Disclaimer: Not mine. Still. Dammit.

A/N: Okay so it's been awhile hasn't it? I could apologize but…it's been a Hell of a year. Since last October my family has lost about half a dozen of our members and close friends. Other friends and family members have been diagnosed with life threatening illnesses. There have been some car accidents, falls and complications during surgeries. So I'm not going to apologize. I've been a bit busy trying to keep my family from falling apart. And my muse decided to take a hike for a few months while my two kids and I tried to sort everything out. We're also moving in November or December so as we've been living in the same house for a decade our packing is going to take a while. My updates are going to be sporadic as we attempt to sort our stuff from my parent's. I hope you'll all bear with me.

In other news: If you'd like to go back to the beginning of this story you'll notice that I've begun to revise the chapters. Have a look and let me know what you think.

Don't Stand so Close to Me

"Hey Angel, I'm in the kitchen!" Mark called out to her when he heard her unlock and open the door. "Cris already headed in. Hungry?"

"I'm fine," she replied quietly. There was something brittle and almost broken in her tone.

Mark frowned and headed to the door between the hallway and kitchen. He leaned a shoulder against the jamb and stared at her, arms crossed over his chest. Meredith was turned away from him her eyes fixed on the window of the living room. "Angel?" He asked quietly.

Her head turned only a fraction before going back to the window. "I'm fine," she repeated.

He uncrossed his arms and took the three steps necessary to stand behind her. His frown deepened when she flinched away from his upraised hand. "Angel?" He tried again.

She stared at his hand as though afraid it would disappear. "I'm fine," she told him for the third time.

Mark snorted and ignored the flinch as he took her in his arms. He calmly settled her back against his chest and hugged her close. "Liar."

Meredith let out a watery chuckle. "Yeah," she agreed easily. "But I'm getting better now. I just…Mom's not having a good day."

Mark buried his nose in her hair and sighed. "Angel…" he paused, unsure what to say.

She put her arms over his and squeezed them to her. "She regrets having a daughter because she thinks Webber left her because of me." She stated softly in a monotone. "I shouldn't let it affect me like this. I already knew she didn't want me."

Mark sighed again. "It's their loss," was all he could think to say. "I want you."

Meredith's laughter was less heartbroken this time. "I know." She laid her head back against his shoulder and turned her neck enough to plant a kiss on his cheek. "I know." She whispered again. "And that's the only thing keeping me from drowning."

"Good."

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"Maybe she'll be on look but don't touch patrol, with me," Izzie mumbled as she tied her shoes.

Alex shrugged into his lab coat. "Whatever she gets, I hope it's bad, really bad," he said.

Meredith shook her head with a frown. "She made a mistake," she told them with an edge to her voice. "We all—"

"A mistake?" George scoffed. Meredith turned to him. "She was gonna let Burke—Burke with the shaky hand—operate on my father," he said in deceptively bland tone.

Meredith sighed and gave him a sad look. She opened her mouth to say something but he would never know what it was. Cristina trudged into the locker room and sighed at the looks on their faces. She strode to her locker and straightened her shoulders. "Would you stop looking at me like that?" She half spat at George. "It's creepy, and it makes me feel like you haven't been fed."

Meredith bit her lips and ducked her head to hide the laugh bubbling in her throat. Cristina's tone proved that her best friend would be just fine in the end. George rolled his eyes and hopped off the counter he'd been sitting on before striding from the room.

Alex and Izzie followed him without a word to Meredith or Cristina.

Meredith sighed heavily. The tension in the relationships around her was giving her ulcers. "How's it going?" She asked quietly.

"How's what going?" Cristina countered quickly.

Meredith rolled her eyes and leaned backwards so that her back was against Cristina's thighs and butt. "You and Burke," she elaborated and leaned back farther so that Cristina had to brace herself against the lockers or risk dumping Meredith on the floor. "Are you okay?"

"Meredith," Cristina let out her own sigh and pushed against Meredith's back. "I'm not going to run off." Meredith sat up straight and looked over her shoulder at her friend, waiting patiently for an answer. "We're existing in total silence."

"He's not talking to you?" Meredith questioned in surprise. Somehow she knew this wasn't the same as the silences she and Mark treated each other to occasionally. Even when she and Mark had one of their blowups and didn't talk to each other out loud there was still plenty being said.

