Mark Sloan sits by the hotel pool, scanning the crowd of people..

"Ah, Monaco," says the dark-haired woman sunbathing beside him. "This was a great idea for Spring Break. Thank you for inviting me."

"I thought you'd like it. Need a refresh on your drink?"

Sofia holds up an almost full margarita glass. "I'm good, Dad."

"Okay."

She adjusts the straps of her bikini and smirks as she watches Mark scan the crowd. "Enjoying the view?"

"Not bad, not bad at all," he grins.

Mark's eyes go to a slim girl, whose back is facing him. His eyes follow her legs up to her brief turquoise bikini. Her hair is hidden by a huge hat. She turns around – and grins widely at him.

"Oh shit," Mark mutters, standing up as Mallory Hunt squeals and runs over.

"Hi Mark!" She flings her arms around his neck and kisses his cheek. "Thank you so much for the ring and this trip, I really appreciate it."

"You're welcome," he chuckles, very carefully giving her a brief and chaste hug. "Glad I could help. Where's Rob?"

"Getting our drinks." Mallory turns to Mark's companion. "Hi Sofia! Nice to see you again!"

"Likewise." The tan beauty grins. "You were a foot shorter when I last saw you. And now look at you, all grown up and getting married."

"Hey!" They turn to see Rob Shepherd approaching with drinks, smiling widely. "Good to see you again, Sofia. And thanks again for this trip, Mark."

"Any time," the older man smiles. "Rob, you're looking like an adult now."

"It's all her fault," Rob chuckles, handing a drink to Mallory. "She's making me all responsible and stuff."

"Guilty!" Mallory beams as she holds up her glass. "I propose a toast … to the admissions committee of UCLA's Medical School. Who as of yesterday have graciously accepted Rob into their fine educational institution."

"All right!" Mark grins at Rob, who nods. "To UCLA!"

They hold up their glasses. "To UCLA!"

"And thanks again to Mark, who put in a few good words to his friends there," Rob acknowledges.

"Bah," Mark says. "It was more like, I put a couple of implants into one of my good friends."

Mallory grins fiendishly. "Whatever you did, thanks."

"You know, you could move in with me." Mark looks hopefully at the young couple. "I have a big house and it's quiet now without Candi and her little dogs. Sofia is going to stay with me while she starts her internship at Cedars-Sinai."

Rob and Mallory look quickly at each other. "We like having our own place," Mallory says, taking Rob's hand.

"Dad!" Sofia pokes his arm. "They'll be newlyweds. They're going to want their privacy. I promise that I'll be noisy."

Mark chuckles. "Okay then."

Cristina walks into the living room, raising an eyebrow to find Diego splayed out on a couch, reading a book. Owen is impatiently pacing back and forth.

"Could this be our teenage son, out in the open?" She smirks at Owen. "Are you making him spend quality time with us?"

Diego looks up and grins. "Chloe's going to be here any minute. Mickey picked her up from the airport."

"So?"

"So Dad is getting ready to meet Mickey," Diego explains patiently, pointing to his father. "I don't want to miss that."

"Oh. Me neither." Cristina takes a seat.

"I'm in the room," Owen sighs. "I can hear you."

"Uh huh." Cristina smirks. "Look at you, you're in full papa bear mode."

"I'm just looking forward to Chloe being home," he grins. "And, this Mickey already has one strike against him, not driving her home from New Year's Eve."

"Because Chloe took care of herself, rather than rely on him," Cristina retorts. "And she istwenty-two years old, Owen."

They turn at the sound of a car door outside. Owen bounds towards the front door and yanks it open. Cristina exchanges an amused glance with Diego before standing up and going to the foyer.

"Thanks Dad!" Chloe hauls her suitcase inside, then closes the front door behind her. She hugs her father, who is looking surprised. "What?"

"Isn't he coming in to say 'hi'?" Owen asks, pointing to the door.

"Dad!" Chloe rolls her eyes, turning to hug her mother in greeting.

"But he-" Owen is silenced by Cristina's hand over his mouth.

