A/N: Thanks so much for the amazing response to this, guys! It's wonderful to see that so many of you are on board this journey of Bookedith and Bookerek (how does that sound for a name for our favourite couple in this AU, hmm?)...Most of your guesses about what's gonna happen next were VERY close! Without stalling, I give you the next chapter of BL...

It was around midnight when Lexie and Meredith finally finished dinner and headed to their rooms for some much needed sleep. Pushing the door of her bedroom open, Meredith sighed wearily as she looked at her comfy bed waiting for her. After the day's events and exhaustion, all Meredith wanted was to walk over and collapse into her warm bed and just forget about everything else.

Coming back to the house from the hospital had not been an easy thing for Meredith either. As soon as the front door of the house had opened, Meredith and Lexie had been greeted with Susan's miffed but otherwise deadpan expression. Susan had barely spoken three words to Meredith during dinner, which was not really a new thing for either of them. Meredith was used to Susan's indifferent silence towards her, and Susan was accustomed to Meredith's presence in her home. But, that night, Susan kept throwing glares towards Meredith in a way that made it clear that Thatcher staying over at the hospital to look after Ellis was something that Susan was not going to brush off that easily.

Sinking down on the mattress, Meredith slid the strap of her bag down her shoulder and kept it aside. She couldn't really blame Susan for being mad – any normal wife would be mad if her husband stayed with his ex-wife overnight, even if it was in a hospital. That was mainly why Meredith had wanted to stay over with Ellis; Meredith did not want to cause any more troubles between her father and her stepmom because of Ellis' precarious condition.

Meredith breathed out loudly as she discarded her jacket and tossed it aside carelessly. Freeing her hair from the messy ponytail, she rubbed her face with her hands as she fell back on the bed. The soft mattress sank under Meredith's weight and she rolled over on her stomach to switch off the table lamp that was still glowing brightly.

As Meredith reached for the switch of the lamp, her eyes caught the small black corner of her diary poking out of her bag. She remembered all of a sudden that she had never finished writing her daily diary entry, given how she had lost the diary mid-writing. Exhaling, Meredith got up from the bed and reached for her bag to pull her diary out. It was a self-imposed rule that Meredith had created the day she had started keeping the diary with her – she never went to bed without sharing the day's events with her stiff-backed, papery friend.

Grabbing a pen from the night table, Meredith casually flipped the diary open, poised to start writing from where she had left off earlier. However, as soon as Meredith flipped open the middle pages of the diary, an unfamiliar handwriting caught her eye – a handwriting that was not hers.

Doing a double take, Meredith sat up straighter in her bed as she flipped the pages of the diary again, only to find a neat, loopy handwriting gracing the notebook's pages instead of her messy chicken scrawl. Eyes widening, Meredith's hands moved quickly to open the front page of the diary and all her suspicions were confirmed.

A small, bold, capital letter 'M' had been inscribed in one corner of the first page of Meredith's diary in neat black ink. It had been Meredith's way of personalizing her diary in the most minimal way possible, since Meredith hated gaudy and over the top decorations. But now, that small 'M' was gone from the page, and the page was as blank as an empty bottle.

Heart beating irregularly, Meredith snapped the notebook shut and gripped it tightly in her hands. Perfect, just perfect. What a great way to top off an already perfect day. She had spent all her day immersed in guilt and anxiety and a constant state of mental stress, and now, now, she had ended up losing her only reliable, non-judgmental confidant and companion and had come home with God knew whose diary in her hands.

Next day –

"Lexie!" Meredith cried rather loudly in the silent house, banging softly on her sister's bedroom door.

A crash and an irritable groan were heard simultaneously from the interiors of the bedroom and about a minute later, the door opened to reveal Lexie's wide awake face.

"Wha –"Lexie started to say but stopped when she saw Meredith's face. "Oh, Mer, it's you. I thought it was Mom again," Lexie murmured, noticing her sister's upset face. "What's up? Come in," Lexie said, moving out of the way so that Meredith could enter the room.

Meredith rushed past Lexie and plonked down on one edge of the bed. "Sorry, I know I must have woken you up, but..." Meredith trailed off guiltily.

"Hey, it's fine. I wasn't asleep," Lexie said as she came and seated herself beside Meredith. "So, what's wrong? Why do you look so upset?"

