𝟘𝟞𝕩𝟙𝟜
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"Are you moving out?" It was a Saturday morning and Amber had woken up a little bit later than usual. She knew that her mother was working the night shift that day, so she expected the house to be quiet, thinking that her mother would need more time to rest since it was Valentine's Day. But instead she saw furniture and a mattress all over the hallway, blocking her way to the stairs.
"Oh you're up." Natalie appeared from inside her room. "Can you give me a hand? Because the guy that brought the mattress was hitting on me and I basically kicked him out and now this mattress is too heavy for me."
"What was wrong with your old mattress?"
"I had sex with your father and now I can't sleep on it without thinking about that night." Natalie thought, but she used up an excuse for Amber. "I saw few bed bugs on them and I wanted to clear out everything bad." Amber didn't think much of her mother's lie, and Natalie was happy that she had no idea and she hoped that it would stay that way. "Hey, since you're not mad at me anymore, do you think you could help me paint the walls to my room?" Natalie asked. Amber hadn't been talking much to her since their fight that night, but after she saw that her mother was trying to get back to her old self, she decided to cut her some slack.
"What's wrong with the walls now?" Amber rolled her eyes.
"It was either that or dying my hair. But I like my hair like that, so the walls it is!"
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"Hey, what's going on?" Natalie asked that evening at the hospital once she saw Callie clearing the O.R. board completely. Arizona and Bailey were with her, checking their pagers who informed them that a wave of trauma was coming their way.
"Grandinetti's roof collapsed." Callie informed them. "We'll be getting more than a dozen. All scheduled procedures are pushed."
"Ugh. On Valentine's day? God, Grandinetti's must have been packed." Arizona commented.
"Well, tonight's out. I told you this would happen." Callie replied to her.
"Well, that's why we went to dinner at 4:00 and exchanged gifts. Look." Arizona and Callie showed the necklaces they had given to each other.
"Just special. Original. Magical. Squeals of joy." Bailey mummered.
"Wow. Scrooge."
"Scrooge is Christmas. That's a holiday." Natalie defended Bailey as she was feeling extra lonely that day. It was fine in the morning when she was home with her daughter and she was telling her all about her crush, but being at the hospital and having to see Mark, was not easy for her.
"Dr. Bailey." An anaesthesiologist from Mercy West, that Natalie knew as Ben, rushed to catch up with the doctor, who started walking faster once she realised that Ben was calling her. "Our hemicolectomy's pushed. That's a shame. I was really looking forward to that." He said and the the rest three women stayed back watching the small conversation that took place in front of them.
"Well, as ... you know..." Bailey stuttered.
"Well, maybe we could make up for it. Dinner tomorrow?" Ben suggested and Natalie, Arizona and Callie exchanged looks.
"No. Um ... just ... I'm ... busy. I have surgeries most nights. I always have surgery."
"Right. Well, um, maybe see you in the O.R., then." Ben said slightly disappointed, but he didn't seem like he was going to give up.
"Oh, my God." Callie exclaimed once the four women were alone in the hallway and Bailey could finally breathe properly. "She likes him." Callie realised, being the one who knew Bailey the best.
"Oh, you like him?" Natalie asked. "He is really handsome and he is fun to work with."
"Oh, my God." Callie said excited. "You should totally go out with him. You have to say yes."
"Oh, no. It's Valentine's day." Arizona agreed, both of them giggling. Except Natalie who was just keeping it slightly more serious, like she usually did. "You have to."
"Okay, see, that... this right here, what's happening, the giggling... the girl talk, the OMGs... okay, it has to stop." Bailey tried to look annoyed, but she was secretly enjoying it. "Be more like Natalie."
"Natalie should be more like us." Arizona argued, annoyed that her friend was more uptight than she used to be. "What happened to you?"
"I had a daughter. I don't do giggling. And OMGs. But I can bring you Amber for that." Natalie suggested, making Arizona narrow her eyes at her.
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Later on Mark and Callie were walking together. Mark was trying to hold on to the fact that he still had his daughter and his grandson, so much that he had bought a crib. So he was asking for Callie's help. "You're like a sweet, nerdy dad now. I don't even recognize you." Callie commented, seeing a big change at him.
