Doc's Note: I've come to the conclusion that I suck at updating on weekends. Sorry about that, but I was busy. I should be studying now, but I felt a writing muse, so here you go. The next few chapters will jump ahead in time a bit, so be prepared for that. Other then that, enjoy.

DISCLAIMER: Shonda owns Grey's. My name is Doc. Therefore, Doc does not own Grey's.

It had been a long three months. Nothing had changed, really. There was work, there was the usual after-work get together at Joe's (though she was partial to Shirley Temples now), there was the fact that Mark was ignoring her. Or maybe she was ignoring him. Meredith had lost track. The only real difference in going from six weeks pregnant to four and a half months was the fact that she was having food aversions. She used to love strawberry ice cream but now? She wouldn't touch it. It was strange, but according to Izzie -when the hell did Izzie become the expert on pregnancy anyway?- that was normal.

Oh, yeah, and there was the whole getting fatter thing, too. But Meredith knew that part was normal. Anything else and she needed consulting. Izzie was apparently very interested in that stupid pregnancy book she'd been reading four nearly five months, but Meredith actually preferred her meetings with Addison. At least that way, there was no teasing slipped in with it.

Besides, she kind of liked seeing the baby growing. Most of the time, they just talked. But today Meredith was scheduled for another ultrasound. With development, they would now be able to see the baby clearly. Of course, Meredith just wanted to see the baby again. The only excuse she really had was knowing if the baby was a boy or a girl, just to begin narrowing down names. Yeah, that was why she wanted to see.

She entered the pediatric wing of the hospital and took a left, stopping at the nurses' station to confirm her appointment. Again, Meredith was very aware of the stares coming her way, but by now she'd really gotten used to it. She nearly groaned when she was told to sit in the waiting room. As a doctor, that was the last thing you wanted to hear. Waiting sucked.

"Hey," Alex murmured as he breezed by. Meredith tilted her head slightly, leaning back against the desk. "Don't say it," he muttered dully, predicting the gynie-squad comments before they even escaped her mouth. "At least with Montgomery, I get to practice medicine. With Sloan, I only fetch coffee."

Meredith shrugged. "I was only going to ask what you were doing here."

"Working," he responded quickly. Meredith arched a brow. "What else would I be doing here?" Alex snatched a chart from a passing nurse and examined it, frowning and nodding. "Look, I've got a patient I need to see. I think Addison's in the second on-call room if you need her." Alex mouthed a 'damn' and hurried away, obviously slightly flustered.

Meredith shook her head slowly, eyeing the second door on the left through narrowed eyes. She wasn't quite sure she wanted to go in there right now, and besides, she was the patient today. Patients waited. She didn't know how they could stand it, just sitting there, waiting. But just as Meredith flopped unceremoniously into one of the leather seats, Addison appeared in the very doorway Alex had spoken of.

"Ah, Doctor Grey," she murmured, peering at Meredith through her glasses. "Follow me."

Meredith got to her feet, arms wrapped around her body as she tailed the neonatal surgeon. "Addison," she muttered, nearly ramming into her when she stopped walking abruptly. "Do we really need to do this weird, doctor/patient thing? Seriously, it's not like this is the first time we've done this..."

"Yeah, it's just public appearance," Addison replied with a wave of her hand. They entered the room, and Addison set up the machine. Meredith had already flopped onto the bed, looking expectantly at her doctor. "Would you look at that," Addison stated with a grin, gaze wandering to Meredith, who'd already pulled her shirt up to reveal the mound on her stomach. "Meredith Grey can gain weight! Amazing."

"Ha-ha," Meredith responded easily. "This is normal, though, right? I'm not just getting fat because I'm overeating, because I am overeating. But I'm eating for two, so that's okay. Right?" Addison gave a low chuckle. First time mothers were always amusing, but Meredith? She was hilarious.

"It's perfectly normal. There's a person inside you, taking parts of all of your nutrients, remember." Addison flipped a few switches and turned a few knobs before applying the gel to the end of the transducter. "Let's get a picture..."

Meredith winced. "That's cold. Why is it always cold?"

"Sorry. Anyway, hold on..." There was a moment's pause, and then a picture appeared on screen. Meredith felt herself smiling again, watching as the baby moved slightly -and groaning when she felt it. "She's kicking now, huh?"

"Yeah, she's-" Meredith trailed off slightly, gaze drifting back from the screen to stare blankly at Addison. "She? She's kicking?"

Addison nodded slightly, moving the tranducter about to get a better look at the baby's heartbeat. "Yeah, it's a girl. Start narrowing down those baby names, Meredith. She's no Michael." Or Derek, Meredith mused. Not that she had been planning on naming the baby after him anyway. It was just kind of nice to think that the baby might end up more like her. Derek hadn't called since he left, or come back, so she suspected he simply didn't care. Or whatever.

What was annoying about that was, it still hurt. But looking at that baby, her baby girl, the pangs of sadness seemed to melt away. "Heartbeat's steady. Oh boy..." The baby kicked again. "What've you been eating, Meredith? She seems to like it."