Meredith avoided eye contact with her sister as she played over the fight she had just overheard inside her head. Why did these kinds of things always happen with her? The more she tried to stay out of everyone's way, the more she caused trouble for everyone and for herself. The more she tried to stay invisible, the more obtrusive she became, always.

"Mer, what's wrong? Tell me," Lexie urged gently, placing a hand on Meredith's shoulder.

"I just..." Meredith started and then paused briefly, pondering what to say. "I – Susan and Dad are fighting. I just heard them in their bedroom – I mean, I was not eavesdropping; I was just passing by and I heard them and..." Meredith mumbled uncertainly.

"Oh, damn. That's – Mom is just...She doesn't need to fight about this too!" Lexie groaned, rolling her eyes.

"Lex, it's not her fault, alright? It's mine. It's my fault that I am not capable of providing shelter for my mother," Meredith said, rubbing her face with her palm.

"Mer, it's not your fault," Lexie stated firmly. "Can you stop blaming yourself for everything? And besides, it's not like it's anything permanent. It's just a temporary arrangement till we find a good nursing home for your Mom. And how in the blue hell would you be able to provide shelter for your Mom? You are so young, Mer. You just graduated from college," Lexie reasoned out.

"And most graduate people earn their own living! Not everyone lives with his or her parents at the age of 22 like I do," Meredith huffed in exasperation. She felt angry and frustrated, but she had no idea who she was angry at – the universe or her fate or herself.

"Mer, you will be earning your own living pretty soon too. You just need some time to get things sorted out. Once your novel is finished, you'll be famous and rolling in gold. Then, we'd have to come and live with you," Lexie said with a chuckle, trying to buck her sister up.

Meredith groaned. "Not everyone who writes a novel becomes famous or rich, Lex. And besides, I have written like two pages of said novel, so..."

"Mer, you'll be famous one day. I believe in you," Lexie said, "And when you are a famous writer like J.K. Rowling or Dan Brown, you'll look back on this day and laugh at your stupidity. Don't beat yourself up over Mom and Dad's fight, they'll be fine."

"Right," Meredith said rolling her eyes. "Oh, and another thing to top off my already awesome life. I went to the Lost and Found office today to ask about my diary and the diary I had picked up by mistake. The lady said she had no idea whose diary I had picked up the other day, and she had no idea where my own diary was either," Meredith grumbled. "So, now, I am not only a jobless, useless dependant, but also diary-less."

"Oh, Mer. You are not useless, and I am so sorry you didn't find your diary. Did you return the diary to Lost and Found?"

"No," Meredith said on a sigh. "I thought about it once, but I just...I don't know, I just couldn't bring myself to return it back. I guess I want payback – if someone else has my diary, I want to have theirs," Meredith said and then grimaced at her illogical reasoning. "Damn, that made me sound like a kidnapper holding someone hostage for a ransom."

Lexie laughed at her sister's ramble. "No, it's only fair to want revenge on the universe for taking your best friend away from you. By the way, did you try checking the diary for a name of the owner or something?"

Meredith nodded. "Yes, I did. But, first and last pages are completely blank. Apparently, the diary belonged to a crazy person like me who didn't want to write his or her name down on it," Meredith said.

Lexie chuckled. "So, seems like you finally found your perfect match. You should get married to the diary owner if you ever find him out," Lexie joked.

Meredith scrunched up her nose at her sister's joke and said, "Lexie! That's stupid. Even I am not crazy enough to do something like that. And besides, how do you know it's a he? It could be a girl for all we know. I don't think I'd want to marry girls."

Lexie grinned mischievously at that. "Well, we could find out if he's a he or a she..." she answered cryptically.

Wrinkling her brow in confusion, Meredith asked, "How?"

"Hmmm...We could...read the diary..." Lexie suggested, causing Meredith to gasp slightly.

"Lexie!"Meredith said, slapping her sister's arm lightly. "That's – that's just wrong. We can't read someone's diary like that. It's a personal diary – we cannot go about reading someone's personal stuff. That's just – that's against my moral principles."

"It may be against your moral principles, not mine. I could read the diary, and who knows? Maybe the person mentioned his or her name somewhere in the journal. Besides, it would be interesting..." Lexie said, earning a glare from Meredith.

