"Being a surgeon is all I've ever wanted to be, For as long as I can remember I've dreamed of being a doctor. My mother is an amazing surgeon and even if I never met him I know my father was too. Basically, there's a lot of pressure to uphold a legacy of surgical expertise. My brother and sister have what it takes and they know it. Me? I'm full of self-doubt and anxiety. Maybe I would be better off as a janitor or a cashier. I guess I'll just have to wait and see and hope I don't kill anyone in the process."- Ellis Alexandra Shepherd

Ellis can't believe that she's really starting the first day of her surgical internship. She's trying not to freak out about it but there's a lot to be nervous about. She really doesn't want to screw this up or fail. She wouldn't be able to live with herself if she didn't make it.

There's a lot of pressure on her already and she hasn't done so much as observe a surgery. Her name is enough pressure on its own. 'Ellis Shepherd', she's named after legendary Ellis Grey and carries the last name Shepherd. It's a name that people will expect great things from in the surgical world. Especially at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital. She wonders if it was a bad idea to do her residency here with all the pressure. There are the positives of having her family here but in some ways, that's a negative too.

She does feel a little rush of confidence changing into her scrubs and white coat. She's a real doctor now. She's Doctor Shepherd and not just Ellis. She wonders how much confusion is going to happen with her being this hospital's fourth Shepherd. Whatever, that's not what she should be worried about right now. She should just let herself be happy about being a real doctor. She always worries too much and needs to give herself a minute to just feel happy.

Zola is woken up by her pager going off. She narrowly avoids falling off the top bunk of the on-call room bed. She hadn't meant to fall asleep in the hospital but it's a good thing she did. She hasn't been home for the last four days but this is normal for her. She sleeps at the hospital a lot more often than she sleeps at home. She's needed in the ER and when you're needed in the pit you run.

There was a pile-up car accident that's brought in a lot of patients. Some of them need neuro consults and that's Zola's job. She needs to be quick because there's a lot of patients but she also needs to be careful and efficient. She can't skip any steps or rush anything because then she could miss something, if she misses something someone could die. She doesn't take any risks when it comes to head injuries. Any sign at all of a brain bleed and she'll order a CT. Sometimes she's wrong and there's not a brain bleed. But it's better to think there's a brain bleed and find out there's not then to think there isn't a brain bleed and find out way too late that there is one. Being careful is worth the potential of saving even one life. If it can help another child from ending up like her it's worth it.

She's a brand new neurosurgery fellow and even if she feels like she knows what she's doing it's still terrifying to have so much more responsibility than she did as a resident. Zola doesn't want to end up being the stupid person who makes a rooky mistake that ends up killing someone. She's very gifted in neuro but she can't get too cocky or confident. She needs to be able to question herself.

Bailey's been awake for about fifteen hours now. Maybe he's starting to get tired now but he can fight it and stay up a little longer. He's still alert and not a risk to patients so he can keep working. There's an overwhelming amount of patients in the pit and he shouldn't go home now. The hospital is also swarming with new interns who are going to need residents to stop them from murdering patients with their lack of skills combined with the high of being a brand new doctor. He also just wants to stick around in case there are any good cardio cases for him to scrub in on.

Bailey makes his way to the pit. The ER is chaos but controlled, organized chaos. He can see Zola in the middle of her workday. He wonders how Ellis is doing on her first day. With all these patients that are going to end up being surgical cases, he wonders how many of the interns are going to be flung directly into chaos.

Ellis doesn't even get much time to process anything before all the interns are told they need to go to the ER. Ellis barely manages to catch the details of why. Apparently, there was a seven-car pile-up and the aftermath led to even more injuries and they need all the hands they can get in the ER.

Ellis can't believe how chaotic everything is in the ER. but the residents and attendings seem relaxed meaning that she shouldn't lose her cool because of the chaos. A moment of observation leads her to realize that it's not truly chaos. It may look like it from the outside but clearly, it's a lot more organized than you'd think at first glance.

Since they're idiots who know nothing Ellis and her fellow interns are assigned easy tasks that don't really involve any real medicine. Ellis's job is to deliver blankets to patients. It's not as thrilling or life-saving as she would have hoped but it does help people. Being warm might not save anyone but it can make their day a little better.

Ellis wants to get the intern appy. Zola and Bailey both got it and she doesn't want to be the only Shepherd sibling who doesn't. She doesn't know if she will though. She doesn't think you can show promise by giving people blankets. She shouldn't be focused on the intern appy, she has to focus on the patients. She doesn't want to be the family disappointment though. Not that they would see her as one but she would sure as hell see herself as one.

