Author's Note: Hey guys! Thanks for your interest in Rise Up. This is my first Grey's Anatomy fanfic and the first story that I have published in four years, so hopefully it's up to the standards set by the other amazing Grey's writers out there! I decided to post a preface to judge the level of interest in this story. Fair warning, there is a lot of vagueness in the preface, but if continued, it will all be explained. Enjoy!
Preface:
Meredith Grey was never one to quit, especially not something she loved. She would always scoff at all of her former classmates who dropped out of medical school for whatever reason, and she quickly lost respect for those who gave up because it was "too hard." Meredith knew medical school was difficult, but she liked to reserve the word "hard" for what she'd been through in life. She'd suffered through her early years, so she knew what "hard" really was. Unless they had gone through similar traumatic events during childhood, Meredith couldn't respect those who gave up when things became difficult.
In this moment, Meredith couldn't respect herself.
She took a deep breath as she entered the office of Massachusetts General Hospital's Chief of Surgery, Dr. Kelli Sutton, knowing that she may never be able to forgive herself for what she was about to do.
"Chief Sutton, can I speak to you for a moment?" Meredith asked quietly.
"Dr. Grey, your intern year doesn't start for another two weeks. How can I help you today?" Dr. Sutton said, looking up from her work and smiling.
Meredith handed her the piece of paper in her hand and quickly said, "Chief Sutton, I just wanted to thank you so much for the opportunity to be a part of the intern program this year, but this is my letter of resignation."
"What? Dr. Grey, this is one of the most sought after intern programs on the East Coast, and you were a clear choice for the program. I can't believe you've decided to pursue other interests."
"Actually, I haven't. I'm still going to become a surgeon, but I've decided to accept my invitation into the internship program at another hospital. I thought very carefully about this decision, and I realized that it is in my best interest to pursue my career at another hospital."
"Well, may I ask where you plan on going?" Chief Sutton asked.
"I received an offer to spend my intern year and residency at Seattle Grace Hospital in Washington state. I grew up in Seattle, so I figured returning back to my home wouldn't be the worst idea," Meredith said. She figured the brilliant Chief of Surgery would easily see through her lie and know that there was a deeper reason behind why someone would give up such a prestigious job to make a lateral move to a less impressive institution.
"Well, Dr. Grey, this is quite a surprise, but if you're certain that you want to give up your spot in our intern program, I will remove you from the roster."
Meredith closed her eyes and took a shaky breath. In that moment, she almost changed her mind. Almost.
"Yes, Chief Sutton, I'm sure. Thanks again for the opportunity," she said before turning and leaving all of her plans at the door.
Meredith's best friend, Abbey, from Dartmouth was waiting outside of the chief's office for her.
"So how'd it go?" Abbey asked.
Meredith simply just shook her head with her eyes closed.
"You did the right thing, Mer. You need to get out of here. You need to keep yourself safe, and you can't do that here. You told me about all of your struggles as a child and how you lacked control of your own life because of it. You weren't supposed to lose your right to choose when you became an adult, but you did, and staying here will just keep you chained down because you know that when action is taken, you'll be ruled by fear."
"Getting accepted into the intern program here was everything I ever wanted. I'm about to lose everything that is familiar to me, and I probably won't see you for a long time, if ever again. How can I think of this being the right thing if it hurts this much?"
"Stop talking like that. You're Meredith Grey. You're going to go to Seattle and kick ass there because you won't let this stop you. You won't let this define you. In several years, it's going to be your name that everyone knows, your name that hospitals across the country are desperately trying to get signed to a contract, not his. So what if you aren't practicing at Mass Gen? Seattle Grace is lucky to have you and you're going to be amazing there."
Meredith looked at her best friend appreciatively and wondered how on earth she was going to get by without her.
I love feedback and would love to know what everyone thinks, so if you could please let me know what you think in a review or a PM, that would be awesome! I really would like for this to be a fanfic that people enjoy, so let me know what you think!