Thanks so much for all the reviews! Please keep them coming! I'm amazed at how quickly I got this next installment out, but here it is! Hope you enjoy. ;-)

He knew it was a long shot. Why would she come here? It had been such a long time since either of them had been here.

Mark turned his car off and stared at the lobby doors. Should he even go in? Would she be there? Did it matter at that point? After the night he'd had, Mark knew he definitely needed a stiff drink.

He flipped his collar up and trotted through the rain to the front doors of the Archfield. Passing through the lobby, he breathed a deep sigh of relief at the dry warmth of the hotel he used to call home.

He ordered a Scotch at the bar. Thanking the bartender for the Scotch he turned around and that's when he saw her. Sitting in their booth from days gone by was Lexie. She was watching the rain outside the window while the ice in her Jack and Coke melted.

All of a sudden, Mark felt like he had lead in his feet. She was right there! Why couldn't he just go over to her? "Leave her alone, Mark," Derek's voice echoed in his head. "Give her some time," he heard Callie say. "Lexie cares about you. She would want you there," it was Meredith's piece of advice that actually got him moving across the bar. He just hoped Big Grey was right.

"Hey," he greeted.

She looked up at him. "Hey," she greeted. There was no smile, but no rejection either.

"May I?" he asked. She nodded, so he slid into the booth beside her.

They sat in silence awhile. They'd watch the rain, the other patrons, sip their drinks. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence, per se, but there was something missing.

Finally Lexie spoke. "I'm not supposed to be alive."

"What?"

"I'm not supposed to be alive," she looked up into Mark's eyes for the first time. "Mr. Clark came to the hospital to kill three people: Derek, the Chief, and me."

"Lexie, don't be ridiculous. How could you even know that?"

"Because he told me."

Mark's heart started to race. "In a dream, you mean. That's why you couldn't sleep. It was just a dream, Lex."

She shook her head. "It wasn't a dream. When I went to get the blood for Alex, I saw him. He pointed his gun right at me and told me that he'd come to kill me, Derek and the Chief. He hadn't meant for anyone else to get hurt. He… he was sorry."

Mark's heart stopped. He was powerless to do anything as Lexie went on.

"It's my fault that those people died. Percy and Reid… I didn't like them but they didn't deserve to die. I was supposed to die, not them. That's why I ran. How am I supposed to celebrate my birthday when I have their blood on my hands? I'm not supposed to be alive."

When Mark didn't respond Lexie rolled her eyes. "Great, now you're gonna have me committed again 'cause I'm experiencing irrational guilt," she tried to joke.

"No," Mark's voice was harsh. He grabbed her arm, firmly but gently. With his other hand, he touched her face.

Lexie felt her breath hitch as Mark's steel blue eyes bore into her. It was like her was trying to memorize every inch of her face.

"I knew I should have gone. I knew it wasn't safe out there," his voice was gruff and raw.

"No, Mark," Lexie insisted softly. "You're the better doctor. Without you there, Alex could have died, and if you had run into Mr. Clark, he could have killed you too. I couldn't live with that. If you'd died because of me… I don't think I'd have ever come out of the psych ward if you'd died, Mark."

"Did he hurt you?" Mark asked softly. His fingers were gently running over her arms, as though he would find some invisible wound he'd missed before.

She shook her head. "The SWAT team took him down before he could pull the trigger."

"Thank god," he pulled her into a tight hug. "I love you, Lexie. You know I'd do anything to protect you, right?"

"I know," she whispered in his ear.

"God, I want to kill him," he growled.

"Mark, no." Lexie pulled out of the hug and took his hands in hers. "You're a healer, Mark."

"He was going to kill you."

"I know. But he was the killer, Mark, not you. You are a doctor. You're a good man; you're better than him. Don't ever forget that."

"I love you."

Lexie closed her eyes. "I know. I love you, too. I will always love you. But right now I need to be by myself. I don't want to jump into anything only to find out later it was just the PTSD talking and now I'm trapped. That's why I moved out of Meredith's. I have a lot to figure out for myself."

"That doesn't mean you have to be alone."

She smiled. "I know." She kissed him gently on the lips. "But right now, I want to be."

Mark swallowed the lump in his throat as he watched her walk away.

Owen and Derek stared at the closed bedroom door.

"They locked it," Derek stated, exasperated. "I didn't think the doors in this house even had locks."

"Maybe you should knock," Owen suggested.

Derek swallowed his pride and knocked on the door.

No answer.

Again, he knocked. "Mer?"

A piece of paper slid underneath the door. Owen and Derek exchanged glances before Derek picked it up to read it.

"'Until McDreamy stops being a McBastard, he can sleep elsewhere,'" Derek read aloud. "' P.S. Sorry, sweetie, Mer needs me right now. Kisses.' Kisses? Who are you and what have you done with Yang?" he asked through the door.

Owen smirked. "What can I say? She likes me."

Derek sighed. "Fine. Thanks for helping me clean up downstairs. You wanna crash here tonight? We've got a slew of soft surfaces to choose from."

"Thanks, I think I will."

"Hey, Owen?" Derek asked as they made their way down the hall to Izzie and Alex's old bedrooms. "Does Cristina talk to you? About that day I mean. Mer won't say anything about it, and she's not really acting like herself lately. Does Cristina talk about that day with you?"

Owen gave a short nod. "Yeah, we talk."

"Does she say anything about what's going on with Meredith?"

Owen's face hardened. "You'll have to talk to your wife about that. Goodnight, Derek."

Derek pursed his lips. Something wasn't right, and he was going to get to the bottom of it.

Alex made his way through the pediatric ward to his patient's room. She was right where he thought she'd be. He watched her through the window a moment before making his presence known.

"Hey," he said softly.

Kathy jumped, clasping her hands over her mouth so as not to scream. "Omigod, you scared me."

Alex smirked. "I have that effect on people." Nodding toward Michael, who was sleeping, he asked, "How's he doing?"

"He's in some pain. The nurse gave him some more pain meds, though so he can sleep."

"And how about you?"

She didn't answer, just turned back to watch her nephew sleep.

"Here," Alex shoved the Tupperware he was carrying into her hand. "I figured you'd probably be sick of hospital food, so…"

Kathy looked at the dish, then up at Alex, then back at the dish. "Thank you." She opened it. "It smells delicious. Is this from the birthday party you had to go to?"

"Yeah."

"And how was it?"

"Total bust. The birthday girl bailed, the host cried. About what I expected actually."

Kathy giggled. "And do you always bring party leftovers to your patients' guardians?"

Alex shifted uncomfortably and stood up. "I'll be by at 10:00 tomorrow morning to prep Michael for surgery," he announced.

Kathy nodded. "Okay. Thanks for the food."

He just nodded and turned to leave. Oh, this was so not good.