A/N:

It's been such a long time since I wrote a good cliffhanger. I'm so glad with the feedback I got, I'm actually giddy and kind of relieved I wasn't murdered yet. But come on - have you really thought things would go so smoothly? I know I'm a sucker for happy endings and romance, but this is still a GA fanfic and I am doing my best to stay true to the original idea.

Anyways -
LexieMcSteamy: Thank you so much for pointing out Lexie's allergy. I can't believe I forgot that. I went back and edited it. Thank you again love :D
lgreyeyesonsloan: Yes, we do know that Meredith is pregnant. The survivor's 'party' Mark threw was a parallel to the party Callie threw after they won the lawsuit on the show - so if I'm right, it'd have been the last day of Mer's first trimester, which means she's past fifteen weeks pregnant so there would be a tiny baby bump somewhere. I hope this clears things up.

Please do leave any questions or comments or constructive criticism in the reviews, I really appreciate it! ~

Lexie stood with the crowd of black, her eye staring down at the marble headstone, incapable of comprehending or processing what had happened in a whirlwind of three days. She could hear the priest speaking; she could see the people capturing handfuls of dirt to drop it onto the grave. She felt Mark's hand guide her forward, held her kneel down to grasp a handful to herself and drop it down the six feet deep hole in the ground. Her eyes stared ahead aimlessly at they shoveled the dirt pack into place, and the people dispatched. She didn't speak when Meredith told her they should leave now. She couldn't. She was still processing. How could this have happened? How could she have let this happen? How was this fair to anyone?

"Lexie?" Mark whispered as his fingers laced through hers, "Everyone's gone. We should leave." Mark said, his voice soft, compassionate – but she still couldn't answer him. She turned her head sideways and stared at him, "Wait at the car.." She croaked out and swallowed thickly, "Please?" She added at the end to make it sound less of an order and more of a request, or a plea. She needed to do this alone. Mark was hesitant, but he nodded slowly and pressed his lips to her cheek before he walked away. Meredith was lurking at the cemetery's gates – and frowned when saw Mark approaching without Lexie.

"She wants to be alone." Mark sighed and shook his head as Meredith attempted to walk in again. The blonde sighed and bit her lower lip nervously. "I'll wait." She said, and Mark nodded once as they both turned to stare at the greenery ahead of them, their eyes focused on the back of Lexie's black dress as her head was bowed down. They'd thought she was finally having her moment of mourning – that she finally allowed herself to cry after the three days that had gone by, but they were so wrong.

The twenty-nine year old brunette had moved forward to set her crutches on the ground, and then slowly sit down as well, sighing a little at the fractious sensation of the wet grass beneath her, and she shook her head as it soaked into her dress but she evidently let herself relax. She couldn't fold her legs beneath her, so she laid them out in front of her, looking like a toddler. Lexie was slowly but surely reaching the other side of the bridge. She was slowly but surely losing the need to have the crutches with her all the time. She was slowly but surely becoming the person she has always been. But that couldn't be possible now, right? She was a Grey. It was as if it were a curse, that last name. It was like they didn't deserve the happiness. It was like whenever something good happened, the world reciprocated with a thousand bad ones. Lexie didn't understand that – the odd balance of the world that deemed her and her sister, her family, victims. What kind of world was this?

She pursed her lips and leaned her head down to rest her temple onto her knuckles and sighed heavily as she closed her eyes. She took deep breaths and swallowed thickly. She needed to understand, to recall. So she kept her eyes shut and retaliated all that happened.

Mark's arm immediately tightened around Lexie's waist as she fell to the concrete ground, "Lexie!" He exclaimed, his eyes widening as he eased her to the ground and knelt down in front of her, "Lexie…Lex…talk to me. What's wrong?" He asked gently and patted her cheek, but she seemed to be in shock, so he grabbed the phone, "Who is it?" He demanded defensively.

"Mark, it's Meredith." He heard the other Grey's voice over the phone and frowned, his gaze flickering to Lexie face before he refocused on the phone he held. "What happened?" He asked, narrowing his eyes as he kept his arm around Lexie securely, rubbing her back gently – but she remained expressionless, like she was still in process. "Meredith, you better tell me what happened because your sister wouldn't speak." Mark spoke slowly.

"Thatcher just got admitted." Meredith sighed once, and Mark's lips fell slack as his eyes glanced to Lexie's face again, twisting into a sympathetic expression as he pulled her close into his chest – aware that they were still very much in the street, but it was past midnight and no one would pay too much attention. "I had my pager on me so they paged. Apparently, he's rejecting the liver – and it has been a while since he's left the house so his neighbors decided to check on him and found him passed out in the kitchen."

