Hey everybody! Thanks again for all of your loyal support, even to the new followers who are just now discovering my stories. You all mean the world to me.

"Are you sure you're okay to be going back to work?" Mark asked for what felt like the fortieth time.

"Mark." Lexie sighed. "Callie cleared me, Dr. Bailey cleared me, and Dr. Hunt cleared me. Amy even said I don't need the crutches anymore."

Lexie was proud that after four additional weeks of therapy, she was finally on her own two feet again. No casts, no worries (from her, anyway), and that much closer to normalcy.

"I know what she said, but-"

"Then I don't see a problem." She said, turning around and throwing her purse over her shoulder.

Mark sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. He knew this had to happen at some point, but it still didn't make him feel much better.Once they arrived at the hospital, Lexie couldn't wait to get back in her scrubs and get to the work she loved so much.

"Three." Cristina greeted as Lexie pulled her stethoscope around her neck. "Are you functional?"

"Very." She smiled. "I'm ready to get back to work."

"Good. I've got a heart transplant flying in from Spokane. You interested?" Cristina asked with a grin.

"Absolutely." Lexie chuckled.

"Good. Um, I'll meet you in OR Three."

"Yes, ma'am."

After nearly fours hours in the OR, Lexie was forced to leave and take a break after her legs began to ache. She found herself sitting on a gurney in the hallway of the ICU, when Mark appeared out of the elevator.

"How's it going, gorgeous?" He sat next to her and kissed the top of her head.

"Fine. Cristina has me taking a break. My legs started to ache a little." She explained as she continued to write her notes.

"Do you need to go home?"

"It is minor." She rolled her eyes. "Please don't start being obnoxious."

"Obnoxious?" He laughed. "I'm just-"

"I would love to finish this conversation." She said, placing a hand on his knee. "I've got to run. If I hurry, I can catch the end of the transplant."

Before Mark could utter another word, she was gone. He was worried and he wasn't exactly keeping it a secret. He did know that there was one person she would listen to.

"I'm not telling her to slow down, Mark." Meredith said, putting a chart at the nurses' station. "If she thinks she's ready, then I have to think she is too."

"Why? Why do you have to think that?" He argued.

"Because she is my sensible, younger sister and I trust her judgement." She smiled. "You've got to stop this. It's making you crazy."

"I know I'm being ridiculous, but please, just talk to her."

"I'll bring it up, but if she says she's okay, then I'm leaving it alone."

"Fair enough." Mark replied. "Thank you."

Lexie had scrubbed out of surgery and was walking to the nearest on-call room when her sister caught her off guard.

"Mer?"

"Mark says I need to talk to you about pushing yourself too hard. Are you overdoing it?" She asked, blocking the door.

"No." Lexie laughed.

"Lexie." She grew stern. "If you need to take a break or go home, there is no shame in that, okay?"

"Are you on his side?"

"I'm not taking sides. I'm just trying to look out for you and I know that the demand of surgery can be pretty taxing, even on a perfectly healthy body that isn't recovering from a major trauma." Meredith explained.

"Well, I am fine." Lexie told her sister. "I'm a little nauseous, but I'm fine.

"Nauseous?" Meredith looked confused.

"Yeah. I threw my breakfast up this morning and part of my lunch when Cristina sent me to break. I am hoping I can keep some water down."

"Flu?" She asked. "Because if it's the flu, I think you should go home."

"I don't think so." Lexie said. "I had Ryan take some blood though, just to be sure."

"Good girl." Meredith smiled. "Find me when you get the results."

"I will!" She called out as her older sister walked away.

"There he is!" Mark called out to Derek, who was dilligently filling out paperwork at his desk.

Derek just chuckled. "What can I do for you, Mark?"

"How did you deal with Meredith coming back to work, after her drowning incident?"

"Right. It's Lexie's first day back on the job." Derek put his pen down. "How is she doing?"

"She says she's fine, but..."

"But what?"

"I just want her to go slow." Mark explained. "Take her time and she just won't listen. She's so stubborn."

"She's a Grey." Derek laughed. "You have to believe her when she says she's okay and be there just in case she isn't. If there is one thing I learned when Meredith came back it's that you can't hover over her. That will cause her to push you away even faster."

"I just want to keep her safe at home." Mark looked down at his hands.

"It's going to have to happen at some point." Derek pointed out. "Just relax. It will all work out."

"Hey Ryan. You paged?" Lexie greeted her fellow resident when she walked into the Hemotology lab.

"You blood test results." He handed her a sheet of paper.

"Thank you, sir." She smiled and turned to walk away, before pausing and turning back. "Wait, are you sure this is right?"

"I ran it three different times." He assured her. "It's right."

"Oh." She responded. "Thanks, anyway."

"He is not." Meredith told Cristina.

"Oh, he so is."

"Shut up."

Cristina looked at her strangely. "I love when you're angry and bitchy. I've missed it."

Meredith's pager went off. "I have to go."

"Later!" Cristina said through a bite of apple.

"Lexie?" Meredith whispered into the dark on-call room she was paged to. "Lexie, are you in here?"

"Over here." She answered from a bed in the corner.

"What's the matter?" She asked, concerned.

"I got the results." Lexie handed her sister the paper.

"What was it?" She started looking. "Flu? A virus?"

"Not quite."

"Oh." Meredith paused. "I guess that could cause it too."

"Yeah." Lexie let out a breath. "What do I do? What do I do, Mer?"

"Well, first you need to breathe and just relax, okay?" Meredith started to think. "Now, are you sure this is what you want?"

"It's what I want. I'm just not sure if it's what I want right now." She explained.

"You've got to tell Mark."

"No." Lexie said, definitively. "He doesn't find out until I know what I want to do."

"Lexie." Meredith sighed. "You're pregnant. He has a right to know."

"He will...in time." Lexie rubbed her hands over her face. "Don't judge me right now. I will tell him when I tell him, please respect that."

"Okay."

"Thank you." Lexie sighed, walking out and slamming the door behind her.

Mark waited in the lobby by the elevator that evening. He closed his eyes as he leaned against the wall, the ding of the elevator bringing him back to reality.

"Hey, let's go home." Lexie said, linking her arm in his.

"Are you okay?" He asked, skeptically.

"Yeah. Of course. I'm-" She ran to a nearby trashcan and emptied the contents of her stomach for the fourth time that day. Mark appeared by her side, holding her hair with one hand and rubbing her back with the other.

"Breathe, baby." He whispered.

"I'm okay." She said, trying to catch her breath. She grabbed a tissue from her bag and wiped her mouth. "I'm good."

"Are you sick, honey?" He asked.

"No." She smiled. "I think I just ate something funny earlier, that's all. One of the nurses brought some homemade taffy and I guess it didn't agree with me."

"Are you sure?" Mark double-checked.

"I am sure." Lexie could feel herself piling on lie after lie and she honestly felt bad.

"Let's get you home, then, huh?" He wrapped his arm around her neck.

"Please." She chuckled.

I had quite a bit of fun writing this chapter and I hope that it showed. I also have already started on the next chapter and I can't wait to get it up for you guys! Until then, please take a moment and review this latest installment. It really does bring a smile to my face. Peace and Love, guys!