This is so bittersweet. I almost don't want to post this chapter. I thought about trying to find more to write, but it felt forced. This ending feels right.

Thank you all so much for the love you've given my story. I never expected to write a Grey's fic, but the muse hit, and I had to go with it. I hope you all enjoy this chapter and have enjoyed this "fix-it" Lexie and Mark HEA ride.

Chapter Soundtrack - 10,000 Emerald Pools: BØRNS

BTW - Sorry to anyone whose been trying to check out my Pinterest board for this story. Apparently, I just don't know how to add links on FFN. You can look me up - Nicci (nyxniques) - to see the board.

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4 Years Later:

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"Why do they keep letting you on this floor? You ditched us." Alex came up to Lexie's side, playfully bumping her.

She was waiting at the front desk on the surgical floor and catching up with Bailey. "And yet you all seem to always find your way into my clinic. I'm just returning the gift of annoyance."

While getting her doctoral degree, Lexie figured why not go all the way with a PhD in rehabilitation medicine. She had a great support system in her husband, her sister and brother-in-law, Callie and Arizona and was able to expertly balance full-time student, wife and mom. During her graduation party, Owen pulled her aside and asked. "Now are you ready to come back to Seattle Grace Mercy West?"

Since she started back working at SGMW as the Clinic Director of the Rehabilitation Center, the surgical attendings seem to realize that there was life outside the OR and would migrate to her neck of the woods quite often. They'd bother her when she was in her office or when she was in the open workstation between patients, getting a glimpse of the work that her people did. She couldn't blame them though, her department was becoming a pretty big deal at SGMW, especially under her leadership.

She had a very intentional, multi-departmental approach to treating her patients and creating the most holistic rehab programs for them. The rehabilitation center was seeing an increase in patient satisfaction and both the Chief and the board were taking notes.

"I just submitted my proposed budget for next year. A week before its due." She gloated.

She was hoping to get the funding approved for some new equipment, particularly some rather high-tech apparatuses that would really elevate the quality of care the center provided. She also wanted to build up their outpatient program for those that still needed help after discharge. Her ultimate goal was to open satellite clinics for outpatient rehab across the city. That would take some time of course, one step at a time as all world dominations required. She was going to be a rehab goddess.

"Oh man, she beat us." Mark bemoaned to his son in his arms as they came off the elevator and approached the front desk.

"Oh man." Leif parroted, making his father laugh heartily. He put him down to run the rest of the way to his mother.

"There's Mama's little love." Lexie squatted down to catch him. "Did you have fun at daycare? You haven't been there in a while."

He was now going to preschool and summer camp so today was a special Saturday visit. They'd only come to the hospital for Mark to perform a routine surgery and she used the time to finish up her budget.

"Yeah. They miss me." He nodded assuredly.

Lexie and Mark looked at each other and laughed. This kid was a riot sometimes.

"I'm sure they did, Mr. Popular." She scooped him up to tickle and smother him.

"You are such a mom now." Alex said as more of a compliment than a tease. The old Lexie was still very much there, but there was more to her now and it was a good look on her.

"Yes, I am." She stated proudly, finished peppering her baby's cheek with kisses. "And you're just jealous that you don't have a kid as cool as mine. He makes your precious little scalpels look like pathetic butter-knives." She teased. Finished signing out and making some quick notes on his patient's chart, Mark went to his wife and his son's side. Lexie leaned back to greet him properly. "There's my big love." They shared a kiss. "Ready to go?"

"Yup." He answered, putting his arm over her shoulders.

"Are you ready to have some fun at Aunt Mer and Uncle Derek's house?" She asked Leif.

"With Bail and ZoZo and Ellie?" He asked, using his nicknames for his cousins.

"That's right. Sister and Harriet will be there too." Mark told him and he got really excited then. His big sister was hands down his favorite person in the world.

"See you guys there?" Lexie asked Alex and Bailey.

"Yeah, as soon as Jo's out of surgery." He answered, on the phone waiting for labs to get back on the line.

"We have to drop Tuck off at a friend's house." Bailey replied. "He's too cool to come now that he's thirteen." She rolled her eyes. Teenagers.

"Okay, we'll see you later then."

"Bailey, Karev." Mark added in parting and steered the little Sloan family out of SGMW, headed for the Grey/Shepherd house to celebrate the 4th of July.

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Taking advantage of the big open backyard, 4th of July parties were held there every year since the Grey/Shepherd house was finished right before Bailey's birth. Per tradition, someone's Pandora was playing in the background, the grill was fired up with the men surrounding it. The women were flitting around, chatting as they set up the bar and a variety of store bought and homemade sides. The kids were running around like little maniacs between the playground and the new bounce house that was being manned by one alternating adult.

Once the food was ready, the kids were corralled to their table and the adults took a seat at theirs. During the meal, they talked about what the group of dedicated doctors always talked about - work.

"So, the annual donors' dinner is coming up." Richard reminded them.

