Disclaimer: I don't own Grey's Anatomy.
All chapters written from Teddy's POV are written by me, those written from Mark's POV are Cassy's
Chapter 1
A New Beginning
Teddy
I stood there staring at Alex and Lexie through the window. The man she loved had almost died in her arms today, and I'd let the man I loved go. It was better that way, Owen loved Christina, and she loved him too. I sighed a looked down at the tile floor. I'd forgotten that Mark was standing there until he squeezed my hand. I looked up at him feeling bewildered. He must've seen the puzzlement in my eyes, because he let go of my hand and averted his eyes. "Mark." I whispered softly, unable to think of anything else to say. Just saying his name made my heart ache, the man I'd agreed to see only to help ease the pain Owen had left me with. The last man I'd ever expected to look at me like I was the most beautiful woman in the world. The man I'd written off as an arrogant jackass, but discovered a softer side of, and the last man I'd ever thought I'd fall for.
"Teddy." He whispered back, his blue eyes were melancholy and glassy. He reached his hand up and ran the tip of his thumb across my cheek. "You're crying." He whispered wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me close to him. I leaned against him, letting him support some of my weight. He rested his chin on the top of my head and stroked my hair. "What's the matter." he asked, his voice soft and soothing. I looked up at him, my vision blurred with tears. "The man she loves got shot. He nearly died in her arms." I managed to get out before my voice broke. I never wanted to go through that. My chest racked with sobs and he held me tighter. "Shhh. It's alright. You saved him, and he'll be fine." His voice was gentle and soothing, like he was talking to a child who'd had a nightmare. I'd only let someone see me like this one other time. It was after the second tower fell and I learned that my best friend had never made it out.
I wasn't sure how long we'd be standing there before I finally stopped crying. When I'd finally gotten control of myself I looked up at him, his beautiful eyes were focused on me like I was the only thing that mattered to him. "I'm s-sorry. I-I've had a rough day." I stammered not sure what to say. I couldn't say what I wanted to say, because what I wanted to say meant opening up and letting him in, and everytime I let someone in it always turned out the same. "It's been rough for all of us." He replied, stroking my cheek softly. He kissed my forehead gently and let the tip of his nose touch mine. We stood there staring into each others eyes, the only sound I heard was the pounding of my own racing heart in my ears. My lips were trembling, waiting for him to press his against them. He turned his head slightly to the left and brought his lips closer to mine cautiously. Just as his lips touched mine, the pager at my hip beeped and he pulled back suddenly. Why did this sort of thing always happen to me?
I sighed and untangled myself from him and checked my pager. 'GSW to the chest, Yang operated. Post-Op to check her work' flashed across the screen. They couldn't have waited 30 more seconds? I looked up at him and sighed. "I have to go. Christina operated on someone with a GSW to the chest. They need me to do a post op to make sure she didn't screw anything up." I stared at him, wishing he'd pull me close to him again. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other awkwardly. "I guess I'll see you later." He mumbled staring down at the floor. He looked up at me briefly and reached out to brush a lock of my hair out of my face. The tip of his thumb gently stroked my cheek and he smiled softly. My skin tingled where his had met mine. I turned away from him and walked down the hall to the ER.
Even though I was leaving him behind, I couldn't get him out of my mind. I pushed open the door of the ER and stared blankly. Standing in the middle of the room were Meredith and Christina who both looked terrified, Owen who had his arm in a sling, and laying on a stretcher was Derek Shephard. I could feel the color drain out of me as I realized what had happened. I walked over to Christina staring at her in shock. "Did you get the bullet out?" I asked in barely more than a whisper. She nodded her head, she looked pale and shaken. "How bad was the damage?" I whispered softly. I felt a hand on my back, steadying me. I caught the look on Owen's face from the corner of my eye and knew who it was without turning around.
