16 DAYS! I know it isn't a super quick update, but for me it kind of is? Hey, it's better than my usual month!

So most of this chapter is pretty light-hearted and quite funny if I do say so myself. I was giggling just writing it, so I hope it makes you guys laugh.

I haven't come to a decision on Sophia yet, but I don't think I'm going to send Arizona to Africa. If I do decide to make Callie get pregnant, I'll do it in another way (don't worry, it will include Mark).

Sorry this chapter is so long, but I just had so much fun coming up with it. Please leave me a review and tell me what you thought!

XXXXXXX

"Where's Alex?" Amber questioned apprehensively. She kicked her feet back and forth, allowing them to gently graze the tile floor. She had been sitting at the kitchen table for what seemed like forever now. Jackson and her brother were nowhere to be seen. Derek, on the other hand, had been staring at her on and off for the past 30 minutes, shifting his attention incrementally between the stove and her face.

"The shower I think." Derek replied coarsely.

"Still?"

"He's probably trying to drown himself."

Amber swallowed. She wasn't necessarily in any trouble. After all, she hadn't broken any of the guy's rules. She was allowed to have boys in the living room and she was allowed to kiss her boyfriend…at least she thought she was. It didn't make the whole situation any less unnerving though. She couldn't deny that Derek was a freakishly intimidating man.

"And Jackson?"

"Probably gathering a team of assassins for your boyfriend."

"Dear lord, help me now." Amber mumbled, glancing up towards the ceiling.

The deadly silence resumed and Amber looked over at the clock, her eyes following the second hand as it cycled. She couldn't take it anymore. Obviously, everyone was going to want to put in their two cents about what just happened. She could only hope that it would commence sometime in the next decade.

"Well…are we going to talk or are you going to keep staring at me like I have two heads?"

Derek narrowed his eyes and gave her a look. She quickly shifted her focus to the table.

At last, he took a seat next to her. "Amber…"

"Before you say anything," she cut him off, "I know that it looked bad, but we were just kissing. It's not like we were doing it."

Derek made an odd sound, a grunt almost, like someone had just stepped on his foot. "I'm really trying not to entertain…that idea."

"Sorry."

He placed his palms together as if he were about to pray and touched his finger tips to his chin. After a moment of deep contemplation, he pointed his clasped hands in her direction and opened his mouth. A small croak escaped as he searched for the appropriate words. "Amber…you are a beautiful girl." He settled on for a start.

Amber couldn't resist letting her eyes reach for the stars. Here we go. She thought bitterly.

"And when you are a beautiful girl…you need to be extra careful. Because let me tell you something. Boys? They're monsters. They're monsters with an absence of self-control. I am one, I know these things."

"Derek…" She tried to interject.

"No, let me finish." He held out one finger in a silencing gesture. "And the only thing worse than a boy is a teenage boy. I was one, I know these things."

Amber scrunched her face, partially in confusion and partially in an attempt to keep from laughing.

"And when you kiss these boy-monster hybrids like that…you're only encouraging them to try…other things."

"I appreciate the informative talk, but I think I can say no to other things." She managed to cut in.

"Ah, you think that now, but you underestimate the power of the male bravado."

"The male bravado?" Amber asked incredulously. "Are you serious, Derek?"

"Oh, I'm serious as cancer." He declared. "And I'm a neurosurgeon…so that's pretty serious."

Amber couldn't help but face palm at that one. Only Derek. She thought, letting her hand cover her face as she imagined she were someplace else, someplace far far away from this nuthouse.

The sound of movement in the dining room caught her attention. She twisted around in her seat to find Jackson lingering in the doorway. He said nothing as he shared a long look with his co-worker. Amber could only assume they were communicating via some telepathy acquired exclusively though emotional breakdowns.

Jackson stepped into the room wordlessly. His eyes shone brightly, appearing as if he had just seen a ghost. He gaped at Amber as if the mere sight of her were damaging his psyche.

"I suppose you came to give your lecture too?" She inquired sourly.

