chapter forty-three ━ mark sloan, chief of surgery?
( season eight, episodes eighteen & nineteen )

❝Baby Simba or Adult Simba?❞

ELLIE GLANCED OVER at Meredith as they and Cristina walked down the hall towards her office. "A lion?" she asked her. "An actual, physical, walking lion wandering the streets of Seattle? Seattle of all places?"

Meredith nodded. "Looking at me like I was lunch," she confirmed.

"Are you sure it wasn't a mountain lion?" Cristina asked her best friend. "Or... maybe a well-fed cat?"

Ellie chuckled in amusement and Meredith rolled her eyes. "I was staring at Simba!"

"Baby Simba or adult Simba?" Ellie asked.

She quirked her eyebrow upward, looking at the younger Sloan. "Does it matter?" she asked and Ellie nodded.

"Yes."

"Grey," Owen said, walking up to the resident. "You're on my service."

She nodded. "See you."

Ellie waved goodbye and opened the door to her office. She paused abruptly when she saw Jackson sitting on the couch. "Oh. H—Hi."

"Uh—hi?" he replied, furrowing his brows. "Are you okay?"

"Y—Yeah," she said, nodding and he tilted his head at her. "Yeah, I'm fine. W—Why wouldn't I be fine? Do I not look fine?"

"Well, you're stuttering," he told her and she bit the inside of her cheek. "Which you never do. And rambling. Which you only do when you're nervous about something."

"I—I stutter plenty, thank you," she said just as her pager went off and she looked down at it. "Oh, good. An intern has a problem that I need to solve. Uh—I'm gonna—" She found herself backing into the wall. "—ouch—" Jackson stood up from the couch. "—bye."

She hurried out of the office before Jackson could reach her and he paused. "Bye?" He frowned to himself. "What just happened?"

☀️

ELLIE TRAILED BEHIND Mark and Callie as they walked into the trauma room and saw Jackson and Richard already inside, examining the patient. She glanced briefly at Jackson before clearing her throat and shaking her head.

"What do we got?" Callie asked, putting on a pair of gloves.

"Deep animal claw laceration extending down the left side of the body," Richard answered as Jackson peeled back one of the bandages.

"And there's your arm," he added.

Callie and Ellie looked down at the arm. "Yeah." Callie nodded. "That's what you expect when you hear 'lion'."

"I bet it's nice to know what to expect instead of showing up at your girlfriend's house for the first time and being greeted at the door by the freakin' king of the jungle."

Ellie looked down at their patient, Paul. "She never bothered to mention that she had a pet lion?" she asked.

"Seems like something that ought to come up on a first date," Mark added, agreeing with his sister.

"Right?" Paul said, looking at the siblings. "She told me she had a cat—a big cat—and I'm allergic, so I took an antihistamine before I left the house."

Mark pulled back one of the bandages and Paul winced making Callie look at it. "Oh, yeah, you should have brought a bullwhip..."

Jackson smiled in amusement and looked at Ellie who turned a faint shade of red. Mark glanced between them before clearing his throat. "I'll be right back. Ellie, with me."

Ellie looked up at her brother in confusion and glanced at Callie and Jackson who shrugged. She followed him and he pulled her into an empty exam room. "Ow. What was that for?"

"What's going on with you and Avery?" he asked her and she furrowed her brow. "You look flustered and you keep blushing. You never blush."

"I do blush," she said, crossing her arms. "I blush and stutter very often, I'll have you know!"

"Ellie."

"Nothing!" she exclaimed, throwing her hands up in the air. "I promise. Nothing, Mark. Now, there is a man in there who was just a lion's chew toy. So can I go back?"

Mark sighed. "Fine." She nodded and opened the door. He watched his sister leave. "I don't believe you, you liar."

☀️

THE GROUP OF surgeons were in surgery attending to Paul's various injuries. Richard shook his head. "Imagine..." he said and Ellie glanced at him. "The power it takes to cause injuries like these. A flick of your wrist, and whoosh."

"Nope," Jackson disagreed. "You know what these injuries are? This is natural selection at work. I mean, the guy was an idiot."

Ellie frowned. "How was he an idiot?" she asked him.

