Chapter 13: These Boots are Made for Walking

These boots are made for walking

and that's just what they'll do

One of these days these boots

Are gonna walk all over you.

Lexie had been working with Emma, the little girl that was in the car crash on the first day back after she had the twins, for the past few months. It had been a long road to get her walking again but she was almost there. Emma would probably have to come on for CT scans and MRIs yearly until she reached adulthood. Doing these scans were just a precaution to make sure that she didn't end up with abnormalities as she grew and developed. They were going to have to do the same with Alex since he had brain surgery when he was first born.

"Alright Emma, I'm going to help you stand up, okay?" Lexie said letting the young girl grab onto her and helping her up. Emma nodded and with a little help from Lexie she was standing up steadily. "Good job." Lexie congratulated. "Now can you move your foot?" Emma did as she was asked, slowly. She then moved the other. She did this a couple of times before she became shaky on her feet and fell to the ground before Lexie caught her. "You are doing so good." Lexie smiled.

"But I fell." Emma sighed sitting on the ground and pouting her lips.

"But you were walking before. It just takes a lot of practice. Do you want to try again?"

Emma looked up and nodded standing up once again. She moved her feet in the repetitive walking pattern. She got further this time, by a few steps, before falling back down. Emma grumbled some. "I keep falling down."

"You are getting better. You'll be running around again before you know it." Lexie assured the little girl. She could see she was getting frustrated.

"Then can I go to school?" Emma asked with a glimmer in her eye.

"Yep. Once you learn to walk you'll be at school."

"Yay!" Emma smiled. "Can I try again?"

"Of course!" Lexie said enthusiastically helping the girl start to walk again. She smiled as the girl got further and further. "Do you want to try it without me?" Lexie eventually offered.

"What if I fall?" Emma said looking to the ground.

"I'll be right here. I won't let you fall." Lexie assured her.

Emma stood up and stabilized herself. Lexie watched her and stood behind her ready to catch her. She put her foot out and placed in front of her before doing so with the other. She got a few paces in before she got shaky again and fell. Lexie caught her as she fell. "I did it!"

"You did! Great job!" Lexie congratulated. She looked over and saw her parents come in the door. "Look who I see?"

Emma turned around and saw her parents. "Mommy! Daddy! I walked by myself!" She smiled standing up.

"Wow! That's great baby girl!" Her mother said hugging her.

"How'd she do today?" The man asked.

"She did great. I really don't think we are going to have too many more sessions. She's almost walking on her own." Lexie smiled. "She has really made a tremendous recovery."

"Thank you, Dr. Grey." Her mother said standing up. "For giving us our daughter back."

"It's my job." Lexie stated.

"You saved her life and taught her how to walk again. I don't think I could ever thank you enough."

"You're welcome." Lexie smiled. "I'll see you next week. Bye Emma."

"Bye!" Emma smiled as her dad scooped her up into his arms and put her in her wheelchair. Lexie smiled knowing that she really did teach that girl how to walk again. When Emma first started therapy she practically refused to have any other doctor. Her and Lexie had made a strange connection when they first met and Emma only wanted her as her doctor. Lexie had obviously agreed to help in physical therapy when she could and seeing the progress Emma made gave her a strong sense of pride. It almost reminded her of when she learned to walk again after the plane crash. There was a part of her that was telling her it wasn't happen which just gave her a more compelling want to prove that feeling wrong.

Lexie walked out and went to find out what time her next surgery was scheduled for. She ran into Derek in the process. "You look happy." He stated simply.

"I just finished a PT session with Emma." Lexie said back to him.

"Oh yeah, how is she?"

"She's great. She took her first steps by herself today. I think we only have a couple of sessions left."

"That's great." Derek smiled.

"Yeah it is."

"Okay, I have a Glioblastoma resection. Great job." Derek smiled and walked away. Lexie went and scrubbed in for her next surgery which was her last of the day. The surgery was successful. She went down to the daycare and got the twins ready to leave and waited for Mark. He showed up not long after and they family headed home.

Lexie and Mark had just finished dinner and she was nursing one of the twins while sitting on the couch before she decided to start a conversation with Mark. "What would you have done if I was stuck in wheelchair?"

Mark looked to her confused. "What?"

"After the crash. What if I hadn't learned to walk again? What would you have done?"

"Are you asking me if I would still love you if you were in a wheelchair? Because the answer to that is yes."

"Not necessarily. I just kind of wonder what you think our lives would be like."

"I don't know. It would have been a lot different." Mark stated. "The twins probably wouldn't be here."

"Probably not." Lexie said looking down moving to burp the baby before she would take them up to the nursery.

"Why?"

"Because- I don't know. I just wondered."

"Let's go to bed." Mark said standing up. Lexie followed behind him and put the twins down before retreating to their own room.

"Wait, when you said that the twins wouldn't be here, did you mean we would never have sex again?" Lexie asked looking to Mark as he climbed in bed.

"I don't know." Mark shrugged. "But I'm not sure I could live like that."

"I don't think I could either." Lexie stated. "Luckily, we don't have to." She said leaning over and giving him a kiss and teasing him slightly.

"That is a very good thing." Mark said kissing her back.

Lexie rolled over on top of him kissing her. "I don't know what I would do without this." Lexie said kissing him a couple more times.

"I don't think I would make it." Mark smiled and kissed leaned up to kiss her neck.

Lexie sighed a little before the baby monitor took her out of her trance. "I'll get them." She said getting up and going to check on the twins. She quieted them and went back to the bedroom. "We aren't ever having sex again."

"Probably not." Mark agreed.