Disclaimer: GA sadly does not belong to me. I've been saying this for ages now and you still don't believe me. What do I need to do to make you believe me? You know what? It doesn't matter. I'll just keep saying it until it trickles into your stubborn brain.
Great Expectations
"So…" Mark folded his hands behind his head and stared at the open bathroom door. "Cris said what now?" He could hear Meredith brushing her teeth and shook his head at the unintelligible words she answered him with. "What?"
Meredith rolled her eyes and spit into the sink before rinsing her mouth out. She wiped her face and then turned to lean against the jamb of the door. "She said that Shepherd heard from one of the scrub nurses that Dr. Webber is going to retire." She shrugged and crossed the room to crawl in the bed and lay her head on his shoulder. "Again. He was going to before but Burke messed it up. He asked Burke to be the new Chief and then there was the whole tremor thing. Cris says that he blames her."
Mark nuzzled into the top of her head and sighed. "He would," he commented. "That's the kind of guy he is. Never willing to admit his own mistakes unless it gains him something. Just watch. He'll admit that he was just as much a part of this mess when he can get something from Cris in exchange."
Meredith nodded slowly. "It's just…It's so sad. He's not talking to her. She's not talking to him. What kind of a relationship is that? I don't think they're going to make it, Mark and I hurt for her. She really loves him."
Mark ran his fingertips along her arm where it stretched across his chest. "I know," he whispered. "I know." He let the silence continue for a moment. "Webber's really retiring?"
Meredith shrugged. "No idea. How can they have a relationship and not be talking? Even when I'm so furious with you I could happily stab you I still talk to you…sort of. But it never lasts this long."
Mark tangled his fingers in her hair and pulled her head back so that he could reach her lips. "They'll work it out between themselves, Angel," he assured her a few minutes later when he finally released her soft lips. He stared into her green eyes for a time and then blinked and let her hair go. "Think I should try for Chief?" He asked.
Meredith shrugged as she settled back against him. "Do you want to?" She asked nonchalantly.
Mark twisted her hair around his fingers and stared at the bedroom wall. He could hear Izzie knocking on George's door down the hall but paid it no attention. "I don't know," he said finally. "I wouldn't mind." He shook his head in confusion. "I used to. Now…I'd rather spend time with you. So no, I don't think I want it." She lifted her head and frowned at him. "I know," he said before she could speak. "You'll support me if I do become Chief but I don't want to lose even a moment I could be spending in your arms and that's my decision."
Meredith eyed him for a moment longer and then nodded. "All right," she laid her head back down and insinuated one leg between both of his. "So long as it's not because of me."
"It isn't," he paused again and ran his fingers over her arm again. "Though I might throw myself in the ring anyway. If only to give the board someone to consider that isn't Derek. I wouldn't mind Addie being my boss or even Burke or Savoy or any of the others but I think Derek would drive me nuts. There's no way he could keep things professional."
Meredith hummed and kissed along his jaw. "Probably not. You know I'll be behind you either way so do what you feel is right." She pulled his earlobe between her teeth and nibbled lightly.
His big hands grabbed her waist and flipped her beneath him. "Yeah, we're done talking about them, Angel. We have far more important things to discuss."
Meredith giggled and pulled his head down to hers so that she could capture his lips. "Yeah," she murmured against them.
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"George has turned into a sex machine," Izzie announced to the locker room. She looked around in bemusement at the lack of response. Alex ignored her completely as he dug through his locker. Cristina slanted her a glance and then finished tying her scrubs around her waist. Meredith didn't move from her position lying on one of the benches with her eyes closed. "Are you hearing me? A machine of sex." She repeated just in case they hadn't heard her the first time. "We have to do something. What is wrong with you people?" She complained when they continued to not acknowledge what she'd told them.
Meredith picked her head up and glared at Izzie. "I got to listen to Mark rant all the way to work this morning because someone used all the sugar in the house and that the only cereal left is cornflakes. Which he hates. And so do I. So we were forced to eat unsugared cornflakes for breakfast. Cristina and Burke still aren't talking—"
"I'm not talking to him. Stop nagging. Talking first is for losers. I'm a winner. I'm not talking first. I'm winning." Cristina said over her shoulder in a tired voice. Meredith's constant harping was beginning to get to her and she was tempted to talk to Burke just to get her to stop but then he'd have all the power and she'd have none…again. So she'd just ignore Meredith to the best of her ability. In her heart she wished once again that Burke was more like Mark. If he was then they'd never have been in the situation in the first place.
Meredith rolled her eyes and turned her attention to Alex with a mysterious smile. "And I have no idea what's wrong with Alex."
