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her eyes, Eleanora made a small, upset noise at the bright lights of the room. She finally adjusted to the light and felt someone holding her hand. She turned her head to the side and saw Mark holding her hand to his face, his eyes watery and red.

"Hi." She whispered, her voice scratchy from disuse. Mark let out a small sniffle, leaning forward to cup her cheek with one hand. Eleanora smiled softly, closing her eyes and leaning into it.

"You had me worried, doll." He whispered to her. Eleanora opened her eyes and locked them with his. She slowly and weakly squeezed his hand.

"But I'm alive." She told him. "We're both alive. That's all that matters."

Mark rubs his thumb in circles on her cheek before leaning forward and pressing their lips together. It's a soft kiss, but Eleanora could still feel every emotion that was behind it. When they pulled away, Mark rested his forehead on hers. He took his hand off of her cheek and reached for his bag that someone had brought him earlier. Grabbing a small box, Mark opened it and placed it beside her on the bed.

Eleanora heard the '' of the box opening and she opened her eyes, confused. Mark moved back a bit and she looked down, a small gasp escaping her when she saw a black, velvet ring box with her grandmothers engagement ring in it.

"Mark..." she chokes out, looking up at him for a moment before focusing back on the ring.

"Marry me." He squeezed her hand and nudged the ring box forward a bit. "Marry me, Eleanora Amedeo. There is nobody else who I want to spend the rest of my life with, nobody I want by my side more. You almost died today, Doll. You almost died, a-and I lost my mind. I can't lose you, Nora. So, marry me?"

Eleanora felt tears build up in her eyes, but for the first time in the last twenty four hours, they were happy ones. She nodded her head, a small, happy laugh escaping her.

"Yes. Yes, " Mark grinned and laughed himself, removing his hand from hers so he could pick the ring box up. He carefully took the ring out and picked up her other hand, sliding it onto her ring finger.

Eleanora smiled, a few happy tears sliding down her cheeks as she watched her boyfriend - no, her - put her grandmothers engagement ring on her finger. After it was placed, Eleanora moved and cupped his cheeks, pulling him down towards her so they could share another kiss. Mark placed one hand on the back of her head and the other on her cheek, the two smiling into the kiss.

Mark rubbed their noses together, whispering to her. "I love you, Eleanora Amedeo. Forever and Always."

"I love you, too, Mark Sloan. Forever and Always."

The twos moment was interrupted by the door to the room opening, Altman and the Attending General Surgeon, Dr. Cain, walking in. Mark glanced over his shoulder, standing up from his chair and moving his hand to intertwine with his fiancé's.

"It's about time you show up." He spat out, his voice angry. "You barely gave me any updates about what happened in the surgery, Altman."

Eleanora squeezed his hand, shaking her head. "Mark, stop." She started to sit up, but let out a hiss of pain. Mark was quick in helping her sit up, softly helping her get comfortable.

"The surgery went well. We had a few complications, but we were able to find the bullet and fix any damage it left behind. You'll be sore for a week or so, but as long as your labs come back fine and you don't develop any complications or infections, you should be able to leave in the next few days and go back to work a few after that." Dr. Cain told her. He glanced over at Altman, who had a sad look on her face.

"Teddy?" Eleanora asked softly, noticing the look in her eyes. "What is it?"

Mark turned his attention to Teddy at the words out of Eleanora's mouth, straightening up when he noticed the look on her face. His voice is hard when he speaks, but Eleanora knows him well enough and knows that he's scared.

"Is there something wrong with her heart or lungs, Altman?"

"No, no!" Teddy told them, shaking her head. Both of them relax a bit at that, and Teddy takes a step forward. She clears her throat, crossing her arms. "During...during your surgery, Dr. Cain noticed a good amount of bleeding in your lower extremities, and I noticed your blood pressure was weirdly high. We...we paged the OB-GYN, and they'll be in to get you and talk to you more after we're done here. But, they ran tests and noticed that your hCG levels were high and confirmed through another test that you were..."

"No." Eleanora choked out, Mark stiffening beside her. Tears welled up in her eyes and she raised her voice, it breaking as she realized what Teddy was trying to tell them. "No, you...you aren't..."

"I'm sorry, Eleanora. But you were about 3 weeks pregnant, and the gunshot along with the stress on your body earlier today caused you to miscarry. I am so, sorry." Teddy told her, her own voice a little emotional.

Mark let out a wounded noise, rubbing at his jaw as the words sunk in. Eleanora let out a sad, broken sound, her hand flying to her mouth. Tears started to fall and she closed her eyes, turning her head to bury it into her boyfriends stomach. Soft, quiet sobs escaped her and Mark moved to hold her against him tightly.

He looked over at Teddy and Dr. Cain, his voice firm. "You can leave now."

Dr. Cain nodded and exited, Teddy staying behind for a moment. She sadly looked at the couple, her voice wavering as she spoke. "OB will be here shortly to discuss the next few steps with you guys. Once again, I am so sorry."

Teddy exits at that, closing the door shut behind her. Once they were gone, Mark let the tears fall and a few choked noises escape him. He moved to sit on the edge of the bed and Eleanora wrapped her arms around his shoulders, burrowing into his chest as the two cried and mourned together.

_______

   few hours after the OB came and discussed what had happened and how they needed to handle it, Eleanora sat up in her bed as Mark was passed out cold in the chair beside her. She had her head propped on the back of the hospital bed, watching him with a soft, sad smile on her lips and one hand resting on her stomach.

The door opened and she turned to look, seeing her little brother hovering in the doorway. Eleanora's smile widened a bit and she nodded him in. Max closed the door softly behind him, walking to her bed. He waited for a moment before carefully crawling into the bed with her, Eleanora moving her arm so he could rest underneath it. With her moving her arm, Max noticed the ring on her finger. His brows rose and he looked at her, a questioning smile on his face.

"He asked me when I woke up." She told him, her voice low as to not wake the exhausted man in the chair beside them. "I said yes."

"." Max replied, laughing a bit. He looked at the ring for a moment, recognition lighting up on his face. "It's mom's moms ring, right?"

"Yeah." Eleanora told him, showing it off to him. The two sat there in silence, Max finally looking over at her.

"Are you okay?"

"No." Eleanora told him, taking a deep breath. "No, I'm not. B-but I will be, in time." She gave him a sad smile, her eyes watery as she pressed a kiss to his forehead. Max laid his head on her chest and the two siblings sat there, holding onto each other tightly.

"I was so scared. So damn scared, during that entire thing. I couldn't stop thinking of the what-ifs, you know? You weren't answering your phone and I couldn't, I couldn't figure out where Lexie was and I was so damn scared everyone I knew would be dead." He admitted, his voice hard. "Promise me you won't leave me, Ella. Promise me."

"I promise." She told him, closing her eyes. After a few moments, she spoke up, her voice broken. "I watched Luke Jefferson die in front of my very eyes. And I had to lay beside his body for....I-I don't know how long, staring into his dead eyes. And the entire time I was so....so that he was dead, that he didn't..."

Eleanora took a deep, shaky breath, tears slipping down her cheeks. "He was going to be a hell of a surgeon one day, and he was already a hell of a man. He deserved to live."

Max squeezed her a bit, careful to not bother her stitches. "I know." He whispered. "They all did."

, Eleanora thought. Her other hand drifted back to her stomach, her brother not noticing.

_______