Title: Kleenex and Cookies

Author: Kimmibob

Pairings: Mark/Callie

Rating: K

Disclaimer: If only they were mine...

Spoilers: After the Mark/Callie/Hahn scene in Crash Into Me pt. 2

Summary: Mark makes an odd request when he's feeling lonely. Mark/Callie (My first Grey's fic)

It was all she could do not to say anything. It had been a tough day. One of those days where there was nothing better to do than go and get absolutely smashed. Nevermind what you'd do later.

She knew he was hurting. He had that look you only get when you're seriously questioning something in your life. He was being introspective, which was something he rarely let others see.

Callie had wanted to get to the bottom of it when Dr. Hahn walked in. Hahn! They had gone to Joe's to drink after a particularly interesting exchange, but for some reason, she didn't really feel like drinking around "The New Burke." She suspected the root cause of it was that she didn't really trust her. She couldn't really pinpoint why exactly, but Callie just felt like Hahn would throw her under a bus if given the chance.

Mark was being particularly flirtatious with Hahn. Who was considerably peeved at the notion, even more so drunk. She had to hand it to him, he didn't back down from a challenge. Somewhere in the middle of the love-fest and not being able to stomach her beer, she decided she was going back to her apartment.

She hadn't said goodbye, until Mark had caught her arm and gave her a "save me here," look. She just laughed at him and whispered that he got himself into this mess. She felt a little guilty leaving him to his own devices.Just a little bit.

She had gone up to her room and was watching some thing on TV. She wasn't really paying attention, but she thought it was an infomercial for something. All she could think about was the lost patients today. It was not a good day.

She hated to admit it, but she was also wondering if Mark had gotten anywhere with Hahn. Just wondering.

Callie had come back to earth for long enough to determine her infomercial was some sort of TimeLife special, when there was a knock at the door. Who the hell knocks on your door at 2AM?

She went to open it and saw him. "I think you may need some new Kleenex," he offered, pushing right past her and letting himself into her room. Sitting on the couch and changing the channels.

"Really?" she asked, still trying to understand why he was here and not with Erica Hahn, "Mark, what are you doing here?"

"Well… you know how I stole your Kleenex earlier?" he paused from his ministrations.

"Yeah?" Callie wondered, the confusion written across her face as to why this was important.

"So, you need to come over and get them back." He had now turned off the TV, and gotten up to look at her expectantly.

Then it hit her, Hahn had turned him down. "Don't mince words, Sloan, if you want a booty call, just say so."

"Are you saying you'd be willing –"

"No… but, if that's what you want, you should ask for that, not make up some random excuse…"

"No," he insisted, "you need Kleenex. You know, you could be watching some sad movie or whatever and start to get misty, and I'd hate for you to be without."

"I think I'll be okay." Callie laughed.

"I don't think so. Come over and get them."

"If you want me to come over you need to offer something better than Kleenex or sex," though she had wondered what was better than sex at this point.

"What's better than Kleenex or sex, Callie?" he raised an eyebrow.

"Chocolate." she quickly countered.

"Hmm… well, I have that, too."

"I have that here." Why was he being so insistent on going to HIS place? "What is up with you?"

"What do you mean?" He was now going through her cabinets to find, something... she couldn't tell what it was. She assumed it was food, but you never knew with Mark.

"If you just want to hang out with me, then you can stay here. I don't have to go up to your place, especially at 2 in the morning."

"We're just always at your place, and I feel like a bad friend for intruding on your hospitality," he offered, shrugging as he took out a package of Oreos and promptly started eating them.

She hated it when he got this way. A self-doubting Sloan was impossible to console. Maybe if she talked about Hahn? "You're a bad friend because you hit on me constantly even though we both know you only have eyes for Cardio Goddess."

"You know I think you're hot, Torres. I mean, that part's evident." Oh god, don't bring it back to me here.

"That was a LONG time ago McSteamy, and don't worry about intruding on my hospitality, it gives me something to do." And keeps you from giving someone syphilis.

"So I'm a chore for you, then?" he put down the Oreos and stared at her across the kitchen island.

"Honestly? Sometimes you can be."

"Wow. There's one for the ego, Torres. Really, thanks." He started eating the cookies again and made his way to her couch. She knew that was a low blow, but he was in the mood for honesty.

"Don't mention it. So, I'm getting the feeling you want to talk about something?" she hinted as she followed him to the couch.

"What ever gave you that impression?" he set the cookies down on the coffee table and proceeded to try and find something on TV.

"The Kleenex excuse… and the fact that you're here and not trying to pick up Erica Hahn."

"Maybe I gave up on her…." She couldn't help but hope he had, but somehow knew better.

"You don't give up on things. It's what makes you who you are, and so annoying," she took the cookies away from him and started eating them herself

"Well, I think I found someone else." he looked at her for a little bit, before stealing back the Oreos.

"Oh God."

"I think, after this whole Addison thing, that I've learned when its time to move on. Besides, I think Hahn doesn't like me."

"Whatever gave you that impression?"

"Stop stealing my words, Callie."

"What, do you have a copyright on them or something?"

"No. They just don't sound as awesome from you."

"Thanks." she slumped back into her chair.

"So, here's the thing" he suddenly sat up and gave up on trying to find something on TV, "I lost two patients today. I don't lose patients."

"Everybody loses patients, Mark."

"No, not me, I'm plastics. Plastics is superficial, plastics is dressing things up. We don't kill people." he slumped into the couch as well.

"You didn't kill anyone."

"See, I know that. I know that in the back somewhere, but right now… right now, things are just not cool and I really don't like myself."

"You?" she couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.

"Remember the part where I said I needed a friend," he went for the Oreos again.

