A/N:

It has been over a month since I updated and I am terribly sorry you guys! Photoshop and roleplay sucked me away, and I didn't realize it'd be so hard to write in the summer. However, I have finished the chapter following this one and soon will start workin on the one after it so I can update a little faster. I won't make any promises, but I will try to update faster. It seems my mind only functions for this during school. Thank you all for your patience and the increasing number of followers that this story has. Thank you so much! I won't distract you more, and I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Previously...

"Your lungs and heart are not ready to breathe for two." Bailey explained as she stepped into the middle of the room, "Your pelvis and legs are not ready to handle two people either. There are a lot of possibilities here. A lot of outcomes. But the worst case scenario is," Bailey took another deep breath as she let her hands fall at her sides, "This pregnancy…might eventually kill you."

The room grew dangerously silent, and everyone refused to talk, even breathe. Until Lexie took a deep breath, "But that's only the bad case scenario, right?" She said, her tone very calm and leveled. Everyone, literally, turned to look at her. Some with shock, others with fear, or in Mark's case – complete rejection of what she had just said. Lexie saw the look on Mark's face and shook her head once, refusing to let him even start speaking about this. "I'm not having an abortion." Lexie stated loudly and glanced sideways at both Meredith and Derek for support, but they both looked hesitant. "What?" Lexie demanded and lifted her head.

"Lexie, we almost lost you once. I don't think it's fair to you and to us that you put yourself in that position again." Derek spoke and looked down.

"But it's fair to kill a baby? My baby?" Lexie frowned as she looked up at Mark, "It's fair to kill our baby?"

Mark frowned, and shied away from her eyes as he looked down, trying not to show how painful her simple question was to him. Of course he didn't want to kill their child. He didn't want that – but if having a child meant possibly killing Lexie…

Lexie's eyes widened as she stared at him, and she looked down. "I'm not having an abortion. A thousand things could go wrong through an abortion and I may lose the ability to have children, so no. I'm not having an abortion."

"You're going to die!" Mark bellowed, finally unable to keep it within him.

"It's a worst case scenario! We don't know that!" Lexie yelled back, and Meredith reached to rub her shoulder gently, "Calm down, this can't be good for the baby." She whispered into her sister's ear, and Lexie pursed her lips as she closed her eyes.

"With your luck, that's probably what's going to happen." Mark crossed his arms over his chest. Derek sighed as he stood up and took a stance beside Mark, "I'm with Mark on this. There are too many risks." Derek said in a leveled tone as he looked down at Meredith. Meredith refused to move and wrapped her arm around her sister's shoulder, "You don't know how it feels like, to have your child die when you're responsible of keeping them alive. Let alone choosing to kill them. That's just…brutal." Meredith said slowly as she looked up at Derek. The dark-haired man frowned and glanced sideways at Mark. He could see the fear in his eyes, and he knew Mark was just going to channel it into anger, so he shook his head, "She might die." He finally said.

"Uh, if I may..." Bailey started as she stepped between them. "We need to run tests. Lots of them, before we can decide how risky this pregnancy may be. The worst case scenario is loosely based on Lexie's case files. We need more proof before we proceed with anything." She said and put her hands together. Owen then started, "I can put her into any machine. Anything, and I'll have them do it right away." He said as he looked down at Lexie, his eyes sympathetic – but he understood her.

"Okay, we're going to need a full body scan. We need to track down how her bones are looking." Callie said as she crossed her arms over her chest. Cristina was talking on the phone, "Teddy says we need to perform an angio. To test out how strong her vessels are."

Owen glanced sideways at Lexie then at Mark, and they both nodded but refused to meet each other's gazes. He sighed once and left the room, Callie, Cristina and Bailey following him. Jackson and April decided this was no place for them and turned to leave as well, leaving only Richard, Arizona, and the couples in the room. Lexie crossed her arms over her belly, wrapping herself within her arms protectively. No one moved – no one breathed, they just stood like that. Until Mark finally caved. His eyes drifted to Meredith's then to Derek's. They seemed to have gotten the message and immediately left, Meredith leaving Mark a warning glare as she did, followed by Richard and Arizona.

