Running in Circles - Lexie Grey x OC

We are Turning Time Back

Episodes:
Grey's Anatomy Season 7 Episode 3

2003
New York City

Addison held the martini glass with both hands, taking a few slow, deep breaths. The smooth burn of gin steadied her. After far too much time in the office—surgeries in the morning, and managing the practice in the evening—she'd decided to step away from it all, no paperwork, no pagers. Just her, a bar, and a single moment of peace.

Well, almost.

Mark was next to her. Silent. Which was rare. She glanced his way. He was nursing his drink, staring down at the amber liquid like it might answer one of life's great questions. For a man who had just finished his fellowship, he wasn't exactly radiating celebration.

"You're brooding," Addison finally said, her voice low and dry.

Mark's lips curved. "I'm drinking."

"Same thing with you."

He let out a breathy laugh, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. Addison hated how easily she noticed that. Mark Sloan, the perpetual flirt, the guy who never took anything too seriously, was trying to mask whatever the hell was clawing at him. But Addison saw through it. She always did.

She studied him, unable to ignore how the light caught the blue of his eyes. They gleamed like trouble, the kind that drew women in without a second thought. That smirk of his, subtle but ever-present, could unravel the most rational of minds. And Mark Sloan knew it.

But tonight, that charm was dulled. Even as he noticed her watching, even as he smirked just a little, there was something else beneath it. Something she didn't want to name.

She should've looked away. She didn't.

Mark's smirk lingered. "Careful, Red. You keep staring like that, and people might talk."

"You think every woman who looks at you wants to jump into bed with you."

"Only because they usually do."

She scoffed, though the warmth in her chest betrayed her. He was ridiculous. Infuriating. And somehow still dangerously charming.

But before she could fire back, his voice softened. "Last week... it wasn't meaningless."

Addison stiffened. The weight of his words settled between them. Mark wasn't one to linger in emotional territory, not unless he meant it. She hated that it stirred something in her.

"It was a mistake," she murmured.

"Was it?"

He was too close now, his voice low, his thumb grazing her jaw.

"I'm not Derek," Mark whispered. "I don't look past you. I see you, Red. All of you."

And for a moment, Addison swore she might actually believe him. But then, Derek. His name echoed through her like a cold gust of air, pulling her back to reality.

"I can't."

Mark's jaw tightened, regretting ever saying his best friend's name, her husband.

"He doesn't care about you, Addison. Not the way I do."

She let out a dry laugh, void of humor. Care? It wasn't about caring. It never had been. It was something else entirely—something unspoken between Mark and Derek long before she ever got between them.

They had always been competitive. Always needing to win. And somehow, she'd become one more thing they competed over. Derek got her first. Married her. That should have been the end of it. But it wasn't.