A/N I decided to make this a three-shot because I do believe Mark will react in one of these three ways after losing Lexie.
Sex
Prior to becoming a father, Mark Sloan had a reputation. A reputation of chasing anything that was female. Everyone had hoped that by becoming a father and settling down, that he would not resort to sex when things didn't go the way that he wanted them to go. That was before he lost Lexie in a tragic plane crash that nearly cost him his life as well. He was never the same Mark after that.
Oh sure he was still devoted to his daughter, Sophia, but aside from that he was back to his womanizing ways. Sex with strangers was used as a way to dull the pain that he carried with him. Pain over losing Lexie. Pain that he didn't follow her on that fateful day.
On the nights when he didn't have Sophia, he could often be found at Joe's, picking up barely legal women. He would use the scars on his chest to pick up these women and nine times out of ten they would fall at his feet. Calling him brave and strong and all sorts of things that fed his ego. The next morning he wouldn't even remember their names. He'd kick them out of this apartment without saying anything else.
At work he was much the same guy as he had been before Sloane had come around. Before Lexie had invaded his heart and before Sophia's surprise arrival. He was a manwhore. More than once he had been caught with a woman. Usually in the on call rooms, but occasionally in the supply closets. Those closest to him looked at him not with pity but with concern. Derek and Callie in particular were worried about him doing something stupid or getting himself into something that he wouldn't be able to get out of.
Mark knew that he had promised a lot of people a lot of things on that day. There had been promises said and unsaid. Yes he was failing miserably at keeping those promises, but right now, all he cared about was getting his fix. He knew everyone was reluctant to call him a sex addict, but he also knew that word had been tossed around to describe him lately. Especially in the last two months.
There were a new crop of nurses this year. Young, hot and totally naïve. In short, right up Mark's alley. Fresh out of nursing school and eager to get started. Like in the past, there were nurses that flatly rebuked his advances but then there were the nurses who he couldn't drag away fast enough for a quickie round of hot sex. He tried not to think about the fact that most of these women were only a few years older than his oldest daughter.
He wasn't worried about getting fired though because his work had not suffered despite his extracurricular activities that he was engaging in. Surely Owen knew what was going on, but he had no reason to fire Mark over it.
Callie was very firm with him. She insisted that he get tested for everything very frequently because she doubted many of these women had ever been tested themselves. So far, by some crazy miracle, he had been lucky. Of course that may have been because he was being very careful. He didn't want any more Sloans running around. Now that Lexie was gone, he didn't want to have kids with anyone else. Not ever. That didn't mean that he wanted to go completely celibate though. As much as he had loved Lexie, celibacy was never in the cards for Mark. Sex without feelings was quite different than sex with feelings.
Hitting rock bottom with his addiction was never a concern for Mark. He used sex as a means of forgetting what had happened on that day. Forgetting that he had lost the love of his life. Forgetting that he held her hand as she took her last breaths. He was getting his third…no maybe fourth sex fix of the day when his phone rang. He didn't reach for it. Instead he pounded himself further into the blonde woman he was currently screwing. Whoever it was left a message. It was Callie calling to tell him that Sophia had taken her first steps. His baby girl had taken her first steps and he had missed it. That was his rock bottom. The minute he realized that his daughter was suffering because he couldn't find a better outlet for his pain. He was done with this. Done with all of this sex…meaningless sex. His daughter needed him. He pulled out of the nameless blonde and kicked her out of his apartment. He dressed and went across the hall to see his daughter.
His anguished look was all Callie needed to see to know that Mark was done. He was done with this self-destructive pattern. She pulled Mark into her arms and hugged him just as Arizona came into the room. She too could see that Mark was done being selfish. Mark looked at Sophia who was holding on tightly to Arizona's pajama pants. He knelt down on the floor and held out his hands for her, hoping that she would come to him. Without seeming to think about it, Sophia let go of Arizona's pant leg and toddled right into his arms. Mark scooped her up and cradled her close whispering that he was so sorry and that he would try to do better. Be a better father to her because she deserved it.