On Hallowed Ground Part 1
The candle house in the woods was finally built out of bricks.
Well, not actually bricks, that would be far too pedestrian, but something more substantial than beeswax and wicks, that wouldn’t blow out in a strong wind or disappear in a poof of smoke whenever it rained.
Alex hadn’t really believed it, even after they’d broken ground and Meredith had dragged everyone out for some kind of celebration that involved a lot of drinking and standing around looking at a hole in the ground, which, if you thought about it, was a pretty bad idea.
They’d been building the damn house for what felt like a lifetime and he figured this was just more of the same, until he was standing around staring at granite counter-tops and bathrooms with two sinks and marble freaking floors, watching Meredith roll her eyes while Derek ordered movers around.
“What the hell is that?” he asked.
“That is a wine fridge,” she answered. “Or…something.”
“Fancy.”
She shrugged.
“Congratulations,” he added, tipping a bottle of beer in her direction.
She laughed softly. “You hate it.”
“I don’t hate it,” he protested. “I just…keep waiting for some librarian to come by and tell me to shut up or something.”
“Oh it’s not that bad,” she said.
“I’m not gonna live here anyway,” he said. “Why does it matter what I think?”
“Cristina has a room,” she pointed out. “You could have a room.”
“Yeah, I’m sure your husband would love that, a whole wing devoted to all the strays you’ve taken in.”
“He’s used to it,” she shrugged.
“If you say so.”
“We’re having a housewarming you know,” she said, ripping the tape off of one of the boxes.
“Place seems warm enough to me.”
“You’ll come anyway, right?”
“Is there gonna be free booze?”
“What other kind of party would I have?”
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“Where’s your present?” Lexie asked two weeks later, glancing over at Alex as they walked up the driveway.
He shrugged. “I don’t have one.”
“You can’t go to a housewarming without a present.”
“Bet I can,” he said. “What’d you get?”
“A…vase,” she said slowly. “A really nice vase.”
“Oh,” he said. “Right. They couldn’t possibly live without a really nice vase.”
She blushed. “Whatever, at least I brought something.”
“So,” he said, reaching for the package she was carrying. “Now I brought a vase.”
“Ass,” she muttered. “You are such an ass.”
“Then why’d you want to come to this thing with me?” he asked.
“Because…it’s pathetic, showing up alone all the time.”
“What happened to that guy you were dating?” he asked.
“He was an ass,” she answered.
He smirked. “Is that like, your type or something?”
“Shut up,” she muttered. “And give me back my present.”
“Let me sign the card.”
“They’re gonna know it’s not from you anyway,” she said.
“Then why do you care?”
“It’s…the principle of the thing.”
He laughed. “Right, because you’re Little Miss Principled.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” she huffed more than a little indignantly.
“That I could get you naked by the end of the night if I wanted to,” he answered, opening the door and ushering her inside, the perfect paradox of an asshole and a gentleman.
“Oh no,” she warned. “We don’t do that any more, it was a bad idea and we’re…friends, and we live together, at least…for the moment. So no. No, you will not be getting me naked.”
“Relax, Lexie. That was a joke.”
She bit her lip. “Well it wasn’t very funny.”
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“Got you a vase,” Alex announced with a smirk, holding up the package.
Meredith shook her head, “Thank you Lexie,” she said, taking the box from him.
Alex turned to her. “Happy now?”
Lexie glared back in his direction. “For what?” she asked. “Getting credit my own gift? Yes, thrilled.”
“You bought a freaking vase online,” he said. “How much credit do you want for that?”
“You didn’t even bring anything,” she sputtered.
“I’m sure it’s beautiful,” Meredith said, interrupting. “And very thoughtful.”
“It’s a freaking vase,” Alex said after Lexie stomped off.
Meredith rolled her eyes at both of them. “Why do you antagonize her?”
“Cause it’s so freaking easy,” he answered. “And it’s fun.”
“What are you gonna do without me to play referee between the two of you?”
“You just looking for an excuse to keep slumming it with me?” he asked with a suggestive grin.
“No,” she said. “I’m happy. I grew up. Maybe you should try it sometime.”
He glanced around the party. “No offense but, being a grown up doesn’t look like that much fun to me.”
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He screwed one of the catering waitresses in a closet.
Because she was the opposite of perky and blonde and that was exactly what he was going for, and because really, Meredith should have known better than to invite him to a freaking party by now.
Lexie got a ride home from the party with April and followed it up but not talking to him for three days, which he was pretty sure had more to do with the vase incident than the waitress.
He figured he was supposed to be looking for a new place now, since his landlord had bailed on him for her very own McMansion, but he’d been squatting for so long that he didn’t really see the need to stop now.
Maybe he could just be part of the deal, like the crappy furniture you didn’t want to drag with you and left for the new owners to toss out.
Newspapers started showing up, subtly turned to the real estate section with listings circled in red.
He figured that was probably April, because seriously, who even bought the freaking newspaper these days anyway.
When she did finally find a place she liked there was a whole blubbery speech about starting a new life, or something, like she was never going to see them again.
“What the hell is she even talking about?” he asked, turning to Jackson.
The other man shrugged. “She’s saying it’s time to grow up, Peter Pan.”
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“Why aren’t you freaking out?” Alex muttered.
“About what?” Lexie asked, glancing up from her breakfast.
He shrugged. “Finding a new place.”
“You’re not,” she pointed out with a frown, her implied ‘why should I?’ more than clear.
“I’m a squatter.”
“Well, it’s my sister’s place,” she said. “If anyone has a right to squat here, it’s me.”
“Uh huh,” he said. “Doesn’t seem like your style.”
“No?” she asked. “Look around, it’s you and me and I’ve been here for almost as long as you have.” She shrugged. “Guess I’m not cut out for the whole condo in the suburbs thing.”
He smirked. “How is Sloan?”
“You know what, screw you,” she muttered. “You’re such an unbelievable asshole.”
“I didn’t mean it like that,” he protested.
“Yes you did,” she snapped. “And…if we’re going to stay here, to really stay here, then you have to stop, okay? Just…why can’t we be friends, the way you are with Meredith or Cristina or whatever?”
He shrugged, reaching for the coffee pot. “Thought we were.”
“You wouldn’t say things like that to them.”
“Oh, I’m pretty sure I would,” he said.
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April and Jackson moved out within a month to some fancy new apartment building across town. The invitation came in the mail, which seemed kind of ridiculous coming from people you saw at work every day, but then he thought the whole freaking we just moved in party thing was ridiculous to begin with.
It was taped up on the fridge mocking him every morning, just in case he was lucky enough to forget about the whole damn thing.
“How come you didn’t buy Kepner a vase?” Alex asked, reaching for the orange juice when Lexie lifted it out of the fridge.
“Because I like to be original and actually put some thought into the gifts I give people.”
“And April is a picture frame kind of girl?”
“Mmhmm,” she murmured, reaching for a piece of toast.
“And your sister, she’s all about vases.”
“It was a nice vase.”
“And that makes it better?”
“Yes,” she said, waving the toast at him as she talked. “You know you could go somewhere before the party tonight, buy something, actually bring a gift for once.”
He shrugged. “Why would I want to do that?”
“Because it’s a nice thing to do.”
“I’m not a nice guy,” he said with a smirk.
“You work in peds,” she pointed out as if that alone was evidence to the contrary.
“That doesn’t mean anything. Didn’t make Stark a nice guy,” he countered.
“You’re not Stark.”
“Thank god.”
“Agreed. And I’ve seen you cry with my sister, so I know you’re not that tough.”
“Yeah, but if I start getting presents for crap then I’ll have to do it all the time, and I mostly just go to these things to for the free food and the booze.”
“And to find a cute girl to screw.”
“I don’t have to go to a party to find someone to screw, Lexie.”
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“Where’s Alex?” Meredith asked when she took a seat at the table in the cafeteria, interrupting April’s detailed explanation of every last minute detail of the party.
Lexie looked up. “Why does everyone assume I know where he is? We’re roommates, I’m not his keeper.”
Meredith blinked. “I was asking in general.”
“He’s with a patient,” April offered. “This uh kid, he did the surgery a couple of days ago and he started to go south this morning, it’s actually really sad.”
“Is the kid going to be okay?” Lexie asked, poking at her salad with a fork.
“I don’t know,” April said. “I…I don’t think so.”
They fell into silence until Lexie’s pager started to buzz and she stood up. “I have to go, I’ll see you later.”
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“Are you almost ready?” Lexie asked from the doorway to Alex’s room later that night. “We’re going to be late.”
He shrugged, struggling with his tie. “Sorry a kid died at such an inconvenient time for your little party.”
“Alex,” she said trailing off as she hesitantly stepped into the room.
“Look, just go without me,” he muttered, tossing the tie aside and sitting on the bed. “No one will even miss me.”
She blinked, hesitating again before moving to his side. “Do you want to talk about it?”
He reached for the bottle of whiskey on the nightstand and took a drink straight from the neck. “No. Go to the party.”
“I’m not just going to leave you here,” she said.
“You should.”
She shrugged, sitting back against the headboard. “I’m sorry.”
“Not your fault. All mine.”
“No it wasn’t,” she said firmly.
“Doesn’t matter.”
“Maybe not,” she admitted. “But…you did everything you could.”
He barked out a laugh. “I hate that. That’s so stupid, saying crap like that like it matters.”
She reached around him for the bottle and took a swig, sitting back, her skirt riding up her legs. He looked over at her, eyes drifting from carefully arranged curls down before slowly leaning over and kissing her.
His hands skimmed her legs as she stretched out on the bed, pulling him down on top of her.
“Lexie,” he breathed.
“It’s okay,” she whispered. “Everything’s going to be okay.”
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He felt the bed shift when Lexie got up, the first hints of sun peeking through the curtains. He opened one eye, and after the room stopped spinning watched her gather her discarded clothing from the floor and slip out of the room, rolling over and burrowing further under the covers and pretending the whole thing never happened.
He found her later in the kitchen, leaning against the counter an holding a mug of coffee, smiling softly across the gulf of space between them.
“How…how are you?” she asked hesitantly.
He shrugged. “Been better, been worse,” a telling pause splitting the two statements.
She nodded. “I guess that’s really all you can ask for, right?”
“Guess so,” he said.
“Do you want breakfast?” she asked. “I mean, I can make you something. Bacon and toast… or an omelet. Whatever you want. Not actually whatever you want, I’m not like, a short order cook, I’m not even a great cook but I can handle the basics and you already know that and I don’t know why I’m still talking.”
“You don’t have to do that,” he said.
“I don’t mind, really.”
“Look, I don’t want you to think that just because of what happened last night…” he started without bothering to finish.
“I know what last night was, Alex,” she said, cutting him off. “I’m not…twenty-five any more, I’m not romanticizing anything. We’re friends. After everything we’ve been through, we should at least be friends.”
“Friends,” he said, reaching for the mug she pushed towards him.
“Friends,” she echoed. “Now what do you want to go with your bacon?”
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“We missed you last night,” Meredith murmured, stopping at the nurses’ station next to Lexie later that morning
Lexie shrugged. “Alex had a rough day.”
“Is he okay?”
“He’s fine.”
“Good,” Meredith said with a smile. “Are you okay?”
“Why wouldn’t I be?” Lexie asked.
Meredith reached for a chart and raised her eyebrows. “Seriously?”
Lexie huffed, leaning on the counter. “So if I comforted him one time it automatically means we screwed?”
Meredith stared at her pointedly.
“Okay,” Lexie said, “enough. My heart does not live in my vagina. Any more.”
“That’s good,” Meredith said.
“I’m fine.”
“Good.”
“It was a one time thing.”
“Mmhmm.”
“We’re friends.”
“Uh huh.”
“You don’t believe me.”
“Of course I do,” Meredith said. “You’re my sister.”
“Don’t patronize me,” Lexie sighed. “I know what I’m doing.”
Meredith smiled. “I really hope that you do.”
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“So you’re screwing Lexipedia again,” Cristina said, stealing a handful of fries off his tray.
“What are you talking about?” Alex muttered.
“Oh please, Lexie already spilled everything to Meredith.”
“It was like a one time thing,” he continued. “Because I’m sad and pathetic and she pity fucked me.”
“Oh god, you really have sunk to some pretty depressing lows.”
“Tell me about it.”
“And you’re stupid, too.”
“Gee thanks.”
“Seriously,” she said. “This is stupid.”
“She doesn’t want a thing with me any more than I want a thing with her,” he protested.
“I blame Izzie,” she said. “Or maybe Addison…or that crazy Jane Doe patient.”
“Rebecca,” he said. “Her name was Rebecca.”
“You’re as bad as Lexie, your heart lives in your penis.”
“It does not,” he muttered. “I don’t even have a heart.”
“Oh please, if anyone’s the tinman here that’s me. You can be the cowardly lion if you want.”
“I’ll pass.”
She shrugged. “Then you can be the scarecrow if you want, since if you have a brain you’re not using it.”
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He brought home a new girl every night for the next two weeks.
