head. "Dr. Greene? What the hell are you doing pulling me down here in the middle of my shift?"  

"Waid outside please, Dr. Randall." he said calmly. 

"I need to talk to you!"

"In a binute! Sorry." he apologized to the patient. 

He left. 

After a few minutes, Mark walked out into the hallway and Dr. Randall came up to him.

"You took me out of my office upstairs for absolutely no reason." he accused. 

"Your patient's jusd around the corner, why dod't we step this way?" They both walked down the hall together. 

"I gave the order to have her discharged hours ago."

"Yeah, well, she's had three TIAs in the lasd two days. She deeds to be admitted."  

"Stroke Council, AHA, 2001 recommendations: 'Hospitalize for four or more TIAs in a two-week period.'" Dr. Randall recited. 

"'Or for findings suggesting a worsening course.' I know the paper." Mark said, annoyed. 

"Her HMO will not authorize her admission." he stated. 

Mark forced a laugh. "There you go, she's one of your HMO patients."

"They're the only ones who have patients anymore in case you haven't noticed."

"So we're supposed to wait until she strokes out so they cad keep their costs dowd?" he questioned the older doctor. 

"You don't have to wait for anything, Dr. Greene. She is discharged." he fumed and stomped away.

"Hey, that bounce-back migraine in 4 is still complaining of pain." Malik said as he walked past Mark. 

"Try a milligrab of DHE add 10 of Reglan." he suggested. 

"You got it."

Mark walked up to the front desk and took a tissue from the box to blow his nose. "Ah...thad's better. Ha'chish! ... Huh'CHUH! Ugh." He threw it out, pulled another one, and repeated his previous action.

"Bless you." Susan said as she came up behind him. 

"Thadks." he sighed and stifled a few coughs into his shoulder. 

"Do you wanna go lay down in the lounge or in Exam 2? We're slow right now." she said with concern. 

Mark cleared his throat and picked up a new chart from the rack. "I'b fine. I'll take the 'weak and dizzy' id 3." He went off to his next patient with Susan shaking her head lightly. 

"He's stubborn as all hell. But he's dedicated." she added with a sigh. 

Randi turned around to face Susan. "Insane is more like it. I'd give anything to be at home in bed or at least take a nap if I were him. He hasn't taken a full sick day in what, three years?"

She nodded. "I have a feeling he will this time, this one's a whopper. Rachel's missed two days of school because of it." 

"It must be bad then. I hope he doesn't spread it all around here. Hopefully he'll know when to stay home."

"I'll probably have to put him restraints." They both laughed at that comment and Susan walked to Exam 4 to her next patient.  

---------------

Mark was at the desk doing discharge summaries on his charts since the patient board was covered. 

Susan walked up and put her chart in the 'discharged' rack. "Hey. I'm going to the cafeteria. Do you want anything?"

"No, I'b not hungry." He coughed into his fist and sniffled. 

"You should eat something to keep your strength up, we've still got four hours to go. How about you come with me? It's pretty dead right now." she observed, looking around at the mostly quiet department. 

"Fine." He set his pen down and put his charts in a stack. "Let's go. We'll be back id fifteen."

The two of them sat down with their food at a table after they had paid for it. Mark made sure that he took plenty of napkins just in case he needed one. He got a turkey sandwich with chips and a hot tea per his wife's suggestion. Susan got a salad and a bottle of water.

"I hope Rachel's okay. I'm sure she won't be mad at you by the time we get home. She'll probably be asleep." She took a bite of her food. 

"I did the righd thing didn't I? I wasn't too harsh od her?" Mark wondered out loud. 

Susan shook her head. "No way. I would've backed you up and told her the same thing. She's sick as a dog."

Mark nodded and coughed a couple of times into his napkin. "Don't give be that look."

"What look?" she asked. 

"I'll be fide." Mark insisted. 

