Meredith was angry. Lexie hadn't trusted her enough to tell her that Mark Sloan was Andy's father. Her head was still reeling. She looked over at Andy who was currently looking down at the birth certificate. Meredith couldn't even imagine what was going through her head right now. They sat in a somewhat awkward silence as Meredith drove.
"Let's try to call your mom again, huh?" Meredith asked as they came to a stop light.
"Why bother? She's…probably stuck in surgery or something." Andy said nonchalantly.
"Andy….sweetie, I'm sure your mom has a perfectly acceptable explanation—"
"Aunt Meredith, please don't," Andy shook her head, not wanting to hear the excuses her aunt was about to give her. "She's your sister and I understand you want to sit there and defend her but not for this. This is…its unforgivable," Andy was on the verge of tears. "All my life she…she sat there and she lied! She told me he didn't want me and the truth is, he doesn't even know I exist." Andy let the tears run down her face.
"I'm so sorry, sweetie." Meredith said as she squeezed Andy's shoulder.
"Me too because I've been without a dad all my life and I've missed out on that." Andy wiped her face.
"You guys are going to talk about it, okay? And everything is going to be fine." Meredith assured her. She looked up and watched as the light changed. She stepped on the gas and aunt and niece continued to their destination. Meredith pulled up to the house and before she and Andy got out the car, Meredith turned to her.
"Andy, will you let me have the birth certificate?" Meredith asked and she handed it over wordlessly. Meredith stuffed the document into her coat pocket. "Please, don't say anything to anybody until you and your mom have talked. Promise me that."
"Okay." Andy sighed and then laughed suddenly.
"What is it?" Meredith asked confused.
"This means Sofia is my half-sister." Andy laughed and shook her head at the same time. Meredith looked from her niece to the front of her house.
"I hadn't thought of that," Meredith said truthfully. "But yeah, she is."
"This has got to be the most messed up holiday I've ever had in my life." Andy commented before they got out the car. Meredith grabbed the casserole and pie and opened the front door. She could hear Lucy, Callie, and Arizona laughing in the kitchen.
"Why don't you go upstairs? Kylie, Sofia, and Jennifer are all up there."
"Alright." Andy said as she headed to the stairs. Meredith watched her go up them and then she walked into the kitchen with the food.
"Hey! How's it going in here?" Meredith asked as she put on her façade.
"Hey, Grey!" Callie turned to see Meredith putting the food on the counter. "It's going pretty good."
"Super," Meredith smiled. "Where's Derek?" Meredith asked them.
"He, Karev, and Dylan are watching the game." Arizona told her.
"Mark and Julia aren't here yet?" She asked.
"No…I think they're going to take their time getting here." Callie said mischievously.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"I think he's going to propose to her." Callie said happily.
"Oh? Realy? Why…uh…why do you think that?"
"Well, I went ring shopping with him a few weeks ago and then hinted that it was going to be a memorable Thanksgiving." Callie squealed.
"Awww," Lucy gushed. "Good for them."
"Yeah. It's about time." Arizona added.
"Yep…I'll be right back." Meredith said before leaving the room so she could talk to Derek. She headed towards the den where she could hear Derek, Alex, and Alex's son, Dylan cheering and shouting about the football game.
"Go! Go! Go!" Alex was shouting while Derek and Dylan shouted "No!"
"I hate to break this up but Derek, I've got to talk to you about something." Meredith announced as they noticed her.
"Okay but you've got to wait until commercial." Derek said.
"No! Right now Derek!" Meredith put her hands on her hips.
"Alright, alright." Derek said as Meredith led him out of the room and outside to the car. He looked at her confused.
"Get in," Meredith said as she got into her car. "I had to make sure nobody would hear us." She told him as he shut the door.
"I see," Derek said as he leaned in to kiss her. "Is this one of those holiday sex escapades?"
"What? No!" Meredith swatted his arm. "I didn't bring you out here to have sex! I brought you out here to show you this." Meredith pulled the birth certificate out of her coat pocket and handed it to Derek.
"What the hell did I just read?" Derek asked as he looked up at Meredith.
"Why the hell would she do that to Andy?" Meredith asked.