Mark shut the door and stepped carefully towards the couch where Lexie was seat, and he slowly sat onto his knees before her. "Lexie." He stared, but she didn't look at him – instead, she stared away, and he could see how tightly pressed her lips were. She was trying not to cry, and it broke his heart. Mark reached for her hands and held them both in his as he settled their joined hands in her lap, "Look at me, Lexie." But she still wouldn't turn her head, but he felt her hands clench into fists as she tried to pry them out of his grip. Mark sighed once, letting one hand go as he reached to hold her chin gently and turn her face to him. He studied her flushed cheeks and reddened nose, her eyes were glistening with tears that threatened to fall over.

"Lexie," He started again when she refused to look at him, "Lexie I lost you two times before…I almost completely lost you once. I don't think I can ever handle loosing you ever again. I don't think I can ever handle the thought of it." He said slowly, and then hushed her when she almost opened her mouth, "And I want this baby. Lexie, you know I've wanted nothing more than to have your children. But I can't lose you. There's only one you, Lexie. Only one you." Mark finished as he furrowed his brows, waiting for her to turn to him. But she didn't, she was still looking away.

His other hand moved to press again her belly and he swallowed thickly, in a week from now, or even two a slight bump will start to show, he would be able to feel it – he could swear that he almost felt it now. He closed his eyes and looked down, his heart torn in his chest as he tried to be rationale about this.

Lexie's eyes drift down a little to glimpse his face – and she can see how hard this is for him. She can see how painful it is for him, and her stance softens as she leans down to place her hand over his. Mark looked up almost immediately, their eyes meet, and they remain very silent before Lexie took a deep breath, "You won't lose me." She says and smiles a little, and pressed their hands together against the barely tangible bump, "This is our baby, Mark." She whispered as she tilted her head, "Trust me."

Mark frowned and swallowed thickly, before he nodded once and wrapped his arms around her, burying his face into her torso. Lexie sighed as she wrapped her arms around his neck and stroked his head gently, running her fingers through his soft locks. "I don't want to lose you again." Mark whispered into her shirt, and Lexie shut her eyes tightly as she cradled his head close and leaned down to press a kiss to the top of his head. She held him like this for a long while, and he just remained there. He was willing himself to believe that she would be fine. So they stayed like that.

A knock interrupted their moment of serenity, and Mark looked up. Lexie could see a stain of tears on her shirt and she sighed some as her hands moved to hold his face gently to wipe away the wet trail of tears from his cheeks. She smiled softly as she leaned forward to press her lips to his, "Come on, let's see what they managed to do." She muttered as she reached for her crutches. Mark immediately got onto his feet and wrapped his arm around her, almost too protectively, as he helped her stand up, then he let her lead the way.

Derek and Cristina were waiting at the door when it opened, and Derek's eyes narrowed as he looked at Mark, concerned, before the man shook his head once and smiled reassuringly at his friend. Cristina stood straight and took a deep breath, "We're taking you now for your angio CT." She said and Lexie lifted both brows, "This fast?" She asked.

"I pushed a few scans back." Owen said as he walked up to them, smiling a little as he patted Lexie's shoulder before he nodded his head towards the hallway, and they all followed. It was a long trip in the elevator to the radiology floor, having to do too much multiple stops on the way, but they finally got there. Lexie hesitated a little in the hallway and looked up at Mark, "I can't take an angio scan. Any kind that is." She muttered and looked up at him.

