Chapter 11: The Cop and the Doctor

Warning: I don't know; maybe language and innuendo somewhere along the way.

Thanks to my betas: nightshadowlife, AshDawnSoulmates, zigpal, ktweaver and AerynSpeedleCaine.

Disclaimer: BtVS characters belong to Joss Whedon / Mutant Enemy. CSI: Miami characters belong to Anthony E. Zuiker, Carol Mendelsohn, Ann Donahue and CBS. Diagnosis Murder characters belong to Joyce Burditt and CBS. I claim no rights to any copyrighted material. Please do not copy or take this story without my permission.

Sloans' hotel

A couple days later…

As they waited for the all-clear from Calleigh to go visit Buffy, Mark finally broached the subject they had skillfully avoided the whole drive from LA, "So, Steve, are you ready to tell me what's bothering you yet?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, Dad," Steve hedged. Yeah, he occasionally asked his dad to help on some cases, but he did that under duress; otherwise he'd like to keep him away from that part of his life.

Mark just shot his son a chastising look. "Yes, you do. It's been bothering you for a couple weeks now, so I'm assuming it's a case."

Sighing in resignation, Steve answered, "It's just loose ends…and some things I can't explain. But I've been assured by the victims that the threat has been eliminated."

"What worries you? That they may be lying to protect the criminal, or that they took justice into their own hands?" Mark offered two theories off the top of his head.

Steve shook his head, but not as a negative reply. "I'm not sure. They claimed to have been rescued by somebody else, but we've had no luck finding this mysterious hero. Then there's the DNA evidence that is all screwy. Captain says to just let it go, but-"

Mark interjected when Steve trailed off, "You don't like loose ends."

"Exactly," Steve said with a nod.

Laying his hand on the younger man's shoulder, Mark remarked, "If there's anything I can do to help, you know I'm always happy to."

"I know," Steve replied. Then he shook off his work worries for personal ones. "Right now our concern should be Buffy, though. So what have you learned about her condition?"

Mark proceeded to pass along the information that he got from Calleigh since he wasn't allowed to get the details directly from Buffy's doctors. He really hoped that the end run they were pulling on Joyce wouldn't blow up in their faces. It was only the knowledge that the doctors wanted as much family there as possible that strengthened Mark's resolve to see this through.

Hospital

Grateful that her aunt was stuck at the gallery with a shipment, Calleigh greeted her cousin's family warmly with her southern drawl and a hug, "Hey, there, Mark…Steve." She didn't care what Aunt Joyce said, the Sloans were good people. "This is my friend and colleague, Lt. Horatio Caine. Horatio, I'd like you to meet Dr. Mark Sloan and his son, Det. Steve Sloan."

"Actually, he's a lieutenant now," Mark proudly corrected the blonde. "Steve, why don't you go in to see Buffy first while I talk to her doctors?"

"Just remember not to force her to remember you; either she will or she won't. H? Do you mind staying with Steve? I'd like to go with Mark," Calleigh asked her friend.

Steve answered her warning, "Got it."

"You got it, sweetheart," Horatio answered right after the LA police officer.

Once the pair was alone, Steve asked, "Are you and Calleigh involved?" He was curious how they managed to work together and not get in trouble with the brass.

"What?" Horatio was bewildered for a moment, then shook his head, "Oh, no…it's just a term of endearment. Calleigh's more of a best friend to me."

Steve studied the redhead's face for any sign he was lying or in denial about his feelings, but didn't see anything. "That would explain why you'd come across the country with her."

Horatio sighed, glad he had somebody to talk to about his friend who wouldn't judge her. "She was pretty shaken up when her aunt called. Seems like she was pretty close to Buffy awhile ago."

"Yeah, same thing with my dad. I swear there were times he wanted to adopt her," Steve said with a fond chuckle. Then he added somberly, "With everything that happened, I wonder if it might have been better if he had."

"How about I take you to Buffy's room?" Horatio offered.

As they walked, Steve inquired about his cousin's health, "Is she doing okay?"

"Not sure what she was like before this, but from what I can tell…" Horatio began, "…other than her memory loss…and hair loss, she's doing better than anyone thought."

"Hair loss?" Steve hadn't heard that yet.

Horatio nodded and explained, "Because of the swelling, they had to shave her hair to operate and relieve the pressure."

Steve winced on his cousin's behalf. "Ouch. From the last memories I had of Buffy, I'm guessing that didn't go over too well with her."

