I know I haven't updated this in like forever. I'm sorry. But the new spoiler inspired my muse and here is another chapter.

Oh and I'm flying solo on this one. No beta-reader. But I read over it a hundred times and I hope I caught most of the errors. So enjoy!

Chapter 2: Sisterly and brotherly suggestions

Derek found Mark exactly where he expected him to be. At the daycare. It really suited him. The whole being a father. He was sitting in a rocking chair, his daughter was laying in the crook of his arm.

His face showed the love for his daughter but when you looked closer you could see the new wrinkles that had appeared around his eyes. Derek debated with himself if he should take a picture. Because apparently it was necessary to prove to Mark that the look he gave his daughter wasn't that much different from the look he gave Lexie when he thought nobody was watching him. Of course the looks towards Lexie were also tinged with sadness and hopelessness but the love was still the dominant part.

Derek opened the door silently and walked into the room stopping only two feet in front of the rocking chair. When Mark looked up at him Derek almost turned around when he saw the hurt and desperation in Mark's eyes. But he'd came here for a reason. He wanted to talk to his best friend and he couldn't back out now.

"How does it feel?" Confusion replaced the hurt in Mark's eyes.

"What do you mean?"

"To be a survivor of a Grey tornado in the elevator." Derek couldn't avoid that a big grin appeared on his face causing Mark to frown back at him before he realized that Derek had seen Lexie and him earlier at the elevator.

"Not funny, Derek. I really don't want to talk about it." As if to undermine his statement Mark turned his gaze back to his daughter while he rocked slightly forth and back. But Derek wouldn't give up that fast.

"They can turn you upside down if they want to. Every time I think I know her Meredith does something that is stunning me completely. I think it's in their genes. They can't help it." Silence felt over the room for almost two minutes and Derek took already a step back towards the door when Mark spoke up.

"But I don't want this." Mark's voice almost broke with the last word.

"Don't want what?" Derek asked in a quiet voice. He could feel that Mark was at the brink of losing his composure but he knew from experience that it was even worse when you were bottling up all your emotions. It was better to get it out of your system before you exploded.

"You know exactly what I mean, Derek. Don't play dumb here." That sounded more like the Mark he knew and Derek continued to dig deeper.

"Mark, the only thing that really matters is if you love her." Mark's gaze was still adverted to his daughter and Derek could barely make out Mark's words when he replied.

"Sometimes love isn't enough." That wasn't exactly an answer to Derek's question so he pressed further.

"You didn't answer my question." Mark's gaze returned to Derek and even though he seemed furious Derek could still see how hurt Mark really was.

"I have Sofia now. I have obligations. I can't live my life as I did for years. You know me forever Derek. I made a lot of mistakes in my life. This time I want to make the right decisions. This is my chance of having a family. Maybe my only chance." Derek took a few seconds to form an appropriate reply to this in his mind.

"You know that I tried to do the right thing too. Sometimes what we think is the right thing isn't right at all."

"You are talking about Addison." It wasn't a question. Of course Mark was there during the whole Addison fiasco. He knew what happened.

"I wanted to save our marriage. But it was already too late. Meredith took my heart. Addison didn't have the slightest chance and I'm still not proud that I put her through all this."

"It still takes two to tango." Derek shook his head slightly. He couldn't understand why Mark could be so sympathetic when it came to the love lives of others but didn't acknowledge how much he was missing Lexie.

"Yeah, I know. But when I saw Meredith with Finn I couldn't lie to myself anymore. She is the love of my life and we wasted too much time. Don't make the same mistake, Mark."

"But she dumped me, Derek. To be more accurate she just left and when I wanted to talk to her she refused to listen to me at all. And don't get me started on the whole Avery debacle." Mark's voice got a desperate tinge.

"You both made mistakes. A lot of mistakes. Your relationship was rocky since Sloane appeared in your life but I still believe that you can make it work." Derek tried to get through to Mark but wasn't sure if there was any chance that Mark would see the truth in his words.

"What if I don't want to make it work?" Derek started to get angry by hearing those words from Mark. He would love to hit him with a bat over the head right now.

"Maybe you can fool yourself, Mark. But everyone can see that you still want her. Every time you lay eyes on her it's all over your face."

"I don't want this, Derek." Mark repeated the same sentence from just a few minutes ago. Maybe if he repeated it often enough it would become true somehow. As if Derek could read his mind he replied.

"Believe me, it doesn't go away only because you want it to. And I'm speaking of experience here. Loving a Grey isn't easy but it's worth all the effort and heartache."

