A/N: Hey all! I decided to try to write another little one-shot. This one is pretty different than my others, but I thought it would be a fun angle to explore. I hope you guys like it. Feedback is always appreciated!
Disclaimer: I own nothing to do with Grey's Anatomy. But if I could, I would like to own Dr. Sloan. That's not asking for too much, is it?
Jessica Connors was in love. The six year-old had only been at Seattle Grace for a few days, but she knew she had found the love of her life.
She'd never forget the first time she saw him. He came into the room, wearing dark blue scrubs and a white lab coat. He was holding a chart. Jessica held her breath, praying that the dashing man would be her doctor. However, he bypassed her bed for the other one in the room, occupied by the little boy who had been burnt badly by a fire.
She couldn't help but stare at the doctor as he talked to the boy and his family. In fact, she barely noticed when her own doctor came in to talk to her. Sure, he was good-looking too. He had pretty, thick, dark hair. But no one compared to him. Not even any of the boys in Ms. Norwood's first grade class. He had sandy brown hair, icy blue eyes, and when he smiled, Jessica thought it could light the entire room.
She didn't hear what her doctor was telling her parents. Something about "tumor" and "brain". All she could think about was how she was going to get the cute doctor to talk to her. Then, she heard the boy's mother say his name. "Thank you, Dr. Sloan," she said. Dr. Sloan. Jessica Sloan. That had a nice ring to it, she could get used to it.
Jessica's future husband turned around to leave. As he passed her bed, he gave her a polite smile. She felt her heart surge. Not only had she found the love of her life, but he loved her too. He had too. He had smiled at her!
The next morning, Jessica pretended to be asleep while two pretty, young interns came into the room to check on her vitals. One had dark hair and was Asian, while the other had brown hair and was very tiny. She hated being poked and prodded and being forced into bland conversation. But if they thought she was asleep, it wasn't as bad. It was just easier that way.
"Did you see the way Mark Sloan was looking at you this morning?" the Asian intern asked, in a hushed voice while she changed Jessica's I.V.
Her ears perked up at the mention of her love's name. However, she wasn't sure if she liked where this conversation was headed.
"McSteamy? Please," Jessica heard the other intern answer in a raspy voice. "The only reason he's here is to piss Derek off."
"Well, that may be so, but that still doesn't change the fact that he was looking at you, all "McSteamy-like", like he totally wanted you," the first one replied.
The second intern scoffed. "Whatever," she said with a harsh tone in her voice. "He's just a jerk."
The two finished their business, and when Jessica heard the door shut behind them, she opened her eyes. She couldn't believe what she just heard. No way would her man do any of those things those doctors were accusing him of. A jerk? Dr. Sloan was the sweetest guy in the world. He smiled at her! And what was it that they called him? McSteamy? What kind of name was that? Jessica decided she would never call him that. She would call him Mark. That was a much nicer name.
Later that afternoon, while the little boy in the next bed slept, Jessica was staring at the TV in front of her, although she wasn't paying any attention. She was trying to decide which sounded better: Jessica Sloan, or Jessica Connors-Sloan. She was leaning toward the former, when he entered the room. Her love, Dr. Sloan.
Her heart fluttered when he shot her another brief smile, but that was all, for he went over to check on the little boy.
"He's sleeping," Jessica said softly, surprised by her sudden courage to speak up.
"That's okay. I just need to check his vitals," he answered politely before turning back to the boy.
Now that she had somewhat captured his attention, she wasn't about to let him go that easily. "What's that?" shes asked curiously.
He jotted a few things down on his clipboard and then turned to face Jessica. She could barely contain the grin that appeared on her face when he left the boy and walked over to her bed. "Vitals are important numbers that let us know how a patient is doing," he explained.
But then, he turned to leave. "How is he doing?" she asked, desperately wanting their conversation to continue. She loved the deep sound of his voice. She decided she wouldn't mind listening to it for the rest of her life.
Mark turned back around. Normally, he had better things to do that to stay and chat with a little girl, but she sounded lonely so he decided that he might as well. He could consider it his one good deed for the day.
"He's doing fine," he answered, walking back to the bed and settling into the armchair beside it. "My name is Mark," he said.
"I know," Jessica answered a little too quickly.
He smiled at her, amused. "You know?" he asked.
