AN: Sorry this has taken so long; I can promise that the next chapter will be posted soon though. It is almost done =)
Thank you so much to all of you who have taken the time to read this story. You guys keep me going. Do let me know what you think!
Chapter Twelve: One Headlight
So long ago, I don't remember when
That's when they say I lost my only friend
Lexie woke to find Meredith sitting on the edge of her bed in the guest room. Snapping to attention immediately, she sat up, her expression wide-eyed, then wary.
"You're not going to throw water on me, are you?" she asked, rubbing her face to get her blood circulating.
Meredith looked puzzled for a moment before her expression cleared. "No," she said, tucking a wayward strand of fine hair behind her ear. "But I think you're ready to move onto the next step."
She frowned. "The next step?"
"In Operation Get-Over-007."
Lexie grimaced. "Pithy."
Meredith grinned. "We thought so."
"We?" Lexie shifted under the covers, giving Meredith more room.
"Well, Izzie thought of the name," Meredith admitted. "But Cristina approved."
Lexie sighed and scooted to leave the bed from the other side. "Meredith…"
Meredith stood as well. "Just hear me out," she said. "It's a good plan, Lexie. It's a fun plan." When Lexie gave her a look, she added, "It's full of sweat and hot, naked men."
Lexie let out a laugh despite herself. Then she merely shook her head as she left for the bathroom. On Lexie's way out, Meredith heard her sister mutter: "The only operation I need to get over George is a lobotomy."
They said she died easy of a
broken heart disease
Now it always seemed like such a waste, she always had a pretty face
At the hospital, Izzie was by her side in an instant. Just out of the locker room, Lexie was still pulling her hair back when the blonde matched her stride.
"Uh, hi," Lexie said, lowering her arms. Hair swinging loose, she stared at the taller woman.
"Hi." The word was chipper, revealing a wide set of beautifully white teeth.
They walked in silence for half a second before Izzie picked up the lagging conversation. "So here's the thing: You're doing great, Lex. Really. Just…" She emphasized the word with a fist. "…great. We're all so proud of you." Izzie pulled back another grin. Then it fell. "But you really need to get on board with Operation Screw George."
Lexie frowned. "I thought it was Operation Get-Over 007."
Izzie scrunched her nose. "It was last night, but then this morning it didn't seem catchy and…" Waving a dismissive hand, she returned to her original train of thought. "Anyway, you need to get onto the next step before you regress and end up back in bed."
"I—"
Izzie's brown eyes narrowed. "Because if you end up back in bed, we'll sic Callie on you. And I don't know if you know Callie well, but—"
"Dr. Stevens?" Lexie tried to interrupt.
Izzie continued, more to herself than anyone else. "—she is scary. And I don't mean lesbian scary, I mean trailer park scary."
Brow furrowed, Lexie said, "Okaayyy." Keeping her voice slow, she added, "I'm not exactly sure what lesbian scary is, but you really don't have to worry." She waited and then emphasized, "I'm fine."
Izzie gave her a quelling look. "Right," she said, her voice the antithesis of agreement. "I was fine, too."
"What?"
She sighed. "Never mind, just get to the next step, okay?"
She ran until there's nothing left
She hit the end—it's just her window ledge
"You don't want to be on the PMS warpath," Cristina said.
The non sequitur threw Lexie and she blinked. "Excuse me?"
Charting and talking, Cristina continued, somewhat impatiently. "Being the Nazi on the warpath is one thing, being walking ovaries is another." She snapped the binder shut and looked up. "There's nothing wrong with aiming to be another Nazi; it's about the medicine, it's about demanding the best."
"Aren't you Jewish?" Lexie asked, her head angling toward her shoulder as she tried to follow.
Cristina shrugged. "What's your point?"
Lexie sighed. "I don't have one." She shook her head. "I got pissed, okay? I lost my temper, I yelled. What's the big deal? You're pissed perpetually."
Cristina's brows rose in silent objection. "I have disdain. Disdain is precise, uniform, surgical. What you did yesterday wasn't disdain; it was anger. Anger…" She inhaled sharply, searching for her next words. "Is volatile, prejudicial." With one effective click of her pen, she swept her eyes over Lexie in disapproval. "Hormonal even."
Lexie had barely gotten one disbelieving scoff out before Cristina interrupted. "Just get to the next step, Three, okay?" Brushing past her, she threw back a piece of parting advice: "And no more estrogen outbursts."
Well, this place is old, it feels just like a beat up truck
I turn the engine but the engine doesn't turn
Curiosity had the best of her by lunchtime. Thus, she was already close to breaking down and asking Meredith what the next step entailed when Alex became the tipping point.
Boredom filling his features, he dropped his tray next to hers. Her sandwich stopped halfway en route to her mouth as she stared at him in shock.
It was relatively easy to determine thay he wasn't there of his own accord, that somewhere in the hospital Izzie had figurative strings on the guy. It was in the way he blew out his breath before talking, the way he barely looked at her even as he spoke.
"Get to the next step already, Grey," he said, his face scrunching in the way it did when he was putting someone in their place.
"What is it?" she demanded.
"How the hell would I know?" he bit out. Then, catching himself, he sighed and said through gritted teeth: "But I'm sure it's pink and gooey and full of emotions." Spent and looking thoroughly disgusted with himself, he snatched up his tray and moved along.
Well, it smells of cheap wine and
cigarettes, this place is always such a mess Sometimes I think
I'd like to watch it burn
She found them waiting at Joe's. Hitching her bag higher, she tried not to dwell on how predictable she was. Clearly they'd timed her eventual capitulation beautifully.
