The first thing Christina notices about the man standing in front of her is his jerky movements. He can't stop moving for even just one second. He keeps shifting his gaze as if looking for something and his arm twitches every now and then. His cloths are disheveled and he is in desperate need of a bath. "Sir, can I help you with something?" She finally breaks the silence. The man has been standing by the nurse's station for quite some time, she was told by Olivia, and frankly he was making everyone nervous. Standing now in front of him she could clearly say why. His red eyes and the jerky, twitchy movements…. Even with her Beverly Hills background, Christina can certainly recognize a junky when she sees one, especially one going through obvious withdrawal symptoms.

"Sir?" She tries again.

"I'm looking for my boy, he should be here…." He says and looks around.

"Oh… well if he's a patient I can…."

"Did I say he was a patient?!" He snaps.

"Well, you said you were looking for your son and this is a hospital. I just assumed…."

"Don't fucking assume… just get my boy to drag his lazy ass down here. Tell him his old man is looking for him."

"Sir, if he's not a patient I don't see how I can help you…" She is starting to get a weird feeling. There is something unsettling about this man that just makes her, well, uneasy. She quickly scans the almost empty surgical floor, trying to decide how long it will take security to reach her in time.

"Then get me someone who fucking can!!" He nearly shouts and a small crowd is starting to gather around them. "How hard can it possibly be to find someone in this god damn hospital?!"

"If you tell me his name maybe I could…."

The man rubs his forehead with the back of his hand. "You're a doctor… he's a doctor… you do the math…."

"Oh… he works here?" She finally understands. "Your son works here?" She repeats the question.

"Yeah, he works here. Alexander Karev. Just get him. You think you can handle it?" He asks sarcastically.

"You're… you're Alex's father?" She asks in astonishment. She would have never guessed it. Not in a million years, that this drug addict, most likely homeless person, is actually Alex's father.

The man simply stares back at her. "I'll go find him for you…" She's anxious to leave. This man, well, Alex's old man it appears, really does make her feel uneasy. She can't exactly explain it, this creepy sense he makes her feel. And then it hits her. Fear. That man managed to scare the hell out of her in a conversation of only a couple of minutes.

She finds Alex relatively quickly. He's at the deserted hall way where they all usually hang out between surgeries and rounds or when ever they just need some peace and quiet. He sits on a gurney scanning through a patient's charts eating a green apple. Izzie sits next to him, eyes closed; she appears to be sleeping in an awkward sitting position. Lexie is also there reading a thick medical book, she vaguely recognizes and Christina tries to remember when it stopped being weird, her hanging out with them.

She approaches them in silence but neither one makes any move or any kind of acknowledgement to let her know they recognize her presence. "Alex, there's some guy looking for you…" He still doesn't move or averts his eyes from the chart to look at her. "….Ah, he says he's your father…" Alex's head suddenly snaps up and Izzie also appears to be suddenly wide awake.

"What? That's impossible… I haven't… he's ah….. are you sure his my father?"

"Well that's what he said." Christina answers and as she looks closely at him she recognizes something different about his expression, one she has never seen in Alex before. Fear. The same fear she felt only moments before. Funny, she always thought Alex was afraid of nothing

"Did he say what he wants?"

"No. Just kept asking for you."

He really doesn't want to see his father. Some how he's always thought that when he would finally meet the guy it would be on his own terms, after he had had time to prepare. He was surely unprepared to meet him now, right now, at the hospital where he works, where there are people he respects, people who he considers to be his friends, people who would probably start looking at him differently from now on, when they see how he grew up, or even worse, they would feel sorry for him. And if there is one thing that Alex can't stand is people pitying him. And lies, he also hates lies. And the two are usually connected. When ever it came down to his family pity and lying were usually entwined. Sighing heavily Alex gives up, he's got to face the man sooner or later, might as well be sooner, before he can cause some damage, and gets up to leave with Christina. He dumps the half eaten apple into a nearby trash can and grabs the chart.

"Do you want me to come with you?" Izzie sounds genuinely concerned. She's the only one out here who has the slightest idea of what kind or a person his father is. He let a few things slip when he was around her, though it was never the whole story.

"That's okay" He says "I got it". And he and Christina leave.

"I got to warn you, Alex. He seemed… well I think he's…. no, he definitely was…."

"High?" He finishes the sentence for her. She looks at him with surprise. "Wouldn't be the first time…. Did he cause any trouble?"

"Not really. Just scared the nurses a little."

