flatline [m.s]

lxxxiii.

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love. neuroscience tells us it activates the same parts of the brain as habit-forming addiction.
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"so you and cristina are going fishing?" lia raises her brow in disbelief at derek who is getting food from the fridge whilst lia is drinking coffee at the kitchen table. "whose idea was that?"

"owen's concerned about leaving cristina alone, so when i told him i was going fishing..." derek explains, continuing to pack for the fishing trip.

"right, but you haven't actually spoken to cristina?" lia chuckles.

"actually, i have," derek clarifies.

"you spoke to her? when?" she asks.

"i called her last night," derek explains.

"well, she must have been drunk or something, because she doesn't do the wilderness," lia shakes her head. "i mean, there aren't even any bathrooms in the wilderness."

"look, i know you're concerned about her, but i also know that there's nothing else we can do about it," he tells her.

"but you can?" she scoffs slightly, and derek clears his throat. "because if fishing is your big plan to get her back to work-"

"we're not trying to get her back to work," derek cuts her off. "we just want to make sure she's okay."

"well, she's not okay, and she's not going to be okay until she gets back to work," lia says, taking a sip of her coffee. "i know cristina. i've taught cristina. she needs to work."

"lia..." derek sighs.

"well, i mean she's not gonna show today," lia chuckles as derek picks his supplies up from the table in front of her. "i mean, she may have agreed to it last night, but in the cold, hard light of day, there's no way-"

lia cuts herself off at the sound of the doorbell ringing, followed by a series of knocks at the door. derek raise his brow with a smug expression before exiting the kitchen to answer the door as lia scoffs and shakes her head.

■ ■ ■

mark is checking the o.r board when lia walks up beside him.

"hi there," she smiles.

"what are you doing?" he turns to look at her, before fixing his eyes back on the o.r board.

"i'm saying hello," lia clarifies. "we're friends, remember?"

"listen..." mark says, this time turning his whole body to face her. "i have a girlfriend- and i slipped. it was fantastic. you're fantastic. but it's not gonna happen again... ever."

"um... okay," lia nods, brushing past him to walk away. as she does, he turns around to watch her do so.

■ ■ ■

"i think... we've got a parathyroid tumour for you to remove," callie informs mark, looking over some scans.

"really?" mark asks, and callie nods.

"did i just hear tumour removal?" lia asks, stopping behind them as she's walking past. both doctors turn around to face her. "i- i have like zero cases today. do you need any help?"

"sure, i love being in the o.r with you," callie smiles at the same time as mark sternly says, "no."

when mark declines her offer, both callie and lia look at him with furrowed brows.

"or... fine," mark adds. "but you'll watch. you're not touching anything. get it? no touching. there's no hearts in there."

"i mean- okay, whatever," lia rolls her eyes and shakes her head as she walks away. callie and mark both watch her leave, and once she is out of sight callie turns to mark.

"you slept with lia?" callie's eyes go wide.

"absolutely not," mark protests, and callie tilts her head and raises her brow to show him that she's not buying that. "only once. i took her home after we went to the bar because she was really drunk. i got up in the night to get a drink, she came into my kitchen, took off all her clothes and said 'teach me'. it was like i had no control. she violated me with her nakedness. derek's gonna kill me."

"forget derek; i'm going to kill you," callie warns, hitting his arm.

"hey," mark frowns, and pulls his arm away. "it's never gonna happen again. mind-blowingly fantastic as it was."

"hey, you... have a girlfriend," callie reminds him. "and you just slept with your ex-girlfriend."

"to help her get over avery," mark argues. "it was a sexual palate cleanser."

"i don't think avery was the one she was trying to get over," callie mutters under her breath as she's walking away.

■ ■ ■

"you slept with mark?!" callie practically yells, barging into meredith's living room where lia and meredith are sat on the sofa.

"you slept with mark?" meredith repeats, turning to lia in a much quieter voice than callie. there's even a slight hint of amusement in her tone.

"thanks for that callie," lia rolls her eyes, and throws her head back on the couch.

"sorry," callie says, much calmer than when she first stormed in. "but what the hell were you thinking?"

"i wasn't thinking," lia shrugs. "that's the point. i was drunk and he was there. and he's mark-"

"and he has a girlfriend," meredith cuts her off.

"i know," lia groans. "like i said; i wasn't thinking."

"do you still love him?" callie asks.

"he said it's never happening again, so what does it matter?" lia shrugs with little emotion, as she stands up from the couch and going to get a glass of water from the kitchen.

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it makes us feel like we can do anything, be anything, achieve anything. and once we taste it, we want more.
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"do you think cristina's gonna be okay?" meredith asks derek as she, he, and lia are sat at the kitchen table, following his fishing trip.

"mm. yeah, i do," derek nods.

"do you think she's gonna be a surgeon?" lia continues to question him.

"honestly?" derek inhales deeply, looking at her. "i don't know."

- - -
the thing about love is, when it's good, it's so very good, and when it's bad, it hurts so much. and if you can't find a way to balance all those ups and down, it will make you crazy.
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