Chapter 3

SCENE: SEATTLE GRACE THE NEXT DAY

(Lexie walks into the pit after lunch to see Cristina waiting for her.)

Cristina: Okay Three, go to room 518, there's a patient who needs some sutures and as comforting as it is I think you might want to lose the bib on your shoulder.

(Lexie looks at her shoulder to find a burping cloth still hanging there.)

Lexie: Oh, (Laughs) It's a burping cloth. I was just at the daycare having lunch with my son and I was burping him, guess I forgot to take that off.

Cristina: You have a son?

Lexie: Yeah, Aiden, he's nine months old. I should go take care of that suture.

(She starts to walk away.)

Cristina: Three!

Lexie: (Turning back around) Yes.

Cristina: Cloth!

Lexie: Oh right, thanks.

(She tosses it to Cristina who catches it and then looks at it and grimaces.)

(Just then Derek and Mark walk over.)

Derek: Cristina, are you okay?

Cristina: Can you throw a birthing cloth away?

Derek: What are you doing with a birthing cloth?

Cristina: Three was just here and she still had on this germy thing from when her kid was burping on her and for some reason she gave it to me.

Mark: Who's three?

Cristina: Little Grey.

Mark: Oh, oh, you know Cristina I'm not too busy if you want I can take that back down to the daycare for you?

Cristina: Or I could just throw it away.

Mark: No you don't want to do that, It's better for the environment this way.

(He takes the cloth and starts to walk away and Derek follows him.)

Derek: What are you doing?

Mark: Taking the cloth back down.

Derek: So you can do what?

Mark: Be helpful?

Derek: Mark.

Mark: I'm not going to do anything, I just want to get a good look at him.

Derek: Do you really want to make things worse with Lexie?

Mark: How will this make things worse, I'm trying to do a good thing, be helpful. I'm just trying to do what you said, fight for my son, and to do that I have to go by Lexie's rules and until I can sit her down and have a conversation with her this... (he holds up the cloth) is the only connection I have to my son.

(Mark walks away and Derek sighs.)

A FEW MINUTES LATER

(Lexie is just walking out of the patients room as Derek is walking by.)

Lexie: Dr. Shepherd, hi.

Derek: Hello Dr. Grey. Um, can I have a word with you, um, it's not exactly on a professional basis.

Lexie: Uh, okay. What's this about?

Derek: Um, I don't know the whole situation, but Mark Sloan is my best friend.

Lexie: Oh god.

Derek: No no, he didn't ask me to do this or anything I just figured if you had a third party to listen to it might things a little easier.

Lexie: Okay, I may regret this but okay.

Derek: Alright, like I said Mark Sloan is my best friend. I've known him my whole life, I've known him through his good times and I've known him through his bad and yes he is a little more, uh, experienced than some he does have a good heart.

Lexie: I'm sorry, but didn't he have an affair with your wife?

Derek: Yes, but we've moved past that. While there have been a lot of people who have seen his bad side there have been a special few who have seen his heart. And I can guarantee if there was anyone in the world who he would love the most it would be his son. His parents were never there for him so he knows what it's like to feel like no one's there for him. The last thing he wants is for his child to feel the same way. I've probably overstepped my boundaries but I just wanted to give you something to think about.

(Derek walks away and Lexie sighs.)

A LITTLE WHILE LATER IN THE HALLWAY

(Mark is walking down the hallway when he runs into someone.)

Mark: Oh I'm sorry.

(He looks up to see Lexie)

Mark: Oh hey.

Lexie: Um, hi, I need to talk to you.

Mark: I was just returning the cloth and he was sleeping I swear.

Lexie: What?

Mark: Never mind.

Lexie: Um, despite what happened between us I barely know you. Even though the things I have heard around the hospital have been bad I really don't know you well enough to judge. My Mom always believed in giving people chances. She believed that every time you met someone they were a blank slate and that you couldn't just assume who they were you had to really get to know them. In that case it would be unfair of me to blow you off and not give you a chance to be a father to Aiden. But my Mom would never let anyone into her life who could hurt the people she loved. She guarded me and my sister everyday of her life and made sure we were always loved and safe. So I really need to be sure you're genuine about wanting to be in Aiden's life. I'm not going to let someone into his life who is just going to end up hurting them. So you have two choices, if you are committed to becoming a father who will always be there for Aiden then you can come by my apartment tomorrow to have dinner and we can discuss this further. But if you don't think you can take on Aiden in your life 100% then you can just turn back around and go back down that hallway and forget you ever met me, so which is it?

Mark: How does 7:00 sound?

Lexie: (Smiling slightly) 7:00 sounds great, I'll see you then.

(Lexie walks away and Mark smiles.)

A/N: There we go, the third chapter! Let me know what you think!