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

Warning: Slight sexual content

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: I'm glad that people are enjoying this story! I have a few chapters already typed out but I'm thinking that this story is coming close to an end. Please continue to leave reviews!

Dinner Party

Mark entered the bathroom and made his way straight for the shower. He turned the knob to start the hot water, wanting the water to be plenty warm before Lexie got in. He closed the large shower door, turning to see Lexie slip into the bathroom. She closed the door around her, and turned on the switch to warm up the floors. Mark's heart swelled at how well Lexie knew the apartment. It truly was their home. Lexie knew the ins and outs of every room. Smiling, Mark shuffled over to Lexie.

Lexie glanced up at Mark, a blush creeping onto her pale cheeks. He smiled at her, tucking a stray hair behind her ear. "Can you get my soaps out of the bag near the bed?" She asked him, biting down onto her bottom lip. He nodded and slipped out of the room to retrieve the requested items.

While Mark was out of the room, Lexie shuffled over to the tub. She took a seat on the lip of it, gathering her hair in her hands. She placed it over one of her shoulders. Her heart began to beat rapidly, beginning to get nervous about Mark seeing her naked. The male entered into the bathroom, letting the door click shut behind him. He moved over to the shower and placed Lexie's toiletries inside the shower.

"You okay?" Mark asked, taking a couple steps over toward Lexie. She nodded her head, offering him a weak smile.

"Yeah, just get in the shower. I'll be there in a minute," Lexie murmured, causing Mark to step back from the tub.

"Okay," he whispered, sensing that something was up with Lexie. Mark stripped out of his clothes and stepped into the shower.

Once he was inside, Lexie shuffled over to the mirror in front of the sinks. She looked at the marks Mark left on her collarbones the night before and another blush appeared on Lexie's cheeks. She skimmed her fingers over the bruises, biting down on her lip. Turning away from the mirror, she slipped her shorts and panties off and placed them in the dirty clothes hamper a couple feet away. Finally, she lifted the sweatshirt over her head, and dropped it in the hamper. Silently shuffling over to the shower, Lexie took a deep breath and peeled open the door. She slid into the shower, latching the shower door behind her.

Mark was standing under the cascading water. Once he heard the shower door click shut, he immediately turned around. Seeing Lexie slide into the shower made Mark's breath hitch in his throat. She looked so beautiful. He opened his arms for her and she slowly made her way over and into them. Lexie wrapped her arms around Mark's midsection, pressing her face against his chest. Mark's arms looped around her body, holding her firmly against him. He could tell that something was on her mind, but he didn't want to push her. Instead, he just held her against him, letting his nose fall against her hair.

Lexie stepped back and let her gaze linger up to Mark. She reached up and cupped Mark's cheek, bringing his lips down to hers. Mark snaked his arm around Lexie's waist, pressing their bodies together. His tongue darted over her lips, eliciting a small moan from Lexie. He slid his tongue into her mouth, kissing her deeply but gently. Lexie's arm wrapped around Mark's neck, pulling his face closer to hers. She ran her free hand across his chest, relishing in the fact that she was able to touch him again. He slowly backed her up until she was pressed against the glass shower door. Lexie withdrew her lips from his, breathing heavily as she gazed into his eyes.

"You're so beautiful," Mark whispered, trailing kisses across her jaw and down to her neck. His fingers traced the marks he had left on her the night before, causing his lips to form into a smile against her skin. Mark continued to kiss down Lexie's body, dropping to his knees. The girl whined at his ministrations, parting her legs to give him more access. Tilting her head back against the glass, she prepared to feel his tongue press against her core. Her eyes snapped open when she no longer felt his lips against her body, a frown making its way to her lips. Why did he stop?

Glancing down, Lexie saw Mark's eyes turn dark but it wasn't from desire. Was it anger? Disgust? Sadness? She immediately clamped her legs together, suddenly feeling exposed. Her mind had been so preoccupied with the feel of Mark's lips against hers that she had forgotten why she was hesitant for him to see her naked in the first place. Damn it she thought. The cuts, the scrapes, the bruises. He had to have seen them and now he found her disgusting. Tears pricked at the back of her eyes and she desperately searched for the door of the shower.

Mark's hand reached up for hers once he felt her sporadic movements. He pushed her legs back apart gently, needing to see the marks that were littered across her thighs. Lexie slowly peeled her legs apart, allowing Mark access to look at the marks on her legs. His fingers delicately traced over each cut, each bruise. He pressed his lips against every single one before pushing himself back to his feet. Looking into Lexie's eyes, he realized that his initial reaction must have startled her. "Why didn't you tell me?" he whispered, pressing his hands against the glass on either side of her head.