"My legs are held with plates and nails – it's too dangerous. And the contrast dye, it can harm the baby. It's too early in the pregnancy to have that in my system." Lexie said as she turned to Mark, then her eyes flickered up to Owen and Cristina, and she shook her head. "I'm not doing an MRA." She finalized and looked down. Cristina frowned, confused as to how she had missed that. Owen exhaled heavily and pursed his lips – there was no other option. Any other scan that wouldn't tamper or be tampered with the metal plates in her body would include radiology, and everything else just included something that would harm the baby.

Mark stood there; again his heart sank in his chest at the dreadful realization that there was no way they'd be able to know what's going on in his wife's body until later in the pregnancy. He took a deep breath to keep his head leveled and glanced sideways at Derek, who looked as troubled as he was. He shook his head once and looked down, remaining silent.

"I really want to go home." Lexie said, sighing tiredly as her shoulders slumped. Mark looked up at her and tilted his head when she saw a hesitant look on her face, "And I could use a wheelchair." She muttered, almost too quietly to be heard, but Mark nodded once as he turned to walk towards the nurses' station. Derek rushed to his side, "What are you going to do?" He asked as he struggled to keep up to his friend's side.

"I don't know." Mark muttered as he turned to the nurse, "Get me a wheelchair please." He asked, and then turned back to Derek again, "I don't know, Derek. I just don't. I want this child, and she wants this child – and I don't want to lose her, and you've heard Bailey." Mark sighed once and shook his head, "I just don't know."

Derek sighed once and nodded as he stepped back when the nurse wheeled the empty wheelchair to them. Mark took over and pushed it to where Lexie was standing, or leaning against the wall tiredly, holding her head. Mark pursed his lips as he took the crutches and helped her into the wheelchair. He glanced sideways at Derek, nodded once before he left.

It didn't take them time to finally arrive to the condo, and Mark lifted Lexie into his arms to set her on the bed gently. She tried to say something, but he turned away immediately, leaving her in the room to go and grab their suitcases from the car and return the wheelchair. Mark really put an effort into ignoring Lexie, or avoiding her at the current moment.

He was arranging his clothes now – already done unpacking all of Lexie's things. He'd hoped she'd fall asleep, but she just laid there, her arms crossed over her chest as she watched him. Once Mark was done, and the suitcase was properly pushed underneath the bed, he stood in the middle of the room. Well, what now? She was still very awake, and he didn't want to talk about this situation they were in right now. So he turned to leave.

"Haven't you run out of things to avoid me with?" Lexie said, her voice was quiet and tired, and she was apparently agitated. Mark turned back to her and pinched the bridge of his nose, "I'm not avoiding you. You need to rest, so I'm leaving you to rest." He said, his voice just as quiet – not because he wanted to or because he needed to, but because if he didn't he'd be yelling at her, and he didn't want to yell at Lexie.

"I don't want to rest. I can't rest when you look like someone told you I'm dying." Lexie said as she pushed herself up into a sitting position.

"But someone has told me you're dying, Lexie!" Mark exclaimed, his eyes widening as he stared at her in disbelief.

"I thought we went over this!" She argued back, her voice rising a bit.

"When I thought there could be a possible way to make sure we can avoid any complications – What are we depending on now, fate? Because that has worked out for us!" Mark tried to reason, but he ended up yelling nevertheless. Lexie's cheeks reddened with anger as she glared up at him, and she shook her head once.

"I can't believe this." She muttered as she ran her fingers through her hair.

Mark stood there, his hands hanging at his sides limply as he stared at her. "This is how you're ending this conversation?" He demanded, hoisting both brows.

"I'm not doing an abortion, that's final." Lexie said, her tone factual – there was no argument.

"That's not only your decision. This is our child. It takes two to tango, Lexie." Mark muttered quickly as he shook his head and moved to the side of the bed to stand in front of her. Lexie just stared at him before she sighed once, "I'm the one carrying this child. Maybe you and I conceived it, but you apparently want to kill our baby – that's not a decision I can make."

"We can make other babies!" Mark's voice rose again, and Lexie's lips parted before she laughed darkly. "I can't believe you just said that…" She whispered as she threw the covers off her and started scooting out of the bed.

