Chapter 24

Jack cursed his pager as it went off for the umpteenth time in the last two days. He felt like he was living in the OR, sleeping in the on-call room whenever he could. Which wasn't much.

He checked the page, splashed cold water on his face and headed for his third surgery today. Derek had been in Los Angeles at a conference, so Jack was the only neurosurgeon currently on staff. And they were making sure he knew it.

Jack thought about Kate, thought about how long it had been since he'd seen her. They had stood by the surgical board two days prior and he had not been able to catch up with her since. He felt like he was on a surgery bender that would never end. He caught up with the nurse on the case before heading into surgery. He hoped this would be his last one for at least 12 hours—he really needed a nap.

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Kate scribbled some notes in a chart, listening to Arizona and Callie chat away in front of her at the nurse's station. She'd be lying if she said she wasn't thinking about Jack—it had been two days since she'd seen him and he had yet to contact her. Maybe he didn't want to talk after all, she contemplated. She kept her gaze trained downward.

"Mark has been seeing Lexie, I think it's really good for him," Callie chewed on a Twizzler, leaning on the counter. Arizona raised an eyebrow.

"Do you hear yourself sometimes? I really think he needs to be cleaned with disinfectant before anyone touches him." Arizona make a disgusted face, sliding her hands into her lab coat pockets. Callie shook her head.

"No really though, I think it's a good thing. He really seems to like her," she defended her friend. Arizona still didn't look convinced.

"The only thing that would be good for that man is to sterilize him, right Kate?"

"I really don't want to think about Mark's manhood while I working on the little people's charts," Kate responded, without missing a beat. Callie laughed while Arizona just shook her head.

"It's weird that you both have seen him naked," she visibly shivered with disgust. Callie continued to laugh while Kate glared.

"I have not seen him naked, just shirtless," she corrected, closing one chart and opening another.

"That's unfortunate," Callie replied, before Arizona slapped her arm. Their laughed ceased after a moment, their eyes trained past Kate. "Wow, you don't see that every day," she quipped. Arizona nodded.

"Seriously. Is that man coming this way? In a tailored suit? You definitely don't see that on the peds floor every day," Arizona leaned toward Callie to get a better look.

"Right? Look at that hair, and that jaw. My goodness, I wonder who he is," Kate looked up at her friends at Callie's words, peering at their stunned expressions.

"What are two gawking at?" She asked, confused. Callie gestured with her Twizzler.

"That," both women replied simultaneously.

"If I turn around and Mark Sloan is behind me, I'll be so pissed at you," Kate rolled her eyes, before looking behind her. Her grin fell and she could feel her stomach drop into her feet. She wished it was Mark Sloan. "Oh fuck," she drew out, turning quickly back to face the women as the man got closer.

"Katie!" he called from ten feet away as he got closer. Her friends stared at her, their expressions now one of confusion.

"Katie?!" They both repeated in hushed voices. Kate closed her eyes and counted to ten.

"Katie! I knew I could find you up here. God, you haven't changed a bit!" The tall, dark haired, handsome man drank her in, and Arizona could have sworn she saw Kate flinch.

Kate didn't bother responding to his compliment, she wasn't in the mood to play his games. "What are you doing here?" She deadpanned, not meeting his eyes. Callie and Arizona looked from one to the other, clearly interested in the dynamic before them.

"I finally sold the beach front property in San Diego. I needed your signature on a few lines. When you didn't return my emails, I figured I'd make a trip up here to see if you were doing all right," he reached out and rubbed her arm, and she did everything in her power not to yank herself out of his reach.

"Now you care," the words left her mouth with sarcasm before she could stop them, and it surprised her. It surprised him too, as his eyes widened.

"Wow, a little sass. I like it," he raised his eyebrows, and Kate wanted to vomit. Callie cleared her throat, reminding her that her friends were still very much there taking in the whole exchange.

"Where are my manners? Ladies, this is my ex-husband Rich. Rich, this is Dr. Robbins and Dr. Torres," The women eagerly shook his hands, watching Kate's look of disgust the entire time. Despite their time as friends, Kate didn't talk much about Rich. Seeing them next to each other was interesting, neither saw her with an older man. He was definitely a handsome man, with dark eyes, and a secretive, sexy smile.

"Nice to meet you ladies," he charmed with a grin. Kate felt betrayed as her friends grinned back like school girls. She cleared her throat, glaring at her friends. "Katie, what do you say we take a walk down to the cafeteria? I'd like to buy you a coffee while we chat," he ran his hand along her upper back and Kate forced herself not to step away. She was trying her best to appear strong in front of him, not let him get the best of her. She checked her watch.

"You've got 20 minutes," she replied curtly, turning on her heel. He smiled at Callie and Arizona before following Kate down the hallway. Both women watched as they walked off.

"She married him?!" Callie finally spoke once they were out of ear shot. Arizona shook her head.

"We need to get the whole story. Did you see the way she flinched? How white her face was? She clearly wasn't happy to see him," she replied, concern evident in her voice. Callie nodded.

"I just don't see it," she repeated, still looking down the hall. Arizona shrugged.

"I guess sometimes you really don't know everything about someone."

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Mark has been stewing for two days. His jaw clenched at the thought. She'd slept with his best friend. After all he'd tried. He'd taken her out, tried not to rush her, wined her and dined her. And with the snap of a finger, she jumped into bed with Jack. There wasn't much that could wound Mark Sloan, but this definitely hit him below the belt.

Mark and Jack had been best friends since childhood. But Mark always got the girl. Always. Jack had fallen in love with Sarah, and she was the only girl Mark hadn't been able to win over. Now there were two. Mark didn't like to lose. He didn't lose. But somehow he'd lost this one. It infuriated him.