Lexie bit down on her lip, avoiding Mark's eyes. "B-Because… they… they're ugly," she said, her voice cracking with each word. Mark moved one hand to cup her cheek, tilting his forehead against hers.

"Lex," he whispered desperately, finally meeting her gaze. "No. They aren't. They're a part of you, and you are the furthest thing from ugly. You're beautiful," he murmured, placing his lips back against hers. "Do they hurt?" he asked once he pulled back from her lips, gazing into her eyes. Lexie nodded slowly, wrapping her arms around herself feeling exposed.

"Sometimes. I-I didn't want you to s-see them," she admitted quietly, a few tears trickling down her cheek. Mark immediately wiped the tears away with the pad of his thumb.

"We were in an accident, Lex. You're going to have scars, physically and mentally. They just make you stronger," Mark whispered, leaning his head down to capture Lexie's lips in a heated kiss once again. He placed kisses down her body once again, pressing several gentle kisses against each cut and bruise before he finally placed his mouth where she had been aching for. Mark took Lexie in the shower slowly and passionately, proving to her she truly was the most beautiful girl in the entire world. After they finished, Lexie showered slowly, needing to lean against Mark for stability as her legs began to give out. The couple rinsed off and stepped out of the shower. Mark grabbed two towels for Lexie, helping her take a seat on the lip of the tub. She towel dried her hair and wrapped the other towel securely around her body.

Mark walked out of the room to get dressed. He grabbed the walker out of the living room and brought it to Lexie, finding her still parked on the tub. "Lex?" he called, causing Lexie eyes to shift up to his.

"Hmm?"

"You okay?" he questioned, arching his eyebrows. She smiled and nodded her head, drying off her arms.

"Yeah, just… just sore," Lexie blushed which caused Mark to smirk.

"I'm just that good," he replied coyly, turning on his heel to leave the room. Lexie dried the rest of her body off before making her way out of the bathroom and into the closet. She searched for the clothing that she had hung up, pulling a dark grey sweater cardigan off the hanger. Lexie dressed with a white tank top underneath the sweater and pulled on a pair of black leggings. She shuffled back into the bathroom, blow drying her hair. Looking into the mirror, Lexie bit her bottom lip as she saw hickies littered across her neck and chest. She grumbled and used her walker to shuffle into the kitchen where she found Mark.

"Mark Sloan," she growled, gripping the counter as she walked toward him. He raised his eyebrows in confusion, turning around to face her.

"What?"

"Look what you did to me!" She exclaimed, resting one hand on her hip while the other gripped the counter top. Furrowing his brow, Mark's eyes scanned across her neck. He grinned, shrugging his shoulders.

"I don't see anything wrong," he hummed, sliding over to her. His fingers traced the marks, and then he took the girl into his arms. "You're mine, Lex. I got you back. I don't care if people see it," Mark commented. Lexie pulled back, lifting her fingers to trace against his jaw. Mark had always been this way when it came to sex. He loved to mark her as his. He was never like that with any of his other partners or conquests. But with her, he needed to. He always had the overwhelming desire to see the marks on her body, to see that he had claimed her.

Lexie leaned up and pressed her lips lightly against Mark's. "Should we get started on dinner?" she questioned, pulling away from his warm embrace. He shook his head and pulled Lexie tighter against his chest.

"Let me just hold you for a few more seconds," he pleaded. And how could Lexie deny Mark that? She snuggled up against him. He lifted her to sit up on the counter, snaking his arms around her waist. Pressing his lips to hers, Mark rested his hand against her thigh. She smiled at him and threaded her fingers through his hair.

Mark pulled away and pulled out pots and pans to begin making their dinner. Lexie had decided last night that they would make a simple meal-spaghetti. On his way home from the hospital, Mark had stopped and picked up the ingredients as requested by Lexie. Lexie began to cut up the vegetables that they would put in with the sauce while sitting on the counter. Mark helped her off the counter when she was ready to begin cooking the sauce. In the meantime, Mark started on the noodles with Lexie peering over his shoulder to make sure he was folding the homemade noodles correctly. "This is your mom's recipe, right?" Mark asked, spreading the dough out thin. Lexie nodded, smiling small.

"Yeah. She loved to make it," Lexie murmured, stirring the sauce. "You know, when I was sedated or whatever at the hospital, I saw her," she revealed, sucking in her bottom lip. Mark's head whipped over to look at her, dropping the noodles into the boiling water.

"You… you did?"

"Yeah. We didn't talk, but I saw her. It was, it was kind of scary. I really thought I was going to die at that point," she whispered, placing the lid on the pan to allow the sauce to simmer. Mark crossed his arms and leaned back against the counter.

"But you didn't. You made it," he commented, letting out a soft sigh. Lexie nodded, glancing up at Mark.

