Bella knew how she and Mark had been making their relationship work. They had been living together for a couple of weeks and Bella was loving it.
She was able to be with Mark without people interrupting. Or even making comments. She was happy.
Even her own mom had told her that she hadn't seen Bella with a big smile in a long time.
Bella was sitting on the couch while Mark was in bed. She had just made some coffee when she felt him behind her.
Mark pulled her to her feet, lifting her up by the back of her thighs when her arms wrapped around his neck and set her on the counter.
His lips found hers as she settled back on her elbows, traveling to her neck as his fingers bunched the scrap of material she'd donned as a shirt above her breast.
She felt his tongue tease her puckered peaks, lightly trailing over them enticing small hitches in her breathing.
His hand ventured lower, slowly circling her clit with each pass he made along her slit. His mouth engulfed her nipple, softly sucking as two fingers slid into her.
Bella's hand instinctively nestled in his hair, watching both his mouth and fingers at work. The visual along with his ministrations had her breathing labored and her hips grinding against his hand long before his thumb pressed against her clit.
His eyes shifting to meet hers sent her over the edge, her moan stifled by his lips covering hers again.
Her hand tugged at his hair when his fingers curled inside her, coaxing everything he could from her climax before gently easing her back down.
Bella's chest was still heaving when he pulled her to her feet, spinning her so she faced away from him.
"Bend over the counter."
Her lip twitched at the fact that he hadn't asked, merely maneuvered her where he'd wanted her. She knew the outfit would lead to sex, his domineering side was a pleasant little bonus.
His thighs tickled the back of hers as she rested her elbows on the granite surface.
A hand quickly pushed her so her chest was flat against the counter, the other moving to lift his shirt she was wearing high enough to grant him access.
Anna moaned as he filled her, lifting her slightly with each thrust.
"Fuck, Mark..." She grunted, her palms flat on the counter.
Mark pressed his lips to the area of her neck where it met her shoulder as his hands gripping over her shoulder, pulling her back to him with each thrust.
"Jesus." Bella panted. Her hands where white knuckling the edge of the counter as she gripped it to prevent her torso from sliding forward...
her toes barely touched the ground as it was and his thrust only served to lift her higher.
He'd pull almost all of him out of her, then slam back inside, one hand pushing her ass down ensuring he bottomed out.
Her breath was staggered but she could still hear his grunts behind her.
"Fuck..." She groaned as her body jerked against his, giving into her release.
Mark's arms wrapped tightly around her waist as he pulled her away from the counter, forcing her to brace herself with one arm around the back of his neck.
"Jesus. Fuck... Mark... I can't..." She panted, her free hand digging into one of his arms.
"You can." He purred, failing to relent in the force with which he was shoving into her.
He was stronger than a first glance made him appear, though she knew this, and relaxed into his vigorous pace.
There wasn't any reason to tire herself more than necessary and he was right, she could keep going.
At this point, other than the slightly uncomfortable position and how sore she knew she'd feel the next day, he was doing all the work.
"I can stop if you need," he said. His hips continued to thrust, but his statement was prompted by how limp Bella had become in his arms.
"Don't you fucking dare."
Mark smirked at how strained her voice sounded, somehow managing to increase his pace.
"Fuck..." Bella hissed when her body shuddered against him again. She would have doubled over if it hadn't been for his arms holding her in place.
Mark thrust a few more times before succumbing to his own release, grunting against the back of her neck.
He gently leaned her over the counter again, chuckling when her body sag against it. "Lift up baby." Her hips rose slightly allowing him to slip out of her.
Bella attempted to stand, but her legs shook with her weight, dropping her into his arms again.
"Are you ok?"
She chuckled, but let him support her. "Yeah, my legs are just a little wobbly."
"Here..." Mark scooped her into his arms and carried her to the couch, settling in next to her once he'd refastened his slacks. "Better?"
"At least until the soreness kicks in," Bella mumbled over her shoulder at him and he chuckled.
****
Bella walked onto the elevator with Grace. Grace looked to her. "Are you walking funny?" She asked.
Bella turned to her. "Huh? No. What?" She said as she feigned innocence.
