Hey everyone! I am soooo sorry it had taken this long to get an update posted. Work has been crazy. With the holidays, everyone seems to be slightly more stressed. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this next chapter at least as much as I enjoyed writing it. Thanks again, for all your support.

Disclaimer: Nothing is mine, all the work of the very talented Ms. Shonda Rhimes.

The day was just about over for Lexie, who was busily charting in an on-call room. She knew it wasn't ideal, but it was the only place she was able to find some peace and quiet. Finally, she had felt like she achieved some kind of balance. Lexie had spent time with Haley that morning, took part in two craniotomies and one bowel resection, and now she was finishing her notes so she and Mark could go home. She closed one chart and moved to the next when Jackson burst through the door like a force of nature.

"Damn it!" He cursed, punching the wall, before turning and noticing Lexie sitting in the corner. "Oh, I'm sorry."

"No worries." She answered with a small smile. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." He replied.

"You don't look fine." Lexie stated.

"Well I am!" Jackson shot back.

"Okay." Lexie said, looking down.

"She doesn't want to take the next step with me?" Jackson said slowly.

"April?"

"I asked her to move in with me. You know, get out of Meredith's and get our own place." He explained. "She shot me down."

"I'm so sorry, Jackson." Lexie said as Jackson sat on the bed next to her. "I know how much that must hurt."

"Why doesn't she want to move forward with me? I thought everything was going great." He said, clearly distraught.

"Maybe it's just too soon for her. It doesn't mean she doesn't care about you." She consoled.

"She doesn't."

"Of course she does. Don't be ridiculous." She told him.

"She ended things, Lexie." He said.

"Oh."

"Yeah. I wanted to take the next step and she kicked me to the curb." Jackson continued.

"Jackson, I-" Lexie started.

"Lexie, I don't know what to do. I really think she was the one." He said, on the verge of tears.

"Jackson." She pulled him into a hug. "Don't do this to yourself. She will come around. You'll see."

"She's all I've got. Charles is gone, Reed is gone. April's all I've got." He lightly cried on Lexie's shoulder.

"You are not alone." She soothed. "For what it's worth, I'm here."

The pair continued to hold each other, Lexie felt sorry for Jackson. He was a genuinely good guy. He didn't deserve this. She knew how much he cared about April and it killed her to see him in such pain over it. She wished she could somehow make it all go away for him, but she knew that was impossible. After twenty minutes of silent comforting, Lexie walked Jackson out to the hall. She lightly stroked his face.

"Go home." She said. "Get some sleep. Everything will be fine. You'll see."

"Thanks, Grey." He said, kissing her on the cheek. "You're the best."

"And don't you forget it." She said with a laugh.

With that, she made her way to the residents' lounge, gathered her things and paged Mark to meet her in the lobby. The pair headed home in tense, awkward silence and Lexie knew, without asking, that Mark must have had a difficult day. Anytime Mark had a surgery that was rough, or a patient he lost, or even a intern who was less than cooperative, he would shut himself off, so Lexie made it a habit not to press. After picking Haley up from Callie's and walking across the hall to their own apartment, Lexie noticed that it wasn't that Mark was upset, he was upset with her.

"What's wrong?" She asked, receiving no response. "Mark, come on."

"Don't worry about it."

"Don't worry about what?" Silence again. "Okay, are you going to tell me what this is about or am I supposed to pretend like I know?" She pressed.

"Are you kidding me?" He said, placing Haley in her playpen and heading to their bedroom, with Lexie close behind. "I saw the way he looked at you."

"What are you talking about?" She asked, lost.

"Avery."

"Jackson?" She clarified. "You saw me with Jackson?"

"Is there another Avery I don't know about?" He shot back.

"That was nothing." Lexie laughed. "I was just talking to him. April broke up with him and he needed a friend."

"I'm sure he does." He said, smugly.

"Mark." She said with anger. "I didn't sleep with him, if that's what you're implying."

"No." Mark said, holding up a hand. "I am not accusing you of anything. What I am saying is I don't trust him."

"What did he do to you?" She asked him.

"Look, I know guys like him. Cocky, arrogant, trust me, all he wants is to get in your pants right now." Mark said.

"Do not judge him." Lexie defended. "Besides, when you say 'guys like him' don't you really mean guys like you?"

"What is that supposed to mean?" He asked, slightly offended.

"We are both more than aware of your reputation when I started my internship." She explained. "Does the Nurses United Against Mark Sloan ring any bells?"

"That was a different man." Mark said. "That's not me, anymore."

"I know." Lexie said, taking his hand. "I know you are not that guy, because I trust you. I trust you with my life and with my heart."

Mark smiled at her.

"But Mark, for this to work the way we want it to, you have to trust me too." Lexie said. "You have to trust that I love you more than anything and that I am not going to just toss that down the drain, okay?"

"Okay." Mark said, pulling her hand to his lips and placing a light kiss on the top of her palm.

"Okay." She said, standing on her tiptoes to kiss him.

"I just lose it when guys look at you like that." Mark said.

"Like what?"

"Like they want you." He said. "You are mine and I want to be sure that everyone knows they don't stand a chance."

"They don't stand a chance." Lexie said. "Besides, you gave me Haley. Jackson couldn't give me her and neither can anyone else for that matter. You are it."

"Good." He said with a grin. "So why did Kepner dump him again?"

"She didn't want to move in with him."

"They already live together with Meredith." Mark said, confused.

"He wanted to get their own place and I guess she thought they were moving too fast." She explained.

"Isn't she still a virgin?" He said.

"Mark!" She sighed in exasperation.

"What?" He asked. "Okay, nevermind."

"He's just so hurt, you know." Lexie said. "You can tell he really misses her.

"Well, just make sure he keeps his hands to himself from now on, okay?"

Lexie rolled her eyes. "I'm taking a shower. I'll only be a few minutes."

"Great." Mark answered. "I'll order some food."

Lexie stood in the shower and let the hot water wash over her. She had only meant to jump in and have a quick rinse which then turned into twenty minutes of standing in the hot water and steam. She was brought back to reality when she heard a banging on the bathroom door. She quickly wrapped herself in a towel and opened the door. From what she could see everything was as she left it, except for Mark, who had a look of pure terror on his face.

"What?" Lexie asked. "What is it? What's wrong?"

"Haley's gone."

I know, I know. Please don't yell at me. I had been exploring this part of the story for a while but wasn't sure I wanted to do it. I think this is the best choice for now. Please read and review and let me know what you think. Peace and Love. Happy Holidays! X0X0