A/N: Here's the longest update yet. I'm slowly working my way into bringing up some conflict, but I don't want the happy family thing to be ruined too soon. Keep the reviews coming!

Chapter 9

When Izzie finally dragged herself into the house, she was greeted with the smells of a home-cooked meal and laughter. She had lost a patient that afternoon, a little boy with a heart defect. She knew she shouldn't take it this hard after so many years, but it still killed her to lose a patient, especially a little kid. It made her want to rush home and cuddle Ella close to her. She followed the noise to the kitchen. Mark was stirring something on the stove, grinning, Ella was sitting on a stool at the island chattering away, and Alex was slicing a loaf of Italian bread.

"Mommy! You're home!" Ella cheered. It felt good to be welcomed home so enthusiastically every day.

"Hey, sugar bear. What's going on in here?" Izzie asked, kissing her daughter's forehead before collapsing on the stool next to her.

"Daddy is fixing dinner and Uncle Alex is doing the only cooking he can because he wants to be helpful," Ella replied.

"Daddy is fixing dinner? Why is Daddy fixing dinner?" Izzie asked, looking perplexed. "Does Daddy even know how to cook?"

"Yes, Daddy knows how to cook," Mark retorted indignantly. "I'm a single guy living in the 21st Century. And I'm fixing dinner because Karev told me you had a rough day, so I thought I'd make it easier on you by cooking dinner. Little Bit and Alex decided to pitch in the best they could."

"Well then, thank you," Izzie said sincerely. "What are we having?"

"We're having some of my grandmother's marinara sauce over ziti, sprinkled with freshly grated Parmesan cheese, a salad, and garlic bread. I also picked up some tiramisu for dessert. Perfect comfort foods, that should be ready after you help Little Bit get washed up and splash some water on your face."

"You don't need any help?"

"We got it covered, Iz. You take care of the munchkin," Alex said.

Dinner was a pleasant meal, filled with talking and laughter. After they finished, Mark and Alex cleared off the table. Izzie was about to help them when they sent her twin looks that said "what the hell do you think you're doing?" Holding up her hands in surrender, Izzie picked Ella up and went to watch a movie in the living room.

MIMIMIMI

When Mark joined them in the living room half an hour later, Ella was sound asleep, cuddled on her mother's lap.

"Looks like you wore her out," Izzie said softly.

"Yea, I guess I did," Mark replied just as softly, brushing a curl away from his daughter's cheek, his blue eyes examining her small face tenderly. "Tell ya what, Izzie. Why don't you go upstairs, run a nice hot bubble bath, light some candles, and relax for a little while. I'll put Ella to bed and meet you back down here. There're some things I need to talk to you about. Nothing bad, but just details I'd like to get out of the way."

Nodding her agreement, Izzie smiled softly as Mark gently lifted their daughter from her lap and followed them up the stairs.

"Daddy?" Ella mumbled.

"Yea, princess. I'm gonna put you to bed, ok?" Mark murmured, cuddling her closer to his chest.

"Mmmhmm. Don't forget to check for monsters," Ella said sleepily.

"I won't."

Izzie watched them disappear into Ella's bedroom before retreating to the bathroom. As she soaked in the dim bathroom, Izzie thought about the last few days. When she first heard Mark was back, she had been terrified. A million different, horrible, terrifying scenarios had run through her head. She saw Mark being mad enough to take her to court for custody. She saw him finding out about Ella and refusing to be a part of her life. She saw many more things, yet he was here in her house, putting their daughter to bed after cleaning up the kitchen from a dinner he had cooked for them. Never in a million years would she have imagined that.

Not only was Mark Sloan proving to be a great father, but he was also showing extreme potential as a genuinely nice guy. She liked nice guys. She hadn't really dated since finding out that she was pregnant. She missed dating. She missed getting ready, putting on make-up, shaving her legs, picking out a cute outfit, the whole nine yards. Mark made her want to go on a date- with him. They didn't have that sort of relationship; they had never had that sort of relationship, but she was beginning to think she might want to. Mentally shaking her head, she let out a humor-less laugh. This was just a natural reaction to learning how to co-parent with a very attractive, very charming man who happened to also be caring and compassionate to boot.

MIMIMIMI

Almost an hour after Mark had put his daughter to bed, Izzie came into the living room. She was wearing pink plaid pajamas and her hair was pulled into a neat ponytail. She looked like a young college student rather than a 32-year-old mother of a four year old. She looked beautiful. Mark mentally shook his head.

"What was it you wanted to talk about?" Izzie asked.