Cristina whipped around and stared at her with a sardonic look. "I'm not talking to him either." She turned back to her locker.

"I'm sorry," Meredith offered quietly. "Are you okay?"

Cristina rolled her eyes where Meredith couldn't see. "Stop asking me that."

"I'm making an effort here," Meredith pouted.

"Please don't," Cristina grinned at her. "You've already given me a room in the impenetrable apartment and let your boyfriend feed me on a regular basis. I don't want to talk about Burke anymore. How was your visit with your mom?"

Meredith never got the chance to answer. "Rounds started thirty seconds ago," Bailey said coldly from the end of the row of lockers.

Meredith cursed under her breath and ran for the door with an apologetic smile at Bailey.

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Bailey kept her face blank of the anger racing through her as she led her interns down the hallway. "Dr. Bailey," Addison called out. "Can I have Grey?" She requested in a hopeful voice.

Bailey didn't turn to look at her. "You can have 'em all," she told the woman sarcastically as Meredith stepped out of the group and stood beside Addison.

"Thanks Miranda," Addison called after her retreating back. "But I just need Grey."

"Something I can help you with, Dr. Montgomery?" Meredith asked in as perky a tone as she could manage.

Addison sighed and laid a hand on Meredith shoulder. "This is none of my business, but I thought you might want to be warned," Addison started and then stopped with a slight shake of her head.

Meredith titled her head in confusion. "I'm sorry? I don't know…"

Addison looked down at the chart in her hands. "Your sister Molly's just been admitted for an emergency C-Section." Addison's hand squeezed Meredith's shoulder in an offer of comfort.

Meredith took a deep breath and absorbed the blow in silence. This day was just getting better and better. "Molly's not my sister," she said quietly and firmly. "Thatcher Grey made that very clear to me."

Addison brought her other hand up to the bridge of her nose. "I know. Technically, though, she is."

Meredith reached up and took Addison's hand from her shoulder. "Addie, today has barely started and it's already bad—"

Addison held onto Meredith's hand and stared at her for a moment. "You went to see your mom this morning," she deduced. "I…I'm sorry, Mer." She tightened her fingers around Meredith's.

Meredith squeezed back and gave Addison a tight smile. "I'm okay," she said. "But Molly is not my sister, Susan is definitely not my mother and I don't need to know this stuff."

Addison's gaze moved over her shoulder. "Actually, you do," she said and nodded at the person that had come to a stop behind Meredith.

Meredith glanced over her shoulder and sighed. Susan's bright friendly smile greeted her. "Hello Meredith," Susan said warmly.

Meredith swallowed, dropped Addie's hand and turned to face her stepmother. "Susan," she returned hesitantly.

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Mark grasped Bailey's elbow and pulled her away from the squabbling interns. "Where's Mer?" He asked her quietly.

Bailey rolled her eyes at him and glared. "Doin' her job or I'll know the reason why," she said.

Mark only glared back for a moment. "I know that," he hissed. "She always does and you know it. Now where is she?"

Bailey sighed. "With Montgomery. She requested her. Now why are you so concerned about that girl this time? She put her hand on another bomb or something?"

Mark sighed and rubbed at the back of his neck with one hand. "She went to see her mom by herself this morning. It wasn't a good visit. Again. I shouldn't have let her go alone."

Bailey crossed her arms over her chest and stared at him. "Couldn't have been too bad," she scoffed. "She didn't have that look she gets when it's a bad visit. You worry too much, Sloan."

Mark huffed out a small chuckle. "Yeah, I know," he gave her a sincere smile. "But this is Meredith Grey we're talking about. You know, the woman that puts her hands in patient's chest cavities and holds bombs and covers for heart thieves and bank robbers and stuff."

Bailey's lips twitched as she fought off her laughter. "Bank robbers?" She finally asked.

Mark shrugged. "Something Cristina said before Burke's crap came out. I don't quite get it either."

Bailey shook her head, amusement forgotten. "Shoulda known it'd have something to do with that pair of fools." Her eyes tracked the bickering interns for a moment. "Don't worry about her today, Mark. She's with Addie."

Mark's dimples showed. "Can't help it. But I'll let her do her job and bug her about it later."

Bailey nodded. "Good plan. Now if you'll excuse me, I have interns to knock around for being stupid."

Mark smirked. "Have fun Bailey."

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Izzie scowled at Mark's back as she followed him away from the others. "Thank you," she told him trying to bury her resentfulness. "For picking me."

