Lexie Grey

"I don't know how you get up in the morning. I honestly don't. Our dad abandoned you, and your mom, by all accounts, was the meanest person ever, and you can't let Derek love you, and it all really really sucks. But ever since I knew you existed, I had this fantasy about my big sister, and you have failed on every occasion to live up to that fantasy. But I still love you, whether you are capable of letting me or not. So, I forgive you."

- Lexie Grey to Meredith Grey

Lexie Grey was the daughter of Susan and Thatcher Grey and half-sister of Meredith Grey. She was a surgical resident at Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital until she died in the plane crash. After her death, the hospital was re-named after her and Mark Sloan, the two fatal casualties from the plane crash.

Early Life
Lexie was the daughter of Thatcher Grey and his second wife, Susan. She had a younger sister, Molly Grey-Thompson. She also had an older half-sister Meredith Grey, born to Thatcher and his ex-wife Ellis, a famed surgeon. As a child, she was bright and skipped third grade. When she turned seven, her parents threw her a surprise party, which she always remembered as one of her best birthdays. She was very popular in high school, having a great group of friends, being crowned prom queen, and being class valedictorian. Near the end of Meredith's intern year, Thatcher mentioned to Meredith that Lexie was in medical school and that she soon had to choose a residency spot.

Susan's Death
When her mother Susan died of complications of the hiccups, Thatcher took to drinking and soon became an alcoholic. Despite this, Lexie stayed with her father and continued to care for him, even though he would often unreasonably and randomly lash out at Lexie.

By the time of Susan's death, both Lexie and Molly knew about Meredith's existence, though Lexie had never met Meredith before. On the day of her mother's funeral, Lexie waited in the car while Thatcher, accompanied by Molly, went to tell Meredith that she wasn't welcome at Susan's funeral, again missing the opportunity to see her older half-sister. After the funeral, Lexie went to Joe's bar where she offered to buy Derek a drink. He was visibly charmed and called her forward, to which she replied that she had a bad day, so she got to be forward today. He confessed having had a bad day too, but decided not to have a drink with her because he was there with some friends. They both agreed it was too bad, showing interest in one another.

Starting Her Internship
As Lexie started her internship, she met George O'Malley while he was cleaning out his locker in the interns' locker room. They quickly bonded and became friends. After that, Lexie started having feelings for George, which he did not reciprocate.

Bonding with Meredith
When Lexie found out that she had a sister through her father, she began to have fantasies of getting along with her. Soon, she went to Seattle Grace for her residency in hopes of meeting her. While Meredith did not appreciate Lexie's presence at first, over time, Meredith eventually tolerated her and accepted her as a sister. Lexie also confronted Meredith about her mistreatment of her on quite a few occasions, all with the good intentions of letting Meredith get to know her. After a very long time, Meredith began to care about her.

Secret Intern Surgeries
While not part of the original group of interns practicing on each other, Lexie caught her fellow interns under Yang performing simple procedures on each other. Initially creeped out by the thought, Lexie tried to get cadavers for them to practice on, instead, but even these were stolen by their residents. Realizing that she wasn't learning enough from Cristina, she eventually joined the secret intern society, and the group soon grew as more dissatisfied interns joined.

When Cristina and Meredith suspected that she was cutting herself, she tried to shut down the group temporarily, but was quelled by the new and enthusiastic member Sadie Harris. They were eventually found out by Cristina, who let them off with a warning. When Sadie told her that Meredith thought she was a priss, Lexie suggested that they perform an appendectomy on Steve, who disapproved, but Sadie volunteered to take his place. However, the operation went wrong and she went to Meredith for help. After being discovered by the Chief, she and all the involved interns were put on probation by their residents and banned from surgeries.

Falling in Love with George
Lexie met George during the end of his first year as an intern, and kept it a secret when she found out that George failed his intern exam and had to repeat his intern year. They became good friends and even rented an apartment together. Lexie, however, began to see George as more than a friend, and while they became incredibly close, George did not see her the same way, so Lexie was constantly disappointed by George's lack of response to her signals and seeming unawareness to her feelings.

