Work Text:
Mark closes his eyes and takes a big sniff.
His mind goes back to when he was 9, when Derek and his family took him to the beach for a family trip. He remembers doing this exact thing.
Inhaling the salty, scent. Feeling the warm sand between his toes. Hearing the waves crashing softly and birds chirping in the distance.
That trip has a major significance in Mark's life, it was him and Derek's first fight, but even then he still enjoyed the beach, the serenity of it all, the familiarity. The taffy man selling pieces for 10 cents, or the ice cream man with the rocket pops he adored so much.
The fight however, was stupid, and caused a pang in Mark's heart, a deep seeded insecurity flowed out that he tried so hard to deny, tried so hard to cage in.
He remembers it so vividly. As soon as he got out of the car, Mark could tell Derek was in a mood. Mrs. Shepherd scolded him as he grumbled and groaned while grabbing beach chairs. Amelia and his other sisters raced out to go pick a nice spot to sit.
He kept trying to talk with Derek, and he was rambling about God knows what, but he just wouldnt stop, it was something that had to be interesting.
Derek was getting more and more frustrated with him, and as soon as he got to the spot that the girls had picked, Mark got shoved instantly to the sand, getting a face full of it. Derek said something along the lines of 'why can't you go with your own family' and walked away.
It hurt, a lot. It was one of the thoughts that lingered in the back of his head when he went to the Shepherd family dinners, or Sunday Service with the Shepherd's, or any time he was around them...which was most of the time.
Mark never had a family, a sense of belonging, someone who truly loved and cared for him besides the Shepherds, and even then, he sometimes felt out of place.
When he lost her, it hurt, worse than he imagined. He hated himself for waiting, for not speaking up sooner, for not telling.
But now, he has her back.
And whenever he feels her arms wrap around his waist, soft kisses planted on his cheek, or someone dragging him into the water to jump waves, he finally knows true, unconditional love.
He does miss it. He misses Derek and Callie. He misses being a surgeon, saving and changing lives. He misses little Sophia, who he watches over every chance he gets. He misses Meredith and Jackson, who are bigshot attendings at the hospital, he misses everything.
But when he hears a energetic and sweet, "Mark!" behind him, when he does all the things with her, when he wakes up next to her, limbs tangled. When he hears her laugh, a high pitch shriek that can always make him smile.
Mark thinks he's gonna be okay.
He just hopes the people he's left are doing as well as him.
Might have a part for Lexie, still thinking about it. I hope you enjoyed! :)