Growing old is mandatory. Growing up is optional.
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Grace was walking towards the surgical reception when she froze at the sight of a familiar back near Meredith.
'Mark?' Grace called out, expecting to be wrong. Only to have her best friend turn towards her with a grin. 'Mark!' She squealed and ran at him, throwing her arms around his neck and letting him pick her up like always.
'Hey there Gracie!'
'What are you doing here? Why didn't you tell me you were coming?' Grace asked quickly before changing her mind. 'Never mind, I don't care. I'm just glad to see you!' She dropped off of him but stayed close. 'I see you met – '
Suddenly a fist slammed into Mark's face, dropping him to the floor.
'What the hell was that?' Meredith demanded of Derek.
'That, was Mark.' Derek said before walking off. Grace saw Addie fellow him before she switched her attention to her friend was shaking his head a little touching his cheek.
'You're not helping me up Gracie?'
Grace folded her arms and looked at him. 'First, I'm six inches shorter than you, get yourself off the floor. Second you're getting no sympathy because you deserved it.'
Mark stood and smirked at her. 'You still missed me.'
'Of course,' she rolled her eyes and walked off. 'I'll get you a coffee.'
'And I want your muffins!' He shouted after her.
Grace just laughed and ignored that.
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She walked into the exam room as Mark held a mirror out to Meredith.
'It's fine Grey,' Grace said, putting his coffee to the side. 'He's just about the best plastic surgeon there is.'
'Just about?' Mark put on a wounded look. 'Gracie, I'm hurt.'
'You'll live.'
Mark chuckled and started stitching. 'Alright, alright. I should get an x-ray done.'
'Derek does have a good swing.' Grace took the mirror from Grey and stood it on the table in the right light. 'Grey, go sort it.'
'Yes, Doctor Mason.' Meredith turned and left the room.
'Since when do you call him Derek?'
Grace shrugged a bit. 'A month or so. I just, didn't want to carry on disliking him. Though, no doubt the amicable thing we've had going will stop short now.'
'And you and Addie?'
'Same as always really. Some awkward moments but we're fine.'
Mark smiled slightly. 'Good to know. We avoided either of them whenever we talked. Even when I came here for Christmas.'
Just then Karev walked in.
Grace smiled at him. 'Mark, this is Doctor Alex Karev, Karev, Mark Sloan.'
'Nice to meet you Doctor Sloan. How are you Doctor Mason?'
'I'm good Karev. Mark, I'll be back soon for an explanation. Karev will show you where the x-ray is.' Grace went to the door and then paused to look back. 'Oh and Karev?' The intern looked at her. 'Take care of him, otherwise you'll get first-hand knowledge of why I'm called Nature. We clear?'
Karev nodded nervously. 'Crystal.'
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Grace went back to the examination room where Mark was in, only to find it empty, with only a couple of x-rays left behind.
'Olivia?' Grace called as the nurse passed by. 'Did you see where Karev went with my friend?'
'Oh, I think I heard them talking about the dysplasia case, Doctor Mason.'
'Of course you did,' Grace said with a roll of her eyes. 'Thanks Olivia.' She headed off to find the two AWOL Doctors.
Up a couple of floors, Grace almost got bowled over by George, Yang and Karev. All of them shouting apologies as they went.
'Damn Rosemary's babies,' Grace said under her breath as she stopped at the walkway that looked into Richard's office, having been pointed that way by a nurse.
She could see that Richard was not happy about Mark's presence in his hospital. But Grace knew that despite his personal feelings, the Chief would do what was best for the hospital, Mark would get his opportunity to talk with the parents.
Just as the boys were leaving Richard's office, Grace saw Addie approaching form the opposite direction. Grace stayed where she was, knowing the confrontation had to happen eventually.
She them all stop and then Derek turned and came back in her direction.
He saw her ahead but at least he kept walking, even if he was tense. He just walked past her though.
'Really Derek?' She called out, making him stop. 'Mark turns up and the friendship we've started to build just disappears?'
'Do you plan on being friends with him?' Derek asked as he walked back slightly. 'Never mind, we both know the answer to that.'
Grace shook her head in disappointment. 'We've been friends for seventeen years; he's been there for…everything for me. You can't expect me to give up on that.'