They were best friends, but they knew their places, knew their relationship. And Mark had never slept with someone Jack had slept with. Jack didn't usually get that far with them, before they moved on to Mark. After Sarah, they'd been each other's wing man, but they didn't share women.

Mark thought back to what Derek had said in the elevator and it enraged him. If he were to take a good look at truly why he was angry, he knew it would be for superficial, ego-hurt reasons. But he couldn't get past the fact that Jack had swooped in and swept Kate up. Yes, he knew Jack had been head over heels for the girl, but they didn't steal each other's women. And looking back on all the moments that had drawn him to throw a punch at Jack in the first place, he wondered how he hadn't seen it prior to that.

Mark rounded the corner into the cafeteria and saw Jack standing by the coffee bar. He clenched his fists at his sides. He had to get this off his chest. "Jack!" he called out, become more angry when Jack didn't acknowledge him. He stormed toward his friend, his broad stance geared for another brawl. His gait slowed though when he caught his friend's expression. It was one of confusion, of hurt. Mark balked for a moment, confused himself.

As he reached Jack, he looked in the direction Jack was looking. He saw Kate sitting at a table with a man who's face he couldn't see since his back was to him. Kate wore a soft smile, her hands wrapped around a coffee cup. Jack seemed stuck in place, crestfallen. Mark raised an eyebrow, releasing his fists, his anger moving now from Jack to Kate.

"What's going on?" Mark began, crossing his arms. His immediate response was to protect his friend. "Who's she sitting with?"

Jack shook his head, "I don't know. They seem awful friendly though," Mark took a glance at Jack, taking in his tired eyes.

"Dude, you look like crap," he found himself saying before he could stop himself. Jack glared at his friend.

"I've missed you too," he sighed, sarcasm falling of his tongue. He turned his eyes back to the couple sitting 20 feet away. He was exhausted, had hoped to find her here, but not sitting with someone else. How could she be with someone else? For someone who ran off awful quick after their first time together, he didn't understand. Kate didn't seem like a player, like someone who wanted to date more than one guy at a time, but now that he watched her talk with this man like she knew him, he questioned her motives. She'd dated Mark, slept with him, and now who was this man?

"Maybe it's her dad, or something," Mark put his hand on Jack's shoulder. Jack shrugged.

"Did you smile at your dad like that?" he quipped, glaring at Mark. Mark chuckled.

"If you recall, my parents never really looked at me so I'm pretty sure the answer is no," he chuckled again, "I'm not the right person to ask the question to."

"Well I certainly didn't look at my father that way," Jack scoffed. Mark slapped his friend's shoulder.

"Forget her. Let's get a drink after work," he could tell Jack needed it. And truth be told, despite his previous anger, he did miss his friend. And no one messed with his friends, she was immediately on his bad list.

"Yeah, sure," Jack replied, distracted. That sleep he was hoping for didn't feel like it would be coming any time soon now. "I'll be done in a few hours," he replied, looking away from Kate.

"I'll meet you at Joe's" Mark agreed, as the two separated.

Kate could see Jack staring at her from far away, had seen the way Mark glared at her. But she couldn't get herself away from Rich. Despite her disgust for him, as soon as he locked eyes with her, she had a hard time pulling herself away.

"Katie, let me take you to dinner," she heard him saying. She came back to earth, looking back at him. He was handsome, she admitted angrily to herself. He'd aged very well.

"I don't know, Rich," she began, gripping her coffee cup. Could she really trust herself around him for more than an hour? When he laid on that charm...

"Well, I need your signatures and I didn't bring the papers to the hospital. Plus, when was the last time you had a decent steak?"

"Well, not as long as you'd-" he cut her off, and it was a shockingly familiar moment for her.

"It's done then. I'll pick you at 7," he finalized, standing. Kate wished she'd forgotten how forward he was. It left a pit in her stomach. She'd grown a lot though in the last few months, she could do a few hours with him, right? She said a small prayer as she also stood.

"Okay," she replied quietly. "Don't forget the papers," she reminded with a sideways smile. She knew his tricks. She knew this man better than she knew anyone. Unfortunately.

"I won't," he winked. "See you tonight," he waved off at her as he made his way toward the door. She stood still for a moment, wondering if she could find Jack and explain. This was it—their last tie. Once she signed that paperwork for the selling of their last property, she was free of him forever. She could spend a few hours with him to be free of him forever, right?

She hoped she could find Jack and explain. The look on his face made her feel worse than she already had. And Mark's eyes had burned right through her. Whatever you're thinking, you've got it all wrong, she wanted to say to Jack. She now realized why being more of front would be better than hiding everything. She sighed. Hindsight was definitely 20/20.

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So sorry for the delay in updating. But I'm back :) I'm not going to make excuses, but I will apologize. I'm sorry for my disappearing act and for not updating this story in a long while. Thank you for the sweet PMS and reviews as of late. They definitely served as a good helping of inspiration here. I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

Sneak peek for the next chapter:

"Slow down, Kate. What's wrong?" Mark gently grabbed the crying woman by the shoulders as she bumped into him. "Why are you always trying to run me down?" he tried to make light of the tears streaming down her face. They didn't match her flattering black dress.

Her head feel against his chest as sobs racked her small body. She found herself seeking comfort in a place she hadn't thought she would. But as one of his strong protective arms made it's way around her, she felt an ounce of comfort, which was more than she'd felt 20 minutes ago.

He pulled out his phone, held it over his head where she couldn't see and sent a quick text. He wasn't cut out for this consoling thing and he knew he wasn't who she really wanted.