Hooking Up With Alex
Lexie first came up to Alex one night when they were leaving the hospital. She initially asks for something more and Alex catches on and tells her that he's not that kind of guy. He tells her that he's the guy that people go to for the one-nighters and solely for the sex. Eventually they do have it, in Alex's room that he's living in under Meredith's roof. She catches them in the act which unnerves Alex a bit. Later on we occasionally see the two exchange kisses from time to time and go out to Joe's. In the resident locker room, Alex is caught in a 'feud' between the sisters. He says he won't continue messing around with Lexie because he doesn't want to be a part of their quarrel. Saying that he's not taking a side by refraining from messing around with Lexie she says he clearly is. Then, Ava comes claiming she wants to see Alex perform surgery. He finds her a pair of scrubs and allows her to sit on the observatory deck while he surgically removes a man's sternum with the help of Dr. Hahn and Dr. Sloan. Lexie meets Ava and asks if she's here for Sloan, but Ava says no, she's here for Alex. She asks Lexie if she knew Alex and Lexie replies with "No, I have no idea who he is."

Starting Off a Relationship with Mark
To Mark, Lexie was a "forbidden fruit", because she was Meredith's little sister and a "fetus", due to their large age gap. That's how she got her nickname Little Grey. Lexie came up to Mark and told him that the other interns were trying to take theirs mind off their so-called secret intern surgeries by having sex, but instead she wanted to learn and asked him to teach her. Mark thought this was inappropriate, but let her be on his service on "cappuccino duty". Later that day, Lexie came up to his hotel room, took off her clothes and said, "Teach me".

Relationship Troubles
Mark and Lexie's relationship started to get troubled when Sloan Riley, Mark's pregnant 18-year-old daughter, turned up at the hospital. Despite having a distant relationship with Sloan, Mark grew to become a caring father for his daughter. Since she was not ready to be a good mother for her baby on her own, Mark offered her to move in with him permanently so they could raise the baby together. Lexie confronted him and told him that she was not ready to start a family and be a grandmother yet. He begged her not to make him choose between his daughter and grandson and her, because, as Lexie figured, he'd choose for his daughter and grandson. This caused her to end the relationship with him.

Getting Back Together with Alex
After Mark and Lexie broke up, she began a short relationship with Alex when she moved back into Meredith's house. They hooked up that day since Alex was missing Izzie as well. The relationship did not last long, however, as Lexie soon got back together with Mark.

Getting Back Together with Mark
Shortly before the shooting, Mark realized his feelings for Lexie. After Teddy broke things off with him, Callie told him that his jealousy was showing and was a sign he still loved her. He confessed his love for her and told her that she should choose him instead of Alex, since he would marry her. She didn't have much of a response, since Alex interrupted Mark's confession. During the shooting, Mark and Lexie worked together to save Alex, who had been shot. Lexie told Alex she loved him, but Alex asked for Izzie, confused. Ultimately, the two broke up. After the shooting, Mark took care of her, and told Callie that he wanted to marry Lexie, but she persuaded him not to go to Lexie and propose. Lexie thought that Mark's drive to bring her away from the OR was since he thought she wasn't stable after the shooting, but April told her that it was because he loved her. Lexie went to find Mark, but found him kissing Amelia Shepherd. Later on, Mark asked Lexie for a drink, which Lexie did her best to avoid. Even though she tried not to, Lexie went to Joe's and kissed Mark, which starts their relationship again.

Starting a relationship with Jackson
When Lexie broke up with Mark, she was feeling hurt and started a relationship with Jackson until he realized that she obviously still had feelings for Mark. Unwilling to wait for her, he broke up with her.

Becoming Derek's Resident
When Meredith and Derek agreed that the solution to their relationship troubles was for Meredith to stop being on his service, Lexie took her place as his resident. Hence, Lexie spent a significant amount of time on Derek's service. She was initially intimidated by Derek due to his exacting standards and quirks, once even asking Meredith to go "have sex with him and make him nicer." Meredith would give her tips on how to get on his good side. Lexie and Derek tackled a number of hopeless cases together.

Plane Crash and Death
She was on a plane that crashed with Meredith, Cristina, Arizona, Mark, and Derek, going to another hospital for surgery to separate conjoined twins. Suddenly, the back of the plane broke off and the plane crashed in the woods.



