Extra Stitches
Seattle Grace Hospital, Washington 2008
He hadn't noticed that she was watching him work. He was concentrating so hard he didn't even see her. The thread he was using for the stitches was taut in his fingers, the needle bent inwards and his gaze fixed intently on the patient's face. Lexie knew it didn't matter what she thought of him, he'd never look up there. When he was in the zone, he was in the zone. There were only a few things strong enough to persuade his attention. For now, he was focussed. The patient on the table was an old woman that'd come in after being attacked by a dog. She was sweet, and kept dismissing him when he asked her how she wanted her face to look. She'd smiled and made jokes all the way into the OR, but underneath it all, she seemed nervous. Mark wanted to make sure she was still smiling when she came out, so he was stitching carefully. By the time Lexie had had a break from rounds to come down and watch, he was almost finished. Everyone but his favourite scrub nurse were long gone. The OR was quiet, the kind of quiet that needs nothing to fill it. Almost as if there was a soft melody playing inside his head already. He was staying behind to finish her face because to him it was worth it. To him, when he saw her smile the next day when she woke up, would be worth the extra time spent. Lexie didn't mind watching him because he truly was a master at his craft. Watching his hands flow with each stitch was worth it.
His eyes were bright blue and shining by the time he finally finished. She could tell he was smiling behind his mask. A job well done for the day. He stretched out his shoulders, rolling his neck until it clicked. He told his scrub nurse to take the patient to the outpatient ward and monitor her obs to make sure she was stable. Then he looked up at the gallery. Lexie smiled as his eyes finally fell upon her. Then she gave him a dorky wave and stood up. There was no one around so she walked over to the coms on the left hand wall. "Good evening, doctor Sloan."
He chuckled as the patient was wheeled out of the room, the scrub nurse with her. "Good evening, doctor Grey," he replied, pulling down his surgical mask and smirking. "How much am I going to have to pay you to go home with me tonight?"
"Ohh, nothing really. I'm a cheap date."
He shook his head and started walking towards the scrub room saying, "I'll meet outside in fifteen okay?"
She agreed and took herself out into the hallway. There was something about watching him work that always made her happy. It didn't matter what he did, knowing that underneath all the macho-manliness and needing to prove himself - and plastics - to the world, he would stay an extra hour to make sure an old lady smiled when she woke up.