He awakens to the warm feel of breath against his skin but as he opens his eyes he soon finds out it's not the breathe of the person he'd expected it to be. That he'd hoped it had been.

Julia's head is resting on the bed, her short, red hair facing him and her face the other way, eyes closed as she sleeps. He feels horrible, but all he can think is how it isn't a patch on Lexie's gorgeous long brown locks.

He sighs regretfully as he realises that she must have been there the whole night. A regret that comes not hatefully, but apologetically.

He's thankful that she's been there for him but after the events that took place in the forest, after the life he had mapped out for himself, he realises that she's not a part of it and he doesn't want to lead her on. Julia's everything that he could of wanted, if he hadn't wanted Lexie.

Stirring suddenly, her eyes flutter open and she smiles up at Mark once realising that he's awake. "Hey." She smiles.

In reply, he attempts a smile but only the corner of his mouth turns up from his lack of energy. His mouth is dry, his voice quiet. "Hi."

"I was so worried" Julia says, as she pours Mark a glass of water from the mug beside his bed. Words follow as she hands him the cup, continues to babbles but Mark, by this time has zoned out. Taking a sip of his water, she catches his eye again and she sends him another warm smile. "I love you"

The words cut through the little thought-bubble Mark had formed and he looks at her. Sighing, gently.

It comes out harsher than he'd planned, but after everything that's happened in the last four days he's decided there is no point in wasting time.

"I love Lexie" He replies, matter of factly, as if any would know. Of course, that was slightly true. Everyone except Julia had know that he was still in love with her.

Derek had said on various occasion's but Mark, being stubborn had denied it. The truth is, that Julia was willing to give him everything he wanted, a marriage, a family, and he wanted it all, but he wanted it with Lexie.

There's hurt in her eyes and he feels bad, but he doesn't regret letting her know. After all, he tells himself, it would be cruel to keep her hanging on when all he can thinking about it pulling himself out of the hospital bed and go in search of said brunette. "I'm sorry." He says.

...

Lexie's eyes snap open and she locks into the plain white ceiling above her. There's pieces of things that she remembers: Coming out of consciousness as she got pealed away from under the wing of the plane, the extreme rush of pain causing her to immediately fall back unconscious.

The voices that she heard as she lay there, what she identified as push 100 of epi, and, we're losing her again. But mostly she just remembers the sound of the birds flying above her head as she lay in the clearing. The screams, and the smell of burning rubber and metal. Her conversation with Mark.

That was the thing that she remembered clearest of all as she had gone over it at any chance that she got to think long enough.

The words she'd waited so long for him to hear and he was finally saying them. He still loved her. But there's a small pain in the side of her just that she realises is there because, there's a small part of her that thinks he had just said it because he thought she was going to die.

Her insides feel like they're on fire. Like her whole body is about to implode and her breathe is getting shorter by the second.

Mark, stubborn as always is squeezing her hand, insistent on keeping her conscious.

"I love you. I've always been in love with you. I will always be in love with you. Which is why you have to stay alive. We're gonna get married. You're gonna become an amazing surgeon, and we're gonna have two or three kids."

Lexie smiles with all the energy she can gather and he can see her eyes light up. "So.. Sophia can have siblings."

"Yeah" He nods his head "A sister and two brothers. We're gonna be happy Lex, you and me. We're gonna have the best life Lexie you and me. We're gonna be so happy. So you can't die, okay. You can't die. 'Cause we're supposed to end up together. We're meant to be."

Her breath is growing shorter, and she can feel a rush of pain as know she is just about to pass out. "Meant to be" She smiles again, the dull grey returning to her eyes as she loses consciousness for the first time.

The brunette had hoped, that she'd wake up and he would be there, by her beside waiting. But she was alone. She would almost laugh, if of course she had the energy. Why on Earth would he be by her bedside? He had Julia. To him now, she was just the resident that knew how he liked her OR. Who could guess the next move he was going to make during a procedure before he may know it himself. She was just the girl that was supposed to die, but didn't.

...

She is left with her thoughts for what feels like an eternity before she she notices a dark figure at the door. The room is a dull grey colour and there had been people walking to and from past the door but nobody had come anyway near the door, until now.

Lifting her head slightly, she can work-out the short, messy salt and pepper hair of the figure and the masculine figure that she'd spent all too much time touching previously, although more recently it was just thoughts that she had been left with.

Smiling, she finds the energy to lift herself up in the bed and he slips into the room. It's a matter of seconds before he's found himself sitting beside her on the bed and she smiles at him.

He's smiling back at her, although neither speak for minutes. Neither mind, though. As they both seem quite content in just gazing.

Then Lexie lifts both hands to cup his face, resting her soft palms against his rough, un-shaven cheeks which prompts a small shiver down her spine, a response her body used to always get from the action, from the difference in his sharp stubble and her soft, moisturised hands.

"It's okay." She speaks, quietly. Breaking the gentle silence. Their eyes don't leave each other and her hands still cupping his cheeks. "I know that you didn't mean what you said. You thought I was dying and you were just trying to make me happy."

Mark doesn't reply, he just tilts his face slightly, so that his lips are against her palm and he presses his lips against them. He then shakes his head. "I meant every word." He says, before taking his hands in hers and gently pulling her towards him and pressing his lips to hers.

It's gentle, at first. Both are worn thin and tired. She kisses him back, surprised and moves her arms to around his neck pulling him in closer to her, as if she thinks he's going to change his mind suddenly and pull away, but he doesn't.

The kiss soon turns quicker, needier. Her fingers are sliding through his hair gently, the way she knows he likes and his hands are holding her sides, keeping him close to her though they soon find themselves slipping under her ass, cupping each cheek in a hand and pulling her onto his lap and close t him as possible so that their chests are pressed against one another.

They both find energy that they couldn't previously find and his lips find their way down to her neck, where their placing soft open mouthed kisses against her collar bone, and and he then uses one hand to guide her hospital gown out of the way, so his lips can move along her shoulder, claiming each inch of her one by one.