Lexie reached for her crutches again, pushing herself up on her feet. When she started to leave the room, Mark frowned and moved after her, "Where the hell do you think you're going?" He asked when he realized she was headed for the front door.

"I thought for a man who was willing to start a family after having such a messed up child hood that you were willing to do anything for your kids – but here you are, willing to kill off one child and replace him just because there's a possibility I am not ready for this pregnancy." Lexie spoke, her back still turned to him as she hobbled towards the door.

Mark immediately stepped in front of her, reluctantly using the fact that he was a lot faster and more agile than she was. Lexie came to halt and turned her head away from him, completely refusing to look at him, "I want this baby as much as you do."

"Of course, that's why you want to kill it." Lexie scoffed once. Mark ducked into her line of vision so she could look at him, she surprised him when she pushed him away from her, "I can't even look at you, Mark!"

And that was what finished it with Mark. "You know what, fine! You want to leave, go! You're not going to make it past the street anyways!" He yelled as he stepped out of her way and held the door open.

Lexie turned to look up at him again, her big, brown eyes glistening with tears. "You know what," she muttered as she struggled with crutches, removing the ring from her hand, "You just lost the right to control me or this baby." She whispered as she shoved the ring into his hand.

"I don't want to be responsible for your or my child's death!" He yelled after her as she left, and slammed the door shut, the echo of it running cold shivers through his body. He didn't know how much long did it take him to realize that Lexie just gave him the engagement ring back, or the fact that she had just left – or the fact that he let her leave. A million possibilities of everything ran through his mind, but he couldn't move – not one inch. Mark could have been standing beside that door for hours, waiting for the bell to ring. Waiting for anything.

It was approximately three hours later when he finally came to his senses. Mark shoved the ring into his pocket and immediately opened the door, rushing out of the building. Soaked in rain, he ran to the hospital – searching through the lounges and the offices for Lexie, or Meredith, or Derek. But their shifts must have ended; Lexie must have gone with them. Mark stepped out of the hospital again, his hands patting down his pockets until he finally found his phone, and he quickly dialed Lexie's number. The phone was turned off. Mark stood there for a minute in the middle of the hospital parking, his mind in jumbles as he tried to figure out his next move. What had he done? What had he done? How could he have been this…insensible?

A car's honk snapped him out of his moment of self-loathing, and he immediately retreated to the sidewalk as one of the cars made its way out of the parking lot. Mark quickly looked down at his phone again, and dialed Derek's number. As soon as the dial tone was gone, and he could hear Derek's voice, he started, "Lexie left. I let her leave. We fought. She left. And I can't find her, Derek. I just can't find her." Mark pleaded into the phone.

"What do you mean you can't find her? How far can she even go?" Derek demanded, and he could hear some urgent shuffling.

"I don't know! I thought she'd be in the hospital! I thought she went to find Meredith! I thought she was with you!"

"Have you tried calling her?"

"Of course I did! She shut off her phone!"

"Okay, Mark, calm down." Derek said calmly as he turned to Meredith, whispered the current situation to her. Mark could hear the other blonde yelling, but her voice was muffle – Derek must have had his hand over the phone. Mark took a deep breath and closed his eyes, he couldn't even realize that he was crying because the tears mingled with the rain that soaked him up. He blinked once when he heard Derek's voice again, "Call her sister. I'm going to the cemetery, maybe she managed to go there." Derek told him, "If she doesn't tell you anything, then try to beat me to the cemetery. We'll find her, Mark."

Mark took a deep breath and nodded slowly, unable really to find it within him to speak anymore. He hung up and quickly dialed the sister's number – when he managed to ask her without alarming her, and was heavily disappointed when she told him that Lexie wasn't there. Mark hung up again and texted Derek as he ran back to the car. When he settled into the leather seat and started up the car, he let out a shaky breath and swallowed thickly, before he took off.

What had he done?