I Love You, Mark Sloan

3. Evening Meeting

"Hey. Wait up!" A voice yelled as Kate stepped into the elevator. She held the door open to see Mark running through the corridor to get into the elevator. She sighed and he jogged in and pressed the floor he was getting to. Both of the doctors stood in silence until Mark hit the emergency stop button and the elevator was brought to a halt.

"I'm sorry." Mark said, not even daring to look Kate in the eye. He knew what he had done and knew how much he hurt her by doing it.

"Excuse me?" Kate questioned the Plastic Surgeon.

"I should've never slept with Addison." Mark said but Kate cut him off.

"Mark, I don't want to hear it." Kate rolled her eyes at the plastic surgeon.

"No just listen to me. Not only did their relationship break up, but ours did. I wasn't thinking straight. We'd just gotten into a huge fight and I know that's not an excuse for why I did it and I am so sorry." Mark said, turning to face Kate.

"You broke me. You completely shattered my heart. You slept with my best friend, who also happened to be your best friend's wife. That is completely unforgivable. I want to be civil with both you and Addison as I don't want there to be any sort of awkward tension. But just know, I really really hate you for what you did." Kate responded, looking Mark in the eye.

"I know and I hate myself so much for hurting you. I really did love you and somehow I still do. I know I messed up but can we at least be friends?" Mark asked hopefully.

"Mark, I don't know. You hurt me so badly." Kate said, sounding unsure.

"I respect that. I will try my best to make it up to you." Mark said with a small smile. The elevator dinged on Kate's floor and she stepped out. "Wait. What time do you finish?" Mark asked.

"I have to go and see the Chief so I think it'll be in about half an hour. Why?" Kate asked.

"I just need to finish some charts and then I'll be done. How about I buy you a drink at Joe's as a welcome to Seattle?" Mark asked hopefully.

"I don't know Mark..." Kate said.

"Oh come on. It's just one drink." Mark said in an attempt to convince her to agree.

"Okay fine. One drink. But that's it. Nothing else." Kate said. Mark smirked.

"One drink. I'll meet you outside the Chief's office." Mark said.

"Okay." Kate smiled and walked away. She knew that she shouldn't after everything that had happened between them but Mark had this charm and aura surrounding him that made everyone around him fall to his feet. She had been swept off her feet by him from the moment that they met. She arrived at Dr. Webber's office and knocked at the door.

"Come in." He yelled and she entered the room and sat in one of the chairs in front of his desk. "Ah, Dr. O'Malley. How has your first day at Seattle Grace been?"

"Really great thank you, considering I know a couple of the attendings and there is a long history between us. Everyone seemed so welcoming." Kate smiled and Dr. Webber reflected that.

"Oh good! Your surgery is in a few days time but you're welcome to hang around here and maybe do consults with patients. I may even try and fit a surgery in for you." Dr. Webber replied with a smile on his face.

"That would be amazing thank you!" Kate replied with a beaming smile on her face.

"That's great then! I will have some scrubs and a white coat prepared for you tomorrow. Should we say a 6am start?" Dr. Webber said.

"Sounds good to me." Kate smiled. They then heard a knock at the door.

"Come in." Dr. Webber yelled and Mark walked in. He had changed out of his scrubs and into a black jumper and blue jeans. "Ah, Dr. Sloan. What can I do for you?" He asked.

"I'm actually here for Dr. O'Malley, Chief." Mark said with a smirk on his face.

"I take it you've met then?" Dr. Webber asked.

"Yeah. We go way back." Mark said.

"Yeah. You could say that." Kate muttered under her breath.

"I'll leave you two to it. See you tomorrow Dr. O'Malley. You too, Dr. Sloan." Dr. Webber said. The pair said their goodbyes and left his office.

"How was your meeting with Webber?" Mark asked as they were walking towards the elevator.

"Good yeah. I'm consulting with a few patients tomorrow just to get me used to the hospital and how it works before the big surgery. Did you finish your charts?" Kate asked, genuinely interested as to whether he had stopped being lazy or Mark was still the same as he was in New York.

"Yep. All done and sorted. I've really managed to get on top of all of my work here." Mark said. The pair entered the elevator and as Kate went to click the ground floor, so did Mark and their hands briefly touched. Kate blushed but quickly pulled her hand away. Mark pressed the ground floor button and smirked to himself.

There was an awkward silence between the two doctors during the entirety of the elevator ride; there wasn't even any music playing. The elevator dinged and the pair stepped out.

"Which way is it to Joe's?" Kate asked.

"This way." Mark said and gestured for her to follow him. She took the gesture and the pair made their way to the famous, Joe's Bar.

{948 words}