Lexie wanted to tell him that if he was trying to send her a message then she got it after day three or four and to ask if maybe he wasn’t overcompensating just a little bit.
Also where the hell did he manage to find so many girls she’d never seen before in her life?
She figured that was probably a bad idea.
Instead, she reacted to each of his girls by glaring at them or acting indifferently or making them pancakes for breakfast.
She was pretty sure he hated the pancakes the most.
He didn’t say anything, and she thought maybe it was a good sign, that they’d managed to somehow figure out how to navigate around each other, live in the same house, without actually speaking to each other.
She didn’t admit even to herself that it was kind of a relief when the constant parade of half-naked chicks stopped.
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“Barbie,” Lexie said, gesturing with her wine glass. “One of them was named Barbie. I mean, who does that? Who looks at their kid and thinks you know what, she’s going to grow up to be a walking, talking blow up doll, might as well name her appropriately.”
“Thought you didn’t care,” Cristina said.
“I don’t,” Lexie muttered. “It’s just a little ridiculous.”
Alex shrugged. “She wasn’t that bad.”
Lexie rolled her eyes. “Don’t you think you’re a little too old to act like you still live in a frat house?”
“I do still live in a frat house,” he said.
Lexie sighed. “Don’t you ever want to act like an actual adult?”
“It’s not my fault that none of my relationships aged me thirty freaking years,” he muttered.
Lexie stood up, shaking her head and moving towards the bar.
“She’s gonna kill you in your sleep someday,” Meredith said. “You should try to be nice.”
“I’m not a nice guy. That’d just be lying.”
“Well we can’t have that,” Meredith sighed.
“Barbie didn’t think I was so bad.”
Cristina smirked. “I bet she didn’t.”
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Lexie eventually moved from the attic to Izzie’s old room.
And he figured it was probably telling that he still thought of it as Izzie’s room even though April had lived there for years, but he was never really the type for navel gazing self-analysis.
They left the master bedroom empty at the end of the hallway like some kind of shrine to all the ghosts, living and dead that floated through the place.
“Do you think it’s weird that I live here?” she asked one morning, pushing a mug of coffee towards him and turning to the stove.
“Why would it be weird?” he mumbled, rubbing his eyes.
“It was…my father’s house with his first wife, with…a sister I didn’t even know existed for years,” she said, glancing around like the whole twisted history of the family Grey had never really occurred to her before.
“My dirty mistress sleeps in my ex-wife’s room. Is that weird?”
She blinked. “We’re twisted. We’re really twisted.”
“Dark and twisty,” he shrugged. “It’s this place,” he continued, gesturing vaguely with his fork.
“Seattle? Are you blaming the rain?”
“I meant this house. It’s cursed or something.”
“Then why don’t you want to leave?” she asked.
He frowned. “Cause I was cursed way before I ever came here.”
She leaned against the counter. “Maybe it’s not this place, maybe…it’s the people, all of us. Maybe this place attracts lost souls.”
He studied her. “I think you lost me there.”
“Never mind,” she said, shaking her head. “It’s stupid.”
“Doubt it.”
She turned away again, focusing on the plate of food she was filling. “Just forget it. I’m…weird this morning or something.”
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Lexie painted the walls of her new bedroom.
And maybe he shouldn’t have been surprised, because the pink was definitely a lot to deal with on a daily basis.
And really he had no right to be pissed, because it sure as hell wasn’t his place, literally or figuratively or any other way.
It wasn’t his house, wasn’t his room, wasn’t even his former wife’s room anymore.
It was Lexie’s now, and someday the house would probably be Lexie’s and he’d be the only one left squatting.
And maybe it was nothing, innocent, a desire to cover up a kind of an offensive paint color that she had to see every time she opened her eyes.
And maybe she was just trying to make her mark, to show that this place was her place.
And maybe there was there was nothing wrong with any of that.
Though none of those maybes stopped him from walked in after a seemingly never ending shift, seeing the drop cloths and the paint on the walls and walking straight back out without a word.
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He slept at the hospital for a week following the paint incident.
Managed to avoid Lexie the whole time too, or maybe she was avoiding him and he just didn’t know about it.
“What’s your deal?” Meredith demanded one day in the tunnels, because try as he might, she was the one person he could never manage to avoid.
“Didn’t know I had one,” he shrugged.
“So living at the hospital is just your new thing?”
“You know me. As long as it’s free I’m not picky.”
“What’s wrong with my old place?”
He sighed. “Look, I needed a break, okay?”
“Did you sleep with Lexie again?” Meredith demanded.
“No,” he said. “It’s not about Lexie.”
“So what is it about?” she pressed.
“I just needed to get out of there for awhile.”
She stared at him. “Should I be worried?”
“About me?” he asked with a grin he knew was half-assed. “Never.”
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It was dark when he finally came home. He parked in the driveway and stared up at the darkened house, the only light coming from Lexie’s room.
Lexie’s room, he repeated to himself as he walked up the sidewalk and unlocked the door.
He moved through the house, tossing his keys on the table and shrugging out of his jacket, before moving up the stairs.
He stopped in her doorway and she turned, looking up at him from her bed.
“Nice color,” he offered.
“What?” she asked, frowning in confusion.
“The walls,” he shrugged. “They look nice.”
“Oh,” she said. “Thanks. Want to paint yours?”
“No,” he answered.
She stared at him. “I didn’t think you were going to come home.”
“I thought maybe you’d change the locks on me.”
“It’s not my house,” she shrugged.
He laughed. “That mean you would have if you could have?”
“No,” she said. “I wouldn’t do that to you.”
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“Were you mad at me?” She asked the question the next morning with her back to him, turned to the stove and Alex sighed because it was too freaking early to deal with any of this.
“No,” he muttered, sitting at the counter.
“Oh,” she said, clearly surprised. “I just thought…you were avoiding me.”
His lips twisted into a grin. “Not everything’s about you.”
She turned to him, just barely, just enough to see him out of the corner of her eye. “I know that. I just thought this might be about me, and if we’re going to live here, just you and me like this, then I think we need some kind of open dialogue, because we’re too old to run away from home every time we don’t like something the other one did.”
“Open dialogue?” he asked. “What is this, an episode of Dr. Phil?”
“That’s just mean,” she said, turning back to the stove.
“Sorry,” he mumbled.
“I’ve been trying to figure out what I did,” she continued. “I mean…is it about the paint? Because who throws a fit for over a week about some paint? It’s not even a room you’re ever in.”
“It’s not about some stupid paint. It’s not even about you.”
“Fine,” she said. “But if I do something you don’t like,” she started.
“This right now?” he cut in. “The whole talk about every single tiny thing? I don’t like that.”
“You didn’t talk to me for over a week,” she protested. “That’s not a tiny thing.”
“Didn’t realize you cared so much.”
She turned around again, pointing the spatula at him. “I like you. We’re friends.”
He swallowed. “Fine. Sorry. I was an ass, okay? I do that sometimes.”
She nodded slowly. “Okay. I accept your apology.”
“Oh good.”
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“Alex came home,” Lexie reported the next day at the hospital.
Meredith smiled. “Did you guys kiss and make up?”
“Not exactly,” Lexie said. “I mean…we’re okay, I think.” She paused. “Was he seriously mad at me because of some paint?”
“I don’t think it’s about the paint,” Meredith murmured.
“Then what?” Lexie demanded. “What did I do that was so unforgivable?”
“It’s Izzie’s room. It’s…like a memorial.”
“And I what, desecrated it?”
“You reminded him that she’s gone and she’s never coming back.”
Lexie closed her eyes. “I’m kind of jealous, you know? I don’t think anybody ever loved me that much.”
“Lexie.”
“What do I do? Paint it back?”
“No. Leave it. Leave everything. He’s okay with it, he came home, doing anything now is just going to make things worse.”
Lexie picked at her salad with her fork. “I’m never going to understand him.”
“I think you already understand him better than you think,” Meredith shrugged between bites of her sandwich. “Just ignore the whole paint thing and you’ll be fine.”
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“I ran away from home once,” Lexie said once they were back at home, gesturing at him with her glass. “I was five and I got really mad at my mom because I was convinced she loved Molly more than me.” She paused. “Anyway, I packed up my tiny, red ‘Going to Grandma and Grandpa’s house’ suitcase with everything I thought would be really important, like my favorite blanket, and my baby doll and my teddy bear and my swim suit because that was always my favorite part of going on vacation, the hotel pool, and I took off.”
Alex smirked. “How’d that go?”
“I made it all the way to the corner before my dad came and picked me up.”
“Very adventurous.”
“So I came home and had a tea party with my mom while Molly took a nap.”
He blinked. “Good story.”
“I’m just saying…I get it, or whatever.”
He laughed. “I didn’t run away from home, I’m not five, and I never owned a freaking going to grandma’s house suitcase.”
“I know,” she said. “You carry all your belongings in trash bags.”
“Works,” he shrugged.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I’m sorry that I just painted the room without asking you, and I’m sorry that Izzie left, and I’m sorry that she hurt you, and I’m sorry if I hurt you.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” he asked.
“I could paint it back,” she offered. “Or…I don’t know. I wish I could bring her back for you. Because I want you to be happy, because I care about you and I…want you to be happy.”
“Shut up,” he muttered.
“No, I mean it, I really mean it.”
“Lexie,” he said, standing up.
“I just wish that we could be friends. Really friends. I mean…I know that we say we are, but we’re not, really, not the way you’re friends with Meredith or Cristina or even April.” She frowned. “And I just really want us to be.”
He sighed heavily, sinking back into his seat. “We’re friends, okay? Just…stop talking.”
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“I miss you,” Lexie said, glancing over at April when she took a seat at the table in the cafeteria.
“You just saw me like an hour ago,” April said, wrinkling her nose.
“I mean, I miss you living in the house.”
“No you don’t,” April said. “You waited like two seconds and you took my room. And you painted it.”
Lexie rolled her eyes. “Okay I get that the whole painting thing was incredibly controversial and a bad idea and I really wish I had never done it.”
“I was joking,” April said slowly.
“It’s just weird, it being me and Alex. I don’t know, I think we need a buffer. You were a really good buffer.”
“Thank you,” April said, rolling her eyes. “I always really valued your friendship too.”
“You know what I mean,” Lexie said. “It’s like we’re rough edges, always bumping against each other or something.”
“Oh, I don’t know,” April said. “Sometimes you manage to find some angles that fit together.”
“Okay, well, just judging from our fairly disastrous history I don’t think sleeping together is going to make things better right now.”
“Didn’t you like, sleep with him again just the other day?”
“That was an isolated incident.”
“I’m not sure you really understand the definition of isolated, because you kind of tend to do it on a fairly recurring basis.”
“Well, not any more.”
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“What’s your problem?” Cristina asked, watching Alex glower from his chair in the OR gallery exactly one week after he finally came back home.
He shrugged. “Who said I had one?”
“Gee, I don’t know where I ever could have come up with a stupid idea like that.”
“Lexie planted freaking flowers,” he muttered.
“What?” she asked, staring at him like he had two heads.
He sighed. “Lexie planted all these flowers like, by the sidewalk or whatever, yellow flowers, pink flowers, everywhere.”
“And this is a problem because…” she prompted.
“I don’t know,” he said.
“I just don’t get what the big deal is. So she planted some dumb flowers.”
“She’s turning into like, little Suzy Homemaker or something.”
“It’s Lexie. She’s not turning into anything.”
“She’s never been like this before,” he protested.
“Uh, she’s always been like this. Why do I have to teach about you the girl you screw sometimes?”
“We’ve lived in that house forever and she’s never touched a thing.”
“Because it was Meredith’s house,” she explained like he was a slow preschooler.
“It still is.”
“Technically maybe,” she said, rolling her eyes. “But it’s like your house and Lexie’s house now, so you better get used to the little happy homemaker thing.”
“I should move out.”
“You won’t,” she said. “You’d have to pay rent and do laundry and crap.”
“That is a hell of a loophole.”
“Mmhmm.”
“I’m screwed.”
“Pretty much.”
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“Hey,” Alex said, shifting awkwardly from foot to foot in the doorway to the laundry room back at the house that isn’t Meredith’s anymore but still kind of is.
“Hey,” Lexie said with a smile, turning around. “I was just doing some laundry, need anything?”
“Nah,” he said. “I’m good.”
“Good.”
“Didn’t you and Avery used to screw here?” he asked, glancing around the room.
She rolled her eyes, turning back to the washing machine. “One time,” she answered. “Maybe two.”
He grinned. “You guys were like rabbits, all over the freaking place.”
“Yeah, even in your bed one time.”
He frowned. “Dude, seriously?”
She grinned. “No. I’m not that disrespectful.”
“Good to know.” He paused. “Thanks.”
“For not screwing another guy in your room?”
“For doing my laundry and planting flowers and making the place nice or whatever.”
She smiled to herself. “I’m glad you like it. I was thinking about wallpaper sometime, you could help me pick if out if you wanted to.”
“No thanks.”
She laughed. “Does that mean you’re not going to help me hang it all?”
“Yeah, that’s pretty much exactly what that means.”
