From the Heart

- C H A P T E R 1 8 -

Amelia was painting Abigail's face. She was now pale, almost dead-looking. Absolutely perfect for Halloween. "Perfect."

Cristina and Meredith walked in. When they noticed her they started laughing.

"Damn, this is perfect," Cristina said.

Meredith walked towards her bed and gave a closer look. "It looks so good."

Abigail noticed a plastic bag in Mer's hand. "What's that?" She pointed at it.

"Charts."

She knew that couldn't be it. "Mer..."

"Fine," she sighed, "my mom."

This time it was Abigail's turn to laugh. She loved how twisted the blonde was, because she herself was exactly the same. "It's the room of the living, the dead, and the living dead. What a beautiful place to be."

The room was decorated in fairy lights and fake candles. It was homey, it was warm and could be interpreted as Christmassey as well as Halloweeney. She loved the time.

Cristina was looking behind the curtains into the hallway, when she suddenly let go of the fabric. "He's coming, he's coming."

Abigail's friends ran into her bathroom, while she took the sign and lay down on her bed.

Seconds later Mark entered the room, at least she thought, because she couldn't see with her eyes closed. It would be the first time in two weeks. He hadn't visited once since their fight.

Derek on the other hand had come back twenty minutes after the interaction and had apologized over and over again for his behavior.

Her brother wasn't that big of a guy.

But what's new, right?

"Hey Abs, I just wanted to say that I'm..." He hadn't looked at her yet. "Abs?"

She felt him coming closer, now standing above her.

"Abs?"

She didn't react to him, just kept lying still.

He started to freak out, trying to look for a pulse. "Abigail! NO!"

Abigail did everything she could, trying to hold her laughter, but she couldn't. This was way too funny.

"Abigail Everett Sloan, this was not funny."

"Oh loosen your corset, unbunch your panties. You deserved this."

Amelia, Meredith and Cristina came out of the connecting room, laughing their asses off. The first and last, falling onto the ground because they couldn't keep it together anymore.

"This was priceless," Cristina cried.

Meredith slapped Mark on his back. "You so deserved this."

Her brother was confused. "Why did I deserve this?"

The laughter faded and everyone looked at the man in their midst. How could he not understand how wrong he was? He called Abigail irresponsible and childish, he didn't come back for two weeks and expected everything to be 'just fine' now?

"Seriously?" she asked her brother.

"I mean, yeah, seriously."

"Please leave. Now."

"What did I do?"

Amelia grabbed Mark's arm and pulled him towards the door.  "It's best if you go," she whispered.

Abigail was already facing the other way, unable to look at him. She was hurt, and now he was hurting too. They were both hurt, because of him.

She wondered when she would finally have enough and cut him off.

It wouldn't be long.

–   <3   –

"What are you doing?" His best friend Derek asked him when he sat down across the table.

Mark was playing with his food, very hungry but not hungry at all. He didn't feel like eating.

"I keep messing up."

Derek didn't seem to understand. "What?"

"With Abigail," he explained.

"What'ya do?" Derek asked as he stuffed some fries in his mouth.

"I don't know, I just walked in and she pulled a prank on me and I got mad and she said I deserved it and I asked why and she got mad that I didn't know why," he rambled, slurring the words.

Before he could dodge it, Derek's hand had hit him. "Damn, what was that for?" Mark said as he caressed the spot on his shoulder.

"You're an ass."

"What, why?"

"Yeah, start thinking, maybe you'll figure it out yourself."

And he did. He did a lot. But he couldn't seem to figure out why Abigail always got mad at him. He was trying, right? Then why was everything he tried not good enough?

He threw away his food and walked to the coffee cart, but when he got there, he remembered something his sister had told him. So, he turned around and walked downstairs.

"A black coffee and a mocha latte."

"A non-fat one?" the barista asked him.

"No, a fat one", Mark countered. "Make it a double."

She looked at him like he was speaking Chinese. So, he added: "With extra whipped cream."

He swiped his employee card and grabbed the drinks.

His sister's room was on the third floor, closed to the staircase that led to Richard's office. Mark knew the man acted like it was a total coincidence, but obviously it wasn't.

Everyone cared so much about Abigail, it made him look detached. But he cared.

He cared a lot.

When he approached the room, Meredith and Cristina were hanging out in there, but his sister was nowhere to be seen. The blonde seemed upset, so he walked past, not wanting to disturb them.

The next possible place where his sister could be, was the OR gallery. She wasn't in 1, or 2. She was in OR 3, of course.

He sat down at the empty seat next to her and handed her the double mocha latte with extra whipped cream.

She smelled the drink and a tiny smile appeared on the corner of her lip, like it did whenever she was upset about something, but appreciated another thing.

"Thanks", she said in a low voice.

"Thanks", she said in a low voice, which made him smile.

"Which procedure?" He tried picking up a conversation.

It had to be a cardiothoracic one, because the surgery was led by Erica and the assistant was Dr. Stevens. Abigail confirmed that. "Lung volume reduction."

Her eyes were locked on the vitals monitor when she whispered: "Oh, shit."

"What?"

"They're losing him."

He looked at the monitor but had no idea what she was talking about, the patient looked pretty stable. Abigail was losing it next to him and he couldn't watch that. "What do you need me to do?"

Full disbelief she looked back at him. "Can you help me to the intercom?"

Of course, he could. He put down the cups of coffee and scooped her light body into his arms. She hadn't eaten well in days and had barely moved; it was showing.

Mark walked with his sister in his arms to the button and microphone next to the big window.

She pushed it. "Dr. Hann, sorry to bother you, but your patient's vitals are going to drop at any moment, and he'll be going into v-tach." She said it so calmly, which made it sound even more creepy than it already did.

Everyone looked at her; the people in the gallery, the people in the or, everyone.

And at that moment, the monitor started beeping.