I Love You, Mark Sloan

2. We'll Meet Again

"Come in!" Dr. Webber shouted after hearing a knock at his door. The door opens slowly and Dr. Kate O'Malley steps in. "Ah, Dr. O'Malley. So nice to see you. Take a seat." He said, gesturing to the seat in front of him. Kate walked over and sat on one of the chairs.

"Thank you for giving me a call. I'm very excited to do this procedure." Kate smiled warmly at the Chief and he did the same.

"No. Thank you for accepting the opportunity. Have you had a chance to look around the hospital?" He asked. Kate shook her head.

"Not entirely. I did see my brother though. I'll find my way around." Kate said.

"I've actually asked someone to give you a tour of the hospital, just so you don't get lost. Nothing worse than being lost in a place that you don't know." Chief said.

"Oh, you really don't have to, Dr. Webber." Kate said, quite worried as to who would be giving the tour. She had this horrible gut feeling that it was either going to be Mark or Addison.

"I insist. I'll just page them now." Chief Webber said. "How was your flight?"

"It was pretty good. Surprisingly didn't take as long as I thought it would. But then again, I've been over here to see my family before now." Kate replied. The pair began a normal conversation until there was a knock at the door. Kate was then beginning to feel increasingly nervous, hoping that neither Mark or Addison walk through that door.

"Come in!" Dr. Webber yelled. The door opened and Kate didn't even look.

"You paged?" A familiar voice spoke but it wasn't who she thought it'd be. She turned around to see Dr. Derek Shepherd stood at the door.

"Derek?" Kate exclaimed.

"Oh my God. Kate?" Derek replied back in the same excited tone. Kate got up out of her seat as Derek was walking towards the desk and embraced the man in a huge hug, to which he reciprocated.

"How've you been?" Kate said, still hugging Derek. The pair pulled away from each other.

"Great thanks. You?" Derek replied.

"Great too!" Kate exclaimed. Dr. Webber cleared his throat and the pair turned to face him.

"I see you have met each other before?" He questioned.

"I was his intern when he was a resident. We became quite good friends in New York." Kate smiled.

"She was always my favourite intern, even though you did betray Neuro for Cardio." Derek joked and the pair laughed. "Why did you page me, Chief?"

"I want you to give Dr. O'Malley a tour of the hospital and introduce her to some of the other attendings, if that's okay with you?" Dr. Webber asked.

"That's absolutely fine. I can do that." Derek replied with a smile.

"Perfect! I will see you later." Dr. Webber said and Kate followed Derek out of the office. The pair walked down the corridor together.

"So, what brings you to Seattle?" Derek asked Kate.

"The Chief brought me in for a ventricular repair and a difficult heart transplant. He said because I was one of the best, he wanted me to do it with Erica Hahn. And plus, Preston Burke is no longer on the scene so I didn't mind stepping in." Kate explained and Derek nodded.

"So, you know Mark and Addison work here, don't you?" Derek asked.

"Yeah. I bumped into George when I got here and he explained it. I'm sorry to hear about you and Addison trying to fix your marriage and it failing." Kate replied.

"Don't be. It wasn't meant to work out. Me and her are on good terms. With Mark, it depends what day it is." Derek said.

"What do you mean." Kate replied.

"Well, one minute me and him are great friends again and the next we're having a fist fight. You know, the normal stuff with Mark." Derek explained.

"I get you." Kate nodded.

Derek showed Kate around the hospital, introducing her to the different nurses and doctors that work in the hospital. Derek looked down at his watch.

"It's lunch. You hungry?" Derek asked and Kate nodded. He walked her to the cafeteria where quite a few doctors were having something to eat. Kate noticed George and his group of friends, including a dark-haired girl who she hadn't met yet. The pair grabbed some food and Derek took Kate over to a group of doctors wearing dark blue scrubs.

"Everyone. I'd like you to meet Dr. Kate O'Malley. She will be assisting Erica with the heart transplant in a few days." Derek announced and the table turned to face her. She waved slightly, noticing that Addison and Mark were looking at her shocked, Mark more than Addison. Kate took a seat next to Erica and Derek sat the other side of her.

"Um hi Kate." Mark said sheepishly.

"Mark." Kate replied looking down. She took a quick glance up and noticed that George was looking at the table wide-eyed and the rest of his friends looked confused.

"So, what hospital have you come from?" Dr. Hahn asked Kate in an attempt to break the tension.

"Florida General. I'm the head of Cardio there." Kate replied.

"I heard you did your residency with Derek, is that correct?" Dr. Hahn asked.

"Yeah. I was planning to stay there but things in my life changed and I decided to go elsewhere." Kate replied sharply and Mark audibly gulped and looked at Addison.

"I, er, have a patient to get to." Mark said quickly and stood up and left the cafeteria. Someone pager then went off.

"Damn it. My patient has gone into early labour. I'll see you guys later." Addison said and also left the table.

"Well that was awkward." Hahn mumbled.

{971 words}