Morgan observed Mark's expression and was surprised to see how well she could still read him. If what she had divulged already made him this angry, what she had yet to reveal would make things worse.

She needed him beside her in this moment…

She needed the strength and familiarity he was providing…..

She prayed he could understand that without blowing up.

As his eyes met hers, Morgan's expression pleaded with him to reign in the anger she knew he was feeling until she could get through the details of her horrific ordeal at Jason's hands.

She felt Mark squeeze her hand supportively again and give her a wink as if he understood what she was thinking.

With her strength renewed, she took a deep breath and turned back to face the detectives. "After I fell onto the bed, he climbed on top of me and ripped my blouse off. He hit me a couple more times before I managed to get a knee up…..and kick him…."

Noticing the questioning expressions of all three men in the room, she continued.

"Yes, I kicked him….in the balls…..as hard as I could."

That's my girl, Mark thought even though Morgan hadn't been "his girl" for many years. So, where was this sudden possessiveness coming from?

It didn't matter. Right now, he needed to hear the rest of her story.

"I got up and tried to run towards the door, but he grabbed my leg and pulled me down. When he got up, I was still on the floor and he kicked me a couple of times."

That's probably when he broke her ribs, Mark fumed.

Morgan inhaled deeply before releasing a calming breath and willing herself to continue. "Then, he picked me up and threw me against the wall and put his hands…."

Her lip began to tremble as she turned her eyes to Mark briefly.

"He….um…"

Mark wanted to stop her and force them to leave, but he knew Morgan well enough to know she could be stubborn when she'd set her mind to do something. He'd read the look in her eyes moments ago and figured it would be best to get as many details as possible out now. Then, hopefully she could begin to move on and focus on her healing.

Rather than insisting the interview stop, he encouraged her to continue. "It's okay. He's not going to hurt you again, I promise. Tell us what happened."

He could feel her shaking as he held her hand, so he attempted to calm her fears by stroking her palm with his thumb as he held it.

"He tried to choke me," She continued before choking back a sob. "He threw me into a picture on the wall. The frame broke….." Her eyes darted back and forth as if she were reliving the moments, "Glass went everywhere."

Mark felt an anger burning inside him unlike anything he'd experienced before. He swore to himself that he would make Jason Elliott regret laying a finger on Morgan.

"I know this is difficult, Ms. Matthews, but we're almost finished. Can you tell us how you managed to get away?" Detective Sanchez asked quietly.

She shook her head as her brows creased together. "I landed on the floor by the bedside table. I….um….I pulled the lamp down. I hit him with it…Just broke it over his head."

Everyone was silent for a moment before Morgan broke down in sobs and looked at Mark, "Oh my God, Mark…..I broke it over his head!! What was I thinking?"

She began to tremble again and Mark stood up to stop the interview. Morgan had had enough, and whether or not she realized her need for his protection, he was giving it to her anyway.

"That's all for now, Detectives. She needs to rest."

"Dr. Sloan…."

"I said it's enough," Mark barked. "She's finished for now. Feel free to call me if you need to talk to her again later and we'll arrange it."" He gave them a pointed look.

They thanked Morgan for talking to them and asked Mark to meet them in the hallway.

He leaned down to Morgan briefly and gave her another wink. "I'll be right back."

The three men walked out of the room and out of distance for Morgan to hear them.

"Dr. Sloan, am I correct to assume that Miss Matthews is more than a patient to you?"

"We're old friends," was all Mark would divulge even though the connection between him and Morgan was evident everyone. He'd only left her side for two hours since she'd been brought in, and that was only because Callie had insisted he do so.

"Well, as you know, assaults like this are traumatic on many levels," Detective Williams began. "In addition to her physical injuries, she will most likely go through some very difficult flashbacks, nightmares, and other psychological issues. It is very probable she'll experience some PTSD. I'm assuming you can refer her to someone to help with that?"

"I'll take care of it," Mark assured them.

Detective Sanchez let out a sigh. "Dr. Sloan, I understand your desire to protect her, but there are a few more things we need to know before we can apprehend Mr. Elliott."

"Like what?"" Marks asked.

"Like where we might be able to find him," Detective Sanchez answered sarcastically. "I don't mean to be rude, doctor, but if we are going to find Elliott and press charges for what he's done, we'll need to know the best places to look for him. You do understand that, right?"

Mark squared his shoulders and met the detectives glare with one of his own. He wasn't about to be intimidated. "Well, I don't mean to be rude either, Detective, but as her doctor, I'm telling you she's had enough for now. Let's focus on getting her a little more stable first. As you can see, her injuries are extensive. Pushing her too fast for details isn't what she needs right now. I'll call you when she's more stable and you can try again. "

Although neither detective looked completely satisfied with his answer, they had no choice but to give in.

What they didn't know was that Mark had decided to try to get a little more detail out of her himself; Information that he could then share with the police and save her the emotional pain of doing so.

*****************GA*****************GA*********************GA

Callie heard the end of Mark's conversation with the detectives and approached him at the nurse's station once they walked away.

She put a hand on his forearm. "Hey….you okay?"

Mark looked towards her with worry in his eyes. "I'm okay," he answered.

She knew him too well to buy it. She could clearly see he was exhausted, but she knew better than trying to convince him to get more sleep away from the hospital. Mark could be stubborn when he set his mind to something and it was obvious leaving Morgan alone was not something he was going to do any time soon.

Mark noticed Callie giving him a suspicious look. "What?"

"I'll be right back…..I have an idea," she answered before walking quickly away.

