A/N:

So like I said, I had a little struggle with this chapter but eventually I managed to write it out. As usual, thank you all for the reviews/Follows/favorites and I hope the story is as enjoyable for you to read as it is for me to write!~

Physical Therapy: Day Thirty-One
Trauma Counselor: Session Seven

Sara crossed one leg over the other, holding the mug of steaming coffee in her hand. Lexie held a very similar one in her hand, held closer to her lips as she breathed in the hold steam and the intoxicating smell of coffee into her system, reviving ever cell in her brain and spiking her attention to its zenith. The whole atmosphere of the office was more like a living room – two friends talking. Sara doesn't hang up her certificates. Her office is warm and cozy. But despite its very friendly appearance, Lexie knew the recorder as wedge between Sara's thigh and the leather seat. All the patients knew that – but according to Sara, it was helpful to not actually see it.

"So tell me," Sara started, "How did you and Mark even begin? I mean, isn't hard – considering the age difference?"

Lexie smiled a little, "When I met Mark, despite the age difference – it was just a spark." She started and shrugged, "I remember Meredith had asked Derek to tell Mark to stay away from me." She laughed a little and Sara chuckled. Lexie had grown to like Sara – they even went to have a coffee run after their session yesterday. They'd grown unimaginably close.

"But Mark didn't stay away from you?" Sara excited, excited as she sat up some.

"Oh he tried." Lexie nodded quickly, "But I'm the one who showed up at his hotel room and started stripping for him." Lexie said quickly and shrugged, "I never do that. Chase a boy. That's not my thing. But he was Mark, and I could see him. I just went with my gut. And I'm pretty sure his promise to Derek wouldn't have held up such a long time anyways." Lexie shrugged once and lifted the mug to her lips. Sara mimicked her for a minute before she settled down the mug against the arm rest. "Then Mark told Derek, and Derek punished the living crap out of him. Actually, the beat the pulp out of each other."

"I remember that." Sara laughed once, "It was all over the hospital. Nobody really knew why."

"Yeah. Then it really went good from there but then Mark's daughter showed up. He had an eighteen year old daughter. And she was pregnant. And he chose her. I wasn't ready to be a mother, nor a grandmother. He accepted it, took her right in without telling me – and I couldn't be there." Lexie explained slowly, "After the boy was born, though, Mark knew neither he nor Sloane could look after the kid, so they gave him up for adoption. And he pulled me. And I fell right back in." Lexie smiled a little and looked down.

"Then things went south again, with Doctor Torres' baby?" Sara continued and Lexie looked up, nodded once. The whole hospital seemed to know about this drama so Lexie found no need to veto it. Also, she didn't feel the impending need to lie to Sara at all. "After the shooting, Mark tried really hard to win me back." Lexie started and she saw Sara wince at the mention of the shooting. "And he did. Then there was Sofia. And then the plane crash." Lexie explained and looked down.

Lexie didn't talk about the plane crash – at least not since the first session. It was like the unspeakable topic – not even Sara asked Lexie to mention it. Today was the first day Lexie talked about the plane crash, well not exactly talk about it but simply mention it. Sara sat up some but Lexie looked up at her and shook her head briefly. "Where were you during the shooting?" Lexie asked, switching around the topic completely. Her mind couldn't simply let go of the wince she'd seen Sara make and the curiosity of her couldn't simply let go of it.

Sara's brown eyes snapped up to Lexie's and she pursed her lips as she shifted in her seat, and extracted the recorder to shut it off. Lexie frowned a little – had she crossed some sort of line? But she watched Sara remove the tape and put in another one before she turned it on again and set it beside her, "I was with a patient, during the shooting." Sara started, "He was a store robbery victim and we were trying to get the description of the shooter."

"Don't tell me it was…" Lexie started slowly and Sara nodded, a dark chuckle leaving her lips, "It was Gary Clarke."

Lexie exhaled heavily and set her mug aside – she was too engrossed in the story to even be drinking coffee right now. She was alert enough. "When the patient heard the shooting, he went into some sort of…seizure like state." Sara explained and then set aside her mug as well to shift her legs and place one leg over the other, "Gary Clarke heard his screams and recognized it – came into the room. Of course, I didn't look like a doctor. I wasn't wearing a lab coat so I had no name tag on. Gary assumed I was his family."

Lexie nodded once, as if urging her to go on. Sara stared at her for a minute, hesitant before she shrugged once, "He shot him and left the room."

"What?!" Lexie exclaimed.

"He apologized about my boyfriend and then left." Sara finished off and leaned back, "And I shouldn't be telling you this. That's a whole lot of rules that I just broke." Sara smiled at her briefly and Lexie pursed her lips, wanting to ask her more. But they'd hang out later and Sara would tell her more. Lexie stared at her though for a minute – that experience was traumatizing to her, and she winced at the memory, yet she still managed to talk about it. What exactly was keeping Lexie from doing the same?

