The Starting Line

Chapter 20

S8 EP14

Eleanora wakes up with a kiss on the shoulder, a small, confusing noise leaving her lips. "Hey?"

Mark smiles, pressing another kiss to her shoulder before moving on to press one to her cheek. "Happy Valentine's Day, doll."

Eleanora rubs her eyes, looking at the clock for a second before turning to look at her husband. A soft, goofy smile plays on her lips and she places a hand on his cheek before pressing a kiss to his lips.

"Happy Valentine's Day, darling."

Mark approaches her, eyes shining. "Tonight, we're going to get dressed up and go out to a fancy expensive restaurant, get drunk on wine and then come home and spend the rest of the night having amazing, hot sex."

Eleanora laughs a little, moving her arms so they rest on his shoulders. "Will we now?"

"Yes, we will." he confirms. "I've already booked reservations for 8. My last operation is at 6, and then your shift ends at 7. We'll have plenty of time."

"And what," Eleanora asks, raising an eyebrow, "about the two needy, young twins we have?"

"That's simple." Mark tells him. "Max got a babysitter for Sofia tonight, and the babysitter will take care of the kids until he gets back. Torres and Robbins are going camping and he's more than capable of taking care of them."

"Max?" Eleanora asked, tilting her head slightly. "Isn't he planning on spending the whole night with Julia?"

"Apparently not." he shrugged before smiling, moving to kiss her jaw. "Enough talking about plans. How about you and I get our Valentine's Day off to a good start and-"

Just as Mark says that, the baby monitors activate with the children babbling to themselves, indicating that they are awake. He and Eleanora let out moans, and Mark hangs his head on her shoulder.

_______

"Do not have twins." Eleanora warned April, Jackson and Alex as she joined them at the ER desk. She sighed, leaning on the nurse. "If one cries, the other cries. If one vomits, the other vomits. And then they have these evil looks in their eyes and it's like they're plotting your downfall."

"Maybe it's because you procreated with Mark Sloan. So, it's a Sloan thing, not a twin thing." Alex snorted. Eleanora sent him a slightly playful look, but before she could defend Sloan's name, she pursed her lips and thought for a moment.

"Wait, you might be right."

April laughed a little as she looked at the files in her hands, shaking her head. "We're going to have a trillion Valen-Traumas. I bet a few will be good surgeries for our boards."

"Well, it's not St. Patrick's Day." Alex told her, as Eleanora took a chart from a nurse and skimmed it. "Those are good traumas—traffic accidents, bar fights."

"St. Patrick's Day is a good day for neurological trauma." Eleanora sighed happily, clicking her pen a few times as she read the chart. "Last year, Derek and I spent ten hours trying to fix this guy's spine. It was amazing."

"Valentine's Day is all swallowed engagement rings and guys who hurt their backs getting laid." Alex continues, sending Eleanora a satisfied smile. "Be careful, Sloan is getting older-"

"I will actually cause you severe pain if you continue with that train of thought out loud." Eleanora interrupted, not even looking up from her chart. Jackson stifled a laugh, Eleanora punching his arm.

"You're just bitter because you don't have a date or a loving wife." April hummed towards Alex, Eleanora sending her a grateful smile.

"First of all," Alex scoffs, "Valentine's Day isn't for going on a date with a girl. No, it's for sleeping with girls who don't have dates. Plus, I have to study for my boards."