Chapter Twenty-Five
"My point is, sometimes the best gifts come in really surprising packages." –Meredith Grey
Winter should have been here by now.
Meredith Grey kept searching the sky, wondering where the clouds were, the gloomy weather that Seattle was known for. It was early December for crying out loud. Christmas was right around the corner, but the sun was shining brightly and the temperatures, while not exactly hot, were certainly mild enough to be comfortable. She was just about ready to peel off her sweatshirt… in December.
If only it had been cold, raining or snowing or even just a little bit windy, then she could have been at home. She could have been under a blanket reading, instead of out here huddled in the dugout with her friends, having it out with the new batch of residents.
"Okay guys, you got this!" Lexie clapped near the entrance, careful not to hit her still bandaged pinky. She'd somehow become their team captain, unable to play with her injured finger, but happy to make up for it with words of encouragement. "Come on Graziella, let's go!"
Meredith grimaced. She was ninety nine percent sure her sister had been a cheerleader at some point in her life. She could just picture Lexie bouncing around with the high ponytail, dating some boy with a letterman jacket… all the while playing for the softball team. Meredith's high school years had basically involved watching her mom's surgical videos and avoiding all those supposedly "fun" activities.
God, she wished she'd avoided this one as well…
It had been Steve's idea, Intern Steve, who terrifyingly enough was now Resident Steve. He and a couple of the others had organized a "friendly" softball game against the Mercy West invaders. Of course, friendly was a relative term. The Mercy West group wasn't exactly popular and even the slightest chance of knocking them down a peg or two had drawn many of her co-workers into the fray… it had drawn her into the fray. They'd all been blinded by the chance to compete. Alex was here. And though she couldn't even slip on a glove, Lexie had happily come in right behind him. Christina was the only smart one in the bunch. She was sitting in the bleachers, heckling all of them.
"Nice try!" Lexie continued to yell, even as her teammate struck out in spectacular fashion. "You almost had it!"
"No, she didn't," Alex muttered. He was laid out on the bench, his head propped up on his bag, his feet crossed. "That wasn't even close. My peds kid had a better shot of hitting that ball."
He wasn't wrong… at all. But Lexie still glared at him as Graziella came skulking back into the dugout. Alex let her pass then rolled his eyes at their overly enthusiastic team captain.
"Dude, they're up ten to three." He gestured towards the scoreboard. "I say we ditch this and go get some lunch."
"I second that." Meredith raised her hand in support. She'd been silent for awhile, but it seemed like a good time to speak up. They were currently getting their asses handed to them. But Lexie wasn't about to throw in the towel.
"You've barely even played," she frowned at her sister. "So you don't get a vote."
"In my defense, I don't think you'd want me to play."
Former Intern Steve nodded beside her. He'd been Meredith's catching partner in the few minutes of practice they'd actually had. Well catching partner might have been a generous term, because the ball had never been quite accurate enough for him to catch.
"We can still do this." Lexie insisted. "We can totally, totally do this. Janson's on first, Bradley's on third. And we all know Pierce can hit a single at least."
"Yeah, I don't think Pierce is your problem."
Alex popped a few sunflower seeds into his mouth then grinned to himself as the others turned towards him.
"What?" Lexie didn't get the joke. "What's so funny?"
"Meredith's up after him."
"Oh god, seriously?" Meredith wrinkled her nose in dismay.
The rules were pretty much a mystery to her, but she had just assumed they'd keep her out of the batting lineup. She reached over and smacked Alex as he giggled beside her.
"You're gonna do great." He pressed his lips together, feigning sincerity. "Honestly Mer, you totally got this."
"Oh shut up!" Meredith stood, yanking the bag out from under his head. Alex barely managed to catch himself as he rolled off the bench. Lexie, meanwhile, ignored the commotion, choosing to concentrate on the game instead.
"It's gonna be fine." Her reassurances were automatic, though her annoyance was easy to hear. "Don't listen to Alex. He's an idiot."
That was definitely true… But it wasn't just Alex, Meredith knew. The rest of the team seemed just as dismissive of her abilities. Most of them had been interns the previous year. They'd been scared of her, not in the same way that she'd been scared of Bailey... but still. And now they were staring at her, in her far too pristine jersey, with a weariness they saved for their biggest lost causes.
Dani checked her watch.
"If we leave in the next few minutes, we can still hit happy hour at Joe's," she offered. "We can probably get a group discount on the beer at least."
"I'm in."
"Me too…"
Up and down the bench, people came back to life. Lexie was still watching Pierce, hoping against hope that he would give them something to cheer about. But eventually, the growing buzz drew her notice. She glanced over her shoulder then did a double take as she saw them gathering up their belongings.
