A/N: Heya ^_^ Welcome to hell! *lol* No, I'm just joking, but with Tyler's arrival, things might get a "little" tense for some of the characters, and some others might finally get some kind of "punishment" and have to live with the consequences of what they have done… =D
Thanks for the reviews and we're glad you're here to read our story! :-)
So enjoy Chapter 46, if you can :D
(On another note – we pictured "Tyler" to look like Warren Kole, just in case we haven't mentioned that before :D)
Michael Holt POV:
Michael hadn't been out much ever since his fallout with Lewis. He missed his best friend, but Lewis wouldn't even greet him anymore when they met in the hospital. Michael had tried to get to talk to him, but Lewis had completely blocked him out and he had banned him from his life, as it looked like.
Of course. Now he had Alex. He didn't need him anymore and now he kicked him in the ass for all the things Michael had done. Had done for Lewis in the first place, but Lewis didn't even want to hear that.
They had made plans before he had come to Seattle Grace. Plans for him to see how Jackson was and for him to prepare for Lewis' arrival, and he had done everything Lewis had asked him to.
Only to get dumped because their plan had worked way too well. Jackson was at the bottom and Michael knew it. It had been a pleasure for him to see him suffer the same way Lewis had. He would always remember the times he had to pick up the pieces of Lewis' life over and over again. And all because of Jackson.
He had been the one to make Lewis better. He had been the one to hold him when he was crying and he had been the one Lewis had always turned to. Until now.
Michael still didn't understand what had gotten into him. Now, where he had everything he always wanted, he didn't want exactly that anymore? That made no sense at all, and Michael couldn't help but think this was all Alex' fault. Alex had put all those thoughts in Lewis head, and Alex had made Lewis regret his actions.
He was just sitting in front of his TV with a bottle of beer when he heard a knock at the door and got to his feet immediately.
"I'm coming!" he shouted and even though he had little hope for it to happen, he somehow really wanted to see Lewis in front of him once he opened the door.
He was in plain shock when his late visitor turned out to be someone he hadn't seen in years.
"Tyler? Tyler Browning?"
"I see you remember my name!" Tyler replied, laying his elbow against the doorframe and looking at him. "Can I come in?"
Immediately, a defensive reflex awoke in Michael. "What do you want from me?"
"I'm sure you know exactly what I want." Tyler replied. "We need to talk. Right now."
"I don't think there is anything to talk about. I have nothing to say to you," Michael said, crossing his arms above his chest.
"Okay... then let me do the talking, because there is a lot I have to say to you," Tyler commented. "I can very well do that in the hallway for everyone of your nosy neighbours to know what kind of an asshole you are... or you let me in."
"Is that a threat?" Michael raised an eyebrow, looking at Tyler. He never quite liked the guy and he would never understand why Lewis had loved him that much. Yes, he looked really good, he was quite attractive, but with Lewis' looks he could have done better than that... A lot better. He knew that feeling was mutual, though.
"It's a promise," Tyler gave back. "So which one is it, Michael?"
The look on his face made it clear that he was not joking and so Michael stepped aside to let him in.
"Good choice," Tyler said once he was inside Michael's apartment, looking around curiously. "I see you've built quite a life here."
"It could be worse, yes..." He closed the door and stared at Tyler. "So what do you want?"
"I want to talk." Tyler replied.
Michael nodded immediately. "You already said that... so talk, I'm listening."
"I need to know what you did to Jackson. All of it. I want to know all the dirty details." Tyler said, focusing his attention on Michael. "Everything."
"And why the hell do you think I would tell you anything?" Michael asked defensively.
"Because otherwise I will make sure that you will lose your job," Tyler threatened.
Michael raised an eyebrow. "You wouldn't do that!"
"Really? Try me!" Tyler said and sounded pretty self confident at that very moment.
"You know nothing about me and besides... Chief Hunt wouldn't believe you anyways... he doesn't even know you." Michael grinned, but his grin died on his lips a few seconds later when Tyler started speaking again.
"Chief Hunt, huh? Good to know his name..."
Michael let out a sigh. "What do I have to do to get rid of you again?"
"Like I said... tell me what you did to Jackson that made him fall apart like that. I need to know everything." Tyler repeated what he had already said before.
"Well... there's not much to tell... a well placed threat here and there can do wonders... and spreading some rumours can really rattle a relationship..." he said, feeling superior to Tyler again. Tyler needed him if he wanted any information, and they both knew it. He could really see it in Tyler's eyes how he got angrier and angrier with every second, until he grabbed him by the collar and pushed him against the wall.
