Amelia Shepherd stands across the entrance of Seattle Grace Hospital. It's raining - the cold drops of water falling haphazardly on her face and she doesn't even bother to brush them off. She has missed rain – more than she was willing to admit. She's no longer in LA. It's darker, danker, and wetter here. But it somehow feels safer. After all, her brother is here. Her sister-in-law is here. Her niece is here. But Mark Sloan isn't.
She came to Seattle because Derek asked her to. Who can replace Derek as Head of Neurosurgery better than his own flesh and blood? She thinks of her brother. She thinks of his million-dollar hand that's going numb every now and then. She thinks of the hell they've both been through in their lives. She has lost her fiancé while they were both getting high, she had a brainless baby and decided to give his organs up to other babies, and she was a witness, along with her brother, to a shooting that resulted in her father's demise.
LA was a constant reminder of that – a constant reminder that she has never smiled sincerely. And here is standing across SG hoping that being with her brother & his family would change that. She takes a long, cleansing breath. As the cold, damp Seattle airs gets in, every bone in her body feels stronger, more resilient. She's no longer the broken Amelia Shepherd; she can't be. She's the new head of neurosurgery in one of the most prestigious teaching hospitals in America. She matters.
She finally decides to get in. She's soaking wet, but it doesn't matter. And then someone bumps into her almost like a torpedo bringing her back to reality.
"Watch where you're going," she hears herself say to no one in particular.
"Sorry, sorry," a guy replies as rushes to the hospital.
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It's Arizona's first day back in SG since her amputation. She's starting physical therapy today. The thought of that makes Alex Karev sick to his stomach - literally. Every time he tries to visualize Arizona's cut-off leg, he breaks down. He thinks of how he cut it – smooth enough that it can be replaced with a prosthetic but brutal enough to ensure Arizona never has a normal life again.
He runs to the bathroom but pukes his guts out before even reaching the toilet – again. It smells like pizza and A LOT of alcohol - basically his diet since the crash.
He can't remember the last time he had a decent meal, the last time he slept a good night's sleep, the last time he had a real conversation with a woman. His life has been basically a cycle of one night stands with interns and lots and lots of tequila. The guilt is eating him alive, and he can't, for the life of him, shrug it away. It was like cancer promising him that soon he will no longer be in control anymore.
He tries to make it back to his room to get ready for work - the physical therapy appointment is at 8 and he doesn't have much time left - but he ends up falling down to his knees and bawling like a baby - a habit he's gotten used to lately.
But today is different, today's worse than all the days that have passed since the crash. Today he's going to have to look into Arizona's eyes, and he isn't sure he's ready for that yet. He's not sure he can be there for Arizona the way Callie wants him to be; she has made him promise to stay with Robbins during her physical therapy. Deep down, though, he knows it's not the greatest idea. Arizona hates him almost as much as she hates Callie; she blames them both for what happened to her. And there's nothing either of them can do to change that.
As he's trying to organize his toxic thoughts, he looks at his watch. He's already 10 minutes late to Arizona's appointment. Damn it.
He drives to work as fast as he can but his stomach keeps calling out to him. He can't do this right now. He needs to be at the hospital right now. Arizona needs him.
He arrives to the hospital and runs towards the entrance as he bumps into a woman starring blankly at the building.
"Watch where you're going," he hears her say to no one in particular.
"Sorry, sorry." Alex replies as he rushes to the hospital.
Little do they both know that their paths would end up crossing so many more times in the future.