Chapter Thirty-Six

"We're always looking for ways to ease the pain. Sometimes we ease the pain by making the best of what we have. Sometimes it's by losing ourselves in the moment." –Meredith Grey

"That's it?"

April Kepner stood on the edge of the cliff, seeming rather dissatisfied. She wiped the sweat from her hairline and squinted out over the valley below. The trees were a magnificent, dark green, a shade you could only ever find in nature. But April clearly wasn't impressed.

"The view?" She cocked her head to one side. "That's the prize?"

"Well the view and… the journey. It's all about the journey, of course."

Alex was doing his best motivational speaker routine, refusing to give up on his day-long joke. Meredith knew better than to buy into any of it, but April was actually listening, confused, but still listening all the same.

"I mean you felt it, right?" Alex furrowed his brow as he reached for a nearby tree. He rubbed his fingers over the bark. "The breeze… the fresh air… The whole being one with nature thing…" he stumbled, trying to make it good. "That's really its own reward, isn't it?"

Being one with nature?!

Meredith bit her lip and hurriedly trained her gaze on the ground. She was making every effort to keep her face blank, but Alex was pushing it. The city boy, the kid who'd literally grown up in a bar, was extolling the virtues of fresh air for godsake…

"Did you eat one of those weird berries?" April was at least smart enough to question this madness. "'Cuz Dr. Shepherd said those were poisonous."

"Not sure you need to call him Dr. Shepherd out here."

Avery threw his backpack onto the ground and then it came… the long pause… The corners of his mouth went up as he glanced over at Alex, unable to help himself.

"Unless that's part of the wilderness challenge?"

No one said anything as his words carried across the overlook. But there was a mischievous glimmer in his eyes, Meredith could see it. And once again, Alex's body was shaking with laughter. He folded his arms low across his stomach, struggling to hide it, but already April had figured it out. Her mouth dropped open. Her cheeks turned red and suddenly she was ready to murder him.

"You jerk!"

She gave Alex a vicious shove, but that only seemed to make him laugh harder. Her expression, part embarrassment, part horror, was like a drug to him. And Alex simply couldn't get enough of it.

"Oh come on…" He fought to catch his breath as the tears began to spill out. "It was too easy. And you're the one who bought into it. Like really, really bought into it."

"You're an idiot, you know that?" April spat out the sentence with particular venom then shifted her fury over to Avery. "And you, I can't believe you!"

Meredith hastily stepped out of her path. She wasn't getting drawn into this, especially not when she was perfectly innocent. April could be scrappy when things didn't go according to plan.

"You should have told me!" She launched her oversized backpack at Avery's chest. "I just spent the entire day carrying a freakin' tent around!"

"Seriously?" He tested the weight of the bag. "Why?"

"In case I had to survive out here on my own!" The answer was obvious enough to her. But as Avery began to laugh, her exasperation pushed all that internal logic aside.

"Oh shut up!" She jabbed her finger at him. "If this had been a challenge, you would have come crawling over, freezing to death. And you would have been begging to be in my tent! Beg-ging!"

That last part sent Alex into another fit of giggles. Meredith winced. It was easy to figure out what would come next.

"Dude," he snorted, right on cue. "That's one way to make a move."

April flushed again as she picked up on his insinuations. Alex always knew what buttons to push, and this button… well it was a particularly good one, guaranteed to get results. April clenched her fingers into tight fists, her nails biting into her palms. She stopped just short of charging at him, but it was easy to see that she desperately wanted to push him over the cliff.

"God, you're an ass!" she snapped. "And you wonder why that OB refuses to go out with you!"

Oooh… there, she'd found it, a button of her own to push. Meredith glanced back at Derek. It was as if they were witnessing some epic boxing match and April had just pulled herself off the ropes.

"Oh man, she still hasn't called?"

And here came Avery, apparently deciding to switch his allegiance. It was probably a wise move, since April was ready to take someone down.

"Seriously, how many times have you asked that girl out?"

"What the hell's it to you?" Alex scowled at his friend turned traitor. "Aren't you busy flashing your pretty green eyes at Sloan these days?"

"Sounds like you're avoiding the question …" April took a step forward, a smirk slowly spreading across her face. Smug was not a great look for her, but she proudly wore it all the same.

"Come on, dude," Avery prodded him. "How many times? You might as well tell us, 'cuz it's not like we can't find out on our own."

"Shut up." Alex was suddenly tight lipped, as Avery flashed a smile at April.

"I bet it's seven… at least."

"At least."

"Maybe ten, you think?"

"Could be fifteen even…"

Meredith sighed. There was no mistaking April's glee. She was finally winning this battle, which meant that this could go on for hours. So much for the peace and quiet Meredith had been craving. They might as well have been back at the house.