"I ask you one more time... what have you done to him?" he hissed.
A small grin appeared on Michael's lips.
"Well... first, it was already a shock for him to find out who I am..." he started explaining. "He didn't know I knew Lewis, but then I told him that I know everything about him... that's how it started... I started to threaten him to tell everything to his boyfriend... or Alex... and I let him know that I would do everything to take away from him what he took away from Lewis..."
"You must be proud of yourself..." Tyler replied, letting go of him but still staring at him. "Have you any idea what you have done? How bad Jackson is because of you?"
"Well... I did it all for your so called ex-fiancé... he wanted this... and only because he changed his mind all of a sudden, I haven't changed mine. Jackson deserved this." Michael gave back. "He deserved everything he went through and he deserves everything that's about to come."
"Haven't you had enough fun already? What kind of asshole are you?" Tyler shook his head, looking almost resigned.
"Well... at least I've not cheated on him the night before our wedding. With his brother. Have you any idea what that did to him and how long it took me to put the pieces back together?" Michael asked, looking directly into Tyler's eyes. "You broke something inside of him."
"You think you know so much about me, huh?" Tyler let out a sarcastic laugh. "I tell you one thing: you know nothing about me. Not the slightest bit..."
"I know enough... and I know that Lewis deserves better than you. That he always deserved better. I will never understand how he could have fallen for someone like you." Michael buried his hands in the pockets of his pants.
"Oh... now we're talking..." Tyler gave back. "But this is at least something we can agree on, because I never quite understood why he chose you to be his best friend either. But I'm glad he came to his senses and dumped you."
Ouch. That hurt. It hit Michael in the heart and he had to use all his strength not to lose his composure at that very moment, but he was better than that. He was better than Tyler Browning.
"He didn't dump me. We had a fight, but we will reconcile eventually. Unlike you and him."
"Who says I would want that?" Tyler shook his head. "But at least Lewis and I are on the same page at the moment, because we have the same goal. We want to help Jackson..."
He moved towards Michael again and stopped right in front of him, staring into his eyes.
"If you ever touch him again... if you ever hurt him again, I swear to god, you will meet the real Tyler Browning, and if I were you, I wouldn't risk that. Jackson means a lot to him and to me and I won't let you near him again."
"Well..." Michael grinned. "Maybe he wants to be with me? I mean, after all, we slept together..." The more often he repeated it, the more real it sounded, and Michael would almost start believing it himself if he didn't know better.
"Oh come on... what kind of bullshit is that? If I know one thing about you, it's that you're straight. Totally straight." Tyler sighed. "Stop lying."
"I'm not lying," Michael shrugged. "Believe it or not, but it didn't take much for him to spread his legs for me... just a little bit of Tequila and Beer and he was wax in my arms. He begged me to fuck him... I bet Mark - that's his boyfriend or ex-boyfriend, whatever, for your information - isn't as good in bed as everyone gives him credit for..."
"You're really... really a lot worse that I gave you credit for... I never really liked you, but now I despise you, and I wouldn't be surprised if Lewis felt the same way. Leave them alone. Both of them."
Again, Tyler's words sounded like a threat, but Michael didn't care at all. He had already lost Lewis, it couldn't get much worse anyways. But Tyler didn't have to know that, so he just waved dismissively.
"Whatever... If you've said everything you wanted to say, I would ask you to leave now. I wanna be alone right now." He couldn't stand Tyler's face anymore and he was so sick of everything, so he just hoped, Tyler would finally leave.
Tyler Browning POV:
Tyler never liked to use the word hate, but if anyone made him reconsider that policy it was definitely Michael Holt.
He had met the man a few months after he had started dating Lewis. Tyler had tried to make a good impression, back when he cared about Michael Holt's opinion.
Now, Tyler found it hard to even hold himself back from knocking the guy's teeth out.
"I know Jackson" Tyler said "and I know someone like you would make his skin crawl, so you're going to tell me how you managed to get him into bed"
"I'm not here to give you some sort of sexual thrill by recounting a very good night between me and your ex-boyfriend" Michael told him "just know that boy knows how to work that body of his"
Tyler had pushed Michael against the wall forcefully. Michael's wide eye expression told Tyler that it had been unexpected and the man was now just a little fearful.
Good.
