Disclaimer: I don't own Grey's Anatomy

Chapter Eleven

Lexie Grey hummed to herself as she sat at her office desk, or what used to be Derek's old desk. Her eyes grazed at the only thing she kept from her late brother in-law's possessions- a framed photo of the family. It was taken during Bailey's first birthday party and it was of Meredith, Zola, Derek, Bailey, Lexie, and Mark. That seemed to be the only personal memento on her desk besides the yellow, shiny book cover reading "What to Expect When You're Expecting."

Jackson had gifted it to the new head of the department as a joke at first, but ever since he'd given it to her she started to seriously read it. Even Mark read it cover to cover and purchased a ton of new baby books. After all, they would be having a baby in a few months or Meredith would be, in all technicality.

Would Meredith be mentally ready for this baby? What if they're ruining everything? What happens if she didn't want the baby? Those were some of the questions that liked to haunt Lexie. She wondered if she made the right decision for her sister– proof shows she and Derek both knew. They were both starting to prepare for its arrival based on google searches on their computers and even several orders Derek had made. Not to mention, Lexie found notes Meredith started to write to her child in a baby book. They seemed so excited for this new arrival before everything changed.

Mark was taking this Mr. Dad thing very seriously. It was a side of him she briefly saw at the possible arrival of his grandson, but this was much more intense. He seemed to now be in a state of constant panic– were they socializing the kids enough? Was Zola getting her vitamins? Was Bailey really ready to be potty trained or should they wait and play it safe? It drove Lexie crazy sometimes. Thankfully, she had her outlet again– surgery. Callie had cleared her about a week ago to do surgery again after some physical therapy for her hand. She felt brand new and was back at it, saving lives and kicking ass.

Lexie slowly got up from her desk once she was ready and prepared herself for the hell she was about to receive from her new colleagues. There were quite a few angry attendants to see her get the promotion. At least she had powerful friends on her side– Owen (even though he was a hot mess with Cristina), Bailey, Callie, Webber, Jackson, all her friends, and Mark, especially Mark oddly enough.

First, before making her rounds, Lexie made sure to stop off at her sister's room. She made it a goal of hers to always visit her big sister before each shift and update her on everything, even though Meredith was not conscious. It put Lexie at ease being able to sit at her hospital bed and hold her hand for a couple of minutes.

Meredith's room seemed to only grow into some kind of memorial for her. Flowers were everywhere along with colorful cards from Bailey and Zola– something bright for her to wake up to. They tried to bring Zola and Bailey here once a week to see their mother, in hopes of maybe getting her to wake up, but so far nothing has seemed to work. It's at least helped the kids adjust to their new lives.

"Hey there, chief."

Lexie looked to see Mark standing in the doorway. "Came here to harass me, huh?"

"Of course. What else would I be here for?" Mark remarked sarcastically as he leaned against the door frame. "Why would I visit my late best friend's comatose wife?"

Lexie rolled her eyes as she got up from the chair and went to playfully nudge Mark in the side. The plastic surgeon reacted with a wide grin on his face as the two began to make their way down the hallway together. It was easy for them to find a rhythm together as partners– at home and at work. It reminded her a bit of the old days, but Lexie had to keep herself at bay with that one. Couldn't get too cozy with thoughts of the old days.

"So, I'm sure you saw that nice little file I left on your desk," Mark said, rubbing his hands together. "A nice little surgery for us to tag team on, huh?"

"Hmmm, you're talking about the Garcia case, aren't you?" Lexie remarked, tapping her chin. "That sounds like a pretty lengthy surgery– working together to repair his speech after a serve brain injury."

"We helped a woman speak before, we can do it again," Mark insisted proudly, referencing Mrs. Patterson. "Besides, we were able to get Bailey to finish his entire tray of peas last night. If we can do that, we can do anything."

"You're ridiculous," Lexie chirped, shaking her head.

As they discussed the case a little more in depth, Lexie noticed a familiar figure walking past. The brunette woman smiled brightly as she made direct eye contact with none other than Mark. Lexie raised her eyebrow to see her ex smile back at her as this woman gave him a little wave before heading in the opposite direction.

That's when it hit Lexie.