"I came to say one thing and one thing only." He announced, the volume of his voice wavering with each word. Why men were such babies about this topic, Amber would never understand.

"Alright…let's have it."

"If you have sex, you will get pregnant and die." He stated emphatically before rocketing out of the room like a starting pistol had just sounded.

Amber turned back to Derek slowly, trying to comprehend everything that was occurring.

"Well said, well said." Derek softly commended Jackson's apparent wisdom.

All the men in this house were on drugs, Amber decided. Derek had gone off his rocker, Jackson was quoting "Mean Girls," and her older brother had been in the shower so long that maybe he was trying to drown himself.

"Can I go to my room now?" She pleaded.

"There's this thing we usually do in the evenings…we call it dinner." Derek remarked sheepishly as he walked over to the stove. He lifted the cover off of the skillet and took a peek before replacing it and spinning back to face her.

"Fine." Amber huffed, crossing her arms and slumping back into her chair. "Anything else?"

"If the three of us catch you in that kind of position again…I can't be held responsible for what might happen to your boyfriend."

She tried her best to fight it, but a small giggle escaped at the previous comment.

"Don't laugh. I'm serious." He asserted, although he was smiling himself. "We're surgeons. We have extensive knowledge of the human body. Do you really think we would have a hard time making it look like an accident?"

"I'm very afraid for your future daughter." Amber retorted playfully.

"Irrelevant." Derek returned. "My daughter will never date."

"I completely believe you." Amber laughed. "That's why I'm afraid for her."

XXXXXXX

Later that night, Amber scrolled through her Facebook newsfeed mindlessly, barely reading anything as it passed. Dinner had been possibly the most awkward encounter of her life. Thankfully, Lexie woke up, so at least she hadn't been alone.

Alex, however, had barely said a word. Amber pulled him aside after dinner and asked if he was mad.

"I'm not mad at you, Amber, but we definitely need to have a long talk." He told her.

"Well then let me hear it." She requested, just wanting everything to be water under the bridge.

"Tomorrow." He assured her. "I really want to think about what I'm going to say."

Amber hadn't been pleased about it, but what could she say? Her brother had walked in on her in a very compromising position. Obviously it was a shock to him, especially considering he had only known the teenage version of her for six months. Maybe he was so used to the little girl he grew up with that this was even more traumatizing for him.

Either way, the waiting was driving her crazy. She leaned over and snatched her cell phone from the night stand and texted Meredith and Lexie. Emergency girl talk please?

It didn't take long for the two of them to appear in her doorway. Amber beckoned them into her room and they took a seat on the edge of her bed.

"What's going on?" Meredith questioned, a hint of concern in her voice.

"How much has Lexie told you?"

Meredith knitted her eyebrows together. "About what?"

"I haven't had the chance to tell her." Lexie said. "And I don't think any of the boys are uttering a word…at least not yet."

"Would someone please enlighten me?" Meredith interrupted.

Amber sighed. Meredith would probably be the least likely to judge her out of anyone. "So Caleb came over to help me study today…" She began.

Meredith inhaled and tried to keep from laughing. She had a pretty good idea of where this was going.

"And when we finished our homework we started kissing on the couch. It was PG stuff at first…but Lexie was upstairs sleeping so I guess it kind of went to PG-13."

"Define PG-13." Meredith requested. "Because I have a feeling that my PG-13 and your PG-13 are entirely different."

"Um, he had me sort of…pinned down I guess? He was like half on top of me and we were making out pretty heavily. We were both fully clothed though."

Meredith giggled softly. "That sounds like the stuff I did when I was 15…what's the problem?"

"All three of the guys came home at the same time and caught us."

"Holy crap." Meredith breathed.

"Yeah." Lexie agreed. "Holy crap is right. They've all gone insane. Including your husband. He forced her to listen to his own messed up cautionary tale about teenage boys."

"I'm really not surprised by that. What did Alex do?"

"That's the thing!" Amber exclaimed. "When I tried to talk to him, he wouldn't! He said that he has to really think about what he wants to say to me and I'm freaking out."