He shrugged. "I don't care how desperate you are for sex. If a chick tells you that she wants you to meet her cat, you run... fast."

"Though, I don't think most people think of lions as the 'pet cat'," she replied. "And... that means no cat for the apartment?"

"Well, I—I mean if you wanted a—a cat, then—"

Ellie smiled and smirked at him. "Look who's stuttering now."

"He was blindsided by someone he trusted," Callie said, returning to the topic of the lion. "You never know how you're gonna react when that happens."

"What did you say to Robbins?" Mark asked her.

"Hmm?" She looked up and shrugged. "Nothing. I just asked her how many other exes she has in the hospital." Ellie raised her eyebrows. "She said one or two. I can live with one or two, right?" Richard coughed and she looked at him. "What was that? Why did he cough?"

"Don't say anything," Mark told him. "We're not in this."

Ellie frowned at him. "You are the most intrusive human being to exist and now you're being nice about people's boundaries?"

"Webber, why'd you cough?"

Richard looked up at her. "Oh—um—well... it's—it's a little like when a patient tells you they have one or two drinks a—a week." Ellie and Jackson glanced at each other. "We all round that number up because patients tend to tell us what we want to hear. If they'll admit to two drinks—"

"They're having so many more," Callie finished.

"Oh, I got—I got something sharp here," Jackson said and Ellie looked over at him as he pulled out a tooth from Paul's abdomen. "Oh."

Ellie's eyes went wide. "Woah."

"A lion tooth," Richard said and Jackson threw the tooth into a dish making the former chief frown. "Hey, hey, hey, don't just toss that aside just yet. Bokhee, keep that safe, will you?"

Ellie laughed in amusement and caught Jackson's eye. He smiled at her and she returned it, a faint blush coming to her cheeks.

☀️

BAILEY FURROWED HER brows when she looked down at the paper that Jackson had handed her. "What?" she asked. "'Excellence is not an act, but a habit,' Aristotle.' Avery, what is Aristotle doing in our staff meeting and why are you the one handing these out?"

"You mean when I could be practicing medicine or studying for my boards?" he asked, moving to stand behind Ellie's chair where she currently had her computer open. "Yeah, I've asked myself that same question..."

"Mmm." Arizona was eating one of the pastries that Ellie had been forced to pick up. "This is delicious. When did Hunt bump up the donut budget?"

"Well—"

Mark walked in, preventing Ellie from saying anything. "As chief, I'm a firm believer that a nice variety of baked goods is the right way to start any meeting. Which is why Ellie picked up seven boxes for us this morning."

She rolled her eyes, holding her head in her hand. "And it was absolutely thrilling."

"As chief?" Bailey repeated.

"What are you talking about?" Derek asked.

"Okay, calm down, everyone," Mark said, silencing them. "Dr. Hunt and Dr. Yang are down with the flu. If you don't believe me, you can ask the chief resident." At his words, everybody looked at Ellie who nodded, pointing at the email she had received from Owen. "I'll be acting chief in Dr. Hunt's absence. Could be a day, could be a week. What do we got for today?"

Bailey narrowed her eyes at him. "Let me get this straight... Dr. Hunt asked you to fill in as chief—you, Mark Sloan, by name?"

"Actually—"

"Yes, he did," Mark said, cutting off Ellie. "Any other questions?"

The attendings did have many questions—the most popular being how Mark Sloan was named interim chief of surgery. Ellie and Jackson walked out of the conference room as Mark continued fielding those questions.

"How did you even get roped into this?" he asked her as they walked toward their friends at the nurse's station. "I know how I did, but you?"

"My brother is suddenly chief—even if he isn't supposed to be," she replied with a grumble. "I can't really say no to the man. And if I do, he'll play the 'I raised you' card."

"Really?"

She nodded, hugging her computer to her chest. "Oh, yeah. One time when I was sixteen, I was ten minutes late for my curfew and he gave me an hour-long lecture. Mark Sloan. The man who is notoriously late for everything."

"That sounds—"

"It was awful."

Jackson chuckled just as April looked up at them in frustration. "Where have you two been?" she asked them. "We're halfway through the new batch of flash cards."

"Hunt and Yang are out sick today, so Sloan's the chief," Jackson told them. "And I'm the chief's bitch."

