The Way You Loved Me
Part Thee - I Knew I Loved You
By Carianne
cxcarleo@naz.edu

This piece starts the day after "The Way You Love Me" ended. So I recommend you read that. A brief summary is that Mark knew that Elizabeth was stressed out due to work and planned a very special evening for her. A few notes to keep in mind: the way I am picturing Elizabeth's hair is long, as in the end of May Day. It probably doesn't matter much, but just so everyone knows what I have in mind.

I do not own any of the characters make no money from their use.

Songs used in this piece are:

"I Knew I Loved You" by Savage Garden

As always, thanks to Lori and Rachel for their help in letting me bounce ideas off them.

Please e-mail me with any feedback.

Elizabeth put the patient's chart in the rack, leaned her elbows on the desk, and put her forehead in her hands. "I hate being sick," she thought to herself.

Kerry, who was standing nearby, asked, "Long day?"

"It's shaping up that way," Elizabeth said, lifting her head to look at Kerry.

"Are you covering down here today?"

"No, Peter is, but I got called down for a consult since he was nowhere to be found. When I got here, Malucci was MIA too, but Luka knew which patient it was for."

There was a pause for a few seconds as Kerry studied Elizabeth's face carefully. She then dropped her voice and asked, "Do you feel OK? You don't quite look yourself."

Elizabeth exhaled deeply through her mouth, half annoyed at herself for letting it show, but at the same time, grateful that Kerry thought enough to ask. "Do you have time to talk?"

"Sure, I'm done for the day. Did you want to go to your office?"

"Not particularly because I don't really feel like dealing with Romano. If you're done for the day, go home and I'll catch up with you later."

"That's OK. You seem like you need to talk, and I don't mind. We can go into Exam 2 to talk," Kerry said, marking it off on the Board as Private so they would not be disturbed.

They walked into the room and after shutting and locking the door, Kerry closed the blinds. Elizabeth leaned against the exam table and said, "I'm not sure you're the right person to go to but..."

"Sometimes it helps just to talk it out. And if I can't help you, maybe we can figure out who can."

"Thank you. I don't know if you knew, but I have been working a lot lately."

"I did notice, it seems you're always here."

"It feels as if I am. Don took one of my shifts for this weekend because he saw how overloaded I am. So then, Romano dumped this morning's shift on me. I wasn't due in until 3. And you know I'd normally work whatever shifts without a word to the contrary but..."

"But this is ridiculous."

"It's even more than that, there's an actual reason I can't work these insane hours."

"Are you OK?" Kerry asked gently.

Elizabeth started to pace around the room, and Kerry just let her do so because it seemed to be her way of venting. After a few moments she said to Kerry, "I'm pregnant."

Kerry looked up, slightly in shock and said, "Normally, I would offer my congratulations, but from the way your acting, I'm guessing this isn't a good thing."

"I don't know if it is or not."

"Have you told Mark?"

"Not yet, I just found out yesterday morning."

"You need to go talk to him about this."

"It would be easier if I knew how he would react."

Kerry walked over to Elizabeth and put her hand on her shoulder and said, "I have known Mark now for more than 5 years, and I'd bet that he will be very excited."

"I hope so. The topic of children has come up, but we agreed not right now. And I was on using birth control. I just hope he won't be angry with me."

"I sincerely doubt that would happen. Is he at home now?"

"Yes, he doesn't have to come in until later."

"Why don't you go home? You look exhausted and I'm sure morning sickness is no walk in the park. Take the rest of the day off, I'll find Peter and let him know."

"What should I tell Romano?"

"I'll tell him you went home sick, it's not a total lie, and you need a break."

"Thank you," Elizabeth said. "Talking did help."

"I'm glad."

About 20 minutes later, Elizabeth unlocked Mark's apartment door. He looked up from the work he was doing at the table and said, "Hey, you're home really early."

"I got sick at work, so Kerry let me leave. She was going to handle Romano for me."

"I'm sorry you're sick. What's the matter?"

"I have an upset stomach," she answered, putting her purse and keys down, and sitting down at the table next to Mark.

Mark leaned over and gave her a kiss on the forehead. "No fever," he said. "It's probably a stomach virus or something you ate. Let me tuck you into bed so you can get some rest."

"In a little while. I want to take a shower first."

"OK, that will help too. I just washed towels this morning to they're in the basket on the bed, not yet put away."

"Thanks."

Elizabeth returned to the kitchen about 15 minutes later dressed in shorts and a t-shirt. "Did the shower help?" Mark asked, as he came up behind her and started to massage her shoulders.

"A little, but then I got sick again so the shower was kind of pointless," Elizabeth said leaning back against Mark.

"Did you want to take anything to settle your stomach?" Mark asked gently.

"No, that's OK. I'm just going to take ginger ale to bed with me and hope that it stays down."

"The ginger ale, especially since it is warm should be OK," Mark said, putting an arm around Elizabeth's waist as he walked with her into the bedroom. Mark had changed the sheets earlier that morning so he pulled the bedspread and sheets down.

Elizabeth seemed hesitant to get into bed, sitting tentatively on the edge of the bed with her hand lightly against her stomach. Mark sat down next to her, put an arm around her shoulder and asked, "Do you feel like you're going to be sick again?"

"I don't know, I hope not. But maybe I should just sit in the bathroom," Elizabeth said, laying her head on Mark's shoulder.

"That's a possibility, but I think you need some sleep too," Mark said. "Why don't you lay down for a while and see if the feeling abates at all? I'll put the garbage can next to the bed in case you get sick and can't make it to the bathroom, ok?"

"OK," Elizabeth said softly.

