flatline [m.s]

xxxvi.

- - -
as surgeons, we are trained to consult with each other, to get opposing views. we even encourage patients to get second opinions. but why seek a second opinion when you know you're right?
- - -

"dr. sloan," lia calls as he walks through the e.r whilst she is busy suturing a patient. he then walks over to examine her work, but avoids looking at her. "there's gonna be too much tension."

"start over and do a layered closer," he instructs. he had been avoiding her since their encounter, regarding them moving in together.

"um, c- uh, c-can i ask a question about that?" she asks, standing up and leading mark away from the patient to talk. "okay, you brought up moving in together and marriage, and i put it off. and now you're embarrassed and you won't make eye contact with me because you feel that i have all the power in the relationship, but i don't want all the power in the relationship. i- i'm happy to share it. can we just skip this part?"

"get me some four zero vicryl so you can redo your patient's sutures," he instructs, ignoring everything she's just said so she rolls her eyes, sighs and walks away, leaving mark to tend to the patient.

"i'll totally pretend i didn't hear any of that," the patient, amanda, chuckles softly.

"women don't do this to me," mark frowns as he begins redoing lia's sutures. "i don't do this. 'let's get a house together'."

"sucks being the girl right, huh?" amanda asks.

"i'm not the girl," mark shakes his head then pauses. "what do girls do?"

"well, uh, we start off with the cold shoulder, so you're right on track. and we go to our girlfriends and we bitch, and our girlfriends say, 'you want to build a future, build it yourself. you don't need a man to give you that. so you wanna buy a house, buy a house'."

"huh," mark nods. "you're good at this."

"i ought to help someone get a love life," she chuckles. "i suck at my own."

■ ■ ■

"you agree that it's too soon for me to move in with mark, right?" lia asks callie whilst they're in their usual hangout, lying on an on call room bed, but callie remains silent. "right?"

"i mean... it's totally your call, but remember how long it took him to tell you that he's in love with you," callie reminds her. "and now he's bringing up moving in... and marriage."

"i guess," lia shrugs, knowing that callie is right, and that living with mark would be amazing. her only fear is getting hurt again and ending up with no where to live when she does.

"mark isn't the moving in and marriage type," callie tells her. "he's more of a love 'em, and leave 'em type; so this is a big step for him. but if you're not ready, then you can't force it."

■ ■ ■

"i thought you were operating on john doe," lia says as she walks into the screening room where mark has real estate posts on the light windows.

"i already did. right now i'm looking at houses," he says before turning to look at her. "this one has a stone fireplace, which i like. this one has a backyard the size of montana."

"uh-huh," lia rolls her eyes. "you're buying a house?"

"yeah."

"right," she chuckles. "okay."

"i'm buying a house right now," mark nods. "it's a buyer's market, and i'm buying a house."

"the only reason you're even talking about a house is to make me feel bad," she scoffs. "you're trying to prove that you're moving on without me so then i'll regret my decision and change my mind."

"okay, is this what women are doing," mark raises his brow. "when they say they're moving on?"

"yeah," lia nods. "they don't usually take out a home loan to do it, but..."

"pathetic," mark cuts her off, pulling the retail listings off the light window. "let me be clear. i'm moving on. i'm a better woman than you."

- - -
you can seek the advice of others, surround yourself with trusted advisors. but in the end, the decision is always yours and yours alone.
- - -

"open up!" mark shouts, banging on callie's apartment door, but no one answers. "open the door, torres. open the door, or i'll keep knocking and potentially damage my multi-million dollar hands."

"what?" callie snaps, opening the door. "my very naked girlfriend is in my bed right now, and you won't stop knocking!"

"has lia said anything about moving in with me?" he asks, ignoring the fact she basically told him to go away. "you know, changed her mind or anything?"

"look, mark," callie sighs. "i'm not the lia whisperer, okay? try talking to her instead of avoiding her when she tries to bring it up again, and don't keep coming to me to try and tell you what to do."

before he can respond, callie shuts the door and he can hear indistinct giggles coming from callie and arizona on the other side. he turns around to leave when he sees the door open of an apartment across the hall, with workers inside.

"this place for sale? it's nice," he says, thinking outloud.

"what?" one of the workers asks, as he is leaving the apartment.

"oh, nothing, nothing," mark shakes his head before leaving.

- - -
and when it's time to act and you're all alone with your back against the wall, the only voice that matters is the one in your head. the one telling you what you already knew. the one that's almost always right.
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