Disclaimer: I don't own Grey's Anatomy. If I did, McStizzie would be the only couple.

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Mark was walking out of the locker room and was all set to get Izzie and head home when his pager went off. He loudly groaned and yanked the pager up, glaring at the little black box. When he read the page though his feet started moving at a rapid pace and he sped down the hall, opting to take the stairs rather than wait for the painfully slow elevator. He lithely ran down the steps, skipping a few here and there and jumping the last few to the landing. He barreled through the doors and headed straight for the pit. His eyes speedily roamed the area and when he saw a shoe that he recognized to be Izzie's hanging beneath the curtain he hastily made his way over. He drew the curtain back enough to step around it. "Isobel?" he whispered, hoping to get some sort of explanation from her.

Izzie turned her head to look at Mark and shook her head helplessly, indicating she had no clue as much as she wished she did. She turned her attention back to Ashley. "Ashley, Doctor Sloan is here," she softly said.

Ashley finally raised her head from Izzie's stomach and she looked so desperately lost. "Doctor Sloan…I'm so scared!" she sobbed, as a fresh batch of tears found their way to her eyes.

Mark pulled up a stool and sat down right in front of Ashley. He put on a calm expression though inside he was thinking it would definitely be worth it to destroy his two and a half million dollar a year hand by pummeling Ashley's father. "Ashley, can you tell me how you got such a bad cut on your leg?"

Ashley seemed hesitant but at Mark's encouraging look she began the tale with a trembling voice. "I…I was outside riding my bike. I was trying to get better at it. I was wearing my helmet and elbow pads," she seemed to need to reassure Mark.

Mark smiled softly. "That was really good of you Ashley. What happened when you were riding your bike?"

"I hit a bump," she sniffled, seeming encouraged by Mark's praise. "I tried to stay up but the bike fell over. It…it hurt…a lot. I called for my mommy and daddy but…they didn't hear me…for a while."

Izzie took a very deep breath and put more focus on stroking Ashley's hair. It was as much of a calming act for her as it was for Ashley. Part of Izzie hoped Ashley's mother didn't show up anytime soon because Izzie doubted if she'd be able to control the urge to claw her face off. "Do you know how long a while was Ashley?" Izzie gently questioned the girl.

Ashley gulped and lowered her gaze to the bed. "I missed my favorite cartoon."

Izzie closed her eyes. That meant at least half an hour that she was calling out for her parents. She felt sick to her stomach at the thought of any parent doing that.

Mark slowly nodded his head and glanced down at Ashley's leg. He saw not all that much progress had been made on the wound. Despite the hot blood that was rushing through his veins he kept his voice even. "Thank you for telling me what happened. I'm going to fix your leg now okay?"

Ashley numbly nodded her head and snuggled a bit closer to Izzie.

Mark scooted the stool around and pulled the tray over. He inspected the wound and finding it clean of debris he reached for the antiseptic. "This is going to make all the germs go away. It's going to sting a bit."

Izzie held Ashley a little tighter and wrapped her hand around Ashley's. "Just squeeze my hand as hard as you want to when it hurts okay?"

Mark applied the antiseptic, trying to mask the cringe when she squealed in pain. His hands worked quickly and efficiently as he tended to the rest of the wound. He had rapidly resolved that Ashley would not be leaving with her parents tonight. He didn't care who he had to call he wasn't going to let her go back to that quiet hell. He finished up and smiled softly at Ashley. "I need to go over to the desk over there," Mark gestured in the general direction of the nurse's station "but I'm not going to leave the room. I'll be back here as soon as I can. Doctor Stevens is going to stay with you. All right Ashley?"

"Okay Doctor Sloan." Ashley said in a quiet voice, trying to smile in return.

