Coupling: Mark/Lexie, Callie/Arizona, Meredith/Derek.

Description: What if Lexie finds out she's pregnant? And she decides to go away for a while? What if Lexie's pregnancy puts her life at stake? Will Mark be able to help her, or will she attempt to do this all on her own?

Background Information: Based after season 7 - Sort of? With my own spin on everything. Mark has Sofia with Callie & Arizona who are having a hard time adjusting to parenthood and mending their relationship. A little while after Sofia was born, Mark & Lexie slept together again, she wasn't ever with Jackson (gag me, I hate him and their relationship). But they are not together. Meanwhile, Derek & Meredith are separated raising baby Zola.

Disclaimer: I don't own Grey's or any of the characters, blah blah blah. You guys know the drill.

"Lexie you need to bring your stress levels down. I'm serious. It's a wonder you even made it this far in your pregnancy with how high your blood level has been, you're at a serious risk for preeclampsia and with how high risk your pregnancy is anyway with the placenta previa, we need to really reel this in before it gets any worse," Dr. Todd Greenway said as he sat down and watched his patient subconsciously rub her hands up and down her stomach.

"I know," Lexie responds feeling her eyes water and throat clench at the thought of losing her baby. She hadn't even wanted to be pregnant. She hadn't wanted this. Any of this. For another ten years, at least. And she definitely hadn't planned on going at it alone, broke, and dangling the welfare of her unborn child in the process of her emotional instability.

"You're past the first trimester, so the good news is that most of miscarriages happen during this period, so you're out of hot water a little, but we need to do something otherwise you're at risk of preterm labor, I'm going to suggest you be put on bed rest for the remainder of your pregnancy," Dr. Greenway says as he writes down his instructions on the computer in front of him and turns around expecting to hear grumbling or arguing from her but is surprised to see her just nodding in agreement.

"Okay," Lexie nods in acceptance. She was only 16 weeks along in her pregnancy, she hadn't found out until she was already 12 weeks, so she'd only had a month to wrap her head around the fact that she was pregnant.

She was pregnant with Mark's baby.

Mark Sloan, her ex-boyfriend who was currently on paternity leave taking care of his two month old baby girl with his ex-girlfriend slash lesbian best-friend, slash mother-of-his-child Callie Torres.

She missed her entire first trimester. She hadn't even noticed she hadn't had her period. She had always been irregular. It wasn't a big deal for it to just come and go for a few months at a time.

God, her life was so ironic. This was the big thing keeping her and Mark apart. They were at different places in their lives. Babies versus no babies. She wanted a career, he wanted a family. It was that simple.

Only when it came time for her to make the easy medical decision to terminate her pregnancy go back to her not so complicated life that did not include bottles, and diapers, and breast milk, and formula, and sleepless crying nights, suddenly, it wasn't all that simple anymore. Suddenly all the bullshit medical pamphlet, terminology she had learned in med school about abortions, women's-right-to-choose, it's not a human being till it's past 20 weeks, blah, blah, blah just sounded like a load of horse shit.

She couldn't go through with it. She heard the heartbeat and she was done. This was her and Mark's baby. She was a goner as soon as that stick turned up with two lines instead of one, completely turning her life and her world upside down, she was a freaking goner.

She couldn't do it.

And now she was sitting here, holding her bigger than a peanut, smaller than an olive looking fetus's ultrasound picture, in an OBGYN's office that specialized in high-risk pregnancies because she'd stressed herself out so much that now her baby was stressed too. She was already turning her baby into a neurotic nut case, just like she was! She wasn't fit to be a mom. She couldn't do this by herself. She needed help.

She needed to get out of Seattle.

There's no way she would be able to bring her stress level down around here. She needed to be away for a while. Her and her baby's life depended on it.

"Do you have any doctors you can to me near Santa Barbara? I'm going to take a leave of absence from work until the baby's born, and that's the most relaxing place I can think of that I have family near," Lexie asks looking up seeing a sigh of relief leave Dr. Greenway's mouth as his eyes crinkled up with his smile.

"Of course, I'll go take care of it right now, you just give me a few minutes," he says, getting up and patting her knee before leaving the room.

Now she understood why her mother had specified for them not to sell that family vacation home in her will. Because life doesn't always happen according to a timetable or calendar. And feelings can't be scheduled. As if she had known Lexie would have needed an escape route sometime in the future, Lexie looks up before speaking out loud in the empty room as she feels a sense of impending relief, "Thanks mom."