Alex stared at that smile and those knowing green eyes and swallowed hard. "I'm fine. Nothing wrong here," he said as steadily as he could. He knew he'd failed as Meredith's smile grew before she laid her head back down and closed her eyes.
"You guys need to get it together. I can't handle this on my own," Izzie whined.
"Hey, you guys seen Callie?" George asked as he rushed into the room. "I need to ask her about something."
Izzie sighed as the others all shrugged.
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"Did you kiss her yet?" Meredith hissed to Alex quietly as they followed Mark down the corridors to his patient's room.
"I'm not telling you either way, Brussels sprout," Alex hissed back just as quietly. "It's none of your business."
Mark shot them both a quelling look over his shoulder and opened the door to the hospital room. "Jim, annoying interns," he said as they followed him into the room. "Annoying interns, Jim." The man on the bed didn't move. "Jim is semicomatose and has Stage III Decubitus Ulcers."
Alex frowned. "Bedsores?" He clarified. He had a very bad feeling he knew exactly where this conversation was heading.
Mark grinned at him and Alex could read the malicious intent in it. "Right. So he's gonna need to be debrided, have his dressings changed and be repositioned every two hours."
"Every two hours?" Meredith repeated questioningly. She glared at her boyfriend. He was making her pay for the cereal incident this morning, she just knew it. "By the time we finish, we'll just have to start again."
Mark smirked at her and shrugged. "I'm crying on the inside."
Meredith frowned harder. "Someone's going to be crying on the couch at Mom's house all by himself tonight."
"What about the nurses?" Alex butted in before either of them could say something they'd regret later. "Can't they help?"
"They could," Mark mused. "But none of them have irritated me today. They rarely irritate me…unlike interns that eat all the good cereal and keep secrets." He smirked at their fuming faces one more time and strode around them and out the door. That had felt better than it should have. It had been far too long since he'd tortured an intern. And Meredith wouldn't stay angry for long, she never did.
"Your man's an asshole," Alex muttered to Meredith.
"And don't I know it," she agreed. "Don't worry…revenge is sweet and I'll even let you help."
Alex regarded her expression of mischievous glee with more than a little wariness. "Remind me not to piss you off, corncob."
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With exquisite care Meredith set her chart on the counter beside Mark. She refused to let on that she wished she could slam it down on his hand with all of her strength. She didn't even acknowledge his presence as she flipped it open and started to make a few notations on Jim's stats.
"Hey Angel," Mark said distractedly and then did a double take as he took in her overly pleasant expression. "That pissed at me?"
Meredith slowly set down the pen she was using and with forced brightness smiled at him. "Pissed? Why in the world would I be pissed at you, Dr. Sloan?" The last two words came out between gritted teeth. "I'm an intern. It isn't my place to be pissed at you for torturing me."
Mark swallowed. He suddenly remembered exactly how malicious and vengeful his angel could be when she wanted too. "Um…I'm sorry?" He tried. She merely lifted one brow and picked up her pen again, seeming to give her full attention to the chart. "I'll put you on something else?" He tried again.
She slanted him a glare. "And leave Alex alone to do the dirty work?" She snorted. "You really think I'm that mean?"
He nodded and then shook his head. "Only to me," he chuckled. "And then only when I've been stupid." He paused. "So how can I make amends, Angel?"
She considered him for a long moment and then sighed. "Alex and I had this great revenge planned out. It involved worms and some other less desirable ingredients…but then we heard this rumor…"
Mark swallowed again. He didn't really care for the way this sounded. "What rumor?" He asked anyway knowing that there was no way out of it.
"Bailey's trying to get support for a free clinic," she told him bluntly. "You're going to find her and offer yours. Anything she needs. Got it?"
Mark nodded happily. Seriously how much support could Bailey need?
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Cristina smirked as she strode into the hospital room where Meredith and Alex were debriding a patient's bedsores. "Who'd you piss off?" She asked them, her smirk widening.
Meredith looked up with a scowl and a roll of her eyes. "Sloan," she spat out with more than a little venom.
Cristina gave out a small snort. "Oh, nice."
Alex didn't turn to face her while he asked, "You got anything good?"
Cristina sighed heavily. "Not even a fracture," she complained. "You'd think a guy passes out while running, I'd at least get a fracture." She turned to leave and stopped abruptly.
Burke leaned into the room and shot Cristina a look that was a cross between longing and smug. She didn't see it as she turned away from him. He both loved and hated that she was so strong willed and stubborn. It was a frustrating and enchanting mix. "Anyone available to assist me on a truncus artieriosus surgery?" He asked in a bland tone.
Alex grinned and nodded. "Yeah."
Meredith sighed and then nodded too. "Yes, absolutely." Anything was better than debriding bedsores. Well, almost anything.
Cristina's jaw dropped and she turned to glare at Meredith and Alex with her arms crossed over her chest.
