Hello, All! Time for another update. I am totally psyched for tomorrow, how bout you?!

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Time seemed to race by as Mark and Lexie prepared for the wedding. Amazingly, she found a dress, flowers, and a small church to perform the ceremony. Mark had blanched at first when she said that she wanted to be married in a church, but he had given in when she looked at him with those big brown eyes of hers. But as he walked away he had muttered something about hoping she like lightening.

As for telling people, well, that had been something else all together. Mark and Lexie had decided to tell Derek and Meredith themselves, and they met them at Joes one night for that very reason. Lexie was feeling much better now, her stitches had been removed and she could go places without getting tired. She still wasn't back to work, but she now thought she would wait until after the wedding to return which would simplify things considerably.

"So, what's up?" Meredith had asked as she and Derek slid into the booth.

"Have an onion ring," Lexie offered, nudging the basket towards her sister and Derek.

"Naw, I'm good," Meredith said.

"Really?" Lexie replied. "Derek?"

"Lexie, stop stalling," Mark said kissing her on the temple.

"Right," She said, clearing her throat. "Mark and I are getting married."

Derek and Meredith looked at her blankly. "We know, Lexie," Derek said. "That is what the ring on your finger means."

Lexie laughed. "No, I mean like right now. Two weeks from Saturday."

"Whoa," Meredith said. "Seriously?"

"Seriously," Mark affirmed dryly.

"Why?" Derek asked. "What's the rush?"

"Ohmigod, are you pregnant?" Meredith asked loudly, causing many heads to swivel in their direction.

"No!" Lexie hissed. "And thank you for now putting that thought into everyone's mind."

Mark took her hand and squeezed it. "The rush is that we don't want to wait anymore."

"There doesn't seem to be any reason to delay," Lexie said, picking up from where Mark had stopped. "Neither of us wants a big wedding, and that seems to be a good day to have the people we care about there."

"You don't want a big wedding?" Meredith asked skeptically. "I always thought that you would."

Lexie shook her head. "I very much doubt there will be more than twenty guests, and that is fine with us."

Mark looked at Derek. "We called your mom an hour ago and invited her. After she stopped squealing into the phone, she said she would be here on Wednesday."

Derek laughed, and then groaned. "The house is already crowded…"

"Don't worry," Mark grinned. "We are putting her up at the Archfield."

"Cool, thanks."

"Yeah, oh, and there is one more thing," Mark said. "I want you to be my best man."

Derek nodded, grinning at his friend. "Of course." He and Mark got up to go to the bar and get a celebratory drink.

Lexie turned to Meredith. "I hope you don't mind, I asked Molly to be my maid of honor."

"I don't mind," Meredith said, breathing a sigh of relief. She wasn't good at being the happy shiny person that Lexie would want as her maid or honor.

"You can sit with Cristina for the wedding," Lexie said. "I am inviting her, Alex, Izzie, Bailey, the Chief, Graziella, Sadie, Callie, Mrs. Shepherd, my dad, Molly, Eric, and the baby." Lexie ticked them off on her fingers. "And with Dr. Bailey's husband and the Chief's wife, you and Derek, that is about seventeen."

Meredith smiled. "Can I ask you one favor?"

"Of course."

"It's a sister thing," Meredith said.

"What?" Lexie asked.

"Will you invite Dr. Hunt?"

"Why?" Lexie asked, not against the idea but curious as to why Meredith wanted him there.

"I owe her," Meredith said simply.

"Owe who?"

"Cristina."

"Oh," Lexie said, her brow furrowing. "But what does that have to do with—oh! Dr. Yang and Dr. Hunt?" She asked in a stage whisper.

"What about Dr. Hunt and Dr. Yang?" Mark asked as he and Derek returned to the table.

Lexie wiggled her eyebrows at him.

"No way!" He exclaimed. But then he smiled to himself. "She might be a single malt scotch after all."

Derek started laughing.

"What does that mean?" Lexie asked, looking at Meredith.

Meredith shrugged. "One thing I have learned over the years is to not try to decipher boy talk. It only leads to a headache and an affair with a tequila bottle."

After telling Meredith and Derek, Lexie had gone into planning mode. With Molly's help, everything was done with a week to spare, giving Lexie plenty of time to panic over inconsequential things. Molly seemed to disappear whenever she began to freak out, but Mark took each fit bravely and soothed any worries that she had.

One night, after one such freak out, Mark was sitting in the living room, with Lexie curled up on his lap. "Where do you want to go for our honeymoon?" Mark asked.

"I don't know," Lexie said. She then looked into his eyes, trying to gauge his reaction. "Are you sorry that it will have to wait a couple of months until I finish my internship?"

"No," Mark said. "Your internship is important to you, and I can wait."

Lexie smiled. "What about you? Any place you want to go?"

"I don't know," Mark said. "We do already have those tickets to New York."

"New York?" Lexie said, a grin in her eyes. "You want to go there on our honeymoon?"