"I know," she responded, sliding over to the cabinet that had the plates. Mark stopped her and grabbed the plates, handing them to her. Lexie thanked him and grabbed the silverware before making her way over to the table. She set the table and Mark started on preparing the breadsticks to place in the oven.

There was a knock on the door and Lexie suddenly panicked. She hadn't had time to cover up the marks on her neck. She didn't care if April saw them but she really, really didn't want Jackson to see them. Despite the fact that there were no hard feelings between the two exes, she still thought it would be a bit awkward, never mind the fact that Jackson liked to mark her when they were sleeping together. Lexie tightened the sweater around her body and slid over to the door, foregoing the walker. She hoped Mark didn't see her neglecting the walker.

Opening the door, Lexie groaned inwardly when she saw it was Jackson. Plastering a smile on her face, she greeted him. "Hey Jackson, come on in," she said, opening the door wider so Jackson could come in. He nodded and entered into the apartment. Lexie glared at the door as she was closing it, scrunching her face in annoyance. Of course it was Jackson that arrived first.

"Avery, you made it," Mark greeted, walking around the counter. Jackson handed him a bottle of wine, which Mark recognized was Lexie's favorite. Jealousy bubbled up inside him, but he didn't let it show on his face.

"Yeah, here I am," the younger man commented, taking a seat on the barstool. "Smells good. Is this your mom's pasta?" Jackson questioned, turning to look at Lexie. An uncomfortable laugh caught in Lexie's throat, knowing that Mark would likely be jealous that she had cooked this meal for Jackson.

"Uhh, yeah," she nodded, slowly walking toward the counter. "We, umm, we made homemade noodles with it," she added, looking over at Mark. She could see Mark's eyes were darker, a sign that he was growing angry and jealous. She slipped her arms around Mark's waist from behind, pressing a kiss against his sculpted back. She immediately let go and went back over to stir the sauce and peer in at the noodles.

"Anything you make tastes great," Jackson mused. Lexie's eyes widened, thankful she was facing away from the boys when that statement was made. Mark popped open the wine bottle, the popping noise occurring right after Jackson's statement. He grabbed four wine glasses and poured wine in three of them. Lexie was thankful that she was off all pain medication so she would be able to drink tonight. She didn't know how she would get through this night sober. What was she thinking inviting him over for dinner? She didn't know what was going on with Jackson; he wasn't acting like this at the hospital. Maybe it was seeing her back at Mark's Lexie thought. Turning around, she made her way over to the counter by Mark and took a sip of the wine. She felt Jackson's eyes trail down to her chest and her cheeks began to heat up. She didn't realize that she had let her sweater open. Great, now he's seen the hickies. This couldn't get any better Lexie thought. Lexie took a big gulp of the wine, feeling Jackson's eyes burning into her skin. She set the glass down and turned to look at Mark, who in turn was staring at Jackson.

"Why don't you go take a seat at the table? I can finish up over here and bring the food over," Lexie said, clearing her throat. She licked across her lips, gripping the glass in her hand. Jackson nodded and made his way over to the table. As soon as Jackson's back was to them, Mark leaned down to Lexie's ear.

"What the fuck is going on?" he seethed, causing Lexie's heart rate to rise. She shook her head and shrugged.

"I don't know, I-I.. he, I don't know. He wasn't like this at the hospital," she whispered back, wrapping her arms around herself. Mark let out a deep breath, trying to contain his anger. He knew that Lexie wasn't doing anything, and he couldn't be mad at her for having a past relationship with Jackson. But, he didn't like it. He did not like how Jackson was gazing at Lexie. He didn't like the way he looked at her chest. He saw the jealousy flash through his eyes when they landed on the marks on her neck. Mark leaned down and connected his lips to Lexie's roughly, causing her to jump in surprise. She placed her hands against Mark's chest, kissing him back slowly.

"It's you, only you," she breathed against his lips, moving her hands up to cup his cheeks. "Only. You," she repeated. Mark nodded slowly, letting Lexie go. She smiled at him, moving slowly to pour herself another glass of wine. A knock at the door caused Lexie to slide across the laminate floor, without her walker (hoping that Mark wasn't watching). She opened it, letting out a sigh as she saw April. "Thank god," she muttered, pulling April inside.

"Hi…," April greeted hesitantly, furrowing her brows at Lexie. Lexie let go of the redhead, pointing to the bedroom.

"I need to talk to you," she whispered, to which April nodded. The girls started to make their way toward the bedroom.

"Lexie, walker," Mark disciplined, standing to move the walker to Lexie. She rolled her eyes, placing her hands the walker.

"Can you watch the food? April and I, uhh, we need to, I need her help with something," Lexie stuttered, trailing after April. Mark nodded and resumed his previous position, across from Jackson. Lexie heard them discussing some new plastics procedure. She was glad that Mark was engaging in conversation with their guest. Lexie closed the door behind her and moved to sit on the bed.

