Sorry about the length of these past chapters, they won't be this short for much longer, promise! Also, who LOVELOVELOVED the Mark and Lexie scenes we got Thursday? I can't wait until this week's! P.S.- You guys are freaking awesome, thanks so much for all the reviews, alerts, and favorites! You literally rock. Like hardcore. Seriously, seriously.

Whisper Hello, I Miss You Quite Terribly

"Stop."

"I'm not doing anything."

"I'm serious."

"So am I."

Lexie sighed with her eyes closed, her left arm tucked under her head. A few seconds later she spoke again, "I'm serious, Mark. Cut it out."

Mark chuckled lightly, "I honestly have no idea what you're talking about."

In the dark of an on-call room, Lexie and Mark laid tangled up in each other. Scrubs still in-tact, Lexie hoped she might be able to catch some sleep before her next surgery in a few hours. Originally, Lexie had paged Mark just in case he had a free moment to spare. Though they were 'together' as of last night, Lexie still liked that assurance, the actual feel of his touch, the knowledge that his presence lingered in the same room as her, it just made her feel better. However, Lexie was quickly learning that Mark didn't understand her thought process.

"Mark!" Lexie opened her eyes and glared at her boyfriend's childish smile.

"What?" He asked, wrapping a strong arm across her waist.

Lexie momentarily contemplated wriggling out of his grasp, but she knew he wouldn't let her go, and on top of that, she was sure she didn't want him to. "You know what." Lexie stated, choosing to snuggle into his chest.

"Okay," Mark laughed, drawing small circles on her back. They laid there silently, Lexie breathing softly on his scrubs, before she spoke again.

"You're still doing it," Lexie huffed, hiding her face deeper into his chest.

"Well," Mark started, stressing the word, "maybe if you told me what I was doing, I could work on it, and maybe you'd be less annoyed."

Lexie opened her eyes and slightly pushed herself away, still making sure they were close, "You just," she paused for a moment," you keep looking at me."

Mark couldn't stop the laughter that escaped his lips, "I keep looking at you?"

Lexie swatted his chest with a smile, "I'm serious!"

Mark caught her hand in his and pressed his lips against her knuckles, "That's what makes it so funny."

"I can't sleep when you just keep staring at me, it's unnerving." Lexie laughed slightly at the way the words sounded coming out of her mouth.

"Your eyes are closed, little Grey. How do you even know I'm staring at you?" Mark asked with a raised eyebrow.

Lexie bit her lip, unwilling to sound like a complete idiot, she closed her eyes and whispered her explanation, "It's like this, I don't know, this warmth, that, I don't know."

"Tell me," Mark said softly, contorting his demand to sound like a question.

Lexie opened her eyes and tilted her head, so their gazes met directly. "I don't know how to explain it. I just, I just feel warm. And my stomach does these flips, and I can't think. It's like a reflex, I can't control it." Lexie smiled at her silliness, "It's dumb."

His voice was husky as he spoke, "It's not dumb." Lexie swore she saw his eyes darken slightly before he dipped his head and pressed his lips hard against hers. His arms tightened around her waist as her small hands made her way to his cheeks, the stubble tickling her palms.

Lexie pulled herself up, pressing her body tight against his. She smiled against his lips as he ran his hands under her scrubs, his coarse skin leaving goose bumps on her back.

Lexie removed her hands from his face and let them fall to the hem of his scrub top, tugging it gently up Mark's torso. Their lips parted briefly as she pulled the shirt above his head and discarded it on the floor. Mark rolled slightly atop of her, holding himself up on his elbow, as one hand caressed her cheek. He pressed kisses on the skin of her neck, smirking as Lexie ran her hands through his hair, pulling and tugging slightly.

Mark pulled away, letting his head hover above hers for a while, just staring into her eyes.

Lexie smiled cheekily, "You're doing it again."

Mark's expression was softened from its previous lust, now his eyes permeated something Lexie wasn't sure, something deeper.

Silence past in what seemed like hours before Mark spoke. "I love you," he said tenderly and yet, with an unwavering confidence

Lexie's smiled faltered a bit, surprised by his words, and more over, surprised by her own surprise. She reached her hand up to touch his face, letting her finger trace his jawline, contemplating his words.

Suddenly, all that could be heard was the sound of their pagers, simultaneously going off. Lexie reached over to the side table and looked at the message, "My surgery has been pushed up," she said, passing Mark, who still remained shirtless and on one elbow, in the same position he had been in, his ringing pager.

