Chapter Eight: Connected

We are connected,
We'll never be alone
We walk together,
Forever down that road
And if you fall behind,
And don't know what to do
I promise I'll be waiting there for you
Follow me into a better day
We'll be all right,
No matter what they say

Hoobastank

…

"Finn, what are you doing here?" Meredith asked, pleasantly surprised, as she arrived at the Nurses' Station to answer a page.

"I have a few hours off, so I just wanted to stop by and bring you some lunch. You do have time for some Italian, right?" he smiled and held up the bag of take-out.

She nodded. "Okay. I just have to go check on someone real quick, and then we can have lunch," she said, and the two walked into the elevator. "I promised a patient I'd stop in for a minute, and this is the first chance I get. I hope you don't mind too much." The truth was that she had been by Leni's room at least three times that week, but each time Leni was either asleep or with another one of the interns. And Meredith wanted some alone time with Leni, even if only for a few moments.

"No, not at all," he agreed cheerfully. He was just glad to spend a little time with her, and he didn't mind waiting.

They arrived on the fourth floor, and Meredith asked, "Could you just wait out here for a minute?" He nodded, and she walked into Leni's room.

"Meredith, hey! I'm so glad you're here. You look… happier today. Things going better?"

"I've been meaning to come by, but this was the first chance I could get alone with you. I just wanted to talk for a little while, to check up on you and make sure things were all right. And to let you know that things are okay with me, too," Meredith smiled as she sat on the edge of Leni's bed. "So, are Alex and George taking good care of you?"

Leni nodded and replied, "Yeah, they are. They're in and out of here all the time trying to keep me entertained. Poor George looks like he's going to have a nervous breakdown every time I wince, but I think Alex is getting used to things on the gyno-squad, as he calls it. And Izzie and Cristina stop by all the time, too."

"I meant to, Leni… I really did. Actually, I came by a few times, but… well, I'm here now. You're looking great. No pain or anything?"

"No, just boredom," she joked, then added, "But it's worth it. Having Elle healthy is worth it."

"Have you heard her heartbeat yet?" Meredith wondered.

She nodded. "Addie let me listen to it the other day after the surgery, but it's been about a week since I've heard it."

A grin came over Meredith's face as she said, "Well, you're in for a treat, then." She then proceeded to prep Leni for an ultrasound.

There was a moment of silence, followed by the rapid thump-thump of Elena's heart. Leni was grinning from ear to ear at the sound, and she smiled even more as Meredith gave her a glimpse of her unborn daughter on the ultrasound screen.

"That's her head, and that white line is her spine. Looks like she's sucking her thumb, actually," Meredith informed her. "Everything is looking great."

"Thank you, Meredith. It's so nice to hear good news for a change," Leni told her. Suddenly her attention turned to the doorway as she noticed an unfamiliar man lingering outside. "Hey, there. Yeah, you at the door. Do you need help with something? Are you lost? Help him, Mer; he looks a little bit lost."

"Actually, Leni, this is Finn," Meredith introduced him as he walked timidly into the room.

Her face lit up as the realization hit her. "Oh! Finn… the vet! It's very nice to meet you; it's good to be able to put a face to a name."

He grinned and questioned, "So, Meredith's been talking about me, then? Good things, I hope."

"Yes, good things," she assured him. "It gets sort of boring in here, so I bug all the interns until they tell me all the sordid details of their personal lives. I have to admit that they're the reason that TV bores me… Reality is so much more interesting."

Meredith turned to Leni and questioned jokingly, "Who's been telling you sordid details? I know I haven't told you any sordid details." She paused for a moment then demanded, "What has Alex been telling you?"

"Nothing that he wants repeated, I'm sure," Leni said, then laughed at the expression that overcame Meredith's face. The truth was that Alex had finally confided to Leni his real feelings for Izzie. He's said that he made a mistake because he'd been afraid to love her—and now that he was finally owning up to that feeling, he was afraid that maybe he had lost her for good. But his secret was safe with her.

"Well, you tell him to stop polluting your mind," Meredith laughed, just as Addison walked into the room.

"Who's polluting your mind, Leni?" she wondered with a smile.

"Alex Karev," she said, then added, "But not too much; only enough to keep me entertained. And nowhere near what you and Shep used to—"

"Okay, change of topic," Addison interrupted, and Leni laughed as Addison blushed a little. "You've always got a party going on in here, Len. You've gotta give the interns a break every once in a while, you know," she smiled.

