Disclaimer: I don't own Grey's Anatomy

Chapter Fifteen

"Loving it!" Richard Webber, Stephanie Edwards, and Leah Murphy all exclaimed as April Kepner opened a new gift at her bridal shower. They were barely paying attention while they stuffed food in their mouths and complimented gifts they didn't understand.

April's bridal shower was being hosted in one of the hospital break rooms so most of the staff could attend. April's sisters seemed to be in charge of everything and had been taking charge since they stepped foot in the room– practically ignoring the fact that their sister was the Head of Trauma at the prestigious hospital. Lexie found them to be annoying and could not stop rubbing her temples every time one of them gave her a headache with their high pitched voices.

"Poor April," Amelia muttered as she took another bite of a quiche. She made a face and put it back on the plate, clearly not happy by the taste.

"Here's another one," Arizona said happily as she passed a wrapped up box to April. The PEDs surgeon and the trauma surgeon had grown close over the last year. Somehow they were able to bond and it made Callie happy to see Arizona forming a friendship with someone she could trust. It was also nice for Callie to see her wife smile.

"Arizona was telling me how April's been dreading their arrival," Callie added to the other women. "Apparently they've been berating her all day. Calling her…duckie?"

"Duckie?" Lexie's face scrunched up. "Molly and I used to fight, and still do sometimes, but we never treated each other that way growing up. As for Mer, we didn't get along at first but that's understandable given the circumstances."

"I feel her pain," Amelia said, shaking her head solemnly. "I hated being the youngest of four. My older sisters still make me feel their wrath every time I see them. No wonder why I stuck around Derek and Addison all the time. As much as Derek liked to tell me what to do and annoy me, he didn't want to make me tear my hair out."

"Let's just hope they all make it in one piece come the wedding," Callie muttered.

It'd been over a month since Lexie Grey and Mark Sloan slept with each other. It'd been a month since Cristina left. After spending the weekend with Sloan and enjoying what was left of it, Mark and Lexie struggled to find that partnership they had again. They kept it up for the sake of the kids, but they didn't hang out like they once did. Mark often spent most of his free time away from the kids with Julia while Lexie would go sulk at Alex's house with him, Jackson, and Jo.

"Mark told me and Arizona about the meeting. To figure out the settlement," Callie mentioned to Lexie. "That's gotta be stressful."

"Yeah. Mark's been so busy talking to the lawyers. Every time I try to offer help he insists he has it," Lexie said. "But you know Mark. That's just how he is."

"Trust me, I know," Callie agreed as she took a bite of an appetizer.

"This one is from Lexie!" April exclaimed as she began to rip open the paper.

"Ooo, what did you get her?" Amelia asked.

"You'll find out in a second. Nothing fancy," Lexie said, shrugging. She didn't see the need to get April anything personal because she felt some underlining loyalty to Jackson, who was too busy being a sad puppy to say anything about the upcoming wedding. He insisted this is what April wanted and he wouldn't do anything to stop it.

"Oh, a salad spinner," April said, admiring it carefully.

"The guy at the store said it was a good tool to have in the kitchen," Lexie explained. "And I know Mark likes to use it. I don't I'm not much of a cook, but he suggested it."

"Is Mark your husband?" one of April's sisters, Libby, asked curiously.

"Ah no," Lexie answered. "He's my live in ex-boyfriend who I'm raising my sister and his dead best friend's children with."

That got Libby to look at her with deep concern. Callie and Amelia could only chuckle as they tried to hide their laughter.

"Mark's practically your husband at this point," Amelia commented, causing Lexie to shift uncomfortably in the seat.

"No, he has Julia," Lexie replied without thinking.

"What's up with you two lately?" Callie asked. "He's also in a sour mood half the time. Did you guys fight or something?"

"Or did you two have sex?" Amelia questioned without thinking. This had Lexie blushing, but yells of protest from April's sisters distracted them.

"Adorable! Love it!"

Lexie turned to see April Kepner holding a white thong with pearls on it up in the air. The redhead looked mortified while her sisters tried to stifle their giggles. "This isn't mom's veil."

"Well, no," one of her sister's said. "It was supposed to be for later but, surprise! It's for your first time!"

As April's sisters talked and began to impede advice on her about her first time and how they never thought this day would come, Lexie could see the look of frustration in April's eyes. It was no surprise that April all of a sudden snapped, "Stop talking to me like no man has ever found me sexy before!"