"He can come in and say 'hi' when he picks me up tonight," Chloe sighs. "And nice to see you too, my flight was fine, thanks for asking."

Her father smiles sheepishly. "I'm happy you're home, dear Chloe, and I'm glad you had a good flight. May I take your suitcase up to your room for you?"

"If you like, kind sir," she grins.

JoJo Shepherd pretends to ignore the admiring stares as she saunters into the lounge. She walks through the room with a certain swagger, thankful she'd thought to change into her best little black dress. She makes her way to a booth in the back, where a pugnacious man with close-cropped hair is waiting for her.

"Hey." Alex Karev looks up and gestures for her to join him. "You look great."

"As do you." She slides onto the seat across him, as he slides a martini towards her. "Thank you for meeting with me. And nice place."

Alex shrugs. "It's Spring Break, I wanted to go to a place that wasn't crammed with drunk kids. I'll see them in nine months when they're ready to give birth."

"Don't tell me you're getting old," JoJo smirks, tossing her blonde hair over a shoulder. "It's not like you've never partied with me and my girlfriends."

"True," he grins. "But a room full of sweaty frat boys who spill beer on me loses its appeal."

JoJo smiles as she sips from her martini.

"So why are we here?" Alex asks. "Why are you staying in Miami over Spring Break when you could jet off to anywhere you want?"

JoJo makes a face. "I can't go anywhere with cancelled credit cards. My parents cut me off."

Alex chortles. "Oh ho! So you need money. Did Mark cut you off too?"

"I'm not asking you for money." JoJo smiles coyly. "Can't we just get together to catch up? We live in the same city but we hardly see each other."

"If it's not money, it's your grades," Alex snorts. "Are you failing? Want to copy one of my old term papers?"

"But I do like spending time with you," she says, sliding her fingers around the rim of her glass. "And okay, maybe school isn't going well. And you are very good friends with the Dean …"

"We broke up last week," the older man laughs. "You do not want me to plead your case with her."

"Oh." JoJo purses her lips, before dropping her cool demeanor. "Well that sucks. For you, I mean."

"What's going on?" Alex asks quietly. "You're a smart kid."

"I'm … just trying to figure some things out," she mutters, looking down at her manicured nails. "I've got a really heavy course load this semester and I'm behind on some papers and I don't know how I'm ever going to catch up. And my parents cut me off because I'm about to get kicked out."

"You want to catch up, you should be on campus, working your ass off, instead of flirting with me," he advises.

"I am not flirting with you," JoJo protests.

"You think I don't know when a girl pretties herself up to ask a favor?" Alex asks, before drinking from his glass. "Come on, JoJo. Don't try to play me."

JoJo drinks from her martini glass, studiously avoiding Alex's gaze.

"I'm just trying to be a friend here," Alex says quietly. "If you're finding pre-med hard, you're not going to last in med school. Maybe you ought to consider your options."

"I have too many options as it is," she sighs, before taking another drink.

"What does that mean?" Alex watches her carefully. "You can talk with me, Jo. I'm not going to rat you out to your folks."

She shakes her head, closing her eyes. "I'm stressed out. Sorry. This was a mistake. You're right, I should just go home and write a damn paper."

He reaches out and grabs one of her hands. "Or you could tell me what's really wrong. You … in trouble? You're not pregnant, are you?"

"No!" She half-smiles, glancing at him. "No, I am not pregnant."

"Well that's good," Alex nods. "Hey, is it true that Hurricane Mallory is pregnant?"

"She's not," JoJo says. "That was just a rumor. Because they got engaged so fast."

"You seemed pretty sure about it when you e-mailed me," Alex says, releasing her hand.

She shrugs. "I guess they really did just fall in love and decide things that quickly."

"I hear that happens." Alex watches a shadow fall over her face. "Who are you in love with, JoJo?"

"I'm not in love," she scoffs, looking away again.

"Really." Alex notices the tension in her body language and switches tactics. "So, you're going to be the hot single bridesmaid at the wedding? Be prepared to fight off a lot of men."

She grins, then. "I'm going to be the hot Best Woman, if you can believe that."

"Really?"

