DISCLAIMER:: not mine. still belongs to shonda and abc studios

A/N:: first half of the two chapter finale. enjoy!

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She said I think I'll go to Boston

I think I'll start a new life

I think I'll start it over

Where no one knows my name

I'll get out of California

I'm tired of the weather

I think I'll get a lover

And fly 'em out to Spain

I think I'll go to Boston

I think that I'm just tired

I think I need a new town

To leave this all behind

I think I need a sunrise

I'm tired of the sunset

I hear it's nice in the summer

Some snow would be nice

Boston…

Where no one knows my name

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Bree hadn't come home, or at least back to the suite, by the time Elizabeth woke the next morning. It wasn't like her sister to stay out like this without calling, but Elizabeth wasn't too worried. She was more disappointed that she would have to leave without saying goodbye.

The previous night, after her father had left, she had thought long and hard about what she wanted to do with her life now. She had options before her and she couldn't put off picking one forever. All her musings brought her to the same conclusion and she felt stupid she hadn't thought of it before. She knew what she had to do now.

She wrote a letter for Bree, stating how grateful she was for what Bree had done for her, how she'd call her when her flight landed, how sorry she was that she couldn't wait for Bree to get back so she could say this all in person.

She slung her bags over her shoulder and left the room, leaving her keycard on the bedside table.

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She was standing in front of Room 202 five minutes later. She knocked, wondering if Erica was still in the room. Maybe she had gone out. After a minute of waiting she considered just leaving her a note at the front desk. But just as the thought occurred to her, the door opened.

Erica looked weary, as if she had been up all night.

"Hey."

Erica smiled, despite her obvious tiredness. "Hey. Come on in."

Elizabeth walked past her and into the room. "I can't stay long. I just came by to say thanks." She turned to look at Erica as she shut the door. "For everything."

Erica smiled at her. "It was no problem. You're welcome at my house anytime."

Elizabeth nodded. There was no need to express anymore thanks; she knew Erica understood how grateful she was.

"You look tired."

Erica smiled weakly. "That's what happens when you get no sleep."

Elizabeth looked at her curiously, the question written clearly on her face.

Erica sighed. She moved past her and flopped down onto the edge of her bed. "I've been up all night contemplating how to deal with my situation. I know I want to fight for Callie but I have no idea how. How do you go to somebody who left you for somebody else and ask to have them back without seeming desperate?"

Elizabeth shrugged. "I can't tell you what to say, but I will tell you that you shouldn't waste one more second. Callie needs to know how you feel, right now. She needs to know that you can't live without her. She needs to know everything." Elizabeth put a hand on Erica's shoulder. "Tell her everything."

Erica looked up at her. She noticed her bags for the first time. Her brow furrowed. "You're leaving?"

Elizabeth looked down at her bags and nodded. "Yeah. I have a plane to catch. Will you tell Callie goodbye for me? I don't have enough time to go to the hospital."

Erica stood. "Let me drive you to the airport. I need to get out of this stuffy hotel room and you need someone there to see you off."

Elizabeth wanted to suggest that Erica go see Callie, but she wasn't the type to push her advice on other people, so instead she nodded.

Erica moved to the table by the window and reached for her purse and keys. "So where are you going?"

Elizabeth smiled. "Boston."

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An hour later they were standing in front of the entrance to the security gate at SeaTac. Elizabeth had never felt so many emotions at once. She was anxious and excited, happy and sad, scared and determined. She was a whirlwind of emotions.

"You'll call me when you land, let me know you got there okay?" Erica was giving her that gaze of matronly concern.

Elizabeth rolled her eyes, but smiled and nodded. "I'll call, I promise." She looked over at the security gate and then beamed up at Erica. "Your little girl's growing up."

Now it was Erica's turn to roll her eyes, but she couldn't disguise the pride on her face.

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It was a long flight to Boston. Seven hours with one layover in Minneapolis. If Elizabeth had learned one thing from Bree, it was patience. So she sat back and enjoyed the flight to Minneapolis despite the emotions that were raging inside her. She had no idea what she was doing, but she knew it was the right move.

She called Erica when she landed in Minneapolis, but the cardio surgeon's phone was off. She left a message saying that she had made it halfway in one piece and relished in the fact that she had somebody somewhere who cared whether she was safe or not and where she was. She had missed this in her life, having a mother. She knew Erica wasn't her mother, but she was the closest thing she'd had since her early childhood. Hell, she was the closest thing she'd had to a parent in general.

She called once again when she was about to board for the second half of her flight that would take her to Boston. She felt her excitement and anxiousness grow. Again she got Erica's voicemail. She left another message, figuring Erica had finally come to her senses and gone to find Callie at the hospital.

There was a little bit of turbulence right before they landed, but the flight was smooth and surprisingly fast. Once Elizabeth disembarked the plane she ran through the airport to the main entrance. She was happy she hadn't had any luggage checked that she would need to wait on.

Once outside she filed into the line to wait for an available cab.

It took nearly twenty minutes of bouncing impatiently on her toes before it was her turn. She slid smoothly into the back of the cab.

"Where can I take you?"

"Cambridge please."

It was a pricey fare. She had no idea if she'd find Jason at school, but she figured that was the best place to try and find him. It was a start at least.

She tried her best to enjoy the ride, but she found it hard to focus on the things that would normally capture her attention such as the view from the Mcgrath Hwy Bridge of Science Park and, off to the right, North Point. She breathed a sigh of relief when they pulled onto Cambridge Street. It was just a straight shot down now.

"Are you a freshman this year?"

Elizabeth shook her head. "No, I have a friend here."

When they pulled onto the main drive of the university, she gasped. She had never seen a school, even a university, this big.

The cabbie smiled at her wonder. "Welcome to Harvard."