"Listen to me, Holt" Tyler said "I put up with your crap only because you were important to Lewis, but make no mistake, I have wanted to beat the shit out of you for a long time now"
"Like you could" Michael said as he straightened himself up "and you wonder why I never liked you from the jump. You may be this fancy cardiac surgeon and have everybody fooled into believing you're this noble hero, but you're nothing but a thug, Browning"
"That's funny" Tyler said with a bitter laugh "you've been threatening Jackson for months, using his fear and shame to get what you wanted and you have the nerve to call me the thug"
"I never laid a hand on Jackson" Michael responded "well, until he begged me to"
The smile that he gave Tyler made the man want to rip Holt's throat out.
"That's what doesn't make sense" Tyler said "if you've been this big of an asshole to him why in the hell would he ever let you get within ten feet of him? Or did you not give him a choice?"
"What the fuck does that mean?"
"You told me that he got pretty drunk and that leads me to believe that if you did have sex with Jackson it may not have been entirely his decision"
"Fuck you, Browning" Holt said as he finally pushed Tyler back "I may have been hard on Jackson the past few months, but don't you ever dare stand there and accuse me of forcing myself on him"
"Seems you're just a tad upset to hear something that isn't true?" Tyler said and he could see the anger rising in Holt and it gave him the first real bit of satisfaction since he had first arrived in Seattle.
"Listen, Browning" Michael said "I know you think of Jackson as some paragon of virtue, but I hate to break it to you he's nothing but the same whore who shacked up with his brother's fiancé for two years"
"Why do you hate him so much?" Tyler asked, astonished at the vitriol coming from Michael "you don't even know him"
"Oh, please. I know Jackson Avery" Michael said.
"No" Tyler responded "you know what Lewis has told you and Lewis doesn't exactly know his brother all that well"
"It's not about Lewis" Michael said "I know Jackson Avery, because I've dealt with Jackson Averys my whole damn life. He's a guy with a pretty face and a successful name who has never had to pay for the damage he has caused other people because white knights like you who want to try and impress him and get your dick wet in the process come along and beat back anyone who dares to disparage him"
Tyler could feel his teeth grind together and for a moment he thought he might spit out fragments of bone if he wasn't careful.
"You don't know what the hell you're talking about" he told Michael.
"The hell I don't" Michael responded "as a kid Lewis was forced to clean up his messes and after Jackson screwed him over for the last time you took up the mantle. It's a fucking cycle so if you came here to tell me that I need to back off because I've hurt poor Jackson's feeling you can save your breath. He's had this coming for a long time and I'm just disappointed that Lewis has seemed to cave at the worst possible time, but something tells me Jackson will make him live to regret that too"
Tyler stood there completely floored. He remembered the times that he and Jackson had went to parties, sometimes work, other times social, and Jackson had always made it a point to stick close to him. He had finally asked him why one night and the answer he got seemed almost comical.
"People don't tend to like me" Jackson had told him plainly.
Tyler didn't understand it at all. Jackson was smart, funny, and if somebody needed a dollar to eat Jackson would give his very last one even if it meant he was the one that had to starve. Jackson wasn't perfect by any means, he was human, but one of the better ones that Tyler knew and for Jackson to tell him that people didn't like him seemed...uninformed.
Although, standing here now and listening to Holt, Tyler finally understood. Michael may have started doing this for Lewis, but he continued it for himself. Jackson represented everything that Holt had to fight against to become the surgeon he was.
Jackson grabbed people's attention just by simply walking in a room. The bright green eyes and model looks meant that people like Holt disappeared into the background. It also meant that Jackson was judged far more harshly and given far less credit for the things he had done.
"You don't know half the shit he's been through" Tyler said to Holt "if you knew how bad it got I guarantee you would be ashamed of the things you've done"
"My heart bleeds" Michael said "tell me that next time Lewis comes to my door a fucking wreck because Jackson decided that having his life was something fun to try. Tell me that next time I have to literally force food down Lewis' throat because he goes three days without eating so much as a cracker"
Tyler could feel the guilt eat him up inside. He never understood why Lewis didn't take any of his anger out on him. Beyond the initial argument Lewis hadn't said a bad word to him, yet continued to put Jackson through the wringer.
"I'm going to tell you this once, Holt" Tyler said his voice laced with all the anger, fear, and hopelessness that was bottled up inside of him "don't go near Jackson again, don't so much as utter a word to him, because if you do I will gladly go to jail for throwing you off the roof of Seattle Grace Mercy West, you understand me?"
The fear in Holt's eyes was back "Get out of my damn apartment" Holt told him as he opened up his door.