"What is going on?" April asked, laughing strangely. She shook her head as if to ask for an explanation. "You pulled me into the apartment, they're acting… woah, what, Lexie your neck!" April squealed, cupping her hands over her mouth. "Jeez, Lex, you got some," she giggled. Lexie blushed, covering her eyes with her hands.

"Yeah, this," she grumbled, pointing at the hickies. "Is the issue! I lost track of time, and Jackson showed up. I didn't have time to cover them. I'm an idiot and suggested we have spaghetti, my mom's spaghetti, which I apparently made for Jackson before. Mark didn't like that, then Jackson saw these, and now… ugh," Lexie rambled, shaking her head.

"Why does it matter that Jackson saw them?" April asked slightly defensive, furrowing her brows.

"He looked angry, April. He just kept staring at them. I don't know why. But now it's awkward and tense out there," Lexie explained as she pointed to the door, biting the inside of her cheek. April nodded, shifting her weight from one foot to another.

"Does he still like you? I thought, I thought he was over you. He slept with me," April whispered, threading her fingers through her hair.

"I thought so, too. Maybe it's just seeing me with Mark. He knew I was still in love with him while we were together, so maybe that realization just hit him," Lexie shrugged, smiling sadly at her friend.

"Yeah.. yeah, that could be," April agreed, telling herself that she needed to think that way or her heart would break even more. She looked up at Lexie, breaking into a smile. "So, what did you two do last night?"

Lexie laughed lightly, shaking her head. "Last night and today," she corrected, pulling herself up by her walker. April gasped and followed Lexie out of the bedroom. The brunette made her way back over to the food, April going along with her. The two girls dished up the food into bowls and placed the bread onto the plate. April brought the bowls and plate over to the table before taking a seat between the two boys as did Lexie. Lexie sat beside Mark, taking his hand under the table. He looked over at her, smiling softly. She offered him a smile in return, turning her attention to April.

April had taken the wine bottle that was on the table, pouring the liquid into the wine glass in front of her plate. She poured Lexie a glass as well before grabbing the noodles to pass them around. The bowls were passed around and each person took a piece of the bread. They began to eat in silence. Lexie's eyes scanned between Jackson, April, and Mark, trying to take her attention off the awkwardness. April began to giggle, covering her mouth to try and contain the laughter. Jackson turned his head to look at April, scrunching his face up in confusion. Lexie bit down on her lip, taking a sip of the wine in her glass.

"I'm sorry," April breathed, pinching her nose to quit the laughter. The silence was making her uncomfortable which resulted in her laughing. Lexie looked over at her and let out a small laugh, shaking her head. Mark placed his hand back under the table, resting his palm against Lexie's thigh. He wanted nothing more than to take her to their bedroom and show her that she was his, but he couldn't. So, he settled on placing his hand over her leg. Lexie placed her hand over Mark's, lacing their fingers together.

"How did the boards go for you?" Lexie asked Jackson, breaking the silence after April's laughing fit. Jackson finished chewing his bite of the bread before speaking.

"Good. I passed, so it must've went alright," he teased, causing Lexie to laugh herself.

"Right. Duh. Did Mark's teaching skills help you out?"

"Of course. I just had to tell the test proctors that Sloan was my mentor. You know, everyone loves Sloan," Jackson rolled his eyes amusingly, causing Lexie to turn her head and beam at Mark. She noticed that he was emotionally withdrawn, but she knew that no one else would notice. She squeezed his hand gently, pulling his attention back to her.

"I don't think the interns do," Lexie teased, poking fun at her boyfriend.

"Well, he's a bit scary when you think about it," April commented, taking a sip of her wine. "Remember when we first started and he threatened to kick all of us out of the OR because none of us got him the right flavor of cappuccino?" she mused, looking over at Jackson. He nodded as he let out a laugh.

"How could I forget?"

The rest of the meal went smoothly, light conversation taking over. Lexie sat back in her chair, extending her legs. They began to hurt, but she didn't want Mark to know that. He would insist that she go lay down, and she refused to do that. April looked over at Lexie when she felt her feet brush against her legs. "Should we go take a seat in the living room? Let the men do the dishes?" the redhead questioned. Lexie nodded appreciatively, shuffling over to the couch. April pulled the coffee table closer to the couch once Lexie was sitting down so that the brunette could elevate her legs.

"Thanks, April. They were… they started to hurt," Lexie commented, chewing on her bottom lip.

"I know," April smiled, taking a seat on the chair next to the couch. Lexie turned to face her as they slipped into conversation while Jackson and Mark did the dishes. Little did she know that she was in for a long, interesting night.