"Really?" Mark's voice started to sound unsure. Maybe Derek was after all able to get through his defenses.

"Really! Give her another chance. If I'm interpreting it correctly she kissed you in the elevator?"

"Yeah, she kissed me."

"Answer me one question, Mark." Derek took in a deep breath and asked the same question he had asked a few minutes earlier. "Are you in love with Lexie?"

"Don't ask me that, Derek." Mark tried to avoid the question but Derek had gone too far to let him crawl back behind the shield Mark apparently had build around his heart.

"Are you?"

"Of course I am. I almost lost it in the elevator. But it can't happen again. It hurts too much and I'm tired of picking up the pieces of my heart after she breaks it over and over again." While the first sentences were spoken in rage the last sentence only sounded sad and Mark's gaze dropped back to his daughter in his arms.

"At least think about it. I'm still pretty certain that she is the love of your life. And you and I don't want to admit it but we aren't getting any younger. We have no time left to waste." Derek waited until Mark nodded slightly to give him the confirmation that he would indeed think about it before he turned around and left Mark with his daughter behind to mull over the things he just told him.

~M&L~

Meredith's first guess was the vending machines on the third floor. When she rounded the corner she could see Lexie slipping into a supply closet. An unwrapped candy bar already in her hand. After all Lexie was a stress eater. Meredith followed her and pushed the door to the supply closet open startling Lexie and she dropped the half eaten candy bar on the floor when she swirled around to see who disturbed her need to be alone.

"God, Meredith. You scared the crap out of me."

Meredith leaned with one shoulder at the now closed door and looked at Lexie with a glint in her eyes that made Lexie somehow uncomfortable. Lexie knew that look. Meredith was definitely up to something. Lexie took another candy bar out of her pocket and as soon as she had removed the paper she bit down a huge chunk. Before she could gulp it down and ask Meredith why she pursued her into the supply closet Meredith already answered her unspoken question.

"Should I get you a marker." Lexie frowned at her sister who had a big smile on her face.

"What?"

"To draw the line." It took Lexie a few seconds before the realization hit her.

"You were there."

"Yeah, me and Derek." Lexie took another bite of the candy bar and mumbled with a full mouth.

"Oh my god, can this get any more embarrassing?"

"What happened?" Meredith asked her eager to hear what happened exactly in the elevator.

"I throw myself at him like I'm a horny teenager." This answer and the expression on Lexie's face caused Meredith to laugh out loud.

"It's not funny." Lexie's voice started to sound angry.

"Actually it is. That's exactly how I felt when I kissed Derek in the elevator." Meredith still chuckled when she saw the embarrassment on Lexie's face.

"I wish you wouldn't have told me about this. It's all your fault, you know?" Lexie pointed an accusatory finger at her sister.

"What? Why?" Meredith chuckles subsided immediately when she heard this accusation.

"I remembered our conversation and then he smirked at me and I was lost." Meredith tried to suppress the laughter that bubbled up in her again. Lexie seemed really upset.

"Lexie, you are seriously screwed." Lexie looked up at her sister and nodded slightly.

"I know. Wait, why am I screwed?"

"It's so obvious. You are in love with McSteamy and sleeping around with other people and having meaningless relationships to forget him don't make this love go away. Believe me, it doesn't work."

"At least I tried." Lexie replied with a quivering voice and turned around to hide her face from Meredith.

"Lexie, you are really a Grey! We are always pushing away what's best for us."

"He doesn't want me back, Meredith. I've lost him." Meredith could see Lexie tearing up and she felt sorry for her sister that she pushed the love of her life away and maybe lost her chance to win him back.

"Do you love him?" Meredith asked her seriously. The laughter was gone because she could clearly see how much her sister hurt.

"Yes, I love him but what makes the situation even worse is that I'm also in love with him." When Lexie looked up again Meredith could see a tear running down her cheek.

"Lexie, you are a Grey!"

"And what exactly does that suppose to mean?" Lexie asked angrily and wiped away the tear.

"Go get him. We can be stubborn as hell. Don't tell me you don't have more up your sleeve to convince Mark that he should give your relationship another chance."

A small smile appeared on Lexie's face and replaced the lines of worry around her eyes.

"See, you have already an idea." Meredith smiled at her sister.

"Yes, but we have to see if it is any good."

Meredith could still see the tears shimmering in Lexie's eyes but she also recognized the stubborn look in them. Lexie was on a mission. Winning back the love of her life and judging from the look she wasn't afraid to play a little dirty.

I promise I will try to update a lot faster from now on. I hope you liked it. See you soon.