Mark sighed, rubbing at his hand as he stood outside of Meredith and Derek's house. Derek opened up the door and smiled. "Hey. Thanks for coming, man." Mark nodded and stepped inside, letting Derek shut the door behind him.
"What did you want to talk about?" Mark asked, his arms crossed over his chest.
"I'm uh…I'm proposing to Meredith. And I was wondering if you'd help. I have all these candles and flowers and a giant bear and…I need help setting it up." Derek smiled at Mark. Mark nodded slowly, seeing the olive branch for what it was.
"Yeah. Sure, man. Congratulations."
He followed Derek up the stairs and chuckled at the bouquets and candles lining the hallway. "Going…a bit overboard, here, Derek. Don't you think?"
"It's romantic. I'm being romantic, Mark." Derek paused and glanced back at him, bending down to pick up a bouquet of roses. "Lexie must like a little romance too, right?"
Mark's jaw tightened. "If you're going to lecture me about Lexie, Derek—"
The other man shook his head. "I'm not. I swear. Mark…I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I made it seem like I didn't trust you. It was hard for me to believe that you had turned over a new leaf…but I didn't realize that the leaf is already turned. You're taking care of Sloan. You're dating Little Grey. Somehow you became a responsible adult and I didn't see it. I'm sorry."
An actual apology from Derek Shepherd was rare, and growing up with the man, Mark knew when to take it and run. Mark grinned at Derek and nodded, bending to pick up a bouquet. "Thanks, Derek. Now let's get this crap set up so you can propose!"
They had been working at the room for about fifteen minutes – Derek had just set the giant teddy bear at the foot of the bed. Mark was arranging one of the many bouquets of roses. "So…what did Sloan have to say?" Derek asked quietly. Mark looked up at him and shook his head, his brow furrowing. "About you and Lexie," Derek clarified.
Mark chuckled and shrugged, standing up from where he was crouching on the floor. "She's happy for us. Said that she could see it coming from a mile away – she kept asking both of us if we were sleeping with each other." He laughed, spreading his hands slightly. "Guess I'm predictable, even to my daughter who's only known me for a few months."
They were putting the finishing touches on the room when Derek's phone rang. Derek stepped out into the hall as Mark kept lighting candles. He sighed when he came back into the room. "I can't do this right now," he said, crossing to the other side of the room and grabbing some of the roses.
"What's wrong, man?"
"That was Addison. There's something wrong with Archer. They've airlifted him here and they're on the way to the hospital right now. I can't wait for Meredith to come home," Derek said, sighing.
Mark nodded. "I get it, man. Go to the hospital. I'll take care of all this."
Derek shook his head, blowing out the candles around him. "I can't just leave you to do it all."
"I've got it, man. Go. I'll see you later. Can't let an opportunity to see Archie in a hospital gown go to waste." Derek chuckled and shook his head, already heading towards the door.
"Thank you, Mark."
"Don't mention it."
Addison sighed as she watched Derek begin the surgery on her brother. "Ok, I need someone to distract me from what's going on down there." She turned to Callie and Mark and sat down. "What's new?"
Callie laughed. "Well you know what's new with me." Addie nodded. "Did you know that Mark has a sixteen-year-old daughter?"
Addie's eyes widened and her jaw dropped. "He what?"
"And she's pregnant."
Mark smirked and looked over to Addie. "Surprise!" he said dryly, waving his hands.
"Oh, and he's dating Little Grey."
Addison's eyes got even wider. Mark elbowed Callie. "Are you going to let me tell her anything myself?" he muttered.
"Well it's not like it's a secret. Everyone knows. And it's not like either of you cares, right?" Callie looked to Addison, who still looked like she was in shock. "Right? It's not like you still have feelings for Mark, do you, Addison?"
"No!" she sputtered out. "No! Of course not!"
Mark chuckled and held his hand over his heart. "Wow, I'm going to try not to be insulted with that answer, Red."
She shook her head and pursed her lips. "I didn't mean it like that, Mark. Just…wow. That's a lot to take in. That's…a pregnant teenage daughter? And Little Grey is…Meredith's little sister, I'm assuming?"
Mark nodded. "Yeah. Lexie. We've been seeing each other since New Year's."