Grace rolled her eyes. She smirked. "You had rough sex this morning huh? You're totally walking funny. Like you're sore," she told her.
"Oh. No. No sex. Just the gym."
"Isabella. You can't fool me. It's good that you're getting a distraction. Means you're not thinking about any one of us could get cut," Grace mumbled.
Bella sighed. "I think that's the reason why I'm having so much sex. I'm barely at home. And when I am, I'm having sex to stop thinking about this merger and the stupid cuts," she told her. "You don't need to worry. You're not getting cut. You're literally kicking cancers ass," she told her.
"I don't think I can use the cancer card anymore Bella. They could easily tell me I'm too unstable to be here," Grace said.
"Then I'd quit in protest. Trust me, we're all going to be okay. No one is getting cut. Hopefully Izzie will. Cause I'm sick of her puppy dog eyes. But yeah," Bella said with a shrug.
Cristina and Meredith got into the elevator too. "So I spoke to Callie last night. About the Mercy West residents. And they apparently don't suck," Cristina said as she looked to her two friends. "Bella is safe because she's Derek's sister. Grace is safe because she's Ellis Grey's daughter. And she can use three cancer card. Mer is safe because of being married to James. Plus you, angel eyes is the one who wants become double board certified Peds and trauma," she said.
Meredith nodded. "It's true. And she's McSteamy's fiancee. Have you seen his puppy dog eyes when she's around?"
"Yes. He has to be near her," Cristina said as she looked to Bella.
Bella rolled her eyes but smiled. "Mark doesn't play favourites. He treats us all the same," she said with a shrug.
Cristina rolled her eyes. "Could have fooled me."
****
Derek was starting a Nuero exam. He turned to Mark. "So he announces a merger. And then shuts himself in his office all day and refuses to talk to anybody," he said.
Mark shrugged. "This merger won't affect us. It's just a financial restructuring," he told him.
"What do you think restructuring is? Cutting personnel. Are you prepared to lose all good people? I'm not. Tell Hunt he's good to go. I'll write up a consult later. I'm gonna go talk to Richard right now," Derek told him.
The two attending's left. Mark sighed. "You're tired. You're angry. You're gonna say something you'll regret. Get outta here for a while. Go to the driving range. Hit a bucket of balls," he said.
"I have a surgery in an hour."
Mark shrugged. "So take a walk. Grab Grace, take a walk," he told him.
Derek shook his head. "Grace won't leave the hospital. None of them will. Everyone's awaiting word from up high," he said. He saw Bella. "Look don't tell me Bella's not worried."
Bella came running in with blood for the patient. "Is he in there?! Cause I've got the..."
Bella fell to the ground on top of the blood. Covering herself in it. Mark sighed. "No. Bella's worried," he said.
****
Mark walked up to anna as she left the bathroom after getting changed. "I think you missed a spot," he said.
Bella groaned. She turned to him. "You can't tease me about the blood thing because it's not funny. And if it gets back to the Chief, I may as well just pack my things and go back to New York," she mumbled.
Mark rolled his eyes. "You need to stop worrying about the Chief. All this is in your head," he told her.
"Really? 2002, Milwaukee, Third Street Hospital merged with st. Ann's. 13 residents were let go. 2004, Nashville Women's absorbed Memorial. Nine residents were fired. 2006, Albuquerque. 19 residents..."
"All right. Stop. You need to pull yourself together. You deserve to be here. Act like it," he said.
Bella wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. "You're right," she said as she went to walk off.
"I meant later. After you went home and got some sleep!" He called after her. But she wasn't listening.
****
Grace smiled as she saw Bella. She looked to her. "Are you okay? I heard what happened," she said.
"At this point I may as well move back to New York. I wouldn't have to worry about if I'm getting cut or not," Bella mumbled.
Grace smiled. "You're not going to get cut. You're too cute and perky for that," she told her.
Bella rolled her eyes. She looked to her. "Thanks. But I don't think cute and perky will get me far at the moment," she told her with a smile.
"I'd keep you purely just for that."