Mark walked back in to Morgan's room and sat down beside her. She had fallen back to sleep so he tried to be as quiet as possible in an effort to not disturb her. A few minutes later, Callie came back into the room pushing a fold up cot. Stacked on top of it were like sheets, a blanket, and a pillow. Mark looked at her quizzically.

Callie raised her eyebrows at him in one of her signature 'You-Are-Going-To-Do-As-I-Say-And-Not-Argue-With-Me' looks.

"It's obvious I'm not going to convince you to go back home and get some sleep…" She nodded her head towards the window where their apartments were located, "Even though you live right across the street."

Mark grimaced.

"SO," she continued, "I stole a cot from an On-Call Room and brought it to you. We are going to make up this bed and YOU are going to get some rest. Understand?"

His grimace turned to a grin and his eyes softened. Callie knew him so well…..What would he do without her?

"Yes, ma'am. I think I can do that."

"Don't call me ma'am," She said smartly even though she was smiling.

They both worked to get the cot unfolded, the sheets and blankets ready, and positioned it where Mark could sleep right beside Morgan without being in the way of the nurses who were coming in periodically to check on her.

Callie looked at her watch. "I have a surgery in 30-minutes, so I need to go. I'll be back later to check on you, okay?"

Mark was too tired to speak so he just shook his head in agreement.

Callie pointed a finger at him, "Get some sleep, Mark. I mean it. You're no good for her if you aren't rested. She's going to need your help soon…So you need to sleep."

Mark just smiled at her. "Thanks, Callie."

She waited until she saw him getting out of the chair and settling on the cot beside Morgan before she left the room. Then, she stopped at the nurses station on her way out to speak with the nurse covering the floor. She was relieved to see it was Judy who was an experienced nurse and one who was also a 'motherly" type. Judy was excellent at looking after her patients while also insuring they followed doctor's orders.

"Judy, I need a favor."

She looked up from the chart she was reviewing and smiled at Callie. "What can I do, Dr. Torres?"

Callie tilted her head in the direction of Morgan's room. "Dr. Sloan needs to rest, so try not to wake him when you go in to check on Miss Matthews. Okay?"

The nurse smiled knowingly, "She's a friend?"

"Yes, they're college friends. Actually….probably more than that…..but that's a different story. I can't get him to leave her, though, so if you can try to let him get some sleep…"

Judy held up her hand to stop her, "I'll take care of both of them, Dr. Torres. You have my word."

Satisfied with her statement, Callie thanked her and made her way to get ready for the surgery she had on schedule.

****************GA*******************GA*******************GA

Sometime later…

Morgan awakened and was pleasantly surprised to see Mark still there with her. He had kept his promise to not leave her and was sleeping in a bed right beside her bed. She studied his profile and couldn't help but feel a familiar "flip flop" in her chest when a memory came to mind.

Morgan opened her eyes and found Mark propped up on one elbow watching her. He gave her a soft, sleepy smile when their eyes met. They'd had the most amazing night together and she was still finding it hard to believe she had this man in her bed. Again.

"Mornin', Gracie," he said.

She returned his smile, "Mornin', doctor."

"I'm not a doctor yet," he corrected as his smile grew wider.

"I know, but you will be. Someday you're going to be an amazing surgeon and people will come from all over the world for your expertise. "

Mark was always shocked at her faith in him. She was one of the only people who had ever believed he was capable of anything and he loved her for it. "How can you be so sure?"

She put her arms around his neck and pulled him down for a kiss before moving her hands to his face and holding his gaze. "Because you're already amazing…..and I believe in you. Trust me. You're going to be one of the best surgeons ever."

Morgan continued to watch his profile as he slept. She'd been head-over-heels in love with him when they were younger. Back then, he was charming….and funny….thoughtful…and the most gorgeous man she'd ever seen. There were many times she had wondered how she'd been lucky enough to find a guy like Mark. She loved him….and she had no doubt he loved her back.

This "older, more mature" Mark seemed to have changed in a couple of ways: Although she wouldn't have believed it possible, he'd somehow managed to grow even more gorgeous. She'd felt her heart flip when she saw him walking into her exam room the night before. She could only imagine how hideous she must look, but seeing Mark with all that manly scruff was sexy as hell. No doubt, he had his choice of women.

That thought was unsettling, but she reasoned it had been nearly fifteen years since they'd been together. Therefore, it was a place she shouldn't allow her thoughts to wander. After all, she'd been with a few different guys during that time as well.

None of them had ever measured up to Mark in her eyes, though. It was like she'd been on a constant search for a replacement of the love she could never replace.

Another change she sensed in him made her heart hurt, however. The younger Mark always had a twinkle in his eyes. There was a certain boyish quality about him she'd always found very endearing. That "twinkle" seemed to have been replaced by a sadness…..or emptiness…..causing her to be curious about what could have caused that light to be dimmed.

Feeling her eyes on him, Mark opened his eyes and met her with the same sleepy grin she remembered.

"Mornin', Gracie," he said as if he'd been able to read her thoughts and the memory she'd felt just moments earlier. His voice had the hoarse, 'just woke up' lilt that always made her toes curl.

Apparently, some things never changed, she mused.

"Mornin', Doctor," she answered causing Mark to chuckle.

"I guess I made it after all, huh?" Mark said as he started to sit up.

She shook her head, "Yes, you did. I knew you would. And just like I predicted, you became an amazing surgeon."

***********************GA

Next chapter in the works. I'll try not to take so long with that one! We're going to see a confrontation between Mark and Jason which should be interesting!

Let me know what you think! Thanks, as always for your "Favorites", "Follows", and "REVIEWS".