Mark ducked into the staircase and headed up to the Neonatal unit. "Don't thank me," he refuted. "Mer's the one that's insisting you have skills even if you did screw up. I'd have been happy to let you rot if it wasn't for her."

Izzie rolled her eyes. "I thought we were friends," she muttered.

Mark stopped abruptly on the stairs and turned to face her. Izzie stumbled down a step at the fire in his eyes. "We were. Until you decided that Mer's happiness came behind your own stupid decisions. I'm not talking about Denny either. We can't help who we fall in love with. I mean you being a bitch to her and me and Callie."

Izzie frowned up at him. "I am not."

Mark sighed and turned to head back up the steps. "Whatever."

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Addison stood uncomfortably next to Meredith and buried herself in Molly's chart. She wasn't about to leave Meredith alone right now. Mark would kill her. But she also didn't want to intrude on what could be an amicable relationship between the two women. So she pretended to ignore them both while staying close enough to observe and step in if necessary.

"Your father's not here," Susan started off in hopefully neutral territory. "Thatcher's at Harvard Med visiting Lexie. We thought we had a lot of time." She could tell by the set of Meredith's shoulders that that had not been a good beginning for this conversation but she couldn't take the words back now. "I mean, Molly's only thirty-six weeks, and Dr. Montgomery's been trying to stop the contractions, but I guess the baby is ready to come out."

Meredith nodded at her with a pleasant smile and then turned to Addison. "Well, do you need anything else or…?" She asked with an edge of desperation that only someone who knew her well would be able to hear.

Addison took her glasses off and stared at the chart in her hands. She suddenly wished she hadn't brought Meredith up here. This was stupid. "Yeah," she finally sighed. "I could really use an intern on this." She pushed her hair behind her ear. "Can you go ask Dr. Bailey for someone?"

Meredith looked torn for a moment. "Sure."

"I've got an intern for you right here, Dr. Montgomery." Mark's voice came from behind them. "I'll switch with you."

Addison breathed out a sigh of relief. "Excellent. You're psychic or something, Dr. Sloan."

"Or something," Meredith muttered under her breath. "Are you sure?" She asked Addison in a louder voice. "Because I can do it…if you want."

"Nope," Mark shook his head and turned to her. "You know hospital policy on family members, Angel. Stevens can help Addie today."

"But—" Meredith started.

"Good." Addison said over her. "We're set then," she handed the chart to Izzie. "Read up on the case, Stevens."

"It would have been nice to have a familiar face," Susan told them uncertainly. "If she's willing why can't Meredith…?"

"Good morning, Mrs. Grey," Mark finally greeted her. "Sorry about my manners. Meredith wouldn't be able to be in the operating room with Molly because hospital policy won't allow family members in the OR. I'll make sure she has some time to spend with you both but it's better for Stevens to be the intern on the case."

"Oh," Susan nodded a bit disheartened.

"And you just want to keep your girlfriend all to yourself," Izzie said louder than she'd intended.

"Stevens!" Addison hissed.

Mark only grinned. "Can you really blame me?" He asked Susan. "I'm not about to pass up any opportunity to be with her."

Susan smiled. "Okay," she nodded. "We'll see you later then?"

Meredith nodded, more relieved than she'd ever show. "Does Molly know who I am?" She asked.

Susan frowned. "No," her tone was grumpy. "I wanted to tell her but your father…well, he thought it would be too much stress on her."

Meredith swallowed the hurt. "No…that's…that's good. That she doesn't know. It's good."

Susan's frown turned fierce. "It's not. I'm going to tell her…after the C-Section. But I am going to tell her. Thatcher doesn't always know what's best."

Meredith gave her a small smile. "Seriously, I do understand. It's fine…Susan."

"Anyway," Mark cleared his throat. "We need to go so I can catch Mer up on our case. We'll see you soon, Mrs. Grey."

"It's Susan, please," Susan told him. "And thank you, Dr. Sloan," her eyes held years of apologies.

Mark gave her a small smile, his dimples barely flashing. "Susan," he agreed with a nod. He took Meredith's hand and tugged her away.

Meredith waved over her shoulder at the older woman. "Bye Susan."

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"Well, that wasn't at all awkward," Meredith sighed as Mark towed her to the stairs. "Seriously."

