A/N:
So I'm trying to work out a pattern of weekly updates here. I have a lot of ideas now for future chapters so I'm pretty sure I will not have trouble regarding the whole 'writer's block' dilemma. It would only be my limited time throughout the next two months but I'll do my best. Anyways, I'm glad I didn't loose any of the readers and I am looking forward to gaining others! Although I do have a few comments.
To the 'guest' who said I use '&' too much...I wasn't aware my dear. However, I really would love it if you could contact me somehow to elaborate more on this - maybe give me some tips? I've never found any trouble with reading '&' in stories, I usually use it to separate the the function when it comes to a series of words or when combining sentences, because that's when I use the full 'and', but I'd love to know more of what you have. However, your review has meant SO much to me! Thank you! - My twitter is _JMar
To the guest who complained about the Owen hate - I LOVE Owen. You don't even understand. But Lexie and I are separate people, and she's had a huge trauma and she needs someone to blame to start moving on. But don't worry. Regarding that issue, you will LOVE chapter fourteen :D
And lots and lots of love to LexieMcSteamy, lgreyeyesonsloan, SlexieSlogrey & ashmo2000 for reviewing on EVERY chapter. You guys are awesome, my golden readers and I can't thank you more for boosting me up with your reviews. 3
Okay, I've said my piece. You should read the chapter now, so I'll leave you to that~
"I got it!"
Mark sat up quickly when he heard Lexie's squeal, his eyelids heavy and his hair disheveled. Just as he did so, the alarm clock erupted into its fractious sirens that filled the once quiet room. Lexie grinned broadly as she got off the bed and limped towards the printer, really crawling on the ground to get to the machine faster as she waited excitedly for the papers to get printed. It took Mark a minute to realize that Lexie didn't get any sleep last night. His eyes lingered on her face, taking in the darkened bags under her eyes and the hair style that had changed for what seems to be a thousand times over night.
"Lexie," Mark started and ran his hand over his face as he yawned, "You didn't sleep at all." He acknowledged and Lexie glanced up at him before she shrugged once and looked down at the printer again. "You can't go to work today." He muttered as he started to get out of the bed.
"What, no!" She protested as she collected the papers into her hands, "Not after all the research I've done."
Mark stood up and sighed once as he knelt down beside her, "What did you find?" But as soon as his eyes fell on the papers, she hid them close to her chest. "I'll tell you when we get there." Lexie said quickly and nodded once at him. Mark rolled his eyes once and got up, heading to the bathroom so he could freshen up.
Lexie looked down at the papers again – knowing that every word in them had been deeply embedded into her mind, but she needed them as proof to convince Derek & put the lawyer off once & for all. Lexie stuffed the papers into her bag and stood up hesitantly, shaking the numbness out of her legs. She sighed briefly as she staggered into the bathroom just as Mark was brushing his teeth. She ducked and stood between him & the sink. Mark noted the yawn that left her lips before he knelt down some to peck her cheek, "I'll go make you some coffee."
Lexie smiled at him as he left and blinked away the tiredness in her molten mocha orbs before she spat out the paste into the sink and rinsed her mouth. Lexie showered quickly and grabbed a pair of clean scrubs to shove them in her bag as she got ready, surprised was already even dressed by the time she got out of the bathroom.
Lexie refused to use the crutches inside the apartment – knowing that out of the house it'd be safer if she used them. And she didn't want to have to use them all the time. She wanted to be able to walk again – well, normally at least. But it got tiring. Her hips would ache and feet would twitch the more walking she did. She didn't feel comfortable having plates holding her pelvis together or her tibia for the matter, but she had no choice. She couldn't remove them, couldn't live without them and she knew there was such thing as a full recovery in her case. She will always have a limp. She will always feel heavy. She hated it. But she had to live with it.
As Lexie sat down on the stool of the kitchenette, Mark placed a plate in front of her and the steaming mug of hot coffee. Lexie sighed a little as she started eating the bacon strips, nibbled at the toast and smiled up at Mark, who was gauging her expression as he ate his own eggs. He smiled at her and then sipped at his coffee – a few minutes of breakfast wouldn't hold them back. Lexie glanced sideways then at the apartment and smiled – the place had grown to be her home now.
Eventually, they both got up and started to the hospital, and both of them had gone separate ways then. Derek towed Lexie around, showing her all the new cases that had gotten in and all the cases that he had treated during her 'sick leave' - Lexie felt upset about all the good cases she'd missed, but then again – none of them, though, were as amazing as Paulina's tumor. That alone made Lexie ecstatic. There were two incoming traumas, one of which who needed a craniotomy that Derek had let Lexie do all by herself. Only a year ago Lexie made a young girl loose her speech because of a stupid mistake she made and now Derek was letting her do craniotomies on her own. That had inflated her pride, and Lexie needed that. She needed to feel good about herself.