Susan didn't buy that for a second. "Hm, I seem to remember a certain fourteen year-old saying that recently...oh yeah, Rachel. That's right. She was feeling tired on Wednesday and then bam! The next morning she woke up with a fever and not to mention she coughed up a storm all night."

"Okay, okay. I see your poidt. If I feel worse by Sunday, I'll take the day off."

"Do you promise?" she asked him seriously.   

"I probise. You have by word."

"I have a feeling that I'm gonna need it in writing." Susan joked. 

"Susan! Don't you trust be?"

"I'm kidding Mark, I'm kidding. Just try and take it easy okay? Don't hesitate to rest if you need to, it's been an unusually slow day."

"Dod't say that! Now you've jinxed it!" Mark exclaimed. 

"Fine. Let's just eat."

They did in silence for a few minutes. "Hngsxt! Hngchh!"

"Bless you." Susan offered quietly. "Don't stifle."

"Ha'CHISH!" The last was very audible to those around them and a chorus of bless yous came after it. "Thadks." He wiped his nose with his napkin and sniffled. 

The hospital's Chief of Staff Dr. Donald Anspaugh walked over to their table with his tray of food. "That was quite a sneeze Dr. Greene! Are you feeling well?"  

Mark looked up at him. "I'm fine thanks."

Dr. Anspaugh then looked to Susan whose expression said it all. "Carry on then." He walked away.

Susan was the first to speak. "You know the more times you say that, the less I believe you right?"

"Shut up." he said with a laugh. Just then, both of their pagers went off. "We have beed summoned." They both rushed back downstairs to the ER to see what trauma had come in.  

"Dr. Greene, the paramedics are here." Jerry informed him.  

Mark ran down the hall to meet up with the gurney. He saw a baby with gunshot wounds to the right leg. "How old is she?"

"18 months. Two gunshots to the right upper leg through and through. Hypotensive. Can't get a line." the paramedic said. They wheeled her into Trauma 2. "Cops got the boy who did it. Black kid, 14 years old. Shot him dead. Can't say I'm sorry." She walked out.

"Yeah, cops never mind shooting a black kid." Malik scoffed. 

"And he didn't much mind shooting this one did he?" Haleh countered which shut him up. 

"CBC, type and cross for two. Ged a unit of O-neg."

"Right foot's cold. No pulse." 

"Femoral artery." Mark concluded quickly. 

Malik went to the phone. "I'll call for x-rays."

"16-inch Jamshidi. One-percend with epi."

"Faint pulse. Dynamap's not reading." Haleh stated. 

"120 of saline. Fill these tubes." Mark said and handed them to Malik. "Haleh, page Netzley. Malik, you're gonna take her ub to OR."

"You got it." he replied. 

"You guys got it?" he asked them. They nodded and he walked out the doors and into the hallway.

Lydia came up to him. "Mark, that puker in 4 is still at it."

"Give him 10 of Compazine and a liter of saline." he ordered and she walked off.

"Mr. Nathan in 5. High white count. Temp's 101. Still has left lower-quadrant pain." Carol came to him this time. 

"Id's probably diverticulitis. Make him MPO. Give him amp, gent, Flagyl, and get ad abdominal series."

"Thanks. How are you holding up?" she wondered. 

"I'b still standing ared't I?"

"You should go take a—"

"Nap in the lounge. I thik I will thanks." Mark finished for her and headed in that direction. 

He laid down on the sofa and closed his eyes. It wasn't the most comfortable thing to sleep on, but it was better than nothing. 

"Mark?" Lydia called seemingly seconds later.  

"Mmmm...what is it?" he whispered.   

"There's a respiratory distress pulling in now." She shut the door and opened it a few seconds later. "Are you coming?"

"I'm up, I'm up." He sat up and put his glasses on. "How long was I oud for?"

"About twenty minutes." she answered. 

Mark groaned as he stood up. "Slow day my ass." he mumbled under his breath as he walked toward the door. 

"What was that?" 

"Nothing." Mark said quickly and left to treat the patient.   

---------------

To be continued...