DISCLAIMER: DON'T OWN IT!

A/N: So sorry I haven't update in like forever. I'm not off to a good start with this story, but the updates will become more frequent. I had a bit of writers block with where this story was going but now I've got it down and we are good to go my beautiful readers.

"Mer, calm down," Derek begged. "It was just a dream."

Meredith paced the room, shivering, cold from the sweat that was still making its way down her skin. "It wasn't just a dream! I saw her. I felt her. She touched me!" Meredith cried. "She reached out for my shoulder and I felt her nails scratch me! Derek!" Meredith hissed, grabbing him by his arms, her nails digging into his flesh. "She's in trouble!"

...

Cristina crossed her office to grab her ringing phone. She checked the caller ID- Mer Home- and quickly answered it.

"Isn't it the middle of the night for you Mer?"she said.

"Meredith is freaking out," a voice said from the other line. "I need you to calm my wife down."

...

"Are you crazy?" Mark spat. "You went to Earth. I couldn't imagine what you were doing or who you might be haunting. But her dreams? You freaking spoke to her? That is like so against the rules Lexie! What were you think-"

"I was thinking that we are in trouble Mark! We need Meredith."

"Lexie, you know the rules. We have to follow them."

...

"So you know it was a dream," Cristina repeated once again, her voice slow and steady.

"Mhm."

"You sure?"

Meredith caught Derek watching from the corner of the room, his eyes worried. She exhaled heavily, staring into her own puffy eyes.

"Yeah. I think it's just due to stress."

She narrowed her eyes and looked over at the frame-less picture of Mark and Lexie, feeling her heartbeat pick up.

"Good," Cristina said softly. "Now, I have to go back to work because I own a hospital Meredith. And Shane just paged me. So do you think you can go back to sleep?"

"Yeah," Meredith breathed. "I miss you."

"I miss you too. Talk to you later."

The line cut out.

"Are you really that stressed?" Derek whispered.

Meredith turned to face him. "I don't know. Probably."

"Is it because of me?"

She shrugged. "I'm gonna go check on the kids."

...

"Stop yelling at me!" Lexie commanded. "Just stop it Mark. I did what I had to do. We need her help. Meredith has a connection-"

"Don't start with this again," Mark warned. "Whether she has a connection to this world or not, how could she possibly help our current predicament?"

"Because she's alive! We are stuck Mark, stuck in this in between and- ah!" Lexie broke off, clutching her chest as she fell forward. Blood began to drip down her face. Her arm twisted. She coughed and blood hit the ground. "Not again!"

"Breathe through it," Mark reminded her, kneeling down next to her. "You know how this works-"

"No!" Lexie shrieked. "If I'm dead this shouldn't hurt anymore- ahhhhhh!"

"Lex, breathe, okay? Breathe through it."

Lexie cried out again, reaching for Mark's hand. "This is why... I can't do this anymore. We need... Meredith."

Lexie looked over at the glowing light that lead to Earth. "Mark, please. It hurts even worse this time-"

"No," Mark said, pulling her into his arms. "No. You can't do that. You can't go to Earth. It's not allowed."

"Mark," Lexie exhaled, her lips covered in blood. "I can't keep dying over and over again. Please save me. Save us."

Mark looked over at the light and narrowed his eyes, trying to imagine what it would be like to walk among Earth once more.

Lexie whimpered softly, a whimper that was only present when one was too weak to scream anymore.

Mark lifted Lexie into his arms, took a deep breath, and jumped.

...

"Momma?" Zola mumbled, sitting up in bed.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you," Meredith said to her daughter. "Go back to sleep. I was just checking on you."

Zola opened her arms and Meredith bent down to hug her. Zola clutched onto Meredith's sleeve and as Meredith stood it moved to the side slightly.

"Momma, your shoulder," Zola said.

"What?" Meredith whispered. Zola pointed and Meredith reached for her shoulder.

Her eyes widened and she ran into the bathroom and turned the light on, tugging her sleeve aside so she could see her shoulder.

Scratch marks ran across it, right here Lexie had grabbed her in her dream.