"Can't wait to see you tonight. What are you going to wear?"

Susan Lewis suppressed a smile and quickly tapped a text message reply into her cell phone.

"My…black…dress….and…strappy…heels," she mouthed silently as she typed and then clicked 'send'. She waited a moment for his response and then, smiling, slipped the phone into the pocket of her lab coat. She took a deep breath and pushed open the door to the lounge. It was strangely quiet as she made her way to the refrigerator across the room. She opened the door and found her soup mug and closed the door. Wordlessly she loosened the top on the mug and slipped it into the microwave. She tapped the buttons to start the reheating and turned around suddenly.

"You've been talking about me again,' she accused. Chuny shook her head and Inez shrugged.

"Not really….of course not," they said in unison. Susan grimaced knowingly and made her way to the table where they sat. She turned the lap top in front of Chuny around and sighed.

"Let me help you out," she said as she began to type. "Northwestern Memorial Hospital…..infectious diseases….Dr. Scott Porter." When his picture came up on the screen from the hospital's website, she grinned and then turned the laptop back to Chuny.

"I've been away all week, Susan," Chuny moaned. "I just heard about your new guy." She looked at the screen and her eyes widened.

"Oh…..nice," she nodded. "I really need to go on vacation with you."

"Abby said it was fate that brought them together," Inez said as she studied the picture again. The microwave beeped and Susan took her mug of soup out and took the lid off. She stirred the thick, home made broth and took a sip.

"Dr. Lockhart has a lot of things to say about our Thanksgiving vacation," she said as she blew on her lunch to cool it off a bit.

"She said Dr. Kovac had every single minute planned," Inez said to Chuny and they chuckled.

"What did Cosmo think of Disney World?'" Chuny asked as she looked up at Susan again.

"Cosmo…..and Lauren….would like to live there forever and ever," Susan laughed. "Me too." She frowned as she looked into the mug again.

"I thought I wanted this for lunch," she sighed. She snapped the top back on the mug and put it back in the refrigerator.

"So if he works at Northwestern and you are here," Chuny asked as she shut down the laptop. "Do you get to see each other much?"

"It's only been a week, Chuny" Susan laughed. "And there's work and Cosmo and Susie and he has two daughters of his own. It's complicated." Chuny put the computer back on the intern desk and turned to her expectantly. Susan grimaced playfully.

"We have a date tonight," she chuckled. Chuny squealed and hugged her.

"I'm so happy for you!" she said. "Its been a long time, you know?"

"Its just dinner, Chuny," Susan cried. "I've been out to dinner before." They both looked up as the door to the lounge burst open.

"GWS, Dr. Lewis," a nurse said briskly. "ETA is less than five." Susan nodded and took a deep breath as she headed toward the door and followed the little nurse out into the busy ER hallway. It was going to be a long afternoon.

And long it was. A gang fight sent multiple victims into the ER. An apartment fire sent more. And then there were the others that waited impatiently in the waiting room for their turn with triage and treatment. Susan was exhausted when she opened the front door of the duplex and dropped her bag onto the chair next to the door. She picked up the mail that was waiting on the small table next to the chair and rifled through the bills and advertisements.

"Susie?" she called. "Cosmo?"

"Hi!" Susie said as she came from the basement door with a basket of laundry. "I thought you'd be home sooner to get ready." Susan shrugged. Susie dropped the basket onto the couch and sat down to sort through the socks and tee shirts and washcloths.

"What time is Dr. Porter picking you up tonight anyway?" she asked. Susan kicked her shoes off and then bent to pick them up.

"I got stuck with a patient so I am going to take a cab and meet him at the restaurant in…" she glanced down at her watch. Her eyes widened.

"In an hour," she gasped. "Where's Cosmo?" Susie tipped her head toward the stairs.

"He was kind of crabby this afternoon when he came home from Zach's house," she said. "He said he wanted to go upstairs and read for a while."

"I'll check on him and then take a quick shower," Susan said and made her way up the staircase. She peeked into Cosmo's room and smiled softly. He was sound asleep on his bed with a Peter Pan picture book across his tummy. His cheeks were flushed and he was snoring slightly. She left his door open and went into the bathroom to get the water running for her shower. It was going to feel so good tonight.

