Andrew sat in the research lab, his laptop open, with various medical journals as well as a few empty coffee cups surrounding him. Alex currently had him working on research for a case and he was determined.

He briefly looked away from his laptop to find he'd received a text from Meredith.

M: hey, coming home tonight?

Andrew sighed. Naturally a huge part of him wished this could be the case, but he also recognized the importance of the work he was doing there and Meredith would understand better than anyone.

A: Nope, pulling an all-nighter. Gotta get this research done for Karev.

M: It's alright, I understand. I have a few guests keeping me plenty of company.

Attached to this message was a selfie of Meredith and the kids all snuggled together in bed.

Andrew smiled to himself as he read the message.

A: That's awesome. I love you guys.

M: We love you, too.

Andrew put his phone away and dove back into his research with a new air of confidence and motivation.

—-

Going into work that morning, Amelia didn't quite know what she would do given the chance she ran into Carina.

She seemed to run into her quite often these days, whether it was to consult on the case or during a brief elevator ride or passing in the hallways.

As her luck would have it, Carina appeared behind her as she stood in line at the coffee cart near the hospital.

"Amelia." She heard her voice behind her say.

Amelia sighed softly as she turned around to face the other woman. "Carina."

"I think we should talk about the other night, I -" Carina started before Amelia cut her off.

"It's fine. We don't have to talk about it. I understand if you don't want me to be your roommate now." Amelia said.

Carina could see that she was visibly anxious and gently grasped her shoulders. "Amelia, I still want you to be my roommate. You've nothing to be ashamed of."

Memories of the moments that occurred outside of the cafe the other night played through Amelia's mind.

*flashback*

"..So if you decide to, I will just need the security deposit and first month's rent." Carina explained as the two walked side by side out of the cafe.

"Great. I'll come by to check out the place later this week and I'll let you know for sure." Amelia said.

"I really enjoyed this, Amelia. We should do it again soon." Carina said as they stood outside near their parked cars.

"Oh, definitely. It was really nice talking to you." Amelia replied.

Carina smiled and for a moment they both stood there in a lingering silence.

"Well, I should probably head home. Meredith's probably wondering where the hell I am." Amelia said to her.

"Right, of course, we wouldn't want her to worry." Carina said as she stepped forward embracing Amelia into a goodbye hug. "Ciao, bellissima." She pressed a quick kiss on her cheek.

The events leading up to what happened next were a bit of a blur. All Amelia knew was that once moment she was locking eyes with quite possible the most beautiful woman she'd ever laid eyes on, and the next thing she knew her lips were planted softly onto hers.

It was very brief, nothing more than a soft peck, really, and with little to no time for Amelia to process what had just occurred. No matter the quickness, she found it difficult to shake the feeling of just how good it felt.

"I'm sorry, are you not..?" Carina said.

Amelia realized the other woman must have taken her stunned silence as perhaps meaning she was uncomfortable, which was the furthest thing from the truth.

"No no. I uh..I'm bisexual." Amelia told her. It felt so foreign yet so freeing coming out of her mouth. She hadn't said it out loud to anyone since her undergrad years.

Amelia couldn't quite read the expression on Carina's face. Surprised? Impressed? Relief that her gay-dar was still as sharp as ever?

"That was really nice, don't get me wrong. Just took me by surprise, that's all." Amelia said.

"Well, life can be funny that way. It's full of surprises." Carina placed her hand on her cheek, the smile never wavering on her lips. "Bye, Amelia."

end of flashback*

"It's not that I'm ashamed, Carina. I just don't want things to be awkward between us now. Or for this to be like, a thing. You know, the big elephant in the room that nobody wants to talk about." Amelia explained.

Carina shook her head. "Nothing has to be awkward. It was simply a friendly kiss goodbye. No elephants, no big deal."

Amelia couldn't help but chuckle at this. "Well, alright then." She turned to order her coffee and pay.

"You can come by to check out the place later this evening?" Carina said to her.

"Yeah, sure. I'll text you and let you know." Amelia replied. She thanked the cashier as she was handed her coffee and headed inside to work.

—

Meredith came into work later that morning and decided to check on Andrew since she had a bit of time to kill before she was needed in the OR.

She walked into the research lab to find Andrew going over research and delegating tasks to two of the interns, Casey and Qadri. Admittedly, watching Andrew being so serious and so very much in charge was quite the turn on in her eyes.

"Good morning, Dr. Grey!" Both interns greeted her, sitting up straighter in their chairs.

"Good morning, Dr. Qadri, Dr. Parker." Meredith replied. There was a beat of awkward silence. "Isn't there something you two should be doing?"

"Oh, right. Yes, we were just about to get right on that." Dr. Parker said as he stood up and gathered his papers. He and Dr. Qadri quickly exited the room.

Once they were gone, Meredith moved closer over to Andrew, she stood behind him and rested her chin against his shoulder. "Alex has you working extra hard these days, huh?"

