The Starting Line (Reupload)

17

Placing her chart on the nurses' station, Eleanora sighed as she looked at her boyfriend. Mark raises an eyebrow, looking up from the paperwork in front of him.

"What's wrong with the face?" He asked her, suppressing a smile as she rolled her eyes.

"For the last time, I don't make faces." She watched as he just nodded, obviously, he didn't agree. "And I don't know, there's something wrong with Izzie. I can't put my finger on it, but she's been acting strange. Georgie's noticed it too."

Mark let one hand move to her upper arm and squeezed it in a soft voice. "I'm sure Stevens will tell you what's happening in time."

However, before the conversation could continue, Max entered the hall. He had the work he was taking home in his hand, and when his eyes fell on the couple, a smile spread across his face.

Mark quickly withdrew his hand and coughed into it, turning to look at the chart. Eleanora turned to her brother and gave him a wide but shaky smile.

"Max, Hey! Are you leaving?"

He nodded and stopped in front of her. "Yes. It's great to have a consistent schedule." he joked, stuffing the work into his bag. He looked over her shoulder at Mark and nodded in greeting.

"Dr. Sloan, right?" Mark looked up and smiled with a tight lip.

"Yeah."

Max looked between him and Eleanora for a moment, the silence between the three of them awkward. Max finally broke into a big smile and pushed up his glasses. "Well, I have to go now. But the three of us should go out to dinner soon, so I can get to know Mark here."

Eleanora opened her mouth to speak, but no words seemed to come out. Mark frowned, shifting his weight to look at the young man.

"Why do you need to get to know me?"

Max let out a 'pssh', pressing a kiss to Eleanora's head before moving past the two. "I have to meet the guy my sister is dating. It's like a rule. Oh, Italian would be great!"

The last sentence was uttered over his shoulder as he reached the doors, leaving the couple gaping at him. Eleanora finally let out a noise, turning her head towards her boyfriend. "At least he now knows and we don't have to worry about when we should tell him?"

Mark let out a groan and lowered his head, squeezing his eyes shut. "This will look so bad for me with your family."

Eleanora patted his shoulder comfortingly, nodding her head. "It'll be okay, Mark. I'm 80% sure my dad won't come to Seattle to kill you."

At that, Mark's head snapped up, his voice a little high-pitched. "Only 80%? That's like nothing, Nora! Nothing at all!"

____

"Amedeo!" Bailey yelled, pointing at the second year. Eleanora stopped in her tracks, turning to find Bailey on the slightly cluttered OR floor. Once she found it, she smiled and walked over, wringing her hands.

"Hey, Dr. Bailey. Do you need anything?"

Bailey nodded, looking around as if to make sure no one was listening before continuing. "You know everyone at the hospital, right?"

Eleanora tilted her head, thinking about it. "I mean, I know a lot of people, but I don't know-"

"And everyone adores you, with your blinding personality and pretty smile." Bailey interrupted, raising her hands to draw Eleanora's attention to her face. "Arizona Robbins, pediatric surgeon. Blonde, with a bright personality like you? Well, in my opinion, hers is a little annoying while yours is adorable, but that's just me. What do you know about her?"