Chapter 14
"Here," said Megan not sounded happy at all. She thrust her phone into Mark's hand. It was the night of her date, she was meeting Jake at Joe's in five minutes. She had called Alfie to say goodnight before he went to bed, but Alfie had insisted on saying goodnight to Mark when he heard that she was at the hospital.
"What?" asked Mark looking slightly afraid. He had just been talking to Richard and minding his own business, when an angry Megan all but threw a cell phone at him.
"He wants to talk to you," snapped Megan. "Make it quick."
"Hello," said Mark uncertainly.
"Hi Daddy," said Alfie.
"Hi buddy," said Mark. "Is everything alright?"
"Yeah," said Alfie. "I just going to bed soon. Mummy phoned me to say goodnight."
"Did she now?" said Mark looking Megan up and down.
"Uh huh," said Alfie and Mark could practically see him nod his little head. "So I asked Mummy if I could say goodnight to you too."
"You did?" said Mark. "Well goodnight then."
"Night Daddy."
"Sleep tight and don't let the bed bugs bite," he said repeating what Derek's mother used to say to him when he stayed at their house when he was little.
"Bed bugs?" Alfie giggled. "Don't be silly Daddy, Mummy sprayed all my bed bugs away."
"Isn't your Mummy clever?" said Mark.
"Uh huh," said Alfie seriously. "Mummy knows everything."
"Yeah she likes to think so," said Mark. He looked over and saw Megan motioning him to hurry up. "I ...better go and make people better now, and you better go to bed."
"Alright," sighed Alfie. "Night Daddy."
"Night Alfie," said Mark and then he hung up and handed the phone back to Megan. "Is something wrong?"
"Why would anything be wrong?"
"I don't know," said Mark. "You just seem like such a ray of sunshine."
"Bite me!"
"Well you look nice," Mark smirked. "Better than nice, what is the occasion?"
"I have a date," said Megan happy to wipe that smirk off his face. "And you just made me late!"
"Oh...I forgot you had a date tonight," said Mark. "Who is looking after Alfie?"
"Well he is nearly five and a half, more than old enough to look after himself," said Megan managing to keep a straight face. "Oh take that look off your face! He has been looking after himself since he was three weeks old."
"You are not funny," said Mark. "I was merely inquiring about my son."
"Well you needn't," said Megan. "Sean is staying the night with him."
"Why didn't you ask me to look after him?"
"Because you are still here at 8pm," said Megan.
"I would have left earlier."
"Well Alfie goes to bed at 8pm, would you really want to sit around my house while Alfie was asleep and wait for me to get home from a date with another guy?" said Megan. "You would have seen Alfie for half an hour."
"Fine," Mark grumbled.
"Oh and I got your message about taking Alfie to the park tomorrow," said Megan.
"Oh good," said Mark.
"You picked him up from school yesterday," said Megan. "You are hogging our son!"
"I'm what?"
"Hogging our son," said Megan furiously. "I see him for half an hour before he goes to bed when he is grumpy!"
"You get to read him a bedtime story," said Mark. "And take him to school every morning."
"You are hogging all the good bits," said Megan.
"So I can't take him to the park tomorrow?"
"No you can," said Megan. "But quit hogging him...I gave birth to him so I get more time."
"Oh now your bringing out the vagina card!"
"The vagina card? Did you seriously just say that to me?" Megan exclaimed. "Do you have any idea what it is like to push a human being out of your body."
"Sounds like a piece of a cake."
"Ugh you are such a man!" Megan growled. "I hate you."
"You don't hate me," Mark countered.
"I do!"
"You better calm down before your date," Mark smirked. "Fury is not hot!"
"Not what you used to think."
"I'm the exception I moved in with a madwoman."
"Just stop hogging my son."
"I will certainly take your oh so eloquent criticism on board," Mark smirked.
"Good!" said Megan. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a date to get to."
"Good luck," said Mark.
"I don't need luck," smirked Megan. "Have you seen how good I look?"
"Yeah I see it," Mark mumbled as he watched Megan walk off.
"Oh come on," said Richard. "What is it my residents say...oh seriously!"
"What?"
"You were flirting with my genetics specialist," Richard accused.
"I was not," said Mark. "That is just how I talk to Megan, and she isn't your genetics specialist she just works in this hospital sometimes. She isn't even a surgeon."
"She is a surgeon," Richard insisted. "She is a damn fine surgeon if only she wasn't afraid to pick up a damn scalpel!"
"Megan isn't afraid of anything," said Mark.
"Then you ask her why she turned down my offer?" said Richard.
"What offer?"
"I offered to match what Mercy West paid her plus 10%, she could work flexible hours and still do her own research," said Richard. "Tell me what kind of person would turn an offer like that down."
"Someone who is terrified of becoming their mother," said Mark realizing that would be the only reason Megan would refuse Richard's offer. She had been set on becoming a surgeon before Alfie was born, then when she became a mother she gave up on being a surgeon. It wasn't just because she wanted a 9-5 job, she didn't want to be the kind of mother Ellis had been to her and Meredith.
"What?"
"Megan," said Mark. "She won't be a surgeon like her mother because she won't be a crappy mother."
"What the hell is wrong with you people?" Richard shouted. "You cut, you don't become people by picking up a scalpel."
"Or hiding under Dr. Silverstein's desk when you find your mother and her 'special friend' going at it," said Mark.
"I never thought she saw anything," said Richard guiltily. "There were a few close calls but..."
"Well she did," said Mark. "And it's not the kind of thing you would ever forget."
"I guess not," said Richard slowly walking away.
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Thanks to the reviewers for the last chapter, lilxjames, kamygrey, hugeGAfan
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