Title: Something More
How Did We Get Here
She stirred her drink with her red straw. The night had been long. Cristina was riding her about everything and anything. It wasn't anything new, but she had thought that over the past year, the resident would have cut her a little slack. Unfortunately for her, she still ended up doing scut work for the 2nd year resident.
"So where's the boyfriend?"
Lexie knew the dry, slightly judgemental tone anywhere.
"Dr. Sloan," she drawled, peering up from her drink to acknowledge the swaggering surgeon as he plopped himself onto the stool next to hers. "No date tonight?"
Now she would never ask most of her fellow interns nevermind her teachers at the Seattle Grace this question. However, Dr. Sloan had become one of the few people that she could speak her mind to. He never chided her for her outspokeness. Now her lack of outspokeness was a different case.
"What? No Mark tonight?" he quipped, ordering a scotch on the rocks as he always did. "Where'd the familiarity go?"
"Well after yesterday, I figured I'd play it safe," she said, turning back to the task of stirring the ice in her cherry whiskey, orange juice and sprite. "Since you so definitively lectured me the other day."
Mark shrugged.
"You avoided my question."
"You didn't say the magic word," he said dryly, downing his drink in one gulp. "And you also didn't answer mine."
"Oh?" Lexie said, feigning forgetfulness. "Did you ask me something?"
"Oh you know very well I did," Mark chuckled, raising his hand to the bartender for another drink. "But that's okay, you don't have to answer. It's your perogative."
Lexie eyed him thoughtfully. He wasn't on his game tonight. As she studied his face, it did seem like he was a little more tired and worn than the last time she saw him. "Tough night?"
"Nothing I couldn't handle."
"Couldn't find a late night hook-up?" Lexie smirked, hoping the tease would pull him from the funk he seemed to be in. He always seemed ready for a good snarkfest.
"What's this sudden interest in my love life, Grey?"
Lexie felt her cheeks flush suddenly. "I-I didn't mean it that way," she blurted out. "That is, I mean, I am just getting this kind of vibe that you're kind of in a funk. I figured..."
"Well you figured wrong," he replied, cutting her off.
Mark had just come in for a drink. That's all he wanted. When he spotted her, he automatically took up a seat beside her. Actually he hadn't even given it any thought. It had become second nature after this past year. Somehow it had become kind of like a ritual thing in the bar that he would bust her chops a bit about O'Malley. So when he asked about the somewhat irritating intern, it wasn't because he really cared or wanted to know.
Lexie furrowed her brow as she realized he was definitely not himself.
"Look, I just came in for a drink," Mark said curtly. "So let's just sit here and forget the chit-chat."
"Wow," she muttered. "Now I know you're in a bad mood."
He looked up at her, studying her face, the symmetry of her her brows and eyes. Her nose which was not to big or too thin. And her lips which were pursed slightly after her seeming commentary on his mood. She was quite beautiful from a professional standpoint. But if he was honest, that wasn't what had become the draw for him. It wasn't sexual. Well, okay, maybe just a little. But for the most part, he enjoyed her company. Sometimes he would find himself watching her from a distance. Here and there he would watch her interacting with her patients and truly caring about what happened in their lives.
The thought of putting that much effort into investing his time into someone he would know for the span of maybe three or four hours tired him.
"I'm not in a bad mood," he said, looking her straight in the eye. "I'm just a little bit...tired."
"Oh no, you're not," Lexie chuckled, shaking her head. "You're in a bad mood."
"Excuse me?" One brow raised dubiously. "I think I know how I'm feeling," he retorted, raising his finger to the bartender who placed another glass with the golden liquid in front of him signalling him to keep them coming. "What have you been talking to a psych attending?"
"I know when it's just you being tired," she said non-chalantly. "And this is way worse than you being just a little tired."
"Oh?" Mark tilted his head curiously, his hand stopping before the cool liquid touched his lips. "You know do you?"
Lexie felt the blood rush to her face again. She cursed herself for opening her mouth. He was twisting her words around. Well, he hadn't actually twisted them around. But he had this way...His tone always questioning and turning her words against her without even opening his mouth. Damn him. "Okay that didn't come out the way it sounded," she said defensively, taking a furtive glance. "And you know it."
"Grey," he shrugged, "I don't know a thing."
"Well, what I mean is that you know that I didn't mean it that way," she breathed, taking a nervous sip of her drink. "I just meant that I've spent enough time around you at the hospital to know how you react when you're tired."
"Do tell." Mark raised his brow somewhat amused at the reaction he was getting out of a simple question. Granted, he did this on a regular basis with her, but it still tickled him. He placed his drink on the polished wood and leaned forward, his attention rapt. "Go on."
"Shut up!" she replied, letting out a frustrated growl. "You're doing this to get a rise out of me and I'm not biting. So there."
"I tried," Mark shrugged and took a swig of his drink. "Can't blame me."
"You know if you need to get something off your chest," she said, letting her offer dangle in the air as she picked up her glass.
