A/N So I still really love this story but I am not sure where it's gonna go yet. I hope you continue to enjoy it.

Family

Mark rolled over onto his side when he heard the alarm clock go off. It took him a moment to realize where he was as he struggled to awaken. When he looked over his shoulder he saw Addison's blue eyes slowly opening and a slow smile forming on her face as her eyes focused on him. Then everything came back to him including the fact that he had to let Richard know that he was not returning to Seattle. He hit the alarm clock twice before it finally shut off. Despite having to be up early and or short on sleep nearly every day, Mark was not a morning person.

"I'll be right back Addie. I have to call Richard." Mark told her before he grabbed his Blackberry and went downstairs to make the phone call. Addison sighed as she sat up in bed. She could not believe the things that had changed this week. Mark Sloan had actually picked her over his Little Grey or whatever the fuck he called Meredith's sister. Addison knew about the nickname thanks to Callie who had let it slip one of the times Addison had called Callie. Addison got out of bed and put a pair of sweatpants on and her old grey Columbia t-shirt that Mark had always said that she looked good in. She went down the stairs just in time to see Mark hang up his phone. Addison was smiling as he came towards her with a smile of his own.

"I'm free." Mark told her, still smiling. He was free from his contract at Seattle Grace-Mercy West and he was free to start work at her practice the next morning. Most importantly he was free to be with Addison. He pulled Addison's slim body into his arms and he kissed her deeply. He was really looking forward to starting this new life with Addison. He wasn't sure if Sloane and Samantha were going to stay here in LA, but he hoped that they would stay for a little while. He wanted to get to know his daughter better. God whenever he remembered he had a daughter as well as a grandson on the way he felt old. Addison had ways of making sure he didn't feel old and last night she had showed him some of those ways.

"What are today's plans?" Addison asked as soon as she had pulled away from Mark's lips. Addison had to be to work in an hour and she really didn't want Mark bored all day.

"Spending time at the hospital with Sloane and her mom." Mark replied. He wanted to see them as much as possible, especially if they were planning on going back to Las Vegas soon. Addison wasn't really surprised that Mark wanted to spend time with his daughter but she was surprised that he wanted to spend time with Samantha. After all they had not spoken in nineteen years. It didn't make sense to her why Mark wanted to spend time with her now.

"I thought it would just be Sloane there today after you got there?" Addison asked. She was definitely not jealous of Samantha Riley. She knew Mark had no intention of starting things up again with his daughter's mother, but Addison couldn't help but feel a little uneasy. Mark looked at her and he could see the uneasiness on her face and he was surprised. He had not expected her be jealous of Samantha Riley. There was no reason to be jealous of her. Mark wanted Addison and Addison only. He had no intention of getting back together with Samantha.

"Addie are you actually jealous of a woman who I share a daughter with?" Mark asked as he kept his eyes locked onto her face.

"No of course not. I know you want me. After all you proved it last night." Addison teased him lightly. Mark was not at all convinced that Addison was okay but Mark knew that nothing was going to happen between him and Samantha. Addison would just have to trust him which could be difficult given his past inability to stay faithful.

"So are you going to tell the rest of the people at the practice that I am joining it?" Mark asked Addison. He knew that the subject had to be changed so he changed to see what Addison's plans for the day were other than work.

"Yes. When I first got here they operated on a voting system. I nixed that as soon as I was the boss." Addison told Mark. She had a feeling that Sam would not be happy that Addison had hired Mark. Charlotte on the other hand would be glad that someone had taken her advice. She had been suggesting a plastic surgeon for several months now and Addison had continued to ignore her. Thankfully Pete had moved to the fourth floor with Naomi because Addison knew that Mark did not believe in alternative medicine. Despite the fact that Pete's needles had helped Sloane sleep. Even that hadn't been enough to convince Mark that sometimes alternative medicine was better than western medicine.

"You think they'll be okay with it?" Mark asked as he grabbed a cup and poured himself some coffee.

"They'll just have to be." Addison told him. Of course the they she was referring to was Sam. Addison had a feeling that Sam would be the only one who would not like the fact that Mark was joining the practice.

