I didn't want you guys to wait for too long. I know the cliffhanger was pretty intense. So without further waiting, here you guys go! Enjoy!
Flashes. That's all Lexie Grey could remember from the horrific events that had taken place just 72 hours ago. Certain parts were gone, lost amid all the trauma. Other parts were harder to lose, like the gut-wrenching sound of her daughter screaming for her or the metallic taste of the blood that coated her mouth. Lexie felt her eyelids slowly fluttering open leaving her to find Meredith sitting in the chair next to her bed.
"Thank God." She breathed out as she leaned forward and grabbed her sister's hand. Lexie responded with a small cough. "What is it?"
"Haley." Lexie choked out. "Where is she?"
"She is home with Derek. She only had a few scratches on her and they bandaged her up and sent her with us."
"What about Mark?"
"Sweetie, you really should try to rest." Meredith tried.
"Mark!" Lexie found her voice. "Where is he?"
"He is in another room, in the neurosurgical wing."
"Neuro? What...what happened?" Lexie began to panic.
"Look, the important thing is that you are all alive." She began, taking her little sister's hand as she tried to find the right words. "When the truck collided with you guys, Mark was thrown from the car. He suffered some significant brain damage. Right now, he is out of it and we are waiting to see if he will wake up."
"Wait. He's in a coma?"
"Yes." Meredith said, hesitantly.
"Wha- I wanna see him." She began to cry.
"Lexie, I don't think-"
"I want to see him now!" She yelled as she broke down.
"I'll go find Avery so we can get you up."
Slowly, Jackson wheeled a bruised and healing Lexie into a quiet room, the only sounds were the intermittent beeping resonating from the numerous monitors that stood around the room. She felt her breath catch in the back of her throat and suddenly she couldn't think.
"What are the odds?" She asked as she cradled Mark's frail hand in her own.
"About fifty-fifty." Jackson answered.
"Fifty-fifty?" Lexie repeated barely above a whisper. "How long can we wait?"
"As long as you want, but the longer we wait the less likely it is that he will wake up."
"He'll wake up." Lexie said, sniffling her tears.
"Lexie-"
"NO! He will wake up!" She shouted before collapsing her face into her hands. "I'm sorry."
"It's fine, Lex."
"Can I be alone with him, please?" She asked. "I want to be with my husband."
"Absolutely." He walked to the door. "Just hit the call button if you need anything."
"Thank you, Jackson."
After Dr. Avery closed the sliding door, Lexie sniffled and sighed deeply. Then she began to speak.
"What did you do?" She whispered to a nonresponsive Mark. "Why did you go and do that, huh? I bet you thought you were being some kind of a hero, but in all honesty, this is probably the stupidest thing you have done, Mark."
Silence surrounded the couple.
"I need you here." She continued. "I know you probably don't agree with that and you may think that I will be fine on my own, but that isn't for to decide. Not without discussing it with me."
She was now bawling.
"You have to wake up, because I can't go back to my life without you. I can't raise our daughter without you. She needs you there. You know exactly how to pour her cereal and you get rid of the monsters under the bed. You know her most special secret tickle spot and you give her those airplane rides she loves so much. You make her laugh harder than anyone I have ever seen her with and she needs that. She needs her daddy."
Silence.
"Mark, please." Lexie slowly broke down, resting her head on Mark's lifeless body, crying herself to sleep.
3 Hours Later...
"Lexie?" Derek gently woke his sleeping sister-in-law. "Lexie."
"What?" She jolted from her prior state. "Mark! I'm up."
"Shhh...nothing's happened. I just thought you might be more comfortable in your own bed." He suggested.
"No, I'm not leaving him."
"Lexie..."
"I'm not leaving him, Derek." She stayed firm. "He wouldn't leave if it were me in that bed. I can't do that to him and I can't do that to Haley."
"All right, all right." He forfeited. "I'll have Olivia bring in a cot for you."
"You know, this stopped being cute about four hours ago." Lexie began talking to Mark again about an hour after Derek left her. "You gotta wake up, because I'm starting to get a little pissed at you."
Silence. The only sound Lexie could hear was her heart beating like a sledgehammer.
"You thought you could just leave? Like I wouldn't notice?" She paused. "Damn it! Just stop! Stop playing this stupid, pointless game!"
She began to lose all composure.
"I am here. I am here and I am begging you with every last piece of dignity that I have left. Do not leave me like this." She wiped her tears. "I'm not done with you. We haven't gotten a chance to have a son. We haven't seen Haley bring home a report card. I wanna be sitting next to you, watching our grandkids run around outside. Please, please don't quit on me. Don't give out on me, just yet, okay?"
"He won't." Jackson spoke from the door. "Sorry. I was just coming by to get his vitals."
Lexie sniffled. "Okay."
"He's gonna wake up." He told her, as he scribbled on the chart in his hand. "Most of us around here, we don't have a whole lot to stick around for. We kind of grow used to the feeling of being alone. But Sloan, there's no way he'd leave you or Haley. Just give him time."
"Thanks, Jackson."
"Anytime." He grinned. "Get some rest."
"Jackson."
"Yeah?"
"You will find someone or something to stick around for." She shrugged. "Until then, you got me at least."
"Thanks, Lexie."
That night Lexie tossed and turned. She swore at numerous times during the night she had heard Mark move or cough or say her name. Every time she turned to check, however, she was greeted by the harsh reality that everything was exactly as the last time she had seen it. Mark still laid lifeless and everything was still dark and uncertain, making it that much harder to find the peace and calm to fall asleep. It was mental torture and it became exhausting.
Three Days Later...
Meredith walked into Mark's hospital room, finding her sister zipping up a small, black bag.
"What's going on?" She inquired.
"I'm heading home." Lexie answered robotically. She showed less and less emotion with time. "I need to take Haley home and give her some semblance of normalcy."
"Okay...but you'll be back right?"
"Yeah." She sighed. "I just can't keep sitting here all day, torturing myself."
"Torture?" Meredith was confused.
"You heard Jackson. The more time passes, the less likely it is that he'll even wake up."
"Don't listen to Jackson. He is Plastics, not Neuro. He doesn't know his temporal lobe from his testicles." She argued.
"He is right, Mer." Lexie sighed. "I need to start facing the reality that Mark may not be coming back to me...ever. I think you all need to start facing it too."
"Lexie..."
"I should go." Lexie walked through the door before Meredith could protest otherwise.
Meredith just sighed. "Damn it, Mark." She whispered to the lifeless man in the bed. "Wake up!"
I know that this chapter took a million years to get up but my computer crashed and I had to send it off for repairs but thank you to those of you who have been so patient. Please review because it makes me giddy. Until next time! XOXO