"That's the woman I walked in on with you, huh?" Lexie commented dryly, causing Mark to look at her in surprise. "Think I'd forget that one?"

Mark's face instantly turned guilty, "Ah...maybe?"

"It's fine. We're broken up, remember? How many times do I need to tell you this." Lexie huffed. "In fact, if you want to go out with her tonight, go for it. I'm free this evening and should probably get to mending Zola's fairy wings."

Mark cocked an eyebrow at her. "Are you sure?"

"We're both entitled to live our own lives. We're not married to one another. I expect the two of us to have healthy personal lives as well," Lexie rambled on, scratching the back of her head. "And a night out could be good for you. It's been so long since you've gotten to live out your old ways."

Mark snorted at this. "My old ways? Is that your subtle way of calling me a whore?"

"Hey! Seriously," Lexie said. "I'm trying to be nice here. If you want a night out, you got it. You just owe me, deal?"

"Owe you? Why do I feel like there's something attached to that," Mark said, eyeing her suspiciously.

"It's not. Honest," Lexie said, holding her hands up in the air. "You'll just owe me a night or something. Promise."

"Alright. If you say so," Mark said, looking at her still a bit unsure as they headed towards the elevator.

"You're so annoying, you can't even let me be nice to you," Lexie argued with a frown as they entered. Inside was just Alex Karev and a nurse who happened to get off this floor. That meant that the pediatric surgeon was about to get stuck with Seattle Grace Mercy West's local bickering ex-couple.

"Alright. Then it's settled. I'm going to ask Julia out tonight," Mark proclaimed, crossing his arms over his chest. "And don't wait up."

"Why would I wait up?"

"Because, you're clearly worried about my well being."

"Yes of course, but why are you acting so weird about it?"

"I'm not acting–"

"You're both kinda acting weird," Alex cut in, eyeing them. "Shesh, you're more of a married couple now than when you two actually dated each other."

Mark and Lexie both quieted at that and instantly narrowed their eyes at Alex. As they did that, the dinging of an elevator hitting a floor caused Mark to straighten his white coat out. "Well, if you two don't mind, I need to go check on my patients and bully some interns. Little Grey, I'll text you if I do decide to go out."

"Sounds good," Lexie replied nonchalantly as Mark exited the elevator, leaving Lexie and Alex alone with one another.

"How is it playing house with Sloan?" Alex remarked wryly, causing Lexie to nudge him in the ribs.

"Sorry I don't have my life together like you," Lexie grumbled, causing Alex to roll his eyes.

"Please, I barely have my life together. I asked Jo to marry me on a whim after my father died. I'm lucky she even sticks around me," Alex said, shoving his hands into his pockets.

Lexie sighed, running a hand through her hair. "Look, Mark and I are trying to take this day by day. There's still so many things we haven't covered yet or gotten to. I don't know, it's hard."

"You could say that." Alex nodded as the elevator dinged, singling for the two of them to get off their floor. As they did, Lexie caught eye of Dr. Will Morrison. He was one of the nuero attendings at Seattle Grace Mercy West and made it his mission to make Lexie's life as chief miserable. He was one of the irritants that made sure to remind her that she shouldn't have the position.

"Do you need me to kick his ass?" Alex asked gruffly, puffing out his chest in a rather masculine way.

"No. I'm fine," Lexie insisted as Dr. Morrison eyed her down. He was about the same age as her, a couple of years older, with dark brown hair and hazel eyes. He felt the need to try to correct her in every case and challenge her in everything she did. "I don't need people fighting my fights."

"Does Mark know he's been bothering you?" Alex asked curiously.

"I don't need Mark fighting my battles either," Lexie said as she headed to the nurses station to look at her charts for the day. "That's the last thing I need."

"Alright. Well you know where we are if you need our help," Alex said, supportively patting her back. "I will gladly kick any person's ass for you, Little Grey."

"I appreciate it, Alex," Lexie said, sending him a soft smile.

With that, Alex made his way to his own department while Lexie was left to her own devices. As much as she could use the backup, she needed to stand her ground and assert her position as a leader. It's what many woman before her needed to overcome. The last thing she needed was the guys coming to her rescue. She'd have to instill fear in her new subordinates on her own.

"Well, well, if it isn't the newest chief," the sly voice of Dr. Morrison remarked as Lexie made her way forward.