"Uh oh." Lexie smirked, exchanging an all-knowing glance with Meredith.

"What? What do you two know that I don't?"

"Somebody's getting the talk." Meredith lilted.

"The talk? As in the sex talk?" Amber couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"Most definitely. Why else would he want to wait?" Lexie jumped in.

"Oh god." Amber collapsed backwards into her pillows. She placed a stuffed giraffe over her face and groaned into it. "How the hell am I going to get out of this one?"

"You can't." Lexie stated. "You can avoid them for as long as you can, but that's it."

Amber sat back up to say something else but caught sight of April through the open door as she walked down the hallway towards the bathroom. April paused momentarily, debating whether she should say something. She thought better of it, knowing that the three of them had a tighter relationship, one that she wasn't a part of it.

April started to walk again, but Amber called after her. "April wait!" She shouted. "You can come in if you want."

It was true that Amber wasn't April's biggest fan, but she also wasn't going to blatantly leave her out of this. She could at least make an effort to be friends.

April hid a smile before stopping in her tracks and calmly making her way back towards Amber's room.

"How much do you know?" Amber inquired once she was in her sight.

"All of it." April admitted. "Jackson recounted the whole thing while pacing back and forth through my room. I tried my best to calm him down, but it was hopeless."

"Take a seat."

April awkwardly walked in and situated herself next to Meredith. She felt as if she had just been initiated into a secret society, one she had desperately wanted to be a part of for the past few weeks.

"If I tell you guys that I have no intention of sleeping with Caleb, not for a long long time, will you believe me?"

"Good for you!" April cheered, clapping her hands giddily.

The other three girls stared at her flatly.

"Sorry." She mumbled, hunching her shoulders.

"Anyhow…" Amber recaptured their attention. "Would you?"

"Absolutely." Meredith said.

"Definitely. We trust you." Lexie added on.

Amber stared at April patiently, waiting for her to realize that she was supposed to give her opinion as well.

"Oh, me?" She squeaked. "Of course I believe you. And can I just say that I think it's very admirable."

"Thank you." Amber smiled warmly. "See, you guys believed me just like that. I've been saying the same thing to the boys all night and it's like they don't even hear me."

"They're men." Meredith pointed out. "They aren't known for keeping a level head when it comes to things like this."

"True, but what can I do to show them I'm serious?"

"Just listen and nod." Lexie suggested. "Act like whatever people tell you is the greatest advice you've ever heard."

"Yeah…I'm not going to do that." Amber laughed.

"I didn't think you would." Meredith smiled. "But all kidding aside, is there anything we can do to help?"

"Any chance you can run interference at the hospital tomorrow?"

"We can try." April volunteered.

"Just try to keep anybody else from finding out until I can calm Alex down."

"Impossible, but we'll do our best." Meredith vowed.

XXXXXXX

When Alex woke up the next morning there was a brief moment of blissful ignorance, one where he was temporarily oblivious to everything that had been going on in his life lately. Unfortunately, it only lasted for a few glorious seconds before realization set in. As soon as he began to get dressed and caught sight of the scar on the left side of his chest, everything flooded back into his brain like an angry tsunami covering an entire city.

It was almost as if his head were physically expanding as he recalled all of the details of his life. His first thought was Izzie. He hated himself for it, but part of him, the larger part of him, wanted her to keep coming back. It seemed so needy, but truth be told, he just wanted someone to fight for him…something that only Izzie had ever truly done. He was still furious at her for writing him off so quickly, but for some reason he couldn't bring himself to let go.

Alex shook his head, knowing that she shouldn't be allowing such thoughts to cross his mind. It would be a refreshing change of pace for someone to gravel for him, to seek out his forgiveness, but maybe it still wasn't what was best for him…or Amber.

Amber. Alex groaned at the thought of his baby sister. What the hell was he going to do with that kid? If it were an option, he'd just lock her inside forever and make sure that no boy ever touched her. Then when the time was right and she was mature and grown up, he could go find a nice, respectable man for her to marry. Much to his distress though, that really wasn't a viable choice.

