CHAPTER 4:
Author's Note: Thanks for all the reviews, guys, they're all very warmly received. Hope you enjoy this chapter too. :)
Tuesday, April 12th
6 AM.
When they woke, both Mark and Lexie were relieved to find the other in their arms. Neither spoke of what had happened during the night, but each knew that it was in the forefront of the other's mind. Mark was, once again, too worried to let her out of his sight. And Lexie was determined to leave him alone to deal with whatever emotional release he needed to have without an audience. If he really didn't want her to know about it, she'd let him have his secret—as long as he dealt with it.
"Do you want to take time off?" Mark asks quietly as they lie together. "I can talk to the Chief."
"No, it's…It's okay," Lexie tells him. "I should go back."
"Lex…"
"Mark, I'll be okay. I'm fine," she replies, getting up and walking to the dresser, pulling open drawers left and right. Mark sighs, following after her. He comes to a halt right behind her, taking her hands within his and wrapping his arms around her body to still her movements.
"You're not fine, Lex." She turns around to look at him. "I'm not either," he continues. She glances down—she can't keep those small sprouts of guilt from growing and flowering in the space of her brain when she hears him admit things like this.
Logically, she knows this isn't her fault. There wasn't anything she could have done to prevent losing the baby. There was no way they could have foreseen it. But still…Every time she looked into his saddened eyes, she felt the guilt pierce through.
"And you can't just back into work like nothing happened," he continues, breaking through her thought process. "You barely slept last night, sweetheart. You can't go into work like this." She looks down, nodding ever so slightly. He breathes a sigh of relief. "So you'll stay home?" He asks.
Lexie raises her eyes to his. Initially, she wants to say no. She wants to say she can handle herself, thank you very much, and she doesn't need to be a girl and take time off. She wants to say if he's going, she can go, there's no difference between them. …But what stops her isn't her pride…It's the look in his eyes. The look that tells her that he needs this just as much—if not more—than she does. He needs to know that she's safe. He needs to know that she's in a place where no one can hurt her, and nothing bad can happen. And though that is extremely unrealistic and just plain absurd…Lexie knows that this is what he needs right now. He needs to believe—for once—that she's safe at home. And Lexie's willing to do that for him.
After all, what hadn't he done for her?
Since the very start of their relationship, he'd been nothing but ideal. Sure, he'd pushed her away in the beginning, but that made sense. He was conflicted, torn—could he choose this off-limits girl he'd been compelled to sleep with, having felt an unusual connection to over his best friend? He'd stuck by her side through everything—even when he didn't have to. He could have simply stuck to the idea that it wouldn't happen again. But he didn't. He, along with her, took a chance, and gave what they had a shot. He'd taken it all their problems in stride, and, though they wanted to keep it quiet, he continued to live their life together as if nothing was out of the ordinary. That meant everything to her, so Lexie knew she owed him at least this much.
…
"Grey," the Chief calls, walking towards Meredith and Derek, who are standing by the OR board.
"Yes?" Meredith asks, glancing up.
"Have you seen you sister? She was supposed to be here twenty minutes ago and she hasn't come in yet." His brow furrows. "I can't remember the last time she missed work…" He trails off as Meredith and Derek look at each other. In all the shock and confusion of yesterday afternoon, they'd completely forgotten to speak to the Chief. "Oh, and Shepherd," Richard continues, noticing Derek standing beside her and turning to him. "Do you know where Sloan is? He's got a burn reconstruction in a half hour, he should be here by now…"
Just as Derek was about to speak, to tell the Chief that he doubts either of them will be here today, he sees Mark walking down the hall. Derek feels an unexpected rush of sympathy for his friend at this moment—Derek's never seen him look so exhausted, so aged.
"Ah, Sloan," the Chief calls before Derek can say anything. Mark looks up when he hears his name, and heads towards the Chief. Despite his obvious fatigue, Mark is dressed in his usual navy blue scrubs, complete with his white coat and his stethoscope hanging around his neck. "You're here."
