Mainly background changes... Nothing big at all. The next chapter, however, will be brand-spanking new. Yay!

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After eighteen hours of intense labor, their friends and family have gone home for the day and Addison is finally getting some well-deserved sleep. Mark, however, can't seem to keep his eyes closed for more than a few seconds at a time. All he can think about is the way it felt when his son was placed in his arms for the first time. Never, not in his whole life, did he think he could fall in love with something or someone so quickly.

With a deep sigh, Mark kicks the covers off of himself and kicks his legs over the side of the cot that had been set up in Addison's room for him. He rubs his eyes with his palms, takes a deep breath, and pushes himself to his feet. After pulling on a scrub top, he checks on Addison, who is sleeping peacefully with a grin on her face, before heading to the hallway.

He finds that his feet have automatically brought him to the nursery window. He spots Kyle in the very center of the nursery and silently taps the glass with the pads of his fingers. The baby smacks his lips together and yawns his tiny baby-yawn and Mark grins.

He's only staring at the perfection that is his son for a few minutes before he hears his name being called behind him. Mark turns and groans as a tall, leggy blonde makes her way to him.

Mark has known Jess Wilder since the day she was born; literally. She is the daughter of his father's business partner and, while she is eight years his junior, has always had a raging crush on him. It was annoyingly cute when he was a teenager, but he didn't really pay her any attention until the summer before he began his residency. He'd come home, caught her lounging around his pool, and couldn't believe that the little girl who'd followed him around company Christmas parties had turned into such a beautiful young woman.

So he pulled his usual routine and had her even more wrapped around his finger. The only problem was that she never really unwound. Even ten years later she still acted as if they'd been together for seven years, not just seven days.

"Jess," Mark mutters as she saunters up to him. "How have you been?"

"Okay," she says and smiles up at him from under her long eyelashes. "Better now that I've run into you."

Mark chuckles nervously. "And your parents?"

"Daddy just had surgery on his hip," Jess tells him. "Nothing major. He'll be released tomorrow."

"That's nice." Mark smiles forcefully and angles his body to the nursery. "Well, it was nice seeing you."

"That's all?" Jess asks, her whole demeanor changing. "You don't have anything to say to me?"

"Not really," Mark shakes his head, "no."

Jess narrows her eyebrows. "What are you doing up here anyway? Isn't this a little too cutesy for the reigning king of plastics? Shouldn't you be out there somewhere fucking an intern or something?"

Mark studies her for a moment before nodding at the glass. "See the boy in the center?"

Jess steps up to the glass, scans the room for a few seconds, and nods.

"That's my son," Mark informs her. "Kyle Avery Montgomery-Sloan."

"Oh." Jess looks up at him, surprised. "When did... Montgomery?"

Mark nods.

"Wait. Like Forbes-Montgomery?" Jess asks, confused. "Wasn't she married to-"

Mark nods again. "Yeah."

"But she's your best friend's wife," Jess says before realization dawns on her. "Oh. That's why he skipped town. Wow Mark. That's low."

"I know." Mark sighs.

"Does he know?"

"About Kyle?"

Jess nods.

"No, not yet." Mark shakes his head sadly.

"You wish he did though?" Jess asks, surprisingly sympathetic.

"I... Yeah." Mark frowns. "I always thought we'd celebrate the birth of my first child together, you know? I mean, it's not like we stayed up gossiping about what to name our unborn children or anything... But still." Mark's frown deepens. "And I have no idea why I'm telling you this."

"Because it's good to be able to talk to someone who isn't so close to the situation," Jess tells him. She nods in Kyle's direction. "So what's up with him? Are you just sharing a kid or are you and Montgomery staying together?"

"We moved in together a couple of weeks after Derek left," Mark admits. "Hopefully I won't mess it up."

Jess smiles and murmurs. "Hopefully."

"What?" Mark asks, noticing the look on Jess' face.

"You've grown up Mark," Jess says with a shrug. "I'm happy for you."

"Thanks Jess." Mark chuckles.

"Well I..." Jess jerks her thumb behind her. "I should probably get going now. I promised I'd be there when Daddy wakes up."

"It was good talking to you Jess," Mark says and gives her a one-armed, incredibly stiff hug. "And I mean that. When you first walked up I was-"

"Not thrilled?" Jess guesses.

Mark nods sheepishly.

"You know," Jess says and wiggles her jewel encrusted ring-finger in the air, "you're not the only one to do some growing up. I'm a little too old for crushes now."

"Obsessions," Mark says before he can stop himself.

"Alright, obsessions," Jess says with a giggle. "Look, anyone with eyes can see that you're crazy about them. Just... Don't mess up your chances, okay?"

A half hour later Mark has finally torn himself away from the nursery and has wandered back into Addison's room to find her sitting up, waiting for him. She smiles as he settles himself on the edge of her bed and takes her hand in his.

"You went to see him?" Addison asks, smiling dreamily.

"I did." Mark licks his lips. "I ran into an old friend while I was out there."

"Oh?"

Mark nods. "Yeah. An old girlfriend actually."

"Oh."

"She told me not to screw up."

Addison snorts.

"And she told me that I've finally grown up," Mark says, eyeing Addison. "And you know what?"

"What?" Addison asks, grinning.

Mark chuckles as he runs his fingers along Addison's cheek. "I think she may be right."