"Mark?"

Mark's heart skipped a beat as he heard her... That voice that made his heart jump and made his whole body tingle... That voice that made him willing to do anything and to be the best person he could be... That voice- being none other than that of Kathryn Sloan's.

"Kathryn?"

His heart then jumped a mile as he saw her breath taking beauty, which he so fondly remembered... And that smell of sweet perfume, which lifted his spirits high. As he looked at her once again, he saw her as the beautiful person she was once was. And one that would always be in his heart.

She smiled at him, making it where his gaze froze upon her, and listened intently to her every word. "How are you, Mark?"

"Fine. Now that I'm here with you."

The words hung in the air for a few moments, as Kathryn slowly made her way over to her husband and gently took his hand, trying to find the right words to say next.

"Mark, do you know why you're here?"

"Well, I imagine it's because I'm pushing up daisies somewhere, dear," he replied with a slight grin.

"But you can't be, dad."

Mark's grin then turned into a smile as he saw Carol make her way beside her mother, taking in the sight of how beautiful and how loving they both were. "I've missed you, sweetheart."

Carol smiled as she took his other hand. "I've missed you too, dad. But you're not dead."

"What do you mean? Of course I am! I'm here with the two most important women in my life!"

"Listen, honey, what Carol is trying to say is that it doesn't have to be this way. You can still fight this."

"But why? I'm already close to the end of my life, anyway. And I feel happy here. This is where I need to be."

"No, Mark. It isn't," Kathryn stated. "You may be older, but you still have a lot of life left in you. I mean, what other older doctor's do you see still sharper than anything by not only riding around the hospital on roller skates, or being a great doctor, but also solving murders day by day? You're far from worn out! You still have a lot of life to live."

"No, I don't care about that. I'm ready. I've led a good life. I mean, what more to I have to live for? To help solve a few murders? I can't be around forever to do that, you know."

"Mark, we love you very much and when the time comes, we'll be more than thrilled to have you up here with us. But right now, you're forgetting about one important detail you left down there."

Suddenly Steve's face appeared before Mark's as he watched him smiling and playing football with Jesse, CJ, and Dion at the beach house. "This is from last week... He was so happy..."

Mark's words trailed off as he watched his son, wondering how on earth he could ever forget about him. His smile, his laugh, his crystal clear blue eyes, his conversations he always had with him... and the incredible love they shared between one another.

Mark swallowed hard, letting a single tear fall freely down his cheek; that of which he didn't wipe away, but only let it fall as he watched his son, secretly praying that he would never change for anyone.

"Steve..."

Kathryn and Carol smiled as his name hung in the air, each putting an arm gently around his shoulders, letting him know that they were there for him, no matter what.

"Mark, we both love you very much, but Steve loves you, too. And he doesn't deserve to lose you like this. And to be alone in that world. He's already lost both of us. Don't put him through that pain and suffering again. He needs you whether he'll admit or not."

"He always was stubborn..." Mark replied, suddenly. "Which is one of the things I love about him."

"So... Is that a yes?" Carol asked.

Mark nodded. "You both are right. As happy as I am to see you both, I can't leave my life down there. I couldn't even imagine... I'm sorry."

Kathryn smiled as she touched Mark's face with a soft hand. "Don't be. You'll be up here again someday with us, but I want you to feel like you've lived the rest of your life successfully and that you have more closure. Today, right now, well... This isn't where you need to be."

"I know. So I guess I'd better be getting back. But not before I tell you both how much I love you and that you both mean the world to me."

"I love you, too, Dad," Carol replied in a soft voice.

"And I will always love you, Mark Sloan. Always... always..." **

"Dad?"

Mark slowly opened his eyes, soon staring into a pair of crystal blue ones right next to him. "Hi, son."

Steve breathed a sigh of relief as he held his father's hand and struggled to hold the tears back. "I thought we were going to lose you a little while ago."

"When?"

"Back at the house. You flat lined, and... I thought... I mean, I-"

"Steve, I'm here. And I'll be here for a long time with you. I'm not ready to leave yet. I mean I still have yet to go at least a whole week before we have another murder on our hands!"

Steve grinned. "Yeah. And at least a month without me getting injured," he replied, slightly holding up his arm which was firmly set in a sling.

Mark smiled as he patted Steve on the back of his hand. "You know, I'll always be here for you, son. And it's going to be awhile before I give up on being here with you."

Steve slightly nodded as he soon realized a wetness on his cheeks, but didn't care as he concentrated on what his father, who was now living and breathing right before his very eyes. "Well that's a good thing to know. A very good thing to know. And I uh... I love you, dad."

"I love you, too, son. I love you, too."

TBC...

Note: Just wanted to let you all know that the next chapter should be my last!:-)