"My water broke."
That was not what he was hoping to hear. Don't get him wrong, they both had been waiting for their daughter to make her appearance. After all, Lexie was overdue. But out of all the times their daughter could have chosen to make her arrival, it had to be during one of the worst snow storms in Seattle.
"Lex," Mark whispered. He could see the fear in her eyes, the fear of the unknown. "We can't..." he trailed off.
Lexie let out a breath, tears coming to her eyes. "I know, we can't go anywhere. It's too dangerous." She said, her voice starting to tremble.
Mark walked over to her, placing his hand against her belly. "It's going to be alright."
"I'm scared, Mark." Lexie admitted. "We've both done gyne squad but not long enough to know what to do."
"I know, but we have to. We're finally going to be meeting our daughter." Mark said with a soft smile.
Lexie smiled, a breathtaking smile that made him weak in his knees every time he saw it. He guided her back over to the bed, watching as she gritted her teeth as a contraction peaked.
"You're doing great, Lex." Mark praised. He climbed into bed with her, pulling her into his arms.
She leaned forward, holding her breath as he rubbed her back. He didn't have much experience with women in labor but he knew what to do.
"Lexie, babe, lie down. We need to check and see how dilated you are." She complied, slowly removing her pants and underwear.
"I would say about 3 centimeters, Lex." He announced.
"That's it?" She breathed.
"I'm afraid so but it's okay. We can do this." He pulled the cover over her before climbing into bed.
"Do you think you could try and get some sleep?" He questioned.
"Maybe, they're pretty painful but they're gonna get a lot worse." Lexie said sadly.
"I know, I'm here, Lex. We can get through this." Mark promised.
Lexie looked down at the covers. Mark noticing something was wrong. Lexie was never good at hiding it.
"What's wrong, babe?" He whispered pushing a few strands of her hair behind her ears.
"What if...what if something goes wrong? What if our baby doesn't make it?"
Normally, Mark would be offended but he knew she was scared.
"I won't let anything happen to her. Or you. I'm not losing my family. You're not losing our beautiful baby girl we have been waiting to meet." Mark reassured her. "I know I don't have a lot of experience but I do have some."
"How are you so perfect?" Lexie lightly chuckled, more tears falling from her eyes.
He pulled her closer, she curled up burying her head into his chest as she drifted off to sleep listening to the sounds of the storm raging outside their window.
Mark didn't sleep. He sat there, staring at Lexie. Rubbing her back whenever he noticed a contraction coming on. He wished he could take this pain from her and this was only the beginning. He hated seeing Lexie in any sort of pain.
A knock at the door drew him out of his thoughts and he scrambled out of bed trying to answer it as quickly as possible before it woke Lexie up.
He opened the door, revealing Callie standing there with a babbling Sophia. He forgot, it was his night to have her.
"Shit," he muttered. "I'm sorry, Callie. I forgot it was my night to have her."
"Everything alright?" Callie asked.
"Lexie's in labor, I know I'm suppose to take sophia tonight but I..." he trailed off.
"Don't say anymore, I get it. I'll keep her tonight, you just focus on your family. Do you want me to get Arizona?"
Arizona was pediatrics, but it was as close as they would get. "Not right now, if we need her I'll come and get her." Mark said.
"No problem, good luck!" Callie smiled.
"Before you go, can I see her for a minute?" Mark asked, reaching out for Sophia. He took her into his arms, watching as she rested her head on his shoulder.
"Hopefully by tomorrow your sister will be here Sophia, then you two can grow up together and play." Mark said with a bright smile.
"Mark!" He heard his name being called. He gave Callie a look before handing Sophia back over.
"Gotta go." Mark whispered.
"Good luck." Callie said again as Mark ran back into the bedroom.
"You okay, Lexie?" Mark asked
"It just..." she whimpered. "Where were you?"
"I forgot tonight I was supposed to have Sophia. It's okay, Callie's gonna keep her tonight."
"We should go over there, so you can spend some time with Sophia and I can get my mind off this pain." Lexie said, trying to breathe deeply.
"Are you sure, Lex?" Mark asked cautiously.
"Yeah," Lexie said so they made their way across the hall.
"Hey guys! How are you feeling, Lexie?" Arizona asked as she answered the door.
"I'm okay." Lexie smiled. "Figured Mark could spend some time with Sophia and I could get my mind off the pain."
They spent the next few hours, Mark playing with Sophia and eventually putting her down for bed as Lexie stayed on the couch. Arizona stayed by her side as each contraction wracked her body.
By now, Lexie was miserable. She was leaning over the couch as she clutched onto Arizona's hand.
"You're doing great, Lexie." Arizona praised as Mark walked back into the room.
"We should check her again," Mark said. "It's been hours and the contractions are getting more intense."
"Okay, babe. You're at seven centimeters now, getting closer. Why don't we go home, get you more comfortable?" Mark suggested.
