*SQUEALS* Okay, I know this is what you've all been waiting for! I hope that I did it justice. It's been over two years since I've written on this story and I like to think that my writing has gotten better since. Anyway, I'm going to cut right to the punch with this one. I don't want to keep ya'll waiting any longer. Thank you guys so much for sticking with me over the years. Please, enjoy your read!

In Which Addison Dives Deep Into the Unknown

So much has changed in these past couple of weeks… George and Callie eloped, that is after breaking up, Callie sleeping with Mark and George realizing he was an idiot. It all happened very fast. Callie told me they were engaged and the very next day, she calls saying they flew to Las Vegas. Miranda opened up a clinic, thanks to Izzie's almost nine million dollar check. We now have a beautiful free clinic in Denny Duquette's name. I know he would've loved that. Cristina is getting married, apparently Preston proposed a while ago… But we've all been so wrapped up in me almost dying that it took her until now to tell me of their wedding plans. Their wedding is scheduled for the day after intern exams which are in five days, to be exact. Watching all of the interns stuck in corners and filling up the locker room, studying makes my day. Some of Dr. Bailey's interns were even fighting each other for Callie's special notecards for the exam. I think Cristina may have eventually won them but she ended up sharing with the group.

They seem to be mostly prepared, at least the ones that I live with seems as though they do, as we all stuff ourselves into Meredith's truck. Well, they stuff themselves into the backseat, I have automatic shotgun being the soon-to-be official fianceé once we get our rings. We pull up at the hospital and all of the interns run inside, Meredith kissing me softly before disappearing into the building. I decide to take a detour and not go straight into the hospital, but to check out the clinic. I haven't been inside since it opened.

Walking in, I run into Miranda who gives a quick wave as she takes off towards a patient. I smile walking through. Maybe I'll spend some time helping down in the clinic today if my schedule isn't so busy? As I wave goodbye to Dr. Bailey, my eyes stumble upon a familiar set of hair.

I walk up to her with a concerned smile, "Susan Grey? You sure you're in the right place?"

"I have reflux… acid reflux. And the… hiccups come and go when it gets really bad. They stopped a few times but lately it's been getting worse," she explained.

I walk over to the medicine table looking through some stuff, "Have you had chlorpromazine? Here you go."

"Thank you," she says taking the pills. "Isn't that the crazy person's drug?"

"It's used as an anti-psychotic but it's also helpful with hiccups. If we don't stop these soon you will be a crazy person."

"Okay," she nods. "Hey, how is Meredith doing? I know they have that big intern exam coming up and she's been really busy. I tried to call but… hey, no hiccups."

"Chlorpromazine.," I smile, "Works every time. And I'll let Meredith know that you're here, okay?"

She thanks me as I make my way inside the hospital and I find Cristina and Meredith at the surgical floor's nurse's station. Izzie walks up seconds before I reach them, squealing, "I switched my hours at the clinic so I can go to the bridal shop. Yay!"

"Did she cheer?" Cristina says ignoring her. "She just cheered."

"Someone's not being very bridey," I comment.

She mean-mugged me, "I am not a bride. I am a surgeon."

"Don't tease the caged animal," Meredith grins.

Izzie shakes her head, "You're not excited? I'm excited. I love weddings. Weddings are all about hope and the future."

"Ok, I rescheduled an A.C.L. repair, but I want to be clear," Callie said walking up to us. "I will not be wearing pink or baby blue. I do not do flowers in my hair. And I will never be seen with a bow on my ass, ok?"

"See? She's got the right attitude. Thank you very much," Cristina finishes.

"Meredith," I start but I don't get to finish.

She spots Thatcher and walks over to him concerned, "Hey."

Thatcher shrugged, "Hey. Hi. I… I'm here with Susan. She's down in the clinic."

"The clinic? Is everything ok?"

"Yeah."

"Meredith, I was just coming to tell you."

"Callie's a bridesmaid?" we overhear Izzie as Callie walked away.

