Sorry for the wait! While on break I was working so I didn't have much free time. To all the reviewers who wrote and favorited and alerted this story, thank you so much! Here's another chapter, and another is soon to follow! Tell me what you think!

Whisper Hello, I Miss You Quite Terribly

"I wanna help," Lexie whined, crossing her arms over her chest, sitting a top of a counter in Mark's kitchen.

Mark chuckled, "No."

"But why not?" Lexie stressed all of the syllables, making her voice and mannerisms resemble that of a two year old.

Mark stirred a pot that simmered over his stove, before setting down the spoon and walking over to where Lexie sat. "Because," he said, placing his hands on Lexie's jean-clad thighs as she opened her knees a bit so he could be as close to her as possible, "I would like to end up with an edible meal by the end of this endeavor."

Lexie sighed, placing her arms around his shoulders and tightening her legs around him, "But I wanna help."

Mark snaked his arms around her waist and sighed in content the moment her lips caught his. He smirked as she let her teeth scrape the skin on his bottom lip.

"You're not going to coerce me, little Grey." Mark stated, never letting his mouth part from hers.

Lexie tore her lips away from his, only to begin pressing little kisses along his jawline, "But coercion is fun."

Mark closed his eyes and allowed the feel of Lexie take over his senses, "Not burning dinner is also fun." He stated absentmindedly, groaning slightly as she nipped and sucked at the base of his throat.

She pulled away slightly, so her eyes were staring challengingly into his, "More fun then coercion?"

Mark chuckled slightly moving to his right slightly to turn off the stove, before taking possession of her lips once more, "Nothing is more fun than coercion."

After work, Mark and Lexie drove together to his apartment. While in the car, Mark laced his fingers with hers. Lexie felt like a schoolgirl as she failed miserably at hiding the smile that spread across her lips. He had a hold over her, a dangerous, electrifying, terrible, wonderful hold. He could break her with a single touch, seduce her with a single word, destroy her composure with one look. Lexie felt a constant adrenaline rush whenever she was with him, even when she simply thought about him.

Weren't these feelings supposed to subside during the years she had been away? Instead, they only seemed to intensify. It was like a constant magnetic pull whenever she was near him. She had to be close to him, touch him, make sure he was truly there. He could push her away without a single explanation, if he wanted. That's what she did to him. Maybe that was her greatest fear, that he would just up and decide to do to her what she did to him.

These worries, and others, floated around Lexie's ever-churning mind, constantly, without pause, ever-growing. As she sat on the counter, immersed in his love, physically and emotionally, she began to think of the possibilities. What the man before her could do, deserved to do to get back at her. She slowed her movements, halting her wandering hands and her insatiable lips, and placed her forehead against his.

She looked into his blue orbs and tried to offer him a smile. Mark reached his hand up to lightly stroke her cheek, before placing his palm lightly against her porcelain face. "What's on your mind, Lex?" Mark whispered soothingly.

Lexie attempted to give a small chuckle, he already knew what was on her mind, he always knew; however, it came out more as a hiccup, "Everything."

"You want to talk now?" Mark asked, pulling away slightly, helping Lexie jump off the counter.

She smiled meekly, feeling slightly over-bearing for wanting to know what this, between them, really was. He took her hand, seemingly knowing what she was feeling, and squeezed it in reassurance, before leading her over to the couch. He gestured for her to sit on one end of the couch while he sat on the other.

Lexie laughed aloud before crawling over to where he was. "Whoah, little Grey." Mark stated with his hands up, "I'm trying to create some boundaries here."

Lexie smiled, swinging her legs over his lap and leaning her body into his shoulder, "I don't want boundaries," she stated simply, "not with you."

Mark wrapped his arm around her shoulders and intertwined his free hand with one of hers. He leaned in slightly and pressed a chaste kiss on her lips, "For the record," he said pulling away, "I don't want boundaries with you either."

Lexie resisted the strong urge to kiss him again, knowing doing so would negate the whole 'talking' thing. Instead, she just stared at him, just looked at his face. Though the years had certainly left their imprint on Mark's features, a few more wrinkles, a few more grey hairs in his stubble, besides the slight indication of age, there were no other signs that time had passed. How could time stand still, after five years, how could nothing have changed?

"So," Lexie started, nervously playing with their intertwined hands, "what is this?"

Mark chuckled, "That was smooth."

Lexie laughed, glad to have him ease some of the tension, "Shut up, I'm serious. There's no other way to phrase that."

Mark took a long pause before answering, "Well, what do you want this to be?"

Lexie bit her lip and pressed her head into his chest, her voice was barely above a whisper when she spoke, "I leave in a month."

Mark stroked her hair soothingly, "So I've got a month to convince you to stay."

Lexie pulled her head away from his body to look him in the eye, "It's not that easy."

Mark smiled down at her, "Why can't it be?"

Lexie stared into eyes, searching for just a twinge of doubt or hesitation, but there was none. Lexie wanted to smile at his confidence, but reason haunted the back of her mind. "Because it can't be," Lexie stated, shaking her head slightly," not logically. I have a month here and I have a whole life in Chicago."

"You have a whole life in Seattle, too." Mark countered.

"It's not the same, here and in Chicago. Things are different, I'm different, we're different." Lexie sighed, placing her head once again against his chest.

Mark maintained his smile, never letting it waver, "You're not the same girl that left, but Chicago didn't change you. You changed before Chicago was even an option. You used to have this, this flamboyant light in your eyes, impossible to miss. You used to have this radiating optimism about everything; it was annoyingly contagious. You used to have a hunger for life." He spoke softly, almost like it hurt him to say the words. He paused for a moment, closing his eyes and pressing his lips to the top of her head.

When he spoke again, his voice was still soft, but his confidence permeated through his words, "It's still there. All of it; the light, the optimism, the hunger, but it's clouded by fear. And I hate that you were alone for that long, I hate that you were alone at all, that I left you alone. But this is my chance to help you get it all back, to help reignite that faith in hope and light and life and love. Just give me a month, that's all I need Lex, just a month."

Lexie felt tears begin to well up in her eyes, "Mark-" She felt him lift his head up, so she did the same, and stared once again into his blue orbs, "I don't know what to say."

Mark pressed his forehead against hers, "Just say yes, little Grey."

Lexie pursed her lips, "What happens at the end of the month? What happens if I still decide to go back to Chicago? What if we don't last? If we've just changed too much? What if-"

Mark interrupted her questions with his own, "What if it does work? What if we do defy all odds? What if you decide to stay? What if we haven't changed at all?"

"Mark, I'm just trying to think this all through, you're giving me a lot to process." Lexie exclaimed, raising her hands slightly, untangling their previously interlaced hands.

Mark shook his head, grabbing her hand once again, "Don't think, stop trying to make everything make sense, we've never had to make sense before, we don't have to make sense now."

Lexie bit her lip as Mark smiled down at her, "We don't have to make sense, Lexie." Mark repeated.

"One month?" She asked softly, a slight smile pulling at her lips.

"That's all we need." Mark stated confidently.

"So that means that we-" Lexie began.

"Don't make sense." Mark smiled.

"As long as we don't make sense, together." Lexie smiled cheekily.

Mark laughed at her double meaning, "Always."

"And also, you have to let me help with the cooking."