Mark sighed heavily and nodded once, "We'll be there." He said and hung up, shoving Lexie's phone into his pocket. "Lexie…" He muttered softly, "He'll be fine, Lexie. You know that." He muttered as he tilted his head, pleading for her attention. When her eyes flickered to his face, he sighed, relieved and pursed his lips as pulled her close, hugging her there for a minute before he shrugged out of his suit jacket and draped it over her shoulders. "Come on." He muttered gently as he helped her up on her feet and into the car.

Lexie was silent, but her mind was everywhere. How did this happen? Why did this happen? Why hadn't he called her? Why didn't she call him? Mark's eyes flickered occasionally to her face, a frown apparent on his. "Lexie." He started, "Talk to me."

Her eyes flickered to his and she sighed heavily. Yes, this was essential – sharing what she felt with Mark. He was her fiancé now. And she couldn't relapse back to folding onto herself. "My father is in the hospital." She said slowly and glanced sideways at him. He could see it, the struggle in her eyes. She tried to shield the fear, veil it with a mask of tolerance. She was trying to be strong. Mark nodded slowly at her statement, "He'll be fine." Mark repeated once, yet not promising. He didn't know how bad it was. He didn't want to give Lexie false hope. True, she was a surgeon and she was doomed to watching people lose their loved ones, but Lexie was still somehow fragile. He could never give her a false hope. It was too cruel.

He pulled into the parking lot then moved quickly to her side to help her up. He needed to get her crutches and some comfortable clothes – maybe when she wasn't in this state. He couldn't leave her side now. Mark supported Lexie onto her feet, and they both trudged into the hospital through the Emergency doors. Lexie's eyes were searching frantically, "Have you seen Doctor Grey? Meredith Grey?" Lexie demanded once they got the nurses' station, "Page her for me." Lexie said, "Tell her it's her sister." Lexie finished quickly and glanced around, taking a deep breath. Mark admired her for the strength she showed. Had it been Mark, he would have been breaking through rooms and tossing away interns.

Meredith soon came running into the ER, and directly towards the couple who were waiting. "Lexie." She breathed out quickly and wrapped her sister in a hug. Lexie reacted briefly, her arms holding onto Meredith's shoulder before she finally took a deep breath and stepped away, "What have you got?" Lexie said slowly, her voice low, solemn yet solidified. She was preparing for the worst. Mark's arm was still around her waist, his other hand rubbing along the length of her arm, trying to soothe her even though he really knew he couldn't.

"He stopped taking his medicines. His immune system was up faster than we expected and immediately started rejecting the liver." Meredith muttered and sighed, "One of the neighbors said he'd fought with Danielle a week ago."

"She was the one reminding him of his medicines." Lexie exhaled, almost mortified, and suddenly and for a fraction of a second grateful for the 'tatted up skank's' existence before deciding she could hate her again. Danielle was well aware of Thatcher's weak memory, and yet she left him to fend for himself. Lexie was trying to find a reason for why exactly this was happening – because someone was to blame.

"Well…what's the prognosis? What will you do?" Lexie demanded again.

"We put him back on the medicines and hopefully his immune system will respond. But we put him on the transplant list." Meredith sighed after that last sentence and Lexie's eyes welled up with tears. She knew Meredith couldn't give him part of her liver again. And Lexie wasn't a match – and Thatcher's blood was too rare to find a match for easily. Lexie felt the bitter pang in her chest, but she exhaled heavily, her breath shaking as did her body before she turned to lean her weight against Mark, tired from standing for so long but then she turned to Meredith again. "I want to see him." Lexie muttered and Meredith's eyes flickered to Mark's before she nodded slowly. She hated seeing her sister in such anguish, but what could she possibly do?

Thatcher wasn't doing pretty well. They'd opened him up when they got her, an exploratory surgery to survey the damage and the damage was severe. He was in luck that part of his liver was still functioning, but he was as yellow as a lemon and his vitals were not looking good. They put him back on the anti-immune system medicines and hoped to keep it that way. They even hoped for a miracle, that the last part of the liver could compensate for what was lost one his immune system's lines had backed down. But the odds for that happening were too low. They needed solid plans. For Lexie's sake.

Meredith led them through till they reached the ICU, and Lexie shuddered at the memory of that department of the hospital before she leaned into Mark for security and trudged behind Meredith until they stood before the glass that separated her from her withering father. At the sight of him, Lexie gasped, "Oh god." She whispered, mortified, her eyes widening as the tears fell from her eyes to roll down her cheeks freely. The man looked shrunken into the bed, his face a hundred years older – paler, yellower. The wrinkles had doubled. His hair, contrasted with the yellow skin, seemed whiter than before. He looked so weak. Lexie locked her jaw tightly as she turned her face into Mark's chest and exhaled into his chest, her shoulders rising and falling as she tried to regulate her breathing.

