Chapter 2: Welcome Home, Not!

Meredith stared out the window of the plane as they made their initial approach for landing. She felt slightly nauseous and it wasn't from airsickness. She hadn't been back to Seattle in sixteen years. She only was here because her mother had committed herself to a nursing home two months ago and she felt she had no choice, but to be close to look after her after she had been advised that her condition was deteriorating. Her mother had made Meredith promise to keep her condition a secret, but she was still calling all the shots. Why her mother couldn't stay in a nursing home in Boston was beyond her. She already missed her friends and her life in Boston. She knew she was lucky that she got into the surgical program for Seattle Grace because of a last-minute opening. She had been accepted at Mass Gen and was resentful about having to come back to Seattle.

She had called the real estate management company last month and they had done a total extensive cleaning and gotten her mother's house ready for her. The utilities were turned on and the locks had been changed. All she had to do was pick up the key and it was move in ready. She never understood why her mother hadn't sold the old house or at least rented it out all these years. Her mother had been paying the company to clean it every few months, do the yard work and maintain her car that was stored in the garage. Her mother must have always planned to come back to Seattle. As they came in for the landing, the wind shifted, and it was rough landing in the cross winds. She hoped that wasn't a bad omen.

She gathered her large purse and walked to the baggage claim. She had shipped some big items and checked everything else, except for some electronics. She watched as person after person grabbed their bag from the carousel and went on about their business. Great. She had checked four large bags and not one had shown up.

She walked into the baggage service office and tried hard to contain her frustration as she filled out the form. The agent said they would probably be in on the next flight in four hours and they would deliver them to her home. She knew there was no point in getting upset at the agent who was probably overworked and underpaid. She thought this is not good.

She walked out of the airport and hailed a cab to go to the management company. As they drove through the streets, Meredith asked the cab driver to drop her off at Pike Place Market. It was one of the few good memories she had of Seattle with her parents. On the way there, she texted some friends to say that she had arrived safely, and she would be in touch in a few days. It was barely noon. She had hours to kill before she had to attend the stupid mandatory intern mixer. She only hoped her lost luggage would arrive in time or she'd have to go shopping for something to wear.

Meredith paid the cab driver and started walking around aimlessly through the market. There was a large number of tourists and locals alike strolling around. A cruise ship was in port from the looks of their canvas shopping bags. It really was a beautiful day. She was surrounded by people, not paying any attention, when she felt someone rip her purse off of her shoulder and take off running through the crowd.

After a second of stunned shock, she sprinted off after him.

She yelled, "Hey! That guy just stole my purse!"

Several people turned to help, but the guy was too far ahead of them and disappeared into the crowd. After running and dodging people for an eighth of a mile, she stopped. As she caught her breath, she realized she had nothing on her. No money, no phone, no I.D. Nothing. Welcome home, not!

God Damn! Can this day get any fucking worse? All of a sudden people were screaming and shouting and she heard glass shattering. What the hell was going on? She quickly felt her adrenaline spike again as she saw the problem. A car was coming right at her and people were jumping out of the path of the vehicle as it dangerously weaved faster! She instinctively leaped away towards a building and hit the deck. Blackness enveloped her as she vaguely heard a crash.