Running in Circles - Lexie Grey x OC

From Where You Are

Grey's Anatomy Season 8 Episode 4

SEATTLE

September — Early Morning
Dexter Avenue Townhouse

The alarm wasn't due to go off for another six minutes.

Lexie was already awake.

She stared at the ceiling above her bed while the soft gray light of dawn filtered through the blinds. Rain tapped quietly against the apartment windows, steady and familiar.

Six minutes.

Not enough time to fall back asleep.

Not enough time to do much of anything.

So she waited.

A year ago she would've still been asleep.

Eric always woke up first.

Somehow.

No matter how late they'd gotten home. No matter how many hours either of them had spent at the hospital. He always woke up first.

Usually, she'd feel him before she opened her eyes.

An arm settling around her waist.

A kiss pressed against her forehead.

Then his voice.

"You know, Alexandra, at some point this stops being sharing a blanket and starts becoming theft."

Half-asleep, she'd pull the blanket tighter around herself.

"I'm cold."

"You're impossible."

She'd laugh into her pillow.

"Next time," he'd grumble, tugging unsuccessfully at the blanket, "I'm simply pulling you over here instead. Significantly easier than negotiating with a tiny blanket criminal."

Somehow, every single time, he'd manage to make her laugh.

The memory faded as quickly as it had appeared.

The apartment was quiet.

Lexie blinked.

The ceiling came back into focus.

No arm around her waist.

No terrible jokes.

No Eric.

The absence was familiar now. That was the part she disliked most—not that she still noticed it, but that she had learned how to move around it without stopping.

Her gaze drifted across the room automatically.

The nightstand on the far side of the bed.

Eric's side.

The engagement ring was still in the top drawer.

Exactly where she'd left it.

She hadn't opened the drawer since the day she'd put it there. She didn't need to. Knowing it was there was enough. Or maybe not knowing what she would feel if she touched it was enough.

Lexie looked away.

The alarm buzzed.

Lexie reached over and silenced it before the second ring. Then she threw back the covers and got out of bed.

Another day.

Another shift.

Another routine.

The hardwood floor was cold beneath her feet as she crossed the room toward the bathroom. She did not look again toward the other side of the bed.