"Thanks. I think," Bella said. She handed her best friend a donut and smiled. "How are you feeling? I know you're back earlier than you were told."
Grace shrugged and smiled. "I'm okay. I'm being looked at like I'm going to break. I'm not by the way."
Bella nodded. "I know you're not going to break. You're Grace Grey. You don't break. You hold it all in. And then you do something drastic, like try and drown. Or get cancer," she said.
"Hey. I can't help it if I'm a bad luck charm. I blame my mom and the daddy issues," Grace told her with a shrug.
"Yeah. Well. Do you think you could stop trying to die? I personally feel like you're trying to abandon me," Bella told her.
****
Bella was working with Arizona along with Cristina. The three of them walked into Sage's room. Anna smiled.
Arizona turned to them both. "Have you seen Sage? She's 6, light brown hair, gorgeous blue eyes. She just had a tumor removed from her belly so she has a bandage on her tummy. Why don't you check under the bed? Maybe she's there?" She suggested.
Bella grinned as she saw how Cristina had been roped into playing hide and seek.
"Her labs are better than we expected," Arizona told Sage's mother.
"She's not under the bed."
Bella grinned. "Maybe try the bathroom? Maybe she slipped in there? How did she do last night? Did she get any sleep?" She asked as she turned to the mother.
"She did. I didn't."
"Bathroom's clear."
Arizona smiled. "Wait. Shh. I think that there's something coming from your pocket. Is Sage inside your pocket?" She asked.
Cristina walked over to the bed and pulled off the cover. "She's hiding here," she said.
Sage pouted as she looked to Cristina. "You gotta look in your pocket first," she mumbled.
Cristina shook her head. "No, I don't, because I found you already. Now I just need to check your incision site, so..."
Sage shook her head. "Don't touch it. It hurts."
Arizona smiled. She looked to Cristina. "I bet that Mr. Bear would like to see Sage's scar. Wouldn't you, Mr. Bear?"
Cristina put on a fake voice. "Yes, I would."
Bella frowned. Realising that Cristina wasn't the best person to work with kids.
****
Bella smiled as Mark walked over to her. He smiled. "Are you okay? I've had people telling me you look like you're about to go loopy," he said.
Bella rolled her eyes but smiled. "No I feel fine. Partly feel stupid for getting covered in blood. But I'm fine," she told him.
"Well I hear Derek had a pop with the chief. Something about the cuts," Mark said as he pulled her close.
Bella frowned. "Why?"
"I don't know. But he wants answers. Everyone does," Mark said in between kissing her neck. "You came home last night. Can I tempt you home tonight?" He asked.
Bella shrugged. "Depends on the temptation."
"Oh I can be good with my temptation."
****
Bella smiled as Callie walked over to her and Arizona. "Oh hi. What are you doing here?" She asked.
"Oh I was just... I just stopped by to get some old case files," Callie told them both.
"For what?" Arizona asked her girlfriend.
Callie smiled. "This job opening in Portland. Oregon? The merger. I mean the chief already got rid of me once, so..."
"Well it's... it's smart. That's smart of you to have back ups. You know I'm working with Cristina as well as Bella. She's interested in Peds too," Arizona told her girlfriend.
Callie laughed and looked to her. "No she isn't."
"Yeah, she is. Well, what? Did she say something to you?" Arizona asked. She looked to Bella. "Do you know something?"
"Nope."
"She didn't have to. She's Cristina."
Arizona frowned. "You have to help me out here. Cause I don't know what that means," she said.
Callie sighed. "I shouldn't say anything. She's my roommate. And you're my girlfriend. Girlfriend trumps roommate. Fine. She's Cristina. She's all about cardio. So she's probably sucking up to you to get through this merger. I mean, is she good with the kids?"
Realisation dawned on Arizona. "She's sucking up."
****
Bella walked into the room where Arizona was. Arizona looked to the nurses. "And somebody page Sloan again, stat!" She called.
"Right away, doctor."
Arizona turned to the other doctor she sighed. "Okay, Elizabeth, Take me through exactly what happened," she said.