Walking to the door Tyler turned around one last time to look at Michael "Oh yeah, and if I find out that this thing with Jackson isn't exactly what you said it was you will be hearing from me again and trust me. This is the nice version"
Turning around Tyler started to make his way down the hall as he heard Michael slam his door.
In town less than 6 hours and Tyler already had an enemies list. This was certainly going to be a worthwhile town.
Now he only had to worry about seeing Jackson tomorrow and preparing himself for the man that awaited him. Hoping for the Jackson he loved, but expecting the Jackson he thought had died off 5 years ago.
Lewis Avery POV:
Lewis had a rough night behind of him. But so had Alex. They both hadn't slept very much. After Tyler had left, they had talked for what felt like forever and then they had made love. But it had been different this time. Different than any time they had sex before.
Lewis couldn't get the thoughts of Tyler out of his head and him being here - so close to him again - just affected him way more than he dared to admit. Way more than he wanted.
Only for the time he and Alex had sex he could get him out of his mind, because he clung to Alex like his life depended on it, when Alex finally entered him and showed him how much he meant to him. He had needed that more than anything else in the world and for that time being he was able to concentrate on Alex and just be happy, but when it was over all the thoughts had come back, flooding his mind.
Fortunately, Alex had fallen asleep soon afterwards, but he must have felt how rattled and anxious he was, because he woke up again not even an hour later and asked Lewis what was wrong, and the only thing Lewis was able to get out was "Just hold me, please" and Alex did. And with him being so close to him he had finally been able to get some rest.
He had just woken up, noticing that Alex was still asleep and had to smile. Alex looked so peaceful when he was sleeping, almost cute, but of course he wouldn't tell him, because he knew Alex wouldn't like to be called cute.
He leaned forward, kissing his cheek, before he gently removed Alex' arm that was around his waist away and got up to take a shower.
He hadn't even turned on the water when he heard footsteps and saw Alex come into the bathroom through the milk glass wall of the shower.
"Taking a shower without me?" Alex asked, when moving closer and pushing the wall aside so he could step into the shower, too. "Why didn't you wake me?"
Lewis looked down at him, not being able to hold back the grin forming on his lips when he noticed that Alex was half-hard. "You looked so peaceful, and our night was... rough... I wanted to let you sleep."
"I can't sleep without you anyways," Alex replied, reaching behind Lewis and turning on the water, getting it to a comfortable temperature.
"Well... and it looks like little Alex is already wide awake," Lewis grinned.
"Hey! He's not that little," Alex complained, pressing himself against Tyler.
"You want me to give him a name or something like that? Because I can do that, if you don't want me to call him little Alex," Lewis replied, letting Alex push him against the wall behind him.
"Shut up and kiss me," Alex gave back and Lewis didn't need to be asked twice.
He pressed his lips against Alex', kissing him long and passionate, feeling Alex rub against him, and of course that didn't leave him cold either. He was already starting to get aroused when he saw Alex naked, but now his cock started to rise up and get harder with every second.
A low moan left his lips. "God, you drive me crazy."
"That was my plan..." Alex smiled, grinding against him again, making Lewis' head fall into his neck, which gave Alex the perfect opportunity to start sucking on the sensitive flesh. He grabbed a condom Lewis wasn't even aware he had brought with him into the shower and opened it, rolling it onto his cock before he lifted Lewis up so Lewis could put his legs around his waist.
He felt Alex' cock at his entrance, swallowing hard. They hadn't done it without preparation before, but he was totally relaxed and he trusted Alex. He knew it could hurt quite a bit, but he was willing to take this risk, if he could have Alex inside of him right the fuck now.
"Alex, I want..." he whispered, looking deep into Alex' eyes, and he seemed to understand immediately.
"You... you sure? I'm probably going to hurt you..." Alex said gently, touching Lewis' nose with his own.
"Do it... I can take it... and I trust you..." Lewis arms were around Alex' neck and then he felt Alex spreading his cheeks just enough so he could place his cock at his entrance. One last nod from Lewis and Alex was inside of him with one long thrust and Lewis couldn't remember feeling that complete in a long time. The pain mixed with the pleasure that started to rise within him exactly the same moment was just what he needed right now. What he wanted right now and he just let himself fall into Alex' arms and he devoted himself to Alex completely. He was Alex' in this moment. Only his.
#########################
"See you later, baby, okay?" Lewis smiled, kissing Alex' lips and only slowly letting go of his hand.
