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Callie lays beside Mark

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Callie lays beside Mark. "You have to say something. Words. Make words." She begs, laid beside him with her hands on her tummy.

Mark takes a deep breath. "Holy crap." He finally says, laid back with his hands behind his head.

"Yep."

Mark looks a little pale. "... a baby?"

Callie takes a deep breath, nodding.  "Growing like a weed in my uterus." She shrugs.

Mark scowls and tuts. "Not like a weed." He sits up to look at her, eyes dead serious. "Like a mighty oak. We're gonna be great parents."

Callie looks amused but dubious. "Mark, you ... you don't have to do..."

Mark lays a hand on her tummy. "Are you kidding?! That's my kid in there. I'm a dad. We're parents ... of a baby." His voice grows slightly higher in amusement, enjoyment, excitement. 

Callie laughs along with him. "Okay. You're in."

"Should we get married?" He blurts.

Callies eyes bulge before she quickly shakes her head. "Oh, no. No, I mean, I'm all for raising a baby with you, but, uh, there's a line." She waves her hands to draw the invisible line.

"Okay good. Coz I can't handle another chick right now." He shakes his head.

She smiles gently, still a little unsure. "Mark... its only been 2 months since she left. Its okay if this-"

"You're right. Since she left. I didn't get a choice in that but I do get a choice in this. This, that," He points to her belly, "is mine. My baby." He says sternly. "And you're not going to change my mind."

And he doesn't. Not even when Arizona is back on the scene, not even when they're throwing ideas and names around. Callie is around 10 weeks when things finally settle down and Mark actually feels like himself again.

With all this baby stuff swirling around his head, he's lost track of time. And when he sees Poppy's name in his diary, he feels a sense of dread. Is she going to bring up Bonnie? Does she know where Bonnie is? Will it be awkward? Will Poppy even show up?

He takes a deep breath and heads into the exam room. A subconscious smile breaks onto his face when he sees Poppy. "Hey stranger."

Poppy smiles with sad eyes. "Hi. How are you?"

"I'm doing good. How's your new boobs?" He smiles.

She looks down at her chest. "Heavily fondled almost daily by my wife and myself. Can't believe they're real again." She admits, smiling.

Mark does his exam and sits back on the stool when he's done. "All looking good. I think given that you're 3 months post op, I'm happy for you to get your regular check ups done back home."

"Amazing!" She smiles. "Thank you- so much." She says softly.

Mark waves her off. "Anything for my patients..." He looks at his trainers. "Have you..."

mark on my heart | Mark SloanWhere stories live. Discover now