"Good," Burke said slowly with a bemused tone. "Then the first one of you to accurately describe the condition will scrub in." He stared hard at the back of Cristina's head knowing that she knew the answer better than anyone. Meredith and Alex stared at him. Meredith drew in a breath and Alex chewed the inside of his cheek in thought. Cristina gave a long blink and scowled at them both. "No one knows the answer?" Burke asked and stared harder at the silent Cristina. Meredith and Alex's shoulders dropped in defeat as Cristina tensed. Burke gave a forced chuckle. "That's too bad. It'll probably be years before we see another one like this." He paused to give them one last chance. Cristina tore her glare from Meredith and Alex and stared at the ceiling. "Oh well," Burke waved a hand and turned away.
"It's a single arterial trunk coming from the ventricles," Cristina exploded after he'd left. "How could you not know that?"
"How could you not say it?" Alex scoffed back at her with a sneer.
Cristina huffed out a frustrated breath and turned to leave the room. What was Burke doing to her?
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Mark caught Bailey as she headed towards the O.R. "I've been ordered to help you or there will be worms and stuff," he told her.
Bailey gave him her 'you a damn stupid fool and you're wasting my time' look. "Pardon?" She said icily to back up the look.
Mark swallowed. "I pissed Angel off," he explained and her look heated. "She's really vengeful when she wants to be and if I don't want her after my nads then I'm to offer you any help you need with the clinic, okay?" Her looked softened a bit. "Besides, it's a great idea and I'd really like to help."
Bailey's posture relaxed and she nodded. "I'll take it," she said. "It's a commitment of a few hours a week and your support verbally and in writing. Donations are always accepted but not required. I'll find you later and give you the paperwork."
Mark smiled, relieved. "Great. Sounds good." He shuffled uncomfortably for a moment and then nodded. "See ya later, Bailey."
Bailey shook her head and headed for the O.R. Man was such a damn fool for that girl. Still it got her what she wanted sometimes so it wasn't all bad.
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Mark stood in the shadows of the catwalk and smirked at Addison, Burke and Derek as they snipped at each other. He may not really want the position but he'd be damned if he let Derek or Burke get it. Life at Seattle Grace would be Hell if one of them were in charge. So he'd toss his hat into the ring and see what happened.
Finally he approached the trio. "What, no one invited me to the party?" He mocked them gently.
All three of them started. Burke and Derek glared and Addison sighed. Derek opened his mouth to make what would no doubt be a petty, scathing remark but his attention was caught by movement farther down the catwalk. "Chief!" He called instead.
Mark took a step back and watched as the other three competed to gain Richard's attention. He was rewarded when Richard shouted at them to be quiet and turned to Mark. "You," he thrust his chin at Mark. "What's all this about?"
Mark shoved his hands in the pockets of his lab coat and gave Richard a serious look. "Oh, they all want to be chief," he said in a breezy tone. "And for the record, I'll take the job if it's up for grabs."
Immediately, Addison, Burke and Derek began talking over each other again. All of them protesting his involvement and ambitions. Mark leaned back on his heels and gave an internal cackle at the chaos before him. He knew it was childish and a sign of how much he wasn't ready for the job of chief but still the chaos pleased him immensely.
"All right, button it, all of you," Richard finally roared at them in exasperation. "I have had a perfect day. I went to the board this morning and told them I was retiring, I saved a life, and now I am off to see my wife. It has been a perfect day until you four fools tried to ruin it." He looked them all in the eye and was pleased when they looked a bit sheepish. "A man can't be happy he's retiring around here," he practically shouted. "Not with you vultures trying to pick my bones."
"Chief?" Richard spun at the sound on the shocked and hurt voice coming from behind him. His guilty gaze landed on Bailey and he fought off the cringe. "You steppin' down?" Her brown eyes seemed just as wounded as her voice had sounded.
Richard looked away guiltily, took a deep breath and gave a short nod. "As soon as they find a replacement for me," his gaze returned to Bailey's. "I'm stepping down as chief of surgery." Bailey stared at him in confused sorrow for a long moment. "But I don't know when that will be," he continued at her silence. "Because at this point I don't see any front-runners." He backed away from the quartet of attendings with a frown. "Excuse me."
Burke, Addison and Derek followed him for a short way protesting that they were perfectly capable of being chief. Mark shot Bailey a sympathetic look and handed her his letter of support, a written agreement for five hours a week of volunteer time in the new clinic once it was functional and a donation check. "He'll come around," he told her.
Bailey took the forms numbly and scurried off after Richard as the other three came back. They all stood looking down at the bustling floor for a moment and then turned to each other.
The four attendings stood in a line for long silent minutes before they each sank to the floor and stared off into nothing.