Mark put his under her arms and gently moved her so he could lay her back on the pillows. She turned slightly on her side to face the edge of the bed and closed her eyes. Mark took her hand lightly in his, "Do you need anything?" he asked softly.

Elizabeth thought to herself, "Yes, I need to tell you the news so I can stop worrying. I need to know you're not going to be angry with me." Verbally she asked, "Will you stay with me for a little while?"

"Of course, I just want to get the garbage can in case you get sick again."

Mark got the garbage can and positioned it next to the bed. He then climbed in bed behind Elizabeth, reached his arm in front of her and took one of her hands. "Try to get some sleep," he said, kissing her cheek.

"Thank you for taking care of me," she said softly.

"Always."

Elizabeth woke up from her nap around 3 PM and was glad to hear Mark's voice coming from the other room as he talked on the phone. "I really want to talk to him before he or I have to leave for work," she thought to herself.

She sipped her ginger ale that she had left on the nightstand and thought, "I'm glad my stomach is feeling better temporarily. I guess Kerry and Mark really did know what they were talking about when they suggested that I needed some rest."

Elizabeth lay on her side and continued to think about recent events. It had only been a week since she had considered the possibility that she might be pregnant. She was late, but that didn't necessarily mean anything because her cycle wasn't always 100% regular. It was only after she started experiencing morning sickness that she thought of pregnancy. A home test had yielded positive results, and she scheduled an appointment with her OB/GYN. Her appointment was Tuesday afternoon and she got the results Wednesday morning when she worked the extra shift. "I have to tell Mark, and soon," she thought to herself.

About 5 minutes after she had woken up, Mark walked quietly into the room. "I didn't realize you woke up," Mark said, sitting on the edge of the bed and taking Elizabeth's hand in his.

"Only about 5 minutes ago."

"How do you feel?"

"Better. You were right, I needed some sleep."

"I'm glad that it helped."

"Me too. What time do you have to work?"

"I don't, and neither do you."

Elizabeth gave him a bewildered look and asked, "How did you arrange that?"

"I didn't. Don called about two hours ago to see how you were feeling and to let you know that he would take your shift. Kerry called a little while after to check on you and to tell me that she'd switch if I wanted to stay home with you. So I'm on call but she said it was quiet and doubted she would need to call me in."

"I'm so grateful to both of them," Elizabeth said aloud. To herself she thought, "This is the time to tell him."

Mark said, "I had an idea. What do you think about renting a movie and just relaxing tonight?"

"I think that's a really good idea."

"You get to choose the movie since you're sick," Mark said with a smile.

"How about Simon Birch? Some people at work were talking about it and said it was a really good movie."

"Sounds good to me. I will run to the video store. Is there anything else you need while I'm out?"

"I don't think so, but thanks," Elizabeth said.

Later that evening the living room is darkened, the only light is coming from the TV screen. Mark is sitting in the corner of the couch and Elizabeth is leaning up against him. Mark has his arm around her, and she is holding his hand. The music playing in the background is:

Maybe it's intuition
But some things you just don't question
Like in your eyes, I see my future in an instant
And there it goes,
I think I found my best friend
I know that it might sound
More than a little crazy
But I believe...

I knew I loved you before I met you
I think I dreamed you into life
I knew I loved you before I met you
I have been waiting all my life

There's just no rhyme or reason
Only the sense of completion
And in your eyes, I see
The missing pieces I'm searching for
I think I've found my way home
I know that it might sound
More than a little crazy
But I believe...

I knew I loved you before I met you
I think I dreamed you into life
I knew I loved you before I met you
I have been waiting all my life

A thousand angels dance around you
I am complete now that I've found you

I knew I loved you before I met you
I think I dreamed you into life
I knew I loved you before I met you
I have been waiting all my life

The next morning, Mark woke up around 8:15. He reached over to Elizabeth's side of the bed and was surprised not to find her there. As he reached for his glasses and looked around the room, he saw her re-enter the room. He noticed that she had her hand pressed lightly against her stomach and asked, "Did you get sick again?"

Elizabeth didn't say anything, just nodded as she sat back on the bed. Mark sat up and scooted over next to her, put his arm around her and said, "This is one lousy stomach flu."

Elizabeth was silent for a minute before saying quietly; "It's not the stomach flu." Instead of looking away which was her first instinct, she looked into Mark's eyes in search of some reaction.

"Are you...?" Mark asked.

"Yes, I just found out yesterday. I don't know what happened, we used protection. I'm sorry. I hope you're not..." Elizabeth said in one breath before looking down.

"Hey hey, it's OK," Mark said, pulling her close. "Look at me," he said softly.

When she didn't immediately respond, he turned her face to look at him and he saw the worry in her eyes. The worry seemed to fade slightly as she saw the happiness in his eyes, "You're not upset?" she asked.

"Of course not, I couldn't be happier. Are you happy about this?"

"Happy, scared, but feeling relieved now that I told you."

"How long have you known?"

"Just since yesterday morning, but it has seemed so long. I was so scared to tell you."

"Why?"

"I don't know. We had talked about children, but we had agreed not right now and then...And I'm worried about what my family will think."

"Why?"

"Just the general attitude toward being an unwed mother. I doubt my father would mind, for he would love a grandchild, but I don't see my mother approving."

Mark took Elizabeth's hand in his and asked, "Elizabeth, I love you. I will always love you. Will you marry me?"

"I don't want you to propose just because I got pregnant."

Mark reached over to his nightstand drawer and took out a small velvet jewelry box. He opened it to reveal a beautiful diamond ring and asked, "Would I have this if that were the only reason?"

-October 1, 2000