Warning: None. Rated T.

A/N: As promised…Q&A.

MG – They are agents…but a job like a mobster, can anyone's hands ever be clean? We shall see. As far as how they ended up within the FBI…that will be addressed in an upcoming chapter, so you will get that answer shortly. In this story, Lexie and Meredith are full sisters. Ellis and Thatcher are their parents. No affair. As far as the other female doctor…she is announced in this chapter.

L3Writing- Who did indeed…maybe Meredith is just as resourceful and found out on her own…we shall see. ;)

Thanks again everyone for your reviews. It let's me know if I should keep going…so I am glad you are liking it!

Chapter 5

Lexie

Lexie realized she couldn't put the conversation off with Mark and Derek any longer. This was a conversation they were not going to let go so easily. She once again walked into the room, meeting both of their expectant and greedy gazes.

"Derek, shut the door," Mark demanded.

Lexie tried not to feel intimidated by the fact that she was now in a closed space with two men that played mobsters by day and were apparently Special Agents of the FBI the other remaining time. Not to mention, they could single handily have her medical license stripped and send her to jail. She couldn't do jail. She wasn't made for jail. Meredith was right in some sense…she would be eaten alive by the kind of criminals that called that place home.

She decided she had to get in front of this and attempt one more time to deny, and back her way out before they all went down a path they couldn't come back from.

"Alright, listen. I was in the research room, but that was earlier in the night. You have no proof that just because I admit that I was in that room earlier in the night that I was there…"

Derek arched his brow. "There when what, Dr. Grey?"

Crap on a cracker!

She pressed her lips together. "I did not do anything. Should I be contacting my lawyer?" she asked.

Mark groaned. "Derek…"

Lexie looked to him, seeing that his pointer finger and thumb were pressing against the bridge of his nose. She was worried that all of this additional stress and excitement was going to undue everything she had done to save him in the first place.

"As your doctor, I am going to have to insist that we cease this conversation. I don't think I need to tell you how critical a brain bleed is, and the concerns should we regress," she advised.

"I'm fine, Lexie. As much as you seem to want to avoid this conversation, that's not going to happen," Mark replied.

"Contrary to what you might believe, Mark, I do not have to answer to you or Derek," she said.

Derek smirked, pulling a similar looking badge from behind his back. "Considering that you already know, I can assure you, this badge says you do," he affirmed.

Lexie let out a long-exasperated breath. "How much trouble am I in?" she asked.

"You aren't in any trouble," Mark intervened bringing the conversation back to him. "But you need to understand that you just put us, our agency, and even yourself in a very difficult position."

"I'm a doctor. Keeping secrets is sort of my specialty," she argued.

"Lexie, we aren't talking about keeping a medical procedure a secret. We are talking about the fact that you knowing this very—top secret type information—could very well put you and our lives at risk," Mark clarified.

The idea that Mark thought that she would freely just go and tell anyone what she had heard and possibly put their lives at risk, hurt her deeper than she thought possible. It shouldn't have bothered her, nor should she care, but it had—it did.

"You would think I would do or say anything that could potentially bring harm to either one of you?" she asked.

As hard as she tried to decipher what he was thinking, she couldn't get a read on it. His face betrayed nothing. "No, I don't think that," Mark answered. "But you have to understand, when time passes, inhibitions get lowered or possibly taken away, things can come out. Things that could be said or done that if in the wrong place or at the wrong time could get you or us killed," he emphasized.

It was hard for her to stop the response from coming from her mouth. Her defense mechanism once again kicking in that she was this weak person that was unable to do anything right. She wasn't sure at this point, if she did know how not to react that way, anymore.

"I can assure you; I have no reason to ever want to see or talk about this again as soon as I can get you discharged and all of you out of this hospital," she said sharply.

Something flashed in the lighter blue of his eyes, but before she could understand what that was, he had masked his expression. "I had no idea our presence made you this uncomfortable," he said.

She tensed, no longer being able to look at him, her eyes going everyone in the room but his, or what she thought she saw in a wounded expression on his face. It wasn't like that would make any sense. Why would Mark Sloan even possibly be upset by anything she would say?