A piece of the plane landed on top of her, crushing her pelvis and legs. Separated from the others, who were in the front part of the plane, she used a belt and knocked it against the piece of plane crushing her. Meredith, Cristina and Mark followed the sound, and found her. They concluded she was still awake and responsive, and an emotional Meredith went off to find Derek, who was still missing. Mark and Cristina tried to lift up the part of the plane, but without success. Lexie told Cristina her legs and pelvis were crushed, and was doubtful if her left arm was still there. Mark yelled at Cristina to go get fluids and oxygen tanks from the plane, and even though both she and Lexie realized that Lexie was dying, she left to get the supplies.



While waiting for Cristina to come back, Lexie asked Mark to hold her hand and tell Meredith that she was a good sister. She also wanted him to tell something to her father, but Mark refused as he didn't want to accept that she was going to die. After once again unsuccessfully trying to lift the part of the plane on his own, he realized there was nothing he could do for her, and he did take her hand. He confessed that he loved her, and Lexie said that he didn't have to say it just because she did, but he insisted that he loved her. They fantasized about how they would get married and have kids, specifically a sister and two brothers, as siblings for Sofia. Mark said she couldn't die, as they were supposed to end up together. He told her that they were meant to be. "Meant to be," she repeated with a smile. She then succumbed to her injuries, and a crying Mark closed her eyes with his one hand as he kept on holding her hand in his other hand. Seconds later, Meredith and Cristina appeared and they mourned her death together.

Together with the survivors, Lexie's body was taken out of the woods and transported back to Seattle. Cristina once told Owen about the nights in the woods, when she heard animals fighting and growling. She told him that she realized that they were fighting over Lexie's body, and that she did her best to try and keep them off of her.

Personality
Lexie came to Seattle for her mother's funeral and after, she went to Joe's. Like her sister, she met her future brother-in law Derek Shepherd there and later discovered he worked at Seattle Grace Hospital.

Voted student body president, Lexie was popular by both peers and teachers at school. Her photographic memory also made her one of the brightest in her class and not only made her a natural in the OR but also meant she knew all the periodic elements which she tells Mark Sloan when having a drink at Joe's bar.

As an intern, Lexie was portrayed to be emotionally fragile and incapable of lying or covering up. She coped with her anxiety by rambling incessantly or snacking compulsively. She was liked by the attendings for her knowledge and good instincts, but her residents generally treated her as a scut monkey or their encyclopedia.

Romantic
When Carolyn Shepherd came to Seattle, she asked Lexie how many sexual partners she had, Lexie said six or seven, kind of seven.

George O'Malley
Lexie makes her first appearance in Seattle Grace when she introduces herself to George.

Lexie learns that George O'Malley is repeating his intern year and helps him keep the other interns unaware of his failure. She and George develop an unlikely friendship over intern struggles and their strained relationships with Meredith and Callie, respectively. Lexie is shown to have been smitten with George. Mark Sloan notices this and vows to be less mean to George if she'll admit her feelings to him. As a result, Sloan is slightly more polite to the two of them and George misunderstands, thinking Lexie and Sloan are sleeping together. Lexie continues to vie for George's affections.

George finally passes his intern exam and seems to pay less attention to Lexie. The final straw occurs when he receives his new interns and Lexie discovers he hadn't the decency to even ask to have her assigned to him. She breaks down in front of him, calling herself stupid and him a jerk. Lexie had chosen to forgive George and makes a peace offering, keeping her feelings for him quiet.

As George was retaking his intern year and only Lexie knew, the two bonded and became best friends. Having parties with fellow interns such as Graciella, Megan, Steve, Pierce, Claire and later Ryan. She also moved in with George but later moved out when she was lonely and Mark insisted that Derek take her home.



Mark Sloan
While working with Mark Sloan, she developed an attraction, intensified by Derek's ban on them going out. Mark himself was initially reluctant out of loyalty to Derek as she was the sister of his best friend's wife and their age gap. One night, Lexie went to his hotel room, stripped and says "teach me", they began a secret relationship. They grew close very quickly and Mark developed true feelings for her but Lexie was tired of the secrecy and put their relationship on hold. Eventually Mark told Derek and they began dating in public. Their relationship hit a small bump when Mark decided he did not want to go to dinner with her and Thatcher because fathers didn't like him, but in the end he went. Another slightly larger bump happened when he suggested she move in with him into a condo he was considering buying but she didn't think she was ready because she was so young, then somehow the conversation turned intensely awkward when Mark accidently brought up marriage, when Lexie said in 5 years she'd still be a resident, and he said that there were plenty of residents that were even married.

