A/N: This is shorter, but it's an important chapter to get the rest of the story rolling
Chapter 10
Mark, Izzie, and Ella fell into a comfortable pattern over the next few months. Mark still hadn't found the perfect house, so he spent most of his free time with Ella at Izzie's house. He and Izzie had become comfortable friends with their daughter as common ground. Izzie was still wrestling with it, but the fact was, she was beginning to fall in love with Mark. Every day he showed that he was no longer McSteamy. He was now Dr. Mark Sloan, all-star reconstructive plastic surgeon and world-class dad. At first, Izzie felt a little slighted by her daughter's adoration of her father, but once Mark had been around a few weeks she realized that nothing had really changed between her and Ella. Ella just had someone else to love.
One day, almost two months after Mark's advent in Seattle, Izzie walked into the house to find Mark sitting at his laptop with Ella on his knee, both of them looking intently at whatever was on the screen.
"What's going on here?" Izzie asked, kissing Ella's head before joining them on the couch.
"We have been house shopping, and we have decided that we should just buy some land and build our own because nothing is good enough for us, right, Little Bit?"
"Right, Daddy. Daddy just e-mailed the man who designed Uncle Derek's house and told him what we want," Ella said proudly.
"Where exactly are you going to build this house?" Izzie asked.
"We're going to build it on a piece of land Derek's selling me on Bainbridge Island. That way we can have a big yard for Ella to play in and room to get a dog if we want to. What do you think?"
"I think that sounds like a pretty good idea," Izzie said, smiling at them. Mark's breath always caught when she gave him that uninhibited smile. She was looking especially beautiful and light-hearted today.
"How was work?" Mark asked.
"It was good. I was able to figure out what was wrong with the Landry baby and we operated, so she should make a full recovery," Izzie said proudly. "How was yours?"
"It was good. I repaired a cleft palate and booked a skin graft surgery for next week," Mark said. "Hey, Ella, can you go play in your room for a little while?"
Nodding, Ella scampered upstairs.
"Mark? Is everything alright?" Izzie asked.
"Everything's fine. I just wanted to ask you something without little ears around," Mark said, giving her a reassuring smile. A lock of hair fell in her eyes, so he reached up and brushed it aside, before letting his hand cup her cheek. Her big brown eyes searched his intently, a hint of worry and apprehension in her gaze.
"We've been doing this whole co-parenting thing for a while now," Mark started. "And it's been great. I've gotten to know you better than I've known any woman and I like you better than any woman I've had a relationship with. You're always so warm and giving. You love my daughter, our daughter, and watching that is something I'll always be grateful for. But today while Ella and I were deciding what kind of house we wanted, I realized that I wanted you to be more than just my friend. I want the possibility that you'll be in that house when I come home from work, baking up a storm, or playing with Ella."
"What are you saying, Mark?" Izzie asked incredulously.
"I'm saying, well I guess I'm asking, if you would go out on a date with me, to see if we can give us as a couple a chance. I want our daughter to have both parents, but I'd like for her to know they're married," Mark said. At Izzie's slightly shocked look, he quickly backtracked. "Not that I'd expect us to get married. I'm just saying that we should consider that possibility."
Izzie sat in silence for several long, gut wrenching minutes. She knew that she was falling in love with Mark, but she didn't know if he loved her. There was always the possibility that he did or would. He loved their daughter and he was right about it being better for Ella to have parents who were together rather than being shuffled back and forth.
"Ok," Izzie said softly.
"Ok?"
"Yes, I will go on a date with you Dr. Sloan. There was a spark between us five years ago and I'm willing to see if its still there," Izzie said. "But we have to take this a day at a time. If there are problems, we talk about them. If one of us isn't into it, we get out before anyone gets hurt, especially Ella. Deal?"
"Deal," Mark agreed. "I'll pick you up after your shift on Friday. Dress nice."
Izzie Stevens was going on a date. She grinned happily before joining Mark in their usual evening routine.
A/N2: Sorry if this seems kind of random, but I couldn't see any other way to make it happen. Keep the reviews coming!
