Hello all! Well, here it is, the chapter you all have been waiting for. Thank you to Lattelady for the amazing beta job she did! All mistakes are mine.

*

There was some measure of satisfaction that Miranda Bailey always got from a good car accident. Or at least there had been, once upon a time. Before her husband had almost been killed, car accidents had made her feel in her element. After Tucker nearly died though, she could hardly stomach them. And they occurred all too frequently. It only added to the general exhaustion she felt constantly these days. But she had to force that from her mind now, because on a night like tonight, there would be no shortage of car accidents.

And she was right; all evening there had been a steady stream of them coming in along with doctors who were testy that they had to return on their nights off. When Mark Sloan and Derek Shepherd had come in, Bailey rolled her eyes and walked over to them.

"For the last time, let it go, Derek," Mark was saying.

"Why won't you tell me who it is?" Derek replied, his curiosity present in his voice.

"What does it matter? What satisfaction will you have from knowing?"

"Why are you being so evasive?" Derek asked with a laugh.

"Who, me?" Mark replied innocently.

Bailey had enough. "Dr. Shepherd, Dr. Sloan. So nice of you to join us this evening."

"What do you mean?" Derek grumbled. "I was here less than an hour ago."

Bailey lifted an eyebrow. "Your point being? I have been here for forty-five hours straight."

"No point," Derek hastily said.

Mark smirked. Derek never knew when to be quiet in front of Bailey. "You paged us, Dr. Bailey?"

She nodded and looked at Mark. "We have a major accident that just came in. Some fool got drunk and ran a red light. His daughter was in the car and she burned her arm when the airbag went off. It's pretty bad. Trauma 3," Bailey said, as she turned to Derek. "The father has a concussion, with blurred vision and speech impairment. I need you to check him out."

"Because of the alcohol?" Derek asked.

Bailey put her hands on her hips. "You think I don't know the difference between a drunken man and a man with speech impairment?"

Derek swallowed. "Of course not, Dr. Bailey."

Mark choked back a laugh, and then winked at Derek as he walked away. "See you later."

"I still want to know!" Derek yelled, but Mark waved him off as he left.

"Trauma 2," Bailey said to Derek. She then paused.

Derek nodded, and started muttering to himself, "I will find out who he is living with."

Bailey paused. "Did you just say Dr. Sloan is living with someone?"

"Yeah, and he won't tell me who," Derek said as he walked over to the trauma room with Bailey on his heels.

She shook her head. "You mean you don't know?"

"No, I don't—" He paused. "Do you mean you know?"

"Course I do," Bailey said. "I know everything that goes on in this hospital."

"I'll remember that," Derek said. "So who is it? That Derm Nurse who started here a couple months ago?"

The look on her face could only be described as incredulous disbelief. "You know, for a brain surgeon you don't pay attention to details."

"What does that mean?" Derek asked.

Bailey opened her mouth to answer when her pager went off. "Gotta go," She muttered.

Derek shook his head and walked into the trauma room. Izzie Stevens was running tests on the patient's responses with the help of one of her interns. After she quickly told him what was going on, Derek stood in front of the patient, who was sitting up. "Hello Mr. Zelnick, I am Dr. Shepherd. Dr. Stevens tells me you are having trouble speaking."

"It could be an effect of the concussion," Izzie said. "But I wanted to be sure."

Derek nodded, checking the patient's pupils for response. "You did the right thing."

The patient, who had been quiet until now, mumbled something. "Ta gurrrr."

Derek looked at him in confusion. "I am sorry, what did you say?"

"Tha gurrrrl," the patient said with more emphasis.

"Oh, your daughter?" Derek asked. "She is being examined by Dr. Sloan at the moment."

"No," the patient said. "Tha gurl ah hit."

Derek looked down in surprise. "You hit a girl? A young woman?"

Mr. Zelnick nodded. "Wif ma car."

Derek looked at Izzie. "Did the EMT mention anything about another car in the accident?"

Izzie shook her head. "I better go ask Dr. Bailey if there is another ambulance coming."

She opened the door to the room, but she stopped in surprise when she saw Bailey, Yang, and Alex all running for the doors of the emergency room.

Bailey ran without thinking, rushing to meet the ambulance as she tied a new yellow smock behind her neck. Alex and Christina followed suit.

"This one is mine Karev," Cristina snarled.

"You wish," Alex fired back.

"Stop it, both of you," Bailey snapped as the ambulance came rushing up to the entrance. As soon as it stopped, the doors flew open and two EMTs lowered the stretcher to the floor. They were moving quickly into the ER; their jackets had blood on them.

"What do we have?" Bailey asked, running next to the stretcher.