The fact that she had just found out that he was an undercover FBI agent, made her feel more relaxed. Made her feel relieved actually, that having been attracted to a man that she had originally thought was a criminal was no longer a criminal at all. He was the good guy.

Yet, you still treated him like the opposite, she thought.

"The fact remains, Lexie, Mark and I have been undercover for the last seven years. Before that, we spent two years crafting this entire operation, identity, you name it, to get where we are. You need to understand how important it is that there can't be anything that could jeopardize us," Derek said.

"Then maybe you should be careful where you talk about your operation," she mumbled.

She relaxed slightly at both of the men trying to hide their grins. She didn't know what caused her to suddenly be so bold in front of the both of them. Maybe it was the fact that she was worried she could possibly lose everything, or maybe it was that she was dying to prove that she was tough enough, strong enough, to handle anything thrown her way.

"Lexie, please, I need you to cooperate with us," Mark spoke again.

As she looked over at him, she hated that she was being difficult. She really wanted to believe them. That they were just about wanting to help her and make sure that everyone was protected, but she had been let down before. She had gotten comfortable when people she cared about said they were only doing things for her best interest, but under the disguise they were only doing what was more helpful for them and helped their best interests.

"Are you going to put me in jail?" she asked.

"No," Mark answered.

"Use some top-secret method to erase what I learned from my brain?"

"No. Mostly, because that doesn't even exist."

"Fine," she mumbled. "I heard everything between your meeting with Agent Summers and Agent Young."

"How?" Derek asked.

She bit her lip. "There's a vent in the research room. Your voices carried," she answered not being completely truthful. She wasn't going to admit that she went out of her way to listen to the information.

Derek looked back to Mark. "We're compromised. We can't discuss anything here," he concluded his tone turning concerned.

She closed her eyes and sighed. "No, you're not. No one else was in the room."

"At that time, but that doesn't mean someone else hasn't been in there previously when they may have been talking, even without me," said Derek.

"No, you're not, because you have to be right on top of the vent to hear anything," she clarified, her eyes now trained on her shoes.

She could feel both sets of eyes on her, and she cringed inwardly. She could take Derek's brooding and steely gazes, as she mentioned before, he came across like a big brother to her, but Mark's penetrating gaze was a completely different story. She locked down that feeling and decided she needed to throw away the key.

"Derek, what did she hear?" Mark asked.

She lifted her head and risked a glance up in his direction, thinking that since he was talking to Derek, that his attention would be on him, but she couldn't be more wrong. She looked away, picking at the invisible lint on her coat and scrubs, while Derek gave Mark a very thorough overview of what she had heard.

"Shit!" Mark muttered.

"Listen, I've already told you, I don't have any interest in what you guys do. I am just here to help you medically. I don't care about the operation, or about this Sergei Anatoly—"

"Don't ever say his name again," Mark exclaimed, a tremulous note in his voice.

Lexie actually took a step back at the murderous look on his face. Mark's hands clenched into his fists on his lap, his eyes turning from the soft blue when the light in the room would hit them at the perfect angle, to a shade that was almost as dark as night.

"I—I…"

"He's a dangerous man," Derek spoke up, feeling how thick the tension in the room had become.

"W—was he the one that did this to you?" she asked, her voice small and timid.

She didn't need him to answer verbally, or even with a nod. The gleam in his eyes at the question told her the answer had been yes. She had taken extensive psychology as part of the medical degree. She took a few additional as part of her elective courses, the study of the mind always being interesting to her. She worried if he would suffer from PTSD or have lasting effects. Something as traumatic as this would no doubt leave some sort of mark on him—no matter how strong he might be.

"Okay, she said," her tone turning placid. The last thing she wanted to do was upset him anymore. "What do you want me to do? What can I do to help?"

That sudden urge to want to get that haunted look out of his expression and protect him, was burning inside of her again. If this man was as dangerous as both of them were saying, she didn't want to do anything that would hurt them or put their lives in anymore danger then needed.