"Wow. Wow, wow, wow…" Addison sat there, still processing the new information. She then looked to Callie and smacked her shoulder.
"Hey! What was that for?"
"You didn't tell me ANY of this! In all of those phone calls!"
Callie pouted as Mark tried to stifle his laughter. "I was sort of busy with my own stuff! Erica and Arizona and Mark was over there playing Mr. Mom, so I had no one else to talk to!" Just then, Callie's pager went off and she sighed as she read the page. "Ugh, I've got to go. I'll be back here as soon as I'm done."
She hugged Addie and left the gallery. Addie moved over so she was sitting next to Mark. He looked over at her and smirked as she shook her head. "You're going to be a grandfather?"
"Lexie thought it was hilarious too," he said, a soft smile on his face. Addie grinned and turned more fully towards him, shaking her head.
"So if Meredith was a twelve-year-old, what does that make her little sister? A pre-schooler?"
Mark chuckled and shook his head. "She's a woman. She's younger than I am, yeah, but…she's a lot smarter than I am. Sloan – that's my daughter – she happened to meet Lexie in the elevator. Lexie helped me with Sloan's appointments…helped me navigate this whole thing. I couldn't have done it without her. And she's great with Sloan. They've really developed a friendship."
Addie smiled. "Wow. You really do like her." Mark didn't say anything, but he nodded. "I'm happy for you, Mark. You seem…happy."
"I am, Addison. What about you? L.A. still treating you well?"
Addison laughed and shook her head. "L.A. is…something else. I don't know. I know I made the right decision leaving Seattle, but it's…I don't know. It's a lot sometimes." She paused, a smirk appearing on her face slowly. "Wait, your daughter's name is Sloan Sloan?"
Mark chuckled. "Sloan Riley. I don't know what her mom was thinking…I'd think she wouldn't want any sort of reminder of me, but…" He shrugged and Addison smiled softly at him.
"You're a good guy, Mark."
"You're not so bad yourself, Addie," he replied. She grinned and leaned her head against his shoulder, as his arm wrapped around her shoulders, squeezing her briefly.
Lexie was admiring her medal at the nurses' station when Mark approached her, already in his street clothes. "Hey," he said, a smile already spreading across his face.
"I won!" she exclaimed, holding up her medal and doing a little dance. Mark couldn't help but laugh and lean in for a kiss. Lexie indulged him for a moment, but then stepped away, still basically vibrating with energy. "I won the contest! I'm going to get to scrub in on Derek's craniotomy tomorrow! I'm going to get to hold the doomsday sucker!"
"The doomsday sucker, huh?" Mark asked, his eyebrows raised comically high as he indulged her in her excitement.
Her eyes narrowed. "Do you know what it is? Because I've never heard of it."
"I think it's just a massive sucker." A woman's voice sounded from behind Lexie and she spun around, coming face to face with Addison Montgomery. Lexie's eyes grew wide as Addison held out her hand. "Addison Montgomery. I'm guessing that you're Lexie?"
Lexie shook her hand and blushed as she nodded. "Yeah. I…I am. I'm Lexie. It's nice to meet you, Addison. I'm glad that everything is ok with your brother."
Addison smiled. "Derek's the best." Her attention shifted to Mark for a moment before looking back to Lexie. "We were all going to go grab a drink at Joe's if you wanted to join us, Lexie."
Lexie immediately shook her head and then blushed furiously. "Thank you! But I can't…I have charts and…I can't. But thank you for the invite." She looked over to Mark who was watching her curiously, his brow furrowed. "But hope that you have fun!" She gave Mark a soft smile and started heading down the hall.
She heard him say something to Addison and then heard his footsteps behind her. "Lex! Lex, wait up!" She slowed her rapid pace and sighed, knowing that he wasn't just going to let her go. "What's wrong?"
Lexie shook her head. "Mark, just go out to Joe's with your friends. It'll be fun! Don't worry about me."
She finally looked up at him. His arms were crossed in front of his chest and he was looking at her with concern. "That doesn't tell me why you looked like a deer in headlights when Addison asked you to go out with us."
Lexie let out a sharp bark of laughter. "I'm pathetic, remember, Mark? I'm just pathetic Lexie Grey and seeing Addison Montgomery in the flesh…I can't go out to drinks with you and your glamorous med school friends that live in L.A. now, Mark! Not when I've been running around the hospital all day and I'm…me."