But Meredith spoke up. "It was my idea to come. I missed Leni and just wanted to see how she was doing. But Finn and I were just leaving." To Leni, she said, "You get some rest now, okay? And try not to be so hard on Alex when you guys play poker; I've had to buy him lunch twice this week."

"I offered to give his food back, but he's stubborn," she explained. "But if you see him, tell him that I seriously can't eat all this food by myself."

She laughed and promised, "I'll do that, Leni. See you." She and Finn both waved good-bye and left the room, leaving Addison alone with Leni.

"You know, I really do like Meredith; she seems sweet. It's a shame that you two didn't come together under different circumstances; I think you would've been really good friends."

"What're you talking about? Meredith and I are friends," Addison defended, although she had the feeling that Leni was about to make a very valid point. Somehow, the young girl had a way of pointing out the obvious that no one else could see.

"No, you're pretending to be friends. See… if you were really friends, you wouldn't've turned ten shades of red when I mentioned you and Shep. And she's scared of you, Addie. There's probably a part of you that can be intimidating. I mean, I'm not scared of you, by any means, but I'm sure some people around here are."

"Who do I intimidate?"

"Probably a lot of people. I mean, you're beautiful, intelligent, successful… You've got a lot about you to be admired." She stopped, then started laughing. "You don't scare Alex, though. He called you a 'gyno-beast.' Why's he so pissed at you?"

"In this hospital, I am a teacher. It's my job to keep these interns in line and teach them whatever lessons I feel they need to learn. I am currently in the process of teaching Alex Karev a very important lesson," Addison explained as she looked over Leni's chart.

"I think he's learning. He's not a bad guy… just a little egotistical at times. But not about poker anymore. The others are all nice, too; they've all been trying so hard to make me happy and comfortable."

Addison smiled at the young girl. Not so long ago, she had been one of the interns sneaking off to spend time with Leni. Most people tended to spend their free time—or their not-so-free time—in the company of the young girl. Because with Leni, there was a sense of normalcy, of stability, of strength. Being around her made one feel safe and as though no matter how bad things seemed, there would always be a "better." It was Leni's gift to make others feel that way, and so many were drawn to her because of it. "You're a good patient. You make our job easier, and we appreciate that… I see Meredith did an ultrasound."

"Yeah, she said everything looked fine. Do you think she'll be okay, Addie? I mean, I know you said she would, but what do you really think?"

"What I think," she began, "is that Elena is going to be a fighter… Just like her mom. I think she'll be wonderful and healthy and lead a great life. And to top it all off, her mom is amazing."

Leni sighed. There was so much to think about. "Addie… if you and Shep could've had kids, would you have?"

Addison thought about it for a while. She adored children, so it had been quite a devastation to discover that she was unable to have any. A part of her had always felt like something was missing—like there was an empty space that nothing could ever fill—well, nothing except Leni. "Yes, I would've liked that. I would've wanted my child to be just like you." She then did something that she hadn't done since Leni was a little girl—she climbed into Leni's bed and lay next to her, resting her head on Leni's shoulder.

"Are you all right, Addie?"

"Tell me that everything will be all right, Len. Tell me that things will work out they way they're supposed to, and that this whole mess isn't irreparable."

She stroked Addison's hair and tried to be the grown-up of the situation. "I can promise that it won't be like this forever. Sometimes even if things don't go the way we'd planned, they still turn out okay. Right?"

"Derek and I… we wanted to adopt you," she confided suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere. But Leni's last remark struck something inside her, and she felt that it was time to let Leni know.

Leni, however, was speechless; no one had ever mentioned that to her before. "What?"

"Yeah. We wanted to adopt you. We talked to your dad about it, but he said no. You weren't our daughter legally, but in our hearts… you've always been our little girl. I just wanted you to know that. And if there's anything at all you need—with the baby or anything else—we're here for you."

"Anything?"

"Yes, of course. Is there something you need?"

But Leni shook her head. "No, not yet. But if I think of anything, I'll be sure to let you know. I'm sure something will come up. Oh, and Addie?"

"Hmm?"

"You were a good mom; you and Shep were good parents. I spent more time with you than I did with my dad, anyway." Then laughingly she questioned, "Do you remember that time you and Shep snuck me out of the hospital before I had my first neuro operation to go on a ferryboat ride? You two could've gotten arrested for that."

Addison laughed out loud at the memory of herself and Derek sneaking the four-year-old out of the hospital, trying desperately not to get caught. But Leni had asked for a ferryboat ride, and even then, they would do absolutely anything to see her smile. "I remember."

"You'll have to take Elle on a ferryboat ride when she's older. Promise?"

"Promise."