"See you. Have a nice day, and take care..." Alex said, turning around and moving to the hallway of the paediatric station. Lewis had brought him here, because he still had a little time before his first new patient would arrive.
He was actually really excited, and also a little bit nervous, but building up a client base was the first step for him building a life here. Job-wise, that was. Private-wise he was already deep rooted. Mostly because of Alex.
Smiling, he stepped into the elevator and pressed the right button, when it suddenly stopped the next floor and Jackson stepped in.
Swallowing hard, the two brothers just looked at each other, and Lewis could tell that Jackson was on drugs again. He could see it in his eyes, and he had to bite his tongue not to approach Jackson. He wanted to do something, say something, anything, but he remembered his conversation with Tyler and as hard as it was, he just stepped back to free the way for Jackson, hoping he wouldn't turn around and let the elevator leave just because he was inside, but all his hopes were destroyed a few seconds later, when Jackson pressed on a button outside of the elevator that made the doors close.
A sad sigh left Lewis' lips. Fuck. Now they couldn't even greet each other anymore?
Jackson had seen him, but it had felt like he was looking right through him. A feeling that hurt Lewis deep in his heart, so his head was hanging down when he left the elevator and made his way towards his office, when a familiar voice called out his name.
"Dr. Avery!"
Slowly, Lewis turned around, looking directly at Eli.
"Good Morning!" he said and tried to smile at him, too, but he knew it wouldn't come off as honest as it should. And of course Eli immediately called him up on it.
"You okay?"
"Yes... no... I mean... I don't know..." Lewis replied, shrugging. "It's just... been a rough couple of days... I just met Jackson and he wouldn't even say hello... nothing... when he saw me standing in the elevator, instead of just getting in, he waited for the doors to close. He's slipping away from me more every day."
"I'm really sorry to hear that... I would offer you to talk to him, but actually, I don't think that's a good idea, if I don't want him to lose the last bit of respect he has for me," Eli said earnestly, and Lewis nodded.
"I know... and I would never ask you to do so... actually... I kind of got some help for him... but..." He looked around, then turning his attention back to Eli.
"Why don't we talk in my office?"
"Sure!" Eli said immediately, following Lewis into his office.
For a couple of seconds neither of the two men said anything, until Lewis decided it was time to break the silence.
"I called Jackson's ex-boyfriend... the one that already helped Jackson once... last time he was using..." he started to talk. "I don't know how he did it, but he got Jackson to go to rehab and get clean, and if someone still can help him, it's Tyler..." he said, feeling those stupid butterflies in his stomach again, only because he mentioned his name. He just couldn't help it, he still loved the guy and part of him would probably always love him, but that wasn't important right now. What was important was Jackson, and he had to choke down his feelings as long as possible. For Jackson.
It was time to be his brother. It was time to stop being egoistic. He had made so many mistakes and he just had to make it right for Jackson. Maybe he could even talk to Mark about their break-up. Maybe he could get him to take Jackson back if he just knew why exactly they broke up. If it was because of Michael and what had happened between him and Jackson, he just needed to make sure that Mark knew that he was the only one Jackson loved.
He needed to fix this. On all costs.
Alex Karev POV:
Alex could see it from a mile away. Lewis' uneasiness at Tyler's presence and his desperate need to keep Alex close told the man all he needed to know.
He couldn't blame the guy and he only wished Lewis could be honest with him. Alex knew Lewis still loved Tyler. Their break-up and sudden separation had to have felt like ripping a band-aid off a terrible wound.
Violent, painful, and a fading hurt that would stay with you for a long time.
If Lewis needed sex to help him deal Alex was more than happy to give it. It was not as if Alex hadn't used Lewis for the exact same reason when the thought of April still haunted every dream he had.
Sex was easy. Sex was uncomplicated. Sex was a quick-fix.
Still, Alex believed he and Lewis had moved past that stage and he just hoped that eventually the man would be willing to let Alex in on the part of himself that Tyler still owned lock, stock, and barrel.
Alex and Arizona were discussing a surgery when Eli had called Arizona and asked her and Alex to meet him and Lewis in Lewis' office.
Tyler had arrived and they needed to talk.
"You trust this Tyler guy?" Arizona asked. Her mama bear sensibilities were kicking in and she needed to protect Jackson and would do so by any means.
"Lewis trusts him" Alex told her "so I trust him"
He saw the look of contemptment pass on the woman's face.
"What's that?" he asked as he grabbed her arm.
