xxiv. mark sloan
2.18

Atlas is typing away at a computer at a nurses' station, him having to take a quick look at a case for Derek. The patients name was Jake Burton. Fifteen years old and has advanced craniodiaphyseal dysplasia. The patient was admitted last night after complaining of headaches. And before Derek was going ahead with the surgery he wanted to get a consult from Atlas, just to make sure that everything would be okay. ( and Derek may or may not have wanted to see Atlas... )

A very, very hot man wearing a leather jacket comes up to him and peers over his shoulder. Atlas doesn't know it yet, but his name is Mark and he's the one who slept with Addison.

"Invasive non-cell. With a history of COPD." Mark shrugs. "That guy's pretty much a goner, huh?"

"Sensitivity." Atlas says sarcastically, as Eliza comes walking over.

"I like that in a man. Are you new here?" Eliza comments having heard the salt and peppered haired man talk.

"Visiting. Confounded by all the rain and it's only my first day in town." Mark looks at Eliza.

"The rains the best part!" Atlas shakes his head with a childish whine.

Atlas and Eliza move away from the computer. Mark only follows them.

"Makes me wanna stay in bed all day."

"Makes me wanna cut chests open." Atlas counters.

"We just met and already you're talking about bed. That always work?" Eliza dryly speaks.

Derek stands up from where he was, noticing Marl through the window of the adjacent office behind the nurses' station. Addison comes up the hallway and looks shocked when she sees the man.

"It normally does, you seem to be a-bit of a tough cookie. Do you ever go out with co-workers?" Mark chuckles.

Eliza smiles, "I'm trying to make it a rule not to, but it's not going to well."

"Then I am so glad that I don't work here."

"Yes you are. The drama here is crazy." Atlas says to Mark as he swings an arm around Eliza's shoulder.

"What's your name?"

"I'm Atlas, and this is Eliza. Yours?"

They shake hands. All of sudden Derek punches Mark really hard across the face. Atlas and Eliza watch Mark falls to the ground holding his cheek.

Derek shakes his hand, "Aah!"

Atlas who stands there looking stunned looks to Derek, "What the hell was that?!"

"That was Mark."

"Oh. Oh! Marky!"

╚═ ☆ ═╝

Eliza turned into a slight coward and left Atlas alone with Mark in the trauma room where he's cleaning up the large cut on Mark's face.

"Derek and I always did have the same taste in women." Mark says, refuting to Atlas's sister, whom Mark thinks that's who Derek had been dating.

"Excuse me?"

"She was Derek's lusty girlfriend, right? Heard about her all the way back in New York. She's famous." Oh how he had no idea that the one Derek was involved with stood right in front of him.

There's a long pause, Atlas doesn't know what to say. He doesn't want to out Derek — because if that had happened to himself he might freak out, and he didn't wish that upon anyone. But on the other hand, Atlas doesn't want Mark to think that his younger sister was Derek's "lusty" girlfriend.

"Hmm." Atlas hums. "Surprise, surprise! I heard all about you here in Seattle."

"My 400 dollar an hour shrink — "

"Four hundred dollars shrink? My god! T-that's a lot. Like a lot." Atlas gasps.

"Yeah yeah...You know it's funny, Derek..." he turns to face Atlas but he only grasps his face so he's staring straight so he clean the wound on his cheek. "Derek walks in on me naked with his wife actually in the throes. And he just turns around and walks away, but he sees me so much as talking to you and your sister and I'm on the ground bleeding. Interesting, don't you think?"

It was interesting, and Atlas was still trying to wrap his head around the fact that Derek had done that.

Atlas doesn't respond, he doesn't know how to reply. He places a towel on Mark's shoulder and moves to start suturing his face.

"What do you think you're doing?" Mark questions.

"You need stitches." Atlas states the obvious.

"I know." Mark holds up a mirror, "Hold the mirror."

"I'm an attending, and cardio attending. And I can stitch up for face."

"No." Mark.

"Yes." Atlas.

"No." Mark.

"I can." Atlas.

"You can't." Mark.

"I bet I could do it just as good as you." Atlas.

"You couldn't." Mark.

"I could." Atlas.

"Fine." Mark scowled.

"Ha!" Atlas cheered.

Atlas grins in victory as he starts to suture up Marks face.

Out the window you can see the twins, Cristina, Alex, Izzie, Meredith and George all watching from the nurses' station.

"Did they just argue about who's suturing his face?" George looks from the window to her friends.

"Yep."

"Why?"

"Cause he's Mark Sloan. He's like the go-to plastic surgeon on the East Coast." Alex mutters in awe.

"That's the guy Addison was sleeping with?" George's eyes widen in shock.

"You can't really blame her, can you?"

"No, not really."

"Yes you can." George and Oliver say.

Atlas finishes suiting Marks face — to perfection, Mark won't even know he had sutures in a week or two.

"McSexy wants an x-ray to check for fractures and I think it's a bad idea if I take him." Atlas looks to the interns, him having used the word McSexy so he sounded cool.

"Why? Why?" Oliver looks up from a chart he was reading, an protective look in his eyes.

"I'm on it." Alex says as he rushes off.

"Why is it a bad idea?"

"He thinks El was Dereks girlfriend." Atlas grimaces.

"Me?!"

"McSexy?" Christina interrupts.

"No."

"McYummy." Izzie suggests.

"No."

"McSteamy." Meredith says as if it's been there all along.

"Oh there it is." Christina sighs.

"Yep." Izzie chuckles.

They all, even Atlas, look at Mark through the trauma room window.

"Uh, just ah choking back some McVomit." George groans as he walks off.

╚═ ☆ ═╝

Atlas is sitting at the bar looking down at his drink, his fingers tapping against the cool glass. Mark walks in and sits next to him.

"This seat taken?" Mark asks despite having already sat down.

"No." Atlas answers quietly. 

"Double Scotch. Single malt." Joe nods at Marks order.

Mark looks at Atlas, "why didn't you tell me?"

"Tell you what?" Atlas looks up from his drink with a confused expression.

"That it was you, not your sister."

"Oh. I'm not sure." He was, he was sure if every reason why he didn't tell Mark, but he wasn't going to actually say any of them.

"You look happy." Mark points out sarcastically as Joe lays the drink down in front of Mark.

"I am." Atlas sends a fake smile — the attending having gotten of the phone with Finn only half an hour ago, the teacher having to cancel on their date.

There's a bit of a silence until Atlas turns his body to look at Mark, "What are you still doing here?"

"I'm hoping Addison shows up." Marks voice is full of hope, despite knowing that she most likely won't.

"You're still in love with her?"

"You're still in love with him."

"She's not going to show. She's chosen Derek." Atlas avoided the "your still in love with him" by telling Mark that Addison won't show up.

"No?"

"Sorry Marky." Atlas places a hand on the other mans shoulder as he half smiles.