"Uh huh. I'm going to wear a black version of the bridesmaid dress and stand by Rob and then I have to give a speech at the reception."

"Interesting." Alex smiles at her. "It's nice, that you're all going to be one big happy family. I would never have predicted that when I met your mom and Cristina. Or when Hurricane Mallory destroyed your birthday party."

JoJo rolls her eyes. "Indeed. Hey, how did you hear about that?"

"I was there. I was in town, trying to hook up with a nurse whose kid was invited," Alex grins. "Stories like that are why I've never become a parent."

"Good call. Kids are horrible little things. And they're sticky."

Cristina is working on her laptop when Diego walks downstairs and flops down on a couch. "Two sightings in one day," she grins. "My my."

"Like I'm going to miss the Papa bear show." Diego pauses. "Do you think he'll interrogate any girls I bring over?"

"Worse," Cristina tells him frankly. "Not only will he quiz them mercilessly, he'll be expecting you to be the ultimate gentleman and your behavior will be under scrutiny at all times."

Diego's face falls. "Oh crap." He pauses. "Hey, that's sexist."

They both look up as Chloe walks into the living room.

"Mom?" Chloe stands in front of her. "How do I look?"

Cristina scrutinizes her appearance. Chloe is dressed in jeans with a beige shirt over a t-shirt. "Undo a button."

"Really?" Chloe gestures helplessly before unbuttoning her shirt. "That's it?"

Her mother sighs. "Okay, the beige is boring. Go look in my closet or Mallory's for something with color."

"And take your hair out of the ponytail," Diego adds. He grins as the women turn and look at him. "What?"

"Fine," Chloe mutters, releasing her hair, letting her dark curls tumble down. "How is my make-up?"

"You could use some eyeliner," Cristina says. "And when did you turn all girly?"

"I don't get dates when I'm not girly," her daughter sighs.

Diego scoffs. "Mickey asked you out the first time when you weren't exactly girly. "

Chloe looks stricken. "What does that mean?"

"Sorry," Diego says. "Your usual self is casual and just fine and I will shut up now."

Cristina smirks. "Your brother is trying to say that this Mickey apparently does not care how girly you are, which is a good thing. You shouldn't feel you have to dress up for him."

"I just want to look nice," her daughter mutters. "I don't dress up that much, you know."

"All right," Cristina says, standing up. "Come upstairs and we'll go over your make-up and find something colorful."

Diego watches them go upstairs with amusement, before picking up a magazine. He looks up again as Owen emerges from the basement.

"He's not here yet Dad," Diego says. "Mom is fixing Chloe's make-up."

"Okay." Owen sits down on the couch, rubbing his hands expectantly. "So what are you up to tonight?"

"I'm going to watch you torture Mickey," his son grins. "I mean, I also share your concern that my fair sister is dating a gentleman of taste and refinement."

"I'm not that bad," Owen protests.

"Oh yes you are."

Owen shakes his head. Then he leaps up as the front doorbell is rung. Diego puts down the magazine, ready to watch the scene unfold.

Owen opens the front door and sees a brown-haired man in a scruffy jacket. "Hey," the young man says. "Is Chloe ready?"

"Just about," Owen replies, sticking out his hand. "I'm Dr Owen Hunt, her father."

"Hey." Mickey shakes his hand, then looks quizzical as Owen stands there. "Are you going to let me in?"

"Come in," Owen says, stepping aside. "I assume you're Mickey?"

"Yeah," Mickey shrugs. He waves to Diego. "Hey kid."

"Hey," Diego grins, watching his father slowly scrutinize Mickey from head to toe. "You still driving that Honda?"

"Uh huh."

"What are your plans for the evening?" Owen asks.

"I dunno," Mickey says. "Probably a movie."

Owen smiles patiently. "I understand that you're an electrical engineering student?"

"Uh huh." Mickey pulls out his phone and checks something. Diego stifles a laugh as Owen crosses his arms across his chest and frowns.

"Why don't you take a seat so we can talk?" Owen suggests to Mickey, gesturing to the living room. "While Chloe gets ready."

"Huh?" Mickey looks up from his phone.