"She didn't seem that upset about her hair when I met her, but that could have been because she had other things to worry about. The memory problem is confusing her in ways I can't even begin to imagine," Horatio said with his trademark concern. They stood in front of a room, and he gestured to it, saying, "This is her. I'll stay out here and watch for Calleigh's aunt."

Steve looked in through the window at the resting girl. Her eyes were closed, but there was something strangely familiar about her. It was like he had seen her recently; the problem was, he couldn't place where it had been. He pushed the door open quietly, but it still made her blink her eyes sleepily and turn towards him. It was the eyes that helped him figure it out. He quickly imagined her with blonde hair and almost gasped aloud.

"Hi. Do I know you? Oh, are you another one of those brain doctors coming to check in on me? Dr. Matthews said there'd be another doctor visiting me in the next couple days. I think his name was Sloan or something," Buffy babbled at the new person. He was looking at her oddly so it made her a little nervous.

Impressed with the doctor's plan to get his father in here under the guise of official business, Steve shook his head, "No. I'm your cousin, Steve."

Since they were the only family she met – other than her mother – Buffy guessed, "Oh, hey! Are you Calleigh's brother?"

"Other side of the family; I'm related to your dad," Steve corrected her.

Looking down for a minute, she thought about something that had been bothering her since she woke up. When she raised her eyes again, Steve saw unshed tears in them. "Could you tell me then why he hasn't come to see me? Is he dead? Doesn't he love me?" she asked one question right after another.

Not wanting to get in the middle of that fiasco with a girl who couldn't remember anything, Steve hesitated, then said diplomatically, "I'm not sure what happened between you two, but I know that he loves you very much. From what I was told, he wanted to come as soon as he heard you were hurt. The problem was, things have been strained between you for some time – I'm not sure why – so he thought it would be better to wait until you got your memory back and asked for him. Well, that, and there's some issues between him and your mom," he added, thinking that wouldn't cause any trouble to say.

Buffy definitely believed the last comment her cousin said; she herself was having problems with her mom. "Okay. I guess it wouldn't help to know why we were fighting, since I would have to take somebody else's word for it. But you're sure he loves me?" she inquired pleadingly.

His stomach clenched in pain from the hope he saw in her eyes. Steve went to her side and held her hand in a comforting gesture. "Enough to stay away if it's what's best for you. But he'll come if you want him to; that much I'm sure of," he promised, absolutely certain he was telling her the truth.

Hesitating because she wasn't sure what kept him away, Buffy finally said, "Maybe once I get used to all my other family. Can you give him a message for me, though?"

Steve nodded, "Anything."

"Tell him thanks. And if he's as decent as he sounds, I hope we can fix whatever went wrong," she said with a soft smile.

Hoping that it wasn't just the amnesia that made his cousin a sweet girl again, Steve smiled back at her. "That will make him very happy." He saw her try to stifle a yawn, so he leaned down to give her a kiss on the forehead goodbye. "Hey, you're looking pretty tired there. Why don't you get some rest, okay? We can talk later."

She nodded sleepily before drifting off again.

A half hour later…

Once they'd finished talking to the doctors, Calleigh and Horatio took Steve down to the cafeteria while Mark visited Buffy with the doctors.

Mark watched as the nurses took his great-niece's vitals; thankfully, they all seemed good to him. "Hello there; My name is Dr. Mark Sloan. How are you feeling today?" he questioned with his best bedside manner.

"Pretty good, I suppose," she answered with a shrug. "Met another relative and talked to him about my dad. Getting tired of not remembering anyone though. Do you guys have any clue about when I'll get my memory back?"

"There aren't any physical injuries that we can find which would explain the continued memory loss-" Mark started to explain after the other doctors gave him a nod to do so.

Buffy quickly put two and two together and came up with what she considered a logical answer. "So I don't want to remember? Is that what you're telling me?" she demanded of her newest doctor. She certainly seemed to have a lot of them, but she didn't know what was standard for somebody in her condition.

He didn't want to upset her, so Mark assured her that he didn't think it was intentional on her part, "I have no doubt that you consciously want to remember, Buffy. What makes more sense to me is that you've suffered some traumatic event and your subconscious wants to protect you from it a little bit longer."

"You mean like how I ended up with all those injuries in the first place? The 'mugging'?" Buffy asked, thinking it was odd that this attack should cause memory loss when she must have had other attacks that were as bad or worse – based on what Giles, Faith and Oz told her about being the Slayer.

