The Shepherd Legacy

I Need You to Fill the Void...

The plan set, Derek and Mark cleared the table, their movements mechanical as their minds raced with potential scenarios and solutions. As the night deepened, the house settled into a quiet hush, but for Derek and Mark, sleep would be elusive. Their thoughts remained with Mary, each brother silently vowing to break through the barriers she had erected, to remind her that she was part of a family that loved her unconditionally, a family that would fight for her, just as fiercely as they had once fought for their patients.

--

The house was enveloped in the deep silence of the night. The clock had just struck 3 AM when Mark, plagued by a rare bout of insomnia, decided to venture downstairs in search of some water, hoping it would ease his restlessness. The night was unusually still, the only sound being the soft creak of the stairs under his weight as he descended.

As he approached the kitchen, a faint light seeping out from under the door caught him by surprise. At this hour, the house was typically shrouded in darkness, the family long since succumbed to the demands of their exhausting schedules. Curiosity piqued, Mark pushed the door open, the gentle click of the latch seeming unusually loud in the quiet.

The sight that greeted him was unexpected. Mary was there, rummaging through the shelves with a sense of urgency that seemed out of place for the hour. Her movements were erratic, her brows furrowed in concentration or perhaps frustration. The kitchen light cast shadows across her face, but it was clear her eyes were red, hinting at either a profound tiredness or distress.

She was so engrossed in her search that she didn't notice Mark's presence until he was nearly beside her. With a gentle tap on her shoulder to announce himself, he watched as she spun around, her reaction bordering on alarm. Her eyes, wide and shining in the artificial light, met his, and for a fleeting moment, he noted the constriction of her pupils, an odd detail that nagged at him with an undefined significance.

"Mary, are you okay?" Mark's voice was soft, laced with concern, but it seemed to startle her even more.

She took a step back, her body language closed off, a harsh deviation from the warmth she usually showed him. "I'm fine," she asserted, her voice a mixture of fatigue and something else Mark couldn't quite place.

He moved closer, instinctively wanting to offer comfort, but his approach only seemed to escalate her distress. Suddenly, Mary's voice rose, a sharp edge to her words that Mark had never heard directed at him before. "I'm fine!" she shouted, her glare daring him to contradict her. "Just leave me alone, okay?"

Mark stopped in his tracks, taken aback by the intensity of her reaction. In their family, respect was a cornerstone of their interactions, especially towards Derek and himself. Mary's outburst was not just uncharacteristic; it was a clear breach of the values they had all been raised with.

Before he could probe further, trying to understand the root of her agitation, Mary brushed past him, her movements swift and determined as she exited the kitchen. Mark was left standing alone amidst the quiet hum of the refrigerator, the tension in the air palpable.

He made a mental note of her pupils and the desperation in her search, pieces of a puzzle he couldn't yet solve.

As he made his way back to bed, water forgotten, Mark's mind raced with concern for Mary. The incident had revealed a side of her he hadn't known existed, a vulnerability that she had fiercely guarded.

--

As the first light of dawn filtered through the curtains, casting a soft glow over the room, Mark made his way to Derek's bedroom, a sense of urgency propelling him forward. He knew they had to talk before the day's chaos took hold, before the hospital consumed all their attention. Pushing the door open gently, he found Derek and Meredith asleep, their breathing steady and peaceful. He hesitated for a moment, not wanting to disturb this rare moment of tranquility, but the weight of last night's encounter pressed heavily on him.