Disclaimer: Still not mine. I've said it before. If they were then Mark and Lexie at the very least would have lived.

A/N: Told you this story wasn't abandoned. I'm back and I'm finally writing again. Go me. Let me know what you think.

Haunt You Everyday

He turned over and reached for her. His hands met empty air and cold sheets. Confused his eyes blinked open and he stared at the empty bed beside him. "Angel?" He said softly into the darkness of their bedroom.

There was no answer.

Confused and a bit worried though he couldn't say why Mark sat up and turned on the lamp beside the bed. Meredith was nowhere in sight. Sighing to himself he stood up and pulled on a pair of sweat pants from the floor. A glance at the clock told him that it was way too freaking early and neither of them had to be in until six.

"Angel?" He called again as he stomped down the stairs. There was still no answer but he finally spotted her sitting on the couch staring at something on the coffee table. "Whatcha doin'?"

Meredith slanted him a glance and huffed irritably. "She's haunting me," she claimed and waved a hand towards the coffee table.

Mark stepped further into the room and rounded the couch. He stared down at the urn on the coffee table and frowned. "Your mother is haunting you?" He murmured and sat beside her.

Meredith turned to him and her own frown was equal parts irritated and sad. "She keeps sending me freaky dreams and I can't get her out of my head. I keep hearing her. Everything she ever said to me and about me and…she's haunting me."

Mark wrapped an arm over her shoulders. "Your mother is giving you nightmares and you didn't think waking me up was a good idea?" He asked her in a low voice.

Meredith let out a huff of air and leaned against him. "I'm supposed to tell you that my dead mother is invading my dreams? I'm not crazy. I just…I'm finally happy. You're happy. We're happy together and she's trying to ruin it."

"Ah Angel," he breathed out and buried his nose in her hair. "I'm sorry. And I don't think you're crazy. If anyone could come back from the dead simply to haunt you it'd be her." He pulled her tighter to his side and stared at the urn. "So," he said after a few moments. "What are we going to do with her?"

Meredith shook her head against his shoulder. "I don't have a freakin' clue and I hate Halloween. Seriously."

Mark nodded. "Yeah."

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"What are you doing?" He asked her in shock hours later. "Is that…? Angel…why are you putting your mother's ashes in a plastic baggie?"

She turned her head just a bit and glared at him. "I am not going to let her ruin this loft for me. I'm sick of her haunting me and I'm sick of her ruining every single good thing in my life. So…she's going to work with me and I'll figure out what to do with her later. But she is not staying here."

Mark nodded and filled her mug for her. "Okay," he agreed with a shrug. "I get it." He handed her the mug and kissed her cheek. "I have to run by the house. Alex says if I don't come rescue him from Izzie's madness he's likely to hurt her."

Meredith snickered. "Izzie called me while you were in the shower and says that I need to come tell Alex that carving pumpkins is a requirement of living in the house."

Mark shook his head with a small smirk. "And you're going to tell him…?"

Meredith wrapped her arms around his neck. "Not a damn thing. Halloween is for kids." She paused and blinked at him. "How do you feel about trick or treating by the way?"

Mark cocked his head to the side. "Who doesn't like free candy?" He asked her cautiously. "Why?"

Meredith's eyes skittered away from his and caught on one of the buttons on his shirt. "So…we'll take our kids out? Dress them up and everything?"

Mark's heart clenched as he realized why she was asking and he tightened his arms around her waist. "Yep," he said with a cheerfulness that he didn't actually feel. Damn Ellis Grey. "And then we'll steal all the good candy."

Meredith's happy laugh filled the kitchen. "I call dibs on the chocolate," she claimed and pulled back to look up at him. "But I'll share it with you if you're nice."

Unable to resist that smiling mouth and sparkling green eyes he bent his head and laid his lips over hers. "It's a deal," he murmured when he finally released her. He swept up his coffee from the island and threaded his arm around her waist. "Now we really need to go or you're going to be late."

She grinned, nodded, swept up the baggie containing her mother's ashes and let him lead her out to the car.

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Meredith cast a glance over her shoulder as Cristina burst into the locker room. She ignored Izzie and Alex and Heron as they stared at her and turned back to her locker. Cris would understand.

"What are we looking at?" Cristina asked after a few seconds of silence. She watched Meredith take a baggie from her bag and shove it into her locker.

"Meredith put her mother in a baggie and brought her to work," Izzie informed her in a strange voice.

Cristina felt her lips tugging up in a smirk that she quick hid behind a cup of coffee at Izzie's tone. "Appropriate," she nodded to Meredith's back. "It'd be the day for it."

