Author's Notes: Some more holiday cheer with our faves! Thanks so much for your kind comments on this one.
Lexie woke up the next morning to a small finger poking at her arm. She pried her eyes open and was met with her niece staring at her.
"Hungry," Zola said, in lieu of a morning greeting.
"You're hungry, ZoZo?" Lexie asked, yawning and rubbing at her eyes. When she looked at her niece again, she was nodding vigorously. "Let's go get you some breakfast then." She got out of bed and lifted Zola up. "Bet your parents locked their bedroom door so you couldn't get in, didn't they?" she murmured to herself as she unlocked the baby gate at the top of the stairs, making her way down to the main floor.
She could hear someone in the kitchen and just assumed it was Derek, until she turned the corner and saw Mark at the stove. "Oh! Good morning!" she exclaimed, automatically lifting a hand to smooth out her bedhead.
Somehow, he already looked perfect. He was dressed in a long-sleeved black t-shirt and a pair of jeans and she was still in her red snowflake pajamas, carrying around her two-and-a-half-year-old niece. Perfect, Lexie thought to herself. This is what the next few days were going to look like.
"Morning, Lexie! Morning, Zo!"
"Uncle Mark! Make pancakes?" Zola clapped her hands in excitement and Lexie laughed as she moved closer to Mark. She set Zola down on the island, keeping a hand at her back to keep her in place. Zola twisted around to look at Mark.
"That's right, sweetheart. I'm making pancakes!"
Lexie grinned as Mark looked up and winked at her. "I helped Derek set up the kitchen when they moved in. Things haven't changed too much since then," Mark said.
"Nice! Can I do anything to help?"
"Want to get some coffee started? I'm sure they'll be down here once they can smell that."
Lexie nodded and picked up Zola again so she could settle her in her high-chair, and then went over to the coffee maker. She stared blankly at it for a moment. "There are so many buttons," she murmured, dumbfounded. She knew where they kept the coffee but could barely figure out which one of the buttons was the power button.
Mark chuckled and reached over to press a button at the top right of the machine. "Haven't you visited them before?" he asked.
Lexie huffed, reaching into the nearby cabinet for the coffee grounds and she started to go through the familiar motions to make a pot of coffee. "Of course, I have! I've been out here three times since they moved. I guess Derek or Meredith has always been the one to make me coffee, I've never done it myself."
"Need any more help over there, Little Grey?" Mark teased as he flipped one of the pancakes.
Lexie laughed and shook her head, pressing the "brew" button. "Little Grey?"
"Mhm. Decided you're Little Grey and Mer's Big Grey. Cute, don't you think?"
"Adorable," she replied, her eyes sparkling as Mark grinned back at her.
"Aw, Mark, you didn't have to make breakfast!" Meredith said, coming downstairs, carrying Bailey and followed closely by Derek. Lexie jumped back from Mark, even though they hadn't been doing anything inappropriate and made her way around the island, heading back to Zola.
"Thought it was the least I could do, Meredith. Nothing fancy. Just some pancakes."
"Pancakes!" Zola repeated, grinning happily.
"Well, either way, it's appreciated," Meredith said. She glanced over at Lexie. "Cute jammies, Lex," she teased.
Lexie sighed. Meredith and Derek were already dressed too. "I am on vacation here, people. Cut me some slack!" She eyed her sister and brother-in-law's outfits. "You guys have to go to work?"
Derek nodded. "Yeah, but we both got Christmas Eve and Christmas Day off. We're having that big party on Christmas Eve, remember?"
Lexie nodded. "Right! Right. The party." She chewed on her bottom lip briefly. "Did you guys invite Jackson?"
Meredith's eyes narrowed. "Yeah, we did. Is that ok? I didn't think to ask you…I mean, it's been so long. You're over him, right?"
Nodding again and occupying herself with her niece and definitely NOT noticing the fact that Mark seemed very interested in the topic of conversation all of the sudden, Lexie replied, "Yeah, of course. Of course, I am. We're all friends. I just…want to be prepared, you know?"
"What do you have planned for the day, Mark?" Derek asked, and the other man glanced over at him before flipping a pancake onto the plate nearby.
Lexie sighed with relief that the attention was off of her.
"Was thinking I'd do some last-minute shopping," Mark replied. "Do some sight-seeing."
"Lexie's a great tour guide," Meredith said, smiling sweetly at Mark and not belaying the fact that Lexie had kicked her underneath the table. "She knows all the best spots in town still, I'm sure. Don't you, Lex?"
"Meredith and I are driving in together with the kids; you guys can take the Jeep for the day!" Derek said.
