Little Shepherd

Chapter Forty-One

"Easy, let me help you." Mark tells me, gently sitting me down in the seat of his car.
"Thank you." I nod, closing the door.
Mark goes around and hops in the driver's seat. "So how was physical therapy?" He questions

"It was fine, it doesn't hurt as much to walk anymore." I shrug
"Don't get me wrong, it still hurts like a bitch though." I say, making him chuckle.

"Only 3 more weeks." Mark announces
"Yeah, 3 more long weeks of being bedridden while my boyfriend gets to perform cool surgeries." I mutter
"You're not missing out on much, the E.R has been pretty dead believe it or not." Mark says, trying to make me feel better.

"I guess. I just don't feel like I'm doing anything productive." I sigh
"Mariah, you were in a bombing less than two weeks ago. You need time to heal and recover. The surgeries will be there when you get back." He stammers, rubbing his thumb against my hand.

"You're right, I'm sorry. I'm not used to this." I say
"You don't need to apologize." Mark smiles
"You hungry?" He inquires

Before I could answer, my phone rings. "Hold up." I groan
I take my phone out of my bag and answer it. "Hello?" I question
"Hey, Mariah." Derek answers
"H-hey Derek." I stutter slightly

"What's up?" I ask, clearing my throat.
"Oh nothing, really. I'm here at Meredith's and you're not here. Apparently you haven't been here since you left the hospital." He tells me, suspicion lacing his voice.

"I'm at Alex's, Derek." I tut
"Why are you at Alex's?" Derek questions
"His place is quiet and a much better recovery place than Meredith's. " I reply, becoming quite annoyed at my brother's interrogation.

"Are you guys a thing?" He asks
"No, Derek. Are you done interrogating me?" I snap
"Just need to make sure." Derek says
"You're not my parent, I don't need you breathing down my neck, okay?" I scoff

"Hey, hey. I'm sorry, I was just concerned." He tells me
"Well I'm fine, thanks for your concern." I mutter
"I guess I'll let you go." Derek shrugs
"Bye, Derek." I sigh, hanging up the phone.

"Damn it, now I got to call Alex." I mumble
"I can't believe it took him a week to figure out you were gone." Mark laughs
"Me either." I say, chuckling lightly.

I dial Alex's number into my phone and wait for a response. "Hello?" He questions
"Alex, it's Mariah. Are you busy?" I ask
"No, what's up?" Alex inquires

"Can you please do me a favor?" I question
"Yeah, what is it?" He asks
"I told Derek I was staying with you instead of Meredith. I need you to cover for me." I explain
"You're not at Mer's? Where are you?" Alex questions

"I'm staying with Mark for a bit." I reply
"Damn, things are getting serious." He remarks
"It's for a month, we're not getting married, calm down." I chuckle

"I know, but this is surprising. You guys haven't even said you love each other yet." Alex tells me
"Can we talk about this later?" I question, clearing my throat, looking awkwardly at Mark.
"I'm not alone." I mutter quietly

"I guess, I'll call you later then." He says
"Bye, Alex." I tut
"Bye. By the way, you know you could've actually stayed with me, right?" Alex asks
"Thank you, Alex. I'm going let you go now." I tell him
"Okay, bye." He mumbles

I hang up the phone, "Sorry, Mark. Where were we?" I question
"Are you hungry?" Mark asks
"I could eat." I shrug
"You up for Mexican?" He inquires
"Always." I remark

"Hey, Mariah. What exactly did you mean when you were talking to Alex?" Mark questions
"Um, what are you talking about?" I ask
"You said, calm down, it's not like we're getting married." He tells me
"Oh, nothing. You know Alex, he's dumb ." I say, awkwardly laughing.
"I guess." Mark sighs

"He just thought it was weird I was staying with you because we haven't been dating for a long time." I reply
"I don't think that's weird. I'm taking care of you." He shrugs