Mark stood up and caught Izzie's eye and mouthed 'DSHS' to her. When she rapidly nodded he slipped around the curtain and marched purposefully to the phone at the station. He yanked the receiver up and speedily dialed the numbers. "Yeah this is Doctor Mark Sloan. You need to send a social worker down to Seattle Grace hospital immediately. There's a ten year old girl who's been suffering severe neglect. Well for starters, she was lying in a driveway bleeding for over thirty minutes while her parents ignored her. Look I'll give you all the details when you get somebody to get their ass down here!" He slammed the phone down, his knuckles still white around the receiver. He took a couple of shaky breaths before turning to a nearby nurse. "No one is allowed to discharge Ashley Nielsen except for me. She is not leave with her parents no matter what. Got it?" When the nurse nodded he turned and headed back to Ashley and Izzie, trying to send all of his fury out when he exhaled. He knew how perceptive Ashley was and he didn't want her picking up on that. He shook himself out a bit before he slipped once more around the curtain, opting for the stool again. "How are you feeling Ashley?"

"I'm doing a little better." Ashley quietly replied.

Izzie hugged the young girl a bit. "Who brought you here Ashley?"

"My mommy and daddy. They left because they don't like the hospital coffee so they went to get some from somewhere else."

Izzie smiled down at her despite the fact that she was seething inside. "Well Doctor Sloan and I aren't going anywhere. We're going to stay right here with you." She promised Ashley. Technically her shift had ended five minutes ago and she knew that Mark had finished up with his last surgery if he was down here. She also knew that there wasn't any other place either of them would be right now.

Ashley smiled a tiny bit. "That ring's really pretty."

Izzie smiled softly at Mark, relieved that it seemed like they'd be able to distract her for a bit. "I think it is too. Doctor Sloan gave it to me actually."

Ashley glanced between Mark and Izzie, her eyes resting on Mark. "Are you two getting married?"

"Yes we are." Mark said, unable to keep the joyful smile off his face.

"That's pretty cool." Ashley said her smile growing more.

Izzie found herself being in marvel of Ashley. That such a young child could go through everything she had been and not let it get her down. She knew a lot of adults who would have cracked long ago but Ashley didn't. Izzie couldn't help feeling proud of her. She tenderly tucked some of Ashley's hair behind her ear. "Yeah it is. Now I know what Cinderella felt like when she got her Prince Charming."

Ashley giggled slightly as she looked up at Izzie. "Doctor Prince Charming."

Mark chuckled at the two. Despite the circumstances he couldn't help being enamored with the way Izzie was with Ashley. She was an absolute natural. An image snuck its way into his head of the three of them sitting around the dinner table. He quickly pushed it away but not because he wanted to but because he had to. "I'm fine with that since it makes me royalty. I couldn't ask for two better subjects." Mark said with a smile at the pair.

"Well as long as we don't have to start curtseying." Izzie said with a smile.

"You know that means you'll be royalty too when you get married." Ashley said to Izzie. "Then you get to boss him around as much as you want."

Izzie couldn't help the laugh that escaped her lips. Ashley was definitely a precocious one.

Mark smirked a bit. "Oh she's already gotten a head start on that, trust me."

"Well yeah. Girls are smarter than boys. Everybody knows that." Ashley said unabashedly.

For once both Mark and Izzie were at a loss for words due to a ten year old none the less.

All their heads turned when they heard the curtain being pulled back. There was a tall woman in a suit with an id badge dangling from her coat lapel that showed she was with the Department of Social and Health Services. She smiled kindly at the group. "Hello. I'm Natalie Watson. You must be Ashley," she said turning her attention to the girl.

Mark quietly breathed a sigh of relief. He had been worried that Ashley's parents would grace the hospital with their presence before the social worker got there. He knew it would be an ugly scene but at least they didn't have to play the stalling game now. As soon as Natalie had shown up he knew that the hospital security had been alerted and they would be ready.

Ashley slowly nodded her lightheartedness going away a bit at the arrival of the stranger.

Mark stood out and pushed the stool towards Natalie. He stood by the bed, right next to Ashley and Izzie.

Natalie thanked Mark with a smile and sat down. She looked at the large bandage, then back up at Ashley. "How are you feeling Ashley?" she asked calmly.

"I'm okay I guess." Ashley quietly replied.

Natalie nodded. "Your leg seems like it got hurt pretty bad. Can you tell me what happened?"

At her hesitance, Mark bent down slightly and looked at Ashley reassuringly. "It's okay Ashley. Just tell her what you told Doctor Stevens and me all right? She's here to help."

