Straight to You
A/U: Mark Sloan is driving from NY City to Seattle when he stops at an inn in a small town to sleep overnight. He was only supposed to stay one night. But car troubles prevent change his plans. Now he is stranded in the middle of nowhere, but quickly become distracted by the beautiful inn owner.
This first part is a little short because it is more of an intro, to see if you all like this. If you like please review and let me know. I have many ideas for this, but I'm just not sure how people will like it, since it is really A/U.
Straight to You Prologue
Mark Sloan had lost track to how many hours he had been driving, it took him a few moments to even remember what state he was in. He was in South Dakota. He remember passing the state line about an hour earlier. He knew he would have to stop soon. He was getting tired, and he had seen enough patients in the ER who had been in accidents because they fell asleep behind the wheel, so he knew it was better just to stop somewhere and sleep instead of the risk of falling asleep while driving. He quickly decided to stop at the next hotel he came across.
He was driving from New York City to Seattle, Washington for a new job opportunity. Richard Webber, Chief of Surgery, at Seattle Grace Hospital had called him three days earlier, offering him the position of Head of Plastic Surgery at Seattle Grace. He figured his best friend since childhood, Derek Shepherd had something to do with the offer. Webber had offered to fly him out, instead Mark opted to drive. He began to regret that decision about two hours earlier. Originally the appeal of driving was to help clear his head and get some much needed alone time. In New York he barely ever had time to himself. So he had liked the idea of alone time he would get driving.
Fifteen minutes later he saw a sign:
Welcome to Mercy!
Population 3416
A town with only three thousand people he doubted there would be any hotel. But another hundred yards later there was another sign:
Grey's Inn two miles ahead
Mark sighed in relief; he only hoped there would be vacancy. He studied the building as he approached Grey's Inn. It was a large three story brick building. It reminded him of the many bed and breakfasts that he passed outside of New York City and Vermont. He parked outside the entrance of the hotel and walked in.
Right away he noticed the young woman sitting at the front desk, her face hidden behind a very worn copy of S. Morgenstern's The Princess Bride. "Excuse me?"
The woman jumped, nearly dropping the book. "Oh! I'm so sorry I didn't hear you come in." She stood up from her seat behind the front desk, "Do you need a room?"
Mark studied her for a moment. He couldn't help notice the woman's beauty. She had large brown eyes and long dark brown hair that flowed to the middle of her back. "Yes, I need a room for the night. Are there any available?"
She nodded, "We have three rooms open." She went to the computer that was sitting on the desk, "We have two suites and a standard. The standard room is $90 a night, and the suite is $150. The suite has a fireplace and a hot tub." She explained the difference between the standard and the suite.
"I will take the suite." Mark quickly decided sometime in the hot tub sounded perfect. He pulled out his wallet from his jacket pocket and grabbed his credit card and driver's license. "This is a nice place….It's really cozy." He told her as he looked around the lobby. It was cozy and homey. Fresh flowers were placed throughout the room and a fire was lit in the fireplace.
"Thanks." The woman smiled as she typed Mark's information into the computer. "That's what I was aiming for when I decorated."
"Do you own this place?" Mark asked. He couldn't really hide his surprise. The woman looked like she was only in her mid twenties.
"Yes. I inherited it after my parents died." She explained as she held out a hand, "Lexie Grey."
"Mark Sloan." Mark took her hand in his a shook it. "Sorry about your parents."
She shrugged, turning her attention back to the computer. "Thank you. I see you're from New York. What are you doing in here Mercy, South Dakota?"
"I'm on my way to Seattle for a job opportunity. I've been driving all day and decided it would be a good idea to stop and get some sleep."
"My Dad was originally from Seattle." Lexie smiled, "I've been there are few times. It's really nice there. It can be a little rainy, but I loved going there." She printed off two pieces of paper work for Mark to fill out, "What do you do?"
"I'm a surgeon; I was offered a job as Head of Plastic Surgery at Seattle Grace Hospital." Mark told her as Lexie handed him some paperwork to fill out. "I'm going to Seattle to check out the hospital to see if I want to take the job."
"Congratulations on the job offer. That is really awesome."
"Thank you so much for covering for me Lexie!" A blonde woman walked in from the front door. "I'm so sorry I—"
"It's okay Kathy. Don't worry about it, it really wasn't a problem." Lexie smiled. "You are actually here just in time." She grabbed a key card, "I'm going to show Mr. Sloan here his room." She handed Mark his key card. "Do you have any bags I can help you with?"
Mark shook his head, "No, I just have the own bag. I can handle it." He picked up his bag from the floor.
"Well I will show you your room." Lexie smiled, "It's this way." She gestured towards the right as she walked towards the hallway to the right, Mark followed behind her. "I will show you how to use the fireplace and hot tub settings." They passed two doors before they got to his room, room number 3, "Here we are." She smiled she opened the door and turned on the lights. "What do you think?"
"Very nice." Mark told her honestly. "It's a little disappointing that I will only be here for one night."
"Are you going to use the fireplace at all?" Lexie asked.
"No, but I would love to see that hot tub.
"It's in the bathroom." Lexie walked towards the bathroom, turning on the lights. The bathroom was huge. The bathtub and shower were a nice size and hot tub was in the back corner. There was even a TV on the wall in front of the hot tub.
"Wow." Mark said, "This is one of the nicest hotel bathrooms I have ever seen."
"We might be in a small town, but my parents really wanted a beautiful hotel." Lexie stepped up to the hot tub, "It's really east to use. The setting are all listed right here." She pushed the on button. "It takes about fifteen minutes to heat. Then it will be all ready to go."
"Thank you."
"Is there anything else you need?" Lexie asked. Mark shook his head. "Okay if you need anything just push zero on the phone, it will put you right to the front desk." She pushed some stray hairs behind her ear, "It was really nice to meet your Dr. Sloan. I hope everything goes well in Seattle."
"Thank you Miss Grey."
"Lexie." She corrected, "Please call me Lexie."
"Okay, then you call me Mark."
She smiled. "It was really nice meeting you Mark." She told him as she walked toward the door, "Again, if you need anything…"
Mark nodded, "I think I'll be fine. Thank you." He walked with her to the door. "Good night Lexie."
"Good night Mark."
TBC