Pleasant Surprises

Chapter 9

Let me just say that I was overwhelmed at the reviews that I got for chapter 8 – 17 total! In less than two hours (maybe even an hour) reviews were pouring in and I realized that you guys might have waited for this interaction between Mark and Meredith a little bit more than I had anticipated – so for that I'm sorry but seeing the overwhelming positive response made me realize that Mark/Mer have a great following – at least for my story -- and am ecstatic for that. I promise to try to never let you guys get bored with the story and if you ever do then I know that it will be time to end it and move to the next one.

It's so hard to bring Mark and Meredith to the forefront with so many questions still unanswered on the show -- even in my story -- so I have tried to settle these things before I get them to even interact so this is my promise…I will try to the best of my ability to try and at least incorporate some Mer/Mark time…whether it's one on one or thinking of each other in each chapter I post – I might not succeed every time but I promise that I will try. After all the goal is to get as much Mark/Mer as we can!

A lot of you wanted to see Mark and Meredith kiss in the last chapter but I can't incorporate it into the story just yet because then it would seem that their emotions are not in tune with the feelings of lust that Mark seems to be having – Mark right now is telling himself that while he has a soft spot for Meredith his feelings for her have more to do with wanting her than possibly falling in love with her. I need to believably make Mark be someone that is going to be fighting his feelings – not only because he doesn't know if he can give Meredith the type of love she needs – but because he once again is in the predicament of hurting his best friend. And while he has given Addison up he still needs to redeem himself with Derek.

Please keep the reviews coming. I can't tell you guys how glad I am that you all enjoy this story. It's been so much fun writing it!

P.S. – I want to especially thank rdherrera for helping me think through this chapter and for giving me your suggestions and pointers on how to incorporate Addison and my favorite line from Mark…your help was INVALUABLE and for that I will be eternally grateful.

Happy reading!

GA…GA…GA…GA…

Chapter 9

Shit!

Mark lifted his hand off the doorknob and stood with his back towards Meredith. How could he go back to her and pretend that her behavior wasn't affecting him or that her suffering wasn't making him frustrated as hell at Derek's attitude. He didn't understand it. He had known he had destroyed Derek's ego, his pride and to some degree his manhood but to project his baggage from Addison's and his relationship to his relationship with Meredith and to have turned his back on her…well that was just crazy. Feelings of guilt started to come to his head and he wondered what would have happened if he wouldn't of slept with Addison? Would Derek and Addison have gotten a divorce anyway? Would he ever have come to Seattle? Would he have come to visit Derek -- in Seattle -- and then met Meredith? Hell…it all came back to Meredith.

"Don't go, please." She repeated and knew that Mark had heard again because she saw him bow his head in what appeared to be defeat – but defeat from what? She didn't know where she had gotten the courage to tell him to stay but for some reason it was of utter importance that he stay with her – if not for the whole day at least for a while. She needed to feel that someone cared about her and that her health and her feelings mattered. Mark had made her feel special – a couple of days ago -- and today she needed to feel it again. She needed him to stay and keep her company. Even if he didn't speak to her his presence would make her feel better and she would feel less alone. Weren't they both alone right now?

Meredith also saw his body stiffen and wondered if maybe she was asking too much of him. It couldn't be; a few minutes ago he had told her that he was there for her and that he would listen to her whenever she needed him to. He might've thought it would be down the line – in the future – but he had to in some way know that Derek leaving had affected her and that when she needed to vent the most would be now and not a week from today.

Mark finally turned around and looked at Meredith intent on telling her that he would come back later…that he needed to tend to a patient…but seeing her in bed, with her eyes boring into his and she reaching out to him with her eyes filled with tears his resolve went out the door and he said instead: "Of course I'll stay Meredith. I don't run, I don't hide and I don't need space." There was no other answer that he could give her. He was bewitched by her and there was no stopping what he was feeling so he would just go with it and when he had a moment to assess he would convince himself that it was nothing more than an infatuation and since he had those rather frequently it would not matter if this one did not come to fruition – he knew how it would end anyway.

