Disclaimer: I don't own anything except for a crazy mind. Lyrics to Seasons of Love belong to Jonathan Larson (:

A/N: Thank you so much for the reviews and story alerts. I don't really like this one, I hope it's okay. Just remember, something bigger is coming up really soon! Let me know what you think! (:

- Vin

Mark was walking through the hallway, trying to find Lexie when he saw Derek approach him. He groaned slightly, not wanting to stop and chat when his mind was focused on what he was going to say to Lexie.

Mark nodded slightly at Derek when he came closer, and attempted to walk past him. Derek however stopped him by lightly touching Mark's arm. "Hey, where you heading?"

"Er," Mark looked down the hallway and then back to Derek. He sighed, "Nowhere. What's up?"

Derek looked at Mark for a moment and then asked, "You okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," Mark said, finding it hard to concentrate on the conversation. He glanced down the hall and then back at Derek. Quickly, he calculated an excuse that may work in his favor. "Hey, what are you working on today? Anything interesting? Who've you got?"

"I haven't got a case yet," Derek said, a frown on his face. He was curious as to why Mark seemed so jumpy. He narrowed his eyes slightly. "You mean which intern is assigned to me today?" Mark nodded and Derek replied, his suspicion clear. "Lexie. What about you?"

"Oh, no-one. For once." Mark cleared his throat before he lowered his voice and asked, "You don't know where she is, do you?"

Derek raised his eyebrow. "Lexie?"

"Yeah," Mark replied gruffly. "You've seen her today. I tended to her face. I just wanted to know if she's okay. She, er, seemed pretty shaken."

Derek paused for a moment, wondering when Mark had become so considerate about other people. Then, it dawned on him. "You slept with her, didn't you?"

"What? No!" Mark exclaimed in annoyance. "No, God. First Torres and now you? What makes everyone think I slept with her?" When Derek opened his mouth to speak, Mark narrowed his eyes. "Don't answer that." He sighed, "I just thought seeing as I tended to her, I might as well check-up on her. It's not like she has a sister to confide in."

Derek crossed his arms across his chest. "Meredith has a day off. A well deserved one, at that. She hasn't seen Lexie's face. If she had, then I'm sure she would have approached Lexie by now."

Mark shook his head, "You really believe that?"

"I have to."

"Yeah, well, good luck with that." Mark looked down the hallway and sighed. "Where is she?"

Derek sighed. "I told her to grab a coffee and get some rest. She's probably in the cafeteria or an On-Call room." Derek paused for a moment, clearly thinking about something. He then said, "Don't go in an On-Call room with her."

"I'm not going to sleep with her!"

Derek shook his head. "Don't go in an On-Call room with her. That's not what she needs."

"Don't you think I know that?" Mark said, his anger growing by the second.

"Thing is Mark, you never think. You act. And if she's in an On-Call room, on a bed, tired and upset, you're gonna comfort her in the only way you know how to. Don't go in an On-Call room with her."

Mark narrowed his eyes. "So much for you trusting me."

Derek shook his head. "I do trust you. I trust you because I know since I'm saying not to go into an On-Call room with Lexie, you'll listen to me. She's...fragile. If you want to find her, just talk to her. About medicine. Safe topics, okay?"

Derek patted Mark on the shoulder and turned, beginning to walk down the hallway. Mark watched his retreating back before calling out. "You're great at pep talks, you know that?" When Derek rounded the corner, Mark turned and walked in the opposite direction, muttering under his breath, "Safe topics…safe topics."

Lexie sighed as she sat in the empty cafeteria. The coffee in front of her had gone cold long ago, and yet Lexie didn't move to throw it away. Instead she aimlessly stirred the brown liquid around the cup, her mind elsewhere.

She knew she should have gone to an On-Call room instead, to get some rest, but Lexie was too…afraid. If she fell asleep, the memories, the vivid imagery that she couldn't escape, it would flare up behind her eyes. She would see it again, everything, in detail.

Lexie shuddered, she wouldn't fall asleep. She looked at her coffee. If she didn't want to fall asleep, she would need as much coffee as she could get. Groaning slightly, Lexie raised the cup to her lips and swallowed the liquid in one go. The chill ran down her throat and Lexie wrinkled her nose in distaste.

