Pairings: Mark/Lexie with appearances by other the rest the Seattle Grace crew
Warning: T for now, may be updated in future chapters.
Summary: Mark regrets not telling Lexie how he feels about her as their plane plummets to the ground. Will they both make it out safe and sound? Will Mark be able to make Lexie his and prove to her he loves her?
Disclaimer: I do now own these characters. All rights go to Shonda Rhimes. Some scenes may be based off scenes that occurred in Grey's Anatomy.
Announcements: Hey, so as I've said before, I don't know anything about medicine besides what I've seen on the show. In the story, Lexie has rods in her legs to stabilize the bones. I'm not sure if this accurate, but just go with it pleaseee. Thanks for the reviews. Please keep favoriting and reviewing!
Awake
Mark couldn't believe that Lexie had opened her eyes. He cradled her head in his hand momentarily before pressing the call button for the nurse. Mark released his hands from Lexie, beginning to extubate her. Nurses came filing into Lexie's room, seeing that she was partially awake. "Page Amelia Shepherd," Mark ordered, removing the tube that was in Lexie's throat. As soon as Mark began the process of extubation, Lexie's stats began to drop back down to a normal level. Gazing down at Lexie, Mark took her hand back into his. "Hey, Lex," he whispered soothingly, stroking the side of her forehead.
"W-What happened?" she whispered, her voice cracking. Her throat was incredibly dry and irritated from having the breathing tube in it. Lexie began to panic, not sure of what was going on. The last thing she remembered was being loaded onto the helicopter. She had a gash in her leg, and Mark was applying pressure to it to make sure that she didn't bleed out. Looking around the room, Lexie's brows furrowed. This looks exactly like Seattle Grace's rooms Lexie thought to herself. She let her gaze wander over to Mark, watching as he poured some water in a cup for her drink. She readily accepted the water, feeling the cool liquid coat her parched throat.
"Do you remember the flight to Boise?" Mark asked softly, taking her hand back into his. Nodding, Lexie immediately relaxed once she felt Mark's warm hand against her own.
"Yeah, I remember being loaded onto the helicopter and wanting you to stay with me," she whispered, a small cough parting from her lips. "After that… nothing. Are we home?" she asked, desperate to know what had happened since she was out. Had it been a few hours? A few days? Weeks?
"We are. We got back this morning. I'm so glad you're awake, Lex," Mark admitted, smoothing Lexie's hair away from her face. Lexie smiled up at Mark, lacing her fingers with his.
"What happened?" she asked again, her eyes pleading with Mark to tell her.
"I don't want you to get upset," Mark started, gazing into her eyes. "They had to do a surgery to fix your legs. They're being held together by rods right now."
"Callie did the surgery?" Lexie interrupted, glancing down at her legs. She immediately clamped her eyes shut, shocked at the injuries she had endured in the woods. The last thing she expected was to see rods holding her legs into place.
"No, they performed the surgery at Boise Hospital. Callie looked at the scans and said that they look good," Mark explained, rubbing one hand against Lexie's arm. "But, they also found that you had a brain aneurysm that burst," the plastic surgeon revealed, not sure what reaction to expect from Lexie.
"What?" Lexie whispered hoarsely, with a hand moving up to her forehead. She felt a gauze pad wrapped around her head, looking at Mark to continue on with his explanation.
"The bleeding was controlled, but it did cause your brain to swell," Mark whispered, biting down on his lip. "Doctors were able to reduce the swelling. You're doing really well," he promised.
"Okay, so the bleeding stopped?" she questioned, her eyes boring hesitancy.
"We are monitoring it. But, Lex, Derek can't be your doctor. He has to have surgery on his hand so he won't be able to operate. We… we called in Amelia," Mark stated slowly. Lexie sighed but nodded, squeezing Mark's hand gently.
"I know… I know she's good. She's Derek's sister. If he can't operate, she's the next best," Lexie stated. Mark let out a breath, relieved that Lexie didn't freak out about the news. "Obviously she's not my favorite person, for obvious reasons," Lexie muttered, shooting Mark a playful glare. "But I can't hold that against her. I'm not holding it against you," she smiled, reaching out for the cup of water. Mark immediately grabbed the cup, bringing it to Lexie's lips to assist her with taking a sip. Once she had a drink, Lexie reached for the control on the bed to sit up slightly so that her head was elevated.
"What's wrong? What happened?" two female voices rambled, rushing through the doors of Lexie's hospital room. Meredith was the first one in the door, stopping dead in her tracks when she saw Lexie awake, alert, and sitting up as best as she could.
"Lexie!" Meredith exclaimed, shuffling quickly over to the unclaimed side of Lexie's bed. She reached forward and gently wrapped her arms around Lexie. Pulling back, she surveyed Lexie's body and monitors, wanting to make sure all her vitals were good. "You're awake! How are you feeling?"