"So I was in the back of the plane." Lexie started. "There were a lot of empty seats, but I just chose to put myself in a seat that was away from Mark – put the biggest number of seat between us." Lexie chuckled once, and when she looked up, Sara's eyes were fixed on her with wide concern and the compassion doctors were allowed to show their patients. "Right now, I think it was stupid. I really should have sat beside Cristina, who was sitting beside Meredith. I really should have sat with them." Lexie whispered and looked down.

"Do you regret going on that plane?" Sara asked and tilted her head.

Lexie pursed her lips and looked down, studying the designs of the hardwood floor beneath her feet with meticulous eyes, following the lines of nature that decorated the wood. As she stared at the floor, she could remember the sturdy branches of the trees – decorated with designs that were much like these. Lexie flinched and her arms immediately wrapped around herself, her right hand running up and down along the length of her left arm – the memory sending a sting through her arm. She closed her eyes for a minute before she looked up at Sara again, "I really had no idea what was happening until I was flying, you know? I was in shock." Lexie started. "Those masks fell from above, and I was too busy trying to put on the seat belt. I was in the bathroom when I heard the alarm. It was so disturbing. I ran back to my seat and I saw Mark looking back at me. He even stood up and started towards me. I didn't know what to do."

"Why didn't you go to him? Stand up and just go to him?" Sara asked again and Lexie looked up at her, or maybe she just realized that she was staring right through her head instead of staring at her. Lexie shook her head slowly after a long moment of thought. "I don't know. Do you think it would have made a difference?"

"You were injured because you were in the back of the plane. I believe it would have made a huge difference." Sara finished and Lexie stared at her before she exhaled. Lexie pursed her lips once and looked down. "I really couldn't think." Lexie shook her head quickly and exhaled.

"Then what happened?" Sara asked and Lexie sighed a little, glad they'd let go of that topic.

Lexie closed her eyes for a minute, throwing herself back into the memory she'd done so much to put and hide behind a door at the back of her mind and lock it away. "The back of the plane broke off." Lexie spoke out, loud and clear as the memory replayed in her mind. Lexie had seen the ground beneath her feet when she looked down. The cold air was screaming in her ears and the world was spinning around her. Her hands gripped the seat beneath her – as if letting go would be her demise. The branches clawed at her skin as she went down, leaving gashes on her forehead and cheek. The scars that were pretty much not even there anymore. They weren't there when she woke up.

"I hit the ground. The seat broke my fall but I was in shock. Then I was trapped." Lexie breathed out heavily, her hands clenched at her knees, "I didn't know what happened then. Because then I woke up and I was there." Lexie looked up at Sara, her eyes wide. "I didn't understand how I could possibly be alive when there was so much pain…everywhere." She whispered and shook her head. "But I stayed calm."

There was another long moment of silent that Lexie used to try and calm herself down. The memory was too vivid and Lexie was too terrified of reliving it, so she needed a minute to remind herself of what was real and what wasn't. Sara smiled when she saw Lexie follow the instructions she has given her to face when she had her nightmares and waited until Lexie opened her eyes anymore, now very clear and very lucid.

"I used the seat belt to hit it against the metal above me. It made enough noise for a long time. Mark, Meredith, & Cristina then found me" Lexie started with a small smile as she settled back into the seat, the relief washing over her like a hot shower, relaxing every tense muscle and joint in her body. "Mark then told me he loved me. He said we would get married and have children. That our lives would be great because we were meant to be." Lexie smiled at the memory and close her eyes.

"That's why I fought. It could have been so much easier to just….let it take over you know?" Lexie answered slowly and looked up at Sara, "But I couldn't do that to him. Or my dad. Or Meredith." Lexie pursed her lips, "Meredith is a very special person. I never thought I'd love her so much, you know? I mean, I love Molly – but she's my little sister. I can't really count on her as much as she should be counting on me. With my mother gone, I really had no one. Then there was Meredith." Lexie's eyes welled up a little with tears, "She's done so much for me. The smallest thing I could do for her was to live." Lexie smiled and then reached up to wipe away her tears.

"What do you think of all that happened to you, Lexie?" Sara started and Lexie sighed heavily. "You know, I've thought about this for a long time – and yet I really didn't find an answer. I don't know why it happened; I don't know what to think of it. I'm just…really, really glad it's over."

"Do you think it's over?" Sara asked once.

Lexie took a deep breath and looked down, before she smiled at her legs. Right now, she could clearly see the point behind Mark's words the other night now. She was so bent over walking again and moving on – that she'd tied her work and her love to her ability to walk. But Derek and Mark had showed her that really she could still be a doctor and be a wife and a lover and an aunt and maybe even a mother without having to walk. She looked up at Sara again, "I really think it's over."

