It was chilly up on Derek's land, the vast expanse open to the occasional gust of wind. Mark and Derek sat in rickety old lawn chairs with the quiet ease of two people who had been friends for years.

There was a noise behind them, and soon the Chief joined them, setting down the two six-packs of beer as he eased into a rickety lawn chair of his own. "Gentlemen," he said, handing each a beer.

"Sam Adams," Derek said, opening his bottle. "Never figured you for a domestic beer man."

"I'm a man of many surprises."

They sat, drinking in silence, until finally Derek spoke. "So…you and Dr. Torres?"

Mark turned to him. "What about me and Dr. Torres?"

"You two seem to be spending an awful lot of time together."

Mark shrugged and took a swig from his bottle. "I guess."

Grinning, Derek turned to the Chief. "He isn't talking about it. It must be serious."

The Chief laughed. "Must be."

"Is it?"

Mark shrugged again and began to peel the label off of his bottle. "It's…a thing."

Derek laughed again. "How long have you two been together now? Four months? Something like that?"

"No, can't be that long," the Chief chimed in.

"Six months, three weeks, and four days," Mark said. "And before either of you says anything-yes, I am the guy that remembers. Shut. Up."

"I don't know, Richard," Derek said. "That seems pretty serious to be just a 'thing' don't you think?"

"Definitely. This is more than a thing." The Chief looked at him. "You love her?"

Mark gave no reply, just sat and stared out into the vista, calmly sipping his beer.

"That's a yes," Derek said. "Next he'll tell us he's turning in his confirmed bachelor card."

Without speaking, Mark set his beer down on the grass and pulled something out of his pocket. He tossed it to Derek, who caught it one handed.

"What's this?"

Mark reached for his beer. "My bachelor card. I'm turning it in."

Derek opened the box and let out a low whistle. "Nice. Very tasteful."

The Chief put on his glasses to look at the object in the box. "Very nice indeed, Dr. Sloan. Not too big, elegant setting…the rubies are a nice touch."

"I thought so." Mark tucked the box back into his jacket pocket.

"I never thought I'd see the day," Derek said. "Mark Sloan is giving up his swinging bachelor life to settle down with one woman."

Mark had to laugh. "No settling involved."

"When are you planning on asking her?"

"Whenever it feels right," Mark replied noncommittally.

"Think she'll say yes?" the Chief asked.

Leaning back in his chair, Mark took another sip of beer. "I think so."

Derek held his beer bottle out to toast his friend. "Happy birthday, Mark."

*******************

Across town, Callie was carefully icing the cake she had baked for Mark's birthday. Meredith and Cristina watched and gabbed, stealing fingerfuls of homemade chocolate frosting.

"So, you and McSteamy," Meredith asked, licking her finger. "Is it getting serious?"

"Please," Cristina replied, rolling her eyes. "She made him a cake. She doesn't make me jack shit."

"That's because I'm not having sex with you," Callie replied, never taking her eyes off of the task at hand. "We're just taking it a day at a time."

"I can't believe you reformed the manwhore," Cristina said, propping her feet up on the counter. "How many women you think he's slept with? Over a hundred?"

Meredith shrugged. "I don't think I want to know."

"Anyway," Cristina replied, "you must be damn good in bed if he's willing to give up the women that hurl themselves at him."

"Gee, thanks." Callie rolled her eyes.

"What? I'm just stating the obvious."

Meredith leaned over and swiped her finger through the bowl of frosting again. "Are you going to marry him?"

"He'd kind of have to ask me first."

"Okay…if he did. Would you?"

Callie stopped what she was doing and thought about it. "I…yeah. Probably."

"Probably?"

"He hasn't even asked me! We haven't talked about it!" Callie stuck her own finger into the frosting. "Besides, he's not the marrying kind."

Meredith gave her a look. "What do you mean?"

"Derek is the marrying kind," Cristina said. "George? The marrying kind. Alex? Not so much. And definitely not McSteamy. He's the sex-fueled weekend in the Bahamas, get your panties wet the moment you see him, fucks you in the powder room of your parents house, mind-blowing sex kind. Those kind don't marry."

Callie and Meredith exchanged glances, then looked at Cristina with identical expressions.

"What? You've never had sex in a bathroom? Amateurs."

***********************

Later on that night, Mark and Callie sat naked in Callie's bed, eating the remnants of Mark's birthday cake. Mark smeared chocolate frosting on her neck, and she squealed as he licked it off of her, his stubble tickling her skin.

"Don't you dare get chocolate on these sheets!"

Mark gave her a chocolatey kiss. "You're no fun."

"Ha! You weren't saying that twenty minutes ago." She set her plate down on the bedside table and wrapped her arms around him, her head settling in the crook of his neck. "Did you have a good birthday?"

"I think I can safely say that this has been just about perfect."

"Just about?" She looked up at him. "What would make it perfect?"

Mark leaned over the side of the bed and rummaged around in his pile of discarded clothes. He sat up and tossed a small box at Callie.

"You're giving me a gift…on your birthday?"

"Open it."

She opened the box and her jaw dropped. Wordlessly, she stared at him.

"If you said yes, that would make my birthday perfect."

She could only stare, open-mouthed. It took her several minutes to finally find the words. "I…this is…wow. I mean…if this is the question I think you're asking-"

"It is."

"Wow. Um…I mean yes, of course, but I'm just…surprised."

He gave her a look. "Isn't that kind of the point?"

"Shut up!" She playfully smacked him. "You know what I mean."

"Well?"

"Did you not hear me say yes?" she replied laughing, as she leaned over and kissed him.

Smiling, he took the box out of her hand and placed it on the bedside table next to her empty plate. "I heard you, but I plan on making you say it much louder and much more excitedly in the next-oh, I don't know, fifteen minutes."

And indeed she did say yes, very loudly and many, many times.