A/N: Hi :)

This is my first Grey's fanfic, so please bear with me haha :')

I have a few chapters written for this already, but I have several fanfics that I write (because I'm incapable of sticking to one at a time haha) so I'm only going to carry on if people show interest. Alex is by far one of my favourite characters in the show, and I'm looking forward the chance to write him more, so if you enjoy this, please let me know that I know to continue!

Disclaimer: I own nothing but Katie, and one or two characters that I plan to introduce later on, if it gets that far. Nothing you recognise belongs to me :)

*There is no Amber in this story, because I couldn't think of a viable reason for Alex to take one sister but not the other*

This is set around season three, and I plan to pretty much follow the storylines of the show with my OC added in with her own plots too :)

I'm going to shut up now before the AN ends up being longer than the actual chapter lol :p So yeah, I love getting reviews so much. I really feel like they've helped me develop as a writer since I started posting on here, and any feedback would be so so appreciated! I try to reply to as many as I can so please please R+R :D

Thank you!

xoloveJBox

Prologue

It was still dark outside, and the little girl was sitting quietly on the sofa, bundled up in her coat, ready to go. Her brothers and mother were in and out of the house, screaming at each other as boxes and suitcases were being loaded into the car, but she didn't say a word. She barely moved, worried about getting in the way and making the yelling even louder.

"Please don't do this!" She heard her mother plead as her oldest brother returned to the house to grab the last suitcase-hers.

"I'm not having this talk again Mom!" he argued, stalking back out the door to put the case in the trunk. The little girl missed a part of the conversation while they were at the end of the driveway, but when they returned, she knew they were talking about her.

"...is my daughter, Alex!" The woman argued fervently "And she's only six years old! You can't just take her away!"

"You can't even take care of yourself!" Alex retorted sharply "At least she might have a chance at a normal life if I take her." Alex glanced around quickly, making sure that he hadn't forgotten anything. Satisfied that everything he needed was packed away in the car, he strode over to his sister and scooped her up into his arms.

"Katherine, come to Mommy baby," the woman sniffed, forcing a smile onto her cheeks as she held out her arms for the little girl in one last feeble attempt to regain control of the situation. She couldn't, and didn't bother to, hide the hurt she felt when her only daughter responded by wrapping her arms tightly around her brother's neck, clinging to him and burying her face away from her.

"It's ok Kate," Alex cooed softly, rubbing his hand comfortingly along her back, and he felt his sister slowly unwind a little. He busied himself for a few minutes, carrying her out to the car and buckling her in, making sure that she was comfortable-they had a good few hours' drive ahead of them, and since it was still early, he wanted her to be able to sleep if she wanted to. College had never really been something he'd considered, but when he'd been offered a wrestling scholarship at the University of Iowa to study medicine, he couldn't pass it up. He was taking the opportunity to start again-forget all the crap he'd dealt with for as long as he could remember, and he sure as hell wasn't going to leave his little sister behind. He'd offered to take his brother too, so that they could all have a shot at some form of normality, but at fourteen, Alex knew he couldn't make Aaron do anything.

"Last chance Aaron," The oldest implored, looking seriously at his little brother once Katie was strapped in and ready to go. "Are you coming?"

Alex watched for a second, as his brother seemed to be thinking, and ultimately Aaron shook his head, though it was almost imperceptible, but it was exactly the answer he'd been expecting. Although Alex would have been happier if Aaron was joining them, he knew that his college was far enough away for him to feel comfortable, but close enough that he could get back if he needed to, so he wasn't overly worried.

He was hit with a battering wave of guilt when his mother continued to sob; he was only trying to do what was best for his family, even if he was the only one who could see that. Why was he the only one who could see that?

Without really thinking, Alex stepped determinedly across to his mother and pulled her into a hug. He tried to ignore the wet seeping into the shoulder of his t-shirt, and the fact that his little brother was sniffling beside them. He had to fight to remind himself that he was doing what he felt like he had to. Yes, he thought it was partly selfish, him wanting to get away, but he also kind of felt like he deserved that. Not many of his friends could even start to comprehend what his home life was like and had been for years. Most of the time, he couldn't even wrap his head around the mess his life had degenerated into. Before he could convince himself that he should stay, Alex quickly pulled away and took a step back.

"It's going to be ok Mom," he assured her gently, his voice barely above a whisper. His mother simply turned away from him and staggered up the drive-way, disappearing back into the house, leaving the two brothers standing in the emerging dawn light.

Alex scratched at the back of his neck, trying to think of something he could say to make his brother feel better, but the words escaped him.

"Here," he said instead, mentally kicking himself as he reached into his pocket, pulling out a small wad of ten dollar bills that he'd been saving for this moment "for emergencies." He instructed, pressing it into Aaron's palm. "Make sure Mom takes her meds, do your homework, don't skip any school and just..." He wanted to carry on. Even more than that, he wanted to bundle his little brother into the car and just take all three of them away because, standing in front of him, it was hard for Alex to see Aaron as anything other than the scared little kid who used to jump into his bed in the middle of the night, when the arguments got too loud, or the boy who helped him clean the house after one of their parent's brawls with each other left destruction in their wake. But he could also see the boy who had never looked at him the same way after he decided enough was enough, after he'd kicked his dad's ass so hard he never came back, and Alex knew that Aaron didn't need to be reminded that his big brother was the reason they were alone, left to deal with the aftermath, forced to grow up quicker than they should have.

Aaron looked dubiously down at the money in his hand, and though he tried to hide it, when he bit his lip, Alex knew what Aaron was thinking.

"Don't worry," Alex told him assuredly "I'll send you more. It's going to work out, I promise." Aaron nodded, but he still seemed doubtful, and Alex was completely clueless as to how he was supposed to change that.

"We'd better get going." He said eventually, stuffing his hands a little awkwardly into his pocket. Aaron nodded again, unsure of what to do. Alex briefly considered the idea of hugging his little brother, but that hadn't been something they'd done for a few years, and he didn't want to ramp up their discomfort in the situation. In the end, Alex simply stuck out his hand to shake, and after looking at it almost confusedly for a second, Aaron reciprocated.

"I'll see you soon Kid," Alex promised firmly. He needed Aaron to know that he was serious before he left, but he didn't want to push, so he was forced to simply hope that his message had gotten across the way he wanted.

Without another word, Alex turned away and clambered into the car. Katie was watching him intently, wide-eyed and curious, still wondering exactly what was going on. Alex wished he knew how to explain it to her, but he was adamant that he was doing what was best for her, and that wasn't going to change.

He took a deep, steadying breath and turned the key in the ignition, feeling his old, rusting but fairly reliable car rumble to life beneath him.

"You ready Katie?" he asked, forcing his voice to sound cheerful, glancing at his sister in the rear-view mirror. Katie grinned broadly, nodding enthusiastically at him, and it was enough to make him feel at least a little better about everything going on. He couldn't quite bring himself to look back at he pulled away from the house, so he never knew if Aaron had already retreated, or if he was watching them disappear, but what he did know was that he only let out a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding when he could no longer see the street he'd grown up on.

"Why don't you try to get some sleep, huh?" he suggested, noticing his sister fighting to keep her eyes open as she determinedly watched everything go past her window, filled with interest and excitement "Everything's going to be better when you wake up."

It didn't take long for the soft sound of Katie's low, quiet breathing to filter to his eyes, and he knew that she'd finally succumbed to slumber. She seemed so peaceful, completely at ease, and confident in the promises her big brother made. He just wished he had a way of knowing whether his words were true or not.