Mark's eyes were fixed on Thatcher, before the fell to Lexie's face as he watched her reaction to her father's state. His hand wrapped tightly around her, moving to her shoulder so he could hold her closer to his chest, encasing her within his hold. Mark's eyes flickered up to Meredith's and she frowned a little, remaining silent. It was a long moment of silence as they let Lexie cope for what she'd seen. When she finally recovered, she stood up straight, as if trying to look tall. "I need to talk to Owen." She said, her voice still low.

Both Mark & Meredith were taken aback by this. "Why?" Mark asked with a frown, and Lexie glanced sideways at him before she shook her head once. "He's the chief of surgery, and I want to discuss any alternate methods to give my dad more time." Lexie explained briefly and stared at Mark.

"You needed me?" Came Owen's voice and Lexie turned around, pursing her lips before she nodded once. "How much time do you think he has before he goes into failure?" She asked straight away and pursed her lips.

"His condition is tough, Lexie.." Owen started and frowned as he looked up at Thatcher then down at Lexie again, "I'd give him twenty-four hours." Owen mused and Lexie stared at him, agape, her eyes flickering nervously between her father and Owen.

"Can't we put him on dialysis?" Lexie asked, frantic.

"He hasn't gone into liver failure yet." Owen argued and frowned.

"Are we going to wait for that?!" She exclaimed, and everyone on the floor turned to her with a scowl on their faces. Meredith fidgeted nervously and stepped forward to place a hand on Lexie's shoulder. Lexie sighed heavily and dropped her face into her hands, gritting her teeth. "What's his position on the transplant list?" She asked slowly and looked up.

"He's high up on the list." Owen managed to confirm and flickered his gaze between Meredith and Lexie. Lexie sighed heavily, before the monitors behind her went wild – and her heart dropped to her feet. She whirled around too quickly, tipping off her balance, Mark's arms immediately wounding around her to hold her up as she watched Meredith & Owen run into the room, and call for a crash cart and a neuro consult. Lexie wanted to help. But her mind was blank as she watched them try to shock the life back into her weakened father.

Derek came rushing in no time, and his eyes falling quickly on the intercranial pressure monitor, sighing heavily, "Cerebral Edema…he's stroking!" He announced grimly, "Push in one of Mannitol!" He said quickly, his eyes fixed on the monitor as he watched the stats. He sighed, "I'll need to perform a decompressive craniectomy right now, get him up to OR One!" Derek yelled loudly, and Meredith nodded quickly as did Owen. Everyone moved in sync, and her father's gurney was wheeled out before her eyes, all she could do – all she realized she was doing, was stare with wide eyes as silent tears freely flowing down her face.

Mark sat down on the ground when Lexie let her weight off her feet, and he held her close, wrapping his arms around her again as the brunette hid her face into his chest, breathing heavily, again trying not to react too wildly. Her fingers clenched at Mark's shirt as she gasped and hiccuped, swallowing thickly. Mark sighed once and rubbed her back, "Come on…let's go get you into something more comfortable.." Mark muttered gently, trying to soothe her. Lexie's eyes drifted up to his and she nodded slowly. Mark sighed when she responded to him and stood up, not allowing her to walk this time. He put his arm underneath her knees and the other behind her back and swept her up into his chest.

He took her to the attendings' lounge, that fell silent at their entrance and sat her down on the couch. He pulled out a pair of his scrubs from his cubby and sat down beside her, "Wear these." He smiled at her little as he placed the neatly folded scrubs in her arms. Lexie didn't attempt to smile, her mind busy – what was Derek doing now? Drilling? Removing? Watching her father's brain swell into place? Or watching him stroke out and die?

Mark's eyes drifted around them for a minute, and everyone disappeared. Now Mark and Lexie were left for their solitude. Lexie eventually sighed and gave in, sitting up a little and shrugging out of Mark's jacket. His hands untied the knot of the halter at the back of her neck and she slowly slithered out of the dress and put on Mark's scrubs. On any other occasion, Mark would marvel about how hot Lexie looked in his navy scrubs. But right now he just wanted to reach out to her, try to get her to understand that she wasn't alone. Little did he know, Lexie was barely processing what was going on around her. Everything was happening too fast for her to comprehend. One minute Mark was proposing, and the other…her father was dying? What the hell was this?

Mark hung up Lexie's dress close to Meredith's cubby and then sat down beside her again, leaning back to place an arm around her. Lexie instinctively leaned into him, her head resting on his chest as she remained silent. Mark rubbed her arm gently and pursed his lips.

"What if he dies?" Lexie said, shredding the silence they were in. Mark's eyes drifted down to her face and he sighed a little, "Being a resident of heaven doesn't require pain or anti-immune system meds. I'd say it's a better place." He smiled down at her a little, trying to be as much of a comfort as he possibly could. Lexie sighed and closed her eyes again. She wanted to hold onto that belief. She knew he'd be in a better place. Lexie had gotten around to the concept of her parent's death when her mother died six years ago. They will die. It was life. However, she wasn't ready to let go of her father so soon, which was why all of this came as such a shock to her. Her mind was so busy she didn't even realize she'd drifted off, or that Mark had laid her down on the couch to stand up once Meredith, Owen, and Derek walked in. She stirred when he did – but kept her eyes shut.

