Chapter 11
A/N: Just letting you know there is not a lot of Japril in this chapter. Mark and Lexie are my second favorite couple so I couldn't resist putting in a little Slexie bit. I know that's not the favorite of most of you but I hope you can get past it because the end of the chapter is Jackson and April! Also, I haven't been getting as many reviews lately so let me know if you're still enjoying this! Chapter 12 is mostly finished and I'm giving some of you something you've been asking for there so read on!
After watching all of her friends exit the room to scrub in on the surgery Lexie felt helpless. All day Hunt distracted her with mindless tasks and she knew why. She was too emotionally involved in the patient. Maybe if she hadn't stood frozen in shock this morning when she first found out what happened she would be in there helping them save Callie's life right now. She hadn't seen Mark all day. When she wasn't avoiding him he was busy making life altering decisions. Now the only job she was given was to go find him and comfort him. If Hunt was right and he was in the gallery she knew he wouldn't last long. He would either get into his control freak way and call through the intercom to the surgeons or he would be a blubbering mess. Either of them would be enough to distract the others and risk the success of the surgery.
She pulled herself together and headed to OR gallery to find Mark. On her way she passed the attendings lounge and Callie's room and she peeked into both just to be sure he hadn't stayed behind. She reached the door to the gallery and looked through the glass; sure enough he was there ready and waiting for the surgery to begin. She took a deep breath to prepare herself and walked in. He was watching the OR intently even though all there was to see at the moment were the scrub nurses setting up trays of tools. The door closed behind her and it sounded louder than normal, yet Mark didn't even flinch. Lexie hated when he was like this. It didn't happen very often but when it did she couldn't help but take it personally. She knew she had no reason to but it just felt like he was ignoring her, or even worse like he didn't know she existed.
She walked around and sat down in the seat next to him and waited for any sort of reaction. Nothing happened. She sighed. "Mark, it's me, Lexie, I'm here." She reached for his hand and gently intertwined their fingers. "Please look at me or say something. Anything to let me know that you know I'm here." Her voice was weak but she had to be strong for him. "Mark, please." She whispered when he still didn't react. This time he slowly turned his head to face her. Until now she hadn't seen his face straight on, only profile, and when he turned to her she saw tears streaming down his face. He had been silently crying this whole time. With her free hand she lifted it to his face and wiped the tears away with her thumb only to have them replaced by more just seconds later.
He turned away from her and said "I know you're here, Lexie." His voice was hoarse and barely audible. "I'm scared." Mark turned back and looked her in the eye. "I'm scared I'm going to lose them both." Her heart broke at his words and it took everything in her not start crying.
"I know. It's okay to be scared and it's okay to cry." Lexie gave his hand a light squeeze.
"Do you think they are going to make it?" Mark asked her.
She wasn't sure how to answer this. Normally she would give him her most honest opinion but to tell him that she did not actually think they would make it through seemed like a bad idea, so she lied. "Yes, I'm sure of it. Callie is a strong woman, one of the strongest I know, and she is one heck of a fighter." She struggled to keep her voice from shaking.
"I don't." He leaned against her. "I don't think they're going to make it. I agreed to the surgery because I would not have been to have a life where Callie's baby existed and she did not. I was selfish. And now I may never get to hold my kid or talk to Callie ever again." Mark was pretty much sobbing by this point. Lexie wrapped her arms around him and just held him while he cried. She couldn't hold it back any more and let her tears fall silently down her face.
She needed Callie to be okay. She needed Callie to live. If she died it would kill Mark. And Arizona. Lexie sat up a little bit as she realized she hadn't checked on Arizona at all. She didn't know if anyone was with her right now. Her wife was about to go into a dangerous surgery and she was all alone in a hospital with a concussion.
"Mark, you know I'm here for you. And I will stay here with you if that's what you really want, but I think there's somewhere else you need to be right now." Lexie told him.
He lifted his head to look at her. "What are you talking about?" He asked.
"Arizona." She said simply. "The way you're feeling right now she has to be feeling twice as bad. Her wife and child are about to undergo a very dangerous surgery and she's stuck in a hospital bed. As much as you think you need me right now you need her and she needs you. You two are Callie's whole world and even though you two bicker all the time you care for her. Mark, you need to be supporting each other right now." Lexie explained to him.
"But the surgery," Mark choked out and gestured towards the glass.
"I can stay here and watch the surgery. I can bring you two updates so you find out together. I'll make sure you're the first to know when she's out of surgery." She offered him.
"You're right. I don't need to be here. I shouldn't be here. Okay, I'll go sit with Arizona as long as you promise to keep me updated." He nodded and looked her in the eye.
"I promise, Mark." And before he left she kissed him. At first it was soft and comforting but he deepened it and she knew he was really hurting and trying like hell to make it feel better. She pulled away. "I love you, Mark. Now go be with Arizona." He nodded and proceeded out the door to Arizona's room.
A few hours and 5 updates later Lexie was taking the familiar walk to Arizona's room with the final update. As soon as she walked into the room the two knew she was about to deliver the news the both had been waiting for this whole time. Mark sat up straighter in his chair and told Arizona to relax when she tried to do the same.
