"Do I have to come to the store with you every time?" Mark asks teasingly with a laugh. He has the straps from 3 tote bags clutched in his hands and she's slipped her arm through his and is hugging close to him for warmth like it's his job and he likes to think that it is.

"How is 'surprise me' a sufficient food choice?" Teddy counters. She slips her hand into his coat pocket and gets his set of keys to unlock the SUV. She laughs a little as he pries his arm away from her grasp to put the bags in the back and knows that his comment about motorcycle weather is bound to fall from his lips next. "Besides," she adds, "maybe I like it when you go with me; it keeps all of the leers away because you're big and strong."

"Well," he smirks, closes the back end and she can see the flutter of the motorcycle comment flee from his eyes. He leans towards her a little, puts his fingertips on her elbow and lightly presses his lips against her cheek before guiding her to the passenger side of the vehicle to open the door for her. He keeps her from hopping up onto the seat with a gloved hand on her forearm; she sees his piercing blue eyes narrow for a moment and she gets a little confused. "Maybe you shouldn't be so pretty and people wouldn't stare."

"Please," she scoffs.

"Marry me," he says.

"What?"

"I want my life to be with you," he adds. He smiles, tilts his head as she quirks an eyebrow like she isn't sure she's hearing him correctly.

"It is with me," she reminds him.

"I've never asked anyone to marry me and I'd wanted it to be this grand and a cliche' gesture so you couldn't say no, but then I realized that people are jealous of what we have," he says. He watches carefully so she doesn't slip as she climbs up into the leather seat. She offers him a slight smile and presses a gloved hand against his chest as she presses her lips against his - a light kiss with a small smile. He adds, "And I think they should be."

"Yes," she finally answers, "I'll marry you."

(He remembers when he met the blonde. It was by chance, walking down a New York street with a cup of coffee in his hand, and he hadn't seen her. Not at first anyway. He wasn't watching where he was going and he bumped into her, the Styrofoam cup smashing between them and the liquid pouring down his leather jacket.

His eyes narrow angrily for a moment as he watches his fresh latte spill onto the ground before he lifts his gaze to his victim, and he forgets what he's scowling at. He forgets a lot in that moment - like how he thinks he's in love with his best friend's wife and how he's late on the first day of opening his own practice with said best friend. He feels himself smile and tilt his head as she halters in her step.

"I'm sorry," he tells her, fingers touching her elbow, "it was my fault."

"No, no, it was mine," she disagrees with a dismissing smile.

"You're crying," he observes. There's tear stains on her cheeks, eyes glazed over like she's fighting back tears, and he half steps towards her. He lets his hand hang in the air between them as concern for this stranger washes over him and he can't help what comes out of his mouth next. "Why are you crying?"

"I don't even know you," she counters.

"But you could," he responds, only a moment of hesitation. He offers her a smile like he can win her over and it isn't lost on him when she actually smiles back. He notices her eyes lift to his and he steps forward so he doesn't block as much of the sidewalk anymore; he extends a hand, "it's Mark, Mark Sloan."

"Teddy," she relents with a small smile as she takes his hand, "Altman.")

"So, last night," she ventures as he dries off from his shower, "was that a serious proposal or a caught in the moment proposal?"

"Both," he answers seriously. He watches her pull her dark blue jeans up her legs and he catches himself staring but he doesn't bother looking away. He thinks that as her future-husband, he gets to reserve the right to drool over her. He hesitantly lifts his eyes to hers and half smiles. "I had a plan but it turned out to just be the perfect moment to ask you. I just realized that I don't mind going everywhere with you and spending every second of every day with you is ideal."

"Is that so?" She teases. He drops his towel to the floor before she can even button her pants and his fingers are peeling her hand away from her waist. He pushes her against the bathroom counter top and presses his lips against hers, his tongue sliding over her lips. She pushes her palms against his chest and pushes him away for just a moment to mutter: "Why do you let me get pants on if you're just going to take them off?"

"That's the best part," he reveals.

