Chapter 2 – "Fine"

One Week Later

Lexie absentmindedly scrubbed her hands. She was staring straight ahead, unblinking. The water was so hot that it nearly scolded her hands, but she didn't feel it. She felt completely numb. It was like her body was in shock ever since Mark chose Sloan over her. Sure, she was going through the motions of every day life. She showed up to work on time and smiled when people made jokes, but inside she was hallow and it wasn't just because Mark had left her. She still hadn't been able to forgive herself for the terrible mistake that she made. She was sure that Mark would never be able to forgive her, either.

A week earlier, when Lexie had gone home and found Mark in her attic bedroom, she had nearly fallen to her knees and begged him to take her back, but she had stood her ground. She had spent every night since then, lying awake in bed wondering if she was making the right choice. As she tossed and turned, unable to sleep, she considered agreeing to have a baby to make him happy, but she knew she would regret it the rest of her life. She wanted to be a surgeon, a good surgeon, and it wasn't fair to her, Mark, or the hypothetical baby if she gave that all up.

"Lexie?"

Startled, Lexie whirled around. Water flew everywhere. Her eyes fell on Mark's.

"You scared me," she said.

"Sorry."

She reluctantly ripped her eyes away from his and turned back to the sink. As she ran her soapy hands under the water, she realized just how hot the water was. She nearly yelped as the water burned her skin. Using her elbow, she quickly lowered the hot water and continued the important task of washing her hands.

"I'm just about to go into surgery," Lexie explained.

"Yeah, I can see that."

He watched her from behind diligently washing her hands. It was a task every surgeon completed countless times a day, but watching her do it was incredibly sexy.

"Did you want something?" Lexie asked without looking at him. She could sense him watching her. Although usually she loved it when he watched her, she felt uneasy.

"I just wanted to let you know that there are still a few things left in the apartment. I could bring them by Derek's later on."

"I can pick them up," she replied quietly.

"I'll bring them over."

"No, it's fine. I can just pick them up tomorrow."

He should have just left it at that, but he couldn't. "Or you could leave them and just come home," he stated boldly. He had told himself that he wouldn't ask her to come back. His intentions really had been to talk to her about getting her things out of the apartment, but those weren't his intentions anymore.

Lexie turned off the water with her elbow. She turned back to Mark. He was going to have to stop enticing her to come back.

"Mark…"

"Lexie, I love you."

"Please don't."

"And I'm willing to give up wanting a child to be with you."

"You make it sound so simple."

"It is."

"No, it's not. You want a baby. That's not going to change."

"I don't want a baby anymore."

"Don't say things you don't mean."

"I do mean it."

"You might think you mean it right now in this moment. But in a month, in six months, in a year…you won't mean it anymore, Mark and what then? What happens when you decide you want a baby again and I'm still not ready?" They were both silent. "I have to go."

He reached out and grabbed her arm. She spun around to face him. She was so close to him, she could feel his heat. She could smell that familiar scent. It was intoxicating.

"Stay with me," he whispered.

"Mark…"

"Please…"

He pulled her closer. She wanted to kiss him. She wanted to feel his arms around her. She wanted to melt into him like she did so many times before, but she had to fair to him. She had to be open with him.

"I slept with someone," she blurted out.

Mark let her go and took a step back. His body went into shock. That wasn't what he had expected.

"What?"

"It was after we had broken up. I was angry and I was hurting and I was a little bit drunk and…it just happened."

"It just happened?"

She saw the hurt in his eyes. She knew she deserved it, but she also knew that he was the one who made the choice between her and his daughter. He was the one who had forced their relationship to end. She hadn't done anything wrong, but that didn't make her feel any better. She still felt like crap.

"We had broken up."

"So that makes it ok?"

He didn't know why he was being so harsh on her. Hadn't he done the exact same thing? Hadn't he found comfort for his broken heart in Addison?

"I thought you would be coming back with a teenager daughter with a baby on the way. I didn't expect you to come back and want to get back together."

"Who was he?"

"What?"

"Who was he? Who did you sleep with?"

"What difference does it make?"

"It makes a difference." He was seething with anger. He wanted to kill whoever had made love to the woman he loved.

"It doesn't matter."

"Was it some guy from a bar? Or was it someone from the hospital? God, was it someone we knew?"

"I'm not…"

"Tell me!" He shouted.

"Alex!" She yelled back. She was tired of keeping it bottled up inside.

"Alex? Alex Karev?"

"It didn't mean anything. It was just one night."

"One night…with Alex Karev. You could have chosen anyone, and you chose Alex?"

"I didn't choose Alex. It just happened. He was…convenient."

