Running in Circles - Lexie Grey x OC

Feed The Flame We Can't Let Go

TEN WEEKS
Sofia Robbin Sloan Torres
4 lbs, 6 oz

Late Evening
Sixth Floor — NICU

Lexie hadn't planned on stopping.

That was the truth.

She'd finished Bailey's post-ops, signed her notes, and spent ten minutes debating whether she wanted coffee before going home.

Then she'd passed by the coffee cart.

And automatically bought two.

The habit had started weeks ago.

Everybody brought something to the NICU.

Coffee.

Sandwiches.

Granola bars.

Whatever people remembered to grab on their way upstairs.

The unit had become its own strange little family.

Callie lived there.

Arizona practically lived there.

Mark actually might live there.

So when Lexie stepped off the elevator carrying two coffees, she wasn't thinking about Mark.

Not really.

She was thinking Arizona had probably forgotten to eat again.

The NICU was quieter at night. The lights dimmed. Voices lower. Monitors hummed softly behind the glass.

Lexie slowed as she approached Sofia's room. She stopped.

Inside, Mark sat beside the incubator, alone.

Not checking his pager.

Not reading a chart.

Not distracted.

Just there.

A stack of paperwork sat beside him.

Insurance forms.

Discharge planning.

Follow-up appointments.

Things Sofia would need when she eventually went home.

Soon.

The thought still felt impossible.

Sofia Robbin Sloan Torres.
Four pounds, six ounces.

Big enough now that the nurses no longer looked terrified every time she moved.

Strong enough that conversations had begun shifting from survival to home.

Mark looked up from one of the forms, then down toward Sofia. A small smile crossed his face.

The kind nobody knew he had.

The kind that only appeared around Sofia.

A nurse approached.

Lexie couldn't hear the words but she could see Mark immediately setting the paperwork aside.

Listening.

Asking questions.

Nodding.

The nurse pointed toward the monitor.

Mark glanced at it.

Then toward Sofia.

Then asked another question.

The nurse answered.

Mark nodded again.

The conversation continued another minute before the nurse moved on.