"Why would she do it to Mark? She saw what he went through when Sloane came here!" Derek came to his friend's defense.
"I…I don't know what to do here, Derek."
"Where is she now?" Derek asked.
"She had an emergency at the hospital but she's going to come here when she's done there. I've tried to call her but I'm not getting an answer."
"I guess we're just going to have to wait until she gets here." Derek shrugged.
"Yeah," Meredith nodded. "I guess we will."
Lexie was aggravated that by the time she'd come out the hospital, it was close to six p.m. and dinner at Meredith's had started at five-thirty. She made her way to the parking lot so she could head to her sister and brother-in-law's house. She drove down the familiar highway and roads until she turned on their street. She had to settle for parking on the street since everyone was already parked in the driveway. She went up to the door and rang the bell. She was expecting Meredith or Derek to open the door but Cristina was the one she was face to face with when the door opened.
"Lexie!" Cristina said as she let her in. "Long time no see."
"Same here," Lexie said as she took off her coat and hung it in the closet. "Where's everyone?"
"At the table but Meredith is in the kitchen and she said as soon as you walked in, she needed to see you ASAP."
"Alright." Lexie said as she headed straight to the kitchen. She walked in to see Meredith holding a wine glass and was hunched over the sink. "Meredith?"
"Where the hell have you been?" Meredith turned on her quickly. "I've been trying to call you…never mind. Just come with me." Meredith sighed as she led the way. Lexie followed Meredith until they were upstairs in Meredith's study.
"What're we—"
"Don't. Say. A. Word." Meredith said coldly. She reached in her desk and handed a piece of paper to Lexie. Lexie hesitantly took it and began to unfold it. She gasped when she realized what it was.
"How…how did you get this?" Lexie asked, scared.
"Andy found it, Lexie. You've got a lot of explaining to do to a lot of people." Meredith's voice was dangerously low.
"Why….why the hell was she looking for it in the first place?"
"That is not the concern at the moment. Why didn't anybody know about this?"
"He was already having a kid with Callie and by the time I find out, I was across the country."
"I'm not hearing anything but excuses," Meredith told her."What were you thinking, Lexie?"
"I don't know!" Lexie yelled but then remembered all the people downstairs. "I don't know. I wanted to tell him but when you and Derek came and he let it slip that Mark was seeing Julia…Mark was happy and he'd moved on. I didn't want to interfere with that like I had so many times before." She said quietly.
"How could you do it? What about Andy? What about Mark? Do you know how unbelievably selfish you were being to the both of them?"
"At first, I felt insanely guilty but as time went on…I…I could take care of Andy by myself and we didn't need him."Lexie said as she ran a hand through her hair.
"A child always needs their dad, Lexie," Meredith said heatedly. "And why did you feel that you couldn't tell me about this?"
"And have you go off and tell Derek who would've most certainly told Mark? Absolutely not!"
"What would've been so bad about having Mark in Andy's life?"
"It would've been messy," Lexie said as she stood up and began to pace. "He would've tried to have some kind of custody and somehow, he would've made me come back here because I can't see him leaving a pregnant Callie and his unborn child so—"
"So you hid out in Boston." Meredith shook her head.
"Please don't be mad at me, Mer."
"Lexie, I'm like a freakin advocate for kids who grow up without their dads. I'm damn mad at you because what you did was ten times worse than what my mom did. Not only did you take this child away from her father, he didn't even know she existed so he didn't even have the chance to fight for her."
"Mer—"
"I'm going to go get Andy so you guys can talk." Meredith said as she exited the room, without glancing backwards. Lexie waited a few moments but looked up when the door creaked. Andy closed the door behind her and stared blankly at her mother.
"Andy—" Lexie started but was cut off.
"Why? Why did you do it? I mean…how could you do it?" Andy's voice cracked. "All of those times when I asked you about why I didn't have a dad…you lied." Andy cried.
"Andria…please," Lexie felt tears in her own eyes. She stepped towards Andy to hug her but Andy moved away from her.
"Don't touch me," Andy said painfully. "I don't know you. You aren't my mother." Andy sniffed.
"Hear me out—"
"Okay," Andy squinted. "I'll hear you out because you've got to have some valid excuse for keeping a kid away from their dad and vice versa for almost sixteen years."
