Hi Grey's readers! Well, it's been quite a while since I last updated, but life got busy and sometimes writer's block really gets to you. This, I have decided, is the last chapter to this songfic. I thought I was able to tie it together nicely in a semi-realistic way. This chapter might be a little confusing, and I don't want to give it away by explaining beforehand. I think you'll figure it out, but if not, I'll explain at the end.

A huge thanks to Patsy and a couple guests who left me nice reviews on my last couple chapters! I really appreciate your continued support. I know I posted at some really weird times and probably not very many people saw it, but hopefully you enjoy this anyways!

It really sinks in, you know
When I see it in stone

As Meredith descended the stairs to answer the door, she felt a tugging in her heart, one that hadn't presented itself in at least a month. She knew what that meant, what it felt like. Hopefully Cristina wouldn't mind watching Zola for another hour or so.

"Look, Zola, it's mommy!" Cristina exclaimed when Meredith opened the door. She bounced the girl on her hip and Zola giggled, cheerfully reaching out towards her mother. Meredith instantly brightened as she took her daughter in her arms and gave her a squeeze.

"Were you good for Auntie Cristina?" The little girl's only response was an emphatic laugh.

"She was a very good girl," Cristina relayed in a baby-talk voice. "You only fussed when you were hungry, didn't you?" Zola again replied with a hearty giggle.

"That's my sweet girl," she praised, giving her daughter a kiss on the forehead. "I bet you're tired from all that playing, huh?"

"She fell asleep in the car on the way here," Cristina laughed, reverting her voice back to its normal octave.

"I believe it," Meredith chuckled. Resting Zola on her hip, she turned back to Cristina. "Hey, so I know you've had her all day, but would you mind watching her for just another hour or so?"

"Seriously?" her friend demanded. "You had all day, what could you possibly—"

"It was a Lexie day," she interrupted quietly, casting her gaze downwards.

"Oh," she said, annoyance immediately ceasing. "You haven't had one of those in a while."

"Yeah, I know. I don't know what it was. First I was looking at the pictures on the fireplace, then I looked at the scrapbook she gave me, then I somehow ended up in the attic listening to one of those old CDs of hers, and... I don't know. It was a Lexie day." Realizing her friend had taken care of Zola all day and was probably tired, and quickly said, "I'm sorry, you've had her all day, you can go get some sleep. Lexie will still be there when I wake up," she added. The comment was pretty dark and twisty if she did say so herself, but it was really one of the only guarantees—that no matter what, Lexie would still be dead, and nothing she could do (or not do) would change that.

"No, it's okay," she quickly reassured. "I'll watch her a little longer. She'll probably pass out, anyways."

"Are you sure?" the blonde asked, studying her person's expression.

"Of course I'm sure," Cristina replied, touching Meredith's arm. "Go on."

"Thank you," she smiled, handing an already-drowsing Zola back to Cristina. She grabbed the same sweater and again threw it over her arms before grabbing her keys and heading for the door. She drove with the windows down, the way Lexie always liked—not all the way down, but opened just enough for her arm to hang out and feel the air rushing through her fingers. It had turned into a relatively cool night, and the stars couldn't have been brighter. As she pulled into the cemetery, she caught sight of the moon. It was a full moon, as it turned out—the kind of moon that her sister would stare at and marvel about how pretty it was. Meredith had found her astronomical fascination amusing and even charming, but she rarely ever took the time to actually look at what Lexie was going on and on about. Now, as she got out of her car, she tilted her head upwards to stare at the bright, white sphere glowing in the otherwise-black sky. She allowed her eyes to flit shut for just a few moments as she breathed in the sweet taste of the atmosphere. In those few moments her eyes were shut, she swore she could almost feel her little sister's presence next to her.

Lexie stood beside her older sister and they both stared up at the beautiful full moon. "I wish you could see me," she whispered sadly, watching Meredith close her eyes and take in a deep breath of the cool, night air. Her sister hadn't visited in a while, and though Lexie loved to see her, she was glad Meredith was able to get on with her life. It bothered her at first when Meredith didn't visit for a few days, and it even made her a bit sad at the thought that she might be forgetting her. But George had reminded her that it was a good thing, really—it meant Meredith was beginning to heal. She understood that, deep down, and she knew her sister would always miss her, that she would never forget her. Even though she couldn't see or hear her, Lexie looked forward to the nights her sibling would drive to the cemetery and talk to her. It pained her that Meredith couldn't hear her response, but she liked to think she could at least feel her presence somehow.