Across the bar, Izzie shelled a peanut and popped it into her mouth. "Oo, here she comes."
Cristina rolled her eyes. "Finally."
Izzie grinned. "I told you sending Alex would work."
Meredith figured credit was due. "I'm still amazed you got him to do it."
The blonde shrugged, adjusting her pink sweater across one shoulder. "Alex's a good guy, deep down. He just wanted what was best for Lexie."
Callie gave her a skeptical look. "Right."
Mischief swept across her eyes as she smirked with satisfaction. "Well, that and I promised him on-call room sex." She laughed. "Joke's on him 'cause I woulda done that anyway." Her smile toned down when Lexie approached. She cleared her throat and reached for her drink. "Hi, Lexie," she said casually.
"How was your day?" Meredith asked, her tone so conversational it was just plain awkward.
Lexie was silent as her eyes went around the table, meeting each woman's gaze. Sighing heavily, she said, "Uncle."
Somewhere here in between the city walls of dyin' dreams
Izzie let out a whoop of triumph.
"Move over," Callie told the rest of them as Lexie took a seat in the booth wearily.
"What in God's name is the next step?"
Reproachful, Izzie asked, "Don't you want to know what the other steps were?"
Without Lexie's answer, Callie held up a finger, its navy polish glinting under the dim lights. "Step one: get out of bed."
"Check," Lexie said dryly.
"Step Two," Meredith added. "Go back to work as if nothing happened."
Cristina choked on her drink as she set it down. "Does screaming the hallway count as "nothing happening"?"
Izzie's smile congealed. "Shut up, Cristina," she said through bared teeth that were more feral than they were friendly.
Cristina remembered the conversation they'd had over Burke's scrub cab. She obeyed.
"So…we're on step three?" Lexie borrowed her sister's drink and winced. "Since when do you drink scotch?"
Meredith shrugged. "Apparently it's an acquired taste."
"Says who?" Lexie rubbed a napkin along her tongue before crumpling it in her palm.
"Says De-rek," Izzie sang.
Meredith glared and Callie cleared her throat. "Can we get this moving along? I'm meeting someone for dinner."
"Right, as if Arizona won't still be home when you get there." Cristina took a swig of her beer.
"Anyway," Callie said loudly, ignoring her roommate. "We've decided," she began, looking around the booth as everybody turned to Lexie. "That in order to really, truly move on, you need to have sex."
I ain't changed, but I know I ain't the same
Lexie stared at Callie for a full three seconds, before laughing. She kept on laughing as she looked around the semi-circle of solemn-faced women. "You're kidding, right?" she asked, still chuckling. "Seriously? That's the next step?" Her face straightened as she saw she was the only one who thought the idea was ludicrous. Scowling, she said, "That is the worst idea I've ever heard. Letting in the Trojan horse? Better idea than this."
"No, sitting around getting angrier and angrier at random patients when you could be taking care of business is a bad idea. This is a good idea," Cristina corrected.
"Sex isn't going to magically get me over George."
"No," Meredith agreed. "But it's going to help."
Izzie nodded. "Plus we have other steps."
"Oh, good," Lexie mocked. "I was worried."
"Listen," Callie interjected. "Let me put this in perspective. Izzie wanted to take you to a karaoke bar and make you sing "I Will Survive."
Izzie let out an outraged gasp. "I did not!" She turned to Lexie: "We were just brainstorming," she said defensively. Giving Callie the evil eye, she emphasized, "It was supposed to be confidential."
Lexie shook her head. "I'd rather sing," she said, her eyes inadvertently finding Cristina's. After a brief moment, they looked away. A heavy sigh escaped her throat. "How am I supposed to just pick a stranger to sleep with?"
Meredith nudged Cristina, who cleared her throat. "Actually, we already figured that part out."
Lexie's head shot up. "What?" Waving her hands around, she said, "Okay, no, I draw the line at sleeping with gigolos."
Callie rolled her eyes. "We didn't buy you a man, Grey."
Izzie beamed. "But this guy has great word of mouth; he's…" Mouth parted, no words came as she searched.
"Legendary," Cristina filled in.
"Knowledgeable," Callie added.
"Steamy even," Meredith finished.
Lexie frowned. "I don't get it." She blinked.
Cristina let out a belly laugh. "We know, that's the reason we're even having this discussion."
Meredith shoved her. "Plus, he's not a stranger; you know him."
Lexie's frown lines cleared as she stared at Meredith with wide eyes. "Hey, okay, listen, I know you're just trying to help, but I don't want you to "loan" me Derek."
Meredith looked aghast. "What? No! I'm not loaning you my boyfriend."
Lexie turned to Izzie. "I really don't want—"
"You're not sleeping with Alex." Izzie sighed. "Again."
"I'd give you Owen, but he'd just choke you."
Lexie stared at Cristina. "That's not funny."
Cristina shrugged, her eyes across the bar on the man hunched over his drink. "Isn't it?" she asked softly.
Averting her eyes to give the woman a modicum of privacy, Lexie's eyes met Callie. "You're not getting Arizona." She waited a beat. "Or me. I don't care how good of a lesbian you'd made." Lexie looked at her in confusion. "Never mind," Callie muttered. "You were drunk."
"Then who…"
Izzie practically glowed with pride as she informed her: "Mark Sloan."
There's got to be something better than in the middle
We can drive it home with one headlight
AN: Please review!
"One Headlight" is written by The Wallflowers and performed by The Wallflowers and Bruce Springsteen.
