A fax is coming in and Susan is walking with Carter to check on a patient.  She is telling him that Chloe has been up in Elmira, New York.  She has been there for the past two weeks and it showed up on her ex-husband's telephone bill.  Joe told her that he was driving up there.  Susan thinks that she might need to go too.  Suzy needs to be in school.  Carter is checking on Mr. Cannillo, who had a fly fishing accident.  Carter asks him if his face has numbed up from the Novocain that was given to him and then he yanks the fishing lure out of his head.  He tells Dr. Carter that he would like the woolly bugger back.  Susan is worried that Chloe will lose Suzy again and that this time they might not be as lucky at finding her.  Carter tells her that she can have her declared an unfit mother, but Susan worries about Joe getting custody of her.  A patient with an amputated leg is coming down the hallway and is upset with Susan for stealing his leg.  He wants to know what she did with it and she tells him that it was amputated.  He tells her he knows that, he wants to know where his orthopedic one is.  Carter asks Haleh to search and find an extra one that might be around to give to Toby.  Susan thanks Carter for defending her.  Carter tries to access the computer, but Frank quickly stops him and tells him that they are doing software upgrades and that it is unavailable for about another half hour.  He asks Frank if Jessup's LP results are back and Frank asks Carter if he knows where the fax machine is.  Pratt asks Frank if a match letter came for him and Frank asks him if he looks like the postmaster.  Gallant tells Pratt that they hand the match letters out at the dean's office.  He tells him he knows, but he forgot to pick it up.  Susan seems surprised about this and Pratt tells her that he had a date.  Carter is checking the fax machine for the LP results when he finds something else.  He asks Frank when it came in and Franks asks him what?  Carter says that it is a letter from Dr. Greene.  Frank tells him to put it in his box and he will mail it to his house.  Carter tells him no, it is from Dr. Greene to all of them.  Susan tells him to read it, so he does.  Susan, Haleh and Gallant listen:

Lily asks, Nothing else?  Frank tells them that the fax machine probably jammed and that it has been on the fritz all week.  Abby says, he faxes the letter so he doesn't have to send the macadamia nuts and the rest laugh.  Carter is looking over the faxes and Susan sees his face.  She says, what is it?  He pauses and begins to read a second letter.  He tells them that it is from Dr. Corday and everyone is silent:

Carter is holding back the tears and he tells Frank to post it on the floor.  Frank asks, That last part?  Carter tells him the whole thing.  Everyone walks away quietly and goes back to work, except for Susan.  She stands shocked and watches as Frank tacks up the letter on the bulletin board.

Carter and Pratt are taking care of Al Ervin, Mark's junk dealer patient with diabetes.  He is asking for Dr. Greene and Carter tells him that he is off.  Carter looks over and sees Kerry reading the letter on the bulletin board.  Abby walks up to tell Weaver something and she asks her when the letter came.  Abby tells her that it came while she was at lunch.  You felt the need to post it on the bulletin board, Weaver asks?  Abby tells her that it was addressed to the ER.  Abby asks her if she wants her to take it down and Weaver tells her no.  Abby tells her that a double MVA, Father/Daughter is pulling up and Kerry quickly tells her that Susan and Carter can take it.  She then tells her that George cut himself again and Weaver tells her to in a minute and walks off.  The paramedics tell Susan about the ten-year-old girl named Melissa who was unrestrained and in the back seat.  Susan asks where it hurts and she tells her that her chest hurts.  Carter takes the father, Dan Rue, who is thirty-six and he was restrained driving.  His throat hit the steering wheel and his knee hit the dash board.  He is complaining of hip and pelvic pain, but his right leg and throat hurt the worse.  Susan and Gallant tend to Melissa.  She appears to be okay, but Susan gets a chest x-ray.  When Abby comes in to look for a scope, Melissa sees her daddy in the next room.  Carter is going to try and put a scope down the man's throat to see what damage was done, but Abby removes his collar and they see a large hematoma in front of the trachea.  Carter is struggling to help the man breathe, but Romano comes in and cuts through the hematoma and performs a quick tracheotomy and helps the man breathe.  He tells Carter that there is no time for being slow.  Lydia comes in and tells Susan that her sister is on the phone.  Susan speaks to Chloe and learns that she is back with Joe.  As she is speaking with Chloe, she gets the girl's x-ray back.  She sees that the girl has a mass on her lung.  Kerry is taking care of George's cut and stitching his hand up.  As he is talking with her, she looks over and sees Romano reading Mark's letter.  She can see that it upsets him.  When she turns back to George, she sees him touching his hand and this upsets her.  She tells him that she told him not to touch his hand or pull at the stitches.  She calls him stupid and Luka walks up.  He can see that she is upset about the letter and tells her that she should go home and that he will take care of George.  She apologizes and apologizes to George.  She walks into the next exam room and cries.