"I had to get her out of the loft," Meredith glared over at Izzie and shrugged at Cristina. "She was haunting me."

Alex gave a small shudder. "And now she's haunting all of us," he commented. He didn't find it strange that Meredith's mom was still causing problems months after her death. But he was not happy about her being in their locker room. That was…freaky. Seriously, it was freaking him out.

Cristina sighed and stepped over to Meredith. Alex scowled at the back of Izzie's head for her snicker at him. "I'm putting her to rest," Meredith tried to explain to Cristina quietly.

"Meredith is cleansing," Heron put in with her chirpy voice. There was something like satisfaction and pride under it but Cristina ignored her as usual. That woman was waaaaay too perky. "In tribal culture, when one wants to cleanse the past, one cuts off all of one's hair and buries it in the earth." Heron stood up and leaned around Cristina to address Meredith. "You might try that too."

Izzie nodded seriously, Alex scoffed and Cristina rolled her eyes. "Only if I want a divorce in my future," Meredith said around Cristina's shoulder. "That one…not happening. I'll figure out what to do with her later. Right now, we have work people."

"Okay listen up," Callie said in a tired voice as she entered the locker room. "Today is a holiday which means the pit will be overrun." Meredith grabbed her lab coat and turned to face Callie. "We've got the usual drunken stupidity—"

"And then you've got Seattle's annual chainsaw pumpkin carving contest," Bailey said from beside Callie. The woman had a disturbing gleam to her eyes and Meredith tried really hard not to take a step away in case the insanity was infectious. "I love this city."

Callie shook her head at the other woman even as her lips tilted upwards. "Stay on your toes, stay on top of your interns, okay?" Callie instructed.

"So we should round before heading to the pit or…?" Izzie questioned. Meredith rolled her eyes; that was a stupid question.

Callie held up a hand and refused to look at the other woman. "You should direct your questions to Dr. Bailey, Stevens," she said in a cold tone.

Cristina looked up with a confused expression. "We're directing our questions to Dr. Bailey, now?"

Callie smiled and shook her head. If her smile seemed a bit brittle no one said anything. "Not you, just Stevens."

Bailey turned her head and stared at the taller woman. "Why is Stevens directing her questions to me and not you?" She asked.

Callie's smile faded. "Because she's been sleeping with my husband, not yours," she told Bailey in a monotone. Bailey's expression showed shock and understanding all at once and everyone stopped moving. Callie's brittle smile returned and she nodded to everyone. "All righty then. Have a good day." She turned and fled the room before the oppressive silence became too much.

Everyone turned to regard Izzie with expressions ranging from confusion to disgust. Izzie wouldn't meet anyone's eyes as she gave an embarrassed chuckle and then fled out the opposite door.

Cristina stared after her for a moment and then turned to Meredith. "Okay," she said slowly. "This is even more disturbing than your bagful of mommy."

Meredith nodded.

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"Oh!" Meredith exclaimed as she turned the corner and slammed into Derek. "Sorry! Sorry."

Derek tried to catch the falling papers and baggie that Meredith had been carrying but they clattered to the floor. "No, I'm sorry," he told her with a smile and then raised an eyebrow at the bag of ashes. "Okay…what is that?" He asked.

Meredith crouched down on the floor and shook her head with a frown. "My mother," she said with a shrug and started trying to scoop the spilled ashes back in the bag. "She was haunting me and I didn't want her at the loft anymore so I brought her here until I can figure out how to put her to rest. I had her in my cubby but she was freaking people out. So I'm going to take her out to the car…You don't think that's disrespectful, do you?"

"Mer," Derek sighed and shook his head. "I don't…why?" He leaned down beside her and helped scoop the ashes into the bag. "Just…"

"I have to deal with her," Meredith told him in a small voice. "I can't just keep her shoved in the back of our closet anymore but I don't know how to put her to rest. And so I brought her here until I can get some inspiration but it's not happening and…anyway…cubby or car?"

Derek looked up from the floor and into her eyes. "You're asking me if I think you should keep your mom's ashes in your cubby or your car and you don't find that a bit…I don't know…strange? Why not keep them in Mark's office?"

Meredith shot him a mild glare. "Haunting, remember? I'd rather she not haunt the one place I can sleep. Though once I put her to rest then maybe I can sleep at home again. I hope. And it's not that strange," she eyed his raised brow. "Okay, it's a little strange but I have no idea what to do with her and I can't ask Mark because…just because."

"Because Mark hated her more than he's ever hated anyone else in his entire life," Derek clarified with a small smirk. He dusted the last of Ellis' ashes off of his ID and handed the bag to Meredith. "I have no idea what you should do with your mom but you can't keep walking around with her."