"I know, he just said that because it's not something I would typically do." I answer
"What do you mean?" Mark inquires
"I'm not the type of person that moves too quick into a relationship." I reply
"I don't think that we are moving too fast." He tells me

"We've been dating for almost three months. What's the issue?" Mark asks
"Baby, there is no issue. You shouldn't be offended. I trust you and I think things are going fine." I mutter
"I don't like hiding our relationship." Mark sighs

"Come on, Mark. You know we can't do that." I groan
"Why not? Because Derek said so? He can't control our lives Mariah, especially not yours." Mark snaps
"Don't you think I understand that? But how do you think my brother is going to react to us telling him his best friend that also screwed his wife, is screwing his sister?" I question

Mark looks down, "But it's more than that." He mumbles
"Baby, I want more than anything to be public with you, but it can't happen right now." I say, holding his hand.
"I know. I just want to be able to show everyone that you're mine." He tells me

"I want that too." I reassure him
"I don't care if he doesn't like it, Mariah. I can't stop my feelings because he doesn't approve." Mark mumbles
"Hey, no matter what I'm going to stick by you. Derek can't tell me anything that'll make me break up with you." I smile, lifting his chin with my two fingers

"I sure hope so." He tells me
I place a kiss on his lips and a small smile appears on his face.
"Come on, let's go eat." Mark chuckles, kissing me again and then exiting the car.

We enter the small restaurant, Mark pulling me close to him. We sit down at a booth, Mark sitting across from me. The waiter hands us our menus and asks for our drinks. "I'll take a Coke." Mark replies
"Lemonade will be fine." I nod

The waiter leaves to go get our drinks and I scan the menu. "What are you going to get?" I question
"I don't know, I was thinking the fajita tacos." Mark answers

"What about you?" He asks
"I'm going to get flautas, it's been a while." I mutter
"Oh, okay." Mark tuts

After a little while, I feel eyes on me. I look up and see Mark staring at me. "What are you doing?" I inquire, raising an eyebrow
"Nothing, it's just you're so beautiful." He smiles

"Stop." I chuckle, hiding my face with the menu
"I'm glad you're doing better." Mark remarks
"Thanks." I shrug

Before Mark can say anything else, the waiter comes back with our drink and takes our order.
"Qué quieren pedir?" The waiter asks

Mark looks at me confused and I hold back my smirk, "Ello quiere los tacos de fajita y yo quiero las flautas de pollo, por favor." I order, astounding Mark.

The waiter writes down our orders then leaves once more. I look at Mark, his jaw open slightly. "What?" I question
"You know Spanish too? You sure know how to make a guy feel insecure." He says
"What do you mean?" I frown

"I mean, look at you. You're very successful and me, I'm slightly less successful." Mark teases
"Shut up." I tell him, rolling my eyes playfully.
"It's true though. Is there anything you can't do?" He inquires
"I don't think so." I joke
"See." Mark laughs

He looks into my eyes and a small smile appears on my face. "Mark, stop." I chuckle
"Let admire my hot girlfriend." He smirks
"You Sloan, are too much." I say
"You still like me, huh Little Shepherd?" Mark inquires, bringing back my despised nickname.
"Not if you call me Little Shepherd again." I mumble

"Okay, okay fine." He tuts
"Thank you." I tell him
"Little Shepherd." Mark mutters under his breath

I kick him under the table with my good leg, "Ow, what was that for?" He questions
"I told you to stop. " I chuckle
"You're going to pay for that later." Mark smirks
"Whatever you say." I tut

____________________________________
Yes, I finally posted. Yes, my chapter is longer. And yes, I am back and here to stay. I have planned out my chapters so my absences should occur as often. I fixed the Instagram, so if you want to be kept up to date about my stuff, follow  @thewalkinggreyyss! I hope you like the chapter and also if any of y'all are fluent in Spanish and notice a mistake, I'm sorry! I'm Hispanic, but Spanish is still iffy for me. Anyways, don't forget to vote and comment!
-A