"Yeah, sorry, had a late start," he replies, his eyes flitting quickly to Meredith and Derek's before returning to Richard.
"Your patient is in room 322," the Chief tells him, passing him a chart and gesturing down the hall. Mark nods, meeting his friend's eyes quickly before heading down the hall.
"Chief, I don't think it's such a good idea to put him into surgery—" Derek begins as soon as Mark's out of earshot.
"Why not? He's fine. He looks a little worse for the wear, sure, but he probably just lost a couple hours' sleep…"
"He, um…" Meredith starts, only to fall silent under the Chief's intimidating stare.
"He what? What'd he do that should cause him not to go into surgery today?"
"It's not what he did," Derek replies slowly.
"Then what is it? Will you two stop being so damn cryptic for once and just tell me what's going on?"
Derek glances to his wife. "I think you should talk to Callie," Meredith replies.
"I don't have time for this," Richard grumbles, walking away before running right into the woman they were just talking about. "Dr. Torres!"
"Oh, sorry, Chief, I was just taking supplies back to storage and I…What?" She asks, noticing Meredith and Derek pointing enthusiastically to the Chief. Meredith walks over, hoping Callie will be able to explain everything to the Chief.
"Mark's got a surgery," Meredith tells her. "We thought you should be the one to tell the Chief why that's a bad idea."
Callie sighs, glancing to Derek and then back to Meredith before facing the Chief. "Fine," she sighs, turning to face Richard. "Can we talk in your office?"
…
"You can't let him operate, sir," Callie starts, speaking from her chair in front of the Chief's desk before he's even had the chance to sit down.
"And why is that?"
Callie exhales, looking down. "Because he just lost a son," she replies, her saddened eyes meeting Richard' shocked ones.
"A…son? Ex—excuse me?"
"I overheard before—you were wondering why Lexie Grey isn't at work today?" Dr. Webber nods slowly, not seeing the connection. "I called her in sick as a favor to Mark."
"Dr. Torres, what are you trying to say here?"
"I'm saying that she's the one who lost his baby." Dr. Webber's face contorts even more with confusion and disbelief.
"Lexie Grey?" He asks, voice rising, thinking this is a joke. "And Sloan…"
"They've been dating for half a year, living together for five months, and she's been pregnant since the beginning of January," Callie rattles off quickly as the Chief leans back in his chair, taking this in. There's silence in the room all of this information registers with the Chief of Surgery.
"And you're sure about this?"
"Positive, sir, I live in the same building, right across the hall."
…
"Shh!" Callie hears a female voice whisper loudly from the other side of the door, accompanied by the sounds of a couple embracing and laughing. "You'll wake people up!"
"Who cares?" A male voice answers, bemused. Of course, Callie thinks, rolling her eyes—she could tell Mark's voice anywhere. She can practically see the smirk on his face. Callie crosses the room to open the door and tell him to keep it down, but is surprised at what she finds.
"Look, Mark, can you keep it—" Callie starts before she's stopped abruptly by what she sees. Her eyes immediately fall on a now-blushing Lexie Grey, whose hands have fallen off of Mark's face as if they'd been shocked. The younger Grey steps away immediately, biting her lip as her eyes fly between the two friends. "…Down," Callie finishes, her eyes moving to appraise Mark. He looks down immediately, closing his eyes momentarily. He knew this would happen sometime.
"Can I talk to you for a minute?" Callie asks after a silent minute, trying to stay polite. Mark raises his eyes to her—she can see the question in them. When Callie just stares at him, Mark sighs, glancing back to Lexie.
"Can you give us a sec, Lex?" He asks, turning to her.
"Uh, right, sure," she replies, holding his gaze for a minute before taking the key he offers to her and disappearing into his apartment. He turns to face Callie, a half-embarrassed half-guilty expression on his face. Callie stands with her hands on her hips, sighing. Once the door closes behinds Lexie, she starts in on him.
