Thanks for the reviews!

I think you might be happy to hear that I got struck by an idea for this fic. Hmm, maybe not so happy when you'll get to the end of the chapter. Don't forget that you didn't want this story to end. :-)

Chapter 10: The silence before the storm

"What's wrong?" Meredith asked, grabbing Lexie's arm to support her when her sister began to sway.

"Everything alright, Lexie?" Derek said concerned. She was extremely pale and he could see small beads of sweat on her forehead.

"I'm feeling a little dizzy. Could be the flu." Lexie explained. "I'm not feeling so well for the last couple of days."

"Should we check it out?" Meredith asked.

"No, I'm fine. It's not ..." Lexie trailed off as she slumped into Derek's arms.

"Woaww, what happened?" Derek said, glad that he had been able to catch her before she had hit the ground.

"She passed out." Meredith told him.

Bending down, Derek slid his arms under Lexie's knees and lifted her into his arms, carrying her slowly towards the next exam room. "Let's draw some blood. Just to make sure that everything is alright."

~M&L~

"What happened? Are you okay?" Mark rushed to her bedside, a worried look on his face. "Let me see that."

Mark snatched the chart out of the nurse's hand and the nurse just rolled her eyes. She had to deal with a lot of agitated husbands but if they were doctors themselves you couldn't argue with them. Especially not with someone like Dr. Sloan. Everyone in this hospital knew how protective he was of his girlfriend. Especially after they just got back together. The nurse smiled secretly. He was definitely in for a surprise.

"Mark?" Lexie tried to get his attention but he just scanned her blood values without looking up. "Mark!" Lexie said more urgently. She didn't want him to read it. She wanted to tell him by herself. "Mark! Would you please look at me? I'm fine."

"Just a sec. I just want to check by myself. Everything looks nor..." Mark furrowed his brows and Lexie knew that it was too late. He had seen the hCG level.

Mark looked up at her, his eyes wide in shock. "No."

"That isn't exactly the reaction I was hoping for." Lexie furrowed her brows, not happy with the shocked expression she saw on his face.

"I mean ... how?" Mark stuttered.

"Not really better. You damn well know how it happened." Lexie stated slightly angry.

"But ..." Mark gulped hard. "You are on the pill, aren't you?"

"Don't you think it's a little too late to ask me that?" Lexie asked agitated. She hadn't expected him to jump up and down with joy but she hadn't expected this reaction either.

"I ... I'm sorry, Lex." Mark replied quietly.

"You are sorry?" Lexie asked him incredulously.

"I know you don't want to have kids right now. So yeah, I'm sorry." Mark stretched out his hand but suddenly hesitated and put it on her thigh, looking down at the white sheet between his fingers before he asked her barely above a whisper. "Will you keep it?"

Lexie's heart clenched painfully when she heard his question. She saw the tension in his whole body, saw him prepare himself for the answer he feared she would give him. Lexie raised her hand and put her hand over his. "Mark, look at me."

Reluctantly he lifted his head and the desperate look in his eyes almost broke her heart. How could he even think for one second that she would abort his child?

"Of course I'm going to keep it. I love you, Mark. Sure I didn't plan on getting pregnant but ..." Lexie pulled their intertwined hands over her stomach, a big smile on her face. "This is our child, Mark. We made a new life. I love you. To be honest I was shocked at first but it took me only a few seconds to get all excited." Lexie tightened her grip around his hand. "I'm pregnant with your child, Mark. It can't get any better."

"Are you sure?" Mark asked hesitantly. "I mean, I don't want to pressure you into anything. It wouldn't be the first time that I try to force you into something you aren't ready for."

"I'm sure. We are going to have a baby!" Lexie had a silly grin on her face. She couldn't stop smiling since the moment she found out that she was pregnant.

Mark looked at her inquiringly for a few more seconds but the happy and excited expression on her face convinced him that she really wanted this child.

"We are going to have a baby?" Mark asked softly. He could still not believe that she was pregnant. That he would have a child with the woman he loved.