"What's what?"
"That look, Arizona" Alex said "when I mentioned Lewis"
"It's nothing" she told him as she waved her hands dismissively "don't worry about it"
"I have to worry about it" Alex said "I love him and I love you and if you have an issue I need to know about it"
Turning around Arizona looked at Alex and sighed "Jackson's problems didn't start until he came here" Arizona told Alex "I have to wonder if the two have something to do with each other"
Alex felt his stomach jump "Lewis and Jackson have a very...complicated relationship"
"Obviously" Arizona responded "I heard the two argue when Lewis first arrived and I can tell you there was not much love lost between the two"
"They've both done things to hurt one another, but Lewis is trying to make amends"
"Little too late, don't you think?" Alex could hear the anger in her voice "if this thing is over that Tyler situation don't you think Lewis took this way too far?"
"How did you-?"
"Mark" Arizona told Alex "he and Jackson had enough arguments over Jackson's sudden personality change that eventually Mark had to find out why"
"Look" Alex started "Lewis came here because he was hurt and angry, but he's not that man anymore I promise. He wants nothing more than to help Jackson"
"I'll trust him because you trust him" Arizona told him "now let's go" and she headed out of her office with Alex close behind.
They were just about to walk to the elevator when Alex had looked to his left and saw Jackson staggering towards his office.
"I'll meet you up there" Alex said and turning around Arizona gave him a puzzled look "I just have to hit the head"
"Oh, okay" and once the elevator door opened she entered "don't take too long"
"I won't" and once the door closed Alex took a moment to decide what to do. He had promised Tyler that he would back off, let Jackson keep his distance, but how could he just walk away from the scene of Jackson stumbling.
Rushing over he stopped once he stood directly behind Jackson and taking a strong hand to the man's shoulder Alex lead him down the hall.
"What the fuck?" Jackson said as he looked behind him and saw Alex "let go of me"
"No" Alex responded and once the two reached Jackson's office he closed the door and let the man go.
"I warned you, Karev" Jackson said "I warned you what would happen if you came to this office"
"Are you serious?" Alex responded "Go to Hunt and I promise you I won't be the one getting fired, do you even see yourself? You're stumbling across this hospital with your glassy eyes and vacant looks. Be lucky it was me that saw you and not Hunt"
Jackson crossed his arms over his chest "It's not like it matters anyway"
"What?"
"Hunt wrote me up yesterday for that fight with Meredith" Jackson said "my days here are already numbered, might as well go out in a blaze of glory"
"That fight wasn't your fault" Alex said "how is that fair?"
"Fair" Jackson chuckled "fair stopped being part of my life a long time ago. Since it's my second physical altercation after some jackass tackled me outside his office it was out of his hands"
Alex looked away from Jackson shamefully "I'm sorry"
"Everybody is always so fucking sorry" Jackson said "but it doesn't change anything"
"If you just give me the chance-" Alex said as he walked up to Jackson "I know I fucked up in so many ways, but I want to be there for you"
Jackson looked at Alex and for the briefest of moments he actually saw the Jackson he used to know. The one that he used to call a friend, but it was gone as fast as it came.
"It's too late" Jackson told him "we're not the people we used to be and it's time to accept that, now please go" he said as he opened the door for Alex to leave.
It was then that Alex had felt the worse than he ever had. When Jackson was angry Alex could chalk it up to at least some kind of irrational passion, but something in Jackson's tone now held such a terrible finality. As if he was saying goodbye to Alex for the final time.
"I'm not going to lose you" Alex told him "no matter how much you try to push me away" and with that he made his way down the hall and instead of hearing Jackson slam his door he heard the soft click as Jackson shut it slowly and Alex could feel a little bit of his heart break.
Once he made it to Lewis' office he opened the door to see Arizona, Eli, Lewis, and Tyler all standing around and talking to one another.
"What took you so long?" Arizona asked.
"I uh..." Alex said "I ran into Jackson"
He looked at Tyler and saw the man's eyes bulge.
"Jesus, Karev" he said angrily "you couldn't hold off for 24 fucking hours"
"It's a bad day for him and I couldn't just ignore him as he stumbled down the hallway" Alex said.
"Is he...alright now?" Eli asked "is he that bad?"
Alex's silence gave the man, and the entire room, an answer.
Looking at Tyler Eli shook his head "We can't let him work like this"
"Jackson isn't an idiot" Alex said "he would never perform a surgery like that"
Looking around the room he could see all the faces look away from him and Alex could tell they didn't hold the same trust in Jackson that he did.
