Now or Never ➼ Mark Sloan

𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗿𝘆 𝗠𝗲? (𝗙𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗼𝗺 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝟭&𝟮)

Mark looked up as Grace joined him. She smiled. "I'm not sleeping with you."

"Shut up. I want your help. I'm proposing to Bella."

Grace's eyes widened. She grinned. "Oh my god. You're asking her to marry you?" She asked.

"No. I'm proposing that we break up. Of course I'm asking her to marry me," Mark told her. He sighed. "I know what you're thinking. That it's too soon. But I love her."

Grace smiled. She looked to him. "You and Bella have been through so much together. I think you've always been in love with her. And she's always been in love with you. So if you love her, tell her. Say it. And say it loud. Okay?"

"You're full of sentimental advice. Derek teach you that in between quickies in the trailer?" Mark joked.

Grace rolled her eyes. "I'll have you know Sloan, that I am a very inspirational and sentimental person. Now, are we going ring shopping or what?"

Mark nodded and smiled. "You can't tell her. I know you two tell each other everything."

"As if I'd ruin the surprise. How are you going to do it?" Grace asked as she took a sip of the coffee Mark had bought her.

Mark shrugged. "Haven't thought that far ahead. Bella and I... we're not traditional. So I want something unique to us," he told her.

"Let's get the ring first. And then we can figure out how you're going to propose to her," Grace said.

Grace knew how she wanted Bella to be happy. And Mark was doing all he could to make her happy. Which was all she wanted. "Don't hurt her again please. I don't think she'll cope with more heartbreak," she told him.

"I won't. I promise."

****

Mark, Derek and Webber were all standing on Derek's land. Mark smiled. "I've tried to change myself. But Bella is the one who changed me. I love her you know?" He said.

Derek turned to him. "My sister is a good person. Don't hurt her."

"Adele wanted me to change. To retire. Well, I'm still the chief. And this weekend, I'm moving back home," Webber told them.

"Does Adele know that?" Derek asked as he turned to her.

Webber shrugged. "She'll be fine. She was wrong. I was right. And now we're... doing it like bunnies," he said.

"I can change. I can change. I have changed," Mark said. He had gotten the ring for Bella.

"Be who you are. I am who I am. A man. A man who is who he is. I have a right to be that man," Webber said.

Derek said nothing as he smirked. "I'm not gonna say anything. No judging. I'm gonna miss living on the land," he told them both.

"It is a beautiful piece of land."

"Wanna buy it?"

Mark frowned. He turned to him. "You can't sell this land. You have blueprints," he told his friend. He sighed. "This is your living room window. The house that Derek built."

Derek shrugged. "Yeah, well, that's over. I'm thinking about getting a place in town," he told them both.

"But you love this land. This land and ferry boars are who you are," Mark said.