Cristina answers simply, "Yeah."

"Yeah, Ca… yes, of course. Callie's a bridesmaid. Fun. Yeah," she said sounding nervous. I wonder why as I escort Meredith and her father to the clinic.

We make our way over to Susan's bed and she smiles… Since her last visit, she's been 'bonding' with Meredith. She's been more involved than Thatcher anyway… Meredith's started calling her 'fake mommy.' I think it's sweet that she wants to be active in her step-daughter's life, even after all of these years.

Thatcher sits down next to Susan as Meredith looks over her chart, "You know, you could've called."

"Oh, it's such a silly problem," she explained. "Hiccups?"

"We didn't want to bother you," Thatcher said softly.

Meredith shook her head, "Well, it's not silly if you can't sleep."

"Chlorpromazine is good, but it doesn't always work long-term," I explain, "We've had some good results with endoscopic gastroplication."

"We put a tube down your throat and sew together the bottom of your esophagus to protect it from the acid in your stomach," Meredith explained, "It would be an outpatient procedure."

"I'm sold. Ready when you are," Susan said.

Thatcher disagreed, "You're sure that that's not…"

"Just think of it like breathing into a very expensive brown paper bag," Susan tried to calm her husband. "Meredith, will you stay with him?"

"Uh, okay," she nods.

We get Susan prepped and ready for her surgery. George was the intern working in the clinic so he scrubbed in with Dr. Bailey. I sat in the gallery watching so I could keep Meredith and Thatcher updated. It's a simple procedure and they're finished in no time.

I hear George's goofy laugh, "I can't wait to tell Meredith her step-mom hiccupped through the whole thing. She should be here for this."

"Susan asked her to be with her father. She said he's having a lot of anxiety." Miranda responds.

George questions, "And… Meredith is supposed to help with that?"

With that thought in mind, I make my way towards the waiting room to update the Greys when I see that the two of them are actually talking. I stand off towards the side just being nosey.

"You know there's nothing to worry about," Meredith said.

Thatcher nods, "What I… what I worry about is Molly living in a new city alone with a baby most of the day. That's hard. And Lexie, who's… about to start her residency. She's a really good student, but it's grueling."

"I know."

"You know. Right. And… I worry about you, too. How you're getting on, your mom… none of that was… simple."

"Susan's really on you to talk to me, huh?"

"I got to admit, I'm envious… that she's getting to know you, and I'm not yet. I think she may be faking these hiccups."

"To get...us in the same place?"

I smile at that as I make my way over to them, "Susan's coming out of surgery now. It went great."

"Thank you," Thatcher shook my hand.

I smile, "I didn't do much, really."

"Well, thank you anyway," Meredith says hugging me.

If the endoscopy doesn't help, I'm thinking she may have some nerve damage or irritation; maybe like a hair touching her eardrum. That's a common cause for day long hiccups. However, within the next hour, Susan's being discharged and she has no more hiccups. Susan gets to go home and Meredith got some bonding in with her father. I say today was a success. Meredith's walking them out as I text back and forth with Cristina.

"You promise me you'll take it easy," Meredith said softly.

Susan nodded, "I have a stack of DVDs to watch, and I expect your father to feed me by hand."

"So just call if you have any questions."

"It was nice t-talking with you," Thatcher stammered out.

Meredith waved, "Bye."

"Bye."

"Bye-bye."

"Are you ready to go?" I ask, "Cristina is asking if we're coming or if she should just buy your dress? And I don't know how much you trust her to pick that out…"

"Oh, god, no," she shook her head as she grabbed my hand. "Come on, if we go now, we'll make it before they're due to leave."

Our ride to the bridal shop was a short one but Meredith talked the entire time. She talked about the possible colors that Cristina picked out for the wedding. She talked about whether our not we should have a wedding party… and if we do, large or small because we both know a lot of people. I don't care, though. We could drive down to the courthouse right now and I'll be happy.