"No. That's a no. It'd be – it'd be invasion of someone's privacy. My diary is lost, and I know that I wouldn't want someone to read my diary or the details of my private life that I wrote in it. I respect that other person's privacy too. Just because I am keeping the diary doesn't mean I am going to read it," Meredith reasoned out with her sister.

Lexie pretended to roll her eyes and said, "Fine, Ms. Moral. Don't read it. But, hey, at least the diary got your mind off other stuff..."

Meredith shook her head. "No, other stuff is still there on my mind," she sighed and said, "Guess it's gonna be another sleepless night for me."

"No, no more sleepless nights for you. You worry about things too much. You will sleep with me tonight, or you will keep yourself up all night with all your worries about the world," Lexie stated firmly, pointing to the other side of the bed.

"Nah, you don't have to do that. I'll keep you up with my tossing and turning around in bed. I'm fine in my room," Meredith said as she started to get up from the bed. "Sorry, for biting your head off with my rambles about my woes."

"Mer," Lexie said, catching her hand. "You never bite my head off. Come, sleep in my bed. We'll have fun, like we used to have back in school. C'mon...Please? It's been ages since I had a sleepover with my sister." Lexie said with a smile, patting the bed with her hand.

Meredith sighed as she looked at her sister's face. Lexie could be so damn nice sometimes – Meredith had no idea what she'd do without her sister in her life. "Fine," Meredith sighed dramatically as she gave in and climbed over to the other side of the bed. "But, don't complain if I kick you out of the bed in the middle of the night," she warned light-heartedly as she plopped down on the bed.

Lexie smiled as she dimmed the lights and lay down beside her sister. "Oh, if you kick me out of bed, I'll hit your head with a pillow. It's been way too long since I had had a pillow fight with you," Lexie said with a chuckle.

Meredith only laughed in response as Lexie wrapped an arm around her sister affectionately.

"See, this is the advantage of living in the same house as your family. Who would you have sleepovers and pillow fights with if you lived alone?" Lexie asked as the two sisters laughed and started talking about anything under the sun as the night progressed.

Flashback –

"Susan, you have to understand. The nursing home at Roseridge is not taking care of Ellis properly. That's why I want to bring her here. It's only for a few days. Once we find a good nursing home for Ellis that's closer to home, we'll transfer her there. She is not going to live here forever," Thatcher reasoned out with his wife as Susan paced in the bedroom angrily.

"No way, Thatcher. No way in hell am I going to allow your ex-wife to live in the same house with us. No matter what the conditions are," Susan bit back angrily at her husband.

"Susan, you know what Ellis' condition is like, don't you? She is barely hanging in there, and Meredith feels so guilty about not being able to take care of her mother all the time. If Ellis lives here with us for a few days, Meredith's guilt will subside a little too."

Susan shot Thatcher a glare. "If Meredith feels guilty about not being able to take care of her mother, then tell her to get her own place and live with her mother there. Ellis can't live under my roof, and that's final," Susan said decisively.

Thatcher sighed in frustration. "Susie, you know that Meredith does not have the financial condition to support herself and her mother yet. And we can't expect her to be, she is so young. It has hardly been two months since her graduation."

"And graduated people are capable enough to fend for themselves. Tell her to get a job like a normal person and support herself and her mother. How long will they be an imposition on us?"

"Susan!" Thatcher raised his voice. "How dare you call my daughter an imposition? She can live with me as long as she damn well wants to!"

"I am not kicking Meredith out of the house, am I? She can live here, even though I personally think that she should give up that pipe dream of hers and get a real job like a normal person. I am just saying that we are not taking up the responsibility of Ellis Grey too. Meredith is fine, but she can't expect us to shoulder her whole family," Susan said, her tone defiant.

"Ellis is not just Meredith's family. I was married to Ellis once, and we remained friends even after our divorce. She is Meredith's mother, and I have a responsibility towards her too, especially when she is so ill," Thatcher explained.

Susan gave her husband a long, cold stare. "Oh, so now you remember that you have a responsibility towards your ex-wife? And what about your responsibilities to your present wife and family? You don't have any responsibility towards us?"