And it did feel good. It felt good to shower after such a rough shift. It felt good to slip into silky underclothes and a slinky dress again. It felt good to fasten in new earrings and buckle on heels she hadn't worn in ages. And it felt good to know that she was going to be seeing him again. Alone.

Susan examined herself in the full length mirror behind her bedroom door and smiled in satisfaction. The Disney World tan hadn't been washed out yet and her hair was definitely having a good day. She ran her fingers through the shoulder length waves and reached for a perfume bottle from the dresser top. She dabbed a little on her wrists and then her neck and set the bottle back. She took one more look at herself in the mirror and nodded in satisfaction.

Susan crossed the hall to Cosmo's bedroom and frowned a little when she saw that he was still sleeping soundly. She kicked aside the jacket, shoes and toys that were strewn across his floor and made her way to the edge of his bed.

"Cosmo?" she said quietly as she sat down on the blue and gray quilt next to him. She put her hand on his cheek and her eyes widened.

"Honey, you're burning up," she gasped and shook him a little. Cosmo's eyes fluttered open and he grimaced as the rays from the airplane light on the bedside table burned painfully. He blinked up at his mother as she brushed the hair off his forehead and pressed a cool hand there.

"You have a fever, kiddo," she said as she slipped the book from his tummy into the bookshelf next to them. Cosmo nodded and then suddenly jerked forward as he emptied the contents from his stomach into her lap.

"Cos!" she shrieked.

"I'm sorry, Mom," he began to cry and vomited again. Susan grimaced and held her hand to the little boy's back, waiting till he was through. She grabbed the small blanket from the end of his bed to mop up the mess in her lap.

"I'm sorry, mommy," he cried again as he lay back against his pillows.

"Aw, honey, you couldn't help it," she crooned and felt his head again. "Are you okay, now?"

"What happened?" Susie asked as she burst into the room. She grimaced as Susan lifted the blanket in her lap.

"I think I'm sick," Cosmo moaned. Susan chuckled a little and stood up.

"Yeah, I think you are….." she sighed and looked at Susie. "Can you get that big popcorn bowl from the kitchen? He might need it."

"Ew," Susie waved. "Okay….."

"Mommy, don't leave me," Cosmo cried in panic.

"I won't, honey," Susan said. "I'm just going to change out of this dress and get a wash cloth for you." Cosmo nodded tearfully and closed his eyes.

"But what about, Dr. Porter?" Susie whispered when they were in the hallway. "I'll be here with him, Aunt Susan. You can still go." Susan sniffed the aura from the blanket in her hands and shook her head.

"No," she said. "I don't think so. Not tonight. Just put this in the washing machine and get that bowl up here as soon as you can." Susie nodded and disappeared holding the folded blanket at arms length. Susan went into the bathroom and unzipped the dress, letting it fall to her feet. She undid the straps of her heels and kicked them into the hall. She took the blue terrycloth bathrobe from its hook on the back of the bathroom door and wrapped it around her. She pulled a clean washcloth from the drawer under the sink and quickly rinsed it with cold water. She made her way back to Cosmo's bedroom and eased herself back onto the edge of his bed. Cosmo looked up at her with bleary eyes and closed them again as she carefully wiped the cool washcloth over his face.

"That feels good," he murmured. Susan smiled and pulled another blanket from the foot of his bed. She tucked it around him and kissed his freckled cheek.

"We'll get you into some pajamas later, sweetie," she said. The little boy nodded and settled back into his pillows and sleep. Susan looked up at Susie brought a big plastic bowl into the room. Susan set it on the floor next to the bed and then smiled ruefully as Susie handed her cell phone to her. She looked up at the girl and sighed heavily.

"Could you get a glass of something for him to drink?" Susan asked. "I'm not sure what we have in the refrigerator right now. And there's a bottle of ibuprofen in the medicine chest." Susie nodded and disappeared in search of the requested items. Susan studied the phone for a moment and then punched in a text message. She frowned in disappointment as she hit the send button and then reached to smooth the hair off her sleeping son's forehead. The disappointment faded and was replaced with worry.