After a couple of seconds of silence Ashley told the story to Natalie. Natalie listened attentively asking a couple of questions now and then keeping an even and calm demeanor throughout the whole thing. When Ashley had answered all her questions Natalie smiled at her again. "Thank you for telling me all this Ashley. I need to talk to Doctor Sloan and Doctor Stevens for a bit but I promise we won't go far. Are you okay with that?"

Both Mark and Izzie looked like they were going to protest but when Ashley nodded her consent they relented.

Mark turned to Ashley as Izzie stood up. "Just call if you need us. We'll come right away."

Ashley nodded again a couple of tears glistening in her eyes as she wondered how two people who weren't even her family would be willing to do that when her own parents wouldn't.

Mark and Izzie followed Natalie over to the nurse's station. She picked up a briefcase and started digging through it.

Mark didn't waste a second once Ashley was out of hearing range. "You cannot let her go home with them. She should have been taken out of there a long time ago!"

Natalie seemed completely unphased by Mark's outburst. "Oh she'll go home with them…over my cold, dead and rotting corpse." She located the file she was looking for and pulled it up and looked at Izzie and Mark with an expression that was nothing short of confidence. "Even then I may just find a way to come back from the grave."

Izzie and Mark blinked in surprise at Natalie's quiet ferocity. Mark sighed feeling like a major ass. "I'm sorry Ms. Watson. It's just that I've tried to get this done before but with no success as you can see."

Natalie flipped open the file and glanced through it. "Figures," she muttered to herself before turning her attention back to the other two. "I can assure you I'm nothing like the last social worker. Gretchen had her head so far up her ass that I thought even major surgery couldn't fix it. I almost threw a party when she was fired."

Izzie just barely choked back a nervous laugh. She was starting to think that Natalie could give Miranda a run for her money. "If Gretchen was that bad why didn't her supervisor or somebody catch this?"

Natalie sighed a bit. "I can't say for sure but I'm guessing it's because Jordan Walker, the head of our department and Mr. Nielsen were good golf buddies. Lucky for us Mr. Walker can't make those dates anymore due to the fact he's spending his days and nights for that matter sitting in the state prison on embezzlement charges due to a tip off from a rather diligent employee." Natalie concluded with a smirk, letting Mark and Izzie know without a doubt she was responsible for his conviction.

"I think you've just become my new hero." Izzie said with a good amount of sincerity.

Natalie smiled. "As much as I appreciate your sentiment Doctor Stevens, I hardly qualify for hero status. It's my job to look out for these kids."

Mark nodded a bit, his faith in the system becoming restored. "What's going to happen to Ashley now?"

"Well, we'll try to find an open foster home tonight. She'll stay there until we can find something more permanent. Foster homes are running a bit thin these days but we should be able to get something worked out."

Mark and Izzie glanced at each other, not particularly pleased with the news. Izzie was the one to speak. "Can't you just let her stay here for the night at least? She's already been through so much today. Let her get a good night's sleep before you take her to someplace unfamiliar."

Natalie pondered this for a bit before she finally agreed. "I guess that couldn't hurt. It would give us a bit more time to look into our options. If you two could excuse me for a bit I need to call the police and file a report. I want arrest warrants for them as soon as possible. In the meantime you might want to have Ashley moved to a private room where her parents won't be able to so easily find her in case they manage to get past security." She handed them her card. "I'll check back in later but if you need to get a hold of me in the meantime there's my number." She gave them a nod before she headed off.

"Come on. Let's go." Mark said to Izzie and they were both quickly heading back towards Ashley.

Izzie smiled warmly at Ashley though she was a bit worried with how they were going to break the news to her. She took a deep breath. "Guess what Ashley? You get to have a sleepover with Doctor Sloan and me here at the hospital. Doesn't that sound like fun?"

Ashley smiled a bit but it faltered ever so slightly. "Did my parents say it was okay?"

Mark put up his best confident front. "They said it was just fine." He didn't particularly like lying to Ashley but he consoled himself with the fact that they didn't really have any other choice.

