A/N: This is probably by far the chapter I enjoyed the most writing. Short but sweet. Lol.
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Chapter 7
Mark entered the on-call room as quietly as he could. He found Meredith on one of the beds, obviously not sleeping but contemplating her mind out. He could see from her body language that she was worn out and stressed out from her deep thinking. Mark knew it wasn't the time to bring into conversation
"I think it's time we talk, Mer," he spoke up.
"Mark..." Meredith sat up and looked at Mark who was looking at her intently, as if studying her.
"This is now or never, Meredith," Mark told her. "Now or never."
"Why does it have to be now?"
"Cos' he's here and you know I can't compete with him," Mark pointed out.
"No one told you to compete with him, Mark. And he's got nothing to do with me anymore."
"You've got a child together, Meredith. He's got everything to do with you!"
"He's got something to do with Davey, I know. But he's got nothing to do with me anymore, Mark. Nothing," Meredith knew that Derek's presence would complicate a lot of things in her life but she never thought Derek's presence would be a wedge between Mark and her. "I have no idea why you keep on insisting that."
"I just want to know if I have a shot... Against him..."
"I told you he's been out of the picture for a long time, Mark," Meredith repeated to him once again.
"Then why won't you let me in!"
"Cos' you're not willing to go in!" Meredith answered back.
"What do you think I'm doing now?"
"That's exactly it, NOW! What stopped you from doing it when we were back in New York? What stopped you from doing it when Derek was not yet in the picture?" Meredith bombarded him with questions. "Why, Mark? You probably wouldn't admit it till now, but you still love Addison!"
"Addison? You're bringing Addison into this? I can't believe this... How the hell did Addison get into this?" Mark could not believe what Meredith just said and how their conversation suddenly jumped into this.
"For all I know you still love her..."
"Love her? They got divorced FOUR years ago, Meredith. Did I even go and try to pursue her? No. For all I know you do not want to let me in because Derek's in the picture again."
"When they got divorced four years ago, did I go running back into his arms? NO," Meredith retaliated back.
"Then what the hell are we still arguing about?" Mark spoke in a loud voice, getting tired of the argument that's starting to form between them.
Meredith let out a deep sigh and after a few seconds spoke quietly. "I do not want to ruin our friendship, it's the one thing in my life that's actually worth keeping..."
"I love you, Meredith," Mark's voice became soft and gentle and he looked at Meredith sincerely. He wanted to go closer to her and show her how much he really loved her but he knew he needed to give her space. He needed to know that she would not pick him out of his eagerness but because she really wanted to. " I realized that the day you left for Seattle. It hurt me that you didn't stay when I asked you to. Do you have any idea how happy I was you came back that time? I was actually already packing my bags that time to follow you here to Seattle and beg you to come back... But you came back. I thought I had the chance to make it right and finally tell you that I loved you back then but for some reason I didn't want to take the risk back then. And right now I'm taking the risk..."
"Mark, don't please," Meredith shook her head, trying to beg him to stop. "I can't..."
"Just give me a chance, Meredith. Give me a chance," Mark told her. "I'm not asking you to give everything up... If you won't give me the chance... I'll accept that."
"Give me time, Mark, I can't just jump the gun here," Meredith looked at him. Mark nodded slowly and then sat down on the bed, not looking at her. He started to pour out the things on his mind.
"That year they divorced... Addison went back to New York. She went to me thinking we were already free. But I realized that I was the one who wasn't free," Mark remembered that day like it was yesterday. "The look on Addison's face... I broke her heart that day, it made me feel guilty... But once I saw you and Davey... I knew I made the right choice..."
Meredith kept her eyes on him and then he looked up at her and stood up and started to walk away.
"Please, Meredith, think about this. I'm leaving for New York tonight at 9, I'll be at Joe's. If you do decide to give me a chance... I'll be there," Mark stopped by the doorway and looked at her. "Can I just tell you something?"
"What?" Meredith spoke softly.
"Derek's been my best friend since we were in the 1st grade. Everytime we went for something at the same time, he always got it. Not once did I regret not fighting back cos' I really didn't care for most of the things he won over from me, even Addison... If you haven't realized it by now, Meredith, I've been fighting for you, something I haven't done ever before. But somehow, I'm getting tired, Mer, I really am."
Mark gave him a sad smile and left her without another word.
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Total rip off from season 2 episode five (the meet me at Joe's part). lol. The big question now is: Will Meredith show and finally put an end to this never-ending fic (hmm, wait, 7 chapters doesn't seem like never-ending now does it...)? Or does Derek still have a shot after all? -la-la-la-la-
Review please please please!
I'll try to update as soon as possible. I've been busy with my school work lately...