Meredith took the bag from him with a scowl. "I know that," she hissed at him.

"Are those really your mom's ashes," a young male voice asked from beside them.

Meredith and Derek turned to him. "It's strange, right?" Derek asked him. "It's strange."

Meredith huffed at him with a glare and then turned back to the boy. "Are you lost?" She asked him with a polite smile.

The boy immediately shook his head. "No, my mom works in the cafeteria," he paused and then seemed to steel himself. "And she said I could come up here and look for Dr. Sloan…do you know him?"

Derek smirked at Meredith again. "He means Mark, Der, not me and you know it." Meredith told him. "Can you take him?"

Derek nodded easily and climbed to his feet. "You take care of her, all right?" He motioned to the bag of ashes.

Meredith rolled her eyes but nodded as Derek led the boy off to find Mark.

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"Good morning," Mark greeted Olivia with a smile as he passed over a chart.

"Morning Dr. Sloan," Olivia returned and took the chart. "How's married life?" Another of the nurse's, one of the newer ones, came and stood at her shoulder with an eager smile.

"Perfect," Mark grinned. "Life is just perfect."

"Except for the fact that your wife is running around the hospital carrying her mother's ashes in a plastic baggie," the new nurse told him with a smirk. "The little men in the white coats should be here soon."

Mark gave her a scowl and turned his attention to Olivia who was sighing and shaking her head at the other woman. "Could I get the chart for room 2468?" He asked her in a cold tone.

Olivia passed over the chart and dragged the other nurse away. "You are not going to pry him away from Dr. Sloan that way…or any other way either," he heard her tell the new nurse. "He loves her. Get it?"

Mark tuned them out and leaned back against the counter to study the chart. Olivia would set the new nurse straight. He looked up as Derek came to a stop in front of him. "Oh, man, you will not believe what just happened," he said with a small shake of his head.

Derek put his curiosity aside in favor of something he felt far more important and humorous, at least to him. "There is a, uh, kid looking for you," he informed his brother and hoped his face showed only professional concern.

"What?" Mark asked, confused.

A young dark haired boy poked his head out from behind Derek's back. He studied Mark for an instant and then his face creased into a confused smile. "Daddy?" He asked in a breathless and hopeful tone.

Mark's eyebrows rose and his jaw dropped. "What?" He finally stuttered out in shock.

The boy's eyes cut over to Derek and he grinned before chuckling. Derek straightened out the twenty dollar bill that had been crumpled in his hand and grinned. He handed it to the kid with a laugh of his own. "Nicely done," he complimented.

"Thanks," the kid answered as he pocketed the bill.

Mark groaned even as he let out a sigh of relief. Meredith might have decided that they could have a baby but he didn't think she was quite ready to be a mom to a ten or eleven year old boy yet. "I will be getting you back for that," he warned Derek in the sense of fairness.

Derek turned and headed away from the pair. "Looking forward to it," he commented over his shoulder. Nothing Mark could do would ever wipe the vision of his expression from Derek's mind, no matter what his revenge was.

Mark looked back at the kid and shrugged a bit.

"You're not my father," the kid stated. He took a step closer to Mark and looked up with big, hope filled eyes. "But I am hoping you'll build me some ears."

Mark stared down at the kid. This was going to take some doing but he was fairly sure he'd figure something out…or Meredith would.

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Meredith opened the door to Mark's office and smiled happily. "You found him," she said unnecessarily to the boy.

Mark half turned from the boy and looked over at his wife. "You two know each other?" He asked her. "Do you know his parents?" He gave half a thought to tricking her as Derek had him but an image of her staring at the urn early this morning flitted through his mind and he discarded the idea of playing a prank on her. It wouldn't go over very well today.

Meredith stepped farther into the office and closed the door. She stepped lightly across the carpet and leaned up to kiss Mark's cheek. "Yes," she answered. "His mother works in the cafeteria." She stared down at the numerous papers scattered on the desk. "What's all this?"

"It's letters from the kids in my class," the kid answered quickly.

"Letters to me," Mark clarified as he sat down. Meredith plucked one up and read through it quickly. "He has the internal structure to hear," Mark continued. "He just doesn't have a canal or the external structure." He passed an x-ray up to Meredith. She held it up to the light and studied it.

The boy sank back in the chair. "So I thought if I came in with my letters, Dr. Sloan might feel sorry for me and do the surgery for free." His eyes came up and locked on Mark's face with a mix of hope and despair.

Mark looked away. He would love to do the surgery for free. Cases like this were why he'd become a plastic surgeon in the first place but…he didn't quite have the reputation needed to garner the rest of the team they needed. "Um…" he stalled.