"Susan, of course I do. And I am fulfilling all my responsibilities towards you. I am just trying to help Ellis in a time of difficulty –"

"No. We can't help everyone in their times of need, we are not a freaking charity centre. If Meredith wants to live with her mother, tell her to give up that stupid ambition of being a writer, and tell her to get a real job. At first, your ex-wife imposes Meredith on us when she was four years old, and now, your ex-wife too...No way," Susan said, shaking her head.

"Susan, stop calling Mer an imposition. She never did you any harm; what is your problem with her?"

"My problem is that she is riding on your coattails and fantasizing about all those unrealistic dreams and ambitions of her, and you can't even see it. When will you understand that your daughter is a cold, manipulative, deceiving person just like her mother?" Susan asked, causing Thatcher's temper to flare.

"Susan! Shut up, just shut up! I won't hear anything about my daughter anymore. This is my house, and I get to decide who lives here and who doesn't. You have never been a mother to Meredith, at least back off of her now."

Susan huffed. "Fine, I wasn't a mother to Meredith, but I wasn't a wicked, evil stepmom either, alright? I accepted her in my house, in my family just because she is your daughter, and I never tried to kick her out, did I? But, not her mother too. That I won't allow."

"Susan –" Thatcher argued and the altercation between the duo kept going on and on, both of them unaware that Meredith was standing just outside the room and listening to the whole argument, her eyes shining with unshed tears.

Two days later, Meredith's mind was made up about what she wanted to do. Thatcher had somehow persuaded Susan to let Ellis stay over with them for a few days, but Meredith hadn't forgotten the words she had heard from Susan. Susan was right – it was time that Meredith got herself a job and started paying her own bills. She no longer wanted to be dependent on her father and her stepmom, and God knew how long it would take Meredith to actually become a writer and earn something off that profession. So, having no other choice, Meredith had come to the only place she knew she could come to when in trouble – The Seattle Public Library. But, this time, it was not for her usual purpose of reading; this time, Meredith had come to the library in search of a job.

Making her way inside the large building that had been Meredith's favourite haunt since childhood, she knew that this was the only job that she would be happy doing for now. She loved books, she had always loved books and reading and writing. While the writing part was not really working out for her at the moment, she could earn a decent amount by putting her love for reading to good use. She spent most of her time in the library anyway, so it wouldn't really feel like a job to her, and she would get paid for it too. It would be a win-win situation for her.

Walking up to the familiar librarian's desk, Meredith smiled politely at Mrs. Smith.

"Meredith," Mrs. Smith said, smiling when she saw the young girl come up to her. "I was wondering what happened to you since you didn't come here for the last couple of days. Everything okay?"

"Oh, yeah, everything is fine now. I just had some personal stuff that I needed to deal with," Meredith said, not wanting to elaborate much.

"That's good. The books here missed you," Mrs. Smith said, "So, back to reading again?"

Meredith sighed. "Um – actually, no. I am – I am not here for reading today...I am here for something else."

"What, honey?" Mrs. Smith asked fondly.

"Um – I just – I needed a job," Meredith blurted out unceremoniously and then said, "I meant to say that, would you like to employ me as a Library Assistant? I come here almost every day, and I figured that I could put my knowledge of the books and the library to good use. You know, do all the clerical stuff and also help the people with books and stuff..." Meredith rambled as she tried to explain.

Mrs. Smith furrowed her eyebrow for a moment before saying, "But, I already have an assistant –"

"Well, I am sure you could use another helping hand," Meredith piped up. "I just – I really need this job, and I'm out of college too, so it'll be a full-time job," Meredith said, biting her lower lip and hoping like hell that she got the job.

Mrs. Smith stayed silent for a while, and Meredith's hopes deflated. Damn, she should have known that getting a job in the library wouldn't be that easy. Nothing in her life had ever been easy, so there was no reason why things would change all of a sudden.

"It's okay, I get it..." Meredith said after she failed to get an answer from Mrs. Smith. "Thanks for your time," she said and started to walk towards the entrance.

"Meredith, wait!" Mrs. Smith called out to her, causing Meredith to halt and turn around. "I'd love to have you here as my assistant," Mrs. Smith said with a wide grin.

Meredith couldn't believe her ears as she said, "Really?"

"Yes. Of course, no one knows this library better than you, and I'd be fool to turn you down," Mrs. Smith answered and said, "Welcome to the Seattle Public Library, Meredith. You can start from today."