"Is that it?" Mark asks looking around at the last few boxes he'd help Derek pack out of the house him and Meredith shared with Lexie. He couldn't believe they were separating. But he was in no position to judge his friend, he was the last person to tell him what to do with his relationship with Grey. God knows he'd fucked up the one he'd had with Lexie enough, he didn't need to put his 2 cents in with Derek and Meredith's marriage.

"Yeah, for now" Derek says taking his key and trying to figure out where to put it so Meredith would see it when she got home.

"Okay, I'll finish loading it everything you just, see if you missed anything," Mark says as he grabs the last box and takes it to the SUV he'd recently purchased in order to make more room for a car seat for Sofia. Man, it was crazy how much his life and priorities had changed since she became a part of his life. As much as he loved his daughter to death, he'd wished he'd had more time to prepare for all of the emotional turmoil he'd been put through because of the complication that was brought along with everything. He'd felt beaten down.

Then, as if the world was playing a joke on him he sees Meredith, Lexie and Zola arrive and get out of the car not realizing he was standing by the SUV that was parked across the street from the house, watching them go inside. He sees Lexie wave Meredith inside as she opens the back door and grabs Zola out of her car seat, carrying her inside gently as Zola lays her head on Lexie's chest fast asleep, as if their trip had worn the little girl out. Feeling his eyes on her, Lexie looks up and makes eye contact with Mark, who doesn't budge watching how gentle she was with her nice making his stomach churn at the picture in front of him. He'd always known she'd make an amazing mother. She was one of the kindest, most warm-hearted people he'd ever known. Watching her with Zola just reinforced the fact that she hadn't wanted to have a family with him, making his feelings of inadequacy and bitterness resurface. He watches as she shakes her head in sadness, and starts to make her way to the house turning her back to him.

He watches Meredith cross her arms defiantly and refuse to take the key from Derek, standing on the porch. As Lexie approaches with Zola, they both quiet down and watch her walk inside to put her down in her crib up in the room they had decorated for her upstairs. He walks up to grab some more boxes that he saw in the living room, walking past Meredith and Derek as they continue to argue. Lexie makes her way back down the stairs quietly and slowly as if she was wary about being in the tension filled environment, or in the same room as him. As he walks towards the living room and sees five or six more larger boxes he sighs in annoyance. There was no way all this stuff was going to fit in his car now with all the stuff they had in there already. They were going to have to make another trip.

"Hey guys, sorry to interrupt -"

"What is it Mark?" Derek asks, stepping away from Meredith with a look of relief on his face as if he was glad for the time-out.

"There's no way we can fit all those boxes in there now, we're going to have to make another trip," he says looking uncomfortable at the look of annoyance on Derek's face.

Meredith just look frustrated before taking the key from Derek's hand angrily and looking at Mark, "That's not his. Those boxes are Lexie's. So you're done here. You're both done here."

"Oh, is she getting her own place?" Derek looked up curiously, asking what he knew Mark wouldn't.

"Oh now you wanna talk?" Meredith responds snappily. Derek just sighs as if their interaction had worn him thin, while Mark sat back and tried to figure out why Lexie would need to box up her stuff unless she was moving out of Meredith's house. And he couldn't figure out why she'd move out of Meredith's house when Zola arriving and Derek leaving had all happened to coincide in her sister's life at the same time. It didn't seem like something she would do. But then, how well did he really know her? "Look what Lexie does is none of your business," Meredith finishes, looking directly at Mark, as if she'd known Derek had only said anything for his benefit.

"Mer,"

Everyone looks back at the soft voice of Lexie interrupting the tension filled conversation on the porch, finally Mark sees how pale and fragile she looked up close. With dark bags under her eyes, she was wearing a sweater that overwhelmed her petite figure making her look as if the wind could tip her over at any minute.

"Lex. Are you alright?" Meredith asks as she pushes her way through Mark and Derek, and grabs Lexie's hand, turning her palm up as if she was feeling her pulse. Worriedly she puts her hand on her forehead.

"I'm not feeling well," she says, her eyes watering as she tries to hold herself up but feels her knees start to buckle weakly. Meredith grabs her by the waist before she could fully buckle to the ground ignoring the worried looks Mark and Derek were sending her way. They watch as Meredith lays Lexie on the couch before grabbing a doppler machine and her blood pressure cuff meter and sit on the couch next to her. As if he was watching everything in slow motion, he watched as Lexie opened her cardigan, and lifted up her t-shirt showing a bulging stomach that could only mean one thing.

She was pregnant.

His Lexie was pregnant.