"Oh no, no, no. No way." She shook her head quickly. "No way are you running out on this now."
"Lexie, it's not a big deal." Dani stood and shouldered her bag. "We all thought it'd be fun, but it's not. So I say, we wave the white flag and go get some drinks."
"Are you kidding me?" Lexie was incredulous. She obviously hadn't expected this mutiny she was witnessing. "You're just gonna give up in the middle of an inning?"
"Yeah, I am."
"Just because Meredith's up next-"
"Well that and the fact that we're already losing."
"But we still have half the game left," Lexie protested. "That's a lot of time. A few more hits and we're right back in this thing."
"Who's we?" Dani snarked. "You can't even play."
"But you asked me to come out here."
"Yeah, well, maybe I shouldn't have…" She motioned at the others, her mind made up. "We're going to Joe's. You can stay here or not. It really doesn't matter to me."
Ouch…
Meredith couldn't help but cringe on her sister's behalf. Dani had always been one of the brattier interns, the one who'd ditched Lexie with Mr. Arnold years before. But Lexie didn't shrink from her words. She didn't appear sad or hurt. Nope, Meredith's little sister was clearly incensed, slightly exasperated and verging on angry.
"Hey, this was your idea." She took a deliberate step closer to Dani. "You and Steve. You both said you played in college. And so far, you've both sucked."
She gave her teammate a pointed look, the kind she usually saved for Alex Karev.
"Like really, truly sucked. Like I can't even think of anything nice to say-sucked."
"Here, here," Alex chimed in, giving them both a tip of his hat.
"Hey, I never said I played in college," Steve objected from his seat behind Dani. "I said Little League, like when I was nine."
"Well, were you a quitter then too?" Lexie put her hands on her hips. And now she turned her gaze on the rest of them, her eyes running down the long line of grim faced players.
"Maybe you were all quitters? Maybe you're all still quitters-"
"Lexie," Meredith reached for her arm, but Lexie shook her off.
"Because what? You want to just roll over and die now? Give them our hospital, our attendings, the ORs we love. Forget the fact that we were there first-"
"Lexie, it's a softball game-"
"No, it's a principle. It's a principle, Steve." She gestured at Meredith, her hands flying through the air at an ever-increasing speed. "So my sister, she may be a terrible player. She may not be able to tell a softball from a tennis ball, I don't know. But she is a damn good doctor. And she deserves at least some small chance to dismantle these guys out there on that field-"
"I really don't actually," Meredith leaned in closer, attempting to whisper. But Lexie wouldn't have it. She was too busy dressing down their god-awful team.
"And honestly, she can't be any worse than most of you." She tilted her head, zeroing in on one player in particular. "Especially you Dani. Because let's face it, if you played in college, your coach must have been blind."
"Excuse me?"
"That ball they hit to centerfield? A toddler could have caught that. My sister could have caught that."
Meredith wasn't sure whether to be insulted or proud. But she had to admit, Lexie was really finding her groove.
"Those people over there," she pointed an accusing finger at the opposite dugout. "They've come in and stolen some of our very best surgeries. Who got the lung transplant last week? Who took the double leg amputation? Their hospital is literally closed. It's currently collecting dust on the other side of Seattle, but they still talk about it like it's some kind of medical holy land. They try to act like they're better than us. But we're smarter, we're stronger and we sure as hell aren't going to back down from them. Not today, not on my watch."
Meredith saw several nods among her teammates. Somehow, Lexie's little speech had won them all over and now it was time for her big, stirring finish.
"We are in a battle, my friends." Her voice rose as she marched the length of the dugout. "This is good versus evil. This is us versus them. And we may lose, we will almost certainly lose, but we are not going to roll over and die. We are not going to give in. We are going to stand up and fight, right here, right now-"
"Annnnnnd Pierce just struck out."
Meredith could almost hear the record scratch as Alex interrupted her. Lexie's eyes went wide with shock.
"What?"
"He's out. Pierce is out and Meredith's up."
And with that, her sister's carefully worded spell was instantly broken.
Dammit…
Meredith cursed under her breath. So much for that plan… She'd been hoping that Pierce would hit a home run, slam that ball right over the fences. But instead, two of her teammates were still standing on bases, waiting for someone to come up to bat… and unfortunately for all of them that someone was her.
Dani gave the others a meaningful nod as if to say she'd been right all along. They should have bolted when they'd had the chance.
"The line up's locked." Steve glanced around helplessly. "We each agreed to the teams this morning, remember?"
"Well what about subs?" someone called out. "If she's hurt-"
"She's not hurt."
