Disclaimer: Recognised characters, places, events and other things belong to their respective owners.
"Are you guys seeing each other?" Mark asked before he could stop himself.
Meredith looked stunned for a second at Mark's question. She talked with Mark amicably these days, but they definitely weren't ready to talk about her relationship status. 'Oh crap' Meredith thought as she downed the two shots in front of her. She definitely wasn't ready to have this conversation with him.
Meredith kept her gaze on Mark as she kept replaying his question over and over in her head. She and Cameron were doing the long distance thing, but she didn't know if they would break it off before he returned to Minnesota. She thought it was unfair to Cameron if they stayed together. She loved him deeply, but she knew a part of her always belonged to Mark, no matter what they had been through. Cameron deserved someone who could love him completely.
Meredith decided to just be honest with Mark. "Yeah, we've been dating for a couple of years now" Meredith answered.
A flash of hurt passed through Mark's features before he downed the rest of his drink in one gulp, and ordered another. "Are you in love with him?"
"Don't do this Mark," Meredith pleaded.
"I need to know Mer," Mark begged. He knew he was drunk, but he needed to get this off his chest. "Just tell me if I still have a chance."
Meredith was shocked at Mark's admission. He had told her he was going to try and earn her forgiveness which she could live with, but she didn't know how to handle knowing that Mark wanted her back. "Mark you're drunk," Meredith said, trying to avoid giving Mark an answer.
"It's ok. I get it. I screwed up and you can't forgive me. I threw away the best thing that ever happened to me and you found someone else. I'm sorry. So, so sorry Mer. You deserve to be happy and I don't. It's only fair. " Mark whispered.
Mark was definitely intoxicated by now and Meredith sighed. He always did tend to rant when he got drunk. Meredith flagged Joe down, and paid for their drinks. Mark was drunk and it was best to get him out of the bar and let him sleep it off. She had no idea where he lived. She could have called Addison or Derek to find out, but she knew those two hadn't been able to have a romantic night in ages and she didn't want to ruin that for them.
Meredith decided to just take him back to her hotel. The cab had pulled into the front of her hotel and she was glad Mark hadn't fallen asleep yet. There was no way she would have been able to get him up to her suite if he was asleep. As she supported Mark's much taller frame on their way up, she sighed. She really needed to find her own place.
By the time Meredith and Mark made it up to her room, Mark was just about ready to fall asleep. As soon as she got him to the guest bedroom and managed to get him onto the bed he had fallen asleep. Meredith stood there staring at Mark's sleeping form contemplating whether or not she should undress him. His clothes didn't look comfortable enough for him to sleep in.
'What the hell' Meredith thought. 'It's nothing I haven't seen before'. Meredith decided to just undress Mark and make him as confortable as possible. The hangover in the morning was bound to be bad enough.
Meredith placed a waste basket next to the bed for Mark in case he decided he needed to empty his stomach during the night, as well as a couple of aspirin and a glass of water.
Meredith was exhausted herself, both physically and emotionally. She had performed three other surgeries today after Ellie's and her conversation this morning with Cameron, and Mark's recent drunken ramblings had left her drained.
When they were together, it was rare for Mark to get drunk. It was only the occasional wild party that Mark would attend which would lead to him getting intoxicated.
New York City, October 2004
It was late at night and Meredith was sitting at home going over some documents for her family's hotels. She was waiting for Mark to get home from a bachelor party for one of his friends.
Meredith had dozed off at her desk, when she was startled awake by the sounds of someone struggling with the lock to the front door. Just as Meredith made her way out to the foyer of their apartment, she saw Mark swaying on his feet as he dumped his wallet and keys on the end table.
Meredith rushed over to his side, afraid that he wouldn't be able to stay upright for much longer.
"Baby, I'm home!" Mark shouted.
Meredith winced at the volume of Mark's voice and was glad they lived in the penthouse. If anybody else lived on their floor, she was sure they wouldn't appreciate being woken up at 3am by a drunk Mark.
"I know," Meredith said as she helped Mark into their bed. "Come on, just lie down. Let's get you out of your clothes."
Meredith helped Mark out of his clothes as he lay on their bed, knowing if she didn't do it now, she would struggle much more with them if he passed out.
"I knew you couldn't resist me." Mark said with a grin. "I knew you only married me for by body. Come join me babe."
Meredith smiled to herself as she continued to help Mark get out of his clothes. Meredith placed a wastebasket next to Mark's side of the bed, as well as the two aspirin he would undoubtedly need in the morning and a glass of water. "You know it," Meredith couldn't help but respond.
The next morning Meredith was in the kitchen making coffee, when Mark stumbled out from their bedroom. He made his way over to Meredith and wrapped his arms around her torso as he kissed the side of her hair. "Thanks for taking care of me last night baby."
