The Broken Padlock

Chapter Two

-Motionless-

Mark didn't get much sleep that night. He talked with Lexie for a while before she went home, agreeing to come back the next day after work. Mel was crying loudly in the guest room – her new bedroom – and didn't allow him to enter. He understood her feelings; he had reacted in the wrong way when Elizabeth told him he had a daughter, but it was only out of shock. Yes, he was angry, but as Elizabeth said, they couldn't change the past, as much as he wished they could. Going through Elizabeth's stuff he found other information that would help him; there were school suggestions, phone numbers to call Elizabeth's family and a social worker. Mark decided he would call after breakfast, it was too early at the moment, and he also needed to ask for a few days off.

Being a father was scary. With Sofia he knew what to do, Callie and Arizona were there and Sofia loved him; Mel didn't even like him and he had never interacted with a teenager girl who wasn't a patient of him.

Mark made pancakes – he had finally learned how to thanks to Callie – and set the table, hoping that Mel would sit with him. He was scared, yes, but also extremely excited to have another daughter, and he couldn't wait to get to know her like he knew Sofia.

It was a little after nine when he knocked on Mel's door, receiving a muffled grumble in answer. "Mel, breakfast's ready. I made pancakes and there's hot cocoa... please, come out?"

He didn't want to invade her privacy opening the door, but he stayed there, trying to catch her movements. He heard her get up and open the window, and then suddenly she opened the door and they were face to face.

"Good morning." Mark said, looking at her. She sill had a trace of tears on her face and she didn't look rested at all, but that was to be expected. Mark thought that she was beautiful. She had honey blonde hair, brown intense eyes and she looked a lot like Elizabeth, though he noticed she had something from him, too. "Are you hungry?"

The girl didn't answer, she only let out an annoyed snort and passed him by, looking around.

"The kitchen's on your left." Mark told her, following her. "There's also coffee, if you want some."

Silently, Mel poured herself some, going towards the couch.

"Aren't you going to say anything?"

Mark sighed.

"Well, I understand if you're mad. I, I lost my mother at a young age too. And I felt like I hated the universe, like it was everybody's fault. So I totally get it if you want to take it out on me, because you're right, I said bad things to your mom before she -" Mark trailed off with a grimace. He didn't want to say it. "... But I'll be here if you need me, whenever that will be. I'm going to talk to a social worker. I don't really know how these things work, but your mom wanted you to stay with me and I signed the papers, and I'm never letting anyone take you from me... unless you want to. Elizabeth's sister... I don't remember her name. Alice? Well, would you rather live with her?"

"Alice is a crappy person. I'd rather stay in foster care, though. So just call the social workers and tell them to come pick me up."

"You don't even want to give it a try?" Mark asked, hurt, feeling as if he was falling in an abyss.

Mel shook her head slightly and walked back to her room.

Mark called the social worker several times, but it always went to voice-mail. Eventually, when he was about to give up and ask Derek for advice – realizing he had to tell him about Mel – a male voice answered.

"Hello?"

Mark cleared his throat.

"Hello, this is Mark Sloan. I'm calling about, uh, Elizabeth Marshall."

"Ah, yes, you're Melanie's father, am I right?"

"I am."

"Elizabeth and I talked about it several times. Is she -"

"Last night." Mark answered. "She died last night."

"I am so sorry."

"I, I signed the papers Elizabeth gave me. Mel is here with me. But I don't know what I need to do now."

"Can you come to my office at... eleven thirty? I'll explain everything to you and Melanie."

"Sure, of course. Where?"

The man gave him directions, and Mark ended the call with a sigh. It's easy, he told himself. Easy.

Around ten thirty Mark knocked on Mel's door again, and no answer came. He knocked again, harder, calling her name. A minute later, he pushed the door open, and his heart stung when he saw her asleep on the bed, holding the beige and green scarf her mother was wearing the previous night.

He gently touched her shoulder, afraid of her reaction, but Mel didn't scream. Her eyes opened in a sudden movement, but she sat up slowly.

"We have an appointment with the social worker in a little over an hour. That means we have to leave in forty minutes, maximum. Better if earlier."

Mel sighed heavily. "I need to shower."

"Of course. There are clean towels on the radiator of the bathroom. Go ahead."

While Mel was getting ready, Mark went to Callie and Arizona's apartment. He let himself in with his key, and smiled when Sofia reached out for him from Arizona's arms.

"Hello, baby girl." Mark placed a big kiss on her temple. "How are you this morning?"

"Daddy!"

"I love you, Princess."

"How are you, Mark?" Arizona asked him. "Did Mel settle in?"