"Is something going on with you and Sam?" Mark asked curiously. He could read Addison's mind better than Derek ever could and he had a feeling that something had been budding between Addison and Sam before he and Sloane had come to LA.

"Not anymore." Addison told Mark quickly. She had made her decision last night and it wasn't Sam. She had picked Mark.

"But if I hadn't come…?"Mark trailed off, not quite sure what he wanted to say or ask Addison.

"Then it could have turned into something." Addison finished softly as she kept her blue eyes locked onto Mark's clean shaven face. Mark was surprised. He had never known that Sam felt like that for Addison and he certainly never knew that Addison felt like that for her best friend's husband.

"But I'm here now." Mark told her firmly. He was not going to let anyone else have her. That may have sounded a little harsh or selfish but he loved Addison and he wanted to be here with her and maybe take up surfing in his spare time.

"Yes, you are here now." Addison confirmed softly. She could hardly believe that Mark had picked her but she wasn't about to question that.

"I'm going to go shower now so I can go spend the day with my daughter." Mark told her. The old Mark would have suggested they shower together, but the new Mark wanted to take their second chance slowly. They didn't need to be having sex every single free moment. Besides they had had sex last night before this final decision was made and again after Mark had picked her. Addison was surprised that Mark didn't suggest that they shower together. Mark was different and she was not sure exactly when that had happened but she was almost positive that it had to do with his pregnant teenage daughter showing up out of the blue.

"Okay, go ahead." Addison told him instead of asking why he was so different. Mark kissed her lips quickly before he went upstairs to get that shower.

Thirty minutes and two quick kisses later Mark was in a rental car driving to the hospital. He realized as he was driving that he had to make arrangements for his stuff to be mailed to LA. He would talk to Callie about that later when he called her to tell her what he was doing. Right now he was planning on spending all day with his daughter, with or without Samantha. She could stay or she could leave Sloane's room. It made no difference to him. He hadn't talked to his daughter a lot before Lexie discovered that there was something wrong with the baby. After she had told Mark that there was something wrong with the baby then Mark and Sloane talked more. There was still a lot that he didn't know about his daughter and there was a lot that he wanted to know about her. He was looking forward to looking through all of Sloane's baby pictures and he was grateful that Samantha had brought them to him for him to look at.

When he got to the hospital, he went straight to the elevator and rode it up to the OB floor where his daughter was still recovering from the surgery she had just had yesterday morning. When the elevator opened at the third floor, Mark stepped off of the elevator and headed to Sloane's room. He pushed open the door and stepped into the room not sure of what he would find. He found Sloane picking at her breakfast and her mother talking to her and encouraging her to eat something.

"Hey." Mark greeted both women with a smile as he closed the door behind him and settled down on the other chair that Samantha was not occupying.

"Dad, tell Mom that I don't have to eat this shit." Sloane asked Mark as she pointed at the unrecognizable thing on her breakfast tray. Mark couldn't believe that Sloane was already pitting one parent against the other less than twenty four hours after her parents had reunited for the first time in nineteen years. He also knew that he couldn't object to her language because he didn't have the right.

"You have to eat baby." Samantha insisted. She knew that her grandson needed his mother to eat and that was what Samantha was attempting to make her do.

"I will Mom. Just not this crap." Sloane insisted stubbornly. Mark had been a patient in the hospital recently after Lexie had broken him so he knew how bad hospital food was and he did not want his daughter eating that garbage.

"I'll go get her something else." Mark promised. Sloane smiled when her dad said that he would go get her something else. Some people may have called her manipulative or narcissistic or vapid but she really wasn't that bad. She just knew how to push her dad's guilty buttons and she knew that he had a lot of guilt for leaving her mother and not wanting her all of those years ago. Plus she had a feeling that her dad had been just as narcissistic as she was when he was eighteen.

"A blueberry scone maybe?" Sloane asked as she looked at her dad. She had no way of knowing that blueberry scones were her dad's favorite. They had eaten cold cereal every morning at her dad's apartment in Seattle. Mark was surprised when she asked for a blueberry scone. He had had no idea that he and his daughter shared a favorite breakfast food.