He tugs at the hem of her pants and listens for the thick material to collide with the floor. Her fingers find the back of his neck as he hoists her on the edge, his nails scraping against her skin as he hungrily pulls her panties off. He grins as she meets his lips with her own again and it becomes a hurried rush of messy kisses, entangled fingers, and thrusts that claim her as his own.

"I love you, baby," he whispers through languid breaths. She's busy breathing deep, his body pressed against hers as they both catch their breath afterwards. Her fingers dig into his hips and she knows that she doesn't really mind when he tilts his head and smiles. He drops a kiss against her bare shoulder before she can lean back and peel herself away from him. "I have a ring, and you can't leave until you're wearing it."

He peels himself away and finds the ring somewhere in the other room, sliding the silver diamond ring onto her finger before he lets her leave for the hospital.

("Hey," Mark smirks at Derek as he walks through the door. Derek's eyes narrow at the stickiness of his business partner's leather jacket and purses his lips. Mark shrugs as he unzips his jacket. "I had a little accident."

"Oh, please don't tell me it involves a woman," Derek pleas.

"Yes, but," Mark interjects before his best friend can say anything; he tosses his jacket onto the couch just inside his office and leans against the door frame to Derek's, "it isn't like you think. I bumped into her outside of the coffee shop and there's something different about her."

Derek laughs, "aw, that's cute. You have a crush on a stranger."

"Her name is Teddy," Mark clarifies. Derek stops laughing because he knows that Mark doesn't usually bother with names, doesn't really care to. Mark grins and Derek thinks his eyes twinkle a little bit. "She's blonde, tall, pretty and there's just this air about her. It was nice, refreshing. Like Addison, but nicer."

"That isn't saying much," Derek quips.)

"Derek, I just think-"

"Addison, I don't think you're being fair about this," her husband counters. He pulls his t-shirt on over his head and glances at his wife as her fingers start to fluff his hair. He momentarily glares at her because he's tired of her trying to shape his hair in ways he just can't make them go, but relents as her fingers slide down the side of his face. "What's the matter with right now? We're not interns anymore, we're not residents, and me and Mark have the practice."

"Maybe we need to focus on our careers for just a while longer," she reasons. Her skirt is still unzipped around her waist so when she finally pulls her blouse on she can tuck the hem in, but she's distracted by her husband's attempt at conversation. She gives him the seal of approval when he finally looks away from the mirror to put on his light blue shirt and offer her a tensed jaw. "Look, I'm not saying I don't want kids with you, honey. I'm just saying that I'm trying to be a surgeon just as much as you are."

"You are a surgeon," he clarifies, "you're the best neonatal surgeon in the country. If you were to take a few months off to have a baby, no one would forget you. You're the best."

"Well, thank you," she acknowledges. She's careful to avoid rubbing the make up off of her face when she puts on her blouse and gives herself a once over in the mirror. She turns to see Derek struggling with his tie choice and she supplies him her opinion; naturally, he picks the other one just to be defiant, but he's still yet to catch on to the fact that she always picks the one she doesn't prefer because she knows his antics. "But I'm not sure I can waver on the baby thing just yet."

"Not sure?" He repeats; he knows he smiles when their eyes lock and works on the knot in his tie. "Well, that's a start."

She briefly kisses his cheek and she's out the door, already running late.

(She carefully eyes the names on the door to be sure she has the correct office, and she feels both nervous and relieved to see that she's at the right place. She pushes open the door and spots an aging receptionist behind the front desk. She takes a moment as the employee closes the call to falter, to consider turning around.

"Can I help you, miss?" The graying woman addresses.

"Oh, um, I'm here to see Mark Sloan," she says, practically stuttering. She's fairly certain the woman could hear hesitation in her voice and she wondered if the woman new right away that she wasn't a patient. The woman looks at her expectantly and she fills in the blanks, or assumes she's filling them out. "Uh, Teddy...Altman."

The woman rises from her desk and wraps lightly on the door to the right behind the cherry wood; "There's a miss Altman here to see you.")

