Title: Unfinished

Pairings/ Characters: George, Slexie, with an appearance by Meredith

Warnings: Some Adult Themes

Summary: George returns to Seattle after four years only to discover just how much has changed with Lexie!

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters. Those Slexie fans at ABC do.

A/N: This story idea was running through my head all morning. I wanted someone else's perspective on Slexie, and I like the idea of a Slexie future.

*

George O'Malley stared at the high rise before him and then looked back down at the address on his palm pilot. This couldn't be right. There was no way that Lexie lived in this building. It had been four years since their crappy apartment, but she was a resident. Residents couldn't afford places like this. George wondered, not for the first time, if he had misheard Meredith on the phone. The reception had been really bad when he had been asking her about where Lexie lived now.

O'Malley sighed. He still felt guilty about the way he had left things with Lexie.

***

That night had been the worst of his life. He had just performed his first solo surgery, and preceded to kill his patient. The chief had told him that it wasn't his fault; that the appendix had ruptured and made the patient go into sepsis, but that hadn't made George feel better. He had felt like a failure. 007, that was certainly an apt name. He had wanted nothing more than to go back to his apartment and talk to his best friend. But when he had gotten there, Lexie was nowhere to be found. She had been missing a lot lately, in fact. She wasn't coming home at night, and Lexie seemed distant when he saw her in the hospital. Normally George would have just left it alone, but that night he had needed her.

He had called Christina almost immediately.

"What do you want 007?" Christina had asked acerbically.

"Is Lexie on call tonight?"

"Why are you asking me?"

"You're her resident!" George practically shouted into his phone. "You scheduled her!"

"Good point," Christina said. She then paused and said "stop" to someone in the background and then said, "She is not on call tonight, George. Three was on call on Tuesday, not tonight. Hmm," Christina said with a laugh. "Maybe she is getting laid. Good for Lexipedia."

George had hung up without a thank you. He tried her cell phone many times, and then sat on their couch and just waited. That night a million things had gone through his mind. He had worried about her, and he had thought a lot about what Graziella had said to him. Lexie was in love with him. George had ignored that at the time, and now he couldn't help but wonder if he shouldn't have.

At around five in the morning, George had finally heard Lexie's key in the lock. When she had entered, George said, "Where have you been?"

Lexie had jumped a foot in the air. "Jesus Christ, George. You scared me!"

"Where have you been, Lexie?" George asked again, standing and raising his voice.

Lexie closed the door, and not looking at him she said, "I was on call."

"You're lying," George said. "I called Christina. You weren't on call. Where were you Lexie?"

"Why does it matter?" Lexie had said with some exasperation in her voice.

"Because we are roommates and I am concerned about you. You are never here anymore. You are always gone, ever since a month ago, the night Alex had his solo surgery."

"Like you care," Lexie said with a laugh. "I am a big girl, George. I can take care of myself."

"Maybe the better question to ask would be who you have been with," George said, stuttering on the last couple of words.

"My personal life is none of your business, George."

George looked at her as if she punched him. "I don't understand what is going on with you. We used to tell each other everything. You cared about what happened in our friendship. You weren't even in the gallery at my solo surgery tonight."

Lexie cringed. "That's right; that was tonight. How did it go?"

"I killed the patient! I killed a man, and when I came home I wanted to talk to my best friend about it!" George yelled.

Lexie looked chastened. "I am sorry, George. I am sorry, but I am not your best friend. I never was. You used me as a substitute after your relationship with Izzie Stevens exploded, but I was never your best friend, and you were never mine. I have a best friend, and believe me, our relationship is utterly different than yours and mine." Lexie looked as if she regretted her tone, but her eyes conveyed the utter sincerity of her statement.

George shook his head. "I don't even recognize you anymore."

Lexie bit her lip and then said, "That's not my fault."

"I am leaving Seattle," George said. "I am leaving the program. It is obvious I am not cut out for surgery. I have been offered a chance to join a practice in Walla Walla and I am going to take it."

Lexie nodded. "Maybe that's best."

George felt his stomach sink. She really didn't care if he left. He could hardly reconcile the woman standing in front of him with the sweet girl he had thought to be one of his best friends. "So that's it?" He asked.

"Yeah," She said. "That's it."

***

George entered the apartment high-rise and went straight to the bank of elevators. The lobby was impressive. Granite floors and polished steel on the walls.

When the elevators opened, George went in and pressed twenty-seven. George shook his head. He couldn't believe that Lexie lived on the top floor of such a place. The elevator reached the floor in no time, and George started to have the suspicion that this was one of those apartment buildings which looked simple, but really had everything state-of-the-art. When he stepped of the elevator, he faced an elegant hallway with marble floors and wood paneling. It was nothing like the lobby, and looked as if it belonged in a top hotel.

George looked at the only door on the floor and realized this was the penthouse. He shook his head. Lexie lived in the penthouse?