Mark stopped as soon as they entered the stairwell and pulled her into his arms. "Ah Angel," he sighed into her hair. "I'm sorry."

Meredith wrapped her arms around him and simply breathed in his scent for a few moments. "I'm fine," she finally told him. "Seriously."

He pulled back and tilted her face up to search her eyes. Finally he nodded and kissed her lips. "Good."

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Mark sent Meredith to get them both some coffee and muffins while he headed back to his office to study the x-ray images of the conjoined twins again. He hadn't been expecting to be pulled forcibly into a supply closet by a short, angry resident.

Bailey crossed her arms over her chest and glared heatedly at him. "Care to explain why you switched interns with Montgomery, Sloan?"

Mark swallowed and stared into Bailey's angry brown eyes. "Um…because it's better for all concerned if Meredith not be in the OR with her baby sister on the table?"

Bailey's eyes opened wide in shock. "Pardon?"

"Molly Thompson's having a C-Section. Addie wanted to let Mer know and she needed an intern. I figured it'd be best for her to have Stevens since Addie can do a C-Section in her sleep instead of pulling Karev or O'Malley off of the conjoined twins case. Mer can work with me and still have time to go check on her sister." He explained quickly before Bailey's shock turned to anger again.

Bailey frowned up at him though the anger in her eyes had fizzled out. "Fine," she finally sighed. "Just don't do that again, Sloan, or I'll keep Grey away from you while she's working for a month."

Mark put a hand over his heart and put on a wounded face. "Aw, you are so evil. You wouldn't really…would you?"

Bailey smirked at him. "You wanna test me?"

Mark shook his head and opened the door for her silently.

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"Not happy about this at all is he?" Meredith asked Alex as they stood next to each other watching Shepherd yell at Webber and Mark.

"Not even a little bit, sweetpea," Alex shook his head. "How's your sister?"

Meredith shrugged. "I don't know. I haven't had time to make it up there yet. She should be out of surgery though."

The ringing echo of the clang of instruments heralded Shepherd's storming from the room. "Looks like you have time now," Alex sighed.

Meredith nodded. "Seems that way. Tell Mark where I went if he asks?"

Alex nodded.

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Meredith passed Izzie in the hallway and asked about the baby. Izzie seemed irritated but she told Meredith that she could update Susan and Molly. Meredith shrugged and agreed then headed for Molly's room.

She stood outside the room for a moment. Molly had tear tracks on her face and Susan was gripping her hand tightly. She knocked quietly on the open door and both women looked up at her.

"How's our baby?" Susan anxiously shot out before anything else could be said. She took a deep breath. "Sorry," she apologized. "But do you know?"

Meredith sent her a soft smile. "It's fine and I actually do. I talked to Dr. Stevens before I came to visit."

"Thank you, Meredith," Molly said softly and held out a hand to her. "How is she? What's wrong with her?"

Meredith stepped into the room but didn't take Molly's hand. "She has an intestinal obstruction, which is why she couldn't breathe. Dr. Montgomery is operating on her right now." She kept her voice as professional as possible.

Molly's eyes filled with tears before she closed them and her face crumpled in anguish. "I can't do this," she sobbed. "I can't do it."

Susan immediately bent down over her. "Yes, you can," she said comfortingly. "Yes, you can. I'm right here, baby, and Dad's on his way." Wild, scared eyes stared up from her daughter to Meredith.

"I have to call Eric," Molly sobbed out.

Susan nodded. "Okay."

"I don't know what to tell him," Molly said on a shuddering breath.

Meredith finally sat on the side of Molly's bed and caught the younger woman's hand in her own. "Eric is?"

"Her husband," Susan told her and reached for her purse. "He's in Iraq."

Molly squeezed Meredith's fingers in a death grip. "I can't tell him this. He's gonna want to name her, and I don't want to name her 'cause I don't know how long she's gonna be ours."

Susan dropped her purse and pulled Molly into her arms. "Shh," she hushed her. "We'll call him together."

Molly nodded against her mother's chest. "Okay."

"Molly," Meredith said quietly. "Do you remember what I said before? About Dr. Montgomery?"

Molly nodded again. "About the train crash and how she's the best?"

Meredith smiled. "Yeah. She really is the best. I can't promise that your baby will be fine. But I can promise that Dr. Montgomery will do everything in her power to save her. You just have to keep believing that she'll be fine, okay?"