Meredith felt a deep longing inside of her along with a dull sadness that she had nearly grown accustomed to feeling. She forced herself to open her eyes before she could linger on the thought any longer. Shaking her head slightly, she shoved her hands in her pockets and padded over to a plot of land she had been to all-too-frequently. Even in the poorly-lit cemetery, she knew her way to that plot like the back of her hand. As she approached the small stone, her sister's stone-carved name came into focus: "Alexandra 'Lexie' Caroline Grey, July 12th, 1984-May 5th, 2012. Loving daughter, sister, and friend." She crouched down and gingerly ran her fingers over the cold marble stone, allowing herself to feel some of the things she tried so hard to suppress. How small, Meredith thought, was that little dash in between her birth and death date, and how short her life had really been.

Lexie followed beside her and stood behind the stone while Meredith crouched in front of it.

"I missed you more than usual today," she said softly, more for her own comfort than anything else. "I know you can't hear me, but I just... I missed you a lot today. I still miss you a lot."

"I can hear you, Mer," Lexie murmured, breath catching in her throat. "I just wish you could hear me. I miss you, too."

"I looked at that scrapbook you gave me again... I still remember how excited you were to give that to me. You couldn't even wait for one more person to open their present, you just jumped up like a little kid," she continued, chuckling lightly at the memory.

"I remember that Christmas like it was yesterday." She touched the silver necklace resting on her chest and ran her finger over the indented metal.

"You kept apologizing for the scrapbooking job, but I honestly thought—think—it looks great."

"It looks awful," Lexie laughed, shaking her head. She had worked on that thing for weeks on end, but she wasn't a particularly creative person when it came to arts and crafts. She did her best, but she was pretty sure just about anybody could make a more attractive scrapbook. "My handwriting is terrible."

"It was from you, Lex, and it's the best gift I've ever received to this day."

Lexie smiled. "Aww."

"And remember that time I caught you having a solo dance party in your room? God, you were so embarrassed."

"Yeah, that ranked pretty high on my list of embarrassing moments. That one falls just below having Derek walk in while I was naked and accidentally saying 'How?' when Bobby Corso's wife said she was pregnant. That one was really bad."

A smile tugged at her lips and she gave into it, but it soon subsided as she thought about all the things she never got to say to her sister. "I'm sorry," she suddenly said, sadness clear in her voice as tears pricked her eyes. "I'm sorry that I was a crappy big sister at first."

"What?" Lexie exclaimed, emotion surging through her as tears formed in her own eyes. "No, no, it's okay. Don't..."

"I was awful to you. I let Cristina make fun of you, I made fun of you... I let the other residents joke about you, I let you get hurt without warning and I wasn't even there to help you up when you were down. I should've stuck up for you, Lex, I'm so sorry. I'm never going to be able to get over that."

Several tears found their way out of her eyes and she didn't bother wiping them away. Who the hell was going to see them, anyways? "No, no, stop, please," she begged, wishing so badly that her sister could hear her. "I forgive you, it's okay. Please don't." She knew her sister couldn't hear her, but it hurt too much to keep her pleas inside.

"And I'm so, so sorry that I wasn't there when you..." She choked on a sob, unable to finish her sentence. "I'm sorry I wasn't there that day for you, to tell you all the things I'm saying now, and to hold your hand and tell you it was gonna be okay. I should've been there, but I left, and I'm so sorry."

"It's okay, it's okay, it's okay," she repeated futilely, voice growing quieter and quieter as more tears streaked down her cheeks. She walked around the stone and knelt next to her sister, wishing with every fiber of her being that Meredith could hear her and know how she felt. "You were just in shock, you had no idea I was going to... I know you would've been there if you had known."

"I always left you, Lex, I was never there when I should have been. And when the plane... When you were trapped under that stupid metal, I wasn't there for you. I'm always going to regret that." She was glad Mark had been there and Lexie hadn't been alone, but she would always, always regret not being there too. She was her family, her blood, and she wasn't even able to say goodbye.

"Don't, please. Don't regret that. You didn't do anything wrong. You were there for me so many other times." To her, every reassuring smile, every hug, every pat on the back or word of affirmation was a gesture of her sister being there for her. Every time Meredith stayed up late to talk or watch horrible movies or listen to her vent—even when Lexie knew she was exhausted—was being there for her. Every little smile or laugh or joke shared meant more to Lexie than she ever thought possible. Maybe Mer hadn't been there when she died, but she wasn't holding that against her. She was in shock, she didn't realize what was happening—she didn't know Lexie was dying. But the countless other times she had been there more than made up for it. Thinking back, she wasn't sure how she would've gotten through the last few years of her life without her sister's love and support and friendship. She couldn't have made it in that hospital without Meredith having her back. "I'm sorry, too, for leaving you." Dying wasn't really something she had wanted to do that day, of course, but she wanted to apologize nonetheless. She really was sorry for dying, in more ways than one. "I'm sorry that you're hurting and I can't be there to comfort you."