Mark heard the quote marks in her last comment, but set aside his worry about that to answer, "Exactly."

Studying him more closely now, Buffy proclaimed, "You have that look in your eyes."

"What look is that?" he asked in confusion.

"The one like we should know each other. I've gotten kind of used to recognizing it the past few days," she explained when he started to ask her how she would know.

Another nod from the doctors and Mark confirmed her guess, "You're right. Remember meeting Steve earlier? He's my son."

Buffy remembered her cousin's face almost perfectly and compared it to the one in front of her. "Yeah, I can see it in your eyes and smile. We were close, weren't we?" she asked after a minute.

Startled by her perception, and hoping it meant her memory was coming back, he said, "We were. How can you tell?"

Her answer dashed his hopes though. "You look sad that I don't remember you – kinda like Calleigh. Steve seemed more shocked by my appearance than anything." Remembering that she needed an answer about her dad, she inquired, "Do you know why I don't talk to my dad anymore? Steve said he didn't."

Mark cringed; like his son, he didn't want to open that can of worms just yet. Instead, he tried to distract her by posing his own inquiry, "Can I ask you a question first? What was your mom's look when she found out you didn't remember her?"

"She was mad…or distrustful. Maybe both." Buffy thought about how to explain it, then said, "She and a few of my friends are either angry I don't remember them, or they think I'm faking it for some reason."

The thought made him sick to his stomach. How could they think that of her? "Really? Not all of your friends, I hope."

Smiling brightly at the memory of her time with two of her friends, Buffy replied, "No. Giles and Oz looked concerned. Giles' look was so caring that I thought he was my father. Apparently whatever caused the rift between me and my dad made me look for a substitute father-figure in Giles."

"Who's this Giles? Your mother's boyfriend?" Mark asked, not having heard of the man before.

That made Buffy actually chortle, "Uhh, big no on that one. She hates him; that much I can tell. He's the librarian at the high school."

Mark was instantly suspicious of that. "And he just made friends with an underage girl?"

His tone told her what he was thinking, and Buffy held up her hand like a crossing guard. "Stop right there! I know where you're going with that idea, and he isn't like that! Yeah, it might seem odd that an older guy would be friends with teenagers, but it isn't always that he's a pedophile. From what Oz told me, Giles had a girlfriend last year, but she was murdered and her body was left in his apartment for him to find. She was a friend – sort of – of my group of friends, too."

"Alright. I'm sorry. My daughter was the target of a pedophile so I'm extra sensitive about that," Mark said to justify his concerns.

Her angry expression immediately turned soft. "I'm sorry you had to go through that. Giles is a good guy though. I don't think the doctors would let him visit me if they had any concerns about him," she said, glancing at the women in the room, who nodded at Mark.

"Speaking of your doctors, they said you wanted to go down to the gym for some physical therapy," Mark commented, wanting to check the man out before making his decision one way or the other.

Perking up at the idea of getting out of her room for a while, Buffy almost bounced in her bed like a small child with a stack of presents to open. "Yeah, I'm getting tired of laying around in this bed, so I'm hoping that exercising will help."

Smiling at her cheerful demeanor, Mark reminded her to take it easy, "Just remember not to overdo it, alright?"

"You got it…" Buffy trailed off, unsure of how to address him, "Umm, what should I call you? Dr. Sloan? Mark? Uncle Mark?"

"You used to call me Uncle Mark because I'm your father's uncle." Not wanting to pressure her, he suggested, "If you don't feel comfortable calling me that, you can call me anything you'd like."

Even though she couldn't remember what her bedroom looked like, she could recall a movie she watched as a child. He looked just like one of the characters so she asked teasingly, "You kind of remind me of that chimneysweep guy from 'Mary Poppins'. Can I call you Bert? Just kidding, Uncle Mark. Couldn't help myself," she giggled.

Mark chuckled as he left the room, pleased that her sense of humor was still good. When she was younger, she had called him Rob Petrie after seeing an old show from the 60s called 'The Dick Van Dyke Show'. Even better, she decided to call him Uncle Mark. Without even realizing it, he started humming/singing '' softly as he made his way to the cafeteria.

A/N: How does Steve know Buffy? Will Mark answer Buffy's question about Hank? At least one of these questions will be answered in the next chapter.

A/N: Next…The families unite.