Pairings: Mark/Lexie with appearances by other the rest the Seattle Grace crew

Rating: M

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: Ahh, thanks so much for the reviews on the last chapter! I'm so glad that you all enjoyed it! Please continue to let me know your thoughts on the story!

Recovery

Lexie was in the hospital for the next couple weeks. She had been clear from neuro within a week of arriving from Boise. Amelia had planned on clearing Lexie a couple days after her second surgery. The brunette had a few headaches that concerned Amelia, so she wanted to keep an eye on her for a few extra days. Lexie's CT scans remained clear, and Amelia was confident that Lexie had made a full recovery from her aneurysms. Once cleared, Amelia returned back to LA.

The rods were still in Lexie's legs, which was driving her crazy as she was unable to walk. Callie had come in to examine Lexie, determining that the bones were strong enough to remove the rods after the weekend. Lexie did not want Callie operating on her, but she was out of luck as Mark insisted that Callie was the best there was. Lexie knew this was true, but she was furious with finding out that Callie and Arizona had said that she was annoying. She knew that everyone had a right to their own opinions, but it really hurt her that two women who were going to be in her life for the next several years spoke that way about her. Lexie knew that she was going to have to let Mark know what Julia said, as it had been one of the major things that had been bringing her down, but she just was not up for filling him in on it yet.

During her time in the hospital, Lexie had remained relatively distant from everyone but Mark. What Julia had said to her had really affected her self-consciousness and her self-worth. Her friends still came to see her every day, but they could tell that something was bothering Lexie. Meredith tried to bring it up to Lexie one day, but the resident refused to reveal what was on her mind. Even April wasn't able to coax out of Lexie what was plaguing her thoughts. Lexie still hadn't revealed to April that Julia had come to see her. Mark was the only one that knew about that.

Lexie was thinking about her discharge and where she would go. Mark had asked Lexie to move back in with him when they were in the woods, and she had more than willingly agreed. However, after the belittlement that Lexie endured from Julia, and finding out what Callie and Arizona thought about her, she wasn't sure if she wanted to be living so close to them. She knew that she was going to have to look past this, but it was damn difficult. Meredith had offered to take care of Lexie at her house, and Lexie had said that she would think about it. The only way that she was able to convince Mark this was a viable option was that there were so many doctors living at Meredith's. He understood that, but he didn't want Lexie to be away from him.

Meredith and Cristina had fully recovered from the accident. It took Cristina several days, but she eventually came out of her comatose state. Derek's surgery with Callie was successful, though he did need nerves from his sister, Nancy. There were a couple follow up surgeries. He wasn't cleared for surgery yet, but was teaching a few classes at the hospital. Derek had said that he was going to perform surgery in the next couple days, with Callie monitoring him, to see how his hand function was. It was likely healed, but she wanted to be sure until she completely cleared him for unsupervised surgery. Arizona had unfortunately needed to have her leg amputated. Mark let Lexie know that Arizona was furious when she woke up and saw that her leg was cut off. Callie hadn't been the one to perform the surgery, but Arizona did not know that. Lexie genuinely felt bad that Arizona lost part of her limb. She wanted to show her support for the pediatric surgeon, but Lexie struggled to come up with a way to show her support when she was still angry with her and Callie. Arizona was also discharged home, so Lexie was unable to go to Arizona's room if she decided she wanted to speak to her.

It was the day that Lexie was due to have her rods removed. April was lounging in the chair next to Lexie, raving about how excited she was that her first day as an attending was coming up next week. She was able to retake her boards, a favor that Richard had called in after the accident, and remarkably they were able to pull together a panel. This time, April passed with flying colors. When April told Lexie that she passed, Lexie was thrilled and so excited for her friend. That was one of the few times in the past couple weeks that Lexie displayed genuine happiness. During April's rant, Mark and Callie walked into the room. Trying her best not to grimace, Lexie offered a small smile to Callie. "Ready for this?" Callie asked, glancing over Lexie's chart that was in her hands. Nodding, Lexie let out a small sigh.