"What the hell does he possibly want from me? After all these years…." He doesn't realize he says it out loud, until he turns his face to meet Christina's shocked expression, and he beats himself for revealing too much.

He spots him in a second. He looks roughly the same. Older. He seems much older than his 53 years. And his drug habit has clearly picked up a notch since he last saw him. He is clearly in desperate need for a fix and if thing hasn't changed much since he was a kid this was usually a bad time to talk to his father. A really bad time.

His father suddenly sees them and for just a split second Alex hopes he will be glad to finally see him. To be able to talk to him after all this years. God, the man is not even around for 10 minutes and he already feels like a freaking 10 year old. But the hope is gone in heart beat. His father takes one good look at him and has is angry look on. Never a good sign.

"What do you want?" He says coldly as Christina leaves giving them some space to talk in private.

"Took you long enough to drag yourself out here, boy…" And that's it the first words his father has spoken to him in nearly 14 years. No Hi; or You Look Good, Alex; or I Missed You.

"How much do you need?" He says taking out his wallet. He really just wants it to end as soon as possible.

"Don't you dare take this tone with me, boy. I'm still your father." He says in a menacing tone. Alex sighs and motions him towards an empty family room, where they will not be bothered.

"Look Jack" He uses his father's name, the way he has been doing since he was a kid. "Why don't you cut the crap. I haven't seen or heard from you once in 14 years. You didn't even show up for mom's funeral… and all of a sudden you show up here? How did you find me anyway? Well forget it; I don't even want to know. If you're looking for cash I can probably scrap a few thousands, maybe a couple grand…."

"Couple grand?! Come on, Alex. You're the big shot doctor, you can probably do better than that."

"So you really are here just for the money." He says; a little disappointed. "And no, I'm not a big shot doctor, I'm only a resident, I don't make all that much and I'm still paying back some students loans. So a couple grand is really the best I can do. You should be just grateful for that you son of a bitch."

"Hey!! I told you to never take that tone with me…" He sounds intimidating and Alex can't stop wondering when he will be able to finally not fear his old man. His father suddenly swings his fist in the general direction of his jaw, but his movements are slow and Alex easily ducks it, making his father to slightly loose his balance. So much for hoping the man has changed… He looks at him a little more closely. Cold turkey has already kicked in making him even twitchier; Sweat running along his side burns. His cloths seem like they haven't been washed in days, and he does look like he could use a decent meal.

"What have you gotten yourself into?" He asks softly. His father doesn't answer. "Look, maybe I can scrap some more. Just give me a few hours to get the money, okay?" He can't stop himself. He knows his father is probably involved in something short than illegal, and that he shouldn't be helping him at all after all these years of abandonment. But he can't help it. Bottom line is, he's his father. The only one he got. And that's what you do for your family. You stick together.

Jack passes a note to him. Meet me there at 11 A.M. You know where it is?" Alex simply nods and his father leaves. Again, no Goodbye, Son; or Thanks for Your Help. He just leaves, and Alex has this weird feeling at the pit of stomach that this is probably a very very bad idea.

Izzie steps into the family room the minute she sees Alex's father leave. Well, she's guessing he's Alex's father because she saw them go into the room together, thought no formal introductions were made. "Are you okay?" She asks Alex, who just sits there.

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine. I just need to… and I only got a few hours…." He mumbles. "Hey, Izzie, can you cover me for a couple of hours? I'm supposed to be covering the Pit…"

"I have surgery with Hahn at 10" She starts to decline but then she stops for a few seconds to study him. He seems nervous and the way he is looking at her… it's like he is almost begging. "But I can probably get out of it, if you want, so I'll be able to…"

"No, no, it's okay. I'll just ask Meredith or someone." He says as he gets up.

"Alex, are you sure you're okay?" She repeats her original question. This time Alex doesn't even bother to answer.

He finds Meredith in one of her post-op patients' rooms and waits until she is finished and gets out of the patient's hearing range. "Meredith, can you cover for me in the Pit for a couple of hours? I have to… ah…. My father showed up and I have this thing he needs me to…" he doesn't finish his sentence, he's not really sure what his father wants from him, only that he needs some cash and wants to meet him somewhere not to far from the hospital.