Meredith's face broke out into a radiant smile as she muttered, "Thank you. Thank you so much."

Finally, Meredith Grey had a job, and one that she could do with all her heart.

Sitting behind her desk, Meredith turned a page of her book casually as she glanced up to see if anyone had entered the library. It was Meredith's second day at her new job, and so far, Meredith was having quite fun at it. She sat behind the desk most of the day, reading her own book as readers came and went. Sometimes, she had to get up and leave her book and actually work, like check the books being taken in and out of the library, collect fines and fees, answer general phone questions, issue library cards, process new library materials and put the returned books and other items in their proper places on the bookshelves. But, most of the time, she could sit at her desk calmly and read her own book, and others would do the same. It didn't feel like much of a change to Meredith – previously, she used to sit there and just read, now she sat there, read and did a little work and got paid $15 per hour for it.

Meredith scanned the entire library once with her sharp, green eyes and then returned to the book she was reading. Getting herself lost in the printed words as usual, she started when a voice said, "Aha! Behind the desk today, I see."

Meredith's eyes snapped up from the sentence she had been in the middle of reading and locked with a familiar pair of cerulean eyes.

"You?" Meredith asked, her lips curving upwards into a tiny smile for no reason at all as she took in the appearance of the blue-eyed guy she had met a few days ago.

"Yes, me," the guy smiled as he approached her desk, shoving his hands in the pockets of his black denims. "I didn't know that you became the librarian of this library," he remarked as his eyes raked over Meredith's form.

Meredith chuckled at his words as she took in the messy curls that sat atop his head, the crooked smile his lips had widened into, the firm yet gentle definition of his jaw and the blue shirt that he was wearing which only served to bring out the mesmerizing cerulean colour of his eyes. "I am not the Librarian, that's still Mrs. Smith's job. I'm the new Library Assistant/ Technician here," Meredith said as she gave the guy a once-over, her heart doing a weird fluttery thing in her chest.

"Oh, well, congrats on the new job, then! How are you enjoying this job so far?" the guy asked, grinning at her cryptically. "I know for a fact that it can be pretty slow and boring sometimes."

Meredith shook her head as she sat a straighter in her chair. "Nope, not boring so far. It's slow, but I like it. Gives me enough time to get my own reading done," Meredith answered, holding up the book she was grasping in her hands. "You seem to have experience though," she said with a curious smile.

The guy placed his elbows on top of Meredith's desk and crossed his arms as he leant forward slightly. "I'll tell you a secret," the guy said with a secret smile. "I used to work here as a Library Assistant once upon a time," he said in a hushed tone, tilting his head to the side slightly and giving her a wink.

Meredith blushed at the wink the guy threw her. Why did the guy wink at her so much? And why did she have to blush like a teenager every time he did so? He had done it that first day and Meredith's cheeks had turned crimson instantly. Today, he was doing it again, but Meredith refused to let her blush get beyond control. She didn't need the guy to think that she had the hots for him or something, because she didn't. She barely knew the guy and it was only their second meeting. Yes, she noticed the guy's obvious good looks, but that didn't mean she had a thing for him. She just wasn't used to talking to boys and getting compliments and winks from them.

"Well, that's not so much of a secret, is it?" Meredith said with a giggle, trying to control the faint pink tinge in her cheeks.

"Well, but it is," the guy said with a small laugh. "I just shared a secret with you, and you go around undermining its importance? Not nice," he said as he kept leaning against the desk and grinned at her dreamily.

Meredith had no idea if what the guy was doing counted as flirting. Sure, he was smiling at her a lot, and he was leaning against her desk and he had winked at her, not to mention that he had called her hard not to notice that day, but did all of that fall in the category of flirting? Maybe, he was just making small talk with her, and that was his way of making small talk with girls – being all charming and suave and well, dreamy!

Meredith shook out of her internal monologue and realized that she hadn't said anything in reply to the guy yet. But, she had no idea what to say next to him either. Did that mean the end of their confab? Meredith didn't want it to be, but she was horrible at keeping up with conversation with complete strangers, and given that she was abysmally failing at coming up with something to say at the moment, she was sure that the guy would think that she was a bore and walk away.

