The Future of Us: A Slexie Story

26

I'm standing at the nurses station, looking at Meredith and Derek. Meredith used to be all dark and twisty, but now she's happy.  Irritatingly so. But you know what, I, so happy with Lexie, and our little baby, that I cannot think of a better person who I want to parent with. Lexie is incredibly smart, considerate, beautiful, kind, and driven.
She's driven to see the best in people, and to do what's right. I used to sleep with the nurses, and get around a lot, but when I met Lexie, all of that changed.  She turned me into a better man, and I honestly cannot imaging my life without her.
My only hope is that we can instill those beliefs into our child. 

"Mark!" I hear. I turn around to see Lexie walking to me.
"Hey Lex.  How are you?  Is doing surgery still okay?  You can take off time early, you know.  I'm sure The Chief will let you."  I say.
"Mark, I'm fine. I'm going to work until the thing pops out of me, okay?  And you're not going to argue that."  Lexie says and kisses me.
"Alright, but take it easy, okay?" I say.
"Sure Mark." Lexie says and walks away.

I go check the surgical board to see if I had any surgeries I forgot about.
I see my name listed next to Derek's for a very complicated surgery. I must have forgotten about that during the whole becoming infatuated with Lexie thing.

Basically, the surgery is we cut someone face down the middle, a perfect medial cut (directly in the middle), so that we can reach a brain tumor on the bottom part of the patient's frontal lobe, which is affecting his personality. 

I run up to the skills lab, where I see Derek standing there, looking at his watch.
"I'm here, I didn't forget. Okay, I did but let's get started." I say, and I take a pair of gloves and we get out the face patient to practice on.

I'm in charge of making the incisions, and suturing the face up after the surgery. We're cutting around the face as to keep the delicate skin on the face from having a bad Frankenstein scar down it.

*In Surgery*
I cut along the hairline, past the ear, from the right side of the jaw to just above the left ear. I fold over the flap, holding the skin back with sutures.

Derek does his thing with the bone saw, the burr holes, and the cauterizer to slowly get rid of the tumor.
I do my thing with the skin and the nerves and preventing scaring, using my most advanced form of sutures that are specially for delicate skin.

*After Surgery*
"Hmm." The patient says.
"Don't try to talk.  Your jaw is wired shut, and you will be in severe pain for about a week. Nod if you understand." I say.
The patient nods.
"Nurse, please get him started on a morphing drip for the pain."
"Right away, Doctor."  A nurse says and comes back a few minutes later with the pain killer just as I finish up explaining to the patient the surgical process we went through.
"We believe that the surgery was successful, but we will know more once you can talk so we can get an accurate reading and analysis of your behavior once the wires are off, okay?"  I say.

The surgery takes the whole day, and by the time I'm done and I get up to the attending's lounge, I find Lexie sitting inside on a bench.
"Hey babe." I say, opening the door." 
"Mark!  How was the surgery?  Did it go well?  I was watching for a big up in the gallery, but you were so immersed in the whole in I don't think you saw me.  But you and Derek looked great!"  Lexie says, giving me a hug and a kiss.
"Ready to go home?"  I say, getting my coat and changing out of the scrubs. I slip my feet into tennis sneakers, and I grab my keys.
"Yeah. It's been a long day, and ever more so than usual because the fetus is taking up more energy than I thought and I can't have coffee."  Lexie says yawning. She falls asleep in the car on the way home.  I pick her up and carry her into our room and get her settled for bed. I slip into bed next to her and we fall fast asleep quickly.