Come lie with me

Chapter 22

The hours ticked by slowly, feeling more like years to Mark and stretching on infinitely. Over disapproval from everyone on the floor, Mark had taken up residence at Lexie's bedside and was loathe to leave it. Most of the staff could've understood…if that was all he was doing. But instead of sitting quietly by Lexie's bedside, Mark had taken it upon himself to question everyone who came in the room. What were they doing? How much morphine were they giving her? Who was checking her stitches? All of the questions seemed designed to drive everyone nuts. And more than one doctor was tempted to snap at him until they saw the way that he looked at Lexie's still body. Then all protestations died away.

The only time Mark had left her bedside had been at Derek's insistence, when he had taken Mark to the cafeteria to get something to eat. While they were gone, Thatcher and Molly had visited with Lexie, just missing Mark. Derek and Meredith had done this by design when they discovered that Thatcher was drunk and sobbing about his daughter. They hadn't wanted a scene, and didn't know how Mark would react to that. It didn't matter, for they didn't stay long, but promised to come back later in the day when she was off the breathing tube. Other than that brief interruption, Mark was constantly by her side.

Soon, Yang and the anesthesiologist, declared her able to breathe on her own and she was extubated.

But she didn't wake up.

Mark knew this was perfectly normal, after all she had been through hell, but a part of him thought it would be like in the movies. That she would magically wake up and come back to him the moment she was off the machines.

But she didn't.

It didn't make a difference to him though; he kept his vigil. He sat quietly at her bedside, attuning his body and eyes to notice any slight changes in her breathing or color.

Meredith had come by a couple of times. She didn't try to talk, but rather just sat by his side as they whiled away the hours. Mark was grateful for this. As much as he valued Derek's support, at the end of the day, he did not need a pep talk. He just needed support, and he found a strange ally in Meredith. He had been dismissive of her in the past, once his attraction to her had ceased, both in the way that she treated Derek, but also in the way that she ignored Lexie, but Mark vowed to give her a chance from here on out. She seemed to really care about her sister; she just didn't know how to express it.

Mark got that.

Lexie had been out for eighteen hours when Mark needed a break. He couldn't take staring at her still form without some air. Counting the breaths she took was soothing, but it also made him a little stir crazy after a while. Mark stood, and left the room, flagging down a nurse as he left.

"Let me know if there are any changes," he said. "I can be here in an instant." Something about Mark's face must have impressed the seriousness upon the nurse for she nodded hastily. After leaving the ICU, Mark walked outside the front entrance. The smell of fresh air was heady to his lungs. Due to the rain, there was a clean smell that seemed to hang in the air. Mark tried to ignore the light drizzle which was falling on his head as he breathed in deep.

It was too bad really, the previous night's events had given him one more reason to hate the rain.

Once his scrubs, which he had been in for nearly a whole day, began to get damp, Mark slowly walked back into the hospital. His feet were fast but sure as he beat the path back to the ICU. His mouth quirked into a grin when he saw Derek leaning against the counter of the nurses' station just outside Lexie's room.

"You just couldn't stay away, could you?" Mark asked with a tired grin.

Derek shrugged, "Oh, you know me and the ICU."