Tiffany walked in and assessed the situation for a second time in the span of five minutes and did not realize that she had just saved Meredith from responding to what Mark had said. There definitely was something between those two and she couldn't help but feel a pang of envy. First Meredith was the lucky intern to score the gorgeous neurosurgeon; now she seemed to be well on her way to score the gorgeous plastic surgeon. Mark and Meredith had not even noticed her come in so she cleared her throat loudly: "Dr. Grey let me just connect you back to your IV." She started and fought to not roll her eyes when she heard:

"There's no need to do that. I will connect it back. Thank you for your help." Mark said, coldly. He had not meant to sound so cold but he wasn't concentrating on Tiffany or her feelings, he was more interested and totally focused on Meredith and her feeling comfortable and on her road to recovery. The fact that he had slept with Tiffany did not even factor into his consciousness. She was of no importance.

He then walked back to her bed and inched closer to her as he connected the IV and then stated: "You feel like talking now? You were not willing to do it five minutes ago. What changed?" He didn't even notice the look of embarrassment that appeared on Tiffany's face and how she skirted out of the room in less than three seconds in a puff – but Meredith did and scrunched her brow in surprise.

She replied: "Not about Derek." She said still taken aback by Mark's words "I don't run, I don't hide and I don't need space" but not knowing what to say she decided to let it go until she knew how to accurately respond to it; so instead she said: "I'm sick of analyzing Derek and my relationship to death. I just want you to keep me company. I feel lonely." She confessed. "All my friends are working and can't spend all their time here and I just…"

"Don't feel like being alone…Okay then." Mark said as he smiled at her and finished her sentence. "What do you want to talk about?" he questioned. "What was the last book you read?" he questioned. It was a desperate attempt to talk about anything…anything that wouldn't put his thoughts about her and him and what they could be doing instead…the urge to kiss her at that moment was stronger than any he had before. He stared at her mouth and willed himself to look upward into her eyes. He wouldn't kiss her! He couldn't kiss her!

Meredith smiled as she stated: "Okay…small talk huh? Well let's see the last book I read was The Red Tent. You wouldn't like it." She exclaimed.

"What's it about?" he asked settling in his chair, making him as comfortable as possible. "Besides how do you know what I would like?" he asked, smiling irresistibly. "Don't presume to know me my fellow dirty mistress or know my reading habits." Mark finalized as he looked at her and couldn't help but be amazed at her strength and resilience. She was absolutely mesmerizing. It was like a magnet…he couldn't win. She was magnetically inching him towards her and couldn't even fight it if he tried.

"It's a girls book primarily." She confessed. What was it about Mark's eyes? They were so beautiful. It seemed like you could read into his soul just by looking into his eyes when he let his guard down and let you look into it -- the way he really was, no bullshit in between. It was weird but although she hadn't known him for long she felt that he was sincere with her. It seemed like he thought she had been lied to enough and he didn't want to follow the mold – he was going to be sincere with her.

"Really?" he questioned, bringing her back to the conversation at hand. "I didn't know that books had a specific gender that they tended to. Well okay maybe love stories or fluff books." He commented. "It's not a love story so to speak."

"Not really." She exclaimed. "Although love is involved." She said and then stopped suddenly. "Hey what do you mean so to speak? Have you read the book?" she questioned impressed.

"Busted." He said, as he laughed at her face of incredulity. "What? I am an avid reader and I read everything that might be interesting – even if it's from the Bible or a book of fiction with Bible facts. Hey what can I say, I'm full of surprises." He finalized as he shrugged his shoulders ever so slightly.

"That you are." Meredith said as she wondered what else she didn't know about Mark. There was a lot of things that she was sure she didn't know and somehow she wanted to learn everything about him. She wanted to know what made him smile, what made him sad, what made him cry – if anything. She wanted to get to know him as best she could. "Mark tell me about yourself." She said, as she shifted in bed turning towards him and putting her arm under her head for comfort.

