Daddy's Little Girl
I've been toying with the idea of Mark having a little girl for some time now. This will be probably be a Mark and Addison fic and will be probably two or three chapters. Obviously, this takes place not too long after Addison leaves New York for Seattle. I own nothing except for Emma and Hayley.
Chapter 1
Mark Sloan had very little left in his life. Derek hated him. Addison had left. The Shepherd family wasn't exactly rolling out the welcome wagon for him. But there was one person who still held Mark in her good graces: his daughter. Emma Olivia Madden Sloan, his five year old little girl, was the light in the darkness that had become Mark's life.
Emma was an adorable little girl with Mark's eyes and smile, but her mother's chestnut-colored wavy hair. Her mother, Hayley Madden, was the first love of Mark's life. Close friends since birth, Hayley was dying of cancer when she asked Mark if they could try to conceive through IVF using their own sperm and egg. Floored by the heartbreaking tone of her voice, Mark immediately agreed. The pregnancy was not an easy one, but Mark and Hayley got through the cravings, mood swings, and bed rest. Derek and Addison had been named the godparents, and Mark was proud to call his daughter's birth the most wonderful day of his life. The next day, however, proved to be a nightmare. Hayley, who had been so strong throughout her pregnancy and childbirth, couldn't hold on any longer. After holding her daughter for hours, Hayley passed Emma to a nurse and fell asleep. She never woke up.
From that moment on, it had been Mark, Derek, Addison, and Emma against the world. Mark was lucky to have had the Shepherds in his life, as his first few weeks without Hayley, who would have made an incredible mother, were unbearable. After some time, though, Mark began spending more time on his own with Emma. To his surprise, he loved every minute of being a father.
After Derek left, and especially after Addison, who had been such a mother-figure in Emma's life, left, Mark was doubtful of his abilities to be a good father. Addison had done a lot of the everyday grunt work: she drove Emma to school, dealt with play dates, arranged sleepovers when everyone would be on-call, and took care of the shoe shopping outings that neither Mark nor Derek were brave enough to embark on.
Emma loved Mark and saw him as both a friend and a parent, a relationship that Mark had always wished he could have with his mother and father. Still, Mark should have known better than to be surprised when Emma was upset by Mother's Day.
Usually on Mother's Day, Mark would take some time to talk about Hayley with Emma and share stories and photos. Emma understood as well as she could for someone so young, but always ended the conversation with "And now I have Aunt Addison, right?" So while Emma was always a girl with no mother, this was the first time she would actually feel it. And she did feel it. On the Wednesday night before Mother's Day, Mark was loading the dishwasher when he heard Emma crying in her room.
"Emma, baby, what's wrong?" Mark asked as he entered the room and cradled his daughter in his arms.
"I don't have a Mommy," she said in a tearful, yet matter-of-fact way.
"Baby, we've talked about your mommy and how much she loved you before she passed on."
"But I always had Auntie Addison on Mother's Day and she got mad at you so now she doesn't love me anymore."
"Aunt Addison loves you very much. She's not Daddy's biggest fan, but she loves you, even though she's in Seattle," Mark explained.
"But I can't give her my picture."
"What picture, sweetie?"
"In Art today we had to make pictures for our mommies of flowers or other things they would like. I said that I don't have a mommy so I was making one for my Aunt Addison, but now I have no one to give it to," she cried.
"Can I see the picture?" Mark asked.
Emma nodded and retrieved the picture from her backpack. It was a picture of multi-colored flowers in a vase. Mark thought it was one of his daughter's best drawings.
"This is one of the prettiest things you've ever made. I know I'm not your mom or your aunt Addison, but I love it. I know that everyone at school is giving their pictures to their moms, but I'd love to keep it in my office, if you'll let me."
"Okay Daddy. I love you. Even if you did make Aunt Addison and Uncle Derek mad," Emma said while giving Mark a big hug.
Mark left the room with his daughter's drawing in hand. He had explained his current predicament to Emma the best that he could without vilifying anyone in the situation. He had told Emma that Derek and Addison were mad at each other and at him, so they moved to Seattle so they could apologize to each other and stop being angry. She had accepted the explanation, though she was obviously hurt when neither of them chose to say goodbye to her. But hearing Emma say the lie that Mark had spun for her was heartbreaking. He knew what he had to do.
Entering his room, he closed the door and picked up the phone, dialing a number that he knew solely based on memory.
"Hello?"
"Addison, it's me. Mark. Please don't hang up on me. We need to talk about Emma."