"He's stable for now…but his liver is already failing." Derek sighed once. Lexie couldn't see what they were doing or how their faces looked like, so she decided to not let her imagination get carried away with her.

"We need to find a donor. Lexie won't handle his death. Not now. Not like this." That was Mark, his voice urgent and concerned.

"Is it really not possible for me to do another transplant?" That was Meredith, sympathetic.

"No, Meredith." Derek interrupted, "You do that and you'll not have enough liver in you."

"Then what other option do you suggest? Look at her? She hasn't said a word! She hasn't eaten! This is bad…she was only done with the trauma counselor recently. I don't want her back in there. We already dragged her there once."

"Could you be quiet? I barely got her to sleep!"

"I have a donor." Owen's voice interrupted, the only sound heard then was the sounds of their breathing and the shuffling of some papers. The papers were passed around, and the silence over took the room. It took Lexie all the will power she had to not just jump off the couch and snatch the papers from their hands.

"You are the donor?!" Meredith exclaimed.

"I'm a match." Owen answered, and Lexie frowned a little.

"Why in the world would you do this?" Meredith demanded.

"Because I owe it to her." Owen muttered, "It's the only way I could…even if by a fraction make up for putting you on that plane."

"Nobody is blaming you-" Mark started, but Derek cleared his throat.

"Owen." Derek started, "You're aware of how serious this is, right?"

"I'm the chief of surgery – of course I am. I am also aware that I should have paid more attention when I signed that paper."

That's when Lexie had to interfere. She sat up and looked up at them – they all seemed to freeze in place when she moved, and only Mark seemed to grasp that she's been awake all that time. He sighed and looked down, running his fingers through his hair. But Lexie diverted her gaze, and stared directly at Owen. All the….blame and hate and anger she felt towards the man suddenly disappeared into thin air like it had never existed. He was a valiant man. And he was true to his word…and Lexie should have never sent him those looks or ignored his presence in the hallways.

"You..don't have to do that." Lexie whispered and shook her head once. Before Owen could interrupt, she started, "It was wrong of me, to treat you the way I did. But I needed to blame someone. I needed to put all the negative feelings I had in someone…and you were just right there. And I am sorry, Owen." Lexie sighed and bit her lower lip.

Owen almost opened his mouth to say something, but their pagers went off wildly, "He's coding." Meredith announced and they took off running into the hallway. Lexie couldn't run. Not quite yet. So she stared after them helplessly. She had no crutches. Mark took her hand and wrapped and arm around her waist, towing her along – and literally lifting her feet off the ground so they could follow.

But as soon as they arrived, Meredith was announcing the time of death and Derek was covering up Thatcher's face.

Lexie opened her eyes again and swallowed thickly. "Oh, dad." She whimpered, and covered her face into her hands. Lexie sobbed her heart out – pouring all of the anguish, the pain, and the guilt out into broken sobs that shook her tiny frame. She didn't know how much time she spent crying, but she did all the crying she needed to do until finally she felt…lighter.

Lexie stared at the engravings on the headstone for a long minute, then held out her left hand – as if showing someone her ring, "Mark proposed, you know." She rasped out and cleared her throat, "Right before you got admitted." She explained and smiled barely, "We were…celebrating at this restaurant. Because the plane crash chapter was over. And after everyone left, he just got down on one knee and did it." Lexie let out a weak laugh and ran her fingers through her hair.

"Guess I'm walking down the aisle alone.." She whispered, and hiccuped a little, wiping away her tears. "But you'll be there with mom now." She sighed heavily, and then glanced sideways at the headstone right beside her father's, "You would have loved Mark, mom." She says, and closes her eyes. Lexie wanted to stay all day here and talk with her dead parents. She talked about everything. The crash. The shooting. Mark. His children. The proposal. The ring. Meredith…

The sun was setting when she was talking about the Medical Boards – and she'd only noticed when it was too dark to read the names on the headstones. "I'll visit again. I'll visit more. I promise." Lexie muttered, blinking once, smiling a little as she got up and held up the crutches against the ground quickly so she could stand up straight. Lexie blindly moved back to the gates. Much to her surprise, Meredith and Mark were waiting for her there. When she saw them, she smiled. Mark rushed to her side to wrap his arm around her waist and Meredith walked up to her, "Are you okay, Lexie?" She asked, tilting her head.

Lexie exhaled heavily and nodded slowly. She was okay, and her parents were together at last in a much better place than this cruel world. So she was okay.