"Oh hell." Lexie groaned, drawing everyone's attention to her. "Oops, did I say that out loud?" She asked Mark who was sitting next to her. She totally meant for only him to hear her.

"This is your first as a department director. You have to be on your best behavior." Owen advised, though he knew she was the consummate professional.

"I'm always on my best behavior." She'd been attending this dog and pony show for four years now as a doctor's wife and knew how to play the game. "I smile and cheese until my face hurts and I dig my nails into my palms to stop myself from slapping all those desperate trophy wives drooling over my husband." She ranted to the table's amusement.

At least they stopped touching him after the first dinner she attended. She busted up a trio of them fawning over him, taking away the arm one of them was rubbing and politely introduced herself as Lexie Grey-Sloan, Dr. Sloan's wife. The message was received and while they couldn't keep their eyes off of him, they kept their hands to themselves from then on.

"I will continue to be the perfect angel." She beamed.

Mark and Meredith laughed at that statement. She was a perfect angel, in public. Get her alone in an empty bathroom at the donors' dinner or in the car on the way home and it was a different story.

"Can we stop talking about that stupid donor ass kissing party? I can't believe I have to cut my vacation short for that crap." Alex groused.

"That's the one you worry about." Derek pointed his fork in Karev's direction.

Trickles of laughter floated up and down the table and then conversations morphed into more benign topics in different clusters of neighboring friends. When dinner was over, the kids were set free, everything was cleaned up and now it was time to relax with some adult beverages around the fire pit.

"Can the kids have a sleepover with Leif at your place next Friday?" Meredith asked her sister seated next to her.

She winced regrettably. "Sorry, he'll be at Callie and Arizona's. Mark and I are going to see Kings of Leon that night."

Catty-cornered from the Grey sisters, Derek looked over at Mark beside him. "You're going to see who?" He asked with an incredulous snicker.

He shrugged in resignation. It was her turn to decide what they would do for date night. "Some noise she listens to." He mocked.

"Hey! You know, I can totally go by myself." She exclaimed, having overheard them. "Just me and my favorite pair of skin tight leather pants that make my ass look amazing." She smirked smugly, knowing exactly how he'd react.

"Over my dead body." He fired back.

"That's what I thought." She replied victoriously.

Today's count: Lexie Grey-Sloan- 1, Mark Sloan- 0

"Mama, help." Leif interrupted, appearing at her side.

"Say 'excuse me' and 'please'." She reminded him of his manners.

"Excuse me, Mama. Help me, please." He corrected himself and plopped a broken stomp rocket into her lap.

She slid the detached wings back into place and gave it to him. "There you go."

"Thank you, Mama." He told her so sweetly and adorably.

"Aw, you're welcome, baby." She leaned over to give him a kiss on the forehead.

He took a hold of her face, making her think he was returning the gesture, but instead he blew a huge raspberry on her cheek. She groaned in disgust at the very wet kiss, sending her son into a peel of giggles. He gave his father a thumbs up and ran away.

"Bail! My Mama fixed it!"

"Thanks Aunt Lexieeeeee!" Bailey screamed.

"You got a little something on your face, honey." Mark said with a devilish grin on his.

"Geez, thanks babe." She retorted sarcastically, wiping her cheek.

Usually, he was the one attacking her with raspberries to make Leif laugh hysterically. Now, they were teaming up against her. Oh, she was going to get them back one way or another.

Lexie Grey-Sloan- 1, Mark Sloan- 1 and a 1/2 - for his little co-conspirator.

"They're so cute." Jo said, watching Leif and Bailey jump on their dueling pumps as hard as they could to make their rockets fly.

"For now." Meredith looked at her sister knowingly. "He didn't want to stop riding his bike when it started raining yesterday so he rode it right into the house. Mud everywhere."

"I busted him climbing the pantry shelves for snacks. He jumped down, landed perfectly and took off." She told her animatedly. "Meanwhile, I'm pretty sure I had a heart attack."

Meredith clinked her beer against her sister's, conceding this one to her. "You can stop laughing now." She told Derek and Mark who found their sons' antics hilarious.

"Seriously." Lexie added, glaring at Mark just as hard as she had when he came home after Leif's little stunt.

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"It's not funny, Mark. Your son's insane."

"My son is a rockstar."

She washed her hands of the both of them for the rest of that night.

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"This new phase is why we're taking a break from yoga classes." They've been taking Mommy and Me yoga since he was an infant, but its calming effect was definitely wearing off. Triangle and downward dog poses had turned into silly attempts at cartwheels and handstands. They had to find something else to channel that energy, maybe something like baby Ninja Warrior.

"Self-preservation is an important life skill that I am proud my son has mastered at a young age." Mark proclaimed.

"You're really jockeying for the couch tonight, aren't you?" She warned with a darling smile.

"You know that threat is going to lose some steam once we're in the house." He smiled back cockily. There would be two guest rooms that he could hide in.