That had all three sister's starring at their youngest in shock and surprise. "And stop calling me duckie anymore! My acne cleared up years ago, I got rid of my braces in college, I wear contacts, I use make-up, and I did years of physical therapy to correct my pigeon toes! I'm not your hopeless, ugly little sister anymore. I'm not an ugly duckling, I'm a swan! And a surgeon! A kick ass surgeon who's had sex before!"

April's sisters looked horrified. "Does Daddy know?"

"Oh boy," Arizona muttered.

"You know what, you're fired. As my bridesmaids," April exclaimed, standing up from her seat. "I can't have you standing up for me at my wedding."

"Don't be silly, you have to have bridesmaids at your wedding," Libby retorted.

"And I'll have them," April said as she proceeded to motion to Arizona, Lexie, Callie, and Amelia. "These are my people now….Right?"

She had such a hopeless puppy dog look in her eyes that all four women looked at one another in shock, but agreed right away. "Yes! Yes, of course."

"These are my people now," April repeated proudly as she slung an arm around Arizona, who nodded in support and wrapped an arm around April's waist.

"Yes. Yes we are," Amelia agreed, looking around confused considering she'd only known April for a few months now.

"This is going to be interesting," Lexie whispered to Callie who could only nod.

"I can't believe April asked us to be bridesmaids," Callie said as she walked side by side with Mark down the hallway about an hour later. She had just gotten back from the bridal shower. April had sent her sisters away and most of the wedding shower had been cleared up. Callie was happily munching on one of the party favors– a cookie in the shape of a wedding bell.

"Yeah that's pretty unexpected," Mark said, his mind completely elsewhere.

Callie noticed this and her eyebrows furrowed together in thought. "Are you good?"

"What do you mean?" Mark asked as he looked down at the chart in his hands.

"You and Little Grey have been so weird. Ever since your birthday," Callie remarked. "What's going on? If she doesn't say anything to me, I know I can bug it out of you."

"You're not going to bug it out of me," Mark said, letting out an exasperated sigh. He put the chart on a nearby nurses table for them to take and proceeded to head in the direction of his usual rounds. "I have Julia. I'm happy with Julia."

"I know you're happy with Julia," Callie stated, eyeing Mark suspiciously. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Nothing," Mark mumbled.

That's when it hit Callie. Amelia's comment at the bridal shower. "That's it! Oh, how could I be so blind? The two of you had sex!"

"Who? Me and Julia?" Mark looked at his best friend like she had four heads. "Of course we have."

"No! You- you and…" Callie's voice grew quieter so no one in the surrounding area could hear. "You and Little Grey."

Mark's eyes widened at this. "We- we did not!"

"Did too!" Callie squealed, jabbing a finger into his chest. "I knew it! Well I didn't know it, but I had a feeling! You were acting too unlike yourself."

"Will you stop!" Mark hissed.

"Wait, you didn't cheat on Julia, did you?" Callie hissed, horrified. "Because if so, come on Mark. You dirty little mistress you gotta put that behind you. That's messed up."

"I didn't cheat. Julia and I broke up the night of the party," Mark explained. "And Lexie comforted me and the next thing I know, the two of us are having sex…But it's not going to work out."

"Why not?" Callie inquired.

"Because Lexie doesn't want to be with me again and I don't blame her. I messed it up last time, why would she want that again?" Mark cried out. "We need to keep it professional if we want those kids to have any sliver of a normal childhood. They've been through too much, Callie."

"So repressing your feelings is the way to go…?" Callie stated slowly.

"I guess so," Mark grumbled. "And besides, I made up with Julia. She sees something in me."

"What she sees is a decent man she can marry because she's thirty-five and rushing to find someone before it's too late," Callie said gently. "Which I can't even be mad at her for. You're a nice guy. You want the same things as her. She could be your chance to have children of your own, that is if you still want them."

"I do," Mark stated, swallowing hard. "I want kids of my own…I want to give Zola and Bailey siblings and I want it to be a big family. A family I never got."

Callie smiled softly at this. "Mark, you're a good man, but maybe…As much as Julia fits the bigger picture, I think there's some things you need to think about before you let it go too far."

"Think? About what?" Mark questioned.

Before Callie could say anything, they were interrupted by Jo Wilson running past them in a hurry. Stephanie Edwards and Leah Murphy were not too far behind her.