After they scrubbed out, their pagers went off. "Conference room." Lexie scowled down at the pager, "You go. I have to get something first." She said quickly and waved Derek off as she hobbled back to the resident locker room. She walked up to her cubby and got the papers from her bag, before she tucked them underneath her arm and started back to the south wing of the hospital, back to the infamous conference room.
When she walked in, she was greeted by yet again flippant lawyer. Lexie rolled her eyes – that woman apparently had no plans of giving up, but neither was Lexie. If they wanted to give her the authority of making that opinion then she was going to prove her point was right. Everyone was seated when she walked in, but she didn't sit down, instead – she set her crutches aside and stood up straight, facing the laywer with a stoic face as she tapped her papers against the table and set them down neatly. Mark's eyes were fixed on Lexie, a mixture of excitement, curiosity, pride, and surely enticement gleaming in his blue eyes. All other eyes were fixed on her as Lexie cleared her throat once. She had no trouble speaking to a crowd. She'd led the student union debates and won them with her fluency. She was valedictorian. How could this be any different?
When the lawyer almost started talking, Lexie immediately started, "You said to sign onto a lawsuit, you are going to need the unanimous vote of all of us." Lexie started, deciding against pacing around despite how professional it would have made her. She didn't want to come as a child to the lawyer. She was twenty-nine, and definitely not a lawyer, but she knew exactly what she was doing. The lawyer couldn't see it. No one on the other side could see it. Normally, people would raise a lawsuit, or say they would – but when you are at the brinks of death, matters such as a lawsuit are incomparable to the gift of a second chance in this world despite how horrible it may be sometimes. It was the chance to live with your loved ones and create new memories – live more experiences. Lexie didn't want to waste any single minute of the precious gift she was given on something as time consuming and mind preoccupying such as a lawsuit. It was futile effort. Maybe in the future they could figure out a stronger way to deal with this, but now she just wanted to live her moments.
Once the lawyer nodded, Lexie nodded in return, "And...we are suing the hospital." Lexie continued, her eyes falling on the red-headed lawyer who, again, nodded.
"The settlement is five million…each." Lexie started as she glanced sideways at the five doctors sitting beside her, "That's thirty million from hospital's insurance budget. It will take us years to be able to provide such amount of money back into the insurance of the medical personnel." Lexie started before she stepped away from the table, "And that's only the settlement." Lexie started, her eyes locking with Derek's for a minute, whose eyes narrowed in interest and leaned forward in his seat to listen. Lexie smiled. She'd cast her bait perfectly.
"Let's say that the same amount of money will be our compensation if we win the lawsuit." Lexie started and stared ahead at her fellow doctors – at her friends, her family, "It would still be a lot to take from the insurance budget."
"But there's something." Lexie interrupted quickly when the lawyer almost started speaking and she reached for her papers, "The FDA has set some certain rules for helipad flights." Lexie started and looked up at the doctors before her, "Only two attendings are allowed on a helipad." Lexie said defiantly and put down the paper, "And when Doctor Robbins took Doctor Karev's place on that plane…she basically deemed the compensation of the lawsuit directly from the hospital's budget. The insurance company won't pay for it." Lexie said and pursed her lips, her eyes finding Arizona's, which have widened in horror and tainted with guilt. Lexie bit her lower lip nervously – she didn't mean to make her feel bad, but it was needed to be mentioned.
"Is that true?" Derek asked as he turned to the lawyer and lifted both his brows. The lawyer seemed astounded for a minute there, her lips parted yet no audible sound leaving them. Derek shook his head in disbelief, "Do you know how much thirty million could do to this hospital's budget?" Derek started as he sat up straight. Of course, he had an idea of how that may afflict the hospital – he was chief of surgery once. He knew.
The lawyer put on a straight face and looked up at Lexie, "You do realize you've violated some rules here." She said carefully and Lexie lifted a brow, "Such information shouldn't be in your hands."
Lexie laughed, "Sue google." She said and crossed her arms over her chest, narrowing her eyes on the lawyer. "So my vote on the lawsuit is no. I want to keep my job. We'll take the settlement." Lexie said, her tone ending the discussion as her eyes traveled to meet each pair of her friends', who all nodded in unison and looked at the lawyer with resolute faces. The lawyer's jaw twitched as she looked down and extracted a paper, pushed it forward. "You need to sign your names and the money will directly be transferred to your bank accounts." The lawyer muttered, her voice solemn.