"So, you did you read 'Emma' the other day?" the guy asked, scotching the silence that was turning into a mental battle for Meredith and Meredith couldn't be more thankful for it. There was something about the guy that made her feel at complete ease, something that made her want to sit down and talk to the guy for a long, long time.

"Oh, no, I couldn't read it...I had – uh – a family emergency," Meredith said. "But, I didn't forget about it," Meredith said as she closed the book in her hand partway and showed the guy the title on the cover of the book.

The guy's face broke out into a gentle, dreamy smile as he saw that she was reading 'Emma' and he said, "Oh, I didn't think you'd actually take a book recommendation from a complete stranger, but it's good to see that. Do you like it?"

Meredith mirrored his smile as she rejoined, "Oh, I love it. You were absolutely right, it's an amazing book. And, I take book recommendations from everyone, so feel free to drop one anytime you want."

"Hmm..." the guy hummed, and Meredith's heart did another one of those weird, fluttery things. What in the blue hell was wrong with her? Well, apart from the fact that the guy's low, soft hum was easily the sexiest and most delicious sound she had ever heard, nothing was wrong with her.

"Since I gave you a book recommendation," the guy started again, "don't you think you should return the favour by giving me a book recommendation as well? I am looking for something good to read today, and my mind is out of ideas. Besides, it's part of a Library Assistant's job to give book recommendations to readers." The guy finished with a smirk.

"Ah, yes, of course. I forgot I was talking to an experienced man," Meredith quipped with a soft smile as she bit her lower lip gently and racked her brains for a good book. "Well, it depends on what kind of book you want to read today. I mean, fantasy, or adventure, or romance, or suspense, or classics, hmm?" Meredith finally said.

"I don't know...Anything would be good," the guy said with a noncommittal nod and a shrug.

"Oh, then, um – try 'The Road' by Cormac McCarthy. I just finished reading it a few weeks ago, and it's really good. It's post-apocalyptic fiction, and everyone seems to be talking about it these days," Meredith said, hoping that her book recommendation was up to the mark for the guy. She had no idea why she wanted the guy to like her recommended book, but she just didn't want to disappoint him.

"Hmmm...That sounds intriguing. I'll check it out, thanks," the guy said with another dreamy smile as he finally took his elbows off the desk. "Wow, I must have wasted a lot of your time with my chatter," he remarked somewhat sheepishly.

"No, no, not at all," Meredith said quickly, mentally chiding herself for being so quick to respond. "As you said, it's slow here, and sometimes, it good to talk to someone about books," she said with a slightly nervous smile.

"Still. It's your new job, and technically, you are at work right now, so I did distract you from your work," he responded and scuffed the sole of his shoe against the floor. "So, um, I'll let you get back to your job, or your book, and I will go check out the book you mentioned," he finally said after a pregnant pause.

"Oh, okay," Meredith said as she gave him another smile and watched him walk away from her towards a table facing the open space of the study area. Her heart sank just a little at the end of the confabulation that she had been really enjoying, but oh well, he was taking a seat right in front of her eyes. At least, she could look up from her book from time to time and let her eyes sweep over her dreamy Library Guy buried in his book.

"Hey," Lexie said as the door of the apartment swung open to reveal the face of a tall, well-built, blonde guy.

"Hey, baby, I missed you," he said and pulled Lexie into a tight hug.

Lexie smiled as she gave in to the embrace and let him pull her inside the apartment. "I know, Mark, I missed you too. But, things have been so crazy this week that I didn't get the time to come and visit you," she said as she shucked her coat and dropped herself on the plush couch.

"Why? What happened?" Mark asked as he plopped down beside her and pulled her close.

"Hmm..."Lexie sighed as she melted into Mark's embrace and said, "Mer's Mom got ill a few days ago and was admitted to the hospital. Dad decided to take her out of the nursing home in Roseridge and bring her over to our place for a few days. That caused my Mom to flip shit at Dad and...Now, Mer's Mom is staying with us for a while, but there is too much tension in the house with her around. Mom won't speak to Dad, and she sends death glares his way every other minute...And Mer is very upset over that, because she blames herself for it...So, as I said, things are a bit tense in my family right now..."

Mark cupped Lexie's cheek with his palm and softly brushed his lips against hers. "Well, how about I take your mind off all your stress and tension?" he suggested as he planted another soft kiss on her neck.

