One {Mark Sloan}

Slipping into Darkness

She and Avan entered the ward to see Bailey, Christina and Meredith already present in the ward, they all nodded their heads in acknowledgement.

"Who's presenting?"

"Tricia Shelley, 31, Megan Shelley, 27, Michael Shelley, 23, Genetic testing revealed they all carry the CDH1 gene for hereditary diffuse gastric cancer," Cristina presented.

"Which means at, Dr Grey?"

"Which means they all have a 3- In- 4 chance of developing cancer,"

"Dr Bailey has taken tumours out of pretty much everyone on our mother's side,"

"Unfortunately, it's a highly aggressive cancer. The tumours grow quickly, so by the time I get in there- -"

"Our family tree is down to a branch,"

"How is uncle bud doing?" Bailey asked.

"Dead."

"And aunt Helen?"

"Dead."

"What about the Minnesota cousin?"

"Not dead."

"She's 90 pounds and in hospice, Meg."

"Still, not dead yet."

"So, uh, you've ... decided you're ready to take the next step."

"We've made a pact. We're all in this together. Cut our stomachs out, Dr Bailey."

Renee looked between the three siblings, the younger two weren't given any chance of speaking or making their own decisions, prophylactic gastrectomy wasn't a procedure done everyday nor was it an easy procedure to do, it involved taking the stomachs out and the entirety of their digestive system was supposed to change. 

"Dr Foster, what chances of survival are there if we do the procedure?" Micheal asked.

"You'd have a very good chance, Mike, a very positive chance,"

"What?"

The OR board was a mess and Richard was not having it, he side eyed Renee as she watched the board with a scrunched face, all her surgeries were moved to odd times and it seemed as if she was going to have to spend the next two days in the hospital. She was about to answer when Mark came and stood in front of the board, his left hand holding his right hand which was still not healed, it was a dump mistake, hitting people with scapel hand.

"The board's a mess," Renee said as she turned to look at Richard who glared at her with narrowed eyes.

"No, no, no. Callahan on the bypass. Levin on the appy. Damn craniotomy ... where the hell is Shepherd?!" Richard snapped at the nurse updating the board.

"Uh, you can't rely on Shepherd, sir," Mark said as Richard turned to him, his hands on his hips daring for him to saying anything else.

"I need to do this surgery in the next two hours and I need one more attending and at least three residents and a couple of surgical nurse," Renee said as she pointed at the board which caused Richard to glare at her once more.

"Glare all you want I need the OR in the next two hours or max three hours, no more than that," Mark shook his head and decided to jump in between them before Richard kills her.

"Is there anything I can do for you?"

"Well, my neurosurgeon's been missing for days, I still have no head of cardio, I've got general surgeons quitting on me left and right, I've got surgeries piling up like dead fish and no surgeons to do 'em."

"Well, then now would probably be a bad time to tell you that my hand's still out of commission, and I can't operate," Mark said.

"Never hit people with your scalpel hand, how dumb can you be to not know that?" Renee commented as Mark glared at her.

"You know what? Leave me on the board, chief. I won't let you down," Mark said with a side look at Renee to which she rolled her eyes.

"I could do that craniotomy, Chief," Renee and Mark looked over Richard's shoulder at a short balding man with spectacles.

"Put Dr Nelson on the craniotomy," Richard said as he started at the man.

"Appreciate it, John,"

"It's- - It's Jim," the man said as Richard walked off. Mark walked towards Dr Nelson as Renee watched them talk.

"You must be new. Welcome to Seattle grace,"

"I've been here ten years. I was the interim chief of neuro before Shepherd and his red cape swooped in from New York,"

"Mark Sloan, plastics,"

"We've met ... three times,"

"Renee Foster, Oncology,"

"I've asked you out.....two times, actually,"

"Clamp's going in."

Renee could practically feel the tension between Richard and Bailey who were breathing down each other's neck and she was finding it pretty frustrating, she was very close to throwing them both out of the OR, she was more than capable of doing the entire surgery alone.

"I don't feel any masses. 2- 0 vicryl, please,"

"Uh, sir, if I may, one more time, I think stapling would be a better choice," Bailey said.

"If I'm not mistaken, Dr Bailey, you no longer wish to be a general surgeon in this hospital. So why don't we leave the technical calls up to me?"

"I was simply expressing my opinion on what would be best for my patient,"

"Okay, you don't get an opinion here! This is my patient because this is my hospital. When it's your hospital, you can make the damn decisions. But until then, this is my hospital! And I want all of you people to do what I say!" Richard yelled as the entire OR turned to look at him.

"Okay that's it, Bailey, this is my patient, so I get to decide what's best of her and Chief, we know you are frustrated with Derek not showing up to work but you can't yell at us,"

"Dr Foster, you do understand that I am the Chief?" Richard said angrily as he once again glared at her.

"Yes and that is why I need you to step away from the patient, Chief," Bailey looked at Renee with a smirk on her face.

"Dr Foster?"

"Dr Webber, step away, please. And Dr Bailey, you could stop looking so smug and step away too,"