"I'd sit down if I were you," Diego smiles at him. Mickey finds a seat on the couch.

"Now what do you see yourself doing when you graduate?" Owen asks the young man, sitting directly across from him.

"Um." Mickey's eyes grow wide. "I want to design light shows for rock concerts. I do some work for local clubs and bands."

"Light shows." Owen nods solemnly. "There are some interesting things going on with medical technology and –"

"Dad!" Chloe comes downstairs and scowls at Owen. "Stop that! We're going to be late if you interrogate him." She tugs at the colorful scarf now knotted around her neck.

Owen smiles innocently. "I was just making small talk while you got ready."

"Owen," Cristina warns, as she walks down the stairs. "Leave him alone."

"Fine." Owen spreads his hands in surrender. "Chloe, do you have your phone?"

"I do and it's charged," she sighs, getting her coat from the closet as Mickey makes his escape from the living room. "Good night, everyone."

"Have a good evening," Owen replies, watching them leave. He stands by the front door, watching them until Mickey's car leaves the driveway. Then he turns around and sighs.

"Well?" Cristina asks, taking a seat.

Owen shakes his head. "Strike two was not carrying in her luggage earlier. Strike three was not introducing himself to me or you, and he barely made eye contact, and he didn't help her with her coat or hold the door open for her."

She chuckles. "That means he was born in this century, Owen."

"That means she can do better," he replies, sitting down beside her.

Cristina turns to their son. "Diego? What did you think?"

Diego shakes his head. "I didn't get a good vibe from him. And he drives a crap car."

"What does his car have to do-" Cristina sighs as the men exchange patronizing looks.

"The car says everything about a guy," Diego explains patiently. "His car says he doesn't put effort into maintenance and rust protection. That means he's not into long-term thinking."

"Well, who said Chloe is in this for the long term?" Cristina replies. "She's just going out with a guy she's dated a couple of times."

"She should always go out with someone who will take care of her–" Owen begins, stopping as Cristina chucks a pillow at him. He laughs and tosses it aside.

Diego stands up as his phone rings. "I'll take this upstairs," he tells his parents, making his escape.

"Old-fashioned gentlemen are hard to come by," Cristina tells Owen as he sits down beside her. She swings her legs onto his lap. "Kind sir, would it be too much to ask you to rub my feet?"

"Ha ha," he chuckles, slipping her socks off. "This is what I'm talking about."

Cristina smiles as his hands get to work, applying just the right pressure in just the right spots.

"Don't …" Cristina sighs. "Are … are you concerned about the fact that Chloe rarely goes on dates?"

"You mean, am I concerned that her whole life appears to revolve around medicine?"

"That's one way of putting it." She looks at him quickly. "I think we should be encouraging her to get out more, not scaring away her suitors."

He chuckles. "Really? You're advocating a break from studying?"

Cristina sighs. "I want her to have fun apart from medicine, okay? She hasn't finished pre-med and already she doesn't have a life."

Owen continues to rub her feet. "Yeah, I see it too."

"What was it this guy told me that one time?" Cristina muses. "'Mistakes are how you learn'." She looks at Owen. "I don't think Chloe is making enough mistakes. Maybe Mickey is a mistake, but he's her mistake."

"Fine. I will try to rein in my protective instincts, which I really don't think are that bad." He smiles.

The air cools as Tuesday night falls in Monaco. Mark and his party are directed to their table in the hotel.

"How is the wedding planning going?" Sofia asks, after the waiter takes their orders.

"Good," Mallory replies. "Right now, we're just waiting for the RSVPs to come in so we can figure out the catering and bartending numbers."

Mark looks at Rob. "It'll be good to catch up with your family. Who's coming?"

He shrugs. "All of my aunts and their families, and Grandma Carolyn."

"Ah." Mark pauses. "So … Lexie will be there?"

"I see what you're doing," Rob chuckles. "Lexie hasn't RSVPed yet, so I don't know if she's bringing a date."

Mallory looks at Mark curiously. "Lexie, huh? I suppose you must know her from Seattle Grace."

"I was in a relationship with her," Mark confesses. "A couple of times."

