Lexie sighed as she smoothed out her dress one more time. She'd thought that the red satin dress was perfect when she tried it on in the store, but now she was wondering if it was a little too much. Was the v-neck too deep? She didn't want to look desperate. She had already done her hair and makeup for the party, and this dress was the final touch. She heard a knock on the door as she continued to examine herself in the mirror. "Lex, it's me. You ready? Alex and Cristina are already here."

Lexie opened up the door and wrung her hands, looking down at her dress. "Is it too much? I'm afraid I'm showing too much skin. I mean it is the middle of winter…"

Meredith laughed and shook her head. "Lexie, you look beautiful. You're going to knock Mark's socks off. And I am positive that when it comes to Mark Sloan, there's no such thing as too revealing of a neckline. He'll love it. Now c'mon, get downstairs!" Lexie nodded and ran back to her suitcase, pulling out her gold heels that she had packed for the party and luckily still went with her dress. She'd left her hair down in dark cascading waves and she nervously tucked her hair behind her ears before slipping on her shoes and taking one last look in the mirror.

Mark was standing with Alex, and as Lexie came down the stairs, both men turned to look at her. "Whoa, Lexiepedia, all dressed up!" Alex cried out, moving forward to catch Lexie in a tight hug as she stepped off the stairs. "Looking good, Lexiepedia," he teased with a wink.

Lexie laughed and shook her head, playfully pushing at his shoulder. "Thanks, Alex. Where's Jo?"

"She's at the hospital for a few more hours. She said she'll swing by if she can." Just then Zola came running full force at Alex, wrapping herself around his legs. Alex chuckled and bent down, swinging Zola up into his arms. "She wouldn't want to miss saying hi to her best girl Zola on Christmas Eve."

Lexie grinned and kissed Zola's cheek before moving over to Mark. "Hey!"

"Hey! You look incredible, Lex," he murmured, his voice deeper than it normally was. He leaned in and brushed a kiss to her cheek.

She was sure her cheeks must have matched the color of her dress as he pulled back. "Yeah? You don't think the red is…too much?" she questioned, self-consciously brushing her hands over her skirt again.

Mark shook his head and grinned softly at her. "No, Lex. You look…perfect."

She smiled softly up at him. She opened her mouth to say something, but just then Derek walked up to them, handing them both beers.

About two hours later, the party was in full swing. Lexie had seen Jackson walk in but had managed to avoid him so far. She'd kept close to Mark all night, spending as much time with him as possible, knowing that they were both going back home the day after Christmas.

But he'd gone off to get more drinks and cookies and Lexie had wandered, saying hi to some of the other guests that she hadn't seen in a while. She was chatting with Callie and Arizona and their adorable baby Sofia for a little bit, before they had to go and change Sofia's diaper. She found herself alone momentarily and of course, that's when she heard his voice.

"The red really suits you, Lexie."

She shut her eyes tightly and took a deep breath before turning around to face her ex. "Thanks, Jackson," she said, smiling, even if it was a little tighter than most of her smiles had been that night. "It's good to see you. It's been awhile."

"Yeah, it has. How's Boston?"

"Boston's…great! It's been great."

"I heard Meredith mention that you've been thinking about moving back once you pass your boards."

Lexie shrugged. "Yeah. I mean…if there's a place for me. I'd love to learn under Derek. I mean…he's the best, you know? What about you, you're doing plastics, right?"

"Yeah! Yeah, I am. I was talking with Mark Sloan for a while earlier. I mean…wow. I had no idea that Derek was friends with him!" Jackson said, leaning a little closer.

Lexie laughed and nodded. "I know! We actually were on the same flight out. I got to pick his brain about all sorts of things. And he's been staying here at the house too, so I've gotten to know him pretty well." Lexie grinned. "He's really amazing."

Jackson's eyes narrowed slightly, but he didn't question her further on her assessment of Mark Sloan.

Suddenly they heard Callie shout out, "Hey! You guys are under the mistletoe!" She gestured to the two of them and then pointed up, her eyes sparkling with holiday cheer (and maybe a few drinks). "It's tradition! C'mon!" she taunted, before Arizona smacked her arm and shook her head at her wife.

Lexie laughed and looked up. Sure enough, there was mistletoe hanging right above their heads, in the doorway of the dining room. She looked back down, meeting Jackson's eyes.