"Sure." She answers. "No problem. But I have surgery at 12:00, so just be back in time, okay?" Wow, that was simple, he thinks. He was already willing to give up his only night off this week to make it up to her if she accepts, but he didn't have to even offer to do that. He quickly does the math. He has another hour and half before he's supposed to meet his father, he needs to stop at the bank… and if he meets him at 11 he will probably be back before noon. "I'll be back in time. Promise. Thanks Meredith." And with that he quickly leaves not even bothering to change out of his scrubs.

He gets to the place where he's supposed to meet his dad just before 11. He managed to get 5 grand in cash, which he is currently holding in his pocket, running his fingers on the small bundle every now and then. He takes a few moments to look around. It's a small alley not to far from the hospital, but in one of the bad neighborhoods in Seattle. One he has never been to before, nor will he ever want to return to. It's getting cold, and he wishes he remembered to take his jacket when he left the hospital. And it is also just starting to rain. Isn't it just great? He thinks.

"Alex" he hears his father's voice and turns around. He definitely got his fix…. He seems calmer.

"Look. I got 5 grand…" He says and handles the money back to Jack.

"5 grand? Are you fucking kidding me? It's not even close to…" His father looks pissed.

"Well, it's the best I could do in such short notice."

"Maybe you could give me one of them notes pads you use to subscribe drugs to patients…"

"What?! No. I could lose my license for that." He is shocked his father even suggested it.

"Look, Alex, just give me the notes pad, no one will know…" He says in low voice, which sends a shiver down Alex's spine.

He is about to reply when a car pulls over and two guys come out. "Jack, have you got what we need?" Alex looks at the two men and his father and gets a strong urge to just leave; he has a bad feeling regarding the whole situation, like it could get out of control in any second.

"Not exactly..." His father squirms "But I have 5 grand in cash on me, and my son here…. Well he's a doctor and he can give you his subscription pad… that got to be worth something…"

"I don't think you understand, Jack" One of the guys takes a few steps forward "The people you stole from… they are some very serious people and they do not appreciate their employees stealing from them. Now they were generous enough to let you pay back in cash instead of what you took from them. But they will not tolerate people who will take advantage of that generosity…"

Alex doesn't know how the whole thing deteriorated so fast. His father pulled out a gun, and he remembers thinking that a junky and a gun is probably not the best combination. He doesn't really remember what happened next. He heard a couple of gun shots and then felt a searing hot white pain in his stomach. He remembers falling hard to the ground, his head bouncing against the cold pavement. He remembers reaching a shaky hand to his stomach and feeling a hot sticky liquid against his fingers. Blood, his blood. He remembers hearing the two men yelling for each other to get the hell out of there before the police arrive. He remembers trying to search for his dad with his eyes, but he couldn't see him anywhere. He remembers thinking that he should probably get his cell phone, should probably call for help. But he couldn't find the strength to even lift his hand. He remembers it was pouring rain then making him cold to his bones. He remembers trying to call out for help but only his lips moved and no sound came out. And then nothing, it all went dark.

He woke up again, still lying on the pavement. He was soaking wet now and he was so cold, his teeth chattering uncontrollably. And he doesn't remember having been so cold in his life, well maybe just that one time when he went ice skating on a lake in the winter and somehow fell through the ice. But back then he was pulled out by some stranger only a few seconds later and was quickly wrapped in warm blankets. But now there is no one around. The pain is unbearable, making him so nauseous. God, his stomach feels like it's on fire, making him double over on his right side, curling into a fetal position in a futile attempt to alleviate some of the pain. He is overwhelmed by a sudden wave of nausea; not being able to fight it he starts to violently retch and heave; his stomach cramping making the pain unbearable. his mouth fills with the tasted of copper, and when he opens his eyes he can see that he vomited blood. It was bad, very bad, he can't stop thinking that he so screwed. And he is suddenly so scared. Scared that no one will find him. Scared that no one will even notice him missing. Scared he was going to die out here in this alley and that he will die all alone. His eyelids grew heavier and even though he tries his hardest he can't seem to stay awake. Eventually he just gives up and accepts the darkness. He loses consciousness again almost immediately.

Meredith is really pissed off right now. How the hell did she let Alex to talk her into his 'thanks for covering me, it's 'only a couple of hours' crap. It's already one 15 P.M and she already missed surgery. She has paged him 4 times in the past hour but he wasn't answering her calls, nor was he picking up his cell phone; she tried to call him every 15 minutes but the call went straight to voice mail every time. There goes his 'I'll be back on time, I promise'. Back on time my ass, she thinks. He is so going to pay for this; she is already planning her sweet revenge.

