CODING ━ grey's anatomy

chapter eighteen

"Ow," Derek winced, looking at his hand.

"What the hell was that?" Meredith demanded.

"That was Mark."

☆

"Why is he suturing his own face?" Cassie heard George ask as she turned the corner towards the nurses station.

"To turn me on," Cristina guessed.

"Did I hear correctly?" Cassie wondered, totally oblivious. "Did Derek actually punch someone?"

"Yeah," Alex nodded. "Mark Sloan. He's like, the go-to plastic surgeon on the east coast."

"Mark Sloan?" Cassie repeated, shock evident on her features. "Wait, Mark is here? In the hospital? And Derek punched him?"

"You know him?" George and Izzie questioned in unison.

Cassie ignored the question, huffing a laugh at the hilarity of the situation. "God, I can't believe I missed it! Where is he?"

"You know Mark Sloan?" Alex scoffed.

Cassie ignored him, following Cristina's gaze to an exam room, where she saw Meredith watching Mark do his own stitches.

"There's no way. How do you—"

Cassie practically ran over to the door, her smile bigger than it had been in weeks.

Before she could get a word out, Mark noticed her first, a huge grin taking over his face despite the gash on his cheekbone.

"There she is!" he cheered, catching her as she jumped into his arms. Cassie dug her head into his shoulder and wrapped her hands around his torso. "How are you, angel?"

"Better, now that you're here," she grinned.

"Uh," Meredith intervened. "You two know each other?"

Cassie removed herself from Mark's hold and looked through the glass, to see Alex, Izzie, Cristina, and George gaping at her with open mouths.

"She's my best friend," Mark shrugged, throwing his arm around her shoulders before she got the chance to respond.

"I got this, Mer," Cassie said, subconsciously leaning into his warmth. Meredith nodded awkwardly, going back to stand with the rest of the interns. "You'd think she wouldn't be so surprised, since she knows Der's history."

"But really," Mark said lowly, giving her a look that showed he could see through her if she tried to change the subject. "You doing okay?"

"Yeah, why are you asking?"

"Oh, I don't know," he said with an air of indifference. "Maybe because you nearly got yourself killed and neglected to tell me about it?"

Cassie externally winced. "Crap," she groaned. "How did you even find out?"

"Mrs. Shepherd," Mark shrugged. "We still get Sunday brunch together."

Absentmindedly, he handed her the suture kit and allowed her to continue the stitches on his face. From the hall, the interns became even more confused, if possible.

"It's really no biggie," she sighed. "I'm okay. Just a little shaken up, is all. Besides, I'm too busy worrying about Denny, who's gone back to ignoring my calls and sending one word texts to let me know he isn't dead yet."

He couldn't look at her from the angle his head was turned, but Mark could sense the frown on her face. "Still avoiding you, huh? What a dick."

"He's not a dick, he's just hurting. He and my mom were as close as we are, if not more."