Chapter 4 – The worst pain

Left alone in the elevator, Derek felt the need to release part of the anger he was holding inside; the one he would have wanted to release on Mark. His fist hit the inside wall of the elevator and Derek cried out in pain, shaking his hand. As the door opened, Derek stepped outside and walked ahead with a precise destination.

Once he reached in front of the Richard's Weber office, Derek barged into his office without knocking.

Surprised by Derek's sudden appearance, the Chief jumped up on his feet worried. "Derek, what happened?"

Derek had stopped a feet away from the Chief's desk, breathing rhythmically like trying to calm down. "Tell me please… just tell me that Mark Sloan won't work for Seattle Grace from now on." His voice was desperate, slightly faintly as he ran his fingers through his hair.

"I don't know what is wrong with you Derek, but he is; he just signed the contract" The Chief spoke official, unable to understand the reason for Derek's desperation at the news of Mark Sloan, the newest member of the stuff from Seattle Grace Hospital.

Pacing along the limited space from the office, Derek crushed on couch, letting his head cradle in his hands. "What is wrong with me?" He muttered with sarcasm in his tone. "What is wrong with me?" He raised his voice as he looked up at his boss. "Mark Sloan is wrong!" His face fell back in his hands.

Patiently, but already irritated, Dr. Webber stepped out of his desk and walked over to Derek. "Derek, I don't understand anything. Why is Mark Sloan the wrong thing for you?"

"He slept with my wife. He was by best friend, my brother. And he slept with my wife." Derek had reached to the point where the tears couldn't be held back anymore. His voice was broken as it sounded from between his hands.

Dr. Webber sighed irritated by the whole situation. Mark Sloan was the youngest renowned Plastic surgeon- one of the best addition for the stuff that Webber was running, but he was also a man and had to sympathize with Derek's pain. He sat down beside Derek and staring ahead patted his back fatherly. "I'm sorry, Derek." He muttered. "I didn't know and now… now there is nothing I can do."

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What Derek had paid attention to was the fact that Mark had gotten off the elevator on the OBYGYN floor.

One thing Mark wanted to do before returning to his hotel room; to talk to Addison.

It didn't take him long to see her writing down in a chart down at the nurses' station. He walked over to her and stopped leaning against the counter. "Addison"

Addison picked her look from her chart to see Mark standing right beside her. As if something had stung her in back, Addison jumped upright. "Mark! What are you still doing here?" She asked, cautiously looking around them.

Mark smiled. "I signed the contract with the Chief Webber, so starting tomorrow will be co-workers…again."

Addison's eyes grew huge in surprise as she pushed her glasses up over her head, "You must be kidding me." She muttered fearfully.

Mark's previous smile faded and he turned to lean his back against the counter, his stare lost somewhere ahead in a blank space. "Derek wasn't happy to hear that either" He muttered under his breath.

"Derek already knows?" Addison could understand his mutter and gasped panicked. "You shouldn't have come here, Mark!" Her tone was now pleading, almost crying. "We are trying really hard to make our marriage to work again; he gave up on …his girlfriend and… we are trying Mark, but with you here…"

Mark looked at her confused cutting her words off as if whatever she wanted to say next was no longer important. "His girlfriend?" He asked her shocked. He wouldn't have expected to that. Derek the faithful partner to have an extra-conjugal affair, not even in these circumstances, Derek would have never slept with another room as long as Addison was carrying his last name.

"His precious little Meredith" Addison answered bitterly, not knowing that shock she would produce to Mark,

"What? Meredith?" Mark's voice was faint as he asked for confirmation. His Meredith? This would be too much.

Addison confirmed with a nod. "Meredith Grey. She also works here."

Mark shifted his gaze ahead again, contemplating on the things he had found out. "So…that is why he reacted like that. And that is why his threat was so… cruel.

"So you already met Meredith, huh? Everybody gets to know Meredith… very fast." Addison grumbled jealous.

"Addison, do you think that Derek still is having an affair with Meredith?" Mark seemed to have missed Addison's comment upon Meredith and looked at her with curiosity.

The two nurses that were at the nurses' station, pretending to look both over the same paper, but in reality they were listening Addison and Mark's discussion had soon caught Addison's attention. Not wishing for audience, Addison took Mark aside and led him out of the earshot of anyone curious of her private life.

"All I know Mark is that we are trying really hard to put our marriage back on track and you … here… you should have stayed in New York." Addison said.

Mark shook his head refusing her words. "No, I couldn't stay there any longer. I had to come here to clear up everything." Slowly, he ran his fingers through her red hair, brushing it till down its tips. "You were my family back in New York."

Addison pushed his hand out of her hair. "It's over, Mark. You and I are over."

"But it seems that you and Derek are also over" Mark stated knowingly.

"We owe our marriage another chance and we'll give it, so step back." With calm, Addison turned on her heels and walked away.

Pain was the expression painted on his face. He knew it wouldn't be easy to convince his former friends of how sorry he was for interfering in their marriage, but now there was one more person involved in this story. Meredith. His Meredith.

What was his worst pain now? The rejection of his former friends or Meredith being Derek's sweetheart?

… His Meredith being Derek's sweetheart.

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