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“You know what today is?” Lexie asked, taking a seat at the table across from Alex in the kitchen.
He frowned. “Tuesday?”
She laughed. “It’s our anniversary.”
“Huh?” he asked, even more confused.
“We’ve been living here together alone for six months officially today.”
“I can’t believe you know crap like that,” he said with a laugh.
“Photographic memory,” she said proudly, shrugging along with the words.
“Right.”
“Anyway,” she continued, “I’m proud of us, I mean, everyone thought we’d kill each other or something and we had a few rocky moments, but we’re here, and we’ve become friends and I think we’re doing really well.”
“For two squatters?” he asked with a smirk.
“Yes,” she giggled. “We should have a cake or something.”
He pushed a bottle of beer in her direction with a shrug and she took it.
“Or this,” she said. “This is good.”
“Felt more like us.”
“Happy anniversary,” she said, clinking her bottle against his before moving it to her lips to take a sip.
“Happy anniversary,” he mumbled. “You know this is like the first one I’ve ever celebrated?”
She tilted her head. “Really?”
He shrugged. “My train wreck of a marriage never lasted long enough and you know how long my relationships tend to last so yeah…you’re my first.”
She grinned. “Don’t worry, baby. I’ll be gentle.”
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Lexie flipped another page in her magazine the next day as the door opened and she heard Alex stumble inside. She looked up after he hurried past her wordlessly, glancing at her watch as she heard the bathroom door open and slam shut and wrinkling her nose when she heard him retching.
She stood up slowly, dropping the magazine to the couch cushions and padding down the hall.
She knocked softly on the door, frowning to herself. “Are you drunk?” she called out.
“No,” he muttered in response.
She reached for the doorknob, turning it hesitantly and pushing it open to reveal him hunched over the basin, eyes closed. “Oh my god you look like crap.”
“Gee thanks,” he sighed opening his eyes but not turning his head to
“What’s wrong with you?”
“Some freaking kid gave me the flu.”
She reached for a washcloth, nudged him aside a little and ran it under the facet before pressing it to the back of his neck. She then dumped her toothbrush out of its holder and filled the cup with water offering it to him with a sympathetic smile.
“Thanks,” he mumbled.
“We should get you to bed.”
“You gonna carry me?” he asked, weakly attempting to twist his lips into a smirk.
“No,” she said. “But I’ll help you.”
“I can sleep on the couch.”
“You’re sick,” she said. “You need to take care of yourself, and you need to sleep in a bed. Doctor’s orders.”
“I prefer to take my orders from a naughty nurse,” he said.
“Well unfortunately for you we don’t have any of those here, so I guess you’re stuck with me.”
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“I got you soup,” Lexie said softly after hesitantly pushing open the door to Alex’s room and stepping inside, blinking as her eyes adjusted to the darkness.
“Huh?” he mumbled from somewhere under the covers.
“Soup,” she said more loudly, stepping closer to the bed.
“What?”
“Soup,” she said again, walking over to him. “I got soup, because you’re sick and you should have soup.”
He rolled over, rubbing his eyes and looking up at her. “Okay.”
“Do you need anything else?” she asked. “I could get you some medicine or…I don’t know. Toast, maybe you need some toast, and fluids, definitely. You know beer doesn’t count right?”
He nodded.
“Okay, so…juice maybe uh, or water, and the soup and…do you still have a fever?”
He shrugged and she reached out, pressing her wrist to his forehead.
“I’ll get you some Tylenol or something,” she said. “For the fever.”
“Okay,” he said quietly.
“What else?” she asked.
“Dunno.”
“Well, you need plenty of sleep and uh, you’ll be fine, you know?”
“I have the flu,” he muttered, tugging at the blankets.
“Right. I’ll just go get you some juice and I’ll be back with that and the Tylenol and you’ll have the soup and you’ll start getting better.” She reached out, running her fingers through his hair. “And I’ll be right here if you need anything.”
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“You almost look alive,” Lexie noted, glancing at him from over the top of a medical textbook, sitting on the edge of his bed, leaning against the headboard.
Alex rubbed his eyes. “I feel like I got run over by a bus.”
She blinked and turned her attention back to the book. “Luckily it’s nothing that serious.”
“Bad joke.”
She blew out a breath. “Well you’re sick so I’ll forgive you.”
“Thanks.”
“Have some more juice,” she said, nodding to the glass on the bedside table.
He pushed himself into a sitting position. “You stay here all night?”
“Well I would look like a pretty crappy doctor if my own roommate aspirated his vomit while I was sleeping.”
“So you’re just looking out for number one?”
“You know me.”
He took a drink of the juice and laid back. “Yeah. I do.” He closed his eyes. “Why are you really doing this?”
“I can’t take care of you without some kind of ulterior motive?” she asked, shutting the book and leaning forward.
He shrugged.
“I like you,” she said. “We’re friends. We’ve been through a lot together, we…we can take care of each other and not expect to get anything for it. We’re grown-ups, Alex. It’s time for us to actually do some growing up.”
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“You survived the plague,” Meredith murmured when Alex stepped into the locker room.
“Miss me?” Alex asked with a grin.
“I was worried.”
“I had the flu,” he muttered.
“I know. Lexie kept me very well informed.”
“What does that even mean?”
“It means that she was worried about you,” Meredith answered, staring at him.
“Don’t read between the lines,” he said.
“Don’t act oblivious,” she shot back.
He reached for his drink. “It’s not like that.”
“You keep saying that.”
“That’s because I tell the truth. It’s my thing.”
“Yeah, yeah,” she said, waving her cup at him. “Me thinks thou doth protest too much.”
“You know I have no idea what you just said.”
“Don’t play stupid,” she said, rolling her eyes and reaching for a handful of fries from his tray.
“There’s nothing going on between me and Lexie.”
“She just likes playing nursemaid?” Meredith asked.
“She did take an oath about that kind of thing, you might have heard of it?”
“I think she went a little above and beyond the call of duty here.”
“We’re friends. Maybe for the first time, real friends.”
Meredith studied him before nodding slowly. “Then good for you.”
“Yeah,” he said, taking another sip of his drink. “Apparently we’re growing up.”
She laughed. “Happens to the best of us.”
“How’s the McMansion?” he asked.
“Kind of lonely,” she answered.
“You miss me,” he said with a grin.
“I do.”
“Well, you can come back and visit any time you want. Lexie hasn’t gotten around to changing the locks yet. Which makes them about the only thing she hasn’t touched.”
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“Nice to see you could take a break from playing nursemaid long enough to do your actual job,” Cristina said with a smirk, watching Lexie study lab results.
“Alex is better now,” Lexie sighed. “And what was I supposed to do, just abandon him?”
“Yes,” Cristina said. “Because he’s a grown man. He’d be fine on his own.”
“Well I’m sorry if I happen to think that everyone deserves to have someone taking care of them when they’re sick.”
“Right, I’m sure you’d be all over holding back my hair if I was puking,” Cristina said.
“I would,” Lexie insisted. “That’s the kind of friend I am.”
“You and Evil Spawn always were such good friends,” Cristina said with a grin.
“Don’t do that,” Lexie said.
“Do what?” Cristina asked.
“Make this into something dirty.”
Cristina blinked innocently. “Would I do that?”
“Yes,” Lexie said. “You would do that. You do that all the time.”
“Can’t help it if you give me so much material to work with.”
“We don’t do that any more,” Lexie said.
“Right, that’s today’s story.”
“And yesterday’s,” Lexie insisted. “And tomorrow’s. We have accepted that we’re not cut out to be involved romantically. I mean…it pretty much always ends in disaster so…we’re going to be friends and nothing more.”
Cristina shrugged. “We’ll see.”
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“Honey I’m home!” Lexie called out playfully when she opened the door, freezing when she stepped into the living room and a half dressed blonde popped up off of the couch.
“Who the hell is she?” the blonde demanded.
“Just his roommate,” Lexie said quickly, holding up her hands. “Just a roommate with really bad comic timing. Who’s going to go upstairs,” she continued, backing towards them and tossing Alex an apologetic look, “and listen to some music really loudly and just become completely oblivious to whatever’s going on.” She smiled weakly. “Have a lovely evening. And uh, nice bra, that’s a really good color on you,” she added before running up the stairs, slamming her bedroom door behind her and flopping down on her bed.
Minutes later there was a knock on the door and it swung open as Alex stepped inside. “Apparently you’re quite the mood killer.”
“I’m sorry,” she started, cheeks flushing. “So sorry.”
He shrugged. “She wasn’t that great.”
“That’s…a terrible thing to say about a girl you were going to sleep with.”
He grinned, sitting down on the edge of her bed. “I’m gonna let you in on a little secret here. Sometimes I’m not exactly selective when it comes to my dates.”
“Well speaking as a girl who used to sleep with you, gee thanks.”
“Hey,” he protested, “come on, I didn’t mean you. Plus you just ruined my date, you don’t get to be mad at me. I’m supposed to be mad at you.”
“I said sorry. Maybe next time you shouldn’t screw around on the couch like a teenager.”
“You and I used to screw around on the couch,” he pointed out.
“That was different,” she said.
“How?” he asked with a grin.
“Because it was me, so it wasn’t gross for me to sit on the same couch and watch tv.”
“Right,” he said. “Perfectly logical.”
“Mmhmm.” She paused. “I guess this must mean you’re feeling better.”
He laughed. “Yeah, much. Must have been all that soup.”
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“You know you owe me a date,” Alex said twenty minutes later.
Lexie’s eyes widened. “What?”
“Well you ran the lovely Candy out of here,” he said, shrugging.
“Seriously? That was her name? Candy?”
“What’s wrong with that?” he asked.
“Nothing if you work at a strip club,” she answered, reaching for the carton of ice cream they were sharing.
“You’re kind of judgmental there, for a grown woman who goes by Lexie.”
“What’s wrong with my name?” she asked.
“Nothing. If you’re in third grade.”
“Hey,” she protested.
“Relax,” he said with a grin. “It’s a joke.”
She pointed her spoon at him. “I apologized for ruining your date.”
“That’s all I get?”
She raised her eyebrows. “Well you’re not getting me down to my bra on this couch, so I don’t know what else you want from me.”
He leaned closer, dipping his spoon into the carton. “Guess I have to settle for some ice cream, huh?”
She laughed. “Guess you do. Where do you find girls like Candy?”
“Why?” he asked. “You thinking of switching teams?”
“No,” she said. “Just curious.”
He shrugged. “Around.”
“That’s purposely vague.”
“I met her at Joe’s. Told her I was a hot doctor. Chicks go for that.”
“I’ll have to remember that. If I ever decide to switch teams.”
“Can I watch if you do?”
“You’re really disgusting,” she said, shaking her head.
“I’m a guy. Any guy would go for that kind of thing. Trust me.”
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“Hey,” Jackson said, sitting across from Lexie at the cafeteria.
“Hey,” she said.
“I have to go to this dinner thing my grandfather’s having. You should come with me.”
She blinked. “That’s abrupt.”
“It’s gonna be a bunch of old doctors talking about the techniques they pioneered fifty years ago.”
She nodded. “Okay so I’m better than a bunch of old men and their outdated medical techniques?”
“Exactly,” he answered with a grin.
“I used to think you were charming.”
“I can be charming.”
“Why don’t you take your roommate?” she asked.
“April’s still dating that douchey drug rep. And Meredith’s married and Cristina’s banned from attending events where my grandfather’s present and I’d ask Karev but I think if I took him as my date I’d get disinherited.”
Lexie laughed. “So I’m better than old men,” she said, counting off on her fingers, “out dated medical techniques and I’m the only available female. Flattery will get you everywhere.”
“It’ll be fun.”
“Oh, it sounds like fun.”
“We used to have a lot of fun,” he shrugged.
She bit her lip. “We did.”
“So help me out here. One friend to another.”
“You’ll make it worth my time?” she asked, eyebrows raised.
“Absolutely. Scout’s honor.”
“Okay,” she said. “I’ll go.”
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“How do I look?” Lexie asked softly, standing in the doorway to Alex’s room on the night of her do-me-a-favor date with Jackson.
He looked her up and down. “Too damn good to hang out with a bunch of boring, fancy doctors.”
“Why thank you,” she grinned, doing a little spin.
“So Avery, huh?”
She nodded. “I’m doing him a favor.”
“You better make him pay up big time.”
“Oh, don’t you worry about me. I’m not nearly as innocent as I look,” she said playfully.
“I know all about that,” he agreed with a smirk.
She giggled. “I’ll try to sneak you home some fancy food.”
“You better. Come here. You got a string or something.”
She walked over to the bed and he stood up, straightening her strap.
“There,” he said softly, fingers lingering on her skin. “Now you’re perfect.”
She flushed. “Perfect?” she whispered.
“Yeah,” he said. “And you’re gonna waste it all on Avery.”
“Who should I be wasting it on?” she asked.
He shrugged, hesitantly stepping back, sitting on the edge of the bed. “Nobody in particular.”
“Right,” she said.
“Have fun,” he offered.
“Thanks,” she said quietly. “You too.”
“I’m looking forward to those leftovers.”