"He was convenient? That's your excuse?"

"I don't need an excuse! We broke up!"

"How long did you wait after we broke up? Was it an hour or did you at least give it two?"

The words stung like he had slapped her across the face.

"You chose her! You chose her over me!" She screamed.

Mark knew she was right. He knew he was being irrational. She had the right to do whatever she wanted, but it still hurt. It hurt like nothing had ever hurt him before. It hurt more than when Addison had told him she had had an abortion and more than when she walked out the door to go back to Derek and he knew why. He had never been in love with Addison. He had never been in love with anyone until he found Lexie.

"I'm going to kill him," he said through gritted teeth.

Mark turned to walk out of the scrub room, but Lexie pulled him back.

"Don't," she said sternly.

"You said you were drunk. He took advantage of you! Did he even know we broke up or did he just jump in your pants the moment he saw you were wasted?!"

"He did not take advantage of me! I was not drunk! We were both willing participants!"

"Willing participants?" Mark asked with anger dripping from every word. He glared at her, not knowing what to say. He was torn between running away and wrapping his arms around her. He could see in her eyes that she wasn't proud of what she had done and he had to remind himself that he was the reason she had done it.

She took a deep breath, trying to calm down before she said something she would regret.

"You can blame me all you want, but leave Alex out of this."

A nurse popped her head into the room.

"Dr. Grey, they're waiting for you."

"I'll be right there," Lexie responded.

The nurse disappeared. Lexie knew she should say something, but she didn't know what.

"Well, I guess that's it then," Mark said.

"Yeah, I guess so."

"I'll bring your stuff to Derek's," Mark said as if he remembered why he had gone to find Lexie in the first place.

"Don't bother. I'll pick it up."

"I'll bring the boxes."

"I said I'd pick them up."

Mark threw his hands up in the air. "Fine!"

"Fine!" Lexie shouted.

Mark stormed out of the door, his hands clenched. Lexie gripped the sink until her knuckles turned white. It was the only thing keeping her standing. If she let go, she was afraid she would fall to the floor.

"Doctor…" the nurse said again as she entered the room.

"I said I'll be right there," Lexie nearly shouted. With a huff, the nurse left. Lexie closed her eyes, willing herself to compose herself. She needed to concentrate on the surgery at hand. But first, she had to wash her hands…again.

As Lexe finished washing her hands for the second time, she walked in the OR. One of the nurses handed her a towel and she dried her hands before the nurse helped her into her gloves.

"Thanks for joining us, Grey," Callie said as she picked up a scalpel.

"Sorry," Lexie apologized. As the nurse slipped one her surgical mask, Lexie walked over to the patient. She stood beside Callie. Alex was standing across from her. He winked at her and Lexie looked away.

"Ok, here we go," Callie said as she began to cut into the patient's knee.

"Trouble in paradise?" Alex asked with his usual swarthiness. He hadn't heard what Lexie and Mark were shouting about, but he had heard that they were shouting.

"Shut up," Lexie replied. "And stay away from Mark."

"Excuse me?"

"Stay away from Mark."

"Why?"

"Let's just say you're not high on his list of favorite people right now," Lexie replied, trying her hardest to concentrate on the surgery at hand.

"You told him about us?"

"It sort of…slipped out."

Callie looked from Lexie to Alex and shook her head. She was grateful she was finally in a healthy long-term relationship. She was tired of the drama.

"So that's what the fight was about?"

"That's none of your business."

"Yeah well, don't worry about me. I can take care of myself."

"I'm sure you can."

"You know, he has no right to be angry with you."

"This really isn't any of your business," Lexie stated. She didn't need the whole OR to know that she had broken up with one doctor and then jumped into bed with another.

"Besides, he probably isn't all that innocent."

Lexie was about to tell him to shut up, when she thought about what he said.

"What do you mean?"

"He went to LA."

"So?"

"To see Addison Montgomery."

"So?"

"So Sloan doesn't travel all the way to LA to see Addison Montgomery and not sleep with her."

Lexie looked up at him, almost dropping the clamp in her hand.

"Grey!" Callie shouted.

"Sorry," Lexie exclaimed, putting the clamp back into place.

"No more talking!" Called ordered. "We're replacing a knee here! Focus!"

Lexie tried her hardest to force herself to focus, but she couldn't. Alex's comment kept floating around in her head. Did something happen between Mark and Addison?

Author's Note: Thank you for all of the wonderful reviews! I wrote this story simply because I just couldn't stand the way the last episode and I'm glad that I've been able to share it with others who feel the same way. Thank you for reading and don't worry, there will be more!