OK Y'ALL THIS IS MY FIRST MARK AND LEXIE FANFICTION SO I HOPE YOU LIKE IT! THIS IS GOING TO BE SET WHEN LEXIE CONFESSES SHE STILL LOVES MARK IN SEASON 8, EPISODE 22. I'M JUST GOING TO SAY THAT THE PLANE CRASH DIDN'T HAPPEN, BECAUSE THAT STILL UPSETS ME TO THIS DAY. HERE IS MY STORY OF WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED TO THEM IF THE CRASH DIDN'T HAPPEN.

Chapter One *The Heart Brings You Back*

Lexie walks out of the hospital after a long shift. She feels exhausted, after the big surgery. She turns the corner with speed and stops dead in her tracks. She spots Mark leaning against a wall, texting on his cell phone. She takes a few steps towards him and says, "Hey."

Mark doesn't look up from his phone, so she continues to talk. "Thanks for uh...thanks...for letting me uh..." She tries to put her words together, but they keep getting jumbled.

Mark puts his phone away and looks at her. "You did a good job in there." He says, truthfully. He knows she has so much talent. He believes in her. He always has.

"Thanks." She says again.

Mark notices her demeanor, the way she is acting nervous and breathless. He knows something is going on with her. He can always tell when there is something weighing her down. "You alright?"

"I love you." Lexie blurts out and immediately regrets letting it slip out of her mouth. Instead of stopping though, she continues, because she never knows when to shut up. "Oh, God. That just came flying out of my face. Oh my god. I love you. I just-I just did it again." She lets everything slip out of her. Her heart is tired of holding in all of her emotions she has been trying to keep in check. She rambles on about Jackson, and how he would be perfect, but he isn't Mark. He will never be Mark.

Mark is speechless as she continues on her emotional ramble, feeling his heart lurch out to her. He continues to stay silent though, because he honestly wants to hear what she has to say.

"I love you. I do. I just, I love you." Tears spring to her eyes as she speaks, but she holds them back. "I am so in love with you. You're in me. You're like-It's like you're a disease. It's like I am infected by Mark Sloan and I just can't think about anything or anybody and I can't sleep. I can't breathe. I can't eat. And I love you. I love you all the time. Every minute of every day, I love you." She tries to suck in some breaths after talking so fast.

Mark stares at the woman he has loved for so long. What can he say? He racks his brain to figure that out, as Julia pops out of nowhere with a smile on her face.

"Hey I thought you said meet in the lobby?" She looks at Mark before her eyes go to Lexie. "Hey."

Lexie looks between them and then shakes her head at herself. "Hey. I was just leaving. I just wanted to tell Dr. Sloan that I appreciate him for the surgery." Her brown eyes wander to Mark one more time before she walks away. She curses herself for being so stupid. Why did she do that? Her mind goes to when Derek gave her the advice to fight for him. "Ugh, I need to stop listening to other people." She says to herself as she enters her car.

Mark is still standing in the same spot, still speechless. Lexie just poured her heart out to him and he said nothing. Nothing. Not one word.

Julia eyes her boyfriend, wondering what is going through his mind." Are you okay? Are you too tired to hang out tonight? I can come over tomorrow instead?"

He sighs to himself. "I guess the surgery took a lot out of me. How about you and I have breakfast in the morning? Sound good?"

Julia nods and leans toward him. She places her soft, pink lips on his. "Sounds great. I'll see you tomorrow then." She gives him another smile before sauntering away from him.

He tries to move, but it's like he is frozen in the moment that just transpired between him and Lexie. She loves him. After all this time of trying to move on from her, and she does that. He shakes his head in frustration. Her timing couldn't be more horrible. He is with Julia now, it's too late. He repeats that in his mind as he begins walking to his car, but another thought pops into his head. Is it too late?

Lexie's fingers graze the bottle before she opens it. She tips the opening into her mouth and lets the harsh liquid go down in gulps. She chugs until she hears footsteps entering the living room.

"Wow, tequila. You must be having a rough night." Meredith says to her sister. She walks to the cough and takes a seat beside her. "What happened?"

Lexie sets the bottle on the table and starts shaking her head madly. "I'm so stupid!" She repeats that a few times until tears start spilling out of her eyes.

Meredith wraps her arm around her once bright and shiny sister. "Hey, you are not stupid." She places a piece of Lexie's hair behind her ear. "What has you all freaked out?"

Lexie wipes furiously at her tears. "I told Mark that I love him. Actually, I gave him this big speech confessing just how much I love him."

Meredith waits for her to continue.

"He didn't say anything back and then Julia showed up. So I left." Lexie shakes her head once again and looks at her older sister. "I'm so stupid for doing that. I should have kept it all bottled up. God, I'm stupid." She picks up the tequila bottle and almost tips it over, but Meredith intercepts.