And from the very worried glances, and rushed preparedness that had come from Meredith's reaction the last few minutes, she wasn't having a good pregnancy from the looks of it

He watches as Lexie's one arm is thrown over her closed eyes in what looks to be exhaustion. Meredith puts the cuff on Lexie's other arm and starts listening through her stethoscope for her pulse as she releases the air. "100 over 60," Meredith says worriedly, taking the stethoscope off and removing the cuff, then grabbing the doppler and squeezing some gel on Lexie's stomach before searching around for a heartbeat. She feels Lexie's hand guide her to her lower right side and feels a sense of relief as the strong "thump. thump. thump. thump." sound generates in the room causing everyone to release breaths they didn't know they were holding. "He likes to hide down there right after lunch, close to my bladder." Lexie explains giving Meredith a smile and squeezing her hand in unspoken thanks.

"He?" Meredith replies questioningly with a small smile on her face. The bond between the two sisters had strengthened immensely in the last few months, she knew exactly what people were talking about now when they talked about a bond between family, something she'd never had until Lexie came along.

Lexie shrugs as Meredith hands her some paper towels and baby wipes to clean her stomach off, "Mother's instinct." She answers quietly before pulling her shirt back down and putting her sweater back on.

"I'm going to call Dr. Greenway, you stay put - okay?"

Just as Lexie nods in agreement everyone hears Zola start crying through the monitor and looks up the stairs awkwardly.

"Shit"

Meredith mumbles as she starts to put her equipment away and looks up the stairs trying to figure out what she was going to do first, just then Derek speaks up walking towards the stairs out of the living room, "I'll go get her."

"Thanks," Meredith says as she walks towards the kitchen to grab Dr. Greenway's number. "You leave her alone," Meredith says pointing at Mark before leaving the room as an air of tension remains with Lexie and Mark alone in the living room.

The silence crackled with a mixture of anger, confusion, and tension as Mark seemed to stand like a statue watching as Lexie closed her eyes trying to keep herself calm. He paused and opened his mouth slightly, like he wanted to say something else, but no words came out. He felt as if he was in some alternate reality, as if the world was playing a cruel joke on him. Was this really happening?

"You don't have to stand in here Mark, you've made it perfectly clear that we're none of you're concern so you can go," Lexie says sitting up on her elbows watching the look of discomfort that had been obvious on her ex-boyfriend's face since she lifted up her shirt. She was so exhausted but she knew she had to be strong for her baby, that was the only reason she hadn't burst into tears since this whole thing had happened in front of Mark. This was definitely not how she'd imagined they'd see each other again, especially after he refused to see her and sent Callie to her apartment to tell her that he wasn't interested in being a part of her life. Or her child's.

Now that was surprising.

She'd never took Mark for someone who would abandon her during her pregnancy, even if they weren't together, she'd always thought he would have wanted to be there for their child but she thought wrong. Now that he had Sofia, he'd already had a child, he didn't need any others complicating his relationship with his daughter. Especially not one that was an accident. That was how Callie put it wasn't it? That Lexie and the baby were an accident. A complication. A bump on the road.

Her eyes water as she swallows a dry lump that had made its way to her throat.

"What are you talking about?" Mark finally manages to whisper out as he speaks, his eyes never leaving the bump on her stomach that was hidden before, now seemed to be glowing in plain sight. It was a wonder he hadn't noticed it earlier.

"Are you joking?" Lexie asks flabbergasted, shaking her head in anger. "I never pictured you for a coward Mark. Sending Callie to do your dirty work for you? Bravo. That's a new low. Even for you. But I'm the idiot here aren't i? Always trying to see the best in people, even when it's not there. Good job Lexie. Not making that mistake again. You can leave now."

"Lexie. I honest to god have no idea what you are talking about right now." Mark says watching as she sits up and glares at him, he could swear he felt the anger radiating off her in waves.

"Playing stupid isn't going to get you anywhere Mark. Go back to your family. How did Callie say it? Your real family. That's right. We'll be fine without you. I'm sure you won't be losing any sleep over any of this," she responds motioning towards her stomach as she lays back down and closes her eyes taking a breath trying to relax herself again. Tears start streaming down her face as her angry facade starts breaking down, Mark takes a step forward but stops when she puts her hand up, "Please, just go Mark. I can't do this with you here right now. You're just making it harder for me and the baby to let you go, so please - just leave," Lexie says, as her voice breaks with uncertainty.

He steps away from her and runs out of the house, ignoring Derek's shouts as he gets in the car and heads over to Callie's house.

From what Lexie had ripped his head off about before she burst into tears, it became evident that Callie knew a lot more about this mysterious situation than he did. A lot more. He was going to find out why, and exactly what was going on here. The truth was hidden somewhere between the lines and he was scared of what would happen once everything was out in the open.

Because the worst thing the truth can do is when you finally tell it, it doesn't set you free, but locks you away forever.