Lexie giggled as Mark continued to plant kisses along her neck and said, "But, I thought we were gonna go out for coffee?"

"Ah, coffee is overrated. This is much better," Mark said as he smiled mischievously at her.

Lexie bit her lower lip for a minute. She had just started dating Mark – well, she wasn't sure if it could be called dating. Mark was an utter playboy and he didn't believe in love and dating. For him, they were just having a casual fling for fun. But, Lexie knew that her feelings for Mark went deeper than that. However, she had no idea how to bring her feelings forth, so she took what she got – just sex and casual fun. But, sometimes, she felt like that was all there was to it – sex, and she had no idea what she'd do once Mark got bored with her.

Lips curving into a smile, Lexie suppressed her feelings for Mark for the time being and said, "Well, then. What are you waiting for? Take me to the bed." She pressed her lips against Mark's firmly as she climbed on his lap and straddled him.

"Whatever you say, baby," Mark murmured against her lips and picked her up in his arms.

Wrapping her legs around Mark's lean waist, Lexie let him carry her to his bedroom, their lips locked together. She had no idea what to do with her feelings for Mark when all he wanted was a casual relationship, but she could at least enjoy it while it lasted and let him ease her worries for the moment.

A/N: I know that a lot of Meredith's background is still in the dark, but as you can see, our Meredith is a very shy person here. So, she will tell her story in her own time. Meanwhile, I know that you must be dying to know our Library Guy's side of the story too, so next chapter will be from his perspective. Is he gonna be as shy as Meredith, or is he going to open up to us a bit more? Well, you will have to wait till the next chapter in order to find out.

I absolutely love reviews, and I have the next update ready, so leave reviews on this chapter :)

Please review and let me know your opinions!

Cheers,

DBI

A reply to the reviews –

DarkAndTwistyGrey – Thank you! I am glad you liked it! Hope you liked this chapter too!

msnovelist – Thanks so much for reviewing! We'll get to whose diary it was in the next chapter! Thank you, I'm flattered! :)

bhavyam1998 – Thanks a lot for the review! You were right; Meredith did pick up someone else's diary, but was it Derek's? Next chapter, you'll get the answer. I'm glad that you love it, thanks.

RhizOneill – Thank you! I'm glad you loved it! More is on the way, I promise!

Patsy – Thanks so much for the review! I'm glad you loved it. Looks like your wish of Meredith and Derek meeting again just got fulfilled! More about the other black book soon!

Guest #1 – Thank you! Meredith did pick up someone else's diary! But, who is the owner? Next chapter, I promise. Glad you loved it :)

ashmo2000 – Thank you so much! Glad you think so! More is on the way!

Cheryl – Thank you for reading and reviewing! Meredith sure does have someone else's journal, but owner will be revealed next chapter. How did you like the meeting between Meredith and her Library Guy in this chapter? Let me know :)

Dora – Thanks a lot! More is on the way, I promise! We haven't even got to the fun parts yet! ;)

CiaraM – Thanks so much! Extremely glad you love this! Your review brightened up my day!

Sara – Thank you so much! I'm so happy that you think so. Did you like the Meredith and Library Guy interaction in this chapter? Let me know.

Margaret – Thank you so much for the kind words! I'm extremely gratified that you think so. Diary, next chapter, promise! :)

PKLizzard – Thank you! I'm so glad that you think so!

Amanda – Thanks a lot! Your review made my day! More is on the way, I promise!

japa01 – Thank you so much for reading and reviewing! I am glad that you like my story; I did aim to do something that has never been done before. Hope you liked this chapter!

snv3 – Thank you for the review! Agreed, Meredith is having a difficult time right now. Next chapter will deal with the mystery of the diary, so stay tuned! Thanks!

Gina – Thank you! I'm happy that I have your interest piqued! More is on the way!

xtiannax – Thank you so much for reading and reviewing! Extremely happy that you think so about my story! Diary's puzzle will be solved soon, I promise! :)

Jane – Thank you for your sweet words! Your review made my day! More is on the way!

Carla – Thanks a lot! I'm glad that you love it! More is coming!

Cindy Lou – Thanks a lot for the lovely review! I'm extremely happy that you love it! More is coming!