"Grey, page Karev, he's covering the Pit and there's a GSW on its way. ETA 4 minutes." Dr. Bailey commends her.

"Well, actually I'm covering the Pit." Meredith says, but as she gets one of Bailey's death stares she feels she has to explain. "He went to meet with his father. So I'm covering for him. He should have been back though… promised he would be back before noon and I already missed surgery…. I can't believe I let him taught me into covering for him…" She is suddenly angry again with him. Though she is more pissed at herself for agreeing to it to begin with.

"Doesn't matter, Grey. You're covering the Pit now, so let's go. Paramedics said it doesn't look good."

"George" Meredith calls out to him when she spots him near the nurse's station on their way to the ER. "Gun Shot Wound victim is just arriving at the Pit. Come on" And she gently pulls him by his scrubs shirt towards the elevator.

They arrive at the ambulance's entrance just as the ambulance pulls over, sirens still wailing in a deafening sound, and the paramedics pull out the stretcher. "Alexander Karev, 29, 2 gun shot wounds to the abdomen, only one exit wound that we could see…"

"Oh God" Meredith just stands their unable to move. "He was supposed to meet up with his father…" She says to no one in particular. Alex is lying unconscious on a back board, his head secured in a C-collar and his mouth and nose are covered by an oxygen mask, which is fogging and clearing and fogging again in a fast rhythm; too fast. An IV line is inserted into his left hand and the paramedic is holding the saline bag at head height. His cloths are only cut half way through exposing his torso and legs, and she thinks he must be doing really bad since it seems that the paramedics probably left the scene in a hurry.

"Grey, move it!!" She is suddenly pulled out of her thoughts by Dr. Bailey's command and follows the stretcher inside; George is looking at her over his shoulder looking just as shocked as she is.

"BP 90 over 50, pulse is fast 140, he's unresponsive and lost about 2 litters at the scene…."

"Okay people, on my count one… two…" On three they lift the back board Alex is lying on, and Meredith is grateful for Dr. Bailey for taking over, because right now she doesn't think she would have been able to do so. She uses all of her will power and snaps out of her numb state and into her doctor mode.

"Okay, type and cross and in the mean time let's get him started on some O-Neg." she orders around as she cuts through the rest of his scrubs until he's lying there with only his boxer shorts on completely exposed, revealing two small entry wounds just above his naval.

"Okay, let's turn him around I want to see…" Dr. Bailey says to no one in particular. George moves and stands closer to Alex, securing his head as they turn him over on to his left side. "Okay, only one exit wound just below the ribcage. O'Malley get X-ray, I want to see where the other bullet is." She says, as they lower him on his back again. In the meantime Meredith carefully removes the C-collar, when she hears Alex softly mumbling something incoherent under the oxygen mask.

"Alex, Alex, can you hear me? Open your eyes, Alex!" Dr. Bailey commends while rubbing her knuckles against his sternum. Alex only slightly moves. "GCS 6…" she continues her assessment.

"Do you want me to intubate?" George asks.

"No. not yet. Let's get a central line and try and bring his pressure up first, see how he responds" Meredith answers. She stretches up just for a second and catches a glimpse out side the trauma room, where a small crowed of nurses, interns and other members of the staff, has already gathered. "Damn it people, give him some privacy!!" she yells at them, suddenly feeling the need to protect Alex, who's lying there so exposed, unguarded and fragile. Looking nothing like the Alex she has come to know over the past couple of years. They make no attempt to move and sighing in frustration, Meredith moves to shut the blinds herself.

They all work in silence for a few minutes, hooking Alex to a heart monitor, a central line and IV lines supporting him with fluids and blood, when he suddenly starts to stir, his eyes softly flutter.

Alex wakes up and the first thing he notices is all the people around him, probing and poking him. He just wants to make them stop. Nothing really hurts now, except for when they all touch him, it feels like he's being stabbed every time they only brush against him. He tries to lift his hand to grab, who ever is pressing against his stomach but his arm doesn't seem to cooperate.

"Alex, Alex, do you know where you are?" Dr. Bailey moves to stand in his line of sight.

"Dr. Bailey?" His voice sounds weak and confused and he starts to panic. He finally manages to get his hand to cooperate enough to take the oxygen mask off.

"You're in a hospital, you were shot. Do you remember what happened?"

He was shot? What the hell? And then it all comes back to him. His father… Oh God… his own father… he was the only one with the gun…. He can feel his heart rate begin to accelerate and his breathing getting fast. "Where's….? My dad…. Where's my dad?"