Lexie waited patiently until the two were done fidgeting with each other to tell the news, "The surgery is finished. Both Callie and baby are stable and being wheeled up to recovery. Derek and Addison agreed that keeping Callie in a medically induced coma is the best recovery option right now until they are both strong enough." She explained and let a smile cross her face.
"She's okay? They're both going to be okay?" Arizona asked and Lexie could see tears forming in her eyes.
"Both surgeons are optimistic about her waking up, which is all there's left to wait for."
"When can we see her?" Mark asked started to stand.
"You, Mark, can go see her as soon as they get her settled in to her room. Arizona, Derek wants to check on your condition again before allowing you to get up." She answered them.
Arizona sighed. "I am fine. I need to go see my wife." She argued.
"Shepherd should be here in just a few minutes. As soon as he clears you, you can go see her. I can't let you get up before then." Lexie hated to keep her from seeing her wife but she was a doctor and knew how important it was to keep her on bed rest for the time being.
"I'll wait here for Derek with you and then we can go see her together." Mark decided and sat back down.
"Fine." Arizona pouted and sat back in her bed. Lexie nodded to them, turned to the door, and left them to be alone.
Back in the scrub room Jackson and April breathed a sigh of relief. Callie had made it out of surgery, but not without complications. More than once she risked the chance of bleeding out and losing the baby. Addison and Alex did not have an easy job keeping the baby alive but they managed.
"I can't believe we did it." April said happily.
"I just hope she wakes up without any damage. I really thought we were going to witness a delivery in there." Jackson was a little less optimistic about the whole thing than April was.
Finishing drying her hands April turned to him. "She's going to wake up and she's going to be fine. We just helped save her life and I can't believe anything other than she's going to be okay right now." She looked him in the eye. They were both exhausted. This day had been longest and most stressful days they've had in while and the exhilaration of the successful surgery was wearing off.
"You are right. She has to be okay. We did everything we could in there. Mark and Arizona aren't going to be single parents and Callie is going to wake up." He sounded more like he was trying to convince himself than convince her. April stepped in and Jackson pulled her into a hug. He just wanted to get home and sleep this day off.
Just as they were walking out of the room they ran into Hunt. Jackson took his arm back from around April and stood at attention. "Is there anything we need to do, chief?" He asked professionally.
"No, you guys have been a big help today, so thank you for that. It's been a long day and you had to put up with more than most residents are ready for. I think you've done enough to earn the night off. Go home and get some sleep. I'll page you if her condition changes." Hunt said gratefully.
"Thank you, Dr. Hunt. The pleasure was ours; we were just doing our jobs." April smiled at him kindly before walking off towards the locker room with Jackson. Once there they met up with Alex who was just getting his stuff together to leave.
"Hey, have you seen Lexie around?" Alex asked. "We all drove here together so I don't want to leave her without a ride, but I am spent." And you could see it on his face. It made sense; he and Addison definitely had the toughest job during the operation next to Derek of course.
"I am guessing she went to update Mark and Arizona." April replied.
"Alright, I'll go check there and meet you guys in the lobby so we can head out." Alex said and walked off to find Lexie.
He was just about to give up his search when he noticed her turning into the doorway of an empty on-call room. He had already checked Arizona's room, Callie's room, and even Mark's office. Just before the door shut behind her he called out, "Lexie, wait!" She quickly turned her head and stopped when she noticed him walking towards her.
"What's going on? Is everything okay?" She asked in a panicked voice.
"Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to worry you. I just couldn't find you anywhere. The three of us are about to leave for home so I just wanted to see if you were coming along." He explained.
Her expression softened, "It's okay I just thought maybe something happened with Callie. I am going to sleep here tonight in case Mark needs me or anything." And she gestured to the on call room they were standing in the middle of.
"Right. Of course. Well, let me know if you hear anything." Alex turned back to the hallway and called over his shoulder, "See you later, Lex."
Soon he was meeting up with Jackson and April in the lobby. He informed the two that Lexie was staying in an on-call room and they left for home.
About an hour later April was finished up in the bathroom and was walking back to her room to go to sleep when Jackson met her in the hall. He walked up to her and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Come to bed with me." He requested. "Today was rough and I just want to feel you next to me." He reached for one of her hands and pulled her into his room before she could turn him down.
April was too tired and just crawled straight into his bed and slid under the blankets. Jackson climbed in next to her and held her in his arms. "The whole thing with Callie and Arizona and Mark today got me thinking." He whispered to her. "We never know when our last day will be our last day. Too many lives are lost too soon." He continued.
"Yes, I know that. And it's awful but what are you getting at?" April questioned him.
"I just don't want to miss anything. If something were to happen to either of us tomorrow I don't want to regret anything." Jackson said and kissed her shoulder.
"What do you regret, Jackson?" She had no idea where this was going.
"April, I know we haven't been together as a couple for that long, but we have been best friends for years. I know you're someone I can trust and I feel completely myself around you. And I know that if some terrible thing were to tear us apart I want you to know- no, need you to know- that I love you."
A/N: Aaaand I'm stopping there because I can! This conversation is to be continued in the next chapter! How do you think April will react? And how do you guys feel about the little Slexie part? Will Callie live? So many questions! All will be revealed in future chapters so keep reading and keep reviewing!
P.S: Happy Grey's Day! Just one more week until #JaprilTheMovie! Ahh!