"Well, as big of a jerk as my dad is, he made some good points today when we talked. Well, one good point, any ways. Who is listed as Ella's father on her birth certificate?" Mark said quickly.

"Well, you are, of course," Izzie said. "I hadn't been with anyone else and I wanted Ella to have a father, even if it was just a name on a piece of paper. I guess I had hoped you'd come back one day. And here you are."

"Yea, here I am," Mark said with a smile. "So is her last name documented as Stevens or Sloan?"

"Umm…well," Izzie said, blushing slightly in embarrassment. "It's Sloan, but she goes by Stevens because it was easier to explain."

Mark smiled with pleasure at this revelation. "Would it be ok if she started going by Sloan now?"

"Yea, I think that would be a good idea," Izzie said. They sat in silence fore a few minutes.

"God, Iz, I've missed so much of her life. I swore to myself if I ever became a father I wouldn't miss a single thing in my kid's life, but I have," Mark said heavily. Seeing Izzie's face contort in regret, he rushed to explain. "Oh, Izzie, I don't blame you for not telling me. I wasn't exactly around or the best guy to want as your daughter's father at the time, but I am now. I just wish I knew more about her than the fact that she loves pink, and Dora, and has hypochondriac dolls. What did she weigh when she was born? Did she breast feed? Was she a good baby or did she cry a lot? When did she learn to walk and talk? That's stuff dads are supposed to know, right?"

"I figured you'd have those questions at some point," Izzie said with a mischievous smile. Getting up from the couch, she went over to the T.V. cabinet and pulled out a huge scrapbook. "I've made this over the years for Ella, but also for you. Everyone laughs at me, but I take pictures of everything and save anything I think is important."

Mark gently took the huge tome from Izzie and opened it. On the first page was a picture of a wizened looking newborn.

"That's her first picture. She weighed 6 pounds, 7 ounces, and was 17 inches long," Izzie said, sitting next to him.

"How long were you in labor? Who was there with you?"

"I was in labor for about 14 hours. Meredith and Alex were with me the whole time. I went into labor in the middle of dinner. And before you ask, yes, I did breast feed, but only for the first two months. After that I had to wean her so I could go back to work."

Mark turned the page and was met by a page that said "Before and After." On one side was a picture of a very pregnant, very beautiful Izzie, and on the opposite page was a picture of Izzie and baby Ella in the hospital. Izzie looked like a Madonna, her golden curls framing her face as she held the baby close to her face. Blushing, Izzie quickly turned the page. After a few pages, they came to a picture of Alex holding baby Ella's hands as she practiced taking a tentative step.

"She was about 9 months old when she managed to walk on her own, but she didn't talk until she was 14 months. Her first word was 'baby.' I knew she had inherited a bit of her father's ego," Izzie said slyly. "Overall, she was a very good baby. Except for a few issues when she was teething, she didn't cry a lot. By the time she was a month old, she was sleeping through the night, much to the relief of Alex and Christina."

They continued through the book, Izzie telling little anecdotes about certain pictures. Mark got a big kick out of a picture of Ella smearing birthday cake all over Derek and Alex at her 2nd birthday party. When they finished, Mark sighed. "I missed a lot, but I won't miss anything else, I promise you that Izzie."

"I never thought to ask before, but are you okay with the fact that Alex and Derek were sort of stand-in dads while you weren't around?" Izzie asked guiltily.

"A part of me is bugged by it, especially about Derek, but I'm also really glad that if I couldn't be there, my best friend was, making sure my little girl had someone to turn to if she needed to."

"He's her godfather, you know, and Meredith is her godmother."

"You've created a great family for our daughter, Iz," Mark said hoarsely.

"Right down to dirty Uncle Sal, Alex," Izzie laughed.

"Oh, I wanted to see what kind of schedule you wanted to work out for picking Ella up," Mark said.

"Well, we've both got crazy schedules, so why don't we just talk every morning and see how things go. Have you looked into getting an apartment or a house, yet?"

"Nope, but it's on the agenda for the next few weeks. I was thinking I'd let Ella help me pick it out, since she'll have to be there some of the time," Mark replied.

"She'll like that," Izzie said, right before yawning.

"Wow, it's late," Mark said. "You should go to bed and I should head back to the hotel. I'll see you guys in the morning?"

Still yawning, Izzie nodded and followed him to the door.

"Hey, Iz?" Mark said before she closed the door. "Thanks, you know, for showing me the book and telling me about my daughter… and for giving her a family."

"You're welcome," Izzie murmured with a smile. "Good night."

"Good night."