flatline [m.s]

xli.

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the best gift i ever got was for christmas when i was ten - my very first suture kit. i used it until my fingers bled, and then i tried to use it to stitch up my fingers. it put me on the path to becoming a surgeon.
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"excuse me," a blonde girl, who looks lost says, approaching alex who is walking across the pit. "i'm looking for dr. mark sloan."

"um," alex says turning around to look in mark's direction. "you see the dude who was burned... trying to deep fry a turkey? sloan's the guy making him scream like a little girl."

alex then walks away and the girl heads over to where mark is treating a patient.

"dr. sloan?" she nervously asks.

"yeah," he says, looking up from the patient to look the girl who called him up and down, his brow furrowed.

"hi," she nervously greets. "um, so this is a little weird, but, um... my name is sloan riley. and, uh, my mom's samantha riley. and, uh, she told me you're my dad."

■ ■ ■

"hi," lia nervously greets as she enters the conference room where mark and sloan are sat awkwardly in silence. "how's it, uh, how's it going in here?"

"great. fine," mark quickly and unconvincingly says.

"okay..." she frowns. "so have we broached the question of a paternity test? 'cause i brought some supplies."

lia awkwardly places the supplies on the conference table before leaving the room and approaching derek at the nurses station.

"she's eighteen," she sighs. "that's not very much younger than me."

"well, it's not that shocking actually," derek shrugs and lia scowls at him. "i mean, the way mark got around before he met you, there could be a gaggle of sloan's. sloan jones, sloan smith, sloan sloan."

"mean," lia chuckles.

■ ■ ■

"um... hey everybody," mark nervously greets as he enters his apartment where lia, callie and arizona are preparing thanksgiving dinner. he's followed close behind by sloan. "uh, well, the results are in. it, uh, turns out sloan was right, about her parentage. i am her dad. um, so here's another thing to be thankful for. lia, sloan here is gonna move in with us for a little while."

as mark had been speaking, lia had continued chopping up vegetables, but with little focus due to the shock. so little focus that she hadn't realised her fingers had got in the way of the knife.

"oh my god!" callie exclaims when she sees that lia has cut the tip of her finger off. she then moves across the kitchen to help her.

"ow," lia says with little emotion as she notices her own finger, following callie's shock.

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my point is sometimes the best gifts come in really surprising packages. everyday we get to give the gift of life, it can be painful, it can be terrifying, but in the end it's worth it. every time.
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"how's it feel?" mark asks, approaching lia who's hanging a few more decorations on the christmas tree. he takes the hand she injured in his own, and holds it up to examine it. "still tingling?"