To when I return

23. What if

It had been two weeks since the merger between Mercy West and Seattle Grace. The Mercy Westers were pain in the ass. Or that is how Jo acted. Of course she and Jackson were friends. They had been for a long time. She is standing at a nurses' table watching TV when she first heard about it. "A private plane has gotten missing while it was flying from Boston, Massachusetts to Portland, Oregon carrying six surgeons from Massachusetts General hospital." Jo zoned out. She didn't hear what the news reader was saying, only see that they were still talking. Jackson comes from behind the TV and only sees Jo's face and in her eyes how million different thoughts go through her mind.

"Jo?" he asks. Right now he didn't care about the rivalry between the two merger hospitals. He didn't care about the weird looks his friends were giving him. "Jo what's wrong?"

"Lexie was in that plane." Jo answers her voice distant.

"What plane?" Jackson asks and follows Jo's terrified glance towards the television. "No." He starts quietly. "Are you sure?"

"I was texting with her when she said the plain was taking off." She takes a short break. "Lexie was in that plane."

Mark was benched from work. Elliot and Adriana didn't go to school. No one knew what was going to happen next. The police officer hadn't been helpful. All they knew was that they had lost contact with the plane somewhere in Idaho. The plane also never landed on Portland so the likely scenario was that the plane was indeed somewhere in Idaho. For three days now they had lived in silence just waiting. That ended shortly after they saw the familiar color of police cars red and blue sirens.

"Evening, Mr. Sloan." The first officer greets. Even if they weren't doctors they had the same face. The face Mark himself had given to patient's family, every time the patient hadn't made it.

"Just say it." Mark tells them.

The second officer looked at the man in front of her and she saw that he already knew what they were about to tell him. "The plane was found. They didn't find single survivor."

Link was a mess. Lexie wasn't only his best friend, but for so long his only friend. Lexie was the thing that make him move forward when everything was crumbling down. Specially before they had moved to Boston, but even after. Now he was alone in his apartment in Baltimore looking at the wall asking himself, how was he supposed to move on, when he knew he couldn't call him anymore to just ask, how was her day going or ask help from her. Then his mind would go to the kids and Mark. They really had no one in Boston. No family, no close friends. So he called Mark and for the first time he answered.

"So... How are you holding up?" Link asks.

"Not really. You?" Mark's tired voice answers.

"Not really. I wanted to ask about her wishes. Did she ever tell you what she wanted?"

"Cremation. And then the Seattle thing? To the ocean?"

"Yeah. Are you going to do that?"

"I'm waiting for spring."

"Tell me place and time when you know. I'll be there."

"You don't have to. I know you must be busy with the last year of your residency."

"And I will still be there. And I will be there after June too."

"You moving back to Seattle?"

"My parents live there and... Well Boston doesn't feel quite right anymore."

"It doesn't."

"Have you thought of it? Moving back?"

"Yeah. I've thought of it. Likely go through with it."