"I'm okay," Lexie assured her sister, wrapping her free arm around Meredith. "How are you? How's Derek?" she questioned, pulling back once Meredith released her from her arms.
"I'm completely fine. Derek has to have surgery on his hand, but otherwise, he's doing good," she smiled, resting her hand on the arm of Lexie's bed. "I'm so glad you're awake," she added.
"I'm going to perform a quick neuro exam on you," Amelia started, walking up to the side of Lexie's bed near Meredith. The brunette patient nodded, following the light that Amelia was shining in her eyes. She complied with Amelia's directions, a smile forming on Amelia's lips. "You look great. Reflexes are good. I want you to go for another CT, though, to check on the bleeding," she informed her.
"I can do that," Lexie stated. There was suddenly an uncomfortable silence that formed in the room, no one wanting to say anything. Meredith assumed Lexie was feeling uncomfortable with the fact that one of Mark's previous sex partners was her doctor. Amelia had no regrets about sleeping with Mark in the past, but figured that Lexie was not her biggest fan. Mark was fidgety, squeezing Lexie's hand to reassure her that she was the only one she wanted.
"Dr. Shepherd?" Lexie called quietly as Amelia turned away to leave the room. Turning around, Amelia faced her and raised her brows as a silent cue for her to continue. "Thank you for coming out to monitor me. Despite the past, I really appreciate you taking time out of your schedule," she said softly, offering Amelia a small, genuine smile.
"Of course. You're Derek's sister-in-law, and he looks at you like a sister. And Mark," she pointed at him with a playful roll of eyes, "is head over heels in love with you. Do you really think I could say no to them?" she mused.
"I guess not," Lexie replied with a small laugh. "They're pretty hard to say no to."
"That they are. I'll see you up in CT," Amelia smiled, exiting out of the room with a smile on her face.
Meredith and Mark pulled the sides of Lexie's bed up to get ready to wheel her up to CT. "Wait," Lexie murmured quietly. "Mark?"
"Yeah, babe?" he asked, moving so that Lexie could see his face.
"Have you seen Sofia yet?" she questioned, looking up into his eyes. Shaking his head, Mark frowned, knowing what she was going to say next.
"Go see her. I'll be fine. It's going to take a while for me to get scanned. I'm sure she wants to see you," Lexie smiled, making a grabby hand so Mark would take hers. He gripped her hand in his.
"I don't want to leave you," he shook his head, stroking the back of Lexie's hand.
"I'll be okay. I'm awake. My vitals are fine. Amelia said that my neuro exam went great. Just go see her for a few minutes, okay?" Lexie pleaded, jutting out her bottom lip in a pout. Mark groaned, narrowing his eyes playfully at Lexie.
"Why did you do that? You know I can't say no," he sighed, leaning forward to place a kiss against Lexie's forehead.
"I know, that's why I did it," she replied cheekily, tracing the side of his hand with her thumb.
"Will you stay with her until I get back?" Mark questioned, glancing up at Meredith. She nodded, moving to the back of Lexie's bed so that she could push her to the elevator.
"I'll see you soon," Mark promised, leaning down to place his lips against Lexie's. The girl's eyes fluttered closed, having missed the feel of his lips against hers.
"I love you," she whispered, reluctantly letting go of Mark's hand. She wanted him to go see Sofia, but she also didn't want him to leave her. Lexie knew that she couldn't be selfish though. His daughter needed him.
"I love you, too," Mark smiled, staying in Lexie's room until she was wheeled out by Meredith. Lexie let out a soft sigh, turning her head up to look at Meredith. "Mer?" she called quietly, chewing the inside of her cheek.
"Hmm?" she responded, pressing the elevator button. Once the doors opened, she pushed Lexie inside.
"I think something is wrong. My head still really hurts," she responded, pressing her palms against her eyes. "I-I know I should've told Mark, but he's so worried and…," she trailed off, not knowing what excuse to say. Deep down, she knew that she should have told Mark that she was in pain, but she was hoping that it would eventually fade. It hadn't, though, and she was scared that something was seriously wrong.
"Okay… let's see what the CT says," Meredith responded, pulling Lexie out of the elevator. Pushing her into the CT room, she assisted Lexie with transferring onto the machine. Once settled, Meredith offered her a small smile before exiting the room. Amelia was already sitting down at the computer.
"Ready?" she asked through the intercom, and Lexie replied that she was.
"She said that she has a headache," Meredith informed Amelia, running her fingers through her hair. "Do you think the bleed is causing that?" she questioned, staring at Amelia.
