25-

Glen found Ava on the third floor, working on curtains for the baby's room. It still came as a shock when he came into this part of the house and saw what it had become. Not that he didn't approve of the changes – it just took some getting used to.

"What are you doing?" Ava asked, drawing him out of his thoughts.

"Playing detective. Did Mark call here?"

Ava smirked. "Maybe."

"Case solved." Glen moved behind her and put his arms around her, letting his hands rest on her belly. "Darcy is pissed."

"I figured she would be." She put a pin through the blue material and brushed her hair back from her face. "She'll get over it though."

"I thought she was seeing some other guy."

Ava made a face. "Not really." She looked over her shoulder at him. "I don't trust him."

Glen half-smiled. "You don't even know him."

"Yeah but it's weird. There's such a thing as being too nice."

"I should call the cops."

"Ha. Yes. Please make fun of the pregnant woman." Ava pinched him on the back of the hand.

"What do you want me to do? You know Darcy doesn't really listen to me. She pretends to but then she does her own thing anyway."

"And good for her. You're too bossy for your own good sometimes." At the sound of footsteps on the deck Glen let Ava go. They both turned to see Mark standing in the doorway, looking as confused by the changes in the room as Glen was.

"Mornin'." Glen said by way of greeting. Mark nodded and attempted to smile.

"Not to point out the obvious, but you look like hell."

"I feel like hell." Mark agreed, stepping inside. "Didn't sleep last night. Got too much on my mind."

"Do I need to leave you boys alone?" Ava asked, looking from one to the other.

"Nope. You're fine." Glen smiled down at her before looking at Mark. "Give my offer any thought?"

"Yeah. Some." Mark leaned in the doorway and crossed his arms. "I didn't tell you I was coming because I wanted to roam around and try to figure out if this is what I wanna do. Where I wanna be." He glanced at Ava for a moment before looking away. "Then I figured I shouldn't be avoiding Darcy just because she's mad at me. So I went to see her. She was still at school though. I've been wandering around ever since."

"So what are you gonna do now?" Glen asked.

"I have no idea." Mark sighed heavily. "Actually that's not true. The one thing I do know is that I can't do anything else until things are settled between Darcy and me. One way or the other."

"Preferably one way." Ava said with a smile. "She's at work today. Go kidnap her."

Mark snorted. "That would go over well, wouldn't it?"

Glen's phone chose that moment to ring. He gave Ava an apologetic look before crossing the room to pick it up. Ava rolled her eyes and went to the door to stand in front of Mark. "Business calls. Why don't you walk an off-balance pregnant woman down the stairs?"

Mark smirked. "Sure." He went ahead of her, keeping an eye on her progress.

"And since Glen is busy, and can't hear us, I'll tell you. I don't like this guy that Darcy is hanging out with."

Mark frowned. "Glen said she's been seeing someone."

"I wouldn't classify it as 'seeing'. Talking to, occasionally hanging out – yeah." Ava paused and looked Mark in the eye. They were more or less eye level on the stairs. "I don't trust him. I've never seen him or met him but something seems kind of…off about him." She didn't miss the way Mark's hand tightened on the rail.

"What do you mean, off?"

"Glen thinks I'm being hormonal." Ava said, rolling her eyes. "But nobody is that nice. Not without some kind of ulterior motive. Even Glen can be an asshole on occasion. This guy is like Mary Poppins with a dick. I don't trust it."

Mark stared at her for a minute, grinding is teeth. "Have you met him?"

"No." Ava shook her head. "He keeps worse hours than Darcy does, apparently. Either that or he manages to avoid being around when we are. We as in Glen and I. Apparently he's fine dealing with her other friends."

"Where in the hospital does she work?"

"Right now? The emergency room. I think. They rotate her around to different places. I'm pretty sure she told me that's where she's working this weekend."

"Ok. I'm going back up there."

"Good." Ava smiled at his back as he finished going down the stairs. "I'd offer to go with you but Glen would probably have a heart attack."

"Darcy might kill me for showing up. Better you're not a witness, I guess." Mark paused at the bottom step. "And thanks for the help yesterday."

"You're welcome." Ava smiled again. "She misses you, you know. That's why she's still mad."

Mark refused to think about that. He didn't want to get his hopes up. "I miss her. I shouldn't have left."

"Tell that to her. And if you need a place to stay in the meantime, we'll be here." Ava gave his arm a pat before moving around him and heading to the house. She still had a lot of work to do to get the nursery ready for the baby's appearance.

Mark had a forty minute drive to try to figure out how to best approach this situation. He wasn't on the bike – the weather was getting cool, which meant he'd left it behind in favor of the truck he'd bought. He needed the truck to haul the bike. Currently the bike was in storage with the rest of his things – not much by most standards, but it was a start. When he found a place for himself, he intended on going back to get everything. He'd be starting over but at least he wouldn't be starting with nothing.

Of course, that all depended on how things worked out with Darcy. Whether she accepted him back or not, he had decisions to make. Mark had to be honest with himself – other than the money, which still freaked him out to think about, what did he have to offer her? Just him and his screwed up way of thinking? An inability to articulate how he felt? He snorted at himself. "Every woman's dream." He muttered out loud.

The hospital had a small parking garage. Mark took the first open spot he found on the first level. He crossed the receiving area where ambulances parked and went in through a set of sliding glass doors.

This early in the afternoon on a Saturday the waiting room was virtually empty. There was one man sitting on a hard plastic chair, arms crossed over his chest, chin nearly touching his arms. Sleeping or trying to. He looked uncomfortable. Mark went to the registration desk and braced himself, just in case he saw Darcy before he was fully ready.