"Well," Meredith broke in. "Shouldn't be too hard to get everyone needed to agree," she gave the kid an appraising look. "Especially if you and I go ask them. You can do that puppy dog look you're giving my husband right now and I have the famous dead mommy. C'mon, kid, let's go get you some ears."

"You manage it and I'm all yours," Mark promised. He stood up, leaned over to kiss Meredith, nodded to the boy and headed for the door. "Lunch?" He tossed over his shoulder.

"Don't we always?" Meredith returned.

"Just checking," Mark tossed her a smile. "You might be tired of me."

"Never happen."

The kid groaned loudly. "Gross," he gagged. "Married people are weird."

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Meredith led the kid up to the chief's office. "We'll start at the top and work our way down. If the chief agrees then it'll be easier to get the others to agree," she explained.

"That makes sense," he nodded. "If the chief clears the O.R. first then everything else is just volunteering their time, right?"

"Exactly," Meredith nodded. She paused in front of the chief's office. "You wait here for a minute. I'll leave the door open and you can pop in when you think it'll help your case the most."

The kid nodded and stood to the side of the door. "Ready when you are," he told her.

Meredith nodded back, took a deep breath and pushed the door open. "Chief?" She asked in a calm tone. "You have a minute?"

Richard looked up and smiled. "I always have a minute for you, Meredith," he told her expansively. "What did you need?"

Meredith stepped farther into the room and placed her hands on the back of one of the chairs facing Webber's desk. "I have an earless boy," she told him.

Richard stared at her for a moment in confusion. That had been completely random and not at all what he'd been expecting. "I'm sorry?" He finally asked her.

"Mark has agreed to build him some ears, pro bono," Meredith said quickly hoping to forestall any objections before they had a chance to start. "If you will donate the O.R. and all the equipment—"

Richard had started shaking his head halfway through her explanation. "I'm sorry, Meredith. Our pro bono slate is full." Meredith motioned to the boy hiding at the door. "There are protocols to be followed," the kid quietly entered the office holding a bag. "All sorts of red tape—" Richard continued without seeing him.

The kid approached the desk and held out the bag. "Trick or treat," he interrupted with the puppy dog eyes and a pleading expression.

Meredith grinned down at the boy as Richard stopped talking and stared at them. "Get it," Meredith asked. "He's trick or treating…for ears." She turned her own pleading expression to Richard.

Richard turned his gaze away from the pair and down to his desk. He hated saying no but he really had very little choice. "Gre—Sloan…" he corrected himself before she could and knew that he was going to give in.

"You know, my mother," Meredith said quickly. "She was big on pro bono surgeries," she reminded him.

"Does it count as manipulation if I know I'm being manipulated," Richard mused aloud with a sigh. "O.R. two is free at six p.m."

Meredith grinned at him. "Thank you," the kid said politely as Meredith ushered him out of the office. Richard waved them off with a faint shake of his head and a small smile. Meredith was one hell of a woman. Different from her mother and probably a better person. It still shocked him to think that the differences between the two were probably Mark's doing more than anyone else's. He let Meredith be Meredith and didn't try to change her in any way. Webber watched the pair walk away and wondered if he could have had anything like that with Adele or Ellis.

He thought probably not. Mark and Meredith had something special. Something rare. And he was happy for the girl that had almost been his daughter. Even if he was also a little jealous.

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"Hey," Mark greeted Callie as he entered the E.R. "What's up? And why are you here? I thought you were going to L.A. for a few days."

Callie shrugged. "I have no idea. Bailey paged me. I am going to L.A., day after tomorrow."

Mark nodded. "Oh. Good. You'll have fun. Now we just have to figure out what Bailey wants with us."

"We have a man that tried to amputate his own foot with a chainsaw," Bailey said from behind them. "You two come take a look and see what you can do."

"He what?" Mark asked even as he and Callie followed Bailey to the trauma room the man was in.

"He came into the clinic earlier saying that his foot wasn't his," Bailey shrugged. "I called psych. They prescribed anti-anxiety drugs and we released him. But he didn't leave. He got hold of a chainsaw from one of the pumpkin carvers and went to town on his own foot."

"Seriously," Mark asked and then clammed up at her glare. "Right. Okay." He nodded. "I am a professional."

"And if you forget, Bailey will remind you," Callie whispered. "With a good smack to the back of the head."

"And don't you forget that," Bailey smirked at them both. "Now be…nice." She instructed as she opened the doors.