"Yeah, I'll be sure to tell you," he scoffed, shaking his head. "Interns..."
"No," Lexie said earnestly. "I mean it. I'm totally here to listen."
Mark studied her face, and her dark brown eyes held nothing but sincere concern. He hadn't doubted it when he looked at her. Even though he had been and was still an ass sometimes around her, giving her a hard time about her supposed love life, Mark knew she would never turn away a hurting person.
"I know."
Lexie smiled softly as she rested a hand on his arm. She hoped he truly saw that she meant it. He had been a mentor to her. There were things that she would never have learned, and he had given her more opportunities than any of the attendings would have. Part of her felt special that he believed that she had enough potential to spend that extra time explaining things to her or listen to her observations.
"Good."
--&--
"So are you getting excited about your residency?" George asked, popping a grape into his mouth. "You have no idea how I wish I could be saying that right now."
"I'm sure you will, George," Lexie replied reassuringly, stopping midway with her spoon through a dish of jello. "It's just a matter of time once you finally write your intern exam again."
"Well, I have to pass it first."
"Last time was an abheration," she stated firmly. "You were consumed with worry about my sister. But now you're worry free and home free."
"I wish I had your confidence," he sighed, biting down on a grape. "With the way things have been going, it feels like I've forgotten half of what I knew."
"It's just because you're down on what happened tonight."
"Maybe," he replied slowly, not sure if that was all true. "Maybe not." George O'Malley dating again. It almost made him chuckle. He had almost given up. Actually he had told himself that he would not date someone he worked with ever again. However when Lexie admitted her feelings to him, he found himself reneging on that promise.
He peered up at Lexie whose face always seemed to beam confidence and happiness around him. Sometimes he wondered what he did to deserve such a great girl. After the several debacles in his journey of relationship discovery, George never thought he'd find a person who was nothing like the women he had previously had relationships with. With Lexie, it was different. For one, she wanted a relationship with him. Two, he wasn't in a relationship already before starting one with her. And three, Lexie had this kind of calm, sweet disposition about her. "You know what?" he said, smiling at her. "You're great. Have I told you how great you are?"
"Mmm," she pretended to ponder the question. "Not lately I don't think."
"Well you are." He leaned over the counter and kissed her softly on the lips.
"Well," she sighed happily. "That was nice."
"You know, if you hadn't said anything," George pondered. "We might've never gotten together."
"Well I guess it's a good thing I did." She grinned, as she popped in a big scoop of strawberry jello into her mouth.
"How long did you feel like this?"
"A while," Lexie said, scooping another portion of jello onto her spoon. "I mean, you were really great to me and I just found myself liking you. And before I knew it, I was kind of falling over myself when I was around you. I swear I felt like a teenager."
"Being the oblivious kind of guy that I am," he quipped, slipping off the stool and walking towards the sink. "When exactly was that?"
"I think it was probably a quarter way through internship."
"Really?"
"Yeah," she nodded. "That long."
"Now that I think about it," George said thoughtfully. "I was getting the feeling that Sloan was egging you on about something. But I just thought that was the usual insensitive put downs Sloan is known for."
"Unfortunately no," Lexie groaned, finishing up the last of her jello and putting the dish in the washer. "He kind of knew. It was almost instantaneous. Like he had radar."
George chuckled.
"Seriously, I think I gave myself away though," she admitted mournfully. "You were having a bad day and just not yourself and I asked him to be nice to you."
"You what?"
"Yeah, I know. Big mistake."
"I'd say," George agreed, rolling his eyes. "That guy wouldn't know how to be nice if it bit him on the ass."
"Oh I don't know," she said hesitantly. "He can be nice...in his own sort of way."
"Am I hearing correctly?" His mouth gapped at her. "You're defending him? Lexie Grey, you're defending Mark Sloan?"
"I'm not necessarily saying he doesn't say the meanest and sometimes arrogant things," Lexie admitted, knowing very well how embarrassing it could be under Sloan's scrutiny. "But if I'm going to be honest, he is practically the reason we got together."
"Um what's that?" George was left bewildered once more. "Do you want to run that by me again?"
"Well," she paused, carefully thinking about how she wanted to explain this. "Once Sloan figured out that I liked you, he made it pretty much his entire mission during my internship to take every chance to rag me about it. I swear there were days when I thought he would pretty much spell it out for you."
"So how does him being an jerk cause you to declare him cupid for us?"
Lexie knew it was partially true. Mark constantly telling her that she loved George and that he wasn't worthy of being chosen by her definitely didn't merit him being called Cupid. However, there was one night when she had all but given up on George ever realizing that she was the perfect girl for him. She had been drowning her sorrows at Joe's when she heard his gruff condescending tone behind her.