"He's…. Ah… he's not here. You were brought in alone….. The paramedics found you." George answers.

The paramedics brought him in? And then he remembers it all. His father was the only on with the gun. He remembers lying scared and alone and cold in the alley. "He just left me there?" He doesn't mean to say it out loud. He can feel the tears well up in his eyes. His own father left him there to bleed to death.

Dr. Bailey, Meredith and George exchange a shocked look, letting the realization of Alex's words set in. "Alex, did your father do this to you?" George is the first one to respond.

"He didn't mean to…." It's barely above a whisper. And Alex can't fight the tears any more and starts to cry. The tears run freely along his temples wetting the sides of the bed.

"Alex, it's okay. You're safe now. Alex, try to calm down" Meredith tries to comfort him, as he clearly getting more and more agitated; the heart monitor begins to beep faster, clearly showing his distress.

Suddenly, overwhelmed by a sense of panic, he doesn't want to be there. Why don't they leave him alone? He tries to get free from them, abstractedly pulling out the IV lines and the EKG electrodes, kicking softly and flailing his arms in every direction and trying to roll on his right side. Don't they understand? He has to go home. He has to be there when his dad gets home, or he'll hurt her. He has to leave, why don't these people just let him be?

"Alex, calm down. Calm down. You'll hurt yourself. Alex!" Dr. Bailey commends, while George tries to push him back down. Meredith just stands there completely shocked.

Dr. Webber walks down the ER deep in conversation with Dr. Sloan when he spots a group of residents, interns and nurses hovering near one of the trauma rooms. "Don't you people have something to do? Because if you don't it could be easily arranged that…"

"It's Dr. Karev" A young intern answers. "He was shot. They're working on him now, but Dr. Grey wouldn't let us in…. so we just…"

They don't even wait for her to finish before they enter the trauma room. "What happened?" Dr. Sloan asks George, who is still trying to get Alex to lie back down. For someone who has just been shot and probably going into shock, Alex is pretty strong and fights him hard, nearly falling off the bed, blood running now freely from his mouth.

"We don't know exactly. He was shot. We think that it might have been his father." He answers while trying to push Alex back without hurting him even more.

"Alex, calm down, enough. Alex, stop it." They all can't seem to get him to calm down and let them take care of him.

"M'… fine…. M'… okay… Leave…. m'… alone… Get… off…. Of… m'…. I… have… to… go… home…. Get… off…" Alex slurs in a breathy voice, drawing in shallow breaths between each word.

It's Dr. Slaon, who recovers first, realizing that it this rate Alex might cause himself some serious damage. He steps closer to the bed where Alex will be able to see him. "Alex, enough!! Stop it, do you hear?!" He nearly yells at him in an authoritative tone, and Alex's reaction immediately follows. He stops fighting them, resigning he lies back on the bed, silent tears running along his face again.

"I'm…. sorry… I…. didn't…. mean… to…. I'll… be… good… I… promise" He says in a low voice sounding like a scared 10 year old. Dr. Bailey looks at him sadly before reattaching him to the IV lines and monitors, Alex doesn't even flinch; he just lies there submissively, silently crying, his eyes look glassy and hollow. He doesn't even seem to acknowledge them any more.

Meredith suddenly snaps out of it and moves closer. She places a gentle hand on Alex's shoulder and bends forward until he is able to see her. "Alex, you're in a hospital. You are safe now; no one can hurt you here. You just need to let us take care of you, okay?"

"Meredith?" He asks as though he only now notices they are still in the room. She keeps whispering soft comforting words to him until his breathing evens and the heart monitor slows down a bit, while Dr. Bailey informs the Chief and Dr. Sloan of his condition.

Alex feels so exhausted and drained. He really just wants everyone to leave him alone, but he is lucid enough now to let them attend to his injuries. Suddenly feeling so tired he fights to keep his eyelids open, but he soon gives up as he looses consciousness again.

"Alex! Alex, open your eyes" Meredith commends while rubbing his sternum. "He's unconscious again. We've got to get him to an OR." Dr. Webber steps into his Chief mode. "Baile, Grey, you scrub in. George, make sure there's no crowd. Close the gallery. And see if you can get a hold of his medical records and a contact number of his next of kin. Move it people"

George leaves and the rest prepare Alex for the transport up to the OR. "What the hell happened, Mirenda?" The Chief asks her softly. She doesn't reply, leaving the question hanging in the air.