Mark grinned over at Lexie, who blushed and tucked her hair behind her ears. "I think that sounds like a great idea, as long as Lexie's up for it."
She nodded immediately, smiling just a bit too brightly. "Yeah! Of course! I need to get some gifts too, so that works out perfectly!"
They all ate breakfast together before Meredith and Derek had to get the kids loaded into the car and headed into the hospital. As Meredith was saying goodbye to Lexie, she whispered, "Have fun today. Don't do anything I wouldn't do."
Lexie laughed. "That really doesn't rule out much, Mer," she teased, before kissing Bailey on the head and smiling at her sister.
Once they left, Lexie retreated upstairs to get ready for the day. She sighed as she looked at the outfits that she had packed. She hadn't planned on spending the day with Mark Sloan, plastics god, when she had packed so her outfits were all…cute and functional and not exactly what Mark was probably used to with women that he went out with. She wondered if she could potentially sneak away from him today and buy a new dress for the party.
"I was expecting you to take me to the Pike Place Market, or something downtown," Mark said, as they walked along the main street of the small town that Lexie grew up in.
"I mean, we can definitely go there too, especially since you mentioned wanting to sightsee a little bit. But if you actually want to be able to get gifts for anyone…this is much better. There are so many tourists wandering around downtown right now that we'd barely be able to move." Lexie grinned up at him and then looked around. "Besides, this is much more…Christmas-y. The decorations in Seattle are great, but seeing this street all decorated for Christmas just always makes me think of Christmas when I was growing up."
Mark smiled at her as she looked around again, her cheeks pink with excitement. "You really love this don't you?"
"What? Christmas?" Mark nodded and Lexie shrugged. "I guess so. I just have so many great memories here. We moved to Boston when I was 13, and Christmas was great there too, but this…this was always Christmas to me. I mean what's not to like? There's hot cocoa and lights and decorations and presents…all good things."
Mark chuckled and nodded in agreement. "I guess I just…had a very different type of Christmas growing up."
"Well then I'm glad that you're here celebrating Christmas with us," Lexie murmured, grinning warmly up at him. She glanced up at the store that they'd stopped in front of and her eyes widened. She tapped on Mark's chest excitedly. "Oh, before we go our separate ways to shop, we have to go in here! It's the best hot chocolate in town."
Before Mark could protest, Lexie grabbed his hand and dragged him into the café. It was rustic and cozy inside, completely unlike the coffee shops that he frequented in Manhattan. "Can I get two peppermint hot cocoas to go please?" Lexie ordered from barista and blocked Mark as he tried to pull out his card to pay for their drinks. "My treat! I didn't give you much of a choice anyway, so it's the least I can do."
They moved down to the end of the counter to wait for their drinks. Lexie was practically bouncing next to Mark and he couldn't help but laugh. She playfully glared at him. "You will see what I'm talking about. This hot cocoa is the best."
Their drinks were pushed out onto the counter, with a sizeable serving of whipped cream with little peppermint bits on top. Lexie made a soft sound of excitement as she grabbed her drink and Mark grabbed his. Lexie took a sip and closed her eyes, moaning in contentment. "Oh, it's just as good as I remember," she murmured.
Mark laughed and Lexie's eyes popped open, staring at him accusingly. "What?"
"You've got some whipped cream on your nose, Lexie," he teased, thumbing at his own nose.
Lexie laughed and grabbed a napkin, wiping at her nose. She looked at Mark for confirmation that her nose was whipped cream free and he gave her a playful thumbs-up. "Ok, c'mon, you have to try now," she said, nodding towards his drink.
Mark laughed again and took a sip, coming away with a whipped cream moustache that he licked away. "That is pretty delicious. Probably more sugar than I've had in about five years, but…delicious."
Lexie waved her hand at him as they made their way over to the other counter where the lids and sleeves were located. "Oh please. Holiday sugar doesn't count."
They made their way outside again and Lexie smiled up at him. "Ok, meet you back here in two hours? Do you think that's enough time to get your shopping done?"
Mark looked around and nodded. "Yeah, I think that'll work."
Lexie nodded. "Great. See you then! Enjoy that hot cocoa, Mark."
When they met up again in front of the café after the two hours had passed, Mark looked curiously at the garment bag that Lexie was carrying in addition to the bags she had. "Whatcha got there, Lex?"
She shrugged. "I just wasn't feeling like I packed anything that was party-worthy." Of course, that was really what she had been on the hunt for today – a new dress that would knock the socks off the man in front of her. She grinned up at him. "If we leave now, we should get to Pike Place right as they light the tree, if you're up for a little touristy activity!"
Mark grinned and nodded. "Sounds perfect."