"Maybe she can limp." Graziella indicated Meredith's leg. "It doesn't have to be huge-"
"She's not gonna limp! How in the hell would you explain that?"
"I don't know. Maybe somebody kicked her by accident?"
And here it came, the part where they all shouted at once, each one fighting to yell over the others.
Graziella and Steve were searching for an answer to their current problem. But Alex was still groaning about lunch. And Dani was proposing happy hour all over again. For two whole minutes, Lexie had held their attention, but now the whole thing had devolved into chaos. Players arguing over whether to forfeit the game, whether or not they should head out for drinks... Other possible activities were thrown in for good measure, not the least of which was keying Avery's new car. Apparently, he wasn't very popular with the guys in their group.
"I cannot hit that ball."
Meredith took the opportunity to drag her sister aside. Lexie was still projecting an air of confidence, but it was becoming less convincing as her team collapsed all around her.
"You better not make me do this, Lex," she warned her. "You told me I was just here to support you guys. You did not tell me I was gonna get humiliated in front of my interns."
"Former interns."
"I don't care!" Meredith snapped. Suddenly any other plan sounded better than Lexie's. It didn't matter how many motivational speeches she gave.
"Let's just do like Dani says, cut this short and go out to Joe's. The drinks are on me. You can have as many cosmos as your happy little heart desires."
"Meredith," Lexie folded her arms stubbornly. "You can hit that ball. I am absolutely sure of it."
"No, you're not."
"Yes, I am."
"Why does it even matter?" Meredith understood competition in the OR. But this was a game and a silly game at that. "So we lose to the freakin' Mercy Westers. Who the hell cares?"
"I care."
"No, you don't."
"Yes, I do."
"Lexie," she leveled her gaze at her sister, pulling her even farther towards the end of the dugout. "I just watched you give Percy a surgery last week because you felt bad for him. And he is basically Izzie's replacement. Izzie got fired while working with him."
Lexie's tough, cut-throat veneer was beginning to crack, revealing a deep well of sympathy hidden below. She simply couldn't help it.
"Well everyone's been so mean to him."
"Yeah, everyone except you." Meredith jabbed a finger into her shoulder. "So this whole 'us versus them' thing, I'm not buying it. You are not an 'us versus them' kind of girl."
"Hey, it's good for team morale." She somehow ignored the bickering that refuted her statement. It would have been hilarious if it hadn't been so incredibly maddening. "And besides, it's important for us to finish what we started."
"Really?" Meredith didn't believe her at all. "Even a stupid softball game that nobody cares about?"
"Yes," Lexie stammered. "Even that."
She was holding firm on her argument, but now her tone was lacking conviction. Something was up, Meredith could tell. There was another piece to this story, something that Lexie had neglected to mention.
"It's just, it's important, okay?" she tried again. "It's important to keep going."
"Why?"
"It just is."
"Why?" Meredith was going to dig as deep as she needed to. "And don't give me that whole 'it's the principle' thing. I can see you starting to sweat, Lex."
Meredith waited... Lexie's cheeks were already beginning to flush, so she knew it wouldn't be long. Another few seconds passed and then a few more. Lexie bounced on the balls of her feet then hurriedly glanced away into the stands.
Oh hell, this was getting insane…
Meredith let out a sigh of frustration then craned her neck to see what had caught Lexie's interest. There was Christina in the very front row. She had a book next to her, but it was closed and she was watching the proceedings with noticeable glee. Poor Pierce had been the latest recipient of her expert teasing.
But three rows up from her was none other than Mark Sloan. Yes, Lexie's boyfriend was sitting in the stands, his collar pulled up against the light breeze. He was sporting a huge grin, and as he caught sight of Meredith, he gave her a wave, just as charming as ever. Meredith couldn't bring herself to smile back.
"Are you kidding me?" She dropped her voice and whirled around to face Lexie. "We're doing all this so you can show off to your boyfriend?!"
"No!" Lexie said hastily. "No."
But her expression spoke volumes. She'd been caught and she knew it.
"Lexie, do not make me scold you in front of your friends."
"It's not about Mark."
And now her lie was even more obvious. She didn't even have the decency to properly hide it.
"Alexandra Caroline Grey!" Meredith went straight for the full name. It was a trick she'd learned from George, one that had come in handy on multiple occasions. "I cannot believe you!"
"Okay, it's not exactly about Mark." Lexie pulled the brim of her hat down a little, seeming more embarrassed by the minute. Luckily for her, the rest of the team was still arguing.
"It's just... he's got this thing, this thing with Sloan."
Of course…that totally figured. Meredith had been dragged to a game because of Mark's goofy kid.
