"It's my pleasure to introduce today's guest speakers," dr Milner began, "one was my best friend in medical school thirty years ago and the second was my undergraduate research assistant eleven years ago. Today we have a mother daughter team of cardio suregons. One specializing in cardio trauma and the other in peds cardio. Please welcome Dr Theodora Altman and dr Grace Altman."

"The Altman's," a friend of Katie whispered, "don't you know them."

"Yes, Grace is my cousin. That's Grace on the right. She's a lot shorter than her mom," Katie whispered.

"Anything we should know," Katie's friend whispered.

"Both are rule followers. Teddy was in the military for a long time. I call Grace by her childhood nickname, Annie, she's my cousin. Annie has scrubbed in with Teddy since before med school. They like to have fun and play though. And their kids will always come first," Katie replied.

"Kids," the man behind Katie whispered.

"Annie has an eighteen month old and Teddy has two more. Allison and Leo are 6 and 7," Katie replied.

"How do you know all this," the man asked, "are you stalking them?"

"Annie, sorry Grace is my cousin," Katie replied, "Annie is her family nickname. It's a hard habit to break."

"That's your aunt and cousin," another woman whispered.

"Your an Altman " a man hissed.

"No," Katie replied, "Annie's dad and my dad are brothers. I don't see Annie often and barely know Teddy."

"Katie is there a problem," Annie asked.

"No," Katie replied.

Teddy laughed, "this reminds me of a lecture I gave a few years ago in Grace's third year cardio class. When she hadn't told anyone other than her two best friends who I am."

"No the best part of that day was you and uncle Nathan figuring out how close Josh and I were," Annie laughed.

"We will tell some stories through our presentation," Teddy replied.

"Should we get started," Annie asked.

"We should," Teddy agreed, "we're going to start with seeing what you're familiar with. I'm going to name a condition, disease or procedure and you're going to stand up if you have seen it on a clinical rotation or other placement."

They went through the first part of their presentation and would finish in the lab that afternoon.

"Lunch," Annie said.

"UBC is your place," Teddy replied.

"My favorites when I was here all sound too unhealthy," Annie said.

They walked out of the lecture hall and towards Main Mall. Katie caught them as they came down the steps.

" Hi Annie," Katie greeted in French.

Annie, not wanting Katie's friends to know what she was saying replied in French, "what did you think Katie?"

"I loved it," Katie smiled, "but people were shocked I'd seen an Altman."

"With us "Annie laughed, "we're family. What type of cousin would I be if you didn't scrub with me. Are you coming to grandmere's tonight?"

"Just you and Ellie," Katie asked.

"Josh, Jenna, Chris, Tyler " Annie replied, "in neuro class you've met Amelia shepherd."

Katie switched back to English, "we've been talking in ethics about Harper Avery. Is he related to your doctor Avery?"

"Jackson is Harper Avery's grandson," Annie replied, "Catherine Fox who you've met is Jackson's mom."

"Are family groups common," one of Katie's friends asked.

"We have a few," Annie said, "Richard Webber and Maggie Pierce, mama and I then Catherine and Jackson for parent child groups. My husband and his uncle. Sisters Maggie Pierce and Meredith Grey then siblings Owen and Meghan Hunt. Owen is my step dad."

"Who else is at your hospital," another girl asked.

"I know cardio and trauma best," Annie replied, "our cardio department also has Christina Yang. Mama taught Christina, technically I'm Christina's fellow for another year and a bit. I've known Christina since I was 19. Then we also have Nathan Riggs who is my husband's uncle."

"Your trauma team," a man asked.

"Owen Hunt, Meghan Hunt, and Josh Riggs," Annie replied.

"Josh took the attending job," Katie asked.

"His fellowship ends in June but they offered it to him," Annie said, "he's staying at Grey Sloan. I'm our only peds person in cardio so my chances are good. But it's up to Pierce to makes staffing decisions for cardio."

"Do you think you'll stay," Katie asked.

"I want to," Annie said, "but I'll apply to other Seattle hospitals as back up. I did for my fellowship as well. We decided to only apply in Seattle for fellowships."

"Why did you do that," a woman asked, "Yang, Pierce and Altman you could have gone anywhere."

"I wasn't going without my husband," Annie said, "I had my daughter a month before I finished residency and started my fellowship a couple months late to give me three months home with Ellie. Josh and I wanted to stay together and both of us with our daughter."

"You're doing your fellowship with a baby," a woman asked.

"Yes," Annie said, "my daughter is 18 months and my husband and I are second year fellows."

"Annie do you have time for lunch," Katie asked.

"Mama wanted to eat and I should check in with grandmere to see how Ellie is," Annie said, "mama is catching up with dr Milner and I don't recognize the other woman."

Teddy waved Annie over.

"Enjoying your cousin," Teddy asked.

"It's always good to see Katie," Annie smiled.