"Yeah, but I realize that it's all worth it if it means saving a kid's life and plenty of other kids after this." Andrew said. He yawned a bit.

"You're exhausted. I think a little pick me up might do the trick." Meredith said to him.

"Thanks, but I've already had like ten cups of coffee." Andrew replied casually.

Meredith chuckled a bit, shaking her head. "Andrew, sweetheart. That's not the kind of "pick me up" I was talking about."

"Oh.." Andrew said. "Oh." He repeated with a raise of his eyebrows.

"Just relax and follow me. I'll do most of the work. My treat." Meredith said with a wink as she took his hand and headed to the nearest empty on call room.

Meredith locked the door behind them and turned to face Andrew, snaking her arms around his waist.

"I guess I was a little taken by surprise since we don't really do this at work. It was one of your rules so.." Andrew trailed off once he noticed her scrub top was now off, revealing a black lace bra.

"Why are you still talking and why are your pants still on?" Meredith questioned in playful frustration.

"Bed, now. Pants, off. No more talking. That's an order, Dr.Deluca. " Meredith ordered.

"Whatever you want, Dr. Grey." Andrew smirked into the kiss as their lips connected in a frenzy of passion and clothes flying as the fell onto the bed. Meredith climbed on top of him and kept her promise of putting in the most work.

Both Andrew and Meredith were deeply satisfied once it was over.

Meredith gently ran her fingers through his dark curls as they both laid there to catch their breath before inevitably having to get back to work.

Just laying there in a comfortably silent sex drunk haze couldn't have been more perfect. It didn't matter where they were, the feeling was all the same for the both of them.

However, their cloud of perfection was soon brought down to reality when Andrew's pager went off.

"It's Karev. I gotta go." Andrew said to her as he leaned over to give her a kiss and started getting dressed.

Meredith sat up and checked her watch. "Yeah, I've gotta go too." She started getting dressed as well.

They snuck in one more kiss goodbye before heading their separate ways.

——

Amelia immersed herself into her work and her mind was kept occupied for most of the day. That was until, near the end of the day when she checked her phone and saw a text from Carina with the address to her apartment.

The neurosurgeon was so focused on this that she hadn't noticed she was walking right into someone until she was hit with a solid thud.

She looked up to discover it was Linc. Her ex? Not quite. Their relationship never got far enough to really be defined. Her ex kind of almost boyfriend? There we go.

"Linc, hey. Sorry." Amelia said.

"Dr. Shepherd. All good." Linc replied rather curtly, his lips pressed together.

Amelia completely understood his newfound indifference towards her. She eventually told him that it was best if they could simply remain friends, and she knew it'd hurt him. However, in the long run she knew that it was the best decision for the both of them. There was a brief moment of awkward silence, then Linc kept walking without another word.

She made sure her post ops were all accounted for before leaving the hospital, then she was on her way to Carina's.

The drive wasn't very far from the hospital, which was definitely a bonus.

Once she arrived, she went up the elevator to the fourth floor where Carina resided. She walked down the corridor until she reached 4E and knocked on the door.

Carina answered the door and smiled as soon as she saw Amelia. "Hi! Come in."

Amelia stepped inside and took in her surroundings. The apartment had a very open, modern feel to it. The floors were hardwood and there was a large window with a view of the city as well as a balcony.

In the living room, there was a white leather sofa set with a sleek black furniture set consisting of a coffee table, as well as a bookshelf and a shelf containing photos and what looked to be awards that Carina had won.

The walls were adorned with various authentic Italian pieces and interesting portraits. Her bookshelf contained all types of literature including medical journals and poetry. On her coffee table were books on women's fashion, some in english, some in italian.

The thought of Carina, relaxed on her couch in a silk night robe, maybe in a pair of reading glasses, casually flipping through the pages caused a brief sensation of butterflies in Amelia's stomach.

"So this is the living room area, and over there is the kitchen and dining room." Carina explained, snapping Amelia out of her daydream.

Amelia took note of her rack of what seemed to be fifty various spices and wondered what one person would need with all that, and she was intrigued to find out.

"And over here is your bedroom." Carina said, gesturing for Amelia to follow her. The room was very neat and put together, just like the rest of her apartment.

By the end, Amelia had made her decision. She would be moving in with Carina.

Amelia announced the news later that night to Meredith and Maggie over leftover takeout. "So, if everything works out, I should be out of here by next week." She told them.

"That's awesome, Amelia. I think it'll be a nice change for you." Maggie said.

"Thanks, I think so too." Amelia agreed.

Meredith thought about just how much had changed since both Maggie and Amelia had agreed to move in with her. Back then, she was a recent widow, a little lost in some respects, and she needed all the love and support she could get - even if she didn't realize it at first.

And now, she was in a different place. She was more than just content, she was genuinely happy. Now that she had Andrew, there was nothing more that she could possibly want for.

However, little did the sisters know, Zola had been sitting on the stairs listening to the news that her Auntie Amelia was moving out, and promptly ran back up the stairs and slammed her door behind her.