What A Difference Four Years Makes
Part 8
By Cari
cxcarleo@naz.edu

Wow, this series has really taken off. Originally, I expected Thank You For Being a Friend Part 1 to be a standalone. I recommend that you read these first so that you know what has been going on in the lives of Doug, Carol, and the rest of the crew.

This story has some rough moments, and I have no idea where the idea came from, as with most of the rest of the stories in this series, but I am going to go with it.

This piece focuses less on Doug and Carol then some of the others have, but it is still part of the series. They-especially Carol-have a large role in it something they do not currently know how to do on the show!).

This takes place on Monday, February 10th. Doug has returned to County to resume his old job, which he is enjoying immensely. Carol is still on maternity leave but stops into the ER often to meet Doug for lunch with Emma. Mark and Elizabeth are working on wedding plans and are shooting for a summer wedding.

I am still using Jerry as the desk clerk although I know he is somewhat MIA this season. I like his character.

Other than Alan Rodgers, Louis Rivens, and Emma Gabriel Ross, I do not own any of the characters and make no money from their use

It had been a fairly busy day in County's ER. The weather was crappy, as it usually is in February in Chicago, and this had led to a large number of MVAs coming in. Malucci had been thinking about catching a quick break in the lounge when Jerry hands him a chart. "X-rays came back on the woman in Exam 3 with the possible broken arm."

"I'm on it," Malucci said, heading to the exam room.

He puts up the x-rays on the light board and before he can say anything to his patient, she says, "Ooh I did a good job on that arm and wrist."

"Yes Ms. Rodgers, you did. There is a break...."

"I know doctor," the patient said. "I used to be a doctor so I know x-rays pretty well."

"Ok then," Malucci said, a bit unhappy at having been shown up by his patient. "I'll have someone come in and set that for you."

"Thank you, doctor."

While they wait for the doctor to come back, Ms. Rodgers said to her young daughter, "Are you making me some nice pictures for the fridge when we get home?"

"Yes mommy," the young girl said, barely looking up from her coloring book.

A few minutes later, Lucy Knight came in and said, "Hi Ms. Rodgers, I'm just going to set that arm for you and you will be good to go. Did Dr. Malucci explain anything to you?"

"No, but I used to be a doctor, so I know the procedure."

"OK, that makes it easier for all of us."

"Mommy, what color cast are you getting?"

"Color?"

"Yeah, when Jenny got a cast, she got a pink one."

"Oh, I don't know. What color do you think I should get?"

"Yellow."

"Do you have yellow?"

"Sure. How did you manage to do such a job on your arm?"

"I um, I tripped and fell," she said quickly.

When Lucy was done, she said, "You can come back in 4-6 weeks to have it checked and taken off."

"Well, I don't live around here. I'm just in town for my husband's conference, so I will have it taken off at the hospital near where I live."

"OK."

"Could you tell me if Mark Greene still works here?"

"Yes he does, but today is his day off. Do you need to leave him a message?"

"No, that's ok. I'll be on my way out then."

"Have a nice stay in Chicago."

As Ms. Rodgers and her daughter walked toward the admit desk to take care of the final paperwork, she thought she saw a face that she recognized. She called out, "Doug? Doug Ross?"

Upon hearing his name, Doug turned to the sound of the voice. He stares for a moment until a look of recognition appears on his face. "Susan! Oh my gosh! What brings you here? What happened to your arm? And who is this little angel?"

He walks toward her to give her a hug. She returns the hug and says with a smile, "Whoa. One question at a time. I am in Chicago on a conference with my husband. I um, I fell today at the hotel where we are staying and I guess I did a good job of breaking it. And you already know who this is. Suzy, you have not seen Dr. Doug since you were a baby. Say hello."

Suzy said hi, very shyly and Doug said, "I can't believe how much you've grown." "Well, it has been almost four years."

"Wow. I can't believe you've been gone that long."

"Neither can I. So how are things here? Is anyone I know still here?"

"Yep. Carter, Peter, Kerry, some of the nurses, and Mark is still here. I am actually back, I left for Seattle in May, but I came back, worked at Mercy for a little while. I started back here early in January."

"Seattle? That is where I am living. My husband, Alan Rodgers works at Seattle General."

"I met him from time to time-did not know him very well though. That's weird that we ended up in the same city."