"Well," Sara stood up and smiled at Lexie, "I think we're done here." Sara pressed and closed the recorder. Lexie stared at her for a minute, "Wait – done, done?" Lexie asked with wide eyes and Sara laughed, "Done, done." Sara said with a grin and Lexie took a deep breath, the joy overtaking her. Sara smiled down at her, "So we meet at eight?"

"We meet at eight." Lexie nodded once and wheel herself out of the office. Mark was waiting outside for her, and his face brightened when he saw her. As he knelt down to kiss her, Lexie held him close for a minute, before she smiled and let him stand up. Mark stared down at her for a minute and pursed his lips. "I love you." She said, and Mark laughed a little as he moved around her to push her into the elevator.

Jared greeted them with a grin, "Today is the day, Lexie." Jared announced and Lexie took a deep breath. Today, she'd try to take her first steps. It has been a continuous effort of trying to regain full control, today was the day she'd put all that effort into the first step that she would take. It all seemed easy really, but she hasn't stood upright in a very long time. It'd be a matter of balance for hours – to keep her feet steady to the ground. That alone could take hours. But she had five hours. It was going to be a long day.

"Alright, Mark – hold the wheelchair steady for Lexie. Lexie…" Jared stood in front of her. "Stand up."

Lexie swallowed thickly and looked down. Mark held the wheelchair and placed a soft kiss onto Lexie's cheek, "Just remember, you're still going to be my wife either way, Lexie Grey." He whispered into her ear and Lexie smiled at before she slowly looked down at her. She lifted one foot and placed it on the ground, then the other. Lexie did that with some struggle – but eventually, both her feet were on the ground. Lexie planted her hands on the armrest and pushed herself up. When she was standing upright, her knees buckled beneath her and she started falling. Jared immediately stepped in front of her and caught her, "Easy." He muttered as he stood her upright again and held her sides at an arm's length. "Hold your arms at your sides." He instructed and Lexie did as he said. "I'm letting go now, okay?" Jared said slowly as he released her and let his hands hover over her sides for a minute.

Lexie stayed upright for a fraction of a section, before she swayed and tipped sideways – eventually falling to side. This time, Mark was the one who caught her and they both laughed. "Let's go at it again." Jared announced with a brief clap.

Two hours – two hours had passed and Lexie had successfully accomplished standing still for complete and rather long five minutes without toppling over. Jared said that was all she needed to go and practice by the bars. Lexie wanted to try and walk towards them, holding Mark's hands but Jared said it would be better if she didn't put all of her weight on her legs like that – which is why they were using the bars, so she could the weight on her arms initially.

So Lexie grasped the bars and looked up at Mark as he stepped away from her to the end of the rail. Jared stood beside him and pursed his lips as Lexie balanced her weight between her feet and her arms, looking down for a minute. She'd practiced on moving her feet and bending her knees, even if it were kind of painful and almost impossible at the beginning, she could move them now – stiffly. Jared said the stiffness would fade away when she starts moving them.

Lexie held her breath as she moved her foot slowly across the ground, closing her eyes tightly when she felt the horrible sense of déjà vu wash over her. "This is not a dream. This is real. I can do it." Lexie whispered, and chanted over and over again as she carefully put her weight down onto her foot, and exhaled in relief when all she felt was the simple pressure of pressing her feet to the ground. She looked up at Mark with a broad grin on her face as she moved her other foot forward, then she toppled forward and fell to the ground.

"Don't." Jared said quickly as Mark shifted, "Lexie you can get up on your own. Come on, this is your moment." He said Lexie looked up at him, meeting his gaze for a minute there before her eyes shifted to Mark's and she pursed her lips and took a breath as she lifted herselfand off the ground. She could do this.

Her hand reached above her to grip the first bar, and then she lifted her torso up and grabbed the other bar before she breathed out quickly and swallowed thickly. Lexie grunted as she brought herself up onto her knees. Lexie swallowed thickly and groaned a little, a slight sweat breaking onto her forehead as she dragged herself up on her feet again. She swallowed thickly and balanced herself onto her arms again before she took another step forwards. Lexie gasped once and then struggled to even out her breath as she stepped forward again, and repeated those over and over again until she eventually gave out, and Mark's arm shot out to hold onto her.

Lexie gasped tired as he held her to his chest and brushed her hair back, "You did it, Lex. You did it." He whispered into her hair before he pulled away and she looked up at him with a tired grin on her face. Mark leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. Lexie laughed tiredly but kissed him back, her arms holding onto his shirt.

Jared cleared his throat and Lexie peered at Jared shyly. "Now we have three hours of practicing to kill." He announced and Lexie exhaled heavily before she looked up at Mark and he let go of her so she could go at it again. Lexie Grey was going to walk again – and not because she'd die without it, but because this was her last fight, and she was going to win it. The war will be over soon.