"What do you want to know?" he asked, not really sure how comfortable he felt with her possible questions. He might be put on the spot – he thought as a small smirk appeared on his lips -- she was getting comfortable for this particular conversation. She really wanted to get to know him and that in some way made him happy. It had been a long while since someone had been interested in him as a person and not as someone they wanted him to be – a player, a lover, a boyfriend or a future husband. There were so many different parts that made him who he was and Meredith seemed to want to get know them with no ulterior motive – that felt nice. It was a first.

"Why did you betray your best friend by sleeping with his wife?" she questioned. "Lots of people would think that you were the worst friend in the world, including myself, but for some reason I think that it goes beyond that, doesn't it?" she questioned. "There's more to you than meets the eye…" she continued… "And I think I'm coming to realize that behind that asshole exterior there is a person that people don't recognize or even know exists…"

Wow! Mark thought to himself. If anyone else had told him what Meredith had just said he would have denied it and said he was an asshole and that he didn't care. That it was sad that Derek and him were out of sorts but that he would move on with his life. But instead he exclaimed: "I fucked up. Royally…and I don't think I'll ever be able to have the friendship that Derek and I had before all this happened. I would like to go back but I can't. It's the price I pay for fucking up."

"Why even try? I mean if Addison and you are going to try to work things out…" she said but for some reason hoping that he would reiterate what he had been saying all along…that things with Addison were not going to work and that he was done with all that. That Addison and him were in the past.

"We're not going to work things out. We said goodbye this morning – before I saw you. I can't make her happy and vice versa. I would like to see if we could remain friends to some extent but I know that the likeliness of that is almost zero."

Meredith raised her eyebrows at that: "Friends? The way Derek and I remained friends while he was with Addison? That didn't end up very well." She pointed out.

Mark smiled. "You both were lying to each other and yourselves. We're not." Mark simply stated. "We called it quits and meant it. You and Derek were never ready to let go and preferred being friends than not being in each other's lives."

"Oh okay." Meredith said as she smiled. "If you say so Mark." She said, in mock serious tones.

He wondered if it was time to mention Derek running and it just might be. She seemed somewhat relaxed and content. So he would risk it. He was a risk taker after all. "So you ready to tell me how you really feel about Derek leaving and needing space."

Meredith shrugged her shoulders. What harm could it do now? He was gone. "I feel like Derek just walked away from me without even considering my feelings." She said. "You know as he was packing his stupid bags I was here at the hospital writing him this stupid letter…" she said, as she pointed to the letter on top of the hospital dresser. "Here I am pouring my heart out for him to read before he comes to any rash decision…and what does he do…leaves the freaking State without even telling me. Well you know what…that's fine. I don't care." She said, hoping that she sounded a least a little bit defiant.

"Did it make you feel better? Writing that letter." Mark questioned.

"I guess." Meredith answered as she thought about his question. Actually it really had. "Yeah. It really did." She finalized surprising even herself.

"Well then the letter accomplished its most important goal Meredith. Who cares if Derek read it or not what matters is that you wrote it down…all your thoughts…and now it will be easier to put it to rest."

It wasn't that easy, Meredith thought to herself. "I wanted him to read it but now it seems so irrelevant." She confessed.

"You can give it to him when he comes back." Mark offered.

"No…I think I'm just going to keep it and whenever I feel that I'm weakening I'll read it and it will make me remember exactly how I felt today."

"How do you feel today?" he prodded her.

"Humiliated beyond belief." She said, honestly. "I believed him when he told me that he loved me and I believed that he was ready to offer me whatever it was that I needed. He stood in my kitchen and confessed his love for me and then after I did what I needed to do – leave Finn – and I tell him he doesn't even blink and tells me he's walking away from me!" Meredith stated as tears pour down her cheeks. "See this is why I didn't want to do this." She said, pointing to her tears and immediately wiping them.

"Don't worry about it." Mark stated. "Hey you play poker?" he asked suddenly wanting to change the subject so she'd stop crying.

"What?" she questioned. Was he serious?

"Do you play poker?" he said again as he took a deck of cards out of his pocket. "Or UNO?" he asked as he shrugged his shoulders and pulled the UNO deck out of his other pocket.

"You have got to be kidding me?" she said, as she laughed out loud. "You carry poker cards and UNO in your coat jacket? All the time?"

