Author's Note: Another "what if.." au story. Still working on Live and Learn but had to at least post this idea.
Meredith Grey sighed as she pulled her red Kate Spade suitcase out of the trunk of the taxicab. She quickly tipped the man and made her way up the stairs of her old Seattle Home. On the outside it was just the way they left it after her mother Ellis Grey, world renown surgeon, decided to move up her practice to Manhattan along with Meredith's author father Thatcher. Needless to say the family didn't stay together longer than a year and Thatcher left a five-year-old Meredith in the custody of her mother. Ellis, not wanting to have to deal with her rebellious and boisterous teenager, sent Meredith to a boarding school in Connecticut. With her newfound freedom she quickly made friends with Jack and the Captain, starting her party girl days early. After graduating from high school and having her face plastered about the glossy pages of Us Weekly and People, Meredith decided to live a normal life. She attended Medical school at Dartmouth and was quickly accepted to some of the most prestigious surgical internships around the country. Besides having this partying reputation she was a brilliant student destined for greatness like her mother. All this came crashing to an abrupt stop when Meredith passed out on the wheel of her Mercedes and ran into a fire hydrant. No one was hurt but she was still charged with reckless endangerment and ordered to three hundred hours of community service. Meredith had already decided to spend her seven years, as a surgical intern at Seattle Grace but was unable to start her internship and complete her hours. So here she was back in her childhood home fulfilling her community service sentence at the place she was suppose to start her medical career.
As Meredith stepped onto the curb she sighed again, heavily, and pushed her Oliver People's sunglasses onto the bridge of her nose. She walked the steps lethargically with her three suitcases until she reached the front door. Meredith rummaged through her bag and pulled out the keys unlocking the door and stepping into the house. The faint smell of paint wafted into her nostrils as she set her luggage down and began to meander through her home. A few boxes were peppered about the house but it was mostly furnished. Spotting a post it note on a mirror in the hallway Meredith plucked it gingerly. It was a note from her mother informing Meredith that she had talked to a decorator who should be giving her a call soon to collaborate on the theme of the house. So the infamous Ellis must have been there earlier, stamping her mark of approval on Meredith's new home outside of the crazy city of New York.
The shrill ringing of Meredith's sidekick interrupted her thoughts. She retrieved her phone checking the caller id. A small smile graced her lips as she saw the name Zooey flash across the screen.
"Zooey?" she exclaimed.
"Hey butt-nut." She replied in her sultry voice. Zooey Campbell was her roommate from Dartmouth and that nagging voice that always egged her on to take that extra shot, or dive into the school's pool stark naked. The two quickly became friends after they bonded over being "poor little rich girls" and continued their friendship after college. Zooey was bummed that her best friend was relocating out to Seattle but knew it was for the best if she ever wanted to get her life straightened out.
"How is life in the wilderness? Caught yourself a hot mountain man yet?" Meredith shook her head plopping down on the incredibly comfortable couch.
"My god this sofa is amazing!" she exclaimed removing her Frye ridding boats. "And no, I've only been here for about point two seconds."
"So? What's your excuse? I've been to places and in less than an hour have five dates lined up." Zooey laughed.
"Well no such luck for me. But I was in the taxi and saw a bar near the hospital, it seems worth having a look at."
"Go for it babe. In the mean time, I'll be out with Joey and Fred drinking Grey goose martinis. Love ya." She shouted making kissing sounds and ending the call. Meredith laughed and hung up her phone and peeled off her blazer. She looked about the house and sighed for a third time. No matter how uncomfortable Seattle made her she would make the most of it.
"So Ellis Grey's brilliant daughter won't be joining us lowly meager people through our endeavors as surgical interns?" Izzie Stevens asked with a hint of edge to her voice. She along with George O'Malley, Cristina Yang, and Alex Karev watched Burke perform open-heart surgery as one of the "less deserving" interns scrubbed in.
"Hostility much?" Cristina remarked as she bit into her apple.
"No, it's just that I hate people like her. The kind who party until two o'clock even though they know they have finals at seven that morning. And then they waltz into the testing room, get their results a few weeks later, and find out that they've aced the whole damn thing. While people like me, who have been studying for like forever barely pass. Seriously!" she exclaimed twirling her blonde hair into a loose bun.
"Whatever, no Grey means less competition."
"Yeah, she has a point." George nodded receiving a poke to the side Izzie.
"You know what, I'm glad it's just us four. Adding another person to the dynamic would totally screw things up."
"Not if she was hott!" Alex spoke up eyes never leaving the surgery.
George chuckled nodding, "There, another excellent point."
"She probably didn't know much to begin with anyway. You know, just the pressure of being the Ellis Grey's daughter. Mommy must have made a few calls getting her accepted to a few programs for her to choose to go to."
"Enough Izzie, keep your panties on!" Cristina rolled her eyes getting up from her chair. "I've seen toddlers more interesting than this." She mentioned about the surgery. "I'm out."
"You would think of all people she would love not having Grey's kid around." Izzie whispered to George.
"It's just weird that your obsessing over this." He shrugged getting up and following Cristina out of the door. Izzie's gaze drifted to find a smug look on Alex's face.
"Don't." she said leaving the gallery.
Meredith readjusted the handle of her tote bag on her arm. She approached a nurse's station and asked for directions to the Chief of Surgeon's office. After receiving dubious looks from the nurse she made her way to Richard Webber's office. As she reached the door she smoothed out the invisible wrinkles in her dress and ran a hand through her hair. Raising her hand she rapped her knuckles on the door waiting to be summoned into the room.
"Come in." Richard called as Meredith pushed the door open and found her godfather talking with young man in dark blue scrubs. With his back turned to her she couldn't get a good look at his face but took notice of his thick curly brown hair.
"Meredith!" Richard said happily as he stood to greet his goddaughter. He engulfed Meredith in a hug and pulled back to get a better look at her.
"How have you been? We've been expecting you."
"I'm good, I just got in actually not to long ago." She nodded feeling a little uncomfortable with the stranger in the room.
Richard must have noticed this because he directed his next remark toward the third party, "We're good here Shep, we'll talk later." He said as the man stood up and turned facing Meredith for the first time. His eyes swept over body appreciatively taking in the sight of her low cut floral Pucci dress and the classic jean jacket she wore. Her legs looked fantastic and smooth while her red toes were exposed peeking through the open toed Jimmy Choo's. He didn't look to bad himself, hands perched on his waist with the v-neck of his scrub showing some of his chest hairs peeking through. It was a refreshing change for Meredith who was so used to the many shaved chests of vain men she encountered in the city. This turned her on and she had the strongest urge to press herself up against him and curl the hairs around her finger. He had the faint makings of a five o' clock shadow and piercing blue eyes. Who knew there would be hott doctors running about the halls of Seattle Grace?
"Ahem." Richard cleared his throat. The man tore his gaze away from Meredith and patted Richard on the back.
"Okay I should get going." He brushed past Meredith giving her a devastating smile.
"He's an Attending." Richard warned.
Meredith nodded, "Older man. Yum." She smiled "Party Mer" shining through.