"I know I shouldn't blame myself, and I know you wouldn't want me to. Most of the time I know it's not my fault, but some days I just... I really miss you, Lex, and some part of me always feels like I wasn't a good enough sister or friend to you." She saw something move out of the corner of her eye just then, and she turned her head to the left for just a moment.

As Meredith turned her head towards her, her heart skipped a beat. She knew she wasn't actually looking at her, that she couldn't see or hear her; but it felt nice to pretend she was. "You were an amazing sister," she whispered almost inaudibly, heart aching as she looked at her sister whose gaze almost met hers and lingered for a moment, but fell just past her. Meredith certainly wasn't what her fantasies were expecting, but she wouldn't have wanted things any other way. Sure, it sucked at first, but she should have known she couldn't just randomly drop into someone's life and expect that person to want to be her best friend. Especially not under the circumstances. She knew that even before she had died, and she had never held that against her. What good would that have done, anyways?

Maybe missing Lexie was making her go crazy today, but she swore she could almost hear her sister telling her it was okay. She liked to pretend that Lexie was near her somewhere, in whatever world she was in now, and could hear her and was maybe even replying. She knew that was really, really unlikely, but it was comforting to think she wasn't just talking to thin air. Her mind began to wander, and suddenly an image of her daughter consumed her thoughts. Although it hadn't even been a year since Lexie's death, babies grow fast, and Zola already looked so much older than when Lexie last saw her. "I wish you could see Zola now," she lamented quietly, involuntarily smiling at the thought of Lexie playing with Zola. It made her incredibly sad to know that Lexie wouldn't get to see her niece grow up. It hurt even worse knowing that her daughter wouldn't really have any first-hand memories of the aunt that had loved her so, so much. She and Derek would raise Zola to know about Lexie, of course, and she had promised herself she would always tell Zola stories and show her pictures. She vowed to make sure that her daughter knew about her deceased aunt, and knew just how much she had loved her. "She's beautiful," she continued, thinking of her daughter's smiling face and joyful laugh. "She's getting so big, we have to buy her new clothes every few months."

"I wish I could see her, too. I'm so sad I won't be able to see her grow up."

"I never told you this, but... A week or so after you died, Zola wandered up to the attic, and when I got up there, I found her pulling at your bedsheets and saying your name. It sounded more like 'wez-ee' instead of Lexie, but I knew what she meant. I cried for a good hour after that."

Her soul ached at the mere image and she blinked away tears. It broke her heart knowing she would miss all the big milestones of Zola's life—all the firsts and the things she would accomplish, every birthday and holiday, or the sports games or piano recitals or whatever she chose to do. She hoped Meredith would bring Zola with to the cemetery sometime in the future. Not now, of course, as the place really was kind of creepy sometimes; but sometime in the future, when she was ready. In regards to Zola, she held on to the hope that she'd be able to see her in the future, if even for a few minutes.

"Everyone still really misses you," she continued, unable to avoid the negative thoughts that kept filling her mind. "Derek does, too. He doesn't say it as often, but he does miss you. You were his family, but he also saw this amazing potential in you for neuro. I saw it too, Lex, everyone could. You were amazing at what you did."

"I miss everyone, too," she replied, saddened at the thought of all the things she could've done but was never able to do. She had loved neuro, and she had loved being mentored by Derek. More importantly, she had loved working alongside her sister and other people who became her best friends. "Keep kicking surgical ass for me, okay? Do all the things I didn't get the chance to do."

"I'm going to keep working extra hard for you," Meredith promised, feeling the sudden urge to voice what she was thinking again. "It will never make up for all the amazing things you could've done, but I'm going to keep working hard and keep the Grey name strong. I'll make you proud, Lex, I swear."

"You already make me proud, Mer."

Unable to put any more of her thoughts into words, she sat silently for a few minutes, staring at her sister's name carved into the smooth stone. How she wished that 2012 date wasn't there, that she was still living in the dash in between. It didn't hurt as bad as it did in the first few weeks and months following the crash, but not a day went by that she didn't think of Lexie and miss her deeply. Though the wound had scabbed over and she knew it would slowly fade, there would always be a scar—a mark Lexie left on her, a hole in her heart that nobody else would ever be able to fill. She had accepted that Lexie was dead, but she would never get over missing her.