"Yes, and I believe I see something even more strange."

"What is that," Doug asked, looking around for some clue as to what she might have seen.

"Your left hand. Doug Ross got married?"

"Yes, last fall."

"Wow. Never thought I'd see that day," Susan said with a smile. "Do I know the woman?"

"You might remember her," Doug said with a smile.

"You wouldn't happen to know if Carol still works here, would you?"

"She still works here," Doug said, trying to hide any emotion from his face. "Let's see if someone might know where she is, if she is in today. I'll be right back."

Doug goes over to the desk and says to Lucy, "I'm going to come by with a woman and a child and ask you if you have seen Carol around. I am going to ask it in a formal way because this is an old friend who used to work here. She left almost four years ago, and I want to surprise her and Carol-she does not even know we are married. So go along with it, OK?"

"Of course, I love a good surprise."

Doug walks back to Susan and Suzy and asked, "Are you ready?"

"Sure."

They walk toward the desk and Doug asks Lucy, "Have you seen Carol at all? Do you know if she is working today?"

"I believe I saw her go into the lounge. Did you need me to get her for you?"

"No, that's ok. I am on break and will go get her. Thanks." As they walk toward the lounge, Doug says, "You stay out here for a second. I will get her to close her eyes to surprise her."

"OK."

Doug sticks his head in the lounge and sees Carol with Emma in her lap. Putting a finger to his lips, he said to Carol, "Close your eyes for a second."

"Why?"

"Doctor's orders," Doug said with a laugh. As Carol closed her eyes, Doug ushered Susan and Suzy in, signaling to them to be quiet. Susan is shocked to see Carol holding a baby, but keeps quiet. "OK Carol," Doug says, "Open your eyes."

As she does, she looks up and screams, "Susan!" They meet halfway across the room and hug. "Oh my gosh. What are you doing in Chicago? What happened to your arm? Who..."

Susan had grown tired of the questions about her arm, so she avoided that question. "Suzy, say hi to Nurse Carol, you knew her when you were very little."

"Hi sweetie," Carol said to Suzy, giving her a hug.

Susan asked Carol, "And who is this little one?"

"This is Emma. She is 7 weeks old. I had her Christmas Day."

Not wanting to be too forward by asking who the father is, but noticing the ring on Carol's finger, Susan says, "She's beautiful. You and your husband must be so excited and proud."

"We are," Doug said, with a smile.

"You..." sputtered Susan.

"Yep, us...I told you that you might remember my wife," Doug said with a smile.

"I'm so happy to see the two of you together, I had a feeling all along. A hope that it might happen."

Doug said, "I need to get back to work. Carol, I meant to call you to let you know that I had to work through lunch. I guess its good I did not though. Why don't you two take the kids back to the house and catch up?"

Carol said, "I like that idea. Susan, do you have time?"

"Yes. Alan, my husband, is in meetings until 9 PM, so I have all day."

"And it might take the two of you that long to stop talking," Doug said with a laugh. "I'll see you both later then, I get off at 4."

He gave Carol and Emma a kiss as he left the lounge to go back to work.

As Carol and Susan left the hospital, Carol asked, "Did you drive here?"

"No, I took a cab from the hotel."

"OK, then ride with us and I can drive you back to the hotel later. Not to mention the fact that you shouldn't be staying in a hotel with all your friends here in Chicago."

"I wasn't sure if I still had any friends here since I left so fast and haven't spoken to anyone since. Plus Alan's hospital paid for everything."

Carol took Susan's hand and said, "You will always have friends here."

"Thank you."

"So where are you living now? I sent a wedding invitation to Chloe's address in Phoenix, but it came back as undeliverable."

"Well..." Susan drops her voice to a whisper so Suzy does not hear. "Chloe is... Chloe was killed when she and Joe took part in a robbery. Joe is in jail. I got custody of Suzy and moved with Alan to Seattle two years ago."

"I am so sorry to hear that. Did you know that Doug was in Seattle this summer?"

"Yes, he mentioned that to me. He has met Alan from time to time but did not know him very well."

When they got to Carol and Doug's house, Carol and Susan made lunch for Suzy and themselves. After Suzy finished eating, she said, "Mommy, I'm tired."

Carol said, "I'll show you where you can sleep."