"Our kids," she murmured, leaning back against her husband. "Aren't you proud?"

"You have no idea."

Derek kissed her gently on the top of her head. She could feel his chest rise and fall as he chuckled. Of course, this amused him. The dads were always the ones who found this crap funny.

"Hey, that OB thinks I'm hot!" Alex was still trying to act casual under Avery's barrage of questions, but his protests smacked of desperation. "She's probably calling me right now, but since I don't have any freakin reception-"

"It's the woods, Dr. Karev," Derek spoke up, wanting to be heard over all of that squabbling. "That's why we came out here."

"Yeah, well it's also why I'm not getting laid."

"Then why didn't you stay home?" April wasn't done taking her shots yet. "I'm sure if you'd stayed home, she would have called, right? Just like last night and the night before that?"

"Why are you so interested in this anyway?" Alex was aiming to make her squirm now. It was his last line of defense. "That's pretty weird, Apes."

"Ugh, don't flatter yourself!"

"Hey, you're the one tracking who I'm hooking up with-"

"I think it's more who you're not hooking up with."

"At least I have options-"

"Would you guys just shut up?!"

Everyone spun around as Lexie abruptly cut into their bickering. Hers was the last voice anyone had expected to hear and Meredith realized with no small amount of embarrassment, that she'd actually forgotten all about her sister. Lexie hadn't said one word since they'd reached the top of the hill, so she'd basically blended right into the background.

Now though, she gestured out towards the forest below them. As she did, her mood seemed to change. She went from annoyed to enchanted almost instantaneously.

"You're missing it," she said softly. "It's amazing and you're missing it."

She was right… It was amazing, extraordinary even.

And it might have been nice to pause and appreciate that, to really listen to what Lexie was saying, but Alex, he had no such proclivities. He took a few cautious steps towards the edge then peered over with genuine disinterest.

"It's a bunch of trees," he mumbled. "There were trees back at camp."

"What happened to being one with nature?" April put her hands on her hips.

She was genuinely upset that Lexie had interrupted them, throwing off the momentum she'd had. Worse yet, Alex appeared to be over this fight. He moved towards a boulder off to their left, then sat and rested against its cool surface.

"Yeah, okay…" He closed his eyes, refusing to give her the win she'd desired. "Just let me know when you're done with that…"

There was nothing left for April to say and Lexie smiled as the group gradually fell silent around her. She raised her hands and rested them on the back of her neck then leaned into the breeze. Her braided pigtails made her appear so much younger, and that smile... Meredith was happy to see it again. Last year had been tough. But today… maybe today they were starting anew.

Meredith surveyed the rest of the group. Having given up on Alex, April had found a comfortable spot under a tree and was sorting through the contents of her backpack. She pulled out a granola bar then handed an extra one over to Avery. Well… at least that relationship had survived the day…

"See?" Derek drew her attention back. "Worth the hike, right?"

"Yeah…" She sank a little further into his arms, letting the roommate drama drift off her radar. "Yeah, I think so."

Derek was right… Lexie was right. This place was spectacular, the perfect spot to lose herself, to just get back to a simpler life… just for a second. It was easy enough-

"Jeez, how far did we come?" Alex chose that instant to speak up again. His eyes popped open and he scanned the horizon. "Like miles wise? We're gonna get back before dinner, right?"

"Alex, shut up…" Meredith groaned.

"Hey, I'm hungry, okay?"

"Well then maybe you should have eaten something before we left."

"I did," he insisted. "And then we walked across half the damn state, so guess what? I'm hungry again."

"You'll survive…"

Alex truly was the petulant teenager of the group. Meredith rolled her eyes impatiently.

"If you can get through a twelve hour surgery then I think you can handle a few hours of hiking."

"Yeah… whatever."

Alex frowned then propped himself up on his elbows, just enough to peer into April's bag. Unfortunately, she wasn't in a forgiving mood. She glowered at him then made a big show of chewing her granola bar… swallowing, retrieving the tiny crumbs from the wrapper and eating those too.

"Oh come on…" he muttered.

"Jeez, suck it up Karev," Lexie was too enamored with the view to turn his direction. But she too was growing sick of his whining. "You really want to miss this?"

She gestured out past the ledge, a little more forcefully this time.

"All this? Just so you can eat?"

"Well dinner beats hanging around here doing nothing…" he goaded her. "So yeah, I think I can miss it."

"Well too bad," she said stubbornly. "Because we're not leaving."

As if to prove her point, she sat down, then scooted right up to the edge of the cliff, dangling her legs over the rock face. It was only a couple of hours before sunset and a lovely orange glow hung over the valley.

"Lex," Meredith started to inch her direction. There was another clearing not too far below her, but then came a long and very steep drop. "I'm not sure you have to be quite that close."