"You all don't believe-"
"You said it yourself, Alex" Lewis said "it's a bad day"
"That's all it was" Alex responded "a bad day"
Looking at Tyler he could see the man hold the same look of mistrust and it made him angry "So what should we do. Just go to Hunt and rat him out and end his career for good?"
"Nobody is saying that, Alex" Arizona said "but if there is even a chance that Jackson could harm a patient...we're all doctors and we know, and you know, we can't let that happen"
"He told me that he thought his days here were numbered" Alex said "I thought he was just being paranoid, but apparently even high as a kite he still can see the writing on the wall. And we wonder why he doesn't trust us"
"That's not fair" Lewis said "we're all trying our best here"
Jackson's words came back to Alex. Fair stop being a part of my life a long time ago.
"
Do whatever you're going to do" Alex spat out as he headed for the door "but I'm not going to throw Jackson under the bus"
"Are you fucking kidding me?" Tyler said "do you think I came here just to destroy Jackson's career"
"I have a pretty good idea why you came here" Alex responded as he looked at Lewis.
"Fuck you, Alex" Tyler said angrily
"Fuck you" Alex responded and opened up Lewis's door roughly only to run directly into Mark, nearly knocking the man down.
"Woah there, Karev" Mark laughed "I'm not prepared for a stampede"
Alex looked up at the man in shock and quickly looking behind him he could see Arizona, Eli, and Lewis hold his same expression and turning his attention back to Mark he could see the man look at everyone confused.
"I'm here for my appointment" he said "but it seems like I walked into the middle of something"
Mark Sloan POV:
Mark was really looking forward to getting back to work. He actually couldn't wait to finally be back for good. To see all his colleagues again and be able to work again. To revive Plastics Posse. Things between him and Jackson were still tense, but Mark just knew they could pull it off.
From the bottom of his heart he hoped, that they were able to work together and not let their personal life get in between anything. Plus: they broke up on a good note, with the faith to be able to overcome their problems and be a real couple again.
Mark was so deep in his thoughts on his way to Lewis' office to one of his last therapy sessions that he didn't even notice the voices coming from inside of the room until he was standing right in front of the door and Alex Karev literally running into him.
"Woah there Karev" Mark couldn't help the laugh escaping his lips, and looked behind Alex, where he could see a little crowd of people standing in front of Lewis' desk. "I'm not prepared for a stampede"
He could totally smell that something here was totally not right, and also, there was one person there he didn't know. And what would make Eli, Arizona, Alex and this other guy be in Lewis' office at the same time?
"I'm here for my appointment" he said "but it seems like I walked into the middle of something"
"Can you give us a moment, Mark? I'll be right out with you and walk you to the gymnastics room, okay?" Lewis said, giving Mark a pleading look, and even though Mark rather wanted to know what was going on, he nodded in agreement.
"Sure..." He took a step back, about to close the door again, when Alex stepped in his way.
"Wait, I've said what I had to say and I have to get back to my patients. I'm out of here anyways..." And with those words, he closed the door and looked at Mark, and Mark looked right back at him.
Mark could tell something was bothering the younger doctor, but he didn't want to be nosy.
"You alright, Karev?" he asked for that reason, to give Alex the possibility to talk if he wanted or to get out if he didn't.
"Yeah... just... things between Jackson and me have been rough lately, and that gets to me," he admitted, and Mark was really surprised to hear those words from him, since he hadn't expected Alex to turn to him of all people.
"You want me to talk to him?" he offered, but immediately, Alex shook his head.
"Hell, no! You're still on a good base and I really want it to stay that way. Jackson needs people he can trust. People who are on his side."
"Is he okay?" Mark asked alarmed. He couldn't deny that the undertone in Alex' voice worried him.
"I actually don't know," Alex gave back. "I think he's having a rough day... maybe he would like it if you'd paid him a visit."
Nervously, Mark bit his lower lip. "I don't know about that, Karev. Things have been... tense between us, too, since we broke up."
"It was just an idea, nothing more," Alex immediately said, and Mark just couldn't shake off the bad feeling he was having.
"I think I'll go see him after my therapy session with Lewis anyways. Just to see if he's alright," Mark decided, giving Alex an earnest smile. "Thank you."
Surprised, Alex tilted his head. "What for?"
"For telling me something's not right without really saying a word," Mark replied, patting Alex' shoulder. "Don't worry, I'm not gonna tell anyone. And I think you did the right thing."