"Yeah, I'm ready to get up and walk again. The sooner I can, the sooner I can get out of the hospital," Lexie stated. Mark grinned, shuffling over to take Lexie's hand in his.

"That's the spirit," he cheered, leaning down to place a kiss against Lexie's soft lips.

"I'll see you in the OR," Callie smiled, parting from the room. April and Mark began to prep Lexie, though Lexie insisted having an intern do it would be fine. They didn't listen to Lexie and pretended as if they didn't even hear her. April wheeled Lexie's bed toward the elevator, and they rode it slowly up to the OR. Mark held Lexie's hand the entire time until they got to the OR doors.

"I love you. When you wake up, you'll be good as new," Mark murmured, kissing Lexie's lips softly. Lexie nodded, reaching up to cup Mark's cheek.

"I love you, Mark. Always," she whispered as April wheeled her away. As soon as the doors shut, Lexie let out a deep sigh.

"April, stop," Lexie requested. The redhead did as Lexie asked and moved to stand next to the bed, looking at Lexie.

"What is it?" she asked gently, furrowing her brows in confusion.

"I-I didn't want to say anything, but if something happens in there, I want you to know that I haven't been mad at you. I," Lexie stopped, licking across his lips. "Julia came to visit me that day. The day you washed my hair. She said so many hurtful things, April. I don't want to get into them all. But, she said that Callie and Arizona think I'm annoying. Honestly, in the grand scheme of things, that's really not that big of deal. But the fact that they think that really hurts me. Callie's his best friend and will always be in his life because of Sofia. If I'm going to be in his life, I'm going to have to get along with them. How am I going to do that?" Lexie rambled, darting her eyes down to her blanket. When she didn't hear April respond, she looked up at her friend to see April's mouth hanging open.

"Lex… why didn't you tell me?" she asked, placing her hands on the bed. "Oh my gosh, I can't… I don't even know what to say. How could they think that?" she mumbled, turning her head to look at Lexie. The brunette shrugged, picking at a loose thread on the blanket.

"I'm assuming because Mark and I have always been so hot and cold," Lexie whispered, shaking her head.

"Does Mark know?" April questioned, straightening up.

"He knows what Julia said to me. He knows all of it besides what I just told you," Lexie explained. "I just wanted someone to know in case something happens. I had to tell someone."

"Nothing is going to happen to you," April stated firmly. "Are you okay with Callie operating?" she inquired, placing one hand on her hip.

"I don't really have a choice. Callie's the best," Lexie murmured, tilting her head to one side. "I don't have any doubt that she'll do a great job. I may not like her, but I know she's a good surgeon, and she's professional. I'll be okay," Lexie assured her. April nodded and moved behind the bed to push Lexie toward the OR.

"Do you want me to tell Mark?" April questioned, stopping right outside the OR doors.

"I can tell him," Lexie sighed, biting down on her lip. "What's one more day of waiting?" she asked rhetorically. April sighed, pushing Lexie into the OR. She assisted her friend with transferring over to the OR bed as Callie appeared.

"Any questions, Grey?" Callie asked, appearing over Lexie. Lexie shook her head.

"Nope, I'm ready," she assured her, giving Callie a thumbs up. April started to laugh lightly, shaking her head.

"The sedation must be affecting her," she teased, putting the surgical cap over Lexie's hair. "I'll see you soon, Lex," she smiled, squeezing her shoulder before leaving the OR. Callie went into the scrub room, preparing to begin Lexie's surgery.

It had been a few hours since Lexie's surgery began. April was on the hunt for Mark to see if he had been provided an update on Lexie. She checked Lexie's room, but Mark wasn't there. Taking the stairs up to Mark's office, she was disappointed to find that the man was not there, either. April eventually found Mark in the waiting room, chest heaving from running through the hospital.