He had rolled around for hours in bed the night before, trying to figure out what he was going to say to her. Her life had been so unpredictable in the past, he highly doubted anyone had ever bothered to give her the speech. He had given Aaron the talk as a teenager, but that was different. Aaron was older and their father wasn't around…it seemed like the responsibility fell on Alex without question. Amber, he thought he would have more time to figure out. He was banking on having at least another year of preparation.

By "the talk" he didn't necessarily mean the birds and the bees. He meant the respect talk. The talk about how she was worth more than she would ever understand and deserved to be treated as such. If he could teach her only one thing while she was in his care, it would be how to respect herself. Because when you respect yourself, you command respect from others. And a large part of that was waiting for the right guy to come along. There was no way for her to know if she had found Mr. Right at fifteen years old. That meant she needed to be more careful than ever. Alex would make sure of that.

The sound of the doorbell jarred him from his thoughts. He perked an ear and listened as footsteps rounded the corner, signaling that someone else was taking care of it. Whoever it was could wait, he was running late as it was.

Alex quickly threw on some clothes and grabbed the sport's bag that held his scrubs. "Amber!" He called out his bedroom door. "You better be ready!"

He wasn't surprised by the lack of response. For such a brilliant girl, her attention span was something else. Switching his bag to his good side, he stepped into the hallway and spotted Amber by the front door. She was leaning against the frame talking to their visitor. If it was Caleb, Alex was going to be forced to add murder to his list of morning activities.

"Amber." He repeated as he neared the door. "Get your stuff and come on."

His sister turned around to look at him. It was then that Alex caught sight of the person standing on the front steps.

"Izzie?" He asked, clearly baffled.

"I don't know who she is, Alex, but she brought cookies." Amber announced, flashing a wide grin at her brother who perfectly resembled a deer caught in headlights at that moment.

Izzie leaned over and stuck her torso partially through the landing, extending a plate covered in plastic wrap. "Happy Thursday."

Alex accepted the plate without a word, still in shock. "Um…this isn't really a good time. I have to take her to school."

"I can hitch a ride with Meredith." Amber offered, not catching onto her brother's hesitance.

"I really think I should take you." Alex spoke through clenched teeth.

Amber looked back and forth between the two of them, sensing a clear history. She peered up at her older brother and scrunched up her forehead trying to make sense of it all. Then it hit her. Izzie.

"It is my understanding that you are no longer married to Isabel Stevens. Is that correct?" Mrs. Clark asked.

Amber could hear her social worker's voice clear as a bell. She had barely been paying attention to anything Alex was saying as he filled out the custody paperwork that day. She still hated him at the time, but that question had stuck out.

"No…I really think I want Meredith to take me." Amber informed him, raising an eyebrow. "I'll let you catch up with cookie girl."

Alex opened his mouth to argue, but Amber had basically served him to Izzie on a silver platter. "Fine." He caved in. "Do you have soccer practice today?"

Amber shook her head no as she reached for her back pack.

"You go straight to the hospital after school, you got me?" Alex dictated. "You can ride back with me. We still need to talk."

"I'll look forward to it." She rolled her eyes in reply.

Alex shot her a playful glare before kissing the top of her head. He then shoved her towards the kitchen. "Get out of here."

After he heard the backdoor shut, Alex turned his attention back to Izzie. They stared at each other in silence before he gathered the courage to speak.

"This is going to have to be quick…I need to go to work."

"That's alright. I'll ride with you. I'm headed that way."

Alex had no idea what possessed him…but he agreed. A small portion of him, and he was unaware of how dominant that portion may be, still had trouble resisting this woman. There was and likely always would be, something so tantalizing about her.

Izzie followed behind him, bopping victoriously. She was perfectly content in brief silence as they climbed into his car. The familiar aroma of the interior surrounded her welcomingly and she quietly celebrated what she considered a small step in the direction of their reconciliation.

They remained wordless until he had pulled out of the driveway. "So, you still bake." He finally commented.