He had barely ended his sentence when the door of Lewis' office opened and Eli and Arizona came out, greeting him and then quickly moving past him. They barely looked at him, which felt odd, especially since he normally got along pretty well with both of them. He would talk to Arizona later.
He turned back to the door, only to see Lewis walk out with this other guy he had never seen before, and their body language told him, that there was a lot of tension between them. When he turned to the side, he noticed Alex staring at them for a moment before turning away.
"I'll have to go..." he said and then he rushed off, so Mark could turn his attention back to Lewis.
"Mark? Let me introduce you to Dr. Browning. He's here to apply for the position as the head of Cardio Surgery, and since he's the best, I don't have a doubt we will be workmates soon," Lewis said, and Mark immediately noticed the strange look on the blond guy's face. Almost as if he didn't know what Lewis was even talking about.
"Well... We'll see about that," Dr. Browning gave back, reaching out his hand. "Nice to meet you."
"You too. Mark. Mark Sloan," Mark introduced himself, shaking Dr. Browning's hand and smiling at him.
"Good, then. Ready for your appointment, Mark?" Lewis smiled, turning to the blond doctor for a moment. "I'm pretty sure Dr. Browning needs to hurry now as well. I'm sure he has a lot to do. He was just in my office to introduce himself."
The way how quickly Lewis was talking all of a sudden and the things he said, made Mark feel like he wanted to get rid of his company as soon as possible and he found that quite strange. It wasn't like he and Mark were in a hurry since they had a double session to talk about the rest of Mark's physical therapy and the fact that he could be cleared for surgery really soon.
"Yes, that's right, I have to go," Dr. Browning agreed with him, looking at Mark one last time before he turned around and made his way to the elevators.
"Now that was strange," Mark commented, looking at Lewis. "Do you know this Doctor Browning?"
"Sort of," Lewis replied, letting out a sigh. "I'll explain to you some other time, okay? Since I'm going to meet a potential new patient after your therapy session, we should get going. The sooner you show me how much progress you've made, the sooner I can clear you for surgery and you can go back to doing the things you love. The things you're born to do."
A small smile crossed Mark's lips and he nodded immediately. "Right."
He still couldn't shake the feeling off, that Lewis - and not only him - was hiding something from him. Not that Lewis was obliged to tell him anything, but the whole situation with Eli, Arizona and Alex had felt pretty strange. And why would they meet in Lewis office if it really was only to introduce himself? Why not going making it official through Chief Hunt?
"Ready to go?" Lewis pulled him out of his thoughts and Mark nodded, following him to the gymnastic room. He couldn't wait to be back here not as a patient but as a doctor and he just hoped Lewis would be satisfied with him.
Mark was really, really happy when he left Lewis office. They just had a debriefing about Mark's condition and since there hadn't been any new episodes in a really long time, Lewis had agreed to clear him for surgery in about a week. Under the condition that Mark would find him immediately if there would be any problems.
Mark almost couldn't believe this was really happening and he had to share the good news. With Jackson. Immediately. He had planned to see him anyways after his talk with Alex, so he made his way towards Jackson's office.
He knocked at the door and didn't even wait for Jackson to answer before he went in.
"Jackson, I need to tell you something..." he started, looking towards the desk and seeing Jackson twitch.
"God, Mark, you startled me!" the younger man said, letting out a sigh.
One look in his eyes was enough for Mark to know that he had to worry. That something here was absolutely not right.
"Are you okay, Jackson?" Mark asked, closing the door behind him and sitting down in front of Jackson's desk, trying to look into his eyes but Jackson avoided his gaze.
"Yes... just... having a rough day... but it's okay, don't worry..." Jackson replied, and as much as Mark wanted to: he didn't buy it.
"No, it's not," he gave back, letting out a sigh himself now.
"I... I meant what I said when we broke up... I'm here for you, no matter what. You can count on me, Jackson... I still love you, and I still care for you..." Gently, he placed a hand on Jackson's arm, stroking it softly.
"If there is anything you want to talk about, I'm listening, and if you just need someone to hold you... someone to be there... it can be me as well..."
He didn't know if any of his words would get through to Jackson's mind, but he really, really hoped that he could let Jackson know that he had meant every word he had said during their breakup. The fact that he would be cleared for surgery next week went to the back of Mark's mind, because Jackson was way more important right now, so he just hoped, Jackson would open up to him in some way and let him be a part of whatever was bothering him.