Meredith gave a small smile, gaze drifting to the monitor once more. "Izzie made it. I don't know." Her eyes found its way to the screen again, and they fell into a steady silence. Addison was checking her amniotic fluid, nodding every so often. The majority of this visit was focused on the baby's organ function, which Addison would document and relay to Meredith.

There was a long silence, but not the comfortable sort of silence that Meredith had become accustomed with when talking to Addison. This was the kind of quiet a doctor gave a patient when something was wrong. Was something wrong? "Addison," she murmured cautiously, drawing the surgeon's gaze away from the monitor. "Is something wrong?"

She nodded, and then shook her head. "Nothing's wrong. The baby's heartbeat jumped for a minute there, but it's back to normal now." Still, Meredith noticed Addison making a note of this in her case file. "She's doing well, Meredith. Really well."

Meredith gave a dreamy sort of smile when the monitor was shut down. She leaned back against the pillows, tapping her stomach slightly. "This is so unreal. I'm going to have a baby, a daughter."

"Yes, you are."

Meredith frowned. Addison had been clearing away the equipment and not noticed it, but there was a definite drop in her voice that alerted her to this. "And my baby's not going to have a father, just like me. Oh, God, Addison, I do not want this baby to end up just like me." The last thing the world needed was another Meredith Grey.

Addison sighed heavily, moving backward on her wheeled chair to stare over at Meredith. "Look, you weren't the only one to make this life. Derek's DNA's in there, too." The redhead paused, removing her glasses and cleaning them casually, a grin crossing her lips. "But, really, the world doesn't need another Derek Shepherd. I'd much rather have another Meredith Grey running around here. Much more amusing."

"Okay, I'm leaving now." Meredith gave a somewhat irritated sort of laugh, pulling her shirt down and moving to stand. This thing, this friendship with Addison, it was nice, she decided. It was much better then when they used to fight for the same thing, even if it had all spawned from that very man they'd both wanted. Now, it seemed, neither of them wanted him.

Or at least only one of them did. Meredith eyed Addison carefully as she edged toward the door. Doctor Montgomery certainly seemed like she'd moved on. Why couldn't Meredith? The baby kicked again, and she grimaced. Oh yeah, she remembered. That was why she couldn't just let it go.

GA

"Don't go around getting punched in the eye again, alright?" Meredith had been walking down the pediatric wing slowly, almost cautiously. She'd heard he'd been seen around here today, but thought it was simply nurse gossip. After all, Mark was rarely seen in Pediatrics; four year olds generally didn't care if they had a lasting scar, as long as it was cool. Meredith paused outside the patient's room, leaning against the doorframe. The laugh did it for her, that was definitely Mark.

But the question still remained unanswered. Why was he up here in the first place? "Doctor Mark," the little boy stated slowly, "You made it so it won't be all purple anymore?"

"Yeah, sorry about that." Mark sounded generally annoyed. "I know it looked cool, but the swelling was kinda blocking your eyesight. But you should still get a nice scar from the stitching. That's good, right?" There was a murmur of agreement and then a high-pitched chuckle.

"You got a scar, too." Meredith knew it well, the thin line running along his cheek. It was the same one Derek had given him, the one he'd sutured himself. She could almost see him grinning proudly, despite the fact that his back was turned to her.

"Yeah. And you know what?" Mark was whispering now. "The girls really dig scars. Ask anyone."

The small boy gave a disgusted groan. "Girls have cooties!"

Mark sighed slightly. How easy life used to be. "All right, pal, I'll come in and check on you later, okay?" From what Meredith could gather, the patient had nodded. She pushed off from the doorway and gravitated into the hallway, slowly making her way down the hallway. The last thing she needed was Mark thinking she was stalking her.

"I saw you, you know." She gritted her teeth lightly at his amused tone. "I know I'm pretty to look at and all, but really, Meredith. You could always just make an appointment." Meredith turned, torn between hating the smirk on his face and missing it.

"I did have an appointment." She noted the suggestive grin cross his face, but vanish quickly. "Not with you," Meredith clarified hurriedly. "With Addison." Mark's expression changed, first briefly to irritated, but then faded back to curiosity, gaze landing on her stomach.

"Oh, yeah. How's that treating ya?" Meredith shot him a glare. "That good, eh? How is the little guy?" Mark was leaning against the wall, watching her carefully, as if her water might break at any moment.

"Girl," Meredith corrected in her usual correcting Mark tone, knowing he probably wouldn't notice right away. "Anyway, she's fine. But she's been kicking a lot lately, which is why I was-" she sighed slightly, wrapping her arms around her stomach and letting it pass. "-checking with Addison. To make sure everything was okay."

"And it was?" Meredith nodded. She turned to walk away, satisfied that they'd at least had a normal conversation. Maybe he wasn't mad at her anymore, maybe he'd never been mad, just surprised. She couldn't blame him, really. Mark eased off of the wall and fell into step alongside her. He noted they were heading in the general direction of the elevator.

"And what about you?" He murmured as the elevator door slid open. Meredith entered, staring at him from behind the closing doors.

"I'm..." She paused, considering her answer. "Fine." The doors were about to close, but Mark stuck his arm in the way, making them jolt wide open again. He was staring at her, that same, annoying yet somewhat charming stare he got when he knew more then you thought he did.

