Come lie with me

Chapter 30

Well, it is here: the end. I am not one hundred percent happy with this epilogue, but I suspect that it is because I do not want this story to end. I have loved writing every line, but more than that, much more than that, I have loved sharing this with you all.

There is just something about Mark and Lexie, and I have a feeling that my writing for them is not done. Perhaps I will have more to say at a later date; I might go back and do a couple more one-shots set in or after this story. Who knows?

Anyway, thank you all for reading. You kept this going.

And for the last time... enjoy!

Epilogue

New York was beautiful in the springtime. Mark had always thought so, but he had never truly appreciated it until he lived across the country in Seattle. Now, being back in the city that he loved, Mark felt nostalgic for all the things that he had missed. The Met, Yankee Stadium (he was still bitter that it was gone), his favorite Italian restaurant on Fifth, and the façade of his brownstone on Seventy-fifth and Lexington.

But as he sat in the little café near his old home, Mark wondered when Manhattan had become so small. Seattle, with its encroaching forests and curving bays, never felt this small.

"Do you need change?"

Mark looked up at the cute waitress who had brought his leftovers back to the table. He smiled to himself as he thought about what a difference a two years can make. "No, the rest is for you," Mark said, handing her the check and her tip.

"Mark? Is that you, Sloan?"

Mark turned to see Devon Cartwright, a fellow surgeon who Mark had worked with in New York, standing before him.

He stood, holding out his hand. "Devon! It is good to see you!"

"What the hell are you doing here, man?" Devon said, clasping Mark on the back. "I thought you were still living in Seattle."

"I am," Mark said. "But I came back for the week. I had to take care of some things with the house, and I wanted to visit."

Devon shook his head. "So you are still stuck in Seattle, then?"

"Yep," Mark said with a smile.

"Don't you just hate it?" Devon asked.

"It grows on you," Mark replied. "In fact, I—"

"How's Shepherd?" Devon cut in. "I heard he and Addison called it quits."

"Yeah, a two and a half years ago," Mark said.

Devon smiled at him. "Too bad, huh?"

"Actually," Mark said, "Derek is very happy now. He is married to a wonderful woman, Meredith Grey. Ellis Grey's daughter, you know. And they just had a son, Nate, about nine months ago."

"Good for him," Devon said. "Shepherd did always like domesticity, didn't he? Figures he would be married a second time before you or I had our first marriage, eh Sloan?"

Mark laughed. "Actually, I got married before Derek did."

Devon looked at him in shock.

"You're kidding, right?" Devon asked.

Mark shook his head and held up his left hand. "It will be two years in four months."

Devon's face was still in surprise.

"And here she is now," Mark said, watching as Lexie came from the back of the restaurant holding their daughter in her arms.

Lexie smiled at Mark as she walked back over to their table. When she reached him, he took their daughter and settled her against his chest, and smiled at Lexie in greeting.