His eyes flickered, and the haunted look was gone, his determined and controlled expression back in its place. "Nothing. You need to get far away from us as possible. You can't mention a single word of this to anyone. Not anyone. If you do, I swear the entire weight of the FBI will come down upon you. Including myself," he warned.

She was momentarily shocked at how quickly his entire demeanor had changed. He was looking at her like she was the enemy. That she was the problem.

"B—but I can help," she pleaded. "You said it yourself, you both might be watched and you can't meet with your lead agents. I can help with passing messages and getting you information."

Mark's expression turned to alarm. "No!"

"Mark, maybe she has a point. She—"

"I said, no," he interjected with a finality. He turned back towards her. "You can leave, Dr. Grey."

"But…"

"Leave now," he demanded, without looking at her again. "And do not mention another word of this until Derek comes to see you."

Her eyes narrowed into slits. It was easier to give him her meanest look then show him that him turning that cruelty that she knew he must use everyday as the mobster he pretended to be, hurt her feelings.

"Fine," she relented, as gruffly as she could muster without her voice breaking. She turned on her heels and stormed out of the room.

Lexie found herself in the nearest bathroom, splashing cold water all over her face. After leaving Mark's room, she was hot. She was mad. Madder at herself in letting him dismiss her in the way that he had.

Of course, everyone thought she was unable to handle anything, why not a Special Agent of the FBI as well. Mark had thought she was more than capable when she had her hands in his brain and literally saved him from bleeding out and becoming a vegetable, but she wasn't smart or savvy enough to deal with keeping a secret.

She wasn't naïve to the situation or how important this was. She understood how dangerous it could be for all parties if this information was to get out. She wasn't about to admit to him or Derek that it wasn't like she had a personal life of her own. She didn't have a boyfriend that she would go blabbing too—not like she would anyway—and she very rarely even drank because she never wanted to put herself in the situation where she wouldn't be able to operate in a moment's notice.

She was the epitome of the kind of person that was always in control. Always on it. Why had he gotten so upset when she had mentioned wanting to help? Was it because of this Sergei Anatoly guy? The one who had done this harm to him?

Her day had gone to hell in a handbasket. Now she had both her sister and her patient extremely mad at her and it was only early morning with at least five more hours on her shift before it would be over. What was worse, was that she was due to go back in his room whether Mark liked it or not, and do another exam and check of his CT scan.

"Just great," she muttered, to her reflection in the mirror.

The sound of the toilet flushing behind her, made her pause. She hadn't realized that she might not have been alone. The door opened, and Lexie's eyes went wider.

"April, I'm sorry, I didn't realize anyone was in here," she said.

Dr. April Kepner walked up to the sink next to her, reaching for the soap dispenser and turned on the water facet. "No problem," she answered sweetly, as she rubbed her soapy hands together.

April had been in the same attending class as her big sister Meredith. The pretty red-head with small feminine features, was the attending and trauma surgeon here at Seattle Grace. She was also engaged to be married to Jackson Avery. She liked April a lot, and out of any of them, she found herself talking or seeking her out the most.

April had gone to medical school with Jackson and initially been the best of friends. More so, because outside of her friendship with Jackson, her only other relationship had been with Jesus. She had been the talk of all the interns when she had first gotten here, because of the fact they made fun of her wanting to remain celibate until she got married.

Around Jackson, no one made fun of her. Everyone had thought they had the more brother and sisterly vibe going, until the night of their boards, when she had a couple of drinks to settle her nerves for the big test, and instead ended up telling Jackson she had been in love with him from the start. She kissed him, and apparently the rest was history. They had been together since. They were planning on getting married in the next couple of months, and no one had been more surprised than Lexie when they gave her an invitation to the wedding.

"Wait, what are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be off today?" Lexie asked.

April shut off the water, and pulled a couple of paper towels from the dispenser. "I was. Meredith called and said you were wrapped up in some extremely top-secret patient, and asked if I could help cover the ER with her."

Lexie groaned. "I'm sorry."

April's brows puckered. "What do you have to be sorry about? It happens. Besides, all I heard is that you have done a remarkable job," she said.