"Hey! Slow down! This is a hospital not a high school!" Callie scolded at them.

"Sorry, but we were all paged to head down to the ER!" Jo explained hastily.

"Why? What's going on?" Mark questioned.

"There's a big trauma," Edwards filled in. "Apparently a plane crashed coming from Portland into Seattle. They're bringing the victims that survived here and to Seattle Presbyterian!"

Callie and Mark shared scared looks. "Oh god," Callie whispered, bringing a hand to her lips. "I need to find Arizona."

"You go do that because we might not have a lot of time before these people start coming in," Mark said warily. He paused. "I hope Lexie's okay…"

"You should go find her," Callie suggested.

Before Mark could respond, Owen was rushing down the hall. "Sloan! We're going to need you up there. A lot of these victims have sustained severe burns!"

"You got it, Chief," Mark replied, rushing up to the front. Despite his own fear and PTSD trying to break through his mindset right now, part of him desperately wondered where Lexie was and if she was doing okay...

"You're going to be a bridesmaid at April's wedding," Jackson stated slowly as he and Lexie Grey filled out some charts by the nurses table.

After the exciting bridal shower, Lexie had to get back to work. Tonight was going to be a late one. She had one surgery scheduled and she wouldn't be home until eight probably tonight. Mark would also be pretty busy, but Alex offered to pick the kids up after his shift and watch them until they got back home.

"You are so dramatic. If you don't want her to marry Matthew, then tell her," Lexie stressed. "Besides, you should've seen her, Jackson. Her sisters treat her like garbage. More so than Meredith did when we first met– and she had a justifiable reason. April's sisters are cruel to her."

"No, it's good you're supporting her," Jackson agreed. "I'm just an idiot."

"You are an idiot," Lexie said, shaking her head.

"If I'm an idiot, then you're not one either."

"Why? Because I can't confess my feelings to Mark or some bullshit like that," Lexie remarked, her tone a bit sharp.

Jackson raised his eyebrows. "No need to get harsh, Lex."

She sighed. "I'm sorry…It's just very…complicated."

"Complicated?" Jackson questioned. "How?"

"Avery! Grey!" the two looked up to see Morrison making his way over. He had an irritable look on his face.

"What do you want?" Lexie asked bitterly, putting her hands on her hips.

"Well, if you were paying attention you'd know there's been a serious plane crash," he informed them, his voice icy.

"There's been a what?" Lexie could feel herself losing touch with reality as he spoke those words.

"Yeah, a plane crash. Go check it out, everyone's watching the news right now," Morrison said, jerking a thumb to the monitors and the forming crowds around them.

"They must be sending all the survivors this way," Jackson whispered as they hesitantly approached the televisions.

"Well, we have to be prepared," Lexie said, taking a deep breath despite the pain in her chest starting to form. "We need to make sure that everything is ready."

"Agreed," Jackson said, looking around. "I'm going to talk to Bailey– it'd probably a good idea to start assign the interns and residents to stations."

"Sounds good," Lexie said, although her mind was elsewhere. Her mind was in a forest. In Idaho. Screaming for help.

Jackson could sense her uneasiness. "Are you okay? Are you sure this is something you want to help out with? You could always sit this one out–"

Lexie could see Morrison narrowing his eyes at her from the corner and shook her head. "No. I'll be okay," Lexie declared. "Besides, these people need my help. I need to help them like I didn't get to help Derek or Meredith..."

"Lex..."

She ignored Jackson as she rushed off to her department. Lexie began to bark orders at them, telling them all to get ready for the injured and the possibly deceased. Tonight was going to be brutal.

And it proved to be brutal.

Crazy how the day could start off on such high spirits and end with the lowest spirits of them all. Mark Sloan could feel it as he pronounced the death of a passenger. His name was John Bateman. He'd been coming home to Seattle from a business trip in Portland. He had two kids at home. A wife. He was Derek's age.

Mark could feel guilt coursing through him. All the anxiety and pain he wanted to let out, he had to hold in as he confirmed to John's family that he had in fact died. The burns were too severe and he had too much damage to his lower intestines. Dr. Bailey confirmed this and as hard as they tried, they just couldn't save him.

He watched as John Bateman's wife broke down in tears. He wanted to comfort her, but her mother had been there to take her in her arms. It was heartbreaking and he knew that when Meredith would wake, he'd have to put her through the same hell. Her soul mate dead and gone.

