Hey everybody…Thanks for all the love. It really makes a girl feel good. I just bought the new Kelly Clarkson album, Stronger, and it is awesome. Just thought I would share. Anyway, less about me and more about our favorite couple. I kinda had this crazy idea and I hope you like it.
Disclaimer: Everything belongs to Shonda Rhimes and ABC.
"Wait, what?" Lexie asked, trying to make sure she was hearing correctly.
"You heard me." Mark said, packing a duffel bag. "Meredith and Derek are going to keep Haley for the weekend while you and I take a trip."
"Yes, but camping? Seriously?" Lexie was lost.
"Yes. Adventure and romance. It's exactly what we need to get back on track." Mark assured her.
"Mark, we are back on track and we didn't need dirt and bugs to get there." Lexie said, turning her nose up at the idea of spending an extended period of time in the wilderness.
"Look, we are going. Now pack a bag, just the essentials and I am going to go finish loading the car." Mark ordered. "Move."
Lexie flopped back on the bed with a groan. After a minute, she crawled across the bed and grabbed her phone, quickly dialing Meredith's number.
"What's up, Lexie?" Meredith answered.
"Quick, I need you to fake a family emergency so that I have to come to your side immediately." She begged.
"What are you talking about?" Meredith asked.
"Mark is taking me camping, Meredith." She explained. "I cannot spend a weekend outdoors, okay? I just won't make it."
"It will be okay. Addison lasted almost a year with Derek in his trailer. If she could pull that off, you can do a weekend in a tent." Meredith said, laughing as she remembered the fights over showers and trout that Derek had told her about.
"So you're not going to help me get out of this?" Lexie said, trying to make it obvious that Meredith had violated some kind of deep, spiritual sister code.
"No, I am not, but I am very excited to get to spend a weekend with my niece." Meredith said with a chuckle.
"Ugh!" Lexie groaned, hanging up the phone.
She slowly grabbed a bag and packed clothes as well as shampoo, soap, and a toothbrush and toothpaste. She figured regardless of where she was going, she would at least be clean. Mark walked back in the front door with an extremely chipper attitude.
"Come on, Little Grey." He said, taking her bag from her. "The great outdoors awaits. You will love it, I promise. Let's go!" He walked out the door, Lexie following behind.
"Yeah, yay." Lexie said, showing no emotion.
The couple hit the road and within an hour looked like they were in the middle of nowhere and heading into nothing fast.
"Do you even know where we are?"
"Trust me, Lex." Mark said, squeezing her hand. "This is spontaneity at its best."
"Oh, god." She muttered under her breath.
"What?" Mark laughed.
"Just fate has never really been kind to any of us."
"What are you talking about?" He asked.
"Meredith drowned, Derek got shot, George died, and Izzie got cancer." She explained.
"Lexie, none of that happened to us." Mark said, pulling her hand up to kiss it.
"Exactly." Lexie pointed out. "We haven't gotten ours yet. We could take off into the woods and be eaten by bears, never to be heard from again."
"You're so cute when you're paranoid." Mark chuckled.
"Shut up." She said.
About twenty minutes later, they arrived at a large stretch of land overlooking a large lake. It was breathtakingly gorgeous. The sun reflecting off the water and the trees clashing with the cloudy sky, reminded Lexie off a painting in a museum. It only took about an hour for Mark to unload and put up a large tent. He started a fire, and made his way over to the SUV where Lexie was still sitting inside.
"What are you doing?" he asked, tapping on the window.
"Checking on Haley." She said pointing to her cell phone which was connected to a car charger. "Meredith hasn't called since we left and I am starting to get a little worried. What if something is wrong?"
"Get out of the car." He ordered.
"Excuse me?" She said, slightly shocked by the tone of his voice.
"You are never going to be able to let yourself relax if you are constantly tied to the phone. Haley is fine and once you start enjoying yourself, you'll stop worrying." Mark said, walking her over to a chair he had set up next to the fire.
Mark had packed a cooler with everything they needed to make sandwiches, since cooking would be much more difficult. The couple ate and talked about just about anything and everything under the sun. From politics to medicine to Justin Bieber and ridiculousness he had caused. After a while, Lexie began to grow mor comfortable being outside. Mark was putting the food away for the night when he heard Lexie shriek like a little girl. He quickly ran back to the site and found Lexie with an irritated look.
"What happened?" He said, worried.