"She barely talks to me, but I hope it'll get better. We're meeting with a social worker in an hour."

"Let us know how it goes, later."

"I will." he sighed. "I really don't know what to do."

"Hey, Mark. Why don't you come here for dinner?" Callie suggested, walking in the room with only a bathrobe on.

"I'll let you know."

"How's Mel?"

"Not okay, obviously. Look, I have to go, I just came to say hi to Sofia and let you know that I'm meeting with the social worker. I'll call you later."

"Sure, and say hi to Mel from me!"

"I will... Bye, girls. Bye, Sofy, Daddy loves you!"

Mel was still in the bathroom when Mark went back to his apartment, so he turned on the TV to watch the news, but he actually didn't hear what they were saying. He kept thinking about Elizabeth, about Mel. It had all been so sudden, yet the previous night had been the longest of his life. He wasn't sure if he could be a good dad to Mel, but he surely wanted to try, to do his best. He already loved her deeply, and he didn't want some stranger to take her in, even if she said she didn't want to stay with him. He hoped she'd let him in, after a while. The first weeks were going to be the hardest for both of them, he knew that, but he wasn't going to give up. He didn't want Mel to think he didn't care. He'd cook her breakfast, show her Seattle's beauty, tell her about himself, Callie, Arizona, Sofia, Lexie. He was going to introduce Lexie to her that afternoon, and he thought that maybe Mel would appreciate the presence of a young woman. Thinking about it, Lexie's personality wasn't far from Elizabeth's, and he was sure that Mel was going to like Lexie a lot.

"I'm ready."

Mark looked up. Mel was in front of him, fully dressed and with her arms folded on her chest, clear expression of the fact that she didn't want to be there with him.

"Okay, let's go."

In the car, Mark turned on the radio to cover the pregnant silence and his nervousness. Mel took out her earphones and isolated herself, staring out of the window, away from him.

There was traffic, but eventually they got to the office, and were called in shortly after their arrival.

"Please, have a seat." the man, smiling, welcomed them. "David Harris, nice to meet you."

Mel raised her eyebrows skeptical, but, to Mark's relief, she sat down without a word.

"Elizabeth and I talked about the situation several times." Harris continued, looking at Mark. "You've never met Melanie before, am I correct?"

Mark nodded. "I didn't know she existed before last night when Elizabeth showed up at my apartment."

It was David Harris's turn to nod. "Elizabeth told me she was going to give you some papers regarding Melanie's custody and birth certificate, and I understand you signed them. May I have a look at them? – Yes, according to these you are now legally Melanie's father, and as expressed in Elizabeth's will she will stay with you. Of course I – or some colleague of mine – will have to check out a few things, such as your job, accommodation, and past, and if everything is okay we'll check on you every few months to make sure everything is alright, but since you're Melanie's biological father and Elizabeth wanted her daughter to live with you, there shouldn't be any problem."

"I'm a surgeon, I work in a hospital as a plastic surgeon, but I have flexible hours. My best friend and mother of my daughter Sofia lives across the hall with her spouse, so in case I'm needed at work Mel can stay with them. And also my girlfriend, Lexie... Mel will always have someone with her. And I took some time off work. I'll be on leave for a couple of weeks, for starters, so that Mel can settle in..."

Harris nodded again, turning to Mel. "Melanie, how do you feel about going to live with your father?" he asked.

"She doesn't really like me. I'm a stranger to her, and I understand if she feels uneasy around me. But I already lost fifteen years of her life, and I'm not really willing to spend more time away from her."

"Elizabeth planned this well, Mr. Sloan. She talked to me and other social workers, to a few attorneys... Mel can move in with you immediately. There will be a trial a few weeks from now to see how things are going and sign some more papers, but as I said, everything will certainly go smoothly. Unless there are complications, Melanie is yours."

Back in the car, Mark was relieved, but still upset about Mel's resentful silence.

"What about this: we go eat something, wherever you want, maybe McDonald's -"

"I'm vegan."

"Oh. Well, you can choose the place, really, I'll settle. And then after we eat we can go to the hospital so that you can see your mom, if you want to."

Mel looked paralyzed for a moment, but then she nodded sadly, putting away her earphones and looking straight at Mark.

"And then we can go get your stuff. Where did you live?"

"Michigan."

"Oh."

"I don't want my old stuff. I have a suitcase with my favorite things at the hotel where Mom and I spent the night."

"I'll buy you new stuff, then. I'm not good at shopping, but I'll go with you. Or you can go with Callie, if you prefer a girl. Did she seem nice to you?"

Mel shrugged.