"Car accident. We managed to stabilize her in the field, but she had lost a lot of blood."

Bailey gasped when she saw who was lying on the stretcher with a neck brace holding her head in place.

"Page the chief," she said to a shocked Cristina. "And Dr. Hunt."

"He…he's in surgery," Cristina stuttered.

"Well, pull him out!" Bailey yelled. "Everybody move!"

The stretcher was quickly moved into Trauma 1, with no delay as Bailey began barking orders to the unlucky nurses on the floor. When some interns who had been doing scut wandered over, Bailey snapped, "No interns," and closed the door.

"Alex," Izzie said, from the door of Trauma 2, "What's going on?"

"They've rushed in the person from the other car." Alex said quickly. "The one your patient hit."

Izzie looked confused. "Why is Bailey acting so…"

Alex opened the door to Trauma 1. "Because it's Lexie Grey."

She gasped.

"The patient is Lexie Grey," Alex repeated.

***

Bailey worked furiously, trying to divorce her mind from thinking about who was lying on the table. Soon, she and Alex were rejoined by Cristina, who got to work quickly.

"There are a couple of broken ribs and a dislocated shoulder here," Alex said, "Not to mention the internal bleeding."

"Get her typed and crossed and have them release O neg from the emergency blood supply." Bailey snapped, trying to staunch the blood, though she couldn't figure out where it was coming from.

"Her pressure's falling and she's getting tachycardic." Cristina said, watching the monitors and carefully observing Lexie's heart rate and rhythm. She looked down at Lexie's face, and tried not to feel anxious that her intern was now her patient. For all her brusque behavior, Cristina really liked Lexie and it killed her that she was on her table. It was all too familiar, too intense.

"What do we have?" The Chief asked, as he burst into the room, followed by Owen Hunt and Derek Shepherd.

"It's Lexie Grey, sir," Bailey said, as she then filled him in on all the details.

Their little motley crew worked quietly for the next ten minutes, trying to stabilize Lexie.

"Karev, get an OR ready. Tell them we are coming right up. Yang, page Dr. Torres," Richard said. "We need to get her shoulder set." Alex and Cristina scurried out of the room quickly and did just that.

Soon, Callie was stepping into the room with Cristina and Sadie on her heels.

"What do we…Oh, my God," Callie said, rushing over to the table. "What happened?"

"She was hit by a drunk driver," Bailey said. "Set the shoulder before surgery."

Callie nodded, and with Sadie's help, she had it back in place with a sickening cracking sound. She then stepped back, moving with Sadie towards the door.

"She was fine earlier," Sadie said. "What was she doing out on a night like this?"

Callie shook her head, not knowing how to respond. Lexie Grey was one of the good ones.

They were about to leave when suddenly, Sadie's stricken eyes flew to hers. "Has anyone told Dr. Sloan?"

Callie looked at her in horror. "Dr. Shepherd," she said quickly, looking at Derek who was checking Lexie's vitals.

"Dr. Shepherd!"

Derek looked up from Lexie's still form. "What?" He snapped.

"Have you told Dr. Sloan that Lexie is here?" Callie asked, her voice tremulous and anxious.

Derek shook his head in confusion. "No, why?"

"Dr. Shepherd," Sadie said slowly, wringing her hands much like Callie was, "We need to page Dr. Sloan immediately."

The Chief looked up, and then swore. "I will," he said.

"He's just next door," Derek said, still not understanding.

"I'll go," Callie said, quietly. She left the room, and as she walked over to the other trauma room, where she could see Mark through the window, her feet dragged with every step. She paused outside the door, watching as Mark was laughing with a little girl who didn't look much older than seven. He had just finished wrapping her arm when Callie stepped inside.

"Mark," she said hoarsely.

He looked up. "Ah, Dr. Torres. What can I do for you?" His voice was full of good humor, and he didn't seem to notice the pallor of Callie's face. "My patient here was just telling me about a trip she took to New York a couple months ago for Christmas with her family."

Callie shook her head, trying to find a way to tell him. "You need to come to Trauma 1, the patient…" she trailed off, struggling to keep her voice from trembling.

"Do you need a consult?" He asked, smiling.

"Mark…" Callie tried to find the words. "Mark, it's Lexie."

He frowned, but didn't seem concerned. "Lexie wants to see me? She was paged?"

"No…Lexie is in trauma 1. There was a car accident."

Mark's face drained of color, and then suddenly he was rushing past her and running the short distance to the first trauma room. Yanking open the door, he flew into the room. "What happened?" He yelled at the Chief as he rushed to Lexie's head, cradling her skull in his hands.

"She was hit by a drunk driver," Derek responded, surprised by his friends actions.