"Mosquito bit me." Lexie said, pointing to her arm.
"Oh." He said, going back to what he was doing when Lexie shrieked again, louder.
"That was a big one." She said when Mark looked at her with a cheesy grin.
"I'm going in the tent." She told him unzipping the large tent and quickly slipping inside.
There was something about watching Lexie with nature that entertained her. Two worlds colliding was saying the very least, but she was trying and that was all Mark could ask for and he loved her for it. The night went relatively smoothly. Mark only woke twice to convince a terrified that the rustling outside was not a bear and was in fact the wind. Morning came a little earlier than Lexie was used to, but she got up hoping that things would go well.
"Good morning, sunshine." Mark said when Lexie came out of the tent, finding Mark with two cups of coffee.
"When did you go get coffee?" Lexie asked, taking the cup he offered her.
"I went a little earlier. You were still asleep."
"You left me here?" Lexie said, eyes widened. "What if a bear-"
"Oh, for God's sake, Lexie. There are no bears here." Mark said, rolling his eyes. "So are you ready for some fun?"
"What kind of fun?" She inquired.
"I found a gorgeous hiking trail, about a mile back."
"Hiking?" She couldn't help but look at him like he had lost his mind. "Okay." She said with false enthusiasm.
Lexie and Mark drove back to the trail Mark had found while exploring. Lexie was nervous. She played sports growing up but she was never the exploring type. When it came to that sort of thing, it was better left separate from her. They began walking and Mark was incredibly sweet. He held her hand, encouraged her, and even let her piggy back when she started feeling a little winded. It had been about an hour and Lexie felt like they had been climbing forever, she could feel it in her calves.
"Mark, how much further." She asked stopping for a drink of water.
"We're going up there."
Lexie choked on her water. "That's like another two miles. You are joking right?"
"Nah. Come on, you can do it." He encouraged. "Trust me, Lex. The view is worth it."
After what felt like a million miles of rough terrain, Mark grabbed Lexie's hand.
"How are we doing back there?" He asked.
"Did you ever see that movie Everest?" She cracked.
"What?" Mark responded.
"Nothing." She said as Mark pulled her up to where he was standing. "Oh, my."
"I told you this view was worth it." He said proud of himself.
"I am never going home again." Lexie said, taking in the breathtaking view in front of her. "This is gorgeous."
"Hey." Mark said.
"Yeah?" Lexie said, turning to face him.
"I love you."
"I love you, too." She said, wrapping her arms around him and pulling him into a kiss.
"I want you to know that while I do want more kids, that doesn't mean that I consider you and Haley to be any less of a family to me. You guys are it." Mark said.
"Shhh." She replied, kissing him again.
"I know you weren't thrilled with this weekend, but I am glad you tried for me." Mark said with a smile.
"Anytime."
"What do you say we go grab that kid of ours and spend what's left of it with her at home?" Mark asked.
"Just one more minute." Lexie said, snuggling up closer to him.
"Hey, home so soon?" Derek said, letting Mark and Lexie inside.
"Well we couldn't stay away from this little bundle of joy for too long." Mark said, gesturing to Lexie who was already on the living room floor playing with Haley.
"Where's Meredith?" Lexie asked, looking up.
"She's in the bath…de-stressing. She had a little bit of a rough day." Derek explained.
"Why? What happened?" Lexie asked, concerned for her sister.
"Oh, nothing. The bag boy at the supermarket gave us paper instead of plastic." Derek said.
"Huh?" Mark responded, confused.
"I know, it's weird. Every little thing sets her off when it's this time of the month."
"Derek!" They all heard Meredith shriek from upstairs.
"I have to run. It was good to see you guys. Drive safe." Derek said, running upstairs.
One the drive home Mark looked in the rearview mirror at his sleeping daughter and next to him at his new wife.
"So what do you think? Chinese and Scarface?" Mark asked.
"Ugh! No. Pizza and Pretty Woman." She said, causing Mark to cringe.
"Fine. I'll meet you halfway. Thai and Mr. & Mrs. Smith." He asked.
"Deal." She said definitively.
She felt like they had finally got the hang of this compromise thing everyone was talking about. However, she was pretty sure when it came to marriage, the ones who were talking about compromise were not just talking about Sunday night dinner plans.
I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing. Thank you so much for your input and I cannot wait to post the next chapter. Keep reading. Peace and Love xoxo