Izzie let out a light laugh. "I'm still me, Alex."

"It would appear." He replied, half-seriously. He was still cautious. There was no doubt about that, but there was no harm in engaging her in light conversation either. "So what business do you have near the hospital?"

"Why do I have to answer all the questions?" She teased. "What about you and the female-Alex clone that answered the door? Did an old spark show up with a daughter-spawn?"

Alex resisted the strong urge to laugh. He didn't want to joke with her. This was a casual catch-up conversation. He couldn't allow himself to become too comfortable. Short and to the point was the best approach; no joking and no reminiscing.

"That was Amber…my little sister Amber."

Izzie's eyes widened as she recalled the handful of late night conversations they had had about his family. It was, needless to say, his touchiest subject. She was the only person he ever really told anything about his past. He never disclosed much, but she could recall a few mentions of the siblings he practically raised.

"And she's yours now?"

"My mom got into drugs and her boyfriends had a tendency to go after Amber. Then our brother drove off the deep-end too." Alex informed her bluntly. "I've had her for about six months."

"Oh my god." Izzie inhaled sharply. "That's…I'm really sorry."

"That's life." Alex muttered.

"That just seems like a horrible thing to…"

"Enough heart-to-heart." Alex cut her off. He gripped the steering wheel tighter, cursing himself for losing his temper. "It's a difficult subject."

"No…it's okay, I get it." Izzie replied, thankful when they pulled into the hospital parking lot.

"You need me to drop you off somewhere else first?" He asked.

"No. I'm going here."

Alex undid his seat-belt and turned to face her. "Here…why?"

"I have a meeting." She answered casually, opening her car door and getting out.

Alex had to pick up the pace to keep up with Izzie. He hated it when she acted all mysterious. He had been straight forward with her about what had gone on since she left and he definitely expected some reciprocity.

He grabbed her arm gently, ignoring the internal shock he felt at the touch of her skin. "Enough of this. I told you what I've been doing…are you at least going to tell me where you've been?"

"I already told you." She came back with her signature smile, tossing her blonde hair over her shoulder confidently. "I was finding myself."

"And…?"

"The search is over." She remarked with a smirk, continuing to walk towards the entrance.

Alex hustled to remain next to her. "So what did you find?"

Izzie bowed her head so that Alex wouldn't see just how happy his interest was making her. "I found a job I love…an amazing mentor…" She stopped in her tracks and turned to meet his stare. "And I found that all of it means significantly less without you."

Alex swallowed, unsure of what to say. He couldn't do this. He couldn't get roped back in. His heart was screaming at him to grab her and kiss her right there. His brain, however, was telling him to run away as fast as he could. He couldn't afford instability.

Nevertheless, he couldn't fend off his curiosity. "Are you going to tell me any more than that?"

"I'll tell you whatever you want to know." She agreed curtly. "If you have coffee with me tomorrow."

Alex wavered for a few moments. Never before had a simple decision seemed so trying. "Alright." He responded warily, before he ever had the chance to talk himself out of it.

"Ok then." Izzie smiled, doing her best not to fist pump in public. The two started walking again, remaining silent until they reached the elevator. "Going up?"

Alex shook his head. "I don't do elevators anymore….I'll see you tomorrow." He didn't give her a chance to respond before turning and walking away. But as much as he tried to fight it, even with her out of his sight, he kept thinking about her. He thought about her to the point that he didn't feel a single of step of the grueling journey to the fourth floor.

He was surprised to find the spot in front of the nurses' station empty when he reached the pediatric wing. Dr. Robbins was annoyingly punctual. She was usually waiting impatiently for Alex every time without fail, her right foot tapping and her curls bouncing.

Today it was Alex who waited, silently wondering where his teacher had run off to. She came into view a few minutes later. She wasn't alone though. Another blonde trailed shortly behind her, catching up on a patient chart.

"Alex." Arizona greeted him warmly. "Say hello to our neo-natal resident consult from Los Angeles….Dr. Stevens."