"I've got a burn victim coming in," he said, keeping Lexie under him with his body pressing against hers. He tossed the pager onto the side table and dipped his head to capture her lips once more. Lexie kissed him hard, before slightly pushing him off.

She pressed her mouth against his once more before walking towards the door, straightening her scrubs, "See you tonight?"

Mark smiled melodiously at her, making her swoon slightly, "Of course."

Lexie walked out the door, her mind churning at a rapid pace. She wasn't sure why, but she was still mentally riving in all different directions. Hope, fear, elation, terror. She ran her fingers through her hair and piled her brown locks atop of her head before tying it with a black hair band.

"So Christmas," a voice spoke, appearing beside Lexie as she walked towards OR1.

Lexie smiled, "Is a wonderful time of the year?"

Meredith waved her hand, "Yeah, yeah, all that holly jolly crap."

Lexie laughed, and having arrived at the elevators, pressed the down button, "What happened to bright and shiny Mer?"

Meredith made a disgusted face, "I have four more months to perfect bright and shiny, and right now I'm okay with dark and gloomy. But Christmas, you're staying until then, right? Nothing or no one has scared you off, right?"

Lexie raised an eyebrow, entering the elevator with her sister, "I'm staying until the new year, that's what we agreed upon, right? Do I still have a place to sleep until then?"

Meredith's features changed quickly from questionable to apologetic, "No, no of course you do. That's not what I meant at all. I wanted to make sure that you were staying. There's nothing stronger than the Grey notion to talk yourself out of something. God, of course you can stay."

Lexie laughed, as the exited onto the floor with the operating rooms, "Then, yes Mer, I'm staying."

Meredith smiled, "So, next question, am I setting another place at Christmas dinner, then? You, plus one?"

Lexie rolled her eyes, before turning to her sister, "First of all, don't even think for a second you can fool me. Derek will be setting the table, and doing most, if not all of the cooking. Or his family will. And, me plus one? You knew before I even came that Mark would be coming to Christmas dinner, along with the whole Shepard clan. But since this is your way of asking if we are together, then yes. Me, plus one."

Meredith jumped slightly, "Yay," she stated simply, with enthusiasm.

Lexie sighed, gently grabbing her sister's hands, "I miss dark and gloomy Meredith."

Meredith swatted Lexie's arm jokingly, "But seriously, we need to do something."

Lexie looked at her sister curiously, "Do something?"

Meredith shrugged, "I don't know, what do normal people do? Like couples night or something." She grimaced at her own suggestion, "Ew."

Lexie laughed, "Yeah, ew."

Meredith sighed, "Well, we don't have to call it that. But you know what I mean."

Lexie thought for a second, "Well, I used to have like these, um, like movie nights."

"Movie nights?" Meredith asked incredulously.

"Yeah, in high school." Lexie explained, "With all my friends and our boyfriends. We'd just order pizza and watch movies."

Meredith narrowed her eyes and nodded, "Sometimes I forget you used to be vomit-inducingly bright and shiny."

Lexie placed her hand on the slightly shorter woman's shoulder, "Sweetie, you're pregnant, everything to you is vomit-inducing. But if it makes you feel better, it also usually consisted of smuggling in some alcohol without our parents knowing, but we can get that legally now, so..."

Meredith smiled, "Bright and shiny with the Grey love of tequila. Okay, tonight, you, Mark, me, Derek, Cristina, Owen, movie night."

Lexie shook her head with a slight grin at the idea, as she entered the scrub room, "I'm not sure how all the other parties involved will feel about that."

"Oh!" Meredith said, placing her hand on her stomach, focusing her attention on the inside of the operating room through the glass window, "We could invite Torres and Robbins, they're all peppy and happy, bright and shiny people. I should hang out with them more."

Lexie shook her head, turning on the sink and scrubbing her hands and arms throughly, "You're not hearing a word I'm saying are you?"

"Derek will be in, Owen will be in, together, we can all convince Cristina. You convince Mark, Mark convince Callie, Robbins will probably be in without any convincing. See, no problem." Merdith smiled brightly.

Lexie narrowed her eyes at her sister, "Why do I get the feeling this isn't the first time you've thought about something like this?"

"Should I get chips and stuff?" Meredith asked, ignoring Lexie's sarcastic remarks, as she stood in the doorway. "Maybe ice cream? Pickles?"

Lexie held her hands up, and pressed the button to enter the OR with her elbow, "Please, Mer, don't subject us to your pregnant cravings. Beer, chips, dip, pizza, movies, the end."

Meredith smiled as Lexie retreated into the OR, "See you tonight! You better not chicken out!"