Chapter Text
Mark hadn’t expected to run into Derek’s lusty intern again, but there she was at the bar staring at a shot of tequila.
“This seat taken?” he asked her.
“I guess not.”
Her response was completely flat, nothing like the flirtatious beauty he’d met earlier.
“What’s wrong?” he found himself caring more than he should have.
For a moment he thought she was ignoring him. But then she answered, very quietly, “I’m pregnant.”
“Fuck.”
There was a long silence.
“And it’s…”
“Derek’s. Yeah.”
“What are you going to do?” he asked.
“Well, I could tell him and it could change everything and he’d leave Addison for the baby. But it would be for the baby, not for me.”
He nodded. It was an important distinction.
“Or, I could tell him and it could change nothing. And he’d be with Addison and I’d be a single mom. Or maybe he’d want to have partial custody. Or maybe he could even get full custody because he’s married, and two established doctors look a lot better than one single intern who slept with her boss.”
He didn’t think Derek would be that much of a dick, but he couldn’t say he knew what was going on in the man’s mind these days.
“Or I could not tell him. And not tell anyone who the father is.”
“You’re going to have it, though? You’re not even thinking of aborting?” he asked, filled with fresh pain remembering Addie had aborted their child.
“Huh. Hadn’t even occurred to me.” She was silent for a few minutes. “My mom didn’t want me,” she told him. “I’m not going to be like her. My child… I’m gonna want my child. They’re never gonna doubt for a minute I wanted them. So, yeah. I want this baby.”
“All right,” he nodded. “All right. We gotta come up with a plan.”
She looked at him in confusion.
“Hey, as the President of the Dirty Mistresses Club, it’s my responsibility to look out for junior members.”
She smirked at that, which he took as a win.
“Listen, I came here to get Addie back, but I knew it was a lost cause. Actually. Fuck it. Might as well tell you. Addie aborted our kid. Which was her choice, I get that. But she didn’t even tell me until after it was done. And I…”
He was surprised to see Meredith’s hand resting on top of his.
“You wanted it. The child,” she said softly.
“I did. And I know this baby, your baby, isn’t mine. But I could be an awesome Uncle Mark. Or an even better co-parent.”
She looked at him. Really looked at him. In that way that made him feel like she could see his soul and judge every sin and every good deed.
“You can’t be that far along, right? We could even claim it’s mine. That would give you time and keep the Shepherds off your back.”
“Why? You barely know me. Why get caught up in this mess?” she asked.
“Aside from the fact I’m the one that got the ball rolling by sleeping with Addie in the first place?” he asks.
“You’re not giving Derek enough credit here. He fucked up my life completely independently,” she refuted.
“The Shepherds were my family. My only family. And now I’ve lost all of them because of this. I thought the risk was worth it to have Addie. But she didn’t ever really want me. She said she did, but… So what am I doing with my life? My family is gone. My best friend hates me. The woman I thought I loved doesn’t want anything to do with me. And here you are, screwed over by the same couple. And you’re about to have a kid. You’re about to create a family. But it’s hard as a single parent. And I want a family,” he finished his impassioned plea.
There’s silence for a moment.
“Would you be moving to Seattle,” she asked, “or would I be moving to New York? Because there are things here I can’t just abandon.”
“I can move here,” he said, warming to the idea.
“You realize this is insane,” she pointed out.
“I didn’t have any plans for what to do next,” he said. “I can get a nice apartment for us…”
“I have a house,” she said. “With roommates. Who are my family. Who will help me with a baby.”
“Okay, okay, I can work with that. Built in babysitting service. That’s awesome. Enough room for me in the house?”
“I was thinking of converting the attic into a bedroom…” she admitted.
He gave her his best bedroom eyes, “Or, as the baby daddy, I could just share your room.”
Admittedly, her bursting into hysterical laughter was not his goal. But he’d take it.
“None of those McSteamy looks, bub,” she told him. “I’m immune.”
“McWhattie?”
“It’s your hospital nickname. Derek was McDreamy, but we mostly call him McAss now. We all agreed today you were definitely a McSteamy.”
“What’s your nickname?” he asked.
“Only attendings and Bailey get them.”
“That seems unfair. I could see you as a minx or a vixen.”
“Absolutely no to either. Too much sex,” she refused.
“No such thing as too much sex,” he retorted.
She pointed at her belly.
“Yeah. But you’re going to make that into a good thing. And I’m going to help you.”
Looking into his eyes, all she saw was sincerity. “All right,” she said.
He cupped the side of her face gently, pulling her towards him, “Kiss to seal the deal?” he asked, his eyes intent on her.
She nodded, unable to look away.
His lips were soft against hers, tentative at first. But it felt good. He deepened the kiss when she responded positively and soon they were tasting each other, losing sense of time. Heat was rising in her in a way it hadn’t in a long time. Even with Derek. She leaned into him, moaning quietly.
Mark pulled back from the kiss and tried to catch his breath. He’d wanted Meredith from the moment he saw her; she was an attractive woman. Of course he wanted her. If he’d realized she could kiss like that, he wouldn’t have bothered doing anything else that day. Just found an on-call room and worshipped her.
“Come on,” he stood, offering her his arm, “Let’s set the stage. Come back with me to my hotel room. No pressure to do anything. I mean, I’ll still flirt, because that’s what I do, but no expectations. And the more people who see us beginning our relationship, the better.”
She allowed him to help her up, leaving behind the untouched shot glass of tequila.