Derek and Meredith slide into their seats in the gallery.
"It feels much better being up here, but you think Lexie's okay…right?" Meredith asks.
"You told her about 400 times that if she needed you she could ask for you to be paged. I think she knows you're here if she needs you," Derek says, smiling.
Derek checks his pager.
"I thought you were off today," Meredith asks.
"I am," Derek replies.
"Then why do you keep checking your pager?" Meredith asks.
"Habit," Derek replies.
"Some of you didn't like my basketball references last time, so I'm changing tactics," Dr. Bailey begins. "Today's game is football. They didn't let girls play football when I was in high school, so while I watched from the sidelines and played my oboe in the marching band, I learned the game. So here goes…I'm the coach. I call the plays. Dr. Sloan here is our starting quarter back. Stevens, you're the receiver. You will receive anything Sloan throws at you and make a touchdown. Don't even think about going for a field goal, because this team will not accept anything less than a touchdown. Is that understood?" Dr. Bailey asks, looking at Izzie.
"Yes, coach," Izzie says, glancing up at Alex in the gallery.
"I think Bailey's lost it," Alex mutters to Owen who sits between him and Cristina.
Izzie walks over to Lexie. "How are you doing?" she asks.
"I don't know. I think I'm more scared this time because I know what to expect," she admits.
"It will be over before you know it. I promise. I think you'll be surprised. It won't be quite as bad as you think!" Izzie says, a little too cheerfully.
"You sound way too happy to be torturing me," Lexie points out.
Izzie smiles, and gives Mark a look.
"I'm not going to close my eyes this time…" Cristina whispers to Owen.
"I am. There's no pride in watching someone suffer," Owen says.
"No. But there's pride in not being a wimp. I'm not a wimp. If Izzie can do this procedure, I can watch it. Wait! Does Sloan know that I closed my eyes? Is that why he picked Izzie and not me to assist him? Did you tell him?" Cristina asks Owen.
"No. I did not tell him," Owen says, simply.
"Are you sure?" Cristina asks.
Owen stares at her as Alex whispers, "Dude…she's crazy! You're DEFINITELY the Derek!"
Owen laughs.
"Are you mocking me, Evil Spawn?" Cristina asks.
Izzie begins the preliminary check on Lexie.
"Temp is 96.3. Definitely no fever or infection. Blood pressure is 110/70. Perfect…" Izzie says looking at Mark who nods in approval.
Izzie takes a small light and shines it in Lexie's pupils. She takes her time looking in each eye and turns to Mark. "Ummm…Dr. Sloan, can you please come check this for a minute?" Izzie asks, with a worried look on her face.
"What's wrong? Is something wrong?" Lexie asks.
"Don't worry…" Izzie says, reassuringly. "I just need Dr. Sloan to look at your pupils," she explains.
"Why is Izzie taking so long? Why are they looking like that? I know what that look means. Derek, I think something's wrong," Meredith says, nervously.
"Nothing's wrong. I'm sure everything is fine. This is Izzie's first time, she probably just wants to be thorough," Derek says, calmly.
Mark shines the light in Lexie's eyes and nods solemnly at Izzie. "Page Shepherd. Tell him to bring a resident. We're going to need all the hands we can get," he says, as he and Izzie exchange grave looks.
"What's wrong with me?" Lexie grows panicky.
"We're seeing some potential neurological concerns which can sometimes occur when…" Izzie begins.
"Neurological concerns? What? What do you mean?" Lexie asks.
"Let's wait for Dr. Shepherd to get scrubbed in and we'll have him explain everything to you," Izzie says, trying to reassure Lexie who is growing more and more agitated.
Derek looks at his pager. "It's Sloan. 9-1-1. He needs a resident. Come on, Mer. Let's get scrubbed in," he says.
"Wait! She can't go! She fainted last time! What happened to family not treating family?" Cristina asks.
"She's right, Derek. Take Cristina…or Alex…" she says.
"Not 'or Alex.' Take me. Just take me! That's all there is to it. This is ridiculous!" Cristina demands.
"Cristina!" Owen says, sharply.
"What? This is insane! I should be scrubbing in!" she says. "This procedure has never been done before. It's groundbreaking!" she says.
"I am the attending neurosurgeon here. I choose my resident, and I choose Dr. Grey! There is no further discussion on this topic!" Derek says.
Meredith looks at Cristina with an "I don't know what just happened," look and Cristina softens towards her friend.
"Good luck, Mer. Don't faint…okay?" she says.
"I'll try," she replies, rushing out after Derek.