"Annie you know Dr. Milner and I had a third roommate in school," Teddy said, " this is our other roommate Kristen Johnson."

"From your stories," Annie asked.

"Yes," Teddy smiled, "Kristen this is my oldest daughter Annie."

"Annie, annie," Kristen asked, "like your baby?"

"Yes," Teddy replied, "we connected when she was 19."

"Mama its 12 years today," Annie replied.

"That conference," Teddy remembered, "since were at UBC."

"The library before we go home," Annie suggested.

"I think so," Teddy agreed.

"Annie you went into cardio with your mom," Krisent said.

"It must be genetic," Annie replied, "my youngest sister in interested in fixing hearts two."

"Do you have other kids Teddy," Kristen asked, "I remember the day Annie was born."

"Mama and Dr. Milner have told me that story," Annie groaned.

"You'd think you'd be more open to it now having Ellie," Teddy teased, "I have two younger kids. Leo is 6 and Allison is 5."

"So married," Kristen asked.

"Yes," Teddy smiled, "Owen. We've been married 5 years and have known eachother 20 years now."

"So three kids, the husband and white picket fence," Kristen asked.

"Yes," Teddy smiled, "plus a son in law and granddaughter. Annie's daughter Ellie is 18 months."

"I missed a lot," Kristen smiled.

"Mama Katie wanted me to have lunch with her and a few friends at Kerner's do you want to have lunch with your friends and meet up for the lab," Annie asked, "I need to call Grandmere and make sure Ellie is okay."

"I can't believe that's your gremlin," Dr. Milner laughed, "my undergrad lab assistant who couldn't say boo to a ghost."

"Still not a gremlin," Annie protested.

"We called you one," Kristen smiled, "I saw a few baby pictures and Anne let me know when you two reunited I didn't think I'd actually meet you."

"Annie are you coming," Katie called.

"I should go see my cousin," Annie laughed, "shes trying to show off."

"Cousin," Kristen asked.

"mcKellar," Annie replied, "the family that adopted me."

"I'll explain the name," Teddy said, "It was Annie's choice to use Altman."

"Mama do you want me to stay," Annie asked.

"Go make your little cousin happy," Teddy smiled.

Annie walked over, "Katie I still need 5 to call grandmere."

"Walk and talk," Katie replied.

"I guess," Annie agreed.

After Annie was out of earshot Dr. Milner turned to Teddy, "she's matured even since that whistler conference."

"Second year fellow, married with a daughter will do that," Teddy said.

"When did you two get close," Kristen asked, "she calls you mama."

"She chose that when she was 19," Teddy replied, "to distinguish me from Leslie McKellar who raised her. We started getting close 12 years ago then when she was in med school it was just her and I. There are some challenges with her adoptive parents. She's been with me and Owen for 10 years now. First he was my best friend so she calls him Uncle Owen half the time or dad now."

"I still can't believe she's little Annie who sorted EKG's into baskets for me to read," Dr. Milner said.

"I taught her to read them in your lab," Teddy smiled, "I can't believe 31 years later we're all together again."

"31," Kristen asked.

"Annie turned 31 in October," Teddy replied.

"How are we in our fifties," Dr. Milner groaned, "my kids are in highschool and university."

"My boys are in highschool," Kristen groaned.

"I have a granddaughter," Teddy said, "that feels old. The moment she told me about Ellie I instantly felt old."

"How did you not freak out," Dr. Milner asked.

"She was 28 almost 29 and had been married a year at that point," Teddy replied.

"You can work with your daughter," Kristen asked.

"We go in spurts," Teddy admitted, "there's days she's my right hand and we work amazing together. Then she's also a fellow that wants to do her own thing. She's researching something with mice and she's not showing me yet."

"Not showing her attending," Kristen asked.

"Not showing her chief of surgery," Teddy said, "her attending is Chrsitina Yang."

"Yang," Dr. Milner said, "wasn't she around when Annie got sick that summer."

"Long story," Teddy said, "but Yang was my resident about ten years ago. She ran Klausman for a few years then almost two years ago she came back to Seattle and is our head of research. But yes she was married to Owen, they broke up about three years before Owen and I got together."

"Complicated," Kristen said, "you work with your husbands ex wife."

"Our hospital has a lot of strange relationships," Teddy said, "my family is no exception. I work with my husband and his sister. My sister in law is married to Annie's husband's uncle. Owen, Meghan, Nathan and I were all in Iraq together 15 years ago."

"You've had adventures," Kristen said.

"Lunch and a catch up," Dr. Milner said.

"That sounds good," Teddy said, "Annie and her cousin were going to Kerner whatever that is."

"Grad student pub," Dr. Milner replied, "good food."

Teddy and her friends made their way to one of Dr. Milner's favourite spots to eat on campus. Teddy enjoyed the day chatting with her old friends and catching up on their lives since the last time they had all been together. They found it hard to believe that it had been 31 years since they started medical school.