"I…he was happy with his life here and I didn't want to mess that up for him."
"That's bullshit." Andy growled.
"Andria! Watch your mouth. I understand that you're upset but I am still your mother and I deserve some respect."
"Respect?" Andria scoffed. "I can barely look at you right now, mother."
"Can we please talk about this at home?" Lexie asked wearily.
"Home?" Andy laughed cynically. "What makes you think I would go home with you? After all this?"
"Because—"
"Is everything alright in here?" Andy and Lexie looked towards the door to see Mark looking between the two of them.
"Yes." Lexie cleared her throat.
"Are you serious?" Andy yelled as she looked at Lexie and then back at Mark. "No, everything is not fine."
"Andria. Don't." Lexie said sternly.
"Why not? I believe he's a pretty important part of this conversation, don't you?" Andy asked. Lexie pinched the bridge of her nose and looked down.
"What're you talking about Andy?" Mark asked confused.
"Andria." Lexie said once again as she looked up at her daughter.
"Andria what? Everyday of my life you told me he didn't want me but I know the truth now and he deserves it too," She turned away from Lexie and looked at Mark "She's been keeping a daughter from you for almost 16 years, just thought you should know." Andy said before she walked past Mark and out of the room. Mark noticed that Lexie wasn't trying to deny that bold statement.
"Lexie?" Mark asked. Lexie refused to look him in the eye. "Dammit Lexie, look at me!" Mark said angrily. Lexie slowly looked up at Mark.
"Is it true?" Mark struggled to get out. A moment of silence passed between them before Lexie was able to find her voice.
"Yes." Lexie said quietly but loud enough for him to hear her.
"I don't…I can't believe you of all people would do this to me. And you knew what I had been through with…Samantha and Addison. How could you do it?"
"I thought I was protecting her. I didn't want her to become a second thought to you."
"Just because you felt that way with Sloane and Sofia doesn't mean I was going to do it to her. I can't even talk to you about this right now…I can't even stand to look at you right now." Mark said slowly. Those words stung Lexie to her core. She watched as Mark slammed the door and could hear the concern and worries of everyone downstairs. She drowned them out and sunk to the floor as she held herself and cried.
Andy was sitting on a bench in her aunt and uncle's backyard that overlooked the skyline of Seattle. She couldn't deal with the people in the house right now. She couldn't put on a fake smile and act like everything was fine. She hugged her knees to her chest and let the tears flow down her cheeks. She looked up as she felt someone draping something around her arms. She looked and found herself staring into a pair of blue eyes that were the same as her own. Mark grimaced at her.
"Mind if I sit?" He asked. Andy didn't feel like speaking so she just shrugged her shoulders and turned her focus back to the skyline. She felt Mark sit down next to her. "Look, Andy. This…is awkward as hell."
"You've got that right," Andy snorted. "It's not every day that you find out your friend's dad is also your dad."
"Yeah," Mark sighed as he rubbed the back of his neck. "I…I just want to know what you think we should do."
"You're the adult and you're asking me?" Andy said as she turned to look at Mark.
"Obviously, you're a young woman now and…all I'm saying is that it's up to you if you want me in your life or not."
"We've never had a fight." Andy said suddenly.
"What?" Mark asked confused.
"Mom and I," Andy clarified. "We've never gotten into a fight and it's weird…not talking to my mother because it's always been just me and her. I've never not talked to her." Andy realized.
"I'm sorry about that."
"I think I hate her." Andy said, her voice cracking.
"No you don't," Mark told her softly. "You think you do but you're just really pissed off at her and you feel like you can't look at her. Trust me, I know. I've been there with your mother twice…well now three times."
"I keep asking myself why would she do this? A woman who would do this, isn't my mom…she can't be. My mom is nice and funny, smart, truthful."
"I wish I had an answer for you but all I can tell you is that your mom's train of thought wasn't in the right place when she decided to do this."
"She said you were happy with your life here and she didn't want to mess that up for you. What did she mean by that?"
"Remember when I told you why your mom and I broke up?"
"Yeah."