Addison finally let out a heavy sigh. "He's really doing it," she said in a wondering voice. Derek made a sound of agreement. "He's really retiring," Addison continued as though Derek had remained silent.
"One of us could be chief," Mark mused aloud. For a few years anyway. He'd suddenly realized when Richard had looked so guilty in the face of Bailey's disappointment that Richard was waiting for her. Richard had already chosen his successor he just needed to wait until she was ready but he didn't have the energy or time so he needed a placeholder. Mark was seriously considering it. He could handle a few years of chief before eagerly passing the torch to Bailey.
"No," Burke said in a dismissive tone and leaned forward. "One of us could be chief," he motioned to himself, Derek and Addison. "You? I don't think so."
Derek and Addison chimed in their agreement and Mark frowned at all three of them. "Oh, I could be chief," Mark assured them.
Derek shook his head. "You're delusional," he said disgustedly.
"Mark Sloan, chief of surgery," Addison mused. "That makes me vomit a little in my mouth," she teased him. Mark rolled his eyes at her.
Burke started with a jerk as a blue folder was thrust in his face. "These," Bailey said in angry, frustrated tones as she handed one to Derek. "Are your letters of support," she handed another to Addison. "For my free clinic. Sign them." She put one hand, the one that wasn't full of paperwork on her hip and glared at them.
"Why do you want this clinic so bad?" Burke asked while reading over the papers she'd handed him.
"You're a surgeon," Derek pointed out and stared at her.
Bailey continued to glare at them. "Because I need something more. I know you all have your messy love lives and your secrets and your silliness, but I want more. I need something to hold on to." She drew in a deep breath and her glare heated. "I need a reason to believe that medicine can do more than stitch you up and-and send you away. I need to believe that medicine can not only save lives, but-but change lives. I need to…I need…" Bailey closed her eyes and drew in another breath to center herself. When she reopened them the fire inside had three pens resting on signature lines. "I need to believe in something the way I used to believe in you all." They stared up at her for a long moment and Bailey's glare came back. "Sign the papers," she ordered.
Addison and Burke signed the letters without any further complaint but Derek continued to stare at her with a mulish expression.
"Sign the papers," Bailey ordered again in a deadly voice.
"You still need funding," Derek told her in a know it all voice.
Bailey just glared at him. He finally relented under her resolved glare and scribbled his name across the line. Bailey collected the folders, checked each name and then nodded to them and strode away.
"The Nazi's back," Derek commented. Addison and Burke nodded with slight smiles.
"You say that like she ever really left," Mark snorted. "You just weren't paying enough attention."
Derek turned his head to glare at him. "I notice she didn't give you a folder. Guess she doesn't want your support for her clinic. Might give it a bad reputation."
Mark gave out a light laugh. "I gave her my letter of support and another committing to five hours a week earlier. She didn't even have to ask me." Mark climbed to his feet. "I could say something trite about being the better person but…well, I'm bigger than that. I don't need to grind others into submission or even attempt it. Bailey's determined. She'll get her funding. And the Nazi never left. She's the same as she's always been. You just weren't looking." He turned and strode away from the trio.
"He's lying to cover his own ass," Derek scoffed.
Addison shook her head. "I don't think so." She paused and sighed again. "Though I'm willing to bet that Mer told him about the clinic and he only did it to make her happy."
Derek scowled. "You have a very romanticized view of him, Addie. If he's not lying then he has some other selfish reason for giving Bailey his support."
Addison shrugged and let the subject fall away. It didn't really matter if Derek was right but she knew he wasn't. Mark wasn't anywhere near as awful as Derek painted him and by the time Derek allowed himself to acknowledge that they'd all be old and gray.
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"Am I forgiven?" Mark asked as he wrapped his arms around her waist and rested his chin on the top of her head.
Meredith leaned her back against his broad chest. "Of course." She told him. "I never stay mad at you for long you know?"
Mark pressed his lips to the crown of her head. "I know," he said into her hair. "But life is still uncomfortable when you are."
Meredith giggled and patted his hand on her stomach as the elevator dinged for the ground floor. "Good. That's as it should be. She eyed him over her shoulder and tugged him from the elevator. "If you liked it when I'm angry at you then there would be no sense in being angry."
"There is an upside to you being angry with me or me being angry with you though," he entwined their fingers as he pulled her outside.
"Yeah?" She asked with a raised eyebrow. "What's that?"
"Makeup sex," he answered promptly.
Meredith's peals of laughter filled the air and bounced off the walls of the hospital. Mark sent her his boyish grin and she leaned up on tiptoe to catch his lips with hers. "You have the best ideas," she told him huskily. "Apartment?"
"Yes. God yes." He moaned against her lips.
