grey's anatomy one-shots & preferences [requests closed] UNDER EDITING

[dancer6297] mark sloan || paranoia

You take in a deep, shaky breath. Calm down, Julie. Mark is going to be here any second and you'll work it out together.

The butterflies erupt again in your stomach and you feel more anxious. The door to the on call room swings open and you jump at the sound, but immediately relax when you realize that it is only Mark.

"Julie?" Mark asks, breathless. He ran here, no doubt. His eyes scan your tearstained face. "What's wrong? Why'd you page me a 911?"

You open your mouth to tell him that you think you did something wrong, that you think you killed it, but nothing comes out. Instead, a cry escapes your mouth and you break down. You're wracked with sobs. Mark rushes to your side and sits beside you on the bunk.

"It's okay, it's just hormones," he consoles, running his hands up and down your arms.

"No, it's not," you weep. Your stomach flutters again and you wail at the reminder that you messed up. You messed up so bad.

"Yes, Jules, it'll be okay..." he trails off and a look of panic crosses his face. "Is it the baby?"

You nod and bury your face in his shirt. He is tense under your head.

"What's wrong?" he asks softly, but the unease is creeping into his voice. You don't answer. He yells urgently, "Julie, what's wrong?"

You wipe a tear off your cheek. "I don't know what I did, Mark, but I messed up. I messed up so bad, I'm so sorry, I'm so so sorry-"

Mark cuts you off and takes your hands gently. "Julie, whatever it is, it isn't your fault. I need you to tell me, though, so that we can make sure that our kid is okay. You want to make sure she's okay, right?" You nod tearfully. "Then you need to tell me, not apologize."

"Well, I was working in the clinic," you say, taking a deep breath. Your guts churn, partially because you don't want to relive the accident telling it, and partially because of the baby. "And everything was fine. But then this kid stumbled out right in front of me, tripped, and sprawled out across the floor. I fell over him and landed on my butt. So I didn't exactly freak out about the baby, right? His mom came up and helped me up, then apologized, but I couldn't think, because when I fell..." You close your eyes. How could you let this happen? "When I fell, I felt this tumbling feeling in my stomach. And ever since then, it's been a combination of that and nervous butterflies, except they aren't subconscious, they're real, I'm sure of it."

Mark blinks at you. The corner of his mouth turns up in a smile. He snorts lightly. He chuckles softly. And he laughs a loud hearty laugh and doesn't stop.

You stare at him in horror. "What are you laughing at?"

"Jules," he wheezes out between fits of laughter. "Jules, that feeling?" He laughs again. "That's the baby kicking."

"What?"

"You're fine, Julie! You, the baby, you're fine! She kicked for the first time!" He grins at you and a reluctant smile crosses your face as you realize what he means. "I mean, we can take you up to the O.B.G.Y.N. if you want, but she's fine." He laughs and presses his warm lips against your forehead. You giggle at your fear and lean into him.

"I'm going to be a horribly paranoid mother, aren't I?" you ask with a smile.

Mark chuckles, his laugh rumbling throughout his chest. You close your eyes and focus on the vibrations. "Yeah. But I'll be pretty obsessive, too."

"That's a good thing," you grin, and Mark plants a soft kiss on your temple. "It'll make us great parents."