The Seattle Grace lobby was a theatre of the absurd at the best of times, but Christopher knew the matinee idol was about to make his entrance. He leaned against a structural pillar near the gift shop, a bagel in one hand and a clinical indifference in the other.
Derek Shepherd was standing by the admitting desk, looking broodingly handsome and tragically unaware that his past was currently walking through the sliding glass doors.
Enter Mark Sloan.
He moved with the arrogance of a man who knew he was the best plastic surgeon on the East Coast and the reason for Addison Montgomery's infidelity.
"Derek," Mark called out, his smirk as sharp as a 15-blade.
Derek turned, and the biological reaction was instantaneous. Before Mark could finish his pithy greeting, Derek's fist connected with his jaw with a satisfying, meaty thud that echoed off the vaulted ceiling.
The interns gasped. Nurse Tyler dropped a chart. Christopher just took a calm bite of his bagel.
"Nice follow-through, Derek," Christopher drawled, his voice a razor-sharp monotone that cut through the shocked silence. "Though I'd watch the metacarpals. If you break your hand, I'm the one who has to finish your craniotomy this afternoon, and I'm not in the mood for extra hours."
Mark Sloan sat on the floor, wiping a streak of blood from his lip. He looked up at Christopher, then back at Derek. "Who's the kid with the attitude problem?"
"That's Dr. Wright. He's the hospital's resident genius and unofficial oracle," Richard Webber said, appearing from the administrative wing with a look of deep resignation. "And Christopher, stop eating in the lobby. It's unprofessional."
"So is punching people in the admitting bay, Richard, yet here we are," Christopher replied, tossing his napkin into a bin. He walked over to Mark, looking down at him with a sarcastic smirk. "Welcome to Seattle Grace, Dr. Sloan. I'd offer you an ice pack, but I'm currently rooting for the other guy."
He caught Meredith's eye across the room. She looked confused and intrigued. Christopher knew the chemistry was about to re-ignite. The arrival of the 'best friend' was the catalyst Derek needed to stop pretending he could stay away from her.
Christopher pulled out his phone as he headed toward Surgical 2. "Mark Sloan has arrived. Derek has a bloody knuckle. I have a front-row seat to the greatest soap opera on the Sound. See you at the brownstone. - C"