Callie and Mark shared a look and a roll of their eyes before following Bailey into the room. They buried everything they were thinking and feeling and put on their doctor's faces…well, as much as either of them ever did anyway.

They gloved up and put on the gowns that the nurses held out for them and set to work. "The tibial nerve is shot," Mark remarked a few moments later. "There's nothing salvageable here."

Callie shook her head in agreement. "Completely mangled." She held some of the skin between the forceps so they could have a better look. "I can't believe he held that saw to his leg long enough—" She turned her head to look at Bailey. "Was he high?"

Bailey shook her head. "No, I just gave him some morphine for the pain, but the tox screen was clear before that."

"Unbelievable," Callie remarked in an awed tone. She drew in a breath. "All right, I'll finish the job." She turned her gaze to Cristina. "Yang, go ahead and prep him for a complete amputation."

The man in the bed looked up at her with a smile of relief. "Thank you," he told her happily. Callie gave him a distracted smile. "Thank you so much."

Bailey shook her head at him with a frown and then turned away. She caught sight of Norman leaning heavily on one of the tray tables and stepped over to him. "You okay?" She asked him quietly.

Norman took his hand from his head and Mark tuned the pair out as he started to shed his gear. He tossed the gloves in the hamper and pulled his phone from his pocket. He wanted to find out how the trick or treating was going.

How's it going? -Mark

Fine. You seen Bailey? -Mer

Callie cleared her throat and threw her gloves into the waste container Mark was standing in front of.

"Gotta love Halloween," he smirked as he typed on his phone. "When all the crazies come out to play." He hit send and then lifted his eyes to Callie.

Callie rolled her eyes and untied her smock. "I kinda understand," she informed him. "I can get that you wake up one day and your life doesn't feel like your own."

Mark's phone pinged but he ignored it for the moment and placed a hand on Callie's shoulder. "I know," he said simply with a squeeze.

Callie shook her head, patted his hand and then turned away. "I said til death do us part," she murmured. "In a church. It meant something…and now…I don't understand how this is my life." She turned to leave.

"I recommend sunshine, surfers and Addie, for healing," Mark called to her. "Seriously…your mini vacation will help…and if it doesn't we'll be waiting when you get back with friendship and open arms and soft shoulders."

Callie turned around and stared at him for a long moment. "Your shoulders are anything but soft Sloan…still I'll take it." She turned back around and left before he could see the grateful tears welling in her eyes. Sometimes…her friends were awesome.

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The doors opened and she took a step out. The boy followed her and stopped abruptly when she did. "Hunh," she grunted and stepped to the side to lean against the wall with a small smirk to watch the show at the top of the stairs. "He's gonna be so pissed when he finds out what's going on," she told the kid quietly. "Mark's revenge isn't nearly as subtle as he thought it would be."

The kid looked around and spotted Derek talking to another doctor. A female doctor. A perky female doctor. "Revenge?" He asked with a hint of confusion.

Meredith nodded and clasped the kid's shoulder. "For making him think you were his kid," she explained. "Mark dropped a hint to one of the biggest gossips in the hospital that Der was single and looking…again. Though how they didn't already know he was single is anyone's guess."

The kid sighed and shook his head. "Grown-ups are oblivious," he told her seriously. "To nearly everything. It's a stupid revenge though. He's going to get phone numbers and looks and all that weird mushy stuff but he's an adult so he'll like it or whatever."

Meredith chuckled a bit. "Not Der," she said. "He's…shy, I guess. And oblivious. Mostly. Anyway, he'll be all embarrassed and freaked out when he finally catches on," she shrugged philosophically. "Anyway, let's get down to the clinic. Bailey should be there by now."

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"How we going to do this one?" The kid inquired as they stepped from the elevator and headed for the clinic.

Meredith stopped abruptly at the doors to the clinic and stared down at him for a moment. "Me first. Again. And then…" She paused and frowned. "Do you have a name, by the way? I keep forgetting to ask and I can't keep calling you kid."

The kid looked up at her, his eyes glinting with humor. "I don't see why not," he responded with a smirk. "But my name's Ryan."

Meredith nodded. "I like that name. Anyway, Bailey's hard but she's a pushover too."

Ryan wrinkled his nose at her in confusion. "How can you be both?"

Meredith grinned. "She likes kids. And she's a mom. A good mom. So she'll help us."

"Okay," he nodded and hung back by the doors while Meredith made her way to the desk. He really hoped she was right. Even if they couldn't help him the fact that Meredith was trying so hard made this the best Halloween he'd ever had.

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"Dr. Bailey?" Meredith alerted her in a soft voice to her presence. One could never tell if Bailey was in the mood to be interrupted.