Meredith sets the bottle down and gets off the couch. "This is a call for shots and some dancing it out. I'll call Christina." She hurriedly enters the kitchen to get some shot glasses. She turns on her heel and sees Derek entering the kitchen. Meredith eyes him warily before smacking his arm. "Your best friend is a jerk!"

Derek, shocked that he just got randomly smacked, holds his hands up in surrender. "Why am I under attack for something Mark did? And what exactly did he do for me to deserve that?"

Meredith rolls her blue eyes at him. "He is your best friend. That is why you got hit and also he hurt Lexie." She says matter of fact, ready to smack her husband again.

Derek dodges her hand this time. "What did he do?" He hasn't seen Mark after he talked to him about the surgery that went on earlier. That was a mere hour ago, how could Mark have possibly messed anything up in that amount of time?

Meredith picks up the phone and glares at Derek. "Lexie told him she still loved him in a big way. He didn't say anything in return. Sound familiar?"

Derek thinks back to when she was the Grey sister giving a big speech about loving him. These sisters have a way about their timing. "I'll talk to him. I'm sure he is having a hard time wrapping his mind around everything. I'll be back home later." He kisses his wife on the mouth and gives her his signature smile.

She rolls her eyes at him as he walks out to go see Mark. She is about to dial Christina's number when she hears someone barge through the doorway and stomp into the living room.

Lexie yells, "Christina is here!"

Meredith sets the phone down and rushes into the living room with the shot glasses. "What are you doing here? I was just about to call you."

Christina waves around a tequila bottle and smirks at her best friend. "I sensed I was needed." She places it on the table and eyes little Grey. "What's going on with you?"

Lexie grabs a shot glass from her sister and pours the liquid in it. She tips it back and smacks the glass back down on the table. "Sheer embarrassment." Lexie finishes off the last of the bottle and feels the world around her turn. She goes to open the one Christina bought, but Meredith grabs her hands and pulls her off the couch instead.

"It's time to dance it out, Lex." Meredith pours two shots for her and Christina and they down them. She walks to the stereo and turns it on. The song "Don't Let Me Down," by the Chainsmokers fills the air.

Instead of overthinking everything, Lexie lets the music take her over. She starts bobbing her head and shaking her hips. She begins to feel more relaxed, and understands why Christina and her sister does this all the time. It is a great way to let out some steam. This and tequila. Lexie picks up the bottle and takes a swig before shaking hips some more. She is so engrossed in letting all her worries go, she doesn't hear someone come through the doorway and into the living room.

Derek and Mark watch the girls dance it out before Derek says, "I guess we are just in time for the party." He chuckles when they all stop dead in their tracks, like deer in headlights.

Derek had went to Mark's to try and decipher how he felt about the situation. Mark was downing scotch, and driving himself crazy with questions and wondering who he should choose. Derek knows he wants already, hence why they are here now.

Mark tries to hide the fact that Lexie's dancing effected him in a lot of ways. He feels a smile touch his lips as he sees her look embarrassed. He has always found her to be adorable when she danced. "Hey Lex. Can we talk?"

Lexie puts the bottle in Christina's hands and sways to Mark. "H-hey." She slurs. She didn't realize just how drunk she has gotten.

Mark turns to Derek. "I don't think she is going to be able to talk tonight." He looks at the beautiful brunette and frowns. He made her do this. He is the reason she is drunk and needing to dance it out. She had to dance out her frustrations at him. "Lex, I'll take you upstairs, okay?"

Lexie eyes him with her eyebrows raised. "Why?"

Before Mark can give an answer, she trips over herself, and he quickly catches her. "That's why. You can't walk straight. Let's go." He puts her in his arms bridal style and begins up the stairs, ignoring the looks from his friends.

Lexie leans her head back and giggles. "I feel like we just got married and you are carrying me through our...uh...threshold?" She pauses and tears begin to pool in her brown eyes. "B-but that won't ever happen, will it?" She looks at Mark with puppy dog eyes.

Mark looks at down at her, hating she is so hurt, but she hurt him too. She told him he doesn't make her happy, to move on. "That is a conversation for a different night." He enters her room and lays her gently on her bed. "You need some rest. I'll talk to you tomorrow." He turns to leave when a small hand grabs his.

"Please don't go." She pleads. "I need you."

Mark turns on his heel and almost says no, but his heart stops him. "Okay." He says instead and lays beside her.

Lexie leans close to him and kisses his cheek. "Thank you. Will you hold me?"

Mark doesn't hesitate, he wraps her up in his arms and holds the girl he has loved for so long.