It wasn't Darcy at the desk. An older woman with short dark curls sat there, typing into a computer. "Can I help you?" She asked, looking up at him with an expectant smile.

"Yeah. Maybe. I'm looking for someone that works here. Darcy Edwards?"

The woman's eyebrow went up. "She's in the back. Do you want me to page her?"

"I…" Mark thought it over. "Well. I'm kind of surprising her. She isn't expecting me."

"Oh." She grinned. It took years off her age. "Well. How about we put you in a triage room and surprise her from there?"

Mark smiled back although he felt nervous. He couldn't remember ever being so anxious about seeing a woman. "That would be perfect. Thanks."

"No problem. Follow me. She's a student nurse, so she's the one that does the initial patient interviews and gathers information back here." She gestured for him to go around the desk and led the way into a short hall. There were four rooms. She put him in the first one and flipped a colored plastic flag out to show that it was occupied. "It'll be just a minute."

"Thank you." Mark watched her shut the door and paced nervously. He finally forced himself to sit down on the exam table. The room wasn't big enough to really effectively pace in, and he was starting to feel like a caged animal. He kept glancing at his watch, as the minute hand crept forward slowly.

He was so intent on the time that he didn't notice the door open. It wasn't until Darcy dropped her clipboard that he looked toward the door.

Three months hadn't changed a thing. The sight of her was enough to make him wish he hadn't been so damned selfish and had actually listened to her before he'd left instead of sneaking out while she'd been sleeping.

"What…why…" She couldn't form a coherent question. She also looked absolutely beautiful, although Mark thought she would accuse him of being biased. Her hair was pulled back into a braid that lay over one shoulder. Darcy, like the woman at the front desk, was wearing black scrubs. Black definitely suited her gray eyes and deeply tanned skin.

He understood her being tongue tied because for the life of him, he could not find his. He just looked at her, drinking her in. Mark expected anger – maybe not yelling, since it was her place of work, but a few choice swears followed by damning him to hell and having him escorted out by security? He could totally see that happening.

Instead of doing that, Darcy covered her mouth with her hand, walked forward kicking the clipboard out of the way, and shocked him by moving right up to him and wrapping her arms around his shoulders.

He wasn't going to complain. He put his arms around her and hugged her close, taking in a deep shaky breath at the feel of her. Mark closed his eyes and realized two things simultaneously. Darcy was shaking uncontrollably. And Darcy was also crying.

"I'm so sorry, darlin'." He managed to whisper next to her ear.

Darcy sniffled and let him go long enough to wipe her eyes. "I thought I'd never see you again. I thought something happened to you, and I would never know it. You could have been dead somewhere and I never would have known." She spoke in a rush.

That hit him. It was a harder gut punch than just seeing her had been. She wasn't just angry with him – she had worried herself sick. All because he had left. Left without bothering to even call, or leave a note. Mark hated himself for that too. The least he could have done with tell her something, or call to let her know he was all right. But no – he'd cut his ties thinking he was doing what was best for her when really it was what was best for him. It would have hurt too much to keep in contact with her in his self-imposed isolation when she couldn't be with him.

He stroked her back and cradled her in his arms. "I wish I hadn't put you through that. I wasn't thinking, Darcy. That's gonna be my downfall. I think too much about the wrong shit, and I don't give enough thought to what's important. If you hate me, I'd understand. Hell I'd deserve it. I'm a selfish bastard, darlin'. Even when I try to do good by someone else in the end it all comes down to what I want, what I need."

"I don't hate you." Darcy said, her voice muffled against his shoulder. "I tried though. I tried really hard to hate you."

Mark pulled back. Darcy reluctantly let him. He didn't let go of her, instead he cupped her face in his hands and brushed the tears off her cheeks with his thumbs. "I tried really hard to stop loving you. Guess that makes us sort of even." Darcy frowned at him as she processed what she'd heard. "I couldn't say it before. Hell I probably shouldn't say it now, because I don't think I'll ever deserve somebody like you. And you'd probably wanna hear it under better circumstances." He looked around before meeting her eyes again. "And maybe in a better setting."

Darcy's mouth twitched at that, a weak smile but way more than he had figured he'd get. Mark ducked his head and pressed his mouth against hers, kissing her, closing his eyes at the feel of her lips against his. She parted her lips and he took advantage, tasting her with the tip of his tongue, coaxing a response, leaving her breathless. Leaving them both breathless. It took everything in him to stop at that one kiss. He wanted more. Even in the middle of a hospital emergency room he wanted more.

Which was why he had to stop while he could.

"I have some big decisions to make." Mark tucked a stray bit of hair behind her ear and stroked her cheek with one finger. "Important ones, about the future. Maybe our future. I said it shouldn't always be about what I want or need, but Darcy…I love you. Nothing like this has ever happened before. I'm lost."

She opened her mouth to speak when the door behind her was thrown open. They both jumped. Darcy brushed at her eyes quickly before the woman from the front desk could see she'd been crying.

"Sorry, kids. Time's up. We have an ambulance inbound. They're gonna need you in the back, Darcy."

"Thanks Carol." Darcy took a single step back before turning to look at Mark again. "I have to go."

"I know."

She hesitated, biting her lower lip. "I get off at eight."

Mark smiled at that. "Need a lift home?"

"It would be a good time to talk. About things." Darcy toyed with her braid. Mark grabbed her hand and pulled her forward to kiss her once more, quickly, on the lips.

"I'll be here."

"Good. I have to go." They could both hear an approaching siren outside as Darcy repeated herself. Mark nodded and watched as she left. He wouldn't say a weight had been lifted from his shoulders but she hadn't tried to kill him. He had that much going for him anyway.