We're only at the bridal shop for an hour or so. The girls already picked out the color, maroon, and style of their dresses. Meredith just had to pick her style and get fitted for it. We take celebratory shots at a bar nearby then make our way home.

The next morning, Meredith and I both woke up late. Therefore Meredith, being an intern, was subjected to the pit this morning. I apologize to her because it took me a long time to get out of bed this morning. I was a tad groggy. I only had one surgery this morning but when I come out, I hear the news that Susan Grey was back in the hospital.

I go to find Meredith and I spot her sitting outside on a bench in front of the hospital. I make my way to the lobby and out the double doors to the sitting area. I smile at the dirty blonde before sitting down next to her, "Hey."

"Hey."

"I heard Susan was back. Is everything okay?"

"Oh, an infection. Bacterial endocarditis. She'll be fine. She's on antibiotics."

"Oh, good, because I figured if anything was wrong, you'd tell me."

"If it was serious, I would, in a very 'letting you in' sort of way," she trailed off. "You know, it's weird."

"What?"

"My father… we're almost talking."

"Really?" I question. I'm quite surprised because the last time we spoke, he acted like a deer in headlights. When I notice that she doesn't really reply, I change the subject. "So, how's the pit?"

"It's not bad… I got lucky earlier and found a surgical case."

"Sounds like fun," I say as I check my watch. "I have a few hours until my next surgery. I'll hang out in the pit with you… Make myself useful.

When we walk into the clinic, George is laying on a gurney. I walk up to him questioningly as I feel his forehead, "You sick, O'Malley? You feel fine. Take an aspirin and get off my clean bed."

"You were married a long time, right?" he asked me.

I look at him awkwardly, "Um, O'Malley, where is this question going?"

"Did you have doubts…" he asked, "about your marriage? I don't mean, uh, insecurities. I mean really serious doubts."

"Dr. Grey," a nurse walked up interrupting us, "I need you to sign this before I can discharge bed ten."

"No. He's supposed to get an I.V. Dose before discharge," she kisses me on the cheek then runs off. "Why don't people listen?"

"Go find some work, O'Malley," I dismiss him as I walk away and run into Miranda. "Hey"

"Hey. You're working the pit?"

"For a few hours," I shrugged.

She pointed over to a room, "May you check on Susan Grey for me? I got called into surgery."

"No problem," I said with a smile.

Meredith was already in the room when I got there and Susan is in the middle of her reply, "Someday you'll have to explain to me how antibiotics actually work. They are miraculous."

"Good afternoon," I excused myself as I walked into the room grabbing her chart. "Uh, Dr. Bailey asked me to look in. Everything looks good. We are going to take you to radiology to get a central line to continue your I.V. Antibiotics outpatient."

"Okay," she nods then looks to Meredith, " Hey, will you show your dad the cafeteria?"

"Sure," she smirks, "We're on to you, you know?"

"What?" she answered knowingly.

I took her up to radiology and they put in her central line and I had her back in her room within the hour. My couple of hours in the pit is nearing a close as I head towards the exit. I cut through an, what I thought was, empty exam room but when I move the curtain out of the way. I find Dr. Burke standing there.

"Addison, I was… looking for some privacy, and, uh, I didn't think anyone would come looking for me down here. I apologize."

"No problem. Take your time."

"Uh, Addison."

"Yes?"

"Um, you were married for a long time, right? Do you think it matters if one person… is… is more ready?" he asked.

I shook my head and turned towards the intern who was asking me these same questions earlier, "O'Malley!"

"Yeah?" he popped up into my view moments later.

I waved him over, "Come here."

"Yes?" he walked up to us. "Hi, Dr. Burke."

"I want the two of you to talk to each other. I want you to talk to each other and leave my nonexistent marriage out of it. I also want you to leave the clinic out of it. And by that, I mean get out. We need the space, I need the peace, and I need it now."

"Sorry."