"If he's not at the hospital, then he has to be at home with her. He thinks it makes him a good parent or something, even though all they do is watch TV. Literally, that's all they do. They don't talk, they just watch TV."
"Well that sounds healthy."
"I know, right?"
Lexie managed a smile. For a second, she thought she was off the hook, that she and Meredith were having a moment. But her sister's glare told her otherwise and she quickly pressed on.
"So today, today I convinced him to come out here and leave her at home. And I realize that makes me a bad person. I mean really, she's just a teenager and she is my boyfriend's daughter and she needs him and it's sweet that he wants to help her-"
"Get to the point, Lex."
"I can't go back to that apartment right now."
Her explanation finally came out all at once.
"I just, I can't, Mer. If we quit then Mark will want to go back and I can't do it. That girl, she is driving me crazy."
"Oh come on..."
"She listens to Britney Spears," Lexie sounded almost pitiful. "All the time. Everyday, just blasting out of the speakers."
Meredith groaned...
Of all the stupid reasons to have to play softball…
She knew Lexie loved the game. And if she'd been able to throw today, they might have had a fighting chance. But instead, she'd cut off the tip of her finger, also because of Mark's daughter… and this is where they had landed.
"Fine."
Meredith couldn't look at her sister's pleading eyes any longer. And she surely didn't want her losing any more fingers.
"Fine, I'll do it. But you're gonna owe me."
"I know." Lexie's relief was palpable as Meredith caved. "I swear, I'll do anything."
"Oh, I'll think of something, don't worry."
At least the rest of the team had settled back down again. Lexie must have earned some loyalty over the years, because amazingly enough, no one had left. Steve even held out a bat for Meredith as she marched straight out of the dugout.
"You don't even have to hit it that far." Lexie chased after her. "Even if you just get a tiny piece of it, that should be enough. And if the ball hits you-"
"Seriously?" She spun around towards the girl. "You want me to get hit by a baseball?"
"A softball."
"Lexie, just because they call it a softball doesn't mean it's soft," Meredith hissed. "That much I have learned."
"Just try your best."
Lexie was apparently done with her pep talk. She gave Meredith one last pat on the back then jogged to the dugout, flashing a quick thumbs up as she did.
"You got this Mer!"
And now, the cheerleader had returned...
Meredith took a deep breath, reminding herself that this was for a good cause. Sure, that cause had something to do with a slightly slutty teenager who had wormed her way into her sister's apartment… but she'd done far worse things for far more ridiculous reasons.
This was a game. A dumb softball game. Nobody was dying because of it. And even if she couldn't catch the ball, that didn't mean she couldn't hit it.
She held her head high as she walked the rest of the way to the plate, hoping to save some last shred of her dignity. Thankfully, Christina was keeping her mouth shut. All she could hear was Lexie's overly enthusiastic cheering and some half-hearted accompaniment from the rest of her teammates. Reed was playing catcher and Meredith caught the nasty little smile she shot through her mask.
"Last at-bat for the inning." She gave her mitt a hearty punch. Her tone matched her appearance, sweet and exceedingly fake. "We're ready when you are."
Meredith resisted the urge to say something snarky. She didn't have a lot of ground to stand on anyway. Hell, even her own team knew that she sucked.
"I'm really impressed you even came out here."
Reed was still chattering away behind her. Meredith let out a sigh, struggling to concentrate on the pitcher. Jackson Avery… at least he was nice to watch.
"With that medical leave and all…" Reed clicked her tongue in mock sympathy. "That must have been tough, missing so much work. I figured you'd be back in the lab catching up."
The liver transplant… This girl was giving her crap about that of all things…
"Nope, everything's going pretty well actually," Meredith kept her own tone just as sugary-sweet. "Three life saving surgeries this week, kinda hard to feel bad about that."
"Well, I think it's nice that they're still giving you a chance. I mean, now that we're here, they certainly have more capable hands."
Meredith shot a look over her shoulder as Reed's smile thinned.
"Well I'm not sure capable is the word I would choose."
It was almost too easy… Reed's smile rapidly morphed into a glare.
God, she disliked that girl. Out of all the new residents, Reed Adamson had turned out to be the biggest jerk of them all. Meredith would happily trade her for Izzie, or even April, the newbie they'd fired the previous month. So much for the Mercy Westers and their "capable hands."
"Ladies?" Avery yelled to them from the mound. "Are you ready, or what?"
Meredith adjusted her stance just a little, making sure to kick up some extra dust as she did. With any luck, Reed would choke on it.
"Ready!" she called back. "I'm ready-"
The ball came at her before she could finish. Meredith barely had a chance to blink as it whizzed past her body, hitting Reed's mitt with a disheartening thump.