"I want to show it to you," Mark said. "We could stay at the Plaza, and I would even do all the touristy crap with you if you like."

"Now that's love," Lexie said, kissing him gently. "Okay, New York it is."

Mark had grinned; glad she was seeing things his way.

That calm, that happiness, which surrounded them then had felt like the beginning of something great. Lexie was so happy about the wedding, despite her freak outs, and even her father had seemed to come on board. Mark knew that he and Thatcher would never have a friendly relationship, but they could tolerate each other for Lexie's sake.

On the Monday before the wedding, Mark arrived late to the hospital. He didn't have a surgery until later and Lexie had kept him home 'releasing endorphins' all morning. He had a light week, he wanted to be on hand to help Lexie with any crisis she imagined, but he also needed to work. Taking time off from the hospital with Lexie had been great, if maddening, but at the end he had been grateful to get back to the OR.

There was something about the scalpel.

Mark was headed to his office when he passed by the nurses station, nearly stopping in his tracks. There, taking to Derek, was Addison.

Mark made his way over to her and his friend, looking at her with a guarded expression. "Addison."

"Mark," she said, turning to him.

Derek looked between the two of them and gave Mark a wide grin. "Hey Mark, why don't you tell Addison the good news?"

"There's good news?" Addison asked. "Nice, tell me. I could use some cheering up."

Mark glared at Derek, and then turned to Addison changing the subject. "I was sorry to hear about Archer."

Addison nodded her thanks. "That was what I was talking to Derek about."

"If I know your brother," Mark said. "He will pull through this fine."

Addison blinked back tears and waved her hands in front of her eyes. "Enough of this now. Tell me your good news."

"Well," Mark began nervously. "I'm getting married."

"Come again?" Addison said.

"I'm getting married," Mark repeated.

"On a dare?" Addison asked, her face confused.

"No," Mark said rolling his eyes. "For all the reasons that people normally get married."

"You got her pregnant?" Addison guessed.

"No!" Mark yelled. He looked at Derek. "Why does everyone think that?"

Derek shrugged. "We know you."

"I'm hurt," he said, mockingly.

"Such is life," Derek commented.

Mark sighed, and turned back to Addison. "No, Addison, she is not pregnant."

"Did her father buy a gun?" Addison queried.

"No! I am marrying her because I love her."

"Seriously?"

"Seriously," Mark said.

"I don't get it."

"What? What's not to get?"

"You don't do love," Addison said, pointing her finger at him.

"I do with her," Mark said.

"Ok-ay," Addison said, her tone portraying her skepticism. "Who's the girl?"

"You know about Meredith's sister, Lexie?"

"Yeah, but what does she have to do…" Addison trailed off as her eyes bugged out of her head. "You have got to be kidding me!" She looked at Derek in desperation. "Please tell me he is kidding me!"

Derek grinned and shook his head. "Believe me when I say I had the exact same reaction."

"But, but—" Addison sputtered, looking at Mark with disbelief in her eyes. "But she's…and you're…"

Mark rolled his eyes again. He seemed to do that a lot when Addison was around. "Deep breaths, Addie," he said. "Just take deep breaths."

"When?" Addison asked when she was able to put her syllables together.

"Saturday," Mark said. His beeper went off then. "Gotta go; good luck with your brother."

As he walked away, Addison turned to Derek. "Was that some deeply unfunny hazing attempt you two worked out in advance?"

Derek laughed. "Sorry, we are not that clever."

Addison made an audible sound in her throat.

"He is with Lexie, and they are getting married this weekend." Derek took a sip of his coffee which had been sitting for several minutes on the counter. "My mom comes out on Wednesday."

Addison smiled. "She does? I would love to see Carolyn."

Derek looked uncomfortable. "That probably wouldn't be such a good idea."

"Oh," Addison said. "She's still mad, huh?"

"Yeah," Derek said.

Addison nodded, but then looked in the direction Mark had left in. "I can't believe he is getting married. I feel like the world has stopped spinning and fallen out of orbit."

"You get used to it," Derek said. "Seeing them together…well, you suddenly know what people mean when they toss around words like soulmate and fate."

"You're kidding me," Addison said. "Mark and Lexie? I saw her the last time I was here…she is not his type at all."

"Maybe that is what he needed," Derek countered.

"Maybe," Addison conceded, "But I just can't believe it."

"You haven't seen them together," Derek said. "You couldn't possibly understand."

She shook her head. "You can believe whatever you want, Derek, but I know Mark Sloan. That man does not have a monogamous bone in his body."

"Perhaps you don't know him as well as you thought," Derek said, picking up Archer's chart and walking away.

Addison remained there, thinking about what he had said. No, there was no way that she was wrong about this. If she knew one thing, it was that Mark didn't have it in him to be faithful. Poor Lexie, Addison thought, she was the only one that would be hurt when she figured out what the rest of the world already knew.

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