Molly took another deep breath and nodded. "Okay," she agreed. "I'm…I'm really glad you're here, Meredith."

Meredith smiled at her again. "Me too."

"Meredith," Mark said from the door. "I'm sorry to interrupt. But I kinda need you."

Meredith turned away from her younger sister and looked over to Mark before turning back to Molly with a grin. "He always needs me," she confided. "But today I'm his intern so I better go see what the boss man wants."

Molly let out a watery laugh. "Thank you, Meredith."

Meredith let go of her hand and stood up. "Anytime, Molly. I'll be back later." She turned to Mark. "What did you need, Dr. Sloan?"

"Alex is running labs on the twins; can you go give him a hand?" Mark asked quietly. "Or do you want to stay here?"

"I'll go help Alex, Mark." She rolled her eyes. "They're not paying me to sit around."

Mark put a hand on her shoulder. "I wouldn't tell, Angel. You can hang out here if you want to."

"As much as Molly and I would appreciate a bit more time with her sister we do understand that she has a job to do, Mark," Susan interrupted. "Let her do it and stop being possessive."

Mark's jaw dropped open and he stared wide eyed at the woman while Meredith giggled. "She's got you pegged, Markie," she gasped out. "Oh thank you, Susan, I so needed that today."

"Labs woman," Mark ordered and pointed at the door. "Go."

"Going," Meredith giggled and fled the room.

Mark turned back to Susan and Molly. "You okay?" He asked uncomfortably.

Susan gave him a soft smile. "We will be," she promised. "Is Meredith?"

"What's wrong with Meredith?" Molly asked confused. "She seemed fine to me."

Mark only shook his head. "Bad day is all. She'll be okay though. And I'll make sure she has a few minutes to come back later. The surgery we have today is going to be hard and time consuming but I should be able to kick her out once in a while."

Susan put her hands on her hips and glared at him. "Do not mess up her job just because of us. She loves her job, it's obvious and you need to let her do it."

Mark put his hands up in a defensive gesture. "I will. But she'll be happier if she can sneak away to check on you guys every couple of hours. She won't show it but she's just as worried as you are."

"Really?" Molly asked. "Why? I mean…" she stuttered. "She didn't even know about us."

Mark shrugged. "She's Mer. She worries because…well she just does. I know she doesn't see you as family yet but she does see that it's possible. Just…let her do this for you."

Molly nodded, dazed. Susan gave him a considering look and nodded. "Slow, right?" She asked.

Mark nodded and headed out the door.

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Cristina looked up in surprise as the four other interns came in with their trays and sat in various spots around really old guy's room.

"I think it's romantic," Izzie said as she, Alex and George trooped across the room and sat down. "Two brothers fighting over the same woman."

They were ignoring her existence but they were there and for now that was enough. Meredith rolled her eyes at Izzie and sat down beside Cristina.

"You know what's freaky?" Alex asked. "The whole conjoined twin having sex in front of the other one thing." He chuckled a bit. "How do you do that?"

"Family is complicated," Meredith observed.

Alex nodded and turned his attention to Cristina. "You're here," he said and pointed his spoon at her. "You haven't been kicked out of the program yet." Cristina wasn't sure if his voice was pleased or disappointed and she really didn't want to know.

"Alex," Meredith scolded.

"No," Cristina interrupted. "Not yet. I'm still here."

Really old guy snorted in his sleep and they all froze for a moment.

"How'd you do it?" Alex asked in a whisper. "I mean, did you have some kind of signal in surgery so that the nurses wouldn't know or did you—"

"Alex—" Meredith tried again.

"What?" Alex asked with false innocence. "I mean, I'm just wondering how to get ahead around here. Mer's got Sloan wrapped around her finger. Which is fine. Izzie steals a heart and gets put on candy striper duty. Yang? She's getting surgeries none of the rest of us would and doesn't even get yelled at."

"Got a head count on how many patients you two lied to the past month?" George asked snidely.

"George," Meredith said with a note of pleading in her voice.

"Leave her alone," Izzie advised. "Her patients lived so she gets to scrub in." The bitter resentment in her tone shocked all of them.

"Izzie," Meredith said.

"Meredith," Cristina cut in. "Please, can you just stop defending me?" Cristina scooped up her tray and left the room. Meredith's defense of her only made her feel worse. She really wished her best friend would chew her out or something. Then maybe she could apologize and feel better.