"Dr. Sloan," the Chief said, "You need to wait outside."

"I'm not leaving her," Mark growled.

Alex came running into the room at that moment. "OR 1 is ready."

The Chief opened his mouth to respond when every alarm on Lexie's monitor went off. Her pressure was so low that the sensitive machine was having trouble registering it. The pulse-ox that measure the oxygen level in her blood was dropping fast and as her heart rate sped up she was throwing odd rhythms. "We're losing her," he said.

Between Derek and Callie, they managed to drag Mark out of the room. He watched through the glass as the heart of the most important person in his life sputtered alone, fighting to keep beating.

"Come on, Lex." Mark said, whispering encouragement to her failing rhythm. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Bailey charging the paddles, but his main focus was the monitor, willing it to change for the better.

Derek put his hand on Mark's shoulder, but Mark shook it off. He didn't understand.

"Stand clear," Miranda called out as she stepped to the bed. But before she could do anything more, the jagged shark tooth pattered of v-fib, suddenly stopped and the room was filled with a high-pitched sound that told them, without looking, that Lexie Grey's heart was in asystole, no electrical activity, no cardiac activity, no blood being pumped to vital organs.

Her heart had stopped.

"No!" Mark yelled, causing Derek to once again restrain him as he tried to go back in the room.

"No, no, no, no, don't you dare do this," Bailey whispered, as if she were trapped in a horrible memory. She gripped the handles of the paddles in tight fists as her eyes met the Chief's. They were suddenly reminded of another Dr. Grey lying on that very table, in that very room. And as their eyes met in that moment, Bailey felt a brief flash of pain. She hated that this was her job; that she had to watch people die on her table. And she hated that no matter how hard she tried, sometimes she wasn't able to save them all.

Derek hadn't stopped Mark from struggling, but the sight of Cristina and Hunt moving towards Lexie's still form caused him to freeze. Mark made an inarticulate sound in his throat as he watched Hunt begin to perform chest compressions. Cristina was squeezing the bag for him. They worked as a team to keep Lexie alive.

"Mark," Callie said, "Maybe you shouldn't watch."

Mark dragged his gaze away from Lexie, and Callie felt as though she had just been punched when she looked into his eyes. She had never seen such utter despair before.

"What's going on?" Meredith asked, coming up to stand next to Derek with a banana bag attached to her through an IV which she dragged along.

Derek looked at her, but could find no words.

"It's Lexie," Mark said, finding the words which had seemed lost to his friend.

She gave a small cry, and watched Hunt and Cristina work on Lexie. Meredith wanted to say more, to ask questions, but something about the look on Derek's face stopped her. And the look on Mark's made her feel as though she was missing some vital piece of knowledge.

They stood there for a while, that little group, watching the drama play out on the other side of the glass.

As they watched, Mark's reaction told Derek more than ever could have. It was Lexie. Lexie was the one.

A second unit of blood was hung and then a third. Sweat broke out on Hunt's forehead as ten minutes dragged to twenty and then thirty. His compressions were forcing Lexie's heart to work and he was going to make damn sure there was something for it to pump.

"Hunt," Richard said, stepping forward. "Let me take over."

"I've got it," Owen snapped, his voice tense but concentrated.

Bailey had been giving cardiac drugs to encourage the electrical nodes to function, to encourage a beat, any beat that would show that there was life still left in Lexie. She couldn't reconcile the perky intern who had followed George around, to this still body before her.

Meredith didn't know why, but tears were streaming down her face. All of her drunkenness was gone. Soon they were joined by Sadie who stood on the other side of Mark, rubbing his back much in the same way that Callie was.

Mark died a thousand times in those long minutes. It felt to him as if the weight of the world hung in the balance, and all he could do was watch as someone else took Lexie's life in their hands.

There was nothing left for him to do but wait.

The activity continued in the trauma room until Richard stepped forward, causing Mark's breath to catch in his throat.

"Hunt," Richard said, his voice audible due to the door Sadie had left open. "Call it."

Owen looked at the Chief, and his movements stilled. His eyes reflected the weight of yet another death he had witnessed. He and Cristina stepped back from the table.

His voice rasped as he spoke.

"Time of death, 0243h."

Callie felt as though her heart had stopped as well, and the utter sorrow she felt was for the man standing next to her. She turned to say something to him, but he was no longer there.

Mark rushed into the room "Why are you stopping? It's only been an hour." He looked at Bailey and the Chief with betrayal in his eyes. "My god, you worked on Meredith for three times that long!" He yelled, moving over to the table, and resuming the compressions that Owen had stopped. "She's not dead, she can't be dead!"