Ashley nodded a tad resignedly, not seeming surprised that it seemed like her parents couldn't be bothered to see her.

Mark was at a loss for words so instead he walked around the gurney unlocking the wheels and stood behind it. "We're going to go for a really cool ride now." He said as he began to push the gurney forward.

Ashley slightly giggled. "This is almost as much fun as Aladdin's magic carpet."

Izzie smiled down at her as she walked next to the gurney while Mark steered it through the halls and to the elevator. They figured the further they got Ashley away from the pit the better. "Is that your favorite movie?"

"I like it a lot but it's not my favorite. The Little Mermaid is my favorite. I think the dog in there is cute!"

"You know you do kind of remind me of Ariel." Izzie said.

"I wish I could sing like her!" Ashley lamented.

"Why don't you sing something for us now?" Mark gently coaxed her.

Ashley blushed. "No, I can't. I'm not a good singer."

"I'm sure you're a great singer." Mark reassured her. "Besides, nobody could be as bad as me."

Ashley shifted around to look up at Mark. "I'll make you a deal. You sing something then I'll sing something."

Izzie covered her mouth with her hand, trying to contain her grin. She knew Mark hated singing more than just about everything but she also knew Mark had a huge soft spot for Ashley. It wasn't long before Izzie found out which part of him was the victor.

Mark inwardly groaned. He silently wondered how he let himself walk into this one. He sighed resignedly and he wracked his brain trying to think of songs that could be appropriate to sing in front of a kid. He finally decided that one could rarely go wrong with a Christmas carol. He cleared his throat as he quietly started singing Jingle Bells shooting glares at the bystanders who were curiously looking at him.

Ashley smiled when Mark finished up the song. "You're pretty good Doctor Sloan."

Mark grinned. "Okay now it's your turn."

"I don't want to do it in front of everybody!" Ashley declared with a pout.

"I had to do it in front of everyone."

"I just said if you sang something then I would. I never said when you had to start singing." Ashley simply replied.

Izzie grinned at Mark. "She is right you know."

Mark rolled his eyes as they reached an empty room. Izzie pushed the door open and flicked on the lights while Mark guided the gurney in. When Ashley crawled onto the bed Mark deposited the gurney in the hall. He quickly stopped by the nurse's station and let them know what was going on so they could do the necessary paperwork. He headed back for Ashley's room and when he walked in he saw she was tucked in and was starting to drift off to sleep. Izzie was sitting in one of the chairs gazing down at her with a content expression. Mark quietly walked over and took a seat on the other side of Ashley's bed.

Ashley let out a big yawn as her eyes almost became closed. "Doctor Sloan? Doctor Stevens?"

"Yes Ashley?" Mark quietly replied.

"I wish you were my mommy and daddy," she murmured right before sleep took her.

Both Mark and Izzie seemed slightly surprised by this declaration. Izzie found herself leaning down so she was right next to Ashley's face. "I wish that to," she said in a voice that was barely audible.

Mark however caught what Izzie had said and he gazed at her. After a short time he picked up the chair and moved it so it was next to Izzie. He took her hand in his and waited until she had turned to him. He gulped a bit not sure how she would take his suggestion. "Why don't we talk to Natalie? See if she can stay with us at least for a little while? We can't just let her get shipped around to home after home until they finally find a place for her." Mark took a breath, ready to launch into another round of why they should do it when he was silenced by Izzie's lips on his.

Izzie softly kissed him, figuratively sealing the deal. She knew the hell they were going to have to face over this, of two doctors taking in a patient but she couldn't care. Mark hadn't even have needed to go on as long as he did. She was just slow to respond because of the immense relief that he had brought up exactly what was on her mind. There was just something about Ashley that she couldn't let go of. She pulled her lips back from Mark but she pressed her forehead against his. "Let's go for it." When the words were out of her mouth she knew without a doubt that it was the right thing.

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A/N: I just couldn't resist writing this part. I know it probably seems like they're making a huge leap but Izzie has a track record for getting too involved and Mark does have family on his mind. Besides, Ashley needs some sort of reprieve. At any rate, I hope you enjoyed it.

Special thanks as always to those who reviewed!