Without taking his hand of Lexie's stomach he climbed into bed with her and wrapped his arm around her, burying his head in her hair. Tears welled up in his eyes as he whispered. "I love you, Lexie. You just made me the happiest man on this planet."

~M&L~

When Derek checked on Lexie an hour later, Mark was still lying next to her on the bed, his hand planted protectively over her stomach.

"Dr. Sloan, you are aware that you are not allowed to lie in bed with my patient." Derek smirked.

"Shut up, Derek." Mark replied without looking up, his eyes locked with Lexie's.

Derek was happy for his best friend. They had been through a lot. But he still couldn't believe that his best friend would become a father again. "I have to ask, Mark. How is this even possible?"

"Huh?"

"Do you have super sperm or something like that?" Derek deadpanned.

"Derek?" Lexie exclaimed reproachfully.

"What? I know that you are on the pill. You told me when I showed you your hCG level and he ..." Derek pointed towards Mark. " ... told me that he used a condom the last time. I seriously have no idea how he can manage to get four women pregnant without even trying."

Though Derek's tone was lighthearted, Lexie could still hear the earnest undertone. It was kind of insane if you consider that Meredith and Derek had tried for months and Mark only seemed to have to look at women to get them pregnant. She could understand that Derek felt slightly resentful but she wouldn't let him dampen the mood.

"Derek, I'm sorry. I know you two have been trying for months. But can't you be a little happy for us?" Lexie asked him tentatively.

"I am happy for you." Derek said firmly. "I'm just a little angry at god or the universe or whatever."

"Derek?" Mark spoke quietly, waiting until his best friend made eye contact before he continued. "I know it's hard, Derek. But it's not as if we were bedded on roses over the last few years."

Derek averted his gaze guiltily. Mark was right. They just got back together after spending almost two years apart. He should stop being so bitter. It was a happy occasion. These two deserved to be happy for a change.

"You seem to be extremely fertile for an old man." Derek joked.

"I'm not old." Mark huffed.

"He is not old." Lexie said simultaneously and all three broke out in laughter.

"Get out of here." Derek said with still twinkling eyes. "You are good to go, Lexie. Did you make the appointment with OB/GYN?"

"Yep, tomorrow afternoon." Lexie turned her head around and smiled at Mark. "Our first ultrasound. You are coming with me, right?"

"Of course. I wouldn't miss it for anything." Mark pulled her towards him and kissed her softly.

"Please, just get out of here already." Derek stated exasperatedly. "Before you two end up having sex in here."

"Yes, sir." Lexie replied sharply, a big grin on her face.

~M&L~

"I'm on my way, Lexie." Mark told her patiently, listening to her rambling on the other end of the phone. He had been to a conference on the other side of Seattle and was running a little late for Lexie's appointment though he still had enough time. He was talking to her on the phone since he'd climbed into his car, trying to calm her down. She seemed to almost explode with excitement.

"I don't want you to miss out on the first pictures of our baby, Mark."

"I won't. I'm almost there, okay? Only five minutes, seven minutes tops."

"You better be, Mark. I don't want to ..."

"What the fuck is that?" Mark suddenly shouted. "Fuck!"

"Mark?" Lexie asked before she could hear the screeching of brakes through the line and then the sound of a car bumping into something. "Mark?" She shouted frantically now, holding her phone in a death grip. "Mark, talk to me. What happened? Are you okay?" But she could hear nothing than the faint sound of street noise and steaming air. "Mark?" Lexie slumped down into a chair, her legs unable to hold her weight anymore. Horrible pictures of Mark trapped in the car were flashing through her brain. Bleeding, unconscious. "Oh my god! What happened?"

See, told you! Actually I wanted to end the story with Lexie being pregnant but after reading the reviews for the last chapter I unleashed my muse and no surprise she went down the angst path. So buckle your seatbelts. It's going to be one hell of a ride with probably some cliffhangers along the way. :-)

So, and now I go search for cover. Be gentle! I know I'm a mean, mean woman to end it on a cliffhanger but you all know that I LOVE them.