After several hours the workload in the ER finally gets better. So Ellis gets a chance to actually go to the cafeteria to get herself something to eat. She just grabs the first edible looking item she can see and sits down at a random table. There's another intern already sitting there. One of the interns in her class actually. She swears that she looks familiar. Then it hits her and she can't believe who it is. She has to be wrong because it can't be who she thinks it is. But she doesn't know who else it can be. This woman is Harriet Kepner Avery.

Harriet is the daughter of her Mom's friends Jackson and April. Ellis had been kind of friends with her as a teenager. They weren't close but Ellis thought they could have become close. But that never happened. It never happened because Harriet had gone missing as a teenager. Ellis can remember it happening. One night fifteen-year-old Harriet had just disappeared. They never really figured out what happened to her. But apparently, Ellis just found her alive and well, "Harriet?"

Harriet looks startled by her own name. She nearly jumps and then looks at Ellis. She stares at her for a second before she recognizes her too, "Ellis Shepherd...is that you?"

This is definitely Harriet. The long lost Harriet Kepner Avery, "Yes...and you're really Harriet Kepner Avery?"

Harriet looks a little awkward and uncomfortable, "Actually it's just Kepner...not Avery anyone."

"Oh...where have you been for the last...ten years?"

Harriet takes a moment to reply, "I ran away...and figured out my life and myself...and now I'm here."

Ellis isn't really surprised. She and Harriet never spoke much about important things but she does remember how Harriet was angry and unhappy all the time. It makes sense that she ran away, "Do your parents know?"

Harriet doesn't look happy with the mention of her parents, "Not yet...they'll find out but I'm trying to avoid them I guess...but I'm only going to talk to them if I have to."

Ellis has a lot of questions but she thinks it's better that she just doesn't ask them, "I understand," She decides it would be better if she changed the subject, "Where did you go to medical school?"

Harriet noticeably relaxes at the subject change, "University of Arizona, what about you?"

"Harvard."

"Oh, nice."

Ellis smiles slightly, "Yeah...Zola and Bailey went there too."

"Are they here?"

"Yeah...both of them are."

"What do they do? I know Zola's probably a fellow or attending and I think Bailey's a resident but I didn't know your siblings really so I don't know how old they are." Harriet knows that Zola is the oldest and that she isn't much older than Bailey but that's it.

Ellis answers Harriet's question. "Zola is a neurosurgery fellow...and Bailey's a fourth year resident but he's already decided he wants to specialize in cardio...and I know you probably weren't really asking how old they were but Bailey's twenty-nine, Zola's thirty-one, and I'm twenty-six...and I thought you were a year younger than me but you're in my class..and I'm rambling...sorry. " Ellis feels a little embarrassed now and laughs awkwardly. She's prone to getting anxious in social situations and rambling is a nervous habit of her's.

Harriet laughs but not in a way that feels like she's laughing at Ellis, more like she's laughing with her, "It's okay...everyone rambles sometimes...and I am a year younger than you...I just got a GED the year before I would have graduated high school if I had stayed so I'm a year younger than most of the interns."

"Oh...that makes sense."

Harriet looks a lot more relaxed the earlier, "Yeah...do you know what you want to specialize in?"

Ellis feels a spike in her anxiety level at that question, "Oh...gosh not at all...do you?"

"Maybe neuro but...I have no idea."

Ellis would like to talk to Harriet longer but both of them really have to go now. There's very little time for surgeons to have breaks. You have to get things that aren't medicine done at high speed.

Cristina eventually makes Bailey go home. He thinks he could have stayed longer but he's learned after being mentored by her for the past few years that she's pretty much always right. If she says he needs a break then he probably needs one even if he doesn't feel like he does. He did get to assist her with a great and successful surgery so he doesn't really protest her telling him to leave.

Bailey lets himself into his apartment and flops down on the couch. His roommate and best friend Georgia is already home and she gives him one of her trademark Georgia King Freedman looks of absolute disapproval, "Did you really work for twenty hours again?"

"You've done this before too...you're a hypocrite."

"Did Doctor Yang make you go home?"

"She did."

Georgia sits on the floor next to the couch, "Derek Bailey...why are you like this?"

Bailey laughs, "I don't know...the massive amount of pressure being the child of who are basically medical celebrities."

"My parents are good doctors too...they're just not put on the same crazy pedestal yours are put on."