Sighing, Amelia nodded. "It's likely," she muttered, sitting back in her chair. The two women didn't say anything else to each other as they waited for Lexie's scans to pull up. Once they did, both surgeons watched as Lexie's brain scan appeared on the screen. "Damn it," Amelia muttered, pushing the chair backwards. "Can you prep the OR?" she questioned, pausing in the doorway.
"Yes," Meredith nodded, pushing the button for Lexie to come out of the machine. She quickly called to schedule the OR, while at the same paging Mark. Meredith stood up, shuffling into the room with Lexie. Glancing over at her sister, Lexie frowned.
"Bleeding?" Lexie questioned, biting down on her lip. Meredith shook her head and transferred Lexie back to her hospital bed.
"No, you have another aneurysm," the surgeon explained, locking the guard rails before pushing Lexie out of the room. "They're prepping the OR," she added, wheeling Lexie back to her room so that she could be prepped for her surgery. When they arrived, Mark was waiting, pacing back and forth. Lexie caught sight of him and felt tears prick the back of her eyes. She wasn't scared of having to have the surgery, but she knew that Mark would be a nervous wreck the entire time she was under.
"What happened?" he demanded firmly, attaching himself to Lexie's side immediately. He took her hand once again, staring at Meredith for an answer.
"Lexie has another aneurysm. Amelia is prepping for surgery," she said quietly, locking the bed into place.
"What? How?" he gulped, looking down at Lexie. "Hey, you're okay," Mark whispered, leaning down to kiss Lexie's forehead once he saw the fear in her eyes.
"I-I know," she breathed, not willing herself to say that she was scared for Mark. Meredith slipped out of the room to gather the necessary supplies to prep Lexie for surgery. Once she was back in the room, she successfully prepped her sister.
"Ready?" Meredith asked, eyeing her sister. Lexie nodded and held Mark's hand as she was wheeled to the OR.
"Did you call Derek?" Mark inquired, raising his eyebrows.
"Yes, he's scrubbing in right now," Meredith replied, offering the man a smile.
"Mark? How was Sofia?" Lexie questioned, turning her head to look at him.
Mark sighed, forcing a smile to his face. "She was good," he stated, brushing her hair away from his face. "It was nice to see her," he added. Once they got to the OR doors, Meredith paused. Mark knew that he would not be let passed those doors, a deep sigh leaving him.
"Okay. I'll see you soon. You're so strong, Lex. So strong," he smiled, leaning down to press a chaste kiss against her lips. "I love you so much."
"I love you, too," Lexie replied, letting go of his hand as Meredith wheeled her passed the doors. Mark put his hands into his hair, tugging lightly. He knew that he couldn't just sit in the waiting room, agonizing over whether Lexie was okay. Taking the elevator back upstairs, Mark found himself walking into Arizona's room.
"Robbins," Mark greeted, stuffing his hands into his pockets.
"Hey," Arizona smiled, brows furrowing in confusion as to why Mark was in her room and not with Lexie. "Where's Lexie?" she asked, watching as Mark took a seat on the chair next to her.
"She had another aneurysm. Amelia is operating now," Mark explained, resting his elbows on his knees. Mark's head was downcast. He closed his eyes, willing himself to calm down and relax. "I went and saw Sofia," he responded softly, glancing up at the blonde. Arizona's eyes lit up at hearing their daughter's name.
"How is she?" Arizona questioned, sitting up in her bed a little straighter. Mark pulled his phone out of his pockets and pressed a few buttons before handing it over to Arizona. A picture of Sofia at daycare was present on the screen. She had both of her thumbs sticking up, a cheesy smile on her face. "Aww, what a love," she cooed, staring at the picture. Mark smiled, sitting back in his chair. He and Arizona eased into conversation about Sofia, transitioning to speaking about some of their patients and cases that they had worked on lately.
Meanwhile, in the OR, Amelia was operating on Lexie. The light on her headlamp was streaming into Lexie's brain. "Derek?" Amelia called, stalling her movements.
"What is it?" he questioned, stepping up closer to his sister.
"Look at how big this is," she gulped, knowing that this would be tricky to treat. Derek glanced down, letting out a deep breath.
"You can do it, Amy. You got this," he encouraged, folding his hands behind back. He turned to look at her, seeing the fear in her eyes. "I can't help you physically. But I am right here next to you. You got this," he assured the brunette surgeon. Meredith was up in the galley, staring down at the siblings. She heard everything that was said. Not wanting to frighten Mark, Meredith chose to remain plastered against the glass.
"Damn it, she's in V fib!" Amelia alerted, handing her tools to the surgical nurse next to her. "Charge the paddles to 200," she ordered, taking the cardiac paddles into her hands. Placing them against Lexie's chest, the younger surgeon was shocked. Nothing occurred. "Charge to 300!"