O'Malley felt increasingly like he had misunderstood, but he knocked on the door anyway. Just in case.

After ten agonizing moments, the door opened to reveal Lexie. George felt as if he had been punched in the gut. She looked as beautiful as ever, with only small alterations. Her hair was longer, and layered with side swept bangs. And her face looked even more beautiful than it had before. She looked happy, as if reaching her thirtieth birthday had brought her an inner calm that she hadn't had before.

"George?" Lexie laughed happily. "George, what are you doing here?" Lexie pulled him into a hug, her happy laugh echoing in his ears.

George's senses were immediately engulfed with the simple and lovely smell of her hair. When she pulled back, she smiled at him. "Come in, come in."

Lexie turned and led him into the apartment.

George had been right, it was the penthouse. It opened onto a vast living room with ceiling to floor windows which looked out over the vast city. There were hallways on both sides on the living room which George assumed led to the bedrooms and the kitchen. George also noticed that there were boxes lining the halls and a couple in the corner of the living room.

"So how did you find me?" Lexie asked with a smile.

"Meredith gave me the address. I didn't quite realize where it was you lived. This place is amazing, Lexie."

She smiled. "Well, enjoy it while you can. We're in the process of moving."

George was about to ask who "we" was, but then he stopped. He really didn't want to know. Instead he asked, "Where to?"

"Near Derek and Meredith," Lexie said as she led him to the couch. She sat on one end, and George sat on the other.

"That's nice," George mumbled.

"So what are you doing in Seattle, George?"

"I am here for a seminar at the Archfield."

"What area did you end up going into?" Lexie asked.

"Pediatrics," George said.

Lexie smiled. "I can see you doing that. I bet you are loved by your patients."

George shrugged and smiled a little. "It's easy to treat kids; mostly they just want to know how things work. It's when they are really sick, and there is nothing that you can do that is really hard. Telling a parent that their child has cancer, that's the worst."

Lexie nodded.

"So what is your specialty?" George asked. "You are a fourth year resident now, right?"

"Right. And I went into Plastics. Turns out my pulley stitches were only the beginning." Lexie smiled, as if she was remembering something.

George wrinkled his nose a bit. "Plastics? That means you work directly under Sloan? That must be awful."

Lexie laughed, and opened her mouth to respond, "George, there is something you need to know—"

The front door opened, and a little voice yelled "Mommy!"

A little brunette girl came tearing into the room and launched herself at Lexie. George could only stare in shock. She looked identical to Lexie, but her eyes, they were ice blue. There was something familiar about them.

"Lex, can you come get Xander?"

George could hardly believe his ears. He turned and saw Mark Sloan standing by the door with a baby in his arms.

Lexie stood, and walked over and took the baby and the carrier from Mark. They kissed in greeting, and then Mark picked up the bag of groceries that was at his feet. He then saw who was sitting on the couch.

"O"Malley? What are you doing here?"

Mark walked into the living room, and the little girl took the opportunity to hide behind his legs.

Lexie walked back in as well, cradling the baby in her arms. "He is here for a conference, Mark." She smiled at him. "He came to visit."

Mark just nodded. He wasn't rude, but he was watching George warily.

George was at a loss, so he instead looked at the baby in Lexie's arms. "Who is this little guy?"

"This is Xander," Lexie said proudly. "And that's Mia, hiding."

The little girl giggled and then poked her face out behind her father's legs. Mark smiled and flipped her up into his arms, with her laughing hysterically the whole time.

"Xander?" George said to Lexie. "That is interesting."

Lexie laughed. "It's Mark's fault. He didn't want to call the baby Alexander, and refused to call him Alex, so Xander was born."

"Alex?" George stuttered. "You named him after Alex?"

"Not my idea," Mark said, moving to a chair across from the couch with Mia in his arms. Lexie sat with the baby as well, and George took his seat too.

"Alex delivered him," Lexie explained. "I had come to the hospital for an appointment, and we got stuck in the elevator and I went into labor."

George nodded, as if that made perfect sense.

"So anyway, we named the baby after him as a thank you."

George nodded again. "So when did you two get…um…"

"Married?" Mark supplied. "We were married about three and a half years ago."

"So, right after I left then?" George asked, looking at Lexie.

She nodded, smiling. George suddenly put two and two together and realized who Lexie had been spending her nights with back then. It was amazing to see her now. She looked completely at ease with a baby in her arms. And Mark, well it was amazing to see the frightening Dr. Sloan making funny faces at his daughter.

They looked like a family.

George felt like an intruder, and struggled to make it less awkward. "So you are moving to be near Meredith?"

Lexie laughed and look at Mark as if they shared a secret. They did, George thought, they must share many. "Yes, we got tired of spending all our time carpooling to and from their house. It is easier to just live near them."