"My dad is putting pressure on me from beyond the grave Georgie."

Georgia pats his arm and uses an over-exaggerated sympathetic tone, "Poor Bailey...he has nepotism privilege."

Bailey doesn't know what he would do if he didn't have Georgia around to bully him. His life would be less interesting without her for sure, "What about the bad parts of nepotism Georgia."

"What bad parts?"

"The heavy expectations?"

"You're talented enough to meet them aren't you?"

Bailey smiles, "Yeah...of course, I am...I'm badass."

"That's a bold claim for someone as soft as you to make."

Bailey playfully slaps her on the arm, "Shut up...I'm ready to fly solo in cardio and I'm just starting fourth year...that makes me a badass."

"That might be the nepotism."

"How is it nepotism that I'm naturally skilled at cardio?"

"You wouldn't be this good without Doctor Yang...she focuses on you and that's borderline nepotism."

"Cristina and I aren't related Georgia."

"How long have you known her Bailey?"

Bailey tries to think of a witty comeback but he doesn't have one, "My whole life...and she's my mother's best friend and my godmother."

"See Bailey...it's diet nepotism."

Bailey laughs at the phrase diet nepotism, it's a pretty good description, "Okay yes...it is...but I think I need and deserve it."

"Whatever makes you feel better about your unfair advantage, Pretty Boy Shepherd."

"You think I'm so sexy don't you Gia?"

"I said you were pretty...not that you were sexy."

Bailey bats his eyelashes at her, "I'm so irresistible."

Georgia actually laughs at that, which makes Bailey happy because getting her to laugh takes some work, "Think what you want pretty boy...whatever makes you happy."

"It's true...I'm very sexy,"

Georgia laughs again, "Enough with the jokes...what do you want for dinner?"

Zola thinks that she'll actually go home tonight. Henry and Sofia probably miss her presence and must be getting worried about her at this point. She really does need to sleep in her actual bed for once too. So when she's finished for the day she drives home instead of finding an on-call room to sleep in.

Henry greets her as soon as she comes into the house, "So..you do still live here?"

"I do...I'm just dedicated to my job."

"Zola...dedication isn't a strong enough word for you...I'm dedicated to my job and I don't live at the hospital for half a week regularly."

Zola knows that Henry is legitimately worried for her and thinks that he doesn't need to be. She's fine and he doesn't need to be concerned about her work-life balance because brain surgery is her life so she actually has a great life balance, "Henry...we've been over this...I'm fine."

"Your mother worries about you."

"Tell her I'm fine...no need for either of you to worry."

"I will...but try and come home more."

"I'll try...but no promises." Zola does not have any plans to change how often she sleeps at the hospital but she might try and be home more for a week or so just to make Henry worry less so he can stop telling her how worried he is.

Sofia's home too and in the kitchen. She's the only one in the house who knows how to cook a decent meal that tastes good and that's somewhat nutritious, she pauses in her vegetable chopping when Zola comes into the kitchen, "Zola...you exist!"

Sofia's hair is messy and she's in her old Harvard hoodie. Zola thinks that she looks beautiful like that though. She thinks Sofia always looks so pretty. She's beautiful even when she's a mess. Zola realizes she's getting lost in her gay thoughts again and she needs to reply to Sofia, "Sofia...hi."

"We haven't seen you for days...nice to see you're alive.

"I was in the ER today Sofia and so were you...you must have gotten a glimpse of me."

"Not really...it was really hectic but...that's the life of a trauma surgeon."

"Bet all the new interns made it worse."

"Oh, they did...I saw your sister today...how's she feeling about her first day?"

Zola feels bad because she hasn't actually talked to Ellis today, "Oh...I don't know, I should call her later."

"Isn't it nice to not be residents anymore?"

Zola smiles, "Yeah..it is.

When Ellis finally gets home for the night she feels ready to pass out. It was only her first day but it was hectic. She can't wait to do it all again tomorrow. She wants to find a new place to live though, she's currently living in her childhood bedroom and twenty-six is too old to be living with her mom. Before she goes to sleep she spends a few minutes texting her siblings in their group text. They've all been so busy for years with medical school and residency so it's been a long time since they've all been together. Ellis was so close with her siblings in childhood so she's glad the three of them will finally be able to all see each other regularly again. She's going to be here for at least the next five years and she's glad she'll have Zola and Bailey by her side. She doesn't know where she'll end up in the end or where they will. But she hopes that they'll all just stay close. She wants them to be here for her journey through medicine and she wants to be there for theirs.