After she went to sleep, Carol and Susan walked down to the den and Carol said, "If you don't want to talk about what happened to your arm, I will respect that. I am just concerned."

With tears in her eyes, Susan said, "It's not that, I just can't lie to you as well as to the others."

As Carol gave Susan a hug, she looked at her face in time to see her wince in pain. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you..."

"It's ok...I guess I must have gotten bruised on the way down. But you don't know how good the hug felt."

Gently, Carol put her arms around Susan, "Is this ok or does it hurt?"

"It doesn't matter. The good feeling from the hug, the sense of security outweighs everything else."

Carol could tell that Susan was crying so she rubbed her back and said, "Let it all out. I'm here for you."

Cut to show a time lapse of five to ten minutes. Susan's eyes are all red, but she has stopped crying for the moment. "Thank you so much. I feel bad. I haven't been around for four years and immediately I'm dumping my problems on you."

"Don't look at it that way. Although we have not been in touch, I have always considered you one of my closest friends. I will always be here for you."

"It's been so long since anyone said that to me. It almost surprises me now that anyone would care."

"Why would you feel that no one cares?"

"For the past two to three years, no one has," Susan said, getting choked up. "I had no friends in Seattle. Alan made sure of that. I had no one to go to. He would screen my mail and tape my telephone calls. As if any of that mattered, he would not let me give our telephone number or address to anyone. He even made me quit working.... This is the first time I have talked to anyone about this. I had to be strong for Suzy. I just...I am not that strong. I can't do it anymore," Susan said, breaking down in Carol's arms.

Cut to show a time lapse of about 20 minutes. Carol said, "That is a nasty bruise. It's no wonder that my hug hurt you."

"My arm hurt so bad, I didn't even notice the other pain."

"Is this the first time?" Carol asked gently.

"No," Susan said quietly. "The physical abuse started about a year and a half ago and has gotten worse over time. The emotional...Oh god... forever. I had no way out though...If...If I did not have Suzy, I think I would have killed myself. But she needs me...."

"Would you be willing to leave?"

"Yes. I have been looking for an out.... I was hoping that it might come while we were here. But I wasn't sure because of the way I left if anyone would be willing to help me."

"We will always be willing to help you. You two can stay here for as long as you need or want to. Do you want to get your stuff from the hotel before Alan is out of meetings?"

"I want to get an order of protection first, I'm afraid."

"Of course. We can even get a police escort."

"That would be a good idea. I need to find a job pretty quickly. I will give you guys some money for rent, but I do not know if I can right away. I literally have nothing."

"Money is not a concern. You concentrate on getting back on your feet and taking care of yourself. Since I imagine that you left most of your stuff back in Seattle we can go buy you some stuff until he sends it to you."

"I don't have much left. Its mainly all been destroyed at one time or another."

"Well don't worry. We will buy you some clothes and other stuff. Doug is on at night tomorrow I think so he can watch the girls and we will go out, ok?"

"I...I don't have any money at all."

"It will be my treat. Mama left me some money, and this is something I want to do for you."

"When did your mom pass away?" "This fall. A week and a half before my wedding."

"I'm so sorry to hear that."

Cut to show a time lapse. A clock in the kitchen shows that it is 4:15 PM. Carol is sitting with Suzy at the kitchen table and they are coloring. Emma is sitting in her swing. Doug comes into the room and giving Carol a kiss, he asks, "Where is Susan?"

"Asleep on the couch. She has had a very rough time of late. Do you know if your friend the detective is on tonight?"

"I can find out, why?"

Carol motions for them to step away and says to Suzy, "I'll be right back." Carol and Doug step into the dining room and Carol whispers, "Alan has been abusing Susan; emotionally and physically. She wants to get an order of protection and a police escort to go to the hotel to get their stuff. I told her that she and Suzy could stay here until they got back on their feet."

"Of course. I will call right away." Doug made a quick call and as he hung up he said, "He can see us at any time to do the paperwork. And he will escort us personally."

"That's great. Let me go talk to Susan."

Carol walked into the den where Susan was sleeping. She sat down on the edge of the couch and gently woke Susan. "How did you sleep?"

"OK...I'm sorry I fell asleep on you. It's just."

