Hi everyone! Thank you so much for your amazing reviews, I'm o glad you're all liking this! Please continue to let me know what you think, I appreciate your feedback more than I can tell you. I apologize that chapters have been kinda short. I try to make them longer, but I just have to end it where it feels right =/ I try to update frequently though! Enjoy :)

-Jen

A thousand things he could say to this woman ran through his mind as Mark led the way to the conference room. A thousand things that he could yell, or scream. When Sloan had shown up, the transition had started, but now, since having Sofia he was all about being the best dad possible. The fact that he'd had another daughter out there, unknown to him for fourteen years killed him, especially because it sounded like Claire had put her through hell.

Claire had been another one of those girls, one of the many girlfriends he'd had. He was finishing up his residency and heading into a fellowship, she'd been the barista at the coffee shop in the hospital, working while she attended college. She was twenty one, he'd been nearing thirty, Lexie's age. Then, one day, she'd just disappeared. He'd gotten over it quickly. But now he knew why.

They reached the conference room, and he gestured them in, holding the door, following in after. "Have a seat," He said, trying to sound polite, holding in everything he wanted to say to her.

"Thank you, Doctor Sloan," the woman with Claire said. "I'm Julie, Alexa's case worker." Julie introduced, shaking his hand.

"Mark Sloan, and evidently I'm her father," He said, glaring at Claire. "How could you just run away and not tell me I had a kid?"

"Oh, don't try to tell me that anything would have changed, Mark. You were a man whore trying to become an amazing hot shot doctor, and I was just biding time in college because I didn't know what I wanted to do with my life besides have fun!" Claire exclaimed, "I wanted a kid, and marriage, and commitment about as much as I wanted my fucking stomach pumped!"

"Who said anything about marriage?" Mark exclaimed, "I just would've liked the option to know my own daughter!"

"If I had told my parents that I was pregnant, and you were still in the picture, they would've forced us to get married." Claire said, "Their religious asses would have forced us to get married, so I told them I didn't know who the father was. I told them I wanted an abortion, but they wouldn't let me, and I got stuck with a kid when I was twenty-one years old."

"Stuck with a kid?" Mark yelled, "You talk about her like she's some disease, like she's detrimental to your life, but she's your child, Claire! Is this how you've treated her for the past fourteen years?"

"I love her." Claire said helplessly, "I love her, I just...I was never cut out for this!"

"You could've been, Claire, you just didn't want to be." Julie said softly. "You know what I have to do, don't you? You've violated the order of protection that was put in place as a plea deal. Your husband is going to jail, and your custody will be revoked, she'll be permanently surrendered to the state."

"What if there's someone willing to take her?" Mark asked, panicking.

"She's not yours to take!" Claire said, knowing what he was thinking, "Your name isn't even on her birth certificate, she's my daughter!"

"Pending a hearing to establish paternity, if he is financially, physically, and emotionally able to care for a child, they will place her in his care and give him custody before making her a ward of the state, Claire. They want to keep children with their parents, not in foster care. So yes, Doctor Sloan," Julia said, "Considering your profession will make you able to financially provide for a child, and pending that you pass a judge's questioning, it's likely that they would give you full legal custody of her."

"No," Claire said, "No, I won't allow it, she's mine, not his, MINE!"

Before Mark could retort, there was a knock on the door, Lexie leaned in. "Sorry to uh, interrupt." She said, "Mark, can I speak to you, please? Now? It's important."

"I need to talk to Claire, so please, go," Julie said.

Mark nodded. "I'll be back." He said, excusing himself. His heart was beating nervously as he followed Lexie to an empty on call room where they could talk privately. She flicked the light on as they went in, and sat on the edge of the lower bunk, looking at her hands as he shut the door, and turned to face her. "Please, please tell me you didn't bring me here to throw that at me and leave me again." He pleaded, sitting beside her, gesturing to the engagement ring on her finger. "Because I can't handle losing you again, Lex. I need you."

"I didn't bring you here to break off the engagement, Mark. Less than an hour ago, I was telling Mer about how so sure I was about the wedding, and vowing to be with you forever. Because I am," she said truthfully, looking over at him. "I want to be with you forever, I love you, I love you so much. I'm infected by Mark Sloan, remember?" she whispered, and he smiled, remembering her rambling that night, that night she told him she was still in love with him.

"But?" He said, feeling it in the air, knowing it was coming.

"I'm not leaving you, I'm not mad at you because it's not like you knew, and it's not like you've made life altering decisions without consulting me first, and I'm not even mad at Ali, I'm just...mad," she said, tears overflowing. "I'm mad because that girl has been through hell, and that woman, her mother, is the one who put her through it. I'm mad that she kept you from your daughter. I'm mad that there's people like that in the world! I'm mad that there's another kid of yours out there that isn't mine, because it means that's one more person you've slept with that wasn't me." She cried helplessly. "And I know, it's ridiculous of me to feel that way considering I was like, four when you were eighteen and all, but...how many are there, Mark? How many kids are going to turn up that are yours, but aren't mine? Do we get to have any that are ours? Because you and Callie, and Arizona have this bond because of Sofia. The three of you, you are parents, your're her parents, and it's a bond that I feel like I'm never going to get to have with you because now you already have three kids."

"Lexie," he said gently, his hands gently resting on her face, wiping the tears away, "You knew that you weren't the first one I've been with, the first one I loved. You knew that, but you need to know and understand that that doesn't matter, because you're the last. You're the last one I will be with, the last one I will love." He promised, "You're the only one that will be forever, and that's what matters. None of the others matter, and they haven't since I met you. I love you, Lexie, with everything I have." He said, "Don't ever doubt that. And of course we will get to experience that together. Once we're married, and you're ready, we can have as many kids as you want! Anything you want, Lexie, I will give it to you." He promised, "Let's have ten kids!"

She laughed through the tears, leaning into him, letting her head rest against his chest. "I don't think that ten kids would like living in the five bedroom house we're building."

"They can live with it. Or we can add on later," He smiled.

"I don't think my body would like housing ten kids," She said next, laughing. "Maybe three."

"Whatever you want." He promised. After a short, comfortable silence, he said, "The social worker said that Claire's husband's going to jail and that...that Claire will lose custody, and Alexa will become a ward of the state, unless there's someone that wants her."

After a moment, not moving out of his arms, she asked, "Would they give you custody?"

"She said probably, yea," He told her quietly.

She took a deep breath, gently leaning away so she could look up at him. "Then you should do it, Mark."

"Really?" He asked, kind of surprised.

"Really." She says, nodding. "Earlier, I just...I look at her, and her eyes just scream help me, Mark...she's broken, the poor girl is broken and she needs someone. She needs love and stability, people she can lean on. She needs you. Us...she needs us." She said. "It'll take some getting used to, but if you want to, then I will support you one hundred percent. We can do this together."

It took a minute, for her words to sink in. He'd come in expecting her to scream, throw the ring at him, and leave him, but instead she'd cried, revealed her feelings somewhat calmly, and wanted to do this. She was still there, not going anywhere. "Thank you," He said, pulling her close once again, kissing her. "Thank you." He said again.

She hugged him back, happily accepted the kiss by returning it, praying to whatever God there was that this was going to workout right.