Thanks to all of you who reviewed.Here's chapter 3:


Chapter 3: An Old Friend

Meredith Grey sighed as she reached the hospital day care. It was lunch time, and hopefully she would be able to eat with her children before she got called away.

"Hey guys." She called out as she entered the play area. Her three children detangled themselves from the other group of children and ran up to her. "MOM!"

"I came to take you to lunch, that okay?"

"Yep." Meredith looked around the day care. The other children were watching enviously. As surgeon's children, among other things, they didn't get to spend a lot of time with their parents. Meredith tried to have lunch with her kids every day. If she couldn't, someone else did.

"Do you guys want Sami, Jimmy, and Will to eat with us today?" The three five years-olds nodded vigorously and Meredith gestured to the other three children that she could almost consider her own she saw them so much. Already expecting this they scampered over to her and she smiled.

"You guys hungry?" Meredith laughed at their as they nodded and jumped up and down. She watched as they paired off with their best friends. Jake with Jimmy, Katie with Sami, and Zach with Will.

Meredith felt like the leader of a parade as she walked down the halls six children behind her. At some point Alex and Izzie had joined in, and so had Cristina. Eventually they made their way to the cafeteria and sat down making sure all six kids had healthy food and something to drink.

"Mom?"

"Yeah Katie?"

"Me an' Sami have to go potty."

"Okay" Meredith stood up and catching Cristina's eyes gestured to the two small girl's in-front of her. Cristina nodded in understanding and turned back to her conversation about Batman with Zach and Will.

Sami and Katie began to run down the hallway of Seattle Grace taking the familiar routes with surprising speed. Being by the cafeteria Meredith didn't chase them knowing that they wouldn't be in anyone's way.

That was until the two girls turned a sharp corner and before she could round it Meredith heard a smack. Meredith ran, turning the sharp corner just in time to see a head of light brown hair helping the two girls stand up. He looked up and gave her a dazzling smile.

"Hey Mer, long time no see. Who are these two munchkins?"

"Mark? What the hell are you doing here?"

"Consult." He once again turned to look at the two girls obviously wanting an answer. Katie gave him one.

"Mom, who's he?"

Meredith bit her lip and glanced from Mark to Katie. Mark looked shocked, but then again, who wouldn't be?

"Katie this is Uncle Mark, he's an old friend of mine. Mark this is my daughter Katherine Gray and Dr. Mar's daughter, I don't know if you've met her yet, anyway her daughter Samantha, Sami for short."

"Hi Uncle Mark." Sami echoed her statement quietly. Katie grinned up at him and then turned to her mother again. "Has he met Zach and Jake?"

"No, who are Zach and Jake?" Mark looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

"My brothers, we're triplets. I'm the youngest." Katie rolled her eyes at that, she hated being the youngest. "Zach is the oldest so he thinks that he can boss me around, and so does Jake. I'm five years old and I live with my mom, and my Uncle George and my Aunt Callie, but they're moving out."

Mark looked at Meredith over Katie's head and she made a throat slashing motion warning him not to ask the question he desperately wanted to know.

"Mark, why don't you come over for dinner tonight?" She sent a questioning look towards her child. "That alright Kit Kat? He can meet your brothers then."

"Okay." She turned to Mark and impulsively gave him a hug. "See you tonight Uncle Mark." Using brunt force and a little help from Sami she opened the bathroom door. Meredith stood outside with Mark as she waited for the two of them. He only had one question for her. "Derek's'?"

"Yep."


At quarter to six the doorbell rang. Katie jumped up from the kitchen table and ran to open the front door. Their two-month old black lab Shep followed her. She was greeted by the face of her newest Uncle, Mark.

"Hi Uncle Mark! Come in." Katie grabbed his arm and practically dragged the man into her house. "Mom! Uncle Mark is here!"

Meredith walked out of the kitchen and into the foyer. She laughed at the surprised look on Mark's face. "Either she likes you right away or she doesn't. She likes you." She turned her attention to her daughter. "Katie, what did I say about answering the door by yourself?"

Katie looked down and scuffed her foot on the floor. "Sorry mom. But, I knew it was Uncle Mark, because he said he was going to be here tonight."

Two children came tumbling down the stairs at that moment and Mark turned to see two boys standing there staring at him.

"Jake, Zach, this your Uncle Mark. Mark, my boys Jake and Zach."

"Hi Uncle Mark" the two boys chorused. Zach turned and looked at his mom with a smile. "You made pasketti?"

"Its spaghetti Zach" Meredith corrected gently, "and yeah, I did. Aunt Izzie brought over some cupcakes. You guys have your favorite meal."

The three children cheered and all sat down. It wasn't long before the questions began. First, it was simple things; his favorite color, if he liked their dog and the black labs name, what his job was, the best surgery he ever had, things like that. For five year olds, they knew a lot about surgery. But then Jake popped the question.

"Do you know my dad Uncle Mark?" Mark shot a frantic glance over at Meredith who just nodded her head and answered the boy.

"Yes baby, Uncle Mark knows your dad."

Jake, Katie and Zach all smiled at that. "Tell us about him. Please Uncle Mark?"

He looked over at Meredith who once again nodded. Mark began to tell them random things, things that he hadn't thought of for years that were suddenly coming back to him. Old stories about the two of them, the first time they met; med school stories. It was about 9:30 before Meredith finally sent them to bed.