He knew Julia would be calling him again. She already did with worry. He promised her he'd call her later tonight. He knew she was scared. That she loved him and he thinks he loves her too. He just needed some time to figure this all out.

"You did your best, Sloan," Bailey said, probably sensing his discomfort.

"He was the same age as Derek was," Mark replied without thinking about it much.

"He was. But you did your best to save him," Bailey pointed gently. "Just like you did your best to save everyone out there."

"That's what everyone keeps telling me. Hell, even my shrink, yet I still feel guilty for some reason," Mark said.

"You went through something not many have had to go through. You and Lexie," Bailey continued. "But you are pushing through it. You're raising his kids. You're doing your best, trust me."

Mark nodded wordlessly while Bailey patted him on the back. "Speaking of: how has it been with Yang leaving? How are the kids?

"She's interactive with them over FaceTime. Zola loves taking the iPad to ring up her Auntie Cristina," Mark said, smiling a little. "I knew this would be the best thing for her. It was abrupt but…She couldn't stay. If I was her, I would've gone too."

"I wish she didn't have to go either, but I'm happy she's out of here," Bailey said, trying to hold her own emotion. "If it means we can still have her functioning and around us then I'm all for it."

"Hey! Sloan!"

Mark turned around to see Tom Koracick making his way over. He'd been helping out with surgeries all day.

"Tom, what can I help you with?" Mark asked.

"Have you seen Lexie?" the neurosurgeon questioned. "I haven't been able to find her since our last surgery. Amelia said she needed a break, but no one's seen her."

"I'll find her," Mark said. "I'm going to leave soon anyway and wanted to see if she wanted a ride."

"See you later," Bailey said as Mark made his way in the other direction. He looked everywhere for Lexie. He searched for her in her office, her department, all over the place. He asked Callie, Jackson, Arizona– but could not find her anywhere.

He was ready to give up until he passed by one of the supplies closets. It was one of the closets Lexie usually liked to sneak into to take a breather and eat snacks. It was where they would hide sometimes back when they were dating.

Mark almost decided against it, but went through with it as he gently opened the door. That was when he found Lexie sitting in the corner.

"Hey! What are you doing there, everybody's been looking for–"

And that's when it hit Mark something wasn't right. She was there alright, but Lexie didn't seem all there. Her eyes were shut tightly and her body looked like it was glued to the floor. She was gripping onto the bar of the metal supplies shelving. He watched as her chest heaved up and down in a dangerous erratic pattern.

"Lexie," he said, his tone much more panicked as he rushed to her side. He knelt before her and almost instinctively went to cup her cheeks, but stopped himself. He opted for her shoulder instead as he gave her a little shake. "Lexie? What's wrong?"

Lexie shook her head and kept her eyes tightly wound shut, despite the tears managing to leak from the corners. It's when he realized she was having a panic attack.

"Hey, hey, you're okay," Mark said, gently reaching out to grab her shoulders. "You're okay, Lexie. I'm right here."

"Mark, I can't– I.." she was hyperventilating. "I can't breathe."

"Yes you can," Mark stated as calmly as he could.

"I– I can't. I can't!"

"You will and I will help you. Okay?" Mark proceeded to bring her into his arms. She didn't object, she felt more like a rag doll as he positioned her against his chest. He wrapped an arm around her body and cradled her head with his free hand. "You're going to breathe with me. Alright? Follow me."

Lexie nodded, refusing to open her eyes. Mark then took a deep inhale of breath and made sure Lexie was following him as well. It wasn't long until he could feel her breathing starting to get back to its normal pace. Her body was still shaking, but it was something he'd help her with.

"You're okay, Little Grey. I got you."

"Thanks, Mark…"

She looked so exhausted in his arms as she curled up in them and cried. He wanted to hold her like this forever. Whenever he thought about forever, it was Lexie. It was waking up every morning with Lexie. Joking with Lexie. Making Lexie laugh. Making her feel safe. The fact she even felt safe with him like she did right now made Mark's heart swell with love.

He cared for Julia, but it wasn't the same kind of love.

No, Mark…Mark loved Lexie.

And he had a lot to think about now….

A/N: Heyy! Hope you guys are enjoying! I know there were a couple of questions asking how long this story would be. I am planning for 21 chapters plus an epilogue, so about seven more updates. Just because I would love to tie this story up after leaving it abandoned for three years. In the meantime, thanks for reading!