She laughed nervously, moving back to the door. “I’ll do my best.”
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Alex stopped in the doorway to the kitchen the next morning and watched Jackson poking through the cabinets until the other man turned to face him.
“You’re out of coffee.”
“Lexie moved it,” Alex said. “Lexie moved everything.” He moved around Jackson, opening another cabinet and pulling out the coffee, dumping it into the coffee maker and flipping it on.
“Right,” Jackson said. “Guess she really put her stamp on the place.”
“Something like that.” Alex agreed as he shoved a piece of toast into the toaster. “I guess dinner must have gone well.”
“We actually ducked out early,” Jackson said. “Which means I’m in trouble, but it’s not the first time I’ve pissed my grandfather off and I’m sure it won’t be the last.”
Alex nodded, reaching for a mug and pouring himself a cup of coffee. “Guess you had a good time anyway.”
“Yeah,” Jackson said. “Look I’m not getting in the middle of anything or stepping on your toes here right?”
“Right,” Alex said. “We’re just friends. Roommates.”
“That’s what I thought.”
“So step wherever you want.”
Jackson grinned. “Thanks man.”
“Hey, you don’t need my permission anyway.”
“I just want to make sure there’s no drama.”
“No. Me and Lexie are one hundred percent drama free.”
They both turned when Lexie padded down the steps and stared at them, her cheeks turning pink.
“Morning,” Alex said with a smirk, raising his mug to her.
She smiled nervously. “Morning.”
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“She’s sleeping with Avery again,” Alex said, reaching for a handful of Meredith’s French fries in the cafeteria later that day.
“Lexie?” Meredith asked, glancing over at him.
“No, Yang,” he muttered.
“Hey,” Cristina protested. “He totally had a thing for me, I could have had that.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Meredith said, waving her hand dismissively. “Your milkshake brings all the boys to the yard.”
“Damn right,” Cristina said with a smirk.
“Are you sure?” Meredith asked turning back to Alex. “About Jackson and Lexie?”
“Well we all had a nice cozy little coffee break this morning,” Alex said. “So yeah.”
“What’s the big deal?” Cristina asked. “I mean, you don’t care?”
“It’s just weird,” he said. “I didn’t sign up to live with her and whoever she’s sleeping with.”
“You didn’t sign up for anything,” Cristina pointed out. “You just crashed on the first free bed you could find.”
He shrugged. “Got me there.”
“You could always like, wife swap and move in with Kepner,” she continued. “Everybody could go back to sleeping with who they used to sleep with.”
“I never slept with her,” he sighed.
“Whatever,” she said.
“Maybe I should get my own place,” he said.
“Yeah right,” Cristina scoffed.
“You’re going to move out because Lexie slept with Jackson?” Meredith asked.
“I don’t know,” he said. “Just something I’m thinking about.”
They all looked up when Lexie took a seat at the table, smiling at them.
“You seem perky,” Cristina said. “Must be having a really good day.”
Lexie looked over at Alex, her cheeks flushing. “I am,” she said. “Not that it’s anyone’s business, but I’m actually having a pretty great day.”
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“Are you coming over tonight?” Lexie asked that night in the locker room.
Jackson nodded. “Yeah, I’ll stop by.”
“Good,” she said. “If you didn’t I’d feel cheap and dirty.”
He laughed. “Like maybe I invented a whole dinner party and then talked my grandfather into hosting it just to get back into your pants?”
She grinned. “That’s exactly what I thought.”
“You know me so well.”
“I like to think that I am an excellent judge of character,” she said.
“Yeah, you should definitely go with your instincts, your ability to read people is really second to none.”
She giggled. “I had fun last night.”
“Me too. And while you’re pretty freaking amazing in bed, I’m not sure I’d go quite that far just to get into your pants.”
“Well now I’m offended,” she said playfully.
“Because I don’t want to stage elaborate fake dinner parties just to score with you?” he asked.
“Exactly,” she said. “Now I’m back to being cheap and dirty.”
“Hey, what’s wrong with cheap and dirty?” he asked. “I happen to like both of those things.”
“Whatever, pretty little rich boy. Don’t like act like you slum.”
“If you ask my grandfather, just being here is slumming it.”
She tilted her head. “I’m sorry.”
“Huh?” he asked.
“That your grandfather still doesn’t want to accept that you’re doing great work here.”
“It’s okay,” he shrugged.
“It’s not,” she said. “But we should all try to accept the things that we can’t change.”
“And hope for the wisdom to know the difference?” he asked.
She shrugged. “My dad’s gone to a lot of AA meetings. I picked up some of the lingo.”
“How is Thatcher?”
“Fine,” she said. “He’s fine. I have to go but…later, right?”
“Yeah,” he said. “Later. Karev’s not gonna mind, right?”
“After the parade of girls I had to deal with?” she asked. “He better not.”
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“Jackson’s coming over later,” Lexie murmured, watching Alex open the fridge and reach for a beer.
“Awesome,” he said.
She blushed. “I just, uh, thought you should know…”
“Why? So I don’t interrupt the two of you when you’re screwing on the couch?” he asked with a grin.
“You know me so well,” she said. “That is exactly what I had in mind.”
“I know your type.”
“I guess you do. You should call Candy or Barbie or one of your other girls. We could have a double date.”
“Yeah, I’ll get right on that,” he said. “He’s a good guy, Avery.”
“Okay, no,” she said. “No, we are not doing this weird thing where you act like my big brother and give me romantic advice.”
“Thought we were friends,” he shrugged.
“Friends who used to sleep together,” she muttered.
“Don’t worry. I didn’t forget this time.”
She rolled her eyes. “We are friends, but there are lines, and romantic advice is off limits.”
“You talk about the girls I bring here all the time,” he pointed out.
“That’s hardly romantic,” she said.
“Ouch,” he said, playfully placing a hand over his heart.
“Yeah, yeah. Just…no acting like you’re my big brother. It’s weird and creepy.”
“Got it. I was never much of a big brother anyway.”
She tilted her head. “How are Aaron and Amber? You don’t really talk about them.”
He shrugged, draining the beer and tossing it in the trash, reaching for another and offering one to her. “With my family no news is good news.”
“If you ever need anything.”
“I know,” he said softly. “So when’s your date supposed to be here?”
“Uh, soon, I guess, he was finishing up with a patient when I left.”
“Guess I better make myself scarce then. Don’t worry. I’m a good roommate, out of sight, out of mind. Unlike some people.”
“Well maybe if you’d given me a little advance warning…”
“Right,” he said with a smirk. “Lesson learned.”
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“Lexie’s upstairs,” Alex murmured when he opened the door and let Jackson in.
Jackson nodded. “Thanks.”
“There’s pizza if you want some,” Alex continued. “The beer’s mine.”
“I should bring my own next time if I want a drink?” Jackson asked with a grin.
“Exactly,” Alex nodded. “Since it looks like you’re gonna be spending a lot of time here.”
Jackson shook his head, grabbing a slice of pizza before moving up the stairs.
“Alex won’t let me drink his beer,” Jackson announced when he stepped into Lexie’s bedroom.
She giggled. “He’s just giving you a hard time.”
“Said I should bring my own.”
“Do you want me to buy you some beer?” she asked playfully.
“I think that you should,” he said with a grin, climbing into bed next to her.
“Don’t get pizza sauce on my sheets,” she scolded.
“You have a lot of rules here,” he said. “I don’t remember all of this from before.”
“Well it’s my house now,” she said with a grin.
“Who knew you and Karev were such big fans of structure?”
She shrugged. “I’m a mystery wrapped in enigma.”
“I can think of things I’d much rather wrap you in,” he said.
She wrinkled her nose. “That was a really bad line.”
He shrugged. “I’m not used to seducing women while I’m sober.”
“That’s charming.”
“I’ve seen your ex-boyfriends,” he said. “I’m pretty sure you’ve heard worse.”
“You’re right,’ she said, wrapping her arms around his neck. “I have really terrible taste in men.”
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“Hey,” Lexie murmured.
“Morning,” Jackson said, kissing her softly.
“I thought you left,” she said. “Your surgery…”
“Got pushed,” he said. “They needed the OR, so we’re doing it this afternoon. I was just heading out when I got the call so I figured I’d stick around, spend my morning with you. I’m all yours.”
She smiled. “I guess I’ll have to find something to do with you then.”
“Guess so,” he said, rolling on top of her.
“Hmm,” she murmured.
“I was going to make you breakfast,” he started, “but I didn’t know what I was or wasn’t allowed to touch in your kitchen, and I don’t know where anything is anyway.”
“There’s a system,” she explained, kissing him playfully. “It’s really easy once you understand.”
“Guess you’ll have to teach me.”
“I guess so,” she said.
There was a knock at the door and then Alex pushed it open slowly, hesitating before stepping inside.
“Your car’s blocking mine,” he offered.
“Right,” Jackson said, rolling out of bed, grabbing his pants from the pile of clothing on the floor. “Sorry man.”
“No big deal,” Alex shrugged.
Jackson brushed past him and Alex nodded at Lexie.
“Morning,” he said.
“Morning,” she said, cheeks flushed.
“I guess I’ll see you around,” he added.
“Yeah, I’ll be at the hospital in a few hours, and tonight…”
“I got a date,” he said. “That new blonde peds nurse.”
“Oh,” she said. “She’s pretty. Have fun.”
“Yeah,” he said. “Don’t wait up.”
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“Are we dating?” Lexie asked Jackson a month later. “Is that what we’re doing here?”
Jackson grinned. “I like to take all my special lady friends to the hospital cafeteria.”
“Classy,” she giggled.
“I think it has a certain charm.”
She nodded. “Definitely. Mood lighting too.”
“I’ve always been told fluorescents bring out my eyes.”
“Trust me, your eyes don’t need any help. And I didn’t realize I was a lady friend.”
“Do you like that?” he asked with a grin.
“Not especially.”
“We’ll just have to work on a name then.”
“What’s wrong with girlfriend?” she asked.
He shrugged. “Didn’t know we were that serious.”
“Ouch,” she said.
“Hey,” he protested. “You’re the one that dumped me, remember?”
“That was years ago.”
“You gonna blame me for being a little gun-shy here?”
She looked away, pushing her food around on her tray with a fork. “I hurt you that much?”
“You know I was into you.”
She sighed. “I’m sorry. I should have told you that then, but…I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. I haven’t exactly been sitting around mending my broken heart. I’m okay, Lexie.”
“Why are you doing this again then?” she asked.
He shrugged. “Maybe I’m a masochist.”
“I don’t think so.”
“Then maybe I just like you.”
“Enough to make me your girlfriend?” she asked.
“Yeah,” he said. “Enough for that.”
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“You guys look cozy,” Alex observed when Jackson left the room to answer a phone call back at the house later that night.
Lexie shrugged. “We’re dating so…”
“Good for you.”
She blushed. “How’s the peds nurse?”
“Clingy.”
“Uh oh.”
“Yeah, and I’d dump her, but we work together and she’s gonna make it awkward.”
“So you have no plan,” Lexie said, reaching for a slice of pizza.
“I figure she’ll get bored eventually.”
“Or what?” she asked.
“Or I guess I’ll have to marry her.”
She laughed. “Those are your only options?”
“You got a better one?”
“I don’t know,” she said. “You’re used to dumping girls you work with.”
“Ouch.”
“You never worried about things being awkward with us,” she pointed out.
“That’s cause you’re not clingy.”
“Oh,” she said. “That’s it, huh?”
“Yeah,” he said. “That’s it.”
“Go me,” she said sarcastically, tossing a piece of her pizza crust at him.
“Hey,” he protested.
“Oh, you had that coming.”
“Whatever.”
“And if you want to bring your little girlfriend over sometime, I could run around naked, scare her off.”
“That’s your best idea?”
“Well I think it’s better than marrying her.”
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“What happened to the peds nurse?” Lexie whispered from the couch a couple of weeks later, sneaking a glance at the redhead.
Alex shrugged. “She got tired of my crap. That’s Tiffany.”
The woman waved.
“Lexie,” Lexie murmured, introducing herself. “And this is Jackson.”
“Awesome,” Tiffany said.
“Awesome,” Alex repeated with a smirk.
Lexie smiled hesitantly. “We just uh, were going to start a movie if you want to watch.”
“I think we’ll pass,” Alex said, already moving towards the stairs.
Lexie started to laugh, shaking her head. “This is what it’s been like this whole time. Just this constant parade of women.”
“And sometimes you,” Jackson offered, watching Alex head up the stairs.
She glared at him. “One time, we had a moment of weakness and fell into our old pattern.”
“Missed a hell of a housewarming party,” he said.
“I’m sure I did.”
“Does it bother you?”
“What?” she asked.
“Karev’s harem.”
“No,” she said. “I don’t care. I mean…it’s weird sometimes, and awkward, but no. I don’t mind.” She paused. “Does it bother you?”
“No, I’m actually a big fan of harems,” he said.
“I mean that Alex and I hooked up.”
“You guys have a complicated history. I came into this thing knowing the score.”
“What’s that even mean?”