"That's one!"
Son of a bitch…
Meredith didn't dare glance over at Lexie, or the rest of her team for that matter. The other bench had already erupted in cheers. Somewhere Dani was saying "I told you so."
"It's okay, this game's not for everyone." Reed straightened and tossed the ball back to Avery. "Losing just comes naturally to some people."
Meredith scowled.
"I guess you would know."
She wasn't proud of herself, but she was already wondering what would happen if she dropped the bat on Reed's head. Not swung it, just accidentally dropped it somehow. The girl did have a catcher's mask on at least… so it wasn't like the hit would be fatal.
"Come on Big Grey!"
The sound of Mark's shouting interrupted her thoughts. Evidently, he'd taken a cue from Lexie and now he was clapping wildly, hoping that Meredith wouldn't embarrass herself.
"Just concentrate and keep your eye on the ball!" His exclamation easily carried over the field. "You got this. You totally got this!"
Avery was busy adjusting his glove. But she could clearly hear Reed snorting behind her.
"Man, Sloan's excited. Is there something you forgot to tell us?"
"Watch it."
"No, I'm serious." The catcher just couldn't seem to help herself. "He hasn't cheered that hard for anyone else today. And he is an attending. He's supposed to be neutral."
Meredith didn't respond. What the hell was taking Avery so long anyway? Was he trying to let Reed get into her head?
"Come on, you can do it!"
And there was Mark Sloan again…
"You know," Reed had to speak up to drown out his yelling. "I've heard all about the famous Grey family. It's impressive, really. All those big studies you've participated in, the surgeries… I could only dream of having those opportunities."
"Well I wouldn't hold your breath," Meredith muttered. "But maybe someday you'll actually be good enough."
"Or maybe I should just follow your lead…" Reed lowered her voice to a stage whisper. "I bet it's a lot easier if you sleep your way up."
Meredith clenched her jaw. Any minute now, Avery was going to pitch. Two more strikes and her obligation would be over. If she happened to hit the ball even better. If she happened to hit Reed, even better than that.
"Come on, Mer!" Lexie was standing back near the fence. "Don't let them get to you! That guy's got no arm."
"Yeah, come on Big Grey!" Mark joined in the chorus.
And here came the ball again. Meredith gripped the bat tightly, willing herself not to miss. But just as before, the ball sliced right past her.
"Strike two!"
God dammit.
"It's okay Mer!" Lexie tried not to sound disappointed. "Way to hang in there!"
"You still got another shot!"
Meredith chewed the inside of her cheek, wishing that Mark would just shut up already. Lexie, she could handle. The two of them plus Reed, that was another story entirely. She'd been up almost twenty-four hours already and her patience was wearing awfully thin.
"So how does that work exactly?" Reed leaned in closer, carefully balancing on the balls of her feet. She cocked her head to one side as she peered into the stands. "Do you guys switch off?"
"Excuse me?"
"You and Lexie," she was only too happy to explain. "You guys each have attendings, right? I'm just wondering if you trade every once in awhile."
Meredith rolled her shoulders back.
"Now might be a good time to shut up," she murmured.
"You know, you should probably be careful." Reed refused to heed her warning. "If the surgery's good enough, I bet she'll take both of them. Your on-call room is pretty big afterall."
That was it.
Meredith dropped her bat and spun around suddenly, her movement catching her tormenter off guard. Reed let out a yelp as she fell on her ass.
"I dare you to say that again!" Meredith towered over the catcher now sprawled in the dirt. "I dare you to look me in the eye and say that again."
"Hey, it's just trash talk!" Reed hurriedly crawled backwards then lifted her mask. "There's no rule against-"
"Saying crap about my family?! Well I'm about to make a rule!"
"Whoa! Whoa!" Avery came running in from the mound, hastily stepping in front of his teammate. "Hold off, it's just a game guys."
"Not to her!" Reed huffed as she got to her feet. "She's ready to kill me."
"If you keep talking about my sister that way, I just might." Meredith moved around Avery, thankful she didn't still have that bat in her hands. "And you sure as hell don't get to say anything about me or my husband."
"I never said anything about Dr. Shepherd."
"Oh really?" Meredith almost laughed. "So those attendings you mentioned, they're just anonymous beings that I apparently sleep with?"
"Hey, that's enough!"
And here came Mark Sloan… He wisely called a timeout as he ran up with Lexie. No one else dared approach them, not with an attending there in the mix. As it was, Reed's face had turned a deep shade of red.