"Mark," April panted, sliding over to him. "Any word on Lexie?" she asked, taking a seat in the chair across from him. Mark shook his head, sitting up straighter.

"Not yet. I'm hoping that she's almost done," Mark sighed, clasping his hands together on his knees.

"Sooo," April began, pressing her lips together. She knew that Lexie said that she didn't need to mention their conversation to Mark, but it made April upset that Lexie had been hiding this from everyone for two weeks. Lexie didn't need the added pressure on her. "Lexie said that Julia came to see her a couple weeks ago," she paused, biting her lip. "I heard that didn't go too well."

Mark nodded, confirming that April's statement was accurate. "Yeah, Lexie said that Julia was quite harsh," he confirmed.

"Well, she, uhh, she told me that Julia mentioned something about Callie and Arizona," April stated, picking at her scrub pants. "Callie and Arizona apparently said that Lexie is annoying. It's really affected Lexie," she murmured, placing her hands underneath her thighs.

"What?" Mark pressed, eyes snapping up to April's. "They said that?"

"That's what Julia told Lex," April repeated, shrugging her shoulders.

Mark frowned, rubbing his thumb across his jaw. "Callie said a few months ago that Julia wasn't annoying, implying that Lexie was. But Julia wasn't around when she said that. Callie must have said something to Julia, too," Mark grumbled, eyes going dark.

"What did you say to Callie when she said that?" April questioned, glancing into Mark's eyes as she waited for a response.

"I didn't have a chance to say anything because they were hounding me about telling Julia I loved her," Mark sighed, shaking his head. "Then Teddy showed up, so I didn't have a chance to say anything. Callie has always said shit about Lexie to get under my skin so at that time, I didn't think much of it. Honestly I was just trying to get them to stop pressuring me to tell Julia I loved her," he explained. "The fact that they talked bad about Lexie to Julia really, really irks me."

April listened intently, nodding her head in agreement with what Mark had said. "Has Arizona ever said anything?"

"No, she's fairly neutral. I think Callie doesn't like Lexie because she took my time away from her, back when we first started dating," Mark mused, crossing his arms. "Arizona didn't know Lexie then. She also doesn't try to meddle in my life. The only reason we are even friends is because of Callie and Sofia."

April hummed, not saying anything for a few minutes. "So it's really just Callie that doesn't like her?" the redhead questioned.

"From my perspective, yes," Mark confirmed. The two surgeons sat in silence until a figure approached them. Mark glanced up to see Callie, and immediately stood up. "How is she? How did it go?" Mark questioned, wiping his suddenly sweaty palms against his scrub pants.

"Great. Rods are removed. Her bones healed perfectly. She'll be out of recovery soon and back in her room. I want her up and standing today. It'll take a couple days for her legs to get used to having pressure on them, so the more she stands, the quicker she'll be able to walk," Callie explained, smiling brightly at Mark. "She'll be good as new."

"Thank you," Mark smiled and looked over at April. The redhead was beaming, giving Mark a side hug in her excitement.

"That's great news. Thanks Dr. Torres," April stated, looking between the two. It was clear that Mark was not happy with Callie, but he wasn't making it obvious. "I'm going to wait for her," she declared, rushing toward the elevators to wait for Lexie in her room. Mark turned back to Callie, side stepping her to head toward the elevator.

"Mark?" Callie questioned, sensing that something was up. "Is everything okay?"

"I'm just going to wait for Lexie," Mark responded, not in the mood to speak to Callie about the issue right now. As Mark exited the elevator, Lexie's bed was passing by him. He scurried up to catch up with her, seeing that she was groggy but awake. Reaching his hand out, he laced his fingers with Lexie's. She turned her head slightly to see Mark, a lazy smile making its way to her lips.

"She got the rods out," she hummed as she was wheeled into her room where April was waiting. "Aprillll," she cooed, the sedation clearly having affected her. April laughed lightly, waving at Lexie.