"I could definitely get you a blueberry scone." Mark told his daughter. Samantha had forgotten until now that blueberry scones had been Mark's favorite as well. There was another similarity between father and daughter.

"I am going to go apartment hunting today." Samantha told Mark. She and Sloane had a discussion about it this morning and they had decided that they would be living here at least for awhile. She didn't know that Mark's plans had become concrete and he figured that he ought to tell them what was going on.

"So you two are going to stay for awhile?" Mark asked. He was happy that they were staying so he could spend more time with his daughter.

"Yes for as long as you are staying." Samantha told Mark. Sloane had told her mother that she wanted to stay and get to know her father.

"Well as of last night I have decided to move here permanently." Mark told both women. Sloane couldn't help but let a smirk pass her lips when she hard her dad's announcement. It was the female version of the infamous Sloan smirk that her dad had used so often.

"It wouldn't have anything to do with my doctor would it?" Sloane asked innocently. Mark could not believe how perceptive his daughter was. Actually yes he could. He was a very perceptive man himself and it seemed as though she had inherited that from him.

"She asked me to stay here in LA and I said yes." Mark confirmed with a nod towards his daughter.

"Well at least it's better than having a future stepmother only six years older than me." Sloane commented with a wrinkle of her nose. That had always given her creeps despite the fact that she had never let it be known. To her it was weird to know that her dad's future girlfriend was only six when she was born.

"Wait I'm not marrying her Sloane." Mark told her rather hastily. Of course someday he could picture him and Addison getting married but they were no where near ready for that yet. He hadn't known that Sloane felt weird about Lexie being only six years older than her. He should have known because Lexie had felt weird about Sloane being so close to her own age.

"Not yet." Sloane told her dad. She had no doubt that her dad and her doctor would be walking down the aisle someday soon. Mark figured that it was best to ignore her when she talked like this and that was exactly what he did. He didn't want to talk to Sloane about his new relationship with Addison. As Addison had told him in Seattle, talking about sex was not the best way to bond with your children. So Mark would have to work today on bonding a little better with his daughter.

"I am going to go pick your blueberry scone up." Mark told his daughter as he stood up from the chair, his ass already feeling numb. He turned to look at Samantha who had stayed silent throughout the whole revelation about Mark moving here to LA to be with Addison. He was surprised that Samantha hadn't said a thing.

"Do you want anything Sam?" Mark offered as he studied the mother of his daughter rather closely.

"No thank you Mark. Thanks for the offer though." Samantha told him politely. Mark left Sloane's room to go get his daughter the blueberry scone that she had requested. He tried to put Samantha's sudden silence out of his mind because it wasn't his business to wonder why she had gone so quiet.

When Mark returned with Sloane's blueberry scone and a bottle of juice less than thirty minutes later, he was met with silence. Neither woman was speaking to each other which surprised Mark. He couldn't help but wonder if Sloane had said something to her mother. She did seem to be very blunt with her words much like Mark himself was. Neither woman appeared to be crying which was a good thing. Mark knew how to comfort his daughter when she cried but he was out of practice with crying women who were not his daughter. He put Sloane's blueberry scone on her tray and produced the bottle of juice which actually happened to be orange. He knew that both Sloane and the baby needed the vitamins that orange juice provided. Without so much as a thank you, Sloane devoured the blueberry scone, nearly choking in the process. While Sloane was eating, Samantha stood up. She needed to get out of there as soon as she possibly could. If she spent one more time with her daughter and Mark she was going to scream. Mark had turned into a very attentive father and Samantha couldn't help but wish he had been that when Sloane was on the way. Instead he had been a dickhead to her and he had left her pregnant and alone. Why was Sloane so desperate to have a relationship with a man who had abandoned her before she was even born. Samantha wished that she had an answer to that question. Sloane had never been shy about asking about her father even from a very young age. Samantha had always suspected that as soon as she could, Sloane was going to go find him. Kicking her out had given Sloane the chance to go find her father.