"Dr Sloan-"
"I thought this was a friendly game of softball." He surveyed the group, acting more and more like a dissatisfied parent. He'd probably had plenty of practice with that daughter of his. "What the hell is going on here?"
"Nothing," Reed said quickly.
"They're just blowing off steam," Avery jumped in as well, eager to help out his friend. "You know, the competitive spirit and all."
"Well that's great," Mark muttered. "But the Chief is supposed to stop by any minute. So whatever you've got going on, you might want to table it."
"Tell that to the girl who can't keep her mouth shut," Meredith continued to glare at Reed. "Because she's the one who started it."
"I didn't start anything-"
"Okay, stop." Mark held out both his hands, already fed up with their girly drama. "This isn't junior high school. It's a game, and yes, trash talking's part of it."
"Yeah, Mer," Lexie spoke up sheepishly, probably worried that she'd pushed this too far. "It sort of comes with the territory."
"Fine."
Meredith crossed her arms. She still had one play left. Why not let Reed hang herself for her crimes? She happily stepped back, letting all of the focus fall on her target.
"Then I'm sure Dr. Adamson won't mind repeating what she just said to me."
It took a minute, but gradually Reed's expression began to change. She went from annoyed to concerned… And then it seemed like she was ready to vomit. Mark noticed her extreme discomfort as well. It wasn't particularly hard to miss.
"I take it this was something inappropriate."
"Oh come on," Avery scoffed. "I've been around the hospital long enough. Inappropriate is sort of the baseline for you guys."
"Okay, I'm sorry," Reed let out a breath. She must have realized the position she had put herself in, because now she looked Meredith square in the eye, practically begging to be let off the hook. "I'm sorry about what I said about you and... everybody."
"Everybody?" Mark had obviously caught that last word. His radar was up now as he took a step closer. "Who's everybody?"
Reed practically crumpled in front of them.
"Maybe we can just leave it at that," she mumbled.
"But you've got us all curious, Dr. Adamson." Mark gestured at the little group that surrounded her. "Please, do tell."
Reed hesitated, still searching for some kind of rescue. Avery was her only hope, but he was just as intrigued as the rest of them.
"I might..." her speech wavered as she finally spoke up again. "I might have implied that some, uh certain people at the hospital had... maybe, perhaps dated, well dated other doctors higher up to get... surgeries."
"Surgeries?"
"Yeah… good, well better-better surgeries."
"So you basically accused her of sleeping her way to the top?"
Reed cringed, her gaze inadvertently moving to Lexie. And that was when Mark's eyebrows shot up.
"You accused them both of sleeping their way to the top?"
She didn't even bother to answer the question. Instead, Reed Adamson dropped her head, like a prisoner in front of a firing squad.
"Wow…" Avery made some attempt to hold it in, but already his body was shaking with laughter. "You went all out on the trash talk, I guess."
"Hey, that's not funny," Lexie's protest was immediate. "That's not funny at all."
"But it sort of is," he countered, still unable to swallow his giggling. "You guys are sisters after all. You both work in the same hospital. And you're both dating-"
"I'm married," Meredith interjected.
"And I'm with Mark." Lexie glanced from Reed to Avery then back again. "I've been with Mark for awhile-like a long while-"
"Almost a year," Mark finished for her.
He took a step closer to the grinning Mercy Wester, ready to put this new kid in his place
"So Dr. Avery, are you saying she's been using me this whole time?"
"No, I'm just..."
Avery trailed off, his laughter fading as he sensed the mood change. He had three people staring at him in a tight semi-circle and none of them seemed the least bit amused. Suddenly, he was the one in need of assistance. But unfortunately for him, his only ally was on her way out.
"I'm done." Reed tossed her mask at him.
"You're, you're what?" Avery was stammering now. He watched in horror as she spun around and headed back towards their dugout. "Hey, wait a sec! Reed! You're the catcher!"
"Dr. Avery," Mark moved into his eyeline. He wasn't going to let Avery wriggle his way out of this. "I'm still waiting for an answer here."
"As am I." Meredith gave him a tight smile.
Lexie stayed silent, but her face said plenty.
"Okay, how about..." Avery cleared his throat, stalling for time. Somehow he had found himself abandoned in hostile territory. And worse yet, he had pissed off an attending.
"Maybe… maybe we can just go back to the game." He motioned behind him towards the field full of people. "We only really have this place for so long, so maybe we can just forget all about this-"
"I'm not sure I can do that." Mark's voice was ominously quiet. His bright blue eyes were locked right on Avery. "I'm not sure I should do that."
"Dr. Sloan, I was just kidding." Avery started panicking. "I swear to you. I didn't mean anything by it-"
"Mmmhmm."