"I mean, it is tradition, Lex. And it's not like we haven't kissed before," he said, holding out his hands in a conciliatory manner.

She smiled softly and nodded. Jackson leaned forward and gently pressed his lips to hers. Lexie expected to feel…something, kissing her ex-boyfriend. They'd been pretty serious for about six months and she still cared for him, but when he kissed her there was just…nothing. He made a move to deepen the kiss, but Lexie pressed her hand to his chest and pulled back. "Jackson…" She shook her head.

He stepped back. "Sorry. Old habits. I've uh…I've missed you, Lex."

She smiled softly at him. "I've missed you too, Jackson, but…I've moved on. And I don't want you to think that if you just hold on until I move back, that we could be something again." She pressed her palm against his heart. "You're a really great guy, Jackson. You're just not the guy for me. Not anymore."

He sighed and nodded, putting his hand over hers and squeezing gently, before taking another step back so that her hand fell away. "I get it, Lex. Thank you for being honest with me." He grinned awkwardly at her, backing away slowly. "It was really good to see you again."

Lexie grinned and nodded, before turning and heading back towards the kitchen where she had last seen Mark.

The last time she had seen him, he'd been chatting with Owen and Derek, but now he was standing off to the side by himself, holding a plate of cookies in one hand and his scotch in another. He had a bit of a thousand-yard stare, but Lexie assumed he was just spaced out. "Hey! Did you get me another chocolate chip cookie like I asked?" she asked playfully.

He looked up at her and Lexie was taken aback when she saw the hardness in his eyes. "You didn't just ask Jackson to get you a cookie?"

Lexie's eyes narrowed. "No. Why would I ask Jackson to get me a cookie if I already asked you?"

Mark scoffed and shoved the plate of cookies at her. "Here, Lexie." He shook his head and turned on his heel. "I need some air."

"Mark, wait!" she called after him, ditching the plate of cookies on the kitchen counter and following him outside onto the deck. "Mark, what's wrong?" she asked as she closed the sliding door behind her. The noise of the party faded away and they were left in the quiet of the woods.

"I saw you with Jackson, Lexie."

"What do you mean? We were just talking!"

Mark shook his head and laughed. "Yeah, that's what I used to say when someone caught me kissing someone too."

"Mark, that isn't what you thought-"

He shook his head again and held out his hand to stop her. "I was talking to Owen for the past ten minutes about a potential job in Seattle. Because I thought it'd be nice to be close to Derek and Meredith and the kids and…you, eventually. And then I come to find you to tell you and I see you kissing your ex!"

"Mark, really, it's not-"

Mark sighed and brushed past her and opened the sliding glass door. "I don't want to talk about it, Lexie. I can't believe I was so stupid. Why should I give up what I have in Manhattan? For the rain? For this crappy city? To work in a teaching hospital? I hate interns! I don't know what I was thinking." With that, he went back inside, shutting the door behind him and leaving Lexie out in the cold.

A few minutes later, Meredith came outside, rubbing her arms. "Lex, what are you doing standing out here in the cold? It's freezing!" As she came closer, her eyes narrowed and she wrapped her arms around Lexie in a big hug once she got close enough. "Lexie, what's wrong? Why are you crying?"

"Mark! He saw me…he saw me kissing Jackson. But it was just mistletoe and it didn't mean anything! I told Jackson that I was over him and I had moved on. But Mark just saw the kiss and he was so mad, Mer. He said he had been talking to Owen about a job and…I've messed it all up!"

Lexie stepped back from her sister's hug and wiped at the tears that had fallen. "He didn't want to listen to me, Meredith. And I…I really like him. And now it's all messed up before we even really had a chance to start."

Meredith rubbed at her sister's arms. "We'll figure it out, Lexie. If he doesn't listen to you, he's not worth your time." Lexie gave her sister a watery smile. "But if you don't get inside right now, you're going to be hypothermic before the two of you have a chance to straighten things out."

Author's Notes: What would a cheesy holiday romance be without a little bit of drama that could have easily been resolved with a little communication? I promise that I'll make it all better on Saturday with the last chapter! If you celebrate, hope you have a very merry Christmas. This holiday season has been tough and I hope that I've been able to maybe bring a little bit of joy!