“Means I don’t care. The past is the past.”
Well, not actually bricks, that would be far too pedestrian, but something more substantial than beeswax and wicks, that wouldn’t blow out in a strong wind or disappear in a poof of smoke whenever it rained.
Alex hadn’t really believed it, even after they’d broken ground and Meredith had dragged everyone out for some kind of celebration that involved a lot of drinking and standing around looking at a hole in the ground, which, if you thought about it, was a pretty bad idea.
They’d been building the damn house for what felt like a lifetime and he figured this was just more of the same, until he was standing around staring at granite counter-tops and bathrooms with two sinks and marble freaking floors, watching Meredith roll her eyes while Derek ordered movers around.
“What the hell is that?” he asked.
“That is a wine fridge,” she answered. “Or…something.”
“Fancy.”
She shrugged.
“Congratulations,” he added, tipping a bottle of beer in her direction.
She laughed softly. “You hate it.”
“I don’t hate it,” he protested. “I just…keep waiting for some librarian to come by and tell me to shut up or something.”
“Oh it’s not that bad,” she said.
“I’m not gonna live here anyway,” he said. “Why does it matter what I think?”
“Cristina has a room,” she pointed out. “You could have a room.”
“Yeah, I’m sure your husband would love that, a whole wing devoted to all the strays you’ve taken in.”
“He’s used to it,” she shrugged.
“If you say so.”
“We’re having a housewarming you know,” she said, ripping the tape off of one of the boxes.
“Place seems warm enough to me.”
“You’ll come anyway, right?”
“Is there gonna be free booze?”
“What other kind of party would I have?”
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“Where’s your present?” Lexie asked two weeks later, glancing over at Alex as they walked up the driveway.
He shrugged. “I don’t have one.”
“You can’t go to a housewarming without a present.”
“Bet I can,” he said. “What’d you get?”
“A…vase,” she said slowly. “A really nice vase.”
“Oh,” he said. “Right. They couldn’t possibly live without a really nice vase.”
She blushed. “Whatever, at least I brought something.”
“So,” he said, reaching for the package she was carrying. “Now I brought a vase.”
“Ass,” she muttered. “You are such an ass.”
“Then why’d you want to come to this thing with me?” he asked.
“Because…it’s pathetic, showing up alone all the time.”
“What happened to that guy you were dating?” he asked.
“He was an ass,” she answered.
He smirked. “Is that like, your type or something?”
“Shut up,” she muttered. “And give me back my present.”
“Let me sign the card.”
“They’re gonna know it’s not from you anyway,” she said.
“Then why do you care?”
“It’s…the principle of the thing.”
He laughed. “Right, because you’re Little Miss Principled.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” she huffed more than a little indignantly.
“That I could get you naked by the end of the night if I wanted to,” he answered, opening the door and ushering her inside, the perfect paradox of an asshole and a gentleman.
“Oh no,” she warned. “We don’t do that any more, it was a bad idea and we’re…friends, and we live together, at least…for the moment. So no. No, you will not be getting me naked.”
“Relax, Lexie. That was a joke.”
She bit her lip. “Well it wasn’t very funny.”
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“Got you a vase,” Alex announced with a smirk, holding up the package.
Meredith shook her head, “Thank you Lexie,” she said, taking the box from him.
Alex turned to her. “Happy now?”
Lexie glared back in his direction. “For what?” she asked. “Getting credit my own gift? Yes, thrilled.”
“You bought a freaking vase online,” he said. “How much credit do you want for that?”
“You didn’t even bring anything,” she sputtered.
“I’m sure it’s beautiful,” Meredith said, interrupting. “And very thoughtful.”
“It’s a freaking vase,” Alex said after Lexie stomped off.
Meredith rolled her eyes at both of them. “Why do you antagonize her?”
“Cause it’s so freaking easy,” he answered. “And it’s fun.”
“What are you gonna do without me to play referee between the two of you?”
“You just looking for an excuse to keep slumming it with me?” he asked with a suggestive grin.
“No,” she said. “I’m happy. I grew up. Maybe you should try it sometime.”
He glanced around the party. “No offense but, being a grown up doesn’t look like that much fun to me.”
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He screwed one of the catering waitresses in a closet.
Because she was the opposite of perky and blonde and that was exactly what he was going for, and because really, Meredith should have known better than to invite him to a freaking party by now.
Lexie got a ride home from the party with April and followed it up but not talking to him for three days, which he was pretty sure had more to do with the vase incident than the waitress.
He figured he was supposed to be looking for a new place now, since his landlord had bailed on him for her very own McMansion, but he’d been squatting for so long that he didn’t really see the need to stop now.
Maybe he could just be part of the deal, like the crappy furniture you didn’t want to drag with you and left for the new owners to toss out.
Newspapers started showing up, subtly turned to the real estate section with listings circled in red.
He figured that was probably April, because seriously, who even bought the freaking newspaper these days anyway.
When she did finally find a place she liked there was a whole blubbery speech about starting a new life, or something, like she was never going to see them again.
“What the hell is she even talking about?” he asked, turning to Jackson.
The other man shrugged. “She’s saying it’s time to grow up, Peter Pan.”
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“Why aren’t you freaking out?” Alex muttered.
“About what?” Lexie asked, glancing up from her breakfast.
He shrugged. “Finding a new place.”
“You’re not,” she pointed out with a frown, her implied ‘why should I?’ more than clear.
“I’m a squatter.”
“Well, it’s my sister’s place,” she said. “If anyone has a right to squat here, it’s me.”
“Uh huh,” he said. “Doesn’t seem like your style.”
“No?” she asked. “Look around, it’s you and me and I’ve been here for almost as long as you have.” She shrugged. “Guess I’m not cut out for the whole condo in the suburbs thing.”
He smirked. “How is Sloan?”
“You know what, screw you,” she muttered. “You’re such an unbelievable asshole.”
“I didn’t mean it like that,” he protested.
“Yes you did,” she snapped. “And…if we’re going to stay here, to really stay here, then you have to stop, okay? Just…why can’t we be friends, the way you are with Meredith or Cristina or whatever?”
He shrugged, reaching for the coffee pot. “Thought we were.”
“You wouldn’t say things like that to them.”
“Oh, I’m pretty sure I would,” he said.
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April and Jackson moved out within a month to some fancy new apartment building across town. The invitation came in the mail, which seemed kind of ridiculous coming from people you saw at work every day, but then he thought the whole freaking we just moved in party thing was ridiculous to begin with.
It was taped up on the fridge mocking him every morning, just in case he was lucky enough to forget about the whole damn thing.
“How come you didn’t buy Kepner a vase?” Alex asked, reaching for the orange juice when Lexie lifted it out of the fridge.
“Because I like to be original and actually put some thought into the gifts I give people.”
“And April is a picture frame kind of girl?”
“Mmhmm,” she murmured, reaching for a piece of toast.
“And your sister, she’s all about vases.”
“It was a nice vase.”
“And that makes it better?”
“Yes,” she said, waving the toast at him as she talked. “You know you could go somewhere before the party tonight, buy something, actually bring a gift for once.”
He shrugged. “Why would I want to do that?”
“Because it’s a nice thing to do.”
“I’m not a nice guy,” he said with a smirk.
“You work in peds,” she pointed out as if that alone was evidence to the contrary.
“That doesn’t mean anything. Didn’t make Stark a nice guy,” he countered.
“You’re not Stark.”
“Thank god.”
“Agreed. And I’ve seen you cry with my sister, so I know you’re not that tough.”
“Yeah, but if I start getting presents for crap then I’ll have to do it all the time, and I mostly just go to these things to for the free food and the booze.”
“And to find a cute girl to screw.”
“I don’t have to go to a party to find someone to screw, Lexie.”
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“Where’s Alex?” Meredith asked when she took a seat at the table in the cafeteria, interrupting April’s detailed explanation of every last minute detail of the party.
Lexie looked up. “Why does everyone assume I know where he is? We’re roommates, I’m not his keeper.”
Meredith blinked. “I was asking in general.”
“He’s with a patient,” April offered. “This uh kid, he did the surgery a couple of days ago and he started to go south this morning, it’s actually really sad.”
“Is the kid going to be okay?” Lexie asked, poking at her salad with a fork.
“I don’t know,” April said. “I…I don’t think so.”
They fell into silence until Lexie’s pager started to buzz and she stood up. “I have to go, I’ll see you later.”
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“Are you almost ready?” Lexie asked from the doorway to Alex’s room later that night. “We’re going to be late.”
He shrugged, struggling with his tie. “Sorry a kid died at such an inconvenient time for your little party.”
“Alex,” she said trailing off as she hesitantly stepped into the room.
“Look, just go without me,” he muttered, tossing the tie aside and sitting on the bed. “No one will even miss me.”
She blinked, hesitating again before moving to his side. “Do you want to talk about it?”
He reached for the bottle of whiskey on the nightstand and took a drink straight from the neck. “No. Go to the party.”
“I’m not just going to leave you here,” she said.
“You should.”
She shrugged, sitting back against the headboard. “I’m sorry.”
“Not your fault. All mine.”
“No it wasn’t,” she said firmly.
“Doesn’t matter.”
“Maybe not,” she admitted. “But…you did everything you could.”
He barked out a laugh. “I hate that. That’s so stupid, saying crap like that like it matters.”
She reached around him for the bottle and took a swig, sitting back, her skirt riding up her legs. He looked over at her, eyes drifting from carefully arranged curls down before slowly leaning over and kissing her.
His hands skimmed her legs as she stretched out on the bed, pulling him down on top of her.
“Lexie,” he breathed.
“It’s okay,” she whispered. “Everything’s going to be okay.”
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He felt the bed shift when Lexie got up, the first hints of sun peeking through the curtains. He opened one eye, and after the room stopped spinning watched her gather her discarded clothing from the floor and slip out of the room, rolling over and burrowing further under the covers and pretending the whole thing never happened.
He found her later in the kitchen, leaning against the counter an holding a mug of coffee, smiling softly across the gulf of space between them.
“How…how are you?” she asked hesitantly.
He shrugged. “Been better, been worse,” a telling pause splitting the two statements.
She nodded. “I guess that’s really all you can ask for, right?”
“Guess so,” he said.
“Do you want breakfast?” she asked. “I mean, I can make you something. Bacon and toast… or an omelet. Whatever you want. Not actually whatever you want, I’m not like, a short order cook, I’m not even a great cook but I can handle the basics and you already know that and I don’t know why I’m still talking.”
“You don’t have to do that,” he said.
“I don’t mind, really.”
“Look, I don’t want you to think that just because of what happened last night…” he started without bothering to finish.
“I know what last night was, Alex,” she said, cutting him off. “I’m not…twenty-five any more, I’m not romanticizing anything. We’re friends. After everything we’ve been through, we should at least be friends.”
“Friends,” he said, reaching for the mug she pushed towards him.
“Friends,” she echoed. “Now what do you want to go with your bacon?”
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“We missed you last night,” Meredith murmured, stopping at the nurses’ station next to Lexie later that morning
Lexie shrugged. “Alex had a rough day.”
“Is he okay?”
“He’s fine.”
“Good,” Meredith said with a smile. “Are you okay?”
“Why wouldn’t I be?” Lexie asked.
Meredith reached for a chart and raised her eyebrows. “Seriously?”
Lexie huffed, leaning on the counter. “So if I comforted him one time it automatically means we screwed?”
Meredith stared at her pointedly.
“Okay,” Lexie said, “enough. My heart does not live in my vagina. Any more.”
“That’s good,” Meredith said.
“I’m fine.”
“Good.”
“It was a one time thing.”
“Mmhmm.”
“We’re friends.”
“Uh huh.”
“You don’t believe me.”
“Of course I do,” Meredith said. “You’re my sister.”
“Don’t patronize me,” Lexie sighed. “I know what I’m doing.”
Meredith smiled. “I really hope that you do.”
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“So you’re screwing Lexipedia again,” Cristina said, stealing a handful of fries off his tray.
“What are you talking about?” Alex muttered.
“Oh please, Lexie already spilled everything to Meredith.”
“It was like a one time thing,” he continued. “Because I’m sad and pathetic and she pity fucked me.”
“Oh god, you really have sunk to some pretty depressing lows.”
“Tell me about it.”
“And you’re stupid, too.”
“Gee thanks.”
“Seriously,” she said. “This is stupid.”
“She doesn’t want a thing with me any more than I want a thing with her,” he protested.
“I blame Izzie,” she said. “Or maybe Addison…or that crazy Jane Doe patient.”
“Rebecca,” he said. “Her name was Rebecca.”
“You’re as bad as Lexie, your heart lives in your penis.”
“It does not,” he muttered. “I don’t even have a heart.”
“Oh please, if anyone’s the tinman here that’s me. You can be the cowardly lion if you want.”
“I’ll pass.”
She shrugged. “Then you can be the scarecrow if you want, since if you have a brain you’re not using it.”
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He brought home a new girl every night for the next two weeks.
Lexie wanted to tell him that if he was trying to send her a message then she got it after day three or four and to ask if maybe he wasn’t overcompensating just a little bit.