"Really, I didn't."
"Save it, Avery," Mark barked out his name. "I'm sure we can have this conversation tomorrow at the hospital. Who knows? Maybe the Chief will want to weigh in."
"Dr. Sloan-"
"I'll meet you in the conference room, 5AM sharp."
Mark gave him one last glower then turned and stalked off towards the fence. Lexie followed suit. Meredith did too, stopping just long enough to pick up her bat. No way was she gonna miss her chance for a dramatic exit. Poor Avery just stood there, equal parts embarrassed and terrified.
"I'm sorry!" he called after them.
But Meredith ignored him. Avery had to realize he was screwed. No sense giving him any false hope. Since hooking up with Lexie, Mark had been far more sensitive about his reputation around the hospital. And he was fairly protective of his girlfriend as well. At this point, Avery would be lucky if he still had a job in the morning.
But as Meredith approached the fence, ready to hear all about Avery's imminent demise, she was met with a curious and rather astonishing sight. Mark Sloan, the man who'd just dressed down his underling in front of the world, the one who'd scared not one, but two Mercy Westers… that guy was now huddled with Lexie… laughing… laughing so hard he was starting to cry.
All around them, people were scrambling, trying to figure out what to do next. Some were going to check on Avery. Others were meeting in their separate dugouts. And so Lexie was the only other person who could see Mark's reaction. And she appeared just as puzzled as Meredith.
"Mark?" She placed a hand on his back. "Mark, are you okay?"
She was growing concerned, probably worried that he was having a break down. But Mark merely grinned at her.
"And you say we never have fun…" He took in a breath as he nodded at Avery. "But that, that was fun."
Lexie stared at him for a long, long moment. And then slowly her face brightened. Her lips parted into a smile and she nudged Mark a little.
"You were messing with him."
"Of course I was messing with him." Mark was finally able to gather himself. He wiped his cheeks without shame, catching the last few tears in his sleeve. "You think I care what that kid thinks of us?"
Lexie was actually beaming as he gestured at Meredith.
"Do you care what he thinks of you, Big Grey?"
"No..."
It started to dawn on her now. Meredith really didn't care… not at all, not even a tiny bit. She'd already been through the rumor mill on numerous occasions. The truth was, she'd long since accepted her history and the mess that came with it.
"Still… if they say any more crap about Derek or Lexie…" That was an area where she wasn't so forgiving. "Then one of them's gonna get a bat to the stomach."
"Aww..." Lexie's smile grew even wider. She was touched by Meredith's threatened assault on a co-worker. "That's really kind of sweet."
"Notice how she didn't mention my name," Mark griped good-naturedly.
"Well you have a ways to go." Meredith tipped her bat at him. Mark Sloan wasn't out of the woods yet, not even close. She was still watching him, always on guard in case he screwed up.
"You have a long, long ways to go."
"I think I can handle it," Mark switched on the charm again. "Just you wait. By next year, you're gonna be defending me too."
That was a long shot... Meredith had warmed to the man, but she wasn't sure she could ever consider him family… though the way things were headed she might have to try.
"Dude, are we playing or not?"
Alex's voice pulled her back to the game… or what was left of it anyway. Half of their team was still lining the bench, waiting for someone to make a decision.
"Because honestly Mer, happy hour... That's all I'm saying."
Meredith rolled her eyes. After everything that had happened in the last five minutes, Alex's brain was still stuck on the bar. That was pretty much par for the course.
"Oh come on," he muttered as he saw her disdain. "Like you weren't thinking it."
"I wasn't."
"Liar."
"I wasn't!"
"Well I was," Mark cut in out of nowhere. "Or at least I am now. That's a good call Karev."
He pointed at Alex, who was rather wary of the unexpected support. Mark's entrance into the conversation had certainly caught them all by surprise. But Alex managed to sputter some sort of acknowledgement before excusing himself to go talk to his teammates.
"So what do you say, Little Grey?" Mark shifted his focus back to Lexie who was definitely the most startled one in the group. "You up for a drink?"
"But… but what about Sloan?" Lexie's expression was a rather endearing battle between confusion and hope. Meredith knew she'd have to kick Mark's ass if tried to back out of this.
"I thought-" she started, then stopped again, still struggling to sort this out in her head. "Didn't you want to get back to her?"
"Sloan will be fine," Mark easily waved off her concerns. "I upgraded the cable. And she just got all those Lifetime movies."
"Lifetime movies?" Meredith curled her lip in disgust. God, that was even worse than Britney Spears. But Lexie looked pleased with this latest development.
"Well she has been begging you for that channel..."