"Really, Mark? This is still about Meredith's little sister?" He's about to speak when she continues. "I thought was just that once," she reminds him before throwing him a sour look. "Or, at least, that's what you told me."
"Callie, it's not like that," Mark protests.
"Oh, really?" She asks, crossing her arms over her chest and throwing him a disapproving look. "Then tell me what it's like."
"We're dating," Mark replies without hesitation. Callie arches an eyebrow.
"That didn't look like dating."
"Just because we're sleeping together doesn't mean it's not serious," he replies. Callie pauses, digesting this. 'Serious'…she thinks
"Mark," she starts slowly as thing begin to click into place for her. "How long has this been going on?"
Mark sighs, running a hand across his forehead. "A coupe weeks," he admits quietly.
"A couple…weeks!" Callie repeats in disbelief. "And you…what, didn't think to tell me?"
"Well—"
"You—Mark Sloan—have been in a serious relationship with a woman for weeks and you didn't think to tell me?" Callie asks incredulously, pointing to him and then herself. "Your best friend?"
"Well, Derek's more of my best friend," Mark jokes, smirking. He knew this was bound to happen eventually—especially when he and Lexie started coming to Mark's apartment more and more since he'd left the hotel behind—but he'd expected Callie to take it harder than this. He'd expected her to be more judgmental.
"You told Derek?" Callie asks, surprise elevating her tone.
"What? God, no, I didn't tell Derek," Mark replies quickly. "Are you crazy? He'd kill me."
Callie nods. "So you're…what? Hiding from him?"
"Kind of," Mark admits, realizing how juvenile that sounds.
"You two going to tell them sometime soon?"
"Uh…I don't know. We're not…We haven't really…talked about it," Mark admits as Callie rolls her eyes.
"Of course. What else should I expect?"
Mark grins, seeing through her words. "Well, I'm happy you're not pissed," he replies after a moment. Callie smiles at him. "And I'm hoping you won't say anything to Derek…" He trails off as Callie nods.
"Sure," she assures him. Mark looks at her gratefully before glancing behind him. "Well, I should get back…"
"Right," Callie nods, watching him turn around before heading back to her own apartment. "Keep it down," she replies over her shoulder.
"Can't promise anything," Mark calls back before closing the door.
…
The Chief pauses again as he regards the orthopedic surgeon. "Now, I don't mean to sound insensitive—but how is it that I am the last person, to learn about this, while in theory, I should be the first?"
"I was asked to keep it a secret, Chief. They only told Meredith and Derek yesterday. I'm not sure why they never reported their relationship to you or HR, sir. And I don't know how everyone else found out, but this is Seattle Grace, and news—even bad news—travels fast."
"Hm."
"The point is, Dr. Webber, he just lost a baby and I'm not totally convinced he should be anywhere near a scalpel right now," Callie tells him quickly, knowing Mark would kill her if he knew what she was saying. "He wouldn't admit it, but I don't think he's completely okay. Not yet, at least."
"I see," Richard replies evenly, though still thoroughly taken aback.
…
"Look, Meredith, I'm fine," Mark tells her. She's been trying to stop him from getting to his patient for the last ten minutes and it's really starting to annoy him. "Will you just get out of—"
"Mark, you can't be fine," Meredith cuts in, crossing her arms. "Lexie's not even at work today and you—"
"Lexie's not at work because I asked her to stay home," Mark informs Meredith in an undertone. "As for me, I can—"
"Sloan," Richard calls out, walking towards him with Callie on his tail.
"Yes, sir?" Mark asks, turning towards him.
"You're not operating," he replies, taking the chart out of Mark's hands.
"What? Why not? I just need some coffee, I'll be fine," Mark says, looking shocked and confused, before he sees Callie come in behind the Chief. "Callie…" He warns darkly.
"Mark, I had to," Callie defends herself, stepping forward. "Coffee won't fix this, and you know that."
"This wasn't your call," he tells her, eyes flashing.