"Bye Sam." Mark told Samantha as he watched his daughter eat the food that he had brought for her. He was glad that she was finally eating. When Samantha walked out of Sloane's room without a word to her daughter, Mark knew something was up. He wasn't entirely sure that it was his place to ask what was going on. As if his daughter could read his mind, she swallowed a bite of scone and then she spoke,

"Mom wants me to hate you for leaving us."

Mark was startled when Sloane spoke but he had to admit that Samantha had valid reasons for her not wanting Sloane to like her father.

"She's mad that I want to know you." Sloane added. Mark sighed a heavy sigh. He wanted to know his daughter. He knew that she may never understand the choices he made before she was born but he wanted to have a relationship with her now that he was in a much better place than he was nineteen years ago. He was much better father material now.

"What do you want?" Mark asked as he studied his daughter carefully.

"I know it's too late for you to play the daddy I needed so many times in the past eighteen years, but I want to know you." Sloane told her father honestly. She chewed on her bottom lip as she waited for Mark to respond. Mark noticed that Sloane had the same habit that Samantha had when she was nervous and that was good. Maybe Sloane wasn't pure him.

"You are my daughter and I want to know you too." Mark finally told her. He knew that Samantha would not be all that happy but Sloane was eighteen and she could make her own decisions about who she wanted to know. For some reason she wanted to know her dad even after he had left her mother all of those years ago.

"Why did you leave Mom?" Sloane asked. Mark sighed when he heard her question. He knew that it was a question that she deserved answers to but Mark was also sure that Samantha had told Sloane already so he was hesitant to say anything.

"Mom told me everything. I just want to hear your side." Sloane told her dad quietly.

"I wasn't ready when your mom told me she was pregnant. I was a college student and I was in no way ready to start a family. I didn't want to be a shitty father like mine was and I thought you deserved better than to be stuck with me for a father." Mark explained. Fear and the reluctance to start a family at his age had fueled the decision that he had made. He had felt that he was not ready to give a child all they deserved and all that he was denied as a child.

"Mom said that your parents really fucked you up." Sloane told him. Mark chuckled when Sloane spoke. Samantha may never have met his parents but she knew how messed up he was because his parents had never given a damn about him.

"Well they weren't really there for me. You had it better. At least you had one parent there." Mark commented.

"But I wanted you and Mom to be there." Sloane admitted softly. She was finally admitting that she had wanted a father in her life. Not just any father. Her father.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there Sloane." Mark told her. He was sorry. He really wished he had stepped up and been there for both Samantha and Sloane. Life would have been so different if he had been in Sloane's life from the beginning.

"My birthday wish when I was little was that my daddy would come." Sloane whispered. When Mark heard that, he only felt more guilt and he really wished that he could turn around and make a different choice, despite the fact that he really had not been ready to be a father.

"I stopped wishing for you when I was ten and Mom told me that you didn't want me." Sloane admitted. She remembered being ten and her mother saying that her daddy never wanted her and he was never going to come for her birthday. Mark hated to imagine that look on her face. That look that he had worn often enough as a kid. He knew the feeling of not being loved better than anyone else and he hated that. He hated that his daughter had been told that daddy hadn't wanted her. No kid should ever feel that.

"I'd like to make up to you from now on." Mark told her quietly. Sloane nodded slowly, knowing that she had a right to know her father and her mother could not take that away from her.

"I told Mom that I can't keep the baby." Sloane told her dad as she ran a hand over her stomach and bit her lip as she waited for her dad to respond. She knew that he had wanted to raise the baby with her and she hated to hurt him like this. She just knew that she was not ready and that a baby deserved a stable loving family and Sloane could not give that to him.

"Oh, what did she say?" Mark responded. He was heartbroken right now because of Sloane's news. He didn't want his grandson to be raised by strangers and he really wished that Sloane would change her mind. Mark had a feeling that Sloane was just as stubborn as he was though so the chance of her changing her mind was probably pretty slim.

"She is insistent that I can do it with her help and with yours." Sloane admitted. Mark wanted to believe that there was still hope but he doubted that Sloane would still keep her son. Even if she had parental support.

"But I want my life back Dad. I don't want to be a mom at eighteen. I want to graduate high school and I want to have college as an option." Sloane told Mark seriously. She was a smart woman. After all both of her parents had gone to Columbia. Samantha only for a little while and Mark for four years plus med school.