XXXXXXX

That afternoon, Amber poked her head into the residents lounge with caution, carefully examining every corner before walking inside and taking a seat. She had half been expecting Alex to be waiting for her with a highly detailed chart of the human anatomy.

School was fine, but had gone by incredibly fast. She spent the better part of first and second period apologizing to Caleb profusely for the abrupt ending of their study date yesterday. "Abrupt ending" was an extremely generous euphemism seeing as her brother had basically chased him all the way outside to his jeep.

She had been dreading her afternoon in the resident's lounge all day, knowing that she and Caleb's make-out session had likely gone public. Nothing stayed quiet for long at Seattle Grace Mercy West and she had a sneaky feeling that it wouldn't be long before everyone assumed she had been, as Meredith would say, "whoring it up."

Amber took a seat and pulled out her calculus homework. She managed to successfully get through the first set of problems before her mind began to wander. She couldn't help but think about this morning. Why the hell had Alex's ex-wife shown up…with cookies nonetheless?

She had never bothered to ask Alex about why he got a divorce; partially because she didn't want to upset him, and partially because she didn't want to give her brother the illusion that she cared. Why should she? He clearly hadn't cared about his family enough to send them a postcard that he got married.

She knew that things went sour when Izzie got cancer, but only because she had overheard Meredith recall of how Derek performed the surgery that saved her life. You certainly couldn't tell that she had been sick by looking at her now. Izzie was, in Amber's opinion, absolutely stunning. And just by a five minute conversation, Amber could tell how smart and headstrong she was. It was the exact opposite of the girls that Alex went after in high school: the empty-headed, 'Victoria's Secret Angel' type. No, she could definitely see the higher appeal in someone like Izzie.

But then again, why now? This woman had hurt her brother, and for that reason alone, Amber wasn't necessarily okay with them talking again. Furthermore, Lexie had just broken up with him. Maybe it was selfish…but she felt slightly possessive. She had only been reunited with her brother for six months, most of which he spent in a relationship. Why couldn't she be the only girl in his life for just a little while?

Amber's internal debate was cut short as Arizona and Callie entered the room, April trailing behind them.

"I tried to stop them." April announced, out of breath from chasing them across the hospital. "They overheard Jackson and your brother."

"You know this is the resident's lounge, right?" Amber reminded them. "You're attendings."

"Yes, but we came here to see you!" Callie exclaimed happily.

"And why would you want to see me?" She questioned, although the answer was quite obvious.

"I want no part in this." April asserted before up and leaving. This worried Amber slightly. Clearly, something had been planned. She didn't have to wonder for long before Arizona and Callie made themselves comfortable in the seats across from her.

"We heard about your…little mishap yesterday." Arizona informed her.

"By mishap do you mean that I was kissing my boyfriend?"

"Amber, you don't have to play that card with us." Callie responded, grinning slightly. "You're becoming a woman…we're not here to stop you."

"Okay…?"

"We're here to inform you." Arizona interjected.

"Oh jeez." Amber ran her fingers through the underside of her hair, bracing herself for another episode of 'every adult in my life is insane.'

Callie reached into the pocket of her lab coat and produced a small, foil-wrapped package. "Amber do you know what this is?"

"Gee, I don't know. Could it be a breath mint?"

The alarmed stares she received in return alerted her that they were unaware she was joking.

"It's a condom, Callie." Amber verified blandly.

"Oh good. So you've heard of them." Arizona chirped.

Amber rolled her eyes, something she had been forced to do a lot lately. "I'm a teenager, not ignorant."

Arizona and Callie merely exchanged glances and laughed, as if she were the cutest thing they had ever seen.

"Okay, well since things are getting more serious with your boyfriend, we thought you should at least be prepared." Arizona said gleefully, as if teaching sexual education were a recreational event. "Obviously your brother isn't going to be the one to facilitate sexual activity, so we thought you could use some girl talk."

With that having been said, Arizona pulled a banana out from her lab coat. "Do you know how to put one on?"

Amber's eyes doubled in size. "Oh god guys, really?" She asked, exasperated.