Lexie followed suit, grabbing a few paper towels from the dispenser wiping her hands and her face. "Really?"

April nodded. "I know you can't say anything, and I am not asking you too…but I had heard it was a pretty serious case that came in."

"It was," Lexie agreed. "Pretty serious brain bleed, and I am sure Jackson told you about his handiwork."

April's smile widen. She did that anytime anyone mentioned her fiancé. Partly because she was so in love with him, and also because she had always been proud of the work that he does in plastics.

"He sure did. Well, I better get out there and give Grey a hand," she said.

"Thanks for helping."

"Hey Lexie," April said, turning back once she had the door halfway opened. "I feel like I can say this, because, well, you and I seem to be a lot alike…don't get in your head too much. You're a remarkable doctor and a pretty great person."

The words made her beam. More so, because the way April had said them was as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. So, why couldn't she seem to think about herself like that.

"Thanks, April."

She looked back at her watch and realized she had about thirty more minutes before she had to go back and do her second check on Mark. She didn't know what kind of mood she would find him in when she went in there, but it wasn't going to stop her from doing her job.

For now, she was going to try and repair the other relationship she had wounded earlier in the night, and go and find her sister.

"Can we talk?" Lexie asked, having found her sister in the ER, attending to a basic cut that even a nurse could stitch properly.

"I'm kind of busy doing general things," she said, brushing her off, making sure to accent her specialty like it was a terrible thing.

"Mer, please."

Meredith sighed, her shoulders sagging. She pulled off her gloves and beckoned for one of the interns to take over and clean the cut.

"Let's go to one of the private trauma rooms over here," Meredith suggested.

Lexie followed along waiting until they were both in the privacy of the room, the door shutting behind Meredith before she finally decided to come clean and tell her sister the truth.

"I'm sorry for snapping at you earlier," Lexie said.

"You embarrassed me," Meredith added.

"That wasn't my intention. I was just trying to think of the well-being of my patient," she defended.

"And I was trying to think of you."

"Mer, I love you. I really do, but please let's not pretend you came in there with any reason of wanting to protect me. You came in there because you didn't like being left out."

"Is that what you really think?" Meredith asked uncertainly.

It was now or never. She always swept how she was truly feeling under the rug. She never wanted to cause a rift between them. She loved her big sister, and never wanted to do anything to hurt her feelings or make her think ill of her, but constantly swallowing her true feelings was starting to make her resent their relationship, and then cause her to lash out in the middle of a patient's room with years of unresolved feelings.

"I do," she replied.

Her sister hesitated for a beat. "How could you think that?"

"Because it's the truth," Lexie cried. "Mom has always favored you, because you were born first. Because you had showed your interest in medicine first. Then, when you decided you wanted to follow her footsteps into general medicine, it was as if it was you two against the world, and no one gave a crap about me," she admitted.

"That's not true."

Lexie grunted. "Yes, it is. Mom never asked about my interest and whether I wanted general. She never bothered to teach me about general cases, or ask if I wanted to observe her cases. She never bothered to make sure that I got all the good cases so I could be better than anyone in my internship class."

"She's not a mind reader, Lexie. If you had interest in general, all you had to do was ask," Meredith defended.

Lexie ran her hands through her hair in frustration. "See, there you go again. It's Ellis and Meredith against the world, and no room for the poor baby, Lexie Grey," she said sardonically. "And don't tell me that all I had to do was ask, because you never did," she added.

Meredith went to open her mouth to deny, but then quickly closed it. Lexie could see the moment she had realized that she never did have to ask her mother to ever show any effort or interest in her wanting to better herself in medicine while she always did.

"I guess your right, I never did have to ask. She was always just there to quiz me or talk to me about it."

"Mom and dad used to fight about it," she divulged. "Dad would see how much I would apparently watch the two of you. I would hear them argue in the bedroom that he wished she would show more interest in my interest in medicine, but she would always say that, whereas you were meant for this job, mine was a passing phase."