Lexie stood there for a minute as everyone took turns signing their names on the paper. She did it. She really, actually did it. A cheshire grin had spread on her face as she stared ahead, lost in the haze of triumph until Mark's voice snapped her back to reality. "Your turn." He said, and she could see the proud smile on his face. Lexie stepped forward and leaned down to sign the paper, before pushing it back to the lawyer who nodded once, and without any kind of farewell, she collected her belongings and left.
"We have thirty millions dollars!" Cristina exclaimed, and everybody was suddenly laughing. Lexie's eyes glimmered as she watched the ecstasy and the joy on her friends' faces. That chapter of their lives was really over.
"You did it." Mark muttered as he snagged one arm around her waist, and leaned down to press his lips to hers. Lexie laughed into the kiss as her hands rested against his navy scrubs and eventually, a content sigh left her lips as he pulled away. "Mark. It's over." Lexie muttered as she stared up at him, reaching with her hand to caress his cheek. Mark's hand fell over hers as he tilted his head to place a soft kiss into the palm of her hand, then wrapped his arms around her to pull her into his chest. Lexie closed her eyes, reveled in the true happiness that finally befell them – Three months. Three months of despondence and trying to move on. But they were fine now. They were going to be okay.
As Mark pulled away, he announced, "Alright! Everyone, all of us, we're meeting at The Velvet Room." Mark said and grinned, "I reserved a table for all of us. This is our survivors' party." He said with a broad smile on his face as his hand rested around Lexie's waist, and she looked up at him with complete surprise on her face. Everyone exchanged brief looks before they all agreed, "We'll be there at nine." Mark said, and as everyone flooded out of the room, Lexie glanced up at him. "How come you booked a table?" She asked and narrowed her eyes.
"Well, I knew you'd convince them anyways." Mark shrugged, "It's over, Lex. You said it, and we need to celebrate it." Mark said with a smile and Lexie sighed gently as she shook her head at him, "You are unbelievable." She muttered and Mark leaned down to peck her lips again, "That's why you love me." He answered, cocky as ever, as he smiled into her lips.
They were interrupted when one of the interns cleared her throat at the door, "Uh, Doctor Grey – we need a consult and Doctor Shepherd directed me to you." Brooks said quickly as her wide hazel eyes flickered between Mark and Lexie. Lexie chuckled and kissed Mark quickly before glanced over her shoulder, "I'll see you at home." She said with a smile and Mark nodded once as he smiled and watched her hobble away, taking in a deep breath as he tried to keep the grin from breaking onto his face. His heart was going to literally leave his chest with the intensity off the beating. But he needed to be patient, and he needed to keep the façade going on swiftly. And so he too left the conference room, his pager going off as if on cue.
Lexie expected to meet Mark at the elevator, but was surprised when she didn't find him there so she proceeded to go home on her own. When she opened the door though, Mark emerged from their room and smiled. Lexie laughed a little, "It's a formal party?" She asked as she eyed the dress shirt and the pants he was wearing. "Kind of." Mark answered with a smile and Lexie pursed her lips, "Well, I don't have anything with me." She complained a little.
"I took care of that." He nodded with a grin and Lexie followed him into the room, before her eyes fell on the dress lying on the bed and a soft gasp sounded from her lips. "Mark.." She sighed softly as she leaned down to run her hand over the silken fabric of the dress, the dark blue shimmering beneath the light of the room and she smiled as she picked it up. "I'll go get ready." She said quickly as she hobbled into the bathroom and hung the dress there, and did a couple of more trips to fetch her toiletries, make up, shoes (that apparently Mark got as well), hair drier, combs, pins, and underwear before she locked herself into the bathroom to begin a long process of getting ready.
Mark sighed a little as he waited, not really having planned for Lexie to take that long. He looked up from the couch when Lexie took shaky steps in the flats he'd gotten her and emerged from around the door frame – and she took his breath away. Mark stared at her for a long minute, his lips parted as his eyes roamed her frame, the silken cloth of the dress hugging her curves. Mark pursed his lips for a minute and sighed – the cloth shedding part of the night would be later, not now. Now…now…Mark swallowed thickly and stood up, his eyes again assessing every inch of her.
The dress' halter tied around her neck, showing off her cleavage perfectly as it flowed beneath her arms and ended at the small of her back, leaving her back unclad. It flowed to the ground, hugging her curves at the hips before it moved around her with a simple flow to her feet. He could see the tips of the silver flats he'd gotten her, and he looked up again. Her hair was tied up in a French up-do, a couple of curled strands surrounding her faces as did the bangs that covered her forehead. Mark smiled and moved to take her hand, "Shall we?" He said with a smiled and Lexie nodded once as she hooked her hand through his, setting the crutches aside. She didn't need them. Lexie picked up the silver purse and they both left the apartment.