"You never said that."

"Well, that's what I meant."

"Look, we all lose people. ALL of us do. You can't go through this without losing something, and sometimes the patients get it. There's nothing we could have done."

"I could have been there, I could have not been working on Hahn's damn cardio and trying to impress her, and I - I could have been there."

"He bled out, Mark. Grey Number Two did everything that could have been done to stop that." He had smirked at the use of her nickname for Lexie, but hadn't said anything.

"And that wouldn't have been an issue if I didn't remove that tumor."

"And anyone else would have killed him removing that tumor."

"Well, then there's the other guy."

"That was Hahn's fault."

"Oh, it's just that simple?"

"In my world, yes. You didn't have to be there, really, but you were, and you think that it was because you were trying to impress Hahn. Really, it was because you wanted that guy not to have a gaping hole in his chest. And you walk around with the comforting thought that you're a superficial manwhore, Mark, but deep down there is a real human being that tries to tidy up the scars." There, she said it. Hopefully it had gotten through his damn head and he'd start being himself again.

"So, it's Hahn's fault?"

"Well, really it's no one's fault, but just between us, I'm blaming it on her." So you don't blame yourself...

"I can deal with that. You wanna make cookies?" He got up and dusted his pants, leaving the crumbs on Cristina's floor, as well as the opened Oreos on the table. He started walking back toward the kitchen.

Callie couldn't contain her laughter... "Cookies? Didn't you just eat about 60 there?"

"Oh, I didn't really mean it literally. I meant, let's do girl stuff, you know, bake cookies, braid each other's hair, talk about the asshole men in our lives. That kind of thing," he took a can of Coke from their fridge.

"There's asshole men in your life?" she had gotten up and had taken the Coke from his hands and put it back. Somehow this action had clued him in that this was Cristina's and was off limits.

"Man. You have met Derek, haven't you?"

"Well, you do kind of deserve that."

"Yeah, but I just want to complain about it." he leaned back against the counter

"No. We aren't doing that. We're going to drink my booze and watch some real crappy movie or random infomercials and get shit-faced." She took her case of beer out of the fridge and set a can next to him. He looked at her askance and then opened the can.

"Girl stuff, huh?"

"Girl stuff."

There was some form of banter. Some form of shit-faced making fun of the infomercial with the Oxi-Clean guy.

Was Mark really her person? She had Cristina, but Cristina was being there for Meredith right now. Meredith was Cristina's person. Addie had been hers, and Addie had walked away, and even though she was just a phone call away, sometimes she needed someone there. In some weird way, though she was trying to console Mark, he was helping her. He had helped her just by being there, after the whole George and Izzie thing, the kidnapped baby, the chief resident issues. Everything.

Mark was a great friend. She had known that he was to Derek in spite of the Addison problem. She was happy to have him.

But, as he smiled at her, half-drunk, and saying something about the volume, she couldn't help but wonder why she was so worried about his moving on. Naturally, any friend would care about who he chose to give his attentions to, it was natural. She thought maybe she should stop using the word natural to rationalize her feelings. And she couldn't help the disappointment when he hadn't come out and said that he wanted her. Oh, sure, he had his little comments, but that was Mark being Mark.

But there was no reason to think he would want her. If George didn't want her, then why would Mark?

"Callie," came a voice from the darkness.

"What?" she whined.

"You're thinking about things again." she couldn't see him, but she knew he was giving her that look that a big brother gives when you've done something bad.

"That's kinda what people do." she defended.

"I don't like it when you keep things. Share."

"Oh, you don't want to know what goes on in my head."

"You're thinking about O'Malley and Stevens aren't you?"

"No." She lied.

"This is not the time to bringing that little shit into your head, okay?" he sighed "We were having a perfectly good time without him."

"I wasn't thinking about him."

"Right. Where's your roommate, anyway?"

"She went over to Grey's."

"Oh, right. Hard day for everyone I guess."

"Yeah." There was a long silence until she heard his voice again and saw him coming over to her chair through the faint light of the TV set.

"Callie?"

"Yeah."

"You know you're beautiful, don't you?" somehow he had managed to say that with a straight face, looking right into her eyes.

"Did they put LSD in that booze, Mark?"

"No. Look, you're always telling me how I am actually a human being and I need to have more faith in myself. I think its time that you realize that just because your ex-husband cheated on you, doesn't mean you're ugly, or you're not worth it."

"I know that," she looked away from his gaze.

"Yeah, but you don'tknow that. When was the last time you went out on a date?"

"Uh..."

"Exactly. Kissed a man?"

"Mark..." she scolded.

"You need to get laid." It was stated as fact, and not in that McSteamy "you-need-to-lay-me" way.

"I'm not banging you Sloan, get that through your head already."

Then he kissed her. Hard. Kissed her until she felt it in other places and wanted things to continue to a place she hadn't thought about since she affair.

"You were saying?" he asked as he released her mouth from his.

"What was that about?" she couldn't contain her breaths, and the feeling that she just wanted him to do it again.

"Just wondering if you'd noticed,"

"Noticed?" she was real confused now.

"Exactly. See you at work, Torres."

With that, he left her apartment and her with a very befuddled feeling. And the paralyzing thought that for once in her life, she didn't know what he was thinking. Sure, she had a guess, but she didn't want to risk that not being true and ruining everything. Damn Mark Sloan.

A/N: It's been awhile since I've posted on FF, but I figured it was good to get back in the swing of things. : D This was inspired by and therefore dedicated to my dear neighbor Matt, who knocked on our door and told my roommate to come over and get her Kleenex back because he had stolen them earlier (and seemed to be under the impression we only had one box). Poor boy was so lonely.