"Dr. Morrison," Lexie greeted him curtly. "I assume you've completed all your rounds by the way you're lounging about by the nurses station."

"Of course I did. Even taught the interns a thing or two, ya know," he replied, rolling his eyes. "Says a lot for someone who is running late today."

"I'm two minutes late, Dr. Morrison," Lexie snipped, narrowing her eyes. "Hardly a cause of concern."

"I'd beg to differ," he countered.

"And if you talk to her like that one more time I'm gonna shove my foot up somewhere the sun don't shine."

Lexie raised her eyebrow at the comment made by the new voice. She turned to see none other than Amelia Shepherd with her hands on her hips. She was dressed in civilian clothes of just a pair of jeans, a red t-shirt, and a leather jacket.

"Amelia?" Lexie croaked in surprise.

"Dr. Shepherd, heard you were still lurking around here," Dr. Morrison sneered. He quieted as he gathered his belongings. "Anyway, I should do something that's actually important around here. I will see you and Dr. Grey later…"

As he walked away, Amelia shook her head in disgust. "What an ass."

"What are you doing here!?" Lexie squeaked out as the youngest Shepherd shrugged. "Not that I'm not happy to see you or appreciate that, but ah...I thought you went back to LA."

"I know, it's wild," Amelia replied, followed by a nervous chuckle. "Addison thinks I'm crazy–"

"Ah huh…"

"Well, I…Look, those kids are all I got left from my brother," Amelia said, swallowing hard. "And I want to be there for them. Tell them about their dad, and I know you and Mark are the legal guardians, which I respect, but I thought maybe I could give you two a hand?"

"A hand?" Lexie questioned slowly, raising her eyebrows. "Did you think about maybe calling us before you decided that?"

"Yeah, but I thought getting a job here first would be a good idea. Someone to fill in your old spot," Amelia replied, shrugging. "That's what I came here, to talk to Dr. Hunt and well, he's onboard. I start next Monday. Besides, the kids are going to need a fun aunt around here and with you and Mark now switching to the parent roles, guess that's up to me, huh?"

"Yeah, but still…Just wow." Lexie blinked, completely dumbfounded. Now this definitely complicates things. "Do…do you even have a place to stay?"

"At the hotel nearby," Amelia confessed, jerking a thumb as if she was guiding Lexie in the direction. "The Arch-a-whatever it's called."

"Well this is just a surprise, sorry," Lexie answered, trying to assure her late brother-in-law's sister she was not a hindrance. After all, Mark and Lexie owe her for being such a big supporter of them taking custody of the kids. "But if you want, I'll have the kids tonight since Mark's going out. You're more than welcome to come over later and see them. I'm sure they'll be thrilled that you're back in town."

"Oh sounds good! I'd love to see them," Amelia replied, patting Lexie on the back before walking away.

With that, the newest nuero chief stood in the hallway still rather dumbfounded. Lexie was surprised that she didn't even think to call or even Addison, unless the OB/GYN tried reaching them and she had no clue.

As Lexie tried to wrap her brain around everything, she heard a familiar, warm laugh. It was a laugh that was all too familiar to her. She looked up to see Mark. His smile was wide as he walked side-by-side with none other than Julia. The woman was making Mark laugh? That means he's probably going to ask her out, which means ten million layers of awkwardness for Lexie Grey if she's stuck there in the cross fire.

Oh god, Lexie thought. Without thinking, she panicked and ran into a nearby supplies closest. In the process, she knocked a bunch of things down and jumped a bit at the sound of someone making a noise. That's when she noticed Callie Torres in the dark of the closest– peaking her head out from behind some shelving.

"Woah, Little Grey," she said, announcing her presence. Lexie could tell her eyes were red rimmed from crying and she looked obviously distressed. "Are you okay? What's the matter?"

"The matter with me, what about you?" Lexie questioned frantically. "Callie, are you okay? Do you want me to get Mark or Arizona or someone? Are you hiding too?"

"Hiding? No, no. And please don't worry either of them with this," the orthopedic surgeon begged as she dabbed her eyes with a tissue. "I'm fine, I'm just dealing with my own stuff– we find out if we get Sofia tomorrow afternoon and I'm just freaking out."