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"Cappuccino," Meredith said and set the cup beside the chart Mark was flipping through.

"Thank you," he gave her a smile and kissed her cheek when she leaned on the counter beside him. "Did you go see Susan and Molly yet?"

"Heading that way now," she put her head on his shoulder for a moment before straightening. "I'm gonna stop by Addie's OR and get an update for them first."

"Good call," he approved. "Then come find me. I need to show you a few things on the mock up before the surgery."

"Got it," she said cheerfully. She stretched up and ran her lips along his jaw. "Later." She nearly skipped off to the OR floor. Mark just smiled after her.

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"Dr. Montgomery," Meredith said softly. "I thought you'd be done. I was going to see Molly. How's the baby?"

Addison's eyes flicked over to her. "I'm having a bit of trouble with this anastomosis, and I still have to take a look at the distal bowel."

Meredith clasped her hands behind her back and leaned over the table a little to see. "What should I tell Molly?" She asked.

Addison sighed and blinked her eyes heavily. "I don't know," she finally said.

Meredith nodded. "Right, you're doing the best you can and I'll be able to tell her more later. When I'm actually allowed into the OR."

Addison's eyes crinkled with her smile. "Thank you, Meredith," she nodded and returned her full attention to the baby on the table before her.

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"You ready for this?" Mark asked her as they scrubbed in a few hours later.

"Mmm," Meredith hummed with a nod. "I'm just observing though so…not much for me to do."

He leaned over and kissed her cheek lightly. "Next time," he promised.

Meredith rolled her eyes. "With my luck next time we have conjoined twins to separate my mom will have a heart attack or something."

Mark huffed a laugh against her temple.

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"Grey," Mark called out after they pulled the twins apart and he and Shepherd shared a laugh. "Go."

Meredith nodded quickly and hurried to scrub out and check on Molly and her baby. "Yes, Dr. Sloan."

"What's that about?" Shepherd asked him, curious.

Mark looked over at him, gauging his expression. "Her sister had a C-Section earlier. Baby has an internal obstruction so Addie's operating. Mer's helping Stevens keep them updated."

Shepherd nodded slowly. "That's…and you're letting her duck out on you to check on a sister she doesn't know?"

Mark shrugged. "Well, yeah. Why wouldn't I?"

Derek only shook his head with a contemplating look in his eyes above the mask.

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Meredith practically skipped down the halls towards Molly's room. She couldn't wait to tell Molly and Susan that the baby would be okay. She'd already texted Mark the news though she knew it would be a bit before he got it. They had to finish closing up the incisions of the twins and stuff.

Susan was standing outside of Molly's room her phone at her ear as Meredith turned the corner. Meredith slowed down to a slow walk so that Susan would have time to finish her call.

Susan looked up at her approach and pulled the phone from her ear. She flipped it closed and turned to face Meredith. "How is she?" She asked anxiously. "Please tell me good news because I have to go in and tell Molly, and I don't want to tell her anything bad." Susan forehead wrinkled in fear and sorrow.

Meredith gave her a small smile. "Dr. Montgomery is on her way and she will explain everything," she promised. Her smile grew. "But the baby—"

"Laura," Susan interrupted. "Molly named her Laura."

Meredith nodded. "Laura will need some recovery time, but she should be just fine," she told her.

Susan's mouth formed an 'o' shape and her eyes filled with tears. "Oh, thank you," she breathed out. "Oh, I was so scared. Oh, thank you!" She lunged forward and hugged Meredith around the neck. "Oh God." Meredith froze for a second and then patted Susan lightly on the back. "She's gonna be so happy to hear this." Susan let go and pulled back keeping hold of Meredith's biceps as she grinned. "Hey this is your niece, you know?"

Meredith's eyes widened. "I…I hadn't…oh my. She is. Wow. I um…well, gee…God, I sound like an idiot. Um…what do I do? I don't…I've never…Um…would you excuse me?" Meredith pulled away and started to back down the hall. "I'm sorry." She turned and raced away.

Susan watched her go with sad eyes before turning to Molly's door and entering the room. They would be here for a few days yet. She would track Meredith down later and talk to her. The poor girl had no idea exactly how stubborn she could be when she wanted. It was a trait both of her daughters had inherited from her. Meredith's boyfriend had said to go slowly and carefully with Meredith and she would but Meredith would eventually see that they were family and family takes care of its own.