"Yeah, right, sorry," Preston nodded as they both walked out of the clinic talking.

I hear monitors going off in a nearby room and I ran over immediately to see that it's Susan's room. Looking at her vitals and checking her breath sounds, I instantly realize the problem, "Book an OR! We need to get her up there right now!"

"What happened?" Meredith asked as she ran in.

I explained, "She's septic. The sooner we can get her to an OR, the sooner we can help her. Let's move. Move."

We're wheeling Susan out of her room and down the hall as Thatcher ran up to us, "Dr. Montgomery, what… what happened?"

"Extremely rare complication. Toxic megacolon with a perforation," I explained then looked to Meredith. "Can you get your dad out of here, please?"

"This fast? How could…"

"Sometimes it progresses this rapidly. Very rarely, but sometimes. We booked an O.R. Dr. Bailey is meeting us up there."

"You're going into surgery right now? I… I didn't sign a consent form."

"She needs surgery right now, Thatcher. Not tomorrow, not later today. Right now."

"Thatcher…" Susan called out when she removed her mask, trying to calm him.

Thatcher leaned over while trying to keep up with us, "Honey, listen…"

"We need you to stay back, okay?" Meredith explained as we made it to the OR. Thatcher waited as we burst through the OR doors. Meredith comforts Susan, "You're gonna be okay. This happens. You're gonna be okay. We're losing her pulse she's coding."

"Okay, let's go. Let's move. Move."

Unfortunately, we don't have good news for Thatcher. As I finish scrubbing out, I go join Meredith in the gallery. I throw my arm around her as I pull her into my side. She buries her face into the crook of my neck and let out the tears that she'd been holding back until now.

I hear her whisper, "He's going to be so broken. I don't know if he'll come back from this."

"I can be the one to tell him," I offer.

She sat up and wiped her eyes, "No, it has to be me."

Miranda, Meredith and I make our way to the waiting area where Thatcher is pacing. He caught our eyes and looked into the knowingly as he shook his head beginning to cry, "No…"

"We…" Meredith started, "we did everything… we could."

"You… you said it was really simple and that it was this… small thing."

"It was," she tried but is cut off by Thatcher's hand hitting her face.

He cried out, "She had the hiccups. She came here… Because… because she trusted you. I trusted you."

"Meredith," I called after her as she ran off down the hallway.

She shook her head as I started to follow, "No, don't. Don't."

"She had the hiccups," Thatcher cried out again as Dr. Bailey tried to comfort him. "Oh, god. The hiccups."

"I've had enough dead parents for a lifetime," I comment quietly as I make a beeline towards the way Meredith ran off to.

I find her shortly after, lying silently in an empty on-call room. I climb into the bed behind her and I wrap my arms around her lovingly. "You didn't deserve that. You know it. We did everything we could."

"May you take me home?" she said barely above a whisper.

I nodded standing up and taking her hand as I help her off of the bed. We walk hand-in-hand to my car. Luckily, I drove today because I don't think Meredith is in any condition to drive right now. The entire drive home was silent. When we walk into the house, Izzie and Alex are already in the kitchen. Izzie grabbed a bottle of Tequila out of the freezer as Alex grabbed the salt and some limes off the counter.

He looked at us and asked, "Limes?"

"Limes," Meredith answered. It's the first thing she's said since the conversation to her father.

Izzie handed us both full shot glasses as Alex asked, "So what are we drinking to this time?"

"Friends," Izzie offered up. "Crappy friends."

"Family," Meredith added. "Crappy family."

We all down our shot as Alex asked,"Again?"

"Again," Meredith and Izzie both agree. I shrugged joining along as we down another.

Meredith asked, not even looking my way, "Who wants another?"

So... what did you think? I think next chapter will be intern exams and then I'm going to start the sequel to this story! I have about half of the next chapter written so I'll post it once I get at least 20 more reviews on this story! I love you guys so much. Please, please, review! ❥ Kae