When Derek performed a 'rogue surgery' on a patient with a highly complex "inoperable" spinal tumor and Lexie wanted to take part, Mark encouraged her with a huge smile and said "Go get your rogue on.", which hinted that they were in a committed relationship. When Mark's 18-year-old daughter, Sloan Riley arrives, she's supportive, even better than he was with dealing with it. But later on she proves to have some difficulty when his daughter reveals she is pregnant and Mark offers to let her stay as long as she wants in him and Lexie will be there for her, entirely not consulting Lexie on the matter. And her being a grandmother at 26 is way too much for her to take, after an argument about it later, he asks her not to make him choose between her and Sloan (his daughter) Lexie asks "Why, because you'll choose her?" and Mark responds "Yeah." And Lexie says, tearfully, "I think our relationship just ended." Then she goes to Meredith's house and gets drunk, and has a discussion with Alex, leading to her sleeping with him. She later discovers that Mark slept with Addison, and he discovers she slept with Alex. He becomes angry at her for this.

Lexie began to date Alex after his divorce with Izzie. She becomes jealous when she finds out Mark slept with Reed. Later Mark tells her he still loves her, to which she replies "I have a boyfriend" Mark tells her  "' I know. I'm just saying you could have a husband." When the shooting happened, Mark and Lexie tended to Alex's shot wound. During this, Lexie told Alex she loved him, much to Mark's disappointment. Alex left Lexie after her breakdown, and Mark took Lexie to the psych ward. At Joes, April tells Lexie that Mark loves her, that's why he always stares at her. Lexie then goes to his apartment, applies her makeup in the elevator, then is crushed to see him making out with Derek's sister, Amelia. Lexie and Mark continue to flirt. One day, he tells her he misses her. Then she asks him to talk to a nurse who hates her, to which he is willing to exchange for one drink. Upon seeing which nurse it is, he makes it two. She tells him "Fine" That night, and tells Jackson to come in during the date telling her he needs her for something as an excuse to leave the date. Lexie arrives at Joe's later, tells him that it isn't fair for either of them since Mark is at a different point in her life than Lexie. Mark responds by simply kissing her, she kisses him back. Jackson arrives to pull her out of her date, and Lexie tells him to go, and she continues to kiss Mark. What Lexie doesn't know, is that Mark had a one night stand with Callie during their breakup, and Callie is now pregnant with his child. When Mark tells Lexie, she looks at him with disbelief and then storms out of his apartment. Mark wants to make things right, but Lexie won't talk to him, so he arranges for Jackson to find out what's bothering Lexie, in exchange for scrubbing in on his surgery. Lexie, with tears in her eyes, spills the beans to Jackson about how Mark has left her behind once again and does not care about how she feels. Jackson decides not to tell Mark because he feels like Lexie told him this in good faith.

She begins a relationship with Jackson, but ends because he realize she is in love with Mark. Mark was dating a doctor from another hospital, which made Lexie jealous. Lexie tries to tell Mark she still loves him, and after many fails, she does it, but he doesn't respond. When the plane crashes, and Lexie is about to die, Mark asks her to marry him, and says they will have children, after hearing this, Lexie dies.

When Mark returns to the hospital, after the plane crash, Julia, his girlfriend was waiting for him, and she says she loves him, but he responds, "I loved Lexie."

Jackson Avery
Since Mark was still in love with Lexie, he recruited Jackson and bribed him with surgery in exchange for information about Lexie. Jackson, however, began to have feelings for Lexie and the two began dating. Lexie told Mark that she was seeing someone else when they were at Callie's baby shower. He asked if it was someone he knew, but Lexie walked away. Eventually, Mark figured it out once the two went public with their relationship. Lexie and Jackson's relationship became complicated as Mark was Jackson's mentor and it became clear to Jackson that Lexie was still in love with Mark. Jackson ended it with Lexie, saying that he, "chooses Mark".

Alex Karev
Alex and Lexie slept together once when she first became an intern at Seattle Grace Hospital. Then they later had a relationship which lasted until he called out for Izzie after being shot and she was committed to the psych ward in the aftermath of the shooting.