"Wait just a second there, Missy," Addison suddenly says. Teddy has been chatting with her over a patient, a newborn baby girl who has a heart murmur, for nearly 10 minutes when the blonde turns to leave. She falters her step at the redhead's booming voice and glances at her friend over her shoulder. She catches a glimpse of Addison's fingers pushed into her hips like she's challenging Teddy and she immediately caves beneath her friend's harsh gaze. "Is that what I think it is?"

Addison closes the space between them, her heels clacking heavily on the tile beneath them and Teddy shifts from her left foot to her right foot.

"It's..." she trails off at the realization that she can't get anything passed Addison when her hand is being grasped by the other woman's. Teddy thinks Addison must have seen the diamond in the light and she swallows. A smile crosses her face and she knows the secret is out. "It's exactly what you think it is."

"When did this happen?" Addison's gaze is still lingering over the ring like she's looking for imperfections, and knowing Addison she probably is.

"Last night," Teddy admits.

"It's bigger than mine," Addison teases, "I'm jealous."

They both laugh quietly, knowing they'll definitely have time to catch up later because they're working on a case together.

("So, why were you crying?" Mark asks, again. He doesn't think she's going to tell him, but he doesn't think it hurts to ask. He just knows that there's a chance she'll tell him if he's persistent. He leans towards her a little, getting in her space while sitting beside her on a bench in Central Park. He swallows and shifts his gaze back to the fountain. "You don't have to tell me, but I always find that it makes you feel better when someone cares."

"How could you care? You don't even know me," she points out with a small smile.

He shrugs haphazardly, "that doesn't mean I don't care. I'm a very caring person."

She takes a sip of her coffee and watches the steam rise through the opening in his cup lid; she'd insisted that she buy him a fresh cup of coffee and he had requested a rain check because he was running late. The guilt wouldn't go away, the weight of the whole day on her shoulders.

She's impressed by him, impressed by the way he seems so sure of himself.

"I'm just not having the best day," she reluctantly admits. He just looks at her, urging her to continue because she hasn't given him enough to go off of. She shifts her gaze to her cup before finally looking at him, offering him a tight smile like he won't be concerned anymore. "It's my first day back to the city in about five years. It just isn't as easy as I thought it would be."

"Sometimes, that happens," he offers, "but if you ever need to vent or anything, I can listen. I'm a great listener."

"I don't," she just trails off. He leans towards her a little, his face mere inches away from hers, and he can feel her breath trail over his lips. He doesn't remember wanting to listen to someone, let alone a girl, talk just to talk - it always has to merit a purpose, but he does. He lightly presses his lips against hers, feeling her respond to his kiss. She suddenly pulls away and he's left stunned. "I have to go."

She's gone before he can stop her; he doesn't know where she works.)

Mark smirks at Teddy as she descends the stairs at Bellevue Hospital, his hands in his pockets as he waits at the bottom of the stairs for her. He can't really force himself to look away from her, a knee length navy dress gracing her features as she carefully takes each step in her black heels. She doesn't know where he's taking her and he refuses to tell her until he absolutely has to.

"Hey, beautiful," he says, "took you long enough to get ready. We're already late."

"Late for what? Exactly," she asks, like maybe he'll forget. He extends his hand for her to take, noticing her small grin as she accepts his hand when she's three steps away from the floor.

"Nice try," he says with a laugh. The heel of her shoe hits the floor and it momentarily reminds him of the last 2 years they've been together (or close to 2 years) and how they just stumbled into what they have now. He caves, a little and not as much as she would hope, and he smiles as she turns her body to his. "I'll give you a hint. Derek and Addison will be there."

"Oh, thank you, sweetheart, that's so helpful," she replies sarcastically. He laughs softly and rests his forehead against hers, letting himself be surrounded in her scent as the moisture from her lips collide with his. He slides his hands up her sides, smiling as he feels her arms wrap around his neck.

He teases her a bit more, "Anything for my baby."