But then Mark's eyes landing at a woman and more specifically the lower part of her body as she was bending over the nurse's station, trying to reach something. He couldn't recognise the part of her body he was the most interested in. And he really wanted to see her face. "Well... whose butt is that?" Mark questioned, completely forgetting what they were talking about a minute ago.
"I don't know." Callie shrugged.
"I may be a dad, but I am a single dad. Excuse me." Mark cleared his throat and headed towards the woman, ready to hit her with his best lines.
"Okay. Now... now I recognize you." Callie commented but Mark was too far away to hear her.
"It must, uh, suck to work on Valentine's day." Mark said and the woman stood up to look at the man who was speaking to her. "I don't believe we've met. Oh!" Mark's eyes went wide as he saw Natalie in front of him. "That's why the butt looked familiar."
"Excuse me?" Natalie exclaimed. "Were you about to hit on me?" She scoffed annoyed.
"Yeah, well, I pretty much saw a butt. Why didn't I recognise your butt?" Mark asked and it seemed like he was mostly questioning himself.
"What's your problem?" Natalie exclaimed. "You're so slutty!"
"Oh I know" Mark continued, ignoring her comment. "Because we are not meant to be." Mark said bitterly and walked away.
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"Sloan?" Natalie called out when she saw the blonde by the nurse's station asking some questions. The place was chaotic that day, so she knew that Sloan would need some help. "When did you get in?"
"Um, my flight got in a little bit early, and I just took a cab over. I didn't want to bug Mark or anything. Somebody said that you guys have a free clinic?" Sloan asked her. "Do you know where that is?"
"Is everything okay?" Natalie asked, last time she heard, the surgery was a success. And she knew only because she had kept on asking Callie about how Mark and Sloan were doing. Both of them had make big mistakes but it didn't just erase how much they cared for each other.
"Oh, yeah. I just want someone to check me out after the surgery and everything. Maybe give me an ultrasound or something?" Sloan shrugged.
"Yeah, the clinic closed an hour ago. Come on. I have a second. I'll take a peek for you." Natalie suggested, even if the last time she had taken an ultrasound for her, it didn't turn out well.
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"Baby looks perfect." Natalie announced once she was done with the ultrasound.
"Awesome. Um, can I, like, get that in writing?" Sloan asked, but Natalie didn't think much of it as she printed a picture of the baby from the ultrasound.
"Oh, even better. Here is a souvenir." She handed it to Sloan.
"Oh, um ... well, don't you have some kind of, like, official form or hospital document that you can give me?" Sloan asked again and Natalie realised that she was hiding something, and she only hoped that it wasn't what first came into her mind.
"Why do you need an official form?" She asked.
"Oh, well, that's none of your business."
"If you want your official form, it is, Sloan." Natalie pointed out, trying to not get too harsh with her. "What's going on?"
"It's for the adoption attorney, okay?" Sloan admitted. "They need, like, a clean bill of health from me or something. There's this great couple in San Francisco, and they have these two big dogs, and..."
"An adoption attorney?" Natalie cut her off.
"Yeah. I mean, I'm not ready to be a mom. I'm just... I'm just not ready yet." Sloan stuttered, feeling everything a little too much in that moment.
"Have you told Mark?" Natalie asked, knowing that he would be heartbroken by the news. And even if he had broken her heart, she didn't want to see his more broken than it already was.
"No. And... you're my doctor, right? I mean, don't you guys have some kind of rule that says you can't say anything? Well, I'm not gonna tell him, and neither are you." Sloan argued, but Natalie wasn't the one to give it up easily, especially since it concerned Mark.
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"You can't leave without telling him." Natalie exclaimed as she followed Sloan down the stairs and at the lobby.
"Yes, I can. I can do whatever I..."
But in her luck Mark had appeared. "Sloan." He called out, trying not to think much of Natalie being there with his daughter. "When did you get here? I mean, I thought you were gonna call first."
"Look." Sloan gave him the picture of the ultrasound.
"Oh, my God. Would you look at that?" Mark was obviously moved. "That's the Sloan nose. Can you... can you see it?" He put the picture next to his face as he tried to show the women in front of him the resemblance of his nose and the little nose that could be made out in picture. It was more like a shadow, but Mark had everything he wanted in his arms, so he was happy. "Can you see it? It's my dad's. He has my dad's nose. That's the Sloan nose." But then his pager went off and he had to leave. "Damn it. Will you wait for me? I want to ... I want to take you home. I got a surprise for you. Oh, could I see this again? The Sloan nose."