Mark escorted her in and they both found the tables, everyone was there – Arizona, Meredith, Derek, & Cristina. Mark laughed a little as he pulled a chair out for Lexie, "Sorry, someone got a little bit carried away getting ready." He said with a snicker and Lexie blushed as she pulled at the chair to sit down. All of them seemed pretty content – despite the tuxes and dresses, they all were casual. Happy. Talking, chattering, exchanging cases they got in today as they dined. It was normal. Lexie smiled. It had been a long while since she'd witnessed normal in Seattle.
"Alright everyone, be quiet for a minute." Mark muttered as he sat up straight and everyone turned to him. "I'm not making a toast, so there will be no tapping glances." He started with a grin and stood up. "We've been through hell and back." He started and then glanced down at each and every one of them, "And we made it." He said quickly, "And you guys – well, everyone here – I consider family. Even you, Yang." Mark muttered as he shot a glare towards Cristina who shrugged once, "In your dreams." She smirked back at him and leaned back into the chair to sip at her wine.
"I just wanted you guys to know that. I'm kind of grateful here. For this." He said and placed his hand over Lexie shoulder. "I'm serious, though. I mean, I'm not the best at giving sentimental speeches, that's Lexie's fort – but Seattle has changed the kind of person that I am. Derek's family was my only family. I wasn't someone people could turn to for help or for safety. Now I have you. And I am grateful neither of you died." Mark shrugged once, "So we can drink to that." Mark said with a smile, a sincere one as he held his glass up. Lexie smiled up at Mark and clinked her glass to his, before leaning forward to clink it to Meredith's apple juice glass then they all sipped at their wine.
The night slipped past their grips and was over far too soon – and everyone was leaving. Mark smiled at Lexie as he took her hand and sat beside her again as he watched the restaurant around them fall empty, "You remember this restaurant, right?" He asked as he tilted his head at her with a smile. Lexie pursed her lips before he turned to him, her eyes widening little, "You met dad here. That was practically our first date." Lexie mused and laughed a little.
"Yes, it was." He smiled at her and then took a deep breath. "You know I came here just for you – to show you how much you mattered to me. That I wanted your father to accept me, for your sake." Mark started as he turned to her. Lexie didn't notice the fact that the restaurant was completely empty, or the fact that the light had dimmed, or the fact that a few candles were lit all around them. Lexie was too immersed into Mark's words.
"You know I love you, Lexie. From day one, I knew that you were special. You are the one. And…what happened to us? All this time? All these obstacles? They only brought us together even more and I'm not ready to let anything come between us again." Mark muttered, "No shootings, or illegitimate babies, or crashes… or anything." Mark muttered as he reached into his pocket. Lexie's eyes widened as they fell on the velvet box in his hands. "Mark.." She breathed out and he shushed her as he went down on one knee before her.
"I love you, Lexie Grey. I will say it over and over again until you get bored of it. I want you to be my wife. I want you to be the mother of my children. I want you and only you and I'm not wasting any more time without being married to you. So would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?" He asked as he opened the box, his piercing blue eyes peering up at her. Lexie's eyes met his before they fell to the ring, simple yet elegant. Lexie's eyes welled up and she nodded quickly – she should have seen this coming, after all they'd had a deal. But she was too sucked into everything and now…now she swallowed thickly as she tried to suppress her tears, "My god, Mark, yes!" She exclaimed and laughed, reaching to wipe away the tears that lingered beneath her lashes.
Mark's smile stretched, ear to ear, as he took out the ring and slipped into onto her ring finger. He then reached up and encaged her within his arms, their lips meeting midway. He could feel her tears against his cheeks and he smiled as he pulled away, with his thumb stroking away the tears from her face. "I love you." He muttered into her lips, and Lexie smiled, "I love you too."
They stayed within each other's embrace, and the staff of the restaurant clapped from the shadows, leaving Mark laughing and Lexie again blushing as they both stood up to leave. He thanked the manager and then towed Lexie, his hand around her waist, towards the car once they were out on the street. He was literally trying to lift her off the ground. Despite what Lexie thought, he saw the limp. He heard the grunts of pain. Lexie didn't know he did. So he was trying to practically carry her on their way to the car. When Lexie's phone rang, she stopped and pulled it out. "That's the hospital." She scowled a little, and Mark frowned as he leaned over to peek at the caller's ID. "Why aren't they paging me?" She wondered aloud and Mark studied her face as she got the call.
"Lexie Grey." She said and held the phone close to her ear…only so it could fall out of her hand to the concrete the next minute, her knees buckling beneath her weakly at the shock of what she'd just heard.