Also where the hell did he manage to find so many girls she’d never seen before in her life?
She figured that was probably a bad idea.
Instead, she reacted to each of his girls by glaring at them or acting indifferently or making them pancakes for breakfast.
She was pretty sure he hated the pancakes the most.
He didn’t say anything, and she thought maybe it was a good sign, that they’d managed to somehow figure out how to navigate around each other, live in the same house, without actually speaking to each other.
She didn’t admit even to herself that it was kind of a relief when the constant parade of half-naked chicks stopped.
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“Barbie,” Lexie said, gesturing with her wine glass. “One of them was named Barbie. I mean, who does that? Who looks at their kid and thinks you know what, she’s going to grow up to be a walking, talking blow up doll, might as well name her appropriately.”
“Thought you didn’t care,” Cristina said.
“I don’t,” Lexie muttered. “It’s just a little ridiculous.”
Alex shrugged. “She wasn’t that bad.”
Lexie rolled her eyes. “Don’t you think you’re a little too old to act like you still live in a frat house?”
“I do still live in a frat house,” he said.
Lexie sighed. “Don’t you ever want to act like an actual adult?”
“It’s not my fault that none of my relationships aged me thirty freaking years,” he muttered.
Lexie stood up, shaking her head and moving towards the bar.
“She’s gonna kill you in your sleep someday,” Meredith said. “You should try to be nice.”
“I’m not a nice guy. That’d just be lying.”
“Well we can’t have that,” Meredith sighed.
“Barbie didn’t think I was so bad.”
Cristina smirked. “I bet she didn’t.”
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Lexie eventually moved from the attic to Izzie’s old room.
And he figured it was probably telling that he still thought of it as Izzie’s room even though April had lived there for years, but he was never really the type for navel gazing self-analysis.
They left the master bedroom empty at the end of the hallway like some kind of shrine to all the ghosts, living and dead that floated through the place.
“Do you think it’s weird that I live here?” she asked one morning, pushing a mug of coffee towards him and turning to the stove.
“Why would it be weird?” he mumbled, rubbing his eyes.
“It was…my father’s house with his first wife, with…a sister I didn’t even know existed for years,” she said, glancing around like the whole twisted history of the family Grey had never really occurred to her before.
“My dirty mistress sleeps in my ex-wife’s room. Is that weird?”
She blinked. “We’re twisted. We’re really twisted.”
“Dark and twisty,” he shrugged. “It’s this place,” he continued, gesturing vaguely with his fork.
“Seattle? Are you blaming the rain?”
“I meant this house. It’s cursed or something.”
“Then why don’t you want to leave?” she asked.
He frowned. “Cause I was cursed way before I ever came here.”
She leaned against the counter. “Maybe it’s not this place, maybe…it’s the people, all of us. Maybe this place attracts lost souls.”
He studied her. “I think you lost me there.”
“Never mind,” she said, shaking her head. “It’s stupid.”
“Doubt it.”
She turned away again, focusing on the plate of food she was filling. “Just forget it. I’m…weird this morning or something.”
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Lexie painted the walls of her new bedroom.
And maybe he shouldn’t have been surprised, because the pink was definitely a lot to deal with on a daily basis.
And really he had no right to be pissed, because it sure as hell wasn’t his place, literally or figuratively or any other way.
It wasn’t his house, wasn’t his room, wasn’t even his former wife’s room anymore.
It was Lexie’s now, and someday the house would probably be Lexie’s and he’d be the only one left squatting.
And maybe it was nothing, innocent, a desire to cover up a kind of an offensive paint color that she had to see every time she opened her eyes.
And maybe she was just trying to make her mark, to show that this place was her place.
And maybe there was there was nothing wrong with any of that.
Though none of those maybes stopped him from walked in after a seemingly never ending shift, seeing the drop cloths and the paint on the walls and walking straight back out without a word.
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He slept at the hospital for a week following the paint incident.
Managed to avoid Lexie the whole time too, or maybe she was avoiding him and he just didn’t know about it.
“What’s your deal?” Meredith demanded one day in the tunnels, because try as he might, she was the one person he could never manage to avoid.
“Didn’t know I had one,” he shrugged.
“So living at the hospital is just your new thing?”
“You know me. As long as it’s free I’m not picky.”
“What’s wrong with my old place?”
He sighed. “Look, I needed a break, okay?”
“Did you sleep with Lexie again?” Meredith demanded.
“No,” he said. “It’s not about Lexie.”
“So what is it about?” she pressed.
“I just needed to get out of there for awhile.”
She stared at him. “Should I be worried?”
“About me?” he asked with a grin he knew was half-assed. “Never.”
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It was dark when he finally came home. He parked in the driveway and stared up at the darkened house, the only light coming from Lexie’s room.
Lexie’s room, he repeated to himself as he walked up the sidewalk and unlocked the door.
He moved through the house, tossing his keys on the table and shrugging out of his jacket, before moving up the stairs.
He stopped in her doorway and she turned, looking up at him from her bed.
“Nice color,” he offered.
“What?” she asked, frowning in confusion.
“The walls,” he shrugged. “They look nice.”
“Oh,” she said. “Thanks. Want to paint yours?”
“No,” he answered.
She stared at him. “I didn’t think you were going to come home.”
“I thought maybe you’d change the locks on me.”
“It’s not my house,” she shrugged.
He laughed. “That mean you would have if you could have?”
“No,” she said. “I wouldn’t do that to you.”
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“Were you mad at me?” She asked the question the next morning with her back to him, turned to the stove and Alex sighed because it was too freaking early to deal with any of this.
“No,” he muttered, sitting at the counter.
“Oh,” she said, clearly surprised. “I just thought…you were avoiding me.”
His lips twisted into a grin. “Not everything’s about you.”
She turned to him, just barely, just enough to see him out of the corner of her eye. “I know that. I just thought this might be about me, and if we’re going to live here, just you and me like this, then I think we need some kind of open dialogue, because we’re too old to run away from home every time we don’t like something the other one did.”
“Open dialogue?” he asked. “What is this, an episode of Dr. Phil?”
“That’s just mean,” she said, turning back to the stove.
“Sorry,” he mumbled.
“I’ve been trying to figure out what I did,” she continued. “I mean…is it about the paint? Because who throws a fit for over a week about some paint? It’s not even a room you’re ever in.”
“It’s not about some stupid paint. It’s not even about you.”
“Fine,” she said. “But if I do something you don’t like,” she started.
“This right now?” he cut in. “The whole talk about every single tiny thing? I don’t like that.”
“You didn’t talk to me for over a week,” she protested. “That’s not a tiny thing.”
“Didn’t realize you cared so much.”
She turned around again, pointing the spatula at him. “I like you. We’re friends.”
He swallowed. “Fine. Sorry. I was an ass, okay? I do that sometimes.”
She nodded slowly. “Okay. I accept your apology.”
“Oh good.”
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“Alex came home,” Lexie reported the next day at the hospital.
Meredith smiled. “Did you guys kiss and make up?”
“Not exactly,” Lexie said. “I mean…we’re okay, I think.” She paused. “Was he seriously mad at me because of some paint?”
“I don’t think it’s about the paint,” Meredith murmured.
“Then what?” Lexie demanded. “What did I do that was so unforgivable?”
“It’s Izzie’s room. It’s…like a memorial.”
“And I what, desecrated it?”
“You reminded him that she’s gone and she’s never coming back.”
Lexie closed her eyes. “I’m kind of jealous, you know? I don’t think anybody ever loved me that much.”
“Lexie.”
“What do I do? Paint it back?”
“No. Leave it. Leave everything. He’s okay with it, he came home, doing anything now is just going to make things worse.”
Lexie picked at her salad with her fork. “I’m never going to understand him.”
“I think you already understand him better than you think,” Meredith shrugged between bites of her sandwich. “Just ignore the whole paint thing and you’ll be fine.”
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“I ran away from home once,” Lexie said once they were back at home, gesturing at him with her glass. “I was five and I got really mad at my mom because I was convinced she loved Molly more than me.” She paused. “Anyway, I packed up my tiny, red ‘Going to Grandma and Grandpa’s house’ suitcase with everything I thought would be really important, like my favorite blanket, and my baby doll and my teddy bear and my swim suit because that was always my favorite part of going on vacation, the hotel pool, and I took off.”
Alex smirked. “How’d that go?”
“I made it all the way to the corner before my dad came and picked me up.”
“Very adventurous.”
“So I came home and had a tea party with my mom while Molly took a nap.”
He blinked. “Good story.”
“I’m just saying…I get it, or whatever.”
He laughed. “I didn’t run away from home, I’m not five, and I never owned a freaking going to grandma’s house suitcase.”
“I know,” she said. “You carry all your belongings in trash bags.”
“Works,” he shrugged.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I’m sorry that I just painted the room without asking you, and I’m sorry that Izzie left, and I’m sorry that she hurt you, and I’m sorry if I hurt you.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” he asked.
“I could paint it back,” she offered. “Or…I don’t know. I wish I could bring her back for you. Because I want you to be happy, because I care about you and I…want you to be happy.”
“Shut up,” he muttered.
“No, I mean it, I really mean it.”
“Lexie,” he said, standing up.
“I just wish that we could be friends. Really friends. I mean…I know that we say we are, but we’re not, really, not the way you’re friends with Meredith or Cristina or even April.” She frowned. “And I just really want us to be.”
He sighed heavily, sinking back into his seat. “We’re friends, okay? Just…stop talking.”
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“I miss you,” Lexie said, glancing over at April when she took a seat at the table in the cafeteria.
“You just saw me like an hour ago,” April said, wrinkling her nose.
“I mean, I miss you living in the house.”
“No you don’t,” April said. “You waited like two seconds and you took my room. And you painted it.”
Lexie rolled her eyes. “Okay I get that the whole painting thing was incredibly controversial and a bad idea and I really wish I had never done it.”
“I was joking,” April said slowly.
“It’s just weird, it being me and Alex. I don’t know, I think we need a buffer. You were a really good buffer.”
“Thank you,” April said, rolling her eyes. “I always really valued your friendship too.”
“You know what I mean,” Lexie said. “It’s like we’re rough edges, always bumping against each other or something.”
“Oh, I don’t know,” April said. “Sometimes you manage to find some angles that fit together.”
“Okay, well, just judging from our fairly disastrous history I don’t think sleeping together is going to make things better right now.”
“Didn’t you like, sleep with him again just the other day?”
“That was an isolated incident.”
“I’m not sure you really understand the definition of isolated, because you kind of tend to do it on a fairly recurring basis.”
“Well, not any more.”
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“What’s your problem?” Cristina asked, watching Alex glower from his chair in the OR gallery exactly one week after he finally came back home.
He shrugged. “Who said I had one?”
“Gee, I don’t know where I ever could have come up with a stupid idea like that.”
“Lexie planted freaking flowers,” he muttered.
“What?” she asked, staring at him like he had two heads.
He sighed. “Lexie planted all these flowers like, by the sidewalk or whatever, yellow flowers, pink flowers, everywhere.”
“And this is a problem because…” she prompted.
“I don’t know,” he said.
“I just don’t get what the big deal is. So she planted some dumb flowers.”
“She’s turning into like, little Suzy Homemaker or something.”
“It’s Lexie. She’s not turning into anything.”
“She’s never been like this before,” he protested.
“Uh, she’s always been like this. Why do I have to teach about you the girl you screw sometimes?”
“We’ve lived in that house forever and she’s never touched a thing.”
“Because it was Meredith’s house,” she explained like he was a slow preschooler.
“It still is.”
“Technically maybe,” she said, rolling her eyes. “But it’s like your house and Lexie’s house now, so you better get used to the little happy homemaker thing.”
“I should move out.”
“You won’t,” she said. “You’d have to pay rent and do laundry and crap.”
“That is a hell of a loophole.”
“Mmhmm.”
“I’m screwed.”
“Pretty much.”
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“Hey,” Alex said, shifting awkwardly from foot to foot in the doorway to the laundry room back at the house that isn’t Meredith’s anymore but still kind of is.
“Hey,” Lexie said with a smile, turning around. “I was just doing some laundry, need anything?”
“Nah,” he said. “I’m good.”
“Good.”
“Didn’t you and Avery used to screw here?” he asked, glancing around the room.
She rolled her eyes, turning back to the washing machine. “One time,” she answered. “Maybe two.”
He grinned. “You guys were like rabbits, all over the freaking place.”
“Yeah, even in your bed one time.”
He frowned. “Dude, seriously?”
She grinned. “No. I’m not that disrespectful.”
“Good to know.” He paused. “Thanks.”
“For not screwing another guy in your room?”
“For doing my laundry and planting flowers and making the place nice or whatever.”
She smiled to herself. “I’m glad you like it. I was thinking about wallpaper sometime, you could help me pick if out if you wanted to.”
“No thanks.”
She laughed. “Does that mean you’re not going to help me hang it all?”
“Yeah, that’s pretty much exactly what that means.”
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“You know what today is?” Lexie asked, taking a seat at the table across from Alex in the kitchen.