Thatcher Grey
Thatcher was a good father to Lexie, contrary to how he was with Meredith. As Meredith said, Lexie "never saw his bad side." Even as Lexie discovered the way Thatcher treated Meredith, she still loved him. She protected Thatcher's reputation during his alcoholism following Susan's death. Each time he visited Seattle Grace Hospital, she was warm to him. She was annoyed when he began dating again. However, Meredith eventually told Lexie it wasn't worth being angry over.

Meredith Grey
Meredith took an instant dislike to Lexie upon her arrival. Meredith truly hated the enthusiasm Lexie showed trying to get to know her. Meredith, however, quickly realized that although she had reason to hate the idea of her, she had no reason to hate Lexie herself.

Initially, she didn't like the way Lexie followed her or spoke to Derek about her. She claimed that Lexie was someone she never wanted to know, even trying to deny that Lexie was her sister. After a traumatic day, Cristina brought Lexie to Meredith's with her and Meredith made an effort to bond with her and they danced and drank tequila. The next morning, Meredith even tried to make breakfast for her and Lexie was so enthusiastic that she ate it, despite knowing she would have an allergic reaction.

Lexie and Meredith didn't get too close, as Meredith was over a surgical year older and they had two different sets of friends. As George and Lexie's friendship phased out, Lexie gave up the apartment that the two of them had shared. She moved into the attic of Meredith's house, where she occasionally bemoaned the fact that she didn’t have a proper room instead.

Once George died and Izzie left the hospital, the remaining residents became very close. Meredith and Lexie became so close that Meredith gave Thatcher a piece of her liver so that Lexie wouldn't lose her dad, because Lexie wasn't a match.

She also sat with Lexie for 36 hours after she had a PTSD breakdown following the shooting and had to be committed to the psychiatric ward. After Meredith's miscarriage, Lexie got jealous over how April was close with Meredith. Lexie was ashamed over her jealousy, but Meredith was flattered and told her, "You're not crazy. You're a Grey and you're my sister, Lexie."

When the plane crashed, Lexie died as a result of the injuries she sustained and upon hearing this, Meredith cried hysterically. While treating a patient who had similar injuries, Meredith obsessed over saving the patient's life. After successfully saving the woman, Meredith was talking to Cristina and simply said that, "Lexie's dead". From this, it appears that Meredith has accepted the fact that Lexie is gone and is at peace.

Derek Shepherd
Derek and Lexie's bond actually began romantically. Right after the funeral for her mother and before Lexie began her internship at Seattle Grace, she actually asked Derek if she could buy him a drink. She, of course, did not know he was Meredith's at the time boyfriend. This did not cause any roadblocks because as soon as Lexie realized who Derek was, she backed right off.

Unlike Meredith, Derek accepted Lexie as a sister from the beginning and repeatedly trie to persuade Meredith to be nice to her. Lexie saw him as a big brother and would seek his advice, often at the most inappropriate times. He also comforted and encouraged her after they were forced to send home a terminally ill young boy after discovering in surgery that his cancer was too advanced for them to help.

Zola Grey Shepherd
Zola is Lexie's niece. She babysat Zola while Meredith and Derek went out on Valentine's Day and presumably other various times. Lexie also referred to Zola as her "favorite little niece".

Sadie Harris
Lexie developed a short friendship with Sadie Harris when she covered for Lexie, saying that she (Sadie) gave Mark Sloan a penile fracture, even though it was actually Lexie. She later guarded the door so Lexie could visit Mark in his room.

Career
Lexie is first mentioned to Meredith when her sister Molly was pregnant and a patient at Seattle Grace. When Molly was talking to Meredith, Molly mentioned her sister and her education at Harvard University. She graduated from Harvard Medical School before being accepted to Seattle Grace's Surgical Residency Program as a first-year surgical intern. Lexie was planning on interning at Massachusetts General Hospital. However, following the death of her mother she chose to stay close to her father in Seattle. She was assigned to surgical resident Cristina Yang, who dubbed her '3' and later 'Lexipedia,' because of her photographic memory. She bore some of the same natural talent as Meredith, mainly because of her useful memory. She aced her psych clerkship. Lexie was considered the best of the interns and she even won the intern competition set up by Izzie. In her fourth (and subsequently final) year of residency, Lexie took an interest in neurosurgery and often rotated on Derek's service.

