I would like to apologize for two things: for deleting such a long story and for not touching this story for over a year. I'm rewriting and revising a lot of it. There were things that were so tangled that it was impossible to wrap them up...which is why I'm rewriting it.

Prologue

Meredith slowly came to awareness with the realization that she was going to be arriving at work with yet another hangover. She opened and closed her mouth a few times to rid herself of cottonmouth. She shifted in her half-asleep state and froze.

Beside her, pressed against the right side of her body, was something warm and very alive. Swallowing thickly, Meredith slowly opened her eyes and was met with the peacefull sleeping face of her ex-boyfriend's ex-best friend. She remembered his offer to buy her a drink the night before, as well as the topic of their discussion: Derek and Addison.

"Oh no," Meredith whispered, horrified. She was no stranger to getting drunk and sleeping with innappropriate men, but Mark Sloan was in a different, way more innappropriate category all together. Very carefully, she sat up and nearly groaned out loud when the room started spinning.

The room they were in obviously did not belong to Meredith--they were in Mark's hotel room. It was probably better because her room mates wouldn't see Mark sneaking out. However, it presented a whole new set of problems for Meredith. Her stealth skills were virtually nonexistant, and she needed to get out before Mark woke up.

Meredith looked at the clock. It was nearly 4 a.m. She carefully wrapped the sheet around herself and inched her way out of bed so she could make her swift getaway.

Her feet planted firmly on the ground, Meredith mentally congratulated herself on her success and took a step forward. And tripped very smoothly over the tangled sheet wrapped around her legs.

At that moment, Meredith decided sex was bad. It was good, but it was very bad. Trouble always seemed to follow whever she had sex.

Mark groggily peeked over the side of the bed. His head was pounding, and he wasn't about to try to figure out the weird patterns of his new bed buddy. "What are you doing on the floor?" he asked gruffly.

Meredith watched him run his hand through his hair, messing it up more than it already was. "Not sure," she answered truthfully. All rational thought took flight when she saw his face. He really was McSteamy.

Mark sighed and held out his hand. "Come on. It's way too early for this."

Meredith hesitantly took his hand, and he pulled her to her feet. The sheet tangled around her tiny form slipped, and Mark chuckled when she scrambled to cover herself. "Don't worry," he leered. "It's nothing I didn't see last night."

Meredith was mortified. This was a new low for her. She was okay with her life style. She didn't care what people thought about her one-night stands. But she definitely wasn't okay with the immense guilt and not so subtle dirtiness of her act.

The smirk faded and Mark looked concerned. "Too soon to joke about it?" he asked sympathetically.

Meredith nodded meekly while discreetly looking for clothes. They were scattered in various places throughout the room. "What about Addison and Derek?" she blurted, her gaze centering back onto his face.

Mark groaned. "Your pillow talk sucks," he informed her bluntly. He began noticing the destruction that was his hotel room. All the lights were on and the mini-bar was devoid of all alcohol.

Meredith gave him a very serious look. "I don't do pillow talk."

Mark rolled his eyes and grabbed her wrist. "Then stop talking and help me rid myself of this headache." He pulled her on top of him.

Meredith couldn't contain her moan when Mark kissed her. Going home could wait a while longer.

-

The next time Meredith woke up, there were a pair of strong arms around her and Mark was nuzzling her neck in his sleep. Meredith was not a cuddler, even with Derek. Even so, being in Mark's arms felt good, if only because of the safety they offered.

Meredith sighed softly, realizing she'd have to face the light of day eventually. She glanced at the clock and threw back the blankets with a strangled yelp. Bailey was going to kill her.

Mark woke at the strange sound. That, and the surge of cool air where Meredith had been seconds before. "'S wrong?" he asked.

"I was supposed to be at the hospital twenty minutes ago!" She hurriedly pulled on her pants and held up her shirt. It reeked of alcohol, and there was long rip along the side.

"Here," Mark graciously offered a green button-down whirt. Meredith took it and was about to put it on when Mark held up her bra. "Missing something?" He grinned devilishly and held it out of her reach when she grabbed for it.

"I don't have time for this," Meredith snapped, snatching the bra from his grasp. She pulled her shoes on as she ran to the door. She hesitated before going out. "I had a great time...Have a nice flight."

"I had a nice time too," he assured her belatedly as the door clicked shut. He laid back with a satisfied grin. There were still a few hours until he had to be out of the hotel and he planned to spent that time sleeping.