'But you can't expect me to be friends with you while you're friends with – '
'Why not? You have been for the last month.' Grace said as she threw her hands up. 'Or did you think I stopped talking to him? Because I didn't. I talk to him every day, even if it's just a few texts.'
'I'm not listening to this.' Derek walked off but Grace followed him this time.
'Why are you so willing to damn him, without even trying to forgive like you are with Addie? It's why he's being such a jackass you know.'
Derek whirled round. 'Stop it, Mason! Just…stop.'
'I can't,' Grace said quietly. 'I'm the one they both cry to.' She turned and walked off without waiting for a response.
Later Grace was stood in the observation room, holding her godson while they watched Derek do his part of the operation on Jake. Beside her, Miranda was talking to William, describing every step of the operation as it happened.
It was going well for a bit, but then it went south.
As the OR team scrambled to resuscitate Jake, Miranda swiftly took the baby out of the room.
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Grace was sat in the Attendings changing room with Mark. 'You okay?'
She knew that despite how much he loved doing the boob jobs and face lifts, it was cases like Jake that he lived for. Whether through disease or accident, he loved to give them back the face they wanted. And now he couldn't do that.
'Yeah,' Mark said quietly as he started to change. 'I just wish he could have got the face he wanted.'
'Me too,' Grace said with a smile as Mark started to strip. 'From what the nurses told me, he was a good kid.'
They fell into silence but it didn't last long before Karev and Yang came into the room.
'Doctor Sloan.'
'Yeah?' Mark said as he turned to look at them.
'Er…' Yang paused slightly. 'We, want you to do the surgery on Jake.'
'What?' Mark asked, with a frown.
Karev took over. 'You saw what he was like, sir, how much he wanted it. He should have the face he wanted so badly.'
Yang cleared her throat. 'Even if he never sees it himself.'
Mark stopped, and then looked at Grace. 'I see what you mean about them, Gracie.'
'When will you learn?' Grace said as she stood up. 'I'm always right.' She grabbed Mark's scrub top and handed it to him.
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Grace sat in a corner of the room and watched Mark as he changed Jake's face. She had always liked watching him work, quite happy to do it for hours.
'I got a text about you.' Mark said out of nowhere, glancing at Grace.
'You did?'
'Yep.'
'The topic being…?'
'Your tremors.' Mark gave her a look before going back to work.
Grace thought for a moment. 'Miranda. Of course.' Then she frowned. 'How did she get your number?'
Mark chuckled quietly. 'Said she took it from your phone last week, after the baby threw up all over you and you went to clean up.'
'I thought she had a strange look on her face after that. Sort of…satisfied.'
'Stop trying to change the subject.'
'There is no subject to – '
Mark stopped and looked up at her. 'They're getting worse. Don't lie to me.'
Grace sighed slightly. 'Yeah.'
'How long?'
'Couple of months.'
He sighed and went back to his work, both of them continuing to ignore the two interns. 'You should have told me.'
'Yeah.'
'You should have had the operation years ago.'
'I didn't want to be left unable to help my patients in the way I had left.' Grace said tensely, this was the only thing they had ever argued about. 'Besides, even if I did, the chances of it working are – '
'I know the odds, Gracie. We could recite the steps for the op in our sleep.' Mark smiled slightly. 'But now you're starting to lose what you've got, no stopping it. The operation might fail, but it might give you back everything.'
Grace smiled in his direction. 'Yeah, it could. And what do I do if I lose what mobility time I have left? Hm? I get stuck in a wheel chair with nothing.'
Mark looked up and gave her a hard look. 'Not nothing. You'd have me, just like always. And I've told you a dozen times, I wouldn't leave you to rot in a chair. We'd go places, spend the rest of our lives seeing everything we could. We're both loaded, we don't have to work.' He finished with a wide grin, that Grace couldn't help but return.
'You'd give up your career, sir?' Karev asked, suddenly reminding them they weren't alone. But his tone wasn't sceptical or derisive, just curious, so Mark answered him.
'In a heartbeat. Gracie is more important than any surgery.' He gave her another grin. 'Always and forever, right Gracie?'
'Always and forever,' she said with a smile. 'I'm gonna go to Joe's across the street. I'll see you in a while.' Grace got up and dropped a kiss on Mark's cheek as she left.