Gosh, it's been a while. That is partially due to school and partially due to the fact that I was boycotting writing anything until Kristyn posted another chapter :) She did! Chapter 7 of 'How Strong Are You Now?' is up, go check it out!

Okay, now I got to ask you....ARE YOU READY FOR THIS?!?!

MARK'S POV

For the past three weeks, I've been avoiding Layla Devon at all costs. The first two weeks were easy. Callie was here and she was able to help me out, since she knew what was really going on. Lexie was suspicious as to why I'd stopped hanging out with Layla, but she kept quiet about it. Mostly because Lexie always keeps quiet, but also because I think she was secretly grateful.

But it's been harder recently. Callie was in Miami with her family, and she had brought Arizona with her. So now there was no one I could vent to, no one who could talk sense into me, no one who could prevent me from doing what I feared I would do. And Layla has become pushier and pushier. On the few occasions that I wasn't able to avoid speaking to her, I had made up an excuse to get away. The excuses were getting worse and worse as the days passed.

And so now here I was, hiding in an on-call room (in retrospect, that probably the greatest place to hide from Layla in, given our history), praying that Callie would be home soon. The truth was that I just wasn't strong enough to quit Layla on my own and I could feel myself slipping closer to the breaking point everyday. Where I was right now, I could see that point, just inches from my reach. I did as I always did when I got scared like this: I called Callie...

…And got her voicemail. Not good.

"Callie!" I said into the phone, irritated and desperate. "Callie, I can't do this! I'm not strong enough to do this on my own, and you and Arizona are the only ones that know, and neither of you are here! I can feel it; it's going to happen soon. I'm going to break down. I really need you Callie. Please come home."

After hanging up, I dialed again, hopeful she'd answer this time. She didn't. I really wished I had Arizona's number. Even though I didn't tell her about my situation, and even though Callie promised to keep it secret, I knew she'd told Arizona. I had expected that and didn't really care. I knew that Arizona wouldn't tell and that she would be happy to help out whenever possible. It was in her nature.

But since I didn't have her number, I couldn't call her. And if I couldn't call her, she couldn't help me. I sighed deeply and threw myself backwards onto the bed, the pillows swallowing my head. For a few minutes I lay in silence, feeling the rapid beat of my heart. The sudden vibration of my phone caused me to jump half a mile in the air. I whacked my head on the top bunk, hard. Rubbing it furiously with my left hand, I checked my phone with my other hand. I was overly hopeful that it was Callie calling me back.

It was Lexie. She'd sent me a text asking where I was. Feeling a little disappointed, I told her where I was and waited for her to come. Even if Lexie didn't know what was bothering me, she could sure make me feel better. Maybe Lexie was all I needed right now.

She knocked softly before entering. She wasn't wearing her lab coat and looked to be on the verge of tears. Sensing something was wrong, I sat up, careful to avoid hitting my head again. I didn't want Derek to have to operate on me.

Looking into Lexie's face, the first thought I had was that she needed me more than I needed her. I stood quickly and crossed the room, eliminating the distance between us. Up close I saw that her eyes were in fact filled with tears and that her cheeks were flushed bright pink. I wrapped my arms around her and felt her break against my chest. Hot tears soaked the front of my scrubs as Lexie's tiny body shook violently.

For a while I didn't say anything. I let her get it all out. When standing grew uncomfortable, I gently led her to the bed where we could sit. I wondered what had caused this reaction in her, and of course my first guess what that Layla had told her what had happened. Panicking, I pushed Lexie away slowly so that I could look in her eyes.

"What's wrong Lex?" I asked, trying to keep my voice calm and controlled. She took a few deep gulps of air before answering.

"I killed a patient!" she blurted out, her voice so thick with emotion that I could hardly understand it.

"What?" I thought I must have heard her wrong.

"Derek let me scrub in on a surgery today. He picked me over Meredith. So then Meredith was really mad and she and Derek got into a fight and she's been ignoring me, and while in surgery, I was so focused on that that I wasn't really paying attention, and then Derek called me out and I froze up, and the patient's dead now, Mark! It's my fault; I should have been paying attention to the surgery!" she explained in the rambling way she always did when upset or excited. I pulled Lexie close again, relieved that it had nothing to do with me. Was that selfish?

"Lexie, it's not your fault. We're surgeons. We lose patients all the time. It happens." I whispered, trying to be comfortingly.

"But maybe if I wasn't so busy worrying about Meredith—"

"Do you think that every surgeon that goes into surgery is 100% focused on the work? Of course not. We've all got a hundred different things going on in our heads, and that's never killed a patient before. This wasn't your fault Lexie." She didn't say anything more, but the flow of her tears slowed and eventually came to a stop, although she kept herself pressed up against me. I lay down, pulling her with me.

After several minutes of lying together with our bodies entwined, our warmth comforting each other, my phone began to vibrate. Callie was calling me back. I stared at the screen for a while, wondering whether I was going to answer it or not. I turned my head to Lexie, who was still snuggled up close to me, and decided that I wasn't going to answer it.

I realized in that moment that there was someone here who could help me. Lexie was here. Even though she didn't know what was going on, just being with her comforted me and pushed all thoughts of running to Layla out of my head. I kissed the top of Lexie's head, the sweet scent of her shampoo filling my nose.

"I love you Lexie," I whispered. She twisted her body so she could look into my eyes.

"I love you too Mark," she responded sincerely. I was fairly certain that if someone were to mention Layla Devon at that moment, my reply would have been 'Layla who?'.

Unfortunately, the 'Layla who?' feeling didn't last forever. Eventually Lexie and I had to go back to work and part ways. The warmth drained from my body with ever step Lexie took in the opposite direction. I considered calling Callie again, but before I could make a decision, Layla was standing right in front of me, blocking my path.

"No," I said firmly, attempting to push past her.

"Mark, I need to talk to you." Something in her voice made me stop. I wished I hadn't. "I'm pregnant."

:D I am evillllllll muahahahaha