27 Weeks

"Hi I'm Dr Grey." Lexie introduced herself to the parents of the little girl sat on the bed colouring. "I just need to run a few tests on Rachel ahead of her surgery this afternoon."

"She doesn't like stethoscopes." Rachel's mother warned Lexie.

"We'll be ok." Lexie assured her as she walked to the bed. "That's a great drawing." She commented waiting for Rachel to look at her, when she did Lexie spoke. "Hi my name is Lexie, what's yours?"

"Rachel." She replied.

"That's a pretty name; it's nice to meet you Rachel. Can I sit down?"

Rachel nodded, Lexie was grateful to off her feet for a minute. She waited for the girl to speak again.

"Your tummy moved."

"That's because I'm going to have a baby soon."

Rachel tentatively reached out her hand and then hesitated.

"It's ok." Lexie let her feel the baby kick and smiled at the look of surprise on her face. "So your mom says you don't like stethoscopes." She felt her recoil. "That's a shame because I was going to ask if you wanted to listen to my heart."

"Ok." Rachel whispered after a moment.

Lexie found the right place and then handed the stethoscope to Rachel,

"It's fast."

"That's good." Lexie smiled. "Now you have to listen to my lungs." Lexie moved it. "I have to take a big breath." After a few minutes Lexie suggested that Rachel listen to her own heart and lungs and she got Rachel to agree to her listening to them. "That's great Rachel. Can you draw me a picture?"

Rachel nodded as Lexie got off the bed.

"Is everything alright?" Rachel's father asked.

"We need to run a few more tests, but don't worry." Lexie told him.

Lexie had to go and find Arizona.

"Dr Robbins." Lexie walked up to her. "I think we need to delay Rachel Suitor's surgery."

"And why is that?"

"She has fluid on her lungs. I want to put her on a mask and get a chest film."

"She let you near her with a stethoscope?" Arizona questioned.

"I have a big distraction." Lexie rubbed her protruding stomach.

"Page me when you have the chest film."

A few hours later Lexie was writing a note on a chart when someone called her name.

"Hey Sarah." She smiled. "So today is the big day Ben goes home? I was going to drop by later and say goodbye."

"I just wanted to come and thank you for everything." Sarah told her. "Benjamin's transfer got approved, we're going to Miramar. He won't be home every night, but he will be there to help with the boys."

"That's great news."

Later that day Lexie was sat in the supply closet surrounded by charts, she looked up when the door opened and closed.

"Hiding?" Mark guessed.

"They are driving me crazy."

"They're interns it's their job." He sat down next to her."I thought you were in surgery with Robbins this afternoon."

"Patient had fluid on her lungs; she's not stable enough for surgery." She paused. "I'm sure you have better things to do than hide from my interns."

"I can think of better things to do alone, but you have that no sex in the hospital rule while you're pregnant."

"Having sex in the hospital is how I got pregnant in the first place." She pointed out.

"There you are." Derek walked in, "Lexie," He sat down opposite them and started discussing a patient like it was the most normal thing in the world.

Lexie couldn't help but laugh.

"What?" Mark asked.

"Sorry, I was just thinking about an email Beth sent me about the two of you and a closet."

"Tell me again why you thought it was a good idea to tell my mother and sisters they could tell her whatever she wanted to know?" Derek requested.

"It sounded a better idea at the time." Mark shrugged.

"You should be happy Meredith is no longer scared of your family. Although I'd avoid telling her that Carolyn would like you to give her some more grandchildren sooner rather than later."

"You speak to them more than I do." Derek reminded her.

"Carolyn calls me on Sundays to see how I am and if Mark has done anything idiotic and I talk to Kathleen once a week because she is my shrink."

"Kathleen?" Mark questioned.

"I told you I'm a Grey I'm screwed up so I found someone to talk to, she does it for free and she fits me in around my crazy schedule."

"Do I want to know what she said?" Mark inquired.

"That I'm not crazy, that any concerns I have are probably legitimate considering it's you."

"Are we are sure she's a Doctor?" Mark looked at Derek.

"You went to her graduation. You went to all of their graduations." Derek reminded him.

"She also said that deep down that you're a good guy." Lexie continued. "But your parents screwed up your perception of healthy and loving relationships and gave you self-esteem issues."

"Some of that is probably true." Derek had to admit.

"She also said to trust my instincts."

"Do I want to know?" Mark asked.

"Right now they are saying I don't want to throw anything at you today."

"What does my sister say about this violent streak?"

"That she's spent most of her life wanting to throw something at him; it's a normal reaction he invokes."

Mark rolled his eyes, kissed Lexie's forehead and then went back to talking to Derek about the patient.

"What the hell is going on here?" Bailey demanded when she opened the door a few minutes later.

"Consultation." Derek replied.

Miranda Bailey eyed the two men and then her gaze fell to Lexie.

"Dr Grey."

"I'm just catching up on some charting." She replied and when Bailey continued to stare at her she admitted. "And hiding from my interns."

"Welcome to being a Resident. If you haven't got anything better for them to do teach them something."

"Yes Dr Bailey." Lexie tried to get up but was struggling. "I knew I should have paid more attention in ballet class."

"Ballet?" Mark questioned.

"It was three weeks when I was five and no I don't have a picture of me in a tutu."

"Idiots. Help her up." Bailey instructed.

When Lexie was on her feet Derek handed her the charts.

"Thanks and I'm taking this." She pulled a twenty dollar out of Mark's lab coat pocket.

"What if I need coffee?" Mark protested.

"I work 100 hour weeks, I have idiot interns who I'm not sure how they got through grade school let alone Med school since they can't spell, I'm carrying an extra twenty pounds that likes to press on my bladder and wriggle when I have time to sleep and I'm doing it all without the benefit of coffee. So if you can't do without coffee for one afternoon or find a couple bucks somewhere else when you make three times what I do a year I'm sure Dr Shepherd will lend you the money." She turned. "Excuse me Dr Bailey."

"Find somewhere else to consult." Bailey turned and left too.

"Why do I feel like I was sent to the principal's office?" Mark asked.

"You'd know you spent more time there than I did."

"And I still got better grades than you did. You busy tonight?"

"Another golf game?" Derek guessed.

"She says she's found the perfect one."

"She said that about the last two houses." Derek reminded him. "I should be done by six."

Lexie found her interns stood at the nurses' station gossiping about her.

"I heard she threw a skillet at his head."

"It wasn't a skillet it was a lid and it wasn't aimed at his head." Lexie interrupted causing them to jump. "Go and buy some bananas." She held out the money to one of the interns.

"Craving." He guessed.

"No I'm going to teach you to suture while we have a spelling lesson because three of these charts say the patient has the incorrect symptoms or illnesses because someone can't spell. So new rule, if you can't spell the patient's condition accurately then you don't get anywhere near them. Banana's now!" She slammed the charts onto the counter.

TBC