"Demonstrations are key." Callie rejoined. "You wouldn't want to get it wrong during the real deal."

Amber placed her forehead against her first, elbow resting on the table. She couldn't even look at the surgeons in front of her. This was ridiculous.

Suddenly, the door opened. For a second Amber thought she was saved by the bell. Unfortunately, it was Mark who barged in.

"Oh, hell no!" He shouted, yanking the banana from Arizona's grasp.

Amber glanced up. Could this day get any more interesting?

"Mark, don't interrupt." Callie chastised her friend. "We're trying to give the 'safe sex' talk."

"This isn't the 'safe sex' talk." Mark argued before snatching the condom from the center of the table and hurling it into the trash can. "This is the 'no sex' talk!"

"Mark, is this really necessary?" Amber attempted to mediate the situation.

"Absolutely." He shot back before pointing a finger in her direction. "You tell that Carlos kid that if he tries anything with you again, I'll give him new face….and it will be an ugly one."

"Caleb. His name is Caleb."

"Whatever. My point stands."

"You people are crazy." Amber huffed. "We were kissing. I'm not going to have sex with him."

"We heard that he was on top of you." Arizona replied.

Of course you did. Amber thought. Because no one would bother to give you the full story.

"That tears it." Mark started up again. "Book me an O.R.; I'm giving a teenager a new face."

The door flew open once more and this time, Alex appeared. Surprisingly enough, this was a bit of a relief. The person she had been dreading the most all day had suddenly become her greatest ally.

"Alex!" She cried, running over and hugging him as if she hadn't seen him in months. "Get me out of here... please."

XXXXXXX

The ride home was mostly quiet. Amber filled Alex in on the minor details of her day, a pop quiz in Latin that she aced, a school assembly about storm safety, eating lunch with Fiona and some of her old friends from study group, and other pointless little snippets.

What they didn't talk about was sex. Amber had been mentally preparing herself for it from the moment they got into the car. She came to the conclusion that she was tired of defending herself for something she wasn't even thinking about doing. When Alex tried to give her the talk, she decided, she was going to let him have it.

Much to her dismay, Alex still didn't address her about the issue. Once they got home he only told her to go start her homework before disappearing into his room. He seemed somewhat distracted, most likely about his earlier Izzie encounter.

It wasn't until well into the evening that Amber heard a knock on her bedroom door. She could smell dinner cooking and hear people moving about in the kitchen. Everyone else was already home and their cluster of voices jumbled together in a meaningless hum.

"You got a minute?" Alex asked, tugging on the sleeve of his shirt nervously while leaning in her doorway.

"You can come in." She responded.

Amber was sitting in her desk chair. Alex took a seat on the bed and patted the spot next to him. "Let's talk."

"Glad to see you're finally ready." Amber mocked.

"Amber, I'm trying to be serious." He groaned. "This isn't easy."

"It hasn't exactly been a day at the park for me either."

"I'm sorry if everyone has been embarrassing you." Alex spoke apologetically. "But we're just looking out for you. No one wants to see you grow up too fast. You're too good for that."

"Alex, I'm not going to do this with you." Amber asserted. "I listened to everybody else's crazy ranting because my relationship with them is different. But you? You're my brother. You know everything about me and everything I've been through. We don't need to talk."

"That doesn't change what happened, kid." Alex rejoined. "You say I know you so well? All the more reason I should be just as concerned about you as the others. We definitely need to talk."

"I'm not having sex!" She declared adamantly. "There's nothing to talk about!"

"I believe you, but that doesn't mean you aren't thinking about it." He argued.

"Trust me. I'm not thinking about it."

"It doesn't mean you won't."

"Yes it does." Amber hissed in reply, growing increasingly irritated. Was she going to have to spell it out for him? Why didn't he get it? He was a smart man. Surely he could figure out exactly why she had no interest in being intimate with anybody.

"I know you think that now." Alex said soothingly, as if trying to reason with a patient. "But things change in the heat of the moment all the time. What I walked in on yesterday was definitely that type of moment…"

"I'm not saying that isn't true for other people…I'm saying that it isn't true for me."