He frowned. “Tuesday?”
She laughed. “It’s our anniversary.”
“Huh?” he asked, even more confused.
“We’ve been living here together alone for six months officially today.”
“I can’t believe you know crap like that,” he said with a laugh.
“Photographic memory,” she said proudly, shrugging along with the words.
“Right.”
“Anyway,” she continued, “I’m proud of us, I mean, everyone thought we’d kill each other or something and we had a few rocky moments, but we’re here, and we’ve become friends and I think we’re doing really well.”
“For two squatters?” he asked with a smirk.
“Yes,” she giggled. “We should have a cake or something.”
He pushed a bottle of beer in her direction with a shrug and she took it.
“Or this,” she said. “This is good.”
“Felt more like us.”
“Happy anniversary,” she said, clinking her bottle against his before moving it to her lips to take a sip.
“Happy anniversary,” he mumbled. “You know this is like the first one I’ve ever celebrated?”
She tilted her head. “Really?”
He shrugged. “My train wreck of a marriage never lasted long enough and you know how long my relationships tend to last so yeah…you’re my first.”
She grinned. “Don’t worry, baby. I’ll be gentle.”
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Lexie flipped another page in her magazine the next day as the door opened and she heard Alex stumble inside. She looked up after he hurried past her wordlessly, glancing at her watch as she heard the bathroom door open and slam shut and wrinkling her nose when she heard him retching.
She stood up slowly, dropping the magazine to the couch cushions and padding down the hall.
She knocked softly on the door, frowning to herself. “Are you drunk?” she called out.
“No,” he muttered in response.
She reached for the doorknob, turning it hesitantly and pushing it open to reveal him hunched over the basin, eyes closed. “Oh my god you look like crap.”
“Gee thanks,” he sighed opening his eyes but not turning his head to
“What’s wrong with you?”
“Some freaking kid gave me the flu.”
She reached for a washcloth, nudged him aside a little and ran it under the facet before pressing it to the back of his neck. She then dumped her toothbrush out of its holder and filled the cup with water offering it to him with a sympathetic smile.
“Thanks,” he mumbled.
“We should get you to bed.”
“You gonna carry me?” he asked, weakly attempting to twist his lips into a smirk.
“No,” she said. “But I’ll help you.”
“I can sleep on the couch.”
“You’re sick,” she said. “You need to take care of yourself, and you need to sleep in a bed. Doctor’s orders.”
“I prefer to take my orders from a naughty nurse,” he said.
“Well unfortunately for you we don’t have any of those here, so I guess you’re stuck with me.”
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“I got you soup,” Lexie said softly after hesitantly pushing open the door to Alex’s room and stepping inside, blinking as her eyes adjusted to the darkness.
“Huh?” he mumbled from somewhere under the covers.
“Soup,” she said more loudly, stepping closer to the bed.
“What?”
“Soup,” she said again, walking over to him. “I got soup, because you’re sick and you should have soup.”
He rolled over, rubbing his eyes and looking up at her. “Okay.”
“Do you need anything else?” she asked. “I could get you some medicine or…I don’t know. Toast, maybe you need some toast, and fluids, definitely. You know beer doesn’t count right?”
He nodded.
“Okay, so…juice maybe uh, or water, and the soup and…do you still have a fever?”
He shrugged and she reached out, pressing her wrist to his forehead.
“I’ll get you some Tylenol or something,” she said. “For the fever.”
“Okay,” he said quietly.
“What else?” she asked.
“Dunno.”
“Well, you need plenty of sleep and uh, you’ll be fine, you know?”
“I have the flu,” he muttered, tugging at the blankets.
“Right. I’ll just go get you some juice and I’ll be back with that and the Tylenol and you’ll have the soup and you’ll start getting better.” She reached out, running her fingers through his hair. “And I’ll be right here if you need anything.”
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“You almost look alive,” Lexie noted, glancing at him from over the top of a medical textbook, sitting on the edge of his bed, leaning against the headboard.
Alex rubbed his eyes. “I feel like I got run over by a bus.”
She blinked and turned her attention back to the book. “Luckily it’s nothing that serious.”
“Bad joke.”
She blew out a breath. “Well you’re sick so I’ll forgive you.”
“Thanks.”
“Have some more juice,” she said, nodding to the glass on the bedside table.
He pushed himself into a sitting position. “You stay here all night?”
“Well I would look like a pretty crappy doctor if my own roommate aspirated his vomit while I was sleeping.”
“So you’re just looking out for number one?”
“You know me.”
He took a drink of the juice and laid back. “Yeah. I do.” He closed his eyes. “Why are you really doing this?”
“I can’t take care of you without some kind of ulterior motive?” she asked, shutting the book and leaning forward.
He shrugged.
“I like you,” she said. “We’re friends. We’ve been through a lot together, we…we can take care of each other and not expect to get anything for it. We’re grown-ups, Alex. It’s time for us to actually do some growing up.”
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“You survived the plague,” Meredith murmured when Alex stepped into the locker room.
“Miss me?” Alex asked with a grin.
“I was worried.”
“I had the flu,” he muttered.
“I know. Lexie kept me very well informed.”
“What does that even mean?”
“It means that she was worried about you,” Meredith answered, staring at him.
“Don’t read between the lines,” he said.
“Don’t act oblivious,” she shot back.
He reached for his drink. “It’s not like that.”
“You keep saying that.”
“That’s because I tell the truth. It’s my thing.”
“Yeah, yeah,” she said, waving her cup at him. “Me thinks thou doth protest too much.”
“You know I have no idea what you just said.”
“Don’t play stupid,” she said, rolling her eyes and reaching for a handful of fries from his tray.
“There’s nothing going on between me and Lexie.”
“She just likes playing nursemaid?” Meredith asked.
“She did take an oath about that kind of thing, you might have heard of it?”
“I think she went a little above and beyond the call of duty here.”
“We’re friends. Maybe for the first time, real friends.”
Meredith studied him before nodding slowly. “Then good for you.”
“Yeah,” he said, taking another sip of his drink. “Apparently we’re growing up.”
She laughed. “Happens to the best of us.”
“How’s the McMansion?” he asked.
“Kind of lonely,” she answered.
“You miss me,” he said with a grin.
“I do.”
“Well, you can come back and visit any time you want. Lexie hasn’t gotten around to changing the locks yet. Which makes them about the only thing she hasn’t touched.”
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“Nice to see you could take a break from playing nursemaid long enough to do your actual job,” Cristina said with a smirk, watching Lexie study lab results.
“Alex is better now,” Lexie sighed. “And what was I supposed to do, just abandon him?”
“Yes,” Cristina said. “Because he’s a grown man. He’d be fine on his own.”
“Well I’m sorry if I happen to think that everyone deserves to have someone taking care of them when they’re sick.”
“Right, I’m sure you’d be all over holding back my hair if I was puking,” Cristina said.
“I would,” Lexie insisted. “That’s the kind of friend I am.”
“You and Evil Spawn always were such good friends,” Cristina said with a grin.
“Don’t do that,” Lexie said.
“Do what?” Cristina asked.
“Make this into something dirty.”
Cristina blinked innocently. “Would I do that?”
“Yes,” Lexie said. “You would do that. You do that all the time.”
“Can’t help it if you give me so much material to work with.”
“We don’t do that any more,” Lexie said.
“Right, that’s today’s story.”
“And yesterday’s,” Lexie insisted. “And tomorrow’s. We have accepted that we’re not cut out to be involved romantically. I mean…it pretty much always ends in disaster so…we’re going to be friends and nothing more.”
Cristina shrugged. “We’ll see.”
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“Honey I’m home!” Lexie called out playfully when she opened the door, freezing when she stepped into the living room and a half dressed blonde popped up off of the couch.
“Who the hell is she?” the blonde demanded.
“Just his roommate,” Lexie said quickly, holding up her hands. “Just a roommate with really bad comic timing. Who’s going to go upstairs,” she continued, backing towards them and tossing Alex an apologetic look, “and listen to some music really loudly and just become completely oblivious to whatever’s going on.” She smiled weakly. “Have a lovely evening. And uh, nice bra, that’s a really good color on you,” she added before running up the stairs, slamming her bedroom door behind her and flopping down on her bed.
Minutes later there was a knock on the door and it swung open as Alex stepped inside. “Apparently you’re quite the mood killer.”
“I’m sorry,” she started, cheeks flushing. “So sorry.”
He shrugged. “She wasn’t that great.”
“That’s…a terrible thing to say about a girl you were going to sleep with.”
He grinned, sitting down on the edge of her bed. “I’m gonna let you in on a little secret here. Sometimes I’m not exactly selective when it comes to my dates.”
“Well speaking as a girl who used to sleep with you, gee thanks.”
“Hey,” he protested, “come on, I didn’t mean you. Plus you just ruined my date, you don’t get to be mad at me. I’m supposed to be mad at you.”
“I said sorry. Maybe next time you shouldn’t screw around on the couch like a teenager.”
“You and I used to screw around on the couch,” he pointed out.
“That was different,” she said.
“How?” he asked with a grin.
“Because it was me, so it wasn’t gross for me to sit on the same couch and watch tv.”
“Right,” he said. “Perfectly logical.”
“Mmhmm.” She paused. “I guess this must mean you’re feeling better.”
He laughed. “Yeah, much. Must have been all that soup.”
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“You know you owe me a date,” Alex said twenty minutes later.
Lexie’s eyes widened. “What?”
“Well you ran the lovely Candy out of here,” he said, shrugging.
“Seriously? That was her name? Candy?”
“What’s wrong with that?” he asked.
“Nothing if you work at a strip club,” she answered, reaching for the carton of ice cream they were sharing.
“You’re kind of judgmental there, for a grown woman who goes by Lexie.”
“What’s wrong with my name?” she asked.
“Nothing. If you’re in third grade.”
“Hey,” she protested.
“Relax,” he said with a grin. “It’s a joke.”
She pointed her spoon at him. “I apologized for ruining your date.”
“That’s all I get?”
She raised her eyebrows. “Well you’re not getting me down to my bra on this couch, so I don’t know what else you want from me.”
He leaned closer, dipping his spoon into the carton. “Guess I have to settle for some ice cream, huh?”
She laughed. “Guess you do. Where do you find girls like Candy?”
“Why?” he asked. “You thinking of switching teams?”
“No,” she said. “Just curious.”
He shrugged. “Around.”
“That’s purposely vague.”
“I met her at Joe’s. Told her I was a hot doctor. Chicks go for that.”
“I’ll have to remember that. If I ever decide to switch teams.”
“Can I watch if you do?”
“You’re really disgusting,” she said, shaking her head.
“I’m a guy. Any guy would go for that kind of thing. Trust me.”
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“Hey,” Jackson said, sitting across from Lexie at the cafeteria.
“Hey,” she said.
“I have to go to this dinner thing my grandfather’s having. You should come with me.”
She blinked. “That’s abrupt.”
“It’s gonna be a bunch of old doctors talking about the techniques they pioneered fifty years ago.”
She nodded. “Okay so I’m better than a bunch of old men and their outdated medical techniques?”
“Exactly,” he answered with a grin.
“I used to think you were charming.”
“I can be charming.”
“Why don’t you take your roommate?” she asked.
“April’s still dating that douchey drug rep. And Meredith’s married and Cristina’s banned from attending events where my grandfather’s present and I’d ask Karev but I think if I took him as my date I’d get disinherited.”
Lexie laughed. “So I’m better than old men,” she said, counting off on her fingers, “out dated medical techniques and I’m the only available female. Flattery will get you everywhere.”
“It’ll be fun.”
“Oh, it sounds like fun.”
“We used to have a lot of fun,” he shrugged.
She bit her lip. “We did.”
“So help me out here. One friend to another.”
“You’ll make it worth my time?” she asked, eyebrows raised.
“Absolutely. Scout’s honor.”
“Okay,” she said. “I’ll go.”
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“How do I look?” Lexie asked softly, standing in the doorway to Alex’s room on the night of her do-me-a-favor date with Jackson.
He looked her up and down. “Too damn good to hang out with a bunch of boring, fancy doctors.”
“Why thank you,” she grinned, doing a little spin.
“So Avery, huh?”
She nodded. “I’m doing him a favor.”
“You better make him pay up big time.”
“Oh, don’t you worry about me. I’m not nearly as innocent as I look,” she said playfully.
“I know all about that,” he agreed with a smirk.
She giggled. “I’ll try to sneak you home some fancy food.”
“You better. Come here. You got a string or something.”
She walked over to the bed and he stood up, straightening her strap.
“There,” he said softly, fingers lingering on her skin. “Now you’re perfect.”
She flushed. “Perfect?” she whispered.
“Yeah,” he said. “And you’re gonna waste it all on Avery.”
“Who should I be wasting it on?” she asked.
He shrugged, hesitantly stepping back, sitting on the edge of the bed. “Nobody in particular.”
“Right,” she said.
“Have fun,” he offered.
“Thanks,” she said quietly. “You too.”
“I’m looking forward to those leftovers.”