She tried to keep the vulnerability out of her voice, but it was hard once she let the flood gates open. She really wanted to have a stronger relationship with her big sister, and it wasn't fair to keep her in the dark about her feelings or hold her resentment that she sometimes felt for her mother against her sister.

Meredith's look turned hopeful. "It got better though, when you went to medical school, right?"

She swallowed, but shook her head back and forth. "Not really. There was always some excuse. I wouldn't be able to handle the gore. I wouldn't be able to handle the pressure. So, one day…I just stopped talking to her about it all together." She paused and turned to sit on top of the gurney. "I always loved the mind, and when I figured that no matter what I did, even selecting general as my specialty, that it wasn't going to make her any prouder of me. So, I went into neurosurgery. Because it interested me, and because I wanted to prove to her, you, and myself that I am that good enough."

She saw the light leave Meredith's eyes. "You thought I didn't think you could be a surgeon or that you weren't good enough?"

"Yes," she said automatically.

Meredith's face fell. "Why? How could you think that?"

"Because of things like tonight. Like when I talk to you about a case, but all you did is tell me I am going to butcher my patient. Or when you walk into my patients' room and undermine me thinking that I can't handle my patient or the situation," she explained.

She frowned. "That's not what I was doing."

"It's how it comes across, and how I feel," she responded.

She was proud of herself that for the first time, she wasn't backing down and she wasn't letting her sister just sweep it under the rug. She didn't feel that Meredith actually was trying shut the conversation down or not take her words seriously, she actually felt bad that for the first time Meredith was understanding what it was like to be in her shoes. Feel her feelings.

"Mer, I am a good surgeon. A really good surgeon."

"I know," Meredith agreed confidently. "I've always been proud of you."

Lexie smiled. "You've never said it before." She wiped a tear from her own eye, Meredith's eyes softening. "My entire life I have had to live through your shadow. Hear about how wonderful you did this and that, and things would just be easier if I did things more like you. But I am me. I am Lexie Grey. I don't want to be anyone else then me. I am hoping that you can accept me, and love me for me."

Meredith came to stand in front of her. She looked at her, her hand reaching up tuck a piece of hair behind her ear, such as sisterly affectionate thing to do. Meredith wrapped her arms around her and pulled her into a hug.

"Of course, I love you, Lexie. I'm sorry if I never told you before how proud of you I am. You are a kickass neurosurgeon."

"Thank you," she replied, her voice thick with emotion when they pulled apart.

"You aren't the only one who has had to live through someone's shadow. Our mother was worse on me, because I was taking after her," she admitted.

"Really?"

"Really," Meredith confirmed. "It's no excuse if I have treated you that way, because I know exactly how you feel. I don't mean to make you feel any less than you are. I really am proud of you, and I am not just saying this because I am your sister, but you are the best neurosurgeon I have seen."

"Thanks, Mer."

They hugged again, and pulled back. "Are we good?" Meredith asked.

Lexie wiped away the last of her tears. "We're good."

"Good. So, does that mean you will tell me about your patient's case?"

Lexie bit her lip but smiled behind it. "Nope."

"Argh! I so want to know."

Lexie laughed. "I know. Do you want to tell me why you called Derek "McDreamy""?

Meredith made a noise like someone had just let the air out of a balloon. "Did you see how hot he was?"

She grinned. "I thought you said his perfect hair, eyes, and smile wouldn't work on you."

"I lied. I didn't need him to know that." They both chuckled. "His friend looks just as attractive even under all those bandages and bruises."

Lexie felt her cheeks go hot, because she could confirm that. "If we are being honest, he is pretty attractive. From what I could tell, he might even have a really nice body too."

"Oohh….so he could be McHottie." Lexie scrunched her nose at the nickname her sister picked out. "McSexy?" She tried again.

"Nah."

Meredith snapped her fingers excitedly. "McYummy?" Lexie shook her head again. "Then help me out here!"

Lexie laughed, and thought back to all the moments she spent thinking about him and studying him since he had been under her care. It came to her in an instant. "McSteamy," she said.

Meredith leaned against the gurney. "Ah, there it is."

She sighed. "Yep, there it is."

A/N: Hope you enjoyed!