Looking around her, she noticed that even the cafeteria staff had disappeared. With no-one around, Lexie began tapping her fingers against the table top in tune with the song that had suddenly appeared in her mind. She couldn't place it immediately, her fingers simply beating along, until the realization hit her.

In daylights, in sunsets,
In midnights, in cups of coffee

Lexie smiled, she always loved show tunes. It amazed her that her mind could link the RENT song to this moment, the empty cup of coffee sitting in front of her probably being the reason why she began tapping the song. Her mind started to wonder in thought of the show, which was one of her favorite musicals, and Lexie made a mental note to watch it on DVD when she had a moment alone. It brought a smile to her face, what she needed right now was to get lost in her favorite songs and to forget about the world. Forget about…

The doors swung open and the noise made Lexie stop tapping and look up abruptly. Her eyes widened when she saw him coming towards her, his strides large. Lexie swallowed nervously; previously she had wanted to give him a piece of her mind, but now? Lexie took one look at his face and wanted to hide.

Mark dragged out a chair and sat down in front of her. He rested his forearms on the table and leaned in. His eyes flew over her face and he saw the nerves in her eyes. "Okay," he said, his voice low, assessing the situation. "Contusions. Biliverdin, what does it cause?"

Lexie opened her mouth and then closed it, confused as to why he was asking her about bruising. "Er, w-what?"

If he could only talk to her about medically related topics, then so be it. He could work around it and get something out of her. Mark raised an eyebrow. "Come on. Interns aren't that stupid."

"I-it's the green pigment formed as a byproduct of heme breakdown…a-and produces the green coloring in br-bruises."

Mark nodded, "Bilirubin."

"T-The yellow coloring in bruises."

"Hemosiderin."

"Golden-brown." Lexie paused as she watched Mark nod his head and look down at his clasped hands. "May I ask w-why you're asking, Dr. Sloan?"

Mark looked up at her and wondered if he should tell her that he wanted to know if those pigments were causing similar colored marks on her body. He wanted to ask her if she would allow him to look, to treat them. Mark laughed slightly, he was going crazy. He couldn't just ask her. It was inappropriate; he was her teacher, her attending, her boss. But then, shouldn't he care about her well-being for those exact reasons?

Mark sighed. "Unexplained bruising. Causes."

"It could be an indication of internal bleeding, certain types of cancer, er, leukemia being one. Meningococcal infection, and er, a-abuse." Her eyes tried to remain steady on his and Lexie let out a breath, "Child or domestic."

He had been watching her carefully for any indications of…well, he didn't exactly know what. He couldn't place anything different. There was her stutter, her nervous actions on the word abuse, but she's had a stutter for as long as he can remember. Talking about medicine had done nothing but refresh their memories on contusions. Mark sighed, if he wanted to know something he would have to ask her.

He sighed, and reluctantly decided to stay safe.

"Torres said you had been looking for me."

Lexie blinked at the abrupt change in topic and nervously looked down at the table. She then raised her eyes to his and shrugged. "I, er, was…annoyed when I asked her. I shouldn't have asked her. I-It was nothing important."

Mark sighed heavily. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Grey, don't waste my time."

Lexie huffed. "Well, I…I don't like people accusing me of lying. I'm not lying, I don't lie. And before you say a-anything, I am not in denial…about anything." She waved her hand dismissively, "It doesn't matter now anyway. I'm not annoyed. Not anymore." She paused for a moment before lowering her voice. "I-I just don't like people being disappointed in me."

Mark allowed his face to soften when she looked away, deciding to stare at his hands instead. Although she hadn't raised her head, Mark spoke. "So, you aren't lying. Okay."

Lexie looked up, her eyes showing her disbelief. He believed her? He wasn't going to pursue the matter? Lexie caught herself – wasn't that what she wanted him to do? To stop questioning her? "Okay?"

Mark nodded. "Okay. You weren't lying. I don't know what I was talking about. I made it all up. Whatever."

Lexie frowned at his curt words. "Dr. Slo–"

Mark sighed and unexpectedly stood up. "Look Grey, I fixed up your face. That's it. Just, just forget about the rest. It's obvious to me that nothing's wrong."

Before Lexie could reply, Mark had turned and stormed out of the cafeteria, leaving her alone once again.