Meredith turned around and faced her husband. "It's ok," Meredith said as she leaned up to give him a kiss.
"I know you don't like it when I get drunk," Mark said as he tightened his hold on her. "I'm sorry."
"Don't worry about it. It was a bachelor party," Meredith said with a smile.
"You aren't mad?" Mark asked. Although he knew Meredith never got mad at him for being drunk he still couldn't help but ask.
"I'm not, I promise," Meredith answered with a smile.
"You're the best wife ever," Mark said as he lifted Meredith up onto their kitchen counter.
"I know," Meredith said with a smile. She really wasn't mad at Mark. "You don't get drunk that often anyway baby. It's one of the reasons I love you."
Mark smiled at Meredith's statement. He knew she loved him but whenever she said it, his heart always felt like it was soaring. Mark leaned his forehead against hers and simply savoured the moment. Sometimes he still couldn't believe it when Meredith had agreed to marry him. "I love you," Mark whispered softly. "I try not to get drunk because I want to remember every moment I have with you."
"That's so cheesy," Meredith laughed.
"I know, but it's true." Mark said as he kept his forehead against hers. The simple moments like this one that he got to spend with Meredith gave him more joy than any grand romantic gesture.
Meredith was already awake and enjoying her first up of coffee for the day while going over some papers from the hospital at the kitchen counter. She had heard Mark get into the shower earlier and was waiting for him to come back out.
There was a sudden knock at the door that took her concentration away from the papers that had her attention.
"Housekeeping," the person announced from the other side of the door.
Meredith opened the door, and found a hotel maid waiting for her with Mark's clothes, which she had sent to get cleaned last night.
"Thanks," Meredith said as she took the garments and tipped the maid.
"You're welcome Ms Grey," the maid said before she left.
Meredith really needed to find a place of her own. She couldn't be sure if the people here knew her name because her family owned the hotel, or because she had been here for too long. Either way she needed to start house hunting really soon. Maybe the next time either Addison or Carter had a day off with her.
As soon as Meredith had shut the door and turned around, she saw Mark in nothing but a towel in the middle of her suite.
"I couldn't find my clothes," Mark said without looking up. He wasn't exactly sure where he was or who was with him, but this wouldn't be the first time he had ended up drunk in someone else's accommodations. Mark finally looked up and found Meredith in front of him holding his clothes. "Oh," Mark stuttered unsure how this happened. "Did we uh…?" Mark asked unable to finish the sentence.
Meredith couldn't help but let her eyes roam over Mark's well-toned body. As her eyes connected with his she answered. "No," Meredith said. "You got pretty drunk last night at Joe's and I didn't know where you lived and I didn't want to interrupt Derek and Addison's evening. I had your clothes cleaned."
"Uh, thanks for taking care of me last night. You could have just put me in a cab and sent me home," Mark said still standing there in his towel.
"It's alright Mark," Meredith responded, still distracted at the sight of Mark.
"My clothes Mer?" Mark asked.
"Oh, right," Meredith said, as she handed them over to him. It wasn't the first time she had seen him like this, but it had definitely been ages ago.
"I will just go change and get out of here," Mark said trying to make the situation less awkward. He was touched Meredith had taken care of him last night, but things were still tense. He didn't remember much of last night, but he hoped that he didn't embarrass himself in front of Meredith.
"No, it's ok" Meredith said. "I have to get to the hospital, but you should stay. There's coffee in the kitchen and you can order room service if you want." As soon as said that Meredith basically ran out of the hotel suite.
Seeing Mark in that state of undress had definitely brought back feelings she thought he had dealt with a long time ago. She knew now for sure, that she needed to end things with Cameron – that it wasn't fair to hold him back from finding someone who could love him completely.
As Meredith entered the hospital she found Carter waiting outside her office with a concerned look on his face.
"What?" Meredith asked.
"Hi Meredith. How are you Meredith?" Carter asked in a fake whine.
"Hi, hello, how are you?" Meredith asked her brother sarcastically. "What do you want Carter?"
"I'm worried about you Mer," Carter said quietly. "I heard the nurses gossiping this morning that you left Joe's with Mark last night. I thought you were seeing that Delaney guy?"
"He got drunk last night and Derek and Addi had a night out. I didn't want to disturb them so I took care of him. I'm fine Carter." Meredith said.
"If that's it Mer," Carter said as he listened to his sister's explanation. He could tell there was more to the story but he knew if Meredith wanted him to know she would tell him. "You know where to find me if you need anything."
"Thank you," Meredith said genuinely. She was too proud to admit it out loud, but she liked it when Carter looked out for her.
"You're my sister Meredith. I promised you when we were kids I would look after you." Carter said with a smile as he left.
A/N: Hope you guys liked this chapter especially the flashback scene. Reviews in any form are appreciated.