Come lie with me

Chapter 7

When dinner was over, they remained sitting at the table. Three empty wine bottles now adorned its surface, along with empty plates and used cloth napkins. Lexie liked the way the table looked, it had so much character. Mark's hand was still holding hers, and Lexie relished the feel of it. She had never felt like she belonged anywhere, but with Mark's hand in her own, that no longer rang true.

"That was wonderful, Mrs. Shepherd," Lexie said.

"Thank you, Lexie," Carolyn said. "I am glad you liked it."

"Yeah, Mom," Mark chimed in, "It was great. I have missed your pasta."

"It was good because you helped, Mark," Carolyn said kindly. "Do you remember when you used to help me cook when you were little?"

"Oh, please don't tell that story," Mark said.

"No," Derek said with a grin. "Please do."

"Well," Carolyn said, directing her comments at Lexie and Meredith, "When the boys were little they used to spend the afternoons in my kitchen doing homework. Now, Mark always finished first and Derek refused to let him help him, so Mark had nothing to do while he waited for Derek to finish. Soon, I started to give him cooking lessons."

"He wore an apron, and everything," Derek said with relish. "It was precious."

"Nice," Mark said.

"It was," Carolyn agreed.

Mark groaned, "Well, now that we have revisited the scars of my childhood, I'll just do the dishes."

"I'll help," Lexie offered.

"Derek," Mark said, "Why don't you take your mother and Meredith into the other room and talk?"

Derek glared at him, causing Mark to grin.

Once the dishes were all in the kitchen, Lexie and Mark began a system. She would rinse them and he would dry them and put them in the drainer.

Hands deep in soapy water, Lexie grinned at him, "So an apron, huh?"

Mark laughed. "What Derek doesn't remember about that story is that his sisters used to come and help as well."

"Aw," Lexie said, "A heart breaker even back then." She tapped the side of her nose with her wet pointer finger. "I get ya."

When she moved her hand away, she left a small amount of soapy bubbles behind. "Here," Mark said, "You have something right…" He then grabbed a handful of bubbles and rubbed them on Lexie's face.

She sputtered and then grinned, wiping the soap away, "Oh, it is so on!"

Soon, soap was flying everywhere as they laughed and played like children. Mark tried to catch her, but she was too quick for him. In no time at all, they were both soaking wet and covered in bubbles.

"Lexie Grey, come back here," Mark said with a laugh. When he finally caught her, they slipped on the wet floor, and fell in a tangle of arms and legs with Mark on the bottom, and Lexie sprawled on top of him.

***

The atmosphere in the living room was quite opposite from the kitchen. Meredith and Derek were sitting on the couch, while Carolyn sat in a chair and looked at Meredith as if she were a puzzle she couldn't quite figure out.

Derek was once again trying to tell his mother about the clinical trial when Carolyn asked, "Do you like children, Meredith?"

Meredith sputtered, "Most…I mean some…"

"I was just wondering because we have a lot of children in the Shepherd family. Does that appeal to you?" Carolyn's words held no malice, but rather curious inquiry.