Ellie shrugged. "I'm just the sister forced to pick up pastries. Did you know that I almost crashed into a lighting pole three times just getting back to my car?"

"No distractions," Alex said to them. "Kepner, hit me again."

"Okay, a—a woman with dysuria, incomplete voiding, and a palpable suburethral mass," she read from the card.

"Urethral carcinoma," he answered. "Damn it. I had one of those last year. Um—uh—we did—uh—radiation and surgical excision. No! Would it be—uh—chemo?"

Ellie opened her laptop and Jackson glanced at her, noticing the way the screen lit up her face. Her rosy cheeks seemed even rosier. The glimmer in her eyes sparkled more than usual.

"Uh—or it could be—uh—an ectopic ureter," he said, tearing his gaze away from her. "I mean, I scrubbed in on one of those, but I don't remember the technique the urologist used. Damn it."

"Sounds like urethral diverticulum," Ellie answered, answering yet another email; the life of the chief resident. "If it's proximal, I would do a partial ablation because it's much less likely to result in a fistula."

Alex frowned. "You don't even need to know advanced urology for the boards."

"But I do," she said with a smile, looking up at them. "Jackson's mother sends me all of these articles and then calls me, wanting to talk about them since you apparently ignore her."

He winced. "Oh, God. She does? I'm sorry."

"Oh, I don't mind." Ellie shook her head. "I like your mom."

Alex groaned in frustration. "Not fair. You remember everything and Grey is studying with Torres while the rest of us get to sink like rocks. I hope you're happy when you're both in the OR and the rest of us are working the free clinic at the mall."

"My whole brain is crammed with so many hypotheticals that I can't remember what real cases I was actually there for," Jackson said, letting out a breath. "I am screwed."

"I'll tell you who's screwed—Yang," Alex told them. "The boards are around the corner, no one's seen her study, and she's out sick. She's gonna get creamed."

Meredith shook her head. "Yang is fine."

April sighed. "You can't just pass the boards on raw talent, okay? It is an artificial environment, which requires massive amounts—"

"Cristina is fine," Meredith insisted. "Okay?"

Ellie sighed as Meredith walked away. "Come on, Jackie. Let's go find 'Chief Sloan'."

He groaned and pushed himself away from the nurse's station. "Hey, any chance you can help me study?" he asked her and she glanced at him. "Let me in on your little secrets?"

"Well, I don't give out my secrets to just anybody," she said with a smile. "You have to earn them. So... how are you gonna earn them, Dr. Avery?"

Jackson looked back at her and she tore her gaze away from his green eyes. April cleared her throat as she walked away and he jumped. "Oh, how long have you been standing there?"

"I never left," she replied. "You're staring at Ellie. Again."

"I am not."

April rolled her eyes. "You are. And don't argue with me. It's getting old." She tilted her head. "So... Anything you'd like to admit?" Jackson glanced back at her before letting out a breath and pulling her into an on-call room. April raised her eyebrows as he began pacing in front of her. "What's wrong with you?"

He paused and turned to face her. "Okay. Uh—You know when Ellie was dating Andy and you kept saying that I was in love with Ellie?"

"Yes...?"

"Well... that may not have been entirely inaccurate," he said and she smiled victoriously.

"I knew it!"

"Calm down," he told her, sitting on the bed. "I mean, I—I've thought about this for a while. And—And I kept denying it because... what if she doesn't feel the same way?" April opened her mouth. "But... all of her cute quirks... like her insistence on drinking iced coffee over hot. And her obsession with pizza and potstickers and ice cream... You have to love it. I mean... it's—it's adorable."

"Just say it out loud," she said, practically bouncing in place; she had been waiting years for this moment. "You're in love with Ellie."

He looked up at her and nodded slowly. "Yeah. I'm in love with Ellie."

☀️

"CHIEF," JACKSON SAID as he and Ellie walked up to Mark. He handed him the schedule and Mark looked it over.

"See, from one to two, you have 'Lunch with the Chief'," he told them. "I told you to call it 'Beef with the Chief'. It's got a ring to it. You got a beef? Come meet with the chief."

Ellie blinked at him. "You were serious about that?"