She blushed furiously. How could she have been that dumb? "I heard some other doctors talking about you," she said, trying to cover. "They called you 'McSteamy'."
He laughed. She liked the sound of that too. "I prefer 'Mark'," he said, holding out his hand to the little girl.
Jessica's heart raced at the thought that she was going to touch him. This was it. "I'm Jessica," she said. And as her tiny hand was enveloped by her love's much larger, stronger hand, she swore she could feel sparks.
"Nice to meet you, Jessica," he said, flashing her another one of his fantastic smiles. She thought she would melt into a puddle right there.
Now that she actually had him right there in front of her, Jessica was unprepared for the sudden nervousness she felt. Her mouth got dry and her throat closed up, and she couldn't think of a single thing to say.
Luckily for her, however, Mark continued to make conversation. "What are you watching?" he asked her, nodding toward the television.
Honestly, the TV was the last thing on Jessica's mind. It took her a moment after turning back to the screen for her to register what show was actually on. "Hannah Montana."
"What's it about?" he asked, a genuine, friendly smile on his face.
Just as Jessica opened a mouth to respond, a pretty red-headed doctor poked her head into the room. "Oh, there you are, Mark," she said, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose. "Richard needs your help in the O.R."
Jessica glanced at Mark, and when she saw his reaction, her heart shattered. She may have been only six, but she wasn't stupid. He was completely and utterly in love with the red-head. She saw it in his eyes, they lit up when she walked into room.
He stood up. "It was nice talking to you, kid," he said, patting her on the head before exiting with the other doctor.
"Kid." Is that how he thought of her? A kid? Jessica couldn't believe it. He had smiled at her. A number of times actually, but then again, he had smiled at the red-head too. It was her he loved, not Jessica.
A couple of tears escaped from her eye when another doctor appeared in the room. She hadn't seen this one before. He had short brown hair and green eyes, but he wasn't as handsome as Dr. Sloan, not even close. He kind of reminded her of a teddy bear.
"Hi, are you Jessica?" the doctor asked her.
Feeling shy, and also hurt by Dr. Sloan's dismissal, she merely shrugged. She didn't feel like talking.
"That's okay. I get nervous around strangers too," he said with a kind smile, coming over to her and messing with the monitors attached to her. "I'm Dr. O'Malley, but you can call me George if you want."
Jessica didn't want to call him anything. In fact, all she wanted was for him to leave so she could go to sleep and try to forget about the man who broke her heart.
"I'm just here to get you ready for your surgery."
Hearing the word "surgery", Jessica's eyes shot up to lock with the doctor's. All thoughts of Dr. Sloan flew out of her mind and was quickly replaced by absolute fear. "Surgery." She had heard that word before. She knew it was when people got sent to a room where doctors cut them open. And sometimes, they don't come back out.
The doctor must have been able to sense the fear in her eyes because he knelt down next to the bed and laid a comforting hand on her arm. "I know you're scared, but I want you to know you have nothing to worry about," he said, looking her straight in the eyes.
"What if I don't come out?" she asked, her voice quivering.
"Oh, hey, that's not going to happen," he said, gently pushing her hair off her forehead.
This didn't too much to ease her anxiety, however. "How do you know?" she questioned, her heart beating in her throat.
The doctor pulled the chair that Dr. Sloan had just been occupying over so that it was right next to her bed. He took her hand and softly rubbed his thumb in comforting circles in her palm. "Because I'm going to be in there the whole time, watching you. I won't let that happen."
That comforted Jessica a little, but it didn't stop a few tears from falling. "Where's my mommy and daddy?" she asked, still very scared.
"They can't be with you right now, but don't worry. That's why I'm here. I'm going to take care of you," he whispered soothingly.
"I'm scared," she whimpered, still not completely convinced.
The doctor squeezed her hand even tighter, trying to reassure her. "I know you are. It's okay to be. But just remember, I won't let anything happen to you. I'm not going to leave you," he promised.
Then, some more people came and wheeled Jessica away. The doctor stayed by her side the entire time. He was the last thing she remembered before she feel asleep under the mask and the first thing she saw when she woke up. Mark Sloan may have left her, but he didn't. He kept his promise and never left her.
Jessica Connors was in love. She had only been at Seattle Grace for a few days, but she knew she had found the love of her life. She knew that one day, she would be Jessica O'Malley.