Notes and Trivia

 * She was allergic to eggs.
 * She hated apples, and thought they shouldn't be allowed to be fruits, but she liked apple juice.
 * She was a perfect artist using "Etch-a-sketch".
 * She liked math.
 * She played the trombone badly.
 * When she was expressing a point, she often waved her hands.
 * Meredith and Derek named Lexie Zola's legal guardian in their will if anything should happen to them while she was still alive.
 * When her mother died unexpectedly, she snuck into a graveyard to bury her mother's previously deceased cat beside her.
 * She had a "Photographic Memory" which helped her through medical school.
 * She was a binge eater when she was stressed.
 * Nearing the end of season five, Lexie's excessive eating was part of a private joke between the cast due to Chyler Leigh's pregnancy. Most shots with Chyler had her stomach covered.


 * Curiously, Lexie's lab coat has Lexie Grey embroidered on it, while she was officially named Alexandra. Other characters with shortened names, such as Callie and Izzie, have their official name embroidered on their lab coats.
 * Due to a change in hospital management, the Board decided a name change would be in order. Lexie features in the new name in memorium of her death: Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital.
 * In her fourth year of residency, Lexie began to show interest in neurosurgery and assisted Derek Shepherd in many of his surgeries.
 * "Lexie" is also a word in Greek, meaning "defending men".
 * Lexie dyed her hair blonde in season six.
 * Lexie's last words were "meant to be".
 * In early season nine, she is featured in several flashbacks of the plane crash.
 * Lexie is the only female main character of both shows to be killed off.
 * She skipped third grade.
 * She liked it when someone's fingers are brushed through her hair when she is in pain.
 * Yang says that she could hear animals fighting over her body at night, after her death at the plane crash and that she tried to keep them away.
 * Her criminal record consisted of one speeding ticket, 12 miles over the limit. She claimed she was drifting down a hill.
 * She was Valedictorian and prom queen.
 * She doesn't like to keep secrets.

Notable Episodes
These episodes are Lexie-centric or are otherwise very informative about her life.
 * A Change is Gonna Come
 * All By Myself
 * P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)
 * All You Need is Love
 * Let the Bad Times Roll
 * Flight

Memorable Quotes
Lexie (to Mark): Mark, I'm dying. Please tell Meredith I love her and that she is a good sister.

Lexie: What is it about guys with babies that make women crazy?

Lexie: They don't know us. They think that we're ugly but I know that we're beautiful and we can adapt to a hostile environment.

Lexie (to Mark): I love you. Oh God.. oh, my God, that just came flying out of my face. I love you. I just... I did it again. I love you. I do. I just, I love you. And I have been trying not to say it. I have been trying so hard to just mash it down and ignore it and not say it. And Jackson is a great guy, he is. He's gorgeous, and he's younger than you, and he doesn't have any grandkids or babies with his lesbian BFFs, and he's an Avery and he liked me. You know, he really liked me. But it was never gonna work out! Because I love you. I am so in love with you. And you're in me. You're like--it's like you're a disease. It's like I am infected by Mark Sloan and I just can't think about anything or anybody and I can't sleep. I can't breathe. I can't eat. And I love you. I just love you all the time. Every minute of every day. I love you.

Lexie: The problem is we're human. We want more than to just survive. We want love.

Lexie: Mark said he misses me, but I miss him, I really, really miss him. He thinks that I still love Jackson but I try to tell him I don't, try to tell him I still love him. But I open my mouth and nothing comes out, and everything is terrible.

Lexie (to Meredith): I’m not stalking you. I just… I hate apples. Hate them. Think they shouldn’t be allowed to be a fruit. That’s one. And… and two, I can draw really, really well on an etch a sketch. Like, really well, like I could be a professional if, you know, that profession existed. I play the trombone… badly. Uh, I like Math. And I notice that you do this thing with your hands when you’re trying to make a point, like… like… like this. And I know that that’s about you, but I … I do it, too. So it’s also about me. And that’s five. Five things that I’m hoping will make it a little bit harder for you to hate me.

Appearances
Lexie Grey Lexie Grey Lexie Grey