AN: I'm thinking this story will be 3, maybe 4 chapters long. I got a few requests to write a Slexie story, so here it is. As always, reviews are greatly appreciated.
Lexie stood outside of Mark's door, knowing why she was there, but still very unsure as to why she was there. It seemed like Mark was taking forever to open the door and she considered leaving before he did. She could hear him talking to someone as his footsteps neared the door. When he finally opened the door, he looked somewhat stunned to see Lexie standing there.
"Hey, I thought maybe the girls could have a play date," Lexie stated as she lifted her niece higher on her hip. "And we could, uh, talk about stuff, cuz there's some stuff that I've been wanting to say." The crash of a pan interrupted Lexie's thoughts. "Is that Julia? I'll go."
Quickly, Mark explained, "Avery's cooking me dinner." Lexie was finally reaching out to him and he didn't want to lose her yet again.
"Oh, that's…" stammered Lexie.
"But he can go, if you want to talk. Should he go?" asked Mark as Avery stepped behind him to see who was at the door.
"Hey."
Needless to say, Lexie was very confused as to why her most recent ex was cooking her other ex dinner on Valentine's Day. "Nope, it's nothing. I, uh, he, um, I'm, it's nothing. You two have a very pleasant evening."
"Don't be stupid. You love steak. Sofia, your friend's here," he called over his shoulder as he pulled Lexie into the apartment.
Lexie took a minute to try to figure out what she was going to say. She didn't want to have the conversation she had been planning to have with Mark while Jackson was in the room. By the time Lexie had collected her thoughts and figured out a plan, Mark had taken Zola from her arms and set her in the pack and play with Sofia.
Jackson could tell Lexie was wondering what he was doing cooking Mark dinner on Valentine's Day. "I asked Mark to help me study for my boards. I'm kinda behind everyone else; I didn't realize they've all been studying for months already. He mentioned that Julia had an emergency and wouldn't be able to make it tonight, so I thought I could bribe him to help me study by making him dinner."
"That answers my question as to why you're making him dinner," Lexie took her coat off and set it on the back of the couch next to where Mark had set Zola's.
Twenty minutes of awkward conversation later, they were sitting down to dinner. Much to Lexie's relief, Zola started to cry to be changed in the middle of the meal, right as Jackson asked Mark how things were going with Julia.
"Is it okay if I change her in Sofia's room? I'll be right back," Lexie excused herself from the table and carried the one-year-old into the small bedroom off the living room.
Mark took advantage of Lexie's absence to ask Jackson to leave after they finished eating, to make up some excuse about being paged, anything really. Mark knew Lexie well enough to know that she wouldn't talk about whatever she was thinking while he was there.
Eventually they finished their meal, mainly talking about work and Mark quizzing Jackson on material he was fairly certain would be on the boards. After rinsing the dishes and putting them in the dishwasher, Jackson picked up his jacket. "Thanks for the help, Dr. Sloan. I'm feeling a lot better about the boards. Of course, I still have a lot of studying to do, but I'm not so freaked about them for tonight, at least."
After Jackson left, Lexie lifted both girls from the pack and play and was sitting on the floor with them. Mark opened a beer and sat on the couch, watching Lexie with the girls. "Why, Lex?"
"Why, what?" Lexie wanted further clarification of what he was asking her about.
"Why are you here? Why did you leave me? Why did you comfort me in the stairs the day of the accident and again in the lounge that same day? Why did you really throw a softball at Julia? Why did you say 'me too' when I was on the phone a few weeks ago? I just want to know why you've done everything you have for the past year and a half."
"I came here with this whole speech planned and then Jackson was here and I didn't know what to do. I'm going to say what I've been thinking and I need you to just let me say it before you say anything," requested Lexie as she stood up and sat on the couch next to Mark.
"I'll try, but I can't promise anything."
"Okay. When you told me Callie was pregnant and it was your baby, I was angry. I didn't want to see you or talk to you, but I still loved you. Jackson told me how you sent him with the candy to try to find out how was feeling in the days that followed and I knew that you still cared about me. I couldn't be sure that you loved me like you once did, because if men who are in love with their girlfriends don't get another woman pregnant. I know we weren't together when you slept with Callie, but you still hurt me. I've seen how great you are with Sofia and I really regret not giving you a chance. Even though I was with Jackson when Callie had the accident, I wanted to do nothing more than to hold you and let you know that everything would be okay. I don't know if you know this, but I would sneak into the NICU to check on Sofia when you and Arizona weren't around. I realize that I've been immature when it comes to the challenges we've faced, like Sloan and Sofia, but I swear I've grown up and I would love if you gave me another chance. I still love you, Mark. I never stopped loving you."