Stitches of Life

Sympathy for the Devil

Chapter Forty-Nine: Sympathy for the Devil

"Did you hear that?" Mark asked, on edge as he glanced towards the closed door to Joel's room. I had put the boy to bed hours ago, before Mark had even come over, but he was still on edge, convinced that Joel was going to wake up at any second.

"Mark, you're imagining things." I rolled my eyes at him, taking a sip of my beer as we sat on the couch together. It had been a few weeks since he had asked me out and, since then, we'd been spending more and more time together. However, we tended to do so in the privacy of my apartment. Apparently he had promised Derek that he wouldn't mess with me, our friend being worried that he would only end up hurting me. So we had decided to keep our relationship private, not wanting to start some sort of argument with Derek.

"No, I swear, I heard him." Mark insisted.

"As the woman that's raised him since he was born, I think I know my child. I can promise you that once he's asleep he's out like a light." I assured him. "Besides, you've met Joel before."

"Not as your boyfriend." He pointed out, taking a long sip from his own beer, trying to calm his nerves with the alcohol.

"Boyfriend?" I raised a brow at the word. Neither of us had used the term before, not even admitting to each other that we were in a relationship, no matter how much we'd been hanging out, getting to know one another better. Mark's eyes widened as he realized what he'd said. I could see the gears in his head going into overdrive, trying to find a way to backpedal. "Mark, breathe."

"That just slipped out." He shook his head. "I didn't mean to say that, or assume anything."

"You really don't do much more than one night stands, do you?" I chuckled, amused by how flustered he seemed. It was the first time I'd seen him like this, usually he was calm and collected. It was nice to see him like this.

"Not really." He admitted.

"Okay, then." I put my beer down on the coffee table, angling myself so I was facing him. I reached over and rested one of my hands on his, earning a look of confusion from him. "Mark Sloan, would you do me the honor of being my boyfriend?"

"You're mean." He shook his head as we both laughed

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"You'll be fine." Izzie assured Meredith as we walked through the hospital together, Lexie right alongside us. Meredith was a nervous wreck, having discovered that Derek's mother was coming to town today and wanted to meet her. She was convinced that the woman would hate her. "Just keep the talking to a minimum. Short. Short little nuggets of Meredith- That's all anyone really needs. And if you start to get stuck, just smile. You have a really great smile. Um, Mer, are you sure you want to wear your hair like that?"

"Beth," Meredith spun around on her heel to look at me, a desperate look in her eyes. "What did you do when you met Lucas' mom?"

"Never did." I shrugged.

"Wait," Izzie frowned at me. "You two were together for a over a year, lived together, and he was raising your son as his own. How did you not meet his mother? How did she know you weren't some gold digger or crazy chick that had trapped her son into a relationship?"

"Have I ever told you that you should be a motivational speaker?" I rolled my eyes at her.

"No, seriously." Meredith stared at me. "How did you get out of it?"

"It just never happened." I shrugged. "I guess it also helped that she wasn't the parent of five doctors and understood their crazy schedules that are never set in stone."