"Not all the time." He said, as he rolled her serving tray to the bed and placed both deck of cards on it. "Just when I'm bored." He explained. "I play solitaire." He stated picking up the poker cards. "Or UNO if I have a patient that doesn't play poker. I tend to bond with them over a game of cards. So what will it be, Dr. Grey? Two choices…on the exterior it seems like an easy choice but oh it's not is it?" he questioned. He laughed out loud again at her expression of incredulity. He knew that ha managed to surprise her at every turn. He then heard her:

"UNO. I have not played UNO in years." Meredith said as she shook her head. He was unbelievable and she loved the fact that she could be herself with him without pretending that she was this normal person – she was nowhere near being a normal person, on the contrary, with each day that passed she felt more fucked up than the day before.

"Okay." Mark said, as he put the poker cards in his pocket again and started shuffling the UNO cards. "So what do we play for Dr. Grey?" he questioned.

"What do you mean?"

"Name your stakes." He replied simply.

"At UNO?"

"Yep."

"Uhm…I don't know."

"Well lets see if I win a game or games depending on their length you have to take me out to dinner and buy at the restaurant of your choice being that I am not from here."

"Okay." She said, as she smiled. "And if I win you buy me a night of drinks at the bar of my choice."

"You got it. Hey I'll even include dinner."

"Well there you go." Meredith said as she saw him deal the cards. "It's a bet."

GA…GA…GA…GA…

Addison was sitting down in her office with a thousand thoughts going through her head. She knew that Mark and her were done and there was some type of relief in that – there even was some type of relief in the dissolution of her marriage. She wanted to move forward and she needed to do it without Derek or Mark. It seemed that her life had either been with Derek or with Mark and now…now she just wanted to be by herself and find who she was as a person without them. What had happened to her in these past fifteen years? She didn't remember who she used to be before she met them both and now she wanted to know who she was – with them in her past – and with her future all to herself.

Since she had made that decision it was apparent that she needed to make a choice: stay in Seattle or try to make a life somewhere else. She had learned to love this hospital and she felt needed and appreciated so she would figure out how to find herself and stay facing her demons and finally winning the war.

She got up from her chair, made her way out the door and towards her next patient's room. As she passed Meredith's room something made her suddenly stop. She was laughing out loud as if she had not a care in the world, as if Derek had not left without saying goodbye to her. She had heard from the Chief exactly what Derek had done. Who was making her laugh like that? Cristina? Izzie? Possibly George?"

"UNO!" she called out as she slammed her hand on top of her last card and put it against her chest. "Whatcha gonna do now?" she questioned.

"Well the only thing that I can do sweetheart." She heard Mark say and gasped out loud involuntarily as she heard: "Draw four baby!" Mark said as giddy as he could be. What was this? Mark did not do giddy, Mark never did giddy! Was this world going mad?

"What?!" Meredith said. "This is the second time you do this to me! Are you hiding all the draw fours?"

Addison didn't wait for his reply. She was in shock. It seemed that Mark was going after Meredith! Was it not enough that he had ruined Derek's life once? Did he have to do it again? What was his problem? She couldn't let him get away with it. There was no way in hell that she was going to allow Mark to fuck Derek over again. She told herself that she was not going to have this talk with him because she refused to see him with Meredith after he had been with her but that it was because of Derek and how this would ruin all three of them forever. In the end Meredith had managed to put the final nail in the coffin that was her marriage and her affair respectively.

GA…GA…GA…GA…

Okay so I finished watching the episode (11/9) again and I have got to say that I am happy that Derek finally came to his senses, however, I would of love to have seen the potential with Mark and Meredith – was it me or was Mark at the end of the show disappointed that Meredith chose Derek? Maybe we will get to see a triangle yet. Who knows but I had to incorporate the line that captivated me from Mark: "I don't hide, I don't run and I don't need space." I loved that! That was something that the Mark in my story would do. Who knows maybe I will get to see my wish on-screen.

Let me know what you think! I live for feedback! I want to break chapter 8's record…so let me know how I'm doing or what I have to do to!

Thanks!