Abby is getting something for a patient and Susan walks up to tell her about something that a patient needs.  Abby asks her if she thought what happened to Mark would happen so soon?  Susan tells her that he did stop treatment.  Abby keeps expecting him to walk around the corner or something.  Susan tells her that he was thirty-eight years old and it was too soon by any calculation.  Susan asks Abby when she is off and Abby tells her that she is off now.  She is only sticking around because she doesn't feel like going home.  Susan tells her that they should go out and get plastered.  Kerry walks up and tells Susan that she has to go and Susan tells her that Carter is still on for a couple of hours and that she is just waiting around for a parent so that she can transfer a girl to oncology.  Weaver tells her that she is sorry about Mark.  Susan invites her to come with them for drinks at the Lava Lounge, but Kerry tells her that she already has plans.  Haleh walks up and tells Susan that Romano is looking for her.  He is putting a chest tube in her patient.  Susan goes to the room and asks him what he is doing.  He came down for a consult, that Susan canceled, and saw that she is having difficulty breathing.  Susan explains to Melissa what is going on and tells her that her mom is on the way.  Romano takes her to the OR.  Kerry and Sandy are going to the El.  Sandy tells her that she should be with her friends at a time like this.  Kerry tells her that they are not friends, they are colleagues.  On the El, Kerry tells her that she feels bad.  She knew that Mark was going to die, but she never knew she would feel like this.  Her and Mark had always butted heads and Kerry always felt competitive with him.  Sandy tells her that it sounds like she lost a friend and Kerry replies, I think I have.  Pratt and Carter are still tending to Al.  He is septic and Nephrology will not take him.  Carter tells Pratt that he still belongs to us.  Frank gives Pratt the match letter that he was waiting for.  Gallant asks Dr. Carter if he is going to the Lava Lounge later for drinks.  Carter asks him who all is going and he tells him Dr. Kovac, Dr. Lewis, Abby and Haleh.  Carter tells him maybe.  Pratt is upset about his letter.  Carter asks him about it and learns that he matched at his last choice, County, right where he is at.  Carter looks over and sees that Jing-Mei just read Mark's letter.  Susan is at the bar and is speaking with the bartender.  Abby walks up and see the two large drinks that she has.  Susan asks him to start her up a tab and Abby helps her with the drinks.  Haleh got a martini and Gallant got a Coke.  Susan tells them that Mark had a party there once.  Gallant suggests a toast and they all look over at Susan.  She tells them that she is not good under pressure, so Luka gives a toast in Croatian.  Kerry and Sandy walk in and join them.  Romano is operating on Melissa.  Nurse Shirley asks him if he has heard from Dr. Corday?  He sarcastically tells her yes, he is on top of her list, right after the funeral home.  He talks to Shirley about how cancer is a merciless, unrelenting, predator.  He is apparently upset about Dr. Greene.  Carter arrives at the Lava Lounge and sees Susan at the bar.  Susan tells him that Abby is outside.  Carter goes out and sees Abby.  She saw him circle the bar twice.  She is apparently drunk.  Carter sits down beside her.  She tells him that it was a great letter.  She especially liked the surprise ending.  Carter tells her that he didn't write it and she tells him that it is the last time they let him read out loud.  She asks him how many lives he thinks Dr. Greene saved.  Carter guess that it must have been at least two or three thousand.  She tells him, forget Superman, I'll take Mark Greene.  He tells her that if he knew she felt that way, he would have shaved his head a long time ago.  Abby caresses his face and asks him if he is okay.  He leans in like he is going to kiss her, but stands up and tells her that they should get out of here.  She is receptive to the idea, until she learns where he wants to take her.  He wants to take her to an AA meeting, but she doesn't want to go.  She tells him no, it will kill her buzz.  She tells him that the program is voluntary and that she can't attend it being drunk.  She heads back to the bar and Carter picks her to carry her back to his jeep.  She bites him and he drops her.  The bartender comes out with the trash and asks them if everything is okay.  They tell him yeah.  She apologizes to Carter for biting him and she tells him that she just can't go to a meeting tonight.  He tells her that he will take her for a bite to eat then.  She offers to bandage and clean his bite wound on the way.