"Oh, I don't care where we live. If I say you're sleeping on the couch, you're sleeping on the couch, my love." She batted her eyelashes at him, but he just kept on smirking at ready for some more.

"You should probably quit while you're ahead, man." Ben offered with Bailey sitting next to him looking at Mark like he was all kinds of stupid for taunting Lexie Grey. "How is construction coming along?" He asked him, Lexie, Callie and Arizona.

"Ask the construction dictator over there." Arizona teased, pointing to Lexie.

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With the kids growing up, condo life was getting old, but they didn't want to separate Leif and Sofia. They would be heartbroken if they couldn't run across the hall or at most, the street to play with each other. Mark wasn't a fan of being too far away from Sofia either.

Lexie scoured newspapers, online realtors, and blogs looking for houses for sale that were what each couple wanted and in at least walking distance from each other. She hit the jackpot when she found two beautiful homes in both their price ranges being built side-by-side. There was no way they could say no, it was perfect for their big unconventional family. The kids could run back and forth between the two houses whenever they wanted. The girls could still have their late-night dance parties while Mark and Leif escape to his man cave.

Using their combined prestige in the medical community, Lexie was able to convince the developer to take the two houses that they were building off the market for them. And she was very involved in the construction process, making sure both homes were tailored the ways that each couple wanted.

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"It's going great. Structurally, they're done. Now we're at the interior design phase." She explained. "I have sample books in the car for you guys by the way."

"Thanks. We have an appointment with Melissa next week." Callie said. "I think we're still on track for being done before Christmas." She gushed with her wife.

April looked at Lexie and she nodded, confirming that the Sloans would be moving into their house by the holidays as well.

"Christmas party." They declared simultaneously.

"Ugly sweater Christmas party." April emphasized and Jackson groaned at her side.

"Yes." Lexie agreed and asserted to her husband who was commiserating with his protégé. "We both know that by the time Christmas comes around, you'll owe me for something so you will be wearing an ugly sweater, Mark Sloan."

He gave her one of his irresistible grins and a wink, making her shake her head and laugh. He loved it when she was being bossy, and she was probably right so he'd suck it up and do what she wanted. Making her happy was all that ever mattered to him anyway.

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"Alright, it's fireworks and ice cream time, you little rugrats." Mark announced as he stood by the side exit of the bounce house.

Waiting for them was an ice cream bar and six little Adirondack chairs set up for optimal viewing of the fireworks show in town. He helped the excited kids get out safely, tickling Sofia and Leif when it was their turns.

"Are you coming out of there?" He asked his wife who was on duty and sitting in the corner of the trampoline section.

"How about you come in here?" She enticed and got up to start lightly bouncing now that it was emptied out.

"Be careful." He warned her, staying put outside. "I can't believe you convinced Derek to buy this thing."

"The kids love it."

"You love it."

"I do." She admitted freely. That was one of the joys of having kids, getting in touch with your inner child and playing with their toys. "You know we have to get one of these for the house now?"

"I know. A bigger one. Spider-Man can handle it." He joked and she giggled.

"Under water, Time is standing still, You're the treasure, Dive down deeper still. All I need is you." She started signing to the music playing from the sound system. "Come on, come play with me."

He climbed in and laid back with his hands behind his head, watching her in complete adoration as she bopped over and around him, singing to him.

She stopped to straddle his waist. "I'll dive in deeper, deeper for you, You're all I need to breathe, All I need is you, All I need is you, It can never pull me away."

"You're crazy." He swept her hair out of the way and behind her ears so he could look at her. "And you wonder where our son gets it from."

"I know." She shrugged, beaming down at him. "You love it."

"I do."

She was so full of life, just seeing her bright smiling face made his day, even when he was having a crap one. She was the best mother to their son and such a loving stepmother to his daughter. The most supportive and giving wife, the best partner in life he could have asked for. A kickass department director that did everything to give her patients the best possible recovery and wasn't afraid to confront anyone who challenged that. She was everything he always knew she could be, and he was so proud to be her husband.

"I love you." She leaned down to kiss him. He drove her absolutely insane sometimes, but she wouldn't have it any other way. He was the love of her life and she couldn't get enough of him, warts and all.

"I love you too." He said with his hand on her baby bump hidden under the flowy boho top she was wearing.

In a couple more weeks, they would first tell Leif and Sofia that they were going to have a little brother or sister. Then they would share the news with everyone else. For now, they were enjoying keeping this secret to themselves. Having these stolen moments for just the two of them to revel at the fact that they were having another baby. Their life and their love were just getting bigger and better with nothing ahead of them, but the rest of forever together.

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Six months later, Ian Grey Sloan became the newest member of their big, beautiful family.

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Lexie & Mark's Happily Ever After

That's it ladies and gents. For one last time, let me know what you think 😊 And once again, thank you for reading, reviewing, faving and following.

See ya around!