Mer and Mark
Pre-series
One eyebrow rose as the familiar ringtone broke the quiet of his office. That was Angel's ringtone. Why was she calling him now? She usually didn't call so often, not that he really minded. They'd talked the day before when she'd called to let him know she'd made it safely to Seattle. She wouldn't be calling now if she didn't have something to say though. "Hey Angel," he answered with a worried tone. "What's wrong?" He always answered her calls. Always.
"Nothing," her voice came back to him easily with a hint of amusement to it. She appreciated his concern though. "It's just…I'm in Seattle. I'm in my mother's house in Seattle. And I start my internship in two weeks. And I'm in Seattle." She wasn't sure why she'd had to call him and she wasn't sure why she was so agitated but she just needed to hear his voice. So she'd given into the nagging feeling and called him even though she'd spent nearly an hour with him on the phone the day before.
"Yes you are," he nodded even though he knew she couldn't see him. She was freaking out. She called him because she had finally truly realized exactly what she'd gotten herself into. And now she was stuck in that house with its horrid memories and she was freaking out. And she had called him. That fact gave him a warm feeling he wasn't quite sure what to do with. "You freaking out?" He asked only to point it out to her because sometimes she wasn't aware that she was. She'd just keeping freaking out until she finally stopped and breathed and called him to fix it for her. He always did…or at least tried to talk her down and then they'd figure out what to do together. It wasn't like he'd never done the same but usually just knowing she was on the other end calmed him down enough to think.
"No," she denied quickly though her voice was uncertain. "Yes? I…I don't know really." She paused, thought and drew in a long breath. He'd been right. She was freaking out. She really needed to stop doing this. Sooner or later he'd realize what a headcase she was and he'd cut off all contact. She needed to be stronger. "I just…I don't know anyone here and I'm not sure why it was so important for me to take this spot in this program. I knew it was important before but now…why did I move all the way here when everyone else I know is…well, not here. And I'd forgotten how much I hate this house. But I'm here. And I don't know why I came here." She finished in a dispirited tone sure that he'd finally get fed up with her issues.
"Because you…needed something else," he suggested though he knew that wasn't what had prompted her. He really wished she'd come to New York instead. At least then he could hold her and tell her that everything would be all right and have her believe him. "Besides Seattle Grace is one of the top teaching hospitals in the country." He wasn't going to dump his loneliness in her lap and let her know how hurt he really was that she hadn't come to him. "It's a great place to learn." That wasn't it either but he wasn't really sure why she'd chosen Seattle either. History or a need to change the memories or something he was willing to bet. He was usually right when it came to her and her neurosis. Which might be a sad commentary on his life but he didn't much care. And even though she'd chosen to move all the way across the country from him he knew that she'd needed to do this. She'd needed to exorcise a few ghosts.
"True," she sighed heavily and held the phone tighter to her ear as though he could feel the embrace she was mentally sending to him. "Still…I miss you. And it's raining. And I just…this house is dusty and feels so empty and big. And all the furniture is covered with those dust thingies. It's kinda creepy." She needed to lighten the atmosphere between them. She couldn't keep calling him only when she had a problem. He wasn't her therapist. He was her…whatever.
Mark chuckled at her in an effort to lighten her mood before it spiraled into the darkness that seemed to plague her sometimes. "So take the covers off, Angel." He told her with a kind of fond exasperation in his tone. That wasn't what he'd meant when he'd thought about her exorcising ghosts.
She giggled lightly. "I started to and then I spent five whole minutes sneezing. Seriously. I sneezed for like five minutes straight. It was awful." She shook her head at herself knowing the story would amuse him.
His only answer was to laugh helplessly. God he missed her.