"That's right!" Sofia puts down her drink and leans closer. "Mom told me that but I don't know the whole story."

"Tell us everything," Mallory insists.

"Oh man." The older man smiles. "We, um, started dating when she was an intern."

"You perv!" Mallory laughs. "You must have been old enough-"

"I wasn't that old," Mark says. "Okay. She came on to me, so really, she was the perv."

"I know the type," Rob deadpans.

"Anyways, things were going great, having a younger girlfriend was, how shall I put it … invigorating. We had different ideas about when to get married and stuff, but we stayed together. She moved in after a while. Then Sloan showed up, pregnant."

"Ah, big sister Sloan." Sofia rolls her eyes. "That must have been fun."

"I've heard of her," Mallory says. "Your first daughter."

"Right. I wanted Sloan to keep the baby because I was ready for a family then." Mark looks sorrowful. "Lexie wasn't ready for that. With Lexie and me, bad timing, bad communication drove us apart. She and I broke up, Sloan gave up the baby and disappeared, I kind of dated other women, but I was still in love with Lexie. We finally did get back together, but then Callie discovered she was pregnant with Sofia here. That eventually broke us up again."

"Whoa." Sofia stares at her father. "Weren't you both single when you knocked Mom up?"

"Yes," Mark assures her. "It's just that Lexie was a little tired of me producing kids out of the blue."

"Oh, I thought you had an arrangement with Callie to have babies with her." Mallory says, puzzled.

"Not at first," Mark chuckles. "But since we did so well with Sofia, Callie wanted me to father her next child, too. And to make Arizona and my wife at the time happy, we went through a doctor. Not as fun, but definitely less volatile."

"But poor Lexie," Sofia says.

Mark takes Sofia's hand. "It was complicated enough with your mom and me and Arizona. I don't blame Lexie for walking away."

"And that was it?" Mallory asks.

Mark nods. "Even after I married Tori and moved to LA, Lexie and I would run into each other again and again. But any time that I was single, she was involved with someone else and vice-versa."

"So she's The One that got away?" Sofia asks.

Mark shrugs. "I used to think that, but I'm not sure anymore that she was The One."

"Aw." Mallory smiles sweetly at Mark. "Well, maybe you'll have good timing when you both come to the wedding. Maybe you'll decide once and for all that she is The One. We could put you at the same table at the reception?"

"Uh oh," Rob coughs. "Don't start matchmaking."

"What?" Mallory frowns.

"My parents are hoping Lexie brings a date," Rob confesses. "They think Mark is a bad influence."

"Ha!" Mark grins. "As well they should, after our history." He smiles gently at a puzzled Mallory. "Don't worry about me, young lady. With my kids and my grandchildren, I have plenty of family in my life. I also have three ex-wives that I'm paying alimony to. I'm okay without The One."

"I just want you to enjoy yourself at our wedding," she smiles back. "You're Awesome Uncle Mark. And you paid for the ring, after all."

"I'll be fine, Mallory. I'll drink lots of liquor and dance with pretty girls. That means I expect at least one dance with you. Now bring me up to speed on Seattle Grace gossip. What do you know?"

Early Friday morning, Chloe quietly enters the Hunt house, carefully shutting the front door shut behind her. She slips off her jacket and her boots, then tiptoes into the living room.

"How was your date?" Cristina asks as she walks out of the dark kitchen.

"AHHHHHHHH!" Chloe screams and jumps back, flailing. "MOM!"

Cristina laughs and flips on a light. "Shhhhh!"

Chloe gasps and stares at her, wide-eyed. Cristina snickers and shakes her head, as someone turns on the light over the stairs.

"Is everything okay?" Owen sleepily asks from the second floor.

"I scared Chloe in the dark, that's all," Cristina assures him. "Go back to bed."

"Okay. I'll leave the light on."

Cristina nods and sits down on the couch. She grins at Chloe, who is glaring at her. "Now come here and tell me about the date."

"I don't think so," her daughter says frostily. "Why are you up? You weren't waiting to interrogate me, were you?"

Cristina snorts. "No, I just got home from the hospital. Sit."

