Derek and Mark sat in the chief's office. Richard Webber had been called out so he had left the two men alone as long as they promised they would behave themselves, which they did. The pair of them sat in silence, with ice packs on their hands; their cuts and bruises had already been seen to.

"I'm sorry." Derek breathed out, breaking the silence.

Mark looked up at him surprised. They had fought before but neither ego had ever apologised to each other. They would usually have stropped for a little bit and then just carry on like nothing happened. In fact, the only time either them really apologised was when Derek found out about him and Addison. "You are?"

Derek nodded. "I shouldn't have hit you."

"Well you're still talking to me, in my opinion, you took it a lot better than I thought." Mark said, smiling slightly.

"Took what better than I thought? Why wouldn't I talk to you? You didn't call me a murder." Derek muttered.

"What? Who called you a murder?"

"I lost a patient today."

"The pregnant one? Derek, with all due respect, we lose a lot of patients on the table, it happens. Was the baby okay?"

Derek nodded. "Dr. Davis did an emergency C-Section so at least one of them could live. Her husband got hysterical when we told him and he called me a murderer. It got to me Mark. I may have got too close to that patient but I did everything I could possibly do to save her but I couldn't save her. I promised her, him, I promised them both, that she would be okay, that she would make it."

"That doesn't make you a murderer, it makes you a neurosurgeon. You're a human doctor who can't perform miracles no matter how much you say otherwise."

Derek smiled slightly. "I think you're the one who thinks he can perform miracles."

"Ah see, that's where you're mistaken, I can perform miracles."

Derek eventually let out a laugh. "In your dreams man."

They both fell silent for a minute or two before Mark piped up. "Did that sound a bit gay to you?"

"No…"

"Dude, it sounded a little gay."

Derek just shook his head and laughed at him before remembering what Mark had said in answer to his apology. "Oh yeah, why did you think you deserved being punched in the face?"

Mark looked at him guiltily. "Erm, maybe because I told you I'm seeing Lexie. Don't look at me like that, you saw it with your own eyes." He commented when Derek's head shot up.

"Oh, you are?"

"Yeah. I told you and you swung your fist at me so I put 2 and 2 together and clearly got 5."

Derek laughed. "I'm not going to lie, I'm a little pissed but that's not why I swung at you. I didn't mean for that to happen, I just kind of lost control."

"Forget about it. I understand." Mark sympathized. "I know you told me to stay away from her and I tried honestly. She came to my hotel room and said "teach me" and started taking her clothes off and although a part of me wanted her, the other part was telling me to tell her to go – Derek why are you smiling at me? You're meant to be pissed."

Derek had a massive smile on his face and was laughing at the his friend ramble on. "How long have you been keeping this from me?"

Mark shrugged. "Too long. Lexie kept telling me to tell you but I just thought you'd, well, do this -" he pointing to the cuts on his face "-again. This must be the third time you punched me and always over a girl."

Derek laughed. "That's true, first Addison, then Meredith and now Lexie. Well to be honest I wouldn't have punched you over Lexie."

"You wouldn't?"

Derek shook his head. "No. Like I said, I'm a little pissed but only cause Meredith is not going to be happy about it and she's going to take it out on me. Listen as far as I'm concerned, you guys are two consenting adults who can do what you like – or who you like." He teased.

Mark laughed. "Thanks."

"I saw that kiss, hell, you've made a few nurses quite their jobs and there are a few jaws that had been dislocated from the shock but nothing that can't be fixed."

Mark laughed in agreement then a comfortable silence fell. Derek looked over at his friend who looked content with himself for the first time in a while. His thoughts wondered over to Zoey as she was the one person he wanted to talk to about everything that had happened that day. Mark glanced over and noticed that he suddenly seemed a bit down. "Everything okay?" he asked.

Derek was about to tell him but stopped himself and wondered if it was the right time to mention Zoey. "Yeah everything's fine."

Mark gave him a look that said I don't believe you. "Yeah okay." He said sarcastically. "I know you Derek. What's up?"