"Don't apologize, you needed a break. Doug just got home and his friend who is a detective will help us with the paperwork and escort us personally, so whenever you're ready..."

"OK, let me just go freshen up. Can I borrow a shirt? This one is kind of grimy."

"Sure."

As they were walking out of the den, they heard Suzy start to cry and she ran to Susan. "Mommy I'm sorry. I...I did not know where the bathroom was and I had an accident. I'm sorry. Please...It is not my fault. Please...."

"It's OK sweetie, that happens. Let's get you cleaned up."

"Please don't hit me. It's...."

"I would never hit you.... It was an accident...." Realizing what Suzy was implying, Susan knelt down in front of her and asked, "Did daddy hit you if you had an accident?"

"Yes."

"Oh honey," Susan said, starting to cry. "Why didn't you ever tell me?"

"He told me not to...That I would be more in trouble if I did."

Susan gave Suzy a hug and said, "I promise. I would never be mad. Accidents happen. You don't have to worry about dad hitting you anymore, ok?"

"OK."

Carol, who had missed this part of the conversation because she had gone to look for something that Suzy might be able to wear, came back into the room at this point and saw the look of anger on Doug's face and asked, "What's the matter?"

Doug whispered, "It looks like Suzy has been abused too. Susan just found out."

Carol put her hand to her mouth and was like, "I can't believe this."

Cut scene to show Carol, Susan, Doug, and Detective Louis Rivens walking down the hotel corridor. Emma and Suzy are with Rivens' partner downstairs. As they enter Room 317 with Susan's key, they are shocked to see Alan in bed with another woman. "Well look what the cat dragged in," Alan said. "I thought I told you not to come back until 9 PM when I was out of meetings?" Alan said angrily.

"I came back to get mine and Suzy's stuff."

"So get it and get out. But where will you go? You have nothing. You are nothing."

Susan was determined not to let Alan see how he was hurting her, so she bit her lip to keep from crying. "I have friends who care enough about me to take care of me. More than you ever did."

"When they find out you're nothing but a cheap whore, they will drop you. And don't come crawling back to me...."

Doug had been holding his temper up until this point, but he exploded with, "No. You are nothing. Anyone who uses a woman and child as a punching bag is less than nothing in my book."

"Like you are anything yourself. I know who you are. The joke of Seattle General.... Well you will be perfect with the slut of Seattle."

Doug lunged toward Alan, but Susan grabbed his hand as the detective pulled him back too. "He's not worth it," Susan said. "Let's get out of here."

"Don't let the door hit you in your fat ass on the way out. And I'll be looking for you and Suzy working the streets of Seattle soon. That's about all you can handle as a job."

As soon as the door shut behind them, Susan dropped the bag she was holding. Doug grabbed her to keep her from falling, and Carol took her into her arms as Susan broke down and sobbed.

Detective Rivens said, "I'll take the bags down to the car."

As Doug went to put his arms around Susan as well, Carol said, "Be careful. She is pretty badly bruised."

Cut scene to show a time lapse of an hour and a half. Carol had put Emma to bed and Susan was working on getting Suzy to sleep. Carol stuck her head in the nursery, where Doug had put a cot, and whispered, "Doug's going to get a pizza and a movie. Any kind you prefer?"

"Plain or pepperoni is fine. I haven't seen any movies lately, so whatever you guys want is fine."

"OK."

As Carol left the room, and Suzy was almost asleep, Susan started to think, and that was painful as she allowed the last few weeks to catch up with her. She shut the light near Suzy's bed and went into the guestroom and just lay on the bed.

A few minutes later, Carol came up to ask Susan another question. When she did not find her in the nursery, she looked in the guestroom. Although the room was dark, she could see Susan's shoulders shaking as she lay face down on the bed.

Carol went quietly into the room and sat on the bed. "Do you want to be alone?"

"No. I want anything but to be alone. I'm so scared...."

"Hey.... That's ok. You've been through a lot in the past years and this week."

"I...I want you to know that I'm not...I'm not any of those things Alan said I was."

"You don't have to tell me that. I know that."

"Thank you...I.... I don't know how I'm going to get through this."

"Somehow, maybe talk to someone about it or.... We will help you get through this. And I promise, I will be here for you every step of the way. Doug will too. We will all get through this somehow."

Fade to black with Carol holding Susan and comforting her.