Come lie with me

Chapter 6

Mark was still smiling to himself as he walked away, chuckling internally at Derek's discomfort. His best friend was one of the most self-assured men that he knew, but put him within ten feet of any Shepherd woman and he became ten years old again. Checking his watch, Mark began to jog to the on call room he knew Lexie was occupying. When he reached the door, he eased the handle open quietly in case she was sleeping. She had been in the hospital since the previous morning, and Mark had missed her while he had his last vacation day.

When he entered the room, he saw her curled up on the bed, her hands tucked up under her chin, like a little girl. He gently closed the door behind himself, and walked over to the bed. Sitting on the edge, Mark gently shook her, "Lexie, wake up."

Lexie groaned, causing Mark to grin. "Come on, wake up."

"You better be here for sex," she muttered. "Otherwise, go away."

Mark laughed. "And to think, I used to believe you were so good and innocent."

"I am good and innocent," Lexie replied, rolling over to face him. She smiled when she saw the look on his face. "Good morning."

"Hey," he said.

"Don't you have a surgery?" Lexie asked, looking at her watch.

Mark nodded. "I am going now."

"You don't want to be late."

"Well, they can't very well start without me," Mark grinned.

"Oh," Lexie said, blushing. "Right. Sorry, my brain is still a little fuzzy."

Mark laughed. "Well, try to remember this. I am going to be home later tonight, probably around nine. Derek's mom is here to inspect your sister and we are having dinner out somewhere."

Lexie rolled over. "Hmph, I always knew you would leave me for another woman."

Mark laughed. "Don't worry; I am sure I will come home with my virtue still intact."

"You better," Lexie said, still facing away from him. Mark loved the soft way her voice sounded when she was joking around with him.

Lexie then rolled back over and said, "Did you tell him?"

Mark shook his head, "I was about to and then…"

"Then Mama Shepherd arrived," Lexie finished.

"I'll tell him, once she goes home, no need to overwhelm him all at once," Mark said.

"Does this mean we aren't moving into your apartment this weekend?"

"Our apartment," Mark corrected. "And yes, we are; I don't see any reason to delay. Derek will find out soon enough. My hope is that he will be so overwhelmed and relieved when his mother leaves that he won't care about the tiny detail of us moving in together."

"That's diabolical," Lexie said, grinning. "I love it."

He grinned back at her. "I thought you might." His pager went off then. "Gotta go. Noses to fix, lives to save."

Lexie laughed.

Mark kissed Lexie's head. "I'll see you later."

"Good luck on your surgery," Lexie murmured closing her eyes to try to drift off to sleep again.

The last thing she heard before sleep claimed her was, "You make me happy, Lexie."

***

An hour later, the door to the on call room banged open, and a heavy body bounced onto her bed. "Wake up Lexie!" Sadie's voice trilled.