Carter and Abby are at Doc Magoo's.  He is telling her about how Mark gets a crate of lobsters every Memorial Day from a patient he had saved.  The waitress tells them that it is breakfast time and asks if they would like anything.  They tell her no.  Abby tells Carter that she started drinking on her birthday.  It was not when Brian had beat her up.  She would probably not have opened the door if she had not been.  It is almost 6:00 AM.  Carter wants to drop her off at a meeting, but she wants to go home and get some sleep first.  She has to work that night.  She promises to go before her shift.  Jing-Mei comes in to the restaurant and is glad that Carter is there.  Carter tells her that he is on at 7:00 AM.  This surprises Abby that he has to go back to work without getting any sleep.  Jing-Mei tells him that there is a problem with his patient Al.  Carter, Malik, Jing-Mei and Lily work on Al.  Carter tells Jing-Mei that Al was Dr. Greene's personal patient.  He is having trouble breathing and other complications.  Al tells Carter no tubes, no shocks.  Susan is watching as Romano comes out of the OR.  He thanks her for destroying his night.  She asks him if he got all of the cancer and he assures her that he did.  The girl and her dad are both going to be okay.  Romano tells Susan that they were lucky that the cement truck plowed into them or they would not have known about the girl's cancer until it was too late.  Jing-Mei can't believe that Dr. Greene didn't put any notes in Al's chart.  Carter tells her that he probably thought he would have been there to take care of him.  Carter helps Pratt with an Italian woman who is worried about her grandson.  He has a red rash on his face, but Carter looks at him and sees that it is probably just strawberry jelly.  Pratt wants Carter to call Northwestern and tell them that they made a mistake passing him up for the match.  Carter goes into the lounge and finds Susan crying.  She tells him that she shouldn't have sat down.  She wants to pretend that Mark went to the Pacific and lived happily ever after.  Carter tells her that  in a way, he did.  She can't believe that they found the girl had cancer by accident, but Dr. Greene was walking around in the hospital everyday and nobody ever knew until it was too late.  Carter tells her that they save who they can.  She tells him that she misses him already.  He tells her that he does too.  She was gone for five years and missed him, but not like this.  She thought that he would always be there.  Carter hugs Susan and Dr. Weaver comes in.  Susan tells them that she has to get back to work.  Kerry has brought in a box and Dr. Greene's locker combination.  She is clearing his locker out for Pratt.  She wants to save Elizabeth from doing the chore.  She tells Carter that he has been there longer than any other doctor and that they will be looking to him to fill the void.  He replies, Big void.  Kerry is unable to clear his locker, so she asks Carter to and she leaves the room.  Carter takes Greene's name off of the front of the locker.  He starts to empty it out and comes across Mark's stethoscope.  He takes his off and puts it on the table.  He takes Greene's stethoscope and puts it around his neck.  He finishes cleaning out the locker of his mentor.

Abby and Carter are out in the ambulance bay waiting for them to bring in a man who was shot in the face with a shot gun.  Abby asks Carter how his bite is and he tells her that he isn't howling at the moon yet.  He asks her how the AA meeting went and she tells him that it was boring.  Carter asks her if she went to the meeting for her or did she go because she had promised him that she would?  She tells him that she went for him.  The ambulance pulls up and the man looks awful.  Inside, Carter tells Gallant to hold him down.  Susan tries to get him sedated and Carter checks him out.  Carter tells Gallant to keep him on the table.  He wants Gallant to un-roof his jaw and move it away so that he can check his airway.  Gallant tells him that he can't do it and that he needs to sit down, but he does.  They finish up on the man and Carter tells Gallant that he can let go.  He tells Gallant to go outside and get some air.  Just as Dr. Greene did in the Pilot episode of ER 24 Hours, Carter goes out and checks on Gallant.  Gallant tells him that he is sorry, he thought he was going to get sick.  Gallant tells him that sometimes he doesn't think he can do this.  Carter tells him that there are two kinds of doctors.  The kind that get rid of their feelings and the kind that hold on to them.  If you are going to hold on to your feelings, then you are going to get sick every once in a while.  It is part of it.  Helping the patients is more important than how the doctor feels.  Carter tells him that he has been doing it for eight years now and he still gets sick.  Carter tells him to take another minute and he heads back inside.  Susan asks him how Gallant is doing and he tells her that he is going to be okay.  She is on her way home.  On her way out, she glances at the letter and she puts another thumb tack in one to keep it from flying away.  Carter goes in and checks on Al.  Al wakes up and thinks that Carter is Dr. Greene.  He tells him, I thought they said you were gone.  Carter tells him no, I am still here.  Carter doesn't realize yet that Al thinks he is Dr. Greene.  Al tells him that you know I don't like anyone but you treating me.  This let's Carter know that Al thinks he is Mark.  Al tells him that he has always treated him like a man.  An alarm sounds from the machine by Al and Carter cuts it off.  Carter tells him that there is no reason to be scared.  Al says that he could have been a better person and done more.  Carter tells him that he did enough.  He asks Carter to stay with him and that it won't be much longer.  Carter tells him that he will stay right here.

Some time has passed and it is now hot in the summer time at the ER.  The doctors and nurses are busy with multiple traumas and things are just as they have always been, but without Dr. Greene.  Mark's letter is still on the bulletin board, but a gust of wind blows one of the pieces of paper away.  Nobody seems to notice.

Reviewed by Tony Conner on May 14, 2002