"Hey, you," April grinned, standing up to assist Mark with situating the bed. April told the nurses that they had it from there and they left the room. After locking the bed in place, April lifted Lexie's blanket to take a look at her legs. Mark made his way to the end of the bed, examining Lexie's legs as well.

"They look great, Lex," Mark commented, examining the incision closely. "Stitches are great," he beamed, moving back up toward the head of the bed. Lexie opened her arms, silently asking Mark for a hug. Leaning down, Mark took the girl into his arms gently, pressing a kiss against Lexie's temple.

"Callie did gooood," Lexie hummed, nuzzling her head in the crook Mark's neck. Pressing a gentle kiss against his collarbone, Lexie pulled back to smile at him.

"She did," April agreed, laying the blanket back over Lexie's legs. She went and plopped herself down in the chair beside Lexie's bed. "It sounds like you should only be in here about another week, depending on how well your walking goes."

"Really? But I don't have a home to go to," Lexie mused, rubbing her nose as she looked over at April. April furrowed her brows, glancing over at Mark as if to ask him what she is talking about.

"What're you talking about, Lex? You have a home, our home," Mark murmured, stroking her cheek softly. Lexie shrugged, biting down on her bottom lip.

"I don't feel comfortable there," she said quietly, glancing over to April. That was a lie. Lexie felt completely comfortable at Mark's. She felt like it was home there. Since moving out her parents' house right before college, Lexie never felt like she had a home. That changed once she moved in with Mark. Lexie appreciated Meredith letting her stay in the attic, and while Lexie didn't mind living there, it never felt like her home. Mark's did, though. The real reason Lexie did not want to go to Mark's was because of Callie and Arizona. They lived right across the hall, and she was still angry with them.

"What? Why?" Mark whispered sadly, gently turning Lexie's cheek to look at him. "Talk to me," he pleaded, his heart breaking at the fact that Lexie said that she didn't feel comfortable at his apartment.

"Because of…" Lexie trailed off, refusing to meet Mark's eyes. "Because of what Julia said about Callie," she revealed quietly. Mark's eyes went dark in anger. He continued to stroke Lexie's cheek to let her know that he was not upset with her.

"Lex, I don't care what Callie thinks. She is not my priority. You are. And Sofia. Yes, I have to co-parent with Callie and Arizona, but if she's going to be mean or talk bad about you, I will not be her friend. You are my number one," Mark murmured. Lexie finally looked at him, and he was able to see the hurt in her eyes. "If you don't feel comfortable there, we can move. We can move anywhere you want. But I don't want to live without you. I want to be with you every night after work. I want to kiss you good morning and good night. So, please. Please. Please stay with me," Mark begged. He was never one to beg or plead, but he didn't want to be without Lexie. He had almost lost her. They wasted so much time being apart, and he didn't want them to waste any more time.

Lexie let a tear trickle down her cheek at Mark's words. "Okay," she agreed, wrapping her fingers around Mark's wrist. "I'll stay. I just… I don't want her coming over. You can go over there if you want to hang out with her, but I don't want her at your apartment."

"Our apartment," Mark corrected instantly. "I don't need to hang out with Callie. If she's going to say untrue things about you, I don't want to be around her. I love you. I'm so madly in love with you. Seeing you hurt breaks me, Lex," he whispered, leaning down to press a kiss against Lexie's lips. Once he pulled back, Lexie gave him a curious look.

"You didn't ask me what Julia said about Callie. Do you know what she said?"

Mark quickly glanced over at April and Lexie followed his gaze. April looked at Lexie sheepishly. "I told him. I know you told me I didn't need to, but you were so upset. He deserved to know why," she explained, chewing the inside of her cheek. Lexie shook her head, offering April a smile.

"I'm not mad. I think it was easier that you told him," she whispered, reaching out for April's hand. April took it, smiling at her best friend.

"Well now that this is all resolved," April started in an attempt to raise the energy in the room. "How about we help you stand?"