The older woman looked up sharply with a frown. "Sloan?" She let her voice trail off hoping Meredith would get the hint and go away.

Meredith swallowed a bit and then squared her shoulders. "I'm asking for your assistance in very good cause."

Bailey leaned back in her seat and stared at Meredith. She recognized that Mer wasn't going to be put off by her unwelcoming attitude. "Cause?"

"Mark's agreed to build a pair of ears for a young boy. Pro bono. And you're the best general surgeon and we need your help." Meredith laid her cards on the table and prayed for the best.

Bailey sighed. "I have a mountain of paperwork because some idiot cut off his own foot on my watch and I promised to be off in time to see my son in his Halloween costume. I can't help you." She wished she could but Tucker had been such a jerk about her hours lately.

"Is Tuck old enough to understand what Halloween is?" Meredith asked with a confused look.

Bailey snorted. "No," she denied. "But his daddy is and he's the one I promised."

Meredith nodded with a frown. Promises were important. Still maybe there was a way to get them both what they wanted.

"Trick or Treat?" The boy leaned against the counter and stared at Bailey hopefully. It hadn't looked like getting Dr. Bailey's help was quite as easy as Meredith had thought it would be.

Bailey stared at him, then at Meredith and then back to Ryan. "He's trick or treating for ears?" She asked in astonishment. Part of her found that horrifying and another part thought it was adorable. And manipulative but adorable.

They both nodded back at her with charming smiles and pleading eyes. "Trick or treat?" The kid insisted again.

Bailey held up a hand to make him stop and glared at them both. "I'm in," she announced a moment later.

Meredith grinned. "Think you could help a little more?" Bailey glared at her. "Can you get us a couple surgical nurses? They like you."

Bailey glared some more, sighed and finally nodded. "Fine. Now get out of here," she ordered both of them. "I have work to do." She waited until they were almost to the door. "And Grey," she waited for the other woman to turn around. "Ten extra hours in the clinic next week." Meredith's shoulders slumped but she nodded. "Both of you." Bailey grinned at Meredith's frown.

"I'll tell him," Meredith finally relented and disappeared out the door.

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"What did she mean?" Ryan asked her when they were alone on the elevator.

"Hmm?" Meredith hummed.

"Ten extra hours? And both of you?"

Meredith sighed. "She meant ten hours above what I'm normally scheduled in the clinic for. And both of us was me and Mark. We kinda come as a package deal anyway."

Ryan nodded. "Most married people do," he commented. "I have to go meet my mom for lunch."

Meredith nodded. "I have to go meet Cristina anyway. Mark's in surgery."

Ryan grinned. "See you after lunch, Dr. Meredith."

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Cristina leaned back in her chair and stretched her arms over her head. "We could scatter her from the roof," she suggested as though they hadn't just spent the last ten minutes silently stuffing their faces and was only continuing a conversation.

"She's scared of heights," Meredith responded without even a blink at the randomness of the sudden suggestion.

Cristina rolled her eyes. "It's her ashes, Mer," she poked at the baggie on the table between them. "They're not acrophobic."

Meredith pulled the baggie a little closer and glared at Cristina. "How do you know?" She asked petulantly. "Asked them lately?"

Cristina let out an amused huff of air.

"Listen," Meredith said suddenly. "I don't have time to track Alex down while I'm trick or treating with Ryan for ear so I need a favor."

Cristina forked a melon off of the scant pickings left on her plate. "Go on," she said warily before she nibbled at the end.

"So Bailey promised—" she broke off abruptly as Izzy and George slid trays onto the table and plopped down across from them.

The four of them stared silently at each other for long minutes. "Just ask," Izzy finally broke.

Meredith sighed. "So…" she started and then shook her head at herself. "No. I don't want to know. I already know too much." She pushed her chair away from the table and grabbed her coffee and the sandwich she'd bought for Mark. "You know how I feel already." She pushed the chair back in after she'd risen. "I have an earless boy waiting for me." She turned and left the other three.

Izzy glared at her back, huffed and turned to Cristina. "Nice to know that our friends have our backs," she commented sarcastically.

Cristina snorted and grabbed her own coffee. She was going to walk away from the pair but she just couldn't leave that one alone. "Because you're so good at watching out for your so-called friends," she said and decided to leave it at that. If Barbie couldn't work it out on her own then that was on the blond.

Izzy glared after her as well and then turned to George. "Some friends, right?"

George shrugged and winced a bit. He and Meredith had already had this conversation once. He knew how she felt about adultery. Things were going to be tense for a while but they'd smooth out eventually.

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"You know every time I think this place can't get any crazier—" He said as he nearly bowled her over in the hallway again.

