Words cannot describe how I am feeling. Mark dying was the saddest thing ever. On the bright side, he and Lexie can finally be together like they should have been all along. The worst moment was after he flatlined and it flashed to him holding a baby saying "shhh". I lost it and fell to pieces. I kinda thought the baby may not have been Sofia, mainly because it looked nothing like her. I thought it might be some kind of afterlife sequence with Lexie. A girl can hope right? Anyway, here we are. I feel like we could all use a little happiness.
Mark came home from another exhausting day at the hospital. Lexie had made it home only a few hours before himself and already he could hear her sobbing in the bedroom.
"Lex?" He called out, dropping his coat and walking to the other room. "Lexie? What's the matter?"
"It's just-" She gasped for air between sobs. "It's just so sad."
"What is honey?"
"He just wanted a heart." She blew her nose into a Kleenex.
"A heart?" Mark looked behind him at the television and couldn't help but laugh. "You were watching The Wizard of Oz again?"
"It is a beautiful story of life and core values!" She snapped, blowing her nose again.
"Oh...kay." He slowly rose to his feet. "Do you want some tea?"
"I would love a cup of coffee." She smiled at the thought.
"No." He pointed. "Have you seen the statistics on mother's who drink coffee during a pregnancy?"
"Have you seen the statistics on men who deny their girlfriend's coffee during a pregnancy?" Lexie whispered. "It's not pretty."
"You're not going to intimidate me. I think I could take you." Mark leaned in and whispered. "And it's fiance, not girlfriend."
"It is, isn't it?" She beamed.
Lexie followed Mark into the kitchen, where he pulled down two cups and began preparing hot tea. Lexie leaned on the countertop across from him and sighed.
"What is it?" Mark asked amused.
"Nothing." She shook her head. It had become a force of habit. "I just...are you nervous? About being a dad?"
"A little." He chuckled. "I mean, I had Sloan but, I never had the chance to really be a father to her. This time, I get to be there for everything. Every hiccup, every giggle, every toothless grin."
Lexie smiled at the thought.
"I get to share first steps and first words. I am excited but slightly terrified. I don't want to be a terrible father." He looked down, remember what Addison had told him a few years ago.
"I don't think it's possible." She told him. "The words you just spoke to me, completely give me faith that this child is going to have at least one amazing parent."
"One?" He looked at her awkwardly, handing her a cup of tea.
"I'm not sure I'm cut out for the mommy track?"
"Why?"
"Mark, I can barely remember when to feed myself, let alone an infant. Besides, I hate drool. It makes me cringe." Lexie explained.
"Good thing you became a doctor then, huh?" He goaded.
"I'm serious." She said, playfully swatting him with the back of her hand.
"Just don't think about it right now." He pulled her close. "Focus on me."
Lexie scoffed. "I think I'd rather shower." Before he could add a word she turned around. "Alone."
"I don't know why I put up with you." He called after her, shaking his head with a smile.
"Mr. Griswald, can you hear me?" Mark said as he helped wheel a gurney inside the ER.
"Barely." He responded. "I was just walking to the mailbox, he came out of nowhere."
"Who did?" He asked.
"That boy, the one who was driving the truck." He said, cringing as they moved him to a bed.
"Okay, Mr. Griswald. We're gonna run some tests and see exactly how bad the damage is, but I promise that I will do everything in my power to make sure you can hear." Mark turned to the nurse. "I need a CBC, a chest CT, and go ahead and get him to radiology for x-rays and an MRI."
Derek walked into the MRI booth, followed closely by Lexie.
"Whoa." Lexie said, after glancing at the screen.
"Yeah." Derek agreed. "Temporal lobe tumor."
"The size of it alone..."
"Yeah." He replied. "We've gotta get it out of there as soon as possible if he is going to have any semblance of a life left.
"What are you two doing in here?" Mark asked, as he came in from the hall.
"Your intern called for a Neuro consult. Your patient has a massive temporal lobe tumor that needs removal immediately. Grey, book an OR. If you can't get one, go to Hunt, have him bump an elective."
"Yes, sir."
"Don't go anywhere, Grey." Mark stopped her. "He has lost almost 75% of his hearing and I promised I would fix it. You're just gonna have to wait."