"She has," Mark confirmed. "Morning, noon and night. I wasn't gonna cave, but I figured it might work out for all of us. We get some time away and she can hang out with all those crappy movies she loves..."
Meredith watched as Lexie's entire world suddenly changed. She finally had her boyfriend back to herself... for a little while anyway.
"She probably doesn't even realize we're gone."
Just the thought seemed to thrill her. Never before had someone been so happy about cable.
"Trust me…" Mark slipped his arm around Lexie's shoulders. "She'll be occupied for the next fifteen hours. All those stories about girls who kill their cheating boyfriends, she really gets into those."
"You know most of those are true, right?" Lexie gave him a mischievous grin then gently tugged on the edge of his jacket. "So you might want to take that message to heart."
"Touché." Mark let out a chuckle. "I'll keep that in mind."
Dammit… Even Meredith had to admit they were cute together. The guy with the teenage daughter and her sister, who was less than a decade removed from that age group herself. But who could say what worked any more? Meredith was hardly a relationship expert.
"So you ready to go?"
Mark was still thinking about happy hour, about that drink he was going to buy Lexie.
"First round's on me, Captain."
"Sounds perfect."
Lexie leaned in to kiss him. It was a fairly brief kiss, one that Meredith could actually watch. And then just as quickly Lexie stepped back, reaching for the bat that her sister still held.
"Just give me a minute." She scrunched up her nose and shot him another adorable smile. "I'm just gonna go and finish off Avery."
"Wait… you're what?" Meredith's joy for her sister abruptly turned to bewilderment. She was only too happy to watch Lexie's revenge. But there was one tiny problem…
"I thought I had to bat," she reminded the girl. "You specifically told me that I had to bat. It was in the rules, or whatever."
"Yeah, but what are they gonna do?" Lexie smirked. "I think the rules just went out the window."
It was slightly devious, but awesome as well. Now that the situation with Mark was resolved, Lexie was ready to have some fun at the other team's expense. She nodded towards Avery, then Reed, who was silently pouting on the opposite bench.
"Avery's their captain. There's no way he's gonna protest if I stand in for you. Not after what they said."
"But what about your finger?" Mark indicated her injured pinky. "I put those stiches in there myself, but this might not be the best place to test them."
"Don't worry, I wouldn't mess up your handiwork."
Lexie gripped the bat easily, holding it out for them to see. Sure her pinky was sticking out awkwardly, but her swing was still strong and smooth.
"I may not be able to catch a ball, but I can certainly hit one straight at his shins."
"Thata girl." Mark clapped his hands together, as delighted as he'd ever been. "Let's see how fast Dr. Avery can move."
Oh poor Avery… Poor soon to be bruised Dr. Avery…
Meredith wanted to feel bad for him, but she really couldn't do it. The newbie had brought this all on himself.
"Go kick his ass, Lex!" She returned the thumbs up her sister had given her. "You totally got this."
Surprisingly enough, she had become the cheerleader. But for once, it was a position that Meredith could enjoy. She laughed as Lexie began her long march up to the plate.
"Go show them how it's done, Little Grey!"
And she knew Lexie would. Her sister had all the confidence in the world. Meredith didn't even need to watch her out there. So instead she directed her attention at Mark, the man who wanted so badly to join her family. His eyes were fixed on Lexie and Meredith could see each emotion that passed over his face.
Joy… pride… love. Always love.
A minute later, she heard the crack of the bat.
There you go! A happy, fun flashback just for you guys. I'll admit it, for a few days I considered walking away from this story, not permanently, just for a semi-lengthy hiatus. It takes a lot of time and when I didn't hear from anyone, I started to question if it was worth it. But then you guys started reviewing and here came my motivation again! So thanks for that! I really wanted to finish this chapter and it was nice to find some inspiration. A special shout out to our newbie readers. I've often wondered just how long it takes to read this story in one sitting. I'm so excited that you've discovered it.
Anyway, I enjoyed revisiting this period of the show, that time when Mark and Lexie were happy and it was Seattle Grace versus Mercy West. Plus, softball… at some point we needed to get back to Lexie and softball… And Meredith's protective streak. The idea of her basically knocking Reed into the dirt… that always made me laugh. But honestly, my favorite part of writing this chapter was probably Lexie's big speech at the beginning. I always loved her speeches on the show, the way she'd get so into things or just ramble on forever. Those are honestly a blast to work on now.
Alright guys, hope you had fun with this. For those of you curious about where we go from here… it'll probably go back to present day Mark. And yes, we'll get to Derek as well. I'll try to keep updating in a timely manner. In the meantime, please review and remind me that somebody out there is still reading this… or at least I hope you are… :)