Author's Note: Around the middle of season six, Lexie breaks up with Mark due to complications in their relationship caused by the arrival of Mark's teenage daughter. Lexie seems to have very little trouble moving on because she immediately starts up a relationship with Alex. However, in episode seventeen, Mark starts trying to date Teddy. When Lexie realizes that he truly is moving on, she ends up having a breakdown in the hospital bathroom. Meredith is present for the beginning of said breakdown, but the scene changes before we get to see how she reacted. This chapter is my take on how that might have gone down. I've gone through several rewrites of this chapter, and I'm still not entirely sure if I'm happy with it. In some ways it seems almost too emotional. But, to be fair, Lexie had been in almost total denial of her emotions for a decent period of time, so it makes sense that it would all hit her pretty hard. Either way, I'm tired of reworking this scene, so here it is. Enjoy!

Musical Inspiration: "Fix You" by Coldplay

Times Your Heart Breaks

If Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital were a baseball pitcher, its signature throw would be the curveball. Every time Meredith thinks she's finally got things figured out, something goes completely sideways. One minute she's drying her hands in an empty bathroom, and the next minute Lexie is having an emotional breakdown on the tile a few feet away. Meredith knew something was wrong from the look on her sister's face. But the speed with which Lexie comes apart surprises Meredith almost as much as the knowledge that she's crumbling because of Mark Sloan. One shaky breath is all it takes for the whole house of cards to come crashing down.

In hindsight, Meredith probably should've seen this coming. Lexie had been insanely in love with Mark, and she never really dealt with their break-up. Instead, she dyed her hair and threw herself into a physical relationship with Alex that she keeps insisting is making her happy. But she's never really let herself deal with the emotional fallout of leaving Mark. Which, Meredith realizes, is probably why this is all hitting her so hard now. In spite of all her fervent denial, some part of Lexie has been holding out hope that she and Mark can still salvage things. But now that ship has sailed. And Lexie has finally come out of her denial just in time to realize that it left without her.

The sound of sharp inhales pulls Meredith from her thoughts. Lexie's starting to hyperventilate. Meredith drops her paper towel into the trashcan and crosses the tile floor to where Lexie is still kneeling. Lexie has lowered her knee to the floor, and her reddened eyes are locked on the tile as she struggles to catch her breath. She doesn't look up as Meredith kneels in front of her. Her bowed head makes it easy to see the dark roots marching along the top of it, a series of expanding cracks in a carefully constructed façade that has finally begun to crumble.

"Lexie," Meredith says in an effort to get her attention.

Lexie's eyes jerk up to meet Meredith's. She hasn't started panicking yet, but she's headed that direction. Her gasps are becoming louder and louder, her whole chest constricting as her lungs search desperately for air.

"You have to calm down," Meredith instructs.

"I can't," Lexie wheezes. Each syllable requires its own painful exhale to get out. Months of repressed emotion are finally hitting her all at once, and the shock is too much for her body to handle.

"Yes, you can," Meredith says.

Lexie shakes her head as words fail her. Her watery eyes are growing wider as she realizes just how little oxygen her straining lungs are getting. There aren't any paper bags in here, so Meredith is going to have to do this one old school. She reaches out and takes Lexie's damp face in her hands, using her thumbs to brush the tears away from Lexie's flushed cheeks. The burning need for air has temporarily overridden the emotional pain, so the crying seems to have stopped for the moment. Lexie's hands come up and take hold of Meredith's arms just below her elbows as she desperately tries to anchor herself. Her eyes are locked on Meredith's now, silently begging her to make it stop.

"I'm right here," Meredith says firmly. "I'm with you, and I've got you, and it's gonna be okay. I can get you through this. But you have to work with me. Okay?"

Lexie forces a nod even as another painful gasp claws its way out of her lungs. Her whole body is trembling as she fights for air. Her hands tighten their grip, her fingers digging into Meredith's arms. She's scared, but her wide eyes are also filled with trust. She trusts Meredith to fix this. At another time, that knowledge might have shocked Meredith into silence. But right now she's too worried about Lexie.

"Focus on my breathing," Meredith says.

She takes an exaggerated inhale and then exhales in the same manner. Lexie's chest shudders as she tries to match the action.

"Good," Meredith tells her. "In." Pointed inhale. "And out." Big exhale. "There you go. Again."

Lexie's entire body tenses up as she tries to force her breathing to slow down. Meredith keeps her own breathing audible so Lexie can match it. And little by little, it starts to work. The wheezes coming out of Lexie's mouth begin to sound more and more human. Air starts to reach her lungs, and her hands very slowly ease their grip until she's no longer threatening to cut off Meredith's circulation.

"That's it," Meredith encourages. She uses her fingers to gently smooth two cascades of blonde hair out of Lexie's face and behind her ears. "Keep going. Deep breaths."

The bathroom falls silent save for the sound of Lexie's gasping breathes gradually calming down. As the seconds tick by, the sharp inhales begin to be replaced by occasional pained whimpers. Finally Lexie manages to match Meredith's every inhale and exhale. But as her breathing slows, the crying begins anew. Hot tears spill over Meredith's thumbs as Lexie's shoulders start to tremble for a completely different reason. Meredith lowers her hands from Lexie's damp face to her shoulders in an effort to steady her.

"Meredith," Lexie finally chokes. Her throat is scratchy from the lack of air, and she's crying too hard to say anything more than that one word. But she doesn't have to.

"I know," Meredith tells her. "I've been where you are, and I know how much it hurts. It feels like you'll never be okay again. But you will."