"Don't say it," she hissed at him. "Seriously Derek, that's just asking for trouble."

Derek grinned and nodded. "Hey kid," he told the boy trailing at Meredith's side. "I hear you're trick or treating."

Ryan nodded. "Nearly done," he said with a proud grin. "Dr. Meredith's really good at this."

"I don't doubt it," Derek laughed. "Still it's not the craziest or strangest thing happening around here."

Meredith leaned against the wall and blinked at him. "You mean the guy that cut off his own foot?"

"Or every one of the single female doctors and nurses making eyes at you?" Ryan put in.

"Or that Callie announced that Izzy is sleeping with George in the resident's lounge?" Meredith continued.

Derek frowned. "I hadn't heard about that last one yet," he told them.

"That's because your main source of information is my sister," Meredith pointed out. "And she wasn't there."

"Lexie isn't my main source," Derek denied. "Or even one of them actually. Well, not really."

Meredith giggled. "Sure. Whatever you say."

"She isn't," Derek insisted. "Lexie tells me some things but not much because she's an intern and she's busy with a case today anyway."

Meredith nodded. "I know. The heart guy. She texted me."

"Anyway," Derek said. "The strange thing I'm referring to is that Alex is seemingly invisible and you have a mission you need accomplished."

Meredith grinned. "You volunteering?" Derek nodded. "Sure you're not too busy? It's kinda complicated."

"I'm not busy," he told her. "And I like helping out. Besides your complications are usually pretty interesting."

Meredith rolled her eyes and then told him what she needed.

MS/MG MS/MG MS/MG

Did you clue Derek in to my revenge?—Mark

Not me.—Mer

Liar.—Mark

Seriously. It was the kid.—Mer

Right. Find Alex yet?—Mark

No. Seriously! I'm really starting to think he's gone invisible. Can't be any weirder than some of the other stuff going on around here today.—Mer

And I heard that Ava was back.—Mark

Seriously? In that case if I had the time I'd check the on call rooms but I haven't the time and we only need one more person for Ryan. Get the papers ready for his mom would you?—Mer

Sure thing, Angel.—Mark

MS/MG MS/MG MS/MG

You seriously brought your mom's ashes to work?—Lexie

Yes. She was haunting me. Gotta scrub in now.—Mer

Okay. Still…seriously?—Lexie

Yes. Go away.—Mer

MS/MG MS/MG MS/MG

"You did good, Angel," Mark wrapped his arms around her waist and nestled a kiss behind her ear. "Really good."

Meredith leaned back into his warmth for a moment before reaching for the faucets. "Yeah. I surprised myself, you know. I wasn't sure I'd manage it."

Mark made an inquiring noise in the back of his throat as he turned on the other faucets and started scrubbing for surgery.

Meredith grinned, her green eyes bright with pleasure. "That was my first time trick or treating," she told him blithely.

"Seriously?" Mark croaked and then winced as he thought about it.

"Of course," Meredith said easily, not noticing his sudden stiffness. "Mom never made it home in time to take me nor could she get it together enough to make me a costume. And anyway she said it was rude to knock on people's doors and beg for food." She slanted a glance over at him. Alerted by something in his suddenly still and silent form. "What?" She asked concerned.

Mark shook himself and reached for a towel. "Just…the apple fell far from the tree, Angel," he leaned over and placed a kiss on her forehead. Then he walked out the door and into the O.R.

She stared after him, water dripping into the sink from her wet hands. He'd said that with such…nonchalance. As though it was a fact that everyone knew already. Damn! She thought. How did I not notice that? I'm not her. I'll never be her. Because of him.

MS/MG MS/MG MS/MG

"I just saw a heart transplant," Lexie announced randomly as she met Meredith at a turn in the O.R. corridor.

Meredith's lips twitched. She could do random. She was a master at it. "I just helped build a little boy some ears."

Lexie grinned. "That's cool," she commented as they both headed down the corridor. "I dug up my mom's cat," she said suddenly a few steps later.

Meredith stopped walking as the words sunk in and turned to look at her sister with a confused expression. "What?" Maybe Lexie was better at the randomness than she was.

