Disclaimer: I do not own Grey's Anatomy.
Lexie had decided that morning that she was not going to be the one making all the compromises anymore. Her conversation with Meredith the night before had given her a newfound sense of self worth, and she wasn't going to allow Mark Sloan to dictate their life together on his own anymore. It was Mark's actions and decisions that had put them in this predicament in the first place, and she was not going to be the one to pay the price for them.
Mark had just finished his first surgery of the day and was writing in his patient's chart at the nurse's station when Lexie approached him.
"We need to talk." She said, before she could lose her nerve. Mark followed her into the nearest empty On-Call room. Hearing Lexie lock the door behind them, Mark couldn't help but smirk. "I take it you missed me last night?"
It took every ounce of restraint Lexie had not to smack the grin off his face. "No." She replied, before taking a deep breath, preparing herself for what was about to happen, the things she had to say. "When Sofia is discharged, you need to leave the hospital."
Mark looked at her confused. "Of course I'll leave when Sofia and Callie are discharged!"
Lexie swallowed. "Mark, that isn't what I meant. I'm saying that you need to leave when SOFIA is discharged. Not Callie and Sofia. I know that Callie is your best friend and Sofia's mother. Believe me, I'm going to have to remember that for the rest of my life. But Callie isn't your girlfriend. She's with Arizona."
Mark was shocked. "Do you really think I'm going to leave the mother of my child while she's in the hospital?"
The last thing Lexie wanted to do was cry. But this had to be done. "In case you've forgotten, I'm the mother of your child as well. And yet you've barely been involved in my pregnancy at all! You haven't even been to an appointment! Hell, you didn't even show up at my baby shower! You spend all your time with Callie and Sofia and then you work! And all I get of you is falling asleep in an On-Call room!"
"Callie and Sofia almost died! Of course I've been focusing my attention on them."
"But they are out of danger now." Lexie responded furiously. "They are healing. They will be fine."
Lexie took a deep breath. "You need to set boundaries with Callie. You claim that you love me and want to be with me, but honestly Mark? Why the hell should I believe you? If you love me, then why have I spent my pregnancy almost entirely alone? Why did you not fight for me and our son? Why have you spent all your time with Callie and Sofia? Sofia is your daughter, but Callie is not your wife. She is not your girlfriend. When she was in the accident that almost killed her and Sofia, she wasn't with you. She was with Arizona. She is with Arizona. They are getting married. Of course you should stay with Sofia while she is in the hospital, you are her father! But you don't have any obligation to spend the night here with Callie once she is released. Callie isn't going to die. She is recovering. But if you actually love me, if you actually want to be with me, then you DO have an obligation to me. You have an obligation to your son."
"Lexie, I can't leave either of them, they're both my family." Mark whispered, silently begging for her to understand.
"So am I." Lexie stated, utter defeat lacing her tone. "I'm done Mark. I'm done making the sacrifices and the compromises so that we can work. We are in this because of you, so you need to be the one to man up and take responsibility. This is my life too, and I'm not going to give up the things that I want so that your life can be easier."
As she left the dark On-Call room, Lexie turned back to Mark. "When I found out I was pregnant, I had this entire life I pictured for us. We'd get married, build an amazing house on the land next to Meredith and Derek's dream house, and get a dog. I would finish my residency and do my nuero fellowship here under Derek, and then become an attending. We'd have two more kids, maybe three, because I know how much you've always wanted a big family. And I was so excited. I was so happy." She swallowed back the sob that threatened to escape. "But that isn't going to happen, and quite frankly, I don't know if I even want it to anymore." Then she left, and she didn't look back.
There was nothing left. Nothing more for her to fight for. Mark Sloan, the love of Lexie Grey's life, was reduced to nothing more than the father of her unborn son. And perhaps that was for the best, Lexie told herself. But she couldn't really believe that.