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Meredith sat in the hall outside Mark's office. She wasn't sure where else to go. She wanted to go see baby Laura but she didn't want to go by herself. She felt really bad for running off from Susan in a panic earlier. She buried her head in her drawn up knees and sighed. She was seriously pathetic.

"Angel?" She felt more than heard Mark crouch down beside her. "What's wrong? Is the baby…?"

"Laura will be fine," Meredith mumbled against her knees and then turned her head towards Mark. "She's…she's my niece, Mark."

Mark folded his legs underneath himself and cupped her exposed cheek with one hand. "Yeah, she is."

Meredith closed her eyes and tilted her head into his hand. "I don't know how to be an aunt, Mark."

Mark traced the shell of her ear with one finger. "You'll figure it out, Angel." He sat with her in silence for a few more minutes. "Want me to come with you to go see them?" He finally asked.

"Sure," Meredith nodded and let her legs fall out straight in front of her before standing up. "Let's go," she held out a hand to help him up.

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Meredith gripped Mark's hand tightly as they stood outside the NICU watching Addison and Susan. Susan looked up and grinned at them. She motioned them in and Mark squeezed Meredith's hand in reassurance as they edged into the room.

Meredith stood across the warmer from Molly and stared down at Laura. "She's…she's beautiful," she whispered.

It took an effort but Molly tore her eyes away from her daughter and looked over at her sister. "She really is," she agreed with a watery smile. "Thank you, Meredith," she whispered. "For everything."

A thousand responses flooded Meredith's mind but she only nodded and stared down at the baby. She wasn't good at the family stuff and she knew she was going to screw it up sooner or later but for now everything was okay.

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The silence in the locker room was driving Meredith nuts. It was oppressive and condemning. She finally slammed her locker shut and glared at Alex, Izzie and George. "I can't take this anymore!" She exclaimed loudly.

Izzie gave her a confused look. "What?"

"Let her off the hook," Meredith said firmly with only a hint of desperation. "Let Cristina off the freakin' hook."

"Meredith…" Cristina protested.

Meredith ignored her. "Izzie, you cut the LVAD wire. She stuck by you and did Denny's echo. You cheated on Izzie with the syph nurse," she flung a hand out at Alex. "And she helped you study for your boards." She turned to look at George. "And George when you were having that thing with Callie she let you monopolize her boyfriend." She took a deep breath. "What she did was bad. Really bad but we all make mistakes. You have no right to judge her when you all would have done the exact same thing."

Izzie and Alex swallowed and shame crossed their faces. George wavered for a moment and then hardened. "It was my dad." He said and stalked out of the room.

Alex watched him go and then turned back to Meredith. He nodded and stared at Cristina. "It's okay."

Izzie swallowed again and looked down at her feet for a moment. "Sorry," she muttered.

Alex and Izzie headed out of the room without another glance back. Meredith sat down beside Cristina with a heavy sigh.

"Why can't you mind your own business?" Cristina asked in a defeated voice. "You know, what is your problem?"

Meredith sighed again. "You're my sister," she said and leaned on Cristina's shoulder. "You're my family. You're all I've got."

"Mer…" Cristina leaned back on her. "You've—"

"No," Meredith shook her head. "You and Mark. That's it. The others…they're good but they're not…you."

"Oh," Cristina sighed and laid her head against Meredith's. "I'm so tired."

"I know. Me too."

MS/MG MS/MG MS/MG

Meredith and Cristina walked off the elevator side by side. "Hey," Shepherd greeted them as they passed. Burke stood at his side with a blank look.

"Hello," Meredith replied cordially.

Shepherd looked between Cristina and Burke with a frown. Cristina looked heartbroken and Burke was a blank mask. "I'm going upstairs with Dr. Burke," he told them. "He wants me to take a look at his shoulder."

Meredith gave him a smile and nodded. "Good. That's good." She turned to Burke. "Good luck."

His lips twitched in a semblance of a smile and he nodded. Cristina stared at him for a moment longer and then leapt back onto the elevator with them. Meredith grinned as the doors shut and headed for the doors and Mark.

MS/MG MS/MG MS/MG

"Need to go see Mom," Meredith told him as they settled into the car. "I left things in the air this morning and even though she won't remember I will."

Mark regarded her before heading out of the parking lot. "You sure?" He asked.

Meredith nodded. "Yeah."

"All right then."