Lexie stopped too and turned to face her sister although she stared off down the hall searching for the words for a long moment. Then she licked her lips and just started talking. Meredith would understand. She usually did. "My mom didn't leave any instructions…" It shouldn't be this hard. Not with Meredith. Meredith had loved her mother too. "'Cuz it was so unexpected." Meredith nodded encouragement knowing that Lexie had something important to tell her. "So we had to figure out on our own what she would have wanted. And my mom loved that cat." A sheen of tears filled her eyes but she fought them back with a deep breath and continued. "So…I dug her up," she saw Meredith's eyes widen. "The cat—not my mom, jeez. Anyway, I dug the cat up from her little grave in the backyard. Then I snuck into the cemetery in the middle of the night and reburied her right beside my mom." Lexie drew in another breath. "And it was…creepy and morbid, carrying around a dead and decaying cat in the cemetery in the middle of the night but," she took another breath and met Meredith's sympathetic green eyes. "It made my mom really happy. Or at least I like to think it did."

Meredith held her eyes for a long moment and then smiled. "Thanks," she said softly.

Lexie shot her a relieved smile. "You're welcome."

The sisters split off and headed back to their jobs.

MS/MG MS/MG MS/MG

"Dr. Bailey!" The voice had the woman stopping in her tracks as she spun to face the intern calling to her. What the Hell? And what was his damn name?

"What?" She shot at him irritably and fingered the phone in her pocket. Tucker was going to be pissed.

He stopped and pulled in a deep breath. "Dr. Shepherd told me to find you and send you to the O.R. waiting room."

"Pardon?" She glared at him. "Why's he want me there?"

He shook his head. "He didn't tell me. Just said that you needed to go there." The man took a step back at her fierce look. "Seriously."

Bailey nodded without letting her glare lessen and turned towards the waiting room. Tucker wasn't going to be any angrier in five minutes.

"Hey," Tucker's voice greeted as she entered the room. "I almost told Shepherd to shove it. But the man saved my life so I figured…"

Bailey's hands covered her mouth and tears sheened her eyes. "Thank you," she breathed out after she'd swallowed back a happy sob. "Oh Tucker."

Tucker smiled a bit and handed their clown son over to his wife. "This doesn't mean I'm not pissed off and it doesn't mean that you don't have to make it up to me but…it's his first Halloween."

Bailey cradled her son to her chest and nodded. "I'm sorry."

Tucker shook his head. "You always are," he sighed. "We can't stay for long. Tuck needs to go to bed."

Bailey nodded, accepting that. She knew this didn't fix anything but…maybe it was a step in the right direction. Maybe.

MS/MG MS/MG MS/MG

"Hey," Meredith said quietly as she closed Mark's office door.

"How's the kid?" Mark asked and reached out for her.

"He's okay," Meredith let him pull her onto his lap. "Mark?"

Mark smoothed a hand over her hair. "Hmm?"

Meredith pulled back a little and looked up at him. "I know how to put Mom to rest," she told him in a soft voice.

Mark's eyes opened slowly and he looked down into her upturned face. "Okay?" He wasn't sure what she wanted him to say and there was something in her expression that said she was going to ask something she thought he wouldn't like.

Meredith placed one hand along his jaw. "I know what to do and how to do it…but I need you to let me do this alone."

Mark immediately frowned and she could feel the tenseness in his frame. "Angel…" he started in a dark voice.

She moved her hand to cover his lips. "Please?" Just one word.

Mark stared at her for a moment longer and then groaned. "Fine," he growled through her fingers. "Fine."

Meredith grinned at him. "Thank you." She removed her hand and placed her lips against his. "I'll be back in twenty. Half an hour at most."

He blinked at her, suddenly confused. He'd thought Boston or something. "Here?" He asked just to be sure.

Meredith nodded and pushed herself up. "Yeah. Wait for me?"

Mark nodded easily. "Always."

MS/MG MS/MG MS/MG

It was the light in what was supposed to be an unoccupied scrub room that drew him in. He'd expected something else. A couple making out. Interns hiding to do paperwork. Just something else. He wasn't expecting to find Meredith holding her mother's ashes under the water and watching them slowly swirl down the drain.

"Sloan?" He asked.

"Chief," she responded in a strong if quiet voice without looking up.

"This is a sterile environment—" He wasn't sure where he was going with his comment. Somehow it wasn't surprising that Meredith believed her mother would be at peace here.

"It's my mother sir," Meredith said and scooped more ashes from the baggie. "I think she wants to be here. I think she'd be happy here."

Webber found that he had no words to argue against that. Ellis had only ever been happy in surgery. So he softly walked over to stand beside her and scooped up his own handful of the ashes that used to be the woman he'd loved once upon a time. He stared down at the ashes in both of their hands. "Should we say a prayer?" He asked quietly.

Meredith blinked at him. "She didn't believe in anything," she told him, confused and unsure suddenly.

But we do, he thought but didn't say. "Ashes to ashes," he said allowed as the water came on and Ellis slowly left them alone in the scrub room. "Dust to dust."