"Why do down Grey?" "Just leave me alone," she sniffled, trying to subtly wipe the tears threatening to brim over. "I'm not in the mood for one of our 'banter fests'." "Women," he groaned. "You know hormones are your downfall. I mean, you did a fairly decent job during surgery today and now I find you drowning your sorrows in a rye and coke? You know what that is?" She knew exactly what he was going to say. "Pathetic? I'm pathetic?" she said, half-laughing, half crying. "Tell me about it." Suddenly she broke down and a surge of tears ensued. "Hey!" Mark frowned. "Hey, oh no. Don't you start. No tears here at Joe's. It's not allowed." "You're absolutely right," Lexie nodded. "I'm nothing but a pathetic loser of a girl, who hasn't got the guts to tell the guy she likes that she is pretty much in love with him. Instead I'm sitting here with a womanizing jerk who keeps telling me that I'm pathetic. How sad is that?" "Oh god," he muttered, a look of pain in his face. "Don't do this. Don't tell me you're going to become one of those whiners who wallows in self-pity because some guy is too stupid to notice that a woman, who is above his class by the way, has the hots for him." She eyed him for a moment. For some unexplainable reason that made her feel better. "Was that somehow supposed to be a backhanded compliment?" she sniffed, wiping the tears from her eyes. "Whatever," he shrugged. "All I'm saying is, if you're gonna feel pathetic and worthless, at least do it after you've told the sap." "Why would I tell him?" she asked in frustration. "I think it's as plain as day." "Like I said, you picked a sap," Mark answered, as if those words said it all. She didn't get it. "A completely idiotic and oblivious sap." "Do you think that he would?" Her heart was racing against hope. "Do you think he could...?" All he did was shake his head and mutter to himself, "Pathetic." And then he raised his hand to the bartender and ordered a scotch on the rocks.
"Trust me, George," she said quietly. "He was cupid for us."
--&--
"Hey Mark," Derek said, jogging up along side of his best friend. "You headed home?"
"Nah," Mark shook his head. "Going to work out. Wanna join me?" He looked at his friend from head to toe. "You like you need it."
"Ha. Ha." He punched Mark in the arm.
"So you comin' or what?"
"Yeah sure."
"So you're managing to tear yourself away from your busy schedule and the illustrious Meredith Grey to come hang, old brother?" he said sardonically. "Nice of you."
"Old?" Derek's brow furrowed at the mention. "Are you feeling your age there, Sloan?"
"Nah, the old part was really in reference to you."
"Nice," he retorted, shaking his head. "So what's up with you lately?"
"what do you mean?"
"There's been rumblings around the rumor mill about you."
"What kind of rumors could possibly be floating around about me now?" Mark asked skeptically. "I've been keepin' my nose pretty clean."
"I know," Derek nodded. "That's what the rumblings are about."
"What are you talking about?" He hit the alarm on his BMW and lifted the door handle, pausing to look over the roof at his friend. "If I'm keeping myself out of the rumor mill, how could I possibly be the talk of it?"
"It's because you've managed to keep yourself out of the nurses' station and the resident and attending's locker room that people have been talking."
Derek had known Mark for sometime. He'd always been a ladies man. Never had Derek known Mark to tear himself away from a pretty lady. When there hadn't been much gossip by the nurses or even the attendings he had begun to wonder...He had been thinking back to the past several months and nothing stood out in his mind during any of this conversations with his best friend about any recent conquests. It had been quiet on that front.
"Oh brother," he groaned. If the people at Seattle Grace had nothing else to talk about, they'd be sure to make things up just for sheer boredom. "Are you being serious?"
"I'm just repeating what the nurses have been saying."
"Look," Mark sighed, leaning against the roof of his black BMW. "There's nothing wrong with me. I've been busier with the interns lately. I mean, come on, have you looked at the crop we have comin' up?"
Derek remained skeptical.
"And I'm exhausting the supply of women here at the hospital. It doesn't mean that I'm not gettin' plenty of action."
He was lying, but he'd had previous practise at that with Derek.
"Oh really?" Derek challenged, shaking his head and recognizing his friend's best friend - his ego. "And why haven't I heard anything from these so-called ladies?"
"Now do I look like the kind to kiss and tell?"
"Yes." Derek threw his head back and laughed. "You're so full of it," he scoffed, opening his door and sliding into the driver's seat. "Something's different about you. I can tell."
"You're a neuro-surgeon Derek, not a psycho-analyst," he retorted. "Keep your day job."
"I don't know," he said dubiously. "I still say I think you're finally going soft."
"In your dreams."
"You heard from Addie recently?"
That came out of nowhere. Mark couldn't believe Derek would even bring her up. Now he knew his friend was buying into this whole worrisome behaviour because he hadn't been getting much lately. It was really quite disconcerting. "No, I haven't," he scoffed. "Now stop bugging me about my so-called women problems. I don't have the time to waste nattering about it like I'm part of the ditzy estrogen-laden gossip brigade."
"I still think you're hiding something."
"If I am, you'll be the first to know."
"We'll see."
Mark shook his head and slipped into the leather-bound seats and turned the engine over. Was he that obvious? He could not believe that the whole hospital was interested in his love life. Rolling his eyes, he backed out of the parking lot. "Don't people have their own lives to worry about."
