Why me? ~ mark sloan

CHAPTER EIGHT

Vanessa woke up to the sound of Mark's breathing next to her, his head on his arm and his arm on the bed next to her head.

She looked at him for a while, eyes still adjusting to the bright white light that filled the room. She studied his features from his grey-tinted hair and his perfect nose to his parted lips and rough stubble that framed his face.

He moaned quietly in his sleep, shifting slightly. He kept twitching randomly until his fingers touched her cheek, calming him down from whatever distress was running through his mind. She smiled gently, running her fingers through his hair tenderly, not being able to tear her eyes off of him. Not even when Cristina walked through the door.

"Uh Vanessa?" She said quietly, standing in the doorway timidly.

"Yeah." She whispered, turning her head toward Cristina but not looking at her, "What's up?"

"I just wanted to ask about Owen..." She walked into the room, not sitting down but leaning against the wall.

"Go ahead." Vanessa whispered, knowing how the two of them had liked each other.

"I just... he's complicated. He won't tell me his feelings out right but I know he's hurting and I want to help him but he won't tell me what's going on." She vented and Vanessa immediately knew how to respond.

"The war messed us up. That's the simple answer. He doesn't find it easy to trust people." She explained, keeping her voice hushed for Mark's sake.

"I've tried to get him to see a therapist - I keep telling him-"

"No, no, no. Don't force him to do anything, just be there. Support whatever he wants to do. Maybe suggest he sees a therapist but ultimately, leave him to make his own decisions. When he starts to feel trapped he freaks out." Vanessa interrupted, rambling a bit. 

Cristina nodded, smiling quickly at Vanessa and walking out, looking to find Owen.

Mark shifted his hand cupping Vanessa's cheek subconsciously. She leaned into his touch and continued watching him, running her fingers down his cheek, tickling her fingers on his stubble and smiling gently.

She only wondered how boring Mark found it, watching her sleep - she wasn't nearly this perfect. His eyes fluttered open slightly and she panicked, wondering if he would find her admiration weird. 

He smiled, looking up at her groggily and fanning his fingers out across her cheek more, staring into her eyes. She stared back into his eyes, lost in the moment.

"Did you mean what you said?" He asked quietly, the corners of his mouth hitching up in a small smile.

"Did you mean what you said?" She countered, a playful glint in her eyes. 

"Yeah." He whispered and she nodded, smiling softly and taking a deep breath in.

"I did too." She breathed and he smiled widely, dropping his head down slightly so she couldn't see his face. 

His hand slipped from her cheek and down to his side as he brought his head back up, a dorky smile on his face. 

"What's that face?" She asked, smiling herself as she questioned him.

"What face?" He fake pouted before smiling again, looking at her beautiful blue eyes.

"That face." She smiled as he smiled wider, eyes drifting down to her lips.

"I'm happy." He shrugged, tangling his fingers in her hair and pulling her to him, putting his lips on hers in a sweet passionate kiss. His hands moved to her cheeks, cupping them lightly and keeping her face to his as her finger's rested on the sides of his neck.