"Why? How could you possibly know that?" He asked accusingly.

Finally, Amber couldn't take it anymore. Clearly, despite everything he knew about her past, things just weren't piecing themselves together in a coherent picture.

"Because I was raped!" She shouted, leaning forward and making direct eye contact with her brother. "Because the one thing that was mine to give to the boy of my choosing…was stolen from me by a 40-something alcoholic!"

Alex's mouth fell open in realization. He could have punched himself in that moment for being so stupid. All he had been thinking about was what Fiona said to him the other day: that tons of girls Amber's age were having sex. That single idea had been the driving force behind his temporary madness for the past 24 hours. It never occurred to him that Amber had made the decision to wait long ago.

"Amber…"

"Do you even know why I like kissing Caleb so much?" She butted in rhetorically. "Because for once…it's nice to not be terrified when someone touches me. Because for the first time in five years, I'm kissing someone by choice instead of being repeatedly taken advantage of by men three times my age."

There was absolutely nothing that Alex could say to empathize with what his sister was disclosing. He could only feel grateful that she finally felt comfortable enough with him to say such things. Therefore, Alex did the only thing that he could. He held out an arm and waited patiently for Amber to scoot down to the edge of the bed and meet his embrace. Once she was in his hold, he wrapped his arm protectively around her shoulder, as if somehow he could shut out everything she had been through. It would never be enough. But at least now, in this moment…she was safe. And she knew it.

"I'm not ready to have sex yet." Amber said softly. Her face was pressed against the shoulder of Alex's grey t-shirt.

"I know."

"Because I haven't forgotten what happened to me yet. I haven't moved past it." She divulged. "And when I finally do have sex…I want it to feel like the first time. It needs to feel like the first time or else he wins."

Alex pulled back and held his sister away at an arm's length, staring at her with an intensity that she had never seen. "I believe you. And I swear…I will never doubt you on this subject again. I'm sorry."

"You didn't know." She countered.

"I knew." Alex replied pointedly. "And I should have thought of it instead of pushing you until you were forced to relive your worst nightmare."

"I relieve it almost every day." Amber whispered. "Tonight I just happened to do it out loud."

"Amber…" He approached cautiously. "Does Caleb know?"

"No." She shook her head.

"It might be time for you to tell him." Alex suggested.

"I can't."

"You have to eventually. Part of a healthy relationship is sharing everything, the good…and the not so good."

"Is that what you and Izzie did?"

Alex sighed. He had been naïve to think she would just let this morning go. She was a Karev after all. "As a matter of a fact, yes. That's why I fell in love with her. She knew everything, good and bad."

"You weren't afraid the bad would scare her away?"

"Every single day." Alex answered truthfully. "But thankfully, in my case, she thought the good was worth it."

"What if Caleb isn't like that?" Amber fretted, more to herself than to her brother.

"Then kick his ass to the curb." Alex ordered. "He's not worth it. He doesn't deserve you, and he sure as hell doesn't deserve your virginity."

"Aleeeex." Amber drawled.

"Sorry sis, but it's true."

"You don't need to worry."

"I know I don't." Alex nodded in approval. "But it makes me feel better to say it."

"I'll think about telling Caleb."

"Good…and try not to be too afraid." Alex comforted her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "If he is half the man that you think he is, he's going to be there for you."

"I hope so." She exhaled.

"And if he isn't, I will be."

"Promise?" She tilted her head upwards and lifted her eyes to meet her brother's.

Alex swallowed, her innocent stare reminding him of when she was a kid. "Always."

Well that got all serious in depressing in a hurry. I'm so evil. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!

I'm heading to the beach and to Florida before I begin my summer job. I'm going to do my best to get most of the chapter written before I leave and I'll finish up the rest while I'm on vacation. I'm hoping I'll be able to do another update like this one, not much more than two weeks, but it's hard to promise anything when I'm going on vacation.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR READING. IT MEANS THE WORLD TO ME.

Please review!