When she arrives in the O.R. Derek is already standing over Lexie examining her.
"What are we looking for?" Meredith asks.
"Shine this light in her eyes," Derek says.
Meredith does as she is told and says, "I don't see anything…"
"There is a complex neurological complication that has the potential to occur in response to the grafting. We have to get it under control before we can continue. Dr. Sloan, do you have the necessary instruments?" Derek asks.
"Of course, Dr. Shepherd," Mark replies.
"Meredith? What's going on?" Lexie asks.
"I don't know…" Meredith says, grabbing Lexie's hand. "But you're going to be okay. I promise…Derek and I will take care of you," she says.
"Meredith, I'm going to do a quick exam on Lexie. The instruments I need are very delicate. Please handle them carefully. You'll know what to do with them when you see them. It's nothing you haven't seen every day…it's just that this one is special. It needs special care. Be very careful to avoid contamination as you remove it," Derek says, handing her a box that is roughly the size of a shoebox.
Meredith opens it as Izzie and Mark step away from Derek. Meredith looks confused as she pulls out a smaller box from the first box. When she opens that one, she continues to remove smaller boxes from inside the larger ones. She looks at Izzie, confused.
"It has to be protected really well…in order to avoid contamination. Her risk of infection is still high," Izzie explains.
Meredith continues to open the boxes until she removes a very tiny box. Suddenly, Derek steps away from Lexie, and Izzie and Mark move back towards Lexie. Meredith opens the box and sees a 2 karat Tiffany setting engagement ring on a thin platinum band.
"Dr. Meredith Grey," Derek begins. "I have loved you since the moment I first laid eyes on you. I have loved you through the good times, through the bad times and all the times in between. I can't imagine the rest of my life if I don't spend the rest of it with you. So here, in front of all your friends in the O.R. and that gallery, and in front of your sister I'm going to ask you to take exactly 20 seconds to make a decision. They will be the longest 20 seconds of my life, but I want you to be sure," Derek says, still on his knees.
"Come on…let's hear some counting from the crowd!" Dr. Bailey says, motioning to the gallery.
As Alex, Owen and Cristina all start counting down from 20 Izzie and Mark nod at each other. As they get to 10, Izzie and Mark light their torches and begin burning the damaged skin off of Lexie's arms and legs. She moans a bit, but her screams are nothing like the first time. When they finish, Lexie looks at Meredith, who is still staring at the ring, stunned.
The O.R. is completely silent until Lexie says, "Aren't you going to answer him, Meredith!"
Meredith looks up at Derek and takes his hand. "Derek Shepherd. You are the most romantic person in the entire world, and I know you have never dreamed of proposing to me in a crowded O.R. You have sacrificed for me since the moment we met. You left your marriage, waited while I learned to handle a relationship, and gave up your idea of a dream proposal in order to distract my sister during one of the most awful moments of her life. You are the most selfless, perfect man in the entire world and of course I want to marry you!" she says, throwing her arms around him.
Alex, Owen and Cristina run down from the gallery to congratulate the happy couple.
Derek looks at Lexie. "Told you there was no way I'd tell her. Sloan can keep a secret. Stevens can keep a secret. You? I don't think so," he whispers.
"Thanks Derek! You're going to be the pain in the ass big brother that I never had, aren't you?" she replies. Then she turns to Meredith. "Let me see the ring!"
Meredith holds her hand up to Lexie who says, "It's beautiful. Simple, delicate…it's just perfect. This day is perfect. I'm so happy for you!"
"Did she just say this day was perfect?" Izzie asks, Meredith.
"I think she did," Meredith replies.
Izzie turns to Mark. "We kicked ass!" she says.
Mark walks over to Lexie and kisses her.
"You arranged all of this…didn't you?" Lexie asks.
Mark nods. "Shepherd and Stevens helped," he says.
Mark walks over to Derek. "Congratulations, man. I promise not to sleep with this wife," he says.
"You're an ass," Derek replies.
"Thanks for doing this." Mark says, seriously.
"It was perfect. Meredith's happy, Lexie's happy. We're happy," Derek says.
"Oh my god! I love happy endings!" Izzie squeals.
Everyone looks at each other as Cristina makes a gagging motion and they all laugh and gather around Meredith and Derek one more time to congratulate them.
*******
Thanks for all the reviews! Keep it up!! You know I love hearing from you guys and there is no Grey's this week, so I'll try to get the next chapter up for Thursday if I can…But reviews are a great motivator!!
*** Also, just so you know, I had this ready to go on Sunday morning but the site was down all day. I'll get it posted ASAP. Sorry for the delay!