She laughed nervously, moving back to the door. “I’ll do my best.”
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Alex stopped in the doorway to the kitchen the next morning and watched Jackson poking through the cabinets until the other man turned to face him.
“You’re out of coffee.”
“Lexie moved it,” Alex said. “Lexie moved everything.” He moved around Jackson, opening another cabinet and pulling out the coffee, dumping it into the coffee maker and flipping it on.
“Right,” Jackson said. “Guess she really put her stamp on the place.”
“Something like that.” Alex agreed as he shoved a piece of toast into the toaster. “I guess dinner must have gone well.”
“We actually ducked out early,” Jackson said. “Which means I’m in trouble, but it’s not the first time I’ve pissed my grandfather off and I’m sure it won’t be the last.”
Alex nodded, reaching for a mug and pouring himself a cup of coffee. “Guess you had a good time anyway.”
“Yeah,” Jackson said. “Look I’m not getting in the middle of anything or stepping on your toes here right?”
“Right,” Alex said. “We’re just friends. Roommates.”
“That’s what I thought.”
“So step wherever you want.”
Jackson grinned. “Thanks man.”
“Hey, you don’t need my permission anyway.”
“I just want to make sure there’s no drama.”
“No. Me and Lexie are one hundred percent drama free.”
They both turned when Lexie padded down the steps and stared at them, her cheeks turning pink.
“Morning,” Alex said with a smirk, raising his mug to her.
She smiled nervously. “Morning.”
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“She’s sleeping with Avery again,” Alex said, reaching for a handful of Meredith’s French fries in the cafeteria later that day.
“Lexie?” Meredith asked, glancing over at him.
“No, Yang,” he muttered.
“Hey,” Cristina protested. “He totally had a thing for me, I could have had that.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Meredith said, waving her hand dismissively. “Your milkshake brings all the boys to the yard.”
“Damn right,” Cristina said with a smirk.
“Are you sure?” Meredith asked turning back to Alex. “About Jackson and Lexie?”
“Well we all had a nice cozy little coffee break this morning,” Alex said. “So yeah.”
“What’s the big deal?” Cristina asked. “I mean, you don’t care?”
“It’s just weird,” he said. “I didn’t sign up to live with her and whoever she’s sleeping with.”
“You didn’t sign up for anything,” Cristina pointed out. “You just crashed on the first free bed you could find.”
He shrugged. “Got me there.”
“You could always like, wife swap and move in with Kepner,” she continued. “Everybody could go back to sleeping with who they used to sleep with.”
“I never slept with her,” he sighed.
“Whatever,” she said.
“Maybe I should get my own place,” he said.
“Yeah right,” Cristina scoffed.
“You’re going to move out because Lexie slept with Jackson?” Meredith asked.
“I don’t know,” he said. “Just something I’m thinking about.”
They all looked up when Lexie took a seat at the table, smiling at them.
“You seem perky,” Cristina said. “Must be having a really good day.”
Lexie looked over at Alex, her cheeks flushing. “I am,” she said. “Not that it’s anyone’s business, but I’m actually having a pretty great day.”
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“Are you coming over tonight?” Lexie asked that night in the locker room.
Jackson nodded. “Yeah, I’ll stop by.”
“Good,” she said. “If you didn’t I’d feel cheap and dirty.”
He laughed. “Like maybe I invented a whole dinner party and then talked my grandfather into hosting it just to get back into your pants?”
She grinned. “That’s exactly what I thought.”
“You know me so well.”
“I like to think that I am an excellent judge of character,” she said.
“Yeah, you should definitely go with your instincts, your ability to read people is really second to none.”
She giggled. “I had fun last night.”
“Me too. And while you’re pretty freaking amazing in bed, I’m not sure I’d go quite that far just to get into your pants.”
“Well now I’m offended,” she said playfully.
“Because I don’t want to stage elaborate fake dinner parties just to score with you?” he asked.
“Exactly,” she said. “Now I’m back to being cheap and dirty.”
“Hey, what’s wrong with cheap and dirty?” he asked. “I happen to like both of those things.”
“Whatever, pretty little rich boy. Don’t like act like you slum.”
“If you ask my grandfather, just being here is slumming it.”
She tilted her head. “I’m sorry.”
“Huh?” he asked.
“That your grandfather still doesn’t want to accept that you’re doing great work here.”
“It’s okay,” he shrugged.
“It’s not,” she said. “But we should all try to accept the things that we can’t change.”
“And hope for the wisdom to know the difference?” he asked.
She shrugged. “My dad’s gone to a lot of AA meetings. I picked up some of the lingo.”
“How is Thatcher?”
“Fine,” she said. “He’s fine. I have to go but…later, right?”
“Yeah,” he said. “Later. Karev’s not gonna mind, right?”
“After the parade of girls I had to deal with?” she asked. “He better not.”
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“Jackson’s coming over later,” Lexie murmured, watching Alex open the fridge and reach for a beer.
“Awesome,” he said.
She blushed. “I just, uh, thought you should know…”
“Why? So I don’t interrupt the two of you when you’re screwing on the couch?” he asked with a grin.
“You know me so well,” she said. “That is exactly what I had in mind.”
“I know your type.”
“I guess you do. You should call Candy or Barbie or one of your other girls. We could have a double date.”
“Yeah, I’ll get right on that,” he said. “He’s a good guy, Avery.”
“Okay, no,” she said. “No, we are not doing this weird thing where you act like my big brother and give me romantic advice.”
“Thought we were friends,” he shrugged.
“Friends who used to sleep together,” she muttered.
“Don’t worry. I didn’t forget this time.”
She rolled her eyes. “We are friends, but there are lines, and romantic advice is off limits.”
“You talk about the girls I bring here all the time,” he pointed out.
“That’s hardly romantic,” she said.
“Ouch,” he said, playfully placing a hand over his heart.
“Yeah, yeah. Just…no acting like you’re my big brother. It’s weird and creepy.”
“Got it. I was never much of a big brother anyway.”
She tilted her head. “How are Aaron and Amber? You don’t really talk about them.”
He shrugged, draining the beer and tossing it in the trash, reaching for another and offering one to her. “With my family no news is good news.”
“If you ever need anything.”
“I know,” he said softly. “So when’s your date supposed to be here?”
“Uh, soon, I guess, he was finishing up with a patient when I left.”
“Guess I better make myself scarce then. Don’t worry. I’m a good roommate, out of sight, out of mind. Unlike some people.”
“Well maybe if you’d given me a little advance warning…”
“Right,” he said with a smirk. “Lesson learned.”
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“Lexie’s upstairs,” Alex murmured when he opened the door and let Jackson in.
Jackson nodded. “Thanks.”
“There’s pizza if you want some,” Alex continued. “The beer’s mine.”
“I should bring my own next time if I want a drink?” Jackson asked with a grin.
“Exactly,” Alex nodded. “Since it looks like you’re gonna be spending a lot of time here.”
Jackson shook his head, grabbing a slice of pizza before moving up the stairs.
“Alex won’t let me drink his beer,” Jackson announced when he stepped into Lexie’s bedroom.
She giggled. “He’s just giving you a hard time.”
“Said I should bring my own.”
“Do you want me to buy you some beer?” she asked playfully.
“I think that you should,” he said with a grin, climbing into bed next to her.
“Don’t get pizza sauce on my sheets,” she scolded.
“You have a lot of rules here,” he said. “I don’t remember all of this from before.”
“Well it’s my house now,” she said with a grin.
“Who knew you and Karev were such big fans of structure?”
She shrugged. “I’m a mystery wrapped in enigma.”
“I can think of things I’d much rather wrap you in,” he said.
She wrinkled her nose. “That was a really bad line.”
He shrugged. “I’m not used to seducing women while I’m sober.”
“That’s charming.”
“I’ve seen your ex-boyfriends,” he said. “I’m pretty sure you’ve heard worse.”
“You’re right,’ she said, wrapping her arms around his neck. “I have really terrible taste in men.”
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“Hey,” Lexie murmured.
“Morning,” Jackson said, kissing her softly.
“I thought you left,” she said. “Your surgery…”
“Got pushed,” he said. “They needed the OR, so we’re doing it this afternoon. I was just heading out when I got the call so I figured I’d stick around, spend my morning with you. I’m all yours.”
She smiled. “I guess I’ll have to find something to do with you then.”
“Guess so,” he said, rolling on top of her.
“Hmm,” she murmured.
“I was going to make you breakfast,” he started, “but I didn’t know what I was or wasn’t allowed to touch in your kitchen, and I don’t know where anything is anyway.”
“There’s a system,” she explained, kissing him playfully. “It’s really easy once you understand.”
“Guess you’ll have to teach me.”
“I guess so,” she said.
There was a knock at the door and then Alex pushed it open slowly, hesitating before stepping inside.
“Your car’s blocking mine,” he offered.
“Right,” Jackson said, rolling out of bed, grabbing his pants from the pile of clothing on the floor. “Sorry man.”
“No big deal,” Alex shrugged.
Jackson brushed past him and Alex nodded at Lexie.
“Morning,” he said.
“Morning,” she said, cheeks flushed.
“I guess I’ll see you around,” he added.
“Yeah, I’ll be at the hospital in a few hours, and tonight…”
“I got a date,” he said. “That new blonde peds nurse.”
“Oh,” she said. “She’s pretty. Have fun.”
“Yeah,” he said. “Don’t wait up.”
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“Are we dating?” Lexie asked Jackson a month later. “Is that what we’re doing here?”
Jackson grinned. “I like to take all my special lady friends to the hospital cafeteria.”
“Classy,” she giggled.
“I think it has a certain charm.”
She nodded. “Definitely. Mood lighting too.”
“I’ve always been told fluorescents bring out my eyes.”
“Trust me, your eyes don’t need any help. And I didn’t realize I was a lady friend.”
“Do you like that?” he asked with a grin.
“Not especially.”
“We’ll just have to work on a name then.”
“What’s wrong with girlfriend?” she asked.
He shrugged. “Didn’t know we were that serious.”
“Ouch,” she said.
“Hey,” he protested. “You’re the one that dumped me, remember?”
“That was years ago.”
“You gonna blame me for being a little gun-shy here?”
She looked away, pushing her food around on her tray with a fork. “I hurt you that much?”
“You know I was into you.”
She sighed. “I’m sorry. I should have told you that then, but…I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. I haven’t exactly been sitting around mending my broken heart. I’m okay, Lexie.”
“Why are you doing this again then?” she asked.
He shrugged. “Maybe I’m a masochist.”
“I don’t think so.”
“Then maybe I just like you.”
“Enough to make me your girlfriend?” she asked.
“Yeah,” he said. “Enough for that.”
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“You guys look cozy,” Alex observed when Jackson left the room to answer a phone call back at the house later that night.
Lexie shrugged. “We’re dating so…”
“Good for you.”
She blushed. “How’s the peds nurse?”
“Clingy.”
“Uh oh.”
“Yeah, and I’d dump her, but we work together and she’s gonna make it awkward.”
“So you have no plan,” Lexie said, reaching for a slice of pizza.
“I figure she’ll get bored eventually.”
“Or what?” she asked.
“Or I guess I’ll have to marry her.”
She laughed. “Those are your only options?”
“You got a better one?”
“I don’t know,” she said. “You’re used to dumping girls you work with.”
“Ouch.”
“You never worried about things being awkward with us,” she pointed out.
“That’s cause you’re not clingy.”
“Oh,” she said. “That’s it, huh?”
“Yeah,” he said. “That’s it.”
“Go me,” she said sarcastically, tossing a piece of her pizza crust at him.
“Hey,” he protested.
“Oh, you had that coming.”
“Whatever.”
“And if you want to bring your little girlfriend over sometime, I could run around naked, scare her off.”
“That’s your best idea?”
“Well I think it’s better than marrying her.”
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“What happened to the peds nurse?” Lexie whispered from the couch a couple of weeks later, sneaking a glance at the redhead.
Alex shrugged. “She got tired of my crap. That’s Tiffany.”
The woman waved.
“Lexie,” Lexie murmured, introducing herself. “And this is Jackson.”
“Awesome,” Tiffany said.
“Awesome,” Alex repeated with a smirk.
Lexie smiled hesitantly. “We just uh, were going to start a movie if you want to watch.”
“I think we’ll pass,” Alex said, already moving towards the stairs.
Lexie started to laugh, shaking her head. “This is what it’s been like this whole time. Just this constant parade of women.”
“And sometimes you,” Jackson offered, watching Alex head up the stairs.
She glared at him. “One time, we had a moment of weakness and fell into our old pattern.”
“Missed a hell of a housewarming party,” he said.
“I’m sure I did.”
“Does it bother you?”
“What?” she asked.
“Karev’s harem.”
“No,” she said. “I don’t care. I mean…it’s weird sometimes, and awkward, but no. I don’t mind.” She paused. “Does it bother you?”
“No, I’m actually a big fan of harems,” he said.
“I mean that Alex and I hooked up.”
“You guys have a complicated history. I came into this thing knowing the score.”
“What’s that even mean?”
“Means I don’t care. The past is the past.”