Mia was nodding her head emphatically. "Soon, we are gonna live in the forest with Uncle Der, Aunt Mer-Mer and Nate!"

"Not with them," Mark said with a laugh. "Near them, sweetie pie."

Lexie explained, "We bought land next to theirs and we had a house built."

"Nate is Meredith's son, right?" George asked. He had heard about her marriage, which he hadn't been invited to, and the baby, which he had never seen.

Lexie nodded. "He and Mia are attached at the hip. We can't keep them apart for more than a few hours before they start asking for each other." She smiled as she said it. "Plus, it will be nice to be near Meredith. Our phone bills were getting rather ridiculous, almost as much as the calls between Mark and Derek."

"Hey!" Mark said in protest. "We aren't that bad."

Lexie just laughed and shook her head.

George realized then that he had missed so much. Somehow, Lexie and Meredith had become friends, and real sisters. She was married with two kids, and Mark Sloan seemed to be a one woman guy.

"So, Plastics, huh?" George said.

Lexie nodded. "Like I was about to tell you earlier, after the probation that the interns got put on, I kept getting assigned to Plastics, do you remember?"

George nodded. Cristina had thought she was punishing Lexie.

"Well, I proved to be good at it, and Mark was happy to teach me." Her eyes got dark when she looked at her husband, and George wondered if there wasn't some meaning behind that statement.

"You were a good student," Mark replied, his voice lowered. George knew then that there was definitely something behind those statements.

George couldn't take anymore. He stood. "I have to go, I am presenting at the conference this afternoon."

Lexie smiled. "Oh, okay. Thanks for stopping by."

George nodded. "It was good to see you Lexie." He nodded at Mark. "Dr. Sloan." Mark nodded back at him. George fled then, walking to the door. When he reached it, he watched for a moment and saw Lexie walk over to Mark with the baby still in her arms. She sat on the arm of the chair and kissed Mark, then pulling back with a smile. They looked like a picture, her sitting near him like that, with their two children in their arms.

George left quietly, wondering how this had happened. In his mind, Lexie marrying Mark Sloan had never been a possibility. He couldn't seem to believe it had been real.

When George got back to his hotel, where he did not have a presentation, he went into his room and decided to make a call.

"Hello?"

"Meredith? It's George. So I just went to see Lexie."

"Oh?"

"How…when…how?" George stuttered into the receiver.

"So you know then."

"Know what?" George asked. "Know that Lexie is married to Mark Sloan and has two kids with him? Um, yeah, I think I know. How could you not tell me?"

Meredith paused. "I didn't know how. I still can't believe it myself sometimes. Besides, it is not something you exactly say over the phone."

"Here's how: Hey George, you know Lexie, my sister and the girl you lived with? Yeah, well, she is now married with two kids. Oh, and Mark Sloan is the babydaddy."

Meredith laughed. "Sorry, George."

George shrugged, even though he knew she couldn't see him. "How did this happen Meredith? They were together before I left, weren't they? Why didn't you tell me?"

She sighed. "We didn't know. None of us did. I think Callie suspected, and Sadie too, but neither of them ever said anything. Lexie and Mark kept their relationship a secret for a long time. Mostly because of this promise I had Derek make Mark agree to. I thought there was a little too much flirting between them, so I intervened. Mark felt really guilty for having broken his promise, and I think Lexie didn't want people to think less of her."

"Cause it was Sloan?" George asked.

"No, cause he was her attending. I guess we were more alike than I knew, huh?" Meredith paused, and then said, "Well, anyway, they kept it secret and no one knew, but then Lexie had an accident."

"What happened?"

"She had been driving home and she was hit by a drunk driver. When they rushed her to the emergency room…well, it didn't look good. Mark started freaking out and when her heart stopped, he kept performing CPR, even when the chief told him to stop. When she wasn't coming back, Mark started crying and yelling about how she couldn't leave him and how he loved her. He then pounded on her chest one more time and she came back. I think we were all crying by that point. But Mark just kept kissing her forehead and whispering "thank you."

"He didn't leave her bedside for days. When she finally recovered, they were married and Mia came nine months later."

George could hardly believe all that he had missed. "I have to go Meredith."

"Okay, George."

"Oh, and Meredith?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

When George put down the phone, he sighed. He then lay back on the hotel bed and stared at the ceiling. He didn't know what he had been expecting from Lexie when he had gone to visit her, but he had never expected this. Lexie was married; Lexie was happy.

George wondered if she had been right to not tell him about Mark all those years ago. He wouldn't have understood, George knew that. He would never have believed that Mark Sloan could be anything…more.

George pictured the way Lexie had looked today. She was happy. He was glad for that.

George swallowed his own disappointment, and then realized he no longer had a reason to be in Seattle. It was time to return to Walla Walla. He had come back to settle things, and now he had.

He didn't belong here anymore.

He was finished.

*

A/N: Review, please.