Where the Heart Is - A 6.22 Continuation
Title: Where the Heart Is - A 6.22 Continuation
Chapter: Stand Alone
Pairing: Mark & Lexie, Lexie/other
Timeline: Season 6
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: none
Disclaimer: All characters belong to Shonda Rhimes and ABC. No money from writing, just a lot of fun.
Authors notes: I sat down to write the next chapter of Unforgettable but this fic kept running through my head and after much debate and whining about it, I finally just wrote it. Katie did a much better continuation than this one, so if you haven't read hers yet, I would highly recommend it. Run, don't walk! And also there are a few similarities between the two fics which she knows about, but I swear I did not copy from her. I would never do that to her. Just very similar muses.
Where the Heart Is
“I’m going home, Alex.”
Alex spun around upon hearing Lexie’s quiet statement. She had been quiet all evening and after several attempts to get her to talk in more than single syllables, he had joined Jackson Avery in a dart game. The battle had been fierce and they were now tied three games all, with the winning game on the line. “Are you okay?”
She nodded. “Yes, it’s just that…” She searched in vain for the right words to explain. “I just…I…I want to go home.”
He nodded his head slowly. “Okay. Can you wait until I finish this game? It will just take a few minutes and then I’ll drive us home.”
“No Alex.” She hitched her purse higher on her shoulder and placed her hand on his arm, looking at him intently. “I’m going … home.”
Alex looked deeply into her eyes and felt her hand squeeze his arm in a plea of understanding. “Sloan finally pulled his head out.” He said matter-of-factly.
She smiled her affirmation, her hand still gripping his arm tightly, waiting. He sighed and finally covered her hand with his. “I guess I always knew he would, that you both would.” He patted her hand and stepped away to turn back to his game and beer.
She gave him a soft kiss on his cheek and whispered, “Thanks Alex.”
“Whatever,” he snorted unaware that she had already left.
“Hold the elevator!” Callie yelled as she hurried as fast as she could with her arms loaded with grocery bags. The elevator doors slid open again and she sighed in relief that she didn’t have to wait for the next one to show up. “Thanks!” She said, stepping in metal box. “5th floor please…Lexie!” Callie exclaimed in shock. She quickly looked at the buttons to see that her floor was lit up. She smiled a little pleased smile and stepped back to rest against the wall as the elevator crept up each floor.
Lexie had yet to speak to her, appearing to be in deep thought. ‘Good for Mark!’ She thought as the elevator dinged announcing their arrival to the 5th floor. She stepped out of the elevator and was half-way to her apartment when she realized that Lexie hadn’t followed her. She frowned and retraced her steps to find the young woman holding the button to keep the doors open, her forehead pressed against the cool metal of the wall, talking to herself. Callie couldn’t make out the words, but it didn’t take a genius to understand what was going on.
She dropped her bags on the floor and reached for Lexie’s hand, removing it from the button and gently pulling her out of the elevator into the corridor. Her eyes were bigger than Callie ever remembered seeing them. “What if he didn’t mean what he said,” she said, her hand making Callie grimace in pain.
“He meant it,” she assured Lexie.
“Yeah?”
Callie nodded and gently pried her fingers loose. “He’s meant it since the night you showed up in his hotel room and asked him to teach you.”
Lexie blushed profusely. “He…he told you that?”
Callie laughed. “You should have heard him talk about you the next day. As much as he fought it, and he did fight it that day, it was already too late. He was already a goner.”
“He hasn’t exactly been pining for me,” Lexie let a bit of bitterness enter her voice.
“You’re wrong. Every single one of his actions has been about his pining for you.” Callie disagreed. “Give him a chance.”
Lexie took a deep breath and nodded her head, trying to smile. Callie picked up her bags and walked the hall with her until they each stood before a different door. Callie unlocked her door and with an encouraging smile stepped into her apartment. Just as Lexie raised her fist to knock, Callie stuck her head back out.
“Don’t hurt him again,” Callie threatened. “Don’t knock on that door unless you are ready for it.”
Lexie lifted her chin with confidence and rapped her knuckles firmly on the door. “Good girl,” Callie said as she shut her door.
The door swung open and a stunned Mark stood looking at her with an expression of hope but wariness too. Lexie licked her suddenly dry lips as she forgot the speech she had been rehearsing ever since leaving Joe’s. Her mouth opened several times with no sound coming out. He wanted to help her, but he also needed her to meet him half way. He had put it on the line, now it was her turn.
Just as the silence became unbearable, she finally croaked out, ““My ass has gotten bigger and I can’t promise it is going to magically shrink any time soon.”
His heart leapt and he put his hand over it to make sure it didn’t jump out of his chest. A giddiness filled his soul even as he tried to play it cool. His lips twitched at her opening statement. This is one of the reasons he loved her. He never knew what she was going to say. He was never bored with her. “You’re ass is perfect. How’s mine?” He turned his back to her and stuck his ass out at her.
She grinned. “Perfection, as always.” He laughed as he turned back to her.
“Post-it weddings are not legal in the state of Washington. Actually, I don’t think they are legal any where.”
Mark didn’t blink at the sudden change of subject. Instead, he gave one of his one-sided smiles and his eyes sparkled with glee. “Big church wedding it is then.”
She shook her head, “I neither want nor need a big wedding.”
“Whatever you want,” he said as he took a tiny step towards her.
“We have a lot of work to do before we can actually get married. A lot of things we need to talk through.”
“I love talking with you.”
“I’m serious.”
“I am too. I love talking with you. I’ve really missed that,” he said earnestly.
“I’ve missed it too,” she agreed, then changed the subject again. “We need a bigger place, one with two bathrooms.”
“Okay, why would we need two bathrooms? I really don’t mind all of your stuff every where in our bathroom. I’ve missed it.” He confessed.
“We need two so that when your daughter comes to visit I won’t have to give up my bathroom to her.”
“Lex…”
“You forgot about me.”
He shook his head. “I never forgot you Lex. Not even when I tried to forget you. It’s impossible.”
“You forgot me when Sloan came to town.”
He shook his head again. “I didn’t forget you Lexie. I just took you, us, for granted. I thought you would always be here for me just like I would always be there for you.”
“I’m sorry I wasn’t here for you.”
“I’m sorry I wasn’t here for you either. I’m sorry I made you think I could ever forget you.”
“We’ll both work to do better this time.” She said and watched as he nodded his agreement with her statement.
“I’m going to want a couple of kids in the future.” He held his breath as he decided to lay it on the make-it or break-it table.
She slowly nodded her head. “I want a family too. But, you know, a few years down the road. I want to be a great mom to our kids, Mark. That’s why I’ve got to wait a few years.” Her eyes begged him to understand.
He nodded. “I do understand. I’m okay with waiting until it’s the right time for both of us.”
Her lips trembled with emotion as unshed tears filled the eyes that shined with joy. Her heart beat faster as she finally said the words he had been waiting his whole life to hear. “I love you Mark Sloan.”
His heart exploded as he engulfed her in his arms, holding tight in a promise to never let go. “I love you Lexie Grey.” He whispered over and over in her ear. “I love you.” They held each other tightly, content just to be wrapped around each other, their hearts already beating in unison. She eventually pulled back to graze her lips along his jaw line, heading for his mouth. He stopped her before she reached it.
“Do you still have a boyfriend?” He asked and uncertainty entered his voice slightly.
She shook her head with an understanding smile. “No.” She stroked the side of his face gently for a few moments then looked into his eyes. “I’m looking for forever.”
His smile became blinding. “Welcome home!”