"There's more to the story than I was willing to let on," Mark sighed heavily. "Your mom and I were very happy with each other and very much in love but unbeknownst to me, I had an eighteen year old daughter named, Sloane. She showed up to the hospital and she stayed with your mom and I and I didn't ask for your mom's opinion on the matter of Sloane staying with us. Sloane told me during this time that she was pregnant and that her mother kicked her out. Me wanting to be the good dad, I told her she could stay with us. Once again, I didn't ask for your mom's opinion; she was really young when all this happened—around twenty-five— and she didn't want to be a step-mom and a step-grandma. It was just too much for her."
"So you guys broke up?"
"Yeah." He told her.
"But I wasn't born until mom was twenty-seven."
"That was the first time we broke up. Sloane eventually left and gave the baby up for adoption. About a year went by and your mother was seeing someone else but they eventually broke up. I was….sleeping around a lot and I slept with Callie during this time. Your mom and I got back together but I didn't know Callie was pregnant yet. When I found out, I told your mom and she was furious and we broke up again because she couldn't handle being a step-mom and what not. She left for Boston and that was the last I'd heard from her."
"And then she found out she was pregnant with me." Andy said slowly.
"Yeah, I guess."
"You guys have a really rocky past, huh?"
"Yeah."
"If she would've told you…about me, what would've happened?"
"First, I would've come to Boston and see if I could get her to come back to Seattle and if that didn't work, I was going to try to get some type of custody and see if I could get some court order for her to move back to Seattle."
"I think you would've been a really great dad to me, Mark."
"I think so too," He smiled sadly. "It's up to you, Andy, if you want me in your life now." Mark told her.
"I know," She sniffed. "I've just got to think about it."
"Okay," Mark nodded. "Do you want my telephone number?"
"Sure." Andy nodded as she passed him her phone so he could enter his number.
"Andy, please don't say anything to Sofia about this. I want to be the one to tell her. Is that okay with you?"
"Yeah…that's fine." Andy said as she accepted her phone back from him.
"Well, I'm going to head out. I need to clear my head." He told her.
"I totally understand," Andy said. "Here's your coat." Andy said as she began to hand it to him.
"Keep it," he told her. "It's cold out here."
"Okay." She nodded.
"See you later, kid." He told her before walking away.
"Bye," Andy whispered to herself. "Dad."
"Everyone's gone." Meredith said as she entered the study. It broke her heart that she saw Lexie looking so fragile.
"Where's Andy?" Lexie croaked.
"She's outside…clearing her head," Meredith said as she came and sat down beside Lexie. "I'm sorry for—"
"Don't apologize, Mer. You were absolutely right. I deserved every word you said to me and I deserved every word that Andy and Mark said to me too."
"You made a mistake…a big one but you're only human and you can't beat yourself up about it for too long. Just keep going."
"Yeah," Lexie sighed. "I never meant for any of this to happen."
"I know you didn't, Lex."
"She hates me, he hates me, I hate me," Lexie got up from the floor. "I think since Andy is staying here tonight, I'll drown my sorrows in tequila."
"What good would that do?" Meredith asked as she got up too.
"It wouldn't do any good, just make me feel numb for a while and I don't have to think about the fact that I screwed up royally," She sighed before her stomach grumbled. "I didn't even get to eat anything." Lexie groaned.
"There's still some food left." Meredith told her.
"Thanks but no thanks. I just want to go home." Lexie shrugged.
"Alright," Meredith agreed. "I'm always here to talk, you know."
"Yeah, I know." Lexie said gently before she left the study and walked down the stairs. She glanced towards the backyard and saw Andy sitting on the bench. She sighed and walked outside, stopping right behind the bench.
"I know you're utterly and completely pissed at me right now. Trust me, I'm utterly and completely pissed at me right now. I just want you to know that my intentions made sense to me at the time and I thought they were the best intentions for you. I love you Andria so much and nothing will ever change that. You're my baby girl and I am so sorry that I hurt you," Lexie started to cry. "I would never ever intentionally hurt you. I'm going to go now. Whenever you're ready to talk, just call me. Don't stay out here too long honey; it's cold." Lexie finished as she kissed the back of Andy's hair before walking towards her SUV to drive home by herself.