Mark looked around and led her into a quieter hallway, shaking his head at her. "Lexie, what are you talking about?"
"I knew she was the best neo-natal surgeon in the country and that she was beautiful, but Mark…Mark, she's gorgeous. And she's your ex and…"
He slipped his hands down her arms in an attempt to calm her. "Lexie, she's Addison. She's my ex. But you're my girlfriend. You're Lexie. You have nothing to worry about. I get it if you don't want to go get a drink with us, but don't turn it down just because you're intimidated. I want you there if you want to be there."
She grinned and closed her eyes as he leaned forward and gently kissed her forehead. She shook her head softly. "Go and have a drink. Have fun with your friends. I'm fine. I promise."
His eyes narrowed and she laughed, pushing against his chest. "I promise. I'm fine. I just…I should go home. But I'm fine. Honestly."
Mark finally nodded and leaned towards her for another brief kiss. "Alright, fine. But seriously, if you change your mind…" he trailed off and Lexie grinned.
"I know where to find you."
After Mark left, Lexie wandered down to the cafeteria, grabbing some coffee and a muffin and making her way over to Meredith. Her sister was reading, but she looked up and smiled as Lexie sat down next to her. "Hey Lex."
"Hey," Lexie replied, sighing as she bit into her muffin. Meredith looked up from her reading and her eyes narrowed. "What?" Lexie asked, her mouth full of muffin.
"What's wrong with you? You're inhaling that muffin."
"Addison Montgomery is really beautiful."
Meredith laughed, putting down the paper and grinning at Lexie. "Feeling inadequate?"
Lexie nodded, taking another giant bite of muffin. "Big time."
"Oh yeah. I remember those days. When I first met her, she was wearing this beautiful black coat…it had fur and her hair was beautiful and her makeup was perfect. And she came up to me and introduced herself and then said, 'and you must be the woman who's been screwing my husband.' I had never felt so small in my life and that's saying something," Meredith confessed.
"Oh my god, Mer, that's terrible!"
Meredith laughed. "Tell me about it!" She shook her head. "But it turns out that Addison is actually…a really nice person. She's an amazing surgeon. And we've ended up…sort of being friends. It's weird. Last time she was in town was when Derek and I were broken up and he was dating Rose…she was furious with me that I was letting him go."
Lexie grinned softly. "My parents thought she was great. Dad said she looked like Catherine Deneuve – she's some French actress." Lexie sighed, leaning back in her chair and grabbing her coffee for a long sip. "I never expected to meet her. And it's not that I wouldn't have wanted to meet her, but…she's Mark's ex. He loved her, Meredith, and seeing her it's not hard to imagine why. And I'm just…sitting here in scrubs and inhaling a muffin."
Meredith chuckled and shook her head. "I totally get it, Lex. I spent the day listening to everyone singing the song that Derek apparently played on the guitar at their wedding. It's all about her. Mark apparently wrote a line about gross anatomy class and Addison's fine ass." She glanced over at Lexie, whose eyes were wide. Meredith winced. "Probably not helping. I'm just trying to say…I get being jealous of Addison Montgomery. I probably get it more than anyone else would. I didn't even know that Derek played the guitar, much less wrote love songs."
Meredith cocked her head to the side and fixed her sister with a look. "But she's not with Derek anymore. She's not with Mark anymore. Derek's with me. Mark's with you. And Addison lives in L.A. I really don't think that you have anything to worry about."
"I'm still going to destroy this muffin," Lexie murmured, taking another giant bite.
"Totally fair," Meredith said, reaching across the table to break off a piece of the muffin herself. Lexie glared and Meredith laughed, popping the bite into her mouth. "Derek wrote a song on the guitar and played it at their wedding. I deserve some muffin too."
Author's Notes: I'm slightly obsessed with the idea of Addie, Lexie, and Meredith all becoming friends. I have a couple of ideas brewing that sort of deal with their complicated relationship, but not really sure they'll ever see the light of day. :) Hope that you enjoyed this chapter! This story is definitely starting to wind down, but I still have plenty of Slexie ideas running around in my brain.