"Oh. That must be really nerve wracking."

"And I know I can talk to both of them but I just…." Callie's bottom lip quivered to which Lexie felt sympathy rise in her chest. "I'm a mess and for what?"

"A valid reason," Lexie replied, nodding her head. "I'm also a mess."

"I can't keep doing this," Callie muttered as she blew her nose into the already tear soaked tissue.

That's when without thinking about it, Lexie asked: "Hey, you working tonight?"

"No…Why?"

Fast forward a couple of hours later and Lexie Grey and Callie find themselves sitting on the floor of the Shepherd house doing shots of Meredith's half used bottle of tequila. Amelia Shepherd, completely sober, was dealing with the kids upstairs since she wanted to try out this whole "local aunt thing." It allowed the other two to get drunk and openly discuss everything that'd been bothering them the last couple of weeks.

"We're basically separated. No sex and it seems like we don't talk about anything anymore besides bringing Sofia into the home," Callie said after taking a shot. "Are we even fit to be parents if we can't get our shit together? Good man in a storm my ass!"

"Hey Lexie, I wanna go out, but don't think too much about it. Don't think too much about it, Little Grey," Lexie mocked, imitating Mark with a crappy deep voice. "Look, I loved Mark Sloan and I'm raising children with him but that doesn't mean I'm some obsessive and possessive ex-girlfriend of his! I'm not that kind of girl! If he wants to go out, he may go out as much as he pleases! As long as he remembers that he has kids at home..."

"So I'm bisexual. So what?" Callie cried out, waving her arms around. "It's called LGBTQ for a reason! There's a B in there and it doesn't mean badass– kind of does– but it also means bi!"

"You know, it's hard enough raising kids with him, but having to see him have a serious relationship with another woman is a little hard! I will admit it! There, I said it! I'm sensitive because he was one of my first very serious relationships. You know what– I do not care, even though it kinda hurts!" Lexie cried out. "Especially since I had to watch her mount him, fully naked! Like Callie, I saw full vagina and everything!"

"Oh vagina," Callie sung, nodding her head up and down. "Va-gina. It's a pretty word, isn't it?"

"It is," Lexie agreed in a hum. "Va-gin-a! Vagina!"

"Lovely," Callie agreed with a nod of her head.

"You know, everyone- everyone thinks I'm such a stick in the mud," Lexie continued on a drunk ramble. "But I used to be cool! I smoked like once!"

"Damn! Little Grey was a rule breaker? Callie hiccuped.

"I was once, for a minute, believe it or not!" Lexie exclaimed. "And- and! I should have some fun, shouldn't I?"

Callie clapped enthusiastically at this, "You should!"

"Well, both kids are asleep, finally!" Amelia chirped as she made her way down the stairs. "They're hard work, huh? Who would've thought."

"Don't you have like a ton of other nieces and nephews?" Lexie pointed out as the Shepherd sister joined them.

"Yeah, but they don't trust me around the kids. Afraid I'll corrupt them or something," Amelia said, rolling her eyes as she went to the fridge to grab herself a coke. "Jeeze, how much tequila did you two have?"

"We finished the rest of Mer's stash," Lexie confessed, blinking animatedly.

"Glad I could give you two this night off but I should really head out," Amelia said, jerking a thumb to the door only to have Lexie feel a wave of nausea. In that split second, without even thinking, Little Grey ran out of the door only to vomit off the front porch.

"Ah, classy," Callie complimented while Amelia scrunched her face up in disgust. "Reminds me of college."

"Reminds me of doing scut work," Amelia echoed.

As Lexie puked her guts out on the front porch, she heaved in disgust. What was she doing? she thought. Would Meredith be ashamed? No, Meredith did stuff like this with Cristina– but why was she doing this? This was a terrible idea–

GRRRRRRRR

Lexie froze at where she was standing, trying to figure out what that sound was. It sounded like a low baring hum or an angry growl.

Angry growl….?

Her head snapped up to see the largest, scariest looking brown bear Lexie had ever seen. Without thinking, the surgeon let out a squeak of surprise before running back into the house with a bewildered Amelia and Callie looking at her.

"Are you okay?" Amelia asked gently.