Lexie watched her sister's expression as they both sat side by side, neither talking or moving. She knew Meredith would have to go soon and get back to her life. Cristina was probably watching Zola, and Derek was probably just getting off work. Most of her other friends were either just leaving from the hospital or getting ready to start their shifts. Life, she realized, was still going on, and she was missing it. That thought saddened her, but it brought her comfort knowing that—just like with George and Mark and everyone of their friends they had lost before—they would see each other again in this odd parallel world. Of course, for her sister's sake, she hoped it wouldn't be soon—she wanted to watch Meredith become the greatest surgeon there ever was and be an even more wonderful mother to Zola and have more kids and do more things. Yes, that she wanted to see first before being reunited. But until then, she had to be content with these short, unpredictable, seemingly one-sided conversations. She wished there could be more, somehow, but she knew that wasn't the case.

Finally, after several minutes had passed, Meredith stood up and took a step back. "Well, Cristina's been watching Zola the entire day and Derek will be home soon, so I should probably get back to them."

Lexie stood, too, and turned so she was facing her sister. "I wish you didn't have to go."

"I wish I could stay longer, but I'll try to come back soon. I know you can't hear me and I probably sound crazy to anyone that might be listening, but I somehow feel like I'm actually talking to you. I guess all of Zola's pretending is rubbing off on me."

"You are talking to me, I can hear you. I wish you could hear me, too."

She looked down at the stone one last time, at her sister's name and her birth date and the dash and that stupid death date. "I miss you every day, Lexie. I love you so much."

"I love you, Mer, I miss you and Zola and everyone so much and I wish you didn't have to go." Though she knew her sister wouldn't feel it, she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Meredith and held on tight, willing her not to leave. "I love you."

Despite the cool air, she suddenly felt a rush of warmth around her, like a warm breath from the lips of a flame. It only lasted a few moments, but a few moments was all she needed. Maybe it was just a coincidence, but Meredith preferred to believe it was Lexie sending her some sort of sign. A smile found its way to her face, and even as the warmth faded, the smile remained.

Meredith looked ahead of her, and for just a split second, she seemed to look right at Lexie. Her gaze flitted away in the blink of an eye, and she knew she hadn't actually seen her. But just for a tiny moment, she had felt a small connection.

"I think I'll tell Zola a story about you tonight," Meredith decided as she pulled her keys from her pocket.

"Please make it a good one," she laughed, well aware of all the embarrassing stories she could possibly think to tell Zo.

"I'll try to make it a nice one this time," she promised, almost able to hear Lexie's inevitable protests about avoiding the cringeworthy ones.

"Thank you."

Just as she turned to leave, she hesitated. Turning back around for just a moment, she said, "Bye, Lex. I love you."

She watched silently as her older sister turned and walked away, weaving back through the various stones on the path she had taken earlier. She watched with a bittersweet feeling as Meredith got in her car, started it, and drove away. She watched the tail lights on the car until they became little pinpricks of red light before fading altogether. "I love you, too."

And there we have it! I know that took a bit of a supernatural turn, and I know it's bittersweet, but I'm kind of one of those people that doesn't like to end all stories with a "happily ever after," because the truth is, life doesn't always end like that. Sometimes it's messy and sad and filled with regrets. I almost wrote it so that Meredith can somehow see and talk to Lexie and they get a bit of closure, but that didn't seem quite right to me. So instead I chose this way. If you had trouble figuring it out, the words in italics are from Lexie's point of view. She was in the cemetery as well, but she's in some unnamed parallel world where she can see and hear everything going on, but nobody she's around can see or hear her. I hope that made sense!

If you liked how this ended (or didn't), please leave a review! I'm considering doing a longer story like this one with sort of the supernatural element in it. I like the idea of Lexie and Meredith being able to somehow communicate. Not in the same way, obviously, but I like the idea that they both still hold onto the relationship they had with each other. If you noticed, I also referenced a couple other deceased characters in there. In that weird parallel world, I like to think everyone who's died can be together. They go off and do their own thing and see whoever they want to see, but they can also be together and talk and stuff. I think that would be an interesting AU. Let me know if that sounds interesting to you!

Also, I apologize for any typos. I tried to edit it but I just wanted to get it posted.

ANYWAYS, I hope you liked this, and I hope you'll tune into which ever story I write next! (: Thanks so much for reading!