There was an age question, so I just wanted to clear that up for you guys. Elena is 24 (she graduated extremely early, not to mention being ahead in school already), Brennan and Court are 29, Piper is 27, and Whit is 28. So that would put Meredith, Derek, and Co. at about late fifties/early sixties. (But I secretly still imagine them looking exactly the same. Haha.)

Chapter Ten: Put Your Records On

Maybe sometimes, we've got it wrong, but it's all right
The more things seem to change,
The more they stay the same
Oh, don't you hesitate
Girl, put your records on,
Tell me your favorite song
You go ahead, let your hair down
Sapphire and faded jeans,
I hope you get your dreams,
Just go ahead, let your hair down
You're gonna find yourself somewhere, somehow

Corinne Bailey Rae

…

"Come on! Do it!" Piper urged drunkenly, daring Elena to down her umpteenth shot of tequila for that evening.

But Elena, who rarely drank at all, shook her head. "I don't know, Piper. Maybe… we should take a break," she suggested as the room started to spin.

"You're missing the point, Elle. We are drowning our sorrows here so that we'll be so drunk that we won't remember why we started drinking in the first place," Piper explained and ended up doing the shot herself. "Another round, okay, Joe?"

"I think that maybe you two should take a little break," he seconded and poured them each a glass of water. "So, who exactly would you two like me to call. 'Cause there's no way in hell either of you are driving home tonight. Should I call Brennan?"

"No!" Elena burst out suddenly, shaking her head in a very comical, childlike way. "You can't call Brennan. He'll never let me live this down, and we aren't talking 'cause he's an ass. And I think he's on call anyway."

"O…kay," Joe chuckled, incredibly amused. "Then who should I call?"

Elena and Piper looked at one another as though he had just given them the task of explaining the meaning of life. However, just before Joe was about to suggest the cab, Whit walked into the bar and spotted them.

"Seriously?" he demanded as soon as he got close enough to tell that both of them were completely inebriated. "I just had my car cleaned. If either of you puke in it, I swear."

"We don't need you to take care of us," Piper insisted. "So if you have issues with it, you can just see yourself out."

But Whit just sighed as he wrapped his arm around Piper to help her stand and replied, "You're right; I could leave. I probably should leave. I just know that if anything happened to either of you, it would kill me. Unfortunately, I care; so, maybe you don't need me to take care of you, but I need to make sure that I do."

Even despite the alcohol, Elena could tell that his words were sincere. For a brief moment, she watched the world become just the two of them; she watched the careful, loving way Whit took Piper into his arms assuring that she wouldn't fall and the way that Piper clung to him with nothing but trust.

"What are you grinning at, you goose?" Whit wondered teasingly as he noticed Elena staring at them.

"Nothing," she answered back, still smiling. "You can just take us to my house, okay? She's way more drunk than I am, and I don't want her going home alone," she said as she took hold of Whit's other arm. "'Bye, Joe!"

"See you, Elle. Hopefully not too soon, though," he called back, still laughing.

By the time they got to Elena's, Piper was fast asleep in the back seat of Whit's car, but Elena was slowly starting to sober up. Whit turned around and saw Piper sleeping, and Elena watched a hint of a smile cross his face. After she assured him that she could now walk on her own, he nodded and proceeded to scoop Piper up into his arms and carried her inside.

"Just go put her in my bed," Elena instructed as she lead the way. "Brennan won't be home tonight, and I need to make sure she doesn't stop breathing or anything."

"You sure you don't want me to stay and keep an eye on her? I don't mind, and you're gonna hate yourself tomorrow for not getting any sleep," he offered, placing her gently onto the bed. "I can stay if you need me to."

"We'll be okay," Elena assured him. "I'll take care of her, all right? I promise."

"Okay," he finally agreed, brushing her hair out of her face before turning to leave. "But call anytime if you need something."

"I will," she nodded as she saw him out. "And thanks again for saving us the humiliation of having to call Brennan. Don't tell him about this, okay?"

"Our secret," he winked. It was one of many between them.

"Elle, I feel like I got hit by a train," Piper whimpered as soon as Elena crawled into bed beside her. "Make the room stop spinning."

"If I could, I promise that I would," Elena said, taking Piper's hand into her own. "Just try to get some sleep, okay? Unless you need something?"

"I'm okay, I think," Piper answered, then turned and smiled at Elena. "You're my best friend in the whole world, you know. And I'm really lucky that you're my…"

"Your person?" Elena finished.

"Yeah. You're my person."

…

"Are you going to tell me what's going on or do I have to guess until I figure it out?" Meredith questioned upon finding her sister sitting alone in the kitchen that evening. "And I'm not in the mood to play guessing games, so spill before I call Susan."

"I haven't talked to Mom or Dad or Molly about any of this," Lexie confessed, acknowledging that there was, indeed, something to talk about. "I think that my marriage might be falling apart. I don't think that my husband loves me anymore. And I don't know what to do."

"Oh, Lexie… Matt adores you. He's been in love with you since the first time he saw you. What happened to make you think otherwise?"

The single tear that fell down Lexie's cheek spoke volumes. "About two weeks ago when I was picking Leah up from school, she looked at me and asked, 'Mommy, am I going to live with you or Daddy?' I had no idea what she was talking about, but then she told me that when her friend Jason's parents got divorced, he went to live with his dad." She paused and brought her eyes to finally meet Meredith's. "She's eight, Mer. I didn't even know she knew what divorce meant."

She placed her hand atop Lexie's reassuringly. "Have you two been talking about divorce?"

"No. Lately, we haven't been talking at all. We haven't even been fighting. I don't know what to do," she sighed dejectedly.

"I wish I had an answer for you," Meredith whispered, feeling unbearably helpless. "But no matter what, we're here for you and we love you, all right? And you and Leah can stay in Seattle for as long as you need; I love having you back here anyway, even in this situation. So, technically, you guys staying here is selfish of me and not a burden like I know you were about to say it would be."

"You know how much I love you, right?" Lexie teased, surprising herself and her sister with a smile. "I've been wanting to move back to Seattle for years anyway, so either I keep my husband or I'm coming back home," she added, for the first time since her arrival acting like the sister that Meredith knew and loved. "I should get back upstairs; if Leah wakes up and realizes she's alone, she'll freak out. 'Night, Mer."

"Good night," she smiled as Lexie walked away, leaving her alone for a moment. However, her solitude was soon broken as Derek walked into the kitchen, kissed her atop her head, and went to the refrigerator to fix himself a glass of milk.

"I just crossed Lexie on the stairs. She looked better; did you two figure things out?" he wondered, taking a seat beside her.

"Not really, but sometimes just getting the problem out in the air helps. It gives you somewhere to start." Then she leaned over and kissed him softly on the lips.

"What was that for?" he wondered with a grin.

"For fighting with me," she said mysteriously, leaving him completely confused.

"What are you talking about?" he laughed.

"Never mind," she replied, shaking her head and smiling as she took hold of his hand, happy just to be sitting there beside him.