Mark nodded. "You need to let people get the little things off their chests before they become big things," he replied. "I'm serious about this chief thing, guys. It's my shot. I want to do it right. 'Beef with the Chief', put it down on the schedule tomorrow." The two residents glanced at each other and faint blushes appeared on their cheeks. They followed him into their patient's room. "Dr. Shepherd, Dr. Warren. Mr. Cooper, how are you feeling?"

"Like I would kill my own mother for a burger and a shake."

"Jason Cooper, twenty-nine-year-old male with advanced juvenile arthritis, causing fusion of the jaw, and extensive fusion of the C-2, C-3, and C-4 vertebrae," Jackson presented.

"He's been on a feeding tube for the past eight months," his wife told them. "No solid food at all."

"Well, don't worry, Mr. Cooper," Mark said. "After we break your jaw and put in those sweet titanium hinges I made for you, you'll be eating burgers again real soon."

Derek leaned closer to Mark. "Could we have a word with you outside, please?"

"Of course."

The residents followed them out into the hall. "Ben and I don't think we should do the surgery today," Derek told Mark.

"Why not?"

"With his cervical fusion, lying him down on an operating table is gonna put pressure on the base of his spine," Derek replied.

"Not to mention that orotracheal intubation is impossible on this guy," Ben added with a nod. "I'll do nasotracheal, but if there's any compromise to the tube while he's under and he's got no mobility—let's just say, I can't guarantee anything."

Mark looked between the two. "Well, what's your recommendation."

Derek shrugged. "Well, we postpone the surgery until other plans can be made."

"And Dr. Avery, what would support performing the surgery as soon as possible?" Mark asked his resident.

"The—uh—the patient has a major abscess in the back of his mouth," he answered.

"Which could lead to what, Ellie?"

She looked up at her brother and let out a breath. "Sepsis or endocarditis."

Mark nodded. "Infection's a killer, which is why this can't wait," he said to the two men. "So let's figure out a way to get Mr. Cooper into surgery on schedule."

"Well, frankly, I don't know what you think I can do for him by three this afternoon," Derek told him.

"Rise."

He furrowed his brows. "Excuse me?"

"You have it in you," Mark continued. "Lost causes, right? Make the impossible possible?" Ellie glanced at Derek with a small chuckle. "Rise to the challenge, Shepherd. I believe in you. Rise."

Mark walked away and Ellie laughed to herself. Jackson looked over at her; he loved the sound of her laugh.

"I gotta admit. He can be inspiring. Good luck."

☀️

AT THE END of the day, Ellie was sitting on her bed with a book open in front of her when she heard a knock on the door. She knitted her brows in confusion before walking over and opening it.

"Oh, Jackson. Everything okay?"

He nodded. "Yeah." He stepped inside. "Yeah, everything's fine. Um..." Ellie raised her eyebrows; did he seem nervous? "There's something that I wanted to say and I really need to get it off my chest."

"Okay... Is it bad?"

"No," he replied. "I hope..."

Ellie nodded. "Alright. What's up?"

"I like you," he found himself blurting out and she paused. "That wasn't how that was supposed to come out... But... I do. I like the way your nose crinkles when you laugh or when your lip puckers out in a pout when you're trying to make a point. And your obsession with pizza and potstickers. And iced coffee. I have never met someone so passionate about iced coffee before I met you."

"It's just—"

"Better," he finished with a nod and she looked back up at him. "Yeah, I know. I—I've loved you since our intern year. And I had so many chances to say it, but I never did. So I settled for being friends because that seemed to be enough. But... I don't think I can do that anymore. Because I'm in love with you. And if you don't feel the same, that's fine, I just—"

Ellie let out a breath and crashed her lips against his. Jackson was taken aback by surprise before realizing what was happening and he kissed her back. She smiled into the kiss and pulled away. "Who said I didn't feel the same way?" she whispered.

He chuckled, almost in disbelief. "Really?" She nodded and he smiled, leaning back in for another kiss. "Let me take you on a proper date," he said, leaning his forehead on hers. "Tomorrow night."

Ellie nodded, her smile never leaving her face. "Yeah. Yeah, I'd like that."

☀️

━ author's note:

so... how are we feeling everybody?
this is me:

hehe... only took 43 chapters but we made it people!