Lexie nods weakly. Then her eyes squeeze shut as another sob rocks her frame. Meredith pulls Lexie toward her and into a tight hug. Lexie presses her face into Meredith's shoulder, effectively muffling her sobs. Her hands clutch tightly at the front of Meredith's scrubs like a drowning woman clinging to a lifeline as she rides out the emotional storm.

Meredith wants to say something, anything to make this better, but she has no idea what that might be. On one hand, she understands all too well the heartache Lexie is experiencing. It's a pain Meredith wouldn't wish upon anyone, let alone her little sister. On the other hand, this is partially Lexie's fault. She was the one who ended things. Granted, it was a highly complicated situation that came out of nowhere, and Meredith doesn't blame her for backing out, at least for a while. But if Lexie wanted Mark back, then she should've done something about it. But sitting on the bathroom floor with Lexie sobbing in Meredith's arms is neither the time nor the place for "I told you so." Right now Lexie needs Meredith to just be there. So that's what Meredith is going to do.

Lexie's tears gradually slow down, and her grip on Meredith's scrubs relaxes. By the time the waterworks trickle to a halt, Lexie's whole body is limp with exhaustion. She rests her forehead against Meredith's damp shoulder as she takes one weary breath after another. Meredith can feel each shuddery rise and fall of Lexie's chest. She knows from experience what that kind of crying does to a person. And she still remembers the swimming headache that serves as a hangover for disrupting the brain's oxygen flow for so long. Meredith may have walked out of her supply closet the second she was calm enough, but she hadn't wanted to. Not at all. So if Lexie's not ready to move just yet, then that's fine with Meredith. True, her legs aren't exactly in the most comfortable position, and the cold, hard tile certainly isn't helping her circulation. But for Lexie, she can make it work just a little longer.

A sudden voice just outside the bathroom door causes Lexie to tense up as she waits to see if they're about to be discovered. But then the person moves on, and Lexie relaxes again. However, the moment has served to remind both she and Meredith that they're sitting on the floor of a hospital bathroom where anyone could walk in at any moment.

"We can't stay here forever," Meredith points out.

Lexie takes a deep breath and lets it out before forcing herself to pull away. Meredith watches her carefully as she swipes at her red eyes. Her cheeks are streaked with tearstains, and her inhales are still a bit shuddery. Her shoulders are slumped in battered exhaustion. And then there are her eyes. She looks utterly heartbroken. Seeing her little sister in this much pain makes Meredith want to march out of this bathroom, find Mark Sloan, and throttle him. Unfortunately, that's not the adult thing to do. But that doesn't stop Meredith from thinking about it for one dangerously long second.

"Why can't I just let him go?" Lexie asks sadly.

"I don't know," Meredith admits. It's a lame answer, but Lexie seems willing to accept it.

"Well…" Lexie trails off as she rubs her eyes with the heels of her hands. Then she drops them dejectedly into her lap. "What am I supposed to do?"

That question Meredith can answer.

"Right now," she says in a no-nonsense tone, "you're going to get off this floor, and you're going to pull yourself together. Then you and I are going to go home, and we're going to sit on my bed and watch a really crappy movie. And while we do, we're going to eat ice-cream until we're both sick, and you are going to do whatever crying you have left. And when you run out of tears and ice-cream, you're gonna go to bed. And when you get up tomorrow, the world is going to be a little bit brighter. Okay?"

Meredith isn't completely sure where that little speech came from, but it seems to work because Lexie nods weakly.

"Okay," she whispers.

Meredith pushes herself up to a standing position (which takes far more effort than it should, thanks to her stiff legs), and holds out her hands to help pull Lexie up. Once Lexie is vertical, Meredith steps over to the paper towel dispenser. She pulls out two of the scratchy white squares and takes them over to the sink, where she folds them up and runs cool water over them. Then she hands them to Lexie. Lexie runs the damp paper towels over her face, erasing most of the evidence of her breakdown. Her swollen eyes are still a dead giveaway, but there's not really anything to be done about that.

"Ready?" Meredith asks once Lexie has thrown away the paper towels.

In answer, Lexie glances over at the door and then back at Meredith with pleading eyes.

"I can't go back out there," she says, her voice hoarse from crying.

"Yes, you can," Meredith tells her.

Lexie shakes her head, and her next inhale is quicker than it should be. If Meredith were a different sort of person, a fluffier and less twisty one, she might be willing to back off. But Meredith isn't that person. She's a realist, and she knows that Lexie can't stay in here forever. Sooner or later Lexie will have to go and face the world, no matter how painful that may be. And with that in mind, Meredith doesn't see much point in coddling. Maybe that's not very sisterly of her, but there it is. The world is still out there, whether Lexie is ready for it or not. And Meredith isn't going to pretend otherwise just to make Lexie feel better. But what she will do is pick Lexie up, dust her off, and give her the push she needs to go back out there and try again. And maybe, just maybe, that's sisterly too, in a tough love sort of way.

"You can do this," Meredith says firmly. "Because you are Little Grey. And that means you have a bigger Grey behind you. I've got your back, Lexie." A fond smile pulls up the corners of her mouth. "You're my Little Grey, remember?"

That draws a watery chuckle from Lexie. The point has hit home. Lexie gaze darts away as she wipes her damp eyes one final time. She takes a deep breath, lets it out, squares her shoulders, and looks back up. Her eyes are still red, but otherwise she's managing to hold herself together.

"Ready?" Meredith asks again.

"As I'll ever be," Lexie says honestly.

"Good enough for me," Meredith says.

She holds out her hand, and after the briefest of hesitations, Lexie grips it tightly. Together they push open the door and step back out into the world.

Like I said, still not completely sure how I feel about that. Leave a review and let me know your thoughts. Please and thank you. The next chapter should be up in a couple days as per usual. Thanks for reading!