Natalie looked at him sadly as he walked away. And she didn't want to admit it to herself that she felt a type of jealously, that she couldn't even explain. But then she looked at Sloan, telling her that she had to tell Mark the truth.
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"Do you have my report thing?" Sloan asked when Natalie appeared at the nurse's station, holding a piece of paper.
"No." Natalie held the paper tightly. She was furious at the way Sloan treated Mark, especially after part of the reason they broke up was her appearance in Seattle. "He took you in, he's given you money, he flew you to L. A. He deserves to know. So if you're not gonna tell him, I will."
And as she said that Mark showed up, wondering why would Natalie even page him, when just few hours ago they were having a fight. "You paged me? What's going on?"
"You paged him?" Sloan exclaimed.
"What's the matter?"
"Mark, she's..."
"I'm giving the baby up for adoption." Sloan finished Natalie's sentence. A part of her knowing that it was only fair to tell Mark the truth. "I'm not a mom. I'm not ready. And I want him to have good parents and a good home."
Mark's face quickly changed at the sound of that. "No, don't. Don't do this. Don't give this baby away."
"They'll love him. They'll love him more than I will." Sloan spoke, trying to reason with him.
"Give him to me." Mark said almost desperate. "I'll take him. I'll adopt him. I understand. I understand. You're not ready, but I am. And I know I... I don't have the best track record, and I... and I should've been there for you, and I wasn't. But I will be there for this baby. Please. I want him to have a family."
"I mean, you've been really nice to me the past couple of months, but you're not a family. You're just a guy."
"Sloan, please." Mark begged and as Natalie looked at the way his face was heartbroken she didn't filter her next words.
"I'll help. Uh... I mean, I know we're not together, but we can still be civil with each other. And if he needs something I can help. I've raised a baby before. I... I can help. We're doctors and we're good people. It's going to be a well-loved baby."
"Yeah" Mark nodded his head, trying not to show that he was shocked, because he only wanted Sloan to say yes. "Just think about it. Go home. We'll talk about it. Can we talk about it?"
"Yes. Yes, we can. We can talk about it." Sloan agreed and as she left Mark didn't waste a second to ask Natalie the question he wanted.
"Why did you say that to Sloan? Why would you do that?" He looked at her with all the pain he was trying to mask. He was hurting, because he lost her and because she thought that they were a mistake. And he couldn't handle that when every time he closed his eyes he could only see her smile.
"I didn't just stop caring about you Mark." Natalie spoke softly, her accent barely visible with the tone of her voice. "I want you to be happy. Even if it isn't with me."
She didn't waste another second. She turned to leave. She had nothing more so say. Not when he looked at her so hurt, so disappointed. They couldn't so easily fix the way they had let each other down.
But Mark took her hand, stopping her. Natalie kept her back on him as he spoke to her. "I was happy with you. No matter what you think. No matter what we both have done."
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"Hey." Natalie spoke as she walked out of the hospital. She saw Sloan entering a taxi. "You don't have to take a taxi. I can take you home." She suggested, she had spent too much time with that girl. No matter if she was part of the reason for their break up and no matter if she had been rude and ungrateful all the time she spent in Natalie's house.
"No, I'm fine." Sloan declined.
"Wait, why do you need a taxi? Mark's place is just..." Natalie paused as she realised what was actually happening. "Did you even tell him you're leaving?"
"Look, I ... I just wanted a place to stay and some money. I mean, I didn't know he was gonna care this much. He bought a crib."
"Well, he's a good man, and he'll be very good to your baby. You ... you could know the baby if Mark raised him. You could come back and visit and..."
"I ... I don't want to know where to come back to." Sloan argued. "I mean, if I give him to him, it's still my baby, and I need him to be somebody else's. I mean, my dad got a clean break from me ... And look at him now. Don't I deserve that?" She asked and Natalie's eyes softened, knowing exactly how she was feeling. Back when Natalie got pregnant, she was completely freaked out. She also thought about adoption. But once she gave birth and held her daughter, she couldn't ignore that feeling.
"Prenatal vitamins are not a joke." Natalie said as she took her wallet out of her purse to give Sloan some money. "Take them. And do not skip any doctor's appointments. And if you get into any trouble or you have a problem with anything... Call us. Just ... take care of yourself."