"Mark, you made it my call. You know you can't go into surgery like this—it's been one day. If Lexie were here—"
Mark's eyes flash and his voice is threatening. "Callie, don't."
"She wouldn't want you operating either, and you know that." Callie eyes soften as she lowers her voice. "Mark, why are you fighting this?"
"I'm not fighting anything."
"Mark…"
"I need to operate, Callie," he tells her, his voice turning desperate now. "I need some normalcy, here. Please."
"Sloan, you aren't operating," the Chief calls, drawing himself back into the conversation. "You can round on pre and post ops, but you aren't going into an OR until I'm sure you're ready."
"Chief Webber—" Mark protests, turning back towards him.
"Don't bother," Richard interrupts. "It's decided. Go," he orders. Mark stares at him, furious, for a minute before turning on his heel and heading towards the nurses' station to get his patients' charts.
…
"Hey, Dr. Sloan, you free?" Hunt asks, meeting Mark a few minutes later at the nurses' station. "Robbins and I need you to look at that burn victim from yesterday." Mark stares at him blankly for a minute, trying to remember. Burn victim…
"Her name's Kylie Hyden; she had burns all across her arms last night," Hunt informs the other surgeon with a quizzical look. Since when did Sloan slack on his patients? Sure, Owen thinks, he can be an ass, but he's pretty responsible when it comes to—
"What room?" Mark asks, needing to bury himself in any type of work he can find.
"Oh, uh, one-thirty-five," Owen replies, leaving his thoughts behind and leading the way to the exam room. "Dr. Robbins should already be there."
…
"Darn, I'm being paged," Arizona groans, carefully editing her language and looking to Kylie and her mother. "It's an emergency, I'm so sorry, Mrs. Hyden. Kylie should be all right for a while—once Dr. Hunt gets here—"
Just as she's about to leave, Owen opens the door, almost running right into Arizona. "Oh, sorry," he says, stepping aside.
"No, no, it's perfect. Mrs. Hyden, I'm sure you remember Dr. Hunt?"
Kylie's mother nods. "And you're…" She trails off, trying to remember Mark's name. He doesn't supply it, opting instead to walk over and begin examining the girl's burns. The sooner this is over with the better, he thinks. He previous vigor towards work having disappeared when he remembers that it's a kid he's treating. A child. Hunt stares at him for a minute before snapping back to his job.
"Uh, this is Dr. Sloan," Hunt tells her after a pause, catching Arizona's eye worriedly. "I've got this," he tells Arizona, not sure if he means Mark or the patient. "You can go."
"Thanks," Arizona says quickly, glancing once to Mark's back before running off the other ends of the Peds ward.
…
"Thank you," Kylie's mother replies an hour later, smiling at both the doctors for having made Kylie's stay in the hospital much more pain-free. Though he was her daughter's primary doctor, not Hunt, Mark simply nods, stepping away from the woman, the case, and her praise and heading down the hallway. Owen is about to jog after him when Mrs. Hyden's hand holds him back.
"Is he alright?" Kylie's mother asks, pulling Dr. Hunt aside. "He seems kind of…detached," she finishes, trying to pick the right word. "Preoccupied. Don't get me wrong, he took care of Kylie fine, it's just—is he okay?"
"He…" Hunt pauses, glancing to Mark's retreating back, unsure of what to say. "He's just had a…hard few days," Hunt finishes awkwardly, not knowing what to tell the woman.
"He seemed alright when we saw him yesterday," she replies confused, before glancing to the trauma surgeon. "Oh, my, did—did someone die?" Mrs. Ryder asks, eyes wide. She didn't know much about hospital, but she was sure each doctor had their fair share of patient losses. Surprise and disbelief automatically color Hunt's face and the woman immediately backs off.
"Oh, I'm sorry," she says quickly. "I didn't mean to pry…"
"No, no, it's all right. Th—thank you for your concern," Hunt replies. He saying goodbye quickly before heading to the catwalk, a determined look on his face.
…
Author's Note: Please review and tell me what you think!