"She's fine," Derek wrapped his arms around his wife, pulling her back again. It was as if he could sense her blood pressure rising. "Lexie's fine… Everyone's fine. Just stop worrying and enjoy this. Who knows when we'll get out here again."

It was certainly a persuasive argument… Meredith rolled her shoulders, took a deep breath. She needed to stop stressing… needed to stop everything really. It had been so long since she'd actually relaxed. In the last year alone, they had survived the shooting, survived relationship break ups and petty squabbles… and they'd found this gorgeous place and she needed to take a second and soak it all in. The smell of the trees, the breeze that tickled the back of her neck… her husband's sheer happiness at all of it. Hell, even April had embraced the serene atmosphere. She was leaning against her oversized bag, peeling an orange, seemingly happy for once.

"Look…"

Meredith heard Derek whispering in her ear.

She shifted her gaze out over the valley, expecting to see an eagle or maybe a deer in the distance. But that wasn't what had caught his attention. Instead, he was subtly motioning at Lexie. Avery had taken a seat next to her and as they watched he crept closer and closer until their hands were nearly touching.

"Oh…"

Meredith didn't know what else to say. She couldn't decide whether to be happy about this or filled with anxiety. She was all for taking Lexie's mind off of Mark, but still…

"I'm not sure Casa Grey can handle more drama."

"I think she's too in love with the view right now anyway," Derek murmured.

And it was true, Lexie had barely even noticed Avery's presence. She'd retreated into a world all her own. She was totally silent, fixated on the forest.

Meredith looked over at Derek, so thankful that he had brought them out here. This is exactly what they'd needed, just a few days where they could be free of the hospital and all the craziness that surrounded that place.

With any luck, they'd begin a family this year, have real children to replace the twenty-somethings that had somehow taken over their house. And Lexie would find someone new, someone to help her get over Mark. Maybe that would be Avery or maybe it wouldn't, but either way she'd move on. And maybe that OB would actually go out with Alex. And April... maybe April would loosen up a bit… if that was even humanly possible.

"Alright, I'm out."

Alex suddenly jumped to his feet, instantly shattering Meredith's perfect moment. Before she could even lodge a protest, he'd shouldered his pack and set off down the hill.

"Wait, Alex!" Lexie called after him. "Hold on, we can't go yet!"

But Avery was already scrambling to his feet, hoping that Lexie wouldn't notice his proximity. He too grabbed his bag, then reached down for April.

"You think we can go a little slower on the way back?" he asked, switching on the charm. "Since there's no more challenge to worry about?"

"Sure." April dusted off her jeans. "But just for that, we're switching packs."

"Seriously?"

"Hey, you're the one who went along with that asinine story." She patted her friend on the shoulder as she grabbed Avery's bag. "And this is how you're gonna repay me."

Avery let out a breath as April marched past him. He wasn't exactly thrilled with this plan, especially since April's lightened pack actually let her move faster. But Meredith had to give the guy credit. He hefted her bag without further comment then started off after her… Which left only Lexie sitting there on the ledge.

"But we just got here." She watched the retreating figures with utter dismay. Eventually, her gaze traveled over to Meredith. "We came all this way and we barely even got to enjoy it."

"Sorry, Lex."

Meredith waved her over, albeit reluctantly. It wasn't wise to get separated from the rest of the group. Still… Lexie wasn't exactly in a hurry to move. She was firmly rooted in place, unwilling to leave her tiny slice of paradise.

"Come on, Little Grey," Derek went over and held his hand out, then gently pulled Lexie to her feet. "If they go back alone, you know they'll get lost."

"You promise?"

She didn't seem too upset at that prospect. Meredith shook her head as she exchanged glances with Derek. Lexie Grey… always their most sensitive child.

"They might also starve," Derek reminded her. This managed to coax a smile out of Lexie. "Well not April. April could probably be out here for days. But certainly Alex."

Lexie nodded in agreement as they finally made their way down the hill.

"Alex would totally starve."

Well there ya go! Yes, I'm back. I know it's been a long while guys, but work has kept me plenty busy again. To those of you who were asking, no, I haven't abandoned this story. Depending on whether people are still around to read (and hopefully review ;) it, I plan to continue. So if you're here, let me know so I can decide whether or not to proceed! While you're at it, I'd love to hear what you think of this chapter or the story overall if you're a new reader.

As for this chapter… well the plan is to stick with the camping trip for a little while longer. The Meredith and Derek fans get to see their favorite couple in a happier time, plus I always found it fun when the whole "family" was together, causing all kinds of problems. They argue and fight and make each other crazy, but clearly they all care about each other.

The next chapter will bring us a little peek into Lexie's feelings about Mark again. Obviously, they're not together at this point, but there are definitely some underlying feelings to explore. So assuming people are still around reading this, that's where we're heading next!

Thanks guys!