"Fine." Chloe flops down in a chair and sighs. "But I'm not telling you anything."

"Uh huh. Not even if I remind you what I told you years ago?"

"I don't need the sex talk again," the young woman grumbles. "I am about to graduate pre-med, you know."

"I know," Cristina smirks. "I am reminding you that you can tell me things that you don't want your father to know. Like why you are coming home so late."

Chloe shrugs. "We went out to the lighthouse and lost track of the time."

Cristina scrutinizes Chloe's appearance. "Your clothes aren't wrinkled."

"What?"

Cristina smirks. "I'm trying to figure out if you were making out at the lighthouse. Or if you were at his place instead."

Chloe blushes furiously. "We … did some making out at the lighthouse. And we only made out, if you must know"

Her mother tilts her head thoughtfully. "I see."

"It's like…" Chloe sighs. "I don't want to … do certain things too quickly."

Cristina observes Chloe carefully, how she is nervously moving her hands. "Is Mickey okay with you taking things slow?"

Chloe quickly glances at her. "He's not pressuring me, you don't have to sic Dad on him."

"Your dad's job is to help me hide the bodies," Cristina scoffs. Then her expression grows serious as she leans forward. "Look, you're a private person, I get that, Chloe. But if something is bothering you, you can tell me."

Her daughter snorts. "You want to talk about feelings?"

"I want to listen," Cristina clarifies. "I never said I was Dear Abby or Ann Landers."

"Who?"

Cristina sighs. "Oh god. Advice columnists in the old days."

"Good night," Chloe says abruptly, standing up.

"It's okay if you're a virgin!" Cristina blurts out, leaping to her feet. "And it's okay if you're not!"

Chloe stares at her, blushing furiously. "I do not want to talk about that with you!"

"Then who do you want to talk with? JoJo? Mallory? Meredith?" Cristina lays a hand on her daughter's arm. "Something is bothering you."

Chloe sighs heavily. "Fine." She goes back to the living room and sits down. Cristina sits down across from her, leaning forward, arms propped on her knees.

Chloe draws in a deep breath. "I asked him if he wanted to date long-distance when I go back to Northwestern and he said 'no'. He doesn't want to be exclusive to someone who isn't around."

"Oh." Cristina blinks.

Her daughter shrugs. "Well, we had fun this week."

"I see," Cristina says. "So you're not going to see him again?"

Chloe looks up at her quickly. "Not before I go back to school. He's working the evening shifts this weekend. I don't know about when school ends and I come back to Seattle."

Cristina nods.

"You can tell Dad I'm not seeing him again until school is out, at least," Chloe says quickly. "Just … tell him that."

"Wise choice," Cristina chuckles. Then she grows serious. "It's Mickey's loss if he doesn't want to be in a relationship with you. And I'm proud of you for not rushing things if you don't want to."

Chloe looks up at her and smiles softly. "Thanks Mom."

"Do you need a hug?" Cristina smiles.

"No," Chloe chuckles, standing up. "I'm going to bed now."

"I'll be right behind you." Cristina turns off the lights before she goes upstairs and quietly enters the master bedroom. She quickly pulls off her clothes and pulls on one of Owen's t-shirts, before sliding under the covers.

Owen rolls over and slings an arm around her. "How was her date?"

"It was okay," she sighs, adjusting a pillow. "That was their last date until she gets back from school."

"So … ?"

"They are not dating for now, they just had fun this break, go back to sleep." Cristina closes her eyes.

Owen raises himself on one arm. "Meaning?"

"Oh my god." Cristina sighs. She considers her words. "Chloe is a smart woman, just like we raised her to be. Mama bear is proud of her cub and wants papa bear to go back to sleep."

"Sorry." Owen kisses her cheek. "I just-"

"Enough!" Cristina rolls over and stares up at Owen. "I'm going to have to distract you, aren't I?"

He chuckles and kisses her again. "What do you have in mind?"

"Hmmm…" Cristina slides her hands up his chest. "Let's start with you. You're overdressed …"

Author's note: I promise I will explain the birthday party incident in another chapter. :-)