"Mark, you really want to wait on something like this?" Derek pressed.
"He's my patient, Derek." His voice grew louder.
"Who is now neuro, which makes him my patient. Lexie, help me out here."
"I think that the tumor takes priority over the hearing." She nodded to Mark.
"So you're siding with him?" Mark shook his head. "What? Just to spite me?"
"I'm siding with Derek because he's right!" Lexie fired back.
"He will be deaf if I wait!" He yelled.
"He'll be dead if we wait, so it won't matter if he can't hear!" She yelled back.
"Look, he is my patient now and I am taking it from here. Your services are no longer needed. Grey, book the OR!" Derek ordered.
"Gladly." Lexie turned and jogged to the nurses station.
"So you're just gonna swoop in like that and take my patient." Mark was clearly offended.
"Look, don't make this into something that it isn't." Derek looked at him. "The tumor is just more pressing."
"Yeah." Mark said, more to himself, as Derek walked away. "Your problems always are."
Later that evening, Lexie met Mark in the on-call room he paged her too. She was all smiles, walking through the door. Mark, on the other hand, was not.
"You're still mad?" She asked, by looking at the look on his face.
"I'm pretty pissed." He answered, walking to her and trying to kiss her. "I'm over it."
"Mark, Derek was right in treating the tumor first." She pushed him back. "I think you should apologize, both of you."
"I should apologize to him?" He looked at her like she lost it.
"You were both in the wrong." She explained, trying to be diplomatic.
"Maybe you should go."
"Seriously?" She asked in disebelief.
"Yeah, seriously." He looked at her when she didn't move. "GO!"
Lexie just shook her head. "Page me when you get a grip." She snapped.
"Hey." Meredith popped in next to her sister at the nurses' station. Lexie was busily charting. "I was thinking, since we're all on call, that you, me, Derek, and Mark could all go to Joe's after work. What do you think?"
"I'm in, but Mark is pissed off at Derek and me." She replied.
"Why? What happened?"
"An emergent patient, brain tumor versus loss of hearing. I think Mark felt like we were castrating him a little bit, but I think there's more to it that he just isn't sharing."
"Will he be waiting for you here?" Meredith asked.
"Who cares? Tonight I am a free woman. He wants me to leave him alone, that's what I'll do. Meet you in the lobby?"
"In the lobby."
Mark walked to the residents' locker room where Lexie was hangin her stethoscope in her locker. She was diligently placing her notepad inside when she noticed Mark in the doorway.
"You ready?" He asked.
"I thought I might go to Joe's with Derek and Mer. Do you wanna come?" She offered, hoping to reach a compromise.
"I'd rather just head home." He said, showing no emotion.
"Well, I'm sure Derek can give me a ride home." Lexie said, closing her locker door.
"Lex, come on."
"What is your problem today?" She asked, answered by silence. "Hmm?"
Still nothing.
"Okay, forget it." She started to storm past him, turning around before leaving. "This mood...you've been snapping at people all day. Derek, me...do you want to talk about it?"
"No." He snapped. "In fact, I'd rather not talk to you at all right now."
"Well, I don't want to talk to you either!" She shot back, like a petulant four-year-old.
"Good. Then don't bother." Mark stormed to the elevator. Lexie's eyes just remained wide in amazement.
"Just breathe." She whispered to herself as she headed to the lobby.
"There she is!" Derek said as she walked down the last couple of steps. "You ready to go?"
"Yeah." She smiled, as they all turned to see Mark storming out of the building from the elevator.
"Still not talking to you?" Meredith asked.
"He yelled, so I guess that's progress." She shrugged. "Can I crash on your couch tonight? Just for tonight."
"Absolutely." Her sister grinned. "And if that doesn't help, we can call Cristina and dance it out."
I hope you guys enjoyed this sort of turning of tables. Before anyone thinks that Mark is just being a jackass, I think you all should know that it is going to boil down to Mark's childhood with Derek and always feeling like the lesser of the two, the supressed one, and Derek taking his patient reminds him of that. Leave your thoughts on this chapter and on the Grey's season premiere. I would love to hear what you guys think!
Lots of Love and Keep Reading!