Derek sighed. "I miss Zoey. I know she's probably the last person you want to talk about but I miss seeing her everyday and I miss being able to talk to her every day."

"You can still talk to her. She hasn't left Seattle you know, just the hospital. There's such thing as the telephone - great invention."

"Not quite the same thing as seeing her here in the hospital and being able to talk to her whenever."

Mark nodded but stayed silent. Since the whole going public thing with Lexie he hadn't thought about Zoey. It was the first time in a long time. His faced suddenly dropped when he remembered the look in her eyes when she told him what she thought of him. They were full of pain, hurt and worst of all, hate. "Yeah, well, I'm going to be honest, I miss her too, always have, just for a completely different reason. I never told you this but the day she told me how old she really was, I was going to tell her I loved her. She's the first and only girl I have ever loved."

"Oh really? What about Lexie?"

Mark sighed. "I care about Lexie a lot and until Zoey came back, I thought I did love her. I suppose I just forgot what it meant to actually fall in love with someone until I saw Zoey again. What I feel for Lexie isn't far off to what I felt for Zoey it's just … I don't know, they're two completely different people."

Derek nodded. "What you felt for Zoey was stronger than what you feel for Lexie."

"Yeah, I suppose you could say that. I mean, I had to sneak around with Lexie a lot because I was frightened of upsetting someone like you or Meredith, no matter how much it was upsetting Lexie for not telling you guys. Even when I thought Zoey was 21, I was more than happy to be with her knowing there was a 12-year age gap. Do you know what scares me? Even when I found out she was 17 I didn't care and that were a 15-year age gap."

"What are you getting at? Why are you comparing the age gap with upsetting me and Meredith?" Derek asked, wondered how long he had been bottling all this up for.

"People would have probably frowned upon the age gap and it would probably cause a lot of trouble for Zoey, especially from the likes of her parents or friends but I would have done anything in my power to make sure that wouldn't happen. I didn't tell you about Lexie because I was afraid of how you might react and despite it upsetting Lexie, I still didn't tell you. What I'm trying to say is that when I was with Zoey, I was a stronger person." Mark stopped to catch his breath. He couldn't believe he was admitting all this. He didn't even know he felt like that until he said it. "I want to be that person again but I want to know if it's only Zoey who makes me that person."

"You need to find that out before you hurt Lexie. Going public now really wasn't the best idea was it?"

"I only did that to make Lexie happy. She looked so sad and a feeling just washed over me and I had to do something to make it right."

"So you decided to go public despite realising you may have found some feelings for another girl?"

"Shit! I did do that didn't I!"

Derek laughed. "Yep you did."

Mark looked up at him. "This isn't funny." He then sighed. "What does it matter? Zoey doesn't want anything to do with me anyway."

"You don't know that. Have you even tried talking to her about all this?"

"I do know that Derek. Do you know what she said to me before she got discharged from here? She said and I quote you're nothing but a womaniser who thinks with his dick rather than his brain. You're a man-whore who will stick it anywhere regardless of who he might hurt."

"Wow, she got you spot on." He said before seeing the look on Mark's face – devastation. "Well that answers my question."

"What question?"

"Are you over Zoey?"

Mark said nothing, confirming Derek's question.

"You need to sort that out. I love Zoey and I would like nothing more than for the two of you to get back together but Lexie doesn't deserve that."

"Yeah I know. Oh and don't think I didn't hear that comment you made before."

"What comment?"

"You said she got me spot on. Derek she didn't. I'll admit that's who I was but I'm not that person anymore. I suppose you could say otherwise due to sleeping with Callie in On-Call rooms, not to mention every female nurse on the floor, but since I've been with Lexie, I haven't so much as looked at another girl in the same way, as I would have normally. The thing is, I want Zoey to see that I'm not that man who left her sobbing in the middle of a restaurant anymore. I want her to see that I use my brain before my dick. I don't want her to hate me like she does and I don't want her to look at me in that way again. I don't neccessarily want to get back together with her, I don't expect to get back together with her. I just want her to see that I'm a changed man."

Derek nodded. "Show her then." He said simply.