Derek followed him into the room, and moved to stand by his friend, but the wild look in Mark's eyes kept him frozen by the door.

His hands started a steady movement. One and two and three and four and five. He soon found himself lost in the rhythm. "Come on, Lex, wake up, ya gotta wake up."

Cristina, at a loss, stepped forward and continued to pump air into Lexie's lungs.

"Dr. Sloan," Richard said, stepping forward to stop him, but Bailey held out her arm to block him.

"Let's go, Lexie," Mark said. One and two and three and four and five. "Wake up. Come on, wake up!" His voice, which had been cajoling before, had now started to take on a frantic note. "Wake up, Lexie! You promised!"

As Derek watched Mark frantically trying to prolong Lexie's life, a saddening realization crept in. He now remembered with perfect clarity that night in Meredith's house when he had caught Mark and Lexie on the floor together.

"I remember asking you to stay away from her, Mark."

"Derek, you don't understand—"

He hadn't understood. Derek now saw what he had missed. He wasn't just sleeping with Lexie, and he wasn't just living with her. His best friend was in love with Lexie Grey. He felt a hand take his own, and he looked down to see Meredith standing there crying silently. She seemed to see what she had missed as well. They squeezed each other's hands tightly, and Derek wondered if she too was remembering when it had been her on that table.

Watching his best friend now, brought it all back. The despair, the agony, and the utter helplessness that he had felt. Had he too been so desperate?

He also remembered the way that Mark had sat by his side, just being there and giving him the support he needed. But Derek couldn't do that right now. At this very moment, he could only watch his best friend fall apart in front of him.

"You can't leave me, Lexie!" Mark said, his compressions continuing. One and two and three and four and five. "You promised me forever! You promised! Please, Lexie! Don't leave me!" Tears were running unchecked down his face as he tried so desperately to keep the blood flowing through her body. Sobs were racking him, but he didn't stop. "I love you, Lexie! You can't leave, we just got started!"

A small, but silent crowd of people had begun to gather outside the room. A couple of nurses stood there, along with Lexie's fellow interns. Alex was now standing by Izzie who had come from her patient's room to watch. Sadie was resting her head on Callie's shoulder and crying, and Bailey had a hand covering her mouth trying to hold back her own sobs which were threatening to erupt.

They weren't crying just for Lexie though. But Mark as well. To see him as he tried to revive her was to watch a man having his heart ripped out right before them.

His movements were controlled, but his face was showing the very powerlessness that he felt. If there was anyone standing there who had ever doubted that Mark Sloan had the ability to love, that thought was forever banished as he desperately tried to bring Lexie back to him.

Most of them didn't even process the shock of the fact that Mark Sloan was in love with Lexie Grey. All they saw was a man who was desperately in love, trying to save his beloved's life.

"Lex, please!" He cried desperately. "You said forever! You promised me forever! I love you, Lexie!" One and two and three and four and five. "Wake up! Come back to me!"

His voice was growing hoarse, and his hands were shaking as he continued to try to bring life back into her body.

She was growing paler, and Derek knew he had to act. He dropped Meredith's hand, and met her wet eyes. She knew what he had to do, and sobs began to escape her mouth. Stepping forward, he took Mark's bicep in his hand. "Mark, you have to stop."

"No," Mark said, shaking his head, past reason. "She just needs a second. Come on, sweetheart, open your eyes for me! You can't leave me! Lex, please!"

"Mark," Derek said, tentatively. "She's gone."

"Damn you," Mark said. "She isn't!" He was sobbing and choking on his words. "WAKE UP, LEXIE!" He hoarsely screamed out the last part.

Derek took Mark's other arm. "It's okay," he murmured. He began to pull him away from her still body.

Mark suddenly ripped out of his grasp and slammed his fist down hard on Lexie's chest.

The cardiac monitor beeped once and everyone held their breath. It beeped again and then again. The rhythm was slow, but it was real and it was there.

Lexie's heart was pumping on its own.

Bailey and Richard moved forward as her pulse-ox jumped to life and her rate increased and became regular.

"She's back," Dr. Bailey said in shock.

Mark moved above her head and leaned down, kissing her forehead. "Thank you," he whispered. "Thank you, God." The tears were still running unchecked down his face. Derek wondered if his friend even knew they were there. "Thank you."

"We have to get her into surgery immediately," Richard said. "Sloan, do you understand? You have to let go."

Mark kissed her and whispered his thanks one more time, and stepped back as they wheeled Lexie out of the room. He followed the gurney as far as he could, but eventually he just couldn't go any further. Slumping against the wall, Mark slid down and cradled his knees. Then, no longer fighting for Lexie's life, he gave into the wave of grief which suddenly consumed him.

*

Review Please!