"You have to make decisions that you can live with Sloane. Your mother's right, if you wanted to keep him, your mother and I could help you." Mark told his daughter. He could tell that she was genuinely torn and Mark hated to see that. She was his daughter and he had missed out on so much when she was little. Now that she needed reassurance Mark wanted to make sure that she had it. Sloane was going to make sure that she did not cry as she ran her hands over her stomach.

"I have some thinking to do I guess." Sloane murmured as she kept running her hand over her stomach. Mark watched his daughter touch her stomach and he imagined Samantha doing much the same thing nineteen years ago.

"You can feel him if you want to." Sloane offered. Mark looked at his daughter, surprised that she was allowing him to touch her stomach. He thought that was awfully personal. Mark was sure that it would be weird, but he wasn't about to decline her offer. He brushed his hand over her stomach and when he felt a kick, he smiled at Sloane. His grandson was kicking his hand. It felt so strange to him, but strange in a very good way.

"Thank you Sloane." Mark told her softly. Feeling his grandson's kick meant more to him than Mark had ever expected that it would. If she had never shown up in Seattle then Mark would never have gotten this chance.

"Mom was mad at you for a very long time…but I don't think I ever was." Sloane told Mark, going back to their previous discussion.

"Well I didn't step up when your mom needed me and I should have." Mark told Sloane seriously. He would never admit that for the first four years, he had thought of Samantha on the anniversary of the she had told him that she was pregnant. He figured that there were certain things that he really could keep to himself and that admission was one of those things.

"Did you ever wonder what it could have been like if you had stepped up and been there for Mom and me?" Sloane asked curiously.

"I wasn't sure if your mom was going to have you so no I never really wondered what it would have been like if I was around." Mark told her honestly. After she had showed up in Seattle Mark definitely had wondered what it would have been like if he had been in Sloane's life.

"What about when I showed up in Seattle?" Sloane asked as she searched her father's face. She knew he had been surprised by her exsistance, but she didn't know where his thoughts were after she had come to Seattle. After all they barely spoke to each other during the first six weeks.

"Yes, when you showed up in Seattle, I definitely started to wonder what it would have been like if I had been around when you were little." Mark confirmed with a nod in his daughter's direction.

"Do you mind if I got to sleep now Dad?" Sloane asked. She really wasn't liking these questions anymore though she really wanted the answers to them. Maybe she would be more ready for them when she got out of the hospital.

"Not at all. Get some rest. I'll be right here while you sleep." Mark told his daughter calmly. He knew that she was still pretty tired from yesterday's surgery. Plus he wanted to do some thinking about the things that they had talked about. Sloane nodded and before Mark could respond to her nod, she had fallen asleep with one hand tucked under her chin and the other hand resting on her stomach. Mark noticed how peaceful she looked and Mark was really glad to see that she was relaxed and not scared like she had been right before the surgery.

As soon as Mark was sure that she was asleep, he opened her nightstand drawer and found a ton of pictures scattered all over. Mark was sure that these were some of the ones that Samantha had brought for him to see. He picked up the first stack and he quickly realized that these pictures were of Sloane when she was just a baby. He found the first one which he guessed must have been taken shortly after she was born. Even then her hair was very blond and Mark guessed that she had been born with his eyes because she already had the slate colored eyes even at a few hours old. Samantha looked beautiful despite her hair being all over the place. Then there was a picture of the card that accompanied the hospital bassinet. Mark could make out the words jus fine.

Sloane Mackenzie Riley

Mother: Samantha Riley

Father: Mark Sloan

Weight: 6lbs,5oz

Height:20in

So Samantha had never denied that he was the father. It was even on the card and Mark was sure that it was likely on Sloane's birth certificate as well. He was glad that he was still getting the chance to be a father. He was glad that Sloane wanted him in her life. He knew that he had no right to it, but he was glad that she wanted to know him. Mark sat back in the very uncomfortable chair and continued to look through the pictures of his daughter when she was just born.