"Well, I know plenty of women that would take you shopping in a flash, if you don't want me. There's Callie, or her wife Arizona, or Lexie, my girlfriend... she'll come by later. And Meredith, my best friend's wife. Or, me."

Mel turned back to the lateral window. "I'll think about it."

Mel had decided to wait to go shopping, but she needed a few essential things so Mark took her in a few shops to buy her a new quilt and pillow – apparently lime green was one of her favorite colors – and a coat, because hers was too thin. Since they stopped at the hotel to gather her and Elizabeth's things, and went to a supermarket to buy vegetables, they arrived at Mark's apartment loaded with bags and suitcases, and they struggled to open the door.

Panting, Mark placed some things on the couch and others on the floor, going to the kitchen to get himself some water.

"Are you thirsty, Mel?"

"Yeah..." she said hesitantly.

"Before I forget... Callie and Arizona invited us over for dinner, what do you think? I didn't give them a real answer, I wanted to check if it was okay with you, first. We'd leave whenever you want us to. Their apartment is really nice, cozy. And you'd meet your sister."

"She's my half-sister." Mel pointed out, but Mark caught a glimpse of curiosity in her eyes.

"I know."

"Did you make her in a lab or in the traditional way?" the girl asked bluntly after a while, making Mark almost choke on his water.

He cleared his throat. "In the traditional way..."

"But what about, uh, Arizona, was that her name?"

"Yes. They were broken up..."

Mel shook her head. "Sounds like a soap opera." she said, starting to walk away.

The doorbell rang, and Mark followed Mel out of the kitchen. "It should be Lexie."

Mel, who was almost in her room, stopped on the threshold, hesitant, glancing at the door that Mark was opening.

"Hi, Lex."

"Hey." she smiled at him, slightly nervous, looking past him straight at his daughter. "Hello, Mel. I'm Lexie."

"Hi." Mel forced out the short greeting.

"Come in, Lexie. How was your work day?"

"Quite boring, nothing happened and I got stuck with paperwork. What did you do today?"

Mark waited a few seconds to see if Mel would answer, but of course she didn't. "We talked with a social worker, he explained us a few things. Then we stopped by at the hospital briefly, Mel wanted to see Elizabeth..." Mel bit her lip. The visit at the morgue had worn her out. "And I took Mel to buy a few things. We got home only a few minutes ago."

"It was a long day, then. I guess you're tired, Mel." Lexie sat down on the couch, not at all restrained by Mel's silence. "Have you already met Sofia? I was told we might go over for dinner."

Mel pursed her lips. "Will she cook meat?" she eventually asked defiantly.

Lexie looked at Mark confused.

"She's vegan." he told her. "Well, she loves meat, but she usually cooks a lot of vegetables as well. I can ask her before we go over, if you want."

Mel shrugged, and Mark wasn't sure of what it meant.

"Sofia is really sweet, you'll love her." Lexie told the fifteen-year-old. "And Callie is an amazing cook, her peppers are divine. And she makes home-made pizza. You can ask her to put on it whatever you want, and she will. You'll love it, I promise."

Mel nodded slowly, reluctantly but affirmatively. "I'm hungry."

Mark smiled brightly. "It is almost dinner time, after all. Why don't we go now?"

"Good idea, I'm starving as well. The hospital cafeteria really should have better food or I'll end up starving to death. The salad I ate for lunch tasted like plastic."

Mark knocked, and Callie welcomed them with her usual smile.

"Hey, Mel! Come in, come see my house. It's like Mark's, but prettier... Zona, they're here. I told you they'd come."

Arizona stood up from the floor where she was playing with Sofia and walked towards them cheerfully. "Hi, Mel. We really didn't talk last night, I'm Arizona."

"Hi." the girl said in a low voice, looking around the room until her eyes stopped on Sofia.

"That's Sofia." Mark said proudly. "Why don't you get closer to her? She likes to play with that yellow ball."

Surprisingly, Mel walked to where Sofia was and knelt down next to her, grabbing the ball from the couch and gently throwing it to the little girl. Mark smiled, relaxing more and more. Mel was still extremely silent, especially with him, but at least she was nice and not too much rude, she just used an annoyed tone of voice when she talked, but Mark could live with that for the moment.

"Is everything okay?"

"Yes. As a first day, it wasn't as bad as I was expecting."

"I'm glad to hear you say it. I was so worried, you didn't call me and I didn't want to intrude so I didn't call either but I thought about you two all day and -"

"We managed, Cal." Mark chuckled. "Now, what's for dinner? You have three very hungry people here."

"Callie made just too many things. All he specialties, she said she was sure you would come. I hope you aren't a picky eater, Mel. Callie will love to stuff you with food."