"Yeah you look like you've seen a ghost," Callie said. She then looked down at the empty bottle before her. "Maybe we should lay off drinking for awhile."

"No! No, I saw a bear!" Lexie squeaked out, pointing to the outside. "A real freaking bear!"

"You didn't see a bear," Amelia challenged.

"No, I saw one. It was big and furry and does not look like Zola's teddy," Lexie continued adamantly as she motioned her hands all about. "And it was scary!"

"Yeah right," Amelia said, snorting as she went to check out the back porch. "There's no bear in the– oh….that….that is a bear."

"Ooo! Lemme see!" Callie exclaimed getting up from her spot.

"Nope. No way," Amelia scolded as she locked the door.

"We all gotta stay right here," Lexie urged, gesturing to the living room. "That bear could come closer at any second! God, Mark warned me about him and I didn't believe him!? What's wrong with me?"

"Look, we can't be scared of a bear, come on," Amelia tried to challenge. "I mean, Derek and Meredith lived here. How did they leave their house whenever their was a bear? Don't people that live in the woods learn to cope with them or something?"

"I doubt they did. I know I wouldn't," Callie said, shrugging.

"No, we gotta stay right here," Lexie insisted as the bear let out another loud noise. "Until that guy leaves…Oh shit, what will Mark do when he comes home?"

"Look, I think I can say we all know Mark Sloan pretty well here and he is not coming home tonight," Amelia replied in a low voice. "That's for sure."

"How could I forget that man only thinks with his penis," Lexie commented with lackluster. "It's fine! No matter! We're three strong, independent, and beautiful women and badass surgeons who can deal with a bear! Mark my words!"

The next morning, when Mark Sloan pulled up to the house, he was surprised to find Callie and Amelia's cars here. He'd received word from Lexie that the youngest Shepherd was back, but was surprised to find out that she was crashing with them apparently?

Mark frowned at this and opened the front door to find none only that Callie sleeping peacefully on the floor, wrapped up in one of the throws, while Amelia was sleeping on the sofa with a baseball bat at her side and Zola's fairy princess blanket draped over her. As for the one and only Little Grey, she was curled up in fuzzy snowflake blanket in the corner of the living room– snoring away with an air freshener can in her hands.

He chuckled as he gently shook Lexie awake. With a start, Lexie broke out of sleep and jumped a bit to come face to face with Mark. "Ah!"

"Had a rough night there, Little Grey?" he teased with an amused grin.

"What about you, Mr. Stays-out-until-Sunrise," Lexie chided, frowning at him as she went to leaning her head back against the wall. "We have children, ya know?"

"I know…And I realize that now, which is why I wanted to be home before they woke up," Mark said to her softly. He then turned to look back at Amelia and Callie, who were both dead asleep still. "Interesting crowd of people here. Trying to steal my best friend or something?"

"Nah. We just needed to drink our problems out. Went a little too crazy." Lexie blinked slowly as sleep tried to overcome her again. "And then I saw a bear when I puked. Amelia and I tried to find weapons but all I could find was Derek's old Yankee's baseball bat and a used up can of AirWick."

Mark's eyes widened. "Bear? What bear– wait, you saw the bear?"

"Yeah, yeah, you told me so. I know," Lexie groaned, shutting her eyes. "Just die happy with the fact I spent last night sleeping like this with a can of air freshener to protect me."

The plastic surgeon laughed lightly. "Don't worry, I won't bully you too much, but for now you should really head back upstairs. Before the kids see this mess– I'll take care of Amy and Callie."

"I don't wanna move," Lexie moaned tiredly, curling up into herself. "Carry me?"

Mark chuckled, but without skipping a beat, he scooped up his ex girl bridal style and hoisted her up in his arms. Lexie instantly collapsed against his chest as she drooled tiredly in his arms. "Such high maintenance, Little Grey. Should've known though, you Grey's are all a little crazy when you get like this. Although, I will let you know that the satisfaction I get from seeing you plastered and admitting that the bear is real makes coming home early so worth it."

"Oh shut up," Lexie muttered while Mark let out another bark of laughter as he carried her to her room.

A/N: Definitely a more lighthearted chapter inspired by that one episode where Callie and Meredith get drunk in season 11. Anyway, hope you're all enjoying and thanks again for reading!