"Thanks." Sloan said and quickly got inside the taxi.
And Natalie stayed back wondering how she was going to tell Mark when they could barely speak to each other.
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When Mark returned to his house after the hospital, he certainly didn't expect to find Natalie there working on the crib he had been trying to built.
"Natalie, what are you doing here?" He asked, not able to hide his smile. And he was smiling because he thought that he was finally going to be part of the family he wanted and because the woman he loved was standing in front of him. He was hopeful. But his hopes were about to be crushed.
"I..." Natalie paused not expecting to see Mark back so soon. "Callie was supposed to do it but she got pulled into the O.R. and I was hoping that I would be done before you get back. I..." The moment she put down a part of the grip, Mark knew that something was wrong.
"What are you doing?"
"Sit down."
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"I'm so sorry Mark." Natalie whispered softly and held Mark's hand as they were sitting next to each other at the couch. Mark squeezed her hand in reply before he spoke.
"Thank you for being here." His hand landed on her cheek, out of habit, but Natalie didn't push him off. "Even after... everything." He looked at her sadly, a part of him wishing that he hadn't lost both of them at the same time. He hadn't dealt with that type of pain before and he didn't know how to act.
"You were always there for me, I could at least do that for you. Even if we broke up." Natalie added, and her hand reached for his hand that was still on her cheek. She placed it down on his lap and took her hand away. She knew that Mark was staring at her the moment she did that but she couldn't look him in the eye. Not strong enough just yet to not cave into his touch.
"I love you." Mark suddenly said . "I haven't stopped. No matter what you said. I love you."
"Mark, don't do that." Natalie shook her head. "You're upset and you need to focus on that, not you and I. We are done, I am here as a person that cares about you."
"I want to focus on you." Mark hinted and in a second his lips were on her. And even if Natalie knew that it was wrong, she let him kiss her for just a moment. Not wanting to accept that their last kiss was when they broke up.
But the moment his hands slipped under her blouse Natalie knew that she needed to stop this, for both of their sakes. "Mark." She tried to push him off her but Mark's lips were still on hers. "Mark!" She pushed him harder. "I'm sorry you're hurting, but I can't do this again with you. Please. If you need a friend for a moment, I can ignore our past for a while, I can pretend you're my friend Mark that annoys me a lot just like before everything."
"I don't need that from you." Mark argued. His sadness turning into anger. "We're not friends. We're not." He completely let go of her and got up from the couch. He walked towards the door and opened ot. "So you should better go."
Natalie raised her eyebrows, slightly surprised. But with no further words she gathered her stuff and walked away. And she promised herself that she would stop caring so much. Especially for him.
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ᴍᴀᴛᴀʟɪᴇ ɪꜱ ɴᴏᴛ ᴊᴜꜱᴛ ᴏᴠᴇʀ, ᴏʙᴠɪᴏᴜꜱʟʏ! ᴛʜᴇʏ ᴄᴀɴ'ᴛ ᴊᴜꜱᴛ ɪɢɴᴏʀᴇ ᴇᴀᴄʜ ᴏᴛʜᴇʀ!
ꜱᴏ ɪ ɢᴏᴛ ꜱᴏᴍᴇ ɴᴇᴡꜱ! ɪ'ᴠᴇ ᴘᴏꜱᴛᴇᴅ ᴀ ʙʀᴀɴᴅ ɴᴇᴡ ɢʀᴇʏ'ꜱ ᴀɴᴀᴛᴏᴍʏ ꜱᴛᴏʀʏ ᴀɴᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ɪɴᴛʀᴏ ɪꜱ ᴏᴜᴛ ᴀɴᴅ ɪᴛ'ꜱ ᴡᴀɪᴛɪɴɢ ꜰᴏʀ ʏᴏᴜʀ ʀᴇᴀᴅꜱ ᴀɴᴅ ᴄᴏᴍᴍᴇɴᴛꜱ! ɪᴛ'ꜱ ᴄᴀʟʟᴇᴅ ᴛᴡᴏ ɢʜᴏꜱᴛꜱ ᴀɴᴅ ɪ ʀᴇᴀʟʟʏ, ᴛʀᴜʟʏ, ᴅᴇᴇᴘʟʏ, ʜᴏᴘᴇ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡɪʟʟ ʟɪᴋᴇ ɪᴛ!