Meanwhile Addison had a meeting to call. Usually they didn't do morning meetings that much anymore unless someone had something important to discuss and she did have something to tell them. It was not up for discussion though she knew that Sam would not be a happy man. She figured that Sam needed to deal with it. She had made a decision to bring more clients to the practice and having a plastic surgeon definitely would do that. It would probably even bring upscale clients into the building and Addison was hoping that they could keep competing with Pacific Wellcare.

She was sitting in the meeting room as Sam, Charlotte, Cooper and Violet came into the room. Sam could already tell that he was not going to like what Addison had to tell him. He just hoped that it had nothing to do with a cocky and arrogant plastic surgeon that Addison had spent the week screwing. Addison didn't feel the need to stand up to deliver her news so she simply spoke.

"I have hired a new doctor to join the practice."

Sam's face turned stony in an instant. He knew exactly who Addison was talking about and he was not a happy man right now. He was pretty angry actually. Addison had no right to make decisions about the practice without talking to him first.

"What's their specialty?" Cooper asked. Violet only looked vaguely curious and Charlotte was almost sure she knew who Addison was talking about.

"Plastic surgery." Addison replied. Charlotte was smiling. She loved being right and she was looking forward to the pissing match she was sure Sam was thinking about starting.

"Well that would bring the quality of our patients up." Cooper pointed out.

"That isn't a veiled reference to my hooker patients a year ago is it?" Addison asked with a raised shook his head immediately not wanting Addison to think that he was insulting her.

"He can't join the practice Addison. He'll screw around for a bit and then he'll go back to Seattle." Sam told her. Addison was not happy with the fact that Sam was questioning Mark's commitment to his job. That had been the only thing that he was committed to for as long as Addison could remember

"As a matter of fact, I asked him to stay here." Addison told the group in a hurry to shut Sam up.

"Why?" Sam demanded. It made no sense to him why Addison would want to go through the pain that Mark had put her through before, all over again.

"Because she's in love with him you moron." Charlotte barked impatiently. Okay take back her elation at seeing a pissing match between Sam and Mark. Sam was being obnoxious and Charlotte wanted him to just shut up. Addison blushed a deep red which she was not happy about. She was not expecting Charlotte to blurt out something like that. How the heck did Charlotte King know that Addison loved Mark? Addison hated blushing at work and it was Charlotte who had made it happen with her outburst.

"Any other legitimate objections?" Addison asked, not looking at Sam. She did not want to heat his objections to her hiring Mark. When no one responded, Addison smiled, relieved that no one had any genuine objections to Mark joining the practice.

"When does he start?" Cooper asked interestedly. Violet still hadn't spoken a word and right now she was currently pulling a string off her shirt hem.

"Tomorrow." Addison told Cooper. No one else seemed to have any questions so Addison let them go back to work and she headed back to her office. Sam grabbed her arm and pulled her into his office before she could reach her own. He was not going to let Addison do this to herself if he could help it.

"Addison you can't hire him. He's a dog who only cares about himself. What did I tell you the day his daughter had surgery?" Was the first thing out of Sam's mouth.

"You said what you believed and I choose to believe differently." Addison told him. She was done talking about this and she really wished that Sam would just let everything go. Addison had seen him with his daughter and she knew that Mark was a different man than he had been in New York. Sam sighed, seeing that her mind was made up and he doubted that he could change it. Addison nodded at Sam as a thank you for letting it drop. Addison had a feeling that Sam would not let it go entirely, but right now she choose not to let it bother her. She simply left his office and returned to her own.


Mark was in the fourth stack of pictures that Samantha had brought and from what he could tell Sloane was about four years old in them. Mark had to admit that she was a beautiful child and she had grown into a beautiful woman. She had such a smile even at four years old. His back was to the room door and he was so engrossed in the pictures that he didn't even hear the door close behind him.

"That was her first day of kindergarten." Came Samantha's voice from behind him as she pointed to the picture that he had just flipped to. Mark turned and looked at Samantha, hoping that now they could have their own discussion while Sloane was still asleep.

"We need to talk Sam." Mark told his ex girlfriend quietly. He had all of these questions that he wanted answers too. Sloane had gotten some of her questions answered by him and now it was his turn to get some of his answered by her mother.