Elizabeth sighed. "I was doing a crash c-section on this 32-weeker. I had the incision done in five minutes flat. I must have cut too deep, because when I went in to take the baby, I pulled the arm a little, and the..."
Arizona's eyes widened. "Oh, my God. Get me the umbilical cord!"
Cristina frowned. "Umbilical cord?" She asked. She was confused.
Arizona rolled her eyes. "Just get it."
Bella found the umbilical cord. She went back to Arizona. "I got it. I got the umbilical cord," she told her.
"Good. Give me about 5 centimeters of it," Arizona told her.
Mark walked in. He frowned as he saw Bella. "What's going on?" He asked.
Arizona turned to him. "Arm got damaged during a stat "c." I'm gonna use the umbilical artery if it's still viable," she told him.
Mark nodded. "It looks a little dry."
Arizona nodded and smiled. "It looks like it's gonna work. She's stable. Let's put it in antibiotic solution and move this party to the O.R," she said to him.
****
Bella was in the OR with Mark, Arizona and Cristina. Mark sighed. "How does this happen? Was Chen just not paying attention?" He asked.
"She made a mistake," Arizona told him.
"Wrong time to make a mistake, with the merger,". Cristina said.
Bella rolled her eyes. She looked to her. "Is that all you care about? This stupid merger?" She asked.
Mark nodded. "You people need to stop with the doom and gloom merger scenarios."
Cristina turned to look at Mark. "I just read somewhere that the hospital's revenues actually went up last quarter. Except for elective procedures, which went down 13%," she told him.
Mark raised his eyebrows. "You mean elective procedures like plastic surgeries? Now you're saying that I'm gonna get fired?" He asked as he shared a look with Bella.
Cristina shrugged. "I don't think anyone is safe."
Mark nodded. "I'm safe. Bella is safe too," he said with a shrug.
"How can you be sure?" Cristina asked the male attending.
Arizona rolled her eyes. "We're about to reattach a baby's arm here. So we need to stop thinking about the merger and think instead about this little girl throwing a ball and holding a spoon and waving bye-bye to her parents," she told them both.
****
Bella walked over to the residents. Grace turned to her. "Hey. Check your email," she said as she looked to her.
"For what?" Bella asked.
Meredith turned to her and spoke. "H.R. If you got cut, you'll have an email," she told her.
Bella took out her phone and sighed in relief. "I didn't get cut. Grace?" She asked.
"Me either."
Everyone else had realised they hadn't gotten an email. They were all safe.
****
Mark saw Bella crying. He walked over to her. "No way. Are you serious? I'm gonna go to the chief myself. And I'm gonna tell him you're the best resident I've seen," he said.
Bella shook her head. "No. I didn't get cut. I'm safe," she sobbed as she cuddled into him.
Mark frowned. "Then why are you crying?"
"I don't know."
****
Bella, Mark, Grace, Meredith Derek, Lexie, Owen and Cristina were on a baseball court.
Cristina rolled her eyes. "I'm sorry. I don't have time for games. I have to get back to the hospital," she said.
Grace nodded. "She's right. She does have to get back to the hospital."
Derek shook his head. "No. We're not going to talk about the hospital. We're here to play baseball. And drink beer. Drink a beer. What more do you want in life?" He asked.
Lexie, who was stood with Bella pouted. "How can I drink beer when all my friends just for fired?" She mumbled.
Cristina shook her head. "I'm sorry. I'm leaving," she told them as she turned to leave.
Owen stopped her. "You need this. Put this on," he said as he put the helmet on her head. "That's right. There we go. Now hit the ball."
"I don't want to hit the ball. What are you trying?-."
Owen sighed. "You need to stop thinking about what's gonna happen. And you need to focus on what's in front of you. Now hit the ball," he told her.
Bella smiled as she looked to Mark. "I think we all needed this," she said as she bumped her hips with his. "We're gonna be okay."
"We are doll," Mark said as he kissed her lips. He put the helmet on her head and grinned. "Your turn."
"Step up little sister," Derek said as he looked to his stepdaughter.
Bella stepped up and grinned as she hit the ball. She ran back to Mark who held her close. Unaware of the heartbreak that was about to hit them both.