"Nothing is going to make me more comfortable, Mark." Lexie cried.
She looked over at Callie and back up to Mark. "Do you mind if Callie and I talk alone?"
Mark was confused but complied, following Arizona to the laundry room.
"Are you okay?" Callie whispered.
"What if I'm not a good mom?" Lexie blurted out. Callie smiled softly.
"You're just like your sister," she laughed. "I had this same talk with Meredith when she was pregnant with Bailey. Motherhood is hard, it's a challenge but your child gives new meaning to life and a sense of adventure. It's the best thing I have ever done." Callie sighed. "I knew I eventually wanted kids but never really thought I would have any so Sophia was a very pleasant suprise."
Lexie bit her lip. "What if I can't do this? I have no experience except for Sophia and I always feel like I'm messing up with her."
"Sophia loves you, Lex, and this baby will too but at least this baby will actually be yours. You're not messing up with either one of them, give yourself a little credit." Callie reassured her.
6 hours later
They sat in the water, Lexie sitting in between Mark's legs as she laid her head back onto his chest.
"You're doing great," Mark whispered softly into her ear. She moaned, the hot water feeling amazing. As another contraction peaked she gripped onto his thigh, trying to breathe through it.
"Almost there," she whispered. She looked up at Mark, the fear settling in. In just a short amount of time they would be parents and she didn't have a clue what she was doing.
Mark reached his arms around her massaging her stomach feeling as it contracted under his palms.
"Mark ...I think...I think I need to push," Lexie breathed.
"Okay, sweetheart, push when you feel you need to, okay? I'm gonna to get in front of you."
He went in front of her, putting both his hand on each one of her thighs.
"Push, Lex," he whispered as he saw a contraction peak. He couldn't help but stare in awe as she pushed, even if her hair was a sweaty mess against her forehead, even if she was the definition of exhaustion. She was still utterly beautiful to him.
"You're doing so good," Mark whispered. After the next two pushes Mark reached into the water.
"I can feel her," he laughed, tears streaming down his cheeks. He took Lexie's hand into his guiding it down, she could feel her child. Her little girl. She laughed, tears of her own streaming down her cheeks.
"Come on Lex, push again." Mark instructed. She gripped the side of the bathtub with surprising strength as she leaned forward. He watched, slowly as their child emerged out of her mother's body.
"I can't do this, Mark." She panted. "I cant..."
"Yes you can, you're so close, baby. Just a little longer."
"It hurts, Mark, it hurts so bad." Mark reached up, pushing her hair out of her face before trailing his fingers down her cheek.
"I know it hurts and I would take this pain away from you if I could. But you're strong, you're almost finished. Come on Lex, couple more pushes, can you do it for me? For her?"
Lexie let out a sob, nodding her head and when the next contraction came, she pushed releasing a small scream in the process. Her head was spinning, everything fading into the background as time passed and contractions kept coming.
"Okay, Lexie, you wanna catch her?" She nodded her head letting Mark guide her hands. She wrapped her fingers around her daughter and gave one final push as she felt the baby leave her womb. She was relieved.
As tears streamed down her cheeks she gently pulled the baby up and out of the water, placing her onto her chest as the baby released a loud scream that would surely wake the dead.
"Hey honey, you're alright," she whispered wrapping her arms around her daughter. She couldn't help the tears that came, she had done it. Mark quickly got to work cutting the cord before throwing a towel over the newborn.
"She's perfect," he whispered. Lexie couldn't help but nod in agreement, unable to find words.
The baby slowly calmed down as Lexie kissed her little cheek before breathing in her scent. The thick head of black hair the baby had tickling her nose.
"I love you," she whispered softly.
An hour later they were all curled up in bed after Arizona checked them both out. Mark was cradling his little girl in his arms as Lexie had her head on his shoulder staring at their daughter.
"You should get some sleep, Lex, it's been a long night." Mark said as he noticed Lexie yawning.
"I don't wanna close my eyes." She smiled.
"She's not going anywhere. I'll stay up and watch you both. You're exhausted, lay down, babe." Mark said. She sighed before laying down reaching over to stroke her daughters cheek.
Mark knew what would get Lexie to sleep and carefully laid their daughter next to her watching as she cuddled into her mother. Lexie wrapped her arm around the baby slowly falling asleep.
After ensuring Lexie had fallen asleep he gently picked up his daughter, climbing out of bed when the baby started fussing.
"Hey, there's no reason to fuss," he softly whispered placing a pacifier into her tiny mouth. He walked over to the window gently rocking her as she stared up at him.
"You're beautiful, you look just like your momma," he whispered. "Your mom is amazing. Even after all those times I was an ass she never gave up on me and now we have you. Take it easy on her, alright? She's new to all this. But I know she loves you so much and she's going to be overprotective of you. It may get annoying at times but...she loves us both."
He leaned down softly kissing her forehead. "Welcome to the world Lilly Alexandra Sloan." He whispered.