So it looks like getting to 80 reviews isn't going to happen with that last chapter which is disappointing. I was going to hold steadfast and not update but evidently I am weak willed so here it is, the dinner with the Shepherds. Please take note of your emergency exits and make sure that your tray tables are stowed and your seatbacks are in the upright position. On behalf of the writer we want to welcome you to Little Miss Brand New Start flight number 21 and thank you for flying Hermies818.

"Mark." The woman who opened the door hugged him. She was too young to be Mrs Shepherd. "Which sister was this?" Lexie wondered.

"It's so good to see you again, you never come back East anymore." The dark haired woman kept talking, not seeming to see Lexie. Was this one Nancy?

The woman turned to Lexie. "And you must be the sister of the slut who ruined my brothers' marriage."

Yep, definitely Nancy.

"Nance." Mark warned, but she seemed not to hear him as she pulled him inside with Lexie following close behind. She lead the two of them into a room filled with that looked like a lot more than 21 people.

Mark shot a worried look at Lexie. "You ok?"

Lexie swallowed and then nodded before slapping on a smile and charging into the crowd.

She wasn't sure how, but somehow Lexie managed to slip away from the throng of perfect, dark haired children and genius parents. Liz and her husband seemed alright and Mrs Shepherd was warm, but the rest of them were impossible.

She found she had slipped into some sort of den. It was a cozy space with a large window that let in plenty of moonlight. Sometime in the evening someone had lit a fire in the stone fireplace which softly crackled and threw flickering light into the corners the moonlight couldn't quite reach. As she walked around the room, she thought that, if she hadn't been on the verge of a panic attack, she might have enjoyed this room very much.

"You ok?" Lexie spun around to find one of the Shepherd sisters standing in the doorway with a full wineglass in each hand. Lexie quickly took note of her outfit.

Pants, Lizzie.

"Um, yeah. Just, just trying to catch my breath." Lexie stuttered.

"I figured as much." Liz offered her a warm smile and one of the glasses which Lexie eagerly accepted. "It can be a little suffocating with all of us."

"You have no idea." Lexie groaned and took a longer than polite pull of wine. "You know he told me we were just having dinner with Mrs Shepherd tonight?"

Liz laughed. "Oh no. I'm so sorry. He probably thought it would be better for you to meet all of us at once. Rip it off quick, like a band aide."

"He is soooooooo going to pay for this." Lexie moaned. "He tried to give me a crash course in all things Shepherd in the car. I don't think I've gotten one name right all evening!" Lexie turned red with embarrassment.

"I thought Mark said you had a photographic memory?"

"I do, but that doesn't do me a lot of good when I'm thrown a ton of information while I'm already freaking out." Lexie said, her fraying nerves evident in her voice.

Liz just smiled sympathetically before glancing at the door. "You know, this is a big house. We probably have a good 5 or 6 minutes before they find us, why not use me as a sounding board to get your info straight." She offered.

"Really?" Lexie gave her a look of gratitude and surprise. "Why would you do that? I mean, aren't I just the sister of the slutty intern who stole your other brother?"

"Maybe." Liz nodded. "But it's like I told Meredith, we're family. You need all the spares you can get. Now come on, tell me what you know and I'll help you fill in the gaps." She sat on the edge of the desk and Lexie took a seat on the couch opposite her.

"Ok, first off, who's married to who?" Lexie began.

"Nancy and Bill, Kathleen and Patrick, me and Zach." Liz ticked off the couples.

"Ok, so you have two kids and Kathleen has, 6?" Lexie guessed.

"Close, Kathleen has 7. She's married to an Irish catholic so she's always pregnant. Nancy has 5. You can tell whose are who's because Nancy likes all her children to dress in matching colors and Cameron and Olivia are the only two blondes." Liz smiled. "Anything else?"

"Yeah, how can I tell the husbands apart?" Lexie looked slightly sheepish but Liz just laughed.

"Zach is the blonde and the only one of them not wearing a suit. Patrick is tall and looks slightly oily but is actually a pretty nice guy, he's wearing the dark blue suit. Finally Bill is the one in the pale yellow suit who looks henpecked as hell."

"Not surprising since he's married to McBitchy." Lexie muttered into her glass. As soon as she said it her eyes grew as big as dinner plates. "Oh my god I'm so sorry, I didn't meant that!" She tried to back pedal.

Much to her surprise, however, instead of becoming angry Liz's face broke out into a huge grin.

"Oh I can tell, we're going to get along just fine."

It was then that the door opened and a boy with shaggy blonde hair poked his head in.

Blonde, boy, Liz's son, Cameron.

"Mom, grandma says dinner is ready." He announced before popping out just as quickly as he came in. Lizzie just shook her head good naturedly and extended her hand to Lexie.

"Shall we?"

Lexie was grateful for Lizzie's support as the two women walked into the dining room with the long table already filled with people. Mark was a little surprised to see Lizzie and his wife arm in arm but an "all good" look from Lexie calmed him down. Lexie took her place in between Mark and Mrs Shepherd while Liz sat across from her next to who Lexie deduced was Zach. The conversation flowed surprisingly easily as the meal went on with topics bouncing from work (only momentarily at Mrs Shepherds insistence) to stories of Mark and Derek growing up which Lexie enjoyed immensely. Halfway into the main course, however, things turned sour.

"So," Nancy began. "Tell us about yourself Lexie. Mark comes back East so infrequently and Derek almost never calls except on holidays. Are you and that home wrecker of a wife Derek has close?"

Lexie blushed severely but attempted not to show it. "Well we're half-sisters so we weren't at first but after, you know, now we're pretty close."

"Wait, I thought you were full sisters?" Kathleen asked.

"No, we, uh, her mom left my dad, we share the same dad." Lexie stammered, hoping that she'd said something coherent.

"Oh did she leave him for another man? Sounds like whore's run in the family." Nancy smirked.

"Nance." Mark said harshly bust she just kept right on going.

"How about you Lexie? From what Lizzie here told me Mark was with another woman when you latched on to him."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, I did not say that!" Liz put her hands up. "I just said that the gossip around Derek's hospital was that Mark has been with more than his fair share of women there.

"So? That's Mark, we've all slept with him at one point. Who knew that it would take a family of sluts to grab him?"

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Mark roared and stood up. The conversation at the table died almost immediately. "Now you all listen and you listen good. Meredith and Derek are two of my closest friends and Lexie just so happens to be the only woman who I can ever see myself growing old with. I love her and she loves me and whatever or whoever the hell ether of us did before this in irrelevant. Like it or not, Nancy, Lexie is technically more of a family member than I am, so I don't want to hear another word about her or her sister being anything more than the kind, caring, loving people that they are. Is that understood?"

Mark sat back down and resumed eating as the conversation slowly began to pick up again. Mark squeezed Lexie's hand under the table while both Liz and Mrs Shepherd gave the both of them small smiles and for the first time that night, Lexie was able to let out her breath.

Can we try this one more time? Let's try an get to 85 reviews, can we do that?