Everything Changes (A Grey's Anatomy Fanfic)

Fight Club

A/N: Finals are over ladies and gents! Expect more chapters headed your way because I am dying to write something fun right about now, sooooo here we go!

"Lydia Shepherd you are a dead woman because so help me..."

Lydia woke up to those words. She blinked her eyes rapidly, trying to clear them. Mark sat in front of her bed, in a wheelchair, watching. "What the hell are you doing?" she hissed, concern evident on her face. "You're supposed to be in bed, Mark."

The older man threw his hands up in the air. "Yeah, well one of my oldest friends decided to go off the rails so... This is kinda on you."

She laughed, letting her head fall back on the pillow. "Oh, are we friends now? Good to know."

He rolled around the side of the bed getting closer as he rolled his eyes. Always so melodramatic. "Oh, please what are we in high school? Of course, we're friends stupid. Now, what the hell is going on with you?"

She laughed again, watching him carefully. "Um well you see there was this car-"

He rolled closer to her, his frustration growing despite her attempts to keep it light. "Lydia. You've been doing drugs. Again."

At that she froze for a moment, paling as she processed his words. He watched as her good hand clenched into a fist. "That's none of your business anymore, Mark."

"Well, then you should have thought about that before coming to see me."

She stared for a moment, letting a loud laugh escape. "I thought you were in a coma being unplugged, Mark! Otherwise, I wouldn't have come!"

He stared before shaking his head. He opened his mouth to speak, but for a moment, words wouldn't come out. She was lashing out and he knew it but that didn't make it any better. Finally, he forced out the quiet and choked words. "What the hell happened to you Lydia?" Before she could respond, he cut her off. "No, seriously. What the hell happened to you? You start doing drugs, we fight, then after you do the work to get clean, you just up and leave. Next thing I know you show up when I'm dying and you've absolutely destroyed yourself."

She forced a smile, nodding slowly. "Ah... There it is. You're still pouting because I left you." Mark forced himself to stand, causing Lydia's smile to disappear as she sat up. "Mark what the hell are you doing! You shouldn't even be out of bed!" She swore loudly as he lifted himself to sit at the foot of her bed. "Mark!"

"No, it's time for you to listen to me because you are doing it again! You're trying to push me away and I'm not gonna let you do it because you need help Lydia." She stared at him, so much fury on her face that he hesitated for a moment. "Did you know what you were doing to yourself?" he whispered at last.

For just a minute the façade flickered. For just a minute he saw the shock and guilt before the angry mask was firmly back in place. But it was enough. In that moment, Sloan's heart sunk. More than anything he wanted for Callie to be wrong, but in that second he knew that she had been right. He looked up at the ceiling, trying desperately to blink back tears that escaped anyway. "Oh God, Lydia..."

"Just shut up." She snapped. "It's not any of your business what I know or don't know. Hell, nothing in my life is your business anymore, so just shut the hell up."

He stared at her, still crying. He shook his head in disbelief. "What happened to you Lydia? I mean it. Something happened way back when this started and I know you said nothing happened but, Lyd... People don't just-"

"Don't just what?" She cut him off. "Don't just get addicted to pills and booze? Because I'm pretty sure they do, so if that's what you were gonna say, get the hell out of my room." For a minute, he was stunned into silence. At last, she softened slightly, clearly beginning to regret some of her words. "Mark... I'm happy your alive. Really, but... You need to back out. We've been out of each other's lives for a while now and I think both of us were better off for it."

He shook his head, his anger finally bursting out like a tidal wave. "No! No! That is not what we're deciding here because I'm not better off without you in my life! I am not leaving just because it makes you uncomfortable! I just lost a woman that I loved with all of my heart Lydia Shepherd and I am not about to lose you too!" He didn't even realize that he was screaming until he had stopped.

For a moment, they just sat there, staring at each other. Silence fell over the room as they looked into each other's eyes. For just a moment, their guards were down. Slowly, Mark shifted forward, moving to lay next to her. She moved to the side to make room as if in a trance. He lifted his arm around her, pulling her close to him. Before she knew what was happening, she had wrapped her good arm around him burying her face into his shoulder.

Mark looked up towards the ceiling, crying quietly as she dissolved into tears. Her frail body trembled as she sobbed into his shoulder, clinging to him. Her reached up gently stroking her hair as she cried. "Shhh... Just let it all out..."

"I thought..."

"Me too, kiddo. Me too."

Derek rushed into the small room, his eyes widening at the sight before him. He opened his mouth to say something, but Mark cut him off with a quick shake of his head. Not now. For now, they just needed to be there. Derek leaned out the door, silently flagging someone down. Seconds later, Callie rushed in, mouth falling open as she took in the pair.

For Lydia and Mark, though, neither of them existed. For just a moment it was the two of them, crying together. For just a moment, things felt like they could get better.

And then her vitals tanked.