"Meredith," he stated dully, leaving his arm in the middle of the doorway to prevent the elevator from closing, "Look who you're talking to. It's Mark Sloan, the guy you were with for a month. More then that, if you count the affairs we were having. I know you, and I know you enough to know that whenever you say fine you're not fine." Mark paused, raising his eyebrows. "But then, I guess I'm not one of the people you tell about your not being fine anymore, am I?"

Meredith tilted her head slightly to one side, surveying him. She wasn't quite sure, but he seemed keen on knowing exactly what was going on, and because she knew him, because she trusted him, she wanted to tell him. But he was Mark Sloan. Then again, she'd fallen for Mark once. This time...well, she wasn't falling for him. She'd already done that. This, right now? This was just confiding in him. After all, if they couldn't have what they used to have, they could at least be friends. Right? But they were being civil. Did she really need to push it?

"I'm fine," she repeated numbly, now leaning against the back wall of the elevator, eyes jammed shut. Meredith was pleased to hear the sound of the elevator doors closing, and not so pleased to smell his cologne up close again. One eye snapped open, and Meredith gave a dull groan. "What are you doing?"

"I know you," Mark repeated, arms crossed over his chest as he surveyed her for a moment more. "I know when you're not fine. I also know if you really don't want to tell me, you won't." He flashed her a grin and moved toward the buttons, running his hand over all of them and making the elevator stop on every floor on the way down to the lobby; he knew her shift was over. "But we'll be here a while. So if you do decide you want to talk, I'll be here."

Damn him, Meredith thought, annoyed with Mark's pride at his own actions. They passed one floor, geriatrics, and no one entered. She let her gaze dart to him for a moment, and she mirrored his smirk. He took that as a sign, and arched a brow. When the door opened once more, she made to exit, startled when an ER intern with a patient on a stretcher appeared inside, pushing her nearly against the wall. Mark laughed, making her stomach churn.

Oh, wait, that was just the baby. "Ow," Meredith muttered under her breath, relieved when the intern and his patient were out of the elevator, but the baby was still kicking. She must have been wincing, because Mark stopped his laughing and appeared at her side.

"Hey, you okay?" She nodded numbly, and he groaned in irritation. "You are so not fine." Meredith opened her mouth to reply, but found she didn't really have the words to explain this. Instead, she took one of his hands in hers, and placed it over her stomach. Mark was about to speak when he felt the baby kick, and his eyes seemed to light up, darting from Meredith's stomach back up to her face. "The baby kicked."

Meredith nodded with a sigh. "She did. Again."

Mark recoiled his hand for a moment, frowning. "She? As in, it's a girl?"

"It's a girl," she confirmed, watching his expression go from confused to upset and back to amused in roughly three seconds. His hand was back on her stomach, and he laughed when the baby kicked again.

"She's strong. Just like her mother." Mark paused, catching Meredith's gaze. "Let's hope she's not as stubborn as her mother is. Seriously, how are you?" She should've known better then to meet his gaze. It always seemed to make her weak, just not normally in this way. This time, it made her want to tell him just what was going on. And, because he was Mark, she did.

"I'm fine. Really." Her voice was softer now, easy to coax into telling the truth. Mark simply had to stare at her to get her to agree. "I've just got this feeling, you know, one of Meredith Grey's famous feelings that always seem to come true, that this kid's going to end up just like me. Or Derek. And that would be weird. Besides, I don't want her to have the same childhood I had, with my mother always gone." She paused, choosing her words very, very carefully. "And I think I might actually miss him. Again."

The first time he'd left her, Meredith had spent a lot of time in her bedroom, wallowing in self pity. Every time he'd hurt her, there had been post-breakup binges on ice cream, and George and Izzie staying up with her all night telling her it would all be okay. How could they know that? Seriously. But last time, after she had literally told him she didn't love him anymore, she had Mark. Mark had made her feel better. She could tell by the look in his eyes he wanted to try that again.

"The kid's going to grow up around a bunch of doctors. You live with O'Malley and Stevens. You've got Yang and Karev. She'll never be alone. She's going to have a huge family. I mean the whole hospital's going to be in on it." Mark paused, looking thoughtful. "And would it be such a bad thing if she ended up like you? I can personally guarantee that no woman can pull off a Derek."

Meredith was suddenly aware of how close he was standing, and that his hand was still on her stomach, running his fingertips along her abdomen under her shirt. "About missing him, I can't make that stop hurting. I can only tell you that, eventually, it'll go away." Mark leaned in close, pressing his lips to hers. It startled her at first, but it didn't feel much different then it had four and a half months ago. There was the distinct sense of longing there, that they'd both been missing each other in a way.

Just as she began to ease into it, the doors of the elevator jolted open, and Mark pulled away, looking sorry. For what, she couldn't exactly tell. "Sorry, Meredith, but the kid from before, Chance, he wanted me to stop by again. So I better go." He slipped out of the elevator at least five floors from the Pediatric Wing, leaving behind a very bemused Meredith.

As if her life wasn't screwed up enough, she was kissing in elevators. Again.