"Zach Attack, Jake the Snake, Kit Kat, bed time." Mark grinned at the nicknames for her children.

All three groaned but all the same got up and went to bed bidding a 'good-night Uncle Mark, I love you' to him before the sound of tiny feet could be heard on the wood floor in the hall.

Eventually Meredith came back downstairs smiling sadly.

"They know a lot about their father Mer. Hell; they named their dog after him. You take them to where his trailer is, and taught them how to fish."

"What was I gonna do, hide him from them?"

"You're hiding them from him."

"I headed to the hospital that day - the day that they left. I was prepared to tell him that I broke up with Finn and ask him what prom night meant. After I found out that I was pregnant I called him a few times. Asking him to please call me back, that it was really important. He never did. In the end I decided it was for the better. I didn't want him to feel obligated to come back here and play house with the woman that he didn't love and their three children. We don't need him, and he definitely doesn't need us. Besides, he's married Mark. You know, 'Do you take this man to be you lawful wedded husband to have and to hold' yada yada yada."

"No he's not."

"What?" Meredith sunk down on the couch next to him her eyes wide with surprise.

"They got divorced about 2 months after they moved back to New York. They kept trying to blame the dirty mistresses for what went wrong, but really they just fell out of love with each other. They're still friends though, and Addison and I are married, Derek's my best friend. But frankly, I don't know why he's still in New York when the woman he loves is in Seattle with his three children. The three children that he doesn't know about. Oh wait. Yes I do."

Meredith looked at him and raised her eyebrow. The last five years had taken a lot out of her. She loved Derek so much that it hurt sometimes, but had other things going on in her life that she had to do. She was no longer able to spend time wallowing in self-pity or doubt. Meredith had kids to take care of; a house to clean, peoples lives to save. It was no longer always about Derek Shepard. There were no more drunken tequila nights spent at Joe's or brining strange men home.

"He's scared. Terrified actually. Derek Shepard is terrified of rejection, of you telling him that you moved on; which is actually kind of funny if you think about it; because you my dear are anything but moved on."

"I've moved on." Meredith stated. She looked slightly offended at the comment, but Mark knew that his statement was true.

"Have you?"

"Yes. No. I don't know. What i do know is that I can't spend my time wondering or caring about Derek Shepard." Meredith put her head in her hands and then jerked up suddenly to look at him. "If you had been Derek what would you have done?"

Mark was startled by the question, but he immediately knew the answer.

"Really? Truly? I'm not like Derek. I would've stayed here with the love of my life. I wouldn't have tried to give my marriage a second chance. But, if I had left and I had gone with my wife and been like Derek, I would've called you back. The phone would've been in my hand before you could even say 'triplets'. Then, after I found out about the babies, I would've gotten divorced, and returned to Seattle immediately. I would've opened Pandora's Box and tried to see what was left. I would've been back here in a second. But that's just me. And you of all people should know that I'm nothing like Derek Shepard."

"That's right, you aren't, but some days Mark, I think you're a lot better." Mark embraced her and Meredith allowed herself to cry a few silent tears of grieve for her babies.

"Mark?"

"Yeah?"

"Will you come back? I like the fact that you're their Uncle Mark. They love you. I know in a few years when I tell them the truth about Derek they're not going to see him as a hero, but I want them to have that connection. They need an Uncle like you. I mean, Richard, Burke, George and Alex are all great roll models and everything, but you're another connection to their father. And, you make a great Uncle."

"Of course I will Mer. I love those kids to death. And I've only known them for a little while. How in love is everybody at the hospital?"

"Very in love. You should see everyone when I take them up to the E.R. all the nurses are always checking on them, and when they're there all the interns will always stop to talk to them. They're like this calming effect before surgeries. And that girl you saw us with, Sami? Her mom works there; she's got a twin brother, Jimmy, and Bailey's son Will. They're all about the same age. Between the six of them they have the entire surgical ward wrapped around their fingers." Meredith chuckled. "They all want to be surgeons, and when we all have to rush to work they sometimes come with us." at Marks surprised glance Meredith shrugged. "I'm a single mother, and so is Danielle; usually we can get someone else to watch them, but other times we have to bring them. When we do, Will doesn't want to be left out. They have their own on-call room to sleep in and everything."

"That sounds like something that would happen here. Seriously, Seattle Grace always has something interesting going on, never a dull moment. I've got an early morning surgery tomorrow, and I'm only staying for a few more days, but I'll see you guys before I leave. Do you want to scrub in?"

"I'd love to scrub in, see you tomorrow Dr. Sloane." They both stood up and Meredith walked him to the door. They stood together for a moment staring at the dark Seattle street as the rain poured down.

"Mark? Don't tell Derek you saw me. Don't tell Addison either. I don't need him coming back here and trying to be their father out of guilt. We don't need him. If you have to tell him you saw me, tell him we didn't speak to each other. Please, for our sakes. To have him come into their lives, and then leave again, it would break their hearts; I don't know if they would ever recover."

"I won't tell him Mer. Tell Zach, Katie and Jake I'll see them tomorrow." And then with a quick hug he was out the door, dashing into the Seattle rain and the dark stormy night.


I love the Mer/Mark friendship, so there will be a lot. Please review!