A/N: So sorry for the HUGE delay. Christmas was crazy, as always. And, I've said it before, I'll say it again: I'm fifteen. I have to clean my room before I can jump on the computer. -_- Welcome to my life. Anyway, it all belongs to Shonda.

Callie's eyes fluttered open in the darkness of an apartment, and for a second, she couldn't remember where exactly she was. And then it all came rushing back like a nightmare, except good. Screaming at Arizona, packing her bags, jumping on a plane, and showing up at Mark's door.

As her sight became less hazy, she clearly saw the white ceiling above. Suddenly, she jumped to a sitting position, and then felt extremely stupid for acting so foolishly. It was only a little blond boy. Mark's little blond boy. Riley.

"Why are you sleeping on my couch?" he tilted his head to one side, probably examining her messy hair and smeared mascara, she was sure.

"Because it looked more comfortable than the floor, silly." Reaching forward, she tousled his hair and was in return given a giggle.

"It is more comfy than the floor."

"So I made a good choice." Probably the first of my life, she thought. "What time is it?"

He shrugged, "I don't know. Daddy went to get milk for the Lucky Charms. He said not to wake you up and to just watch the TV, but you're on my couch."

Scooting over, Callie made a very spacious area for his tiny body, "Sorry. Wait - you're dad just left you here alone?"

"No. He left me with you."

Oh. Yeah.

The boy suddenly looked worried, "Don't tell Daddy I woke you up. Please?"

His "Please?" sounded more like, "Pweeze?" Callie couldn't tell the poor child that she would. And there was no reason for her to, anyway. It was funny to see that a child would actually have a fear of Mark Sloan, though. Maybe it wasn't fear. Respect seemed more reasonable.

"Okay, you're secret is safe with me."

He let out a little breath of air that Callie hadn't even realized he had been holding. It was really astonishing, when she saw him more closely. The resemblance that he held to his grandfather. Nobody would ever second guess the fact that Mark was the boy's dad. There was no reason to. Riley looked even more like a Sloan than Sloane had.

"Did you wake Callie up, little man?" Mark's voice came after the sound of the apartment door opening.

The child shook his head wildly from side to side, shooting his new found friend a look of confirmation. She smiled and came to the rescue, "No. I heard the door close when you left," she lied.

"Sorry. I meant to let you sleep in. We're usually up pretty early around here."

"What time is it?" She questioned for the second time that morning, hoping that this Sloan would be able to supply her with an answer.

"It's a quarter after five."

"It's Saturday!"

"It's my day off, yes, but I take care of Georgia, Ella, and Teddy today. Every second Saturday I have Tuck, too."

"Excuse me?"

Right. Callie hadn't kept in contact with anyone, apparently. "Meredith and Derek, Owen and Cristina, Bailey, and I, take shifts with the kids. At least one of us is usually off, so it works." Mark explained, moving to the kitchen and pouring Lucky Charms then adding the milk he had purchased.

"Oh. Teddy?"

"Theodore."

"After Teddy, though? Owen and Cristina named their baby after Teddy?"

"She's dead." In that moment, he was grateful for the fact that his back was to Callie. He and Teddy had become close before she left. As friends, of course. Her death was a sore subject.

"Oh . . . I'm, uh, sorry."

Subject change, Mark decided. "Lucky Charms?"

"Is that all you have?" Callie teased.

"No. But it's the only good kind."

"Lucky Charms it is."

At a quarter to six, Owen knocked on the door with Teddy in his arms and Ella holding one hand as Georgia jumped around with her legs crossed on the opposite side.

"I have to pee, Uncle Mark!" she screeched before bolting past him and into the bathroom.

"She wouldn't go before we left," Owen explained.

Of course not. Did they ever?

"Who's picking up tonight?"

Laughing, Owen shrugged, "Whoever shows up, I guess. Nobody told me." He handed his son over to Mark, who had over the years become his friend.

"Alright. Thanks man."

"Thank you."

Now the only one to pass off was Ella. For some reason, she had a strong attachment to her Uncle Owen, and making her part ways with him was always hell.

Both of the men knew this, and both were prepared for disaster. "Are you gonna come in and play, Ella?" Mark coaxed, subconsciously knowing that his effort was useless.

"No. I'm staying with Uncle Owen." The child was determined, as always. There would be no winning.

"I've got some yummy Lucky Charms inside."

"No."

The adults exchanged a look and Mark reached in for the child under the arms. Owen detached his hand from the girl's and there as immediate turmoil. Ella began kicking and screaming, thrashing at Mark.

He enclosed the girl in a tight embrace to restrain her, but her high-pitched screaming continued. Owen nodded and turned to go, but before the door had closed, he was sure that he had heard a familiar female voice from inside.

Callie Torres.

Back in the apartment, the kids ate a breakfast of Lucky Charms, with the exception of Teddy who had baby cereal. Mark was practiced in the taming and feeding of children by now. He would consider himself a near expert in those departments.

After they ate, the older three children sat in to watch Home Alone. Teddy played with some toys on the floor. Callie had to run to the hospital to discuss a few things with the Chief. Mark found himself with time to think.

Too much time, maybe.

Having Callie within his reach after so long was driving him crazy. One of his biggest fears had always been that he would never fall out of love with her, and having her live with him wasn't about to help that. The truth was that she hadn't ever felt the same way he had. She hadn't ever wanted anything but sex and conversation. Maybe she hadn't even wanted the sex. Sometimes you take the package and only want part of it.

The phone rang. Mark picked it up without looking at the number, "Hello?"

"Sloan, we need you in here ASAP."

"Hunt? You know I've got the kids. You can't expect me to find a sitter for four kids in ten minutes."

"Torres is there, isn't she? I'm sure she's capable of watching the rugrats for a few hours. There was a three car pileup and we have it all. We need you in here, now."

"Torres? How did you . . . You didn't even come in the apartment! How many people have you told? This isn't public information, Owen."

Suddenly Mark was alert, despising the man on the opposite end of the line for whatever he might have done.

"Calm down, man. I'm not you. I don't take pleasure in gossip. Just . . . get in here and the secret is safe, alright?"

"That's blackmail!"

"It's for a good cause."

As soon as he had a dial tone, he was dialing Callie's cell number, with the hope that it hadn't changed in the few years she had fallen off the face of his earth.

"Mark? I haven't been gone for an hour. What do you want?"

Not exactly the sweet greeting he had been looking forward to.

"You need money?" He asked, in exactly the same tone.

"What kind of question is that?" A revelation, "No. Mark, I am not going to sleep with you for cash. Out of the question."

His shoulders slumped as he picked a rattle off of the floor and shook it. "I need you to watch the kids for me. I'll give you twenty dollars an hour."

Interest spiked her tone, "When?"

"Now."

"Right now?"

"I have to run in to the hospital. There was some kind of accident and I'm the only good plastics guy in Seattle."

"Alright. I'll be there in ten."

It was only after he had hung up the phone that Mark realized he had just signed four children over to Callie. It wasn't that he didn't trust her . . . it was that he didn't trust them.

A/N: Hopefully the updates will be quicker from now on :D Please review. Suggestions are welcome!